BurmaNet News, April 20, 2010

[Editor]

April 20, 2010, Issue #3944


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Three arrested for taking pictures of festival bombing
DVB: Junta raking candidate backgrounds

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima News: KIO holds militia courses ahead of army deadline

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar foreign investments hit over 16 billion USD in 22 years

REGIONAL
The World Today (UK): Refugees in Burma, Malaysia and Thailand: Rescue for
Rohingya

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: US Senators want Burma policy assessed
The Journal (UK): Burmese student activist speaks to students
AP: Immigrants from Myanmar ponder life after layoffs




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 20, Irrawaddy
Three arrested for taking pictures of festival bombing – Ko Htwe

Rangoon authorities have arrested at least three people who took
photographs of the recent bombings at a New Year Festival, according to
the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoner (AAPP).

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, AAPP Joint Secretary Bo Kyi, said,
“As far as we know, at least three people were arrested, but we can not
say exactly why they have been arrested. What we heard is that they were
arrested because they took photos of the event.”
In this April 15 photo from Myanmar News Agency (MNA), Burmese officials
inspects the site of a bomb blast in a water festival in Rangoon. (Photo:
AP)

The Rangoon Division Criminal Investigation Department refused to comment
on the arrests when contacted on Tuesday by The Irrawaddy.

Three bomb blasts struck the X2O pavilion near the Theinbyu driving track
on Kandawgyi Lake in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township on Thursday during
water festival celebrations, causing eight deaths and 170 people injured,
a state-run newspaper said on Saturday. The government blamed opposition
groups in exile for the attack.

The bombing was the worst incident of its kind since the bombing of two
supermarkets and a convention center in Rangoon in May 2005, which killed
19 people and injured more than 160. The government blamed unnamed ethnic
armed groups for those attacks.

Rangoon residents were shocked by the recent bombings, and a source told
The Irrawaddy that many people are avoiding crowded places like football
matches, plazas and supermarkets.

Meanwhile, the AAPP has released a statement expressing  condolences for
those killed and injured in the bombings. It said the current bombings
will lead to an increase in the harassment and arrests of political
dissidents.

“We are deeply concern about the scapegoating of members of  the National
League for Democracy, political dissidents and journalists,” said Bo Kyi.

Bombings in 1989, 1996 and 2005 led to political activists being falsely
accused, tortured and unlawfully imprisoned, the statement said.

Authorities have posted notices of a 1 million kyat ($1,000) reward to
anyone who can  provide information about the identify of the people who
committed the bombings.
____________________________________

April 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
Junta raking candidate backgrounds – Ahunt Phone Myat

Burmese authorities are reportedly collecting information on the
backgrounds of candidates looking to contest elections this year, the head
of a registered party has said.

The 19 parties that have so far registered for Burma’s first elections in
20 years, rumoured to be in October, are yet to receive an approval.

But, according to Aye Lwin, chairperson of the Union of Myanmar Federation
of National Politics (UMFNP), one of the more prominent parties looking to
run this year, the group learnt recently that checks were being carried
out on the histories of party members.

“[The authorities] are officially collecting background information on
about 27 or 28 [Central Executive Committee candidates],” he said. Fifteen
of those belong to the UMFNP, while the rest are members of the
closely-allied 88 Generation Students (Union of Myanmar), a party led by
his younger brother, Ye Htun.

Aye Lwin, known to have close ties with the ruling junta, was a student
activist in the 1988 uprising against military rule before switching sides
and campaigning against international sanctions on Burma.

The deadline for parties to register expires in the second week of May.
Ohn Lwin, communications officer for the National Political Alliances,
speculated that the approvals would be given by the Election Commission
(EC) once the deadline is up.

“It is likely that the [EC] is waiting until they get [applications] from
everyone,” he said. “We are waiting to be informed and will not yet start
our [campaign] activities, such as releasing statements; we are worried
that we will be seen as crossing boundaries if we start now.”

Out of the 19 parties registered, 16 have been formed in the past few
months. The majority of these are either outwardly pro-junta or part of
the so-called ‘third force’ in Burmese politics that are allied to neither
incumbent nor opposition.

It is unclear what role these parties will play in a post-election Burma:
observers have said that the polls are little more than a show of
legitimacy for the ruling junta, which will continue its hold on power
under the guise of a civilian government.

