Monday, July 16, 2012
The Japan Times – Opinion:Why ‘Burma’ should remain the country’s name
By CESAR CHELALA

NEW YORK — Myanmar’s electoral commission has told opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to stop calling the country Burma and instead call it Myanmar, its official name.

In a statement published in The New Light of Myanmar, the electoral commission chided Suu Kyi: “As it is prescribed in the constitution that ‘the state shall be known as The Republic of the Union of Myanmar,’ no one has the right to call the country Burma.” Suu Kyi is in her right to do so, and should continue doing so, in light of worldwide condemnation of Myanmar’s military regime.

Disagreement on what to call the country follows Suu Kyi’s high-profile trip to Europe, where she continually called the country Burma. Observers believe that authorities are trying to assert themselves after Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, was widely praised during her trip.

While the electoral commission informed the NLD “to address the name of the state as prescribed in the constitution … and respect the constitution,” Nyan Win, an NLD spokesman, responded that calling the country Burma “does not amount to disrespecting the constitution.”

There is a long history behind this disagreement. In 1989, the then ruling military junta decreed that the country should change its name from the “Union of Burma” to the “Union of Myanmar.” The move, apparently, was intended to appease minority non-Burman ethnic groups. Later, the name was modified to the “Republic of the Union of Myanmar.”

However, those opposing the military, including Suu Kyi, ignored the modification and continued to call the country Burma, to the evident irritation of the military.

Derek Tonkin, chairman of Network Myanmar, disagrees with the use of the name Burma: “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi no doubt carries a passport stamped ‘Republic of the Union of Myanmar’ and describing her as a ‘Myanmar’ citizen. If she wants to use ‘Burma’ when she speaks English, and ‘Myanmar’ when she speaks Burmese, that’s fine by me. In the same way, she doesn’t tell others what they ought to call her country in English.

“She did tell me once that ‘Myanmar’ is not easy to pronounce in English, and I do indeed agree with her. I would like it to be ‘Burma’ again one day soon, but the rule of law, to which Daw Suu attaches importance, diplomatic protocol and international practice should not in the meantime be ignored.”

Anthropologist Gustaaf Houtman, an expert on Myanmar’s politics, wrote, “There is a formal term that is Myanmar and the informal, everyday term Burma. Myanmar is the literary form, which is ceremonial and official and reeks of government.” Local opposition groups prefer to use the “old” colloquial name, at least until Myanmar has a legitimate government.

Undaunted by her country’s government criticism, Suu Kyi has continued to use the name Burma during her visit to Britain and Norway. Several Western countries, including Britain and the United States, continue to call the country Burma in unofficial statements of support for the democracy movement in the country.

However, as the daughter of Aung San, considered the father of modern-day Burma and a tireless fighter for democracy and human rights, nobody has greater moral authority than Suu Kyi to call the country by its former name.

Responding to Myanmar government criticism of her using the word Burma, Suu Kyi said she can call her government the way she likes, adding “I used the name freely in keeping with democratic principles.”
She also said in Yangon that Gen. Saw Maung had failed to consult the people when he decided to change the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar in 1991.

There is a strong emotional and moral connotation to the name Burma. It should continue to be called so until effective democracy returns to the country and a mechanism is chosen to make a decision on what to call the country.

If this enrages the military, it will still be a small price they have to pay for the brutality they have unleashed on the country for decades.

Cesar Chelala, M.D. and Ph.D., is a winner of the Overseas Press Club of America award.

The Nation – US-ABC leads first ever business mission to Myanmar
July 16, 2012 4:43 pm

A delegation of over 70 senior executives from 38 leading US companies organised by the US-Asean Business Council today concluded a historic business mission to Myanmar – the first in 27-year history.

The group was led by the US-Asean Business Council and was joined by the most senior US Government economic delegation in the past 25 years. The delegation was led by the Chairs of the Council’s Myanmar Committee Kevin Thieneman of Caterpillar and Mariano Vela of Chevron, along with Alexander Feldman, President of the US-Asean Business Council, and Frances Zwenig, President of the US-Asean Business Council Institute, Inc.

As the first US business delegation to visit the country after the formal suspension of sanctions and arriving only days after the arrival of the first US Ambassador to Myanmar since 1990, the delegates focused on exploring the business environment and gathering information on the government’s economic programs. As the mission was beginning, Council member GE moved forward with a deal to provide medical equipment to two hospitals in Yangon.

“This historic mission is the culmination of years of effort by the Myanmar government, with the support of Asean, the US government, and international business, to move toward economic and political reforms,” said Alexander Feldman, president of the US-Asean Business Council.

“We have been very pleased by the developments of the past months which have opened the way for American companies to do business in Myanmar. But this is the beginning of the process. Both sides have much to learn about working together, so the Council intends to continue working closely with the Myanmar government to build the long term US-Myanmar business relationship.”

The delegation worked closely with the US government and held meetings in conjunction with the economic delegation led by Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats and Undersecretary of Commerce Francisco Sanchez. The delegation was also hosted by newly confirmed US Ambassador to Myanmar Derek Mitchell for his first reception in his new role.

Council members also met with representatives of NGO’s and civil society to explore ways to invest responsibly in Myanmar. Members heard from representatives of exemplary programs on humanitarian needs and the processes required in Myanmar to register NGO’s. Before the mission The Abbott Fund, the corporate foundation of Council member Abbot, announced a $1 million partnership with the Secretary of State’s International Fund for Women and Girls to empower women in Myanmar.

The delegation visited Myan Shwe Pi (MSP) Tractors facility in Yangon to learn from their exemplary Corporate Social Responsibility programs which include free of charge engineering apprenticeships which help their local employees develop skills and continue their education. MSP is the authorized dealer for Caterpillar in Myanmar.

Companies participating on the delegation included Chevron, Caterpillar, Abbott, ACE, Baker & McKenzie, Baxter, Boeing, Chartis, The Coca-Cola Company, ConocoPhillips, Dell, Deloitte & Touche, Dow Chemical, Emerson, ExxonMobil, Federal Express, Ford/RMA Group, Freeport McMoRan, General Atlantic, GE, General Motors, Google, Halliburton, IBM, Jhpiego, KPMG, MasterCard Worldwide, McDermott, McLarty Associates, MKW Capital, Merck/MSD, Ogilvy, PriceWaterHouse Coopers, Procter & Gamble, Qualcomm, Time Warner, TE Connectivity, and Visa.

The Nation – BOI focuses on Myanmar, VN, Indonesia ahead of AEC
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation July 16, 2012 1:00 am

Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam are the three new magnets drawing foreign investors, so the Board of Investment (BoI)’s promotion plan is focusing on those countries in the lead-up to the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.

“The office has to shift its focus from promoting investment in the Kingdom to the region. The AEC’s seamless trade will encourage more Thai enterprises to go abroad, particularly in Asean, which is the strong growth region amid the gloomy global economic trend,” Vasana Mututanont, deputy secretary-general of the BoI, said last week.

Rising operating costs, shortages in many areas such as raw materials and labour and the BoI’s policy to upgrade its target to hi-tech investment in Thailand has convinced the office to encourage overseas investment.

The BoI will employ legal and local consultants in those three targeted markets to assist Thai investors in exploring market opportunities there and better understanding each country’s laws.

Companies see Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam as having the highest capability to serve as a base for many industries. Their big pool of workers and wealth of natural resources are big selling points for Thai enterprises, particularly medium-sized firms, to set up businesses there after exporting to those countries.

According to a Bank of Thailand report, Asean is the largest overseas destination for Thai investment. From Thailand’s total outbound investment of Bt92.28 billion in the first quarter of this year, Bt31.12 billion went to Asean. The largest investment bases in Asean for Thailand are Singapore with Bt13.31 billion, Myanmar with Bt9.69 billion and Indonesia with Bt3.88 billion. To make investing abroad easier, the BoI has discussed with other government agencies about sweeping away barriers and preparing assistance measures. For instance, it has talked with the Finance Ministry about eliminating double taxation.

The agency usually meets four times a year with its counterparts in the other nine Asean countries to coordinate closely on investment promotion schemes among member states and build better understanding of each country’s investment laws.

Besides promoting investment to Asean, the BoI has conducted a study on investment and market opportunities in 20 other nations with good potential to serve as new investment bases for Thais in the near future.

They include countries in South Asia, mainly India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and countries in Africa such as to Ethiopia with emerging economies and large populations and workforces.

The fast growing world economy and free-trade markets will lead more Thai companies to establish a foothold overseas. The BoI, which is involved in beyond Thailand’s borders, while keep domestic investment privileges for puling industries up the value-added ladder.

