CP – Earthquake topples buildings in southwestern China near Myanmar, 24 dead, 207 hurt

AP – Myanmar to dredge major river, improve navigation

The Guardian – Aung San Suu Kyi | Top 100 women
ANN – Poppy farmers in Burma a growing problem in China
Chicago Tribune – Myanmar’s dazzling shrines to Buddha
People’s Daily Online – Annual gems fair opens in Myanmar’s new capital
The Star Online – Myanmar national jailed for hurting tourist
Asian Correspondent – Burma’s Dams in armed conflict zones will harm thousands ethnic inhabitants
GlobalPost – HIV quietly skyrockets in Burma
Asia Sentinel – Burma’s Highway of Death
Japan Today – 27 Myanmar refugees complete resettlement training program
Bernama – Five Fishermen arrested with 342g herion
Xinhua – Citibank accepts UnionPay cards in 7 Asian nations
Aljazeera.net – Ruby trade hide Myanmar slavery

DVB News – Paul Copeland: On sanctions & ICC
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Earthquake topples buildings in southwestern China near Myanmar, 24 dead, 207 hurt
By Tini Tran, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 12 minutes ago
Wed, 9 Mar, 2011 6:25 PM EST

The Guardian – Aung San Suu Kyi | Top 100 women
The Burmese pro-democracy leader who has inspired the world with her non-violent resistance to a brutal dictatorship
Sarah Brown, Tuesday 8 March 2011

Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for me embodies one of life’s most important lessons; you don’t need to be fierce to be strong.

Throughout decades of humiliation, a long imprisonment and searing severance from her husband and children, the woman the Burmese affectionately call “Daw Suu” an honorific title given to revered women, has inspired the world with her campaign of non-violent resistance to one of the most brutal dictatorships the world has known. The courage to face down the military regime has come from her belief that, in the end, no junta is stronger than a people’s yearning to be free.

The daughter of Aung San, the leader of Burma’s struggle for independence, Aung San Suu Kyi originally returned to Burma from the family life she had built in Oxford to nurse her dying and beloved mother. Once there, she was swept up in the pro-democracy movement and with her insight, integrity and quiet charisma soon found herself general secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

She did not enter politics for personal power, nor even in pursuit of an ideology. She is sustained by only one mission: the right of a people to govern themselves and the belief that democracy is the means by which free people deliberate about a shared future. Her commitment to the cause has been total, causing her to endure more than 15 years in detention and physical attacks on her and her supporters.

Because the junta fears Aung San Suu Kyi so much, she has lived for many years with threats to her life and has suffered beyond our imaginings. But perhaps the saddest sacrifice of all has been the enforced separation from her family. Her husband, Michael Aris, lived with their children in the UK and last saw her in 1995. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer he made a final appeal to be allowed to see her, but the junta replied that if they wished to be reunited, Aung San Suu Kyi would have to leave Burma, with every indication she would never be allowed to return. He died in 1999.

At the end of last year a new chapter in her struggle began when she was released from house arrest. It is typical of her that thoughts of celebration soon turned to plans to free the 2,100 remaining political prisoners in Burma. Her campaign works to free “the faces the regime wants you to forget”.

This is a time to reflect not just on the women who inspire us, but also on the lot of women around the world. The Burmese regime has brutalised so many of its people, but perhaps its women most of all. Women bear the brunt of the extreme poverty the dictatorship’s mismanagement has caused and are subjected to abuse, including the use of rape as a weapon of war.

Throughout all this, Aung San Suu Kyi, 65, has remained resolute for non-violence and has fought for the freedom of her people with a dignity that has entranced the world. Aung San Suu Kyi’s amazing life offers a snapshot of heroism as we celebrate 100 years of women changing our world.

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Poppy farmers in Burma a growing problem in China
By Wang Huazhong, Li Yingqing and Guo Anfei in Beijing/China Daily | ANN – Thu, Mar 10, 2011 5:00 PM MYT

Beijing (China Daily/ANN) – The illegal cultivation of poppies in the neighboring country of Burma has doubled during the past three years and is presenting a growing problem for those protecting China’s borders, said a senior police officer from Southwest China’s Yunnan province.

Meng Sutie, director of Yunnan’s public security department, told China Daily in an exclusive interview that those cultivating the poppies and producing opium try to smuggle most of their drugs across the border. But Meng said the quantity of synthetic drugs being brought into China from Myanmar now exceeds the volume of traditional drugs such as heroin and opium.

“Myanmar (Burma) now grows about 26,800 hectares of poppies,” Meng told China Daily from the sidelines of the plenary session of the National People’s Congress this week.

The deputy said the estimations were based on information collected by both countries during their long-term efforts to monitor the situation with satellite remote-sensing technology and through on-the-ground research in northern Myanmar.

However, Meng put the recent growth in the size of the poppy harvest into context, pointing out that a joint campaign by both countries saw the area of poppy fields fall from 201,000 hectares in the 1990s to about 13,400 hectares in 2007.

Yunnan province shares a 4,061-km border with Burma, Laos and Vietnam. The three neighboring countries, as well as Thailand, comprise the so-called “golden triangle” of poppy cultivation.

Because of the long border and proximity to poppy-growing areas, Chinese police arrest more than 10,000 drug traffickers each year.

Traffickers from Burma are said to be major drug suppliers to Yunnan and are thought to be responsible for 80 to 90 percent of the drugs that are brought in to the province, Meng said.

He noted that during the past five years of Sino-Burmese cooperation, efforts to fight the smuggling of poppy-derived drugs have largely been successful.

The total amount of opium and heroin that Yunnan police intercepts annually plunged from the 6 to 8 tons five years ago to 2 to 3 tons currently, he said.

“In the past, there were cases involving the trafficking of 500 kg of traditional drugs, tens of cases involving traditional drugs weighing more than 100 kg,” Meng said. “However, such big cases have been very rare in recent years.”

Many of the farmers have been persuaded to plant agricultural products including wheat.

However, Meng warned that synthetic drugs were “breaking in with tremendous force”.

“New types of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy surged dramatically to overtake traditional drugs in terms of total penetration into Yunnan,” he said.

Police and armed police at one time would seize a few hundred kilograms of synthetic drugs a year but, in 2010, they netted more than 4 tons.

He said the new drugs can be easily synthesized in shabby labs using ingredients that include generic medicines.

According to Wang Hailiang, Party chief of Yunnan’s armed police force, 25 officers have died in shootouts with armed drug traffickers during the past five years. In 2010 alone, 28 trafficking cases involved guns.

The ways that people are trying to smuggle drugs into the province have also changed. Some smugglers soak cloth in water in which drugs have been dissolved and extract the drug from the cloth after they have crossed the border, Meng said.

“China has been committed to tackling drugs. The road twists and turns, but the future is bright.”
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Chicago Tribune – Myanmar’s dazzling shrines to Buddha
Ancient Bagan is a treasure trove of temples — big ones, little ones, gilded and bejeweled ones — all devoted to Buddha, and perhaps atonement for some sins.
By Karin Esterhammer Special to the Los Angeles Times
March 6, 2011

Reporting from Bagan, Myanmar — As I sat on a high ledge of the 734-year-old Mingalarzedi Temple, looking out over the hundreds of ancient temples around Bagan, I wondered how long it would take a visitor to see them all. Archaeologists say there once were about 5,000 temples, but earthquakes, decay and long-ago looters have destroyed more than half of them. Still, that’s a lot of temples to explore in this 16-square-mile archaeological treasure trove.

We visited Myanmar in February 2010 and, yes, I did feel a twinge of guilt when booking the trip. The country, formerly called Burma, has been at the top of the boycott list since pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on travelers to avoid visiting her country, explaining that tourism helped support the military dictatorship and not the people. Recently, she has softened her stance, seeing that the 15-year-old boycott may have dissuaded visitors and accomplished little to democratize her country.

Myanmar was close to my home (until recently when we moved back to the States) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and the sale airfare I found online was so cheap I couldn’t help myself. Photographs of amazing temples, beautiful landscapes and people in colorful costumes got the better of my political conscience.

The fly time to the capital city of Yangon was only about three hours from Ho Chi Minh City, not including a stopover in Bangkok. My husband, Robin, son Kai and I landed about noon and checked into the Central Hotel, one of Yangon’s least expensive tourist hotels at $35 a night, including breakfast. The one-hour flight to Bagan was scheduled for the next day. After a short rest, we met a guide in the lobby who took us on a half-day tour of Yangon and several of its impressive sites.

The Shwedagon Pagoda, a 2,500-year-old Buddhist temple, was built to enshrine relics, including, some say, eight hairs from Buddha’s head. Over the centuries, monarchs built the central stupa, a tall bell-shaped dome (tourists cannot enter it), up to its present height of 320 feet and adorned it with 8,600 bricks covered with gold plates and nearly 80,000 diamonds and other precious stones. It’s simply dazzling. At night, the golden stupa is lighted, giving the otherwise colorless city a beautiful focal point.

