BurmaNet News, April 28, 2009

[Editor]

April 28, 2009, Issue #3699


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar opposition to decide later about 2010 poll
Mizzima News: Detained Burmese comedian allowed treatment
DVB: Cyclone damage forcing women into prostitution
Kachin News Group: Kachin ceasefire group leaders to meet Burma's ruling
junta
Xinhua: Myanmar needs houses for 500,000 cyclone survivors ahead of monsoon

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Burmese, Thai troops clash on border

HEALTH / AIDS
Xinhua: Myanmar warns against swine flu in humans, no cases in country

REGIONAL
AP: Refugee kids in Malaysia help Burma storm victims

INTERNATIONAL
DVB: EU still looking for dialogue with junta

OPINION / OTHER
UPI: Burma's inhumanity toward its citizens – Zin Linn
Irrawaddy: Gov’t neglect plays a role in diarrhea outbreak – Wai Moe



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 28, Associated Press
Myanmar opposition to decide later about 2010 poll

Members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party said
Tuesday they will wait to see whether laws governing next year's elections
conform with democratic standards before deciding if they will contest the
polls.

Aung Shwe, chairman of the National League for Democracy, said the party
has already called for Myanmar's restrictive constitution to be reviewed.
He said it has many flaws and its main objective is perpetuating military
rule.

The party believes the referendum that approved the constitution had
serious shortcomings, he said.

Aung Shwe said the party will wait until the election and party
registration laws come out before it decides whether to participate in the
2010 election.

"We have to wait and see whether they will be based on democratic
principles," Aung Shwe said at the opening of the party meeting attended
by reporters, politicians, diplomats and more than 150 party members from
around the country.

Delegates at the National League for Democracy meeting — to discuss
prevailing political conditions, party organizational affairs, the
constitution and the election — included 93 elected candidates in the last
general election in 1990, whose results were annulled by the ruling
military.

Another senior party member, prominent journalist Win Tin, said it was not
clear what restrictions the party might be operating under until the party
registration law is issued. He urged all members to stand united, be
fearless and determined, and uphold the party's principles.

Scores of plainclothes police monitored the meeting from across the street.

Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates little
dissent. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a
nationwide pro-democracy uprising and has stepped up its campaign against
opposition politicians and activists ahead of next year's polls.

____________________________________

April 28, Mizzima News
Detained Burmese comedian allowed treatment – Phanida

With the health of famous comedian and film director Thura a.k.a.
Zarganar, serving 35 years in prison, deteriorating, he was finally
allowed a medical check-up on Monday.

Zarganar (48), suffering from a heart disease, was taken to Myitkyina
People's Hospital in Northern Burma’s Kachin state and allowed a check up
by a cardiologist.

"He was taken outside yesterday but they did not inform his family. He was
not in the prison when we went to see him yesterday. We went to the
hospital and waited for him from 2:15 p.m. The medical Check-up was
completed at about 4 p.m. and he was taken back to prison," his
sister-in-law Ma Nyein who visited him at Myitkyina prison told Mizzima.

"There is a prison ward at the hospital but Thura was not admitted. His
liver function has improved and is ok now. A senior doctor at the hospital
said that he might need oxygen," she added.

Zarganar underwent ultrasound, X-Ray and ECG checks on Monday and doctors
said his heart was swelling.

"After the medical Check-up, Thura told me that both Ultrasound and X-Ray
results were good. But he underwent 2 ECG tests and the result said his
heart was swelling. The doctor, who was not satisfied with the ECG result,
said the heart is getting bigger when Zarganar asked him about the medical
reports. He was disappointed with his heart condition," Ma Nyein said.

Before the medical Check-up, he was suffering from hepatitis and liver
inflammation. Now he is suffering from heart disease, hypertension and
spondylitis.

A doctor in Rangoon who wished not to be named said that the cause of this
heart swelling could be varied and he might need to have immediate medical
attention.

"There are many types of heart swelling. If the heart doesn't work
properly, the heart will get bigger and the body will suffer from oedema
in the legs, hands, abdomen and face. It means the heart is not working
properly and the patient may suffer from congestive cardiac failure.

When these symptoms are found, the patient needs to be admitted to
hospital immediately. The patient must be prescribed anti-biotic drugs for
diueresis and get drained. The patient needs oxygen if cyanosis is found,"
the doctor in Rangoon said.

