Jan 12, 2011
Asia Times Online – Stilwell Rd to be reborn
By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE – Myanmar seems to have finally overcome its longstanding reluctance to reopening the historic Stilwell Road, which crosses the northwest of the country to link India with China.

Mahesh Saharia, chairperson of the Northeastern Initiative of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, describes the gains from the reopening of the Stilwell Road as “unimaginable”.

The Myanmar government awarded a contract to rebuild a 312-kilometer stretch of the road running from Myitkyina in Myanmar to Pangsau Pass on the India-Myanmar border to China’s Yunnan Construction Engineering Group.

The award of the contract to a Chinese company is a setback to India in its battle with China for influence in Myanmar, but the renovation of the Myitkyina-Tanai-Pangsau Pass section of the road will benefit all three countries, indeed the wider region, immensely.

The reopening of the Stilwell road could cut by 30% the cost of transporting goods between India and China, providing a boost to Sino-Indian overland trade in a few years.

Originally termed the Ledo Road, the 1,736 km Stilwell Road was built during World War II from Ledo in Assam to Kunming so that the Western Allies could supply Chiang Kai-Shek’s Kuomintang forces after another route had been cut by the Japanese in 1942. It was renamed after General Vinegar Joe Stilwell of the US Army in 1945.

It winds its way from Ledo in Assam through Jairampur and Nampong in Arunachal Pradesh until it reaches the Pangsau Pass (aka the “Hell Pass”) where it crosses into Myanmar. The road then weaves through upper Myanmar to reach Myitkyina before turning eastward to China where it culminates at Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province. Roughly 61 km runs through India, 1,035 km through Myanmar and 640 km in China.

After the war, the road fell into disuse. The Indian northeast and much of the road’s route through Myanmar were wracked by insurgencies. Myanmar’s inward-looking policy and avoidance of contact with the outside world, as well as poor relations between India, Myanmar and China, meant that none of these countries used the road.

That has now changed. Relations between the three countries have improved significantly, resulting in a revival of interest in reopening the road. However, stretches of the road, especially in Myanmar, were in poor condition or simply no longer exist.

Agreement for the renovation of the Myitkyina-Tanai-Pangsau Pass was signed in November, according to the Indian Express. The project will be undertaken as a joint venture by Yunnan Construction and Myanmar’s military-backed Yuzana Group.

Of the three countries, China has been most enthusiastic about reopening the road and Myanmar the least keen. Beijing has already renovated the stretch running through China and linked it the country’s superhighway network. It has also been developing other infrastructure in Yunnan, where Kunming is an increasingly important industrial center, in order to maximize gains from trade once the Stilwell Road is reopened.

Since the road runs through the insurgency-wracked Kachin region over which Myanmar’s military rulers have limited control, they have been reluctant to allow the road’s opening, seeing it as likely to facilitate movement of insurgents.

With the award of the contract for repairing the Myitkyina-Pangsau Pass stretch, the last obstacle on the way to reopening the Stilwell road has been removed.

India was hoping to land the renovation project, particularly as Myanmar’s rulers had raised the issue with New Delhi in 2008. The loss of the contract to China has evoked disappointment in Delhi, but India too will reap the benefits of the reopened road.

The two areas that the road will link – India’s northeast and China’s Yunnan – are both isolated, economically backward and landlocked and the trade the Stilwell road will encourage is likely to bring in its wake economic development to these regions.

Partition of the sub-continent in 1947, severing what is now Bangladesh from India, deprived the northeast of access to its nearest port, Chittagong. Sixty years on, the region’s access to the sea is about 1,600 km away – overland via a poor road and rail network and through the narrow Siliguri Corridor to Kolkata port. Goods from India’s northeast headed for China or Southeast Asian countries are at present shipped via Kolkata through the Strait of Malacca and on to China.

“It takes seven days for cargo to move by road from the northeast to Kolkata, then around three to four weeks to move by sea to China,” said Saharia. Cargo from the northeast transported along the Stilwell Road could reach Yunnan in less than two days.

The Stilwell Road could emerge as a preferred route for transporting goods to China from other parts of India too, given the short distance to Yunnan.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a visit to India in December said “The world is undergoing major development and changes, we should seize the opportunity and lose no time in deepening our ties.”

During his visit, the countries set a new bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2015 from the 2009-10 level of around $60 billion. At present there is a $19 billion balance in China’s favor. Even if a fraction of this trade were to take place through the Stilwell Road it has the potential to improve the economies of regions en route.

