From editor at burmanet.org Tue Jan 26 14:12:57 2010 From: editor at burmanet.org (Editor) Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:12:57 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News, January 26, 2010 Message-ID: <20991.63.173.78.131.1264533177.squirrel@webmail2.pair.com> January 26, 2010, Issue #3883 INSIDE BURMA Irrawaddy: Two cases highlight Burma's unfair legal system Irrawaddy: Burma media gagged on Haiti relief effort DVB: Whistleblower moved to Bago prison Khonumthung News: Army forces people to cultivate summer rice ON THE BORDER Kaladan Press: Arakanese Rohingya girl raped in Buthidaung Narinjara: Bangladeshi pilgrims jailed in Burma REGIONAL AFP: Mekong tiger population at 'crisis point': WWF INTERNATIONAL Kachin News Group: Burmese people continue to leave country despite looming elections OPINION / OTHER Irrawaddy: Expanding the rice market or cronies? businesses? ? Htet Aung ____________________________________ INSIDE BURMA January 26, Irrawaddy Two cases highlight Burma's unfair legal system ? Arkar Moe Legal experts and human rights activists are concerned about two legal cases in Burmese courts involving a Burmese-born American citizen, Kyaw Zaw Lwin, and Burmese poet Saw Wai. Poet Saw Wai was arrested in January of 2008, after his poem titled ?February 14? was published in the ?Ah Chit (Love)? journal. The first letters of words in all the lines spelled out ?Power Crazy Snr-Gen.Than Shwe'? which provoked the authorities to arrest him and sentence him to two years in prison in May 2008 on a charge of ?inducing a crime against public tranquillity.? Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the sentence started on the day he was sentenced, and he was not given credit for time in custody starting on the date of his arrest. ?He was held for four months unfairly. There are many cases in Burma like it.? Aung Thein, a prominent Rangoon lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, ?There is no clear rule about counting days under arrest in Burma. Sometimes, Burma courts consider the custodial period as starting from the commencement of the trial.? ?Actually, courts should count from the day of the arrest. The courts do not count custodial period in some cases, especially if they involve politics or human rights activists. ? A well-known democracy activist, Kyaw Zaw Lwin (aka Nyi Nyi Aung), was arrested on Sept. 3, 2009. A Burmese-born American citizen, he was arrested in Rangoon when he was attempting to visit his mother, an imprisoned democracy activist who has cancer. He was accused of using a forged Burmese identity card and illegally importing currency into the country. The final argument in his trial will be heard in a special court in Insein Prison on Friday. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Thein Oo, the chairman of the exiled Burma's Lawyers Association (BLA), said, ?I think they will sentence Ko Nyi Nyi Aung severely, although the charges were baseless. The junta wants to set an example for other activists.? The state-run The New Light of Myanmar newspaper claimed that he had links with dissident monks and members of the opposition National League for Democracy. The newspaper article said he exchanged information, provided financial assistance and instigated public arrest. None of those allegations were included in the charges against him. Thein Oo, chairman of the BLC, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, ?There is no doubt that the Burmese judicial system has deteriorated.? Fellow lawyer Aung Thein, said, ?In fact, legal rights have suffered. The Burmese courts cannot control the prosecutors. The courts should obey and respect legal procedures. There must be checks and balances between the executive and judiciary.? On Dec. 18, 53 US congressmen wrote a letter to Snr-Gen Than Shwe calling for Kyaw Zaw Lwin's release. Sen. Jim Webb, who traveled to Burma earlier this year to secure the release of US citizen John Yettaw, also urged the regime to grant Kyaw Zaw Lwin all rights guaranteed under international law. Thein Oo said, ?Dictators are only concerned about their own power and interests. They will not take action until they are really challenged strongly. The international community should step up the pressure to take effective action to pressure the judiciary system.? ____________________________________ January 26, Irrawaddy Burma media gagged on Haiti relief effort ? Wai Moe Burma's state-run media have been banned from reporting the US army's involvement in the Haitian earthquake relief effort, according to journalists in the country. News coverage of the Jan. 12 disaster in Haiti has been muted in Burma in comparison to most other countries, and all mention of the 16,000 US troops and other Western forces deployed in the humanitarian effort has been banned by the state censorship board, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD), the sources in Rangoon and Mandalay said. Instead, Burmese newspapers highlighted China?s relief work in the Caribbean nation. ?The state-run newspapers did not report on the thousands of American troops conducting a relief mission in Haiti,? a reporter with a private journal in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. Burmese journalists said the PSRD routinely rejects any news reports deemed ?sensitive? to national interests or state policy. Burmese media were recently prohibited from reporting news of salary increases for government staff and the ongoing war of words between the Chinese government and Internet provider Google. Both Burma and Haiti are failed states and have suffered from massive natural disasters recently. Southwestern parts of Burma were devastated on May 2-3, 2008, by Cyclone Nargis, which took an estimated 140,000 lives and affected more than two million people. After Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, the military junta rejected international relief offers and denied the world press access to the affected region. Similar to the Haitian disaster, the US and other Western nations offered Burma humanitarian aid and deployed naval vessels close to its coast. However, the junta declined the offers due to what is widely perceived to be a fear of foreign intervention in