It is regularly organising overseas missions aimed at a specific industry, such as garment and textiles, agricultural and food, automobile and motorcycle parts, construction, and tourism and service. It is conducting a training course to develop more Thai investors as multinational firms. From January-April, the BoI successfully trained 73 Thai firms in doing business offshore.

The Nation – Investors eyeing Myanmar told to be careful
Achara Deboonme
The Nation July 16, 2012 1:00 am

Despite tremendous interest in Myanmar following the lifting of sanctions, investors still face many risks as the country is in the middle of reforms on many fronts, a partner at Baker and McKenzie has warned.

“Hopefully, Myanmar will follow its promises,” Nicholas F Coward said in a briefing to clients in Thailand last Friday. Companies from the United States and Asia planning to enter Myanmar “will have to do so very carefully, with full due diligence procedure and ensure that all business plans are adhered to”.

Coward joined the US-Asean Business Council delegation in its visit to Yangon last weekend to discuss opportunities in Myanmar. The council was representing more than 100 major US corporations, ranging from those that have been active in Southeast Asia for more than 100 years to newcomers looking to expand their presence in one of the world’s most dynamic markets.

According to Coward, getting information on the investment climate was the foremost objective of this visit.

The United States had imposed sanctions on American citizens, companies and subsidiaries based in Myanmar, including those incorporated in Thailand. Earlier, subsidiaries with local management could do business with Myanmar, but parent companies were barred from facilitating that. US companies are now allowed to “facilitate” their subsidiaries through financial and non-financial means.

Coward, a partner in the international commerce department in Washington DC, came to Bangkok as soon as financial transactions and investment in Myanmar were officially relaxed last Wednesday. The restrictions were relaxed as a reward for reforms in the country so far, chiefly the release of political prisoners and dialogues held to end ethnic conflicts. The US relaxed its sanctions after the EU, Canadian and Australian governments made similar announcements.

Now that the controls are lifted, American companies and their subsidiaries can now venture into previously prohibited transactions – with one clear exception, no imports to the US are allowed. It is believed that this will help ease pressure on their Asian counterparts, as companies here were also subjected to these tough rules.

According to Coward, the General Licenses No 16 and No 17 now allow US companies and individuals to engage in financial transactions and investment in Myanmar. However, even though many new types of financial transactions are allowed, some restrictions remain in place to limit human-rights violations, corruption and military control.

For instance, those buying or leasing land in Myanmar valued at more than US$500,000 (Bt15.8 million) or more than 60.5 rai in size would need to file detailed reports. These reports will have to include information on what the land will be used for, the location, a summary of legal procedures and plans for resettlement of residents; financial and material compensation; and information on voluntary resettlement.

A similar report is needed for other investments exceeding $500,000. The investors are required to ensure proper security provisions to workers and compliance with human rights regulations. They also need to identify the nature of their business, persons in Myanmar at the point of contact, the property acquisition process, possible relocation of people as well as payments to government entities and state enterprises. “It’s clear that they can’t be involved with the military, ‘blocked’ entities or government officials,” Coward said.

At present, all financial transactions are allowed, including insurance and transfers. However, any payments to Myanmar’s Defence Ministry or arms groups remain prohibited. Investors are also barred from doing transactions with certain Myanmar banks. To Coward, it is still dubious as to whether a US bank can process a transaction for an individual who has an account in a prohibited Myanmar bank.

Coward also warned investors the relaxation of policies still need to be explored, especially since penalties are high. Potential civil/administrative penalties could be $250,000 per transaction, or twice the value of the transaction. Denial of export privileges is the optimum penalty, while criminal penalties could rise to $1 million and 20-year jail term.

While saying that “things taking place are more than they were originally planned”, Coward expects more sanctions imposed in the mid-1980s to be removed. However, this may take time because the sanctions involve 50 laws and regulations, and some require changes in legislature. He said the requirement of the reports is to ensure that human-rights violations and corruption are minimised.

“Most US companies are now very sensitive to these issues. This is to show that it’s possible to do business without paying bribery,” he said, noting that this is the most extensive reporting rule ever imposed by the US.

He said human rights violations and corruption were both important, as people suffered equally from both.

The Nation – ‘Ease rules to become gateway to Myanmar’
PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI
THE NATION July 17, 2012 1:00 am

Thailand has great potential to be a regional hub for British investors seeking a springboard for exploring opportunities in Myanmar and other Asean countries, but needs to liberalise its investment regulations so that it can compete effectively with Singapore, a British minister said.

During a short visit to the Kingdom last week, Jonathan Marland, Baron Marland, chairman of UK Trade and Investment’s Business Ambassadors’ Group, told The Nation that Thailand should leverage its role by liberalising the services sector and investment, as many British firms would like to use this country as a centre for exploring opportunities in Myanmar.

“There is no doubting the great potential for Thailand to be an access point to Myanmar. The country should develop its regulations and liberalise its investment rules to compete with Singapore, which is known as a very liberalised country,” he said.

Marland, who is UK parliamentary under-secretary of state for the Energy and Climate Change Department, also led the group of British businesses on the first official visit by the UK government to Myanmar last week.

More UK businesses are very keen to invest in Thailand given Britain’s long-standing relationship and good history with the country, he said.

Of particularly high interest for British enterprises are openings in those parts of the service where they have great expertise, mainly in education, finance and telecommunications, he added.

Myanmar, which has recently speeded up steps on the path to democracy, is also very attractive for British investors, he said. However, as Myanmar has a long way to go before its business and other sectors can grow, UK enterprises still see Thailand as a good destination for continuing investment and use as a gateway for exploring opportunities in the neighbouring country, Marland said.

To enhance the Kingdom’s attractiveness, he suggested the government should develop its investment regulations, and in particular increase the permitted shareholding for foreigners investing in the services industry.

He also raised concern about new insurance legislation, under which the term of a foreign insurer’s holding is limited to just 10 years.

In his meeting with Thai economic ministers, Marland encouraged the government to engage more closely with the European Union by pressing forward with negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the region.

Officials should also consider developing a more liberalised taxation policy, which would promote trade growth between the EU and Thailand amid the economic slowdown in the European bloc, he said.

As the United Kingdom is part of the EU, trade and investment with Thailand would also increase after the introduction of a free-trade pact, he added.

Marland also urged the government to resolve overlapping territorial claims with Cambodia, which have created uncertainty for British oil firms doing business in the Gulf of Thailand.

Moreover, he asked the government to allow longer work permits for British and other foreign employees, particularly for skilled workers, to facilitate business growth.

According to British Embassy figures, annual two-way trade between the UK and Thailand is worth 4.92 billion pounds (Bt241.6 billion). This is based on 2010 service exports and 2011 goods exports.

Bilateral trade in goods last year was valued at 3.84 billion, while trade in services was worth 1.08 billion pounds.

British exports to Thailand have continued to grow this year, while UK imports from the Kingdom have declined by 10 per cent to date.

In the January-to-March quarter, British goods exports to Thailand were valued at 377 million pounds, a year-on-year increase by 1.2 per cent, while imports from Thailand came in at 564 million pounds, down 10.7 per cent.

The UK is one of the largest European investors in Thailand.

As to the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in London, Lloyds TSB Business has forecast that the event will generate 21 billion pounds for the UK economy.

Bangkok Post – True mulls entering Myanmar’s cable-TV market
Published: 16/07/2012 at 01:48 AM
Newspaper section: Business

True Corporation has announced plans to jump into Myanmar’s emerging cable television market this year with a possible investment of 1 billion baht.

Thailand’s leading telecommunications firm also outlined a planned drive into Vietnam to expand its telecom footprint when the Asean Economic Community (AEC) kicks off effect in 2015.

Chief executive Suphachai Chearavanont said True expects to finalise the joint-venture plan with the Myanmar government on the cable-TV project this year.

“We plan to spend at least 1 billion baht on cable TV in Myanmar,” he told the Bangkok Post.

True will apply for a licence once the Myanmar government starts issuing them for cable-TV broadcasting.

Mr Suphachai said Thailand’s entertainment content is very popular in Myanmar.

“We’ll produce local-language programming in entertainment and international stations,” he said.

Mr Suphachai said True is also preparing to make inroads into the red-hot digital-TV fray.

“The move will complement our existing pay-TV services and open a wider opportunity to bring our content to free TV,” he said.

“We plan to become an integrated telecom service provider.”

True will apply for an infrastructure licence and a commercial digital-TV service licence to rent telecom networks to the operators as well as operate digital TV channels, said Mr Suphachai.

The company plans to apply for the licences from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) once it starts issuing them next year.