Zarganar was escorted to hospital by eight policemen, Township and Ward
level Peace and Development Council (PDC) members, personnel of the Police
Special Branch and prison staffs in two cars.

"The jailor sat on the front seat of the jeep. Two policemen sat beside Ko
Thura and another police car carried officials of the local PDC. They were
fully armed and didn't seem to like bringing a patient to the hospital. I
wept when I saw this. Many people came and watched Zarganar after they
heard that he was going to be admitted to the hospital. So he was taken
through the back door," Ma Nyein said.

She further said that she could see Zarganar was confined in a 3'x3' cell
inside the Myitkyina prison where he is serving time.

He was prescribed one more medicine besides the earlier one, but it is not
known what drug it was.

"I saw prison officials today and asked about his condition. They said
that we could buy medicines ourselves if we could afford it. But they said
that they would buy all these medicines themselves. I don’t know which
medicines they prescribed to him this time. They didn't say anything about
the prescription of hypertension and heart drugs," Ma Nyein said.

Zarganar collapsed at about 8 p.m. on April 16 and regained consciousness
at about 11 p.m. the same day.

His family sought permission from the Home Ministry through prison
officials for a medical Check-up for hepatitis in a hospital outside.

Zarganar was arrested for voluntary charity service provided to Cyclone
Nargis victims on 25 September 2008. He was sentenced to 59 years in
prison, which was later commuted to 35 years.

It is learnt that the roundtrip to Myitkyina prison from Rangoon to see
him at prison interviews costs his family at least Kyat 700,000. The
family has already spent about Kyat 1.4 million this month alone.
____________________________________

April 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
Cyclone damage forcing women into prostitution – Ahunt Phone Myat

The crippling of local businesses in the Irrawaddy delta following cyclone
Nargis last year has pushed increasing numbers of women into prostitution,
said a resident in one of the delta’s worst-hit towns.

The cyclone last May is thought to have killed 140,000 people, and
affected some 2.4 million people. Almost one million acres of farmland
were ruined.

A resident in Bogalay town, where upwards of 10,000 people are thought to
have died following the cyclone, said that prostitution is now widespread,
with sex workers operating out of guesthouses throughout the town.

“There are a lot of guest houses in town that are providing the service
and most of the sex workers there are young women from nearby villages who
faced financial problems [after the cyclone],” he said, speaking under
condition of anonymity.

Wards three, five and six were the areas with highest concentration of
brothels, he said, while pointing out that a similar situation was
occurring in neighbouring Pyarpon and Kadonkani towns.

Local youths have only a little knowledge on sexually transmitted
infections or how to prevent them, he added.

____________________________________

April 28, Kachin News Group
Kachin ceasefire group leaders to meet Burma's ruling junta

Leaders of the two ethnic Kachin ceasefire groups' in Burma's northern
Kachin State arrived in the state's capital Myitkyina two days ago to meet
the junta's Northern Command commander Brig-Gen Soe Win, said local
sources. On the meeting’s agenda is the role the groups will play in next
year’s general election.

The meeting will be between the Northern Command commander Brig-Gen Soe
Win and leaders and brigade commanders of the Kachin Independence
Organization (KIO), its armed-wing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and
the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K). They have been specially invited
to join the meeting, said KIO/A and NDA-K sources.

The official meeting will begin tomorrow but KIO/A leaders and Burmese
military officials of the Northern Command headquarters based in Myitkyina
began preliminary interaction last night, KIO sources said.

The discussions at the meeting will revolve around the roles of Kachin
ceasefire groups during the country-wide elections next year. It will also
feature discussions on forming political parties in the country, which
will be authorized very soon by the junta, said KIO and NDA-K sources.

Early this month before the Buddhist Water Festival in the country,
Maj-Gen Thar Aye, a new commander of No. 1 Bureau of Special Operation
based in Mandalay met senior leaders of the KIO/A, NDA-K and Kachin
Defense Army (KDA) based in Northeast Shan State, said sources among
Kachin ceasefire groups.

The KIO/A sources added, the KIO/A's delegation will be led by Lt-Gen
Gauri Zau Seng, Vice-president No. I.

All Kachin ceasefire groups support the junta's seven-step roadmap to
so-called disciplined democracy in the country. They have also approved
the referendum on the junta-centered new constitution of the country in
May last year against the wishes of the Kachin people.