The second important historic site is the Sule Pagoda, which is more than 2,000 years old and half the size of Shwedagon. It too has plenty of gold and glitter to ooh and aah at. The third worthwhile stop is the Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda, which houses a 230-foot-long reclining Buddha, built in 1966. Buddha’s feet are covered with artful mosaic tiles that represent 108 (a sacred number in Buddhism) characteristics of the holy master.

Knowing that Bagan and its 2,000-plus temples were to be the highlight of our five-day trip, it was hard to wait until the next morning to board the flight to this west-central Myanmar town. Bagan was founded in AD 108, but only began to flourish during the time of King Anawrahta, who reigned from 1044-1077. It was the capital of Myanmar until 1287, when Kublai Khan and his cronies ran amok and sent the first empire fleeing, never to return.

It was hard to get an accurate answer about how many temples and stupas were built. From various sources, we heard anywhere from 2,000 to 1 million. The likeliest number, in a UNESCO report in 1993, is that there once were about 5,000, but due to ruin or destruction, 2,230 remain standing in Bagan. An earthquake in 1975 destroyed many of those, including the most ancient, the Bupaya Pagoda from the third century, which was rebuilt on the same spot. Bagan’s temples and the tourist revenue they generate are the lifeblood of this town, so workers, many of them recruited from the military, quickly rebuilt or repaired much of the damage from that 6.5 quake.

“Look, so many pagodas in Bagan,” said our driver, Tun. “If you built a pagoda, your sins would be forgiven. The bigger the sin, the bigger the pagoda,” he explained on our way to our first temple after picking us up at the tiny Bagan airport. The structures range in size from 3 feet high to the tallest, the 17-story Thatbyinnyu, to the largest, the Dhammayangyi Temple, which was built in the 12th century by a ruler with a guilty conscience: He smothered his ailing father, who was the king, and then killed his older brother so he could be the ruler.

Our first stop, at the Mingalarzedi Temple, offered the best preview of what makes Bagan so special. Several hundred steep steps up, visitors can walk around its highest terrace for a 360-degree view of temples and stupas as far as the eye can see. Some are made of interlocking, mortarless red bricks, like the one we were standing on. Others are made of sandstone with their tops painted gold or silver. Architectural styles are reminiscent of India’s with intricate carvings, while others follow a Mon kingdom (pre-Burmese people) design — square with four entrances and an interior of dark, windowless corridors. A seated Buddha statue is usually placed at each entrance in the temple.

We got back into the car and headed for the Gubyaukgyi Temple, dating from 1113, where colorful frescoes were painted to help teach people about Buddha’s life. Some have been restored to their original vibrant colors by UNESCO.

Our next stop was the gorgeous and gilded Shwezigon, a smaller version of Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda, with a central stupa and numerous surrounding shrines. King Anawrahta started it, but it was completed by King Kyanzittha about 1090 and is popular for pilgrimages.

After several more temple visits and a stop at a lacquerware store — a well-honed craft in Myanmar — we settled into a simple 10-room hotel where we were the only guests. Before turning in, we looked up at the moonless night sky, which was sparkling with zillions of stars. There were no city lights to mar the view.

The next two days were filled with 20 more temple visits. It sounds like a lot, but we met a German tourist who had been in Bagan for a month and was on his 500th temple. We drove to the Mahabodhi Temple, which is my favorite because of the hundreds of tiny niches carved into the spires, each containing a different Buddha figure.

As a treat for Kai, 9, we had Tun drive on without us to the next temple while we hired a horse and cart and rode to the monstrous Dhammayangyi Temple, where the king who built it was also assassinated. Then, after seeing the late 12th century Gawdawpalin Temple, we stopped at the all-white Leimyethna, a one-story temple with faded murals dating from 1223. There were no guards, no souvenir vendors, no other tourists. Robin and Kai walked through it quickly and headed back to the car, while I lingered, wanting to experience alone the nearly 800-year-old temple. I sat cross-legged in front of a giant Buddha image, closed my eyes and just listened to the silence, broken only by the buzz of a passing bee. My 10 minutes alone in the temple was a rare, heavenly experience.

We visited 25 temples in three days. Our eyes began to glaze over and the soles of our feet were rubbed raw by the temples’ rough surfaces. Shoes aren’t allowed in any temple; I wished we had brought socks. It was time to return to Yangon for one more overnight. We packed up and got to the airport early, but the best and cheapest souvenirs we’d seen in the country were in the airport lounge, so we had fun shopping for gifts.

We boarded the little 40-seat Air Bagan propeller plane. While passengers were still standing to put away their hand luggage, the plane started down the runway. People grabbed onto the seatbacks to steady themselves and quickly plopped into their seats. Then, just before takeoff, we all watched a local man take a stroll on the runway. A policeman ran after him and escorted him away. Finally off the ground safely, I looked out the window at the thousands of temples we hadn’t explored. For another visit, I thought. And next time, I’ll bring socks.
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People’s Daily Online – Annual gems fair opens in Myanmar’s new capital
17:06, March 10, 2011

The 48th annual gems fair opened in Myanmar’s new capital of Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday.

First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo inaugurated the event at the Mani Yadana Jade Hall.

On display at the fair are raw and cut jade, raw and cut gems, pearl, jewelry made of jade, gems and pearl, and sculptures.

Over 206 gem lots, 16,926 jade lots and 255 pearl lots are put on sale through competitive bidding systems.

The annual gems fair, which will run till March 22, is participated by about 4,000 merchants from 10 countries and regions as well as 3,000 local merchants.

Exhibitors include state-run Myanmar Gems Enterprise, Myanmar Pearl Enterprise and local private companies.

Sixteen chartered flights of the Myanmar Airways International (MAI) are ready to transport the gems merchants to Nay Pyi Taw directly from China’s southern city of Guangzhou.

In November 2010, a 13-day mid-year gems fair earned 1.4 billion U.S. dollars through sale of 9,157 lots of jade, 27 lots of gems and 237 lots of pearl as well as other jewelry.

In the 47th annual gems fair in March 2010, attended by 6,000 merchants, mostly from China’s mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, 500 million U.S. dollars of trade value was obtained mainly through sale of 7,000 jade lots.

A 155-ton jade stone claimed to be the world’s second largest raw jade stone was showed at the event.

Myanmar started to hold annual gems fair in 1964, introducing the mid-year one in 1992 and the special one in 2004.

The latest figures show that in the first eight months (April- November) of 2010-11 fiscal year, Myanmar yielded 27,251 tons of jade and 9,573 million carats of gems as well as 80,123 mommis (300 kilograms) of pearl.

Myanmar is a well-known producer of gems in the world, and rich in ruby, diamond, cat’s eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet. Source: Xinhua
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Published: Thursday March 10, 2011 MYT 11:59:00 AM
Updated: Thursday March 10, 2011 MYT 2:37:37 PM
The Star Online – Myanmar national jailed for hurting tourist
By ANDREA FILMER

GEORGE TOWN: Myanmar national Nay Lin was jailed six months by a magistrate’s court for ramming his water scooter into a Chinese tourist.

The 32-year-old factory worker was also fined RM1,000 for causing grievous hurt to Zhu Li, 47, who broke her legs when she was hit by the machine at the Batu Ferringhi beach on Feb 5.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to committing a rash or negligent act that could endanger human life under Section 338 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to two years or a fine of up to RM2,000, or both, upon conviction.

Magistrate Noor Aini Yusof presided over the case on Thursday while the prosecution officer is DPP Nur Farhana Hashim.

It was earlier reported that Zhu Li was taking a stroll on the beach with five family members when the water scooter rammed into her from behind, breaking both her legs.

Nay Lin was arrested on the day of the incident with another Myanmar national, who was riding pillion on the water scooter.
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Asian Correspondent – Burma’s Dams in armed conflict zones will harm thousands ethnic inhabitants
By Zin Linn Mar 10, 2011 10:43PM UTC

According to the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG), a giant 600 MW dam on the Salween at Ywathit, nearly 60 kilometers from the Thai town of Mae Hong Son, will inundate upstream to Shan State across vast areas forcibly depopulated during ongoing offensives by the junta’s troops.

In addition, the 130 MW dam on the Pawn River in the heart of the state will mainly impact the Yintale people who now number just 1,000. Moreover, another 110 MW dam on the Thabet River to the north of the Karenni capital of Loikaw is also designed.

Engineers are secretly surveying for dams planned by China hydropower giant Datang on the Salween and its tributaries in Karenni State under the armed guard of Burmese military junta, according to local researchers.

The report, launched at a press conference in Thailand on Thursday (10 March) by the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG), exposes secret ventures by the Burmese regime and the state-owned Datang Corporation of China to build three dams in the Karenni state under a memorandum of understanding signed in January 2010.

The Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG) launched today a campaign publication exposing how three planned dams proceeding in secret will block waterways across the state, tightening the junta’s control and causing further widespread disruption to the war-torn population.

The Ywathit is one of seven dams planned on the mainstream Salween in Burma being constructed by Chinese and Thai companies. All of the dams are located in armed conflict zones and have already exacerbated local detest and insecurity.