Mr Suphachai acknowledged that satellite- and digital-TV services will take 5-10 years to take up, while the mainstream pay TV will provide a more sustainable model of recurring fees.

Mr Suphachai said True’s cable-TV arm TrueVisions will introduce a prepaid service in high-definition platform this year as an anti-piracy measure.

“We hope to eliminate the threat from piracy with plans to replace analogue set-top boxes with digital ones, which should eliminate piracy on our cable system by 2013,” he said.

Mr Suphachai said TrueVisions’ revenue will exceed 10 billion baht this year, up from 9.7 billion last year, on improved ad revenue.

True is open to talks with any prospective company on joint bidding for the English Premier League (EPL) broadcasting rights next month, he said.

“We’re considering a possible collaboration to bid for EPL football matches from 2013-16, but on the strict condition that we have at least 50% of the broadcasting rights,” said Mr Suphachai.

InTouch, formerly known as Shin Corporation, recently announced plans to set up a business alliance for joint bidding for the EPL with three other companies including GMM Grammy Plc and RS Plc.
Earlier, TrueVisions insisted it would enter a bid for the three-year rights to broadcast the EPL solely without a partnership.

Mr Suphachai also said True is now ready to amend its third-generation (3G) network contracts with its concession owner CAT Telecom by eliminating the six issues raised by the NBTC regarding the contracts.

“The contract amendment will have no effect on our business and marketing plans,” he said.

Mr Suphachai said True is willing to amend its 3G contracts with CAT because the NBTC did not suggest the True-CAT contracts are illegal.

“The NBTC’s concerns involved some issues of the contracts violating the Telecommunications Act,” he said.

The NBTC last month said the True-CAT contracts violated Section 46 of the Frequency Allocation Act of 2010, which requires licence holders and spectrum owners including CAT to manage the spectrum rights on their own.

The regulator is reviewing the role of BFKT (Thailand), a unit of True subsidiary Real Future.

The NBTC questions whether BFKT (Thailand), which under the CAT-True agreement is the party responsible for procuring telecom towers and signal systems for the 3G network, is acting as a part of CAT’s operations and if all rules are being obeyed.

“We’re willing to allow CAT to buy back BFKT from us as the state telecom enterprise needs,” said Mr Suphachai.

An NBTC panel recently ruled BFKT could be in violation of the Telecommunications Business Act of 2001 by offering service without a proper licence.

True expects 4 million 3G subscribers for its TrueMove H service this year. It has almost 2 million customers now.

GlobalPost – Petrol that funded Myanmar’s junta now open to US firms
Obama clears American conglomerates to seek Myanmar’s vast reserves
Patrick Winn July 15, 2012 10:55

More than jade and rubies, more than labor or timber, oil and gas were the natural resources that made Myanmar’s former junta rich while its citizens struggled.

Until this week, any American conglomerate striking a new deal with Myanmar’s state-run energy sector would have run afoul of sanctions.

No longer.

The Obama administration, according to the Washington Post, is now allowing US firms to work with Myanmar’s government to extract the nation’s vast oil and gas reserves.

This is highly significant. It shows that the State Department leadership has grown confident enough in Myanmar’s reforms that it will allow Americans to dabble in a sector marked by secrecy, land grabs and abuse. Were it not for the fossil fuels buried beneath Myanmar’s central plains and near seas, the former junta — now supplanted by a quasi-democracy — would have lacked a core funding stream that kept corrupt generals in power.

Lucrative energy deals with non-Western countries, namely China, kept the former military government afloat. How they spent the $16 billion earned from oil/gas projects through the last decade — a figure cited by Myanmar’s Eleven Media Group — is a mystery. (Safe to say little was showered on sectors that would improve lives in Myanmar: schools, hospitals and public infrastructure.)

Having recently returned from a June summit in which Myanmar’s energy sector bureaucrats pitched opportunities to foreign investors, I can state with confidence that officials are keen to see more Western firms inside their country. (I say “more” because Total, a French firm, and America’s Chevron already operate a pipeline long exempt from sanctions through a grandfather clause.)

As it stands, there are about 20 foreign companies from 11 nations operating in Myanmar’s oil/gas fields. China is the big player in Myanmar’s energy sector with Chinese interests largely responsible for making oil/gas projects amount to more than 40 percent of the country’s foreign investment pledges. .

But the government is confident that many more lucrative deposits lie beneath the waters offshore. According to Myanmar government data, there are currently 25 blocks of barely explored or unexplored offshore terrain available to energy conglomerates.

And Western firms, endowed with the the most advanced technology, are best suited to go in, locate it, extract it and kick a percentage of their profits to the government. (Expect a 25 percent tax on profit coupled with a 12.5 percent royalty fee.) But unlike Chinese firms, American firms will be forced by the State Department to prove their operations are free of abuse.

Given America’s energy needs, the Obama administration’s decision is only slightly surprising. More surprising is US diplomats’ rare defiance of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning opposition figure who has appeared to all but dictate America’s Myanmar policy.

Aung San Suu Kyi has pointed out the obvious: for now, her government’s oil and gas sector is murky and unaccountable. This is the landscape US operators will enter if they seek the wealth of fossil fuels buried beneath Myanmar’s soil.

July 15, 2012 3:59 pm
The Financial Times – UN aid workers face Myanmar riot charges
By Gwen Robinson in Bangkok

Three UN workers detained in Myanmar face criminal charges of “stimulating” riots in the restive Rakhine state, according to diplomats familiar with the case.

The three, who work for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, were among 10 aid workers arrested nearly a month ago amid sectarian violence in Rakhine in the country’s north-west which left at least 80 people dead and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.

Neither the UN nor the Myanmar government have given any details of the charges or why the 10 were detained. But diplomatic sources said the three were charged with “stimulating” riots in the region, and the other seven are under the same suspicion. To counter the charges, UN agencies must investigate whether the accusations are warranted, said one aid worker, adding: “this is a very tricky thing to do amid the [Rakhine] chaos”.

About 12 aid workers were detained in June by authorities amid clashes between mostly stateless Rohingya Muslims and majority Buddhists.

The violence was triggered by the detention of three Muslim Rohingya men for allegedly raping and killing a Buddhist Rakhine woman in May.

Since declaring a state of emergency in Rakhine in early June, the government has strictly controlled access to strife-torn areas. UN agencies said last week a “tense calm” has returned, although aid workers warned that violence could break out at any time.

The UN withdrew most foreign staff from the region as the violence intensified but many locally engaged staff remained to help humanitarian relief efforts.

“The reality is that many of the people who most need help are the Rohingya – and they are the hated minority in the state, any agency helping them is going to incur local hostilities,” said one diplomat involved in talks with the government on the issue. ”The UN faces an impossible challenge there.”

Among UN agencies involved in the relief efforts, the World Food Programme is currently feeding more than 90,000 people who lost homes and livelihoods in the violence, while UNHCR is trying to help displaced people and stem the flow of refugees trying to enter neighbouring Bangladesh.

The detained aid workers include six locally engaged UN workers and four staff with Médecins Sans Frontières, the Netherlands-based organisation. Four of the UN staff work with the office of the UNHCR and three with the WFP. All 10 are from Myanmar.

A UN spokesman at the weekend confirmed criminal charges had been brought against at least three of the UN workers. The case highlights an increasingly awkward stand-off over the issue, particularly after António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, visited Myanmar last week but failed to win their release.

Speaking in Yangon after his talks, Mr Guterres said the UNHCR had requested details of the charges and access to the detainees, but without success.

In their talks, President Thein Sein also asked Mr Guterres for UN help to resettle up to 1m Muslim Rohingya either in refugee camps or resettlement in a third country.

Reflecting a hardening of his previously more conciliatory position, Mr Thein Sein told Mr Guterres: “We will take responsibility for our ethnic people but it is impossible to accept the illegally entered Rohingyas, who are not our ethnicity.”

A senior western diplomat said the remark “did not help the government’s cause with the international community”.

But many analysts say stronger pressure is needed.

“This is simply unacceptable, and necessitates an unequivocal response; it also portends negative things for inter-ethnic relations, peace and stability in Myanmar more generally,” said John Packer, director of the Human Rights Centre at Essex University.

Mr Packer backed up the UNHCR view, that under international conventions, Myanmar has no legal basis to insist the Rohingya are not entitled to citizenship.

MYANMAR: Access to health a worry in Rakhine State

YANGON, 16 July 2012 (IRIN) – Aid workers are concerned about access to healthcare in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State, more than a month after communal violence left over 50,000 people displaced.

