BURMA RELATED NEWS – JULY 15, 2010
Jul 15th, 2010
Thu Jul 15, 7:45 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A former aide to Myanmar’s detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from prison Thursday after 14 years behind bars in the military-led country.
An official confirmed the release of Win Htein and said he will be brought from the prison in northern Myanmar to Yangon, where his family lives. The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
“Win Htein was released today from Kathar prison. I am very happy for his freedom, but he was released because his detention period was up,” said Nyan Win, a spokesman from Suu Kyi’s now-disbanded National League for Democracy.
Win Htein, 68, had been serving a 14-year sentence on charges of providing false information to the foreign press, according to the U.S. Campaign for Burma, which lobbies against aid to the military regime.
Win Htein was released briefly in 2008 during an amnesty, but was re-arrested 17 hours later without explanation.
In that brief period of freedom, he gave an interview to the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based shortwave radio station and website that is run by exiled Myanmar dissidents.
He said he could not accept a new constitution that allotted 25 percent of seats in both houses of parliament to the military and empowered the president to transfer legislative, executive and judicial powers to the military’s commander in chief for a year if a state of emergency arose.
“If we oppose or go against the constitution, we will be sent back to prison,” he said.
A former army officer, Win Htein joined Suu Kyi’s party when it was formed in 1988 and served as a personal assistant and close aide to Suu Kyi and her deputy, Tin Oo.
The ruling junta has called for the first polls in two decades to be held later this year, though no date has yet been set. Critics have dismissed the election as a sham designed to cement nearly 50 years of military rule in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest by the military government for about 14 of the past 20 years. Her party was disbanded after refusing to register for the elections by a May 6 deadline.
Wed Jul 14, 4:17 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to renew for one year a ban on imports from Myanmar over alleged human rights abuses by its military rulers.
Lawmakers approved the bill, which has sailed through the US Congress annually since the restrictions first passed in 2003, by a voice vote.
The Senate was expected to act soon to send the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law.
The “Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003″ imposes a ban on Myanmar imports unless the US president certifies that the country has taken steps toward democratic reforms and to help fight international drug smuggling.
“It is long overdue that the world acknowledges the regime is guilty of many heinous crimes, and we must lead the effort to hold it accountable, ” said Representative Joseph Crowley, a longtime critic of Myanmar’s ruling junta.
The military regime in Myanmar, also known as Burma, plans to hold elections later this year despite disbanding the main opposition party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.
President Barack Obama’s administration has voiced concern about the elections but last year opened dialogue with the regime as part of its global policy of engagement with US adversaries.
“The administration has worked hard to reach out to Burma’s military regime and has urged them to change their ways. I believe this was a worthwhile and valuable effort,” said Crowley, a member of Obama’s Democratic Party.
“However, those efforts have been met with complete rejection — in fact, the situation in Burma has grown worse. That’s why now is the time to crank up the pressure,” he said.
The Obama administration has told Myanmar that it is willing to lift sanctions in the future in return for progress on US concerns — in particular, democratization.
The administration was unimpressed by the junta last week allowing former members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy to run as a new party, a move some activists fear is meant to splinter the opposition.
Thu Jul 15, 4:04 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Phyo Min Thein spent some 15 years behind bars for joining Myanmar’s bloody 1988 uprising. Now the one-time student dissident is among those seeking to challenge the junta at the ballot box.
Together with fellow former student activists and ethnic leaders who were imprisoned for their political beliefs, the 41-year-old has formed the Union Democratic Party (UDP) to run in Myanmar’s first elections in two decades.
“Our voice could be too small to reach parliament but it will not go away,” Phyo Min Thein, the party’s chairman, said in an interview with AFP.
Thousands of people died when soldiers opened fire on mass student demonstrations in Yangon in 1988.
Many of the protest leaders, known as the 88 Generation Students, were given long prison terms and some — including Phyo Min Thein’s brother-in-law — are locked up today.
“When I was 18 or 19 years old, I believed that our country would be transformed into a democratic nation overnight. So I was actively involved in the pro-democracy movement,” said Phyo Min Thein.
“I spent about 15 years in prison and have realised that my dreams have a long way to go.”
Unlike Myanmar’s best-known dissident — detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi — he has been allowed to participate in elections in the military-ruled country set for sometime this year.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won the last polls in 1990 by a landslide but the military never allowed the party to take power and Suu Kyi has spent much of the past 20 years in jail or under house arrest.
She is barred from standing in the next polls because she is a serving prisoner.
