BURMA RELATED NEWS – APRIL 07, 2011
kai2 hrs 37 mins ago
YANGON (AFP) – A Canadian man who was arrested in Myanmar after illegally crossing the border from Thailand will probably be deported, Myanmar officials said on Thursday.
Ron Zakreski, 61, was detained on March 24, apparently while taking photos of the scene of an earlier battle between Myanmar government troops and Karen ethnic minority rebels.
He is being held in the border town of Myawaddy.
“After he’s sentenced, he is likely to be deported,” said a Myanmar official who declined to be named.
A second official said: “He crossed the border illegally so he will be charged as he broke immigration law. The authorities will take him to Yangon.”
Zakreski, a retired psychologist, is described by his family in Canada as a veteran traveller and part-time photojournalist.
Canada, which has no diplomatic mission in Myanmar, has said it is aware of the detention of one of its nationals and is gathering information through its embassy in Bangkok. Australia is also assisting in the matter.
Myanmar, where power was recently handed from the long-ruling junta to a military-backed government, usually deports foreigners who enter the country illegally instead of imprisoning them.
In November a Japanese video journalist was arrested after crossing the porous border from Thailand to cover Myanmar’s first election in 20 years.
He was deported days later, after fighting erupted between government forces and ethnic insurgents near the place he was being held in Myawaddy.
Wed Apr 6, 6:29 pm ET
OTTAWA (AFP) – A 61-year-old Canadian tourist was arrested in Myanmar on March 24 and accused a week later of violating the country’s immigration law, a Burmese-Canadian group said Wednesday.
Ron Zakreski, described by his siblings as a veteran traveler and part-time photojournalist, had crossed into Myanmar from Thailand in a border region controlled by the rebel Karen minority, Tin Maung Htoo of Canadian Friends of Burma told AFP.
The retired psychologist was arrested by Myanmar troops while snapping pictures of a site where government forces and the rebels battled.
He was brought before a court on March 30 and charged with violating Myanmar’s immigration law. Tin Maunt Htoo said he would probably be convicted and deported.
Canada’s foreign affairs department said it is “aware that a Canadian has been detained in Burma” and is continuing to gather information on the situation through its embassy in Bangkok.
Canada has no diplomatic mission in Myanmar. Australia is also assisting in the matter.
Thu Apr 7, 12:48 am ET KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Malaysian police say they have recaptured 76 illegal immigrants who escaped from a detention center during a riot.
Negri Sembilan state police chief Osman Salleh says authorities are searching for 33 other detainees who fled the facility in the central state Monday. Most are immigrants from Myanmar who are supposed to be deported after being arrested for being in Malaysia illegally.
Some of the 1,000 detainees at the center set fire to their cell block and tore down a fence in the riot. Officials said they were frustrated with what they regarded as crowded conditions and long detention periods.
Osman said Thursday many of those who broke out had sought refuge in a jungle and nearby villages.
By Kelly Askin, Special to CNN
April 6, 2011 8:24 p.m. EDT
Editor’s note: Kelly Askin is senior legal officer for international justice at the human rights organization Open Society Justice Initiative. She is an expert on war crimes against women, served as a legal advisor to the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda from 2000-2002 and has also worked on post conflict justice in Congo, East Timor and Sierra Leone.
(CNN) — The raw courage demonstrated by Eman al-Obeidy in persisting in telling her story of alleged repeated gang rape and torture in Libya is helping to change the dialogue in Libya and the Middle East about the use of sexual violence as a weapon of repression.
Since Obeidy burst into a hotel filled with journalists last week and told them of being raped by loyalist militia, Gadhafi supporters have deployed a range of vile tactics in a bid to undermine her that are painfully familiar. They called her a drunk, a prostitute, a pornographer, a liar, mentally unstable — impugning her honor and that of her family.
When those tactics failed, they implied it was all somehow her fault, claiming she was scheduled to meet one of the men she says attacked her. Others threatened to sue her.
They are no doubt frustrated and surprised that the ways commonly used to silence women have not silenced Obeidy, who has been tenacious in her desire to tell her story. She is fortunate that her family is supporting her, reportedly rejecting offers of money, property or security if they would only denounce her.
In other cases, survivors of such treatment in this region of the world have found themselves shunned by their families and communities because of the resulting social stigma.
Rape has historically been used as a tool of war. Beyond Libya and the Middle East, rape and sexual violence have been used in conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, Burma, Guatemala and Bangladesh to sow terror and destruction.
It’s hard to speculate on the scope of this sort of sexual abuse in Libya, or whether it is being deployed in a systematic way while the armed conflict is under way — there have only been a small number of reports so far. But al-Obeidy did put her attack into a familiar context: She told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that her captors “would say, ‘Let the men from Eastern Libya come and see what we are doing to their women and how we treat them, how we rape them.’ ”
The intentional, calculated use of rape as a strategy of oppression is for some a favored way to stigmatize and demoralize not merely the victim, but entire families and communities.
The international community has recognized this. Since the early 1990s, in the aftermath of the brutal conflict in the Balkans, in which an estimated 20,000 women were raped, newly established international war crimes tribunals have repeatedly recognized various forms of sexual violence as war crimes and in some cases instruments of genocide.
When committed on a widespread or systematic basis, which is almost always the case in conflict situations, they may amount to crimes against humanity. This, at least, delivers some measure of justice to the victims.
Nowhere has this need been more hideously manifest than in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been wracked by conflict since the 1990s. Last year, the U.N. recorded some 11,000 rapes, but the true figure is believed to be much higher. It was enough to prompt the U.N.’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict to call the country “the rape capital of the world.”
Justice is being delivered now in eastern Congo, where the Open Society Justice Initiative has supported the development of mobile gender justice courts that can hold court sessions in remote towns and villages in the east of the country where many of the atrocities have occurred.
In February, I watched as hundreds of villagers in Baraka clapped and cheered as a mobile court handed out sentences on four army officers found guilty of rape as a crime against humanity for their part in a mass rape attack in the smaller settlement of Fizi on New Year’s Day. The court sentenced the leaders to 20 years imprisonment.
