BI Weekly No. 269

March 2nd - March 8th, 2006

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

Inside

UNICEF, Israel to provide Burma children learning activities
New transport services to link Rangoon - Pyinmana
Prison Department returns to Rangoon
Geneva-based human itarian NGO closes office in Burma

Border

International

Request for meeting again answerless
Indian PM sends a wrong signal
496 Burmese prisoners wait for involuntary return to Burma
Indonesian PM mentions the failing of welcoming Burma 's ASEAN partners

* denotes BI commentary

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Israel launched training workshops to provide Burma children with appropriate learning activities.

The training is the first of the two back-to-back ones on developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood development, conducted by the UN organization involving Israel 's Center for International Cooperation and Myanmar 's Department of Social Welfare and Department of Education and Training. The training also hopes to help build their self-confidence, improve the quality of their educational experience and their prospects for intellectual growth

"UNICEF, Israel launch early childhood learning activities in Myanmar", Xinhua General News Service, March 6, 2006.

New air, rail and bus routes linking Rangoon with Burma 's new administrative capital, Pyinmana, are now in operation.

Privately-owned Air Bagan made its first flight between the capital and Pyinmana's Ela airport on 1 March. It was also confirmed that the company is planning to operate three weekly flights between the cities.

Moreover, the Air Mandalay and Yangon Airways—both private companies—would also be operating on the new route. Until recently, the only carrier to operate flights to Pyinmana was the state-owned Myanmar Airways.

State-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported on December 27 that Myanmar Railways has launched a new railway service linking Rangoon and Pyinmana using Indian-made trains. Meanwhile, nine new bus services had opened running between Pyinmana and Rangoon , and three new routes linking the town with Mandalay .

"New flights to Pyinmana", Irrawaddy , March 3, 2006

Prison Department returns to Rangoon

Burma 's Prison Department, which had recently been moved to the government's new administrative capital in Pyinmana, has moved back to Rangoon about four or five days ago.

Officials at the Home Ministry office in Pyinmana refused to give an official reason for the move and staff at the prison department's Insein office said they did not know why the department had move back to Rangoon .

Meanwhile, the Department of Border Trade and the Ministry of Commerce are still waiting for orders to move to Pyinmana from Rangoon .

"Burma's prison department moves back to Rangoon", Mizzima News, March 3, 2006

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Geneva-based human itarian NGO closes office in Burma

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based non-governmental organization, has decided to close its office in Burma after failing to have its agreement with the government extended, the NGO disclosed in a statement.

On 22 February 2006 , the annual agreement for the HD Centre expired. It is with regret, therefore, that the HD Centre has taken the decision to close its office in Rangoon .

The HD Centre's decision to leave comes amid reports of increasing difficulties faced by NGOs and United Nations offices in conducting their operations in the country.

The HD Centre is an independent, Geneva-based foundation, whose purpose is to prevent human suffering in war and had been running an office in Rangoon since August, 2000.

"Geneva-based humanitarian NGO closes shop in Myanmar ", Deutsche Presse-Agentur, March 2, 2006 .

Since the logging ban in 2000 the timber trucks have not yet stopped travelling from areas in Shan State to Thailand , China . Most of the timber comes to Panghsang, the capital of the UWSA that shares the border with China , from many parts of Shan State such Mongyawng, Kengtawng, Kenglom, Keng Kham , Nam Lan, Kehsi, Hsipaw, Tangyan and Lashio. From there timber is exported into China and Thailand .

Involved in those kind of business are both ceasefire and business groups, who have to bribe the authorities every check-point.

According to the source, 6 companies have obtained permit for at least 20,000 tons together for the year 2006:

1. Century Dragon (A share holder in Hong pang) 8,000 tons
2. Htun Myat Aung Co.                                           2,000 tons
3. Nayai militia group                                             3,500 tons
4. Shan State South Co. (SSS Co.) of Maha Ja     3,500 tons
5. Pa-O National Army of Aung Kham Hti gets      3,500 tons
6. Shan Arka Min Co.                                             7,500 tons

A Shan website ( www.mongloi.com ) documents the almost complete ruin to teak forests in Shan State caused by logging.

“ No more teak forest in Shan State ”, Shan Herald Agency for News, March 7, 2006

Unusual as it is, malaria, dysentery and hepatitis has spread during the cold season in Thantlang Township 's border area, Chin state, Burma . There are no supplies of medicine in the villages through local and international NGOs and the government has made no arrangement for medical relief for the border regions.

The combination of those diseases, which mostly affected children, additional complicates the treatment. Some Para-Medics tried to treat the sick people with herbal medicine.

Normally such diseases are noticeable in the month of April, May and June. If it spreads at this rate, it may take the form of an epidemic in spring and monsoon seasons

“Malaria, dysentery and hepatitis common in Chin State border”, Khonumthung News, March 6, 2006

Rejection of rice transport led orphans starving

126 students from an orphanage in Buthidaung, a town in northern Arakan State , are now facing hunger as the authorities have not allowed the transport of rice from Sittwe, the capital of the state, to Buthidaung, said a teacher who is living near the orphan's school.