Other routes run from the northeast India through Myanmar to Southeast Asia, including the Moreh-Tamu road, which links Manipur with Myanmar. India’s National Highway 39, which runs from Numaligarh in Assam through Nagaland links up with this road at Moreh. The expectations of the Moreh-Tamu road have, however, not been realized as this road is closed for at least a third of the year due to strikes and civil unrest.

Construction on the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project is reported to have begun late last month. The project envisages connecting the northeastern state of Mizoram with the Bay of Bengal and is expected to be completed by 2013, giving goods from India’s landlocked northeast access to the sea.

The project involves constructing roads linking Mizoram with Kaletwa in Myanmar, development of the Kaladan River as a waterway and improving the infrastructure of the port at Sittwe, capital of Myanmar’s Arakan province and the point where the Kaladan River empties into the Bay of Bengal.

Thus goods from the northeast can be transported by road and river to Sittwe port from where it can be moved by sea to other Southeast Asian countries. Sittwe’s importance as a port will also grow as it serves as a center for development of offshore gas fields in the area and terminal for a gas pipeline planned to run north to China.

India had been eyeing Sittwe port for several reasons, sea access for cargo from the northeast being one. Indian interest in Sittwe was also particularly high as relations with Bangladesh have at times been poor and Dhaka was reluctant to give Indian goods access to its Chittagong port.

Relations with Bangladesh have improved substantially over the past two years and Dhaka has expressed interest in allowing India to use Chittagong port as another outlet for its goods.

Access to Chittagong will no doubt reduce the commercial importance of Sittwe to India. But Sittwe has strategic importance for India as well. Besides, access to road, rail and other outlets in more countries is good for trade, Saharia said, pointing out that this “will reduce India’s dependence on one country.”

Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore.

ReliefWeb – U.S. Government Provides Additional $1.5 million for Victims of Cyclone Giri
Source: United States Department of State
Date: 11 Jan 2011

The U.S. government and the American people are pleased to announce an additional $1.5 million in food assistance to victims of Cyclone Giri which struck Burma’s Rakhine State in October 2010. This follows an initial U.S. donation of $300,000 for emergency relief supplies, including water/sanitation and shelter materials.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide the $1.5 million to the U.N. World Food Program to purchase food for the affected populations.

Cyclone Giri hit the western coast of Burma on October 22, killing dozens, rendering many thousands homeless, destroying infrastructure, and severely damaging arable land.

Residents of Rakhine State continue to suffer, and more than 200,000 people remain in need of food assistance.

This latest U.S. humanitarian assistance to Burma follows on the more than $83 million the U.S. provided Burmese victims of 2008’s Cyclone Nargis. It accents yet again the U.S. desire to assist Burmese populations who have suffered from natural disasters.

For more information, please contact the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon at (95-1) 536-509 or visit the Embassy’s website at burma.usembassy.gov.

Bangkok Post – DSI uncovers timber scam tied to Burma
POLITICIANS LINKED TO IMPORTS GANG
Published: 9/01/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

The Department of Special Investigation has impounded 75 million baht worth of smuggled timber in a racket they believe is backed by national politicians and state officials.

DSI deputy chief Narat Sawetanant said his agency and the Royal Forest Department raided Suksawat Plywood company in Nonthaburi where they discovered the teak.

They believe the timber was smuggled from Burma by another company, Anton, in Chiang Mai, which sold the wood to Suksawat.

The DSI, which impounded the wood, found that documents for its import were fake, said Pol Col Narat.

He said Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga has ordered an investigation as many residents in the far North have lodged complaints against the wood smuggling gang.
Influential figures including politicians and government officials are believed to have colluded with the gang, said a DSI source.

The source said kickbacks were paid to officials in charge of wood imports. The wood was cut and sold to a gang by Burmese ethnic rebels living across the border.

The rebels were making money from the timber as an alternative to selling drugs.

The source added proxy firms were set up to conduct the smuggling and falsify the import documents.

Pol Col Narat said Suksawat Co only bought the wood and had no knowledge of the smuggling. The company’s executives have not been charged.

An investigation was under way to establish if Suksawat and Anton had any link apart from trade.

The DSI has discovered in many previous investigations that trees have been felled in Thailand and sent to Burma. After that, they are re-imported in the guise of Burmese timber.

But the timber confiscated at the Suksawat company is different, said the source. It is teak grown in Burma.

