By AYE AYE WIN | Associated Press – 8 hrs ago

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — All nine judges on Myanmar’s presidentially appointed Constitution Tribunal abruptly resigned Thursday after the lower house of parliament voted to impeach them in a standoff within Myanmar’s nascent government.

The resignations were announced by President Thein Sein’s office, state television reported Thursday night, after two-thirds of the lower house had voted earlier in the day for the judges’ impeachment.

The dispute has been seen as demonstrating the maturation of Myanmar’s democracy, as well as reflecting jockeying for power within the ruling party.

Thein Sein recently reshuffled his Cabinet in what was widely considered an effort to consolidate his power after initially coming to office in March 2011. He is a former general and his government is dominated by members of the military, which had ruled the country since a 1962 coup d’etat.

However, members of his own ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party led the effort against the tribunal he appointed, and the opposition was spearheaded by his former army colleague Thura Shwe Mann, speaker of the lower house. Thein Sein was prime minister in the former military regime, and Thura Shwe Mann third-ranking member of its ruling junta.

The tribunal itself was also headed by a former military general. Lawmakers had been angered that the tribunal had not granted its committees and commissions the legal status they sought. The duties of the tribunal, whose members were nominated by the president and two speakers of parliament, are to interpret the constitution and rule if laws conform to it.

Thura Shwe Mann had said the decision not to designate parliamentary bodies as state-level entities affected the ability of the lawmakers to carry out their work and harmed their reputations. Some 301 lower house MPs, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, signed a petition to impeach the tribunal because of its alleged incompetence in discharging its duties.

Thein Sein had urged parliament to resolve the dispute by amending the constitution rather than impeaching the tribunal members.

By Didier Lauras | AFP News – 14 hours ago

Myanmar’s parliament on Thursday ousted nine constitutional court judges in the culmination of a long-running standoff that observers say exposed growing political rivalry within the regime.

Three-quarters of lower house lawmakers voted to impeach the members of the Constitutional Tribunal, whose duties include interpreting provisions under a controversial 2008 charter drawn up by the former junta, and vetting new laws to ensure they conform with the text.

The upper house voted for the impeachment last month.

The row erupted after the court, in response to a request by President Thein Sein to study the issue, issued an order in February which limited the power of parliamentary committees and commissions to summon ministers for questioning.

It was seen as the country’s first major political crisis since decades of military rule ended last year, pitting the government against the parliament — and in particular lower house speaker Shwe Mann, a top regime figure and former general considered a possible contender to replace Thein Sein when he retires.

“Shwe Mann needs to distinguish himself from the military system and the old guard. I don’t know if he’s going to win or not but he’s taking a lot of risk,” said a Yangon-based analyst who did not want to be named.

Since taking office last year, former general Thein Sein has overseen a number of dramatic changes such as the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.

But progress has been slower on the legislative front, in part because of the time-consuming power struggle between the presidency and the parliament, observers say.

The constitutional court row “intruded into the agenda and delayed other things like the foreign investment law”, said Aung Naing Oo, a Myanmar expert at the Vahu Development Institute.

The impeachment was supported by all political parties, including the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) — which has close ties to the military — as well as Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD).

In a speech to parliament before the vote, USDP lawmaker Soe Yin said there was a need for “checks and balances” within the new political system.

“To attack the parliament is to attack the people,” he said.

Only the unelected military representatives who occupy one quarter of the seats in the legislature opposed the impeachment.

Thein Sein and the two house speakers must now choose nine new judges and submit the list to lawmakers for approval.

A government minister who asked not to be identified told AFP he believed the dispute was “not a threat to the democratisation process” and hinted that the conclusion confirmed the growing power of the parliamentarians.

When the new regime took power in early 2011, “people thought the parliament would be a rubber-stamp body,” he said.

But “we have to come to the parliament again and again and they ask us a lot of questions”, he said. “Their job is to scrutinise us. They have to review our policies. So we should not complain.”

INLE LAKE, Myanmar (AFP) – They are known for their sleek good looks, alluring eyes and sunny disposition, but one group of “Burmese” are virtually unknown in modern Myanmar — the country’s namesake pedigree cats.

Once believed to be the favoured pet of royalty and guardians of temples, the Burmese cat had vanished from its Southeast Asian ancestral homeland until enthusiasts decided to return them.

Yin Myo Su, who took on the project with the aim of preserving the country’s heritage as it emerges from military rule, has installed a growing family of the pedigree cats in a house on the shores of Inle Lake, in eastern Shan State.

The hotelier hopes to raise the profile of the breed among Myanmar people and even gave one to democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi — what seemed like a sure-fire strategy to give the cats a badly needed public relations boost.

But the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s notoriously possessive dog became “jealous” of the feline intruder and Suu Kyi was forced to send the cat back.

“So now we are taking care of her cat at home as well! In case one day she can take it back with her,” Yin Myo Su told AFP.

From just seven cats imported in 2008 — some sourced from Britain’s Harrods department store — the project now has 50 moggies living around Inle, including nine kittens, and has become a tourist draw.

A further 17 have been given to cat lovers in Shan State and the main city of Yangon.

Yin Myo Su — who has pursued the project despite a slight allergy to felines — gives neutered Burmese cats to interested local people free and charges foreigners 500,000 kyats ($580).

“They like to be cuddled all the time,” she said at the cats’ home, the Inthar Heritage House, as a purring chocolate brown feline wound itself around her feet before collapsing onto its back for a tickle.

The idea of repatriating Burmese cats came from the China Exploration and Research Society (CERS), whose activities have included tracing a new source of the Yangtze river and promoting a yak cheese cottage industry in the Chinese province of Yunnan.

According to the non-profit group, Burmese cats — which share characteristics with other regional breeds such as the Siamese — have existed in mainland Southeast Asia for over a thousand years.

The breed was diluted out of existence by an influx of other types of cats to the region in the 19th and 20th century, with only a handful of purebreds taken to Britain during colonial rule, which ended in 1948.

Much of the modern breed has descended from a single female cat, Wong Mau, who was taken to the United States in 1930, according to world pedigree organisation The International Cat Association.

The short-haired cats have golden eyes and come in a range of colours from silvery blue to cream, although rich brown is the primary colour.

“We are quite happy with the reproduction because we got (mostly) original colours,” said Yin Myo Su, who runs the upmarket Inle Princess hotel.

She has two of the pedigree moggies at home in a menagerie of animals that she calls a “mini zoo”, including ducks, pigs, goats, geese and a monkey they have to keep hold of because it was “a gift from a monk”.

The hotelier is involved with an array of preservation projects and said she was keen for the house to be more than just a picturesque cattery.

“It’s hard for people to have a house in this region and I am building all this for cats? No way,” she said, adding that a restaurant, serving traditional recipes, was added to cover the $800-a-month cost of looking after the cats.

Among her other projects, Yin Myo Su is building a centre for the study and preservation of fish native to Inle Lake, but she said her staff have become sceptical about her motives for the new aquatic endeavour.

“They laugh at me and say: ‘Is it cat food?’”

Myanmar’s open door policy amid global economic uncertainties is the beacon of hope for companies seeking new markets and sustained growth. DICA’s director general U Aung Naing Oo will be speaking at the Myanmar Private Sector Investment Summit scheduled on 1-2 Nov in Yangon (http://www.advantiquegroup.com/mpsis) to give clarifications on the upcoming Myanmar foreign investment law. The summit will also highlight the importance of the private sector in building up the economy of Myanmar and aims to provide guidance and clarity to investors in the uncharted waters of the Myanmar market.

