BurmaNet News, January 7, 2009

[Editor]

January 7, 2009, Issue #3626


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Sittwe students protest suspension of bus services
DVB: 88 generation leader’s brother sent to work camp
Irrawaddy: Junta’s NUP ready to open 2010 election campaign
Mizzima News: Detained Hip Hop singer Yan Yan Chan released
Mizzima News: Rangoon's Christians banned from worshiping
Kachin News Group: Two miners killed, seven injured on New Year eve
explosion in Hpakant mine
Narinjara: Rampant deforestation in Arakan by Burmese Army
IRIN News: Farmers lament post-Nargis harvest

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: Family of Karen armed group commander kidnapped in Three Pagodas Pass

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar export through border trade increases in 11 months of 2008

HEALTH / AIDS
Mizzima News: Mizoram bans poultry and animal imports from Burma

DRUGS
Irrawaddy: Soldier’s arrest for transporting drugs a sign of the times

REGIONAL
Jakarta Post: 301 Myanmarese boat people found adrift in Aceh


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INSIDE BURMA

January 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
Sittwe students protest suspension of bus services – Naw Say Phaw

About 70 students from Sittwe university in Arakan state marched to the
university on Monday in protest at the bus companies’ decision to stop
services.

The buses stopped running after they were forced by local authorities to
cut bus fares to one third of the original price, town residents said.

"The protest took place around 8.30 on Monday. Students were waiting for
the buses but they didn't arrive,” a local resident said.

“They stopped running after being told by local authorities to cut bus
fares from 150 kyat down to 50 kyat per student," he said.

“The bus companies said they would not make any profit if they only
charged 50 kyat because of the high fuel prices.”

The students decided to march to the university in protest at the
suspension of services.

"There was a crowd of about 70 students who were disappointed after they
learnt what happened and decided to walk down to the university as a
protest," the local resident said.

"Not long after that, the government's armed security troops showed up.
They rounded up other buses running in the area and ordered them to take
the students."

____________________________________

January 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
88 generation leader’s brother sent to work camp – Nan Kham Kaew

Zaw Naing Htway, the brother of detained 88 generation student leader Kyaw
Kyaw Htway, has been sent to a prison work camp in Taung-ngu, Bago
division, according to a source close to imprisoned activists.

Zaw Naing Htway (also known as Kenneth), was sent to the camp earlier this
week, the source said.

"He was sent to a prison work camp near Taung-ngu as he was not a
political prisoner,” he said.

“Political prisoners shouldn’t be sent to prison work camps or punished
with hard labour but Zaw Naing Htway was sentenced to nine years’
imprisonment on corruption charges,” he explained.

"His wife is worried that he might get sick or something like that due to
the hard labour."

He said the family was not informed about Zaw Naing Htway's transfer to
the work camp and had only found out about it later from an anonymous
telephone call from a woman.

Members of his family went to Insein prison yesterday and confirmed he was
no longer there.

Zaw Naing Htway was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for bribing
three prison officials and smuggling documents out of Baik prison in
Tenasserin division where his brother Kyaw Kyaw Htway (also known as
Marki) is serving a 65-year sentence.

____________________________________

January 7, Irrawaddy
Junta’s NUP ready to open 2010 election campaign – Wai Moe

The chairman of the National Unity Party (NUP), which replaced the Burma
Socialist Program Party (BSPP), said this week the party is ready to start
campaign efforts in the 2010 general election, according to the Rangoon
weekly, True News.

In a front page report in the weekly on Tuesday, NUP Chairman Tun Yee was
quoted as telling party members in an Independence Day message, “In 2009,
our party will focus on political organization.”

It was the first time political campaign news about the 2010 election was
published on the front page of a private journal, according to journalists
in Rangoon. One journalist said authorities probably pressured the weekly
to put the story in the publication.

However, a True News staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity told
The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the weekly ran the story on its own.

He said there was no difficulty with Burma’s censorship board, the Press
Scrutiny and Registration Division of the Ministry of Information.

Officials of the NUP were not available when The Irrawaddy tried to
contact them on Wednesday.

The BSPP was organized in July 1962, four months after Burma’s first
military coup which was led by Gen Ne Win, who went on to serve as BSPP
chairman until July 1988.

