Court bars Rangoon bomber’s family

By Khin Hnin Htet

The family of a Rangoon man charged with murder for the April water festival bombings was yesterday denied entry to his court hearing.

Phyo Wei Aung’s lawyer, Kyaw Ho, said that despite the family being given permission by the judge to attend the session, a township-level Burmese intelligence official, Soe Soe Thein, blocked entry.

“The family had to stay outside [the courtroom] as Soe Soe Thein denied them from attending the hearing. The judge had made it clear that the court is an open place and anyone is permitted to attend the hearing,” said Kyaw Ho.

Phyo Wei Aung is facing a raft of charges for the 15 April grenade attacks on revellers on that killed nine and left hundreds injured. As well being accused of murder, he is being charged under the Unlawful Association Act, the Immigration Act, the Explosives Act and the Electronics Act.

Kyaw Ho said he was also preparing to demand an official investigation into allegations that his client was physically and mentally tortured during interrogation.

“[ Phyo Wei Aung] said he was forced to confess under physical and mental torture. He wanted to file a complaint on that and we will seek permission from the prison authorities. He will request that senior government officials open an investigation.”

The lawyer said that he finally managed to get a hold of the copy of Phyo Wei Aung’s case file yesterday. The next court hearing has been scheduled for 22 July.

The Burmese government claims he is a member of the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors, which stormed the Burmese embassy in Bangkok in 1999 and took 38 hostages.

Three separate grenade attacks hit the X20 pavilion in Rangoon on 15 April, as revellers celebrated the Thingyan festival. It was the most deadly attack on Rangoon in half a decade.

The father and son arrested after taking photographs of the aftermath of the grenade attacks are still being held in Rangoon’s Insein prison. Maung Maung Zeya and Sithu Zeya are being charged under the Unlawful Association Act and the Electronics Act.

Meanwhile, Kyaw Zin Lin, a political inmate in Insein prison, was last week reportedly beaten by prison wardens for bathing in a water tank reserved only for inmates who had paid money to prison authorities.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Khin Hnin Htet.

My opinion:

It is totally unfair for his parents not to hear his court. But, there is no law in Burma. If the political authorities said this is the law though there is actually no such law, then it is the law. That's how the political system in Burma works.

US sanctions on Burma renewed

By Agence France-Press

The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to renew for one year a ban on imports from Burma over alleged human rights abuses by its military rulers.

Lawmakers approved the bill, which has sailed through the US Congress annually since the restrictions first passed in 2003, by a voice vote.

The Senate was expected to act soon to send the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law.

The “Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003″ imposes a ban on Burmese imports unless the US president certifies that the country has taken steps toward democratic reforms and to help fight international drug smuggling.

“It is long overdue that the world acknowledges the regime is guilty of many heinous crimes, and we must lead the effort to hold it accountable,” said Representative Joseph Crowley, a longtime critic of Burma’s ruling junta.

The military regime in Burma plans to hold elections later this year despite disbanding the main opposition party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.

President Barack Obama’s administration has voiced concern about the elections but last year opened dialogue with the regime as part of its global policy of engagement with US adversaries.

“The administration has worked hard to reach out to Burma’s military regime and has urged them to change their ways. I believe this was a worthwhile and valuable effort,” said Crowley, a member of Obama’s Democratic Party.

“However, those efforts have been met with complete rejection – in fact, the situation in Burma has grown worse. That’s why now is the time to crank up the pressure,” he said.

The Obama administration has told Burma that it is willing to lift sanctions in the future in return for progress on US concerns – in particular, democratization.

The administration was unimpressed by the junta last week allowing former members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy to run as a new party, a move some activists fear is meant to splinter the opposition.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Agence France-Press.

My opinion:

It is good to have US sanctions on Burma renewed so that leaders from developed countries which support democracy can coerce Burmese juntas to develop democracy in the country. However, they should be aware of something. Than Shwe doesn't care he is blocked by various countries. He will do anything he can in order to enjoy luxuries and to rule the world. He won't even care about the civilians. He might even brutalize the civilians more if he is blocked in various way by the other countries in order for him to defend himself and to take advatage of them for his benefits.

US wary of NDF’s approval

By Agence France-Press

The United States said Monday it was deeply worried Burma’s upcoming election would be unfair, dismissing the junta’s move to allow former members of the main opposition party to run.