The Congolese judges, prosecutor, defense counsel and lawyers worked tirelessly for nearly two weeks to adjudicate this joint trial in a remote village without access to running water or regular electricity. Millions more await justice, but this trial has given a glimmer of hope for the future .The raped women in Congo still live in mud huts, still struggle daily to survive, and many will still be rejected by their husbands. But now they have received something fleeting but incredibly precious: justice.
Last month, the U.N. Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the International Criminal Court, which is now investigating reports of attacks on civilians and other violations of international law.
If Gadhafi and his supporters are found to be responsible for not only failing to protect women like Obeidy, but also for policies that explicitly or tacitly encouraged, or simply ignored, the use of rape warfare, she could find herself receiving some measure of justice for the heinous crimes allegedly committed against her.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Kelly Askin.
By Francis Wade Apr 07, 2011 5:24PM UTC
Is it a sweetener, or a feeble attempt at compensation? China has offered the Burmese government $US6 million to build hospitals and bolster its woefully undernourished healthcare sector; all it asks for in return is that the foot-dragging authorities speed up construction of the trans-Burma Shwe gas pipeline, and not frustrate China’s hunger for more energy.
Although on the surface a welcome offer, critics will be quick to pounce: if reports from the pipeline area are correct, the deal will effectively see China asking its southern neighbour to intensify work on a project widely considered a catalyst for abuse of civilians. China’s offer of seemingly benign aid can therefore be considered a cynical one, for its new hospitals may well be filled with the victims of its venture.
To explain: when finished, the 1,200km pipeline will run across the breadth of Burma, from Arakan state in the west to Shan state in the east, before entering China. As with any major infrastructural project in Burma, it has been accompanied by heavy militarisation and the requisite confiscation of land to “clear a safe passage” – both are significant contributors to human rights violations.
The Burmese military has a history of meting out the types of abuse reported by communities near to the project: an EarthRights International report earlier this month quoted one man in Arakan state who said he was blindfolded for four days for holding a community meeting to discuss the pipeline. “For four days I couldn’t see anything. I was beaten nonstop, always being questioned, nonstop for four days.”
The roots of the Shwe project took hold several years ago when the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed a deal with Burma’s energy ministry for the sale and transport of Burmese gas to China. It has also incorporated into the project an oil pipeline that will take Middle Eastern and African oil offloaded in the Bay of Bengal to Yunnan province – China desperately needs this passage through Burma to supply its energy in the event that anything happens to its eastern seaboard or the traditional route through the Malacca Straits.
The pipeline is thus vital to China’s future, given that energy demands are rising at nine percent each year and it will soon exhaust its own oil supplies. Thus it has begun snapping up opportunities in countries like Burma where little regulation is required. The CNPC did reportedly do a social impact assessment for the pipeline, but ERI said their access to affected areas was restricted, and they were always accompanied by a Burmese official.
Good hospitals are painfully lacking in Burma, which makes one hesitate before slating China’s offer – a new government budget allocates only 1.3 percent of total annual spending to the healthcare sector, while nearly a quarter goes to the military. But China’s obvious disregard for this – indeed its support, through huge investments, of the status quo in Burma – renders the hospital offer fairly meaningless, and only adds a lick of paint to a malevolent relationship.
By Zin Linn Apr 07, 2011 1:08PM UTC
China is ready to deploy the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops on the China-Burma border, near Mongko Township, in Northern Shan State, Eastern Burma, as construction of a military base camp in the area is close to completion, according to Kachin News Group (KNG).
Residents from Mongko Township said that all major buildings have been completed and only a small amount of construction is left to finish. After that China’s PLA troops will be deployed in the new encampment. From the military camp PLA troops can clearly watch into Burma, as said by the local residents.
China is Burma’s closest ally and it marked its support for Burma’s new government by sending the Chinese Communist Party’s fourth highest ranking Politburo official to meet the new President Thein Sein. According to China’s state Xinhua press agency, Beijing’s top political adviser Jia Qinglin, the chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, raised the two countries’ relationship to “a new high” by meeting with Thein Sein in Naypyitaw on 4 April.
He vowed to maintain the peace and stability of the 2,200km Sino-Burmese border while supporting Burma’s development plans.
“China is ready to make joint efforts with Myanmar (Burma) to push our good-neighborly and friendly ties to a new high,” Jia Qinglin was quoted by Xinhua.
The new PLA camp on the border is located 20 miles from the Kachin Independence Army’s (KIA) Brigade 4 camp, based in Shan State. However, it is on the road used by KIA troops to communicate with their headquarters in Kachin State, the Kachin News Group (KNG) said.
And, the road is also strategically important for other ethnic armed groups, such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and Shan State Army (SSA). The Burmese Military warned KIA Brigade 4 to avoid moving around near the China-Burma border in February.
The gateway of KIA’s 4th brigade is based in Loikang, near Kutkai in Northern Shan State. The KIA’s 4th brigade, which has five battalions, is based in N. Shan State. Battalions No. 17 and No. 29 are nearest to the current military conflict between Burmese troops and the SSA-N.
The KIA is closely watching the most up-to-date fighting between the SSA-N and Burmese troops, as said by the KIA officials. Both the KIA and SSA-N are members of the newly shaped United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), the political and military alliance structured by 12 ethnic groups. Military analysts near the China border said the current fighting between the Burmese Army and SSA-N will test the UNFC, which formed last month.
The KIA is the second strongest armed ethnic group in military-ruled Burma. It has five brigades. Four of them are based in Kachin State. There are about 30 battalions, with over 30,000 fighters- including regular and reserved forces, said KIA.
“It is possible the PLA’s military camp was built on the front line to watch for instability on the border. Especially watching carefully when the UWSA and KIA refuse to follow the instructions of the Burmese military government,” said Bum Htoi, the former Captain of the Burmese Communist Party from Mongko.
The fourth highest ranking official from the ruling Communist Party, Jia Qinglin said, “We hope new Burmese government will try hard for stability and peace in the border areas,” in the Chinese state run media.
On the other hand, the state-run Myanmar News Agency (MNA) stated slightly difference on Jia Qinglin’s visit with the Chinese version, particularly reference to the Sino-Burmese border issues.
