BURMA RELATED NEWS – FEBRUARY 13, 2013
Feb 14th, 2013
Reuters – SingTel says has expressed interest in Myanmar telecom license
IANS – Myanmar president stresses political stability
IANS – India, Myanmar have special relations: Meira Kumar
Australian Food News – Myanmar opens up for food trade opportunities
Bangkok Post – Myanmar warships to visit Phuket
The Washington Times – Human rights advocates warn of backsliding in Myanmar
ABS-CBNNEWS – Myanmar given too much leeway for SEAG events
The Nation – Singha eyes brewery in Myanmar after alliance
The Japan Times – Firms hesitant on Myanmar despite potential
The Guardian – Burma’s universities open for business but still seeking academic autonomy
VOA News – Burmese Students Find Hope in University Revival
The Irrawaddy – Burma Govt and Kachin Rebels to Meet Next Week
The Irrawaddy – Girl’s Plight Highlights Abuses Suffered by Migrants
The Irrawaddy – US to Back NKorea Human Rights Probe
Mizzima News – Dispute arises between Myanmar oil company and local businesspeople
Mizzima News – Myanmar constitution does not benefit ethnic people, says KNU
Mizzima News – Land prices soaring around Dawei SEZ
DVB News – Ministry set to broadcast three new TV channels
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SingTel says has expressed interest in Myanmar telecom license
Reuters – 1 hour 42 minutes ago
SINGAPORE, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) has expressed interest to obtain a telecom license in Myanmar, but the outcome is still unclear, CEO Chua Sock Koong said on Thursday.
She told a news conference that Myanmar has indicated that there are two more licenses to be given. (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata)
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IANS – Myanmar president stresses political stability
By Indo Asian News Service | IANS – Tue, Feb 12, 2013
Yangon, Feb 12 (IANS) Myanmar President U Thein Sein Tuesday stressed upon the importance of political stability and end of armed conflicts for democracy to flourish in the country.
In his message on the occasion of Myanmar’s Union Day which falls Tuesday, U Thein Sein said constant efforts are being made for all inclusiveness in the political process and priority is being given to peace and stability, the rule of law and socio-economic development for a flourishing democratic system.
On Feb 12, 1947, all Myanmar nationals led by General Aung San held the historical Panglong Conference in northern Shan state and signed the Panglong Agreement, claiming independence unanimously.
The day the Panglong Agreement was signed was designated as Myanmar’s Union Day.
Myanmar regained independence from the British colonialists Jan 4, 1948.
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IANS – India, Myanmar have special relations: Meira Kumar
By Indo Asian News Service | IANS – 10 hours ago
New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) India and Myanmar enjoy special relations sharing civilizational ties in cultural, religious, spiritual and other areas, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said Wednesday.
The Speaker is heading the first-ever Indian parliamentary delegation to Myanmar.
According to a release from her office, Meira Kumar met President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Thein Sein and Chairperson of the National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi besides the Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament of Myanmar Khin Aung Myint and other leaders.
Myanmar President Thein Sein hoped the visit of the Indian Parliamentary delegation would not only contribute to strengthening relations between the two parliaments but also strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
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Australian Food News – Myanmar opens up for food trade opportunities
February 13, 2013
Kate Carey
The Australian government will be opening an Austrade office in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) this year as part of the Australian Government’s drive to help businesses break into one of Asia’s newest emerging and growth markets.
At the same time, a new report by the firm Stanton Emms Strategy Consultants, has described Myanmar as one of the world’s “food surplus” countries, “producing between 55 and 60 milliontonnes of agrifoods per annum.”
The report highlighted that while Myanmar is strong in the supply of basic food products, but the opposite is the case for processed food and drinks. According to the report, more than 50 per cent of import value in 2011 comprised processed food and drinks, a situation that has developed since 2005 because Myanmar’s local food and drink industry has not had the capabilities, or the capacity, to deal with the rapidly growing middle income and lower income fringe demand.
Australia’s Minister for Trade and Competitiveness Dr Craig Emerson said that the Austrade office in Myanmar would be opened in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial centre. When fully operational, it will be staffed by an Australian Trade Commissioner supported by a number of locally-engaged business development managers.
“Recognising and responding quickly to new opportunities in Asia’s growth and emerging markets is central to putting the Asian Century White Paper into practice,” Dr Emerson said.
The Australian Government last year lifted travel and financial sanctions against Myanmar in response to political reforms in the country.
Dr Emerson said that Austrade’s presence in the country will consolidate a commercial relationship while giving assistance to Australian companies looking to invest in the country.
