Burma Related News - Sep 29, 2005.
Tin Kyi
BURMA RELATED NEWS - SEPTEMBER 29, 2005.
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HEADLINES
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Reuters - Myanmar has 1,100 political prisoners -UN expert
AFP - Expelling Myanmar from ASEAN will not solve problem: Singapore's
Lee
AFP - Myanmar worries as rappers upstage traditional xylophones
AP - U.N. Probes Myanmar Political Prisoners
Kyodo News - New U.N. report urges Myanmar to implement democratic
reforms
Angola Press - Myanmar to set up first fish breeding zone in southern
division
Bkk Post - Karen country
NewKerala - Mizoram Govt to work out project on Indo-Myanmar water
transport
NSTP - Myanmar national fails in appeal to have sentenced reduced
FE - Dhaka, Yangon fail to sign road-link deal
VNA - Mekong River Commission discusses watershed management
The Nation - Asean must change its failed policies on Burma
DVB News - Burmese ethnic nationals welcome call for UNSC action on
Burma
DVB News - Burmese Air Force targets coastal Tennesserim region
DVB News - Cholera outbreak at Burma Tharawaddy Jail latest
BBC News - Chin State sees mysterious mythun deaths
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Myanmar has 1,100 political prisoners -UN expert
By Irwin Arieff
Wed Sep 28, 5:05 PM ET
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Myanmar's military rulers are still holding
more than 1,100 political prisoners despite last July's release of 249
such detainees, a U.N. human rights investigator reported on Wednesday.
Monks, lawyers, teachers, journalists, farmers, politicians, student
leaders, writers and poets are among those the reclusive Southeast Asian
nation is detaining on political grounds, special rapporteur Paulo
Sergio Pinheiro of Brazil said in a report to the 191-nation U.N.
General Assembly.
"The immediate release of all 1,100 political prisoners would send a
powerful signal to the people of Myanmar and the international community
that the government is seriously committed to a genuine process of
reconciliation and to constituting a participatory democracy in
Myanmar," he said.
Pinheiro has visited Myanmar six times since the U.N. Commission on
Human Rights asked him to keep an eye on its human rights performance in
2000.
He has not been allowed back since November 2003 despite repeated
requests. He based his 2005 report on "information collected from a
variety of independent and reliable sources."
U.S. and British diplomats say they will try again in October to raise
human rights abuses in Myanmar in the 15-nation U.N. Security Council
after being blocked from getting the issue on the council's agenda in
June when Russia objected.
The military has run the country formerly known as Burma since 1962,
refusing to hand over power after the National League of Democracy, the
party led by opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won
a 1990 election.
The government in Yangon has promised to restore democracy through
reforms including freeing political dissidents and drafting a new
constitution.
But there have been no signs this year of political or constitutional
changes and Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, where she recently
celebrated her 60th birthday, Pinheiro said. She has spent nine of the
past 16 years behind bars or under house arrest.
Although a national convention is drafting a new constitution, its work
will lack credibility "as long as it fails to adequately represent the
people of Myanmar," he said.
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Thursday September 29, 8:16 AM
Expelling Myanmar from ASEAN will not solve problem: Singapore's Lee
SINGAPORE (AFP) - Expelling Myanmar from the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) will not help solve the military-ruled country's
problems, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
Speaking to a forum of business leaders and diplomats late Wednesday,
Lee said taking a confrontational stand with threats of expulsion was
not the 10-nation regional bloc's way of dealing with its own members.
Lee was answering a question from a diplomat about calls by some
Southeast Asian legislators to expel Myanmar from ASEAN to pressure
Yangon's ruling junta to release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
carry out political reforms.
"Maybe in the Commonwealth context this is the way you have to work. But
in the ASEAN context we have found a different way more suited to our
circumstances," Lee told a private-sector ASEAN forum.
The Commonwealth, which groups former British colonies, expelled
Zimbabwe in March 2002 following allegations of rigged elections that
returned President Robert Mugabe to power. Pakistan's suspension
following a coup in 1999 was lifted last year.