“China will mutually cooperate with Myanmar to maintain the stability of border regions, and China opposes any acts that can hinder the stability and development of Myanmar,” MNA said.
It seems there could at least remain some different views between China and Burma, especially on the issue of Burma’s ethnic minorities along the 2,200km China-Burma border.
Girl, 16, falls to death in cyber-bullying tragedy
By Elysa Chen
April 07, 2011
In what could be the first case of cyber-bullying death in Singapore, a Myanmar girl killed herself after her jilted boyfriend allegedly slimed her on Facebook.
Some time last year, 16-year-old Khine Thinzar, who came here in 2007 to study, decided to end the relationship.
Her ex-boyfriend came to Singapore to try to salvage the relationship but after being rejected, he started posting “bad comments” on her Facebook page, accusing her of being a “loose woman”.
The Secondary 3 student at Pioneer Secondary School jumped off her Pasir Ris block on Dec 30 last year. She was taken to Changi General Hospital but died seven hours later.
Khine had left a suicide note, addressed to her parents and her cousins.
At the end of her letter, scrawled across the page, were the words: “I suicide because of him. Don’t let him go.”
She did not state who she was referring to or why she decided to commit suicide.
Source: CBM
Date: 06 Apr 2011
CBM, with local partner The Leprosy Mission International (TLMI), are aiming to assist more than 2000 people affected by the 6.8 magnitude earthquake which hit Myanmar on 24 March 2011.
The earthquake damage
On 24 March 2011 a devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit north eastern Myanmar. It struck in Tachilek county, Shan province, near Myanmar’s borders with China, Thailand and Loas.
The earthquake impacted a wide region of the county because of its shallow depth – 10 kms – destroying hundreds of homes, monasteries and government buildings and causing significant damage to hospitals, bridges, roads, and to the water delivery system throughout the region.
A typical food package for temporary emergency reliefCBM, along with our local partner The Leprosy Mission International (TLMI), are aiming to assist more than 2000 people living in 20 villages affected by the earthquake, by providing food packages, water purifiers, shelter and sanitation, medical care, rice mills and livelihood infrastructure.
We also plan to help form village relief committees that will organise and conduct Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) training. This training will help local residents identify, assess and reduce the risks of potential disasters which commonly affect the region. DRR activities can reduce the likelihood of a disaster occurring (for example, through flood protection mechanisms, livelihood diversification, safe building practices), or strengthen a community’s ability to respond and cope with a disaster (disaster preparedness activities, like cyclone shelters or evacuation routes).
CBM in Myanmar
CBM has been working in Myanmar for more than 30 years and many of our programmes assist people living with a disability, their families and their communities.
Your gift to CBM will enable us to provide much needed relief and rehabilitation in Myanmar or the surrounding region.
Insufficient food may have been main reason for Lenggeng breakout, say police and Immigration
Aizat Sharif, Azreen Hani, Ee Ann Nee
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 13:48:00
PETALING JAYA: Insufficient food supply and cramped living conditions may be the reason why illegal immigrants rioted at the Lenggeng Immigration Detention Depot in Negeri Sembilan on Monday, resulting in a building at the facility burnt down and 109 detainees escaping on Monday.
This was confirmed by both police and Immigration Department when contacted by The Malay Mail.
Negeri Sembilan police chief Datuk Osman Salleh said food shortage was apparently the main cause of the rioting, along with cramped living condition and long detention period.
“The rioters escaped by breaking down the depot gate.”
The Malay Mail learnt some of the all-male detainees had been at the depot for three months to a year due to red tape and had lost patience while waiting for deportation to third countries under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Immigration Detention Centers director-general, Datuk Azri Yusof did not dismiss the Osman’s claims, saying they were investigating whether the claims were true.
“We are investigating all the causes, including these claims. We need to investigate and prove whether these claims have basis.”
He said Immigration, together with police and Rela, had formed a committee yesterday to investigate and determine the reasons behind the latest breakout.
“The findings will be known tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, 55 illegal immigrants who escaped from from the depot on Monday have been re-arrested as at 10am today. Osman confirmed the latest re-arrest was made around 6am.
“We have expanded our operation perimeters from Lenggeng town to Jelebu, Broga, Beranang and Semenyih. Those who come across suspicious characters, especially foreigners, suddenly appearing in your town or your housing estate should alert their nearest police station.”
He said 46 Myanmar nationals, two each from Iran, Nepal and Bangladesh, and each one from Nigeria, Thailand and New Guinea had been re-arrested after they escaped on Monday night.
“Most of the detainees who escaped were Myanmar and Vietnam nationals, and a massive hunt is being conducted to re-arrest them.”
Those re-arrested are being placed under police custody and they will be investigated under Section 148 of Penal Code for possessing weapons during the riot, Section 436 of Penal Code for mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage and Section 223 of Penal Code for escape from a legal confinement.
Two hundred Immigration and General Operations Force personnel with help from tracker dogs and police helicopters are tracking down the fugitives.
Groups call for reform of detention centres
PETALING JAYA: The deplorable conditions in detention centres, especially the one at in Lenggeng, Negri Sembilan, have not improved over the years, say human rights groups.
Suaram refugee coordinator Andika Abdul Wahab told The Malay Mail Monday night’s incident was not a surprise.
He said such incidents were not new and had been reported previously by the working group on arbitrary detention of the United Nations Human Rights Council and in numerous memorandums sent to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).
The working group, which visited Malaysia from June 7 to 17 last year, had reported overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate medical care at the Lenggeng centre. There were also allegations of inadequate
food and lack of ventilation.
“We urge the government to undertake a comprehensive investigation into the root cause of the riot,” said Andika.
“Based on the recommendations from the earlier reports, the government should address the issue and improve the detention management and respect the human rights of detainees.”
Tenaganita director Dr Irene Fernandez told The Paper That Cares detention centres were still over-crowded and the multiplying effect was becoming hazardous.
“Based on feedback from those who have come out of detention centres, there is still insufficient food and drinking water.”
She said a serious reform of detention centres was overdue as there had been talk but no political will to make any proper improvements.
“Migrants are detained not for criminal offences but rather for administrative offences like overstaying or entering the country illegally.