“Myanmar is strategically located between growth centres such as India, China and Thailand, and is South East Asia’s largest mainland nation. The country has extensive natural resources, including oil and gas, and a growing population,” Dr Emerson said.
The Government also announced in the White Paper the appointment of a dedicated Ambassador to ASEAN, to be based in Jakarta. Last year it announced an Austrade-managed consulate in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and plans to open a new consulate in Chengdu, China.
The Austrade office in Yangon is expected to help Australian companies establish a presence in Myanmar’s promising but challenging market, forecast to grow at around 6 per cent in 2013.
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Bangkok Post – Myanmar warships to visit Phuket
Published: 13 Feb 2013 at 15.00
Online news:
Two warships of the Myanmar navy will make a historic visit to Phuket port next week to mark 65 years of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Myanmar, a navy source said.
The warships, UMS 561 and UMS 562, will be in Phuket port for three days, between Feb 20-23. They will be welcomed by officers from the 3rd Naval Area Command.
It will be the first visit by Myanmar warships to Thailand, the source said.
“The visit is a sign of good relations between the Thai and Myanmar navies and shows Myanmar is now more open. There will be talks about military relations, possibly about a joint marine patrol for the first time,” said the source.
The source said the navy commander of Myanmar will make a separate visit to Thailand. He will make a courtesy call on navy commander-in-chief Adm Surasak Roonruangwong in Bangkok.
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The Washington Times – Human rights advocates warn of backsliding in Myanmar
By Ashish Kumar Sen
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Human rights advocates warned the Obama administration Wednesday against lifting sanctions on Myanmar’s military-backed government because its democratic reforms could be reversed.
“My unsolicited advice to the U.S. government on this issue would be to go slow and to retain as much leverage as you can,” Frank Jannuzi, who heads Amnesty International’s Washington office, said at a panel discussion at the Heritage Foundation.
Washington’s relationship with Myanmar has warmed over the past year, as President Thein Sein’s government has released hundreds of political prisoners, legalized opposition political parties, eased restrictions on the press and enacted laws to strengthen workers’ rights.
The Obama administration rewarded Myanmar by waiving import sanctions. Congress in August extended some sanctions by a year but gave President Obama the authority to waive the import sanctions.
Mr. Obama visited Myanmar in November, becoming the first U.S. president to visit the country once known as Burma.
“We do need to move slowly … in terms of how we respond and reward the progress,” said Tom Malinowski, director of Human Rights Watch’s office in Washington.
“Our policy needs to be tied very, very clearly and precisely to what is happening on the ground in [Myanmar] at any given moment.”
Human rights activists say U.S. sanctions were partially responsible for persuading Myanmar’s leadership to adopt democratic reforms.
“Now we are in a situation where those sanctions have been suspended and they are en route to being rescinded, and so the question becomes: How does the United States use its leverage to try to ensure that there is no backsliding on the process of reform?” Mr. Jannuzi said.
“The United States must retain as much leverage as possible and appreciate the extraordinary value to a government that lacks democratic legitimacy … of being within the U.S. embrace,” he added.
“This is not a gift to be given lightly and is one that the United States should use to ensure that there is real progress on all of the unaddressed issues.”
Myanmar’s army is engaged in a war with ethnic Karen rebels in the country’s north. In the western Rakhine state, stateless Muslim Rohingyas have been targets of communal violence.
The government has released more than 700 political prisoners over the past 18 months, but the freed prisoners can be rearrested. Thein Sein’s government recently authorized the formation of a committee to review and release all remaining political prisoners.
The judiciary is flawed and the military still dominates the economy and politics.
“Reform is only being driven by a handful of people,” said Jared Genser, managing director of Perseus Strategies and a former international legal counsel to Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
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ABS-CBNNEWS – Myanmar given too much leeway for SEAG events
By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star)
Posted at 02/13/2013 2:15 PM | Updated as of 02/13/2013 2:15 PM
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia said there is no point in questioning the calendar of events lined up by organizers of the 27th Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar in December.
“There is no point for appealing for consideration. Myanmar has already issued a categorical statement that there will be no more changes in the sports they have approved,” said Garcia.
Instead, the Philippine Olympic Committee should ask the SEA Games Federation to review its policies regarding the calendar of events for future stagings of the biennial competition.
“We should make a stand and ask the federation to review the policies they have adopted all these years,” Garcia told yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate.
Garcia said he can’t understand why host countries, in this case Myanmar, are being given so much liberty choosing the events they want to include and exclude in the Games.