The military regime in Burma disbanded democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) but last week gave permission to some of its former members to run under a new name.

“It doesn’t change our concern about the electoral process. We think that this is a flawed electoral process,” state department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

“We respect decisions that former NLD members have made,” he said. “We certainly do not have any expectation that what proceeds in Burma here will be anything that remotely resembles a free, fair or legitimate result.”

The NLD plans to boycott the elections this year, believing they are an attempt for the junta to legitimize its rule.

The polls will be the first since 1990, when the NLD triumphed but was never allowed to take power. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, has spent most of the past two decades under house arrest.

Some activists believe the junta allowed the registration of the new National Democratic Force (NDF) in part to splinter the opposition, weakening the influence of the NLD and of Suu Kyi.

President Barack Obama’s administration has made dialogue with US adversaries a signature policy and last year opened talks with the junta aimed at repairing relations.

Crowley acknowledged the talks have not borne fruit on democratization but said the United States planned to stick with the policy.

“We have years, if not decades, of experience that tells us that isolation has not worked, either,” he said.

“We will continue to engage them not to reward them, but just simply to make sure that they have clarity that if they envision any different kind of relationship with the United States, that fundamental processes within their own country have to change,” he said.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Agence France-Press.

My opinion:

Don't worry that the election would be unfair. It is vivid that it is unfair from the start.

Thai PM to explain domestic crisis to Burma

By Agence France-Press

Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday he would pay his first official visit to Burma next month, ahead of rare elections in the military-run country.

“Arrangements are being made for a one or two-day visit,” Abhisit told reporters.

Abhisit did not disclose who he would meet during the early August trip but said it would kick off a round of overseas engagements aimed at explaining the political situation in Thailand in the wake of deadly opposition protests.

The Thai premier had planned to travel to Burma last July, but the visit was postponed because it would have coincided with the trial of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi over an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside home.

Suu Kyi has been locked up for almost 15 of the past 20 years and the authorities used the case to extend her detention.

Burma is set to hold its first elections in two decades sometime later this year, although Suu Kyi has been barred from standing and the polls are widely thought to be a sham aimed at entrenching the power of the generals.

In an interview with AFP this week, the Thai leader said he “would like to see inclusiveness” in the elections, although he added that there was “still a lot of uncertainty”.

Thailand, along with Burma’s other Asian neighbours, has come under criticism from the international community for not putting enough pressure on the junta.

“I do not think we have different objectives,” Abhisit said when asked about the pressure from Western allies to take a tougher line against Burma.

“The problem is what is appropriate in terms of the way you pursue that objective might differ when you are afar and when you are right next door,” he said.

“Instead of criticising each other, I have always supported the idea that we might undertake different tracks that lead to the same destination,” he added.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Agence France-Press.

My opinion:

Can we trust Thailand Prime Minster that he is coming to Burma for both countries' benefits or Burmese benefits?

PM’s party flashing money at supporters

By Aye Nai

The party led by Burmese prime minister Thein Sein is attempting to entice new supporters by offering financial loans with low rates of interest.

The loans are only available to those who join the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which is widely tipped to win controversial elections later this year. Competing candidates have already complained that the party is being given preferential treatment by the Burmese government.

New supporters have even said that they are joining the party entirely ignorant of what its policies are: the average wage in Burma is around US$220 per year and the interest rates on these loans are attractively low.

A Rangoon resident told DVB that the local USDP coordinator for her area asserted that the loans were “for campaigning purposes” and only available to members of the party.

“She said one has to join the party in order to get the loan. The interest is only three percent – the kind of deal you would normally only get from a pawn shop – so a lot of roadside vendors were [joining the party] so they can get the loan for investments.”

Street vendors will receive 60,000 kyat (US$60), while shop owners who rent property from the local municipal will get 500,000 kyat (US$500). A beetle-nut shop owner in Alone township in Rangoon said that he had joined the party and was given a loan.

“I filled in forms for the membership registration and the loan,” he said. “After filling in the forms, I was given 60,000 kyat. They said photos will be taken [for membership purposes] at their office and we have to pay for the photograph and document fees.

A noodle salad shop owner said that, despite not knowing the USDP’s policies, she joined nonetheless in order to receive a loan for her shop.