Burmese affairs. The Burmese authorities finally allowed foreign civilian relief workers into the devastated delta region more than a month after the cyclone hit. Haiti held an international conference on the earthquake disaster in Canada on Monday, less than two weeks after the catastrophe. In Burma's case, it was nearly one month before the military government hosted an aid conference. Meanwhile, it is feared that several Burmese NGO workers may be among the estimated 150,000 dead in Haiti after a Burmese national's death was reported by a UN source. The UN source, who requested anonymity when he spoke to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, said that a Burmese identified only with the first name ?Aung? was among the victims of the deadly earthquake. ?There were believed to be some Burmese staff with INGOs or UN agencies in Haiti before the earthquake, and they could be among the dead or missing,? he said. Several Burmese blogs said dozens of Burmese NGO workers were reportedly in Haiti before the disaster. Freedom News Group blog cited a Burmese physician, Myat Thu, as missing, quoting another Burmese national in Port-au-Prince who survived the disaster. ____________________________________ January 26, Democratic Voice of Burma Whistleblower moved to Bago prison ? Khin Hnin Htet The former Burmese army official sentenced to death this month for leaking state secrets has been moved from Rangoon?s Insein prison, as his family prepares to appeal his sentence. Win Naing Kyaw, who was arrested last year and charged with leaking information on top-level Burmese military visits to Russia and North Korea, was handed the death sentence and multiple prison terms by the Insein prison court on 7 January. Another fellow whistleblower and former government official was also sentenced to death for the leak, while a third man was given a 15-year sentence. They are also accused of passing information to exiled Burmese media detailing North Korean involvement in a military tunnel project in Burma. A source close to Insein prison said that Win Naing Kyaw was moved last Saturday to Tharrawaddy prison in Bago division, 100 miles north of Rangoon. The transfer of prisoners is often done to restrict access for visiting family members and lawyers, who are now in the process of launching an appeal. Meanwhile, a man in Rangoon, Ngwe Soe Linn, who was arrested in 2008 for taking pictures of ballot stations during the national referendum yesterday made his first court appearance. Court sources say that a final verdict will be given on 27 January. And in other news, three activists arrested after holding ceremonies in which they prayed for the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners yesterday appeared in court. Judges heard testimonies from several witnesses, according to a source close to the family of one of the defendants, Naw Ohn Hla. They were charged for disturbing public tranquility, and for handing a Buddhist prayer book to a monastery abbot, which together carry up to two years in prison. Naw Ohn Hla, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, had earlier complained about living condition in her Insein prison cell, which she was sharing with nine other inmates. ____________________________________ January 26, Khonumthung News Army forces people to cultivate summer rice The Burmese Army in Tamu district, Sagaing division, Burma has taken over privately cultivated land and forced local people to cultivate summer rice from December last year. Though the army says it has borrowed the arable land, in actual terms it has seized the plots. ?We are summoned to work in the fields and one person from each family has to report for work. If we fail we pay Kyat 5000 as fine,? said a local in Kanan village, Tamu township. A report said that the military camps in western Sagaing division - LIB 89, LIB 228, LIB 87, LIB 361, LIB 362 and LIB 363 have ?borrowed? some lands in their respective areas forcibly and ordered people to cultivate summer rice without any wages being paid. ?They borrowed all lands where summer crops can be cultivated without consulting the owners. Although they said they would pay an amount, we don?t believe them. Local people are cleaning the cultivatable area and arranging for water supply for the crops,? said a local in Tamu town. There are about 30 villages in Tamu Township and the estimated land area available to cultivate summer crop is at least 20,000 acres. ?Though the military is calling it borrowing from civilians, it is only an excuse. In reality they have confiscated the lands. This creates serious problems for us in earning our livelihood as we cannot produce any crop during summer,? said one of the land owners. Similarly, the military in Kalemyo also told local people to cultivate summer rice. Since the military junta cannot support its soldiers with their families, they confiscate private land to cultivate for their use. ____________________________________ ON THE BORDER January 26, Kaladan Press Arakanese Rohingya girl raped in Buthidaung Buthidaung, Arakan State: An Arakanese Rohingya girl was raped by Nasaka (Burma?s border security force) personnel on the first week of January 2010, according to sources from Buthidaug Township. At about 3 am, a Nasaka personnel and the in charge of outpost of Oo Hla Pe, Doctor Thein Win, went to the village and entered her house forcibly and raped her, the source said. The victim was identified as 18 year old Sakina (not real name) daughter of Nur Begum ( Not real name) from Oo Hla Pe in Buthidaung Township. She lives with her old mother. Her father died earlier, a trader from the village said. After rape, she was unconscious for three hours. Her mother could not complain to the authorities for fear of torture by Nasaka personnel, the trader said. Later, a neighbouring daily worker Md. Alam (35), advised the victim?s mother to complain to the authorities that it was the Nasaka outpost in charge ,Doctor Thein Win who raped the girl, said an elder from said village. On being informed, the Nasaka officer went to village and caught Alam and his wife and severally beat them up and tortured them in the Oo Hla Pe out post. The wife and husband were kept in stocks for a day. Later, they