WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top State Department official on Tuesday said he was optimistic Myanmar would stay on the path of political and economic reforms, but warned potential U.S. investors they face a complicated business environment there.

“I do think from the conversations I’ve have had (with Myanmar leaders) that there is a general understanding if they were really to retreat from this, there would be a lot of social pressure against them,” Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats told the Washington International Trade Association.

“My baseline scenario is they will continue to move in the direction of reform,” because the average Myanmar citizen’s growing expectation of increased economic and civil liberties makes it hard for the government to reverse course, he said.

Myanmar, also known by its former colonial name of Burma, began emerging last year from decades of isolation when its long-time military dictator, Than Shwe, stepped aside and a quasi-civilian government took over.

The new government, led by President Thein Sein, a former military general, has started overhauling the country’s economy, easing media censorship, legalizing trade unions and protests and freeing political prisoners.

The United States has responded by easing some sanctions, starting with a decision this month to allow U.S. companies to invest in Myanmar and provide financial services there.

Hormats repeated Washington was prepared to lift additional sanctions on an “action for action” basis and noted that Thein Sein has promised another wave of reform.

Meanwhile, a bill to reauthorize a long-time U.S. import ban on Myanmar through July 2015 is currently pending in Congress, but would allow the White House to ease those and other sanctions in response to additional steps.

Although Myanmar is rich in natural resources like oil and gas, timber, jewels and agricultural crop land, it has relatively few processing industries and is poor compared to neighbors such as Thailand, China and Vietnam.

That has fueled visions of U.S. and foreign countries rushing into an untapped market with huge investments.

Hormats downplayed that possibility, at least in the near terms, saying “I don’t see a big gush of money coming in.”

While the Myanmar government is eager for U.S. investment to help diversify its economy, the country faces a number of “capacity” challenges, such as a shortage of skilled government workers to process business applications, he said.

“This notion that there’s going to be a rush of American capital coming in there – there probably won’t,” he said.

“Burma is a very complex place and if you’re going to invest, you have to do a lot of due diligence,” he said.

One reason is the sensitivities of ethnic minorities, who remember the difficult relations they have had with the military government and past investment deals that pushed some of them off their land, Hormats said.

Companies also need to tread carefully because of local concerns about the environmental impact of investments, he said.
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UN human rights envoy probes ethnic clashes in Myanmar during visit

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Myanmar Censors Suspend Publication of 2 Magazines
YANGON, Myanmar July 31, 2012 (AP)

Myanmar’s censors have suspended two weekly magazines indefinitely in the latest confrontation between the government and the newly aggressive press.

The Press Scrutiny Board informed Voice Weekly and Envoy editors Tuesday that their publications have been suspended for violating regulations. The authorities did not explain the reasons for the bans.

Reporters at the publications said privately they suspected they were linked to articles speculating about the details of an anticipated Cabinet reshuffle.

President Thein Sein eased censorship as one of his reforms after decades of repressive military rule. The flourishing of press freedom has brought serious investigative reporting and sensationalism, both of which make the government uncomfortable.

Voice Weekly also faces a defamation suit over a story alleging irregularities in several government ministries’ accounts.

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Myanmar says ‘restraint’ used during riots
Published: July 31, 2012 at 7:54 AM

NAPYITAW, Myanmar, July 31 (UPI) — Officials in Myanmar denied excessive force was used to put down riots last month involving Buddhists and ethnic Rohingya Muslims.

Rather, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement, authorities used “maximum restraint” in dealing with fighting that killed more than 70 people in Rakhine state, Voice of America reported.

Both U.N. officials and human rights groups charge the government response targeted the Muslim minority.

Amnesty International said Rohingya and other Muslim groups were subjected to “physical abuse, rape, destruction of property and unlawful killings.”

The riots left about 80,000 homeless, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights reported. Authorities in Myanmar said most of those, who now live in camps or with host families, are Muslim.

U.N. expert Tomas Ojea Quintana was scheduled to visit Rakhine Tuesday.

The violence began after Buddhists killed 10 Muslims June 3 in revenge for the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman May 28.