“However, such detention is being termed ‘criminal’ and, therefore, people are inclined to treat detainees with criminal control. There lies the tendency to become harsh to them.”
• New embarrassment facing Sepp Blatter
• Burma’s football head on Europe’s sanctions list
Matt Scott, The Guardian, Thursday 7 April 2011
Fifa is the subject of an investigation by the Swiss state authorities over allegations that its financial dealings with Burma may have broken international sanctions.
The Myanmar Times, a newspaper in the pocket of Burma’s junta, is said to have reported last December that the construction firm Max Myanmar has been contracted to build a stadium that Fifa funds will help to pay for.
Max Myanmar is headed by Zaw Zaw, the head of Burma’s football federation, who is on the European Union sanctions list. Financial transactions with companies connected to Zaw Zaw would constitute a breach of those sanctions, possibly leading to a six-figure fine or custodial sentence.
Switzerland enforces EU sanctions through its State Secretariat of Economic Affairs [Seco], which is seeking information from Fifa in connection with the reports. “We have requested a number of documents from Fifa about this,” Thomas Graf, the deputy head of Seco’s sanctions department said. “We are waiting for these documents and we will determine if there has been a violation of the sanctions on Myanmar [Burma] or not.”
Fifa says it “did not infringe any corresponding regulations, whether from Switzerland or Fifa regulations”. Still, the development may embarrass Fifa’s president, Sepp Blatter, who was the guest of Zaw Zaw and the junta during a visit last month. While there Blatter laid the foundation stone at the Rangoon national youth academy.
An article on Fifa’s website referred to this as Myanmar’s Goal IV project, indicating that its Goal project of 2001 and Goal II project of 2004 have been supplemented with two further Fifa-funded construction projects.
But although documents for projects I and II are on the Fifa website, it appears to have forgotten to make public details of the two more recent projects.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Despite dissolving the State Peace and Development Council and officially transferring the commander-in-chief post, Snr-Gen Than Shwe has apparently retained his grip on Burma’s military, the country’s most powerful institution, said sources at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Napyidaw.
The MoD sources said the most recent evidence that Than Shwe is still in charge of the military is that the War Office in Naypyidaw was still sending reports marked “secret” and “confidential” to Than Shwe during the week following the announcement that the commander-in-chief position had been transferred to Gen Min Aung Hlaing.
“Actually, the War Office does not need to send any reports to a retired general. But the War Office is still sending reports that are addressed to Snr-Gen Than Shwe,” said a military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Even though Snr-Gen Than Shwe does not have an office at the War Office in the Zayar Thiri area of Naypyidaw, we can read into the fact that we are still sending him reports that he is still controlling the military and still has power.”
The MoD sources added that Than Shwe remains in the senior general position and his general staff officers, Maj-Gen Nay Win, Brig-Gen Soe Shein and Col Myint Kyi, remain at their positions as assistants to Than Shwe.
Another military source said that although Min Aung Hlaing is authorized to handle a minor military reshuffle of regional military commands, light infantry divisions, regional operation commands and military operation commands, Than Shwe is still the one who will be in charge of any major military reshuffle.
Meanwhile, Lt-Gen Myint Hein, the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, and Vice Admiral Nyan Tun, the commander-in-chief of the Navy, have reportedly been promoted to general and admiral, respectively.
Following their promotion, there are now three four-star generals in Burma alongside Min Aung Hlaing. In making this move, Than Shwe apparently wanted to shift the power balance between the Amy, Navy and Air Force, said military sources.
According to government staff at ministries, Than Shwe’s portrait still remains on the walls of government offices as Burma’s top general.
“The senior general’s pictures are still at all government offices. No one told us to remove the picture,” said a staffer with the Ministry of Finances and Revenues in Naypyidaw.
By SI THU Thursday, April 7, 2011
NAYPYIDAW—An outbreak of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), commonly known as “blue ear disease,” has been attributed as the cause of death for more than 200 pigs in Ottarathiri Township and Naypyidaw in recent weeks, according to local residents.
“Ten more pigs died yesterday,” said a local pig farmer on Thursday. “But neither the local authorities nor the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department has taken any action.”
The farmer said that several pigs in Myo-U Ward in Pyinmana had also died.
According to locals, the source of the disease is Taungthar Township in Naypyidaw, before it spread to Kan Oo Ward, Thahtaygone and Ottarathiri.
“It started in Taungthar where we live,” said a local woman. “So many pigs died, including unborn pigs. Some died instantly after birth—perhaps some 12 or 13 newborn piglets in our town. Adult pigs also died. Their skin color had turned blue before they died.”
However, a source in Kan Oo said he knew of pigs that had died recently which showed no symptoms including changes in skin color.
“At least 20 pigs died in our neighborhood, including five pigs from the house next door,” he said. “Approximately 70 pigs have died recently for unknown reasons in my whole ward, and they had no symptoms.”
The Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department in Naypyidaw declined to comment about the issue when contacted by The Irrawaddy.
Meanwhile, pig processing factories in the area are still selling pigs and pork for human consumption despite the unknown risks; infected pigs are selling at a reduced price of 1,000 kyat [US $1.16] per viss [1.53 kg]. Pigs that died of blue ear disease are also for sale, though prices are not fixed and retailers are encouraged to bargain for them.
“The authorities have turned a blind eye to wholesalers selling sick pigs for 1,000 kyat per viss and dead ones for between 6,000 kyat and 8,000 kyat per viss at the market,” a local source said.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy, a veterinarian in Burma said that even though blue ear disease can be spread quickly among pigs, there is no evidence that humans can be infected. He said that he believes that if pork—including that which is infected with the virus—is thoroughly cooked at 37°C, it is safe to consume.
The source of the outbreak has not yet been officially identified, and an investigation is reportedly being carried out by the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department.
Pig breeders in Mandalay Division have been advised to keep pigsties clean, and to clean the sites regularly with antiseptic as the virus can be found in the pigs’ respiratory and reproductive systems.
In early February, about 600 pigs died of the same virus in Mattaya and Pyinoolwin in Mandalay Division.
Known as “Mystery Swine Disease” in the West, the virus was first discovered in 1987 in the US and Europe. A strain of the virus appeared in China in 2006.