Myanmar has been an embarrassment to ASEAN and a thorn in the group's
ties with its dialogue partners, particularly the United States and
Europe which have accused the junta of human rights abuses and political
repression.
International pressure, including from some key ASEAN members, forced
Yangon in July to relinquish its turn to hold the chairmanship of ASEAN
in 2006. This is rotated alphabetically among members, so the
Philippines will lead the organisation next year after Malaysia.
Lee said ASEAN leaders and officials have discussed the issue of Myanmar
among themselves and agreed to continue engaging their neighbour.
"Myanmar is a member of ASEAN. It's got certain internal problems ...
and we've discussed this with them. It's caused difficulties with our
relations with our dialogue partners -- the Europeans and the
Americans," he said.
"But within ASEAN, we have to manage these issues in a way which will be
helpful, effective and constructive in the long term."
The 38-year-old ASEAN prefers to focus on issues of common interest
rather than differences, Lee stressed.
"Where we can cooperate, we move forward first. I think that is the way
we have handled problems in ASEAN and it worked for us.
"In the case of Myanmar, we have made our views known to Myanmar from
the point of view of people who wish Myanmar well -- that we hope they
will be able to overcome their problems," he said.
Apart from Myanmar and Singapore, ASEAN's other members are Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and
Vietnam.
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Myanmar worries as rappers upstage traditional xylophones
Wed Sep 28, 1:24 PM ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) - An enigmatic smile appears on his wrinkled face
and his faded eyes shine brightly as his fingers caress the ivory keys
of the one musical instrument he truly loves, his piano.
The melodious music which comes out grabs the attention of those nearby.
"We cannot stop people's interest in music ... it is something inherent
in humans. Everyone has enjoyed listening to music since they were
young," says Gita Lulin U Ko Ko, a 77-year-old professional pianist.
The old musician, whose name translates as "a youth who adores music",
has spent his life preserving and teaching traditional Myanmar music,
which he has adapted to perform on European instruments like his piano.
But Myanmar's military government is becoming increasingly worried about
younger musicians' efforts to adopt modern Western styles, fearing the
rising popularity of local hip-hop bands is destroying traditional
culture.
"Traditional music is the only long term symbol for the country. So it
should be the state's own music," says Gita Lulin U Ko Ko, who has
practiced traditional music since age he was 11 and is considered a
xylophone expert.
The junta holds an annual arts festival, due this year in the first week
of October, to stage competitions in music, song composing, puppetry,
drama, dance and singing.
But young people are increasingly allured by the temptation of western
pop culture that still seeps into this isolated nation through pirated
videos and CDs, as well as on satellite music stations.
Four university students who formed a new hip-hop group called Examplez
have taken Yangon by storm with their unique style that mixes pop, rap
and sometimes traditional songs, making them one of Myanmar's top bands.
"Examplez's music is our own musical creation coming from our hearts,
something that people our age can relate to. We have to follow the
trends," says Examplez singer Tun Tun.
"It would be like insulting the country and our national dress if we
wore sarongs while singing hip-hop. We don't envy foreign performers. We
are always proud to be from Myanmar," adds the 21-year-old.
Phyo Maung Maung, 22, says his parents scolded him for being in the band
at first.
"They could not listen or accept what I sing. So we tried singing old
songs with our group's new style. Now the elders understand our style,
even my parents.
"I am crazy about the music."
But it is the way they and their fans look as much as how they sound
that worries the censors, for whom the sight of local youths dressing up
like sex gods on satellite TV is a shock.
"The behaviour and attire of some of the girls are unacceptable. They
act like they are in a foreign country. The authorities should stop them
from dressing so decadently," says Thandar, 27, an office worker who
likes going to the concerts.
She worries that the T-shirts and mini-skirts draw unwanted attention
from men, who could see the young women as easy targets for sexual
assault.