UDP committee members have been travelling around the country to rally support and sign up the 1,000 members that each party must have in order to take part in the nationwide election.
Phyo Min Thein said he believed voters would support democratic forces although the newly registered parties are facing difficulties organising members in time for the vote.
“This election has many weak points,” he said. “But we have to try for a free and fair election even if they (the military rulers) do not,” he added.
Nearly 40 parties have so far been allowed to register for the elections — rumoured to be planned for October or November — despite widespread fears they are a sham aimed at shoring up the junta’s half-century grip on power.
Among them is Prime Minister Thein Sein’s Union Solidarity and Development Party, along with the 88 Generation Student Youths (Union of Myanmar), which includes some former students but is actually pro-government.
The NLD has opted to boycott the vote because of rules laid down by the junta that would have effectively forced it to expel Suu Kyi and other members in prison before it could participate.
As a result, the party was forcibly disbanded by the ruling generals.
A group of former NLD members has formed a new party, the National Democratic Force (NDF), to stand in the election — a move that has put it at odds with Suu Kyi, who was opposed to participating in the polls.
Phyo Min Thein indicated he was ready to cooperate with other democracy parties and did not consider the NDF as rivals.
“The NDF is a party within our democratic community,” he said. “We welcome their activity.”
But democracy activists contesting the election admit they are at a disadvantage without an iconic figurehead like Suu Kyi, whose dedication to non-violence in pressing for change earned her a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has much influence over the people. People’s interest in politics is quite low in this situation,” Phyo Min Thein said, using a term of respect to refer to the detained opposition leader.
“Personally, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is like my mother in my political life. Her movement was our hope and boosted our spirit during our stays in prison.”
20:02, July 15, 2010
A total of 87 trafficked Myanmar people were repatriated from Thailand during the first six months of this year, the local weekly Yangon Time reported Thursday.
Of them, 31 including 16 women, who are mostly under 18 years of age, were brought back from the neighbor in late last month, the third repatriation during the half-year period.
These victims, who are from Mon, Shan, Kayin, Yangon, Bago, Ayayawaddy and Taninthayi states and divisions, were sent to undergo training in cottage industry in Mawlamyaing, the report said.
For the first time during this year, 22 people were sent back in February, while the second was 34 in May.
According to earlier local report, a total of 302 people in Myanmar were victimized by human traffickers in 2009, of which children accounted for 15 to 45 percent.
The Department of Combating Transnational Crime also said starting 2005 when the country promulgated the anti-human trafficking law, the authorities have so far exposed 335 related cases, punishing over 1,000 offenders and rescuing over 1,000 victims.
Of them, 80 percent were smuggled to China, while other 15 percent to Thailand, it said.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar government is cooperating with the international in combating human trafficking, carrying out rescue and rehabilitation programs for trafficked victims.
Neighboring countries and organizations with which Myanmar is cooperating include China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Russian Federation, Vietnam, United Nation organizations and non- governmental organizations (NGO).
By Rachel McGrath
Posted July 14, 2010 at 10:35 p.m.
A Newbury Park couple are selling off their collection of antiques and artifacts from Myanmar to raise money to build new sources of clean water for rural villagers in the Southeast Asian country.
Maurice and Lynda Groux, who own the A 2 Z Cuts Plus salon in Newbury Park, want to pay to dig new wells and clean up ponds in the village of Thanlyin, which is southeast of the country’s capital Yangon.
Lynda Groux, 47, was born and raised in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and still has two sisters and other family members living there. Since she and Maurice married 12 years ago, the couple has visited Lynda’s homeland on several occasions and returned with various indigenous crafts and artwork.
Now, after a visit to Thanlyin in February, when they spent their own money to feed 1,000 children and hospital patients, they have decided to sell of most of their collection and use the money to help provide clean water for the rural community.
They were inspired, they said, after encountering a young boy who was collecting water from a muddy pond at a Buddhist monastery and walking barefoot carrying two, 5-gallon buckets to take the water back to his family.
“They have a well and a pond in the village, but they are filthy,” said Lynda Groux. “I asked them how they filter the water, and they said they use an old T-shirt and pour it from one bucket to another bucket.”
“It really moved us, and we asked each other, ‘What can we do to help these people?’” Maurice Groux said.
“We have so much and we said, let’s just sell what we have and give it back to them because they are the ones who made all this stuff,” he said. “We could hang on to our collection forever and admire it and enjoy it, but it’s more enjoyable to watch a child drink clean water.”
The two are being helped by the Buddhist monastery in Thanlyin, which runs an orphanage for more than 300 children and will help them carry out their charitable endeavors without coming into conflict with Myanmar’s military regime.
