FTUB Daily News for Jun-29-2012, English News

(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.