"Young people like to wear fashionable clothes when they go to a
concert, but I think they want to enjoy the show more than anything
else," Nan Nan, a 15-year-old high school girl says.
But the members of Examplez say authorities don't need to worry about
western values dominating Myanmar's culture.
"You can't say that western music is influencing our country. Music is
just music. We have to work according to current trends," says Htoo
Kyaw, 21, another member of the group.
"We study musical ideas from other countries, through video CDs and MTV,
but we like to create our own," says Thet Aung, 21, the group's fourth
member.
"Other countries have all sorts of machines that bands need. They have
better technology than us," he says.
Gita Lulin U Ko Ko says he sympathizes with younger musicians.
"Youths are the majority of Myanmar population. We cannot stop their
interest in other music from other countries, or from watching the
trends. Who's to say whether western culture has penetrated Myanmar, or
if it was welcomed out of self interest," he says.
"I do not think Western music could ever completely influence our
country. Every country has faced this situation before, but we must help
the next generation carry traditional Myanmar music into the future."
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Thursday September 29, 9:48 AM
U.N. Probes Myanmar Political Prisoners
AP - Myanmar's military junta is holding more than 1,100 political
prisoners and allegedly uses torture on a routine basis and continues to
harass pro-democracy activists, a U.N. human rights investigator said
Wednesday.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said serious human rights violations also continue
to be perpetrated against Myanmar's ethnic minorities, citing widespread
reports of forced labor, rape and other sexual violence, extortion and
expropriation by government forces.
In the report to the U.N. General Assembly, he expressed serious concern
about the continued house arrest of pro-democracy activist and Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, saying her virtual solitary
confinement and lack of access to colleagues from her National League
for Democracy political party "run
counter to the spirit of national reconciliation."
Fearing her popularity, the military has detained Suu Kyi repeatedly,
most recently in 2003.
Despite the welcome release of 249 political prisoners on July 6,
Pinheiro said "there reportedly remain over 1,100 political prisoners in
Myanmar, including monks, lawyers, teachers, journalists, farmers,
politicians, student leaders, writers and poets."
He expressed disappointment that U Win Tin, a 75-year-old editor and
poet imprisoned for 16 years, had been told on July 6 of his imminent
release but remains in Insein prison.
The continued detention of political prisoners runs counter to the
spirit and objective of the military junta's 2003 road map for the
transition to democracy, Pinheiro said.
Officials at Myanmar's U.N. mission weren't available for comment
Wednesday evening.
The military junta seized power in 1988 and called elections in 1990 but
refused to hand over office when Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly.
Last year, it called a national convention to set guidelines for a new
constitution as part of a process to eventually hold free elections but
Suu Kyi was not allowed to participate and her party boycotted the
convention.
Pinheiro warned that if representatives of the democratic opposition
aren't involved in the national convention, "any constitution that
emerges will lack credibility."
The government should take immediate steps to include all political
parties "to salvage the national convention and its credibility both at
home and internationally," he said.
"The transition to a full, participatory and democratic system in
Myanmar can no longer be postponed," Pinheiro said. "Political and
constitutional dialogue must begin without delay."
At the moment, however, he said "civilians, including members of
registered political parties and pro-democracy activists, continue to be
harassed, arrested, tried and sentenced to prison for the peaceful
exercise of basic civil and political rights and freedoms."
All offices of Suu Kyi's party remain shut with the exception of its
headquarters in the capital, Yangon, "and political party members are
consistently liable to politically motivated prosecution and
incarceration," Pinheiro said.
He expressed concern at "ongoing allegations of the pervasive and
systematic use of torture and ill-treatment by the authorities against
persons in pre-trial detention," citing at least four deaths in custody
between January and July.
Pinheiro, who has not been allowed to visit Myanmar since November 2003,
said he has received reports that detainees "are often subjected to
prolonged deprivation of sleep, food and water during initial
interrogation, which may stretch over several days."
