YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Activists in Myanmar demanded punishment Thursday for officials who were responsible for the use of incendiary weapons against peaceful protesters at a copper mine, resulting in serious burns for dozens of people including Buddhist monks.

Lawyers and others who investigated the Nov. 29 crackdown at the Letpadaung copper mine in northwestern Myanmar told reporters that President Thein Sein must share responsibility and ensure justice is achieved.

Speaking at the launch of a report on the incident, they said police used shells containing white phosphorous, an incendiary munition, to disperse the protesters. White phosphorous can be used legally in some battlefield conditions, but activists say it should not be deployed against civilians.

Authorities have acknowledged using tear gas and smoke grenades.

The incident involved the biggest use of force against protesters in Myanmar since Thein Sein’s reformist government took office in March 2011 after almost five decades of repressive military rule. His administration has been hailed for releasing hundreds of political prisoners and implementing laws allowing public demonstrations and labor strikes.

Protesters say the mine project, a joint venture between China’s Wan Bao mining company — a subsidiary of NORINCO, a weapons manufacturer — and the military conglomerate Union of Myanmar Economic Holding Ltd. — a military-owned holding company — causes environmental, social and health problems, and want it halted.

“The use of inherently dangerous military arms to disperse peaceful protesters, apparently by local police during a standard law enforcement procedure, is clearly unlawful and raises issues of liability for those directly involved and for senior responsible levels of command and control in the military and government and for senior executives/military officers at Wan Bao and UMEHL,” the report said.

It was compiled by Lawyers’ Network, an independent association of leading Myanmar lawyers, and Justice Trust, an international group engaged in supporting the rule of law and human rights.

Thwe Thwe Win, an activist from a village near the mine, accused its operators of damaging residents’ land and livelihood.

“Everyone including President Thein Sein, the home minister, UMEHL and the Chinese Wan Bao company are responsible for the crackdown,” she said.

She said the villagers will not take further action until an official commission headed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi issues its own report on the project and the crackdown. If it does not call for ending the project, they will resume protesting, she said.

Yangon, Feb 14 (IANS) Myanmar and India will speed up implementation of some construction projects, the official daily New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.

This was discussed when Myanmar President U Thein Sein met India’s Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar in Nay Pyi Taw Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

Their discussions covered implementation of Kaladan project, early completion of India-Myanmar-Thai highway construction, acceleration of the repair work of Moreh-Tamu-Kalay-Kalewa-Mandalay road and renovation of Lido Road built in World War II.

India is implementing the Kaladan multimodal transport project that involves upgrading the Sittwe port in Myanmar and constructing a highway to connect the town of Paletwa in Chin state to the Indian border in Mizoram state.

Besides, effective cooperation for ensuring peace and stability in border region, further cooperation in ICT and other sectors between the two countries and cementing bilateral friendship were also focused in their talks.

In her first ever visit to Myanmar, the Indian parliamentary speaker also met with speakers of the two houses of Myanmar’s parliament U Shwe Mann and U Khin Aung Myint and they exchanged views on parliamentary affairs between the two countries respectively.

Meira Kumar also met pro-democracy leader and chairperson of the Lower House’s Committee for Rule of Law and Tranquility Aung San Suu Kyi and they held discussions on exchange of experience between the two parliaments and cooperation in cultivating and developing a culture of democratic practices.

YANGON, Myanmar, Feb. 14 (UPI) — Authorities in Myanmar are alleged to have used white phosphorus to dispel protesters at a copper mine, a report by two advocacy groups says.

An investigation into the government’s response to a November protest at the Letpadaung copper mine found authorities used white phosphorus on demonstrators. The report was conducted by Justice Trust in the United States and the Lawyers Network in Myanmar.

Justice Trust Director Roger Normand said from Yangon that Myanmar forces were excessive with their response.

“It is unheard of for police to use incendiary military munitions against peaceful protesters during a law enforcement operation,” he was quoted by The Irrawaddy, a Myanmar newspaper published in Thailand, as saying. “This raises questions of senior-level command responsibility for resulting crimes and violations of people’s constitutional and human rights.”

Irrawaddy reports that pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi missed a Jan. 31 deadline to publish an official inquiry into the incident.

World governments have eased diplomatic pressure on Myanmar follow political reforms that began with general elections in 2010. Human rights and internal conflict has clouded government developments, however.

The copper mine is owned by the Myanmar military and the Chinese. Villagers there said they were forced from their land to make way for development.