Myanmar is hosting the SEA Games from Dec. 11 to 22 and in its desire to move up the standings it has included close to 60 events practically unknown to some countries.
Myanmar also scratched Olympic sports like gymnastics, lawn tennis and beach volleyball, and had included certain events in chess that players from other countries hardly play.
“The host countries are being given the leeway to include certain sports and sometimes it can be abused. The Philippine Olympic Committee will have to decide what steps to take,” Garcia said.
When the Philippines hosted the SEA Games in 2005, it only included arnis as the indigenous sport in the calendar. It offered only six gold medals, and the Philippines only won three.
Myanmar is heavily favored to dominate the close to 60 events it included, most of them in subjective combat sports like vovinam and kempo with 18 golds each.
Garcia said the Philippine should really consider sending a token delegation even if it means sending just one, 10 or 50 athletes to vie in Olympic sports.
“To make a boycott is a serious move for us. This does not require a boycott. But what we can do is participate in the least number of events with not more than 50 athletes,” he said.
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THE NATION – Singha eyes brewery in Myanmar after alliance
MATAVEE TUNRUNGWETJARUN
February 14, 2013 1:00 am
Singha Corporation plans to set up a brewery in Myanmar as part of its new strategic alliance with Carlsberg.
Piti Bhirombhakdi, regional marketing director, said yesterday that Singha was fully committed to making Carlsberg the No 1 premium beer in Thailand and its own Singha beer a top-three brand in Asia within five years. Currently it ranks fifth or sixth in the region.
“We will spend Bt200 million this year in promoting Carlsberg beer in Thailand and some neighbouring Asean markets. We expect to sell 5 million litres of Carlsberg in the first year and to grow 15-20 per cent annually in the following years. We want to push sales of Carlsberg beer up to 35 million litres in five years,” he said.
“We’re not just reintroducing Carlsberg beer into the Thai market. We also want our Singha beer to penetrate deeper into the global market by capitalising on Carlsberg’s global brewery and distribution network, particularly in Asia and Europe.
“With a good partner, we can make our own brand grow actively in the market, particularly Asean, which will become a single market with more than 600 million people.”
Henrik Andersen, Carlsberg regional chief executive officer for Indochina, said the collaboration with Singha was a milestone in the brewing industry – the largest and most successful Thai brewer joining forces with one of the world’s largest brewery groups.
He said it was a unique combination of Singha’s local market strength and expertise combined with Carlsberg’s worldwide distribution footprint and state-of-the-art know-how and technology. The two companies share a great history and heritage and are to a great extent built on the same values and principles, he said.
WIN-WIN
“The collaboration is a win-win as it not only covers Thailand but also markets outside Thailand, in particular Europe and Asia,” he said.
Carlsberg operates eight breweries in Asean with combined production capacity of 1.25 billion litres. Two are in Laos, one in Cambodia, four in Vietnam and one in Malaysia.
To reintroduce Carlsberg beer, Singha says it will draw on the strengths of its distribution network with more than 100 dealers and focus on big cities in 21 provinces, which are also tourism destinations, particular in the South, which shows the highest sales volume of premium beer.
Carlsberg available in Thailand will be imported from the Danish company’s Myanmar and Laos breweries until it can be produced locally in the near future by Singha’s brewery.
Singha has expanded its brewery in Nakhon Pathom’s Bang Len district by 50 million litres to 1.7 billion litres.
It is constructing a brewery in Prachin Buri’s Kabin Buri district that will be completed by mid-2014. Then the company will be ready |to produce premium beer for Carlsberg.
The beer market has enjoyed growth of 8-9 per cent annually, but there are very few players in the 75-million-litre premium segment worth Bt630 million.
PREMIUM SEGMENT
The premium segment is expected to become more active after the reintroduction of Carlsberg. It is expected to increase by 10-12 per cent this year.
Singha Corp’s sales rose 15 per cent to Bt130 billion last year. It aims to boost its share in the local beer market to 70 per cent within five years from 68-69 per cent now.
Carlsberg has been paying attention to the Asian market over recent years because of the economic conditions and the maturity of the beer markets in Europe and North America.
It has been focusing on growing in emerging markets, especially in Asia, where consumption can grow enormously, for example in India, China, Laos and Vietnam.
Beer consumption in Asia has been forecast to grow by about 5 per cent annually from 2011 to 2016.
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The Japan Times – Firms hesitant on Myanmar despite potential
Kyodo, Feb 14, 2013
A major Japanese business delegation of around 140 officials, including top executives of big firms, has returned from a six-day tour of Myanmar and Cambodia.