Yangon, Myanmar (PRWEB) September 06, 2012

Investors keeping a close watch on the announcement of the new Myanmar investment law can look forward to meeting U Aung Naing Oo, the Director General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) at the the Myanmar Private Sector Investment Summit on 1 -2 November 2012 in Yangon. U Aung Naing Oo is the keynote speaker and will give a presentation on the highly anticipated Myanmar foreign investment law. Myanmar’s DICA is a division under the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development and is the usually the first stop for foreign investors who are keen to knock on Myanmar’s doors as DICA’s main responsibility is to scrutinize and appraise projects that are proposed for investment in Myanmar.

In conjunction with the Myanmar Private Sector Investment Summit (MPSIS), Advantique Group is conducting the Myanmar Investment Survey to gauge business interests in Myanmar. Survey respondents are rewarded with a USD50 discount for MPSIS registration if they complete the survey before 15 September 2012. To participate in the Myanmar Investment Survey, please go to http://www.advantiquegroup.com/myanmar-investment-survey.

The new government under the leadership of President Thein Sein promised ease of entry and favourable terms for foreign companies keen on investing and doing business in Myanmar. However, many are disappointed with the draft foreign investment law passed by Myanmar’s Lower House which made 94 amendments designed to protect local businesses. Among the amendments are a US$5 million minimum requirement on foreign investments in Myanmar, and a 49 per cent maximum foreign equity in joint ventures. The draft bill is now in the hands of the Upper House before its fate is sealed.

The leading voice for private sectors in Myanmar – the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) urged members of the parliament to reduce the restrictions on international companies. According to UMFCCI’s chairman, U Win Aung, over 90 percent of local businesses are small and medium entrepreneurs, so they would like the new FDI law to promote these businesses.

The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association also calls for a relaxed FDI restrictions, its chairman U Soe Myint said the the local businesses will benefit from the advanced technology and big capital that foreign businesses offer. He said that the garment sector would even welcome 100 per cent foreign investment as they need new markets and technology. He sees foreign investment as one of the key solutions to expand the manufacturing sector in Myanmar.

Organised by Singapore based conference production specialist, Advantique Group Pte. Ltd., the Myanmar Private Sector Investment Summit (MPSIS) highlights the importance of the private sector, be it investment by conglomerates or contributions by small and medium enterprises (SME) to build up the economy of Myanmar. Among the key private sector led sectors in focus include: Manufacturing, Retail, Trading, Agriculture, Fisheries, Hotel & Tourism, Construction & Real Estate, Forestry & Timber, Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

The conference agenda of the Myanmar Private Sector Investment Summit (MPSIS) is designed to provide essential information about investing and doing business in Myanmar. From trade policies to Myanmar taxation laws; from how to set up company in Myanmar to Myanmar import/export and employment law; from repatriating profit to foreign exchange and banking reforms, MPSIS aims to provide guidance and clarity in the uncharted waters of the Myanmar market.

Other senior government officials from the ministry of agriculture, ministry of commerce, and the ministry of finance and revenue are scheduled to brief foreign business owners on opportunities, policies and incentives in Myanmar. Established private Myanmar companies are also among the authoritative speaker panel of MPSIS.

Early bird discounted rate of USD1,290 per person is valid for registration made before 15 September 2012; whereas the standard rate is USD1,590 per person. The USD50 discount for respondents of the Myanmar Investment Survey is valid in addition to the early bird discount.

By Daniel Ten Kate - Sep 6, 2012 10:30 AM PT

Myanmar President Thein Sein is moving to counter lawmakers who inserted protectionist elements in a foreign investment bill that may impede overseas companies just as the U.S. and European Union ease sanctions.

Thein Sein’s administration is pushing back against a draft passed by Myanmar’s 440-member Lower House last month, Finance Ministry adviser Than Lwin said by phone yesterday. The draft law raises the minimum threshold for investing in the country and caps ownership at 49 percent in some sectors, according to a report by Singapore-based Vriens & Partners, which advises companies looking to invest in Myanmar.

“It will create a lot of problems for Myanmar if they want to compete with Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines or others,” Alfredo Perdiguero, the Asian Development Bank’s principal economist on Myanmar, said by phone yesterday. “They have really watered down the law to a point where we think it’s too weak.”

The debate reflects misgivings among local businesses concerned at losing out to foreign companies as Myanmar opens up following a shift to democracy that has attracted Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and MasterCard Inc. The ADB last month said Myanmar’s economy may grow as much as 8 percent per year if it continues taking steps to increase trade and attract investment.

“What you see here is a lobbying effort by local industry with the lower house of parliament that clearly doesn’t reflect the opinion of the president and the key economic ministers,” said Hans Vriens, managing partner of Vriens & Partners. “I expect this draft will see substantial changes. I can’t think of any country in Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore where the government is so keen to attract foreign companies to invest and build up the economy as Myanmar.”

$5 Million Minimum

The requirement for foreign companies to spend a minimum of $5 million might stifle investment in the tourism industry, where jobs can be created quickly, Vriens said. Myanmar attracted 816,369 tourists last year, compared with about 19 million in neighboring Thailand, according to government statistics.

The draft caps foreign ownership at 49 percent for joint ventures in restricted sectors, which include agriculture and fisheries, and mandates parliamentary approval for “investments of a very large size.” It also requires 75 percent of employees to be Myanmar citizens after six years, down from 15 years in an earlier version.

Than Lwin, who is also deputy chairman of Kanbawza Bank Ltd. and a member of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council, said the government would aim to remove the $5 million requirement among other clauses.

More Incentives

“We are still discussing how we can do away with these protectionist clauses,” he said. “On the whole we are trying to move toward more incentives for foreign investors. If you put in more protectionist measures, you wouldn’t expect any significant FDI coming in.”

President Barack Obama in July authorized U.S. companies to invest in Myanmar for the first time in about 15 years. Thein Sein met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a July 13 business forum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, that included representatives from Google Inc. (GOOG), Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Boeing Co. and General Motors Co.

MasterCard this month became the first payments network to issue a license to a Myanmar bank as the country moves to integrate with the global financial system. The company plans to set up an office in the country once credit card usage becomes more widespread, according to Vicky Bindra, MasterCard’s president for Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

“It’s very difficult to predict how long it will take, but it will happen, that’s for sure,” he said by phone on Sept. 5. “It could be anywhere from five to 10 years depending on how much support there is from the government.”

Parliamentary Power

Debate over the investment law was delayed as parliament moved to impeach members of the Constitutional Tribunal over a ruling that lawmakers said favored the executive over the legislative branch. The case showed parliament was “flexing its muscles,” said Derek Tonkin, former British ambassador to Thailand, Vietnam and Laos and chairman of Network Myanmar, which promotes reconciliation in the country.

“They are anxious to show their mettle, to show that they really are independent,” Tonkin said. “The president has a very difficult choice” on whether to delay consideration of the bill or push for changes now, he said.

Thein Sein took power last year after his party won an election that ended about five decades of direct military rule. Since taking office, he dismantled a fixed exchange rate, eased media censorship and held talks with opponents such as former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi.

‘Fine-Tuning’

Total foreign direct investment in Myanmar between 2005 and 2010 amounted to $3.8 billion, most of it in the oil and gas, power and mining sectors, according to the ADB. The country’s low-cost labor and strategic location next to China and India are among draws for investors, it said last month.

Concerns over the foreign investment law are largely limited to companies based in the U.S. and EU, said Andrew Rickards, chief executive officer of Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd. (YOMA), a Singapore-based developer of properties in Myanmar.

“If you think how quickly the country has come from being pretty much closed to the open debate we are now having, you will see how far the country has come and that what we are now seeing is some ‘fine tuning,’” he said by e-mail. “The over- riding sentiment from the top is that the country still needs foreign investment to develop.”

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung blamed Myanmar and Vietnam yesterday for a massive influx of drugs flowing into the country.

