(1) Burmese authorities targeting Rohingyas, UK parliament told : Source : DVB 28-Jun-12 The Burmese army and police force have played a leading role in targeting Rohingya Muslims in northern Arakan state through mass arrests, arbitrary violence, rape and systematic discrimination since a state of emergency was declared on 10 June, according to a group of UK-based NGOs speaking to the British parliament on Wednesday. Read More--- (2) Burma inks deal to prevent use of child soldiers : Source : DVB 28-Jun-12 Burma on Wednesday signed an agreement with the United Nations pledging to prevent the use of child soldiers and allow access to military units to check for underage recruits, the UN said Wednesday. Read More--- (3) Burma’s Soft Drink Makers Brace for Big Changes : Source : Irrawaddy 28-Jun-12 The return of Cocoa-Cola to Burma after a six-decade absence has many in the local soft-drink industry worried about their future, as they face off against one of the world’s most recognizable brand names in a battle for the hearts and minds of Burmese consumers. Read More--- (4) Burma suspends taxes on some agricultural items : Source : Mizzima Thursday, 28 June 2012 15:59 Mizzima News Burma’s commercial tax on import of some agriculture-related items and domestic sales has been suspended for a period of nine months, state-run media said on Thursday. Read More--- (5) U.S. investments in Burmese oil, gas discussed at hearings : Source : Mizzima Thursday, 28 June 2012 13:32 Mizzima News Allowing U.S. oil companies to invest in Burma’s rich off-shore oil and gas fields came up at the nomination hearing for Derek Mitchell to become the first U.S. ambassador to Burma since the early 1990s. Read More--- (6) Farmers in Kawthaung Fear Loss of Land : Source : Irrawaddy 28-Jun-12 A group of farmers in Kawthaung Township, Tenasserim Division, say they are worried they will be evicted from their land after a local army installation put up a signboard last week announcing that it was the owner of the property. Read More--- (7) Burma’s banking landscape changing fast : Source : Mizzima Thursday, 28 June 2012 14:47 Mizzima News The total number of foreign bank offices in Burma now stands at 20, following the country’s rapid move to integrate with the international community. Krungthai Bank of Thailand is the most recent bank to make the move, and Siam Commercial Bank is planning to open a local office, say reports. Read More--- (8) Burma pledges to end use of child soldiers : Source : Mizzima Thursday, 28 June 2012 13:21 Mizzima News Burma will enforce a law against child soldiers and allow the U.N. access to military units to check for underage recruits, the U.N. said on Wednesday, following the signing of an agreement in Naypyitaw, the capital. Read More--- (9) Burma’s ‘Lost Generation’ of Students : Source : Irrawaddy 28-Jun-12 RANGOON—The dormitories are empty, the once charming bungalows of professors overgrown with vines and weeds. Only grass grows where the Student Union building stood before soldiers obliterated it with dynamite. Read More--- (10) Webb calls for U.S. to drop ban on Burmese imports : Source : Mizzima Thursday, 28 June 2012 13:12 Mizzima News U.S. Sen. Jim Webb said the U.S should “implement the decisions that have been announced and continue to ease additional sanctions, such as the ban on imports” from Burma, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the nomination Ambassador Derek Mitchell to be ambassador to Burma on Read More--- (11) US Envoy Voices Concerns about MOGE : Source : Irrwaddy 28-Jun-12 The United States has concerns about Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) with regard to the lack of transparency and the level of corruption associated with it, a top US diplomat told lawmakers on Wednesday. Read More--- (12) Burma’s peace roadmap: What we can learn from Sri Lanka : Source : Panglong Thursday, 28 June 2012 13:53 S.H.A.N. All in all, there are three things as plain as day about the peace process in Sri Lanka, which began in 2002 and ended with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009: Read More--- (13) Suu Kyi tells AFP willing to lead Myanmar if her party wins : Source : Google 29-Jun-12 PARIS — Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi said Thursday that she is prepared to lead her country one day, speaking with AFP in Paris at the end of a triumphant Europe tour. Read More--- (14) Myanmar seeks investors for second Yangon airport : Source : News 28-Jun-12 YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar is looking for investors to develop a second international airport for the commercial capital, Yangon, on the site of an old Japanese-built air strip from World War Two, state media said on Thursday. Read More--- (15) Aid Workers Detained in Myanmar : Source : Nytimes 28-Jun-12 GENEVA — The United Nations and several humanitarian agencies that operate in Myanmar said Thursday that a number of their staff members had been detained by the government in a part of the country where sectarian violence erupted this month, and that they were trying to secure their release. Read More--- Burmese authorities targeting Rohingyas, UK parliament told 28-Jun-12 http://www.dvb.no/news/burmese-authorities-targeting-rohingyas-uk-parliament-told/22676 The Burmese army and police force have played a leading role in targeting Rohingya Muslims in northern Arakan state through mass arrests, arbitrary violence, rape and systematic discrimination since a state of emergency was declared on 10 June, according to a group of UK-based NGOs speaking to the British parliament on Wednesday. As many as 650 Rohingyas have been killed, 1,200 are missing and more than 80,000 have been displaced since sectarian violence erupted, said Tun Khin, the President of the British Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), contradicting official reports that place the death toll at 80. “We really need UN observers in Arakan State,” said Tun Khin. Speaking to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma together with Benedict Rogers from Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Chris Lewa from the Arakan Project , Tun Khin accused regime hardliners “who do not want to see reforms in Burma” of coordinating the violence. “In recent months, there have been an increasing number of anti-Rohingya activities, including seminars in Rangoon and in Arakan State organised by the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), and anti-Rohingya demonstrations,” he said. Riots flared earlier this month after the rape and murder of an ethnic Arakanese girl, allegedly by three Rohingya Muslims, prompted a revenge attack on ten Muslim pilgrims in the state capital Sittwe. Some reports suggest that leaflets advertising graphic pictures of both incidents had been circulated in different parts of Arakan state. Chris Lewa told DVB that since the violence subsided, the army and border frontier forces (NaSaKa) have been rounding up hundreds of young Rohingya men. Earlier this week, there were reports that more than 100 men fleeing ongoing unrest were detained by police in southern Arakan state’s Thandwe district. Described as “illegal Bengali immigrants” by police, their current whereabouts are unknown. “The NaSaKa said at a meeting with village leaders that they will arrest people for interrogation and will severely punish those involved in the violence,” said Lewa in an email interview. “They are interrogating the arrested youths together with military intelligence.“ “We are not sure yet about what happens to those found guilty but some of those found not guilty have not been released but instead sent back to NaSaKa camps, where their families have been contacted to pay a huge bribe to release them,” said Lewa She added that at least twenty rapes of Rohingya women by Burmese soldiers have been reported in Ba Gone Nah, Du Chee Yan Tar, Pa Din and Zaw Ma Tet villages south of Maungdaw in recent weeks. However, certifying the validity of reports coming from Arakan state has been notoriously difficult and statistics presented by different groups vary significantly. “It is difficult to collect the number of refugees exactly as some of them have returned home while others are still coming in,” Chief Law Officer U Hla Thein of Rakhine State told Eleven Media Group. Hundreds of Rohingya refugees fleeing the violence and attempting to enter Bangladesh have been turned away by authorities, despite growing international clamour for them to be let through. A group of refugees told Radio Free Asia that a Burmese helicopter opened fire on three boats attempting to make the crossing earlier this month, killing all fifty people on board. The Bangladeshi government insists that they do not have the capacity to accept any more of the stateless minority group, described by the UN as one of the most persecuted in the world. Some 200,000 Rohingyas already live in exile in Bangladesh, but the government only recognises 32,000. President Thein Sein is set to visit Bangladesh next month to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis. He has come under pressure from both human rights groups and anti-Rohingya nationalists to clarify his position on the minority group. “During his trip, the president needs to firmly state that the Rohingya are not a Burmese ethnic group, and I hope he will say that he will tackle the problem with a strong policy,” Dr Aye Maung, an MP and chairman of the RNDP told The Irrawaddy. The hot-button issue has become a crucial test for Burma’s nascent reform process, prompting fears that it could unravel the progress made. Last week democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi admitted that she does “not know” whether the Rohingya qualify for Burmese citizenship as international pressure continues to grow for her to speak out on their behalf. “We urge the British government to put effective pressure on the Burmese regime to stop the killings and violence against the Muslim Rohingyas in Arakan and to restore peace and security in the region,” said Tun Khin. “We urge the Burmese government to restore our citizenship and ethnic rights, to stop anti-Muslim activities and racism inBurma. There should be laws on racism if the regime wants to see durable peace inBurma.” Burma inks deal to prevent use of child soldiers 28-Jun-12 http://www.dvb.no/news/burma-inks-deal-to-prevent-use-of-child-soldiers/22672 Burma on Wednesday signed an agreement with the United Nations pledging to prevent the use of child soldiers and allow access to military units to check for underage recruits, the UN said Wednesday. The action plan, inked by senior military officials and UN representatives in the capital Naypyidaw, is the result of years of negotiation with the government, the UN office in Rangoon said in a statement. “We will be able to work closely with the Ministry of Defence and visit various military units to identify under-age children if any, have them registered and released and provide assistance for their reintegration with their families,” said Ramesh Shrestha, the country representative for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “The signing also means serious commitments from the government to ensure that there will be no more recruitment of under age children in the military,” he told AFP, adding that he expected an improvement in screening for recruitment. According to Sanda Linn, a UNICEF official in Rangoon, the plan, which would be monitored by UN subordinate organisations and Rangoon based NGOs, would allow inspectors to monitor military units for underage recruits. The agreement will be in effect for next 18 months. There are believed to be thousands of under-18s in Burma’s state army and ethnic armed groups, although the exact figure is unknown. “One of the problems is the lack of birth certificate among many young people,” said Shrestha. “Sometimes papers presented by the new recruits are not authentic.” A recent report by the UN accused the military as well as six armed ethnic rebel groups of being “persistent perpetrators” of the recruitment and use of children, including the Kachin Independence Army in the far north of the country. Save the Children country director Kelland Stevenson said that children were often tricked by recruiters. “We know that children do not willingly join the military,” he said in a statement. “They are often duped into migrating away from their homes with promises of good jobs and then recruited into the armed forces. These are usually some of the most vulnerable children who live in impoverished areas and need our protection.” However, some observers were less optimistic about the deal. “No matter how much they do, we are still very cautious of trusting them. When we file complaints through [groups] such as the ILO or the UNICEF, although the complaint would reach to senior government officials within a week time, it’d take around six month to actually solve the case,” said Aye Myint of the Guiding Star human rights advocacy group that provides assistance to child soldiers. The agreement is part of efforts by Burma’s reformist government to shed its international pariah image following the end of decades of military rule last year. In March, the country signed a pact with the International Labour Organisation to end forced labour by 2015. Burma’s Soft Drink Makers Brace for Big Changes 28-Jun-12 www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7975 The return of Cocoa-Cola to Burma after a six-decade absence has many in the local soft-drink industry worried about their future, as they face off against one of the world’s most recognizable brand names in a battle for the hearts and minds of Burmese consumers. The company announced earlier this month that it would remove Burma from the triumvirate of countries where it doesn’t do business, leaving only Cuba and North Korea on the dwindling list of places where Coke isn’t a household name. The move, which follows the Obama administration’s decision in May to suspend US sanctions on Burma, is just the latest sign that the country is slowly losing its pariah status after decades of isolation. But for domestic makers of carbonated beverages, it could be more than just the end of an era—it could be the beginning of the end of a local industry. The fear is that Burmese consumers, whose first consideration is cost rather than brand loyalty, will switch to Coke the moment it becomes more affordable and more widely available, because it is already regarded as a superior product. “Most Burmese people will start drinking Coke when the company starts doing business here,” said Sai Sam Tun, the chairman of the Loi Hein Company, a leading local soft-drink manufacturer. Although Coke’s distinctive logo is already a familiar sight in some major cities, thanks to cross-border trade with Thailand, a single can costs at least 1,000 kyat (US $1.15)—a full day’s wages for many Burmese. This compares with prices as low as 100 kyat per bottle for local brands such as Happy Star and Sweety. This price advantage could soon be erased, however, if Coke begins to produce inside the country. “When they set up here officially, they will be able to sell for the same price or less than local drinks,” said Nyi Nyi, the marketing manager of the Happy Soft Drink Company, who added that there are rumors that Coco-Cola plans to invest more than $300 million in Burma. To survive, most companies are now considering their options. “There are three ways we can go: We can sell out to Coca-Cola, we can cooperate with them, or we can try to compete,” said Sai Sam Tun. “When they come here, we will have to talk to them, because we don’t know what their plans are. In some countries, they form joint ventures; in others, they go for 100 percent ownership. We’ll have to see which they will do here,” he added. In the past, Burmese soft-drink companies have benefited from the expertise of foreign manufacturers, albeit under somewhat unusual circumstances. When PepsiCo pulled out of Burma in 1997 in response to a US boycott, it left behind technicians and other skilled workers who later went on to join MGS, the maker of Crusher and Star Cola, which sell for a relatively costly 300 kyat ($0.35). Generally, though, foreign companies are regarded as a threat, whether they are Western-based multinationals or Chinese makers of cheap, low-quality soft drinks that undercut local brands. What Burmese consumers crave, it seems, are affordable products that they can trust. “Whenever I buy a soft drink at the supermarket, I choose Coke over local products like Star Cola, because even if a local company has ISO certification, the quality control and technique still aren’t as high as foreign products,” said Nay Linn, a 26-year-old economics graduate student. But before Coca-Cola can return to Burma, it will have to reassure its customers in other parts of the world that the move won’t come at the cost of other standards that matter to consumers. In a statement, the Atlanta-based company sought to put everyone’s minds at rest about the ethics of investing in a country known until very recently as a pariah state: “Coca-Cola’s planned entry into Burma, following the suspension of sanctions, will be governed by its well-established global standards for corporate ethics including strict adherence to its global human and workplace rights policy, supplier guiding principles, code of business conduct and anti-bribery policies.” Lest the rush to cash in on what could prove to be a major new market leaves too bad a taste in the mouths of potential critics, the company has added an additional sweetener: plans to donate $3 million to support projects aimed at empowering women in the workplace. Burma suspends taxes on some agricultural items Thursday, 28 June 2012 15:59 Mizzima News http://www.mizzima.com/business/7414-burma-suspends-taxes-on-some-agricultural-items.html Burma’s commercial tax on import of some agriculture-related items and domestic sales has been suspended for a period of nine months, state-run media said on Thursday. Agricultural items exempted include fertilizer, pesticide, farm equipment and machinery, said the New Light of Myanmar. The exemptions begin July 1 and extend to March 31, 2013. The