“Even before the recent unrest, there was limited access to healthcare for many in Rakhine State,” said Victoria Hawkins, deputy head of mission of the medical charity, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF-Holland), which has been working in the region for 18 years. “Now the situation is becoming desperate.”

A 2012 report by the Arakan Project, an advocacy group that works with Rohingya, an ethnic, religious and linguistic minority numbering about 800,000 in Rakhine, noted that the health indicators were appalling.

In the administrative district of Maungdaw Township, just 30 percent of the population have access to public health services and there are only three medical doctors for a population of 430,000, while Buthidaung Township has just two doctors per 280,000 people. Almost half the population in the area have no access to clean water.

On 8 June, a wave of violence erupted in Rakhine State following the rape and murder of a young Buddhist woman in late May, allegedly by three Muslim Rohingya men. On 3 June an attack on a bus left 10 Muslims dead, and the ensuing revenge attacks left thousands of homes burned and dozens killed. A state of emergency was declared on 10 June and is still in place.

The rainy season, which lasts from mid-May to the end of October, brings seasonal illnesses, especially to the more vulnerable of the displaced people. One voluntary health worker said they had treated nearly 100 patients at the makeshift clinic in the Mingan Quarter of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State.

“As we are now in the rainy season, we would normally see a rise in the number of diarrhoea, respiratory infections and malaria cases. This will only be exacerbated by the conditions that are reported in some of the IDP locations,” said MSF’s Hawkins.

“The biggest challenge we face at present is access. The tension and insecurity [in Rakhine] means we are unable to reach many people in need of urgent healthcare,” she said. “It is critical that all efforts are made to ensure that medical organizations are able to resume their activities to reach all those in need.”

According to the latest information from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), mobile medical teams from the military, the ministry of health, the Myanmar Medical Association and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) are providing basic healthcare services to the displaced.

Government estimates put the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) at some 52,000, living in more than 60 locations, but international agencies estimate the actual number of people affected at 100,000. Most of the displaced are Rohingya, who have long faced persecution in Myanmar. Under Burmese law, the Rohingya are stateless and viewed as illegal Bengali immigrants.

The prevalent causes of mortality in Rakhine listed in a 2010 report by the UN Human Rights Council included malaria, diarrhoea, respiratory and skin infections, intestinal parasites and cholera, while the maternal mortality rate of 380 per 100,000 live births in the state was significantly higher than the 240 recorded in the rest of the country.

Of particular concern are people living with HIV and TB. “Disruption of access to the drugs could result in drug-resistant cases,” said Thiha Kyaing, head of the Phoenix Association, a local NGO assisting HIV patients in collaboration with MSF. Any disruption in their medication could endanger their lives and the general level of health in the area.

MSF, the largest provider of life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in Myanmar, said it was worried that many of those in need were not able to access the drugs they needed. “The limited contact we have been able to have with our HIV patients has confirmed to us how concerned they are about disruption to their treatment,” said Hawkins.

According to the Myanmar Positive Group (MPG), an HIV support network, 669 patients (320 in Sittwe and 349 in the Buthidaung and Maungdaw areas) are on a list of people needing ARV drugs from the clinics run by MSF.

The clinics were forced to shut down due to security concerns, disrupting the drug delivery system. The Phoenix Association in Sittwe and MPG have been trying to establish contact with the people on the list.

“[We have been] unable to contact 30 patients,” said Min San Tun, a programme officer at MPG. “We are very worried about the health of these people.”

Jul 17, 2012
SPEAKING FREELY
Asia Times Online – Trust deficit in Myanmar’s ‘transition’
By Aung Htoo

Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel laureate and democracy icon of Myanmar, stated during her historic trip to Europe in June, “My major concern is that the people in Burma [Myanmar] could have no longer trust in the current processes for political transition.” Her statement came against a background of rising expectations not among people in Myanmar, but also of the international community about the prospects of a democratic transition in Myanmar.

In the aftermath of 2010 elections, an elected civilian government emerged. Respecting the demands of the people, the new regime suspended a controversial Chinese-funded major dam project and released hundreds of political prisoners. Several civil society organizations, national as well as international, are now being allowed to function in the country, while indications of the emergence an independent media can be seen now more than before.

The National League for Democracy (NLD), a major opposition party led by Suu Kyi, has also been allowed to operate relatively independently. The NLD even won a landslide victory again in a by-election held on April 1, 2012.

Everything generally looks fine. Suu Kyi herself has been able to make foreign trips freely. Why then, did she mention concerns over the people’s “trust” in the seeming transition?

To evaluate the transition, the current political process needs to be scrutinized. The first undisputed factor is that almost all leaders of the new regime are former and current military leaders. Ko Ko Hlaing, the head of the political adviser team to President Thein Sein, has confirmed this fact by saying, “It is something like a play in the theatre. Although actors are not changed, the ‘play’ has been changed. That is why we no longer need to talk about previous play. Rather, we must focus only on this new play.”

During a press conference with French President Francois Hollande in Paris on June 26, Suu Kyi also highlighted this fact by stating, “It is said that Myanmar has started to step on the way to a new road. Nevertheless, not only former persons but also new ones should get opportunity to take this new road. Only then, political transition would be meaningful.”

Unfortunately, it is still not clear whether that new road will actually lead to democracy. As far as democratic transition is concerned, a constitutional framework is more important than the taking of political office by different leaders. A gradual change might happen in the long-term if the new constitution had laid the foundations for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

However, the 2008 constitution only strengthens the rule of the military dictatorship. It establishes the National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) is the most powerful institution in which the commander-in-chief (C-in-C) of the Defense Services and his deputies dominate. The president of the state is a part of the NDSC. The commander-in-chief assumes power in order to send army representatives into legislative bodies. The People’s Assembly speakers and the National Assembly’s speakers are included in the formation of the NDSC.

As such, the NDSC controls all lawmaking processes by means of military members of parliament who make up one-quarter of the total number of representatives in each legislative body, as well as the speakers who are also a component of the NDSC. State power lies mainly with the NDSC, and this institution is the undisputed characteristic of the authoritarian regime. So long as it continues to exist as a constitutionally instituted body, which exercises rigid centralization, Myanmar will only achieve superficial democracy in accordance with the 2008 Constitution.

“The 2008 constitution is an ‘internationally wrongful act’ that breaches Myanmar’s intransgressible obligations to the global community,including its obligation under the UN Charter to comply with binding Security Council resolutions” said Janet Benshoof, president of the Global Justice Centre.”This violation reaches the level of a serious breach of a peremptory norm of international law.”

U Thein Nyunt, one of the representatives who was elected in the 2010 elections, said, “There is no constitution in the world which cannot be amended. The 2008 constitution of Myanmar can also be amended one step after another.”

However, unfortunately, the NLD has been able to occupy only 43 out of 664 seats in the Union Assembly, the legislative body of the country. As such, gaining an opportunity to amend the structural backbone of the constitution is almost impossible. Even the chances of amending other unimportant articles of the constitution appear slim.

As a part of the constitutional amendment process, the first test case happened before the NLD’s MPs joined the People’s Assembly after winning the by-election that was held on April 1, 2012. The NLD demanded that the term, “respect” replace the word “uphold” mentioned in the form of oaths for the elected representatives, as far as the 2008 constitution is concerned. Even this was turned down and the NLD failed.

Afterwards, NLD parliamentarians led by Aung San Suu Kyi had to take oaths by reciting swearing to uphold the 2008 constitution, contrary to their former position, mentioned in the NLD’s Shwe-gone-daing declaration, publicly announced on April 29, 2009. As a result, the newly created military regime, which camouflages itself with civilian dress, has already achieved legitimacy to rule over a country that now how greater foreign investment potential due to its “democratic transition”.

Another expectation is that the NLD might win a landslide victory in the elections to be held in 2015, occupy the majority seats in the legislative assembly, and amend the 2008 constitution effectively. Unfortunately, the legal chances of this are quite low. Article 436 provides that the basic structures of the constitution shall be amended with the prior approval of more than 75% of all the representatives of the Union Assembly; in addition, a nationwide referendum must follow with votes of more than half of those who are eligible to vote. Actually, getting the prior approval of more than 75% of all the representatives is an insurmountable problem for the NLD, before going to referendum.