“We deal with the Buddhist monks, and they take care of us. We’ve dealt with them before so there’s a relationship established so they welcome us and we feel safe,” Maurice Groux said.
On Sunday, the couple will hold an auction and sale at their hair salon at 2227 Michael Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Maurice Groux said about 60 high-end items, some up to 100 years old, will be for sale via a silent auction while more than 300 other artifacts will be available to purchase for a fixed price.
The items include an oil painting, wooden carvings and statues, tapestries made with gold and silver thread, silver sequins and glass beads, a selection of traditional Buddhas and food containers and serving dishes made using traditional lacquer techniques.
They hope to raise about $60,000 and say all the proceeds from the sales will go directly to building new wells in Myanmar, as well as providing slippers or sandals and hats to orphaned children and food and medical supplies to AIDS patients.
“We want to go back and build as many wells as we can, depending on how much we raise,” said Maurice Groux. “It costs about $1,000 for a well.”
“If I have money or something, somebody can steal it at any time,” Lynda Groux said. “But if I give a good thing, no one can steal it from me.”
For more information, contact Maurice Groux at 630-5719.
Burma rebels to walk free after 12 years in Indian jail
By Subir Bhaumik BBC News, Calcutta
A group of 34 Burmese rebels held in an Indian jail for 12 years have entered a plea bargain in a Calcutta court to pave the way for their release.
They admitted immigration offences after prosecutors dropped more serious gun-running charges.
They claim they were lured in February 1998 to India’s Andaman islands by an Indian military intelligence officer who offered them sanctuary.
But on arrival, six of their leaders were shot and the rest detained.
The officer left the Indian army immediately after the incident and is said to have settled down in Burma, giving rise to suspicions he may have been a double agent for Burmese intelligence.
Accepting the plea bargain on Tuesday, a judge sentenced the rebels to three-and-a- half years in jail and imposed a $128 (£84) fine.
The rebels, from Burma’s Arakan area, have served their sentence and can be freed once they pay the fine.
“We don’t have any money, so we look forward to the Burmese community in India to pay for our release. After all they have borne our legal expenses,” said Thein Oung Gyaw, one of the rebels.
Ten of them are from the Karen National Union and the other 24 are from the National Unity Party of Arakan, both fighting for separate homelands in Burma for the Karen and the Arakanese people.
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation took seven years to draw up formal charges.
The rebels were shifted to a prison in Calcutta from the Andamans after a leading human rights lawyer, Nandita Haksar, intervened.
BBC News – Burma junta support group USDA disbands A powerful mass movement that supports Burma’s ruling junta has disbanded and transferred its assets to a new political party, its spokesman has told the BBC’s Burmese service.
The move is designed to ensure the junta dominates the election later this year, critics say.
The movement, USDA, has been blamed for assaults on opposition activists, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
The new party, USDP, was set up by senior members of the junta.
Under Burma’s constitution, drawn up by the generals, 25% of seats in parliament are reserved for the military, but soldiers and civil servants are banned from standing as civilians.
However, Prime Minister Thein Sein, who has carried the rank of general, and 26 other top officials registered as part of the USDP (Union Solidarity and Development Party) earlier this year.
Official media outlets have stopped referring to the prime minister’s military rank in recent articles.
Thura Myint Oo, a spokesman for USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association) , said the authorities had given permission for the movement to be dissolved earlier this month.
“From now on, there will not be the USDA but we will continue as a political party,” he said.
“We have officially transferred all our assets to the party according to the central committee’s decision.”
USDA had been backed by rich and powerful patrons such as self-styled Senior General Than Shwe, the leader of the country’s secretive junta.
The movement was said to number 24 million members – many of whom may have been conscripted.
Its members were implicated in the violent suppression of protests led by monks in 2007, and in an attack on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2003.
The junta’s critics say many of the possessions handed over to USDP belong to the state, which is illegal under election law.
But USDA insists the assets were theirs to hand over.
The last election in Burma was held in 1990. Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory, but the party was never allowed to take power.
The NLD has boycotted the forthcoming elections, and other opposition parties have complained of difficulties in registering.
Analysts say the growing power of USDP means the military and its allies will dominate the parliament.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Report by Amarnath Parida; Paradip: Seven Myanmar nationals who were detained at Marine police station , Paradip since nine days were arrested and produced at Judicial Magistrate First Class , Kujang on Monday for illegal entry into Indian water without valid documents .