“I didn’t even read, let alone understand, the party’s policy and directives. I had to answer a question in the registration form about whether I believed in the party, and I answered yes. But I don’t really understand or acknowledge what the group’s policy is.”

The vendors who took the 60,000 kyat loan are to return 2000 kyat (US$2) each day and those who got the 500,000 kyat loan will have to return 103,000 kyat (US$103) per month for five months.

The registration and photography fee for new members is 1500 kyat (US$1.50) plus interest, meaning that the USDP will make 3300 kyat (US$3.30) from the vendors. It is not clear whether they will be given more loans after their debt is paid off.

A number of parties have said that the hefty fees required to run in the elections might prevent them from running effective campaigns: each candidate has to pay 500,000 kyat, on top of an overall 500,000 kyat charge for each competing party.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Aye Nai.

My opinion:

Right now, Prime Minster, Thein Sein, 's party seems hero to the poor civilians. But, after the election, the party will seem like a deadly and cruel monster because at that time, the party would require the civilians to pay all the debts at once. If not, they would increase the interest. This is pretty obvious trap of those political authorities who don't really care about the civilians but who know only for themselves.

NDF approved as constituencies drawn

By Htet Aung Kyaw

The opposition National Democratic Force (NDF) party has been finally approved to run for polls this year after months of scrutiny by Burma’s Election Commission (EC).

The state-run Myanmar Radio station announced the approval on Friday last week. The following day, the New Light of Myanmar said that the EC meeting also finalised constituency boundaries, but gave no further details.

“The chairman and the commission members scrutinized applications submitted by parties for registration, defined constituencies, made lists of eligible voters, designated places for polling stations, and held discussions on electoral matters,” it said.

The NDF includes former senior members of the now-defunct National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Relations between the two groups have soured, however, and spiralled last week after Suu Kyi’s party accused the NDF of stealing the insignia of a bamboo hat that the 1990 election winners had branded as their own. That insignia, and the NDF’s flag, were last week approved by the EC, despite protests by the old party.

Thein Nyunt, the deputy chair of the NDF, said the party is now due to submit a member list.

“First, we will have to submit a list within 90 days of 1000 party members. We still can’t say what we will do after that as the elections date and other details have not been announced yet. But we will try to compete in places that we are able to.”

He added that the party would compete for seats in both the People’s Parliament and the National Parliament in Rangoon division’s Thingangyun township.

A number of NDF members, including Thein Nyunt, were elected pas arliament representatives for the NLD in the 1990 elections, in which Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory.

The NDF was formed after the old guard of Burmese opposition decided on 6 May not to compete in the elections, following the announcement of election laws that would have forced the expulsion of Suu Kyi if the party wanted to run.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Htet Aung Kyaw.

My opinion:

Are NDF members crazy to participate in the election, deserting Suu Kyi as the leader due to the election law to forbid foreigners and foreigners' wives from participating? Or, when did they become animals fed by the ruling junta?

Lightning strike kills Rangoon man

By Naw Noreen

A man has been killed by a bolt of lightning that accompanied a tornado in southern Burma’s Rangoon division.

Six others injured when the tornado swept through Kawhmu township on Thursday last week. Another man in nearby Htantabin village was hospitalised after being sucked up by the tornado.

“He was pulled into the sky and landed somewhere else,” said a Htantabin resident. “He didn’t die but was hospitalised with serious injuries.”

The victim of the lightening strike is believed to be in his mid-twenties, and reportedly died on the spot. A Kawhmu resident said that a number of huts and houses in the surrounding villages were destroyed by the tornado.

“It came roaring down like an elephant’s trunk around 9pm or 10pm in the evening,” he said. “[In Taminchan village], 70 of around 100 houses were destroyed and six people were hospitalised. The wind just pulled the houses from their places.”

Rangoon division is still recovering from cyclone Nargis in May 2008, which killed 140,000 and destroyed swathes of farmland and property.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Naw Noreen.

My opinion:

I'm sorry for those living in the tornado affecting areas. The ruling junta won't even take care of those who are injured and whose properties are destroyed. It is so inhumane.

Water returns to crisis-hit regions

By Nan Kham Kaew

A welcome shift in weather patterns coupled with ongoing relief efforts in central and southern Burma has brought to a close a lengthy water shortage.

Numbers of hand-dug and pump wells are now functioning around Bago division’s Thanatbin and Waw townships, said Aye Myint, leader of the Guiding Star legal advocacy group which has provided assistance to farmers in Bago.