Pol Col Narat said state officials played a part in the illegal imports as it was impossible that the timber could have slipped into the country without their knowledge.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission would be asked to probe any officials with a hand in the smuggling.

The Irrawaddy – Following Suu Kyi’s Advice, Youth Network Takes Shape
By KO HTWE Tuesday, January 11, 2011

When Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi played host to a large gathering of young people on Dec. 28, she urged them to listen not only to her, but also to each other.

They seem to have got the message.

Since that meeting two weeks ago, many of the attendees have begun sharing information, using email addresses and telephone numbers they exchanged after their meeting with Suu Kyi.

Now a wide cross-section of socially engaged young people—from political parties, civil society organizations and groups representing ethnic minorities—have formed a National Youth Network that continues to grow with each passing day.

“The participants who attended the conference stayed in touch through e-mail and telephone.  That’s how the network got started. Now we have political parties and social groups contacting us every day,” said Myo Yan Naung Thein, the leader of a team coordinating the network’s activities.

Than Min Soe, a youth member from the Union Democratic Party who joined the network along with 32 other members of the party, said the network is open to anyone who wants to join and cooperate with people who share their goals.

“We can explain the policies and opinions of our party to other network members, and they can also share information with us. We can also do social work together,” said Than Min Soe.

He added that another advantage of the network is that members need only take part in discussions that reflect their own concerns.

“We can stay away if the issues others are involved in are different from our own interests,” he said.

Than Zaw Aung, a youth member of the Democratic Party (Myanmar), said he joined the network with 16 other young lawyers because he wants to work together with them to fight injustices such as illegal land confiscation.

“We intend to increase our capacity-building so that other young people can work together for the good of the country in the post-election period. We will also try to expose injustices through the network,” he said.

Kyaw Min Hlaing, who competed in last year’s Nov. 7 election as a candidate for the National Democratic Front, said that the network would benefit everybody by enabling them to share their points of view.

“We can extend our social work through the network. And since I belong to a legally registered party, I also look forward to doing political activities through the network,” said Kyaw Min Hlaing, who also belongs to a volunteer group that teaches orphans and students in Rangoon’s Thanlyin Township.

“We can contact groups that are scattered all over the place,” said Wai Phyo Aung, a leading member of Mizzima Alin, a civil society organization whose members include doctors and university and technical students engaged in social work.

“We can do more social work and get to know each other better because of the network,” said Thiri, a member of the Development Association for Youth, a group that focuses on teaching orphans, the children of HIV/AIDS patients and the poor.

The Irrawaddy – Thais Call on Burma to Cease Artillery Fire
By SAI ZOM HSENG Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Thai authorities have sent a letter to the Burmese government through the Thai-Burmese Border Committee calling on Burma to control the firing of heavy artillery after several shells landed and exploded on the Thai side of the two countries’ mutual border during clashes between Burmese government forces and a splinter group of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), according to Manager, an online news service belonging to the Thai News Group.

It reported that the commander of the Royal Thai Army’s Mae Sot-based No. 4 Regional Command confirmed that during the battles between the Burmese army and the DKBA Brigade 5 troops on Sunday and Monday, “many” artillery shells exploded near Mae Koking village in Thailand’s Mae Sot District.

The two-day series of skirmishes involved, on one side, Burmese government forces and their allies, the DKBA, which is now incorporated into a border guard force unit under Burmese command, while on the other side, a coordinated resistance by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), which is the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), is fighting alongside the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) and the splinter group Brigade 5 of the DKBA, according to Khin Kyaw, the secretary of the ABSDF military commission.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Khin Kyaw said, “This two-day battle was the most serious fighting in the past couple of months. They [government] attacked us powerfully with a view to decimating us if they could.”

With regard to the timing of the military operation, Khin Kyaw said, “The government announced that they will convene Parliament on Jan. 31. Before that day, they want to totally secure the situation [at the border]. They don’t want to let the DKBA [Brigade 5] attack them again as they did on Nov. 7 in the middle of the  general election.”

According to an officer from DKBA Brigade 5, the two-day clash left more than 50 government troops injured while two Brigade 5 soldiers died last night at Mae Sot hospital. About 200 artillery shells were fired by the Burmese military on Sunday and Monday.

However, artillery fire ceased on Tuesday, with the exception of 11 artillery shells fired by Burmese government forces that morning, the officer said.