His comments came after Wednesday’s seizure of 3.29 million methamphetamine pills with an estimated value of 1 billion baht in Nakhon Pathom’s Buddha Monthon district.

He said the methamphetamine production bases are in Myanmar while the precursor chemicals used to manufacture the drugs come from Vietnam.

Mr Chalerm said the government’s crackdown on pseudoephedrine, one of the main methamphetamine production precursors, has prompted traffickers to switch to Vietnam.

“The pills are manufactured in Myanmar while the trafficking route of base chemicals has switched to Vietnam after we successfully blocked pseudoephedrine,” he said.

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) rebel group in Myanmar has been linked to the production of narcotic drugs.

Mr Chalerm said he had raised the issue with Myanmar during a recent meeting of Asean ministers but Myanmar claimed the rebel area is under the supervision of the military.

He said he would ask China to coordinate with Myanmar in addressing the narcotics problem.

Mr Chalerm also lashed out at the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) which had cautioned him to be careful when discussing the drug situation to avoid straining bilateral relations.

“They don’t need to tell me what to do. I am mature. If we can’t tell Asean, who can we tell?” he said.

Mr Chalerm said he would assign the Provincial Police Bureau 5 and the Border Patrol Police to work with the Pha Muang Task Force to contain drug smuggling along the northern border.

According to the deputy premier, the Pha Muang Task Force, which oversees the Thai-Myanmar border, estimates that 500 million speed pills are waiting to be smuggled in from Myanmar.

He said that Chiang Rai is a strategic location to curb drug trafficking.

Permpong Chavalit, deputy secretary-general of the ONCB, said he believed Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm sent the message in order to seek cooperation, not to assign blame.

Mr Permpong said the deputy premier wanted to make it clear that Thailand now faces a severe drug problem. Without close cooperation from neighbouring countries, it will be more difficult to suppress the drug trade.

Mr Permpong said Thailand has been cooperating well with its neighbours on drug suppression and prevention.

They have exchanged information on the drug trade and trafficking that led to arrests of drug suspects and seizures of drug shipments in past years, he said.

“For me, I don’t think that the remarks of deputy premier Chalerm will affect our regional cooperation on drugs. Instead, it will make our neighbouring countries understand our problem more and our need for them to help,” he said.

Mr Permpong said the government planned to announce its new anti-drug campaign next month; the existing campaign comes to an end this month.

He said the government’s new campaign would focus on suppression, prevention, cooperation of people and communities, and rehabilitation of addicts.

Mr Permpong said newly appointed ONCB secretary-general Pol Gen Pongsapas Pongcharoen would help make the campaign a success.

Meanwhile, authorities yesterday announced two major drug busts of 10 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, or ya ice, and 500,000 speed pills worth millions of baht.

The ya ice was seized on Wednesday afternoon and five people were arrested on Ratchadapisek Road for suspected trafficking. The suspects allegedly smuggled the drugs in from a neighbouring country. The value of the ya ice was estimated at 30 million baht.

In Chiang Mai, police arrested two Hmong villagers and seized 500,000 speed pills in Chai Prakan district.

Myanmar’s awakening spells good news for companies seeking sustainable growth amidst global economic slow down

Singapore, Sept 6, 2012 – (ACN Newswire) – Myanmar’s open door policy amid global economic uncertainties is the beacon of hope for companies seeking new markets and sustained growth. The Myanmar Private Sector Investment Summit (MPSIS), to be held 1-2 November in Yangon, highlights the importance of the private sector in building up the economy of Myanmar and aims to provide guidance and clarity to investors in the uncharted waters of the Myanmar market.

Myanmar is opening its doors to foreign investments at a very opportune time when major economies in the US and EU are suffering and powerhouses of Asia – Japan, China and India are slowing down. Investment in Myanmar is the new hope for companies in search of green field markets to sustain company growth. Investors, MNCs, SMEs alike are racing to invest in Myanmar in order to claim first-mover advantage in possibly the last untapped market in the world.

With a strength of 50 million population, new business opportunities in Myanmar are blooming. From trading in Myanmar to retailing, and manufacturing in various sectors, the new government under the leadership of President Thein Sein promises ease of entry and favourable terms for foreign companies keen on investing and doing business in Myanmar. An initial draft of the delayed new Myanmar investment law includes terms that raise concerns among the local companies in Myanmar, for instance the 10-year tax exemption periods and liberal foreign ownership conditions.

Singapore based conference production specialist, Advantique Group Pte. Ltd. is organizing a timely conference on Myanmar investment and trade. The Myanmar conference, aptly named the “Myanmar Private Sector Investment Summit” (MPSIS), highlights the importance of the private sector, be it investment by conglomerates or contributions by small and medium enterprises (SME) to build up theeconomy of Myanmar. Among the key private sector led sectors in focus include: Manufacturing, Retail, Trading, Agriculture, Fisheries, Hotel & Tourism, Construction & Real Estate, Forestry & Timber, Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

The conference agenda of the Myanmar Private Sector Investment Summit (MPSIS) is designed to provide essential information about investing and doing business in Myanmar. From Myanmar foreign investment laws and trade policies to Myanmar taxation laws and currency reform; from how to set up company in Myanmar to Myanmar import/export and employment law; from seeking financing and local partners for new business in Myanmar to repatriating profit and other financial regulations, MPSIS aims to provide guidance and clarity in the uncharted waters of the Myanmar market.

The Director General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), U Aung Naing Oo is speaking at the summit about the much-awaited foreign investment law. Myanmar’s DICA is a division under the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development and is the usually the first stop for foreign investors who are keen to knock on Myanmar’s doors as DICA’s main responsibility is to scrutinize and appraise projects that are proposed for investment in Myanmar.

Other senior government officials from the ministry of agriculture, ministry of commerce, and the ministry of finance and revenue are scheduled to brief foreign business owners on opportunities, policies and incentives in Myanmar. Established private Myanmar companies are also among the authoritative speaker panel of MPSIS.

In conjunction with the Myanmar Private Sector Investment Summit (MPSIS), Advantique Group is conducting the Myanmar Investment Survey to gauge business interests in Myanmar. Survey respondents are rewarded with a USD50 discount for MPSIS registration if they complete the survey before 15 September 2012. To participate in the Myanmar Investment Survey, please go to http://www.advantiquegroup.com/myanmar-investment-survey.html

Early bird discounted rate of USD1,290 per person is valid for registration made before 15 September 2012; whereas the standard rate is USD1,590 per person. The USD50 discount for respondents of the Myanmar Investment Survey is valid in addition to the early bird discount.

THE BISHOP who apologised for failing to grasp the seriousness of paedophilia is known for his campaigning on Third World issues.

Bishop of Clonfert John Kirby (73) is chairman of Trocaire and often speaks on behalf of the charity.

He has held position since 1993. In this role he met with Aung San Suu Kyi during her brief visit to Ireland earlier this year.

Dr Kirby, a native of Baylough in Athlone, Co Westmeath, was ordained in 1963. Following this he was appointed to St Joseph’s College, Garbally, Co Galway, where he taught mathematics and religion before becoming president and principal in 1979. Dr Kirby was appointed Bishop of Clonfert in 1988.

In 2010, Dr Kirby was among a group of bishops who met with Pope Benedict in the Vatican to discuss the Murphy Report on Clerical Child Sexual Abuse in the Dublin diocese.

The bishop called for an updating of Canon Law, stating that the hierarchy in Rome had not appreciated the gravity of the problem for many years because of an ‘obligation of secrecy’.

He later said he was “saddened” that abuse survivors were disappointed with the outcome of the meeting, adding: “Perhaps their expectations were too high.”

In 2008, Dr Kirby voiced his public support for the open disclosure of files relating to paedophile priests.