article said the move is in line with focusing on stimulating the agro-industry as a fundamental building block in the country’s development. Burma has also extended a commercial tax exemption period for six months on some export items including rice, beans and pulses, corn, sesame, rubber, freshwater and saltwater products and certain animal products from Feb. 15 to July 14 this year. It is not known if the exemption will be extended again. The extension was introduced when the U.S. dollar depreciated at the end of last year and through the start of this year, causing exporters losses. The problems of agricultural sector reforms are a central topic of Thein Sein’s new government and of comments by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who made it an issue in her by-election campaign in February. She said that if a genuine democratic system can be put in place, then many organizations and foreign countries are ready to provide assistance to help modernize the agricultural sector and make it internationally competitive. At one time, Burma was the No. 1 exporter or rice. At a joint session of Parliament on February 10, Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation Myint Hlaing said that farmers would be allowed to grow the crops they want, and the government would help them to get more income by providing assistance in entering the international market for their farm products. He also admitted in Parliament that some village administrators have forced farmers to grow summer paddy that is incompatible with the local climate and some farmers have been hurt by such decisions. Lower House Speaker Shwe Mahn said, “Nowadays farmers, livestock producers and producers of primary products are all facing incurring losses due to falling prices for their crops and products along with fishery producers.” The minister and Shwe Mann are both members of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, the government-backed party that controls the Parliament. In May 2011, Mizzima reported that a leading Burmese economist and presidential adviser, Dr. Myint, in a paper on how to reduce poverty, told high government officials that agricultural reforms play a fundamental role in rural development and in initiating economic progress in many Asian economies, such as in Taiwan and South Korea. “In Myanmar farmers do not have land ownership rights, but only land user’s rights. Thus, in considering land reform in Myanmar under present circumstances, the aim is to come up with measures to protect the farmers from losing their land use rights,” he said. Owning their land, he said, could allow farmers to use the land as collateral for loans. U.S. investments in Burmese oil, gas discussed at hearings Thursday, 28 June 2012 13:32 Mizzima News http://www.mizzima.com/business/7412-us-investments-in-burmese-oil-gas-discussed-at-hearings.html Allowing U.S. oil companies to invest in Burma’s rich off-shore oil and gas fields came up at the nomination hearing for Derek Mitchell to become the first U.S. ambassador to Burma since the early 1990s. Mitchell told senators at a Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday that no U.S. business sectors have been ruled out of participating in investing in Burma, but at this time no decision has been made regarding energy companies. Speaking on Capitol Hill, Sen. Jim Webb said Mitchell’s nomination could be approved by the committee this week and then sent for a vote in the Senate. In his statement to the committee, Mitchell said: "Perhaps the most important development of the past year, however, has been the partnership forged between Daw Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein. President Thein Sein has proven to be a remarkable figure. We should never forget to recognize his extraordinary vision and leadership, and for the many reformist steps he and his partners in government have taken over the past year. These actions have clearly reflected the aspirations, indeed sacrifices, of millions of brave Burmese." In testimony, Mitchell said, “Each action we have taken in recent months has had as its purpose to benefit the Burmese people and strengthen reform and reformers within the system. This engagement should continue and expand,” according to wire reports. He said the State Department has a “sector by sector” plan to renew private sector relations, and the White House has not decided if it will lift sanctions on Burma's energy industry, which is controlled by a non-transparent state oil company. “There's nothing I can say here definitively on this, because it is an ongoing internal, interagency discussion,” Mitchell told the committee. “But ... we are not looking to exclude any sectors from this.” Committee member Senator James Inhofe said there are “rumors” that the administration plans to “exclude oil firms from new rules allowing U.S. investment in the country,” and he argued that such a policy would be detrimental to U.S. companies as foreign firms continue to sign oil and gas exploration agreements with Burma. “This or any other ‘carve-out strategy' would be a strategic mistake,” he said. “I believe that U.S. companies including the oil and gas companies can play a positive role in the effort by demonstrating high standards or responsibility, responsible business conduct, and transparency -- including respect for human rights in Burma.” Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi expressed caution on foreign firms partnering with the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise earlier this month in a speech in Geneva to the International Labour Organization. However, recent remarks in France regarding Total oil company’s role in one of Burma’s vast oil fields indicated she was open minded about the future of foreign investments so long as they were transparent and not detrimental to the people. The Burmese government has said its natural gas reserves stand at 22.5 trillion cubic feet, and an international bidding process for 25 offshore oil and gas blocks is scheduled to take place within two to three months. Webb, an early supporter of the U.S. engagement policy, called for the U.S. to offer more encouragement and acknowledgment for the reform process. “This is a country whose political system remains a challenge, but where positive conduct calls for reciprocal gestures,” he said. “We should never take our concerns about political freedoms or individual rights off the table. We should make these concerns central to our engagement with all countries, including Burma. But we should also be promoting economic progress to sustain the political reforms that have taken place.” Mitchell said he and the State Department have “no illusions” about the challenges that lie ahead in Burma. In his statement to the committee, he said: "Human rights abuses, including military impunity, continue, particularly in ethnic minority areas. Although there may be some hope for an end to the violence and establishment of serious dialogue on fundamental political issues, mutual mistrust between the government and ethnic minority groups runs deep and a long road lies ahead. Recent sectarian violence in Rakhine State demonstrates the divisiveness in Burma cultivated over many decades, if not centuries, that will need to be overcome to realize lasting peace and national reconciliation in the country." “As Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton has observed, reform is not irreversible," Mitchell warned. "And continued democratic change is not inevitable. We remain deeply concerned about the continued detention of hundreds of political prisoners and the conditions placed on those previously released, lack of the rule of law, and the constitutional role of the military in the nation’s affairs. Human-rights abuses, including military impunity, continue, particularly in ethnic minority areas.” Mitchell currently serves as the State Department’s special coordinator for Burma policy. Farmers in Kawthaung Fear Loss of Land 28-Jun-12 http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7964 A group of farmers in Kawthaung Township, Tenasserim Division, say they are worried they will be evicted from their land after a local army installation put up a signboard last week announcing that it was the owner of the property. The 50-acre parcel of land, located between the Shwe Pyi Soe and Shwe Pyi Thar quarters, was claimed by the Burmese army’s Light Infantry Battalion 342, and is valued at 100 million kyat (US $115,000), according to the farmers. The signboard suddenly appeared on June 21 and gave no indication of what the army intended to do with the property. However, local people said that a mining company had recently visited the area, fueling speculation that the land would soon be sold to the company. Seeking help in asserting their claim to the land, 16 farmers have appealed to the Democratic Party (Myanmar) to petition President Thein Sein on their behalf. “They feel hopeless after being told that the land does not belong to them. They didn’t know what to do, so they came to our office to ask for help,” said party organizer Than Tun, adding that many of the farmers had produced government-issued documents to back up their claims of ownership. Most of the farmers said that they inherited the land from their parents, and that they have cultivated it for decades. One farmer who said he owned seven acres told The Irrawaddy: “I planted 1,500 rubber plants last year and was planning to plant another 1,000 this year.” Some accused local land survey officers of cooperating with the army to transfer ownership of the land. Land confiscation has become an increasingly contentious issue in Burma in recent years, as the government and cronies of the country’s former military rulers force owners off their property to make way for mega-projects and commercial enterprises. Most land was nationalized in the 1960s following a coup by Gen Ne Win. After the collapse of his socialist regime in 1988, successive military rules failed to address the issue, allowing anyone with sufficient political influence or money to supersede claims based on historic right. Burma’s military-dominated Parliament is drafting a new land law, but it has been subject to very little public debate. Some observers say it will merely strengthen the ability of military-linked businesses to lay legal claim to land with commercial value. Burma’s banking landscape changing fast Thursday, 28 June 2012 14:47 Mizzima News http://www.mizzima.com/business/7413-burmas-banking-landscape-changing-fast.html The total number of foreign bank offices in Burma now stands at 20, following the country’s rapid move to integrate with the international community. Krungthai Bank of Thailand is the most recent bank to make the move, and Siam Commercial Bank is planning to open a local office, say reports. In the past six months, rapid changes have reshaped the banking and financial landscape as the government rushes to establish a functioning financial system that can offer investors the type of transactions that are routine in other nations. Foreign banks with offices in Burma now include Singapore, Bangladesh, China, France, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom, said an article by Xinhua news agency on Thursday. As part of its financial restructuring, the Central Bank of Myanmar has opened links with banks in the United States and European Union countries. Japan, with six banks, represents the largest number, and Japan will also resume direct flights to Rangoon by All Nippon Airways in September. Japan recently announced plans to build a mega-shopping center in Rangoon by Lawson Inc. of Japan. The World Bank will also open an office as it re-engages with the country. The Asian Development Bank is now in preliminary talks with the government to re-engage in Burma and to offer development loans and other economy-building projects in the future. In moves to upgrade the financial transaction system within the country, the Central Bank of Myanmar has granted 11 Burmese private banks the right to trade in three foreign hard currencies – the U.S. dollar, Euro and Singapore dollar since last year. The banks are Kanbawza Bank, Cooperative Bank, Myanmar Industrial Development Bank, Myawaddy Bank, Inwa Bank, Myanmar Oriental Bank, Asian Green Development Bank, Ayeyawaddy Bank, Myanmar Pioneer Bank, United Amara Bank and Tun Foundation Bank. Many banks have now set up exchange counters at banks, airports, hotels, shopping centers and major tourists destinations. More automatic teller machines can now be found in Rangoon and other locations. Four banks, including Cooperatives Bank, Kanbawza Bank, Asia Green Development Bank and Ayeyawaddy Bank, began offering remittance services to Burmese migrant workers working in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia in February. Burma now has 19 private banks and three state-owned banks. Burma pledges to end use of child soldiers Thursday, 28 June 2012 13:21 Mizzima News http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/7410-burma-pledges-to-end-use-of-child-soldiers.html Burma will enforce a law against child soldiers and allow the U.N. access to military units to check for underage recruits, the U.N. said on Wednesday, following the signing of an agreement in Naypyitaw, the capital. The Joint Action Plan said Burma would halt child soldier recruitment and discharge existing recruits under age 18. The government will also help negotiate with non-government armed groups in the country to release child soldiers from their ranks. “We will be able to work closely with the Ministry of Defence and visit various military units to identify under-age children if any, have them registered and released and provide assistance for their reintegration with their families,” Ramesh Shrestha, the country representative for the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) told Agence France Presse. The U.N. said the plan was signed in the capital by Major General Ngwe Thein (director of the Directorate of Military Strength, Ministry of Defence) and Major General Tin Maung Win (Vice Adjutant General, Myanmar armed forces) on behalf of the government. “The most important work begins now to ensure that children are released from the Tatmadaw as soon as possible and are returned to their families and communities and receive support to promote their well-being, learning and livelihoods,” said a U.N. official. The UN secretary-general in an annual report to the Security Council listed eight parties implicated in the recruitment and use of children: the Tatmadaw [government armed forces], the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, the Kachin Independence Army, Karen National Liberation Army, Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, Karenni Army, Shan State Army-South and the United Wa State Army. The issue of child soldiers in Burma has been a long-standing contention with the International Labour Organization and other groups. The signing of the document comes as the United States has issued a list of countries that use child soldiers, triggering a law that prevents military aid money from being given to governments that use child soldiers. A recent U.N. report accused the Burmese military as well as six armed ethnic rebel groups of being “persistent perpetrators” of the recruitment and use of children. The agreement is part of efforts by the new government to merge with the international community. It recently signed an agreement with the International Labour Organisation to end forced labour by 2015. Meanwhile, the U.S State Department this week issued a list of seven countries that use child soldiers, including Burma. A U.S. act says military aid should not go to governments that conscript children younger than 18 or use them in hostilities. The president has approximately three months to determine whether the act’s prohibitions on military aid will automatically go into effect or he will give some governments a pass by granting waivers. Burma’s ‘Lost Generation’ of Students 28-Jun-12 http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7970 RANGOON—The dormitories are empty, the once charming bungalows of professors overgrown with vines and weeds. Only grass grows where the Student Union building stood before soldiers obliterated it with dynamite. This is Rangoon University, once one of Asia’s finest and a poignant symbol of an education system crippled by Burma’s half a century of military rule. Only graduate students are still allowed to study here. Fearful of student-led uprisings, the regime has periodically shut down this and other campuses and dispersed students to remote areas with few facilities. Now, as the nation also known as Myanmar opens its doors to the outside world, it is paying a heavy price. The crackdown on universities has spawned a lost generation. The pace of development will be slowed and Burmese exploited, educators say, as the poorly schooled populace deals with an expected influx of foreign investors and aid donors, along with profiteers looking for a quick dollar. “To catch up with the rest of the world we will need at least 10 years. We have to change our entire education culture, and that will be very difficult,” said Dr. Phone Win, a physician who heads Mingalar Myanmar, a group promoting education. Initial steps are being taken. President Thein Sein, a former general who has loosened the military’s vise on power through unprecedented reforms, pledged in his inauguration speech last year to improve education and seek foreign expertise to lift standards to international levels. The education budget, though still dwarfed by military spending and widely criticized as inadequate, was increased in April from US $340 million to $740 million. For years, about 25 percent of the budget went to the armed forces, compared to 1.3 percent for education. Burma is saddled with two generations of chemistry professors who have never conducted a proper laboratory experiment and mechanical engineers yet to handle hands-on equipment, said Moe Kyaw, a prominent businessman involved with education issues. From MBAs to lawyers and accountants, shortages abound. Of particular concern, Moe Kyaw said, is