A full 20 months into a civil war inside her homeland, dissident-turned-parliamentarian Aung San Suu Kyi says she’ll help ethnic guerrillas and government officials broker peace.

The guerrilla army’s response?

No, thanks.

For those with a cursory understanding of Suu Kyi and the political temperature inside Myanmar (formerly titled Burma) this may seem baffling.

Isn’t she the voice of dissidence inside her troubled nation?

Isn’t she beloved by all of the nation’s downtrodden as the best hope for lasting peace?

Not exactly.

The conflict in question is a battle between government forces and a largely Christian ethnic faction, the Kachin Independence Army or KIA. During World War II, the Kachin were war buddies with the US.

For an breakdown of the war’s ties to America, paired with footage from the front, check out GlobalPost’s recent piece “Never-ending war on the Chinese border?”

Suu Kyi — America’s self-proclaimed “principal interlocutor” and probably the most famous Burmese person on the planet — recently offered to help broker peace, according to this Associated Press report. Suu Kyi had this to say:

“I have been criticized by some people for not taking part in peace talks regarding the Kachin conflict. I have always said I am willing to take part in the peace process if the concerned parties wanted me to.”

But according to the news outlet Democratic Voice of Burma, the Kachin army is unconvinced that she’s truly impartial.

To fully understand why this human rights icon has been rather silent on a nasty jungle war in her own country, you have to understand this.

In the international media, and among Western diplomats, the Kachin are typically regarded with sympathy.

But in Myanmar’s halls of power, and in its press, the Kachin guerrillas are often regarded as terrorists. Attempting to hammer out a ceasefire with so-called “terrorists” is one thing. Commiserating with them is another.

Add to that a sense among many senior guerrilla leaders that Suu Kyi is too closely aligned with the authorities they are sworn to resist.

In Western circles, harsh critcism of Suu Kyi remains taboo. But in my recent interview with a KIA colonel, James Lum Dau, he described Suu Kyi as a mere pawn of President Thein Sein used to placate America.

“Thein Sein is president. His job is to elevate Aung San Suu Syi to the outside world,” he said. “For them to come up, they have to elevate the status of Aung San Suu Kyi.

“Then you Americans will say, “Oh, it’s so great! Economic sanctions must be lifted!”

“This,” he said, “is their strategy.”

Suu Kyi may be America’s go-to interlocutor. But for now at least, its mountain-dwelling war buddies of yesteryear, the KIA, are suggesting she take her interlocution elsewhere.

Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia’s biggest phone company, wants to focus on wireless services in Myanmar as it vies for the right to operate in one of the world’s last untapped mobile markets.

SingTel sent in its expression of interest for a phone license in the nation last month and is awaiting further details on the bidding process and terms of the permit, Chief Executive Officer Chua Sock Koong said in a Bloomberg Television interview with Haslinda Amin yesterday.

“Looking at the experience in other emerging markets, the mobile solution appears to be a more cost effective, a faster solution to provide communications infrastructure to the masses, particularly in the rural areas, very quickly,” she said. “While the market potential is very attractive, we would need to understand what the terms of the license issuance would be.”

SingTel, which owns stakes in the biggest mobile-phone companies in Asian emerging markets including Thailand, Indonesia and India, is seeking a foothold in a nation where only 9% of the country’s 64 million people have handsets. The nation’s fixed-line penetration rate is about 1%, the government said last month.

The nation wants to boost telecommunications coverage to as much as 80% of the country by 2016, the government said last month. That’s up from 5.44 million mobile-phone subscribers as of December. In SingTel’s home base in Singapore, there are more subscriptions than people.

SingTel said it will jointly bid with Myanmar partners.

‘Quite Exponential’

“The growth is going to be quite exponential, looking at how Asians use mobile phones,” said Carey Wong, a Singapore- based analyst at OCBC Investment Research Pte. “The challenge is consumer education. Initial sales won’t be great but once it takes off, it’s a developing market for them.”

Still, SingTel faces competition for the two Myanmar licenses the government plans to award by June. Malaysia’s Axiata Group Bhd., Singapore’s ST Telemedia Pte and Norway’s Telenor ASA were among phone operators that indicated their interest in the licenses.

For mobile operators, developing a network in Myanmar would require “almost building from scratch” with base stations and other infrastructure, said Sachin Gupta, a Singapore-based senior analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. Gupta’s team was ranked first for telecommunications research in Asia by Institutional Investor last year.

Profit Decline

SingTel said yesterday third-quarter profit fell 8.3% on charges from its Australia and Philippine businesses, as well as a stronger Singapore dollar that eroded earnings from its regional operations.