Under the leadership and support of the Kachin Nationals' Consultative
Assembly (KNCA) and the two main Kachin ceasefire groups--- KIO/A and
NDA-K, the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) was formed to contest the
2010 elections by the Kachin State Interim Committee early this year.

The party is now biding its time to register as an official political
party when the junta authorizes formation of political parties to contest
the ensuing 2010 general elections, said Dr. Manam Tu Ja, the chairman of
Kachin State Interim Committee.

However, the NDA-K and KIO/A will not surrender their weapons until the
completion of the seven-step roadmap next year because their demand in the
last Nyaung Napyin National Convention for autonomy of Kachin State was
completely ignored by the junta, said KIO/A and NDA-K leaders.

____________________________________

April 28, Xinhua
Myanmar needs houses for 500,000 cyclone survivors ahead of monsoon

Myanmar is in urgent need of secured houses for about 500,000 cyclone
survivors in the stricken regions ahead of the coming monsoon in June,
Tuesday's local Weekly Eleven reported.

These people, mostly in Ayeyawaddy division, are living in unsecured
temporary houses and fear spending the monsoon season there. The secured
houses were expected to cost 10.2 million U.S. dollars, the resident
office of the United Nations (UN)- HABITAT was quoted as saying.

The Cyclone Nargis, which swept Myanmar in May last year, destroyed a
total of 450,000 houses, 350,000 totally wrecked, with an estimated loss
of 686 million dollars, according to a report of the post-Nargis Joint
Assessment (PONJA) of a tripartite core group involving ASEAN, Myanmar and
the UN.

Of the damaged houses, 200,000 were rebuilt by social and religious
organizations, while about 17,000 others by government, domestic and
international organizations.

Before Nargis struck Myanmar, 50 percent of the houses in Ayeyawaddy
division were built with wood and bamboo, 35 percent with wood and 15
percent with brick and concrete.

Under a three-year plan (2009-2011) for rehabilitation and disaster
preparedness, 700 million dollars are needed from the international
community, the PONJA report said.

The tropical cyclone Nargis hit the five divisions and states of
Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin in Myanmar on May 2 and 3 last
year. Ayeyawaddy and Yangon suffered the heaviest casualties and massive
infrastructural damage.

The storm killed 84,537 people, leaving 53,836 missing and 19, 359 injured
according to the official death toll.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 28, Irrawaddy
Burmese, Thai troops clash on border

Two Thai soldiers and one civilian were injured and hundreds of villagers
were evacuated as soldiers of the Burmese army and the Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA) launched a cross border attack along the Thai-Burmese
border on Monday, according to Thai media.

The Thai News Agency (TNA) reported that two Thai soldiers and one
villager were injured in the border skirmish as more than 200 Burmese
troops and DKBA guerrillas engaged in a joint assault on a base of the
Karen National Union (KNU) on the Burmese side of the border.

The joint operation against the KNU occurred opposite a Thai village in
Phop Phra District in Tak Province near the border. During the operation,
Burmese troops crossed into Thailand.

Col Padung Yingpaiboonsuk, the commander of a special task force of the
34th Infantry Regiment of the Royal Thai Army, said at least three mortar
shells landed on Thai territory, and the Burmese and DKBA troops clashed
with Thai troops near the border, according to the TNA report.

The TNA said that about 200 Thai villagers near the skirmish area were
temporarily evacuated to a Buddhist temple.

KNU sources said that since earlier April, Burmese troops along with the
DKBA have undertaken a major assault on Valeki, a Burmese camp of the
Karen rebel military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).

More than a dozen persons have reportedly died in the clashes, including a
KNLA colonel identified as Saw Jay.

Last week, a rumor of a potential attack by the Burmese army and the DKBA
spread through Karen refugee camps along the border.

During a visit by the Thai foreign minister to Burma in March, Burmese
officials asked Thailand to serve in a mediation role in peace talks with
Karen officials. The KNU has fought for Karen autonomy for more than six
decades.

On April 6, a meeting in Burma between the Thai foreign minister and KNU
representatives occurred in which a letter from Prime Minister Gen Thein
Sein was given to the KNU, offering to meet for peace negotiations.

The KNU said at the meeting that any peace talks should be held in a third
country.

KNU sources said that the offer could be related to the 2010 Burmese
elections in an effort to give more legitimacy to the junta’s election in
the eyes of the international community.

