Mediators trying to broker a peace deal between the military and ethnic minority rebels in northern Myanmar appealed to Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to help end the bloody conflict.

The military’s use of air strikes against the rebels has stoked international concerns about a civil war that has overshadowed widely praised political reforms seen since the end of junta rule in 2011.

“Aung San Suu Kyi also has responsibility to implement ethnic peace,” Yup Zaw Hkaung, a local businessman and peace negotiator in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, told AFP by telephone.

“When she came to Kachin State to campaign for votes, she talked about peace. She cannot abandon Kachin,” he said, adding that neither the opposition leader nor President Thein Sein had replied to letters asking for help.

Civil war has plagued parts of the country formerly known as Burma since it won independence from Britain in 1948.

Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner turned lawmaker, used her maiden speech to parliament in July last year to call for greater protection of ethnic minority rights.

But the veteran activist has disappointed rights campaigners by not speaking out more vocally in support of another minority group, the Rohingya, in the violence-torn western state of Rakhine.

In northern Kachin, tens of thousands of people have been displaced since June 2011 when a 17-year ceasefire between the government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke down.

The number of casualties is unknown. The Kachin accuse the government of pushing dialogue only on the basis of a ceasefire and troop withdrawals, neglecting to address longstanding demands for greater political rights.

Myanmar has reached tentative ceasefires with most of the other major ethnic rebel groups, but several rounds of talks with the Kachin have shown little tangible progress.

“The fighting has been escalating,” Yup Zaw Hkaung said.

“We are urging dialogue as soon as possible. People are in big trouble.”

He said his Peace Creation Group, a mediation team formed with three other local businessmen, wanted to meet Thein Sein face-to-face to discuss the conflict with the former general, whose office said in December 2011 he had ordered an end to military offensives against the rebels.

“As air strikes with jets have been used in the attacks, hatred between the two sides could be growing,” Yup Zaw Hkaung said. “We assume that the military is fighting based on the decision of the union government.”

Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to supporters in Yangon on December 30, 2012. Mediators trying to broker a peace deal between the military and ethnic minority rebels in northern Myanmar appealed to Nobel laureate Suu Kyi to help end the bloody conflict.

As Myanmar is inching towards a stable democracy, the country is once again becoming a preffered travel destination for Indians. Aung San Suu Kyi, the architect of political reconciliation in the South-east Asian nation, can be credited for this change of outlook towards Myanmar.

Major online travel portals and tour operators are hoping to make the most of this opportunity. Some reports suggest Myanmar will hold an international tourism conference in February this year.

“While we have always offered Myanmar, we are seeing increasing requests from customers this season. In fact, our luxury brand ‘Indulgence’ is currently planning an extensive leisure programme for a prestigious corporate family,” he said.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (Iato), which has over 1,600 members, is in discussion with the Indian embassy in Myanmar and planning to take a delegation there. An Iato official said tourism in European countries had taken a severe beating due to the economic slowdown and people were giving thrust on regional tourism.

Till last year, Myanmar saw around 10,000 visitors from India, but this number can easily go up to 60,000 in the coming years, feels Iato. In Asia, Singapore is the biggest attraction for Indian tourists and close to 500,000 visit the country every year. “A lot of religion-based tourism potential is there. This growth would also mean India too will get more visitors,” said Gour Kanjilal, executive director at Iato.

Makemytrip.com co-founder and chief operating officer Rajesh Magow echoed Pai’s view as he pointed out that lately, all stakeholders in the political process had spoken about welcoming tourists for the resultant economic benefit to Myanmar.

“Myanmar is also quite vocal on promoting ethical, or responsible tourism that focuses on harmonious co-existence rather than blatant commercialisation of natural resources and tourist attractions. We are closely watching these developments,” said Magow.

Suu Kyi, the face of modern Myanmar, visited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.in India last year, which was intended to strengthen relations between the two nations

Countries like Thailand, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal have also been attracting handsome numbers of Indian travellers. “A lot of businessmen and corporate houses are expanding their operation in Myanmar and this will have a positive effect,”added Kanjilal

The country was in a very volatile situation until Suu Kyi was released from her house arrest.The political environment is now becoming stable as the country looks to attain full democracy.

In November 2012, the US government also lifted a decade-old ban on most imports from Myanmar, ahead of a historic visit by President Barack Obama. The move was intended to support political reform in Myanmar, which can result in more global traffic entering into the country.

However, some also feel the Myanmar Tourism Board and government should be more active to promote their country, “The government of Myanmar also needs to be more active in promoting Myanmar tourism by media promotions and taking delegations to Myanmar Basically spreading the word around as much possible.” said Manmeet Ahluwalia, head of marketing at Expedia (India).

Sixty-five years ago, Myanmar became independent from Great Britain. But instead of freedom and prosperity, what followed was years of armed conflict which still continues. But reforms have given new impetus.

