News Headlines with Brief (1) Burma delays prisoner amnesty | Source: DVB 14-Nov-2011 A release of political prisoners in military-dominated Burma which was expected on Monday has been delayed after a meeting of top officials, sources said. “So far we haven’t had any order or instruction from superiors,” an official who asked not to be named told AFP, adding that the decision to delay the process was made “at the last minute” by the crucial National Defence and Security Council. Read More..... (2) Officer killed, three others injured in bomb blast at police station in Shan State | Source: Mizzima 14-Nov-2011 The state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported on Monday that a bomb exploded on Thursday outside a police station in Namhkam Township in Shan State, killing one police officer and injuring three people. At about 8.45 pm, a passenger on a motorcycle threw a one-feet-square paper package outside the Namhkam police station on Myawaddy Road and drove away, according to the newspaper. Acting on a tip, Police Sub-inspector Zaw Htoo Khoung Hsan and others went to inspect the packet and a bomb exploded. Read More..... (3) Fire devastates the largest market in Minbya in Arakan State | Source: Mizzima 14-Nov-2011 A fire at the Myoma Market, the largest market in Minbya in Arakan State, on Saturday damaged about 700 shops, according to the Minbya Township police station. The fire started in a shop that stored palm oil in the market on Strand Road in Alelpine Ward in Minbya and spread through the vast market complex. Estimates said 567 market shops and more than 100 temporary shops were destroyed in the fire. Read More..... (4) Burma bomb blast kills 10: government official | Source: Bangkok Post 15-Nov-2011 A bomb blast in the capital of Burma's northern Kachin state has killed 10 people, including two women, a government official in the military-dominated country said on Monday.Another 23 people, including some 15 children, were injured in the explosion on Sunday evening in the town of Myitkyina, the official, who did not wish to be named, told AFP.The blast occurred in a two-storey house and caused a fire that spread to two neighbouring homes, he said. Read More..... Burma delays prisoner amnesty http://www.dvb.no/news/burma-delays-prisoner-amnesty/18723 14-Nov-2011 A release of political prisoners in military-dominated Burma which was expected on Monday has been delayed after a meeting of top officials, sources said. “So far we haven’t had any order or instruction from superiors,” an official who asked not to be named told AFP, adding that the decision to delay the process was made “at the last minute” by the crucial National Defence and Security Council. Burmese President Thein Sein is due to attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on the Indonesian island of Bali later this week, and the official said an amnesty had been expected before his departure. “I think they delayed the process as they only wanted to release the political prisoners slowly with the pardon of the president,” the official said. Burma carried out a mass prisoner amnesty last month but this did not include most key dissidents, disappointing observers and the opposition. The release of all of the country’s political detainees — who include democracy campaigners, journalists and lawyers — is one of the major demands of Western nations which have imposed sanctions on Burma. The reasons for the delay were not clear, but the authorities are now expected to decide on a case-by-case basis which prisoners to release. Officer killed, three others injured in bomb blast at police station in Shan State http://www.mizzima.com/news/breaking-and-news-brief/6181-officer-killed-three-others-injured-in-bomb-blast-at-police-station-in-shan-state.html Monday, 14 November 2011 19:19 Mizzima News Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported on Monday that a bomb exploded on Thursday outside a police station in Namhkam Township in Shan State, killing one police officer and injuring three people. At about 8.45 pm, a passenger on a motorcycle threw a one-feet-square paper package outside the Namhkam police station on Myawaddy Road and drove away, according to the newspaper. Acting on a tip, Police Sub-inspector Zaw Htoo Khoung Hsan and others went to inspect the packet and a bomb exploded. Police Sub-inspector Zaw Htoo Khoung Hsan was killed, and police Lance Corporal Kyaw Swa Moe and two women were injured. The injured were taken to Muse District Hospital, according to the newspaper. Meanwhile, on Sunday evening two people riding a motorcycle threw a parcel that contained a grenade into an orphanage in Myitkyina in Kachin State, leaving 10 people dead and 27 injured. No group has claimed responsibility for the bomb attacks. Fire devastates the largest market in Minbya in Arakan State http://www.mizzima.com/news/breaking-and-news-brief/6182-fire-devastates-the-largest-market-in-minbya-in-arakan-state.html Monday, 14 November 2011 19:22 Te Te New Delhi (Mizzima) – A fire at the Myoma Market, the largest market in Minbya in Arakan State, on Saturday damaged about 700 shops, according to the Minbya Township police station. The fire started in a shop that stored palm oil in the market on Strand Road in Alelpine Ward in Minbya and spread through the vast market complex. Estimates said 567 market shops and more than 100 temporary shops were destroyed in the fire. “They thought that the a spent fire in a charcoal stove could not cause a fire and did not pay attention. Palm oil was seeping into the stove. When people noticed it, they could not put out the fire,” a police official said. Government authorities said the total value of the damage is about 850 million kyat (about USD $1 million), but shop owners said the value of the damage was about two billion kyat. “The fire left the market in ashes. All the property in my shop was burned. Nothing can be used anymore,” a textile shop owner said. The shops included household appliance shops, food shops, clothing shops, construction material shops and medicine shops. A fire engine from Minbya and two fire engines from Mrauk-U fought the fire, which was extinguished about 10:15 p.m. Residents said the fire