were released after being warned by Nasaka, the elder said. However, no action has been taken against the Nasaka officer till the reporting. ____________________________________ January 26, Narinjara Bangladeshi pilgrims jailed in Burma Twelve Bangladesh pilgrims were sentenced to six months in prison in Burma last week for entering the country with fake Burmese ID cards, said a Burmese monk from Sittwe. "They were arrested by Burmese authorities in the towns of Taungup and Sittwe when they were coming to Burma to see several sacred Buddhist places in Burma using Burmese national ID cards. Now the authority has sentenced them to six months in prison," he said. Nine Bangladesh citizens were arrested with fake Burmese national ID cards at a road checkpoint located in Taungup Township in Arakan as they were traveling to Burma proper by bus. Another three were arrested by immigration officials at the Sittwe airport in possession of forged national ID cards as they were waiting to fly from Sittwe to Rangoon. According to the source, they were brought to Burma by some monks staying in Bangladesh for a pilgrimage using forged national ID cards that were issued by immigration officers who had been bribed. "On their ID cards, nine of the Bangladesh citizens had listed that they were from Dedaye and Labutta Township in Burma's delta division, but the authorities who checked them doubted it when they asked questions because they could not speak in Burmese. After that, the authorities arrested them and sent them to prison," the monk added. After their arrest, the authorities charged them in the Taungup Township court under immigration law for entering Burma illegally with forged ID cards. "I saw nine Bangladesh citizens in Taungup police station's lockup after their arrest. Among them, eight were elderly women and one is a man. All the Bangladeshis are Buddhists from Bandarban District in Bangladesh," said an elder from Taungup. The Bangladesh citizens were identified as Marama nationals from Rownsari in Bandarban District. According to a family source, they traveled to Burma last month through the Maungdaw border point to do a pilgrimage. It was learned that this is the first time a group of Bangladeshi citizens have been arrested by Burmese authorities for travelling illegally to Burma for a pilgrimage ____________________________________ REGIONAL January 26, Agence France Presse Mekong tiger population at 'crisis point': WWF Bangkok ? Governments must act decisively to prevent the extinction of tigers in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region, where numbers have plunged more than 70 percent in 12 years, the WWF said Tuesday. The wild tiger population across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam has dropped from an estimated 1,200 in 1998 -- the last Year of the Tiger -- to around 350 today, according to the conservation group. The report was released ahead of a landmark three-day conference on tiger conservation which opens Wednesday in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin, with ministers from 13 Asian tiger range countries attending. It said the regional decline was reflected in the global wild tiger population, which is at an all-time low of 3,200, down from an estimated 20,000 in the 1980s and 100,000 a century ago. "Today, wild tiger populations are at a crisis point," the WWF said, ahead of the start of the Year of the Tiger on February 14, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. It cited growing demand for tiger body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine as a major factor endangering the region's Indochinese tiger population. Infrastructure developments were also blamed by the report for fragmenting tigers' habitats, such forests being cut up by roads and converted into commercial crop plantations. "Decisive action must be taken to ensure this iconic sub-species does not reach the point of no return," said Nick Cox, coordinator of the WWF Greater Mekong tiger programme. "There is a potential for tiger populations in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to become locally extinct by the next Year of the Tiger, in 2022, if we don't step up actions to protect them." Although Indochinese tigers were once found in abundance across the Greater Mekong region, the WWF says there are now no more than 30 tigers per country in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The remaining populations are mainly found in mountainous border areas between Thailand and Myanmar. But the WWF is calling on the ministers in Hua Hin to take action to double the numbers of wild tigers by 2022. "This region has huge potential to increase tiger numbers, but only if there are bold and coordinated efforts across the region and of an unprecedented scale that can protect existing tigers, tiger prey and their habitat," said Cox. Worldwide political efforts to secure the tiger's future will culminate in a Tiger Summit in September in Vladivostok, Russia, hosted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. "There is an unprecedented opportunity to galvanise political will and action to turn the tide on wild tiger numbers," said Mike Baltzer, head of WWF's global tiger initiative. "But to do this, we must stop the trade in tiger parts, rampant poaching, and secure the tiger's habitats." ____________________________________ INTERNATIONAL January 26, Kachin News Group Burmese people continue to leave country despite looming elections The exodus of Burmese people searching for jobs and new lives in neighboring countries continues, despite the ruling junta?s is plans to hold elections this year, said the exile opposition party. Zaw Myint, of the exiled Burmese opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) said in Malaysia, Burmese citizens are still flowing into Malaysia. ?2010 is very important for the future of our country, so we really want people to think about that before they apply and try to go abroad for their livelihood. If possible we don?t want anyone from Burma to come here because the situation is very difficult,? he said. The Malaysian authorities announced December 15, 2009 their intention to arrest illegal migrants in the country within three months, according