The BSPP was abolished following the second military coup on September 18,
1988.

The NUP replaced it prior to the general election in 1990 when most BSPP
members became NUP members. The NUP served as the proxy party for the
military government during the national election campaign.

However, the NUP won only 10 parliamentary seats in the election. The
opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) won 392 seats out of a
total of 485 seats. The NUP received more than 2 million popular votes,
while the NLD received nearly 8 million votes in the election.

Meanwhile, many private Rangoon journals this week published an article
attacking NLD members Win Tin and Khin Maung Swe, opposition leaders who
were released in September after serving many years in the junta’s prisons
as political prisoners. Journalists in Rangoon said authorities ordered
private journals to publish the story.

The article claimed the two opposition members were behind a peaceful
protest on December 30 seeking the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi
in which nine NLD members were arrested and detained.

____________________________________

January 7, Mizzima News
Detained Hip Hop singer Yan Yan Chan released – Than Htike Oo

The Burmese military junta authorities on Tuesday released popular Hip Hop
singer Yan Yan Chan, who was arrested in April 2008.

The popular singer was released on Tuesday evening by the western district
court in the notorious Insein prison in Rangoon after the judge during the
court session ordered  his release, a lawyer close to the singer's family
said.

"The judge ordered his release and so he was freed yesterday evening," the
lawyer said.

The lawyer, however, said he is not aware of the charges against the
singer and the reasons for his release.

"As far as I understand, he [Yan Yan Chan] was charged in a drug related
crime but I am not sure what the charges exactly were. I have not been
able to speak to him yet," the lawyer, who requested anonymity, told
Mizzima.

When contacted, Yan Yan Chan's family members confirmed his released but
refused to elaborate.

Yan Yan Chan was arrested in early April 2008, while staying at his
friend's residence in Monywa town in upper Burma.

 Yan Yan Chan along with Kyaw Kyaw (alias) Zeya Thaw, was arrested in
February 2008 for his political activities and for being a member of the
'Generation Wave (GW)'. He co-founded the first Burmese hip hop band the
'Acid'.

____________________________________

January 7, Mizzima News
Rangoon's Christians banned from worshiping – Mungpi & Phanida

Christians in Burma's former capital of Rangoon find themselves in a
precarious state as local authorities on Monday banned the holding of
regular church services and threatened to seal off churches if
congregations failed to comply.
The Kyauktada Township Peace and Development Council on Monday summoned a
meeting of local church pastors from leading downtown Rangoon churches and
informed them to stop the conduct of worship services in residential
apartments.

"They [the authorities] warned us that our churches would be sealed off if
we continue worshipping," said a pastor of a church in Pabedan Township
who attended the meeting.

The pastor, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, told Mizzima
that nearly 50 church leaders and pastors who attended the meeting were
made to sign more than five papers of pledges concerning the cessation of
church services.

"The papers also said that we could be punished [and could be jailed] if
we fail to obey the order and the church would be sealed off," the pastor
said.

When contacted by Mizzima, an official at the Kyauktada Township Peace and
Development Council office confirmed a meeting was held on Monday but
declined to further elaborate on the substance of the ensuing dialogue.

However, according to the pastor, authorities sent an invitation to
representatives from over 100 churches, mostly located in the downtown
Rangoon area, and informed them of the new order.

"We received the meeting invitation last Sunday," said the pastor. "Now we
don't know what to do with our Sunday services."

Burma's military authorities had long stopped issuing permits to religious
organizations and churches for the possession of land and the building of
churches, forcing several local churches in Rangoon to conduct worship
services in residential apartments, which are often rented or purchased in
the names of private owners.

"Since the late 1990s authorities have stopped issuing permits [to
churches] to purchase land or construct church buildings," the pastor
said, adding that he himself bought an apartment in Pabedan Township for
use as a place of communal worship.

According to church leaders including the pastor, there are at least 100
churches located in residential apartments in downtown Rangoon, including
those in Kyuaktada, Lanmadaw, Latha, Pabedan, Bothathaung, Minglar Thaung
Nyunt, Dagon, Tamwe, Hlaing, Kamayut, Ahlone, Sanchaung and Bahan
Townships.

A Christian youth in Rangoon in an email message to Mizzima said the order
virtually puts a stop to Christians worshiping, as most churches in
Rangoon are convened in apartments.