“The problem is pretty much solved. I was talking to some villagers this morning…they were very happy that they now have sufficient water,” he said. “There is not much rain here now – not enough to reach into the creeks, but the water should be enough for them to use in the coming years.”

He added that locals had recently found new sources of fresh water after digging wells that had produced only saltwater.

In an area home to around 40 villages in Burma’s southern Irrawaddy delta, which was razed by cyclone Nargis in May 2008, lakes with holding capacities of 60,000 gallons were being dug by the Myanmar Medical Association (MMA).

“The lakes are 10 feet deep and 100 square-feet wide and they can hold enough water to last 1000 people six months,” said an MMA official. “Supposing we finish building all the lakes in October, then there will be plenty of water for people here next summer.”

The MMA was funded by the Japanese and Australian governments, as well as UNICEF. Previously, the group built 50 lakes for villages closer to the sea south of Bogale, including Kyaunnyo village. The group warned however that there remains villages with little access to water.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s Cyclone Nargis Relief Committee is also building two pump wells in Bogale’s Aung Tayza and Myat Phayon village. The committee’s leader, Ohn Kyaing, said however that work has been suspended because only saltwater had been found.

“We are inspecting a spot [for well-digging] in a village named Satsu. Right now there is little concern about drinking water because the rainy season is here.”

This was corroborated by locals in the seaside villages of Pyinsalu and Hlwazar, south of Irrawaddy division’s Laputta. “We are OK now for drinking water after the rain. Lakes are also filled to about one-third of their size. We are just waiting for heavy rain to come so [the lakes] will be completely filled.”

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Nan Kham Kaew.

My opinion:

I'm glad for those who are living in areas where there are now fresh water to drink. And also I thank those who try hard to search fresh water for those who are in trouble. No political authority helps in such cases out of their benefit.

Rangoon bomb suspect put in solitary

By Khin Hnin Htet

The man suspected by police to be behind the Rangoon bombings in April that killed nine has been placed in solitary confinement in Insein prison.

Phyo Wei Aung’s lawyer, Kyaw Ho, told DVB that his client has been barred from communicating with other inmates and is being denied his rights as a prisoner.

“[Phyo Wei Aung] said that he has been in the prison for more than two months already but is still being denied the rights granted to other inmates, such as playing football or chinlone [ball sport],” said Kyaw Ho.

“He was kept alone and not allowed to communicate with anyone, which is damaging his mental health. He asked me to submit an official request to the prison authorities to give him equal rights.”

Kyaw Ho continues to be deined access to a copy of the case file, rendering his own analysis of the incident and surrounding issues difficult to carry out.

“I still don’t know what is in the case file. I understood that he was arrested under accusations of the bombing but among the charges pressed on him are the Unlawful Association Act and the Immigration Act [for illegal border crossing]. I can only find out the real details when I look at the case file.”

Phyo Wei Aung is set to appear on court on 14 July. He is accused of being behind three separate attacks on the X20 pavilion in Rangoon on 15 April, as revellers celebrated the annual water festival. Nine people were killed and dozens injured. He was arrested by police on 23 April.

Police said that three grenades had been thrown into the crowds during the water festival. Another device, made with a beer can filled with explosive powder and attached by detonation wire to a mobile telephone, failed to explode.

A Rangoon-based graphic designer and his son were arrested after taking photos of the aftermath of the bombing, and are still being held.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Khin Hnin Htet.

My opinion:

It is totally unfair for him to be barred from communicating with other prisoners. But, that's how the political authorities brutalize the civilians mentally and physically.

Mentally-ill orphan used in Burma army

By Aye Nai

A mentally-handicapped boy adopted by sister after both parents died has been recruited by a notorious Burmese army unit in Mandalay division.

The 17-year-old from Dike Oo, in Burma’s central Bago division, was taken a fortnight ago by troops from the Light Infantry Division (LID) 99, based in Mandalay’s Meikhtila town. Sein Toe and a friend had been returning from temporary work in a bakery when they were approached by troops at Tharzi railway station close to Meikhtila, his sister, Phyu Phway, told DVB.

Tharzi station is a common hunting ground for troops who are required by army policy to recruit a certain amount of personnel for each battalion. Use of child soldiers is illegal under Burmese law, but the government is thought to be one of the world’s leading recruiters.