The company’s shares fell 2.8% to $3.50 yesterday at the close in Singapore, the biggest decline in almost five months. That pared the gain in the past year to 13%, compared with the 10% increase in Singapore’s benchmark Straits Times Index.

“Singapore is already a mature market, Australia is even more so,” Wong at OCBC said. “If they can get into an untapped market like Myanmar, that will do wonders.”

For much of the past decade, mobile phones have been out of reach for most Myanmar consumers. When first introduced in 2001, the cost of activating a phone using the global system for mobile communications standard, or GSM, cost about 4.5 million kyat ($6,446). The price has fallen to about 200,000 kyat for a GSM chip, according to prices at phone vendors in Yangon.

Phone Affordability

Kyaw Min Tun, who earns about 250,000 kyat a month driving a taxi in Yangon, said prices would have to fall to 50,000 kyat before he could buy a mobile phone for his wife. The father of three, who bought a phone last year when chip activation prices were reduced, said the government should earn more from usage fees rather than on the price of the chip to make cellular phones more affordable.

For SingTel’s Chua, 55, venturing into Myanmar would add to her overseas footprint that includes Australia’s second-biggest phone company and stakes in six mobile operators.

“Myanmar is a market that a lot of operators are looking at,” she said. There’s “certainly a lot of potential. How attractive an investment in the telecoms industry is, would depend on, to a large extent, the regulatory environment.”

Myanmar is planning to step up its exploration effort by 25 percent for natural gas, 7 percent more of jade and 10 percent more of gems in the coming fiscal year of 2013-14, according to the National Planning Bill.

The country’s focus at expansion of its crude oil and natural gas exploration is not only for local consumption security but also for export. In this situation, Myanmar expects to explore 16.7 percent more of crude oil and 25.8 percent more of natural gas in the cooperative sector.

Similarly, the National Planning Bill described that exploration of natural gas would boost in coming fiscal year because the law has expected more natural gas to be explored in Magway region, Shwe natural gas field in Rakhine Offshore region and Zawtika natural gas field from Ayeyawady region.

BANGKOK — A group of lawyers and activists say Burmese authorities used fraud and coercion to take land from villagers for a China-backed copper mine. The lawyers say police then used excessive force to scare off protesters opposed to the mine. They are calling for an investigation of senior government officials and officers of the military-operated mine.

The Burma Lawyers Network and the U.S.-based rights group Justice Trust say authorities forced villagers to give up rights to their farmland for the extension of the Letpadaung copper mine.

A joint investigative report released by the groups Thursday, says local officials intimidated villagers to sign contracts they had never read.

The report says officials threatened those opposed to selling their land and replaced independent village heads with supporters of the mine.

Villagers interviewed for the report say officials lied to them about plans for the land, falsely claiming it would be returned to them in three years as useable farmland.

In November, when hundreds of villagers protested a $1 billion expansion of the mine, police were sent in to break up the demonstration.

Roger Normand, director of the legal rights group Justice Trust, says more than 150 protesters, many of them Buddhist monks, were severely injured. Some suffered second and third-degree burns. He says their investigation included laboratory tests that prove police fired on demonstrators with military-issued white phosphorous smoke grenades.

“It’s used by militaries for smoke screen and for illumination. But, it’s a chemical,” said Normand. “And, so it essentially has a dual use purpose which would be against military personnel, against soldiers. And, for that it’s illegal. It’s not lawful for militaries to use this weapon directly against combatants.”

Burma authorities apologized for the botched raid, but denied the use of white phosphorous.

The lawyers report says police use of incendiary military munitions against peaceful protesters raises questions about who gave the orders.

The copper mine is Burma’s largest and is run by a Chinese military-linked company in cooperation with the largest Burmese military-owned company, Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Company Limited (UMEHL).

The deal was made during the previous military government and was criticized for a lack of transparency.

Normand says an investigation of the copper mine and crackdown needs to go higher than local police and officials.

“So, obviously questions have to be raised with the executives of these companies, which in Burma is active senior military and recently retired senior military and also the government,” Normand said. “Because, of course, the government is ultimately responsible, from the president to the minister of home affairs, for the actions of police.”

In December, President Thein Sein appointed opposition democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as head of a committee to investigate the copper mine.

She met with the injured and others opposed to mine, as well as representatives of the Chinese investor, Wanbao.

Aung San Suu Kyi surprised many when she declared support for the rights of villagers, but also Burma’s need to honor its obligations.