He said: “The bottom line is that we (the Catholic bishops) are going to do all we can to ensure maximum transparency to get this issue out, and open and clear, once and for all.

“That for me, and I think for all the bishops, is the bottom line.”

But Dr Kirby previously found himself at the centre of controversy over the housing of accused priests.

He refused to remove two accused priests from the Redemptorist retreat centre at Esker, Co Galway, in 2010.

A strong recommendation for the removal of the two men from the centre, which was attended by young people, was made by a lay group who had been appointed by Dr Kirby to address child protection.

But despite this, Dr Kirby opted to allow the men to remain at the centre for more than a month.

BY LARRY JAGAN | SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

This week, as expected, the Burmese parliament gave its seal of approval to the cabinet reshuffle launched last week by President Thein Sein. The president’s effort to rejuvenate his government is revealing. Though his government has been coming under fire from many directions lately, this isn’t a desperate or defensive move. The reorganization of the cabinet actually represents an attempt to kick-start the stalled reform process. Thein Sein’s choice of ministers shows that he is trying to centralize his administration even as he reduces the military’s presence in it.

More than a dozen ministers have been replaced or sacked, while more than twenty new deputy ministers have been appointed. More changes are in the pipeline, according to government advisors. Some of the more renowned hardliners in the cabinet — such as Construction Minister Khin Maung Myint and the oddly titled Minister for Electricity 1 Zaw Min — have been sacked altogether. Others, including Information Minister Kyaw Hsan and Tourism Minister Tint Hsan, have been demoted.

But the most important aspect of the changeover is the large number of civilians that have been brought in, especially as deputy ministers. Almost all of them are former academics, businessmen, and civil servants. In this array of talent tapped by the president, the new deputy economic planning minister stands out: Winston Set Aung, a businessman, academic, and consultant who has been advising the president on economic matters for the past year. Government insiders hint that there may be more economics-oriented appointments like this to follow.

When ministers were sacked or reshuffled in the past, they were usually replaced by serving military officers or former military men. That was how the military dictators controlled power and ensured the cohesive support of the commanders. Thein Sein (shown at left in the photo above, as he welcomed Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu last month) has now decided to break with that long-standing tradition and make his executive truly civilian (at least as far as the members of his cabinet team are concerned).

This has delighted the international community and local businessmen alike. Not only are the new faces being brought into the government civilian by origin and nature, but many of them, like Winston Aung, are thoroughly committed economic reformers, according to Australian economic specialist Sean Turnell. Burmese businessmen are now busily preparing for the “gold rush” — the long-heralded influx of foreign direct investment from companies eager to get access to the country’s rich natural resources and low-cost labor force. There’s a general assumption that this process can only be accelerated by the president’s cabinet reshuffle.

In last week’s sweeping shake-up, Thein Sein replaced the ministers responsible for information, economic planning, finance, industry, and railways. The economic ministries are being transferred to the president’s office. Finance Minister Hla Tun, Economic Planning Minister Tin Naing Thein, Industry Minister Soe Thein, and Railways Minister Aung Min have all effectively been promoted and transferred to the president’s office to oversee the running of the economy. Four new ministries in the prime minister’s office have now been formally agreed by parliament.

But the cabinet reshuffle also manifests another facet of Thein Sein’s developing strategy (one that he may well have borrowed from his mentor, ex-strongman Than Shwe) — namely, the concentration of power in his own office. “It’s more a [government] re-organization than a reshuffle,” said a government insider.

The four economic ministers will now oversee the country’s economic development from inside the president’s office. This means they will work directly under the president, which will free him up to concentrate on other matters, according to the president’s political advisors. It will increase their direct access to the president and give them greater authority.

“It’s all part of streamlining the decision-making process to make the president and his ministers more effective,” says a government insider. But it is also a process of centralizing power in the president’s office by creating an elite team of ministers — a “super cabinet,” if you will — that will take responsibility for much of the government’s administrative work.

Minister Soe Thein will continue to chair the powerful Myanmar Investment Commission, which oversees domestic investment projects and will play a major role in monitoring international ventures once the new proposed foreign investment law is finalized.

Massive changes to the Central Bank are also in the pipeline. It will no longer be under the finance ministry, but semi-autonomous, with the governor’s position raised to the ministerial level. The bank will be substantially expanded, the number of divisions increased, and the staff almost doubled to more than 2,500.

Several ministries are being merged or shut down. The government is closing the Industrial Development Ministry, which overseas planned industrial mega-projects, and transferring responsibility for them to the president’s office. Other ministries are being consolidated, including combining the two electric power ministries into one. The aim, according to the president, is to allow better supervision and cooperation to ensure adequate production and supply of electricity. Government insiders say that more reorganization of the civil service is also in the pipeline.

Another crucial change is the promotion of the former railways minister Aung Min to a minister in the president’s office commissioned with overseeing national reconciliation efforts. Apart from continuing his ceasefire mediation efforts with ethnic rebel groups, he will be responsible for encouraging Burmese exiles and expatriates to return to the country. He will also, reportedly, become a member of the national defense security council, and be given a measure of authority over the military.

The president’s cabinet reshuffle is only part of a broader strategy to build a wider consensus behind his reform process. It started with the appointment of a new vice president, the former naval commander Nyan Tun, after his predecessor resigned on grounds of alleged ill health. Nyan Tun is something of a Thein Sein clone: soft-spoken, fiercely loyal, and very cautious. But he will also steadfastly uphold the interests of the military, sources close to him say.

Nyan Tun’s appointment is essentially the army’s way of supporting the beleaguered president. They are committed to Thein Sein and his reform agenda, according to informed sources inside the military. In particular, the chief of the army, vice-senior general Min Aung Hlaing, has emerged as a staunch supporter of Thein Sein. He wants the democratic experiment to work — and Thein Sein needs all the help he can get. He is at loggerheads with parliament over constitutional issues. The democratic opposition is taking advantage of newly won media freedoms to agitate for change. The government’s war with the Kachin ethnic minority is intensifying, and recently achieved peace deals with other groups are developing cracks. Strikes, rural protests against illegal land grabs, and religious violence in the west of the country in Arakan have compounded the president’s impotence. Only the international community and the army seem to steadfastly support him.

His only hope now is that the greater emphasis on government efficiency will provide concrete results and clear the logjam in the reform process. “The battle between the hardliners and reformers has been exaggerated,” a presidential advisor told me recently, on condition of anonymity. “The fault line is between competence and incompetence; between effectiveness and ineffectiveness,” he added. The government must deliver on its promises, another insider said, and time is running out.

Many people have begun to wonder when they’re finally going to see the long-awaited “democracy dividend.” Earlier last month, President Thein announced that the government’s immediate priority was to boost economic growth by 8 percent a year and provide real income growth for everyone. Many Burmese economists, though, believe the president’s plans are over ambitious and unrealistic, especially the proposed increase of per capita income to $3000 by 2015.

So while Thein Sein will retire at the end of his current term as president, the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party knows that if they are to have any chance against the opposition — the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi — at the next elections in 2015, the government must improve peoples’ standard of living.

NAY PYI TAW, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) — Myanmar Vice President U Nyan Tun met with visiting Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Ma Xiaotian in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday and they held discussions in a friendly atmosphere.

U Nyan Tun said Myanmar and China have been friendly for long years with the two peoples enjoying the paukphaw (fraternal) friendship. In recent years, frequent exchange of high-level visits has brought about fruitful results in trade and economic cooperation. The Chinese government has always rendered selfless assistance and support to Myanmar in bilateral and international issues. China is Myanmar’s genuine friend.

He reiterated that Myanmar would unshakably stick to the one- China policy and work for the smooth implementation of major cooperation projects.