The committee from the orphanage sent a letter appealing to the Rakhine state authority to issue them permission to carry rice in the amount of about 50 bags per month from Sittwe, where the rice is far cheaper than in Buthidaung.

In the Buthidaung markets, the price of rice is higher because within short periods of time the government does not allow more rice trading around Buthidaung than 20 bags of rice in sense of the wish to control the state's rice markets.

A source from Buthidaung said that a team of army officials from the Military Operation Planning Bureau visited the orphanage last week to look at the situation of the students there after news of their starvation had spread around Buthidaung Township.

The Myanmar Agricultural Department donated 20 bags of rice to the orphan committee a few days ago after the military team visited the school. Since then the situation of the students has improved a little but there is still a need of more rice.

“126 Orphanage Students Face Hunger in North Arakan“, Narinjara News, March 7, 2006

Request for meeting again answerless

The announced trip of Malaysia 's Foreign Minister to Burma is once again denied by the junta. According to Syed Hamid Albar the junta has failed to respond to his request.

After being already set back in January, the Malaysian FM again has to cancel his plan for visiting Burma midst March. The missing of any answer is interpreted as the indisposition of the military leaders. Albar still hopes to get another possibility before the 17th of April, when a next ASEAN conference will be held.

Albar has been selected from ASEAN to ensure the progress in direction democracy that is in doubt for most of the Western countries. The visit was planned after the international community blamed ASEAN for being to opportunistic with Burma . The junta agreed to the visit after also being pressured.

Albar's plan is also to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi. The request for a possibility to do so, was not answered by the junta, yet, neither to the envoy Malaysia sent, nor directly. This does not support the situation of the junta, who has a bad name in the international community, for their Human Rights abuses, their denial of acknowledging the lost election of 1990, and because they refuse entry to the country. The last was the reason for UN special envoy to Burma to quit from his job , earlier this year.

‘Malaysia foreign minister's democracy trip to Myanmar on hold again', Associated Press , March 7, 2006

Indian PM sends a wrong signal

According to the exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and its president NCGUB minister Dr Tint Swe, the visit of Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam sends a wrong message to the leaders of Burma and is unhelpful.

Following the Indian government, the three day visit has the purpose to strengthen bilateral trade between both countries which, Tint Swe also agrees, might have a positive impact for Burma 's economy. Nevertheless, the high official is backing up the junta's position.

There was a lack of discussion about Burma in India over the last years, without the exception of a discussion between Bush and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Both agreed about the unbearable situation inside Burma and about the demand for releasing Aung San Suu Kyi. Now it is unclear whether Kalam will address this issue during his visit. The NLD has some doubt Burma and India have made steps towards each other in the past decade. The themes discussed have mostly turned around trade, terrorism and military agreements. With Kalam's visit the first PM travels to Burma .

‘Indian president's Burma visit sends the wrong message: NCGUB', Mizzima News, March 7, 2006

496 Burmese prisoners wait for involuntary return to Burma

In Bangladesh , another 496 prisoners wait to return to Burma . On the 1 st March,75 Burmese have been already released from Cox'sbazar jail which is close to Arakan State . The prisoners, mostly sentenced for one till two years in prison, were arrested by Bangladeshi authorities for crossing the border illegally, dacoity, smuggling, piracy and other unlawful activities.

A few are political prisoners put into prison by Bangladeshi authorities after coming to Bangladesh . Maung Kyaw Aye, Kyaw Win, Khaing Sakyar and at least three other Arakanese freedom fighters are under them. They wrote letters to the UNHCR to mobilise them to help release them from prison and acknowledge them as political refugees. UNHCR members probably have visited the fighters in prison but this is not confirmed. The UNHCR has already intervened and acknowledged two political prisoners after they pressed them free from a Bangladeshi prison. Those who can't address the UNHCR have to return against their will. There, they will be arrested again for leaving the country without permission.

75 of the actual prisoners in Bangladesh will be arrested for this reason after returning. The 75 who already became handed over, have been overtaken from Bangladeshi authorities, by a Burmese delegation led by U Tho Maung, deputy director of Maungdaw immigration department, during a flag meeting between Bangladesh and Burma in Teknaf on March 1.

'496 Burmese prisoners await return to their homeland', Narinjara News, March 6, 2006.

Indonesian PM mentions the failing of welcoming Burma 's ASEAN partners

The Indonesian Prime Minister who visited Burma last week has addressed the issue of not receiving ASEAN representatives who have monitoring purposes. His two-day visit has been the first of an ASEAN member country leader, since they demanded the release of political prisoners and steps towards democracy.

Burma 's leader Gen. Than Shwe told Yudhoyono he wants democracy, too because of facing other "problems" he concentrates first on the "needed political stability" before moving forward. Yudhoyono did not spoke about the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi and did not ask for visiting her. According to the Kompas newspaper, he said that it would not have been good to ask for meeting any political prisoners because it would be like someone would come to Indonesia and asks for seeing rebel leaders.

'Indonesia urges Myanmar to give regional monitors access to the military country' , Associated Press, March 3, 2006