Sources said that a Vishakhapatana bound fishing vessel “Madala-IV” was fishing in the deep sea, five nautical miles off Paradip port on 3rd July in which there were total 39 crew members – 15 from Thailand, 15 from Myanmar and 9 India. A conflict ensued among the crew members reportedly certain activities of the master of said vessel. As master allegedly provided the crew members with sub-standard food and also misbehaved with them some of them protested. Later altercations erupted between the master of the vessel with these crew members.
Irate 16 crew members including nine Indians and seven Myanmar allegedly locked the master in a cabin of this vessel and fled from said vessel with the help of fishing boat, apparently to escape the wrath of master and his supporters. After getting this information, costal officials caught them from Sandhakuda area and handed over to Marine police.
Police detained these crew members and summoned the owner Sunil Kumar Vishakhapatanam and master of said vessel for detail investigation but both owner and master did not turn to police station to face inquiry. Later, nine Indians, who were detained earlier with the Myanmar, on Monday handed over to the agent of the fishing vessel. On the other hand, seven Myanmar failed to produce the valid documents and passport for entering into India.
IIC of Marine Station Mr Tezraj Patel has expressed that police registered a case against these seven Myanmar under Section 14 Foreigners’ Act & Section 3 Passport Act and were produced to the court on Monday. Their bail petitions were rejected by the court so they were remanded into jail custody. – He said.
Published on July 15, 2010
Accompanied by Ranong Governor Wanchat Wongchaichana, the two ministers also presided over an official opening ceremony of the centre, which is run by 20 Burmese staff and is set up to identify nationalities and issue temporary entry documents for 800 workers a day.
The centre, which was moved to Thailand on July 1 and is to be open until the end of October, should help workers submit nationality identification requests and documents faster, more conveniently and with less expense, Wanchat said. It may also facilitate Thailand’s request to have such centres in Tak’s Mae Sot district and Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, he added.
According to the Department of Employment, 833,013 of the 1,079,991 Burmese workers registered in 2009 asked for work permits and the nationality identification process. About 94,000 received permits. Thai Interior Ministry and Immigration Police will deal later with those 246,978 workers failing to undergo the nationality identification process.
Toboc – Trade News: Viet Nam Eyes Robust Myanmar Market
By Jose Roy
The Viet Nam Ambassador to Myanmar feels that Myanmar has all the trappings of providing big returns for investments ranging from mining, forestry management, agriculture and aquaculture to telecommunication, tourism and health-care services. Myanmar had a population of 56mn, and it was a large market for consumer products since its local production only met 13 percent of demand, clarified Chu Cong Phung.
Myanmar and Viet Nam have similar history and share almost identical culture and religion. While Viet Nam suffered boycott by the West in the past Myanmar continues to be ostracized by the US and the EU as well.
Phung who is active in Myanmar for some time with humanitarian aid became confident about its market following the back to back success of two trade fairs held to promote Vietnamese products in Yangon last September and April. Although the two-way trade between both sides last year was a meagre $74mn, the first half of this year is showing an uptick by recording $58mn.
Viet Nam exports steel products, cement, processed foods, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and electrical goods and other appliances. On the other hand, Myanmar’s main exports to Viet Nam are wood and forestry products, natural rubber and seafood.
According to the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Myanmar, Vietnamese enterprises have pledged investments of nearly $1bn in Myanmar this year, well short of their investments in the neighbouring Laos and Cambodia of about $6bn each. But Phung believes that the coming years will witness a greater interest among Vietnamese businesses to tap the new market as there is huge demand for their products in Myanmar on account of their quality, range and reasonable prices.
Nevertheless, Phung admitted that the businesses would have to undergo challenges such as tortuous import licensing procedures and difficulties in getting payments, major reason being the US and the EU embargo against Myanmar. But he advised Vietnamese enterprises to strictly follow the guidelines of the Vietnamese embassy in Myanmar and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and do financial transactions only through designated banks.
Under British colonial era, Myanmar was the second-wealthiest country in South-East Asia but the country is one of the poorest in the region today. Viet Nam aspires to make Myanmar as developed as itself through exchanges as the former too emerged from the shadows of prolonged sanctions from the West.
By BA KAUNG – Thursday, July 15, 2010
Burmese military chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe has a number of plans under his sleeve to ensure his continued hold on power following the planned election this year, according to a former senior intelligence officer in Burma’s Ministry of Defense.
Reclusive Than Shwe is totally unprepared to give up his military leadership role at least within the next three or four years, said Aung Lynn Htut, a former intelligence officer for the Burmese army who is now living in the United States.