On January 4, 1948, British soldiers removed the Union Jack from the front of the government building in Yangon – then Rangoon. Not long after that, it was replaced with the country’s new national flag – red with six stars behind a patch of blue. Thus ended Britain’s colonial power over what became the “Republic of Burma.”

The unity of the country, however, did not come automatically with its new flag. Politically- and ethnically-driven uprisings threw the country into an era of bloody conflict. No government managed to end the fighting and create a common identity for the country’s people.

“Since its independence in 1948, the country has been in a never-ending civil war that is still going today,” independent Myanmar expert Hans-Bernd Zöllner told DW.

Unexpected change

Evacuees react after being received by Kachin’s soldiers in Kachin state in this still image taken from a video dated December 28, 2012. (Photo: REUTERS/Courtesy of Democratic Voice of Burma/Handout) People in Kachin fled conflict just days before the New Year

In the year 2010, however, the country’s political course took a surprising turn with the reforming agenda of President Thein Sein.

Mark Farmaner of the Burma Campaign welcomes the reforms the country has been experiencing since then. But he also warns of an increase in conflict.

“Myanmar is experiencing different kinds of change. On the one hand,” he explained, “there have been dramatic reforms. On the other hand, we have also seen an increase in ethnic conflict.

While parts of the country have been developing for the better, other parts are going downhill.”

On the second day of 2013, a bloody conflict broke out between the national army and armed members of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in the northeastern Kachin state. The military even deployed its airforce.

Farmaner said one reason for the increase in conflict was due to the lack of willingness to negotiate on the government’s part. “Changes that take place in the country have all been enacted by the president, without any kind of consultation.”

Zöllner believes the reforms are primarily initiated by the military. “The country’s turn-around is the result of careful military planning.”

However, Zöllner does not believe all the military influence should be viewed negatively. He said it should not go unrecognized that members of the military in 1988 had created a form of democracy and that they had stayed true to it by introducing reform. He said the military’s top priority was to ensure the unity of the country, which was quite vulnerable.

The ‘third independence’

A soldier walks amid the rubble of a neighbourhood in Pauktaw township that was burned in recent violence October 27, 2012. (Photo: REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun) Ethnic Rohingya fled the country by the thousands following violence in 2012

The actual challenge for Myanmar today is to continue on the path of democratization while at the same time preserving unity. The problem is, “the country is a state, but not a nation. There is no common identity. What we see happening now is the third war for national independence,” Zöllner said.

The phrase “third independence” refers to a famous speech made by Aung San Suu Kyi. In the year 1988, violent protests broke out in the then capital Yangon. The opposition leader Suu Kyi demanded a “third independence” for around 500,000 people. What she meant was a new start in politics and society. The protests were beaten down and Suu Kyi was put under house arrest.

Farmaner, who travelled to Myanmar a total of eight times in 2012, said there was now a chance for such a new start – but only if the government managed to make their reforms sustainable.

“In the beginning, the people were very happy about all of the change. But now they have started asking questions. They expect more fundamental changes to take place in the coming years.”

Particularly important, said Farmaner, was the need for an end to armed conflict, the release of prisoners of conscience, the fixation of new freedoms in law, transparency of government and also an improvement of living standards.

Institutions, not people

Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (L) and President Thein Sein posing for a photo before their meeting at the presidential office in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, 19 August 2011. (Photo: EPA/MNA / HANDOUT) Aung San Suu Kyi officially joined President Thein Sein in politics in April 2012

Regarding the reform process, Zöllner pointed out that it was dangerous to put all hopes on people – for example Aung San Suu Kyi or President Thein Sein – alone, but instead, in institutions. For this, there were a number of institutions which needed to be created from scratch as there were hardly any functioning institutions outside the military’s jurisdiction. He estimated the process would take “Twenty years, at best.”

In his New Year’s address – the first to be held in the country since the military took power – President Thein Sein called for mutual trust and also patience. He also said there were gaps between the expectations of the people and the possibilities of the government.

For long-term change, opposition parties, such as Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and others which were born out of the 1988 protests, should continue to receive support from the West. But with regard to this, Farmaner said current developments were worrying: “The international community, which has played a pivotal role for the NLD and the country’s democratization, has changed its agenda. Now the focus is on China, North Korea and economic interests and human rights have been placed on the back burner.”

STUDENTS from Myanmar have been invited to pursue their studies at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP).

The invitation was made by a group of senior officials on a recent working visit to Myanmar, led by the varsity’s chancellor Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail.

The varsity held discussions on bilateral cooperation with Yangon Technological University and Mandalay Technological University.

In Yangon, 90 students participated in seminars organised by UniMAP while in Mandalay, 70 students were involved in the activities.

By mid of next year, 15 Myanmar students are scheduled to begin their studies at UniMAP.

The varsity also recruited doctors for its medical centre. Currently, the varsity has over 300 international students from over 20 countries.