By NAYEE LIN LATT Thursday, April 7, 2011
Authorities in Rangoon on Monday raided cyber cafes to check if they still provide customers with overseas communication service through banned VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol) calls, according to sources.
Private Internet shop owners told The Irrawaddy that authorities from the Bureau of Special Investigation came to their cyber cafes in Kyauktada, North Okkalapa and Tamwe townships to see if the VoIP service was available.
The Myanmar Posts and Telecommunication (MPT) last month issued an official warning to Public Access Centers (PACs) and cyber cafes to stop providing VoIP services to the public. It said the increasing use of the VoIP overseas calls via Internet services such as Skype, Google Talk, Pfingo and VZO provided by PACs and cyber cafés have caused official overseas calls through the government’s communication services to decline, affecting state revenue.
“Authorities in civilian clothes came to my shop on Monday and told me not to provide Internet phone call service to customers. They said legal action will be taken against me if someone is found using this service in my cafe. They said it is illegal under existing law, but they didn’t specify so I don’t know which law they were talking about,” said the owner of an Internet cafe near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon.
“Gtalk and VZO are free services, so no matter what the MPT warns people will continue to use them. The MPT wanted to stop these services by saying that because of them the state revenue from overseas calls will be reduced. Most of the cafes exist with VoIP services, so they have continued those services although they are not allowed to do so,” said the Internet cafe owner.
Cafe owners, however, reportedly had to take down advertisements for overseas calls via VoIP services following the MPT instruction.
“When we were told to install CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) cameras in our shops we merely followed the directive because it would affect our business if our customers were not comfortable with those cameras. Owners and customers are the victims of whatever nonsense things they [authorities] do. We can survive only if we have customers. Currently, I have taken out Pfingo shortcuts from computer desktops,” said a staff member of an Internet cafe in North Okkalapa.
He said most of the cyber cafes inside Burma have two main services—overseas communication through VoIP calls and regular Internet usage.
“We continue to provide customers with Pfingo and Skype services, depending on the situation. If people have to use a normal phone to call overseas they will become paupers since calling rates are very expensive. An Internet phone call is the easiest and cheapest way to communicate between those who are working abroad and living inside the country.
There can be many problems if they are more restricted and cannot make such phone calls any longer,” added the staff member.
Internet cafes have reportedly charged people 50 kyat [US $0.06] per minute for calls to Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian countries, 200 kyat [$0.23] to the US and 400 kyat [$0.46] to South Africa.
The MPT, however, has reportedly fixed rates for overseas calls using its telephone lines at $1.75 per minute to Singapore, $1.40 to Thailand and $4.50 to the US.
A source close to Myanmar Info-Tech Co. Ltd., the public company responsible for issuing licenses to open Internet cafés across the country, told The Irrawaddy that the MPT’s instruction is just an attempt to squeeze public access to the Internet.
“People have to use proxies to access Facebook. They may have the same experience in accessing Gtalk in the future. It is just the MPT’s attempt to slow down the Internet speed so that people cannot use the Internet or have access to it easily,” said the source.
“It is hard to follow because they [the authorities] have changed systems from one to another quite often. Nothing has taken shape soundly due to such changes. They allowed Myanmar Info-Tech to issue licenses for PACs before, but have now revoked permission to do so after finding out that such licenses can be very beneficial to them,” the source said.
The MPT reportedly acquired the PAC licenses issuing permit from Myanmar Info-Tech in early April.
“Even though the MPT has taken over PAC licensing, Myanmar Info-Tech still has to take care of what it has issued. I am not sure if it will be allowed to continue to be involved in this process because of policy changes under the new government,” said a technician close to Myanmar Info-Tech.
“Shareholders at Myanmar Info-Tech are certainly not satisfied with the withdrawal of PAC licenses,” added the technician.
A total of 802 PACs across the country reportedly registered at Myanmar Info-Tech on February 28, including 557 in Rangoon.
By LALIT K JHA Thursday, April 7, 2011
WASHINGTON — A top Pentagon official has expressed concern over the increasing role of the Burmese military junta in regional weapons proliferation.
“Of increasing concern is Burma’s role in regional weapons proliferation, evidenced by increasing defense cooperation and procurement from the North Korea, in violation of several UNSCRs [United Nations Security Council Resolutions],” Admiral Robert Willard, the commander of the US Pacific command, told lawmakers.
Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Willard said Burma presents a number of challenges to regional security. Prominent among these include: violence between Burma’s government forces and various domestic ethnic armies which sparks significant refugee flows into Thailand; a maritime border dispute with Bangladesh; narcotics and human trafficking; and the potential for rapid spread of pandemic disease.
“In addition, Burma’s government continues to rule without respect for democracy or basic human rights,” the Pentagon commander said. “The US-Burma military-to-military relationship remains suspended as a matter of US policy and public law.”
Willard said that focused efforts by the US president, defense secretary and secretary of state have set the conditions for increased security cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Accordingly, the US Pacific Command (USPACOM) now actively seeks opportunities to support Asean initiatives that complement developing coordinated, multilateral approaches to maintaining regional security, he said.
Asean and USPACOM have several convergent interests that include humanitarian assistance/ disaster relief, maritime security, terrorism and peacekeeping. “With an evolved scope and influence, Asean and its offshoots—Asean Regional Forum, Asean Defense Ministers Meeting Plus, and the East Asia Summit—offer a framework to guide regional efforts to secure the commons and underpin cooperation across governmental institutions,” Willard said in an April 6 statement.
“I think the assertions made last year by the United States, in particular (Defense) Secretary (Robert) Gates and Secretary (of State, Hillary) Clinton’s very strong statements, within Asean and the Shangri La dialogue series, had an effect,” he said in response to a question.
Willard said the US has extensive interests across the rest of Southeast Asia, and USPACOM seeks to continue maturing military relations with Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei and Timor-Leste.
“Malaysia maintains a strong leadership role in the region, especially combating terrorism and enhancing maritime security,” he said.
“Military relations with Vietnam continue to grow in areas such as disaster management, conflict resolution, personnel recovery, medical capability, and trafficking in persons.