One of the registered parties, the Kachin State Progressive Party, is
comprised of members of three Kachin ceasefire groups, including the
Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO).

The KIO is now at loggerheads with the ruling junta following its refusal
to transform into a Border Guard Force (BFG), and military analysts have
warned that fighting may break out.

The BGF issue is seen as a means for the junta to shore up support and
bolster its army size in the run-up to elections, with border units
ostensibly coming under the command of Naypyidaw.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 20, Mizzima News
KIO holds militia courses ahead of army deadline – Phanida

Chiang Mai– Kachin Independence Organisation troops are providing military
training to people from the ethnic minority after the group refused to
join the Burma Army’s Border Guard Force, local residents and group
officers said.

This compulsory training will start today and will last 18 days. It will
be attended by former Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers from the KIO
Third Brigade based in Mai Jayan and nearby villages, along with the
persons who had already attended similar military trainings in the past.

A Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) officer said the training
includes courses on self-defence, basic military tactics and small arms.
“We train them how to shoot a gun, how to take cover and how to avoid
being shot”, he said.

A local resident from Mai Jayan said more than 100 people were attending
the courses and trainees’ were aged in their 40s to more than 50. “The
training started today at the school in Mai Jayan”, he said.

Training will also be held at Inn Bapa village, where the KIA First 
Battalion under the command of the Third Brigade is based, 32 kilometres
east of Mai Jayan. A witness said one person from each household was being
collected as a trainee.

Similar short-term courses military training have been conducted in
villages in Sadone Village tract, Wai Maw Township, east of Myitkyina, the
capital of Kachin State.

KIO departmental staff had attended such training in Laiza in August last
year.

Junta Military Affairs Security Chief Lieutenant General Ye Myint gave
tomorrow as the deadline for the KIO to reply on whether it would bring
its troops into line with the Border Guard Force.

According to a KIO Central Committee member, its nine-member delegation
led by chairman Zau Hara will leave Laiza this evening to meet the junta’s
Northern Command chief Soe Win on Thursday in Myitkyina.

The KIO’s vice-chief of staff, Major General Guan Mau, and General
Secretary Dr. Laja held a debriefing on April 16 this month at Manau
ground in Laiza, with 2,500 participants comprising Kachin people and
staff of grass-roots groups. The group’s leaders explained its stance on
the ceasefire period and the border force issue.

They said the group would reject the junta’s offer to join the force and
that the group would like to join the Federal Army as Kachin Battalions,
another KIO central committee member, who asked not to be named, said.

In a meeting held on April 4 at Northern Command headquarters in
Myitkyina, the KIO had presented that position, but Lieutenant General Ye
Myint refused the offer.

A day after the debriefing session, a series of bombs exploded at Myitsone
hydropower dam project site. KIO has denied involvement.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 20, Xinhua
Myanmar foreign investments hit over 16 billion USD in 22 years

Yangon – Myanmar's foreign contracted investments hit 16.05 billion U.S.
dollars up to the end of March this year since the country opened to such
investments in late 1988, according to the latest figures disclosed by the
Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).

The foreign investments coming from 430 enterprises of 31 countries and
regions were respectively injected into 12 economic sectors mainly with
39.31 percent in electric power, 22.65 percent in oil and gas and 10.35
percent in manufacturing.

The other sectors which follow are real estate, hotels and tourism,
mining, transport and communications, livestock breeding and fisheries,
industry, construction, agriculture and services.

According to official statistics, the country attracted 77.25 million U.S.
dollars' contracted foreign investment in the first 11 months of 2009.

The period's investment came from Thailand with 30.25 million dollars in
hotels and tourism sector, the United Arab Emirate (UAE) with 41 million
dollars in oil and gas sector and China's Hong Kong with 6 million dollars
in manufacturing sector.

In the previous fiscal year 2008-09 (April-March), four countries injected
a total investment of 984.996 million dollars in Myanmar, in which, China
was leading with 855.996 million dollars in mining, followed by Russia
with 94 million dollars and Vietnam with 20 million dollars in oil and gas
respectively and Thailand with 15 million dollars in tourism.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 20, The World Today (UK)
Refugees in Burma, Malaysia and Thailand: Rescue for Rohingya – Brad Blitz

For months monitors have reported on the crackdown against stateless
Rohingya refugees in south eastern Bangladesh and allegations that the
Thai Navy is pushing back boatloads of them in the Andaman Sea. As Burma,
Bangladesh and Thailand all gear up for elections, these practices seem
more common. One fear is that anticipated changes in Burma following
polling there will send more unwanted Muslim migrants to seek refuge in
neighbouring states.