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Thursday September 29, 6:52 AM
New U.N. report urges Myanmar to implement democratic reforms
(Kyodo) _ Democratic reforms need to be carried out immediately in
Myanmar, especially in light of a climate where activists continue to be
imprisoned, minorities violated and political parties oppressed, a U.N.
human rights expert said in a report released Wednesday.
"The transition to a full, participatory and democratic system in
Myanmar can no longer be postponed," said Sergio Pinheiro, the special
rapporteur on Myanmar for the Commission on Human Rights. "Political and
constitutional dialogue must begin without delay."
Although Pinheiro has not been allowed into the country since November
2003, he based his report on interviews carried out with academics,
nongovernmental organizations and diplomatic representatives.
A key concern is the fact that opposition parties were excluded from the
national political convention held in March and that more than 1,100
political prisoners, including monks, lawyers, teachers, farmers and
poets, continue to be detained. Many have been imprisoned for years
without legal representation.
"The exclusion of important and representative political actors from the
process, the restrictions placed on their involvement, the intolerance
of critical voices and the intimidation and detention of pro-democracy
activities render any notion of a democratic process devoid of meaning,"
he said in the report.
He is also "very concerned" about the prevalence of administration
detention as a practice, particularly in the case of the head of the
opposition National League for Democracy.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD's general secretary and Nobel Peace Laureate,
and the party's vice chairman, U Tin Oo, as well as other ethnic
leaders, remain under house arrest with no date given for their release.
In addition to their detentions, the former prime minister, Gen. Khin
Nyunt, has also been taken into custody along with many of his aides and
allies.
While Pinheiro welcomed the release of 249 political prisoners,
including politicians, an editor and political party members, in July,
the news was tempered by ongoing arrests, detentions and harsh sentences
handed out to other democracy advocates and civilians.
"By instituting values of democracy and human rights," he adds, "the
government will send a clear signal to the people of Myanmar and the
international community that it is actively committed to facilitating
the creation of a stable and democratic future for the country."
Meanwhile, outside the U.N. headquarters, a small group of protesters is
carrying out a 17-day hunger strike in efforts to appeal for Suu Kyi's
release.
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Angola Press
Myanmar to set up first fish breeding zone in southern division
YANGON, 09/28 - Myanmar will establish the first fish and prawn breeding
zone in Ayeyawaddy division, southern part of the country, to boost
export of marine products, according to sources with the fishery
industry Wednesday.
About 100 fish and prawn breeding ponds covering an area of nearly 700
hectares will be built in the division`s Pandanaw township and
investment from local and foreign entrepreneurs is being invited, the
sources said.
A plan of adding a jetty near the zone is also being worked out to
enable vessels from Bangladesh to berth for fish and prawn trading, it
said, adding that the project is estimated to complete by next April.
Meanwhile, an international fisheries trading center along the Yangon
River is due to open early next year to facilitate trading activities in
the sector, earlier reports said.
Built on an area of 6 hectares, the center will have facilities such as
jetty, cold storage and ice-making plant, and the introduction of the
international fisheries center will replace the existing Central Fish
Market in the capital which is too small, the reports added.
Official statistics show that Myanmar exported over 255,000 tons of fish
products in 2004-05 which ended in March, up 50,000 tons from 2003-04.
During the year, the fishery exports through normal trade earned 191
million US dollars and 8.25 million euros, while that through border
trade fetched nearly 10 million dollars, 5,000 euros and 131 billion
Kyats.
Half of the country`s fishery products were exported through border
trade, mainly to China and Thailand, the figures show.
Myanmar`s fishery sector remains as the third largest contributor to the
gross domestic product (GDP) with an output value of 310.31 billion
Kyats (about 344 million US dollars according to market exchange rate)
in 2003-04, taking up about 8 percent of the GDP.