the lack of skilled technicians and workers, who will be sorely needed if an investment boom does come. Government officials at a recent conference on the future of Rangoon, the largest city and former capital, said the country has only about 50 urban planners but needs 500. “You could say Myanmar might be exploited, but they will also lose out on lucrative job opportunities because, if locals aren’t qualified to fill positions, the foreigners will bring in their own,” said Sardar Umar Alam, a UNESCO education expert. Although the government boasts 160 institutions of higher learning, many graduates scoff at their own degrees, often saying they are “not worth the paper they’re printed on.” Many also lament the loss of English skills in this former British colony since xenophobic former leader Gen. Ne Win banned its teaching at lower school levels in the mid-1960s. “I have a very capable woman staffer in Mandalay with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, but she can’t even spell the word in English,” said Moe Kya, the British-educated head of Myanmar Marketing Research Development Company. The opening salvo in what many here call “a war on education” came when troops blew up Rangoon University’s Student Union, regarded as a hotbed of dissent, after the military seized power in 1962. But probably the darkest days followed a failed 1988 pro-democracy uprising, led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi with students as the driving force. The regime began shutting down universities and sending students to the countryside to prevent more anti-government protests. “University life has been shattered because of a perceived need to keep students in order,” Suu Kyi said in a recent speech before the British Parliament. The education system is “desperately weak,” she added in another speech at Oxford University. “Reform is needed, not just of schools and curriculum, and the training of teachers, but also of our attitude to education, which at present is too narrow and rigid.” Even attendance at the rural campuses was discouraged in favor of distance education, still the road to a degree for some 70 percent of students. Typically, they are given audio cassettes and a few simple take-home assignments and only need to attend classes for 10 days or less each year. “We had to learn a lot in the streets, not in the classrooms,” recalled Phone Win, who took 10 years to finish his medical degree because the faculty was closed for three of them. His generation, people now mostly in their 40s, should be moving into senior positions in government and business. Those who have are shortchanged by their schooling, while others, disillusioned, slumped into jobs well below their potential or joined an exodus to foreign countries. Throughout the years of authoritarian rule, the education system spiraled downward. Cheating on exams became widespread. Poverty induced a staggering dropout rate: some 70 percent at one time did not finish their primary schooling. University standards plummeted. “In Myanmar, professors don’t need to research, write papers or attend conferences. On Friday you apply to the government and on Monday you can be a professor,” says Phone Win. With the recent easing of military rule, the public is venting its anger. On one popular blog, Ministry of Education officials are accused of being ignorant military officers using their positions to get rich. But the government appears to be trying to improve the lot of the country’s 9 million students. Salaries of teachers, while still at the poverty level, have been raised to $30 a month, with those in rural areas receiving double that. Long-severed links with foreign universities are being re-established. America’s John Hopkins University plans to set up a Center of Excellence at Yangon University focusing on graduate students and teacher training. “The president is really pushing for educational reform. But it’s top-down and often stops at the director-general level,” said Thaw Kaung, a former chief librarian at Rangoon University and one of the country’s most respected scholars. “The government is also listening to the MPs and they are asking some hard questions that the ministers have to answer.” Many educated Burmese are eagerly waiting for the leadership to respond to a passionate open letter this month from U Myint, a presidential adviser who urged that Rangoon University be reopened to undergraduates and the Student Union rebuilt through public donations. He described the university as “an important landmark in national reconciliation and a memorable way to start a new chapter in our history.” The outcome could prove a key test of the seriousness of the regime’s intent—and whether it has shed its fear of student power. Webb calls for U.S. to drop ban on Burmese imports Thursday, 28 June 2012 13:12 Mizzima News http://www.mizzima.com/business/7409-webb-calls-for-us-to-drop-ban-on-burmese-imports.html U.S. Sen. Jim Webb said the U.S should “implement the decisions that have been announced and continue to ease additional sanctions, such as the ban on imports” from Burma, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the nomination Ambassador Derek Mitchell to be ambassador to Burma on Wednesday. Webb said he expected Mitchell to be confirmed by the Senate later this week. “If we do not act, proactively and soon, we will lose a critical window of opportunity to influence development of financial governance inside Burma,” Webb said. Webb noted that different standards in U.S. trade policy have been applied to China and Vietnam than to Burma. “China’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xiabo, remains incarcerated– as opposed to Aung San Suu Kyi. China has no free elections. Yet, no one is advocating at this time that we impose economic sanctions on China…. Concerns about censorship of the media, restrictions on the freedom of religion, or detention of political prisoners have not prompted the United States to restrict our trade with Vietnam,” he said, according to wire reports. “This is not to single out China or Vietnam for opprobrium; it is simply to point out the need for consistency in the logic of those who argue for overly punitive restrictions as we develop our relations with Burma,” Webb said. “We should never take our concerns about political freedoms or individual rights off the table. But we should also be promoting economic progress to sustain the political reforms that have taken place.” Citing recent public statements by Suu Kyi that countries should not invest in Burma’s state-owned oil company until it adheres to voluntary international standards, Webb asked whether “an official from any foreign government should be telling us what sectors that we should invest in and not invest in.” He said that the United States does not require other countries to endorse such international standards as a prerequisite for investment and affirmed “the United States sets the standards of transparency of our own business environment.” In 2009, Webb was the first American high official to visit Burma in more than 10 years. Following that trip, he called for increased confidence-building gestures in order to pursue better relations between the two governments, and he was credited by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with being an important figure in shaping the U.S. policy of engagement with Burma. US Envoy Voices Concerns about MOGE 28-Jun-12 http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7960 he United States has concerns about Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) with regard to the lack of transparency and the level of corruption associated with it, a top US diplomat told lawmakers on Wednesday. “The issue of MOGE is one that we are looking very carefully at,” Derek Mitchell told a key US Senate Committee during his ambassadorial confirmation hearing. “We have concerns about this enterprise and its transparency and the corruption that is associated with it through reports that we have … There are particular concerns here with connections to the military and such.” Mitchell is currently the special US representative and policy coordinator for Burma. He has been nominated by President Obama as the US ambassador to the country. “We obviously are going to be careful and we should be careful,” he said in response to a question from a senator. “However we engage, that we do so with the highest standards of transparency, that we are contributing to reform inside the country, that we are contributing to the highest values and that we model the type of behavior that we like to see, broadly by US companies and by others. This particular issue when it comes to the general licenses that are being debated and discussed. Obviously it’s on the agenda and being looked at. There are no decisions made on this particular question. “Clearly we want to see others raising their level to the standards, not just the American companies, so that we are on a level playing field. As we looked at the general license, we understand the balance between competitiveness and the standards that we want to set. So this is an ongoing question,” he said. “Would you agree that the standards that are applied, should be the same standards that the United States applies in other countries?” asked Senator Jim Webb who chaired the confirmation hearing. “Yes, absolutely,” Mitchell responded. “There have been public statements saying they are interested in more transparency in the extractive industries, including oil and gas. It’s very encouraging. I think it is our role to encourage that, to continue to educate,” he said, adding that he sees that things are moving in the right direction. “Aung San Suu Kyi can certainly play a role inside the country in doing that so that everyone has a level playing field. But I would never dismiss what she says from our thinking. I mean, she is obviously a unique figure representing people in the country. And she represents values that we are care about,” he observed. Senator James Inhofe asked if the US government decided not to allow its oil and gas companies to operate there, would those resources go undeveloped or would the companies from other countries take up that slack. “I think it’s been demonstrated from the past that other countries will likely take up the slack, but there may be some areas where the US is uniquely able to exploit. But clearly there are other countries that are ready to pick up the slack,” Mitchell said. Earlier in his opening remarks, Webb praised the steps being taken by the Burmese government. “Let’s not forget that this country has had two peaceful national elections within the last year, released hundreds of political prisoners, negotiated ceasefire agreements with 12 ethnic minority groups, reduced censorship of the media, and supported the development of an effective political opposition,” he said. “This is a country whose political system remains a challenge, but where positive conduct calls for reciprocal gestures. We should never take our concerns about political freedoms or individual rights off the table. We should make these concerns central to our engagement with all countries including with Burma,” Webb said. “But we should also be promoting economic progress to sustain the political reforms that have taken place. It’s time to make our policies internationally consistent with our principles.” Mitchell told lawmakers that the Obama administration has been quite consistent and direct in public and private about its continuing concerns about the lack of transparency in Burma’s military relationship with North Korea. “And specifically that the government must adhere to its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions and it’s other international nonproliferation obligations. If confirmed as ambassador, I will continue to make this issue of highest priority in my conversations with the government and be clear that our bilateral relationship can never be fully normalized until we are fully satisfied that any illicit ties to North Korea have ended once and for all,” he said, addressing lawmakers. “As the Burmese government has taken steps over the past year, so too has the United States in an action-for-action approach,” he added. “Each action we have taken in recent months has had as its purpose, to benefit the Burmese people and strengthen reform and reformers within the system. This engagement should continue and expand. If confirmed, I will do my part in the field, to support a principled approach that effectively marries our values with our broader national interests.” Burma’s peace roadmap: What we can learn from Sri Lanka Thursday, 28 June 2012 13:53 S.H.A.N. http://www.english.panglong.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4756:burmas-peace-roadmap-what-we-can-learn-from-sri-lanka&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266 All in all, there are three things as plain as day about the peace process in Sri Lanka, which began in 2002 and ended with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009: There was international participation, Norway and other aid donors (Japan, EU, USA) like in Burma today The sequencing is strikingly (chillingly, according to an NGO worker) similar to that of Burma, particularly Naypyitaw chief negotiator U Aung Min’s version: ceasefire, development and political dialogue It obviously didn’t work for the Tamil armed opposition fighting for self determination According to Dr Kristian Stokke, University of Oslo, Norway, who visited Chiangmai last week, there were several factors why it didn’t, among which were: No joint roadmap for peace process: Without joint roadmap to peace, every step was politicized. Both sides tried to move the balance of power in their favor. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) accused the Government of Sri Lanka of seeking to rebuild the unitary state. The latter in turn accused LTTE of pursuing a separate statehood. Moreover, there were no formal mechanisms for participation by other stakeholders. One result of the exclusion was the Sinhalese opposition becoming “spoilers” of the process. Focus on development, used as a trust-building forerunner for later peace negotiation, did not bring expected trust. Instead development became politicized. In addition, there was little discussion about what kind of development would strengthen the peace process. As a result, donors ended up supporting top-down delivery of humanitarian aid in conflict areas on the one hand the government’s free market development model at national level on the otherhand Exclusion of issues. Negotiations focused on implementation of ceasefire and humanitarian rehabilitation, but postponed core political issues (power-sharing, local democracy, minority rights) The resultant lack of progress on core political issues made LTTE withdraw from the process and helped hardliners within both camps to gain control, who naturally concluded that the conflict had to be resolved by renewed war. Dr Stokke also talked of the role of the international players, particularly that of Norway. “Norway’s role depends on the conflict situation and the mandate given by the parties in conflict,” he said: “Peacemaker (facilitate peace negotiations) and peace builder (aid donor for peace building efforts) in Israel / Palestine Peacekeeper (monitor ceasefire agreements), peacemaker and peacebuilder in Sri Lanka Peacemaker only in Nepal, Aceh and now in Burma.” Whatever the critics may say about Norway (economic interests in conflict areas) and Norwegian officials may say about themselves (altruism), he thinks the Land of Nobel Peace Prize really believes it is in the country’s own interest to help others. “But there is a gap between what they say and do,” commented Dr Stokke, who claims he is not promoting Norwegian peace engagement in Burma and not an employee of the Norwegian government. “In Sri Lanka, they were de-facto supporting the government. In Burma, they are not even pretending.” He cited two reasons why the West is bestowing favors on the present regime. “One is after 9/11 (11 September 2001 terrorist attack on World Trade Center), the West, especially the United States, is emphasizing more and more on state sovereignty, security and (safeguards against) state failure. And two is of course China.” That may be particularly true for the United States but Norway has its own vision of peace: “to end war, secure state sovereignty, and build some form of minimal democracy, development and an open, free market.” At the same time, the Norwegian government also appears to be aware of the unhappy feelings among the activists and CBOs along the border, especially after “stiff resistance” at a press conference held by Deputy Foreign Minister Torgier Larsen in Chiangmai at the end of May. The offshoot of it is that the Norwegian embassy in Bangkok has set up a webpage on its current peacebuilding activities in Burma “to show that we are open, transparent and have nothing to hide,” according to an embassy official. Suu Kyi tells AFP willing to lead Myanmar if her party wins 29-Jun-12 http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hjEDZJ4u8JhCJdvoOlw9QbwbD11Q?docId=CNG.0417e9ea5b22cfaadeda171b1641444b.41 PARIS — Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi said Thursday that she is prepared to lead her country one day, speaking with AFP in Paris at the end of a triumphant Europe tour. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in Europe for the first time in a quarter-century after enduring many years of house arrest, also spoke of her joy at the warm reception she received on her five-nation tour. Asked whether she would be ready to lead the country also known as Burma one day, she said: "I think all party leaders have to prepare themselves for the possibility, if they truly believe in the democratic process. "But it's not something that I think of all the time. In fact, I think one has to concentrate on present work, of course preparing for the future. The present has to be linked to one's hopes for the future." Suu Kyi, 67, flies back on Friday to Myanmar, ending the tour during which she was cheered by large crowds of admirers and toasted by leaders in Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and France. "So many people from different parts of the world seem to be aware of what we have been struggling for in Burma," she said. "I felt such a tremendous sense of solidarity with us. That has been a surprise." Suu Kyi on Thursday had breakfast with French former president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, visited parliament and then held a debate with students at the Sorbonne university in Paris. She admitted her two-week journey was strenuous and quipped: "It's very exhausting, and when people ask me about all the sacrifices that I've made, I'm always tempted to say the greatest sacrifice I have made is sleep." Myanmar, once under iron-fisted military rule but now run by a quasi-civilian government, faces legislative elections in 2015, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy is set to contest. But Suu Kyi stressed that the hard work needs to be done now. "I think we can't wait until 2015 to see how things will emerge," she told AFP."It is now that is most important... the next three years will decide what shape 2015 will take." As Western nations have eased or suspended sanctions, a business bonanza is under way in the resource-rich but impoverished nation. Suu Kyi, the Oxford-educated daughter of the country's independence hero, stressed that "whether it's investment from China or the West, there should be codes of best practices to ensure that the investments are as beneficial for our people as profitable for the investors. "We are very keen on businesses signing up to codes of good practices, especially with regards to financial transparency in the extractive industries, which tend to be the most controversial of all." Suu Kyi's trip has been marred by communal strife in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, bordering Bangladesh. More than 80 people have died in clashes between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya this month, the government said. Suu Kyi said the key would be to strengthen the rule of law and citizenship laws, to ascertain which Rohingya are legal citizens and which are not. "Some of them, I'm sure, are in accordance with the citizenship laws, entitled to the rights of citizens, but who these are we have to be able to find out," she said. "Communal strife, lack of communal harmony, is usually rooted in cultural and religious differences which take time to sort out. But with rule of law, immediate problems could be minimised. "The problem in the west is... that the border is very porous. And the immigration authorities are not always the least corrupt," she said. "And so Bangladesh always says that people come over from Burma who belong to Burma, and Burma says that people are coming over from Bangladesh who do not belong here. So that's one problem. "Another problem is the matter of citizenship. We need fair and strong citizenship laws which will stand up to international scrutiny." On a lighter note, Suu Kyi -- wearing her trademark flowers in her hair -- had a complaint about the continent she has just toured. "I have been given many, many flowers. Everywhere I go people give me flowers," she said. "But there is one problem which I must let our friends in Europe know: the stems of European roses are very thick, and that makes it difficult for me to keep them in my hair. And I would appreciate if they would go in for smaller, daintier varieties." Myanmar seeks investors for second Yangon airport 28-Jun-12 http://news.yahoo.com/myanmar-seeks-investors-second-yangon-airport-115138554.html;_ylt=A2KJNF_SBu1PlFoApTXQtDMD YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar is looking for investors to develop a second international airport for the commercial capital, Yangon, on the site of an old Japanese-built air strip from World War Two, state media said on Thursday. Yangon's existing airport was one of the busiest in the region in the late 1950s, before successive military governments made the country an international pariah. It is bustling again, but may soon be struggling to cope with an influx of tourists and business travelers as a 15-month-old government opens up the country to the outside world. "The Ministry of Transport would like to cooperate with local and foreign investors for the development of Hanthawady International Airport, and for upgrading and modernizing some other domestic airports," the Air Transport directorate said in an announcement. Hanthawady would be built on a disused airfield near Bago town, about 50 miles north of Yangon. A South Korean firm had planned to build an airport there but the project was abandoned in 1994, soon after a ground-breaking ceremony, for obscure reasons. Designs for that airport show it would be able to handle 10 million people a year. Yangon's current airport, which was renovated in 2007 and looks modern in comparison with many of the neglected buildings in the city, can handle 2.7 million passengers a year, although only 1.45 million passed through in 2011, Transport Ministry figures show. Myanmar also has international airports in the administrative capital, Naypyitaw, and Mandalay. "Passenger and flight arrivals at all three international airports are increasing speedily, especially at Yangon International Airport," a senior ministry official said. "The new international airport for Yangon is essential since the present Yangon International Airport will have reached its full capacity in terms of handling flights and passengers by the end of this year," said the official, who declined to be identified. Fourteen international airlines fly into Yangon. Four more would be flying in soon and some existing ones wanted to increase their flights, the official said. Aid Workers Detained in Myanmar 28-Jun-12 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/world/asia/humanitarian-workers-detained-in-myanmar.html GENEVA — The United Nations and several humanitarian agencies that operate in Myanmar said Thursday that a number of their staff members had been detained by the government in a part of the country where sectarian violence erupted this month, and that they were trying to secure their release. The police and intelligence services have been cracking down in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar, since a state of emergency was declared there in early June. Dozens of people have been killed in the area, and tens of thousands have been driven from their homes. The aid agencies have been working to deliver food and supplies to refugees. About six members of the United Nations’ refugee agency and the World Food Program and the same number from Doctors Without Borders have been detained on various dates and in various locations over the past few weeks, the agencies said in Geneva. The agencies had unconfirmed reports that one of the United Nations employees had been released. Joe Belliveau, the operations manager for the medical group in the Netherlands, said it was not clear on what grounds the workers had been detained. United Nations officials met with Myanmar’s foreign minister, U Wunna Maung Lwin, in the country’s capital, Naypidaw, on Tuesday, according to Andrej Mahecic, a spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency in Geneva.
FTUB Daily News for Jun-28-2012, English News
(1) NLD spokesperson’s trial begins in Naypyidaw : Source : DVB 27-Jun-12 The National League for Democracy’s spokesperson and campaign committee manager Nyan Win stood in trial yesterday over alleged false claims he issued concerning voter fraud in April’s by-elections. Read More--- (2) ‘No Assistance’ for Kachin Refugees : Source : RFA 2012-06-26 A new report condemns China’s inadequate response to ethnic refugees fleeing fighting in Burma.The Chinese government has flouted international law by failing to provide adequate food, water, and protection to thousands of refugees fleeing conflict-ridden areas in northern Burma, a human rights group said Read More--- (3) Political solution necessary to fight drugs: report : Source : DVB 27-Jun-12 Shan Drug Watch published its 2012 annual report yesterday urging a political solution with armed ethnic groups in Burma. Read More--- (4) Trafficked migrants arrested in Mae Sot : Source : DVB 27-Jun-12 Police arrested 30 Burmese migrants who illegally crossed into Mae Sot yesterday, while they were in the process of being trafficked to Bangkok and central Thailand. Read More--- (5) Suu Kyi kicks off three day French tour : Source : DVB 27-Jun-12 President Francois Hollande told Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday that France would do everything possible to back the country’s democratic transition, as she visited Paris for the last leg of a landmark European tour. Read More--- (6) Peace committee holds talks with exile groups in Bangkok : Source : DVB 26-Jun-12 The government’s Peace Making Work Committee led by Railway Minister Aung Min met with Burmese opposition groups based in Thailand yesterday in Bangkok. Read More--- (7) China guilty of systemic abuse of Kachin refugees: HRW : Source : DVB 26-Jun-12 The Chinese government is guilty of systematic human rights violations against Kachin refugees fleeing violence in Burma, including the denial of vital humanitarian assistance and forced repatriation, a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned. Read More--- (8) Thein Sein to discuss Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh : Source : DVB 26-Jun-12 The leaders of Burma and Bangladesh will discuss the issue of Rohingya refugees and related unrest near their shared border next month, Bangladesh’s ambassador in Rangoon said Monday. Read More--- (9) US Envoy Urges Continued Engagement with Burma : Source : VOA 27-Jun-12 CAPITOL HILL - U.S. engagement with Burma has been fruitful and should continue, said Derek Mitchell, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the first U.S. ambassador to Burma since the early 1990s. Mitchell testified Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is considering his nomination. Read More--- (10) Nearly 2,000 Displaced by Flooding in Myitkyina : Source : Irrwaddy 27-Jun-12 Up to 2,000 people have been forced to flee severe flooding in parts of Myitkyina after several days of heavy rain in northern Burma caused water levels on the Irrawaddy River to rise dramatically. Read More--- (11) Suu Kyi calls for more democracy and development : Source : Mizzima Wednesday, 27 June 2012 11:44 Mizzima News French President Francois Hollande told Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi upon here arrival on Tuesday that France supported “all actors” in Burma’s rapid democratic reforms, and Suu Kyi repeated her European tour themes that development cannot be substituted for democracy. Read More--- (12) Kachin Peace Remains Elusive : Source : Irrawaddy 27-Jun-12 Despite some positive results from peace talks between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Burmese government, the situation on the ground does not appear to be easing, with conflict ongoing and skirmishes reported in several locations on a near-daily basis. Read More--- (13) Indonesia cement company plans Burma plant : Source : Mizzima Wednesday, 27 June 2012 16:45 Mizzima News An Indonesian company will build a US$ 159 million cement plant in Burma with up to 1 million tonnes capacity a year, officials announced on Tuesday. Read More--- (14) No Removal of Sanctions, Only Suspension: US : Source : Irrawaddy 27-Jun-12 Asserting that its policy toward Burma is a “step-by-step” process, the US on Tuesday ruled out complete removal of economic sanctions against this Southeast Asian country, noting that based on the progress made by the new government, it finds it appropriate to only suspend these sanctions. Read More--- (15) Expats Cite Optimism in ‘New Burma’ : Source : Irrawaddy 27-Jun-12 Last August, President Thein Sein put out a call appealing to the thousands of Burmese nationals living in exile to come home. He asked that they use the skills and education developed abroad to support the country’s political and economic re-awakening—so ending the ‘brain drain” that has plagued Burma for decades. Read More--- (16) Burma Minister checks into Dr Cynthia’s Mae Tao Clinic : Source : Karen 27-Jun-12 The Burma government’s peace-talk delegation led by Railway Minister U Aung Min, today made an early morning visit to Dr Cynthia Maung’s Mae Tao Clinic in the border town of Mae Sot, Thailand. Read More--- (17) Opium, heroin and “ice” flowing out of Burma : Source : Mizzima Wednesday, 27 June 2012 12:44 Mizzima News The fight against narcotics faces increasing challenges amid a bumper poppy harvest in Burma this year, Chinese officials said on Tuesday, which marked International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Read More--- (18) 78 dead in sectarian violence: gov’t figures : Source : Mizzima Wednesday, 27 June 2012 12:30 Mizzima News A total of 78 people were killed in the bloody sectarian violence in Burma's Rakhine State from May 28 to June 24, according to government figures released on Tuesday. The widespread killings grew out of revenge killings in the murder and rape of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men on May 28. Read More--- (19) Yawdserk “hopes” Naypyitaw will stop using drugs as political game : Source : Panglong Wednesday, 27 June 2012 15:02 S.H.A.N. Lt-Gen Yawdserk, interviewed on the eve of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking, 26 June, said as long as Naypyitaw is handle, the drug problem as a political game, the problem will not be resolved. Read More--- (20) Human Rights Watch says Kachin refugees in China face dire situation : Source : Kachin 27-Jun-12 The US NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Tuesday criticizing China for forcibly sending hundreds of Kachin refugees back to Kachin and northern Shan state where fighting is taking place. Read More--- (21) Senators press US on Myanmar petroleum investment : Source : Google 28-Jun-12 WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican and a Democratic senators and American businesses are pressing the U.S. government to allow investment by oil and gas companies in Myanmar as the U.S moves to suspend economic sanctions against that country. Read More--- (22) Myanmar's Suu Kyi honoured in Paris near end of Europe tour : Source : Channelnews 27-Jun-12 PARIS: Myanmar's democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, nearing the end of her triumphant Europe tour in France, accepted another award on Wednesday as she became an honorary citizen of Paris. Read More--- (23) US senators press for Myanmar oil investment : Source : News 28-Jun-12 US senators said they planned to move quickly to confirm the first US ambassador to Myanmar in two decades, as they pushed to allow investment in the country's oil and gas sector. Read More--- (24) Burmese government continue to arrest IDPs fleeing from conflict areas : Source : Kachin 25-Jun-12 A warden from the Jan Mai Kawng Baptist Church camp has been arrested by Myitkyina-based Military Affairs Security Unit who is investigating a bomb attack.There are about 700 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the camp. Read More--- NLD spokesperson’s trial begins in Naypyidaw 27-Jun-12 http://www.dvb.no/news/nld-spokesperson%E2%80%99s-trial-begins-in-naypyidaw/22656 The National League for Democracy’s spokesperson and campaign committee manager Nyan Win stood in trial yesterday over alleged false claims he issued concerning voter fraud in April’s by-elections. On Tuesday, Zabuthiri township’s court in Naypyidaw commenced the legal proceedings and judges heard the prosecutor’s opening arguments. “[The court] heard the prosecutors’ accounts today, but set the next [court date] for July 6th,” said Nyan Win’s lawyer Kyaw Ho. “U Nyan Win was sued for allegedly providing false information that ballots were waxed. We’ve been preparing for this for a long time. We argued that he didn’t provide any false information.” During the April by-elections, the NLD’s spokesperson claimed ballots had been tampered with at a polling station in Pubbathiri. After investigating the allegation, the Union Election Commission announced on 9 May that the NLD’s complaints were a ‘sham’ and filed charges against Nyan Win. The UEC’s director Thaung Hlaing filed suit against the NLD’s Nyan Win under section 182 of the penal code: for providing false information to a public servant and for making a claim in a press conference during the 1 April by-elections that ballot-tickets in several polling stations were coated in wax. If found guilty, Nyan Win could be imprisoned for up to six months or fined. ‘No Assistance’ for Kachin Refugees 2012-06-26 http://www.rfa.org/english/news/burma/refugees-06262012165817.html A new report condemns China’s inadequate response to ethnic refugees fleeing fighting in Burma.The Chinese government has flouted international law by failing to provide adequate food, water, and protection to thousands of refugees fleeing conflict-ridden areas in northern Burma, a human rights group said Tuesday. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said at least 7,000 to 10,000 refugees had fled across the border to China since clashes between the military and rebels in northern Burma’s Kachin state broke out last June. The refugees lack access to food, potable water, and healthcare and have not received enough assistance from China, HRW said in the report, titled “Isolated in Yunnan.” “What we found is a group of refugees in a desperate situation, who have received no humanitarian assistance from the Chinese government since they started arrived in Yunnan in June 2011,” HRW Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said at a press conference in Bangkok. “China has not permitted major humanitarian agencies … to assist these refugees either,” he said, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a UN agency that coordinates refugee crisis response worldwide. Local nongovernmental organizations and religious groups have been supporting the refugees, but are strained far beyond capacity, the group said. Forced to return The report accused China of turning some 300 refugees away at the border, in some cases forcing them to return to conflict zones in Burma. “The Chinese government has generally tolerated Kachin refugees staying in Yunnan, but now needs to meet its international legal obligations to ensure refugees are not returned and that their basic needs are met,” said Sophie Richardson, HRW’s China director. “China has no legitimate reason to push them back to Burma or to leave them without food and shelter.” Chinese authorities have also subjected Kachin refugees to roadside drug testing, arbitrary fines, and prolonged and abusive detention, all without due process or judicial oversight, the group said. HRW’s Robertson urged China to stick to its international commitments to assist refugees. “China is a party to the 1951 Refugees Convention and its 1967 Protocol, as well as other international human rights treaties that require China to not only recognize refugees, but also to provide protection to these refugees, and to also cooperate with UNHCR in its operation of its refugee protection mandate,” he said. Beijing rejected the allegations, disputing the refugee status of the Burmese and dismissing the notion that the government has not provided aid. “Since early this year, there have been military conflicts between [Burma’s] military government and armed ethnic groups. Some of the [Burmese] have come to China because of safety issues. They are not refugees,” said Hong Lei, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Moreover, they will return to Myanmar [Burma] as soon as the conflicts end. China has been providing humanitarian aid to those people during their time in China,” he said, using another name for Burma. Regional violence Fighting in northern Burma between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Burmese military forces has created a regional humanitarian crisis, displacing an estimated 75,000 people. Both sides have been implicated in the use of landmines and child soldiers, in violation of international rules. A 17-year ceasefire agreement ended in June of last year when Burmese forces moved in to close a KIA militia camp, rekindling the conflict. Tens of thousands have been displaced since then. The conflict has intensified in recent months, with stepped-up attacks from both sides. The KIA killed four government officials in April and blasted multiple rail lines, and government forces reportedly shelled several KIA bases in a recent helicopter attack. The KIA represents a Kachin ethnic minority centered in the northern Kachin state that is fighting the Burmese regime for greater autonomy. Political solution necessary to fight drugs: report 27-Jun-12 http://www.dvb.no/news/political-solution-necessary-to-fight-drugs-report/22650 Shan Drug Watch published its 2012 annual report yesterday urging a political solution with armed ethnic groups in Burma. In the report, the narcotics watchdog argues that a political solution would more effectively curb drug production than eradication programmes, which is currently being pushed by the Burmese government. The SDW, which is run by Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News, held a press conference in Chiang Mai on 26 June – the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking – to launch the report. The document – Political Settlement: A win-win solution for all – said despite 13 years of implementing eradication programmes drug output from the region is still soaring. In 1999, the then ruling junta launched a 15-year plan that aimed to permanently eliminate drugs from Burma. However with two years left, 18 out of 20 of the townships that had been targeted for opium elimination continue to cultivate the drug. “Numerous People’s Militia Forces (PMF), set up by the Burma Army to assist in their operations against rebel forces, have become key players in the drug trade, both heroin and ATS [amphetamine-type stimulants]” stated the report. “Yet government complicity in the tangled drug problem is being conveniently ignored by the international community as it embraces Burma’s new administration.” The SDW said opium cultivation and production in Burma surged in the 2011-2012 growing season and is continuing to increase despite high-level of arrests of leading drug kingpins, such as Naw Kham in eastern Shan State’s Golden Triangle area who served in a government-backed milita on the Thai-Burma border. “It’s time to end the vicious cycle of new druglords emerging and being scapegoated over and again. The political root causes of the drug problem must be tackled,” said Khuensai Jaiyen, principal author of the Shan Drug Watch report. “If the government can accept these wishes [from ethnic opposition groups] then they’ll have reach to a political settlement and will no longer be enemies with each other, which will then facilitate the rule of law. Once this happens, they should be able to solve the drug problems.” According to the World Drug Report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime yesterday, Burma remains the world’s second largest producer of opium behind Afghanistan. In Burma “potential opium production increased from 580 tons in 2010 to 610 in 2011” – an increase of 14 percent, reported the UNODC. Trafficked migrants arrested in Mae Sot 27-Jun-12 http://www.dvb.no/news/trafficked-migrants-arrested-in-mae-sot/22646 Police arrested 30 Burmese migrants who illegally crossed into Mae Sot yesterday, while they were in the process of being trafficked to Bangkok and central Thailand. The Burmese nationals comprised of 15 men and 15 women, had allegedly paid human traffickers around 10,000 Baht each to hide them in a truck carrying pumpkins that was en route to central Thailand and Bangkok. The migrants were arrested by police at a traffic checkpoint on the outskirts of Mae Sot town. According to a Thai police officer, the migrants were found hiding underneath the pumpkins. The two Thai nationals driving the truck were arrested and later admitted that they’d been paid 10,000 Baht per person from the traffickers who were supposed to pick up the migrants at undisclosed locations in central Thailand. Experts estimate that there may be as many as three million migrants from Burma working in Thailand, who provide crucial low-cost labour to the kingdom’s economy. However, Burmese migrants often face regular exploitation, including extortion, workplace abuse and poor wages and lack of access to justice. During Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to Thailand in late May, the opposition leader promised to address the treatment of Burmese migrants during her meetings with Thai officials and said she was committed to improving conditions in Burma so that migrants could return home in the future. Suu Kyi kicks off three day French tour 27-Jun-12 http://www.dvb.no/news/suu-kyi-kicks-off-three-day-french-tour/22642 President Francois Hollande told Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday that France would do everything possible to back the country’s democratic transition, as she visited Paris for the last leg of a landmark European tour. Hollande told the pro-democracy icon that France will support “all actors” in Burma’s reforms and that Paris was ready to welcome reformist President Thein Sein if he wanted to visit. Suu Kyi meanwhile called for investment in her country’s struggling economy, but not at the expense of democratic reforms. “I reaffirm here that France will support all the actors in [Burma]‘s democratic transition and will do everything possible with… the European Union so that this process goes to the end,” Hollande said at a joint press conference with Suu Kyi in the Elysee Palace. Asked about Thein Sein, who Britain last week invited to visit, Hollande said: “If he wants to come, he will come.” Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi, 67, came to France after warm welcomes in Switzerland, Ireland, Norway and Britain and was treated with honours normally accorded a head of state, including a dinner with Hollande and other top officials. Suu Kyi was freed from nearly two decades of house arrest in November 2010 and became a lawmaker earlier this year as part of a gradual transition towards democracy in the Southeast Asian nation. She has used the European tour to call for transparent investment in Burma. “We need democracy as well as economic development,” she said. “Development cannot be a substitute for democracy, it must be used to strengthen the foundations of democracy.” Suu Kyi said “financial transparency in the extractive industries and in fact business in general” were essential to investment. She said efforts still needed to be made to convince the Burmese regime of the need for democratic reforms but that Sein seemed sincere. “I believe that the president is sincere and I believe that he is an honest but I cannot speak for everybody in the government,” she said. “I don’t think we can say it (reform) is irreversible until such time as the army is committed to that.” Wearing a green dress, pink shawl and yellow flowers in her hair, Suu Kyi was earlier greeted by well wishers as she arrived in Paris by train from Britain. “It’s a very great joy… Seeing her here, free, it’s historic,” Pierre Martial, the head of the France Aung San Suu Kyi association, told AFP at the Paris train station. “She is a fantastic role model. She made horror and dictatorship retreat through non-violence, it is very rare,” he said. During her three-day visit Suu Kyi will also meet Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and other top political leaders, as well as members of the local Burmese community and her supporters in human rights groups. Martial said her visit to France was motivated by a desire to thank her supporters in the country. “France is a symbol in the hearts of many” in Burma, he said. “It remains the country of human rights and it is a country that was very mobilised for her.” “Aung San Suu Kyi wanted to truly thank all those who helped her during these long years of repression.” She enjoyed strong support among rights groups in France and was the subject of 2011 French-English film biography, “The Lady”, directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson and starring Michelle Yeoh. Suu Kyi launched her European tour on 13 June in Switzerland and arrived in France from Britain, her home for years until she returned to fight for democracy in Burma, leaving her children and her English husband behind. On 16 June in Oslo she finally delivered her Nobel Peace Prize speech, 21 years after winning the award while under house arrest, pledging to keep up her struggle for democracy. Suu Kyi’s trip to Europe has been clouded by violence in western Burma where dozens have been killed and an estimated 90,000 people have fled clashes between Arakanese and the stateless Rohingya. Asked about the violence, Suu Kyi said democratic reform was essential to resolving civil conflicts. “We will need time to bring true harmony between the Muslims and the Buddhists,” she said. “What is most important at the moment is that we should establish rule of law,” she said. “We need to make sure that these citizenship laws are in line with international standards.” Peace committee holds talks with exile groups in Bangkok 26-Jun-12 http://www.dvb.no/news/peace-committee-holds-talks-with-exile-groups-in-bangkok/22636 The government’s Peace Making Work Committee led by Railway Minister Aung Min met with Burmese opposition groups based in Thailand yesterday in Bangkok. The committee’s delegation headed by Aung Min arrived in Bangkok yesterday morning and met with representatives from the Democratic Party for a New Society — a political party founded in 1988 by university students. The DPNS had the second largest member-base after Aung Sann Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. Many of the members were high school and university students who went into exile in 1991. The party is currently listed as an unlawful association in Burma. The DNPS’s chairman Aung Moe Zaw said Minister Aung Min promised to work to get the group’s name removed from the unlawful association list and would help facilitate a safe return for all the DPNS members to Burma. “Some of us were accused of criminal charges individually – I have been a legal fugitive since 1990 and we want those charges cleared as well,” said Aung Moe Zaw. “We expressed our wish to go back to Burma and work there as a [legitimate] political party – [the committee] said this is possible and they would try as much as they can.” The government’s delegation recommend the DNPS’s members to write a letter concerning their requests their wishes and the peace committee would speak with the president about the issues. The Burmese Immigration and Population Minister Khin Yi and Hla Maung Shwe, vice-president of Myanmar Egress and Tin Win, Burma’s ambassador in Thailand, also attended the meeting. This was the second round of talks between the peace committee and the DNPS. On Sunday Aung Min and the committee met with members of Generation Wave at Myanmar Egress’s office in Rangoon. Generation Wave formed in 2007 during the Saffron Revolution and were in exile in Thailand but returned to Burma earlier this year. The government delegation in Thailand is also scheduled to meet with representatives from the Karen National Union, the National League for Democracy-Liberated Area (NLD-LA), the Forum for Democracy in Burma and the All-Burma Students Democratic Front today. China guilty of systemic abuse of Kachin refugees: HRW 26-Jun-12 http://www.dvb.no/news/thein-sein-to-discuss-rohingya-refugees-in-bangladesh/22625 The Chinese government is guilty of systematic human rights violations against Kachin refugees fleeing violence in Burma, including the denial of vital humanitarian assistance and forced repatriation, a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned. Up to 10,000 Kachins live in squalid, makeshift camps in Yunnan province without access to the legal protection or humanitarian aid prescribed by international refugee law, while fighting rages between Burmese troops and Kachin rebels across the border. “Some Kachin refugee families have returned to Burma from Yunnan because of pressure from Chinese authorities or the lack of adequate humanitarian aid,” said the report. “There they are exposed to ongoing fighting, hostile Burmese army forces, and landmines that have been widely laid by both the Burmese army and the KIA [Kachin Independence Army].” The Chinese government has authorised a small number of local NGOs and church groups to operate along the border, but continues to block international aid or monitors from entering the region and refuses to recognise any of the refugees. As recently as May 2012, a government spokesperson dismissed the Kachin population as “border residents” who “come to visit friends and relatives.” According to the report, refugees “remain in dire need of shelter, food, safe water and sanitation, non-food items, and health care.” It further accuses the government of exploiting Kachins through discriminatory and abusive practices. “Most children have no access to schools. In search of income, adults seek day labor and are vulnerable to exploitation by local employers,” warned the report. “Other Kachin refugees have been subject to arbitrary roadside drug testing, arbitrary fines, and prolonged and abusive detention by the Chinese authorities, all without due process or judicial oversight.” As a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, HRW is adamant that China must do more. “The Chinese government has generally tolerated Kachin refugees staying in Yunnan, but now needs to meet its international legal obligations to ensure refugees are not returned and that their basic needs are met,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “China has no legitimate reason to push them back to Burma or to leave them without food and shelter.” HRW has documented at least two bouts of refugees being refused entry or forced to return from China in June and November last year. “My aunt in Namhka tried to enter the China side in Nawngtaw,” explains an ethnic Lisu woman. “They all had passports but were turned away…[Chinese authorities] told them they are Burmese citizens and because of that they couldn’t enter.” The threat of refoulement has led to widespread fear among displaced Kachins, whose villages have often been razed to the ground by Burmese troops. “I don’t feel secure here at all because we are still on the border and too close to the Burma side,” a 25-year old refugee told HRW. “I worry as the fighting continues, if the Chinese don’t accept us, where will we go? Where can we live?” The KIA’s refugee committee (IRRC) recently told DVB that until late April residents in Laiza regularly witnessed Chinese soldiers at the official border gate express open hostility to Kachins crossing the border. “In the past when the situation got intense the soldiers at the border would practice pushing people away at the border using shields and sticks,” said Salang Kaba Doi Pyi Sa, head of the IRRC. “It was clearly to show that they would not accept refugees crossing into China.” Since then Kachin officials and local Chinese authorities have informally discussed the possibility of resettling refugees into camps in Yunnan province. But as of yet no progress has been made and it remains unclear whether these plans have received sanction from Beijing, notorious for its silence – and some say tacit complicity – in the Kachin conflict. In March, the Burmese army is reported to have crossed the border and executed a Chinese citizen, but even this elicited a measured response. “We thought that this time the Chinese government would be angry,” May Li Aung from humanitarian NGO Wunpawng Ninghtoi (WPN) told DVB. “But instead they brought food rations to the Burmese soldiers.” Local aid groups have continuously expressed concern about China’s recalcitrance as funding cuts precipitate a growing food and humanitarian crisis in the camps. All humanitarian supplies for displaced Kachins inside Burma must be smuggled across the border, while local authorities “look the other way.” “The Chinese government is not only legally obligated, but fully capable of temporarily protecting Kachin refugees and meeting