Based on his military sources in Naypidaw, Burma’s capital, he has outlined three possible plans that Than Shwe could pursue.
He said Than Shwe’s Plan A is to to become a leader like China’s late premier Deng Xiaoping or Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini in the event of a landslide victory by the regime-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
“Plan B is if the regime-backed party does not win an outright victory. Than Shwe will form a special military commission like in China or North Korea, holding the reins from behind the scenes as the top leader of the commission,” he said. “I think both Gen Than Shwe and No.2 Gen Maung Aye will continue to hold their military posts after the election.”
According to Burma’s 2008 Constitution, the army commander-in- chief will be the most powerful figure in the country, able to appoint key ministers and assume power “in times of emergency.” It also gives the military a quarter of the seats in parliament and hence a veto over decisions made by legislators.
“Than Shwe has ordered his subordinates to study the role of military commission in China, Iran, North Korea and also the function of border guard forces in Bangladesh,” Aung Lynn Htut said.
He said that two unexpected events came as surprises to Than Shwe this year: the NLD boycott against the elections, which has damaged the credibility of the election; and the strong opposition of ethnic armed cease-fire groups against joining the government’s border guard force plan.
Since April 2009, Naypyidaw has tried to coerce all ethnic armed groups to transform their armies into a border guard force under the regime’s command. So far, only the New Democratic Army—Kachin and one Kareni group have indicated they would comply with the order.
Other groups including the large United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) have said they would not comply, or are in negotiations with the regime.
“Because of these surprises, I heard Than Shwe is in a bit of confusion over the election,” said the ex-officer said. “But election or not, I would say that Aung San Suu Kyi who is going to be freed in
November remains Than Shwe’s greatest headache.”
Than Shwe and former intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt, who Aung Lynn Htut once reported to, were the two key players in deciding against the army’s transfer of power to Suu Kyi’s political party, which won a landslide victory in Burma’s last election in 1990.
“Not unwillingly, Than Shwe seized power from the then army chief Saw Maung in 1992 and decided not to transfer power to Suu Kyi. Not that he was just obliged to play that role. He seized the opportunity,” Aung Lynn Htut said.
Than Shwe will not take any chances that the 2010 election will produce the results of the 1990 elections, but if something goes wrong, he would order the army to launch another coup d’etat according to his Plan C and be assured of his status quo, Aung Lynn Htut said.
By WAI MOE – Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Burmese military junta may extend the date of the election to the end of the year, said political sources based on conversations with election commission officials who had contacted newly formed political parties to invite them to attend the junta’s Martyr Day ceremony on Monday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a leader of a new political party in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that his party learned from election officials that the polls, previously expected to be held in October, are now not expected before December.
“It is now July, less than 90 days from the expected election date of October 10, and all political parties are in the process of collecting members. The circumstances say the election could not be held be in October,” said the party leader.
Political sources in Rangoon said the lack of activity by the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by Prime Minister Thein Sein, also indicates that the election will not be held in October. For example, no USDP signboard has been placed in Burma’s biggest cities, including Rangoon and Mandalay.
A businessman in Rangoon who has been nominated by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) to run as a USDP candidate in the election, told The Irrawaddy that the USDP is in the membership organizing stage, adding that he and other candidates have applied for party membership with the USDP.
“People should expect no unusual activity from the USDP at this time, but the mother organization, the USDA, is working on its ongoing community development projects such as road construction and opening libraries across the country,” he said.
Diplomats and international observers, including US Senator Jim Webb, had previously predicted October 10 as the election day. But a rumor circulated earlier this month predicting that junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his top generals had decided to shift the election date from October to an undisclosed date.
Than Shwe and his top generals reportedly held a meeting about the election with military commanders on July 10, said an official source from Napyidaw, citing a military telegraph to regional military commands instructing commanders to arrive in the capital by July 9.
Meanwhile, the Rangoon Division Election Commission held a meeting with new political parties on Wednesday, calling on the parties to attend the Martyr Day event on July 19 and pay respects to independence heroes, including Aung San, father of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was assassinated 63 years ago.
“At the meeting, officials from the Division Election Commission said they invited 21 political parties based in Rangoon to attend the Martyr Day event. But representatives from only 14 parties showed up at the meeting yesterday,” said a source.
He added that division-level leaders of the the USDP and representatives of the National Democratic Force, a splinter group of the main opposition National League for Democracy, attended the meeting.
“On July 19, political parties will have three minutes to pay their respects to martyrs, following government officials led by Rangoon Mayor U Aung Thein Lynn, family members of martyrs and diplomats,” he said.