It’s a great pity that the impressive civilianization of the military regime in Burma/Myanmar and the reforms the now-civilian government of President Thein Sein are being dimmed by the decision to use air power against the Kachin rebels.

The Kachins are a group of six ethnic groups who largely inhabit the Kachin Hills in northern Burma’s Kachin State and neighboring areas of China and India. Most the Kachin people are Christians. A big minority are Buddhist, like the majority of the Burmese people. Some Kachins are still animists, their ancestors’ religion.

That brief description should make us Filipinos, and for that matter most Southeast Asians, feel a sense of affinity with the Kachins. For we Malay Christians, who call ourselves Filipinos, also had animist ancestors. In fact, some of our fellow Malay-Indonesian Filipinos in northern Luzon and in Mindanao (who are referred to as Lumads) are still animist, though like the Kachins they are a dwindling sector of the population.

Why did the military leaders of Myanmar decide to use the most destructive weapons—air power—against the Kachin rebels?

No control over the generals?

Their action seems to suggest that President Thein Sein no longer can impose obedience on Burma’s generals. For from all of his public pronouncements Myanmar’s leader has a mind to win the rebels to the government side through mild and peaceful means.

The funny thing is that as a result of the air attacks on the Kachin rebels Beijing and Washington are now both castigating President Thien Sein’s government.

They are angry with Napyidaw (that’s the name of the new Myanmar capital, which is some 320 kilometers away from the previous capital Yangon or Rangoon, that Rudyard Kipling knew) for different reasons.

The United States is chiding the Burmese government’s heavy hand against the Kachins for human rights reasons. Also, one can imagine the pressure that American congressmen and senators are now getting from both Catholic and Protestant groups to do something to stop the Burmese air force from destroying the homes and churches of the Kachins.

China’s motive for complaining is different. China would in fact love to see Washington and Napyidaw quarrel over the military’s treatment of the mainly Christian Kachins.

China wants that because it finds the growing friendly and collaborative ties between the Americans and the Burmese threatening to Beijing’s interests.

Still, Beijing had to lodge a diplomatic protest because three bombs fell on Chinese territory during the Burmese airforce’s attacks on the Kachins.

Said the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman: “The Chinese side has launched representations with the Myanmar side requiring them to take effective and immediate measures to avoid the repetition of similar incidents.”

The bombs landed just inside China last Sunday evening. There were no casualties, she told reporters at a regular media briefing.

Fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army in the far north of Myanmar/Burma has worsened in recent days as government forces battled to regain one of their bases that the rebels had taken over.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Kachin state since June 2011, when a 17-year ceasefire between the government and the Kachin Independence Army, the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organization, broke down.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman refused to be drawn into commenting on whether China would mediate between the two sides in an effort to end a conflict, which has overshadowed wider political reforms in the country.

“The issue concerning northern Myanmar is Myanmar’s internal affair and we hope that the Myanmar government can appropriately deal with the issue through peaceful negotiation,” she said.

USA has to sympathize with the Kachins

The US has to sympathize with the Kachin rebels who rebels are calling for greater political rights and an end to human rights abuses by the Burmese army.

Clashes in Kachin, along with communal unrest in western Rakhine state, have cast a shadow over Myanmar’s widely praised emergence from decades of army rule.

US President Barack Obama went to Yangon in a historic visit last year, with Washington keen to expand its influence in a country where China has had almost unchallenged dominance.

News that reach the West about abuses by the military and policies of the Myanmar government will turn Christian groups against the Obama administration’s policy to be closer to Burma.

One piece of bad news was sent to us by a Christian group. It says that that the Myanmar Department of Energy is forcing a Roman Catholic Church to move its cemetery which is beside a road in Kawa Hka, Myitkyina, in Kachin State. The government needs the land so it can set up an electrical transmission facility where the cemetery is.

The church does not have legal titles to the land. It received a notice in June last year to remove the cemetery that was built in the ’60s. The government has offered no compensation for taking over the cemetery.

The Catholic Church is trying to raise the necessary funds to purchase new land to in order to move the cemetery.

“The government told us we need to move but they didn’t provide replacement land. We thought they would give us at least between 20 to 30 acres so we can move the burial plots,” said Father Hkun Awng.

Kachin singers and actors, Kai Dim, Zau Ding, Zau Doi Hkawng, Zau Mun Awng, Mun Pan, Lahpai La Ja, Kumhtung Seng Ra organized a fundraising concert on July 9 to raise money to buy new land for the church cemetery.

Myanmar and Indonesia will promote and further enhance their existing bilateral relations, cooperation and people-to-people contacts between the two countries.

“Myanmar and Indonesia cherish their friendly relations based on mutual understanding and respect. Both countries support each other at regional and international forums,” Myanmar Ambassador to Jakarta U Min Lwin said at a ceremony to commemorate Myanmar’s 65th anniversary of its independence on Friday evening at the Borobudur Hotel in Central Jakarta.