In the previous by-election held on April 1, 2012, there were only 45 seats contested. However, in the forthcoming general elections to be held in 2015, 498 seats are up for grabs. The NLD can constitute 75% of the assembly only if it wins all 498 seats. However, these seems unlikely for the following reasons:
1. The Election Commission is not independent.
2. Judicial supervision of the election is totally prohibited.
3. As was the case for the previous by-election, the observations of international election monitoring institutions-mainly the UN and EU teams-might not be allowed.
4. The operations of national election monitoring teams are tightly restricted.
5. Election frauds allegedly committed by the regime in the general elections in 2010 and in the by-elections in 2012, have not been thoroughly investigated by a national independent commission or the international community. Contrarily, U Nyan Win, chief of the NLD election campaign team, who submitted a complaint for an election fraud, is being indicted by the Election Commission. The trial started on June 26, 2012.
6. The current ruling party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which is mainly led by ex-army personnel, will certainly occupy several seats. In addition, the ethnic national parties, some of which are closely associated with the military, will also occupy many seats. After the 2015 elections, even if the NLD occupies the majority of the 498 seats, will still not be possible to achieve the support of the other parties mentioned above in order to amend the basic structure of the 2008 Constitution. This still would not be enough. More than seventy-five percent is needed.

This indicates that some military delegates sent by the commander-in-chief must also agree to amend the statute. This may not happen as the military delegates have to obey the order of their commander; and, they themselves may not be happy to do so as the 2008 Constitution upgrades the role of the military. That is why the expectations of amending the basic structure of the 2008 Constitution after the 2015 elections might never become a reality.

The NLD may be in chaos from now on due to the legal pressures created by institutions that have arisen out of the 2008 constitution. On June 28, 2012, Suu Kyi herself was even warned by the Election Commission because she used the term “Burma,” as the name of the country, rather than “Myanmar,” provided for in the constitution, during her European trips.

“The return of Suu Kyi to homeland after her recent successful trips in European countries was welcomed by the military regime with a negative sense. It is because she warned the countries and companies, who would be invested in Myanmar, to be cautious, to make investments with accountabilities and to also focus on protections of human rights,” said Zaw Win, a former 1988 student generation activist.

The military regime has pushed Suu Kyi into a corner, one step after another, to comply totally with the 2008 constitution. The rule of law has become a popular term not only for people in Myanmar, but also for the ruling regime and its military-dominated political party, the USDP.

The difference is that while the former expect the rule of law positively, the latter uses that term negatively. The latter consistently alleges that a person – even if it is Suu Kyi -does not pay respect to the rule of law if he or she does not comply with the 2008 constitution.

Suu Kyi’s concern is in regard to the people’s trust in the current processes for political transition. The people’s trust depends on whether Suu Kyi herself and the NLD will be able to amend the basic structure of the 2008 constitution now without having to wait for the 2015 elections. If they are unable to do so, then people may no longer have any trust in the current political processes and they may find other alternatives.

Aung Htoo is a human-rights lawyer. He can be reached at aunghtoo50@gmail.com

ASIAONE – Myanmar announces record drugs bust
AFP, Monday, Jul 16, 2012

YANGON – Myanmar authorities on Monday hailed progress in their war on drugs after an unprecedented multi-million dollar seizure at an narcotics factory in eastern Shan state.

Police detained nine suspects with 73 kilograms (161 pounds) of “ice” crystal methamphetamine and 274 kilos of liquid meth along with drug-making equipment and a pistol during a raid on a house in Laukkai on July 9, state media reported.

Officials said the haul was worth an estimated $3.7 million (S$4.7 million).

“It’s our biggest ice seizure in history. It’s a part of our crackdown on the chemical ingredients and factories,” a senior official at the home affairs ministry, who did not want to be named, told AFP.

Synthetic drug production and poppy cultivation for opium is prevalent in Myanmar’s remote border areas, where armed ethnic minority rebels have used the profits from narcotics to fund their operations.

President Thein Sein’s reformist government has signed peace accords with a number of armed groups as part of sweeping reforms since taking power last year. Myanmar has said it aims to eradicate illegal drugs by 2014.

The country, which is slowly emerging from decades of military rule, is the world’s second-largest opium poppy grower after Afghanistan.

Shan state is a major source of methamphetamine tablets, according to the UN, which estimates that global seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants nearly tripled between between 1998 and 2010, reflecting fast-growing demand.

In May the government and Shan rebels together agreed to wipe out drug production in the vast northeastern state.

A drug control official said the recent raid had posed “many difficulties and risks”.

He added: “We have no experience like this in the past raiding a factory which produces ice and other stimulants.”

Channel NewsAsia – Myanmar detains nine in record drugs bust
Posted: 16 July 2012 2024 hrs

YANGON: Myanmar authorities on Monday hailed progress in their war on drugs after an unprecedented multi-million dollar seizure at an narcotics factory in eastern Shan state.

Police detained nine suspects with 73 kilogrammes (161 pounds) of “ice” crystal methamphetamine and 274 kilos of liquid meth along with drug-making equipment and a pistol during a raid on a house in Laukkai on July 9, state media reported.

Officials said the haul was worth an estimated $3.7 million.

“It’s our biggest ice seizure in history. It’s a part of our crackdown on the chemical ingredients and factories,” a senior official at the home affairs ministry, who did not want to be named, told AFP.

Synthetic drug production and poppy cultivation for opium is prevalent in Myanmar’s remote border areas, where armed ethnic minority rebels have used the profits from narcotics to fund their operations.

President Thein Sein’s reformist government has signed peace accords with a number of armed groups as part of sweeping reforms since taking power last year. Myanmar has said it aims to eradicate illegal drugs by 2014.

The country, which is slowly emerging from decades of military rule, is the world’s second-largest opium poppy grower after Afghanistan.

Shan state is a major source of methamphetamine tablets, according to the UN, which estimates that global seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants nearly tripled between between 1998 and 2010, reflecting fast-growing demand.

In May, the government and Shan rebels together agreed to wipe out drug production in the vast northeastern state.

A drug control official said the recent raid had posed “many difficulties and risks”.

He added: “We have no experience like this in the past raiding a factory which produces ice and other stimulants.”

Asia News Network – Myanmar bans import of meat, poultry products
News Desk – Eleven Media Group
Publication Date : 16-07-2012

Myanmar has banned imported chicken, beef and mutton, as well as eggs and chicks from China, said an official of Myanmar Livestock Breeding Federation.

“A warning has already been issued against of the imports of meat products. But there are still some imports and our federation has asked authorities concerned to take action against this,” he added.

The decision to ban importation of meat products without health guarantees came at a time when the country is taking steps to pass a consumer protection law.

At present, Myanmar’s meat production sector has met the target of domestic sufficiency and it is even seeking to export surpluses of meat and eggs.

Illegal importation of meat products and eggs can affect the domestic meat production sector. It can also harm the interests of local breeders, producers and those engaging in small poultry farms.

China has also banned imports of poultry and meat products from Myanmar and of those from other countries via Myanmar.

Asia News Network – Silver lining on clouds over Myanmar
Jim Pollard, The Nation
Publication Date : 16-07-2012

A storm of criticism has flared again over Myanmar’s treatment of ethnic Rohingya – and its request to the United Nations refugee agency last week to resettle more than half a million of them to countries overseas.

But Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – who told Myanmar’s President Thein Sein it was not possible to deport the Rohingya – tried to play down the affair in an exclusive interview in Bangkok on Friday.

Guterres agreed that the Rohingya – Muslims of Bangladeshi ethnic origin at the centre of repeated crises in western Rakhine State – have endured “dramatic discrimination” and that their plight “deserves a message of humanity from the international community”.

But he had only words of encouragement for Thein Sein’s reformist regime.

“We have witnessed recently an eruption of some dramatic forms of violence – inter-community violence [in Rakhine State] – and this has led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people; and to a dramatic humanitarian situation for many of them.

“There is still high tension on the ground. And I believe it’s important to help calm things down – to urgently deliver humanitarian aid without discrimination to the two communities, and at the same time to seriously promote a true reconciliation process.

“I had the opportunity in my visit to also suggest that, independently of the improvements that the Nationality Law might deserve, it would be important to effectively grant Myanmarese nationality to all those members of the Muslim community that have the right to it according to the law. And to find for the other members of the community a legal status allowing them to enjoy fully the rights that are necessary to lead a normal life.”

The Rohingya have been denied citizenship amid claims they are “Bengalis” from Bangladesh. The request was rejected, with the UNHCR chief and staff at pains to explain it was impossible to do this, because the Rohingya were not refugees – they had not fled conflict or persecution across borders.

Treatment of the Rohingya has been condemned by some as ethnic cleansing and a state-sanctioned pogrom. Denied citizenship by Ne Win’s government in 1982, tens of thousands have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh and taken to boats in recent years in search of a new life in Malaysia and other lands because of despair at their lack of rights – an inability to travel for work, or simply to marry – and a suffocating cycle of extortion and abuse by officials in Rakhine State.