to Burmese migrants. Authorities are arresting illegal migrants and Burmese citizens who came with visa and passport, added Burmese workers in Kuala Lumpur. ?Those who came here with passport and visa, have to give those documents to their job owner. They have only copy of that, so police arrest them too,? added Zaw Myint. He said there is an estimated 700,000 legal and illegal Burmese citizens in Malaysia, up from around 500,000 in 2008. More people are arriving even though the Burmese junta is planning to hold countrywide elections this year. ?I would like to suggest everyone patient and stay in the country at least one more year, if they want to go out, because it is very important time now,? he said. However, with the fear of oppression and persecution from the Burmese military junta, a lot of people, especially from ethnic minorities are continuing flee to neighboring countries such as India, Thailand and Malaysia. According to the November 2009 report of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), based in Kuala Lumpur, there are now 75,600 refugees, compared with 45,400 in 2008. Of those, 69,700 asylum seekers are from Burma. The report said, 17,400 are Rohingyas from the Northern Arakan (or also called Rakhine) State of Burma, 32,100 ethnic Chins from Burma?s western China State, 4,100 were the Muslims and the rest are other ethnics from Burma. In India, 2,952 refugees have registered with the UNHCR office and thousands of refugees are waiting for registration. Tens of thousands of Chin refugees live in Mizoram State, northern India. A staff member of the Kuala Lumpur-based, Kachin Refugee Committee (KRC), said ethnic Kachin refugees from Burma?s northern Kachin State are living in fear day and night, because their movements are closely watched by the authorities. ?We have to be alert all the time, even when we are sleeping. I have seen policemen at every corner of the road, everyday? he said. There are more than 4,000 Kachin refugees from Northern Burma in Malaysia on their official list. Over 2,000 have been recognized by the UNHCR. But, there are more Kachins who have yet to register with the KRC. Most Kachin refugees want to relocate to third countries as refugees, including the United States, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark. ____________________________________ OPINION / OTHER January 26, Irrawaddy Expanding the rice market or cronies? businesses? ? Htet Aung Burma?s rice traders have known a simple equation for ages. Increasing rice exports will increase government revenues, but this logic sometimes doesn't work in Burma. ?Myanmar's [Burma] rice market was spoiled last year,? said an owner of a Rangoon-based export and import trading company on condition of anonymity. ?It is due to the problems in rice quality and the delay of shipments which are major complaints of the international buyers. Burmese farmers plant rice near Naypyidaw. (Photo: AP) ?Another problem is that the junta opened rice exports last year in order to boost the market and issued licenses to many non-rice export companies, and that made the market messy.? The junta set a target to export 1.5 million tons of rice in budget year 2009-10, a two-fold increase over the previous year. Burma?s rice traders usually welcome openness in the rice export market. If the authorities control licensing too much, the result is: ?fewer licenses, less revenue? for the state, said one trader. However, traders only want the government to take responsibility for controlling the quality of exported rice and for assisting in timely shipments, which includes equal access to port services, the availability of vessels and less bureaucratic procedures. Normally, the peak season for rice export in Burma is December to March but due to the negative impact of issuing licenses to non-rice companies last year, no licenses have been issued to private companies so far this year, according to a trading company official. The trader said that the delay may be because the authorities are deciding whether they will open the rice export market to all or only a few companies, a sign that the government doesn?t have a consistent policy. During the 2nd Development Partnership Roundtable and Forum held at Naypyidaw in mid-December, a proposal was made to form a Rice Technical Advisory Group (RTAG) including academics and professionals to try to revitalize the country?s agro-economy, including the management of rice exports. After the forum, the junta merged the three existing rice associations into the Myanmar Rice Industry Association (MRIA). According to news reports, the new body includes 29 recently formed companies. Chit Khaine, the founder of Eden Group of Companies, the chair of the new body, is on the EU sanction list under the category titled ?Persons Who Benefit from Government Economic Policies and Other Persons Associated with the Regime.? Among the business opportunities he's received from the junta were US $8 million hotel projects in Bagan and Ngapali Beach in 2004, the two most famous tourist sites in Burma. His Eden Group of Companies is well known in the real estate market. In late 2008, Eden Group won a profitable business concession together with two Vietnamese companies, Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation Ltd and Joint Venture Vietsovpetro of Vietnam, to explore for oil and gas in the Gulf of Martaban off Mon State. He owns 15 percent of the shares. In 2010, Chit Khaine?s business empire expanded to the Nargis-affected delta region, the rice bowl of the country, to lend cash-loans to farmers in return for paddy. The state-run New Light of Myanmar reported on Jan. 9 that Gold Delta Co. Ltd, one of Chit Khaine?s companies, made loans of nearly 1.8 billion kyat (about $1.8 million) to more than 4,200 farmers growing paddy in 35,866 acres in Danubyu Township. A local journal, Weekly Eleven, recently reported that businessmen from the car, jewelry and real estate sectors are now shifting their interest to the rice export market, which they believe is a potentially profitable sector. Burma?s handful of business conglomerates are expanding into the industrial and agriculture sectors, dominating most of the large projects. Chit Khaine, once a leading real