their basic needs,” Richardson said. Violence between rebels and Burmese troops flared in June 2011 over a disputed territory near a Chinese-backed hydropower dam, ending a 17-year ceasefire. The Kachin Independence Organization cites concerns about large-scale development projects – largely dominated by Chinese economic interests – as a primary obstacle to durable peace. Thein Sein to discuss Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh 26-Jun-12 http://www.dvb.no/news/thein-sein-to-discuss-rohingya-refugees-in-bangladesh/22625 The leaders of Burma and Bangladesh will discuss the issue of Rohingya refugees and related unrest near their shared border next month, Bangladesh’s ambassador in Rangoon said Monday. The topic will be on the agenda when Burmese President Thein Sein travels to Bangladesh from July 15-17 to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Major General Anup Kumar Chakma told AFP. “It is expected the Myanmar refugee issue will be discussed with more seriousness this time,” he said. “Bangladesh supports all actions (and) measures that are being taken by Myanmar to restore normalcy in [Arakan] State as early as possible.” Burmese government officials said they were unable to confirm the planned trip. Burma’s Arakan state, bordering Bangladesh, has been rocked by rioting, arson and a cycle of revenge attacks involving Arakanese and Rohingya communities this month, prompting growing international concern. More than 80 people have been killed in the violence, with sporadic outbreaks of violence still occurring, according to the Burmeses government, which has placed the whole of Arakan state under emergency rule. “The overall situation in Sittwe district is under control although the curfew is still in force,” he said by telephone. In recent weeks Bangladesh has turned away hundreds of Rohingya Muslims fleeing the violence in Burma despite pressure from the US and rights groups to grant them refuge. The impoverished South Asian country is already home to a Rohingya refugee population estimated at 300,000. Speaking a Bengali dialect similar to one in southeast Bangladesh, the Rohingya are seen as illegal immigrants by Burma’s government and many Burmese, prompting many to attempt to flee to third countries in rickety boats. US Envoy Urges Continued Engagement with Burma 27-Jun-12 http://www.voanews.com/content/us-envoy-urges-continued-engagement-with-burma/1262833.html CAPITOL HILL - U.S. engagement with Burma has been fruitful and should continue, said Derek Mitchell, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the first U.S. ambassador to Burma since the early 1990s. Mitchell testified Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is considering his nomination. Speaking on Capitol Hill, Mitchell paid tribute to political and economic reforms in Burma long advocated by the United States. “As the Burmese government has taken steps over the past year, so, too, has the United States, in an action-for-action approach," he said. "Each action we have taken in recent months has had as its purpose to benefit the Burmese people and strengthen reform and reformers within the system. This engagement should continue and expand.” The United States has eased some sanctions against Burma after it embarked on a process of liberalization, highlighted by this year’s landmark parliamentary elections. Democratic Senator James Webb of Virginia marveled at how far Burma has come since he visited the country in 2009. “The country was locked in isolation, keeping its government, military and people from exposure to the international community," Webb said. "Aung San Suu Kyi remained under house arrest. Numerous other activists remained imprisoned. Conflicts with ethnic minority groups continued and challenged the unity of the country. The prospects for reform, opening up, and economic development looked bleak," he said. "Yet during that visit, one could clearly see the promise of a different future.” Webb said that promise has become reality, describing recent events in Burma as an “historic turning point." The senator advocated a level-headed U.S. policy going forward. “This is a country whose political system remains a challenge, but where positive conduct calls for reciprocal gestures," he said. "We should never take our concerns about political freedoms or individual rights off the table. We should make these concerns central to our engagement with all countries, including Burma. But we should also be promoting economic progress to sustain the political reforms that have taken place," he added. Derek Mitchell said he and the State Department have “no illusions” about the challenges that lie ahead in Burma. “As Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton has observed, reform is not irreversible," Mitchell warned. "And continued democratic change is not inevitable. We remain deeply concerned about the continued detention of hundreds of political prisoners and the conditions placed on those previously released, lack of the rule of law, and the constitutional role of the military in the nation’s affairs. Human-rights abuses, including military impunity, continue, particularly in ethnic minority areas,” he said. Mitchell currently serves as the State Department’s special coordinator for Burma policy. He has also worked for the U.S. Defense Department. Should he be approved by the Foreign Relations Committee, Mitchell’s nomination would then be submitted for a vote by the full Senate. Nearly 2,000 Displaced by Flooding in Myitkyina 27-Jun-12 http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7887 Up to 2,000 people have been forced to flee severe flooding in parts of Myitkyina after several days of heavy rain in northern Burma caused water levels on the Irrawaddy River to rise dramatically. The flooding began two days ago in five quarters of the Kachin State capital, including Myit Thit Gyi, Rambu and Sitarpu. According to local sources, people living in those areas have taken shelter in monasteries, schools and churches in the city. “Around 1,500 to 2,000 people are staying in temporary shelters because of the flooding,” Kyaw Thiha, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy from Myitkyina, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. There are about 500 people staying at the Aung Zaeya Monastery alone, while many others are staying at churches or with relatives, he added. Two high schools and most primary schools in the affected areas have been closed, and electricity has also been cut. Some who fled said that they brought enough food to meet their needs for a few days, but worry that it might not last if the water doesn’t recede soon. Many others, however, are in immediate need of assistance. “The refugees don’t have enough food, clean drinking water and sanitation,” said Kyaw Thiha. He added that water levels have remained stable since this morning. Myitkyina was also heavily flooded in 1979 and 2004. Suu Kyi calls for more democracy and development Wednesday, 27 June 2012 11:44 Mizzima News http://www.mizzima.com/news/world/7397-suu-kyi-calls-for-more-democracy-and-development.html French President Francois Hollande told Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi upon here arrival on Tuesday that France supported “all actors” in Burma’s rapid democratic reforms, and Suu Kyi repeated her European tour themes that development cannot be substituted for democracy. At a joint press conference, she said, “We need democracy as well as economic development. Development cannot be a substitute for democracy, it must be used to strengthen the foundations of democracy.” She said “financial transparency in the extractive industries and in fact business in general” were essential to investment in Burma, a country that has lived for decades under military rule with little focus on transparency and development. She said more efforts are needed to convince officials in the newly elected ruling government of the need for democratic reforms. She said Burmese President Thein Sein seemed sincere in his rapid moves to institute reforms in the financial system, land ownership, banking, foreign investment, workers’ rights, health and to bring peace and national reconciliation to the Burmese people. “I believe that the president is sincere, and I believe that he is honest, but I cannot speak for everybody in the government,” she said. “I don't think we can say it [reform] is irreversible until such time as the army is committed to that.” Hollande said Thein Sein is welcome to visit France if he wishes. Asked about the recent sectarian violence in Burma that has claimed at least 60 lives, Suu kyi said the rule of law was needed in Burma. “We will need time to bring true harmony between the Muslims and the Buddhists,” she said, adding that citizenship laws must be “in line with international standards.” The minority Rohingya population, who are Muslim, are denied citizenship rights in Burma. Up to 90,000 refugees have been displaced in the unrest, according to some unofficial sources in the area. Suu Kyi, who is susceptible to air sickness, arrived in Paris on Tuesday by train from Britain. “It's a very great joy... Seeing her here, free, it's historic,” Pierre Martial, the head of a French Aung San Suu Kyi association, told Agence France Presse at the Paris train station. “She made horror and dictatorship retreat through non-violence; it is very rare,” he said. During her four-day visit, Suu Kyi will also meet Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and other top political leaders, as well as members of the local Myanmar community, supporters in human rights groups and speak to students at The University of Sorbonne. Suu Kyi launched her European tour on June 13 in Switzerland, where she spoke to the International Labour Organization before flying to Oslo, where she received the Nobel Peace Prize award, which had been given to her 21 years ago while she was under house arrest in Burma. She then flew to Dublin to receive an award from Amnesty International and from there to Britain, her home for years, where she received an honorary degree at Oxford University and later addressed a joint session of Parliament. Her reception across Europe has been compared with that given to a head of state. The leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma, Suu Kyi won a parliament seat this year in April. She will attend her first parliamentary session in July. Kachin Peace Remains Elusive 27-Jun-12 http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7877 Despite some positive results from peace talks between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Burmese government, the situation on the ground does not appear to be easing, with conflict ongoing and skirmishes reported in several locations on a near-daily basis. The KIO said on Wednesday that government troops have launched military offensives this week against Kachin positions close to the group’s headquarters at Laiza on the Sino-Burmese border. Several other flashpoints were reported in northern Shan State where the KIO maintains bases. “The government troops resumed military activities around our headquarters,” said a KIO spokesperson. “They attacked using artillery and mortar shells.” High-ranking representatives from both sides have sat several times for negotiations in recent months, the latest round being on June 20 when a government delegation led led by Aung Min met with Kachin Independence Army (KIA) Vice-Chief of Staff Maj-Gen Sumlut Gun Maw in the town of Maijayang in Kachin State. The upshot of that meeting was a direct order from Naypyidaw to effectively “legitimize” the KIO by informally repealing Article 17/1, which prohibits the association of citizens with illegal organizations. Kachin mediator Hseng Aung, who was present at the talks, told The Irrawaddy that the KIO delegation had specifically requested that Article 17/1 be revoked at the Maijayang round, and that they had been asked to submit a list of political prisoners they expected to be released as a result of the agreement. Hseng Aung also said that Aung Min had laid out a map detailing the government’s proposal for the relocation of military bases to sites where both armies would be farther apart. The KIO said it would study the plan, and proposed reconvening talks at an unspecified time and place in the near future. But Col James Lum Dau, the KIO deputy chief of foreign affairs, told The Irrawaddy that despite the upbeat mood following the June 20 meeting, clashes have broken out between the sides almost every day, and that the Burmese army is focusing its efforts against KIA Brigades 4 and 5, in northern Shan State and near Laiza, respectively. James Lum Dau said that a KIA unit ambushed a Burmese army battalion in northern Shan State recently, resulting in at least eight deaths on the government side. He said that, in response, the Burmese army has intensified attacks against not only on KIA positions, but also against Kachin civilians. “The government troops have shot at farmers working in their paddy fields,” he said. “Two Kachin civilians were killed recently. One was a farmer and one was a Chinese man.” Fighting between the KIA and the Burmese army resumed on June 19 last year after an 18-year ceasefire. Some 60,000 Kachin villagers have been displaced as a result of the conflict, many of whom are currently taking refuge at camps on the Chinese side of the border. New York-based Human Rights Watch reported on Tuesday that some 10,000 Kachin refugees in Yunnan Province are at risk of being forced to return to the conflict zone. It urged the Chinese authorities to provide temporary protection to the refugees and permit the United Nations and humanitarian agencies free access to them. Naypyidaw has recently reported that it has reached peace agreements with 10 ethnic rebel groups, and insists that the KIO is the only major armed ethnic group that hasn’t agreed to a ceasefire. Indonesia cement company plans Burma plant Wednesday, 27 June 2012 16:45 Mizzima News http://www.mizzima.com/business/7405-indonesia-cement-company-plans-burma-plant.html An Indonesian company will build a US$ 159 million cement plant in Burma with up to 1 million tonnes capacity a year, officials announced on Tuesday. PT Semen Gresik, Indonesia's biggest cement maker, will build the plant next year, chief executive Dwi Soetjipto said, according to domestic Indonesia media. “We will set up a joint-venture with a local partner to build a factory with a capacity of 600,000-1 million tonnes a year.” he said, based on anticipated demands for infrastructure as foreign companies move into Burma in the coming years. On Februrary 2, Mizzima reported that Siam City Cement Plc (SCCC) of Thailand was looking at building a cement plant in Burma. Managing director Philippe Arto said the company already had contacts and is studying potential investment locations throughout the country. “For SCCC, we see the real potential and are positive about Burma. We have to act fast to grow our business there,” he local media. SCCC was chosen as one of the prospective cement companies to be involved in the Dawei deep-sea port industrial project, according to an article published late last year. SCCC Executive Vice President Chantana Sukumanont confirmed that SCCC had already carried out a feasibility study to determine if a cement plant in Burma would yield favorable results. Arto was quoted as saying he was concerned, however, about “regulations and exchange rates.” Burma floated the exchange rate of the kyat last month, in a move designed to make foreign investment easier, and it is in the process of modernizing its financial system after years of neglect. Chantana said SCCC is also looking at acquiring other assets in Burma. No Removal of Sanctions, Only Suspension: US 27-Jun-12 http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7791 Asserting that its policy toward Burma is a “step-by-step” process, the US on Tuesday ruled out complete removal of economic sanctions against this Southeast Asian country, noting that based on the progress made by the new government, it finds it appropriate to only suspend these sanctions. “This is a step-by-step process, and there’s quite a road to go, as I think our Burmese guests would agree with,” the State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told reporters at her daily news conference where in the audience were some invited guests—a delegation of advisors from the Office of the Presidency in Burma. The delegation is currently visiting the United States at the invitation of the Asia Society and the US Institute of Peace. “I think, as our Burmese visitors know better than anyone, we have been encouraging the kind of opening and reform that we are now seeing in Burma for many months,” she said. Referring to a question regarding US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is the first US foreign minister to visit Burma since the 1950s, Nuland responded: “She said then that we would match action with action. “So as Burma has gone forward with free, fair, parliamentary elections, has taken steps on the border, has begun to talk about opening its economy, we’ve tried to match those steps. We’ve had the naming of an ambassador,” she said. “We’ve had the beginning of suspension of sanctions. We’re working now on being able to license our companies for investment, for trade, etcetera. But as we’ve said, these are suspensions,” she noted. “These are not erasing of sanctions because our continued progress is contingent on Burma’s own continued progress in terms of democratic reform, economic opening, peace and security, national reconciliation, and good human rights standards throughout the country,” Nuland said. Responding to a question on the Rohingya crisis in Burma, the spokesperson said the US has been urging Bangladesh to assume its international responsibilities. “We have had contacts with both governments. As you know, we have been urging Bangladesh to open its border to treat refugees properly. We’ve been supportive and encouraging of the UN’s Special Envoy, who, I understand, is now … working with the Burmese government, working with the Rohingya to try to have a dialogue about grievances, to try to settle issues peacefully. And also, as I understand it, the UN’s envoy will be traveling to Bangladesh,” she said. “I think the fact that they [Bangladesh and Burma] are in dialogue with the Burmese is a good thing. But again, we’d like to see that border open,” she said. Meanwhile the United Nations announced that the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, will witness the signing of an agreement on Thursday in Burma to release children from the country’s armed forces. The new action plan sets out concrete and time-bound activities to ensure the separation of underage recruits from the army children and to prevent further recruitment. While in Burma, Coomaraswamy will meet with Burmese President Thein Sein, government ministers, UN agencies, civil society and the diplomatic community, a UN spokesman said. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday will hold a full committee confirmation hearing on the nomination of Derek Mitchell as US ambassador to Burma. Expats Cite Optimism in ‘New Burma’ 27-Jun-12 http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7780 Last August, President Thein Sein put out a call appealing to the thousands of Burmese nationals living in exile to come home. He asked that they use the skills and education developed abroad to support the country’s political and economic re-awakening—so ending the ‘brain drain” that has plagued Burma for decades. But exiles were not the only ones targeted—foreign expatriates, encouraged by the lifting of sanctions on the military-dominated nation or simply by opportunities that no longer seem possible in the West, have also descended on the country in droves. While some are businessmen and women racing to leverage their first-mover’s advantage in an untapped and resource-rich market, others are aid workers, physicians and skilled professionals hoping to lend an expert hand as the country rebuilds. Regardless of their motives, this talent infusion can be felt around the country, particularly in the former capital of Rangoon, injecting new life, energy and something akin to revelry. The city’s Strand Hotel has long been a bastion for wealthy foreigners. The mood during the Friday night happy-hour is almost festive as both new and seasoned expats loosen their ties over half-priced drinks. Tony Picon, originally from London, has spent much of the past two years in Rangoon as a research director for Colliers International, where he says rentals are topping US $60 per square meter compared with just $25 in Bangkok—a startling disparity only expected to grow. “Everyone wants to get into ‘new Myanmar,’” he says, describing the recently reformed country as better-connected, relatively untapped and increasingly business-friendly. As one of the “last frontiers” in Asia, and possibly the world, he believes Burma will soon throw off all remaining vestiges of its previous antiquation, which saw people pay for property in cash for the lack of a workable banking system. Picon says he came to Rangoon at exactly the right time and hopes to leverage his first mover’s advantage as Burma’s real estate market continues to mushroom. Of course, hurdles remain to doing business even in the age of new Burma and probably will for some time. Picon recalls frustratingly slowly email systems and local clients who do not always grasp his vision. One of the bigger challenges may be the shortage of accommodation available to expats, since finding units was tricky even before the country warmed to foreign investment. Another factor will be restoring and maintaining old colonial buildings to make Rangoon habitable without losing its distinctive heritage. Despite these quandaries, Picon is optimistic Burma’s number has finally come up. “The country’s location is its advantage,” he says, referring to its enviable position between global superpowers China and India. Indeed, some experts compare the country to Vietnam. This is not just because both are former pariah states with similarly sized populations, but also because Vietnam’s economy took off in the mid-90s upon repairing relations with the West—just as post-sanctions Burma may be poised to do now. Some expats such as Paul, who lived in Rangoon for around five years from the early 2000s, are returning to find a changed city, at least in certain regards. “Some things have changed, and others are the same,” he says, explaining that WiFi and growing internet connectivity are new developments as well as a general increase in living costs. The biggest difference might be the whiff of optimism in the air, he says, with a distinctive new atmosphere he describes as “cautiously optimistic.” But since the pollution, poverty and power cuts remain, Paul hopes to spearhead some social and environmental initiatives as soon as he gets resettled. “We might miss some things about the old Myanmar in a few years,” he says, speaking of the many development projects planned that may erase some of the charms that make Burma special. “But if the changes are creating new jobs and lessening poverty, then that is a good thing.” Nancy has also just returned to Rangoon after an absence of several years and is collaborating on a new project to provide practical work experience to Burmese students seeking a career in finance—a sector so woeful many once preferred to store kyat under their mattress rather than a local bank. “[The students] are at a disadvantage because the banking system in this country has been nonexistent for so many years,” she says, describing her project as offering Burmese banks the opportunity to send promising young people abroad to develop their skills at a competitive rate. Naturally, as Rangoon International Airport sees record arrivals, many expats work in tourism. Richard Mayhew, the general manager of Mandalay Hill Resort, a luxury hotel at the base of Mandalay Hill, has lived and worked in Burma for the past decade and saw more tourists than ever last season. Another hospitality executive revealed that 200,000 tourists came to Burma this season while 600,000 are expected next year. Similarly, a large number of expats in Burma run travel agencies that cater to tourists from their home countries. Nor is the Strand the only place where expats gather to talk shop. The 50th Street Bar & Grill, a Western-style sports pub just a few streets east, sees a similar energy while Burmese bands croon Western covers in the background. Here we meet Dr. Steven Siegal, an orthopedic surgeon from San Francisco on a “first pass trip” to determine the different ways US physicians can engage with Burmese doctors and medical institutions. While his project is in its early stages, Siegal feels optimistic after a promising discussion with the director of a Burmese medical institution, which included some frank talk about the challenges and potential of the sector. Calling this “a special time for Burma,” and certainly more conducive to such ventures than his first visit 13 years ago, Siegal plans to share his newfound knowledge with colleagues at home, round up funding and hopefully visiting again as early as October to lay the groundwork for long-term education and training programs. But not everyone is so optimistic. One foreign aid worker, who has lived on-and-off in Rangoon for the past decade, says nothing has changed on the ground for normal people and the promises of reform remain just that—promises. She gives the example of a recent conference held in the city where different ministers and government officials publically laid out their plans to develop a much-maligned sector. “People came away from the conference saying, ‘oh they’re so nice!’” she says, recalling the reactions of some of the newer expats to government proposals. “It’s not that they’ve ever been jerks face-to-face,” she says of the generals, describing politeness as key to most Burmese interactions. “They’re nice, polite Asian gentlemen,” she says, “who say one thing and do another.” “The newer [expats] took every word at face value. The long time foreign aid workers and the Burmese were considerably less impressed.” Her advice? Optimism is well and good, but the bad times were too recent to be totally forgotten. Burma Minister checks into Dr Cynthia’s Mae Tao Clinic 27-Jun-12 karennews.org/2012/06/burma-minister-checks-into-dr-cynthias-mae-tao-clinic.html/ The Burma government’s peace-talk delegation led by Railway Minister U Aung Min, today made an early morning visit to Dr Cynthia Maung’s Mae Tao Clinic in the border town of Mae Sot, Thailand. U Aung Min’s 6am visit followed-up on his yesterday meet with the Karen National Union and Dr. Cynthia Maung, the Minister said today’s visit was to get a first hand look at the work the Mae Tao Clinic does – treating as many as 145,000 people from Burma each year. Dr. Cynthia told Karen News that the Clinic sees many international organizations and government representatives, including members of the Thai government. who visited the clinic but for Burma government it is their first time. Dr Cynthia said this was the first visit by the Burma government and she hoped that the Minister’s visit would improve the much needed health services on the border. “There are many issues that we need to work on together for the long term benefit of the people. Health, education, children right issues and they are all very broad issues that need to be urgently addressed. But first, we need to see how the ceasefire and peace building process works. We cannot just look at the health care factor in isolation.” Minister U Aung Min told Karen News that he had brought with him a message from President Thein Sein encouraging people based on the border to return to their country. “I came here and talked to individual academics, political organizations and other people about the President’s instruction. I will meet [a total] of fourteen groups. I encourage all those who live along the border to go back to the country to work in the country, as the [political] system is changing in our country.” U Aung Min said that this was his fifth trip to the Thai-Burma border and it is in accordance with President Thein Sein’s plan to explain about the country situation to individual and groups on the border. He also pointed out that it was up to each individual or group to accept or reject his offer. Naw Sophia, the program manager at the In-patient reproductive health department said. “It is good they [U Aung Min and his group] came and see with their eyes the real situation that we are facing each day. We welcome them to come back and see the situation if they want to learn more.” During the visit, Aung Min and his delegation were given a tour of the Clinic’s reproductive health In-patient department, general In-patient ward and the eye department. Dr. Cynthia later briefed the Minister and his group about general situation at the clinic and health and education for migrant workers and refugees on the borderline. Minister U Aung Min donated 150,000 Baht to the Clinic and U Khin Ye, the Immigration Minister gave children in the In-patient department an envelope of money. Dr. Cynthia presented the government delegation a book documenting the Clinics work along the border. Burma Minister U Aung Min and his nine-member group met with Dr. Cynthia Maung, The Karen National Union and the All Burma Student Democratic Front during their Mae Sot trip. Opium, heroin and “ice” flowing out of Burma Wednesday, 27 June 2012 12:44 Mizzima News http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/7401-opium-heroin-and-ice-flowing-out-of-burma.html The fight against narcotics faces increasing challenges amid a bumper poppy harvest in Burma this year, Chinese officials said on Tuesday, which marked International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Burma’s poppy growing area increased to 44,867 hectares this year, up 41 percent year-on-year, based on figures from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, said an article in China Daily, the official Chinese newspaper. Apart from being the world’s No. 2 producer of opium, behind Afganistan, northern Burma is also a major producer of methamphetamine, commonly referred to as “ice,” coming into China and Southeast Asia countries. China seized 7.9 metric tons of “ice” coming from northern Burma last year, up 62 per cent on the previous year. It accounted for 55 percent of all methamphetamine seized in China, said police officials. Smuggled drugs in the area mainly come the Golden Triangle, one of the world's major drug producing regions that overlaps the mountains of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, and the Golden Crescent region, which includes mountain valleys of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In response, China has established a case-by-case cooperation mechanism with Burma, officials said. Four police liaison offices have also been set up in border areas to facilitate investigations. China and Burma have arrested and repatriated about 60 fugitives since 2009, including drug lords, according to figures by the ministry. On Tuesday, authorities in southwest China's Yunnan Province reported detaining 167 suspects in drug-related crimes and seized 528 tonnes of precursor chemicals used to make illegal drugs in the province last year. A Yunnan provincial anti-narcotics office said border towns have become a key channel for smuggling drugs into and out of the province, and there are many underground narcotic manufacturing workshops just outside the border. In related news, Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong released a document on Tuesday outlining his vision of combating drug abuse and cultivation, local media reported. Thammavong focused on seven steps to tackle the drug problem in Laos, the Vientiane Times reported, such as raising awareness, providing opium growers with alternative cash crops, rehabilitating addicts, fostering grass- roots political and rural anti-drug campaigns, setting up provincial funds financing anti-drug programs, improving drug inspection and control organizations, and increased cooperation with international organizations. In 2006, the article said, Laos had almost totally eradicated opium poppy cultivation, reducing the cultivation area by 94 percent from 27,000 hectares to just 1,500 hectares. Addiction rates dropped 80 percent from 63,000 people to 12,000, the article said. However, from 2007 to 2011 there was a 173 percent increase from 1, 500 hectares to 4,100 hectares, the article said, while other illegal substances are increasingly being produced and trafficked in Laos, such as amphetamine type substances (ATS), pseudoephedrine, heroin and marijuana. Pseudoephedrine is an important precursor in the manufacture of methamphetamine. In 2010 24.5 million ATS tablets were seized, and a further six million tablets were seized in the first half of this year in Laos, officials said. High levels of seizure give little indication of the amount on average being trafficked, however. 78 dead in sectarian violence: gov’t figures Wednesday, 27 June 2012 12:30 Mizzima News http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/7400-78-burmese-dead-in-sectarian-violence-govt-figures.html A total of 78 people were killed in the bloody sectarian violence in Burma's Rakhine State from May 28 to June 24, according to government figures released on Tuesday. The widespread killings grew out of revenge killings in the murder and rape of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men on May 28. A total of 3,158 residential and business structures were destroyed by arson. The violent rampages forced Buddhist and Muslims to seek safety in temples, mosques, schools and government facilities. In the post-violence period, a total of 37 refugee camps were established for a total of 31,884 refugees, according to official statistics. Other sources say as many as 90,000 people may be in need of aid or assistance, including food, shelter and medicine. Meanwhile, relief aid and donations are pouring into the state. United Nations agencies and international nongovernmental organizations are setting up aid programs for the refugees in the riot-hit state. The U.N. said it foresees a three-month relief effort in the area. Over the past week, nearly 1,000 displaced people were sent back to respective villages in Maungtaw Township as a move by the local government after it claimed restoration of peace and stability to the area. Many refugees say they are still afraid of violence in the area. A declaration of emergency in the state and the imposition of curfew in six townships including Maungtaw and Sittway, the capital of the state, has been in force since June 10. President Thein Sein appeared on nationwide television during the peak of the violence calling for calm and religious tolerance in the country. He said the country does not have a good record of respecting all religions. The majority of Burmese consider the Rohingya population of Rakhine State to be foreign intruders and call them “Bengali,” even though many have lived there for generations. The government denies Rohingya citizenship. Aung San Suu Kyi has called for the government to clarify its citizenship laws. President Thein Sein will go to Bangladesh on July 15 to meet with government officials to disucss the refugee problem. As many as 200,000 undocumented Rohingya have sought shelter in Bangladesh over the past decades, officials said. Bangladesh said it does not have the resources to aid the Rohingya on its territory. Yawdserk “hopes” Naypyitaw will stop using drugs as political game Wednesday, 27 June 2012 15:02 S.H.A.N. http://www.english.panglong.