The regime’s soldiers carried their seriously injured troops, including one major, to Myawaddy through Mae Sot, a Thai Border Guard officer confirmed.

Clashes broke out in the areas of Waw Lay and Phaluu, forcing hundreds of local people to flee across the border to Thailand. Some of them were housed at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot while others returned to their villages on Tuesday afternoon, according to a resident from Phaluu in Kawkareik Township, Karen State.

Thousands of local people from Waw Lay and Phaluu were also forced to take refuge in Thailand on Nov. 7 when fighting erupted between Brigade 5 and Burmese government troops.

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Monday saying that the Thai authorities had not put pressure on the refugees to return home. Those who returned did so by their own choice, wish and desire, it said.

Meanwhile, Khin Kyaw said, the military government has expanded its troop strength in the Manerplaw area, which is the former headquarters of the KNU.

“If the government thinks that they are strong enough to defeat us, they will try to do it, for sure,” he said. “The battle continues because they are unhappy that we [ABSDF, KNLA and DKBA] have cooperated with each other.”

According to DKBA Brigade 5 claims, the Burmese army used prisoners to clear mine fields during the two-day clash.

The Irrawaddy – 60 Rangoon Monasteries to be Relocated
By HSET LINN Tuesday, January 11, 2011

RANGOON — More than 60 Buddhist monasteries situated along the banks of the Pegu River in Thaketa Township in Rangoon are to be relocated to Shwepyithar Township in the northern suburbs of the city, according to several affected monks.

Local residents speculate that the monasteries may have been targeted by the military regime because of the active involvement of many of their monks in the 2007 Saffron Revolution.

Several monks said they believe the monasteries will be destroyed to make way for a port project and road extension financed by the Htoo company owned by Tay Za and the Yuzana company owned by Htay Myint. Both businessmen are known to be close to several military leaders and are blacklisted by Western sanctions.

The monasteries affected are situated on or close to Shukhinthar Road, which runs along the Pegu River just east of central Rangoon. Also due for relocation, according to the monks, are several highly respected religious centers, including Aung Thida, Zaytawun, Myo Ukin, Mingalayama, Thae Inngu Dharma Center and Mogok Aung Nyeinchan Monastery which run a free community clinic, and Kan Zayon Monastery, which runs free English classes.

All the Buddhist monasteries and learning centers have already been informed that they are to relocate to Wahtayar in Shwepyithar Township, according to the monks.

“Ten Buddhist learning centers and around 60 monasteries are on the relocation list,” said affected monk U Agga. “Approximately 1,500 monks reside in those monasteries.”

“Speculation about a relocation began last year, but the first proof we saw was on Dec. 27 when municipal workers, military officials and the Htoo Trading Company staff came here and took photographs and surveyed the area,” said the monk.

“The naval port, the park and the Shwe Hin Thar Hotel will be in the firing line if the project goes ahead,” said a monk from Zaytawun Monastery. “However, I have heard nothing about their relocating. Only monks have been instructed to move out.”

At Aung Thida Monastery, a representative of the more than 200 monks studying Buddhist literature there said the monks are worried about their relocating to the new site as they depend solely on alms offered by members of the public.

“All monasteries rely on donations,” a senior monk said. “But the place where we are being asked to relocate to is practically empty.”

The monks who spoke to The Irrawaddy said they do not know the exact date of the relocation, but said they will defend their religious property as new monasteries are normally devoid of furnishings and any religious paraphernalia.

“The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee [the state-sponsored Buddhist monks’ organization] has not called us in yet,” a monk said. “If we are told to relocate, we will contest the decision.”

The monks said they have been informed that each Buddhist learning center will be allocated a 200-foot-wide plot in Wahtayar, while each monastery will be alloted a 90-foot-wide plot at the new site.

The monks told The Irrawaddy that the authorities will not pay any compensation nor pay for any building construction or other costs.

During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, when the military attempted to raid the monasteries on Shukhinthar Road, they were confronted by Thaketa residents, resulting in the death of one local man. Ultimately, the military staged a raid against the monks with the assistance of local navy from the nearby port on the Pegu River.

Military draft seen as threat to ethnic armed groups
Tuesday, 11 January 2011 19:33 Phanida and Myo Thant

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) ––The enactment of a military draft law, making most adult Burmese subject to serve in the armed forces, is likely to create more tension between the junta and the ethnic armed groups, according to ethnic leaders and observers.