About 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar and are viewed by many non-Muslims as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

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The Christian Science Monitor – UN envoy visits Myanmar as ethnic clashes test reforms
UN envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana is visiting Myanmar in the wake of recent fighting between Buddhist Rakhines and minority Muslims. Some accuse the government of fanning tensions.
By Simon Roughneen, Correspondent / July 31, 2012 Bangkok, Thailand

Tomas Ojea Quintana is spending today and tomorrow in the area as part of a fact-finding visit to assess reforms that have seen the restoration of full diplomatic relations between the US and Myanmar. But overshadowing those changes is recent mob fighting between the Buddhist Rakhine and Muslims Rohingyas in the northern part of Rakhine state that has led to accusations of discriminatory action against Muslims by the government.

Suspicion of outsiders

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The Nation – Myanmar seeks medicine for Thai detainees in bad health

August 1, 2012 1:00 am

Myanmar wants Thailand to provide medical supplies after some of the 92 Thais jailed in Kawthaung province fell ill, Colonel Pornsak Poonsawat said yesterday.

It is reported that the request had been made via the Thai embassy in Myanmar.

The border committee has been coordinating with Ranong Hospital to provide medication for illnesses such as high blood pressure, stress and maternity concerns, he said, adding that it was also providing household remedies.

Myanmar authorities have also asked for the names of the detainees’ relatives, so they can identify those who come to visit them in jail. Only one relative per prisoner is allowed to visit per day.

A court in Myanmar’s Kawthaung province has sentenced the detainees to three-and-a-half years in jail for deforestation and illegal entry – the first two of the five counts that all 92 were charged with. The other three counts they are being investigated for are growing illicit drugs including cannabis and kratom; illegal possession of firearms and military weapons; as well as obstructing officials.

The 92 villagers, 82 of whom are men, maintain that they were lured by a broker to clear a plot of land that they later learned was beyond the area Thais are allowed to use.

Pornsak said that, so far, cases related to the other offences have not progressed. Those who were only penalised for illegal entry or deforestation and had nothing to do with other serious offences could have their sentences commuted or be pardoned later, he said.

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The Nation - New probe team questioning Thais over weapons, drugs
Boonleun Promprathankul
July 31, 2012 1:00 am

Myanmar had also asked Thailand to provide medical supplies because many of the 92 had fallen ill behind bars.

Due to the complexity of the charges, Myanmar dispatched a team of experts to Koh Song and this has held up the court trial on the weapons charge, previously slated for yesterday. It has been postponed indefinitely, the source reported, while a new inquiry had commenced and an unknown number of Thai suspects were questioned.

Meanwhile, Commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment Task Force, Col Pornsak Pulsawat, head of the ThaiMyanmar Township Border Committee in Ranong, said Myanmar had asked the Thai Embassy in Yangon for medical supplies to treat the 92 Thais at Nine Mile Prison. So officials had asked Ranong Hospital for drugs to treat high blood pressure, anxiety, plus prenatal supplements and household medicines to deliver to the detainees.

Myanmar authorities also notified Thai officials to gather the names of relatives so they can apply for permission to visit the 92 Thais. Each detainee would be allowed one visitor, he said.

Ranong public health official Dr Thongchai Kiratihatthayakorn urged relatives to take correct medicine for the detainees to local officials.

After reports that 10 Thais would face trial at a Koh Song court for possessing war weapons and drugs, relatives and friends of the detainees called on border officials yesterday to check if their loved ones were among those accused and to let them know the verdict.

The 92 Thais were arrested on July 4 for encroaching on forest in Myanmar territory. Koh Song Court has already sentenced the Thais to three years and six months in jail for illegal entry, as well as encroaching on forestland without permission.

There was no confirmation of an earlier report that Myanmar would release an initial batch of 10 Thais – who are female – on August 12. That would coincide with Mother’s Day, if true.

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THE NATION – Traders worried Asian linkage will spur shif of Myanmar’s cross-border trade to China: study

WICHIT CHAITRONG
July 31, 2012 1:00 am

Presenting the evaluation of four Thai government-sponsored infrastructure development projects in Myanmar and Laos, Charit Tingsabadh, director of the Centre for European Studies at Chulalongkorn University and study-team leader, said yesterday that local traders in Mae Sot, a northern district in Tak province sharing a border with Myanmar, are worried about a dilution of their area as a cross-border trading hub due to the emergence of increased border commerce between Myanmar and China.