Last month, at least 80 people were killed in riots between Buddhist and Muslim communities, which caused a state of emergency to be declared. Thousands saw their homes burnt and have been forced to shift to temporary shelters.

Guterres said: “It’s important to realise that Myanmar is now leading a very important and positive period of transition that many people would not have thought possible just a few years ago. In this visit, to both Myanmar and Thailand, I had the opportunity to discuss perspectives of closing the chapter in a dignified way … of the Myanmarese refugees in Thailand. And this is possible today thanks to the determined way in which the Myanmar government is conducting a peace process.

“Ten ceasefires have been established. One ceasefire is being negotiated for Kachin State and there is a very clear commitment to not only peace building, which deserves the support of the international community.”

Speaking after a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the UNHCR chief called on Western governments not to cut support for refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border, saying it is of “vital importance” funding be maintained till the 140,000 people in nine border camps can return.

Guterres was “very grateful” to the Thai government for hosting the refugees for nearly three decades and the fact it “recognises that no push should be made – that the voluntary character of the return should be respected, and that the safety and dignity of the refugees in that return should be a paramount concern”.

He gave no indication of when the refugees may be able to return – that depended on establishing conditions on the other side “to allow all people to feel that it’s safe to go back, and that they can rebuild their lives in a sustainable way”.

But he was encouraged by the Thai government’s “very open attitude in relation to a number of proposals to improve the conditions of the refugees” and “constructive attitude in preparation for what we hope will be a solution for one of the most protracted refugee situations in the world”.

The Thailand Burma Border Consortium, which raises more than $30 million a year to supply food and materials to the camps, has been forced to cut rations for the refugees as European nations scale back donations amid a push to support projects inside Myanmar.

Guterres said: “I’d like to make a very strong appeal to the international community to maintain the support to humanitarian action in the camps … until the process is concluded.

“I want people to go back when conditions are met for them to return, to be reunifying. I don’t want people to go back fleeing any aggravation if their conditions are intolerable. So the support of the international community to members of the consortium that has been operating in the area should be maintained at the present moment. That is of vital importance to the success of this whole operation.”

With acute crises in Syria, South Sudan, Mali and the Congo, the world badly needed good news. The peaceful “evolution” in Myanmar, thus, “very encouraging”.

“That evolution should be cherished and supported by the international community, not only in a humanitarian dimension but all things that relate to the empowerment of the country and the welfare of the people, allowing for democracy to emerge and to consolidate.

“What I hope is that these excellent signals – signs – that I have described will also, with time, allow for a positive development of the situation in Rakhine state.”

July 16, 2012 18:00 PM
Myanmar Couples Sought To Help In Attempted Murder Trial

NIBONG TEBAL, July 16 (Bernama) — Seberang Perai Selatan police are looking for a couple from Myanmar to assist in an attempted murder trial at the Butterworth Sessions Court, here.

Investigating Officer Insp Mohd Saiful Lal Mohammad said the presence of Min Maung Lay, 41 and his wife Ma Khing in her 30s, was important to ensure justice was served on the suspect in the case.

“Their last address was 709, Lorong 1 Sungai Kechil Camp, Nibong Tebal and attempts to find them from Sept 13, last year had failed,” he told Bernama in a statement Monday.

He said those who knew or have any information about the couple’s whereabouts are urged to contact police at 012-4307005 or 04-5824222 to facilitate investigations.

“We hope members of the public can help police to find the couple because the case is set for mention at the Butterworth Sessions Court 3, on July 30,” he said.

Washington Post – Thai authorities kill 7 alleged drug smugglers in shootout near Thai-Myanmar border
By Associated Press, Published: July 15 | Updated: Monday, July 16, 3:55 AM

BANGKOK — Thai security forces killed seven suspected drug smugglers from Myanmar early Monday in a gunbattle that was Thailand’s deadliest drug-related incident in three years, police said.

Myanmar, meanwhile, reported a major seizure of methamphetamine near its border with China.

U.N. and U.S. drug experts say Myanmar, especially Shan state in the country’s east, is a major producer of amphetamine-type stimulants. Thailand and China are large markets for the drug.

Thai police Maj. Gen. Surachet Thopunyanon said investigators who had been tipped off and were waiting at a border crossing for several days caught members of a drug gang as they entered Thailand’s Chiang Rai province. He said the suspects refused to stop and a shootout ensued in which seven were killed.

Surachet said police seized 520,000 methamphetamine pills and 70 kilograms (154 pounds) of crystalline methamphetamine and are still hunting for other suspects who escaped the scene, about 735 kilometers (455 miles) north of Bangkok.

Myanmar’s state-controlled Kyemon newspaper, meanwhile, said police there seized 73 kilograms (161 pounds) of crystal meth and hundreds of kilograms (pounds) of drug-making chemicals worth 3.14 billion kyat ($3.6 million) in a raid July 9 on a house in the town of Laukkai near the Chinese border.

It said nine people were arrested, including the homeowner, a member of the ethnic Kokang minority. Laukkai, 500 miles (800 kilometers) northeast of Yangon, is under the authority of the Kokang.

Myanmar traditionally has been one of the world’s biggest producers of opium and its derivative, heroin, but in recent years drug gangs affiliated with ethnic minority groups have also been making methamphetamine in border areas under little control by the state.

The Irrawaddy – ‘Trauma Will Last Long Time’: Ko Ko Gyi
By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY| July 16, 2012

It will take a long time to resolve the situation in Arakan State and to cure those who are now suffering from trauma and fear, said Ko Ko Gyi, the leader of the 88 Generation Students group, who was one of several representatives to visit the region last week to observe the situation on the ground and to provide food aid to victims of the violence.

“It might take a long time to treat all the victims,” he told The Irrawaddy on Monday. “Especially the Arakanese [Rakhine Buddhists] in Maungdaw Township. We found that they do not want to stay there any longer. They want to abandon their native towns and go to live somewhere else.”

Ko Ko Gyi said that his group only encountered displaced Arakanese Buddhists in shelters in the Maungdaw area, which was one of the major scenes of riots and the burning of houses over the past month.

“There are only Arakanese refugees in Maungdaw, unlike in Sittwe where both Bengalis [Rohingya Muslims] and Arakanese are staying in shelters,” he said. “We found that 97 percent of those still living in their own homes in Maungdaw are Bengalis.

“We visited Bengalis in camps in Sittwe and found they were living in poor and crowded conditions with a high population of children,” he said.

The 88 Generation Students leader said that his group discovered that every Arakanese Buddhist village in Maungdaw was burned down, as was every Buddhist temple.

According to Burma’s state press, at least 80 people were killed in the month-long violence and hundreds of houses were destroyed. The UNHCR said about 91,000 people have been made homeless, a majority of whom are currently sheltering in temporary camps.

“An old Arakanese man told me that he wanted to leave his native town because Buddhist people were a minority and the situation was too scary,” said Ko Ko Gyi. “This is despite the fact that the land and water of the area is Arakanese.”

Ko Ko Gyi told The Irrawaddy that his group’s surveillance of the situation in Arakan State left them with the impression that local authorities handled the conflict very poorly. He said the government must settle the issue of the citizenship law properly before the country can return to peace.

He said his organization will continue to provide aid to homeless people, both Buddhist and Muslim, in the region, and that it had hosted a public donation ceremony on Sunday in Rangoon.

In early June, Ko Ko Gyi accused “neighboring countries” of fueling the unrest in Arakan State, and stated categorically that the 88 Generation group will not recognize the Rohingyas as an ethnicity of Burma. He said that his organization and its followers are willing to take up arms alongside the military in order to fight back against “foreign invaders.”

Chris Lewa, the director of Arakan Project which works closely with the Rohingya community in Arakan State, responded to Ko Ko Gyi’s statement by saying, “It is regrettable that prominent Burmese human rights activists portray Muslim communities in Arakan State as foreign troublemakers, suggesting that they are the main perpetrators of such ethno-religious violence when they are actually the main victims. Minority rights are human rights, and should be recognised and respected to achieve true democracy in Burma.”

Burma’s presidential office released a statement on July 12, a day after Thein Sein held talks with UNHCR head Antonio Guterres. It said it could not accept illegal immigrants [such as the Rohingyas] and urged the UN to take responsibility for them.

Local authorities brought three UN aid workers before a court in Maungdaw last week, one of whom was charged with treason while another was released. A total of 12 local aid workers, a majority of whom work for international agencies such as the UN and Médecins Sans Frontières, were arrested and detained in June, accused of involvement in the unrest.