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Bangkok Post - Thursday 29 September 2005
Karen country
In the far north it doesn't take much to put a roof over your head
LLOYD SULLIVAN
The Moei River, which separates Thailand from Myanmar (Burma) for much
of its length, flows south from around Mae Moei National Park to just
below Mae Sot, a distance a bit more than 100 kilometres. The river
isn't much to look at from under the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge at
Mae Sot-Myawadi, but north of there it flows deep green and languorous
through forest and farmland. I was riding up Thai Highway 105 on my way
to Mae Hong Son, the river in view much of the time, and it was
beautiful. Rivers tend to do better the farther they are from human
population centres.
I'd got a late start that morning, but I still intended to spend the
night in Mae Hong Son 400 kilometres away. The 105 offers travellers a
great view of the countryside and I was enjoying the road immensely as
it twisted through the hills. The air was cool and the traffic light.
This was quintessential motorcycling, life broken down into just three
components: man, medium and machine. I lost all concept of time.
I saw my first major hill tribe village up ahead and I knew I had to
stop and get some photos. It was an immense community of wooden houses
on stilts, sprawled out across several hills on the west side of the
road. I pulled over and killed the engine. The village was fenced off by
barbed wire and I wondered if the villagers did this to control the
tourists. I looked around and didn't see any foreigners, just some
locals idling about on the other side of the fence, a group of boys and
girls ogling my motorcycle from a safe distance behind the barrier.
I got my camera out and began snapping away. There was no way to
photograph this village without the wire in the frame, though, and I
didn't like it. I put the camera away, climbed back on the bike and
cruised slowly up the road to what looked like the village gate. I
stopped, cut the engine once again, and still seated, took off my helmet
so the villagers around the gate could see my face, see that I was
friendly. I asked a group of women who didn't appear to be doing
anything. Nobody answered, but one of the women called out to what I can
only describe as a "guard shack." A man came out wearing civilian
clothes, but I knew from his deportment _ that straight up and
deliberate stride of his _ that he wasn't just some hill tribe headman.
He was a soldier or a policeman. He said, "Sawatdee khrap," in very
crisp Thai. I returned the greeting, told him I was on my way to Mae
Hong Son, saw the village and wanted to know who lived here.
"Gallian," I thought he said. These were the Gallian people. Gallian was
obviously Thai for whatever indigenous group this was and the word meant
nothing to me. My interlocutor didn't speak English, either, so Gallian
would have to do until I could find an interpreter.
I had a lot more questions, like, how many people live here? What do
they do? Why the fence? But my instincts told me this was not the man to
ask. He wasn't hostile, but he wasn't friendly, either. I decided to
motor up the road and take my pictures from the north end of the
village.
This "Gallian" village was even bigger than I'd first imagined. It
seemed to go on and on, hundreds of houses with these strange looking
roofs. What were the roofs made of? It looked like dry leaves, but that
couldn't be right. A dry leaf roof in a monsoon? Might as well just sit
under a tree.
There was another gate up ahead, a less imposing one, and much to my
surprise there was a young, Caucasian woman standing just outside it
with a small duffel bag at her feet. She looked as if she were waiting
for someone. I parked on the shoulder of the road and walked over.
"You're a nice surprise," I said. "Do you speak English?"
She said, "yes." Just that and no more.
"Who are these people?"
"Karen," she said. Very niggardly with her syllables. One or two at a
time at the most. No hello, no how you're doing. Not even a little smile
for a fellow native English speaker.
"Karen, oh yeah, okay. The guy at the other gate said, 'Gallian'."
"Karieng," she told me. "It's Thai for Karen." She looked down the road.
She had her weight on one foot and she shifted it to the other foot. Her
lips were compressed in what I could only say was a state of tension.
What is it with everybody around here? I wondered. "What's with the
fence?" I asked.
This question seemed to un-nerve her completely. "Could we not talk
here?" She picked up her duffel and walked away from the gate. I
followed her. "They don't like us talking to visitors."
"Who's they?"
"The government. This is a refugee camp."
So that was it. The barbed wire wasn't meant to keep tourists out, it
was to keep the Karen refuges in. Burmese Karen. The woman's name was
Tina. She was a teacher trainer from New Zealand, she told me. According
to her, the government was very sensitive about this camp. I pulled out
my little voice recorder to get some notes. "This place is huge," I
said. "How many people live here?"