Ma said China and Myanmar have supported each other on matters related to their respective core interests and other major issues. For most of the years, the development of relations between the two armed forces has been good and achievements have been made in their practical cooperation in many fields, contributing to the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between the two countries.

China attaches great importance to relations with Myanmar and is willing to join hand with Myanmar in further consolidating and developing the existing neighborly and friendly cooperative ties, he said.

On Wednesday, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s Defense Services Vice Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing met with General Ma in Nay Pyi Taw.

Min Aung Hlaing said the potential for exchange and cooperation between the two armed forces remains great and the prospects are broad. Myanmar hopes to continue good communication and coordination with the Chinese side and will strive to raise the level of exchange and cooperation in various fields and further push the overall development of their comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership.

Ma said the Chinese armed forces would like to maintain exchange with the Myanmar counterpart at all levels and expand the field of exchange and cooperation to further develop the relations between the two armed forces.

On the same day, Ma and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s Defense Services and Commander-in-Chief of the Army General Soe Win held talks and exchanged views on relations between the two armed forces, regional security and other matters of common concern.

Ma arrived in Yangon on Tuesday for a goodwill visit to Myanmar at the invitation of Soe Win.

The 46th India-Myanmar (Burma) border liaison meeting was held at Leimakhong near Imphal, where a mountain division of Indian Army is headquartered, on 22 August 2012. The Indian delegation of Army officers and some other officials was headed by GOC of the division Maj Gen Binoy Poonnen, welcomed the Myanmar delegation comprising 15 officers led by Brig Gen Ba Hla Aye, Commander, AOC (72), who had travelled by road via Manipur’s border town of Moreh.

This meeting, which came reportedly in the wake of Myanmar’s assurance of pushing out northeast rebel- terrorist groups from its soil and the subsequent vigilant measures being taken up along the porous India-Myanmar boundary by the Indian security forces in the tribal-dominated Chandel, Ukhrul and Churachandpur districts.

During this visit, Myanmar officials also visited Kolkata and Gaya, returning to Imphal to depart for their country.

Of the four Indian states Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, which share 1643 kilometres of land border with Myanmar, – the first two are plagued by insurgent groups, who have been getting shelter and support from Myanmar Army. At least eight groups of Manipur, Nagaland, including the so-called ‘anti-talks faction’ of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) have had bases in Myanmar for many decades.

When the pro-Pakistan Bangladesh Nationalist Party came to power in Bangladesh, Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) presence in that country was substantially increased. When Indian Army was called to deal with the menace of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in Assam in end November 1990, its top leadership under Paresh Baruah escaped to Bangladesh giving the ISI there the golden opportunity to enter Assam and other parts of the Northeast and woo other insurgent turned terrorist groups in Manipur and Nagaland, which also set up camps there. Following Awami Leagues massive electoral victory in December 2008, its government led by Sheikh Hasina began a crackdown against northeast militants, many of them returned to take shelter in the jungles and hills of Myanmar. From these areas in Myanmar, ULFA has been making trips to China, which has been providing it support and weapons for them and for supplying to Left Wing Extremists (LWEs)/Naxal-Maoists.

In 1988, India decided to stop openly supporting the Burmese democracy movement and began negotiating for bilateral cooperation with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)/ military junta. The junta always had a long wish-list of military hardware from India with a quid pro quo of putting pressure or chasing out leaders and elements of these groups.

With a view to garnering support from Myanmar Army in dealing with the menace of insurgency and to counter-balance the Chinese influence in Myanmar, India began engaging the military junta quite extensively since 2006. In 2001 India’s Border Roads Organisation constructed a 160 kms long road from Tamu to Kalewa which reduced the travelling time from about 11 to 3 hours. According to a 30 December 2006 report of India Defence Premium, during a visit to Myanmar in November 2006, former Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Tyagi offered a multimillion dollar sale of military hardware to Naypyidaw (military junta’s new name for Yangon). The package included helicopters, technical upgrades of Burma-Russian and Chinese made fighter planes, naval surveillance aircraft and radar manufactured by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. The visit of Gen Shwe Mann, the junta’s joint chief of staff, in December was expected to expand the arms sales talks. Prior to ACM Tyagi’s visit, former Indian Army Chief Gen J J Singh had offered to provide training in counterinsurgency campaigns for Burmese Special Forces. Earlier in 2006, former Indian Naval Chief, Admiral Arun Prakash had also visited Burma to negotiate the sale of two British-made BN-2 Islander maritime surveillance aircraft. This was followed by the sale of an unspecified number of T-55 tanks and 105mm light artillery guns.

During a border liason meeting held at Champhai, eastern Mizoram, in December 2010, the Indian delegation, led by home ministry’s joint secretary S. Singh and the Myanmar officials headed by U. Nay Wing, the army commander of Chin state, what sounded like a very major decision, but too good to be true, was reported in media-that Indian security forces (SFs) could enter Myanmar to hunt for terrorists after taking due permission from Myanmarese authorities. And to boost their crackdown on Indian separatists hiding in Myanmar, it was also decided that Myanmarese security officials had promised to learn English or Hindi to overcome communication problems to jointly curb trans-border movement of terrorists, arms smuggling and prevent drug trafficking. The first part about Indian SFs being allowed to enter Myanmar is certainly not correct. Had it been so, Paresh Baruah and many others would have been captured.

President of Myanmar U Thein Sein, who assumed office heading the new civilian government after general elections on March 30 2011, came on a State Visit to India six months later. The President, accompanied by his spouse Daw Khin Khin Win, headed a high-level delegation of ten ministers and the Chief of General Staff. The delegation visited Buddhist sites at Gaya, Khushinagar and Sarnath before arriving in Delhi, where it was given a ceremonial reception and welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S.M. Krishna called on Mr Sein prior to the delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, where some agreements were signed.

New Delhi felt it was time to further strengthen bilateral relations with Myanmar as an integral part of India’s Look East Policy. Connectivity through Myanmar can boost economic development for India’s north-eastern region. Work is under way in establishing the Kaladan Multi Modal Transport Corridor to connect India’s eastern ports to Mizoram through the Sittwe Port in Myanmar. Thereafter, the corridor moves north via rivers and the roads. In 2010-11, bilateral trade between India and Myanmar was US$1.28 billion, which is to be raised to US$3 billion by 2015. Indian companies like ONGC Videsh Limited, GAIL and Essar Group have already established their presence in the country.

Then came the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Myanmar after 25 years, during which liberal financial assistance to Myanmar was promised and 12 agreements were signed. A leading Assam daily newspaper cited highly placed official sources saying that the Government of India is keeping a close watch on the situation as the Government of Myanmar promised to take action against the militants its using the territory for anti- India activities and that Myanmar Army had also given a deadline of June 2012 to the militants to vacate their camps and to move out of Myanmar with specific instructions to leave their weapons behind so that they could be shown as recovered when the camps are destroyed. Further, though Myanmar Army signed a cease-fire pact with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang faction (NSCN-K), Government of India objected to the same and the matter was reportedly corrected. So far, neither have any effective measures been taken, nor are there any indications of them, Paresh Baruah still hiding in Myanmar with his anti-talks group remains uncaught and so far, unaffected as he still succeeds in launching attacks in Assam and is also actively assisting LWEand also involved in supplying them with Chinese weapons. There have been reports in the past about Myanmar army only making a show of trying to catch Indian militant groups, whereas they often help them by warning them in advance of any raids on their camp locations and letting them get away.