caused extensive damage because firemen could not respond quickly. “The fire engines are not in good condition. One fire engine could not start its engine. Fire engines that came from other towns could not get here in time because of poor roads so all we could do was watch the fire,” said a resident. On Sunday, the Arakan State chief minister inspected the market. The municipality will attempt to build a temporary market in a space near the market, according to the township police station. Burma bomb blast kills 10: government official http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/266243/burma-bomb-blast-kills-10-government-official 14-Nov-2011 A bomb blast in the capital of Burma's northern Kachin state has killed 10 people, including two women, a government official in the military-dominated country said on Monday. A Myanmar newspapers vendor waits for customers in downtown Yangon in March 2011. A bomb blast in the capital of Myanmar's northern Kachin state has killed 10 people, including two women, a government official in the military-dominated country said on Monday. Another 23 people, including some 15 children, were injured in the explosion on Sunday evening in the town of Myitkyina, the official, who did not wish to be named, told AFP. The blast occurred in a two-storey house and caused a fire that spread to two neighbouring homes, he said. The explosion appeared to have been unintentional, occurring when a man in the building was "showing others how to plant a bomb", the source said. He added that there were several orphans living in the dwellings, some as young as three. Two other bombs exploded in the same town on Saturday but caused no casualties, according to the state-run New Light of Burma newspaper. Burma has been hit by several bomb blasts in recent years, most of them minor, which the authorities have blamed on armed exile groups or ethnic minority fighters. Several ethnic rebel groups, seeking more autonomy and rights, have waged war against the state since independence in 1948, leading to six decades of civil conflict in some regions, although most groups have signed fragile ceasefires. In the areas where fighting continues, rights groups have accused the army of waging a brutal counter-insurgency involving the rape, torture and murder of villagers and the recruitment of child soldiers. A nominally civilian government replaced Burma's long-ruling military junta in March. Observers say the ethnic minority conflict is the main threat facing the regime, posing an even bigger challenge for the long term future of the country than democratic reforms. Fighting between the army and ethnic militias has intensified in recent months in northern and eastern parts of the country. In August, state media accused ethnic fighters in Kachin state of killing seven people who visited a Chinese-run dam at the centre of an ongoing conflict between the army and rebels. In June, bomb blasts rattled three Burma cities, including the capital Naypyidaw, injuring two people. In April last year, in the worst attack in five years in Burma's main city Rangoon, a series of blasts left 10 people dead and about 170 wounded as thousands of people gathered for festivities to mark the Buddhist New Year.
Burma constitution 'provides impunity' for abuses
Burma constitution 'provides impunity' for abuses
Oct 9, 2009 (DVB)-Burma 's redrafted 2008 constitution provides impunity for human rights abuses and should not be the bedrock for elections next year, a damning report has claimed.
Many of the provisions of the constitution suggest that "instead of being a true catalyst for lasting change, it further entrenches the military within the government and the associated culture of impunity," the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) said.
Its report, Impunity Prolonged: Burma and its Constitution, says that within the constitution, the regime has granted itself impunity for sexual violence, forced labor and the recruitment of child soldiers.
Burma, it says, is "one of the most difficult challenges in the world in relation to making progress toward combating impunity."
Khin Omar, coordinator of the Thailand-based Burma Partnership, said the constitution will "force military rule on Burma forever".
"[It is] the most problematic element as to whether we move further toward being a failed state or whether we move towards national reconciliation," she said.
The report says that "officers and troops systematically use rape and other forms of sexual abuse as a strategy of war."
It then cites a clause within the constitution stating that: "No proceeding shall be instituted against the said Councils (the military) or any member thereof or any member of the Government, in respect to any act done in the execution of their respective duties. "
Burma expert Robert H Taylor told DVB however that "No one has proven that [rape] is public policy," adding that "we don't know how the military deals with instances of rape".
He cited anonymous sources that claim the government has action against people accused of assault and rape, but added that the constitution "has its problems, but which doesn't?"
In a sign that the regime responds to international pressure, the report cited an agreement between the junta and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to address forced labour and child soldiers.
The 2008 constitution was ratified in the weeks following cyclone Nargis last May, in which 140,000 people were killed and millions of acres of land destroyed. Despite the cyclone, the government claimed a 99 percent turnout, with 92.4 percent voting in favour.
A report released last year by Hong Kong-based constitutional expert, Professor Yash Ghai, said that "the cynicism with which the regime held the referendum and manipulated the results was on a par with the cynicism and coercion by which the draft was prepared".
The ICTJ have called on the international community to withhold support for elections in Burma next year. Khin Omar echoed the calls, and said that a constitutional review must take place before the elections do.
Reporting by Joseph Allchin http://english. dvb.no / news. php? id = 2940
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