"Could you not do that?" She stepped away from me as if I were holding a
live amphibian. "I really shouldn't be talking to you at all."
I hadn't told her who I was or what I was doing. I was just a
motorcyclist on a trip through northern Thailand, but she was a most
reluctant interlocutor.
She told me there were 45,000 people living in this camp. Forty-five
thousand. Maybe that was it.
Her ride showed up and she seemed relieved to be rid of me. I waved as
they drove off, but nobody waved back.
There was another Karen village several kilometres up the road, Thai
Karen, this time, no fences. The village was decidedly smaller, a few
dozen houses, but built in the same style with the same leaf roofs. I
pulled up to a village store. A man in his fifties was working on his
motorbike. I asked him what kind of leaves they were.
"Bai tong tung," he told me.
I asked him if rain were a problem and he assured me that a bai tong
tung roof shed rain as well as a duck (he didn't actually say, duck, but
I got the idea). What's more the roof lasted two or three years. When I
asked him if the roof was difficult to make, he invited me to see for
myself. Apparently, the roof factory was across the street in the
village.
The "factory" turned out to be an open-fronted wood building with a soft
dirt floor. An old woman, working alone on her bare feet, was putting
together a roof slat, weaving dried bai tong tung between slender wooden
staves. Each dried leaf, which she folded in half before adding it to
the construction, was about as big as the top of a cafe table.
I asked the woman if I could take her picture but my guide just
dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. It was all right with
him if I took her picture and that's what counted around here. He told
the woman to go ahead and work and gestured for me to fire away.
It was obvious at this point I was dealing with the village headman, the
man in charge, and I was exceedingly grateful that he'd opened up this
little window on Karen culture for me.
When I'd got the pictures I wanted of the master roofer I thanked her
and turned the camera on him. Now I was the man in charge.He didn't seem
to mind a bit.
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NewKerala.com
Posted on 29 Sep 2005 # UNI
Mizoram Govt to work out project on Indo-Myanmar water transport
Aizawl: In a bid to boost trade across the country, Mizoram government
will be shortly working out a project on Indo-Myanmar water transport.
The pilot project aims to introduce a passenger ferry and other water
mode transport facilities to encourage traders on either side to do
business.
Official sources said the water transport will be operated in Koldoyne
(Chhimtuipui), which originates in Myanmar and flows through south
Mizoram.
It has four tributaries and the river is in patches. The Western part is
drained by Karnaphuli (Khawthlang tuipui) and its tributaries.
The Central Water Commision (CWC) will be submitting its survey and
feasibility report to the state government by the year end.
After that a detailed project report will be submitted to the Central
government for the water way, the officials added.
However, officials had not given the exact time frame for the project
but said ''after the survey report, it all depends on the Indian
government's approval to start the project''.
The Koldoyne river, which also has a number of important towns including
Chittagong in Bangladesh, is situated at the mouth of the river.
Before Independence, access to other parts of the country was possible
only through the river routes via Cachar in the north, and via
Chittagong in the South.
Entry through the later was sealed after partition as it went to East
Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1947, the officials said.
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New Straits Times - Thursday, September 29 2005
Myanmar national fails in appeal to have sentenced reduced
By Audrey Dermawan
GEORGE TOWN, Wed: A MYANMAR national who was sentenced to nine years’
jail for manslaughter today failed in his appeal to have the sentence
reduced.
Judicial Commissioner Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah said he saw no reason for
the High Court to interfere with the decision of the Sessions Court.
Sessions judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail had on March 15 sentenced Hla Swee
Koko to nine years’ jail for the culpable homicide not amounting to
murder of his employer, Cheah Thean Lye, 57, in front of the Mutiara
wholesale market on Jalan Gat Lebuh Macallum at 12.05pm on June 3 last
year.