In 2007, Dr. Sreeram Chaulia, a New York-based researcher on world affairs, maintained that the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) leaders have been using the menace of ULFA as a bargaining chip against New Delhi, even as the Indian civil society supports Aung San Suu Kyi’s pro-democracy movement. “The military rulers keep on trying to prove its usefulness to India by occasionally cracking the whip on ULFA and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang-led faction, which is ULFA’s mentor in Myanmar) while not entirely smashing their hideouts on Myanmarese soil,” claimed Chaulia. He dId not subscribe to the idea of India enhancing the military relationship with SPDC and stated: “For over a decade, India has been betting on the wrong horse in Myanmar. If New Delhi hopes to counter Chinese influence in Yangon and defeat ULFA, democracy in Myanmar is the only honourable and pragmatic solution.”

While democracy may have made a beginning in Myanmar, but still there is no forward movement by its government or army against the terrorists mentioned so far. On July 06, 2012, Manoj Anand, the Guwahati correspondent of The Asian Age reported that security agencies have noticed the movement of Burmese Army closer to the camps of Indian insurgent groups in Burma but it was not resorting to any kind of pressure to drive out the militants. Disclosing that home ministry has also sent reminder pointing out that Indian insurgent groups are still operating from Burma, authoritative security sources told this newspaper that Burma was still reluctant to take any stern measure to drive out the militants from their territory. Admitting that a deadline of June 10 was given to separatist outfits holed up in Burma by its Army, security sources said that Burmese troops came close to the camps NSCN(K) and Peoples’ Liberation Front of Manipur but no action was taken. Informing that elusive ULFA chief Paresh Baruah was keeping a close watch over the development, security sources said that intercepts suggested that ULFA was mounting pressure on its senior cadres. Frequent arrest and recovery of explosives and failure of their subversive plan is believed to have created tension in the ULFA. While the June deadline was recently extended to September, it remains to be seen whether it will be implemented and if so, to what extent, as Myanmar army and these groups have strong old linkages related to trafficking of arms.

The agreements mentioned for India-Myanmar bilateral cooperation, whenever implemented, will be a great boon for both Myanmar and India’s Northeastern states, but the decision makers in New Delhi and Napyidaw/Yangon must be very clear that these projects can only succeed if militant groups-both of Myanmar and India’s northeast enjoying sanctuary there are neutralised.

Just last month I made my first visit to Myanmar, a place Rudyard Kipling referred to as “quite unlike any land you know about.” While decades of isolation have helped this century-old observation hold true, on arrival in July I was immediately struck by the vibrancy and a palpable sense of change in the air. The country’s immense potential is reflected in the Asian Development Bank’s most recent analysis, which shows that Myanmar has the potential to follow Asia’s fast growing economies and expand at 7 percent to 8 percent if it continues on the path of across-the-board reforms initiated earlier this year.

If Myanmar stays true to these reforms and I was impressed by the resolve of many officials I met last month – the country should become a middle-income nation, and could more than triple per capita income by 2030.

Half a century ago Myanmar was the pearl of Asia, one of the region’s leading economies with a per capita income more than twice that of its neighbor, Thailand. While most other regional economies have skyrocketed since that time, Myanmar has languished, and today has Southeast Asia’s lowest per capita GDP.

After decades of stagnation, Myanmar has an enormous amount of catching up to do on almost every imaginable front. The recent experiences of Asia’s fast-growing economies are instructive. For Myanmar to effectively capitalize on its potential, the country will need to maintain low inflation under 6 percent – and better ensure sustainable budgets. It will also need to encourage greater savings, dramatically bolster the skills of its people, invest heavily in infrastructure, modernize its financial sector, foster job creation and continue with its reform of the foreign exchange regime.

No small order, to be sure, but Myanmar’s neighbors have shown dramatic economic transformations are possible in relatively short amounts of time if reforms remain on track.

Nearly everyone I spoke with in July emphasized that maintaining social stability will be crucial as Myanmar embarks on this new course. While economic growth has been the most effective tool for reducing poverty in Asia, it has become less equitable in many fast-growing regional economies in recent decades. As the economy grows it will be essential for the country to ensure that its poorest and most vulnerable share the benefits of Myanmar’s growing prosperity. Such inclusiveness will enhance and help maintain growth by strengthening social cohesion and contributing to human capital development.

Investment in education, health care and other social services is fundamental for building Myanmar’s human capital. Today, one in four primary school children never move on to middle school, limiting their prospects as the country’s next generation of workers. Encouragingly, the government has already increased its social sector spending, with the country’s nominal education budget doubling for 2012-13. It is critical that this trend continue.

More opportunities are also needed for people in rural areas, where 84 percent of the country’s poor reside. NGOs I met last month highlighted that rural isolation is exacerbated by poor access to electricity, water and transportation. Only one in four people have electricity access, and the country’s core road network is limited. Bringing rural communities into the fold and providing them with better transportation, electricity and telecommunications will give Myanmar’s poorest a better chance at grasping the opportunities that recent economic reforms can bring.

Myanmar’s economic potential is immense given its rich endowments and geographic advantages. To maximize this potential, however, businesspeople I met with stressed the need for more freedom to create jobs and innovate. A further reduction of government ownership and control over certain economic sectors will help level the playing field, spurring competition and bolstering investment.

This is particularly important, as Myanmar is uniquely positioned to tap into Asia’s growing economic strength and prosperity. Better connectivity with other South and Southeast Asian nations will also unleash incredible opportunities for trade and commerce. With the region’s consumption expected to reach $32 trillion by 2030, accounting for 43 percent of the global total, Myanmar’s affluent neighbors offer vast new markets for a country with abundant natural assets, agricultural resources and low-cost manufacturing potential.

Integration with global and regional markets will also help promote accountability, transparency and respect for the rule of law, fostering an enabling environment for business and foreign investment as the nation finds its place in the Asian Century.

Myanmar’s growth will not come without risks, and it is important for the country not to repeat the mistakes of other resource-rich developing nations – allowing resource revenues to exacerbate inflation and impact international competitiveness through effects on the exchange rates – a vicious cycle that can hinder the country’s development in other productive sectors. Sound macroeconomic management, economic diversification, greater transparency, the development of capable institutions and a strong political commitment to equitably distributing benefits will all be needed to ensure Myanmar avoids the “resource curse.”

While Kipling’s sentiment may still be accurate, there is much Myanmar can learn from its neighbors – lessons that could make the country Asia’s next rising star. There will be countless challenges along the way, but if the country makes the right moves at the right times, and maintains its strong commitment to reforms, a more prosperous future undoubtedly awaits Myanmar’s people.

* The author is the Asian Development Bank’s vice president for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

by Stephen P. Groff

Bangkok Airways, a local boutique airline, is studying the feasibility of launching its own low-cost carrier to capture this fast-growing market.

Puttipong Prasarttong-osoth, president of Bangkok Airways Co, said yesterday that if the firm does not enter this segment, it would absolutely lose its share. Regional travel is expected to flourish after the advent of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.

However, the company has not yet made any decision on the new venture because it has to spend most of the time on preparing to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in the first quarter of next year. After that, it will finalise its expansion plan.

The firm has registered capital of Bt1.2 billion and expects to increase that before listing. The estimated Bt10 billion that would be mobilised from the initial public offering would go to modernising its infrastructure, especially computerised operation, at Suvarnabhumi Airport, and expanding its fleet and network.

Bualuang Securities Plc is its financial adviser.

Its low-cost airline will be positioned as a “true pricing” service to make it distinct from existing ones like AirAsia, which charges for extra services such as checked-in luggage. It will follow the low-cost concept from Europe and fly regionally, with flight times within 3-4 hours.

The profitable airline plans to build up its fleet to 30 in 2015 from 19 at present, preferably with the Airbus A320, as part of its plan to cover the region.

Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos are the interesting markets. Especially Myanmar is hot because it has just opened its doors and everyone is keen to see it. Vientiane will be served by year-end and Mandalay next year.