Myanmar’s trade with China via the Muse-Luili border point now represents about 60 per cent of its overall border commerce, with cross-border trade at Mae Sot now in second place.

Teerasak Mongkolpod, senior vice president of the Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency, yesterday said that while border trade in jewellery had begun to shift from Mae Sot to the Muse-Luili border in recent years, he did not regard it as a matter of great concern.

However, Adool Islam, assistance vice president of Tesco Ltd, said local businesses now urged the government to quickly establish a special economic zone in Mae Sot in order to attract trade and investment.

Otherwise, other sectors such as frozen seafood might also switch attention to the Muse-Luili border, he said, adding that the Chinese government offers better incentives to foreign investors than the Kingdom provides.

According to the study led by Charit, the Thailand-Myawaddy-Tanasserim Hills Range road has contributed to an increase in trade between Thailand and Myanmar.

The Thai government provided soft loans worth of Bt122.9 million for first-phase construction of 17.35 kilometres of road, which was completed in 2006. Two-way trade then increased sharply between 2007 and 2010, rising from Bt20 billion to about Bt60 billion a year.

However, it is hard to quantify how much the trade volume was directly facilitated by new investment, as there are also other factors contributing to cross-border commerce.

The study also found that the road had started to become damaged, partly due to overloaded Myanmar trucks. Myanmar officials cannot limit the load of their trucks, according to the study team.

The Thai government has committed to providing second-phase assistance for a further 23km of road to the town of Kawkareik, in a project under consideration by the Myanmar authorities.

If approved, the project will turn a one-lane road into a two-lane road. The current one-way traffic to and from Yangon is extremely time-consuming for drivers, who have to wait their turn to use the road.

Meanwhile, although the rail project linking Nong Khai province in the Northeast to Nathalaeng in Laos has not been able to compete with bus and other land travel due to higher costs and lower convenience, the second-phase plan to extend the rail line to Vientiane is expected to increase passenger numbers and goods transport, the team said.

As to Wattay international airport in Vientiane, since the Thai government built the aircraft taxi and parking areas for large planes in 2006 , the Japanese and Chinese government has poured in large levels of assistance to expand the airport.

Meanwhile, water-drainage efforts in Vientiane have benefited local communities, according to the study.

Teerasak said that among the major projects to be assisted by the Thai government over the next five years are an extension of the electricity grid into Myanmar and Laos, as well as the provision of a tap-water system in both countries.

The government has committed financial assistance worth Bt10.7 billion to neighbouring countries, including Cambodia, with disbursement of about Bt4 billion to Bt5 billion to date, he added.

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Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012
The Japan Times – EDITORIAL: Useful help to Myanmar

Quintana visited two of the main sites of the June violence, the Rakhine state capital Sittwe and Maungdaw township, but declined to answer journalists’ questions about what he found.

Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as one of its ethnic groups and instead considers them to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The United Nations says about 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar and they are among the most persecuted people in the world.

Quintana has made clear that investigating the conflict is a priority of his visit. Before his trip, he called the violence in Rakhine one of the “challenges” facing Myanmar despite recent political reforms.

The U.N. has a direct interest in the Rakhine issue because five workers for the world body’s refugee agency are among 858 people still detained in connection with the unrest. Five other international workers are also in detention.

The aid workers have been accused of taking part in the violence and “setting fire to villages,” Border Affairs Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Htay told reporters.

Indonesia on Tuesday joined the countries expressing concern about the treatment of the Rohingya. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said his country would engage diplomatically with Myanmar to try to stop the violence.

Indonesia said previously it would raise the matter at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Saudi Arabia scheduled for mid-August.
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Aug 01, 2012.
Asia Times Online – That empty feeling: Inside Myanmar’s forbidden capital
Built in secret by a paranoid military junta, and kept that way ever since, Naypyidaw remains an enigma. The city might be Myanmar’s capital, but few foreigners have ever been permitted access to its tightly-guarded, tank-friendly streets. Until recently. SIMON ALLISON reports on a surreal visit to the heart of the regime .