Nonetheless, Normand says Aung San Suu Kyi’s appointment is a good sign because she is viewed as having a great deal of public integrity.

“On the other hand, the committee has to have the mandate and the power to be able to investigate,” Normand said. “And, it’s not clear whether the committee that she’s been put in charge of has the mandate to look into this police action or has any kind of subpoena powers of investigation.”

So far, the committee has missed two deadlines for releasing the official report – the last was January 31. It is not clear when the results will be made public.

By SAW YAN NAING / THE IRRAWADDY| February 14, 2013 |

On Feb. 14, 2008 gunmen shot prominent Karen leader Mahn Sha in his home at Mae Sot, Thailand. His murder remains shrouded in mystery until this day.

Five years ago today, Karen National Union leader Mahn Sha was sitting on the balcony of his home in Mae Sot, a Thai town on the border with Burma, when two gunmen entered the house and shot him several times at point blank range. They left safely and were never seen again.

A Thai police investigation came to nothing and the assassination of the prominent KNU general-secretary went down in history as a mysterious, cold-blooded murder that sent a chilling message to Burma’s ethnic armed groups fighting the country’s government.

“As neither the victim nor the gunmen were Thai citizens, I don’t think the Thai authorities will take this case seriously,” David Taw, a late former KNU spokesperson at the time.

His words foretold the outcome. Five years later there has been no investigation, legal action or any new piece of information about the killing.

On Thursday, Mahn Sha’s family said they remain deeply disappointed over this lack of action in the case. “We are very sad as there is no legal action. Even if there is no legal action, we at least want to know the truth,” said Nant Zoya Phan, Mahn Sha’s daughter, who works with the London-based Burma Campaign UK.

Her sister Nant Bwa Bwa Phan said by phone from London that she supported any initiativethat would help uncover what happened on Feb. 14, 2008. “I want to encourage the KNU or any independent group to investigate the murder of our father,” she said.

Sunai Phasuk, a Thai researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch, said that Thai authorities had failed to thoroughly investigate the case. “No matter who the victim is; the incident happened on Thai soil, so Thai authorities have a responsibility to bring the case to justice,” he said.

Mahn Sha was considered an inspirational leader for the Karen living Burma and Karen refugees in Thailand, while he was also respected by Burmese dissidents for his support for the pro-democracy struggle in the country.

He held many rounds of peace negotiations with Burma’s military government and was expected to assume the KNU’s leadership before he was gunned down at age 64.

In decades past, tens of thousands of Karen have sought refuge in Mae Sot, just over the border from southeastern Burma’s Karen State, where the KNU has been involved in a long-running conflict with Burma’s central government.

The KNU were tolerated by Thai authorities, as it had ties to the group. But Mae Sot’s murky environment of armed rebels, Burmese dissidents, Thai and Burmese businessmen, and Thai intelligence officers frequently led to unexplained incidents and killings.

Manh Sha’s killing remains unresolved although theories for the murder have been offered. Some said it was related to his opposition to the construction of Hat Gyi hydropower dam on Salween River, a project that was planned by the Burmese government and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.

Sources close to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a Karen splinter group, have said elements within the DKBA had been involved for Mahn Sha’s slaying. The group signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military regime after it split away from the KNU in 1995.

His children said they hoped that the truth about his killing would surface in the future. “I believe there will be a finding about the murder of my father. The truth will come out one day for sure,” his daughter Bwa Baw Phan said.

Mahn Sha’s adopted son Saw Say Say Phan added, “As his children it was very difficult for us to lose a father, but it gave us comfort to see how so many other people also felt the loss of our father so deeply. He was a man who was widely loved and respected.”

In memorial of their father, his four children have set up the Phan Foundation, a charity that supports young Karen people or Karen organizations that fight poverty, promote education and development, or preserve Karen culture.

By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY| February 14, 2013 |

RANGOON — Burma’s President Thein Sein promised during a meeting with representatives of nine ethnic armed groups in Naypyidaw on Wednesday that his government would soon initiate a political dialogue aimed at national reconciliation, but declined to say when it would begin.

The one-hour meeting with Shan, Mon, Karen, Pa-O, Chin, Arakanese and other ethnic leaders came a week before the government’s peace negotiating team is expected to hold talks in neighboring Thailand with the United Nationalities Federal Council, an umbrella group of ethnic militias.

During the meeting, the president acknowledged that since Burma achieved independence from British rule 65 years ago, successive governments had failed to achieve unity and lasting peace with the country’s many ethnic minorities.