estate businessman, with the blessing of the generals is now the leader of the MRIA, at the helm of the country's major rice exporting association. January 26, 2010, Issue #3883 INSIDE BURMA Irrawaddy: Two cases highlight Burma's unfair legal system Irrawaddy: Burma media gagged on Haiti relief effort DVB: Whistleblower moved to Bago prison Khonumthung News: Army forces people to cultivate summer rice ON THE BORDER Kaladan Press: Arakanese Rohingya girl raped in Buthidaung Narinjara: Bangladeshi pilgrims jailed in Burma REGIONAL AFP: Mekong tiger population at 'crisis point': WWF INTERNATIONAL Kachin News Group: Burmese people continue to leave country despite looming elections OPINION / OTHER Irrawaddy: Expanding the rice market or cronies? businesses? ? Htet Aung ____________________________________ INSIDE BURMA January 26, Irrawaddy Two cases highlight Burma's unfair legal system ? Arkar Moe Legal experts and human rights activists are concerned about two legal cases in Burmese courts involving a Burmese-born American citizen, Kyaw Zaw Lwin, and Burmese poet Saw Wai. Poet Saw Wai was arrested in January of 2008, after his poem titled ?February 14? was published in the ?Ah Chit (Love)? journal. The first letters of words in all the lines spelled out ?Power Crazy Snr-Gen.Than Shwe'? which provoked the authorities to arrest him and sentence him to two years in prison in May 2008 on a charge of ?inducing a crime against public tranquillity.? Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the sentence started on the day he was sentenced, and he was not given credit for time in custody starting on the date of his arrest. ?He was held for four months unfairly. There are many cases in Burma like it.? Aung Thein, a prominent Rangoon lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, ?There is no clear rule about counting days under arrest in Burma. Sometimes, Burma courts consider the custodial period as starting from the commencement of the trial.? ?Actually, courts should count from the day of the arrest. The courts do not count custodial period in some cases, especially if they involve politics or human rights activists. ? A well-known democracy activist, Kyaw Zaw Lwin (aka Nyi Nyi Aung), was arrested on Sept. 3, 2009. A Burmese-born American citizen, he was arrested in Rangoon when he was attempting to visit his mother, an imprisoned democracy activist who has cancer. He was accused of using a forged Burmese identity card and illegally importing currency into the country. The final argument in his trial will be heard in a special court in Insein Prison on Friday. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Thein Oo, the chairman of the exiled Burma's Lawyers Association (BLA), said, ?I think they will sentence Ko Nyi Nyi Aung severely, although the charges were baseless. The junta wants to set an example for other activists.? The state-run The New Light of Myanmar newspaper claimed that he had links with dissident monks and members of the opposition National League for Democracy. The newspaper article said he exchanged information, provided financial assistance and instigated public arrest. None of those allegations were included in the charges against him. Thein Oo, chairman of the BLC, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, ?There is no doubt that the Burmese judicial system has deteriorated.? Fellow lawyer Aung Thein, said, ?In fact, legal rights have suffered. The Burmese courts cannot control the prosecutors. The courts should obey and respect legal procedures. There must be checks and balances between the executive and judiciary.? On Dec. 18, 53 US congressmen wrote a letter to Snr-Gen Than Shwe calling for Kyaw Zaw Lwin's release. Sen. Jim Webb, who traveled to Burma earlier this year to secure the release of US citizen John Yettaw, also urged the regime to grant Kyaw Zaw Lwin all rights guaranteed under international law. Thein Oo said, ?Dictators are only concerned about their own power and interests. They will not take action until they are really challenged strongly. The international community should step up the pressure to take effective action to pressure the judiciary system.? ____________________________________ January 26, Irrawaddy Burma media gagged on Haiti relief effort ? Wai Moe Burma's state-run media have been banned from reporting the US army's involvement in the Haitian earthquake relief effort, according to journalists in the country. News coverage of the Jan. 12 disaster in Haiti has been muted in Burma in comparison to most other countries, and all mention of the 16,000 US troops and other Western forces deployed in the humanitarian effort has been banned by the state censorship board, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD), the sources in Rangoon and Mandalay said. Instead, Burmese newspapers highlighted China?s relief work in the Caribbean nation. ?The state-run newspapers did not report on the thousands of American troops conducting a relief mission in Haiti,? a reporter with a private journal in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. Burmese journalists said the PSRD routinely rejects any news reports deemed ?sensitive? to national interests or state policy. Burmese media were recently prohibited from reporting news of salary increases for government staff and the ongoing war of words between the Chinese government and Internet provider Google. Both Burma and Haiti are failed states and have suffered from massive natural disasters recently. Southwestern parts of Burma were devastated on May 2-3, 2008, by Cyclone Nargis, which took an estimated 140,000 lives and affected more than two million people. After Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, the military junta rejected international relief offers and denied the world press access to the affected region. Similar to the Haitian disaster, the US and other Western nations offered Burma humanitarian aid and deployed naval vessels close to its coast. However, the junta declined the offers due to what is widely perceived to be a fear of foreign intervention in Burmese affairs. The Burmese authorities finally allowed foreign civilian relief workers into the devastated delta region more than a month after the