"Eighty percent of the churches in Yangon [Rangoon] are included in the
order. Only a few churches have their own land. Most churches use rented
buildings, houses and office style rooms for worship places," the youth
explained.

"We need your prayers for Christian communities in Myanmar [Burma]," the
youth added.

While religious persecution and the prohibition of religious rites are not
uncommon in military-ruled Burma, the new order, according to another
pastor, is an attempt to stop Christians from regularly meeting.

In September 2007, Burma's military junta, in its determination to
suppress the people and sustain their rule, violently crushed Buddhist
monk-led protests, killing what opposition sources say were hundreds of
monks, a highly revered population in the predominantly Buddhist country.

____________________________________

January 7, Kachin News Group
Two miners killed, seven injured on New Year eve explosion in Hpakant mine

An explosion in an underground jade mine in Hpakant in Kachin state,
northern Burma on December 31, 2008, at about 3 p.m. local time killed two
miners and injured seven, said the owner of the mine.

The explosion occurred in the underground jade mine in Hpakant Gyi, close
to Hpakant jade mining city, which is owned by one of Burma's ethnic peace
groups called Pa-O National Army (PNA) chaired by Aung Kham Hti.

According to residents of Hpakant jade mining city, the death toll could
be higher than what the PNA had stated.

Local jade dealers and eyewitnesses said, they heard the sound of the
explosion and saw flames leaping out of the underground jade mine.

In the year 2000, there was a big accident where the water of the Uru
River rushed into the underground jade mines along the riverbanks and
killed about 1,000 miners and injured hundreds. However a lid was put on
the information regarding the drowning of the miners by Burmese ruling
junta, said jade miners in Hpakant.

Every day, the PNA's Hpakant Gyi jade mine operates on both day and night
shifts--- from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to midnight with about 300
miners including overseers, 20 power shovels and about fifty 12-wheel rock
trucks, added residents of Hpakant.

During mining activities, TNT explosives, different drilling machines,
power shovels, rock trucks and oxygen tanks are essential for miners, said
local sources.

The PNA's Hpakant Gyi underground jade mine is run under the
'Naing-Ngan-Daw Akyoto' meaning 'mutual benefit between ruling junta and
mining company or organization'. However entire jade mining activities are
operated by Chinese jade businessmen linked with drug smuggling, said
sources close to the PNA.

At present jade markets are cold in China and with US ban on importing gem
from Burma, most small jade companies have stopped mining but only some
jade companies linked with drug smuggling can continue mining, said
sources close to jade companies in Hpakant.

The pro-junta and PNA Chairman Aung Kham Hti's company is included in one
of these jade mining companies which can survive, added local jade company
sources.

____________________________________

January 7, Narinjara
Rampant deforestation in Arakan by Burmese Army

Forests in northern Arakan state located near southern Chin State are
being depleted due to illegal felling of timber from the area by the
Burmese Army, said local reports.
The local timber companies are felling timber from many mountain ranges in
northern part of Kyauk Taw Township, an area located in southern Paletwa
Township in Chin State for a long time after bribing army officials.

In some mountain ranges in areas like Mi let wa, Min Thar daung and Pe
Chaung taung, timber companies have cut timber illegally without
permission of the forest department.

The report said, army authorities from Sakhaka, known as Military
Operation Planning Bureau, 5 based in Kyauk Taw gave permission to the
timber companies to fell timber from the area reasoning to the local
people that the income from timber companies are for army funds.

However, local people strongly believe that the income from timber
companies are not for army funds but it is for army officials own
consumption, the report said.

Many mountain ranges in the northern part of Kyauk Taw Township are now
faced with denudation of forest cover because of rampant felling of trees.

The report said, many local people from Sapa Sit, Teen Nyo, Thet ratapin,
Nyung Pin Hla have worked in the timber felling leading to deforestation
in the region.

According to local reports, many army battalions stationed in Arakan state
have been felling timber from nearby forests to sell in local markets for
their respective battalion funds. As a result deforestation in Arakan
state has become widespread.

____________________________________

January 7, IRIN News
Farmers lament post-Nargis harvest

U Nay Aung, a resident of Thauk Kyar village in Dedaye Township, is one of
thousands of farmers across the cyclone-affected area who never gave up,
succeeding after the fourth attempt to yield some harvest.