The junta’s law No. 27/2010 orders all Burmese between specified ages to register for service in the armed forces. The law was approved by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) on Nov. 4, 2010.

For ordinary military service, men between age 18 and 34 and  women between 18 and 26, if called up, are subject to serve up to two years.

For service in technical positions, male professionals, including doctors, engineers and mechanics, between age 18 and 44, and females 18 to 33, are subject to serve in the military for up to three years.

All categories are subject to serve up to five years, if the government declares an emergency.

All local draft committees are subject to submit a list of potential draft candidates to regional or state authorities on Jan. 1 each year.

Religious personnel, house-wives, the disabled, people who are determined to be not suitable to serve in the military, and people with other exemptions from the recruitment central committee would not be required to serve in the armed forces, the law said.

People who are eligible to serve must inform the regional recruitment committee before Dec. 31 each year.

The law said government employees, students, people who need to look after elderly parents, patients who are receiving treatment in the drug rehabilitation centres and prisoners could postpone serving in the military with the approval from the relevant authorities.

Karen National Union joint secretary Saw Hla Ngwe said that the military conscription law would bring more problems between the junta and the ethnic armed groups, and the junta’s ultimate intention was to launch major attacks against the ethnic armed groups.

With the enactment of broad conscription, ‘Many problems will occur’, said Saw Hla Ngwe. ‘I think their intention is to support the military dictatorship and kill ethnic people. Many forced military recruitments are likely to occur’, Saw Hla Ngwe said.

‘I think the junta has many problems in recruiting. There are many deserters. Troops of the junta are injured in the front lines. And the junta is widely criticised because they recruit child soldiers. That’s why they are introducing this conscription’.

An officer in the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) also said on the condition of anonymity that the intention of the junta is to reinforce the army and problems are inevitable.

If the junta could achieve genuine national reconciliation, ethnic people would be interested in the military draft, he said.

All Mon Region Democracy Party chairman Naing Ngwe Thein said, ‘To be honest, I think it’s impossible. It can bring many problems. We are not fighting wars with foreign countries. So, introducing conscription is unnecessary. On the other hand, the civil war has not ended. In Mon State, people are very rare to join the army. I don’t know whether people in other states want to join the army or not. I think the junta wants more troops. But, it’s very rare here for people to go into the army’.

To avoid serving in the military, many young people might leave the country, some observers said.

An analyst who specializes in Burma, Bo Bo Kyaw Nyein, said he believes one of the purposes of the law was that the junta is trying to recruit citizens to work as unpaid porters for the military in times of national emergencies.

‘The law does not mention that it is inclusive of the whole country. So, the adoption of the law may depend on the situations of the regions’, he said.  ‘The law can be imposed in any township, district, division or state in times of national emergencies. For instance, when the mainland is peaceful but fighting breaks out in Karen State, the law could be adopted in only Karen State’.

Section 412 (a) of Chapter 11 of the 2008 Constitution says: ‘If the President, learns that or if the respective local administrative body submits that there arises or is sufficient reason to arise a state of emergency endangering the lives, shelter and property of the public in a Region or a State or a Union Territory or a Self-Administered Area, after co-coordinating with the National Defense and Security Council, may promulgate an ordinance and declare a state of emergency’.

Under the law, if men between the age of 18 and 45 and women between 18 and 35 fail to serve in the armed forces without approval of the authorities, they could face a prison sentence of up to five years or be fined.

Professionals and people with PhDs, or people who meet the specified qualifications, can be recruited as high-ranking officers, according to the draft.

National League for Democracy (NLD) Vice Chairman Tin Oo said that the junta should have sought national reconciliation before introducing mandatory military conscription.

“The most important thing people in our country need is national reconciliation and mutual trust’, he said. ‘Then we can discuss whether to enact those kinds of laws. Currently, they are enacting the law although we don’t have wars with foreign countries. If the objective of enacting military conscription was to equalise the military and civilians, it would be good. But, we need to take more time’, Tin Oo told Mizzima.

Burmese observer Htay Aung noted that the law was enacted before the convening of the new Parliament and the issue was not discussed in the last National Convention.

“You know, the junta has cheated the people many times’, he said. ‘Even in the socialist era in Burma, a law needed to be approved by the people. The law should have been discussed in the National Convention. But, the junta is trying to cheat us. And they are enacting the law without the approval of Parliament. That shows the junta’s dishonesty. I think they have a hidden agenda’.