cyclone hit. Haiti held an international conference on the earthquake disaster in Canada on Monday, less than two weeks after the catastrophe. In Burma's case, it was nearly one month before the military government hosted an aid conference. Meanwhile, it is feared that several Burmese NGO workers may be among the estimated 150,000 dead in Haiti after a Burmese national's death was reported by a UN source. The UN source, who requested anonymity when he spoke to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, said that a Burmese identified only with the first name ?Aung? was among the victims of the deadly earthquake. ?There were believed to be some Burmese staff with INGOs or UN agencies in Haiti before the earthquake, and they could be among the dead or missing,? he said. Several Burmese blogs said dozens of Burmese NGO workers were reportedly in Haiti before the disaster. Freedom News Group blog cited a Burmese physician, Myat Thu, as missing, quoting another Burmese national in Port-au-Prince who survived the disaster. ____________________________________ January 26, Democratic Voice of Burma Whistleblower moved to Bago prison ? Khin Hnin Htet The former Burmese army official sentenced to death this month for leaking state secrets has been moved from Rangoon?s Insein prison, as his family prepares to appeal his sentence. Win Naing Kyaw, who was arrested last year and charged with leaking information on top-level Burmese military visits to Russia and North Korea, was handed the death sentence and multiple prison terms by the Insein prison court on 7 January. Another fellow whistleblower and former government official was also sentenced to death for the leak, while a third man was given a 15-year sentence. They are also accused of passing information to exiled Burmese media detailing North Korean involvement in a military tunnel project in Burma. A source close to Insein prison said that Win Naing Kyaw was moved last Saturday to Tharrawaddy prison in Bago division, 100 miles north of Rangoon. The transfer of prisoners is often done to restrict access for visiting family members and lawyers, who are now in the process of launching an appeal. Meanwhile, a man in Rangoon, Ngwe Soe Linn, who was arrested in 2008 for taking pictures of ballot stations during the national referendum yesterday made his first court appearance. Court sources say that a final verdict will be given on 27 January. And in other news, three activists arrested after holding ceremonies in which they prayed for the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners yesterday appeared in court. Judges heard testimonies from several witnesses, according to a source close to the family of one of the defendants, Naw Ohn Hla. They were charged for disturbing public tranquility, and for handing a Buddhist prayer book to a monastery abbot, which together carry up to two years in prison. Naw Ohn Hla, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, had earlier complained about living condition in her Insein prison cell, which she was sharing with nine other inmates. ____________________________________ January 26, Khonumthung News Army forces people to cultivate summer rice The Burmese Army in Tamu district, Sagaing division, Burma has taken over privately cultivated land and forced local people to cultivate summer rice from December last year. Though the army says it has borrowed the arable land, in actual terms it has seized the plots. ?We are summoned to work in the fields and one person from each family has to report for work. If we fail we pay Kyat 5000 as fine,? said a local in Kanan village, Tamu township. A report said that the military camps in western Sagaing division - LIB 89, LIB 228, LIB 87, LIB 361, LIB 362 and LIB 363 have ?borrowed? some lands in their respective areas forcibly and ordered people to cultivate summer rice without any wages being paid. ?They borrowed all lands where summer crops can be cultivated without consulting the owners. Although they said they would pay an amount, we don?t believe them. Local people are cleaning the cultivatable area and arranging for water supply for the crops,? said a local in Tamu town. There are about 30 villages in Tamu Township and the estimated land area available to cultivate summer crop is at least 20,000 acres. ?Though the military is calling it borrowing from civilians, it is only an excuse. In reality they have confiscated the lands. This creates serious problems for us in earning our livelihood as we cannot produce any crop during summer,? said one of the land owners. Similarly, the military in Kalemyo also told local people to cultivate summer rice. Since the military junta cannot support its soldiers with their families, they confiscate private land to cultivate for their use. ____________________________________ ON THE BORDER January 26, Kaladan Press Arakanese Rohingya girl raped in Buthidaung Buthidaung, Arakan State: An Arakanese Rohingya girl was raped by Nasaka (Burma?s border security force) personnel on the first week of January 2010, according to sources from Buthidaug Township. At about 3 am, a Nasaka personnel and the in charge of outpost of Oo Hla Pe, Doctor Thein Win, went to the village and entered her house forcibly and raped her, the source said. The victim was identified as 18 year old Sakina (not real name) daughter of Nur Begum ( Not real name) from Oo Hla Pe in Buthidaung Township. She lives with her old mother. Her father died earlier, a trader from the village said. After rape, she was unconscious for three hours. Her mother could not complain to the authorities for fear of torture by Nasaka personnel, the trader said. Later, a neighbouring daily worker Md. Alam (35), advised the victim?s mother to complain to the authorities that it was the Nasaka outpost in charge ,Doctor Thein Win who raped the girl, said an elder from said village. On being informed, the Nasaka officer went to village and caught Alam and his wife and severally beat them up and tortured them in the Oo Hla Pe out post. The wife and husband were kept in stocks for a day. Later, they were released after being warned by Nasaka, the elder said. However, no action has been taken against the Nasaka officer till the