However, he said that a recent tentative agreement reached with the Kachin Independence Organization, whose armed wing has been fighting government forces for the past year and a half, could pave the way for a renewed effort to achieve peace.

“The government made a peace deal with the Kachin and this might be a good sign to have political dialogue soon,” said Nai Tala Nyi, an executive member of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and one of the participants in Wednesday’s meeting.

“He told us his government will hold a political dialogue soon, but he didn’t set an exact date for it,” added the Mon leader.

To prepare for peace, Thein Sein said, ethnic armed groups should focus their attention on improving life in their respective regions.

“He told us to develop our ethnic areas while we are waiting to have political dialogue with the government,” said Nai Tala Nyi, adding that the president also mentioned that the government had agreed to allow international aid groups to assist displaced civilians in conflict zones.

Asked if the NMSP trusted the president to follow through on his promises, Nai Tala Nyi said: “We believe that it is inevitable for the government to engage in a political dialogue if they want to have peace and development in the country. We just don’t know how they will do it, or when.”

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| February 14, 2013 |

Burma’s President Thein Sein on Wednesday appointed two former generals to his cabinet, picking the country’s air force commander to head the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, while a senior army officer will take over the Border Affairs Ministry.

Opposition parliamentarians said in a reaction that they were powerless to question such appointments, while some added that selecting senior officers into government continued the old, flawed practices of military rule.

As the new telecoms minister, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Gen Myat Hein replaces Thein Htun, who was forced to resign last month after an anti-corruption probe at his ministry implicated him and eight other ministry officials.

Lt-Gen Thet Naing Win, from the Defense Ministry’s Bureau of Special Operations, becomes minister of border affairs. He replaces current minister Lt-Gen Thein Htay. It was announced the latter would return to the Defense Ministry, although sources close to Thein Htay have suggested that he is stepping down for health reasons.

Both appointments were approved by Parliament on Wednesday. The two new ministers are in their late 50s and were due to retire from the military within a few years.

Myat Hein, 58, has served in Burma’s armed forces since 1976. He became air force chief of staff in 2001, before former military junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe promoted him to air force commander-in-chief in 2003.

Lt-Gen Thet Naing Win was commander of the Southeastern Regional Command in the 2000s and became a chief of the army’s Bureau of Special Operations in 2010.

The new appointments serve as a reminder that most ministers in Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government are former officers who played a role in the previous junta.

Since taking office in 2011, the reformist president—who is himself a former general—has given only a handful of posts to people without a military background. Last week, the first independent parliamentarian joined his cabinet. Tin Shwe from the small National Democratic Force party became deputy tourism minister.

Opposition members said in a reaction that they were unable to question or block the two new appointments as they lacked sufficient power in the Parliament, which is dominated by the military-affiliated Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and military officers who have 25 percent of the seats.

“It is also difficult to say that we like or dislike the appointees because we do not know much about them, apart from some brief background information,”said Khin Saw Wai, an MP of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, a regional party from Arakan State.

She added that current Border Affairs Minister Thein Htay was knowledgeable about ethnic issues in her state, while it remained unclear whether his replacement would have the same level of understanding of such issues.

“Even if we disagree, there needs to be a majority vote to object to such [cabinet] appointments of a particular person,” Khin Saw Wai said.

Win Tin, a senior member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, said MPs and the Burmese people should object to selecting senior officers into government as it simply continues the flawed practices of past military rule.

“Giving these positions to former generals should not be allowed,” he said. “The practices continue the old methods.”

“We should express our concern about this. If all generals who are near retirement are sent to the ministries, these ministries would be like a waste dump. Our country won’t have any benefit from this situation,” Win Tin remarked.

RANGOON — Sixteen employees of Burma’s Customs Department have been forced to resign for taking bribes, according to official sources.

Following an inquiry by the Bureau of Special Investigation, the customs personnel were found guilty of accepting bribes to allow the import of restricted vehicles, the sources said. The investigation reportedly began last October in response to a letter of complaint received by the Ministry of Commerce.

According to a Customs Department statement dated Feb. 5, the 16 employees, including two deputy-directors and two supervisors, were sacked for violating the department’s rules and regulations.

“They received that punishment because they were found guilty,” an official from the Ministry of Finance and Revenue, which oversees the Customs Department, told The Irrawaddy.

Similar action was taken in June of last year, when 43 officials—five from the Ministry of Commerce, 33 from the Customs Department and five from the Port Authority—were either dismissed or suspended from their positions for their involvement in the import of vehicles without registration.