Cambodia is emerging as a strong supporter of US policy in the region, and activities with Laos, Brunei and Timor-Leste have expanded over the past year,” Willard said.
Thursday, 07 April 2011 12:50 Soe Wai Yan
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Getting a job can be an uphill struggle at the best of times in Burma. But when it comes to applying for a government job, the scales are stacked heavily in favour of those with government connections or a track record with the military.
Jobs working in Burma’s government bureaucracy are in demand as they offer a steady salary, security and occasional perks in an economy that has long been lacklustre and suffers from a high level of unemployment.
For most of the 25,000 people who recently applied for 200 positions with the Township Administrative Office under the Ministry of Home Affairs, however, actually snagging one of these government jobs proved an almost impossible mission.
The challenge for the applicants was not immediately apparent. Not only were the odds stacked against applicants due to the large numbers––working out at 125 people applying for one job. The main hurdle proved to be who you know and your affiliation.
Most of the standard processes in Burmese society––getting an education, a job, renting an apartment, obtaining a business contract––involve paying bribe money or knowing people in positions of power, or being part of the military-run government apparatus. After almost 50 years of military-government rule, these practices are embedded in everyday life. Little surprise, therefore, that Burma ranks almost rock bottom in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, alongside the war-torn and virtually failed state of Afghanistan.
Out of the 25,000 people who recently applied for the government vacancies, 8,500 were shortlisted for the job entrance exam, a rather high number. The exam sought to assess the applicants’ competence in Burmese language, English and general knowledge. But it appeared from the thousands who turned up to sit the exam in the capital Naypyitaw, the challenge was worth taking, despite the costs and problems of finding or paying for accommodation and food in an expensive city still in the throes of development.
In Naypyitaw, hotels are very expensive, so most of the applicants tried to stay at the Municipal Guest House, which is the cheapest accommodation in the capital and can house 6,000 guests. It charges 1,500 kyat (US $1.75) for a single room. But actually finding a room was hard because the new capital was crowded with job applicants, gems merchants and other visitors.
The rooms of the guest house were available on a first come, first served basis, so the latecomers had to wait until rooms became available or seek refuge in the garden or in nearby Buddhist monasteries.
Added to the problem of finding accommodation, the cost of food in Naypyitaw is high with a typical meal costing around 1,500 kyat. For those seeking to find a cheap meal, one option is to visit Pyinmana, a few miles away, but although a typical meal of monhinga or noodles costs 500 kyat here, the motorcycle taxi fare makes the trip prohibitive at 2,000 kyat.
Despite these constraints, the applicants appeared determined. That was until they took the exams. Out of a total of 8,500 applicants, 7,000 left the next day looking upset, with local residents wondering why they had such long faces.
Mizzima found out from talking to several of the applicants that for the vast majority, the cards were heavily stacked against them. They said that 100 out of the 200 job vacancies were reserved only for retired military officers who retired as captains and 50 were reserved for current government employees. So, the large number of the ordinary applicants must compete just for the remaining 50 positions. This felt like they were choosing a lucky draw, they said. But worse, a rumour spread that 30 of the remaining positions were reserved for the close associates of the generals. That appeared to leave at most only 20 positions.
After all their efforts, most of the failed applicants were angry when they left Naypyitaw.
No mention had been made to Mizzima about having to pay a bribe but judging from all the reserved places, the process was clearly corrupt. Unless the applicant was part of the ruling power structure or had connections, securing a government job was almost out of the question.
Thursday, 07 April 2011 21:35 Mizzima News (Interview) – While the opposition led by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi calls for a second Panglong Conference to seek national reconciliation, 10 pro-democracy political parties, including the National Democratic Force (NDF), have called on the new government to hold an all-inclusive Union Conference.
An alliance of the 10 political parties, the Group of Democratic Party Friends (GDPF), held an inter-party meeting on April 4 and 5 in the headquarters of the Democratic Party (Myanmar) in Rangoon and urged the government to hold a Union Conference to find a solution to end the more than 60-year civil war in Burma. Khin Maung Swe, an NDF leader, said that everyone involved in the civil armed conflict should take part in the conference.
Mizzima correspondent Ko Wild interviewed Khin Maung Swe about the purpose of an all-inclusive Union Conference.
Question: What groups should be selected to take part in a Union Conference?
Answer: All we can do is make a suggestion. We just put out the idea of holding a conference immediately. The government must decide which groups should be invited to the conference.
Q: Do you think that political parties can affect the civil war by forming special committees in the Parliament to solve the long-term armed conflict?
A: Since Burma achieved independence, it has been in a state of civil war for more than 60 years because we have many political problems. The groups chose to fight against each other instead of choosing political ways to solve the problems. Although the former governments talked with the armed groups one by one, they did not choose to hold a political dialogue, so lasting peace could not be established.
We have the Constitution. Whether we can seek peace or not will depend on how the government and Parliament can meet the demands of the ethnic armed groups.
But, it’s very difficult to amend the Constitution. It would take a lot of time to amend it. The Parliament could organise committees to address the problem, but to establish permanent peace, every group must really want national reconciliation.
Q: What is the difference between a ‘Union Conference’ and a ‘Second Panglong Conference’, which has been proposed by the National League for Democracy and Committee Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP)?
A: A Union Conference is the last step. It would be somewhat similar to the National Convention which was started in 1993. At first, regional discussions would need to be held.
Also, a general amnesty should be declared. Then regional peace talks should be conducted. Then it would be time to hold an all-inclusive Union Conference.
So, a Union Conference would be different from a ‘Second Panglong Conference’ because the Parliament could participate in the conference. A Union Conference will include the government, the people, the Parliament, the armed groups, the opposition groups and the pro-democracy groups.
Wednesday, 06 April 2011 15:06 Mizzima News Rangoon (Mizzima) – Only half the number of pavilions will be allowed to operate during the Water Festival this year in Rangoon because of security fears, said a spokesperson for the Rangoon Region Administrative Office.
Last year during the festival, bomb blasts at the X2O pavilion on Kandawgyi Circle Road killed 10 people and injured 170 people. Several people have been convicted in connection with the bombings while others are awaiting trial.