New York-based Human Rights Watch released a press statement on July 5 saying “local police, the military, and a border security force known as Nasaka have committed numerous abuses in predominantly Muslim townships.”

It urged the Burmese government to “end arbitrary and incommunicado detention, and redeploy and hold accountable security forces implicated in serious abuses.”

Elaine Pearson, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said, “The Burmese government needs to put an immediate end to the abusive sweeps by the security forces against Rohingya communities.

Anyone being held should be promptly charged or released, and their relatives given access.”

Burma’s security forces have been implicated in killings and other abuses against Muslim civilians since the sectarian violence in northern Arakan State began in early June, said Human Rights Watch, urging the Burmese authorities to ensure safe access to the area to the UN and independent humanitarian organizations.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the president of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, Eva Kusuma Sundari, slammed Burmese President Thein Sein in a press release for failing to respond to the sectarian violence in Arakan State, and said the Rohingya who have lived in Burma for generations must be recognised and granted citizenship. “I feel it is important to express my deep regret for the failure of the world to react appropriately to the killing and persecution of Muslim ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State,” she said.

The Irrawaddy – Activists Discuss Irrawaddy River in Rangoon
By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| July 16, 2012

Hundreds of Burmese environmentalists and civil society group members gathered in Rangoon over the weekend for a three-day seminar on protecting the Irrawaddy River.

“Our Irrawaddy, Our Future” was organized by JUU Foundation from July 14 to 16 to allow concerned people around the nation to come together and discuss how to safeguard the vital waterway.

“The Irrawaddy River is our Union. If the Irrawaddy River did not exist, there would not be a Bagan era, Tharakhittara, Amarapura or Mandalay either. Protecting the Irrawaddy is protecting the Union,” said Jimmy (aka Kyaw Min Yu), a leader of the 88 Generation Students group who attended the closing ceremony.

Ko Tar, a writer and organizer of the seminar, agreed and said, “We have a lot to do to preserve the Irrawaddy River—from deforestation to gold mining and electric shock fishing. It is important to spread this information via awareness among grassroots groups with the help of the media.”

Organizers also held an exhibition about the Irrawaddy River at Gallery 65 in Rangoon on Sunday which called for the permanent end of the suspended Myitsone Dam in Kachin State.

There have been rumors that the Chinese CPI company recently resumed work in the area despite reformist President Thein Sein saying in September that the project would be postponed for his administration.

“The Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam project is important for us as CPI do not stop and always want to keep on with work,” said Ko Tar. “But on our side there are other important things happening right now.
The Myitsone issue is one of the important ones. If we unite, we can help each other.”

Cartoonists, artists, composers, activists, writers and poets from all over Burma joined hands at the event for the preservation of the Irrawaddy River. Environmental experts such as Win Myo Thu, from ECODEV (Economically Progressive Ecosystems Development), as well as Dr. Khin Ni Ni Thein and Sein Myo Myint gave speeches on “why we must protect our Irrawaddy.”

“As the specialists said, we have to do more awareness programs from the grassroots level,” added Jimmy. “It is not enough that President Thein Sein postponed the Myitsone Dam project in his administration. It is important to advocate having candidates who will guarantee the preservation of the Irrawaddy River in the upcoming 2015 general election.”

Farmers Protest for Return of Seized Land
By THE IRRAWADDY| July 16, 2012

Around 200 farmers from Shwepyitha, Mingaladon and Hlegu townships in Rangoon Division organized a protest on Sunday in order to get their confiscated land returned in the first such action permitted under new legislation.

“This land belonged to our parents and we want it back,” said Wine Hla, one of the participating farmers who lost 15 acres. “After our land was seized we have had no way of making a living and so have instead been selling things at a small stall.”

Burma’s Parliament passed the new Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law last week which gives the right to organize demonstrations, and this is the first time such action has been permitted by the authorities.

Under the terms of the legislation protesters must submit details five days in advance of any action and include the names of the leading participants.

Another farmer called Myint Soe said Zay Kabar Company came to take his 10 acres of land without saying what was happening. He claims to have informed the township authorities but they refused to take any action so he was left with no alternative but protest himself.

“I think that I have the right to take it back and so that is why I am standing here to protest,” he added.

Khin Shwe, the chairman of Zay Kabar Company, is an MP for the ruling military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party in the Lower House of the Burmese Parliament. Over 1,000 acres of land was reportedly confiscated by the company in 2010.

Zay Kabar reportedly set compensation prices ranging from 100,000 to one million kyat per acre without any agreement from the farmers.

Protest organizer Nay Myo Wai, the chairman of the Peace and Diversity Party, said he will continue to help farmers organize future demonstrations. “The protest is intended to show that the farmers have strength and will not accept the company’s action without a fight,” he said.

Treat torture victims, prosecute those responsible: AAPP
Monday, 16 July 2012 15:24 Mizzima News

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma (AAPPB) has called on the Burmese government to allow torture victim La Htaw Brang Shawng immediate access to medical care, in line with international standards for detainees.

In addition, security forces responsible for the torture of the Kachin villager must be prosecuted to send a strong message that the use of torture and related practices will no longer be tolerated in Burma, the AAPP said in a statement on Friday.

Military Affairs Security (MAS) forces have a long history of torturing detainees with impunity, a practice that continues as shown by the La Htaw Brang Shawng, the AAPP said.

In June, 25-year-old La Htaw Brang Shawng was arrested by police in Myitkyina Township, Kachin State, on false allegations of involvement in a bomb plot, said the Mae Sot-based nongovernment organization.

He was handed over to MAS authorities and held in Myitkyina Prison where he was tortured over a three-day period, said the AAPP. He is accused under Section 3 of the Explosive Substance Act and Article 17/1 of Unlawful Associations Act. His next court hearing was scheduled for Monday.

According to his lawyer, Mar Khar, MAS officers handcuffed and tied him up with ropes. La Htaw Brang Shawng was then tortured in an effort to extract a forced confession: his cheeks were burned with hot knives, his thighs were heavily punctured with knives, and the skin on his calves shows evidence of extensive peeling, the AAPP said.

The case of La Htaw Brang Shawng is not unique and shows that torture is still a government policy, said Bo Kyi, AAPP joint-secretary.

“If [President] Thein Sein really wants Burma to reform, he needs to enact a zero tolerance policy for torture,” he said. “Those responsible for inflicting violence against innocent detainees need to be brought to justice.”

The AAPP said his wife is worried about La Htaw Brang Shawng’s abnormal behavior. During the court hearing, he was laughing by himself, she said.

The judge, Myint Htoo, denied requests made by the defense lawyer to allow appropriate medical treatment for La Htaw Brang Shawng, but the judge reportedly allowed the attorney to introduce a list of injuries he said were inflicted by the military interrogators.

“It is unconscionable that one of the nation’s courts is prohibiting a defendant from seeking medical relief from serious allegations of ill treatment and torture. Denying urgent health care is like torturing a person again,” said Bo Kyi.

Torture is a chronic problem in Burma, he said.

“Torture is not a thing of the past. The international community needs to wake up to the fact that Burma continues to violate basic principles of humanity. Talking about reform while security forces continue to torture is no improvement,” said Bo Kyi.

Burma has not signed the Convention Against Torture (CAT) or the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

“It is absurd to speak of progress in Burma when torture is rampant and the victims are refused basic medical care,” Bo Kyi said. “When will the government wake up and act to end torture and all human rights abuses?”

In addition, AAPP called on for an independent and impartial investigation into allegations of torture in Burma. Without dismantling the culture of impunity, there is little hope of ending torture in Burma, it said.

Burma asked to explain UN workers arrests
Monday, 16 July 2012 13:03 Mizzima News

Burma has been asked to clarify why 10 local UN and nongovernmental aid workers were arrested last month in Arakan (Rakhine) State, some allegedly on criminal charges.

The detained staff include three Burmese nationals working for the UNHCR, the agency’s spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a UN briefing in Geneva. She declined to give details.

Another UN official said the 10 detained included three workers with the UN World Food Programme and some from Doctors Without Borders.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres met with Burmese officials last week, offering to help the government reconcile Buddhist and Muslim relations in Rakhine State, where widespread violence flared last month claiming up to 79 lives.

UN officials said Guterres presented different proposals to Burmese President Thein Sein and other officials to bring the two two communities together. Rohingya Muslims in Burma are denied citizenship and other basic rights, and the UN says the group is one of the most discriminated groups in the world.

UN spokeswoman Fleming said the UNHCR continues to view the unstable situation in Rakhine with concern.

“We would like to state that in Rakhine State we remain absolutely committed to delivering humanitarian assistance to both populations, the Rakhine and the Muslim without any discrimination,” Fleming said

She said the situation of Royingya fleeing across the border to Bangladesh has slacked off.