NAYPYIDAW, MYANMAR – It is the stuff of spy thrillers. Deep in the tropical jungle, a paranoid military dictatorship pours billions of dollars and man-hours into the construction of a secret city, a modern fortress from which to rule their long-suffering subjects. The roads, it is rumoured, were designed for tanks rather than cars. The hills are riddled with bunkers and arms caches. Everything is connected by underground tunnels, and any details about the city, even the fact of its existence, zealously guarded.

But this is no spy thriller. This is Myanmar, and the secret city is Naypyidaw – the country’s capital ever since it opened for business in 2005. Even then, the city remained shrouded in mystery. Some reports suggest that government ministries were given just one day’s notice to pack up and go, and that civil servants were abruptly relocated to housing estates (colour-coded according to which ministry they worked for). Others say that General Than Shwe – a real-life Bond villain if there ever was one – himself led the convoy of government officials from Yangon (Rangoon), insisting that it depart at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, an auspicious time in his beloved numerology.

The truth is difficult to ascertain, because Naypyidaw (pronounced ‘nappy-door’) remained a secret city: off-limits to most foreigners, and absolutely forbidden for journalists. Until now.

The thing is, Myanmar is not quite the military dictatorship it used to be. After nearly two decades as head of state, Than Shwe did what Bond villains never do, and stepped aside in 2011 to make way for his hand-picked successor – another general, of course. But Thein Sein, despite his strong regime credentials, has shaken things up a bit, instituting a series of reforms which has seen Myanmar slowly emerge out of the diplomatic wilderness. Most significantly, he has released Aung San Suu Kyi, and allowed her National League for Democracy (NLD) to contest and win parliamentary by-elections. He has eased (although not removed) the state’s tight grip on political expression, and scrapped the artificial exchange rate which saw a dollar buy six Kyat in a bank or 800 Kyat from the scruffy guy on the steps outside the bank.

While these reforms remain tentative, and do very little to address the decades of mismanagement and human rights abuses to which the junta has subjected the country, it’s a start. And it’s already had an observable impact. Aung San Suu Kyi T-shirts are for sale in the market, cars flutter NLD flags, and people aren’t afraid to talk politics – although they’re still guarded. “It’s 50% better than it was,” said a teacher I spoke to in Yangon. “But there’s 50% more to go.”

The words that come to mind are glasnost and perestroika – the ‘openness’ and ‘restructuring’ that Mikhail Gorbachev instituted in the dying days of the Soviet Union. Designed to protect the state by bringing it a little closer to the rest of the world, the reforms instead hastened its demise. Myanmar’s military junta looks to be heading down the same road.

I, meanwhile, was on the road to Naypyidaw. Unable to resist the lure of the forbidden, I wanted to see this artificial metropolis for myself.

I arrived late at night, turfed from my bus into the middle of the ‘hotel zone’, the only place where foreigners are permitted to stay. There must be at least a dozen industrial-size hotels dotted on either side of an wide avenue, each a lonely island on a kilometre-square plot. They’re all plush, expensive, and reek of government subsidies. It’s hard to know whether any guests are in all these rooms. Staff say they’re busy, but every hotel I went into was empty, or nearly so, my footsteps echoing in opulent lobbies.

Empty describes most of the city. The expansive, tank-friendly roads are empty, aside from the hapless policemen standing guard at traffic circles, shivering and wet from the unrelenting monsoon rains. The shops are empty. What passes for tourist attractions are empty. Many of the brand new housing estates are empty, the paint already peeling. Eventually, this emptiness takes on a surreal quality; it’s a little like being in one of those science fiction movies where I am the only person standing after some awful disaster, left alone to explore a ghost town.

There were two notable exceptions. First, the main bus terminal, which was as dirty and chaotic as any street in Yangon (perhaps because generals don’t take buses). Second, the bustling shopping centres; gleaming, shiny replicas of malls anywhere in the world. Tellingly, it was only in these fancy bastions of modern capitalism that I had any trouble taking photographs; openness is one thing, but allowing the people to glimpse the price tags on those Pierre Cardin shirts and Mont Blanc pens is something entirely more subversive.

The malls, though, are Naypyidaw in microcosm: a safe, isolated place where Myanmar’s elite can live in the style to which they aspire, free from the overwhelming poverty in Yangon and the political resistance it generates.