He said Myanmar and Indonesia had maintained and enjoyed cordial and friendly relations since the time of the independence struggles of both countries. “We also share many similarities in our political and security situation, in culture and tradition as well as historical perspectives,” the ambassador said.

Myanmar declared its independence from Britain on Jan. 4, 1948.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa congratulated both the people and the government of Myanmar on their Independence Day commemoration. “Our relations have been strengthened,” said Marty, in appreciation of the ongoing process of democratization and transformation in the country.

On the invitation of the Myanmar government, Marty is scheduled to visit Myanmar on Jan. 7-8.

Myanmar and Indonesia established diplomatic relations on Dec. 27, 1949. Both countries were founding members of the Bandung Conference, also known as the Asia-Africa Conference, held in April 1955. The landmark conference led to the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement.

During the visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral cooperation was signed in Yangon on March 1, 2006.

The agreement has enabled the two countries to promote further bilateral cooperation in all sectors, particularly in the areas of the economy, trade and investment, energy, mines, forestry, agriculture and fisheries, transportation, education and training, tourism, defense and security.

As a follow up, the foreign ministers-led first Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) was convened in Jakarta in February 2007. The second JCBC was held in Yangon in December 2009.

“I am pleased to report that preparations are underway to convene the third JCBC in Yogyakarta in early 2013,” said U Min Lwin.

More recently, Myanmar President Thein Sein met Yudhoyono the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh on Nov. 20, 2012. Thein Sein asked Indonesia to help his government resolve ongoing ethnic tensions in the country’s western Rakhine state, where more than 110,000 people, the vast majority of them Muslims known as Rohingya, have been

displaced.

Yudhoyono stressed that the problem had to be resolved since it had attracted international attention, noting that the issue was a communal conflict, not a religious clash as portrayed to the public.

Besides efforts to end the conflict, Thein Sein said that Myanmar’s government had devoted a large amount of funds for various programs to alleviate suffering and for community development.

The army has been placed on high alert after major clashes between Myanmar troops and Shan rebel soldiers yesterday threatened to spill across the border.

A source at the 17th Infantry Regiment special task force in Mae Hong Son said Myanmar troops had engaged in fierce fighting with soldiers from the Shan State Army (SSA) at Doi Nak Ka, about five kilometres from the border village of Ban Rak Thai in Mae Hong Son’s Muang district. The source said the army had been placed on full alert to prevent armed groups from crossing into Thailand.

The clash had erupted in the morning and was still raging yesterday evening, the source said.

The task force also sent soldiers to protect residents in border villages in case the fighting spilled over the border.

A 45-year-old villager from Ban Rak Thai said gunfire and artillery could be clearly heard coming from Myanmar, but no stray rounds had crossed the border.

Thai nationals who had gone to work on Myanmar farms were sent home.

A senior Myanmar military source said fighting broke out after the 514th Infantry Battalion learned of a large movement of SSA soldiers at Doi Nak Ka.

The Myanmar army believed the Shan soldiers were preparing to obstruct the building of a road by an army engineering unit. The road, from Tha Huayka to Ban Hua Muang, is being built in preparation for the launch of the Asean Economic Community in 2015.

The 514th Infantry Battalion sent soldiers to protect the army engineers, resulting in fierce fighting with the Shan soldiers, the source said.

In another development, businesses in Ranong want the government to rapidly resolve the problem of overlapping claims on islands in the Kraburi River between Thailand and Myanmar.

Without urgent action, the problem could escalate into a serious conflict, similar to what has happened on the Thai-Cambodia border, said Nit Aui-tengkeng, the chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries in Ranong.

He said businesses in Ranong had submitted a letter to Surapong Chainam, an adviser to the foreign minister, calling for the government to urgently settle the problem, but had seen no progress.

Thailand and Myanmar both claim Koh Laem, Koh Kan and Koh Kee Nok at the mouth of the Kraburi River, Mr Nit said.

CHIANG RAI – An unidentified foreigner is believed to have committed suicide in a bizarre way, putting his head in a water-filled plastic bag and then sealing it with a copper wire around his neck, in a field near the Myanmar border, reports said.

His body was found in a grass field about 300 metres from the Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Faa Luang district on Thursday.

A soldier patrolling the area found the body and alerted the police.

There was no identification on the body. Police said the deceased was a Caucasian male, probably aged 25-30 years. He had been dead for two to three days.

Police said the dead man’s head was in a plastic bag full of water and secured around his neck with a copper wire.

A preliminary investigation of the scene found no trace of anything that would suggest he had been murdered, police said. There were no signs of a struggle.

Police also found his belongings, a wallet with 600 baht in it, a phone, a tablet PC, and a pocket knife, and a motorcycle neatly covered with a sheet parked near his body. Police believe that the bike was rented.

Police said they had not ruled out murder and were waiting the autopsy results. They would further examine the items found with him in the hope they would provide clues to help identify the man.

BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — China’s air force issued a statement on Saturday saying no Myanmarese jets have entered Chinese territory.

The statement came in response to reports that Myanmarese fighter jets had mistakenly entered China after armed conflict broke out in northern Myanmar.

According to the statement, China’s air force has tightened surveillance over territorial air across the China-Myanmar border since the conflict began. The closest Myanmarese jets are five kilometers away from the border.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed on Friday that three bombs landed in China on the evening of Dec. 30, 2012 during the armed conflict between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army.

Hua said China made representations to Myanmar afterwards. “The Chinese side demands the Myanmar side immediately take effective measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.”

The video link shot by the humanitarian group Free Burma Rangers, and publicized by BBC is an authentic proof, that real power is the hands of the sullen face, bulldog Than Shwe who controls the eleven member NDSC (National Defense and Security Council) hand picked by him, where Thein Sein is almost powerless and could not do anything.

Than Shwe had successfully tricked the world and now got all the international community recognizing the quasi-military government.

Burma Air Force known in Burmese as Tamadaw Lae have mercilessly bombed the ethnic Kachin without any discrimination, at a time when the world’s media is highlighting of how the Syrian planes are bombing its own citizens? The UNSC itself is discussing about Syria but seems to have forgotten about the Burmese atrocities and the holocaust. But the cat was led out of the bag when the BBC showed the above video and the Tatmadaw theory of “Lying the very concept of Truth,” with the justification of using only for supplying their troops came to be known by everyone else .

So why is the world so eager to accept this rogue regime into their community? The raison d’être is simple because Burma as they construe is inching towards democracy and there is a virgin market to be exploited. How can one believes in the quasi military government even though its president in his New Year speech ask the people to trust in what the government said when they said one thing and did the opposite e.g. they were the ones that did not honor their own elections in 1990s as they are afraid that whoever won the elections will draw up the county’s constitution. It is understandable that China graciously allowed the Burmese airplanes to use its airspace to attack the Kachin because the oil pipe line will soon go through that area and China has all the time have supported the Burmese Juntas in its war against its own people.

The Chinese companies are fat from the sweat and blood of the entire Burmese people e.g. the Letpadaun copper Mines an open pit mine too much detrimental to ecology and environment, not to mention the fast rail track and the oil pipeline from Arakan to Kunming. Hence it is not shy about its support especially at the UNSC and in any international forums. The Burmese people have known the Chinese mentality for long as it is but one of the very few neighbors (in Southeast Asia only the Vietnamese and the Burmese dared to fight the Chinese) who dared to take on the Chinese since the time of Kublai Khan.2 In the Burmese language they are called Ta Yoke because the Burmese consider the Chinese to be very mean. In fact seeing the economic gains it has allowed the Burmese Tatmadaw to use the Chinese territory to attack the Kachin from behind and forcing the Kachin to sign a truce in 1994. By this act China was able to destroy the fragile ethnic unity. Now is helping the Tatmadaw to wipe out the Kachin race once and for all. Dictatorial regimes support another dictatorial regime especially in exchange for economic gains are natural.

But what surprise us, is the attitude of a great super power the US. It was less than two months after US President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Burma where at the Rangoon University he highlighted the Kachin’s case on Nov. 19. “You now have a moment of remarkable opportunity to transform ceasefires into lasting settlements, and to pursue peace where conflicts still linger, including in Kachin State,” Where is the theory where President Obama claimed that America would extend a hand to the dictators if they would only unclenched their fist?. The Burmese regime has not only unclenched their fist but is attempting to deal a knock out blow to the Kachin?

Even though we knew that the reestablishment of US-Burma relations in 2012 was the outcome of years of diplomatic maneuvering following the downgrading of US representation in Burma from ambassador to chargé d’affaires in the aftermath of 1988’s democratic uprising. But it was also the result of the US government’s dual-track policy of carrot- and-stick policy. As condition for normalizing bilateral relations, the US government made some fundamental demands: the release of all political prisoners (approximately 2,000, held in prisons across Burma in the beginning of 2012), inclusive dialogue with opposition parties and ethnic minorities, adherence to the UN non-proliferation agreements on nuclear weapons and the ending of any illicit cooperation with North Korea, greater accountability on human rights issues, and ending violence against ethnic nationalities. The US government also asked the Burmese government to hold free and fair by-elections.3

The Thein Sein administration responded with a total release of 651 political prisoners and signed cease-fire agreements with several ethnic armed groups: Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), Chin National Front (CNF), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Karen National Union (KNU), Karen Peace Council (KPC), National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Khaplang (NSCN-K), New Mon State Party (NMSP), Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA), and Shan State Army-North (SSAN), but did not deal with UNFC, the United Nationalities Federal Council of which Kachin is prominent member, clearly proving that it is practicing the divide and rule policy

. Even now it is endeavoring to divide the cease fire groups who are economically inclined and those who really wants the political settlement but various tricks as so evident in Karen. It has held April by-elections successfully where the NLD won in 43 of the 44 seats.