Their focus was chiefly on strengthening relations with Myanmar, but some businesses appear hesitant about entering the country, which is seen as Asia’s last untapped market and a target for businesses from China, South Korea and the West.
Japanese business leaders are fully aware of the country’s potential, with its population of around 60 million.
“Yangon, which is Myanmar’s largest city, is 30 years behind Thailand’s Bangkok and five years behind Vietnam’s Hanoi in economic development,” said Shiro Asahina, chairman of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Yangon.
After years of isolation, Myanmar has long been left out of the region’s economic growth, but this means it has ample room for development.
Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Keidanren business association and leader of the delegation, expressed optimism about the opportunities at hand.
“Using the comparison of climbing a mountain, the country is just about to start scaling a peak,” he said.
One of Myanmar’s attractions is the high literacy rate of more than 90 percent, which Asahina said will make it easier for Myanmar to accelerate growth.
He believes the country “can catch up with others in half the time” if it strengthens vocational training such as in business documentation.
President Thein Sein told the Japanese delegation on Feb. 5 that his country is the world’s best investment destination. The economy and industry ministers spoke passionately of plans to expand power plants and industrial parks.
But Japanese businesses have traditionally been slow to invest in Myanmar. Japan accounted for 0.5 percent of the aggregate investments made in Myanmar from 1989 to 2011. This compares with around 35 percent for China and 7 percent for South Korea.
Hesitance stems in part from skepticism. “Is Myanmar really counting on Japan?” a delegate asked. Skeptics say China had friendly relations with Myanmar even when it was ruled by the junta and will overwhelm businesses from other countries through aggressive pricing and other tactics.
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The Guardian – Burma’s universities open for business but still seeking academic autonomy
Andy Heath Guardian Professional, Wednesday 13 February 2013 07.29 EST
With the easing of international sanctions, UK universities are re-engaging with Burma at a time when the country’s higher education sector finds itself caught between two reviews
It’s lunchtime, but in the offices of the National League for Democracy (NLD), no one is stopping work. As we go up a tight staircase into an office hung with portraits of leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her father General Aung San, activists work energetically around tables strewn with documents and maps. Student volunteers flick between drafting policy papers on antiquated PCs and checking Facebook on their iPhones.
The NLD, Burma’s main opposition party, is investing great energy in drafting the country’s new higher education bill. It is a political priority for the party and its leader, who has called on international support to rebuild the country’s universities.
Last week we arrived in Burma for the first UK higher education sector-wide mission since the civilian government was returned last year. Led by the UK Higher Education International Unit and Training Gateway, the mission includes sector organisations and representatives from the Universities of Manchester, Nottingham, Roehampton, UEA and the Institute of Education. In this, the mission is following in the footsteps of many UK institutions that have visited the country and in some cases are already developed successful partnerships here.
Why now? Despite the genuine optimism generated by 18 months of rapid political reform, the generals retain control. The latest budget, hailed as a breakthrough, still allocates three times as much funding to the military as to education.
But with the easing of international sanctions, it is timely for UK institutions to reengage with the academic community in Burma. In London last year, Aung San Suu Kyi told a joint session of the Houses of Parliament: “It is in education in particular that I hope the British can play a major role. We need short-term results, so that our people may see that democratisation has a tangible, positive impact on their lives.”
Daw Suu, as she is affectionately known by supporters, has described Burma’s education system as “desperately weak”. In the 1950s, Yangon University was the jewel in the crown of south-east Asian higher education. University leaders and government officials came to Burma to learn how to design a successful higher education system.
Today, Burma’s universities bear the scars of decades of under-investment, neglect, and even deliberate degradation. University campuses are lacking basic communication infrastructure. Scientific equipment in laboratories is limited and outdated, and libraries are under-resourced.
There is, though, a sincere enthusiasm to collaborate internationally. During the delegation, we heard from university rectors, government officials and opposition leaders who all saw greater collaboration overseas as paramount to raising quality at home.
Attracting foreign academics to Burma for short-term visits for teaching and research is an immediate priority. After decades of isolation, Burma’s academics want contact with their counterparts overseas. Academics from Japan, Germany and South Korea are already in Yangon University, funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. They are delivering lectures and seminars, supervise and examine PhD candidates, and develop plans for joint research projects.