‘We need to scrutinize everything due to security. We have given instructions that the large pavilions must be farther from each other. Except for maximum security measures, everything will be the same as last year’, the spokesperson said.
Last year, there were 16 pavilions on Kandawgyi Circle Road compared to seven this year.
Moreover, each pavilion has been ordered to provide a bomb-detection machine and to install CCTV cameras.
Overall, at last year’s festival there were 46 large pavilions. This year there will be 31 large pavilions. Many smaller pavilions will be spread throughout the area.
Seven big pavilions are located on Kandawgyi Circular Road,; five on Pyay Road; two on Parami Road; five on Kabaraye Pagoda Road; three on Sayarsan Road; one on Industry (1) Road; one on Bogyoke Aung San Road; one on Waizayandar Road; three on Bayintnaung Road; one on Strand Road; and two in Dagon Township in Rangoon.
Pavilion owners had to put down a 3 million kyat (US $3,500) deposit with the Rangoon Region Administrative Office.
By BENEDICT ROGERS
Published: 7 April 2011
In the moments before I met Burma’s military intelligence for the first time, I could feel something in the atmosphere. It was intangible, but something did not feel right. When I came downstairs at about 10.45pm, a hotel security guard was hovering around the lift on the fourth floor. Strange, I thought.
I went into the bar to listen to some live jazz. I had spent a week in Burma and had one more day to go. I had a key meeting the next day, and would then fly out that night. I thought I would relax for a few minutes.
No more than five minutes after I sat down in the bar, I heard the words every activist in Burma fears: “Mr Rogers, the authorities want to speak to you”. Outside my room, six plain clothes military intelligence agents were waiting for me.
Calmly, I finished my beer and went upstairs. I greeted them. “Good evening. I understand you want to speak to me. Please come in.” Inside, I was apprehensive, but I tried not to show it.
“We have instructions from Naypyidaw to deport you tomorrow morning,” they said. I expressed surprise, explaining that I was a tourist and had committed no crime. I asked the reason. They claimed they did not know and were just following instructions. During the interrogation, however, I noticed one of them flicking through a file which contained a photocopy of the front cover of my book on Than Shwe.
They checked my camera. “These are just tourist pictures,” one exclaimed. “Yes I told you I am just a tourist,” I said. They asked to copy them, and I asked why. “We have to show our superiors something.”
I told them I was in Burma because I love the country, the people, the food. “Yes, I know you love the country and the people,” one man replied. “What food do you like?” Curries and mohinga, I told them. They laughed.
They searched my luggage, but found nothing. They examined a large pile of books, including Barbara Demick’s Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea, which I had brought as gifts. “Nothing to Envy,” one man read out slowly. Then he put it aside. The pile also contained a book and a film about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who stood up against Hitler and was executed. There was also a DVD called Nine Days that Changed the World, about Pope John Paul II’s visit to Poland which sparked the Solidarity movement and ultimately led to the collapse of communism. They appeared not to know the significance of these.
They took several photos. I reminded them that I had committed no crime. “Of course,” said one with an insincere smile. “If you had committed a crime you would be in prison.”
Looking at my Bible, in a cover made by Karen ethnic people, they asked: “Is it an iPad?” No, I told them, it’s a Bible. What I should have said is that it is a book that contains a mandate to challenge injustice. Within it were two photographs of my one-month old nephew, which I showed them. It brought a few seconds of light relief, and they asked me if I had children of my own. I said I hadn’t. “Single?” Yes, single. They examined my Kindle with interest and asked me to show them how it works. “E-book?” they exclaimed. Yes, e-book.
At midnight they finished, and told me to be ready at 7am. They left, but five minutes later one man returned. “I left my notebook,” he said. It felt like a French farce or a scene from Monty Python. After anxiously searching for a while he found it in my suitcase. He must have put it in accidentally while putting my belongings back.
The following morning, I was escorted to the airport by two men, in a taxi. I asked again what the reason for my deportation was. “We’ll tell you at the airport.” One man offered me a cigarette, which I declined. They paid for the taxi.
I was met by a large group at the airport – plain clothes military intelligence, uniformed immigration officers, a few police. Every step I made I was surrounded by three or four men with cameras, and they took dozens of pictures. One unpleasant little man was a bit officious, barking orders at me and others, but most of the people were civil, and one or two were quite cheery. I said I wanted a cup of coffee, and one of them got it for me.
When the procedure was complete, two men sat down with me. “I can now inform you the reasons for your deportation. We know you have written several books about Myanmar, including Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma’s Tyrant.” With no sense of irony, he quoted the title in full.
I decided to ask them a few questions. Paul McCartney’s song Freedom was echoing in my head. I remained polite, but my conscience would not allow me to go silently. I wanted them to know what I thought, but also that I didn’t blame them personally, I blamed the system.
“Is it a crime to write a book?,” I asked. He looked surprised, and confused. Then, feigning ignorance and naivety, I continued. “In November, Myanmar held elections. So I thought Myanmar was becoming a democracy. In a democracy, it is very normal to write books freely, and very common to write books about leaders. Some books are positive, others are critical. But the fact that you are deporting me for writing a book suggests that Myanmar is not a democracy. So, I am confused. Can you tell me, is Myanmar becoming a democracy or not?”
He hesitated. “Myanmar will be a democracy one day, but slowly, slowly. We are in transition period.” OK, I said, but transition implies change. “I thought Myanmar was changing. But deporting a foreigner for writing a book suggests no change. So is that correct – no change?” He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes yes, no change, no change.” In that case, I thought, surely talk of lifting sanctions is ill-judged. To lift sanctions now, without meaningful change, simply rewards the Generals for nothing. Now is the time for the world to get tougher, to target pressure more carefully, to provide aid for the people and to investigate crimes against humanity through a UN inquiry.
I asked if he deports many foreigners. He smiled. “Yes, many.” I asked if he thought my deportation was fair. He said he had not read my book, so he could not comment. “Do you have a copy of your book with you? I would be interested to read it.” I laughed, and said I did not, but I offered to send it to him if he gave me his address. He didn’t take me up on the offer.
If my book is a problem, I asked, “why did you give me a visa?” He looked at me. “We are also asking that question.”