But the resistance is getting closer. As I wandered out of the Junction Centre, the shiniest mall, I saw a brand new Toyota Landcruiser pull into the parking lot. On the dashboard, quite openly, was an NLD flag, and the car’s occupant was more than happy for me to take a picture. This would have been unthinkable just a few months ago, but the NLD has become a legitimate political presence after their overwhelming victory in this year’s parliamentary by-elections. They don’t have a parliamentary majority yet, but that’s only because not all the seats were up for grabs. That should change in more elections in 2015, unless Thein Sein and his junta backtrack on their promises. Even Aung San Suu Kyi spends a lot of time in Naypyidaw now – as a member of parliament, she has to.

This will, however, always be the city that the military built. It is neatly organised into special zones that sprawl across the gently undulating landscape, making it difficult to get around without a car or personnel carrier. There may not be many people around, but there are four golf courses, golf being the generals’ favourite sport. It’s spotlessly clean, and immaculately manicured; verges are trimmed, flower beds are in full bloom, and the rainforest is cut back neatly. Road markings are bright. At times, Nyapyidaw is more parade ground than city.

To crown his creation, General Than Shwe made sure he left something to remember him by, in the form of an enormous, golden pagoda which monopolises the skyline. I’ll never forget my first glimpse of it. It was raining, and I was soaking wet on the back of a motorcycle. I looked towards the hills in the distance, hazy through the mist, when suddenly the mist took on a golden hue. A giant, shimmering, bulbous phallus took shape. Than Shwe’s phallus, to be precise; the former dictator is said to have paid for the 99 metre-tall monument with his own money, an act of merit-making to appease the gods and atone, perhaps, for his many sins.

It’s an impressive edifice, but, like the rest of the city, it feels forced and unnatural. In appearance, it looks much the same as Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda, which is just 30 centimetres taller. But the Shwedagon – an attraction which will rank alongside the pyramids and Angkor Wat once Myanmar opens up properly – is more than 2,000 years old, a product of centuries of devotion and refinement. Naypyidaw’s Uppatastanti Pagoda, on the other hand, is a hastily-constructed symbol of one man’s ego, and the gold leaf is already losing its lustre.

Built on hill, the base of the pagoda provides the best view over the city. Or it would, if the sun were shining and the air clear. Through the rain and mist, I couldn’t see more than a few hundred metres in front of me. I couldn’t really see the city – it looked like there was nothing there at all. Which, for this strange and unlikely place, seemed perfectly appropriate. DM

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July 31, 2012 14:10 PM
Iran Plans To Establish Embassy In Myanmar

Burma’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) has suspended indefinitely the publication of two weekly news journals for alleged violations of government regulations.

“The Voice Weekly and Envoy journals are suspended indefinitely for violating the 2011 Order no. 44,” said Tint Swe, the PSRD’s deputy director-general, adding that the journals had violated “many PSRD rules,” including the publishing of news reports that had not been passed by the government censorship board.

According to an official at the PSRD who asked to remain anonymous, the ban was imposed because of The Voice Weekly ran a news story about a Cabinet reshuffle, naming five ministers, and a satirical cartoon on the cover page, while Envoy published excerpts from an ill-tempered interview that parliamentarian Aung Thein Linn held with the Chinese site Southern Weekend.

The move to suspend the journals—both popular and well-reputed—comes as a surprise to many observers as the once notorious censorship board had been making several moves toward media reform at a pace with other changes under the new government.

According to media sources in the former Burmese capital, Rangoon, Tint Swe and Director-General Myint Maung called together the editors of all weekly news journals on Tuesday and told them to follow the regulations set down by the PSRD and the 1962 Printer and Publisher Act.

Tint Swe said The Voice Weekly has published eight news stories without submitting them to the censorship board while Envoy had gone to print with seven.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday following the meeting with PSRD officials, Thar Lun Zaung Htet, the editor in charge of the weekly Venus news journal, said, “We are even afraid to publish the news. We are worried for our future.”

In June, Burma’s Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, accompanied by PSRD officials, told reporters at a press conference that he intended to abolish the censorship board just as soon as a new media law is passed.