In teaching, the government wants to encourage foreign universities to run programmes in Burma. Opportunities exist to develop joint and double degrees, but in the short term delivering certificate and diploma programmes may prove to be the best starting point for partnerships between UK and Burmese universities. “These are quick wins,” U Zaw Htay, director general for higher education, told us. “We’d like to see these start tomorrow.”
International branch campuses are also part of the government’s plans. A private universities bill is planned, which will allow overseas institutions to establish joint or wholly-owned campuses in Burma. The policy also has the support of the opposition NLD.
Overlapping reviews
However, these opportunities exist in a policy environment which is beset by complications. Both government and opposition are leading simultaneous and overlapping reviews of higher education policy. The Comprehensive Education Sector Review (CESR) is led by the Ministry of Education, with considerable financial and technical support from major international donors including UNICEF, AusAid and the UK’s DfID. Its first rapid-review phase has just been completed.
Meanwhile, a parallel review process is being led by parliamentarians and the NLD to develop and draft the new higher education bill. Although no overarching vision has yet been articulated, three clear policies can already be identified: firstly, freeing university leadership from the direct control of the government; secondly, prioritising resources to support the restoration of Yangon University as an international-standard research university; and thirdly, enshrining academic freedom – not just academics’ and students’ freedom of speech and freedom to publish, but also allowing university applicants to choose their own disciplines, instead of being assigned subjects according to high school grades.
The two processes are neither complementary nor cooperative. The government is unlikely to accept the NLD’s key demand of full institutional autonomy. Contact between the two sides has all but ended in recent months.
A clash of timetables is also imminent. The NLD expects to table the new higher education bill later this year, by which point the CESR will not yet have completed its main review process or made its recommendations. It is unclear where this would leave the government-led CESR should the bill pass into law.
There is another uncertainty, altogether more fundamental. The speed of the political transformation in Burma since the release of Aung San Suu Kyi last year has been encouraging. But she herself has warned against “reckless optimism” and locals remain sceptical that the current ‘opening up’ is genuine and permanent. The elections scheduled for 2015 represent a true unknown and even the most confident Burma-watchers are reluctant to speculate on the political landscape beyond this point.
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VOA News – Burmese Students Find Hope in University Revival
February 13, 2013
RANGOON — Burma’s universities were once considered by many to be among the best in East Asia. But years of mismanagement and a disastrous nationalization process left the education system in such shambles that many students seek educational opportunities abroad.
Since entering parliament, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has made restoration of Burmese schools a priority, and a new attitude towards learning has emerged among policymakers.
These Burmese students are visiting a United States college fair in Rangoon, in the hopes to attend college there. Recent political reforms that have resulted in the lifting of sanctions against Burma have made this type of event possible for the very first time.
U.S. Ambassador Derek Mitchell says he hopes Burmese students can go to the United States to get a good education, but at the same time there is a need to improve local education systems.
“Most important is for it to be indigenous, and in fact we talk about universities but there’s a lot that happens before you get to university,” Mitchell says. “Primary school education, secondary school education, that has to happen here.”
When Burma’s universities were nationalized in 1964, the government controlled curricula; subjects such as history and political science were taboo. Since reform, however, there has been an attempt to introduce classes that discuss sensitive issues such as the history of ethnic conflict in Burma.
May Nyein Chan is taking this history class that is being taught through the embassy-run American Center.
“Before I don’t think I can have that, it would be something illegal,” she says. “I have never gone to a field trip like this before.”
Universities were at the center of student uprisings that occurred periodically over the past five decades. The government closed them down to keep students away from where they could cause harm.
Thein Lwin, a graduate of Rangoon University, has now formed a committee that will make recommendations to parliament on new education policy. He says the government needs a fundamental change in its attitude towards schools and education. But, he adds, it will take time to undo the damage of past governments.
“Students should be allowed to form freely student union, the student representative should participate in the university governing body,” he says. “University should be a place for criticizing the country.”
In the meantime, students who hope to be able to continue their education, still want to leave the country.
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Burma Govt and Kachin Rebels to Meet Next Week
By SAW YAN NAING / THE IRRAWADDY| February 13, 2013 |
Burma’s government will meet with Kachin rebel leaders and other ethnic groups in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Feb. 20 to discuss a ceasefire in Kachin State and to hold a political dialogue with the groups, an ethnic leader and a peace broker said on Wednesday.
Government peace negotiators will visit Chiang Mai next week to meet with the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of Burma’s 11 ethnic militias, according to UNFC joint secretary Khun Okka.
The alliance is currently being chaired by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and Khun Okka said the government and the UNFC were scheduled to discuss the ongoing Kachin conflict, as well as the political demands of the ethnic groups.