He asked whether I had any plans to write more books about Burma, and I told him I had just completed another, which would be published later this year. With his pen and notebook
at hand, he said: “Ah. What is the title?” I wasn’t going to help him that much, so I told him he could wait until it was published.
I told him it was a shame they were deporting me, because if they had allowed me to stay just one more day, I may have gone away with a more positive impression. Now, I would have no choice but to tell my friends that the regime in Burma was not changing at all. He looked at me impassively.
I asked if he enjoyed working for a government that treats its people so badly, and if he knew that the ethnic nationalities in Burma were particularly suffering under this regime. This drew no response.
I asked what he thought about the events in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. “I don’t like this kind of change. I think it was created by al-Qaeda. Do you think it was created by al-Qaeda?”
No, I said, I did not. I acknowledged the risk of extremists taking advantage, but I said the movements in these countries were led by ordinary people who don’t like dictatorship. “But democracy gives al-Qaeda opportunities.” No, I disagree. “Democratic, open societies are a better way to challenge extremism and terrorism than dictatorship.”
Then they told me I could go through to the gate for boarding. But they still had my passport, which they had taken, along with my air tickets, the night before. I reminded them that they had my passport, and they had a few minutes of confusion over what to do. I said with a smile: “No passport, I stay in Myanmar, ok?” and we all burst out laughing.
They shook my hand and said goodbye. Looking them straight in the eye, I uttered my last words before leaving Burma: “Thank you for treating me well. I know that your government does not treat your own people well at all, but I am grateful that at least you treated me well.” I know that if I had been Burmese, I would have been treated far worse. I might not even have survived.
Within hours of my deportation, the news had reached the media. I did not seek publicity, but it had already got out. Only once the media were running the story anyway did I decide I should speak about it, in order to ensure that the story did not descend into wild rumours which could make things worse. People inside Burma also asked me to speak out, to let the world know that nothing has changed.
Four days later, I sat in a refugee camp on the Thailand-Burma border and watched Karen students graduate from a Bible School. They sang the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah, in a bamboo church at the foot of a mountain. The contrast between such physical and spiritual beauty, the suffering that these people had endured, and the secret police I met just a few days before was hard to absorb. One young Karen gave a graduation speech titled “Rebuilding our land”. He said: “The dictators want to make our people disappear from this world.” The principal, Pastor Simon, uttered the cry of people across Burma: “We want peace, justice and freedom for all the people of Burma. We want the regime to respect and treat us as brothers and sisters, not as enemies or slaves. We want the whole world to help. We want to go home – please help us.”
In contrast, I hadn’t wanted to go home – I wanted to stay just one more day. But the fact that I was forced to leave has given me a deeper empathy with the people of Burma, and reinforced my commitment to support their struggle for freedom. One man I met told me I was “very dangerous”. But, he added, “I like what you do. Keep doing it. This regime is like a psychiatric patient, who needs electric shock treatment. You give them electric shocks.” As much as possible, I’ll go on giving them electric shocks, until the day when Burmese exiles, refugees and I can go back to Burma together.
Benedict Rogers is the East Asia Team Leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide, an international human rights organisation. He is the author of ‘Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma’s
Tyrant’ (Silkworm Books, 2010).
Published: 7 April 2011
The UN has said that reports circulating of cholera among victims of last month’s earthquake in Shan state are “absolutely untrue”, although the area has been hit by less severe illnesses.
The Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency yesterday claimed that 96 cases of the contagious illness, 48 of which were serious, had been diagnosed in the eastern Burmese state where a 6.8 magnitude quake struck on 24 March. It was quoting the Burmese domestic Messenger News journal.
The UN’s spokesperson in Burma, Aye Win, told DVB however that he was there at the weekend and no cases had been found, although local groups had reported “sporadic cases of gastro-intestinal diseases and 48 cases of diarrhea”.
He added that it was “regrettable” that the false information had been repeated in other news reports, including the UN’s own ReliefWeb service.
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that causes diarrhea-like symptoms, but it must first be confirmed in a laboratory. Polluted water systems that can cause cholera are a common by-product of disasters like earthquakes, as was seen in Haiti following the 2010 quake, but there has been no confirmation in Shan state.
Up to 150 people were killed and 3,000 left homeless by the Burma earthquake, whose epicentre lay around 100 kilometres north of the border with Thailand.
Wells and water pipes in the worst-hit Tarlay region had been damaged by the tremors, and the World Vision aid group said that high levels of sulphur were being found in water supplies.
By NAW NOREEN
Published: 7 April 2011
A Canadian national facing immigration charges after crossing illegally into eastern Burma is to be transferred to Rangoon in a few days, according a police source in the border town of Myawaddy.
Ron Zakreski was arrested by Burmese authorities on 24 March while taking photos in Wawlay village in Karen state, and will remain at a police in Myawaddy until he is sent to Rangoon.
“Apparently, he will be sent to Rangoon for an investigation by the CID [Criminal Investigation Department]. He will be accompanied by immigration officials,” said the source.
“Actually the police and immigration here wanted to let him go. But township authorities informed authorities [in Naypyidaw] about the case and it caught the attention of senior government leaders” who then ordered the transfer to Rangoon.
The 62-year-old from Vancouver Island had been conducting courses on psychology in Thailand. His sister described him as an “avid traveller and keen photographer”, while people claiming to know him told DVB that he is a “curious and wonderful guy”, and “a real adventurist” who has been travelling in Asia for around 20 years.
The district around Wawlay had been a stronghold of the opposition Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) until Burmese troops overran it earlier this year following months of fighting between the two sides.
The porous border between Karen state and Thailand has to date allowed relatively easy access to conflict zones, but both countries appear to be clamping down on illegal crossings: in January two journalists were arrested by Thai authorities as they crossed back over from Karen state, while in November last year Burmese police detained a Japanese journalist called Toru Yamaji who had illegally entered Myawaddy.
Burma rarely jails foreigners arrested in the country, instead usually opting to deport them quickly to avoid an international backlash That judgement however has not yet come to the aid of Ross Dunkley, the Australian national and former Myanmar Times editor who remains on bail in Rangoon on assault and immigration charges.