A customs officer told The Irrawaddy that corruption is widespread at different levels of the Customs Department due to a lack of transparency. Those who are punished are usually lower-level officials, while those in senior positions, who accept far larger bribes, enjoy complete impunity, he said.

“There are many forms of corruption, and if the government really wanted to tackle it, there are a lot of other people they could punish,” said the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The government recently took action against former Minister of Communications and Information Technology Thein Htun and other senior communications officials, but made no official statement about the case. Observers say this was probably to avoid revealing previous corruption cases under the former military regime.

Some Rangoon-based economists have given the government’s anti-corruption drive poor marks, saying that it is unlikely to succeed because it lacks transparency.

Thursday, 14 February 2013 16:17 Saw Zin Nyi

The Energy Ministry announced on February 13 that it had revoked the license of Shweyathi Petroleum Co that permits it to produce oil at Padaukpin Village in Magwe Region.

The announcement has resulted in a backlash from the company.

“We conducted our business in accordance with the instructions given by the district and township fire departments,” said an official at the oil company. “The decision is one-sided.”

The Energy Ministry said that the company, which is owned by Kyaw Htay, did not follow instructions given for fire-safety measures, resulting in the Shweyathi Petroleum Co’s license being revoked as from February 7, 2013.

“Fire often breaks out at every oil field,” said the company official, who insisted that they had followed standard instructions and regulations.

Residents in Thayat Township said that there were 13 fires at the Padaukpin oil blocks owned by the Shweyathi Petroleum Co from June 2012 to February 2013.

The company leases oil blocks in Padaukpin Village to local businesspeople and has permitted the leaseholders to drill for oil in return for selling the oil back to the company at a heavily discounted price.

Myo Than Tun, a leaseholder said, “Fire broke out due to weaknesses in the company’s system of collecting oil barrels.”

According to workers at the oil blocks, the copper wires that are used to draw crude oil from the wells often come in contact with each other, producing sparks and fire.

The Energy Ministry was unavailable for further comment when contacted by Mizzima.

Thursday, 14 February 2013 12:04 Kun Chan

More than 2,000 people who have been living in a neighborhood in Bago [Pegu]—some for more than 40 years—have been ordered to leave before March 1 or else face a one-month prison sentence.

Residents told Mizzima that Bago district administrative authorities delivered a written order on January 28 to all 900 households in Quarter 9 of Oktha Myothit Township to leave the quarter no later than March 1.

Then, the residents were summoned to a meeting on February 7 when representatives of the local administration read out the order and reinforced the point that the residents had no option than to vacate their homes and move elsewhere.

“They ordered all of us to leave, saying we are living illegally on this land like squatters,” said Lin Naing Oo. “The deputy district chief said that if we fail to move, we will be sentenced to one month in prison.”

The January 28 letter, signed by the district chief, said that the Quarter 9 residents are living on land formerly owned by the Industry Ministry No. 1. It said that the 1,725.77-acre plot of land has now been transferred to the local authorities as a site for development projects.

The written order said that if the people fail to move, they may be charged under Section 21 (1) of the Lower Burma Town and Village Lands Act, which carries s sentence of one month in jail.

Bago authorities have offered the residents a new plot to resettle nearby in Quarter No. 8 of the township. Residents said that the new site is close to the Shinsaung garment factory, a major employer in the area. However, local sources told Mizzima that no resident agreed to sign the eviction notice.

According to several residents, the Quarter 9 neighborhood was settled about 40 years ago, at a time when the rest of Oktha Myothit had not been built. Most of the new settlers took up farming and gardening as livelihoods.

Oktha Myothit was established by the former military junta after 1998 when local planners built residential areas, a bus station, factories and an industrial estate.

On February 10, popular human-rights activist Su Su Nway visited Quarter 9 and spoke to the residents.

“These people have lived here for more than 40 years ago,” she said. “They do not want to leave their homes. I told them to sign a petition which I would submit to the authorities. I will stay here on March 1 to help guard the neighborhood.”

An official at the Bago district administrative office confirmed to Mizzima that the houses in Quarter 9 were to be torn down.

Lin Naing Oo said that she and other residents will hold a press conference at the industrial estate in Oktha Myothit on February 16.

Thursday, 14 February 2013 13:45 Victoria Bruce / MZINE+

The distant South Pacific island nation of New Zealand is making its mark on Myanmar soil and looking to transfer its agricultural prowess in milk production and dairy manufacturing to farmers in the Southeast Asian country.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key recently toured Myanmar’s major cities of Yangon and Naypyitaw and pledged NZ $6 million in development funding for a model dairy farm, the first of its kind in Myanmar.