In March, physicians for human rights documented the effects of
overcrowding, denial of access to food, health, and work among Rohingya
refugees in Bangladesh. The Thai newspaper Phuketwan reported the
disappearance of boats filled with Rohingya following naval activity near
Phuket and suggested they had been intercepted and set adrift by the Thai
Navy. Then, CNN and other media published claims that 92 Rohingya
boatpeople had been chased out of Thai waters, only to wash up in Malaysia
where they were detained.

Approximately 725,000 Rohingya are concentrated in North Arakan, also
known as Rakhine state, a region of Burma that borders Bangladesh. No
country will accept them as citizens, and they have suffered rape, forced
labour and killings. Several hundred thousand have fled to Bangladesh,
Thailand, Malaysia, and elsewhere in South Asia where they have received
only very limited protection from nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Hundreds of thousands were expelled in the 1960s by the military-socialist
regime of General Ne Win during the Burmese Way to Socialism
nationalisation programme. Subsequent expulsions include the murderous
ethnic cleansing campaign Operation Dragon King (Naga Min), which drove
more than two hundred thousand Rohingya into Bangladesh in 1978, where an
estimated ten thousand died from starvation and disease.

The source of the latest tragedy lies in the disenfranchisement of the
Rohingya in Burma by a 1982 Citizenship Law which legalised their
exclusion. Denied citizenship inside Burma, further discriminatory
policies and an increasingly brutal regime, precipitated a series of
refugee crises.

In 1991, the Burmese army expelled more than 250,000 Rohingya, destroying
villages and buildings on its way, and forcing them into towns in southern
Bangladesh, primarily around Teknaf and Cox's Bazar. Three decades later,
the Bangladeshi response has hardened with the government accused of
withholding food aid, frustrating NGO access to camps, and with the
exception of a small minority of Rohingya, generally refusing to recognise
their rights as refugees.
THREAT OF REMOVAL

As documented by Physicians for Human Rights, thousands of Rohingya
refugees are now crammed in squalid settlements and only two, Kutupalong
and Nayapara in Cox's Bazar district, have been designated by the
government as official UNHCR assisted refugee camps where there is food,
healthcare and education for the children. Just 29,000 of the estimated
two hundred to four hundred thousand Rohingya in Bangladesh have been
given refugee status. And this number of displaced people is growing as
new refugee movements continue, fuelled by systematic repression in Burma.

Arriving migrants face a challenging reception in Bangladesh. Denied
access to UNHCR supported refugee camps because the authorities describe
them as economic migrants, new arrivals are immediately faced with the
threat of removal. The government of Bangladesh has stepped up efforts to
return large numbers of Rohingya to Burma after new conflicts erupted over
the two countries' 320 kilometres maritime border.

One of these conflicts was exacerbated following an agreement between the
government of Burma and South Korea's Daewoo International Corporation,
which was granted oil and gas exploration rights in contested waters.
Since then, increasing numbers of Rohingya living in the border area have
been expelled by Bangladeshi forces.

Tensions worsened throughout 2008 and in March last year Rohingya
labourers in Burma were forced to start construction of a two
hundred-kilometre fence to prevent future 'push backs' of Rohingya into
Burma.

One consequence of the tensions between Burma and Bangladesh has been the
increased presence of Bangladeshi troops in the border region. Fearing
arrest and abuse, thousands of Rohingya have flooded into makeshift camps,
putting a strain on resources and the local community and threatening
thousands with starvation.
UNWELCOME VOTERS

In addition, developments in Burma have thrown up a new wildcard: the
promise of elections. In a contradictory move, Burmese authorities have
permitted Rohingya non-citizens to vote in the planned elections and
started issuing temporary identity cards. The prospect of thousands of
Rohingya voters in Arakan is not welcome to xenophobic and parochial
interests, giving rise to fears of further destablisation. Bangladesh has
responded to the anticipated tensions by continuing the forced removals of
Rohingya before Burmese authorities complete the fence that is intended to
seal off the area.

The Thai authorities have been equally inhospitable to the arrivals of
refugees from Burma and Bangladesh. In 2008, the then Prime Minster Samak
Sundaravej was reported as saying that Thailand would relocate Rohingya
refugees to a deserted island.