However, the KNU said in a statement on Sunday that the election would not
be free or fair and renewed its call for the release of all political
prisoners and the halt of all military offensives against ethnic
minorities.

“We are working for a peaceful, stable, federal Burma,” said the KNU
statement. “We stand ready to enter into a genuine tripartite dialogue, as
facilitated by the United Nations at any time.”

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

April 28, Xinhua
Myanmar warns against swine flu in humans, no cases in country

The Myanmar Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department Tuesday warned
against swine flu in humans in the wake of detection of the disease in
people of some four countries.

With no cases of the disease reported in Myanmar, the department has
outlined in a statement some preventive measures to be followed against
swine flu, calling on pig breeders to keep pigs in quarantine if found
sickness with them.

The statement urged the breeders to take care of biosecurity in farms
where large number of pigs are raised and ban sale of unhealthy pigs in
the markets.

The statement also advised the breeders not to raise the pigs of unknown
origin especially smuggled from abroad.

Suspected swine flu cases were reported in Mexico, the United States,
Canada and New Zealand in the third week of this month and over 100 were
suspectedly killed by the disease.

According to health experts, the flu is caused by a new strain of virus
which is mixed with four genes and can spread quickly.

The health authorities warned that the swine flu, like SARS, can become
pandemic.

The World Health Organization has raised the influenza pandemic alert
level to phase four, just two steps shy of a global pandemic level.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 28, Associated Press
Refugee kids in Malaysia help Burma storm victims – Vijay Joshi

When the teacher asked her class how it can help Cyclone Nargis victims in
Myanmar, Steven Bawmying suggested laying a long underground pipe to send
drinking water from Malaysia.

The plan didn't fly, but Steven and other children in the school for
Myanmar refugees came up with a better idea: They wrote short pieces about
their lives mostly sad tales of survival published them in a colorful
children's book and earned 25,000 ringgit ($7,000) from its sale.

On Tuesday, the children donated the money to World Vision, a Christian
charity group, ahead of the first anniversary of the cyclone, which
slammed into Myanmar's coast on May 2, 2008, leaving nearly 140,000 dead
or missing.

Tens of thousands more were left homeless and destitute as the cyclone cut
a swath of destruction through the country's main rice-growing area. World
Vision has an extensive relief program in Myanmar.

"I saw on TV a lot of people were suffering. People had no water so I
wanted to help," said Steven, who is now 12. "I told the teacher we can
connect a lot of pipes together all the way from here to Myanmar."

Steven is among the 160 ethnic Kachin minority children at the school in
Kuala Lumpur operated by volunteers.

The U.N. has registered 47,600 refugees living in Malaysia, of whom 42,300
are from Myanmar, having fled the country's repressive military regime.

Belle Luer, a volunteer teacher at the school, said she was moved by the
children's willingness to help the cyclone victims. One girl said she
could write letters of love and encouragement and others said they would
save 10 cents every day, she said.

Ultimately, the kids decided to publish the book, "My Beautiful Myanmar,"
which has 23 stories and drawings, mostly about persecution and escape
from the military authorities.

Thanks to a discount offered by the printer, Luer was able to print the
40-page book cheaply. It is now on sale for 15 ringgit ($4) at Borders
bookstore. She said she hopes to raise 100,000 ringgit ($28,000) from it.

"We are humbled by these little ones. They may be young and small but they
are giants in spirit," said Liew Tong Ngan, the head of World Vision
Malaysia, who accepted the initial check of 25,000 ringgit.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
EU still looking for dialogue with junta – Francis Wade

The European Union has said that sanctions against the Burmese regime have
had an impact but can only continue to work if accompanied by dialogue.

Yesterday the EU announced it had extended its package of sanctions on
Burma in light of the ruling junta’s failure to change track on its human
rights record.

Christiane Hohmann, spokesperson for the European Commission for External
Relations, said however that they are unlikely to work alone.

“It’s something that can only go hand in hand with trying to convince them
through the UN process or the indirect talks we have with them in the
margins, for instance in the UN General Assembly, or ASEAN meetings, to
really go for a political process,” she said.

The sanctions include the continuation of an arms embargo, travel bans for
senior officials and the freezing of Burmese assets in Europe.

“We think we need this pressure beyond just political dialogue to make
sure that we see things moving in the right direction in a sufficient
manner,” she said, adding that the economic blockade and prevention of
travel by senior officials to the EU was having a direct impact.