Mr Key, the first ever New Zealand prime minister to visit Myanmar, met with high-ranking officials including President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his three day visit in November 2012.

His entourage included New Zealand’s Ambassador to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, Tony Lynch and Trade Commissioner Karen Campbell.

M-ZINE+ Senior Reporter Victoria Bruce sat down with Ambassador Lynch and Ms Campbell in their Bangkok headquarters to discuss the commercial significance of New Zealand’s re-engagement with Myanmar and how New Zealand aims to step up its role in assisting Myanmar’s economic development.

While New Zealand’s aid contribution to Myanmar is modest compared to major donors such as the United Kingdom and Australia, Ambassador Lynch says his island nation will make their mark by sticking to what they do best—exporting their dairy and agribusiness expertise to assist local farmers improve production.

Dairy farming is New Zealand’s largest export earner, with dairy products accounting for a solid 21 percent of merchandise in 2009, surpassing wool exports.

New-Zealand-dairy

The country’s largest company, Fonterra, controls almost one-third of the international dairy trade, and recently appointed a permanent country manager for Myanmar to help the Group explore the potential opportunities amongst Myanmar’s untapped market of some 60 million people.

Popular New Zealand dairy brands such as Fonterra’s flagship Anchor brand of butter line the shelves of Yangon’s supermarkets and as the purchasing power of Myanmar’s consumer market increases, New Zealand can expect demand for its high quality calcium-rich dairy products to grow.

Over the coming five years, their flagship project in Myanmar will be the model dairy farm, which aims to engage 20 to 25 local farmers, each with around 10 dairy cows, in a small-scale cooperative farming basis.

New Zealand dairy experts will assist with quality control, feedstock, milk processing and development and general expertise and guidance on the cattle’s upkeep.

“A study completed last year identified that dairy was the area where we should concentrate on in Myanmar,” Ms Campbell said.

“The feedback from Myanmar side is they want help on improving the quality of the livestock and gaining better understanding on feeding programs, such as different types of grass and fertilizers and the collection and processing and development of milk products,” she said.

Local villagers and activists resumed their demonstrations against a Chinese-backed copper mine in central Burma on Wednesday, as anger continues to grow over the government’s failure to address community grievances over the project.

Hundreds of villagers gathered near Sagaing division’s Monywa copper mining project yesterday to demand a complete halt to the project, which locals say has caused irreparable damage to the local environment and communities. There is growing anger over the government’s failure to address their concerns, despite the formation of an official investigative body.

“We are rallying to demand the complete suspension of the mine,” said one protester, adding that local peasants must unite rather than rely on outside help.

It follows mass protests over the summer against the Latpadaung mine — a joint-venture between the military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEH) and the Chinese Wanbao company. Campaigners say the project has resulted in more than 7,800 acres of land being grabbed from 26 villages across the nearby mountain range.

The mining project rose to infamy after the government ordered a brutal crackdown on protestors in November last year, resulting in dozens of monks being seriously burned. Police were accused of using water cannons and throwing incendiary devices against the peaceful protestors, before forcing them off the site.

Recent media reports suggest that security forces may have used some form of white phosphorous – a chemical munition that can cause serious second and third degree burns — against the protestors. A report cited in the Irrawaddy today, accused the police of using devices that “sparked and fizzled like fireworks”.

“Everything that the fireballs touched instantly burst into flames despite the area being soaked in water. The covering tarps and blankets used by protesters for shelter and protection caught fire. The monks’ robes and villagers’ clothing also caught fire,” said the report.

Over 100 monks are believed to have been injured in the crackdown, which caused national outrage and forced senior government ministers to publicly apologise. A number of the monks are currently being treated for severe burns in Bangkok hospital, with financial assistance from local charitable organisations.

An official commission – led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi – was set up to investigate the clashes as well as the project’s social and economic sustainability. But last month, it delayed the release of its final report for the second time, which has led to a growing backlash from local activists. Others are angry that an interim report submitted to President Thein Sein on 31 January was not publicly released.

“We don’t know how the [Latpadaung] investigation commission report will turn out; whether good or bad,” said one of the local protestors. “So rather than relying on someone else to support our interests, we would like to make a display with this rally that all residents in the 26 villages in the area are united in their wish to put a complete stop to the Latpadaung mining project.”