“At the [Tharzi] railway station, the boys were checked for identification by soldiers wearing the LID 99 insignias,” Phyu Phway said. “They both had their ID cards with them. The boys were told by a soldier that the army will send 100,000 kyat [US$100] and a bag of rice home if they join the army.

“His friend [Maung Gwan] refused and he was let go on the grounds that he is a tenth grade student, but my brother agreed to go with them. I was told about this by [Maung Gwan].”

Sein Toe has been afflicted by an illness that his sister says stunts mental and physical development, although nothing has been officially diagnosed. Another sister died several years ago, and the condition forced Sein Toe to leave school at a young age.

Phyu Phway said that he had gone to Meikhtila to make some extra income for the family wheile she was pregnant. “He is my only sibling and I just want him back. I don’t approve of him [becoming a soldier].”

Officials at Tharzi railway station were not available to comment, but a resident in Tharzi said the report mirrored a similar incident on 25 June involving soldiers from the LIB 420, which largely operates under LID 99.

“There were two boys who were apparently running from the soldiers who tried to forcibly recruit them from [Tharzi] railway station,” he said. “They were shaking in fear. One of them was rather tall and the other was short. When asked what happened they replied that they were running from the soldiers – they said slipped away from them.”

Phyu Phway is seeking assistance from the Guiding Star legal advocacy group to bring her brother home.

Meanwhile, last month an underage boy who refused to join the army in Bago division was shot dead by a soldier. The information was blacked out by the Burmese government, which repeatedly breaks promises made to the international community regarding the use of child soldiers in the army.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Aye Nai.

Political parties submit member lists

By DVB

The scrutinising of party members for Burma’s elections this year is now underway, with two groups having already submitted member lists to the Election Commission (EC).

Thirty-six parties have so far been approved to run in the elections, out of 42 that initially registered. The two whose lists are now in – the Mro or Khami National Solidarity Organization (MKNSO) and the National Unity Party (NUP) – were both participants in the last elections in 1990.

The NUP, which was formed by members of the current ruling junta and its precursor, the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), came in third with 10 out of 492 seats.

The current political committee secretary of the NUP, Thein Htun, said that the party has around 7,000 members but not everyone was listed in time, “so we might not have names of [members] from every [administrative region]”.

Election laws stipulate that each party has at least 1,000 members to be eligible to run. The date for elections has not yet been set, although the junta announced it would be held in the latter part of this year. Rumours have circulated that it could be held in October.

Critics have decried the elections as a sham aimed at cementing military rule in Burma. A number of competing politicians have said that preferential treatment is being given to the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), headed by Burma’s current prime minister, Thein Sein, which appears to have been given a headstart in campaigning.

It is yet known how many members the MKNSO, whose membership base is predominantly Arakanese, submitted. The party competed for four parliamentary seats in the 1990 elections and won one; party chairman, San Thar Aung, was elected as the parliament’s representative for a constituency in Arakan state’s Kyauk Phyu township.

Phyo Min Thein, the chairman of the Union Democratic Party (UDP), said that around 5,000 membership forms were initially distributed. “We are looking to submit 1,200 members, and because of paperwork requirements we decided to submit only a list of those who are sure [to become members].”

He added that some UDP members in regional offices in such as Shan state, Bago division and Rangoon division were afraid to campaign for fear of intimidation from the USDP and its social wing, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).

“We will welcome Thein Sein really stripping off his military uniform to be tested among the public. Because we are looking for democratic elections, it will be unfair if [the USDP] is already acting like a winning party,” said Phyo Min Thein.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma).

My opinion:

It is doubtful why the parties participating in the election have to submit their party member lists. Probably, the junta can torment every member of a party if that party is against the junta.

Burmese army targets ‘dispirited’ youths

By Thurein Soe

Hundreds of children, some as young as 13, are being coerced into military training in Burma’s northeastern Shan state.

One 16-year-old said that around 260 youths in the border town of Tachilek, close to Mae Sai in Thailand, were enrolled in training in mid-June. Authorities reportedly told them that they would be trained in fire-fighting.

“For the first two days of the training, we were actually taught the basics on fire-fighting. But over the next days, they brought guns to the training and taught us how to assemble and dissemble them,” the boy told DVB.

