BI Weekly No. 213

December 30th,2004 - January 11th,2005

The BI Weekly archive is available on our website: www.burmaissues.org

Inside Burma

On The Border

International

* denotes BI commentary

Deputy Chief of UWSA Dies

Li Ziru was born in Baoshan, Yunnan and joined the Communist Party of Burma, or CPB, as a volunteer in 1968 where he was assigned to the partys special forces, which captured Panghsai in March 1970 from the Burma Army. In 1975 he became political commissar of the 4045 Battalion. In 1980 Li Ziru was named vice chief of staff of the Central Bureau forces. He became an alternate member of the central committee during the third congress of 1985.

In April 1989 Li Ziru joined the mutiny that overthrew the geriatric leadership of the CPB; the organization then fragmented along ethnic lines. Li Ziru became one of the leaders of the biggest component of the defunct rebel group, initially called the Burma National United Party, later renamed the United Wa State Party. The group agreed a ceasefire with Rangoon in 1989.

Deputy Chief of UWSA Dies of a Heart Attack, Irrawaddy, January 11, 2005.

Tsunami death toll rises to 96 in Arakan

According to the press release, 12 fishermen in Akyab, 80 people from Gwa Township, and 4 from Rambree Township all perished in the recent natural disaster.

30 people are still reported missing and 3 villages in Arakan State were severely damaged.

Locals said the situation was worst at Akyab, Sandoway, Ramree, and Gwa and the casualty list issued by the SPDC authorities was half of the actual number.

Meanwhile, according to the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), 50 fishing boats from Pyapon and Bogale townships, where deep sea and coastal fishing is the major industry, are reported to be missing since the tsunamis struck on 26 December 2004 as well as two fishing boats which carried about 10 fishermen each from Kantame Village in Dedaye Township, Irrawaddy Division, have not seen.

Arakan State's tsunami death toll rises to 96Narinjara, January 9, 2005.
Burmese exile group refutes Rangoon's tsunami toll figures" BBC Monitor, January 9, 2005.

Bomb found in western Burma

The shop owner, identified as Sultan, was arrested by the local authority for covering up the bomb in the shop and is now under interrogation.

However a local source said he was a businessman living in quarter area Number 4 of Maungdaw and didnt previously have any connection with insurgent groups.

Bomb found in a western Burmese townNarinjara News, January 7, 2005.

2 bombs explode in Kachin

It was the first bomb blast in 2005. Last year, three bomb attacks occurred in the Kachin ethnic dominated area, particularly assassination attempts on the leaders, but there was no clear information about the culprits.

Observers believe there is deep conflict between rival Kachin armed groups, and that Rangoon's generals have been manipulating the dividing forces.

Reportedly, there have been disputes between Kachin army leaders and a group of mainly Chinese businessmen regarding the sharing of business interests such as gold and gem mining, and the forest.

Another Two Bombs Explosion in Kachin, Mizzima , January 6, 2005.

NLD urge to free all political prisoners

The ruling generals released 5,588 detainees from various prisons on January 2 ahead of the 57th anniversary of independence from British colonial rule. Those freed included eight members of Suu Kyis party and nine other political prisoners.

Among the prisoners released was a journalist, Zaw Thet Htwe, 38, who was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to death after being convicted of high treason.

Opposition Called for the Release of Political Prisoners, Associated Press via Irrawaddy, January 4, 2005.

deep-sea port to serve transit trade

The Kyaukphyu seaport will serve as a transit trade center for goods destined to port cities of Chittagong, Rangoon and Calcutta.

Kyaukphyu also stands at a point on land route connecting southwestern China's Kunming city with Burma's Sittwe.

Meanwhile, under an economic cooperation strategy (ECS) of Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Thailand, Burma and Thailand are also building a deep-sea port at Dawei, southern Tenasserim division.

The seaport project and a Dawei- Kachanburi road link are being carried out in one package together with a 1,360-kilometer trilateral highway project between India, Myanmar and Thailand.

Myanmar to build deep-sea port to facilitate transit trade, Xinhua, January 2, 2005.

Burmese troops clash with KNU

KNU officials said Burma soldiers started bombarding their base about 20 km from the Thai border town of Umpang.

The bodies of five Burma soldier were found after the fighting subsided and seven surrendered to the Karen troops, rebel officials said without giving details of their own casualties.

Myanmar troops clash with rebels despite ceasefire. Reuters, January 11, 2005.

Karenni base attacked

The KNNP claimed 50 artillery shells had been fired at its camp on the Burmese side of the border. A further 10 shells landed on Thai territory, it added.

The action was described as a major battlesaid by Khu Oo Reh, joint secretary of the KNPP. Thai authorities had never before issued a security alert in this area.

An NGO worker in Mae Hong Son said she and other NGOS had been warned against visiting two Karenni refugee camps in the border region.

Alexander Pauk Pauk, secretary of the Karenni Refugee Committee in Mae Hong Son said we do not have confirmed information saying that the refugee camp would be attacked by the SPDC, but the camp was attacked once in 1996. Thus, the camp committee has taken the precaution of deploying Thai military units with a large numbers of police in the camp. They have been guarding the camp day and night.