These dams in the ethnic areas will cause damaging of forests and diminish biodiversity, reduce agricultural production, and create water surges and shortages. Many experts agreed that the project would have a negative impact on the local environment.

“Nearly 50 species of animal in the area will be extinct because of these projects,” said Sai Sai, the coordinator of Burma Rivers Network, a coalition of organizations representing various dam-affected communities in Burma.

“How can investors think this is business as usual while armies are battling around them and people are fleeing for their lives?” said Thaw Reh of the KDRG. “They should wake up to the risks of these dams and immediately stop their operations.”

The Datang Corporation is a member of the United Nations Global Compact whose members commit to conduct business according to universally accepted principles of human rights, environment and labor standards.

As said by Burma Rivers Network (BRN), dams planned for the Salween, the Irrawaddy and its tributaries alone have a combined capacity of over 30,000 MW representing an investment of at least US$30 billion. The majority of power produced will be for export to neighboring countries even though Burma is facing an energy crisis. The sale of electricity from these dams will provide significant long-term income to the military regime. The military spends more than 40% of its budget on defense and under 5% on health and education.

Millions of ethnic people have been expelled from their homes to make way for dams and reservoirs. But construction and engineering companies close to the military benefit from those dams. They receive millions of dollars for designing and building dams. The junta’s generals can benefit in many ways – illegal taxes, kickbacks and inducement – during construction of a dam.

In recent years Chinese companies have been involved in the construction or planning of over twenty large dams on the Irrawaddy, Salween, and Sittaung rivers or their tributaries in Burma.

The Burma Rivers Network (BRN) has welcomed the January 17 statement by the National League for Democracy (NLD) that dams are being constructed in Burma without any consideration for the environment or for local inhabitants, and that the Myitsone dam, the first on the Irrawaddy, will have negative impacts on the entire country.
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GlobalPost – HIV quietly skyrockets in Burma
Not only are anti-retroviral meds scarce, many Burmese don’t know the virus exists
Patrick Winn March 9, 2011 03:12

A Burmese woman suffers from HIV at a special clinic in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). The situation for many people living with HIV in Myanmar is critical due to a severe lack of antiretroviral treatment (ART). The Burmese government spends only 0.3% of the gross domestic product on health, the lowest amount worldwide, according to the United Nations Development Program 2008 survey. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

In recent years, Burma (also called Myanmar) has solidified its standing as one of the worst places to contract HIV.

The latest to document the reclusive nation’s HIV/AIDS woes is the Globe and Mail, which reports the government is treating “only the sickest” patients. Young men well into their illness are being sent home, writes journalist Mark MacKinnon.

Only those clinging to life get drugs. Why? Because of the roughly 242,000 Burmese with HIV, according to the Globe and Mail, only 20,000 can get their hands on much-needed medicine.

Those medicines are anti-retrovirals: drugs largely responsible for transforming HIV from a death sentence to a chronic illness.

But that promise is only available to those who can access the drugs. Though they’ve plummeted in price, relieving some of the worst-hit parts of Africa, they’re still scarce in Burma.

As of 2008, according to the U.N., Burma’s government spent only 0.3 percent of its GDP on health — less than any other country on the planet.

There are other factors at play, according to this Inter-Press Report that blames rising HIV rates on laws criminalizing male-on-male sex. In Yangon, Burma’s largest city, nearly 30 percent of new HIV cases are among gay men, according to the report.

And as for HIV awareness in Burma? Many foreign relief workers report that sick men and women first learn about the disease when they show up sick to clinics in Yangon.
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Asia Sentinel – Burma’s Highway of Death
Written by Our Correspondent
Thursday, 10 March 2011

A new highway, bad drivers, poor maintenance all combine to produce tragedy

Built at great expense over several years, the 320-kilometre Rangoon-Naypyidaw highway was meant to be Burma’s first international-standard roadway: a concrete strip where you could finally put the pedal to the floor of your new Toyota Land Cruiser without having to dodge a trishaw, bullock cart or man-sized pothole.

Uncluttered, secluded and efficient, the road seemed to sum up all that was good about the country’s purpose-built capital, at least in the eyes of its creators. A trip that previously took at least seven hours could now be completed in less than four and the traffic was minimal, estimated at just 5,000 vehicles a day.

However, since its opening in early 2009 the highway has been plagued by fatal accidents. Official figures show that to the end of 2010, 80 people had died and 278 were injured in 156 serious crashes but the actual number is likely to be higher.

The most high profile of its “victims” was the infant grandson of Rangoon Mayor (and elected Union Solidarity and Development Party representative) U Aung Thein Linn, who died in a single-car accident. The parents of one-year-old Sak Naing Lin – the mayor’s son and daughter-in-law – were also seriously injured in the crash.

More recently, four people reportedly died on the highway over the Academy Awards weekend, including a Japanese citizen travelling in a car with civil servants.

In a country where rational answers often appear in short supply – leading observers to, for example, attribute the shifting of the capital in 2005 to astrology – it’s reassuring to find a reasonable explanation for the relatively large number of fatal crashes.

First and foremost, it’s the result of a failure to develop and enforce road safety standards. Car maintenance is an oxymoron here. Vehicles are repaired as they fall apart and replacing tires before they burst is seen as a luxury that, quite literally, few can afford. While traffic police regularly stop cars to check registration papers, vehicle roadworthiness is never an issue. The enforcement of many road laws in Myanmar – as in most developing countries – is more driven by traffic police trying to earn enough money to survive than protecting road users.

This was noted by the World Health Organization in a 2009 report on road safety that revealed Myanmar had the second-highest road mortality rate in the organisation’s Southeast Asia Region, behind only Thailand. While drink driving and speeding are prohibited, “[e]xisting laws appear to be inadequately enforced” and this contributes significantly to the high number of deaths on Myanmar roads.

On the suburban streets of Rangoon the consequences of this are usually minimal – but on the wide open highway, it’s a different story. This culture permeates right to the top – to the businessmen and civil servants who use the highway most frequently. Anecdotally, accidents follow a similar pattern to that which claimed the life of U Aung Thein Linn’s grandson: a single, relatively late model vehicle with one or more burst tires.

The higher-than-normal pressure on the wheels comes from a combination of excessive speed and questionable road design. The paucity of traffic encourages drivers to travel at upwards of 150 kilometres an hour – often for the first time. While most cars on the highway have seat belts, they are rarely used. (Burmese law does not require drivers or passengers to wear seatbelts.)

A report in local media last year illustrates the attitude of many drivers. The relative of a family of four from Rangoon killed in an accident in late November was quoted as saying that when told to slow down on the highway, the father of the family regularly replied that he could complete the journey from Rangoon to Naypyidaw in just three and a half hours.

Sources in the engineering community say the concrete surface is rougher than bitumen and exacts a greater toll on tires. “Because the highway is made from concrete there’s no camber, which makes cornering more difficult,” said one engineer. Also, long straight stretches are followed by relatively sharp bends, surprising inexperienced drivers.

“The engineers who built the road” – from the Ministry of Construction’s Public Works department and Directorate of Military Engineering – “were not very experienced at making highways,” he adds. “The priority was completing the road as fast and as cheaply as possible.”

Surprisingly, given that the government’s failings have played a significant role in many of the deaths, the issue has been widely discussed in local private media. A recent article in the state-run New Light of Myanmar – titled “Man’s fault or vehicle or road?” – conceded that “the expressway has seen many traffic accidents” but attributed these to vehicle malfunctions, poor-quality tires and drink or drowsy drivers.

While the government says it is taking steps to make the road safer for motorists, the situation won’t change without proper enforcement of speed limits as well as car safety and maintenance standards – a prospect that, in the short-term at least, appears unlikely.
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Japan Today – 27 Myanmar refugees complete resettlement training program
Thursday 10th March, 05:57 AM JST

TOKYO — Twenty-seven refugees from Myanmar, who arrived in Japan from Thailand last fall under a U.N.-promoted third country resettlement program, completed a six-month orientation and language training program sponsored by the Japanese government on Wednesday.

During a ceremony to mark the end of the training program, the refugees, wearing traditional clothing, received certificates. A male refugee said he will ‘‘work hard to begin a new life’’ in Japan, while a woman expressed her hope that Japan will continue to accept refugees under the resettlement program.

Following the orientation program, the ethnic Karen families will work as farmers in Chiba and Mie prefectures. The 27 are the first of 90 Myanmar refugees that the Japanese government will accept from Mera camp in northwestern Thailand near the border with Myanmar over three years from 2010 under a pilot program.

Many of the 27 Myanmar refugees are now able to engage in everyday conversation in Japanese and write Chinese characters. They also learned how to separate trash for recycling.

Japan is the first Asian country to introduce the resettlement scheme, which is designed to help people who have fled human rights abuses and find it hard to settle or return home.
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Five Fishermen arrested with 342g herion
Bernama – Thu, Mar 10, 2011 7:59 PM MYT

YAN, March 9 (Bernama) – Police arrested five fishermen and seized 342.2g heroin worth RM9,000 in a raid on a jetty in Kampung Burma, Kuala Sala at noon yesterday.