reporting. ____________________________________ January 26, Narinjara Bangladeshi pilgrims jailed in Burma Twelve Bangladesh pilgrims were sentenced to six months in prison in Burma last week for entering the country with fake Burmese ID cards, said a Burmese monk from Sittwe. "They were arrested by Burmese authorities in the towns of Taungup and Sittwe when they were coming to Burma to see several sacred Buddhist places in Burma using Burmese national ID cards. Now the authority has sentenced them to six months in prison," he said. Nine Bangladesh citizens were arrested with fake Burmese national ID cards at a road checkpoint located in Taungup Township in Arakan as they were traveling to Burma proper by bus. Another three were arrested by immigration officials at the Sittwe airport in possession of forged national ID cards as they were waiting to fly from Sittwe to Rangoon. According to the source, they were brought to Burma by some monks staying in Bangladesh for a pilgrimage using forged national ID cards that were issued by immigration officers who had been bribed. "On their ID cards, nine of the Bangladesh citizens had listed that they were from Dedaye and Labutta Township in Burma's delta division, but the authorities who checked them doubted it when they asked questions because they could not speak in Burmese. After that, the authorities arrested them and sent them to prison," the monk added. After their arrest, the authorities charged them in the Taungup Township court under immigration law for entering Burma illegally with forged ID cards. "I saw nine Bangladesh citizens in Taungup police station's lockup after their arrest. Among them, eight were elderly women and one is a man. All the Bangladeshis are Buddhists from Bandarban District in Bangladesh," said an elder from Taungup. The Bangladesh citizens were identified as Marama nationals from Rownsari in Bandarban District. According to a family source, they traveled to Burma last month through the Maungdaw border point to do a pilgrimage. It was learned that this is the first time a group of Bangladeshi citizens have been arrested by Burmese authorities for travelling illegally to Burma for a pilgrimage ____________________________________ REGIONAL January 26, Agence France Presse Mekong tiger population at 'crisis point': WWF Bangkok ? Governments must act decisively to prevent the extinction of tigers in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region, where numbers have plunged more than 70 percent in 12 years, the WWF said Tuesday. The wild tiger population across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam has dropped from an estimated 1,200 in 1998 -- the last Year of the Tiger -- to around 350 today, according to the conservation group. The report was released ahead of a landmark three-day conference on tiger conservation which opens Wednesday in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin, with ministers from 13 Asian tiger range countries attending. It said the regional decline was reflected in the global wild tiger population, which is at an all-time low of 3,200, down from an estimated 20,000 in the 1980s and 100,000 a century ago. "Today, wild tiger populations are at a crisis point," the WWF said, ahead of the start of the Year of the Tiger on February 14, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. It cited growing demand for tiger body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine as a major factor endangering the region's Indochinese tiger population. Infrastructure developments were also blamed by the report for fragmenting tigers' habitats, such forests being cut up by roads and converted into commercial crop plantations. "Decisive action must be taken to ensure this iconic sub-species does not reach the point of no return," said Nick Cox, coordinator of the WWF Greater Mekong tiger programme. "There is a potential for tiger populations in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to become locally extinct by the next Year of the Tiger, in 2022, if we don't step up actions to protect them." Although Indochinese tigers were once found in abundance across the Greater Mekong region, the WWF says there are now no more than 30 tigers per country in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The remaining populations are mainly found in mountainous border areas between Thailand and Myanmar. But the WWF is calling on the ministers in Hua Hin to take action to double the numbers of wild tigers by 2022. "This region has huge potential to increase tiger numbers, but only if there are bold and coordinated efforts across the region and of an unprecedented scale that can protect existing tigers, tiger prey and their habitat," said Cox. Worldwide political efforts to secure the tiger's future will culminate in a Tiger Summit in September in Vladivostok, Russia, hosted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. "There is an unprecedented opportunity to galvanise political will and action to turn the tide on wild tiger numbers," said Mike Baltzer, head of WWF's global tiger initiative. "But to do this, we must stop the trade in tiger parts, rampant poaching, and secure the tiger's habitats." ____________________________________ INTERNATIONAL January 26, Kachin News Group Burmese people continue to leave country despite looming elections The exodus of Burmese people searching for jobs and new lives in neighboring countries continues, despite the ruling junta?s is plans to hold elections this year, said the exile opposition party. Zaw Myint, of the exiled Burmese opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) said in Malaysia, Burmese citizens are still flowing into Malaysia. ?2010 is very important for the future of our country, so we really want people to think about that before they apply and try to go abroad for their livelihood. If possible we don?t want anyone from Burma to come here because the situation is very difficult,? he said. The Malaysian authorities announced December 15, 2009 their intention to arrest illegal migrants in the country within three months, according to Burmese migrants. Authorities are arresting illegal migrants and Burmese citizens who came with visa and passport, added Burmese workers in Kuala