The Burmese government had seen the writings on the wall that the full participation of NLD and other political parties associated with ethnic nationalities boosted the government’s claim for legitimacy and credibility of its seven-step “road-map” toward democracy that initially began in 2003.

So the Obama administration promised to reciprocate action for action, Derek Mitchell, Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma, was confirmed as the new US ambassador on June 29. The US investment sanctions were lifted on July 11, which was followed by the suspension of import bans on goods from Burma on September 27. The lifting of investment sanctions enabled US companies and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to begin reestablishing links with Burma. In reestablishing relations with Burma, the US has achieved four important things: the triumph of diplomacy over isolation; assurance that Burma has not engaged in any illicit engagement with North Korea on nuclear programs; reinforced its role as a symbol of democracy and human rights around the world; and a firmer foundation for its presence in Southeast Asia. In addition, the improvement of relations enabled the US government to reestablish the US Agency for International Development (USAID) mission to Burma, lend support for a normal UN Development Program (UNDP) country program, and facilitate travel to the US for select Burmese officials and parliamentarians. It also paved the way for US and Burma to cooperate on the recovery of Americans missing in action or prisoners of war from World War II.4

On the Burmese side by improving bilateral relations with the United States, the Burmese government achieved its long-sought goal of legitimacy. Until the April by-elections, the US and other Western nations still considered the results of the 2010 general elections unrepresentative of the people. Unwittingly the West led by the US has fallen into Than Shwe’s trap. The end result was President Barack Obama’s visit Burma, the first-ever visit done by a sitting US president. But now with the relentless aerial bombardment over its own people even as I am writing this, what has Obama achieved in term of peace and tranquility? Is it just a kiss for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi? She has even express her doubts over the breakneck pace of normalization “Has there ever been faster restoration of US relations with a country it had once worked so hard to isolate, in the absence of either a US invasion or a revolution? I can’t think of one.” 5

No doubt both governments try their level best in taking necessary steps to improve bilateral relations but the longevity and durability of bilateral relations between the two nations will be contingent upon how democratic transition progresses inside Burma.6 Now with the aerial bombardment especially jet fighters, the mask of the regime has been revealed and the primary concern now is whether political gestures from the Burmese government will lead to addressing ethnic nationalities problems, which remain the crux of decades-old conflicts in the country. If so what is the moral of the United States of America. Is there any hope of the Burmese government sign cease-fire agreement with ethnic Kachins, and will the signed cease-fire agreements with various groups lead to guaranteeing autonomy and led to the Second Panglong Conference? If so, will be the illegal Nargis Constitution of 2008 be amended to remove the inherent role of the military in politics, which currently guarantees 25 percent of seats in the parliament without election? Will all remaining political prisoners be released unconditionally as requested by the ABSDF? What about the Arakanese Muslims? Will they be resolved amicably? There are more questions to ask then answers.

The United States and the United Nations has expressed concern over air strikes on Kachin. The United States said it was “deeply troubled” and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took “serious note”of the government army’s use of air power against its own people. What action does it follows with be the answer to the moral of US.

We construe that it is high time for a change of US policy towards the Burmese Junta through strengthening the current measures, after fixing the loopholes and implementing multilateral actions. While the regional selfish money-makers are happy with blood money from a hellish situation in Burma, the West should not let their hands be stained with blood after leaving their businesses in Burma where Generals rely on the vital economic sources such as oil and gas extraction. If the Obama administration wants to see the generals, really to unclench their fists, the crucial and vital sources energizing the regime must be completely cut off. Only then, the hard-line Generals control by Than Shwe would release their grips on power, permitting dissidents to cry out for freedom and democracy. Care should be taken about ASEAN has been undermining the US and other Western measures against the Junta over the years.7 ASEAN and other regional countries have been “black knights,” saving Burma’s military regime from Western punitive measures. A multilateral approach is needed and crucially the cooperation from the regional countries would lead to significant progress in shaping Burma’s democratic future. We strongly construe that Washington needs a better review of current measures to redefine effective policy enhancements.

In fact, Tatmadaw is a coward for in spit of superior strength in terms of men and fire power, yet it still uses air power and now realizing that their attempts at propaganda were failing it had grudgingly admitted. It raises questions about America’s invitation to Burma to observe annual Cobra Gold exercise in the region next year and the Pentagon’s commitment to provide “non-lethal” training for Burmese officers focusing on humanitarian assistance, military medicine and defense “reform.” The decision to resume military-to-military engagement at this stage is not a wise one.8

Last, but not the least is what about the champions of democracy and human rights, the 8888 Generations and the Lady? Why so silent. Not that we believe that she is satisfied with a kiss from Obama?