Locals in Tachilek speculated that the government could be attempting to persuade dispirited youths in the town who failed high school exams last year to join the army.

The trainees were given an allowance of between 2000 and 3000 kyat (US$2 to US$3) allowance depending on which ward in Tachilek they came from. Sources told DVB some of the youths, after learning that the training was for military purposes, went into hiding.

Burma’s child soldier issue was raised at the UN last week by the secretary general’s special representative for children in armed conflict. Radhika Coomaraswamy urged the Burmese government to allow the UN access to armed rebel groups thought to use child soldiers.

But the Burmese junta is also thought to be one of the world’s leading recruiters of child soldiers. A Human Rights Watch report in 2002 claimed that there could be as many as 70,000 child soldiers within the Burmese army, despite it being illegal under domestic law.

Their use is symptomatic of the government’s aggressive expansion of its army, which is now thought to number around 500,000, or nearly one soldier for every 10 people in the country. Battalion commanders are ordered to fulfil quotas of troop numbers and are rewarded with food or money when this is achieved, hence the ongoing forced recruitment of children.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Thurein Soe.

My opinion:

There was recruitment of children as soldiers in the military, but there was no such many heard (or may be because of suppression and censorship of the media??). These days, recruitment of child soldiers becomes a popular issue that needs to be solved as quickly as possible. The military takes advantage of those who are poor and illiterate in order for them to increase their control, power and force. That's so much inhumane!!!

Economic growth ‘to accelerate’ in 2010-11

(But only for the military, especially, the junta)

By Francis Wade

Investment in Burma’s energy sectors will speed up economic growth in the coming year although the ruling junta will continue to run wide fiscal deficits, a report states.

Discounting the expansion of the gas and hydropower industries, the Burmese economy will remain weak and growth “sluggish” in 2010-11, the monthly Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report says.

It warned however that natural gas production, which is rapidly becoming the cornerstone of Burma’s export sector, has plateaued and won’t record strong growth until new fields come on stream, which likely won’t be until 2013 at the earliest. Burma is currently embroiled in a dispute with Bangladesh over ownership of offshore gas blocks that isn’t likely to be resolved until 2014, while a lucrative gas deal with China won’t become functional until 2012.

Burma remains one of the world’s least developed countries, and was last year ranked 138 out of 182 countries in the UN’s Human Development Index. The UN Development Programme said last month that Burma would struggle to meet any of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Its slow growth has been made starker by the accelerating economies of neighbouring China, Thailand and India, which are now pouring money into Burma’s energy sector.

Regardless of new investments, however, its projected GDP growth rate for next year is less than one percent, a figure more akin to the world’s most developed countries, and nothing close to the nine percent and six percent respectively for China and India, two emerging economies.

If the status quo remains in Burma, increasing foreign investment will do little to benefit the country as a whole: decades of military rule and economic mismanagement means that little wealth has reached Burmese people – the average annual wage stands at around US$220, and the government spends 1.8 percent of its budget on healthcare, compared to an average of 6.4 percent across Southeast Asia.

The report also pointed a figure at the government’s myopic focus on channeling money into strengthening the military, as well as the billions of dollars that have gone into building the new capital, Naypyidaw.

There was a small bit of good news for the country’s “buoyant” agriculture sector, which was hit hard by cyclone Nargis in May 2008 but “rebounded in 2009”. The report warned however that ongoing lack of government investment and access to equipment means that it will “continue to struggle to grow rapidly”. Moreover, the effects of foreign aid that contributed to its revitalisation could taper off in the coming years.

The ruling junta has announced it will hold elections later this year, and analysts speculate that a new pseudo-civilian government will take the reins, with many of the old guard of the military holding onto key positions.

US and EU sanctions on the country look set to remain in place in the near future in an attempt to further isolate the economy, although their impact has been dampened by ongoing trade with Southeast Asian countries. One of the few tangible impacts of sanctions has been on the country’s once-rich gem sector, which has dwindled in tandem with a tightening boycott and lacklustre global demand for precious stones.

The EIU report said however that a replenished regional demand for timber and pulses will strengthen that area of the market, despite warnings from environment groups that Burma is suffering from alarming rates of deforestation.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Francis Wade.

My opinion:

Burma is so much rich in natural resources, but the wealth made from these natural resources is taken by the ruling junta for his own benefits instead of for the civilians'. If the junta uses these natural resources in good ways and benefits the civilians, the country would be so much developed. However, the junta is such a bad, horrible, crazy, inhumane and old bug that ruins the civilians' lives and the nature.