Yan police chief DSP Ismail Abu said the fishermen are believed to be involved in a drug trafficking syndicate.

The Narcotics CID raid led by Insp Ismail Daud was made after police received a tip-off from the public.

“The five fishermen aged 18-54 years were resting in a boat when we pounced on them. The heroin was found in seven plastic packets and 25 straws,” he told a press conference here today.

Ismail said they had been using the fishing boat to wrap the heroin before selling to customers in and around Kuala Sala.

Police also seized cash RM2,600, a fishing boat, a car and a motorcycle believed bought with money from selling drugs.

They were remanded seven days from yesterday to assist investigation under Section 39B and 39 (2) of Dangerous Drugs Act.
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Citibank accepts UnionPay cards in 7 Asian nations
English.news.cn   2011-03-10 16:24:06

BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) — China’s bankcard association, China UnionPay, announced Thursday it has signed an agreement with Citibank to accept UnionPay cards in seven Asian nations.

According to the agreement, Citibank will accept UnionPay cards in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and India.

Also, Citibank will open its online service to UnionPay card holders.

China UnionPay said the move will expand its business to more Asian countries and further deepen its global strategic cooperation with Citibank.

Citibank started to handle UnionPay cards in 2005, and now the bank accepts UnionPay cards in 34 countries and regions home and abroad.
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Aljazeera.net – Ruby trade hide Myanmar slavery
Behind precious stones lie tales of exploitation of children, some as young as four.
Last Modified: 10 Mar 2011 08:58 GMT

View video http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2011/03/20113108933467745.html

Myanmar on Thursday opens one of its biggest ever sales of precious gems – an opportunity for the government to flaunt its massive ruby industry.

However, what it wont show is the virtual slavery invovled in the industry, with children as young as four being exploited to prop up production.

Al Jazeera secretly filmed in ruby producing Mogok region – where access to foreigners is strictly prohibited.
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4Hoteliers – Myanmar: An emerging destination for Chinese Tourists?
Thursday, 10th March 2011
Source : ChinaTravelTrends.com

At the Asean Travel Forum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jens Thraenhart from ChinaTravelTrends and Dragon Trail had an opportunity to talk to Mr Htay Aung, Director General for the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism for Myanmar, and Mr. Mason Florence, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office.

Myanmar remains one of the most mysterious and undiscovered destinations in the world. Myanmar sits at the crossroads of Asia’s great civilisations of India and China, and looks out onto the vast Indian Ocean next to Thailand. One of South East Asia’s largest and most diverse countries, Myanmar stretches from the sparkling islands of the Andaman Sea in the south right up into the Eastern Himalayan mountain range.

Although Chinese tourists visited Myanmar in large numbers, most of them came to the country to look for business opportunities, and are not much beneficial for the tourism industry. Thai tourists lead the tourist inflow into Asian countries every year, followed by Chinese tourists.

Tourists visiting Myanmar have various fields of interest including culture, adventure trip, nature and social life of local people. For the Chinese tourists, their interest has been economic benefits in the country.  “Most Chinese tourists came to the country to buy gems. When they came, they sometimes hired interpreters here. Sometimes, they were accompanied by young Chinese citizens who could speak Myanmar,” said a person who had graduated in Chinese Language from the University of Foreign Languages (Mandalay). Asian tourists to Myanmar include Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Malaysian, Singaporean and Chinese Taipei, and Chinese tourists make up ten percent of the total every year.

According to Ministry of Hotels and Tourism figures, in the January-July period some 161,322 visitors entered the country, the Myanmar Times reported. Thailand was the biggest source of visitors to Myanmar with 31,795 tourists in the period, followed by China’s 19,580 visitors, South Korea with 10,206, France with 7,380, Germany with 5,678 and Italy with 3,925. Travel industry sources said the introduction of a new visa-on-arrival scheme on May 1 had helped draw individual tourists to the country, whose military-run regime is considered a pariah among western democracies. Foreign Individual Travelers, as they are termed, accounted for 89,645 of all arrivals, up 53.4 percent.

“Chinese tourists visited Myanmar in large numbers, but they were pursuing their economic benefits. They did not spend much money. They did not visit pagodas. They did not go shopping. They did not go to souvenir shops. So, the benefit they contributed to the industry was not much,” said a responsible person from a local and foreign tour agency. Spending power of each tourist contributes directly to hotels, tour agencies, tour guides, transportation sector, souvenir shops and restaurants while indirect benefits go to agricultural and livestock farmers.

When tourism develops, per capita incomes of people in the related fields can increase, according to tourism experts and researchers. According to statistics released based on tourism income and the number of tourists visiting the country each year by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, a tourist spent six to seven days and from US$ 70 to US$ 100 per day on average. Since 2000, more Myanmar youth has been learning Chinese language, and it has become the second largest foreign language in Myanmar after English.

Myanmar will grant visa-on-arrival for cross-border tourists entering by road from Teng Chong, southwestern Yunnan province of China, to travel deep into Myanmar’s tourist sites by air en route the border town of Myitkyina in the northernmost Kachin state.

As part of its bid to promote cross-border tourism with China, Myanmar will also grant such visa on arrival for tourists arriving Myitkyina through chartered flights from Teng Chong international airport, as well as other international airports of China to travel far up to such tourist sites as Yangon, Mandalay, ancient city of Bagan and famous resort of Ngwe Saung. Normally, cross-border tourists from China are allowed to travel up to Myitkyina only and formal visa is required for traveling deep into the country.

The introduction of the visa-on-arrival has removed difficulties for tourists to obtain Myanmar visa from the Myanmar consulate-general stationed in Kunming, the report said, setting that leaving Myanmar on return trip for those who travel by road from Teng Chong to Myitkyina shall take the original route of crossing back the border gate.

Finally, Myanmar is only promoted at tourism fairs such as CITM in China, due to invitation by CNTA (China National Tourism Administration). No really push has been made to tell the story of Myanmar online via social media or digital marketing in China.

However, according to Mr. Htay Aung, director General of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism of Myanmar, there is a hope. Tourism Development Agencies, such as ADB are considering entry, which would further provide aide that would further tourism.
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Democracy | 09.03.2011
Deutsche Welle – Experts differ on whether sanctions are a curse or cure for Myanmar
Author: Anggatira Gollmer
Editor: Anne Thomas

For the past 20 years, Western countries have imposed sanctions on Myanmar (Burma). In its latest report, the International Crisis Group calls for them to be lifted but other NGOs doubt this is the key to change.

Last November, Myanmar elected a parliament for the first time in two decades. The International Crisis Group thinks the ongoing political transition now provides the opportunity to encourage greater reform.

Richard Horsey, a co-writer of the the think tank’s latest report on Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, believes there should be a new approach to Myanmar’s generals.

“If the world reacts to them in exactly the same way it has reacted to their predecessors they will have no reason to think they should change their policies,” he said.

He added that now was the moment to push the new leaders in a new direction and to convince them that the West will also react differently if they introduce more political and economic reforms.

“Right now, the West’s policies are saying ‘whatever you do, the reaction will be the same,” he said. “And that’s not the way to promote change.”

Sanctions have failed

Horsey argues that the sanctions, which were originally introduced to improve human rights in Myanmar, have failed to achieve this goal.

The sanctions include a ban on arms exports, as well as imports of gems, timber and metals from the country. Visa restrictions also apply to senior generals.

Moreover, he says their effectiveness has declined and more and more ordinary people are being adversely affected.

After such a long period, the sanctions have become more of an obstacle than a tool for progress, he thinks, comparing Myanmar’s situation to Cuba’s.

Moreover, the policy of isolation and sanctions by the West had created “a context where people do not want to invest.”

Other factors

However, Marc Farmaner, the director of the London-based NGO Burma Campaign UK, disagrees. He points out that the sanctions do not prevent investment in areas such as agriculture, which is what most people in Myanmar live off.

He says that the corrupt and unstable environment in the country is behind the lack of investment, as well as the fact that the generals are not interested in the welfare of ordinary people.

He thinks the ICG is barking up the wrong tree. “It has argued against sanctions for many years, grasping at any straw to try and justify any sort of political change in Burma as an excuse to lift them and arguing that they haven’t worked,” he said.

“We don’t believe that lifting sanctions can bring any positive improvement for the people of Burma or for the political situation,” he insisted.

Nothing substantial

Farmaner points out that the political reforms are nothing substantial, stressing the fact that Myanmar remains  a dictatorship. He adds that the military regime would have to release thousands of political prisoners if it were really committed to change.

He also does not think the Burmese would accept a lifting of sanctions. “They’re thinking ‘We were here nearly 40 years ago and we knew it was a sham then and we know it is a sham now. These generals are not going to willingly hand over power.’”

Farmaner is convinced that by doing business with the generals, the international community does not encourage them to introduce reform. “They need more pressure to change, not less.”

Aung San Suu Kyi’s last bargaining chip?