Hla Maung Shwe, of the recently established Myanmar Peace Center, told The Irrawaddy that the government’s peace delegation led by the President Office’s Minister Aung Min would meet with the UNFC in Chiang Mai on Feb. 20.
“Aung Minh said that some higher military leaders from the government side will be included in the next meeting with the KIO,” said Hla Maung Shwe, who acts as a broker in the peace talks.
The KIO and the government have been involved in a bloody conflict in Kachin State since June 2011, when a 17-year-old truce broke down. Since December, the war has escalated as the government deployed heavy artillery and air strikes against the rebels.
The KIO’s headquarters in Laiza, a town on the Burma-China border, was surrounded by late January and on Feb. 4 both sides met in the Chinese city Ruili where they began ceasefire discussions. The meeting reopened communication channels but the sides failed to reach any agreements.
Many of Burma’s armed ethnic groups have fought decades-long rebellions against the government over their demands for political autonomy within a federal system and better protection of ethnic groups’ rights in the Constitution.
In the past, Naypyidaw frequently rejected these demands as it sought to tightly control Burma’s resource-rich ethnic regions. In recent years, however, the government has reached ceasefire agreement with 10 militias. It has pledged to resolve such differences with ethnic groups through political dialogue.
UNFC joint secretary Khun Okka said the alliance’s members had already flown out to the city in northern Thailand in order to discuss their approach in next week’s meeting with the government.
“We are discussing the ceasefire in Kachin State, the role of China [in a ceasefire agreement] and how to set up the political dialogue” with the government, he said by phone from Chiang Mai.
“We will discuss about the timeframe for a political dialogue with the government delegation,” said Khun Okka, who leads the Pa-O National Liberation Organization.
More than 30 representatives of ethnic minorities such as the Karen, Kachin, Karenni, Mon and Chin are present, he added.
Khun Okka said the chairman of Japan’s Nippon Foundation Yohei Sasakawa was also attending the current UNFC meeting to discuss the situation of civilians displaced by ethnic conflict in Burma.
The Nippon Foundation has taking a keen interest in resolving Burma’s ethnic tensions. It has agreed to donate US $3 million in emergency aid and to support education and health care development in ethnic regions.
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Girl’s Plight Highlights Abuses Suffered by Migrants
By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| February 13, 2013 |
Reports of an ethnic Karen girl from Burma who was allegedly abducted and tortured by a Thai couple have cast a harsh light on the treatment of Burmese migrants living in Thailand.
Photos of the 12-year-old girl show her body covered with scars, apparently caused by severe burns. The girl, who said the couple kidnapped her five years ago and forced her to work as their servant, accused them of repeatedly pouring scalding water over her body as punishment for disobedience.
The girl, identified in Thai media reports by the pseudonym “Air,” is currently in the care of a children’s shelter in Kamphaeng Phet Province after escaping from the couple’s custody on Jan. 31.
The couple, Nathee Taeng-orn, 35, and Rattanakorn Piyavoratharm, 33, of Kamphaeng Phet’s Muang District, have been charged with assault and illegal detention, but have denied all wrongdoing and are now out on bail.
The case has attracted the attention of Burmese officials, according to Kyaw Thaung, the director of the Bangkok-based Burmese Association in Thailand, who told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the embassy’s defense attache, Col Win Maung, had contacted him to find out more about the girl.
According to Burmese migrants’ rights groups, the abuses inflicted on the 12-year-old girl were extreme, but not uncommon. They say that migrants—particularly in areas like Kamphaeng Phet, where only around 800 of an estimated 40,000 migrant workers are registered, and where there are no strong activist groups—are at high risk of murder, forced labor, assault, rape and illegal detention.
Typically, local authorities offer little or no protection against such crimes. “Air” said that she had fled from her captors three years ago, only to be returned to their custody by the police.
Far from protecting Burmese workers, Thai officials often actively participate in abuses, according to rights groups.
“Gangsters and the authorities often use force to demand money or anything else they want” from migrants, according to Moe Gyo, the director of the Joint Action Committee on Burmese Affairs, based in the Thai-Burmese border town of Mae Sot, home to Thailand’s largest Burmese community.
Mae Sot is located in Tak Province, which neighbors Kamphaeng Phet and has an estimated 400,000 migrants, of whom around 60,000 are legally registered.
By some estimates, there are as many as 4 million migrants from neighboring countries working across Thailand. Fewer than half, however, are officially registered, despite a scheme to provide temporary passports to workers already in the country.