By ALEX ELLGEE – Thursday, July 15, 2010
MAE SOT — Officers from Naypyidaw, the capital of Burma, were sent late last week to Myawaddy on the Thai-Burmese border to investigate allegations that the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) has been trafficking and extorting money from deported Burmese migrants, according to sources in Myawaddy.
A source who works closely with the DKBA, but who wished to remain anonymous, told The Irrawaddy that a small team of investigating officials arrived last week in Myawaddy and spent four days researching the allegations.
The investigative team was commissioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Naypyidaw and ordered to investigate recent reports of human trafficking at the DKBA “Gate Zero,” the pro-junta Karen army’s main checkpoint on the Moei River, which is under the command of the DKBA’s 999 battalion.
The Ministry of Home Affairs was contacted by The Irrawaddy but refused to comment on the trip.
A senior NGO worker based in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that he was aware the trip had taken place and was waiting to hear the results from the investigation.
“The Burmese government knows there are some serious problems at the DKBA gates, but we will have to wait and see if anything positive comes out of this,” he said.
One of the concerns voiced by local migrant workers is that if the unofficial DKBA gate is closed down, then deported migrant workers will have to go through official channels where the immigration authorities are in charge.
“If an investigation by the regime’s authorities encourage the DKBA to halt abuse of migrant workers deported to gates they operate, this is great news. However, we are concerned about what the outcome of this investigation may be,” Matt Finch, the coordinator of the Karen Human Rights Group, told The Irrawaddy.
“If, for instance, the Thai authorities halt deportations to DKBA gates only to send Burmese workers directly to the military junta, this will not necessarily improve their human rights situation.
Even if these workers are not classified as refugees, they have legitimate protection concerns that run deeper than fear of abuse at DKBA gates,” he said.
Speaking outside the garment factory in Mae Sot where he works, a migrant Burmese named Thaw Thar said the DKBA gate is useful for workers because they can pay the “gatekeepers” and be released quickly.
He said he was concerned that if the Naypyidaw take over the deportation process, their detention time could last a lot longer.
Maung Oo, a worker in a fisheries factory in Mahachai, told The Irrawaddy he was happy that the Burmese government is investigating the human trafficking abuses that are taking place on the border against those who are deported.
Like hundreds of others who are deported every week to the Thai-Burmese border, he was unable to pay for the 1,200 baht fee the DKBA invariable demand, and was imprisoned, beaten and forced to work for six days for his release.
“If they are serious about trying to stop this problem then I am so happy my government is investigating this, but I think other countries need to make sure they are committed to it, and that it is done correctly,” he said over the phone.
Recent reports on deportations to the gates, including one by Human Rights Watch, have alleged that people are often being trafficked back into Thailand by DKBA brokers for a further fee, while young boys may be conscripted into the DKBA army. There are also unconfirmed reports that deported girls are being sold to brothels.
Local activists and NGO workers believe that the trafficking implications around the checkpoints could have been the driving force behind the Naypyidaw sending a delegation to investigate the situation.
The Irrawaddy has learned that the US embassy in Bangkok has sent a delegation to Mae Sot to meet with Thai border guards in order to establish a relationship and investigate the human trafficking allegations.
Last month, the “Trafficking in Persons Report 2010,” released by the US State Department, put Burma in a “Tier 3” ranking alongside a dozen countries which the report said were doing the least to prevent human trafficking.
In response to the report, police chief Brig-Gen Khin Yi was reported to be furious over the findings and held a press conference in Naypyidaw to discuss the work the government was doing to prevent human trafficking in Burma, including workshops and increased teams assigned to tackle trafficking.
On Burma, the report said, “The regime’s widespread use of and lack of accountability in forced labor and recruitment of child soldiers is particularly worrying and represents the top causal factor for Burma’s significant trafficking problem.”
Wednesday, 14 July 2010 23:47 Mizzima News
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Rangoon divisional authorities have rejected the pleas of tornado victims in Kawmhoo Township for permission for or help with a temporary housing camp, according to the township’s peace and development council.
The tornado, which ripped through the district at about 6:30 p.m. on July 8, razed or damaged more than 60 houses in the affected area that included Thaminchan, Thayaktaw, Tartite, and Htandapin villages and displaced more than 230 people.
However, when those rendered homeless and the township authority sought approval or aid from the Rangoon Division Peace and Development Council for temporary housing, they were rejected, forcing the victims to take refuge with relatives.