Phuketwan journalists and the Arakan Project, a Bangkok based monitoring
organisation, later raised the alarm about Thai security forces' alleged
practice of detaining Rohingya refugees on the remote Ko Sai Deang, before
towing them out to shark-infested waters and abandoning them. Though
challenged by the Thai government, recent press reports suggest that some
of these practices have continued.

While Burma remains isolated, western and donor governments should call on
the governments of Bangladesh and Thailand to stop the push backs on land
and at sea. All receiving states in the region should ask the UNHCR to
help determine the status of migrants from Burma and ensure that their
human rights are respected, including access to aid and assistance. It is
time for a regional plan for the Rohingya which addresses both the
geo-political and domestic sources of their persecution.

Brad Blitz, Professor of Political Geography at Kingston University
London, Director of the International Observatory on Statelessness.
www.nationalityforall.org

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 20, Irrawaddy
US Senators want Burma policy assessed – Lalit K Jha

Washington—US senator Judd Gregg has introduced a resolution calling on US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to assess whether the Obama
administration policy of engagement with the Burmese military junta has
been effective in furthering US interests.

The resolution, co-sponsored by by six other senators, also calls for the
immediate release of detained National League for Democracy (NLD) leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, and calls on the Secretary of State to support the NLD
and the people of Burma in demanding constitutional and election reforms
that will improve human rights, broaden political participation and
further democracy, accountability and responsive governance in Burma.

The resolution asks the Obama administration to maintain, and consider
strengthening, sanctions against Burma if the military regime continues
its systematic violation of human rights and fails to embrace the
democratic aspirations of the people of Burma.
It also urges the Secretary of State to engage regional governments and
multilateral organizations (including China, the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, and the United Nations Security Council) to push for the
establishment of an environment in Burma that encourages the full and
unfettered participation of the people of Burma in a democratic transition
to civilian rule.

Condemning the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and all prisoners
of conscience in Burma, the resolution calls for their immediate and
unconditional release and urges the Burmese military regime to engage in
dialogue with the NLD and other opposition groups, as well as with ethnic
minorities, to broaden political participation in an environment free from
fear and intimidation.

The resolution notes that Snr-Gen Than Shwe and the State Peace and
Development Council continue to persecute Suu Kyi, her supporters and the
ordinary citizens of Burma, including ethnic minorities.

The senators co-sponsoring the resolution were Judd Greg, Mitch McConnell,
Bob Bennett, Sam Brownback, Susan M. Collins, Joseph Lieberman and Patrick
Leahy.

____________________________________

April 20, The Journal (UK)
Burmese student activist speaks to students – Naomi Kennedy

The head of the Burmese student union encouraged students across the UK to
be more socially active at an event last week.

Min Ko Naing president of the Universities Student Union in Burma
addressed the annual National Union of Students (NUS) conference in
Newcastle.

Mr Min Ko said: “I hope to inspire students by sharing my experiences as a
leading student activist in Burma.”

He also urged UK students to make use of their social freedom saying:
“Please use your liberty to change things that are wrong or unjust; you
have the power, believe in it and dedicate yourselves to the cause.”

The Burmese dissident rose to prominence in the 1980s for leading student
protests in opposition of the ruling military junta in Burma.

Min Ko Naing is currently involved in the 88 Generation Student Group
campaign, in partnership with Amnesty International and the NUS.

The campaigns calls for the release of those imprisoned for their
involvement in the 1988 protests.

Mr Min Ko told The Journal: “Some of the campaigners had been released but
then were re-imprisoned in 2007 following their involvement in protesting
the government’s raising of prices on petrol and amenities. The
re-offending campaigners were sentenced in 2009 to a ridiculous 55 years
imprisonment.”

The speech follows the conference’s tradition of ‘Fraternal Greetings’
whereby the national president of NUS receives greetings from a
representative of a partner organisation.

The conference brought together representatives from every student union,
guild and association nationwide for three days to elect a new NUS
president and to debate current student issues both at home and abroad.

____________________________________

April 20, Associated Press
Immigrants from Myanmar ponder life after layoffs – Nicholas C. Stern

Frederick, Maryland—Sui Luai and his wife, Ni Hniang, like many in
Frederick's small but significant population of residents from Myanmar,
came about nine years ago because they had a relative in town, the promise
of work and a fledgling community in their local Baptist church.