US to extend Burma import ban

By Agence France-Press

A key US senate panel voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to renew for one year a ban on imports from Burma over alleged human rights abuses by its military rulers.

The Senate Finance Committee voted 22-1 to extend the sanctions, as has been done each year under a law passed in 2003. The measure still needs approval from the full senate as well as the House of Representatives.

Democratic senator Max Baucus, the panel’s chairman, said the ban applied “necessary pressure on the Burmese junta to stop its gross mistreatment of the Burmese people and abide by international human rights standards.”

“As long as the Burmese junta continues to abuse and suppress its people, the United States needs to continue to join our trading partners in standing up for the Burmese people and supporting human rights,” he said in a statement.

The “Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003″ imposes a ban on Burmese imports unless the US president certifies that the country has taken steps toward democratic reforms and to help fight international drug smuggling.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Agence France-Press.

My opinion:

It is good to use coercion on the junta, but be aware that if the junta needs something, he will cheat and again torture the civilians. So, at last, the ones who would suffer most would be the civilians. So, make sure not to hurt the civilians with whatever you want to force the junta.

India trade dampens Burma sanctions

By Francis Wade

Burma’s trade with neighbouring India has seen a 26 percent increase in the past year while Singapore becomes a top destination for Burmese exports.

Statistics from both countries show that foreign interest in Burma’s economy is growing, despite sporadic attempts by the US and EU to pressure regional countries into boycotting the resource-rich pariah.

Trade with India reached US$1.19 billion in 2009-10, Xinhua news reported, but the country still lags behind Singapore, China and Thailand in trading partner rankings. Thailand currently provides the biggest crutch for the ruling junta, but China is rapidly becoming the main impediment to effective sanctions on Burma.

Naypyidaw and Beijing earlier this month inked a raft of new trade deals, including the controversial Monywa copper agreement, which will see Chinese weapons giant, Norinco, move in on one of Burma’s most lucrative mines.

Moreoever, the Shwe pipeline project which will carry oil and gas from western Burma to southern China is expected to net the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) up to US$30 billion over the next three decades.

Despite the US senate yesterday voting to extend an import ban on Burmese goods – a reaction to lack of progress by the junta on human rights abuses and drug trafficking – America’s interest in Burma remains controversial, with US oil giant Chevron able to continue its work in the Yadana oil fields.

The Yadana pipeline, which feeds energy-hungry Thailand, has been mired in controversy, and appears to require a 40-kilometer wide militarised security corridor through southeastern to protect the flow of gas.

Burma’s expansion of its natural energy sector has whetted the appetite of India, which is eyeing a US$5.6 billion investment in two major dam sites. Analysts have said the country is turning to Burma for its hydroelectric needs because of environmental and human rights concerns in India resulting from its own such projects.

The SPDC’s Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) notes that US$137 million worth of Indian capital had been invested in Burma’s oil and gas sector by September 2007; more recent figures show that India’s contracted investment in Burma in 2009-10 reached US$189 million.

China however remains the key funder of Burmese hydropower, and the drying of the Mekong river is partly blamed on Chinese dam construction. China’s reach into Burma is set to soar over the coming decade; already it has forced US policymakers to question the worth of sanctions in light of the rise of regional powerhouses who are willing to trade with the maligned regime.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Francis Wade.

My opinion:

I wonder why all leaders all over the world care only for their own civilians, not for others too. It is really a shame of those who make investment in Burma or support the junta. For others, I would like to say, if you have power and finance to wipe out the military, do it. Just don't shout or don't criticize.

Suu Kyi’s party berates new opposition

By Khin Hnin Htet

Burma’s now-defunct National League for Democracy (NLD) party is to officially protest against the use of an image it claims ownership of by a splinter group running for elections this year.

The symbol of a bamboo hat, traditionally worn by farmers, became iconic among the Burmese pro-democracy movement after becoming the National League for Democracy’s campaign symbol during the 1990 elections.

But now the National Democratic Force (NDF), formed of senior NLD members who refused to adhere to the party’s boycott of elections this year, has adopted the image, much to the chagrin of their old colleagues.