By KYAW PHYO THA | January 5, 2013 |

RANGOON—During an interrogation session at Rangoon’s Insein Prison in 1995, a military intelligence officer asked a 29-year-old woman sitting in front of him what her political aspirations were.

“To be a good citizen,” a weakened and pale-looking Ma Thida answered without hesitation. She had just fallen seriously ill in the infamous prison, where she was being held for her political activism.

Nearly two decades later, the Burmese writer and former prisoner of conscience said she remains concerned about politics for the same reason: because she wants to be a responsible and active citizen. For Ma Thida this means that one should be aware of what is happening in Burma and help tackle its numerous problems.

“I want to prove I have the ability to work for my country as a citizen. There are many things to do,” she said during an interview with The Irrawaddy. “It may not fit into other people’s definition of politics. But in Burma, everything is politics—environment, education, health, and so on.”

Ma Thida leads a busy life that covers these different spheres of work. She has a job as an editor at a monthly youth magazine and a weekly newspaper, while also volunteering as a general practitioner at a charity clinic (besides being a well-respected writer, she is also a trained physician). But in Burma she is perhaps best known as a leading intellectual, whose books deal with the country’s difficult political situation.

At 46 years of age, she has published nine books in Burmese and English, including two fictional works of and a prison memoir. Her latest English-language book, “The Roadmap,” a fictional story based on events in Burmese politics from 1988 to 2009, was released last year. From 2008 to 2009 she lived in the US as an International Writers Project Fellow at Brown University and a Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University.

Ma Thida studied medicine in the early 1980s and also took up writing at a young age, quickly gaining a reputation as a talented and progressive young writer. “I wanted to become a writer because I want to share what I observe around me, like poverty,” she said, adding her interest in health care developed after falling ill as a child.

Although her writing talents were recognized early on, she had to work hard to achieve success, recalled Myo Myint Nyein, a former editor at Pe Pu Hlwa magazine, where Ma Thida first honed her literary skills almost 30 years ago.

“She was very persevering. If we said: ‘Sorry, we can’t use the story you sent,’ she was always ready to give us a new one,” he said.

Soon after her writing career took off she became involved in Burma’s turbulent politics, taking up a job as a campaign assistant to Aung San Suu Kyi during the 1990 general election. The NLD won the election but its results were canceled by the military regime.

This association with the NLD leader resulted in her first book, “The Sunflower” (which only appeared in Burma 1999 as it was banned upon release in the early 1990s). The book argues that the Burmese people have towering expectations of Suu Kyi that made the democracy icon “a prisoner of applause.”

This concern is still relevant in today’s politics, according to Ma Thida. “I see no way for someone to shoulder the burden of so many people. It’s very unfair,” she said. “Asking and waiting for her leadership alone doesn’t make sense. People should cooperate and do what they can for their country by themselves.”

Still, she is hopeful for Burma’s future. “We now see the flickers of light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need transparency everywhere,” she said.

Two decades ago, her political writing made her a target for the oppressive regime and in 1993 she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for unlawful association and distribution of “unlawful literature.”

She spent six years locked up in terrible conditions, suffering from various health ailments for which she was denied medical care (at one stage, she experienced a six-month spell of fever after contracting tuberculosis). During this time, she was awarded several international human rights awards, including the PEN/ Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.

“Were it not for vipassana [Buddhist meditation], I would not have overcome the untold hardships I faced in prison,” said Ma Thida, adding that meditation helped her during long periods of solitary confinement and continues to be important in her life.

Ma Thida graduated as a general practitioner in 1993 and was about to study abroad to become a surgeon when she was arrested. “Being a qualified surgeon was my dream, but it didn’t happen,” she said. Yet, she holds no grudge towards the regime as her prison experience taught her much about life and helped her writing—and through it the plight of the Burmese people—gain recognition.

“If I hadn’t been arrested, some of my ambitions would not have been realized,” she said, adding that the mix of work she now does is satisfying. “As a doctor I do scientific work, but as a writer and editor I do an artist’s work. I feel I’m useful to the Burmese people by using two different professional skills.”

Despite her various achievements, the tireless writer and health worker said she still has dreams left, such as founding a free hospital boat to help communities along the Irrawaddy River, or setting up a publishing house for critical academic papers.

“I’m still thinking about how to make these [goals] come true. I’m ready to work with anyone or any organization that shares my interests,” she said.

By PAUL VRIEZE | January 5, 2013 |

The health of tens of thousands of villagers displaced by the Kachin conflict is quickly deteriorating due to a severe shortage of aid supplies such as food, blankets and medicine, local relief groups warned, adding that the recent escalation in the fighting between Kachin rebels and the Burmese government is terrifying villagers and affecting their safety.

“The food security situation is very serious and the political situation is very tense,” said La Rip, coordinator of the Relief Action Network for IDPs and Refugees (RANIR), which coordinates aid for the displaced ethnic Kachin in Laiza, a town in a valley on the Burma-China border.