“If the generals think the international community is losing interest in Burma, and the pressure is relaxing, the human rights abuses will increase,” Farmaner said. He added that this could increase the danger to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi and her NLD party have sought talks with the international community to see how sanctions, which are seen as their only bargaining chip with the regime, can be modified (but not lifted) to support democratic reform and improved human rights.

Last week, Myanmar state media demanded that Suu Kyi and her party apologize for opposing the dropping of Western sanctions. It was the first explicit criticism against Suu Kyi since she was released from seven years of house arrest last year.

Proactive sanctions

Marc Farmaners argues for alternative measures. He says that the generals’ bank accounts should be frozen. He also suggests using targeted sanctions as leverage to encourage change – this approach is also favored by Suu Kyi.

For Horsey, sanctions can only be effective if imposed internationally, such as by a UN Security Council resolution. A US attempt to impose such sanctions was vetoed by Russia and China in 2007.

The international debate about Myanmar and sanctions is set to continue. But all sides, except the generals, seem to agree that further political reform is necessary as well as more spending on education and health.

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The Irrawaddy – UN Official Urges Inquiry into Burma Rights Abuses
By LALIT K JHA Thursday, March 10, 2011

One year after first recommending that the United Nations establish a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on human rights in the country, has reiterated his call in a new report.

In a progress report submitted to the UN General Assembly on March 7 and released to the press on Wednesday, Quintana said the human rights situation in Burma remains serious, but also notes that last year’s election offers opportunities for positive developments, provided the government demonstrates the necessary political will.

The report, which suggested the establishment of a CoI as one option among others, also pointed out that while it is the role of Burmese authorities to undertake measures to improve the human rights situation in Burma, that responsibility falls to the international community if they fail to do so.

“While the Government has responded that allegations of violations of human rights are investigated already by competent authorities, in the context of the gross and systematic nature of human rights violations in Myanmar [Burma] over a period of many years, the Special Rapporteur reiterates that it is essential for investigations of human rights violations to be conducted in an independent, impartial and credible manner, without delay,” the 20-page report said.

Quintana, who hasn’t visited Burma since February of last year, said his requests for a visa to return to the country to examine the post-election situation have been repeatedly rejected by the Burmese government. Since the Nov. 7 election, he has expressed concern over restrictions on parliamentarians’ freedom of expression.

The report also noted that 2,189 prisoners of conscience remain in detention in Burma as of January 2011, and urged the Burmese military junta to immediately release all political prisoners.

Another area of concern is growing tensions between the regime and ethnic armed groups. The report  said that the Kachin were excluded from the political process, while the Wa and Mongla groups refused to participate. There are reports of cease-fire groups re-arming in anticipation of resumption of  renewed conflict.

The report also highlighted the Burmese regime’s failure to adequately guarantee the basic right of citizens to an education, despite burgeoning revenue from exports of resources.

“Myanmar must take appropriate measures towards full realization of the right to education to the maximum of the available resources,” the report, noting that multi-billion-dollar profits from natural gas sales to Thailand have not been used to improve the educational infrastructure in the country.

Arguing that the new government must prioritize the economic, social and cultural rights of citizens, the report said there will have to be fundamental changes to how the government manages its budget.

Observing that funds from the sale of natural gas are estimated to account for 70 percent of the country’s total foreign exchange reserves, with sales totaling around $3 billion annually, the report said that if these funds had been included in the state budget, they would have accounted for 57 percent of total budget revenue.

“Instead, they contributed less than 1 percent of total budget revenue, with much of this revenue reportedly never entering Myanmar,” the report said, demanding that these funds need to be included in the government’s budget and managed transparently with proper checks and balances.
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The Irrawaddy – Dams Will Displace Thousands, Threaten Existence of Ethnic Group: Report
By KO HTWE Thursday, March 10, 2011

At least 37,000 people will be displaced and the Yintale, a sub-group of the Karenni, could face extinction because of the damming of rivers across Karenni State, according to a new report released by local researchers.

The report, launched at a press conference in Thailand on Thursday by the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG), exposes secret plans by the Burmese regime and the state-owned Datang Corporation of China to build three dams in the state under a memorandum of understanding signed in January 2010.

The three dams are the 600 MW Ywathit Dam on the Salween River; the 130 MW Pawn River Dam; and the 110 MW Thabet River Dam to the north of the Karenni State capital of Loikaw.

The Yintale, an ethnic group numbering only around 1,000, live as subsistence farmers on the banks of the Salween and Pawn rivers near the sites of two of the proposed dams, traditionally planting millet and sesame.

“If the dams go ahead, the income they generate will be stained with Karenni blood,” said Khu Thaw Reh of KDRG.

The KDRG report says that engineers guarded by armed soldiers are now surveying for the projects. Further evidence of their progress is the construction of shelters for engineers and workers and logging upstream from the dam sites, the report said, adding that local villagers have been told to stay away from the areas under development.

“These dams are killing off our people. We will have nowhere to go, even though this state belongs to us, at least in name,” said Khu Thaw, a KDRG member from inside Burma.

“It is sad for the future of the Karenni people. The regime shouldn’t just come in here and do as it pleases just because there are so few of us,” he added.

Besides threatening indigenous people, the KDRG report says the projects could fuel conflict and instability in the area, destroy forests and diminish biodiversity, reduce agricultural production, and cause water surges and shortages.

Others agreed that the project would have a negative impact on the local environment.

“Nearly 50 species of animal in the area will be extinct because of these projects,” said Sai Sai, the coordinator of Burma Rivers Network, a coalition of organizations representing various dam-affected communities in Burma.

Another major concern is that the new hydropower dams could lead to the kinds of abuses that typically accompany major development projects in Burma.

“In the past, we experienced the building of the Lawpita hydropower dam. Even after we lost our land, we weren’t able to demand compensation,” said Thaw Reh.

Lawpita, the first large-scale hydropower project built in Karenni State, forced over 12,000 people from their homes. An estimated 18,000 landmines were planted around the site and thousands of Burmese troops came in to secure the project, resulting in abuses against the local population, including forced labor, sexual violence and extrajudicial killings, according to the KDRG.

In total, the Burmese regime, working in partnership with Chinese and Thai companies, plans to build seven dams along the Salween River and its tributaries. Most are located in conflict zones and have exacerbated local resentment because almost all of the electricity expected to be generated will be sold to China and Thailand.

“How can investors think that this is just business as usual when armies are battling all around them and people are fleeing for their lives?” said Thaw Reh. “They should wake up to the risks of these dams and immediately stop their operations.”

At present, 21 major dam projects are under construction around the country, in Kachin, Shan and Karenni states and Mandalay and Sagaing divisions. The total output of these dams, many of which are being built by Chinese companies, is expected to be 35,640 MW of electricity.

Datang Corporation, the company involved in building the Karenni dams, belongs to the United Nations Global Compact, whose members commit to conducting business according to universally accepted principles of human rights and environmental and labor standards, according to the KDRG report.
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Blue-ear pig disease deaths rapidly increase in Burma
Thursday, 10 March 2011 17:52 Kyaw Kha

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The outbreak of blue-ear pig disease in Burma has now led to the death of more than 1,000 pigs, said Amrapura Township Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department officer Dr. Tun Myint Soe.

‘The disease spreads very fast’, he said. ‘Now thousands more pigs have been infected.’ He said the department has not been able to collect exact statistics.

The disease was first reported on February 15. The virus is spreading in Aungmyetharsan, Chanayetharsan, Mahaaungmye, Chanmyatharsi, Pyigyitagun, Amrapura, and Madaya and Sagaing townships, officials said.

“We have no treatment for this disease so we’re trying to control it by bio-technology preventive methods and by providing awareness campaigns to the townships’, said Tun Myint Soe. ‘We told people to spray insecticide and disinfectant around a pigsty, to boil their pig feed, to wear footwear before entering a pigsties and to use quick lime if they can  not afford pesticide and disinfectant’.

The World Health Organisation for Animal Health has issued an emergency warning in Burma on the spread of the disease, also known as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus. The disease causes reproductive failure in breeding stock and respiratory tract illness in young pigs. According to Wikipedia, it was first reported in 1987 in North America and Central Europe.

The disease is characterised by pigs walking with a limp and  body tremors. Later, their flesh turns a brown colour and they die, said Tun Myint Soe.

The Mandalay Division Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department is distributing insecticide and disinfectant to pig farms and small scale domestic pig owners free of charge and providing bio-technology control methods during field trips to inspect farms.

The disease cannot be communicated to humans who consume the meat of infected pigs.

Though the sale of pork has not been banned, residents in Mandalay told Mizzima that the consumption of pork has been effected.
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Mizzima News – Land mine use in Burma
Thursday, 10 March 2011 18:59 Mizzima News
Q&A with Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines:

The use of anti-personnel land mines by both the Burmese army and non-state armed groups causes hundreds of casualties each year and contaminates large areas of land used by civilians. The International Committee of the Red Cross has estimated that the total number of amputees living in Burma is 12,000 people, of whom the majority are probably mine victims.