Rights groups say that the system imposes prohibitive costs on the workers, many of whom opt to remain unregistered.
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The Irrawaddy – US to Back NKorea Human Rights Probe
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON / AP WRITER| February 14, 2013 |
Activists from an anti-North Korea civic group smash a hammer down at a mock North Korean missile during a rally against North Korea’s nuclear test near the US embassy in central Seoul on Feb. 13, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)
WASHINGTON — The US will support an international push at next month’s UN Human Rights Council to initiate an inquiry into conditions in North Korea, US officials said Wednesday.
The world body’s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, called last month for the creation of an international inquiry into “serious crimes” in North Korea that would be authorized by the UN but performed by independent experts. She called it one of the worst but least reported human rights situations in the world.
Japan has signaled support for some kind of inquiry for consideration by the Geneva-based council, and EU diplomats have been discussing such a move.
US officials, speaking anonymously because the American position has not been announced, said Washington was favorably disposed toward some kind of inquiry but is waiting for nations to reach a consensus on details before formally declaring its support.
Activists complain that the authoritarian state’s human rights record receives much less international attention than its nuclear and missile programs that are causing growing concern, particularly in the Asia-Pacific and the US Washington is urging the UN Security Council to tighten sanctions on North Korea after it conducted Tuesday its third nuclear test in defiance of previous UN resolutions.
The Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly already have condemned North Korea’s human rights record, but Pillay said stronger action was needed.
She said as many as 200,000 people were being held in North Korean political prison camps rife with torture, rape and slave labor, and that some of the abuses may amount to crimes against humanity.
North Korea denounced a recent UN report on human rights in the country that was conducted by a former attorney general of Indonesia as politically motivated and doing the bidding of the US, Japan and the EU.
“The rights issues should be mentioned every time North Korea is discussed,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. “The decades of abuses and famine entail human suffering and risk at levels that are on par with the risk and suffering posed by the nuclear program.
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Dispute arises between Myanmar oil company and local businesspeople
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 16:53 Saw Zin Nyi
Mizzima has learned that a dispute has arisen between Shweyathi Petroleum Co. and the group of people who have leased the company’s oil blocks.
The company has leased oil blocks in Padaukpin Village, Magwe Division, to local businesspeople and has permitted the leaseholders to drill for oil in return for selling the oil back to the company at a bargain price.
However, the leaseholders have accused the company of not keeping up their side of the deal, particularly in the area of safety at the rigs.
Ko Soe, a businessman who rents oil blocks from the company said, “The company buys oil at a low price but whenever a fire breaks out, we have to shoulder the responsibility.”
“Fire broke out at my blocks, and I lost about 50 million kyat (US $58,445),” said another businessman who rents oil blocks. “The company did not give out any compensation, so we had to pay money to the workers who were injured.”
When Mizzima contacted Shweyathi Petroleum Co about the issue, they refuted the leaseholders’ disputes.
“We have to pay taxes [on the oil], so we cannot increase the oil price,” said Dr. Tun Tun Win, the company’s managing director.
“Whenever fire breaks out [at the blocks], we help them as much as we can. We do not shoulder full responsibility because the block owners [the people who have rented the blocks from the company] must take full responsibility.”
The Shweyathi Company leases the oil blocks at 300,000 Kyat ($350) per block per month.
The leaseholders sell the oil back to the company for 85,000 Kyat ($99) per barrel. On the black market, the price is about 110,000 Kyat ($128) per barrel, according to the leaseholders.
On October 9, The New Light of Myanmarreported that a local worker was badly injured when a fire broke out at one of the blocks.
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Myanmar constitution does not benefit ethnic people, says KNU
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 11:56 Mizzima News
The general secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU) has said that the KNU remains committed to peace but that the Myanmar government must implement further reforms.
KNU-General-Secretary-Padoh-Kwe-Htoo sHe said that although Myanmar had made significant reforms since 2011, it was still heavily influenced by the Myanmar Army.
“We don’t agree with the 2008 Constitution because it has no guarantees for ethnic people, and gives no guarantee for democracy. If we cannot amend the constitution, then there is no guarantee for our peoples ethnic or political rights. I believe that it not possible for the KNU to be registered as a [political] party and to contest the [2015] election,” said Padoh Kwe Htoo, General Secretary of the Karen National Union, in an interview with Karen News.
He stressed that that further talks would be needed with the Myanmar government to reach a “final endorsement” to ensure ceasefire security.