In May, his 4.6 hectares of paddy fields were badly affected by the tidal
surge that accompanied Cyclone Nargis. When the donated seeds did not
take, he borrowed money to buy his own.

However, compared with the previous year, when he managed a US$700 profit
from the 8MT of paddy harvested, this December, U Nay Aung harvested less
than 5MT while his overheads spiralled following three failed planting
attempts.

At a lower market price of about $250/MT, U Nay Aung estimates he will
earn less than half the amount in 2007.

The additional debt is making matters worse. Like many farmers in the
affected area, he borrowed heavily to get his fields planted in time.

December's monsoon harvest – which accounts for a large part of the
country's annual production – yielded less per hectare because of Nargis,
which left many paddy fields badly salinated.

Exports down
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated rice production
for Myanmar in 2007 at just over 30 million MT, with exports of about
600,000 MT, double that of 2006, as the country sought to attract more
hard currency, according to Ministry of Commerce statistics.

But according to the ministry, exports of the last harvest up to
mid-December were a mere 11,000MT, while the price was less than $300/MT.

At a December seminar of the Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (UMFCCI) in Yangon, its chairman, U Win Myint, called for
attempts to produce better quality rice to compete with Thai and
Vietnamese output in the global market.

In 2007, Thailand, which accounts for a third of global exports, exported
more than 9 million MT, topping the list of rice exporters, with Vietnam
second with more than 4 million MT, according to the US Department of
Agriculture.

Before the cyclone, the FAO forecast that Myanmar, once the world's
largest exporter, would export 500,000 MT in 2008.

Low yield seeds and low quality harvesting and milling processes
contribute to low output and low income for Burmese farmers, according to
specialists.

Although Myanmar has more than 8 million hectares of land for paddy
growing in two seasons (monsoon and summer), the latest yield is not
encouraging. The average per hectare yield was less than 1MT, according to
the Ministry of Commerce paper submitted to the UMFCCI meeting.

The monsoon rice crop is usually harvested in November and December, while
the summer rice crop is harvested in March and early April.

Meanwhile, farmers in Ayeyarwady delta, which produces a third of the rice
crop, are worried.

"This year's rice production from the Ayeyarwady Division may be down 20
percent over last year," one rice trader in Yangon, who declined to be
identified, told IRIN.

For U Nay Aung that means an uncertain future burdened with debt in the
months ahead.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 7, Independent Mon News Agency
Family of Karen armed group commander kidnapped in Three Pagodas Pass –
Krak Nai and Blai Mon

The mother-in-law of an armed Karen cease-fire group leader in Three
Pagodas Pass has been released after a being kidnapped on Saturday. The
leader’s wife is also unharmed after armed assailants fired on her as she
escaped an earlier attempted kidnapping.

At 5 pm on January 3rd, a group of men driving a blue truck pulled up in
front of the home of Lieutenant Colonel Lay Wa, second-in-command of the
Karen Peace Front (KPF). According to eyewitnesses, two men wearing black
masks pointed handguns at Lay Wa’s wife, Ma Moe Thu, 25, as she stood
outside and then put her in handcuffs.

“She escaped when they tried to throw her into the truck,” one of the
witnesses explained to IMNA. “She kicked with her leg and ran away. The
gunmen shot at her and missed.” According to this witness, the gunmen
fired one shot directly at Ma Moe Thu and then fired twice into the air.
Sources in local military intelligence provided a slightly different
account, and said the two men fired five shots. According to a police
source in Three Pagodas Pass, the handcuffs on Ma Moe Thu’s wrists had to
be unlocked by police.

Later the same day, at 11 pm, Lay Wa’s mother-in-law, Daw Nann, 50, was
successfully seized from the gambling venue she was operating inside a
pagoda festival near the entrance to Three Pagodas Pass. She was released
two days later, on the evening of January 6th.

According to a source close to the KPF, the Lay Wa family paid a
significant sum of money for Daw Nann’s release. IMNA could not confirm
details of her release, though she appears to be in good health. “I went
to her home to see her and she was well,” said another source who visited
the Lay Wa home upon Daw Nann’s return. She and the family denied the she
had been kidnapped at all, the source added.