Aside from accidental victims, there is serious concern for civilians who are used by the regime’s army, and possibly by non-state armed groups, as porters or de-facto human mine sweepers in marking land that has been mined.

According to a 2011 report by Geneva Call, an organisation that aims to engage armed non-state groups to comply with the norms of international humanitarian law, 34 out of 325 townships in Burma are contaminated with land mines and about five million people live in townships that contain mine-contaminated areas.

Mizzima reporter Thea Forbes talked with Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, a researcher for the annual report on Myanmar/Burma for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, about the fight to combat land mine use in Burma, the groups that deploy landmines and the effect of militarisation in Burma:

Mizzima: Do you think the Burmese government can be persuaded to sign onto the mine-ban treaty?

Answer: In general, this state is a key concern to our movement since 1997 and our bringing into existence the mine ban treaty. The majority of the world’s governments have signed on, and we have real tangible results from around the world. There are fewer victims every day, and more land is being cleared, but of course that is not the case in Burma. It is the only country in the world that we have determined to consistently use anti-personnel mines during that period. There are some other countries that have used them, but then desisted. Burma is the only country where land mine use by state forces has been ongoing during that time.

There are several countries where non-state armed groups have been using the anti-personnel mines, such as Columbia, throughout that time, which is similar to the case here. Can the Burmese government be persuaded? Our answer would be, eventually yes, but of course we don’t know how long that will take, Burma is a recalcitrant state, like several others, and we keep up engagement with the authorities on the issue, and if you have observed this country for a long period of time, progress within it happens incredibly slowly.  We have seen a modest amount of results, but compared to any other country in the world, of course, we are not even close to our goal yet.

Q: Do you have any information regarding the figures of landmines that are used by the state army and by non-state armed groups in Burma?

A: No, that’s not something we usually track. I mean we often get a question from journalists, ‘How many landmines are in the ground?’ but that’s not really as important as how much ground is polluted by landmines, and what is it doing to the population in that area? Because this is how clearance is approached, you’ll know how many landmines are in the ground once you clear it, but before that time it’s a speculative endeavour. We don’t know how many mines they have in their stockpiles, they don’t publish that figure like most governments. The non-state armed groups mostly manufacture their mines, but they do have some mines in their stockpiles. Also they do not tell us how many mines they have in their stockpiles, nor how much they have in the way of component material for making mines. This is not something that we really ask. What we really ask is, will you halt using mines now?

Q: How do you approach that kind of engagement with the non-state armed groups and the state army in Burma?

A: In the same way. In both cases it’s a humanitarian issue. This weapon is different than any other types of weapons because you do not fire it at an adversary.

It gets laid out there, and it will kill or injure the next person who comes along, friend or foe, woman, child, man, it doesn’t see any difference in its enemies because it’s victim activated, which makes it different than most other weapons systems used in combat.

Also, once the conflict is over in an area, these things remain there, and mostly they victimize civilians if it’s after a conflict period, whether it’s a temporary halt in a conflict period, or the full ending of an armed conflict. The main target of this weapon ends up being civilians, so for these humanitarian reasons we engage either the non-state armed groups or the state to halt using this weapon.

Q: Are you involved in engaging with them on the clearance of landmines as well?

A: Our organisation is, like all of the main clearance entities such as the Mines Advisory Group and Halo Trust, a member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). They are of course independent organisations. We don’t direct their work, but all the clearance organisations are members of the ICBL. Clearance is one of the things that we focus on, and it’s a requirement for those states that join the treaty.

Q: What do you think is the main reason why Burma in particular is still deploying these landmines?

A: To a certain extent I think it is because it’s an infantry level war. They don’t use sophisticated weapons systems. If they were firing rockets over fields, then there wouldn’t really be a need to use anti-personnel landmines, but they’re engaging on a person to person level, so they are using what are essentially antiquated forms of armed conflict, including the use of anti-personnel mines. The immediate rationale that both sides have for using mines, is to lay them on paths that they expect their adversary to walk on, a secondary thing will be to put them around their camps, so that they can sleep easily at night and don’t have to have sentries out there watching for the enemy. Of course when they lay them out there on paths they frequently are left there and then people who may be moving between villages or going to the forest for collecting forest products may end up being the victims of them.

Q: Do you know which particular non-state armed groups in Burma are using the most landmines and also where they get them from?

A: The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)  probably. I have to say ‘probably’ because we can’t know for sure, but we believe that they are probably putting out the largest number of mines of all the non-state armed groups, closely followed by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, and then others would be somewhere below that. They are of course laying them in their areas of military operation wherever it is that they can carry on operations.

Q: Do you know if they actively warn civilians in the area about mines?

A: They say to us that they give verbal warnings. They don’t place any signboards, but they say, this is what the KNLA says. They say they give verbal warnings, however the civilian victims of mines that we have interviewed said, ‘nobody warned us about the mines in that area’. Now when it comes to the Tatmadaw, the state army, they have placed signboards in some places, especially around infrastructure, so for example around mines that they may lay near the ends of bridge abuttments, or around power pylons and other things that they place mines around, they fence those, and then they mark them.

Now that has some problems  of its own. Fencing and marking is good, but in the case of Burma when they fence them they use brush fences and brush fences will deteriorate in one, or certainly by two years, because of insects and weather, and they’ll have to be replaced frequently. Livestock get in them when they deteriorate and then the livestock become victims of mines. Usually the authorities do not replace these fences themselves. They order villagers in the area to replace them. This work may be paid, it may not be paid, but they are ordered to do so and they don’t really have a choice, and it is unacceptable to us that civilians should be ordered to work aorund an explosive military hazard, and in at least some cases they have become injured or killed by the mines in the areas they are fencing.

Q: Do you know where the non-state armed groups get their land mines?

A: Well, they seize as many state mines as they can, so they may get these on operations. They may find some that the Tatmadaw laid and they lift them, and then they redeploy them or use them. Outside of operations, they have got some in the past on the black market. That seems to have pretty much dried up, and it doesn’t seem like they can get them anymore. One of the advantages of having most of the states in this region sign the land mine ban treaty is tht they have to destroy their stockpiles––they can’t sell them, they can’t give them away. State stockpiles are always where arms are pilfered to appear on the black market,  and if you don’t have them in the state stockpiles they’re not available on the black market either. So it seems like, I’ve been told that, it’s very difficult for them to get any on the clandestine market at this point in time, I can’t guarantee that, but this is what we have heard. So they make their own out of components using explosives that are commercially available for building work, or for mineral quarries or other things like that. They get detonators from the same places, and so this is readily available in both Burma or here in Thailand or in other countries bordering the country.

Q: So do you have a game plan as to when you hope Burma will halt the use of landmines?

A: Of course it’s a long-term effort doing anything with this country, and we are in this for the long haul. Globally, we expect to be successful in our efforts in our lifetime. This is what we have stated, that we will resolve this problem in our lifetime and I would say we are on track, we are on track to do that. There are a couple of countries that are slower than everybody else, and Burma is certainly one of those. We are busy building as much of a consensus as we can that these weapons should no longer be used.

Q: Do you have any research or information regarding civilians self-manufacturing their own mines to protect their land?

A: This is what we call land mine militarisation. Militarisation is the process that takes place when military ideas and military material become so commonplace that they begin being used for things other than war. So that’s what militarisation is; it’s when the ideas of the military and the tools of the military start being used for other things because they become so common to the civilian population; they become so inerred to their presence. So we are seeing in Burma at this point in time the use of land mines for a variety of other purposes than warfare, including clandestine trade of environmental or other types of contraband, for illegal logging operations, drug operations, smuggling of cars, as well as people using them within their own villages.

Yes, land mine militarisation has happened; they have been used in some areas of that country for a very very long period of time, people have been exposed to them for so long that they are beginning to be used for other purposes than war. And that is of course very dangerous and will pose great problems for mine clearance in the future. This is a side effect of the armed conflicts, so the real focus should be on the armed conflict. We’re calling for an immediate halt in any new mine use by all actors. To get a permanent ban in the country will require a genuine cease-fire and peace accord process, because that’s the only thing that will bring armed conflict to an end and that will more or less put in place a mechanism for a permanent ban on anti-personnel mines in the country. That will basically take care of this other issue; the other issue, the militarisation is a side effect of the armed conflict.

One of the figures we are putting out right now though, to emphasize the nature of the problem in Burma is that 10 years ago Burma was in the top 10 countries for the number of land mine victims produced; five years ago it was in the top four; three years ago it’s in the top three.

It’s a problem that’s not well known, but it’s a problem that’s becoming increasingly hard to ignore from these types of figures, and this is based on the number of mine victims that we can actually record. We don’t believe we get close to the number of mine victims that occur in the country. There are no official figures, no ethnic group puts out figures for the number of their people who are injured or killed by these mines; the state does not provide this type of figure, the health system does not provide it. So we have to find these on our own, and we believe we find only a fraction of what is really out there, the figure that I just gave you is based upon what we can actually verify.