“There are more than 15,000 people in four camps around Laiza. They are really short on food supplies. But all other camps are also short on assistance,” he told The Irrawaddy by telephone on Friday.

The fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burmese government erupted in June 2011 after a 1994 ceasefire broke down. Kachin rebels demand more autonomy but the government wants to control the resource-rich ethnic region.

An estimated 100,000 Kachin villagers have since fled the violence. They now stay in 17 camps in rebel-held areas along Burma’s mountainous northern border, which China has closed off for refugees.

Local relief groups are struggling to support the villagers as aid supplies have been running low since last month. The groups have not received any international support since July, when the Burmese government cut off UN access to the area. Meanwhile, severe winter cold has also set in.

“The UN cannot access the IDPs [internally displaced persons] along the border, and the local aid agencies cannot address the needs here by themselves,” La Rip said, adding that villagers’ health was deteriorating due to insufficient supply of food and other necessities during their long stay in the camps.

“The situation is becoming worse… They’re only getting rice and salt, not any food supplements. We are concerned about the impacts of this on pregnant women, lactating mothers and young children,” La Rip said, adding that a survey in October found that a third of all young children were already undernourished.

Mary Tauwn, a relief worker from Wun Tawng Ningtwey (Light of the Kachin People) said the aid group lacked supplies for the six camps that it supports, while food and other items were expensive and scarce because all local roads were blocked.

“We can just provide for basic food stuffs like rice, salt and garlic. Some IDPs ask us: ‘Can you provide us some meat for nutrition?’ But we cannot,” she said, adding that villagers also required more clothing, blankets and medicine during the winter cold.

To make matters worse, fighting between Burmese government and Kachin guerrillas has intensified recently, with the Burmese military launching airstrikes with helicopter gunships and fighter jets in the strategically important Lajayang area, close to the KIA headquarters in Laiza. Ground fighting has reportedly also worsened in many areas.

La Rip said the intensification in the fighting was endangering villagers, for example when they go to inspect their village crops, while people in Laiza valley were deeply concerned as the fighting draws closer and jets bombed the surrounding mountains.

“Local people mostly stay home—normal life is crippled,” he said. “People are very scared that the government might take Laiza and there will be indiscriminate bombing and shelling.”

Mary Tauwn said that in Mai Ja Yang—an area north of Laiza, where Wun Tawng Ningtwey is based—ground fighting was getting closer. “Since [Thursday] morning we can hear mortar shells falling here. Some of the IDPs are frightened,” she said.

RANIR and other Kachin groups are now calling for immediate international support for the displaced. The groups sent out an appeal on Dec. 27 and on Thursday they sent a request for help to the Geneva headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The letter warned of “daily escalation of attacks,” AP reported.

“The situation is very urgent and we need to settle this issue,” La Rip said, explaining that if international aid could not reach rebel-controlled camps by road, then it should be provided to local relief groups, which could find ways to distribute it in the camps.

“I also urge the government to allow international aid to come in again and to end the fighting unconditionally,” he added.

International criticism of the Kachin conflicts has grown recently and the use of airpower by the Burmese government has caused particular concern. The US and UK governments, along with the UN, called on the warring parties this week to open negotiations and to allow international aid into Kachin-held camps.

Just more than a year after Burma installed its first ATM, local banks are preparing a new system that would allow people to transfer money through mobile phone applications.

Leading local banks are expected to launch the new mobile phone services early this year, a banking official said on Thursday.

The services are intended to ease money flow as businesses rush into the long-isolated country, which is opening up after decades of military rule.

Pe Myint, managing director of the Co-operative Bank, a leading private bank in the country, said on Thursday that he met with state-owned Myanmar Post and Telecommunications (MPT), the country’s only telecommunications operator, to discuss possible plans.

“When we start this service in Burma, all local leading banks that operate ATMs will do the same,” Pe Myint said.

He said the new system would allow people to transfer money with a mobile phone application, with account holders receiving a secure code number to withdraw and deposit funds in an ATM.

“Right now we’re just discussing how to provide this service in Burma, and we’re hoping to start rolling it out as early as April,” he said of the Co-operative Bank, which operates about 50 ATMs in main cities around the country. “If we run up against technical problems or operating problems, maybe we won’t start until June or July this year.”

“I don’t know when other banks will start, but all of them are trying to introduce this service as quickly as possible because of the market share,” he added.

He said that because the country still lacked an extensive ATM network and many account holders in rural regions did not have access to mobile phone networks, the Co-operative Bank would continue to keep representatives at local banking locations for money transfers.

Burma’s first ATM was installed in November 2011.

In 2012, ATMs in major cities began accepting transactions from international credit giants Visa and MasterCard, though there are still some technical problems with cards issued in Singapore.

“Singapore banks increased security for Visa and MasterCard, so tourists [in Burma] with cards from the city-state can’t take out money yet,” Pe Myint said. “But we’re working on fixing that to make things more convenient for them very soon.”