The Wanbao mining company is lobbying heavily for the re-opening of the Latpadaung mine, which was temporarily suspended after the crackdown, and they say it has lost them USD$ 2 million per month since.

Suu Kyi has also previously suggested that Burma should honour its commitments to foreign companies — even though many of the deals were struck by the former military junta. “If we unilaterally break off ongoing projects, we stand to lose international trust,” she warned in November.

President Thein Sein has been credited for introducing a number of democratic reforms in Burma since March 2011, including easing restrictions on the right to protest. But peaceful protesters are still required to seek permission five days in advance, and many land rights activists, who have breached these regulations, have been sentenced to jail.

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), who is currently negotiating a precarious ceasefire deal with the government, has rejected a plea by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be formally invited to mediate talks between the groups.

In an interview with DVB, KIA spokesperson La Nan insisted they would not “directly or formally specify individuals based inside the country to join and assist the peace talks with the government,” including Suu Kyi.

Earlier this week the democracy icon offered to mediate talks between the parties in an effort to stave off criticisms over her silence on human rights abuses carried out by the Burmese army in the conflict-torn northern state. But she insisted that she would need to be formally invited to join the process.

“There have been questions and criticism directed at me over my non-involvement in the Kachin crisis. I’ve always been saying this – I do want to get involved and I am ready to take part in the process if I am wanted – I have officially stated this for a while,” she said in a speech marking Burma’s union day.

Union day celebrates the day her father, Aung San, successfully negotiated the historic 1947 Panglong agreement with the majority of Burma’s ethnic minority groups, which set the framework for a federal state. The military government later rejected the agreement.

But the Kachin leader cast doubt on Suu Kyi’s ability to mediate the process with impartiality as a member of parliament under Burma’s controversial 2008 constitution, which directly violates the 1947 agreement.

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi currently has responsibilities as a representative in the lower house as well as for her democracy leader epithet. It’s contentious when a parliament representative is going to help mediate the situation,” La Nan said.

Some civil society groups have also expressed disappointment over her offer to act as a “neutral” mediator, according to Burma Campaign UK. “[Many ethnic groups] always thought they were on the same side as Aung San Suu Kyi, against a common enemy, and with a common goal, democracy and human rights,” said Mark Farmaner.

Suu Kyi has previously courted controversy for repeatedly proclaiming her “fondness” for the Burmese military, formed by her father, despite ongoing human rights abuses in ethnic minority areas, including Kachin state.

“She has to study more about the ethnic issue and the conflicts in Burma,” Moon Nay Li from the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand told DVB. “Some issues she does not understand. She has to study the ethnic issue, including the Panglong agreement and what the ethnic people want.”

The KIA, who is fighting for greater autonomy and ethnic rights, has been locked in a bloody battle with government forces in northern Burma since June 2011, when a 17-year ceasefire broke down.

Emergency peace talks were held on 4 February, after Burmese troops stepped up its military assault using airstrikes and heavy artillery on the isolated rebel stronghold Laiza squeezed against the Chinese border. Analysts say the Chinese government fear an influx of Kachin refugees into their territories and have pressured the Burmese government to negotiate a swift ceasefire.

According to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) — the KIA’s political wing, the Chinese government was directly responsible for the latest peace talks. “KIO didn’t have direct contact with [government peace negotiator] U Aung Min for that – the Chinese government arbitrated the meeting. So we didn’t have time to invite the UNFC [the United Nationalities Federation Council] officials,” said La Nan referring to an umbrella organisation for ethnic groups in Burma.

But Dr Min Zaw Oo, who is a leading ceasefire negotiator and director of the Myanmar Peace Center, told DVB that the Karen National Union and the Restoration Council of Shan State – two leading ethnic groups who have recently inked peace deals with the government – played a key role in setting up the peace talks. Both groups acted as observers at last week’s talks held in the Chinese border town Ruili.

He also denied allegations that the government had excluded Suu Kyi from the ceasefire process. “There has been no rejection – as far as I understand the government has opened an opportunity for everyone to take part in the peace process.”

La Nan added that it would be the personal responsibility of Suu Kyi, and every other citizen, “to help solve the country’s political problems”. “We are not going to urge anyone to join but we welcome all individuals who see it as their responsibility to join the process.”

The KIA is due to meet again with the government and ethnic leaders, including the UNFC, in Chiang Mai in Thailand on 20 February in an effort to end hostilities. The Kachin have repeatedly called for a political solution, including self-determination based on the Panglong agreement, as a key provision for sustainable peace.