Thar Lun Zaung Htet said, “The PSRD asked us to collaborate with them during this transition period. But the abolition of the censorship board was supposed to happen some time before the end of June. It didn’t happen.”

The current parliament has in its agenda the motion to debate the media law among other bills. The Lower House speaker told its MPs at a recent meeting that they must all work together to approve a new media law by the end of August, according to the house’s own website.

Observers pointed to the attitude of “old-timers” within the ministries and government bureaus who simply refuse to conform to new standards.

Tuesday’s decision marks the sixth time that The Voice Weekly has been banned from publishing—it previously received punitive measures twice in 2005 and three times in 2010, according to the journal’s own Facebook page. However, previous bans were specifically for one to four weeks—this time the journals could be looking at a distinctly more serious disruption of service.

Last month, news journal The Snapshot was suspended for publishing the photograph of a dead Arakanese girl which is believed to have ignited the recent violence in western Arakan State. The Snapshot is to go to court over its publication of the Arakanese girl’s picture.

The Voice Weekly is also currently facing a defamation suit brought by the Ministry of Mining

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The Irrawaddy – Rohingya Issue Politicized by Foreigners: Govt
By Saw Yan Naing July 31, 2012

The Burmese government said on Monday that the recent violence in Arakan State, western Burma, has been politicized internationally as religious oppression.

Burma’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a press conference in Rangoon on Monday where officials sought to explain the recent violence in Arakan State to diplomats, NGO workers, religious leaders and journalists in attendance.

“As victims of violence were both the Muslim and Buddhist communities, it is very clear that the riots are not linked to religious persecution,” read a statement released at the meeting.

“In reviewing incidents in Arakan State, it has been found that lawlessness was spread due to mistrust and religious differences that created hatred and vengeance against one another.”

At least 77 people have been killed, 109 injured and 4,822 houses destroyed since communal violence erupted at the start of June. In addition, 17 mosques, 15 monasteries and three schools were burnt down, according to official figures.

Some 14,328 Arakan Buddhists and 30,740 Rohingya Muslims have been affected and are currently living in 89 temporary camps, according to The New Light of Myanmar on Monday.

The state-run newspaper also said that Burma is a multi-religious country where Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and Hindus have been living together in peace and harmony for centuries; hence the Arakan incidents are neither because of religious oppression nor discrimination.

Nevertheless, the sectarian strife has drawn increased attention from Muslim communities across the globe in recent weeks with many groups condemning the Burmese government in its handling of the humanitarian situation.

As concerns over the matter grow across the Muslim-majority Southeast Asian archipelago, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said his government is closely monitoring the plight of the Rohingya community in Burma.

“Our stance is clear: we refuse and are against the discriminatory treatment of anyone anywhere,” Marty told reporters on Monday.

A group of activists in Pakistan also organized a protest on Sunday to condemn the perceived killing of Muslims in Burma and demanded that the UN immediately intervenes and holds an impartial inquiry into the matter, according to the Pakistan-based The News.

Last week, Pakistan’s fundamentalist Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group also released an official statement calling on its government to cut relations with Burma and shut down the Burmese Embassy there in response to the alleged state-sponsored murder of Rohingyas.

However, Muslims in Burma have condemned the TTP over its threats. The All Myanmar Moulvi Organization, an umbrella group comprising five Burmese Islamic groups, said that Muslim communities have nothing to do with the Pakistan-based Taliban group.

“We don’t accept that Taliban group which is a terrorist organization. Muslim communities in Burma also have no connection with them,” Kyaw Soe, general secretary of the All Myanmar Moulvi Organization, told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

Kyaw Soe added that the Arakan conflict should be handled internally and the Burmese government is a responsible actor that is trying to tackle the problem.

Speaking with The Irrawaddy on Monday, Raxhshinda Peervan, a Pakistani human rights activist based in Islamabad, said, “In the perspective of religion, nobody should be abused, nobody should be killed. I think even Aung San Suu Kyi is not happy with the new Burmese government which is still overwhelming controlled by the military-backed ruling party.”

However, she added that the TTP statement was not representative of Pakistani people as it is an extremist minority group which is not widely supported amongst the general population.