“We want to rehabilitate the victims. We have been ordered not to open a temporary housing camp, so how can we organise to ask for alms for the victims?” a Kawmhoo Township Peace and Development Council spokesman said. “We need to open a temporary housing camp for displaced persons and ask for donations for the victims.”
The only aid the victims have received from the community came a few days ago when the Burma Red Cross Society invited victims and the township head to the local monastery to donate blankets, drinking water, medicines and household items.
An owner of a house destroyed by the tornado, said, “We are going to have to repair our house on a self-help basis”.
The worst-hit area was Thaminchan village, in which more than 40 houses sustained severe damage. Some of them completely collapsed, were pushed over or were leaning heavily, and some houses’ roofs were torn off in the high winds.
By NAW NOREEN
Published: 15 July 2010
Rights groups have asked Thailand’s labour minister to alter a regulation that blocks migrant workers from accessing a government compensation scheme if they are injured in the workplace.
Fourteen groups, including international labour unions and the US Committee for Refugees and Immigration (USCRI), signed an open letter on 12 July to Phaithoon Kaeothong asking for the Work Accident Compensation (WAC) scheme to include the country’s migrant worker population, 80 percent of which is thought to be from Burma.
Rights groups have warned in the past that migrant workers, although an integral part of the Thai economy, are treated poorly by authorities and often denied access to education and healthcare. The letter stated that “migrant workers in Thailand are living and working in seriously degrading conditions”.
Last month Thai police launched a mass crackdown on illegal migrants in the country, rounding up thousands and placing them in detention. The government said it was targeting those who had failed to register for the nationality verification process, and it followed the creation of a governmental centre tasked with “suppressing and prosecuting” illegal migrants.
Hsein Htay, from the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), said that migrant workers who fall victim to injuries at work are forced to seek compensation from their employers, despite lax labour rights regulations meaning that employers can often get away without paying up.
The majority of Thailand’s migrant community works in low-skilled jubs such as construction and fisheries, where the risk of accident is high. Hsein Htay said that the letter was received by Kaeothong “who said he would do the best he can”.
The letter says that the WCA 1994 “clearly lays down conditions, systems and procedures for paying work accident compensation to all ‘workers’ who experience accidents, are disabled or die at work”.
It goes on to claim however that “in reality migrant workers in Thailand are denied many basic human and labour rights and standards of equality and non-discrimination are not being applied”.
A number of similar demands have been made to the Thai government in recent years, but Htsein Htay said that repeated rejections were done on the basis that most migrants had entered the country illegally and so were not eligible for state compensation.
“We expect that we will win the case,” he added. “We are making our demand in accordance with international labour law, Thailand’s labour law and the Thai compensation law.”
By NAY HTOO
Published: 15 July 2010
Last month Foreign Policy magazine ranked Burmese junta chief Than Shwe as the world’s third worst dictator, behind Robert Mugabe and Kim Jong-il. Than Shwe has ruled Burma since 1992 and presided over a campaign to eliminate political opposition and bring once-autonomous ethnic groups under the direct control of the military government.
Calls for Than Shwe to be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity are growing louder, but the senior general looks set to dictate the direction of the country from behind the scenes following elections later this year. Benedict Rogers, a campaigner with Christian Solidarity Worldwide and author of the new biography, Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma’s Tyrant, tells DVB that several factors may in fact make Than Shwe worse than Zimbabwe’s brutal leader.
You haven’t met Than Shwe. How do you write such a biography?
Yes. That’s a very good question. Obviously I had a lot of challenges; limitations in finding out what could about him. But I had three major sources who helped me a lot. The first were a number of defectors from the Burma army. Some have known him from different times in his life and so they were able to share quite a lot of inside stories about him. Secondly, I interviewed a lot of international diplomats, former ambassadors to Burma, former UN special envoy Razali Ismail and other UN officials. And then thirdly, I had a lot of help from Burmese dissidents and activists who of course didn’t know Than Shwe personally but they had a lot of information to share. So, I was helped by defectors, diplomats and dissidents. They were my major sources.
What about the places you went to survey?
I’ve travelled extensively as part of my work with Christian Solidarity Worldwide. I travelled regularly to Burma anyway. But I travelled as part of research for the book to the different borders: the Thai border, the India border, the China border. And I also travelled to Rangoon and I made a one-day visit to Naypyidaw and had an opportunity to look at Naypyidaw. And in addition to that I travelled to other places to interview people. I met people in Malaysia, in Thailand, in Japan, in the United States, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. It took just over one year to write the book; probably about 14 or 15 months.