“It’s difficult to see the results because they [Burmese government]
haven’t had access to the European market for quite a while but this is
the biggest single market so all the potential they would have had to
export to the European market is banned,” she said.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 28, United Press International
Burma's inhumanity toward its citizens – Zin Linn

Burma's military rulers have repeatedly described U.S. and EU sanctions as
an "unjust and inhumane act'' that will cause chaos and anarchy in the
country. The junta has also said that economic sanctions are unilateral
actions taken by big powerful countries against developing countries,
ignoring the equality among nations, which the international community
accepts.

According to their logic, sanctions imposed by a big country on a
developing country, with the ill intention of hindering the economic,
trade and manufacturing sectors of that country, are inhumane acts
intended to incite unrest and cause the nation to fall into anarchy.

However, Burma's rogue military regime does not practice self-criticism
with regard to sanctions it imposes on its own population.

For instance, one member of Parliament from the National League for
Democracy, a physician by profession, was informed by state authorities
that he would have to choose between his profession and politics. If he
wanted to remain a physician he must resign his political position and
party. His family situation compelled him to choose his medical
profession.

Numerous NLD members have faced similar threats and intimidation, being
forced to choose between their professions and politics. This is one
method the regime uses to sanction its own citizens.

The junta also commits atrocious acts against its citizens. One example is
the experience of Htay Htay, an executive member of the Ma-gwe Division of
the NLD. She was hospitalized for an emergency appendectomy; right after
the operation a secret police officer appeared at the hospital and told
the chief surgeon to discharge the patient immediately. When the doctor
asked how he could interfere with a physician’s care of his patient, the
policeman showed his identity card and said the patient did not deserve
hospitalization because she was a member of the NLD. The policeman also
threatened the doctor; eventually Htay Htay was discharged.

A different type of sanction practiced by the junta is in clear violation
of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. An example is
the case of a female student who wishes to remain anonymous. Although she
passed the test to qualify for further studies in a foreign country, the
authorities refused to issue her a passport because her father supports
the NLD.

There are numerous such cases with regard to education. Burma is trampled
under the jackboots of the army generals who refuse to allow equal
opportunity in higher education.

Even the basic right of identity as a citizen is sanctioned by the
military intelligence bureau. When a citizen comes of age, he has to
submit an application for a National Registration Card. First he must
obtain a recommendation from the head of the local ward of the junta’s
Peace and Development Council. Then he has to seek a second recommendation
from the local police station. The application for an identity card must
be filed with these two recommendation letters.

The important point is that in order to get the recommendations the youth
must be a member of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, an
organization similar to Adolf Hitler’s brown-shirted Nazi storm troopers.
Without USDA membership, a high bribe is required to obtain the NRC. A
member of the National League for Democracy must either resign from the
party or pay a six-digit bribe to authorities. Without the NRC one cannot
work or travel.

People from all walks of life in Burma are suffering under various
sanctions set up by the military regime that has ruled the country since
1962. The consequences of this reign of violence produce spillover effects
in neighboring countries as well. Thailand is the nation most afflicted by
Burma's socioeconomic troubles, which include political unrest, refugees,
migrant workers, trafficking in women and children, disease, drugs,
prostitution and terrorism.

In the past two decades, it is estimated that more than 1 million illegal
workers have fled from Burma to Thailand due to the economic failures of
the military-ruled country. This has caused successive Thai governments to
face numerous socioeconomic problems.

There has been a massive influx of narcotic drugs, including heroin and
methamphetamines, and the trafficking of women and children occurs on a
regular basis. These are serious transnational crimes taking place along
the 2,400-kilometer Thailand-Burma border. The junta’s negligence of
healthcare problems has also produced a new HIV/AIDS flow into neighboring
countries.

Another problem that has drawn international criticism is the situation of
over 2,100 political prisoners detained in the junta's prisons, many
sentenced to unbelievably long terms of imprisonment. Most of them were
intentionally transferred to remote prisons with very poor healthcare.

Most prisoners of conscience have to face terrible torture as well as a
lack of nutritious food and little or no medicine. The outcome is that
over 100 political prisoners – including members of Parliament, writers
and journalists – have already passed away in the regime's jails. People
are therefore deeply concerned about the safety of the 2,100 prisoners of
conscience.