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4755:yawdserk-hopes-naypyitaw-will-stop-using-drugs-as-political-game&catid=89:drugs&Itemid=286 Lt-Gen Yawdserk, interviewed on the eve of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking, 26 June, said as long as Naypyitaw is handle, the drug problem as a political game, the problem will not be resolved. “It’s time drugs equal rebels accusations are stopped,” he told SHAN. He was speaking to SHAN two days after the Thai government presented him and the Shan State Army (SSA) with a Gold Eagle Award for cooperation in the campaign against drugs. The award given by Gen Pichitr Kullavanich, Privy Councilor in Bangkok, was received by the SSA representative Sai Aye on 23 June. The group had also submitted a drug eradication project to the Burmese government on 19 May. Its representatives also met the government-run Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) earlier this month to work out the details. However, no concrete agreement has reached so far. “We are pressed for time,” he said. “If we wait too long, it’ll be too late to do anything. At the same time, no single agency can deal with the problem on its own. We need cooperation from all to do it.” Cooperation from all armed groups are also necessary. “It’s time we show the world we can survive without drugs,” he said. Naypyitaw has set 2014, two years from now, as its target date for drug eradication. So far, most of its targeted townships in Shan, Kachin, Chin and Kayah states as well as non-targeted townships in Sagaing, Mandalay and Magwe are also also growing poppies, according to Shan Drug Watch 2012 report published by SHAN yesterday. Human Rights Watch says Kachin refugees in China face dire situation 27-Jun-12 http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2333-human-rights-watch-says-kachin-refugees-in-china-face-dire-situation.html The US NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Tuesday criticizing China for forcibly sending hundreds of Kachin refugees back to Kachin and northern Shan state where fighting is taking place. Human Rights Watch also said that many refugees who remain in the southern part of China's Yunnan region have poor access to food water and shelter and remain at grave risk of being forcibly returned to a war zone. In an introduction to the report Sophie Richardson HRW's China director described the grim situation the refugees face. “Many Kachin refugees have already endured terrible abuses and war in Burma, only to settle into a life of dire struggle in Yunnan,” she said. “Until it is safe for the Kachin to return home, the Chinese government has a responsibility to ensure their safety and well-being,” she added. Though the majority of the estimated 10,000 refugees who have fled to China from Kachin and northern Shan states are ethnic Kachin, those displaced also include Shan, Sino-Burmese and Palaung ethnic minorities. Members of the Burman ethnic majority have also been affected by the conflict and forced to move. Chinese towns and cities located along the Burmese border for many years have already had large populations of undocumented migrants from Burma. Many displaced Kachin refugees have taken shelter among these migrant communities while others have set up temporary shelters in farming and forested areas located just inside the Sino-Burma border. Woman's rights activists warn that many young female refugees who have taken refuge in China are at risk of being forced into the border areas booming sex industry or could fall victim to being trafficked into a forced marriage with a Chinese man. Due to China's notorious one child policy there is a serious shortage of brides in China and many Chinese men resort to using a broker to buy a spouse from northern Burma. Often the brides are unwilling participants in the process but have little chance of escape. Senators press US on Myanmar petroleum investment 28-Jun-12 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmywA0mNvb-iBNLA9p4F8w5UAFKw?docId=0f84ad22295c44ac93d5a26a82b73d65 WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican and a Democratic senators and American businesses are pressing the U.S. government to allow investment by oil and gas companies in Myanmar as the U.S moves to suspend economic sanctions against that country. Democrat Jim Webb and Republican James Inhofe made the appeal at a confirmation hearing Wednesday for the first U.S. ambassador to the military-dominated country in 22 years. The Obama administration announced last month its plan to ease the sanctions to reward the military-dominated government for democratic reforms. The ambassador nominee, Derek Mitchell, said the administration is still deliberating the details of a general license that would facilitate U.S. investment. He said no sectors of Myanmar's economy would be excluded, but voiced concerns about transparency and corruption in a Myanmar state enterprise that the petroleum industry would need to partner with. Over the past year, Mitchell led Washington's efforts to engage the country also known as Burma after decades of diplomatic isolation, a policy that has won bipartisan support. His appointment is widely expected to receive Senate approval, and Webb said that would likely happen this week. Despite Myanmar's swift shift away from authoritarian rule — for which Mitchell credited President Thein Sein's "extraordinary vision and leadership" — the country faces tough challenges. Activists are concerned that new foreign investment could entrench Myanmar's military-linked business elite, and ethnic violence continues unchecked in some regions. Communal clashes in the western state of Rakhine have left scores dead since late May. Mitchell voiced concern over military impunity in ethnic minority regions, and the armed forces unique constitutional position — which guarantees them a quarter of parliamentary seats and an effective veto on constitutional amendments. Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has reconciled with the government after years of persecution and house arrest, has welcomed responsible foreign investment, but has urged foreign governments against allowing companies to do joint ventures with the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise until it improves its transparency and accountability. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a statement Wednesday that would amount to a "de facto investment ban" in that sector — the impoverished country's main source of foreign revenue. The chamber, which represents 3 million businesses, criticized the U.S. government for not moving faster to issue the general license since announcing May 17 it would allow U.S. investment. The chamber also cautioned against the imposition of "burdensome reporting requirements" on U.S. companies. Human rights groups are calling for strict standards of social corporate responsibility and wants the administration to make them legally binding. Myanmar's Suu Kyi honoured in Paris near end of Europe tour 27-Jun-12 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1210302/1/.html PARIS: Myanmar's democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, nearing the end of her triumphant Europe tour in France, accepted another award on Wednesday as she became an honorary citizen of Paris. "You are a woman of peace and love, and this is why Paris also loves you," said mayor Bertrand Delanoehe, hailing her "tenacity" and "unshakeable faith" in her campaign for democracy in the country formerly called Burma. The Nobel Peace laureate - who spent almost two decades under house arrest for her freedom struggle - has been cheered by crowds and leaders on her five-nation tour, her first visit to Europe in a quarter-century. In France, she was treated with honours normally reserved for a head of state, dining at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday with President Francois Hollande, who pledged support for her country's transition towards democracy. Myanmar was for decades ruled by an iron-fisted junta, but a reformist government under ex-general President Thein Sein has freed political prisoners and allowed Suu Kyi's party back into mainstream politics. Suu Kyi, 67, has in the past two weeks visited Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and now France, receiving rock star welcomes along the way. The trip allowed her to finally give her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize speech in Oslo, and to thank groups and institutions from the Rafto Foundation and Amnesty International to Oxford University for awards they have given her. On Wednesday, she received her 2004 honorary citizen of Paris certificate and met with the Paris mayor, Delanoe. City Hall once honoured Suu Kyi by hanging a huge portrait of her outside the building in 2007. Reading a statement in French in city hall's sumptuous Salon des Arcades, Suu Kyi hailed "the deep attachment of Paris to justice and freedom". "I was surprised and happy that Paris supported my cause with such vigour," she said. Suu Kyi has enjoyed strong support among rights groups in France and was the subject of a 2011 French-English film biography, "The Lady", directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson and starring Michelle Yeoh. Speaking later to representatives of rights groups, Suu Kyi told political prisoners around the world not to give up their fight. "You must not let go of your principles. If you respect yourself you do not give up your fight," she told the gathering on a barge on the River Seine in the heart of Paris. Among those in attendance were Yevgenia Tymoshenko, the daughter of jailed former Ukrainian premier Yulia Tymoshenko, and Pavel Khodorkovsky, the son of the imprisoned former businessman and famed foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Suu Kyi was also to meet Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on the second day of her three-day visit to France, where she travelled from London. On Tuesday Hollande said France gave its full backing to the transition efforts in Myanmar, and said Paris was ready to welcome Thein Sein, who also received an invitation from former colonial ruler Britain last week. Major Western powers have rolled back or suspended long-standing sanctions against Myanmar, a resource-rich but deeply impoverished country. Suu Kyi has on her tour called for human rights-friendly investment. "We need democracy as well as economic development," she said on Tuesday. "Development cannot be a substitute for democracy, it must be used to strengthen the foundations of democracy." Suu Kyi said "financial transparency in the extractive industries and in fact business in general" were essential to investment. She also said efforts were still needed to convince the former regime of the need for democratic reforms, but that Thein Sein seemed sincere. "I believe that the president is sincere and I believe that he is honest, but I cannot speak for everybody in the government," she said. "I don't think we can say it (reform) is irreversible until such time as the army is committed to that." Hollande also said on Tuesday that French oil giant Total - whose operations in Myanmar have been criticised - is respecting all environmental and labour laws in Myanmar, but told Suu Kyi to call him if any complaints arose. Total's presence in Myanmar has been contested by human rights activists, who accuse the firm of enriching the former ruling junta. "Today this company's practices have changed and are respectful of human rights and must also respect environmental and social norms," said Hollande. "If it ever happens that they don't respect (regulations), Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi will be able to call me anytime so we can put things in order." US senators press for Myanmar oil investment 28-Jun-12 http://news.yahoo.com/us-senators-press-myanmar-oil-investment-202740125--finance.html;_ylt=A2KJNTsYv.tPHx8ASHPQtDMD US senators said they planned to move quickly to confirm the first US ambassador to Myanmar in two decades, as they pushed to allow investment in the country's oil and gas sector. President Barack Obama on May 17 nominated Derek Mitchell, a veteran US policymaker on Asia, as ambassador to the country after dramatic reforms including the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament. At a hearing on the nomination, senators across party lines voiced support for Mitchell. Senator Jim Webb, who heads a subcommittee on East Asia, said he hoped to complete Mitchell's confirmation by the end of the week. But senators pressed the Obama administration to allow investment by US energy companies as part of its loosening of sanctions on Myanmar, voicing fear that US companies would lose out to foreign competitors. Senator James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma and champion of the fossil fuel industry, said he heard rumors that the administration will exclude oil firms from new rules allowing US investment in the country formerly known as Burma. "This or any other 'carve-out strategy' would be a strategic mistake," Inhofe told the hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I believe that US companies including the oil and gas companies can play a positive role in the effort by demonstrating high standards of responsibility, responsible business conduct and transparency -- including respect for human rights in Burma," Inhofe said. Human rights groups have long charged that the oil and gas industry fuels abuses inside Myanmar, with villagers allegedly forced into labor and the powerful military seizing the revenue to support its operations. Suu Kyi, paying a historic tour of Europe, said in Geneva on June 14 that foreign firms should not partner with the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise until her country signs up to international standards such as the IMF code on transparency. In a rare note of discord with Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate who is widely respected in Washington, Webb said that the United States "does not require countries to endorse this code or other standards as a prerequisite for US investment." Webb, a longtime advocate of engagement with Myanmar, said that other countries as diverse as China and New Zealand have also not signed the code. Mitchell said that the administration had not made a decision on oil and gas investment in Myanmar but reiterated concerns about the state-owned company. US engagement with Myanmar must benefit reform and ensure "that we are contributing to the highest values and that we model the type of behavior that we like to see," Mitchell said. Not all US lawmakers are enthusiastic about oil and gas investment, with some members of the House of Representatives saying that Myanmar's reforms are overblown. Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that any further removal of sanctions needed to be "handled in a thoughtful, step-by-step process that is contingent upon continued progress." Mitchell, testifying before the committee, warned that reform in Myanmar "is not irreversible" and raised concerns that "hundreds of political prisoners" remained locked up. He also expressed worries about human rights in ethnic minority areas, pointing to recent violence between Buddhists and Muslims in western Rakhine state that has left more than 80 people dead. "Recent sectarian violence in Rakhine State demonstrates the divisiveness in Burma cultivated over many decades, if not centuries, that will need to be overcome to realize lasting peace and national reconciliation in the country," Mitchell said. But he praised President Thein Sein, a general turned civilian who took office last year, as a "remarkable figure." "We should never forget to recognize his extraordinary vision and leadership and the many reformist steps he and his partners in government have taken over the past year," Mitchell said. Burmese government continue to arrest IDPs fleeing from conflict areas 25-Jun-12 http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2334-burmese-government-continue-to-arrest-idps-fleeing-from-conflict-areas.html A warden from the Jan Mai Kawng Baptist Church camp has been arrested by Myitkyina-based Military Affairs Security Unit who is investigating a bomb attack.There are about 700 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the camp. According to the camp’s IDP committee, agents from the MAS and several police from a local police station arrested Lahtaw Brang Shawng, at 9 pm on June 17. It’s alleged he fled from the area where a bomb attack took place in Kachin Independence Army (KIA) controlled territories. “They arrested him under suspicion of being part of the bomb attack. They said he will be released if found not guilty” said Maran Labung, a camp leader.But the camp committee is concerned he’s being tortured at the police station. “They didn’t have evidence to prove he was connected to the bombing when they arrested him. I went to the MAS office in Myitkyina the night of his arrest. They placed in a private room. I don’t know what they did to him,” said one camp leader. According to a camp resident, when Lahtaw Brang Shawng was arrested the police said he would be released within a day if he is not guilty. So far he has not been released and no-one knows where he is now being detained. “We thought Lahtaw Brang Shawng was still being detained at MAS office but the police said he wasn’t there anymore. No-one can tell us where he is. We will continue trying to discover his whereabouts. We are also preparing a letter to the president”, he told KNG. Lahtaw Brang Shawng, 29, has three children. He’s from Npawn Village in Waingmaw Township the site of where the conflict between Kachin Independent Army (KIA) and Burmese military began, over one-year ago (June 9). Before his arrest, Lahtaw Brang Shawng, who has three-children, was living at Jan Mai Kawng for nearly a year.His family is worried about him because he doesn’t speak much Burmese. “He hasn’t done anything,” said mother in law, Hpauje Htu.“He works hard as a daily worker to support the family.” The Burmese government has been arresting many people who have fled from KIA-controlled territories since the conflict began. They using the Act 17/1, which forbids any contact with an illegal association or trying to pin them to bomb attacks. According to their family members once under arrest they are tortured. Often they don’t why they were arrested or even where they are being detained. As these kinds of arrests happen more frequently IDPs living in government controlled areas are worried about their security. Manam Tu was arrested from Jan Mai Kawng camp last May 28. Since then the family members have not been able to see him but they suspect he’s being tortured.
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