The deputy chair of the NLD, Tin Oo, said that the NDF has “no connection” to the party and should use images distinct from those used by the NLD. It will send an official letter of complaint to NDF leaders today.

Tin Oo said that the seal “is very much impersonating ours… [the NDF] just added two stars to the top of the image,” adding that because the NLD exists as an organisation, whether or not a political party, then the symbol should not be mimicked.

“[Today] we will prepare a formal complaint letter and make a strong objection at the Election Commission. Impersonating is not an ethical thing,” he said.

Relations between the remaining senior NLD members and the new NDF party are said to be strained. Khin Maung Swe, who acted as spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s party before co-founding the NDF, said last week that the election boycott was “meaningless”.

There were already reported to have been fissures at the NLD’s senior level as it debated in March this year whether or not to participate in Burma’s first polls in 20 years. Its eventual decision was largely down to election laws that would have forced the party to expel Suu Kyi if it wanted to run.

But the deputy leader of the new opposition party, Thein Nyunt, argued that the bamboo hat “is a [symbol] for Burmese tradition and it represents the majority of the people”. The party’s new seal will showcase a golden hat beneath two stars on a red background, with the party name below, he added.

“Did [the NLD] ever register the symbol? If they did, we are not allowed to use it, but if they didn’t, then they are not in a position to make an objection,” Thein Nyunt said.

Rumours have been circulated by other contesting parties that voters are now confused about apparently souring relations between the old and new guard of Burmese opposition. An Italian diplomat who met with both groups earlier this week also reportedly probed them on the issue.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Khin Hnin Htet.

My opinion:

I wonder if NDF already becomes animals fed or puppets controlled by the junta. Even if not, they should not be so rude, saying so badly of NLD, if they themselves declare that they are old members of NLD. I am so frustrated to hear these conversations from NDF and news.

Burma clamps down on travelling monks

By Min Lwin

Suspension of passports for monks in Burma has begun amid suggestions that the Burmese government is attempting to block the influential community from going abroad in the run-up to elections.

Monks have also complained that the government’s passport issuing board in Rangoon is also refusing to extend nearly-expired passports and implementing restrictions on applications for new ones.

One monk told DVB on condition of anonymity that the new regulation required monks looking to go abroad to have the Dhammācariyā degree, which is equivalent to a Masters degree in the UK and awards status as a lecturing monk.

“Also there are three requirements when submitting the passport application: you must have the Dhammācariyā degree, you must have the sponsor’s letter and must have the approval by the religious affairs minister,” he said. “These are the requirements that cannot be achieved easily and are thus stopping the monks [from going abroad].”

The allegations were denied by Burma’s ministry of religious affairs. According to government statistics, there are some 400,000 monks in Burma out of a total population of nearly 60 million.

The community is highly revered inside the country, and rose to international attention after the September 2007 uprising in which hundreds of thousands of monks took to the streets in protest against military rule in Burma. A number were shot dead by troops, while hundreds more were forced to flee abroad.

According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), 252 monks are currently behind bars in Burma, some serving sentences of more than 70 years. Human Rights Watch said last year on the anniversary of the September 2007 uprising that monks were still subject to oppression, intimidation and surveillance.

Prominent exiled monk, Ashin Issariya (also known as King Zero), said that monks travelling abroad to study were seen by the Burmese government to be defying the ruling generals and were able to speak freely about what they had witnessed inside Burma.

“When [junta chief] Than Shwe visited Sri Lanka [in November 2009], he was boycotted by Burmese monks studying in the country, who refused to accept religious donations from him; he was very disappointed about that,” said Ashin Issariya.

The giving of donations to monks is seen as a symbolically important ‘merit making’ act within Buddhist tradition, and the refusal of this can carry negative ramifications, such as bad karma.

“[Than Shwe] also got the same treatment from majority of the Burmese monks in India when he visited there; the government believes that monks studying abroad are becoming more defiant against [the government],” Ashin Issariya added.

He said this was due to the monks gaining international exposure, “so [the junta] began enacting various restrictions to keep the monks from going abroad”.

Reference:

This is from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) by the author Min Lwin.

My opinion:

It is really horrible that the junta beats and kill many monks during Saffron Revolution. Now, the junta wants to continue suppressing monks for them not to interfere with the election later this year. In my view, however the junta tries to suppress the civilians not to be against the military, there will come a time when the junta falls down because no one can cover the truth and fairness.