Rumors explaining the kidnappings – attempted and successful – are flying
fast and thick in Three Pagodas. A consistent theme runs through the
explanations, however, and the consensus is that the kidnappings were
motivated by economics rather than politics. The majority of IMNA sources
contend that the kidnappings are related to narcotics trafficking, and
allege that Lay Wa’s family was targeted in an attempt to recoup a debt
that he was refusing to pay.

Lay Wa and his family are of some infamy in Three Pagodas Town, and are
widely regarded as large-scale narcotics traffickers. According to a
report released by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), in
December 2008 an agent for Lay Wa offered to sell large quantities of raw
opium to a HURFOM field reporter.

The KPF, lead by Colonel Thuh Muh Heh, split from the Karen National Union
in 1997 and has subsequently remained loosely allied with Burma’s military
government. The group operates a number of road and river checkpoints in
the Three Pagodas Pass area, and maintains a semi-administrative presence
in the town – chiefly in the form of taxation on the town’s lucrative
gambling operations. KPF members also operate at least three massage
parlors, the largest of which is owned by Lay Wa.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 7, Xinhua
Myanmar export through border trade increases in 11 months of 2008

Myanmar's export through border trade amounted to 666 million U.S. dollars
in the first 11 months of 2008, an increase of 10 million dollars from the
same period of 2007 which registered 656 million dollars, local media
reported Wednesday, quoting the Ministry of Commerce.

The export volume was up due to increased export of agricultural produces
and forest products which accounted for 355 million dollars and 75 million
dollars respectively, the 7-Day News said.

However, the export of animal, marine and mineral products declined during
the 11-month period, it added.

There are 13 border points where Myanmar is trading with four neighboring
countries -- Thailand, China, India and Bangladesh.

According to other local report, Myanmar's foreign trade volume hit over
8.5 billion dollars in the first three quarters (April-December) of the
2008-09 fiscal year, up 21.95 percent from the same period of 2007-08 when
it registered over 7 billion dollars.

Of the 8.5 billion dollars' foreign trade, 7.5 billion dollars were gained
through normal trade, while over 1 billion dollars were obtained through
border trade, up 24 percent and 8.32 percent respectively.

Of the three-quarter period's foreign trade, the exports amounted to over
4.5 billion dollars with normal trade and 500 million dollars with border
trade, increasing by 14.3 percent and dropping by 2.88 percent
respectively.

Of Myanmar's export items during the period, beans and pulses took over
900,000 tons in quantity, getting 500 million dollars, while rice
accounted for 200,000 tons, earning 60 million dollars.

Under the current status, Myanmar is trading with over 80 countries and
regions through normal trade with Thailand standing top as Myanmar's
trading partner traditionally without change, followed by India.

As export to China and its special administrative region of Hong Kong
reached over 700 million dollars, China as a whole is likely to take up
the second position in Myanmar's exporting countries to replace India for
the entire 2008-09 ending March, commerce officials predicted.

Currently, China is standing the 7th among the top-ten countries with
which Myanmar is mainly trading.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

January 7, Mizzima News
Mizoram bans poultry and animal imports from Burma – Salai Pi Pi

India's northeastern state of Mizoram has banned import of livestock and
poultry from Burma as a precaution against bird flu virus spreading to the
state, which has a long and porous border with military-ruled Burma.

Dr. Sai Ngura, Joint-director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary
Department of Mizoram state on Wednesday told Mizzima that the Mizoram
government since January 1, had prohibited import of livestock from Burma
and Bangladesh to prevent the spread of the deadly H5N1 viruses, which are
often detected in both countries.

"It was a precautionary measure along the border with Burma and Bangladesh
where bird flu has been detected over the last two years. The flu occurs
because these two countries are not well organized like India," Dr. Sai
Ngura said.

The ban on import of animals and poultry in Mizoram came after the deadly
virus was reportedly detected in neighbouring state of Assam in November
2008.

"After the bird flu out break in Assam state in November, we took
preventive measures in our borders," Dr. Sai Ngura said, adding that the
Mizoram government has sealed all borders including state and
international boundaries from import of bird and other poultry products
including eggs.

However, a local resident of Saiha district in Mizoram said despite the
ban, poultry products such as chicken and eggs from Burma are continuing
to be sold in the local market.