We are currently compiling figures for how many land mine victims there were in 2010 and that will be released in our 2011 report.
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DVB News – Pranom Somwong: Malaysia’s quagmire
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 10 March 2011

Malaysian human rights defender Charles Hector is facing a $US3.2 million defamation suit from Japanese company for speaking out on behalf of 31 Burmese migrant workers whose rights had been trampled over, and some of whom were facing deportation. Pranom Somwong works for the Kuala Lumpur-based Workers Hub for Change (WH4C) and has been advocating on behalf of Charles Hector and the 31 Burmese migrants.

How did Hector’s recent hearing go?

The first hearing on the 4 March is called the inter-party meeting. It means the company leader representatives were there and Charles Hector’s legal representatives. The problem is, on 17 February, Asahi Kosei received only one side injunction from the court against Charles Hector and he cannot communicate anything at all regarding the 31 Burmese workers and Asahi Kosei to the public. So on the hearing on 4 March, Charles Hector’s lawyer tried to convince the court to get rid of that injunction. But unfortunately the injunction against him is still there but now is limited to stopping him from posting anything on his blog regarding Asahi Kosei and 31 Burmese workers, and he’s not allowed to communicate on Twitter about this case, but can talk with public and can give information, although he’s been advised not to because they can get other injunctions against him. In the next hearing on 21 March the lawyers are planning to fight the injunction again and trying to get rid of every injunction against him.

Is that injunction in some way a victory for Asahi Kosei?

Not really because it’s temporary, so the case is not yet finished. It’s quite normal in defamation suits for the court to block anything about the blog. But the [blocking of Twitter] is an attempt to silence those who speak out against human rights violations, so it doesn’t go with the other usual defamation suits anyway. So we didn’t see this as a victory for the factory yet, but it’s temporary and we hope the court will [revoke] the injunction.

Asahi Kosei didn’t respond to the letters that Hector sent. How important do you think that would be in the case?

I’m not sure on the legal perspective. But I see that the company doesn’t want to respond on inquiry and doesn’t want to justify themselves about the situation, so instead they filed the legal suit. We see that it’s a very inappropriate action because when somebody inquires about something regarding your responsibility and you want the public to learn about the truth, you should justify yourself and come up with the formal step. But instead of them doing that, they filed a suit against the one person who tried to bring up that issue.

What kind of freedom of speech exists in Malaysia’s constitution or laws?

I think in the constitution, [freedom of speech] is allowed for Malaysian citizens. See that’s the problem – it’s only citizens who have freedom of speech guaranteed. I mean [Hector] is a citizen but I think a citizen should be any person.

Do you think that right will be respected in the court of law? Especially given the fact that he did write to Asahi Kosei?

Possibly, and we hope the court will look at that angle. We don’t really know what opinion or judgement the court will have on this case but we hope it will take that into consideration and also look at the issue of human rights defenders and the freedom of information. It is very important for the public to know what’s happening, especially with groups like migrant workers because they don’t have other voices – migrant workers don’t have any channel to raise their concern. Even in this case, Charles Hector suggested the workers also make a compliant to the labour department and the Malaysian human rights commission and they did. But because of the inefficient monitoring system from this [ruling] party, this made it very urgent for Hector to address this case via his blog to try to stop the deportation of the workers. So we hope the court will take all these issues into consideration.

What are his lawyers’ main defence?

In the case, Asahi Kosei claimed that these workers were supplied by an outsource agent, so implying they are not responsible for them. They are not denying any violation or saying the violations are not true. But they said everything happening is under the outsource agent’s supply, implying that these workers don’t belong to them so they are not responsible for this. Therefore what Charles Hector posted on his blog about Asahi Kosei sending workers blah blah blah is not true. So now in the court, Charles Hector has to prove these workers are the workers of Asahi Kosei, and if he can prove that, he can win the defamation suit. But if the court rules these workers are not Asahi Kosei, then the company will win the suit.
Would there not be the issue that they didn’t respond to his letter?

The problem is that in the work permits of the workers it gave the name of the outsource agent. But that kind of employment is not allowed under the Malaysian employment law, which only allows direct employment. It doesn’t allow the agent-supplied worker employment, but the Malaysian immigration department and human resources are allowed outsource agents to register for the workers.

Do you think there would be repercussions of that malpractice for Asahi Kosei?

That’s what we hope, because now Charles Hector has requested the court to say that these workers were working in the Asahi Kosei facility, that their management also came from Asahi Kosei, so they should belong to the Asahi Kosei company. And now he has asked the court to come up with that declaration.

So essentially Asahi Kosei has broken the law by using workers from an agent?

Yeah. The thing is, the labour law doesn’t allow that but the immigration allows that in the work permit. This was never challenged in a Malaysian court. So this case is no more just a defamation case; this case will be about determination of whether the workers supplied by the agent are the responsibility of the main company.

Can this case set a precedent in Malaysian law and for Burmese workers there?

Absolutely! If the court gives the declaration that these workers belong to the main company, it will affect every single company that is now trying to deny their responsibility. And that is not just for the Burmese but for other migrant workers too because this issue is not new at all. If you learn about the situation of migrants in Malaysia there are a lot of practices of the employers and all their agents who try to [pass] their responsibility to someone else because most of these agent companies – we call them Two-Ringgit companies – they just open the company but they don’t have any responsibility. If they have a problem, they just close the company and run away. So this could affect other cases. And not just Burmese workers, it will be three million workers. And not just migrant workers because we learnt from the Malaysian Trade Congress now that even the local workers have to go to the agent.

How similar is it to the case of Charlie Deeyu in Thailand?

In the case of Charlie Deeyu, his agents ran away – they were the ones responsible for paying for his health are treatment, and so the Thai government had to foot the bill. I think, for Charlie, the problem is they denied the bail because actually he had a legal work permit, so I think the problem is that the hospital didn’t find out that he actually had a work permit. And that’s why the lawyer society of Thailand is now trying to get him compensation, and the court ordered the compensation but only for 3000 baht ($US100). So I’m sad.

You see, in Charlie’s case, if nobody notified the public or the media about him being chained [to a hospital bed], even though he was sick, no one would have found out about it. It’s exactly same as Asahi Kosei when the two Burmese workers were forcibly sent back to Burma, and if nobody addressed the issue, the public wouldn’t know what was happening to them.
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DVB News – Paul Copeland: On sanctions & ICC
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 22 February 2011

Toronto-based lawyer Paul Copeland has played an active role in a number of international Burmese pro-democracy pressure groups, including Canadian Friends of Burma and Euro-Burma Offce. He tells DVB about how he first gained interest in Burma and why there is such sharp divisions over Western sanctions on the country.

Why were you denied a visa to visit Burma earlier this year?

I have been too active on Burma issues and there are a lot of things on the internet about me – I have a Wikipedia entry about me and it mentions my activities on Burma. Recently I was given an award by the government of Canada, and it was publicised a fair bit by various Burmese groups so I assume that they Googled me and decided I wasn’t a suitable candidate to visit Burma.

Which Burma groups are you affiliated with?

I think I was at the founding meeting of the Canadian Friends of Burma – I’m on the advisory board of that organisation – and I’ve just come on the board of the Euro-Burma Office although I haven’t actually been even involved in a meeting of that yet, but I have known [founder] Harn Yangwhe for a long time. There was another organisation that he used to run that I was part of – I think it was the Associates for a Developed Democratic Burma. And we’ve got an organisation in Toronto called the Canadian Campaign for a Free Burma and I was quite active with that organisation.

How did you first become involved with Burma?

I went on a trek with a guy out of Chiang Mai [northern Thailand] and he was one of the student leaders in 1988. He had been a student leader in 1962 and fought with the Red Karen [Karenni] Army and we pumped him for a lot of information. I then went into Burma and was then allowed one week; that was in February 1988. I wrote to him for an article on Khun Hsa [former Shan drugs warlord] he had, and didn’t hear back from him.

Then after all the killings in Burma I wrote to him again and said I’m sorry to hear about what happened in his country and asked him if I could help. I got a letter from him saying he was supporting 300 students on the border and asked if I could send some money, and then someone came and knocked on my door and said “I’m from the Committee for Restoration of Democracy in Burma, I understand you’re a friend”. After checking them out and thinking they were an OK group I started working with them. Since then I have done whatever I can do. I have done most of the Burmese refugee claims in Toronto, and do some political work, some work to lobby the Canadian government, attended conferences, went back to Burma a couple more times and wanted to go back this time just to update my knowledge and maybe get to talk to some people, if anybody felt comfortable talking to me in Burma.

What was your first impression in that week in 1988?

I loved the country, but it was a total sprint around it. One of the nicest things about the country was how cut off it was from the west. I mean, coming out of Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai now and Chiang Mai then were totally different – it was just a wonderful country and the people were interesting and the history was interesting. I actually sent a postcard back to some of my friends saying “the country’s wonderful but if this is socialism, I’ve gotta find a new political belief” and the postcard never made it out of the country. Or it never made it to Canada anyway.