Having airline partners both in Asean and outside will also be competitively advantageous. Within Asean, the firm is in talks with Philippines Airlines and Garuda, the flag carrier of Indonesia, about possible joint services including code sharing and most importantly, flight connections. It has already worked with Silk Air from Singapore, Malaysia Airlines and also Thai Airways.

Its three provincial airports in Sukhothai, Samui and Trat will be put to best use to connect to regional destinations. The three airports serve as its northern, southern and eastern bases respectively.

Also, flight frequencies to existing destinations will be stepped up. For example, Bangkok-Phuket flights will rise to seven from six a day and Bangkok-Maldives from five to six a week.

“The integration gives more traffic rights with Asean members and also a wider market base,” he said.

The single market under the AEC will bring more long-haul traffic to Asean.

However, business threats remain. One of them is that labour will be relocated due to the free flow of workers within Asean.

Bangkok Airways flies to 11 international and eight domestic destinations.

This year, it expects to boost sales by 20 per cent to Bt13 billion. After going public, the firm expects its sales to grow about 10 per cent a year.

By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY| September 6, 2012 |

US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell (black jacket) talks with four representatives of the 88 Generation Students group (white shirts) at their office in Rangoon on Tuesday. (PHOTO: 88 Generation)

The US will serve as a role model when foreign companies begin to invest in Burma, Derek Mitchell, the new US ambassador, told leaders of the 88 Generation Students group during their meeting on Tuesday in Rangoon.

“Ambassador Mitchell told us that American companies are socially responsible, and will act as role models for other foreign firms by supporting human rights and democracy in our country,” said 88 Generation spokesman Ko Ko Gyi.

Although Mitchell has met several times before with the 88 Generation group, which says it is working for an open society in Burma, Tuesday’s was the first such meeting at the organization’s office.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, former political prisoner Ko Ko Gyi said, “The ambassador said he shares the 88 Generation Students’ positive view on the current wave of political changes in Burma.”

Mitchell also told the group that both the political parties contesting the US’ November election—the Democrats and the Republicans— shared the same policy goal of supporting reform in Burma.

Meanwhile, Ko Ko Gyi and two other 88 Generation leaders—Min Ko Naing and Mya Aye—have threatened to return their Burmese passports if other members of their group do not receive travel documents.

Some 20 members of the organization applied for passports, but only three were accepted. The group’s leadership has sent a letter to President’s Office Minister Aung Min requesting passports for all members of the organization, Ko Ko Gyi said.

Min Ko Naing is due to travel to the US soon to receive a human rights award from the National Endowment for Democracy.

Since Burma began a process of political reform last year, the government has made it much easier for foreigners to visit the country. However, there are no clear regulations for Burmese nationals to be allowed to travel abroad, claim rights activists.

By ZARNI MANN / THE IRRAWADDY| September 6, 2012 |

Detained rights activist Wai Lu, who was seemingly arrested for participating in farmers’ protests in Sagaing Division, has been charged under Burma’s Religious Offenses Act.

“Family members were told by officers from Myinmu police station that he will be charged under Penal Code 295 and 295(a) for religious offenses,” said Thwae Thwae Win, a local activist in Sagaing Division.

Several of Wai Lu’s colleagues immediately protested the decision, saying he was not involved in any such action, and expressed skepticism that any such “religious” offense occurred.

“We question why Wai Lu has been charged under this law. We condemn the action and urge the authorities to free him as soon as possible,” Thwae Thwae Win said.

She said that Wai Lu’s family and friends are increasingly worried because they have not had a chance to meet him since his arrest and don’t know where he is being held.

“The family went to Monywa police station [near Myinmyu], but the police officers refused to tell them where Wai Lu was being held,” she said.

Wai Lu, a former political prisoner, became involved with farmers who have been fighting to win back their confiscated land from a copper mining company in the Latpadaung mountain range in Sagaing Division. He was apprehended by police on Aug. 31 while traveling back to his home in Rangoon.

Meanwhile, the protesting farmers have begun a signature campaign in order to submit an appeal to the Burmese president concerning what they claim is the unlawful seizure of their lands by the Chinese mining company Wan Bao in cooperation with the military-backed firm Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL), which are jointly developing the copper mining venture.

The farmers are demanding: adequate compensation; the return of their lands; an end to forced relocations; and a stop to the mining project, which they say is a threat to the environment.

More than 7,800 acres of land from 26 villages in the Sarlingyi Township area have been confiscated since the joint-venture began in 2011. Farmers began airing their disquiet at protests near the Wan Bao Company office beginning on July 2 this year. Since then, more and more local villagers have joined the farmers’ protests.

Tensions rose on Wednesday as 500 to 600 protesters were stopped by police as they marched along the Monywa-Pathein Highway and burned effigies of three coffins which they said represented the copper mine and the two investing companies.

UMEHL recently told journalists that it had paid compensation of 5,200 kyat (US $60) per acre to farmers for the confiscated farmland in April 2011. The company maintains that the farmers have only now changed their minds and want their farmland back because they have no other livelihoods other than farming.

Local protests against the mine continued into August with more civic society groups demanding a halt to the project on environmental grounds. NGOs say the nearby Kyay Sin and Sabae mountains have been decimated by copper mining.

Copper mining in the area started in 1980 with joint ventures between former Burmese Ministry of Mining-1 and various investors including Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines.

By YAN PAI / THE IRRAWADDY| September 6, 2012 |

One of Burma’s legendary “Thirty Comrades” who has been receiving emergency medical treatment in China wishes to visit Rangoon’s sacred Shwedagon Pagoda for the last time, according to his family.

Ex-Brig-Gen Kyaw Zaw, 93, one of only two surviving Comrades, is currently admitted to the intensive care unit at Kunming General Hospital in China’s southwestern Yunnan Province.

His son, Aung Kyaw Zaw, told The Irrawaddy that his father’s health is worrisome as he must breathe via an oxygen supply and food is delivered through a nasogastric tube.

“He is at his wits’ end,” said Aung Kyaw Zaw. “The sad thing is he told me that he wants to visit Shwedagon Pagoda one last time.”

He said Kyaw Zaw still remembers his friends and colleagues during Burma’s independence struggle, and particularly misses Bo Ye Htut, 91, the only other surviving Comrade who still lives in Rangoon.

Kyaw Zaw was born in Hsaisu Village in Tharawaddy District of Pegu Division and later became actively involved in the anti-imperialist movement in Burma.

During the British colonial era, he went to China’s Hainan Island alongside Gen Aung San, Burma’s independence hero and the father of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, where they were give military training by the Japanese.

Those who returned to fight for Burmese independence were dubbed the Thirty Comrades.

When Burma changed sides to fight the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, Kyaw Zaw served as military commander of Division 4 based in the eastern part of the Sittaung River in Pegu Division.

At the beginning of the country’s civil war, which broke out soon after independence was proclaimed in 1948, he then became chief of Southern Military Command and managed to successfully defend Rangoon while it was surrounded by Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) troops. Afterwards, he managed to capture the towns of Pegu, Phyu and Taung Ngoo.

Kyaw Zaw reportedly wrote in his autobiography that the Battle of Insein, in which he fought against the KNDO for three months, was the unforgettable moment of his life.

In 1954, he led the Bayinnaung Operation that managed to drive out Chinese Kuomintang troops from Burma. Kyaw Zaw’s colleagues regarded him as a courageous commander who always fought alongside his fellow soldiers.

In 1957, the ex-Brig-Gen was dismissed from the armed forces for allegedly leaking military

secrets.