"So far, chickens from Burma are still selling in the local market in
Saiha," the local said.

But Dr. Sai Ngura said, while chickens and poultry products that were
imported earlier are allowed to be sold, new imports have been effectively
banned and that the ban will continue until further notice was given by
the central government.

"The ban will continue until the central government directs us to lift
it," he added.

Mizoram shares a porous border of 404 kilometers with Burma's northwestern
Chin state and with the people sharing almost a similar culture, language
and custom, there is regular cross border interaction including trade and
interactive human relationships.

In the second week of December, authorities culled around 200 chickens in
poultry farms near Burma's new jungle capital city of Naypyitaw, after
detecting a new disease among chicken.

Burma's ministry of veterinary and animal husbandry believes the symptoms
to be of a new and strange disease known as Viscero Tropic Velogenic
(VVNT), where the chicken or birds died of pain in the neck.

But some experts said it is a symptom of the deadly avian flu.

____________________________________
DRUGS

January 7, Irrawaddy
Soldier’s arrest for transporting drugs a sign of the times – Min Lwin

A warrant officer from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 701, based in Hmawbi
Township, Rangoon Division, was arrested for drug trafficking in late
December, according to a source close to Rangoon Regional Military
Command.

“He was not selling, he was just a carrier,” said the source. “He did it
because he couldn’t support his family on his salary.”

The man was found to be in possession of the drug while going through a
checkpoint on the main road from Rangoon to Mandalay, the source said. No
further details about the type or quantity of the drug were available.

The arrest highlighted a growing problem among low-ranking members of
Burma’s 400,000-strong armed forces. Unlike the top generals who use the
military to maintain their hold on power in the country, most
rank-and-file soldiers are struggling to get by.

“Regional military authorities don’t provide sufficient rations and other
supplies for soldiers and their families,” said a sergeant from LIB 701,
speaking on condition of anonymity. “That’s why soldiers are always
looking for some other way to support their families.”

While many military families try to subsist on earnings from a variety of
side businesses, from raising livestock to making bricks or wooden
furniture, even this extra income is often not enough. Like other public
servants in this impoverished country, many soldiers survive on the spoils
of petty corruption and other illegal activities, including drug
trafficking.

Non-commissioned members of the armed forces are paid less than half as
much as junior officers, with monthly salaries starting at 21,000 kyat (US
$16) for a private. First class warrant officers can make as much as
50,000 kyat ($40) per month.

“We earn small salaries and work six days a week, even though we are not
on the frontlines,” said the sergeant from LIB 701. “We don’t care where
we get our money from, as long as we can support our children.”

With such attitudes prevalent among lower-ranking soldiers, commanding
officers often look the other way or engage in illegal activities
themselves. When caught, however, soldiers often face harsh sentences for
their crimes.

Unlike soldiers near the bottom of the military hierarchy, those close to
the ruling generals rarely face serious penalties for breaking the law.

Last year, Aung Zaw Ye Myint, son of Lt-Gen Ye Myint, was briefly detained
at the Wat Htee Kan military camp in Prome, Pegu Division, after Burmese
police raided his office at Rangoon’s Yetagun Tower on May 29 and found
illegal drugs and six guns.

The Wat Htee Kan camp has served as a sort of reform school for the
miscreant sons and grandsons of top-ranking generals since Burma’s
socialist era.

Aung Zaw Ye Myint was a familiar figure in Rangoon’s elite circles,
mingling with movie stars and the children of other top generals. He was
well known as a reliable source of hard-to-find street drugs for a small
but well-connected clientele.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 7, Jakarta Post
301 Myanmarese boat people found adrift in Aceh – Hotli Simanjuntak

A group of 301 boat people from Myanmar on their way to Malaysia were
found in Aceh on Tuesday night.

Local fishermen discovered the refugees adrift in a small boat off the Weh
islands.

On Wednesday, Sabang mayor Munawar L. Zein said that many members of the
group were suffering illnesses as they had run out of food during their
voyage.

The sick are currently being treated at a local hospital, while local
authorities are coordinating with Jakarta over their fate.

The group had apparently fled Myanmar because of its military junta, and
were seeking a better life in Malaysia.

A similar incident occurred in 2004 when around 200 Myanmarese boat people
were discovered in Aceh on their way to Malaysia.