That trip was in February 1988, so just before the tea shop incident [a brawl which sparked the early protests] and before things escalated over the summer. So I watched as much as there was coverage of it from Canada.

Sanctions are a big issue now. Obviously Canada has some of the strictest sanctions. What’s your perspective on that, given the recent elections?

Over the years there have always been people arguing that they should remove sanctions; various different people from Burma – Dr. Zarni was one for a while who called for the end of sanctions. I have always thought that the decision should be made by the National League for Democracy (NLD), which is the group that I think most represents the democratic forces in Burma. I have not changed my position – they’ve said sanctions should remain in place I think they should. I think that’s one of the few instruments that the NLD and the democratic forces have to put some pressure on the military dictatorship, which is still what Burma is, and I find the call for the removal of sanctions from Germany and from Mark MacKinnon’s article in the Globe & Mail yesterday [Saturday] quite distressing.

It’s like they are saying to the NLD: “Give up the only instrument you have that might put some pressure on the government. They’re really nice people, and will move the country on. You’ve now got a parliament and an elected government.” It’s just a joke to think that the military dictatorship, even in its new form, is going to make any changes or allow any freedom. There are still 2,200-odd political prisoners – people are serving huge, lengthy sentences; there’s no freedom, there’s no democracy, there’s no right to organise; the judicial system is a joke and it is way too premature to remove sanctions.

Canada has been very strong. I should say the conservative government has been very strong on sanctions; the liberal government before it had very good rhetoric on Burma but refused all attempts to get the Canadian government to impose economic sanctions. Canadian economic sanctions are not a big deal in the context of Burma but they are an important symbol and one of the things we have been urging the Canadian government to do is to take more of a leadership role in helping the democracy movement in Burma. We suggested to Prime Minister Harper that he adopt the role that Brian Mulroney did with regards to sanctions on South Africa. Sanctions on South Africa are different to those on Burma, but it is my view that those who are calling for removal of sanctions are serving the interests of the generals.

A lot of the debate around sanctions is about whom the sanctions affect. What is your view on this?

Again I would rely on the NLD rather than my reading of what is going on in Burma. Sanctions were effective on South Africa; they don’t seem particularly so on Iran and their nuclear program. It is hard to tell what effect they will have on Burma. There are many countries – Thailand, China, India – that are doing economic stuff on Burma. There is now an Italian project going into Tavoy, so there are many countries that are making investments in Burma. But I think both the symbolism of the sanctions and the effectiveness of the sanctions again are the only instrument for the democracy forces to try and put some pressure on the generals to actually have something meaningful happen in the country.

And the people?

I think there is not much that is drifting down to the people. The generals are the ones who are making all the money. If you look at Than Shwe’s daughter’s wedding, it is just an obscenity to be spending that kind of money. You look at the creation of the new capital. There’s money floating around but it doesn’t seem to be getting to the people in the country.
Some have been critical of the level of sanctions, that they are not complete enough. Are they just a token gesture?

To a large extent. Ivanhoe [Canadian mining giant] has been carrying on there –Robert Friedland [CEO] made this claim that they sold their stake to some un-named trust but it is very hard to see any clarity with what’s going on. I would presume that Ivanhoe is still benefitting from those copper mines. It would be interesting to see the Canadian government actually take steps to increase the sanctions and say it’s illegal for Canadian companies to carry on with business in Burma until there is some movement towards democracy.

Again, that’s my view. There have been some successful campaigns. There was a campaign a long time ago to get Petro-Can, when it was a government-owned oil company, to stop doing work in Burma. I have an acquaintance who up until 2003 was doing oil exploration with the Chinese National Petroleum Company and with the MOGE [Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise] and he pulled out after the Depayin massacre, but again I think even stronger sanctions would be useful, from the Americans particularly and the Europeans. Most of the Europeans are good on sanctions but the Germans now are basically saying, ‘let’s get rid of sanctions’. I think Amgela Merkel’s calls for the removal of sanctions are serving the generals.

Why do you think countries like Germany are keen to remove sanctions?

My general thought would be that the big companies in that country want to exploit Burma like companies in many other countries are exploiting Burma, and that they don’t want to have their foreign competitors come in and either take advantage of or do development in the country. They think there is money to be made; Burma is rich in natural resources, certainly a lot of oil and gas is around, and a great need for development generally, so I presume that the business class in Germany want to be part of that and don’t want sanctions interfering with that.

Do you think it is hypocritical that somewhere like Israel has no censure yet Burma does?

There was a vote at the Security Council on Friday, vetoed by the US, criticising Israel on the continued building in the occupied territories and continued developing in the occupied territories. There aren’t sanctions against Israel at a national or international level; there is, I think, the BDS campaign which is being organised by the Palestinians as well as a number of other people saying that there should be boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel because of their policies around the Palestinians. So it’s different in each case – the Israelis have the Americans protecting their interests at the Security Council, whilst China and Russia, and at one point South Africa, all voted to block something at the Security Council dealing with Burma issues.

With regards to international pressure on Burma, there have been calls for the generals to be tried at the ICC. What’s your position on that?

Certainly the generals and the military dictatorship in Burma have killed less people as things have gone along; I mean in 1988 they killed at least 3,000 people, whereas during the Saffron Revolution [in 2007] the numbers generally floated around 100. But what they have managed to do is use huge prison sentences to intimidate the people rather than mass killings.

But I think an investigation by the ICC is important. There have been calls for it from various countries. The Canadian government supports the call for an investigation by the ICC and I think it should go ahead – it’s one of the few ways in which the international community has some ability to impact on national leaders. Charles Taylor from Liberia, Milosevic from Serbia, Bashir from Sudan – now [the latter’s] has had no affect at all but it will probably make it very difficult for him to travel internationally. So it’s a way for the international community to influence the behaviour of governments or key players in governments, so that they’re bound to actually follow international norms and not slaughter and kill people indiscriminately.

A lot of our readers have been very engaged on the issue of whether an enquiry should include different ethnic armies and rebel groups. What is your perspective on that?
Well first, the scale of what has been done by the various ethnic groups does not compare to what has been done by the military dictatorship in Burma. Secondly, generally speaking the ICC stuff is reserved for very large players on the scene. The ICC does not have the capability of investigating every criminal offence in the country. I am not aware particularly of the type of killings or imprisonments for trying to express democratic values, of that having been done by the ethnic minorities.

So I am not in favour of the ICC looking at the ethnic minorities. I think it is beyond the scope of what the ICC can do and would in many ways waste the resources of the ICC. What they should be looking at again is national leaders and trying to ensure that national leaders follow human rights and social justice norms and international law norms in how they run their countries and treat their people.

How should people now respond to the elections?

[The choosing of people] allowed to compete in the elections was a very flawed process. I think when any reasonable observers look at it they can tell it was a total sham. What’s been produced, what little functioning that has happened, doesn’t resemble any form of democracy that anybody in the world knows. Its’ a charade put together by the military government to maintain their continued power. And it’s done really in a process that was laid out by a US PR firm a long tome ago, the so-called ‘road map to democracy’, and if the road is a mile long they have gone about a centimetre. The firm was called DCI and operate out of Washington. They received about a quarter of a million dollars to rebrand the SPDC.

Nobody should be paying any attention to this and think it is a sign of democracy unless there is some sign that there will be some meaningful discussion, or unless there are splits in the military hierarchy. If the military are serious about demonstrating to the world that they were trying to move the country forward, they should release all political prisoners. That would be a first step in moving the country forward but until that happens nobody should be taking the government of Burma seriously.

What is the most striking thing that the people you represent in Canada are fleeing from?

It’s international law and they have to have a well-founded fear of persecution by reason of political belief or religious belief or other things, and it’s really easy to qualify as a refugee from Burma. The government is so repressive that if you say anything in regards to democracy, you are subject to arrest. If you are a Christian, certainly in some areas you have major problems. There are problems based on ethnicity – the Karen are mistreated in certain parts of Burma – and the SPDC army’s treatment of people in eastern Burma has been horrendous. So it’s not very difficult to qualify. Some of the people have been very involved in the political stuff, some less so. Some of the case law out of Britain says that even making an unsuccessful refugee claim from Burma will result in you being persecuted when you get back to Burma, so that making a claim by itself is almost the basis for being a refugee.

Is Western governments’ inability to reign in companies such as Total, Chevron and Ivanhoe an indictment of the failure of sanctions?

The main Canadian company in Burma was Ivanhoe, but they had operations in Burma before sanctions. But the mining lobby is quite powerful. There have been attempts by an MP named John Mackay to have the Canadian mining companies held accountable in Canada for what they were doing internationally. That piece of private members’ bill failed in the House of Commons, but Canadian mining is a huge international operation. And again some of them aren’t exactly helpful to the local people. In the Philippines there is some litigation going on and in places in South America.

Mining is a big part of the economic activity in Canada. One of the things about Ivanhoe is that that are incorporated in the Yukon [Canadian federal territory]. The Yukon has a law which states that shareholders cannot bring issues of social justice to shareholder meetings.
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