As a civilian, he continued striving for internal peace under the leadership of the late Thakhin Kodaw Hmaing—Burma’s peace architect also considered one of the nation’s greatest ever poets. Kyaw Zaw left for the Sino-Burmese border, where the Communist Party of Burma was based, in 1976.

The Burmese government last week removed 2,082 people from its blacklist, but Kyaw Zaw’s name was not included.

Tin Oo, former armed forces chief-of-staff and a patron of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, recently paid respect to Kyaw Zaw and said he should return to Burma as soon as possible as one of the last Thirty Comrades.

A huge demonstration at a Burmese state copper mining company on Wednesday saw farmers asking that their land be returned.

Villagers said that Union of Myanmar Economic Holding and Wan Bao Co., which is a subsidiary of China North Industries Co., illegally confiscated more than 7,800 acres of their farmland from 26 villages in Sarlingyi Township since the partners began mining copper in 2011, according to an article on the Radio Free Asia (RFA) website on Thursday.

Farmers marched from the site of the Monywa copper mine, located in the Latpadaung mountain range in Saigang Division’s Sarlingyi Township, but were stopped by more than 200 government security personnel and company officials, a villager told RFA.

She said that protesters then burned in effigy three coffins to display their opposition to laws that enabled the authorities to impose curfews as well as a Chinese company Wan Bao Co. and the military-backed firm Union of Myanmar Economic Holding Ltd, which are jointly developing the mining venture.

“This is our land and it was unjustly taken,” she said.

Also taking part in protests were members of the Student Union of Mandalay, Farmers said.

Some 500 villagers have been protesting near the Wan Bao Co. offices since August to demand adequate compensation, the return of confiscated lands, a stop to forced relocations, the reopening of locked monasteries, and an end to the dumping of waste on their fields.

Wan Bao company recently told journalists that it had paid 5,200 kyat (U.S. $60) in compensation per acre of confiscated farmland in April 2011, but the villagers say that they wanted to maintain land they have farmed for generations in order to earn a living.

Tensions have risen in recent weeks as the company has continued digging at the site and dumping waste soil on the confiscated land despite a request to suspend work and enter negotiations, farmers said.

Thursday, 06 September 2012 16:17 Aung Myat Tun, Kyi Pyar and Theingi Tun

Rangoon (Mizzima) – National League for Democracy (NLD) members in Twante Township on Tuesday staged a protest against Twante Township and Rangoon Region NLD officials for failing to share authority.

NLD members protest a lack of power sharing in a demonstration at Twante Township on Tuesday. The protesters said NLD members in Twante Township and Rangoon Region NLD should share authority with “people who really work.”

Win Maung, a demonstrator, said members want to see authority shared with “members who really work.”

The protest was led by NLD members Zaw Min Tun and Sandar and staged at Kyuntaw Quarter, Twante Township.

About 100 NLD members participated in the demonstration. Sandar told Mizzima that current NLD officials of Twante Township refused to receive party membership applications, and they discriminated against some party members.

Zaw Min Tun said that the protest is intended to stop one-sided actions in the party and to stop favouring some party members who are close with officials.

Nyan Win, a central NLD spokesman, said the demonstrators could upset the upcoming party conference. “Only after the meeting of the central executive committee, can we say whether to take actions against them or not,” he said.

Similarly, in Myaungmya Township, Irrawaddy Region, about 500 NLD members in Myaungmya Township staged a similar protest in the second week of August.

As a result, the central NLD earlier issued a statement saying that Myint Kyaw and Win Shwe, the organizers of the protest in Myaungmya Township, were temporarily removed as NLD members for organizing the protest.

Win Shwe said, “I write news articles in the Unity Journal, so I [went there] to cover the event. I was not a leader. When the investigation committee came [here], they did not meet me. In the statement issued by the central [NLD], both my name and my pen name were mentioned. In fact, the event is not related to my pen name.”

Myint Kyaw, the organizer of the protest in Myaungmya, said that the investigation committee came to the township on Aug. 24 when he [Myint Kyaw] was on his trip, but the NLD failed to meet with Win Shwe who was there.

Myint Kyaw said he led the protest, and he wanted Aung San Suu Kyi to know about certain issues of concern to members.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win told Mizzima, “Rangoon Region [NLD] formed an investigation committee. We made the decision based on the report delivered by the committee.”

The NLD is preparing to hold township-level conferences, district-level conferences, region/state-level conferences and a central conference. The central conference is scheduled in late 2012.

Win Shwe said that some members of Einme Township NLD and Pathein [Bassein] Township NLD are preparing to stage demonstrations also.

Aung San Suu Kyi will speak at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, on Sept. 27, according to the Yaledailynews website.

Suu-Kyi-at-Sorbonne-FranceRichard Levin, the president of Yale, said Suu Kyi would visit Yale under the auspices of the Chubb Fellowship, one of the highest honors accorded to a visiting speaker. The university was founded in 1701.

“We look forward to celebrating her unflagging heroism and her commitment to democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means,” Levin said.

Since 1949, Chubb Fellows have included former US presidents, numerous heads of state, and prominent public figures in government, industry and the arts.

Suu Kyi will be in Washington to accept the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest civilian honor, on Sept. 19. She also will be honored in New York with the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Award on Sept. 21.

During her upcoming US tour, Suu Kyi has also scheduled speaking engagements in New York City, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and in the San Francisco bay area.

About 800 internally displaced residents who have been taking shelter in Kachin state’s Hpakant town after fleeing from their homes amid fighting between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army now have to relocate due to flooding.

Dashe Lasai, chairman of the National League for Democracy’s Conference Organising Committee in Kachin state said a nearby creek’s water levels rose by an estimated six to seven feet in the town’s Ngatpyawtaw and Ayemyatharyar wards, forcing displaced residents that have been taking shelter in a Baptist church to move again.

“There are 817 war refugees in the church’s compound and now they are also flood refugees,” said Dashe Lasai.

The floodwaters began to subside yesterday, but the creek still remains two feet higher than its average level.

About 9,000 people, including residents from more than 10 villages in Hpakant township and miners from different parts of Burma that worked in the region’s jade mines, were forced to relocate as fighting between the Burmese army and the KIA broke out late last month near Mawmaunghlen mining village.

Dashe Lasai said there are about 39 refugee camps located across Hpakant town. Political parties, religious associations, a nearby hospital and locals have donated aid to the displaced residents, but the NLD member said it would be difficult to continue to provide assistance to this many people.

There are an estimated 90,000 people in Kachin state who have been displaced since a 17-year ceasefire between the KIA and central government broke down in June 2011.

Residents in the Irrawaddy Region’s Pantanaw township, which has been submerged by floodwaters for more than a month, are calling for emergency relief.

Pantanaw township has been inundated with monsoon rains and flooding since late July. Residents and aid workers on the ground claim the water has yet to subside due to the area’s faulty infrastructure and irrigation systems.

Myanmar [Burma] Social Development Network’s founder Nay Myo Zin said local residents are now facing food shortages and are in desperate need of aid.

“The water has only gone down by about four or five inches since the flooding began. This is due to the lack of irrigation [canals] to channel the water out,” said said Nay Myo Zin.

“Farmers have also lost most of their paddy fields – they only have enough rice to eat for about another week.”

Relief groups said among the areas in Irrawaddy Division affected by floods this year, Bassein (Pathein) district’s Tharbaung, Kangyidaunt, Kyaungon and Pantanaw townships have been the worst hit.

According to a report by the Associated Press, about 70,000 people have been displaced in the delta region and are being housed at more than 200 emergency relief centers in the area.

The excessive flooding across the country over the course of the summer has destroyed more than 600,000 acres of paddy in Burma. As a result, this week the Myanmar [Burma] Rice Federation has begun selling off 10,000 bags of rice reserves a day to combat inflation as the price of the staple continues to increase.