Like many of the roughly 450 people from Myanmar in Frederick, Luai and
Hniang also fled Myanmar's Chin state as refugees and asylum seekers
because of the intolerable political, religious, ethnic and social
persecution they'd suffered at the hands of their home nation's ruling
junta.

Those among them fortunate enough to have owned businesses or earned
university degrees in Myanmar discovered that without the resources or
requalifying for the credentials they'd received decades ago, they would
not be able to work in their chosen profession in the United States.

Soon, the former nurses, doctors and university professors were in the
same boat as those from Myanmar without such education.

Nevertheless, they were grateful to be in the United States and to find
steady work. Many did so in manufacturing positions at the BP Solar plant.

According to Luai and several others, between 100 and 120 of the 320
people BP Solar laid off March 26 were from Myanmar. Most of them worked
as machine operators.

Living as an interdependent community with few resources in a troubled
economy, in some cases limited English proficiency and often without
attractive professional credentials, those laid off are starting to feel
anxiety about their prospects in Frederick .

"I think we will suffer more than other citizens, that is sure," said Phun
Thang, a BP Solar machine operator laid off after five years of working
there.

The Rev. San No Thuan began his mission at Falam Baptist Church in
Frederick in March 2009. The church is one of three in Frederick with
congregations from Myanmar.

Thuan said there are 109 people in his church, the majority of whom are,
like him, from Chin state. Chin's population consists of dozens of ethnic
groups, but most are Christian, he said.

Members are typically devout and spiritual, and view the church as the
heart of their community. They're also known for their hard work, Thuan
said.

"Employers may be reluctant to hire them, but when they do, they don't
want to let them go," he said.

The BP Solar layoffs, as well as a tough job market, have caused many of
his members to worry about survival. To be sure, life in the United States
is much easier than in Myanmar, and they are happy to be here, he said.

Frederick in particular, with good schools, a clean, calm atmosphere and
similarity to some of the mountainous terrain in Chin, remains the place
his congregation wants to stay, he said. Even some who have moved to other
parts of the country to find work have told him they miss Frederick and
want to return.

People from Chin are accustomed to building and owning their own homes,
and many in Frederick do. They also tend to have large families with
several children, he said.

Making the mortgage payments, paying children's tuition and putting food
on the table are all leading his congregation to wonder whether they will
be able to remain in a community they've grown to love.

"Without work, how will they survive?" he asked.

A month or so after Luai arrived in Frederick in 2001, he began
manufacturing solar panels for BP Solar.

In Myanmar, Luai helped his family operate a shipping company. At BP
Solar, he held various positions, including at the plant's ingot site, and
casting and sizing solar panels.

Hniang arrived a few months later, and also began working at the plant.
Both enjoyed their jobs and the company.

Married in Frederick in 2002, they eventually bought a townhouse not far
from the plant, where they stayed until BP Solar laid them off March 26.

Like many who worked there, Luai and Hniang said they couldn't help but
notice a large decrease in orders at the plant for a year leading up to
its closing. Yet they were shocked the notice came so swiftly.

"We didn't expect it would happen so fast," he said.

Now living off a three-month severance package, as well as severance
accrued over long careers at BP Solar, Luai and Hniang are weighing their
options. Luai thinks he'll try to take advantage of a conditional $5,000
tuition stipend to retrain himself as a maintenance worker.

But Hniang, who has high blood pressure and needs daily medication and
thus, health insurance, will look for a job, anything she can find, as
soon as her severance begins to run out in June.

Thang said he was already taking English classes at Frederick Community
College, and was considering expanding on his two certificates in human
resources and management.

In Myanmar, Thang was a university professor of world government and
international relations, and he owned a publishing company.

In Frederick, he's been trying to find a job in human relations, without
success. Part of the reason, he said, could be that his English was not
perfect.

Still, "job opportunities are very dim," he said.

People who have arrived from Myanmar in the past six or seven months and
have not found work, even as a dishwasher, are now depressed, and don't
know where to go, he said.

For those he knows who are thinking about coming to Frederick, Thang said
he will tell them to go to Texas or Indiana or Georgia instead.

People who love this place and are more established, with homes and
mortgages and children in school, people like himself, say they'll leave
Frederick only as a last resort, Thang said.

"Only love is not enough to stay here," he said.