“The KNU’s policy is unchanged, despite ceasefire negotiations with the Burma [Myanmar] Army. Unity is important for our future struggle. Right now is a critically important time for our people,” he said.
Padoh Kwe Htoo told Karen News that the KNU would look for peace through political discussions and negotiations, and not on the battlefield.
He also expressed unease over the government’s plans to construct mega development projects in Karen State and said that Karen people must be involved in any future discussions on these projects.
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Mizzima News – Land prices soaring around Dawei SEZ
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 17:23 Khin Myo Thwe
A local real estate agent has told Mizzima that the price of land in the villages surrounding Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is increasingly rapidly.
“Lands near Dawei SEZ are in high demand and the prices are being pushed up,” said Soe Thein, a real estate agent.
“Most of the land buyers are Yangon and Dawei residents,” said Kyaw Lwin, another Dawei real estate agent.
Soe Thein said that the compensation for landowners being forcibly bought out to build this deep seaport project was nearing 20,000 million kyat (US $23.4 million) and that the local people were buying land with their compensation payments.
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DVB News – Ministry set to broadcast three new TV channels
Published: 13 February 2013
The Ministry of Information announced this week that the state television agency plans to broadcast three new TV channels for free by September, according to the Director General Tint Swe.
One channel will exclusively cover the country’s legislative body. The two other channels will focus their coverage on agriculture and literature, respectively.
There are both private and public TV channels in Burma, but those that are broadcast free of charge – including MRTV-4 and Myawaddy TV – are government owned.
According to state officials, the government has been mulling a new broadcast law over the last year; however, there’s been no word on when the bill is likely to be passed.
“It is essential to have the law as our country is going through changes in the system,” deputy director general of Myanmar Radio and Television Tin Wan told DVB last April.
“The law is a must-have.”
Exile media outlets who are hoping to broadcast in the country are waiting for the new legislation to be passed before furthering their operational capacity within Burma.
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DVB News – UN envoy meets with displaced residents, prisoner in Arakan state
By AYE NAI
Published: 13 February 2013
The United Nation’s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma Tomas Quintana travelled to western Burma’s Arakan state yesterday, where he visited internally displaced person (IDP) camps and met with an incarcerated Muslim community leader.
According to a local who is taking shelter in the camp in Myebon that houses around 4,000 Muslims, camp residents spoke with the envoy about the trauma that was inflicted upon their communities during the ethno-religious riots that erupted in June and October last year.
The deadly riots displaced tens of thousands of residents and left a disproportionate amount of Muslim villages in ruins.
The displaced residents asked Mr Quintana to help push for the relocation of their current camp to a safer location.
“We are afraid to remain in this area – we have nowhere left to run if the riots breakout again,” said the local, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We have lost our homes – twice – and all of the villagers have expressed their wish to be relocated to a safer area.”
He said the camp’s residents signed a petition last November, during a visit from government authorities who were asking those at the camp whether they wanted to resettle in their former villages or elsewhere.
“We signed the petition to have us relocated in either Sittwe or elsewhere in mainland Burma for the safety of our lives,” said the local, adding that the refugees also pressed for further food, medical and security assistance.
“As of now, we are only surviving on food rations provided by the World Food Programme and there are a lot of difficulties with health care.”
Arakan State’s Border Affairs Minister Colonel Htein Linn and Attorney General Hla Thein accompanied Quintana during the trip, but they did not attend his meeting with the displaced residents in the camps.
From Myebon town, the Special Rapporteur travelled to Sittwe to visit another camp and met with a Muslim elder who is imprisoned in the state capital’s prison.
However, before the team arrived in the Arakan state capital, a local Rohingya translator and activist Aung Win was briefly detained by the police. Aung Win was allegedly aiming to meet with Quintana during his visit to Sittwe.
According to local police, Aung Win was released on Tuesday evening.
In Sittwe, Quintana met with community leader Tun Aung, a Muslim man who is currently detained in Sittwe prison after being sentenced to 11 years in November during a trial that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) called “patently unfair”.
According to AHRC, Tun Aung is in poor health and is not receiving adequate medical treatment.
Quintana was set to visit Insein Prison in Rangoon earlier today along with representatives from the country’s political parties, UN groups and civil society organisations.
The UN envoy will travel to Naypyidaw tomorrow to meet with government officials and representatives from the commissions tasked with investigating the Arakan riots and the assaut on protestors at Latpadaung copper mine last November.
He also will visit IDP camps in Kachin state before heading out of the country on 16 February.
Quintana will present a briefing on human rights in Burma at a UN Human Rights Council session in March.
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