Enacting broad conscription without reducing the number of permanent troops showed that the junta’s real intention is to increase the power of the military, Htay Aung said.

On the other hand, he said, in some democratic countries universal conscription is enacted to reduce military expenses. He said one unintended consequence is that if many young people receive military training and understand more about military affairs, they might be willing to oppose the military. But, the real intention of the junta is to oppress the ethnic armed groups by using the people, he said.

‘They will try to shape the people to become soldier-like and to obey orders’, said Htay Aung.

The junta needs about 600 troops to serve in a battalion, but many battalions now have only about 200 troops.

On Nov. 4, the junta established a law governing the military reserve army, stipulating that military personnel who resign or retire from the army must serve in the reserve army for the following five years.

DKBA and junta troops engage in two-day fight
Tuesday, 11 January 2011 17:25 Ko Pauk

New Delhi (Mizzima)––Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops and junta troops have fought in the Phalu area in  Myawaddy Township in Karen State for two straight days starting from Monday morning, according to a DKBA officer.

About 200 troops from the junta’s infantry battalions Nos. 231, 355, 359, 548 and 549 assaulted the DKBA Kacha Wawlay outpost at about 6 a.m. on Monday, defended by about 300 DKBA troops from battalions Nos. 904 and 905 under the command of the 5th Brigade.

‘The fighting stopped at about 6 in the evening. But they could not overrun our outpost’, Bo Saw Kyaw Thet, the DKBA Phalu Wawlay area strategic commander told Mizzima.

He said that during the two-days of fighting, 30 junta soldiers were killed and more than 50 were wounded. Two of the wounded died, he said.

Regarding the fighting, KNU joint secretary (1) Pado Saw Hla Ngwe said the junta suffered heavy casualties because of the minefields planted by DKBA.

‘They underestimated the DKBA and entered the area, but our troops fought back and got the upper hand and they fled from the war zone to avoid more casualties’, he said.

‘I saw today they stopped advancing and pounded us with heavy weapons. They fired on our heavy weapon positions and camp sites. They seem to be firing on DKBA high-ground positions and the surrounding area’, said Pado Saw Hla.

Some artillery shells fell on Thai territory on Tuesday, but there were no casualties. The Thai army has tightened its security on the border, sources said.

Because of the intensified fighting between the two armies, more war refugees fled from their villages, and about 300 refugees arrived in the  Phutpra area in Thailand.

There are many more war refugees inside Burma, a volunteer refugee worker, told Mizzima.

“The refugees are moving into nearby farmlands and plantations for their security”, he said.

He said that the Maetao Clinic and other social organisations in Mae Sot are trying to provide basic assistance to the war refugees.

SPDC troops and DKBA troops have been fighting each other off and on in Myawaddy, Three Pagoda Pass and Kyar Inn Seik Gyi areas since Nov. 7, the polling day of recent general election.

DVB News – UN to extend treatment for HIV patients
By PETER AUNG
Published: 11 January 2011

The UN’s HIV/AIDS body will extend its treatment for HIV/AIDS patients in Burma, where only 12 percent of sufferers receive the necessary anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.

The treatment will run up to 2015, domestic journal The Voice quoted the UNAIDS agency as saying.

Burma is one of the worst-affected countries in Asia for the disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a December 2010 report that it remains a “serious problem” in a country where only 0.5 percent of the annual budget is spent on healthcare.

The ruling junta was roundly condemned in November last year after it threatened hundreds of HIV patients with eviction from a Rangoon care home.

The order for the men, women and children to leave came the day after released opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi visited, although their stay was later extended.

The owner of the care home, Phyu Phyu Thin, told DVB that while the UN treatment was welcome, plans needed to made for beyond 2015.

“Here, HIV/AIDS patients are dying every day due to lack of medicine,” she said. “At least, if the medicine is provided for the next three years, then the patients would be able to live longer and be more healthy.”

According to UNAIDS figures, the numbers of adults in Burma between 15 and 49 carrying the disease rose from 0.2 percent of the population in 1990 to 0.6 percent in 2009, although it has seen a decrease from 2001 when it peaked at 0.8 percent.

The WHO report said that Southeast Asia has seen a 46 percent rise in rates of HIV infection among children in the past eight years, while around 220,000 people across the region have contracted HIV in the past year.

“Regionally, women constitute 37 percent of the 3.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS, and without any intervention, about a third of infants born to HIV-positive mothers could acquire HIV,” the report said.