“We are absolutely monitoring this and hopeful that things will return back to normal and that relations between the two communities can be re-established,” she said. “But, one of the festering problems is, of course, the statelessness situation, As the nationality law stands, it is based on ethnicity and it does exclude certain groups including the Muslim Rohingya population.”

Fleming said the UNHCR believes nationality should be granted to members of the Rohingya Muslim community who are entitled to have it according to the present legislation.  And, others, she said should receive a legal status that would grant them the rights required to develop a normal life in the country.

On Thursday, Mizzima reported that three UN employs appeared before a court for a hearing on their case in the Maungdaw District Court, after being detained by the Nasaka, a border guard force, during the sectarian violence in June.

The Narinjara website also reported a worker with Doctors without Borders was also arrested and appeared in court, but Narinjara was unable to confirm that report.

On June 29, Mizzima reported that 12 aid workers representing the United Nations and Doctors Without Borders had been detained in Arakan State during the unrest. UN officials met with Burma’s foreign minister in Naypyitaw, the capital, two weeks ago to discuss the detentions, but the outcome of that meeting is not known.

On June 16, Reuters news agency reported that police in Buthidaung Township for unknown reasons detained three UN staff members, two from the U.N. refugee agency and one from the World Food Programme. All were Burmese nationals.

On June 12, Doctors Without Borders announced it had suspended its operations in parts of Arakan State, saying that its staff members where unsafe in the area.

Official Burmese government figures say up to 79 people were killed in the sectarian violence that racked the region starting in June, driving tens of thousands of refugees to seek safe shelter. International and domestic aid agencies rushed into the area to offer food, shelter and medicine as the violence continued.

On Friday in Siem Reap, US Secretary of State Clinton raised the issue of Rohingya Muslims in western Burma. Clinton said that the US considers the Rohingya “internally displaced persons,” according to wire reports. Thein Sein this past week proposed that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees resettle the Rohingya in a third country or take responsibility for them, a suggestion rejected by the United Nations as unsuitable.

Thein Sein’s response to Clinton on the issue was to describe the situation as “very dangerous,” said a US official. Clinton also expressed concern about the detained UN workers.

U.S. concerned about effects of Xayaburi Dam
Monday, 16 July 2012 12:39 Mizzima News

The United States has pledged US$ 50 million for environmental and social development projects among the lower Mekong countries, following the conclusion of the Asean foreign ministers meeting in Cambodia, and other related meetings regional meetings.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who attended the fifth Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial Meeting in Cambodia, said the funds would aid social networking and environmental groups in Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

In a US statement, Clinton said the US was concerned about the planned construction of the Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong River in Laos, as it would likely have a major impact on fishing, agriculture, the environment and people’s livelihoods and health in Southeast Asia.

She said the US will give funds to support the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC) study on sustainable management and development of the Mekong River. It will also contribute $2 million to the MRC’s fisheries programme.

The Xayaburi Dam is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Lower Mekong River approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Xayaburi in northern Laos. The dam would produce hydroelectric power to be sold to Thailand.

Construction was suspended in early 2012 after complaints that the dam’s feasibility studies were incomplete and countries downriver wanted more information.

Construction on the dam began in March 2012 after Ch.Karnchang, the Thai builder, announced it had signed a $2 billion contract with the Xayaburi Power Company.

Cambodia’s government quickly reacted to the announcement, threatening to take Laos to international court if it chose to build the dam unilaterally.

Laos announced a halt to construction on May 11, 2012, following complaints from neighbors and environmental groups.

The Xayaburi Dam has been proposed on a site located 350 kilometres upstream of Vientiane and 770 kilometres downstream of Jinhong, China, the last dam among seven Chinese dams, including four existing dams and three planned dams. In terms of mean energy supply, it would be the third largest project among those dams considered for development on the mainstream in the Lower Mekong Basin.

If the final investment decision is made, the dam’s construction would take eight years to complete and it would cost approximately $3.5 billion. A Strategic Environmental Assessment commissioned by the Mekong River Commission recommended a 10-year deferral of all Mekong mainstream dams in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, and called for further studies. The MRC warned that if Xayaburi and subsequent schemes went ahead, it would “fundamentally undermine the abundance, productivity and diversity of the Mekong fish resources.”

Studies say that fish are a staple of the diet in Laos and Cambodia, with around 80 per cent of the Cambodian population’s annual protein intake coming from fish caught in the Mekong River system, with no alternative source to replace them. The dam would also restrict the flow of water over agricultural areas linked to the river, according to environmentalists.

DVB News – The not so new rulers
By ZAW NAY AUNG
Published: 16 July 2012

American oil and gas companies are now free to suck out Burma’s resources along with global corporations. President Obama gave US companies the green light to invest in Burma and work with the notorious State-owned MOGE, the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise on Wednesday.

Now, those who were once blacklisted by the governments for their association with the military junta will become the west’s new partners. Although Burma’s natural resources should contribute to the general welfare of the public, the generals, ex-generals and their associates have sold the country’s resources off for their own personal interests.

Despite Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s warnings that increased transparency and accountability from state enterprises and western investors were needed before corporations begin pouring into the country, sanctions have been dropped.

Genuine reconciliation between the nominally civilian government and the pro-democracy opposition groups has yet to be completely achieved, while reconciliation between the ex-generals and western governments – so-called supporters of Burma’s democracy movement – seems to have been cemented.

The country’s natural gas and oil reserves have served as the military’s lifeline and continues to fund the recently installed civilian government of Thein Sein. With the revenues flowing in from these profitable enterprises, the military has increased its capacity with respect to personnel and weaponry.

Behind the largely symbolic and practically ineffective sanctions, western oil giants Unocal, Chevron and Total have worked as long-term business partners with the generals, the war-criminals and some of the most brutal tyrants in the world.

Exact figures on how profitable these firms have been in Burma are hard to come by. However, one indicator of their wealth is the amount of the state budget that is allocated to the government’s military.

The regime has spent millions of dollars training military officers in Russia who study nuclear and missile technology. According to media reports, at least 10,000 officers have been trained at Russian universities during the past few years.

While the regime spends a substantial amount of funds to strengthen the country’s military and enrich the generals, those who have been oppressed continue to suffer. The war in Kachin state, where more than 70,000 people have been displaced, still has no end on the horizon while fighting continues to break out in southern Shan state after ceasefires and several rounds of talks have been held.

Recent sectarian strife in Arakan state and the arrests of student activists across the country points out that something ominous is going on behind the scenes. The riots in western Burma diverted the public’s attention from assessing the government’s reform measures, while the Tatmadaw seems to have successfully won back the public’s support. The regime’s cronies also played off the country’s inflamed nationalism and provided generous donations to the victims of the riots.

“But who is truly able to properly identify the military’s entities and separate the wheat from the chaff?”

But still justice is lacking.

The three Rohingya men who were convicted of raping and murdering an Arakanese woman, which helped spark the riots, were all sentenced to death behind closed doors (one of the men was posthumously sentenced after he committed suicide while incarcerated according to officials).

And what about the people behind the mob attack that brutally beat ten Muslims to death in the middle of the street in Taunggup? The team assembled by the government to investigate the matter was due to report their findings by the end of June. However, state media groups have said that authorities are struggling to find an individual that will provide testimony, while eyewitness accounts reportedly saw local authorities at the scene who failed to intervene to put a stop to the carnage.

Earlier this month, authorities arrested 20 activists the day before commemoration ceremonies were supposed to held to remember the 50th anniversary of the military’s attack on university students. The activists were detained overnight and questioned before being released the next day. Such lawless and authoritarian gestures targeting students reveal that the Thein Sein regime may not be so different than their predecessors.

What the so-called reformist government of Thein Sein wants is simple: the termination of all western sanctions and concessions from the opposition. Since the parliament convened and the civilian government was installed last year, the ultimate political objective of the junta-turned-civilian government is to make the opposition accept Burma’s militarized 2008 constitution. At the same time, nominal reforms were carried out to attract the west’s attention.

So who wins the game in the end?

The cronies and generals clothed in civilian garbs and uniforms are now set to be the business partners with the country’s new corporate investors. President Obama warned potential investors not to deal with military entities. But who is truly able to properly identify the military’s entities and separate the wheat from the chaff?

While the generals and their associates go about their business as usual behind the scaffolding propping up the superficial decorations lauding reforms, war continues in ethnic areas and hundreds of political prisoners waste away behind bars.

-Zaw Nay Aung is the Director at Burma Independence Advocates