Burmese military reportedly attack Karenni baseBBC Monitor, January 7, 2005
Thai security alert after border shelling, Irrawaddy, January 11,2005.

Rohingya refugees repatriated

It is a good symbol for the repatriation refugees. We hope that the repatriation process will be continued in future. It is first time repatriation after it was stalled in last August 9, 2004 after the repatriation of 7 members from 2 families, UNHCR official further said.

The Rohingya refugees are still in fear of forceful reparation that has already started from Kutupalong camp after attacks in it on November 18. Presently, the camp officials are putting pressures on refugees to go back to there home without guarantee for their life and liberty in Burma.

On December 4, 2004, UNHCRs Asia-Pacific Director, Ms. Janet Lim visited the Rohingya refugee camps and ordered to concerned officials to stop repatriation process and to find out the reasons behind the butchery attack on refugees.

SYMBOLIC REPATRIATION OF REFUGEES STARTED AGAIN,KALADAN NEWS, December 30, 2004

India-Bangladesh-Burma talks to open

Mani Shankar Aiyar, India's minister for petroleum, told the Financial Times that the three countries had reached the stage where practical negotiations could proceed. Indian officials say Bangladesh's new interest in the pipeline has partly been stimulated by India's improving ties with Burma. If routed through Bangladesh, the pipeline would earn transit fees for Dhaka while also offering it the option to sell its own gas to India using the same infrastructure.

The proposed pipeline could either cross Bangladesh or bypass the country altogether. India, whose demand for gas is projected to surge to 400m cubic metres a day by 2025, is also evaluating a submarine pipeline across the Bay of Bengal, in case Bangladesh does not agree to the project. Another costlier option would be to route the pipeline from Burma's northern border through India's north-eastern state of Mizoram.

A pipeline could go a long way towards meeting India's growing energy needs, though it remains unclear how large Burma's gas reserves will prove to be.

India to open talks with Burma and Bangladesh on gas pipeline, Financial Times, January 11, 2005.

No help for Burmese workers

Forget about the 20,000-baht compensation for a Burmese death, 2,000-baht in aid money for an unemployed Burmese, or receiving DNA checks to find their missing relatives. Burmese workers can only think of finding food and drinking water without being arrested and deported by the immigration police who have stepped up their crackdown against them.

Thai villagers and police have accused many of the illegal Burmese workers of theft and break-ins at tsunami-damaged hotels. Only Burmese with work permits and those who were brought back for work by their employers are not being branded as criminals.

Burmese workers have not received any help from the Thai authorities. They dared not to go to search for the dead bodies of their relatives as they were afraid of being arrested.

Meanwhile, a Burmese immigrant advocate called on the government to provide humanitarian aid to alien labourers on par with Thais and foreign tourists.

It was estimated 30,000 Burmese migrants are in Phang Nga. Officially registered migrants in six southern Thai provinces, including Ranong and Phuket, number 60,000.

Burmese receiving no help, Bangkok Post, January 11, 2005.

Chinese donations for Burmese tsunami victims

The donations of the Chinese embassy, the Chinese consulate-general in Mandalay and Chinese companies in Rangoon were handed over to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement (MSWRR).

Previously, the Chinese government and the Chinese Red Cross Society had respectively donated 200,000 US dollars and 20,000 US dollars in cash to Burma for the victims.

Chinese organizations in Burma donate money for tsunami victims, BBC Monitor, January 7, 2005.

EU funds for vulnerable Burmese

International Organisations and NGOs operating within Burma and on the Thai/Burmese border will carry out the projects.

In particular, such EU-aid covers basic needs: health, education and water supply. The European Commission uses its specialised branch, called ECHO (European Commission Humanitarian Office) to deliver emergency aid. The EU will continue to support refugees and displaced persons from Burma.

The EU will provide 510,000 to a health initiative implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Some 20,000 displaced ethnic Shan will benefit. Working in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health the project will improve the overall health conditions of displaced persons and help make primary health care available to migrant people from Burma.

Funding worth 1.2 million will be provided to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) initiative to improve the quality of education for Karen refugees in Thailand.

The Thailand Burmese Border Consortium (TBBC) will receive 4 million to provide basic foodstuffs to alleviate malnutrition and food insecurity for two Karen Refugee camps in Mae Hong Son Province (Mae Khong Kha and Mae Ra Ma Luang Camps). TBBC will also supply building materials to all nine refugee camps inside Thailand.

The UNHCR will receive 1,780,000 to provide reintegration assistance to returnees from Bangladesh and Thailand in Burma/Myanmar. This will focus on ensuring the sustainable integration of vulnerable returnees in Northern Arakan State and on the Eastern border of Burma/Myanmar.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) will be given 2 million to provide food security to returnees and vulnerable groups in North Arakan State, particularly during periods of severe food deficit.

European Union supports vulnerable populations in and from Burma/Myanmar, Financial Times, January 7, 2005.