All political prisoners were arrested and sentenced due to their political
activities involving democracy and human rights. If the generals honestly
want to restore democracy and human rights in Burma, releasing these
prisoners of conscience would be a sign of their sincerity. If they wait
too long without releasing these prisoners, it indicates the generals have
no intention of allowing democracy or promoting national reconciliation in
Burma.

The military regime speaks loudly about national reconciliation. It
sometimes releases a limited number of prisoners in hopes of reducing
international pressure, especially sanctions.

The regime should understand that building an appropriate political
atmosphere is a basic step toward national reconciliation. This would
require the unconditional and immediate release of all political
prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, that have been
detained arbitrarily and inhumanely.

The release of all political prisoners could cause international sanctions
to be lifted and allow the revival of the nation's economy, which is
currently in a state of collapse.

--

(Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist living in exile in Thailand.
he is working at the NCGUB East Office as an information director and is
vice-president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the
Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers. He can be contacted at
uzinlinn at gmail.com.)

____________________________________

April 28, Irrawaddy
Gov’t neglect plays a role in diarrhea outbreak – Wai Moe

The outbreak of diarrhea cases in poor neighborhoods of Rangoon has
highlighted the woeful lack of health care standards, and the military
government’s neglect of basic funding to the public health care system.

In terms of the annual budget, each Burmese citizen is allocated about US
70 cents for his or her health care by the military government, according
to date gathered by international agencies.

In the wave of illnesses, now entering their third week, five residents in
low-income Rangoon townships have died and at least 100 people have
suffered diarrhea attacks, largely contracted from unsanitary drinking
water or contaminated food. The worst hit areas are North Okkalapa, North
and South Dagon Myothit and Thaketa townships.

Two high-ranking officials of the military regime visited the areas this
week, state-run-newspapers reported. Brig-Gen Win Myint, the commander of
the army’s Rangoon regional command, visited North Okkalapa Township on
April 26 and No.2 Ward, one of the worst hit areas, on April 23. The
visits followed media reports on the illnesses in the Burmese foreign
media.

The deaths and the wave of illnesses have gone unreported in Burmese
state-run and private media.

The newspaper report said Win Myint told local residents to use more
sanitary waste facilities and to avoid unsafe drinking water.

On Monday, Brig-Gen Aung Thein Linn, the mayor of Rangoon, also visited
North Okkalapa. He reportedly said that 40 emergency, fly-safe toilet
facilities would be made available to the community in No 2 Ward.

Officials said further improvements in waste disposal would have to be
made by local residents who must “stand on their own feet,” according to
residents.

Many poor households in North Okkalapa along Nga Moe Yeik Creek, and other
areas, commonly lack a sanitary toilet system and human waste contaminates
the creek and many underground water sources, according to residents.

Private physicians said diarrhea problems around Rangoon result from
substandard drinking water and the lack of sanitary waste disposal, plus
contamination of food stuff by flies.

Tap water in Rangoon is usually not fit to drink and very limited. Most
residents rely on water wells or ground water.

While there are many factories that manufacture drinking water in Rangoon
and other cities in Burma, the price for a 1-liter bottle is 400 kyat ($
40 cents); a 20-liter bottle ranges from 2,000– 4,000 kyat, prices beyond
the means of poor residents who must use their money for food.

According to international agencies, Burma’s gross national income per
capita was $220 in 2007, or about 65 cents a day.

“We cannot afford to buy drinking water, so we boil water from the well to
escape the diseases in water,” explained a housewife in North Dagon
Myothit.

Many residents in North Okkalapa, Dagon Myothit and Thaketha and other
areas of Rangoon commonly use only a bamboo covered hole in the ground for
waste disposal.

“They cannot afford a concrete toilet structure that is better for their
health,” said a Rangoon businessman, who operates a waste facility
construction company.

The price for a concrete toilet facility, which limits ground water
contamination, is around 100,000 kyat ($100), about one half of a
low-income person’s annual wage.

International health agencies have provided plastic toilet facilities for
several decades, but health experts said their efforts have not solved the
problem of ground water contamination.

Experts said a major factor contributing to the problem is the
government’s paltry funding of the health care sector.

According to data from international agencies, 3 percent of the military
government’s annual expenditure is allocated to health care, while
education receives 10 percent.

Military expenditures account for about 50 percent of the annual budget.

Residents said authorities also ordered roadside food stalls in affected
areas to close.

“Now people in our ward are suffering from even greater economic problems
because of the order to close the food stalls,” said a resident in North
Okkalapa.