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Financial Express
Dhaka, Yangon fail to sign road-link deal
9/29/2005
Bangladesh and Myanmar have failed to sign a deal for building a
'Friendship Road' linking the two neighbouring countries, reports UNB.
The two sides will need more consultations on the project. The next
round of negotiations will be held in Dhaka in November.
Foreign Secretary Hemayetuddin told this to the reporters Wednesday in
Dhaka.
Commerce Secretary Shafiqul Islam went to Yangon leading a Bangladesh
delegation to sign the accord on the long-awaited direct road link.
Officials in Dhaka could not give details of why the two sides failed to
reach an agreement, but hinted at some minor disagreements having been
cropped up over the use of the first 23 kilometres of the road, to be
constructed with funding supports by government of Bangladesh (GoB).
Under the terms of an earlier agreement, Dhaka will finance the
construction of the 23-kilometre part of the road from Taungbro to
Bawlibazar while Myanmar government is to ensure land for the
trans-border road.
Myanmar is also to waive duties, taxes, levies etc., for all
construction equipment and supplies.
Under a comprehensive deal, Myanmar is to allow the Bangladeshi vehicles
to use the road, free of taxes and levies.
The proposed direct road-link with Myanmar is purported to eventually
connecting Bangladesh with Thailand, China and other countries in the
east.
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Mekong River Commission discusses watershed management
09/28/2005 -- 16:47(GMT+7)
Vientiane (VNA) - The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is organising the
second Policy Dialogue on watershed management in the lower Mekong basin
from September 27-28 at the MRC Secretariat in Vientiane, Laos.
Representatives from the four MRC member countries- Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar and Viet Nam- attended the event.
The dialogue will outline a vision of the institutional framework, which
is needed for sustainable watershed management. It will also cover the
processes necessary to establish and improve these institutions.
In his opening address, Sitaheng Rasphone, Deputy Minister of
Agriculture and Forestry, Member of the MRC Joint Committee for Laos and
Vice Chairman of the Lao National Mekong Committee, said that Laos
remained committed to the sustainable development of the Mekong Basin.
***************************************************************
The Nation
Letters to the Editor
Asean must change its failed policies on Burma
Re: “Action on Burma is long overdue”, Editorial, September 23.
Your editorial is greatly appreciated. The situation in Burma clearly
satisfies the five criteria previously used by the UN Security Council
to intervene in Haiti, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone,
Liberia and Yemen.
The criteria previously used by the UN Security Council for intervention
in these seven countries are: the overthrow of a undemocratic
government, conflict among factions, human rights and humanitarian
violations, refugee overflows and transnational issues like drug
trafficking and HIV/Aids. Not all of these criteria were met in these
seven countries. Burma conclusively meets all five criteria.
UN Security Council action is needed because Burma’s government has
ignored more than a decade of resolutions passed by the UN General
Assembly addressing its bad behaviour. Furthermore, the military
dictatorship in Burma is challenging the legitimacy and authority of the
United Nations by repeatedly refusing to issue a visa to the special
envoy to Burma of the UN secretary-general.
Asean has clearly lacked principle by aiding and abetting the evil
military regime and financing the military occupation of Burma. In fact,
Asean is held hostage by its failed multi-billion dollar investments in
Burma.
The Singapore foreign ministry recently stated that it was a matter of
principle which led Asean economic ministers to boycott the recent
Asem-EU meeting in Europe since the Burmese government economics
minister was refused a visa.
Asean must no longer blindly continue its failed policies in regard to
Burma.
Myint Thein
Senior Adviser to the Burmese Resistance
Dallas, Texas
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Burmese ethnic nationals welcome call for UNSC action on Burma
Sep 27, 2005 (DVB) - Burma’s election winning ethnic national parties
welcomed the call for an urgent, new, and multilateral diplomatic
initiative at the UN Security Council to bring change to Burma, by
former Czech president Vaclav Havel and Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town
Desmond M. Tutu.