“The TTP is not recognized by the peace-loving people of Pakistan. They are a very small group. They are not friends of Pakistan,” said Peervan.

Dr. Jacques P. Leider, a French academic who studied Arakan history for 20 years, said, “It’s odd to see how extremists are hijacking the conflict in Rakhine [Arakan] in the name of their ideology. It will further polarize the viewpoints and distract from the real social issues involved.

“The Muslims in Rakhine have nothing to gain politically from enjoying rhetorical support from the fundamentalists.”

Some observers claim the Arakan violence has been manipulated by Burmese and international media, as well as individuals using social networks such as Facebook, to spread their own propaganda. Banning journalists from violence-affected areas only exacerbated the level of rumor and misinformation, it was noted.

Amnesty International claims that hundreds of Rohingyas have been killed, raped, beaten and arbitrarily arrested since Burma declared a state of emergency in Arakan State last month. The group also said security forces, including the police and the army, had conducted massive sweeps and detained hundreds of Rohingyas “incommunicado.”

On Tuesday, UN human rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana toured the Muslim-majority townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung near Bangladesh’s border and plans visit refugee camps in the state capital Sittwe on Wednesday to assess conditions there.

“Journalists may have a hard job to tackle the crisis because of lack of access to information, but many media focus overwhelmingly on the ‘Rohingya’ as the only victims of the conflict and on aspects of the humanitarian crisis and human rights problems,” said Leider. “That focus is increasingly resented by both ethnic Bamar and Rakhine who feel unfairly treated by the media.

“When so many articles only focus on the ‘Rohingya’ perspective, one can see it as a one-eyed reporting with no perception of the complex cultural background and dissident voices from the grass roots,” he added.
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The Irrawaddy – Illegal Detentions Soar in Kachin State
By Lawi Weng July 31, 2012

Human rights abuses are worsening in northern Burma where more than 100 ethnic Kachin have been detained illegally and face possible torture by government troops, claim observers in the region.

San Aung, a peace broker between the Burmese government and Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), told The Irrawaddy on Monday that local people continue to disappear and so the issue was brought to the National Human Rights Commission in state capital Myitkyina on July 27.

“They only asked me about the peace process and I tried to present about the human rights issue, but they are not interested in it,” he said, adding that the number of ethnic Kachin detainees has more than doubled since last month.

One Kachin family told the BBC Burmese Service on Saturday how they found a relative buried in the ground after he was seized by government troops.

United Nations Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana discussed the issue of Kachin refugees and the stalled peace process with members of the 88 Generation Students group in Rangoon on Monday.

“We discussed several issues with him such as political prisoners who remain incarcerated as well as Arakan, Kachin and land confiscations,” said leading group member Ko Ko Gyi.

Regarding the Kachin issue, Ko Ko Gyi said that his group described the situation on the ground during their visit earlier this month, including the potential resettlement of refugees and peace talks. Quintana said that he will present their comments to the UN Human Rights Council, said Ko Ko Gyi.

Government troops have been accused of detaining local Kachin people who they suspect support the KIO under article 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act. Dwe Bu, an ethnic Kachin MP in Burma’s Lower House for the Unity and Democracy Party, said, “Our Kachin people have been suffering a great deal under article 17/1 for many years.

“They arrest people who they are unsure about and the current ground troops are acting unlawfully. This could make people distrust the government and armed forces.”

More than 1,500 Kachin people marched in Myitkyina on July 4 to demand the release of Brang Shawng. He was arrested on suspicion of KIO links on June 17 at an internally displaced persons camp in government-controlled Myitkyina Township where his family was taking shelter from nearby fighting.

Railways Minister Aung Min, Naypyidaw’s chief peace negotiator, reportedly claimed that article 17/1 was abolished for the KIO during peace talks last month. However, observers said that local Kachin people continue be detained despite his assurances.

“Aung Min is a person who cannot be trusted,” said KIO spokesman La Nan. Fighting in Kachin State resumed in June last year after the end of a 17-year ceasefire. Around 70,000 civilians have been forced to flee fighting by their homes to live in temporary camps by the Chinese border, claim humanitarian groups.
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Burmese top gov’t officials to declare assets
Tuesday, 31 July 2012 14:37 Mizzima News