If you have the chance to meet him personally, what would you ask Than Shwe?
I think if I had the opportunity to ask him one question, I would ask him why does he preside over regime that is committing so many widespread atrocities against its own people? The catalogue of crimes against humanity that ultimately Than Shwe is guilty of is huge: rape as a weapon of war, forced labour, torture, the use of child soldiers, the destruction of villages, and so on. So I think my question for him as a human being is how does he feel about that and why does he continue to commit crimes against humanity, and allow himself to be seen to be a war criminal instead of a national leader.
What is the most powerful point about Than Shwe, and the weakest and cruellest point about this tyrant?
I think his strengths are that he is very, very skilled at manipulating people, creating division. Divide-and-rule is his great strength, and also misleading the international community. Very often he promises the international community just enough to ease the international community’s pressure on him. And then he delivers little of what he promises. But he is very skilled at keeping the international community waiting and buying time. I think his weakness: people say that he’s not very decisive, at least initially. He takes a long time to make decisions and then when he does make decisions, he makes very harsh and tough decisions. So, for example, with the Saffron Revolution, people said that if [former prime minister] Khin Nyunt had been around, Khin Nyunt would have been able to crush the protests with less brutality and less bloodshed but more quickly before they grew, whereas Than Shwe allowed the protests to grow very large and then crushed them with extreme brutality.
You could say that’s a deliberate tactic in order to flush out the opponents and see who is going to come out and get rid of them. But I think it is a weakness that he takes a long time to make decisions. And also he is not an original thinker. If you look at the plan being made for the election, the new constitution, it’s like a repeat of what [Burma’s first dictator] Ne Win did in the 1970s. History repeating itself? So I think he has very few ideas.
And then his cruellest characteristic is, I think, simply the fact that he has no compassion for his people. We saw that in cyclone Nargis where he, for some time, refused to allow international aid and international aid workers and so many lives could have been saved if he had responded to the natural disaster in a more compassionate way. So that’s one example. But I think he appears to be a person particularly devoid of any compassion for his people.
How would you describe Than Shwe?
I think he is a person who, having got to the top of the regime, is absolutely committed to power and to holding on to power at all costs. And so he is completely intolerant of any dissent in the opposition and any rivalry, and he is very skilled at crushing dissent and getting rid of his rivals. However, it is also worth noting that in his military career, he was a fairly mediocre soldier. He was not known as a brilliant soldier and he kept his ambition and his talent very quiet. So people didn’t see him as a threat. He rose up the ranks very quietly, and he was quite a dull character. But when he got to the top, he showed the determination to hold on to power at all costs.
Foreign Policy magazine ranks Than Shwe as the world’s third worst dictator. Do you agree?
I do. I actually think it’s a close competition between Than Shwe and [Zimbabwean president] Robert Mugabe for second and third place. I think [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-il undoubtedly is number one and the worst. But I think that Than Shwe in some ways is worse than Mugabe because Mugabe at least has done some kind of deal with the democratic opposition in Zimbabwe. It’s a very flawed deal and he continues to show real brutality as a dictator. But at least he has accommodated the opposition in some way in this government in Zimbabwe, whereas Than Shwe has completely tried to eradicate the opposition and kept Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. So I personally think Than Shwe could beat Mugabe in second place but definitely he deserves to be in second or third place.
If Than Shwe goes, will the regime go with him?
No. I think it would be a big mistake to assume that if Than Shwe is gone, everything will be OK because clearly the other generals are also very brutal and very keen to protect their own interests. So it is a brutal regime as well as Than Shwe being a brutal tyrant. However, there is no doubt at the moment that he is the number one in the regime. He does have real control over the regime. And what he says goes. So I think it’s no longer a collective regime, it is a dictatorship of Than Shwe. But that does not mean that when he is gone there wouldn’t be another dictator. There could easily be another unless there is a meaningful transition to democracy. Military rule in Burma doesn’t hold out any prospect of meaningful change.
Who will take his place?
Well it is not entirely clear. The majority of people talk about [junta number thee] Shwe Mann as the chosen successor, although some reports suggest that he is no longer as favoured as he used to be. I think it is clear that [vice chairman] Maung Aye, if Than Shwe dies tomorrow, will become number one because he is currently the number two. But if Than Shwe can, as he intends to, orchestrate the succession and can move into retirement with a chosen successor, he is determined that Maung Aye move in retirement with him. So if Than Shwe has his way, Maung Aye will not be the successor. Whether it is Shwe Mann, as many people think, or whether it is somebody else is not totally clear. But that is a likely scenario.