In a statement issued on 27 September, Shan National League for
Democracy (SNLD), Arakan, Mon and Chin Leagues for Democracy, Zomi
National Congress (ZNC) thanked the two famous world figures for their
efforts and expressed their full supports, having read their report
which contains nothing detrimental to any country.
“Thirdly, we sincerely hope that the proposals will not be rejected by
means of veto by the countries concerned when the matters are brought to
the Security Council, as we believe that they could solve the current
political stalemate in Burma,” Pu Cin Sian Thang of ZNC told DVB.
A 70-page report, prepared by global law firm DLA Piper Rudnick Gray
Cary and issued on 20 September, compares the situation in Burma to
seven other countries in which the Security Council has previously
intervened in internal conflicts because of the trans-national issues
implicated, including Sierra Leone,
Afghanistan and Haiti, and determines that many of the factors which
trigger Security Council intervention are far worse in Burma than in
other countries where the Council had previously decided to act.
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Burmese Air Force targets coastal Tennesserim region
Sep 27, 2005 (DVB) - Burma military junta’s Air Force is preparing to
start air-to-surface missile launching practices in an effort to control
the airspace along the coastal Tennesserim region in southern Burma and
defend the country from attacks from the air and sea.
Exiled Burmese army expert Htay Aung told DVB that the military
exercises are to be carried out by fighter pilots based at Mergui
(Myeik/Beik) airbase. He added that the army has been choosing likely
targets for the missiles and confiscating lands from local people.
Similarly, authorities at North Ye in Mon State are confiscating lands
from farmers, to be used as target practice.
To launch the missiles, the Air Force is using MIG-29 fighter planes
recently bought from Russia and S-7 type planes made in China. Burmese
fighter pilots are carrying out military exercises under the instruction
of Russian military experts.
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Cholera outbreak at Burma Tharawaddy Jail latest
Sep 28, 2005 (DVB) - At least 20 prisoners so far had died due to the
serious cholera outbreak which started a week ago in Tharawaddy Jail in
central Burma, according to sources close to the prison.
When DVB contacted the prison, a staff on duty confirmed the reports of
deaths. According to family members of the prisoners, the deaths were
caused primarily by the unscrupulous greed of prison governor Myint Swe
by feeding inmates with worm-eaten beans curry, not suitable for human
consumption for a week, to save money for himself.
Prison officials refused to comment on the allegation but confirmed that
around 80 inmates were still being treated at the prison clinic and that
no political prisoners were among the dead.
Health officials came to inspect the prison after the outbreak started
but prison authorities boiled some beef before the inspectors arrived
and blamed ‘bacteria’ inside the beef, according to a prison staff who
doesn’t want to be named.
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BBC News - 28 September, 2005
Chin State sees mysterious mythun deaths
Villagers in the remote Chin State, in northwest of Burma, are facing a
strange phenomenon over their valued mythuns.
Over 100 mythuns - a type of domesticated bovine - have died
inexplicably in recent days in a number of villages near Kale and the
villagers are unsure of the cause of death, says a resident of Kale.
He says the disease is hitting both male, female, old and young mythuns.
He tells BBC Burmese Service, "Nobody can say for certain what disease
it is. Usually the mythun is fine in the morning but is dead by night or
the next day. Cows are involved too but there are more mythuns."
No official help so far
Villagers also say the authorities have neither turned up to inspect the
mythuns nor treat them.
BBC Burmese Service's attempts to contact a veterinarian in Tiddim - the
township where the affected villages fall under - were unsuccessful.
A local in Tiddim also says they have not encountered such an
extraordinary disease before. He adds that mythuns usually die from
cholera.
"Even if it is cholera, they only die after a week or two. That happens
about once every three or four years. And that kills up to 100 mythuns,
which is almost all of mythuns that the villagers are breeding."
Mythuns are considered an essential item in Chin cultural ceremonies,
traditional feasts and weddings, and they are much valued.
A mythun could cost from 50,000 kyats up to 200,000 kyats. Losing around
100 mythuns mean villagers will lose at least 10 million kyats.
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