Lumpur. ?Those who came here with passport and visa, have to give those documents to their job owner. They have only copy of that, so police arrest them too,? added Zaw Myint. He said there is an estimated 700,000 legal and illegal Burmese citizens in Malaysia, up from around 500,000 in 2008. More people are arriving even though the Burmese junta is planning to hold countrywide elections this year. ?I would like to suggest everyone patient and stay in the country at least one more year, if they want to go out, because it is very important time now,? he said. However, with the fear of oppression and persecution from the Burmese military junta, a lot of people, especially from ethnic minorities are continuing flee to neighboring countries such as India, Thailand and Malaysia. According to the November 2009 report of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), based in Kuala Lumpur, there are now 75,600 refugees, compared with 45,400 in 2008. Of those, 69,700 asylum seekers are from Burma. The report said, 17,400 are Rohingyas from the Northern Arakan (or also called Rakhine) State of Burma, 32,100 ethnic Chins from Burma?s western China State, 4,100 were the Muslims and the rest are other ethnics from Burma. In India, 2,952 refugees have registered with the UNHCR office and thousands of refugees are waiting for registration. Tens of thousands of Chin refugees live in Mizoram State, northern India. A staff member of the Kuala Lumpur-based, Kachin Refugee Committee (KRC), said ethnic Kachin refugees from Burma?s northern Kachin State are living in fear day and night, because their movements are closely watched by the authorities. ?We have to be alert all the time, even when we are sleeping. I have seen policemen at every corner of the road, everyday? he said. There are more than 4,000 Kachin refugees from Northern Burma in Malaysia on their official list. Over 2,000 have been recognized by the UNHCR. But, there are more Kachins who have yet to register with the KRC. Most Kachin refugees want to relocate to third countries as refugees, including the United States, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark. ____________________________________ OPINION / OTHER January 26, Irrawaddy Expanding the rice market or cronies? businesses? ? Htet Aung Burma?s rice traders have known a simple equation for ages. Increasing rice exports will increase government revenues, but this logic sometimes doesn't work in Burma. ?Myanmar's [Burma] rice market was spoiled last year,? said an owner of a Rangoon-based export and import trading company on condition of anonymity. ?It is due to the problems in rice quality and the delay of shipments which are major complaints of the international buyers. Burmese farmers plant rice near Naypyidaw. (Photo: AP) ?Another problem is that the junta opened rice exports last year in order to boost the market and issued licenses to many non-rice export companies, and that made the market messy.? The junta set a target to export 1.5 million tons of rice in budget year 2009-10, a two-fold increase over the previous year. Burma?s rice traders usually welcome openness in the rice export market. If the authorities control licensing too much, the result is: ?fewer licenses, less revenue? for the state, said one trader. However, traders only want the government to take responsibility for controlling the quality of exported rice and for assisting in timely shipments, which includes equal access to port services, the availability of vessels and less bureaucratic procedures. Normally, the peak season for rice export in Burma is December to March but due to the negative impact of issuing licenses to non-rice companies last year, no licenses have been issued to private companies so far this year, according to a trading company official. The trader said that the delay may be because the authorities are deciding whether they will open the rice export market to all or only a few companies, a sign that the government doesn?t have a consistent policy. During the 2nd Development Partnership Roundtable and Forum held at Naypyidaw in mid-December, a proposal was made to form a Rice Technical Advisory Group (RTAG) including academics and professionals to try to revitalize the country?s agro-economy, including the management of rice exports. After the forum, the junta merged the three existing rice associations into the Myanmar Rice Industry Association (MRIA). According to news reports, the new body includes 29 recently formed companies. Chit Khaine, the founder of Eden Group of Companies, the chair of the new body, is on the EU sanction list under the category titled ?Persons Who Benefit from Government Economic Policies and Other Persons Associated with the Regime.? Among the business opportunities he's received from the junta were US $8 million hotel projects in Bagan and Ngapali Beach in 2004, the two most famous tourist sites in Burma. His Eden Group of Companies is well known in the real estate market. In late 2008, Eden Group won a profitable business concession together with two Vietnamese companies, Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation Ltd and Joint Venture Vietsovpetro of Vietnam, to explore for oil and gas in the Gulf of Martaban off Mon State. He owns 15 percent of the shares. In 2010, Chit Khaine?s business empire expanded to the Nargis-affected delta region, the rice bowl of the country, to lend cash-loans to farmers in return for paddy. The state-run New Light of Myanmar reported on Jan. 9 that Gold Delta Co. Ltd, one of Chit Khaine?s companies, made loans of nearly 1.8 billion kyat (about $1.8 million) to more than 4,200 farmers growing paddy in 35,866 acres in Danubyu Township. A local journal, Weekly Eleven, recently reported that businessmen from the car, jewelry and real estate sectors are now shifting their interest to the rice export market, which they believe is a potentially profitable sector. Burma?s handful of business conglomerates are expanding into the industrial and agriculture sectors, dominating most of the large projects. Chit Khaine, once a leading real estate businessman, with the blessing of the generals is now the leader of the MRIA, at the helm of the country's major rice exporting association.