Burma Issues - BI Weekly No.310

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BI Weekly No. 310

December 14th - December 20th, 2006

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

* denotes BI commentary

Karen New Year Day

High ranking military and police officials attended for the first time on Tuesday Karen New Year celebrations organized in territory controlled by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army's battalion 999.

The DKBA signed a ceasefire with the regime after breaking away from the Karen National Union in 1995.One year later, construction began of the village of Shwe Kokko , near the border town of Myawaddy , where Tuesday's celebrations were held.

About 5,000 people attended, including the police chief of Myawaddy and the commander of the Burmese army's 22nd Division. Two well-known Karen doctors, Dr Simon Thar and Dr Paw Paw, who attended to the KNU leader, Gen Bo Mya, in July 2006, were also present.

In a speech to the crowd, the commander of the DKBA battalion 999, Col Chit Thu, urged the Karen people to unite and continue their “unfinished duty.”

" Burma Regime Representatives at Karen New Year Festivities", Irrawaddy , December 19, 2006

Law Students as Warriors for Justice

Thirty law students from Rangoon have formed a ‘justice validation organisation' with the aim of helping Burmese people understand their responsibilities and rights under the legal system.

A founding member of the group, who declined to be publicly named, said members were firm believers in democratic ideals and the importance of a just legal system.

The group reportedly plans to monitor Burmese administrative and legal procedures and inform the public of their findings starting early next year.

"Rangoon Law Students Form Justice Group", Democratic Voice of Burma , December 19, 2006

Mon Women Attacked by Military

Several women were rounded up and tortured by the SPDC's Burmese Army in retaliation for an ambush attack by a Mon guerrilla group during a military operation in southern Ye, Mon State.

According to Mon refugees, who recently fled from the Khawzar area, Mon women were beaten up and the men were given electrical shocks by the Burmese troops from Infantry Battalion No. 31.

The Burmese Army has had a skirmish with the dissident group led by Nai Sook Gloin (nicknamed long hair) on December 4, 2006. The group also engaged with the BA troop near Kaw Hlaing village on October 21. No one can confirm the status of the fighting or the number of casualties.

Mon women and children are increasingly subjected to violence and restriction of their movements whenever the Burmese Army is active in their area. The human rights worker from the border said the lives of ethnic people had no value, no one came to their aid and the army would not be punished for their actions.

"Attacks on Ethnic Women during Military Operation" , Kaowao, December 14, 2006

Red Cross Allowed to Reopen Office

Burma 's military junta has told Red Cross officials that the humanitarian group can reopen its field offices that the government had ordered shut in October.

The Southeast Asian country's military government ordered the International Committee of the Red Cross on Oct. 23 to shut five field offices that provide humanitarian assistance to people in sensitive border areas. The offices also support prisoners and their families, as well work with land-mine victims.

The ICRC remains barred from accessing prisons in the country, a ban imposed last December. A group of ICRC representatives met with government officials last week but no details of the meeting were made public at the time. Discussions with Burma 's military government have failed to end that ban.

" Myanmar Junta Allows Red Cross to Reopen Field Offices", AFP, December 14, 2006

Freezing Temperatures Hits on the Border

The northern border provinces of Thailand have been declared an area following freezing temperatures which have hit recent refugees from Burma and rural residents.

The Mae Hong Son provincial office said temperatures hovered around 15 Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) in Mae Hong Son city and were below freezing in more mountainous areas, including the border area of the Shan, Karen and Karenni states in Burma as well Tak province in Thailand.

A provincial official told The Irrawaddy there could be more than 100,000 people in the province in need of warm clothes and blankets and almost all are ethnic villagers who live along the border with Burma or in rural areas.

Shet Reh, a Karenni refugee in Nai Soi Camp, Karenni 1, Maung District of Mae Hong Son Province, said the cold weather was especially hard on 300 newly arrived Burmese refugees who appeared with little or no possession, although refugees who have lived in the camp for a longer period have already received blankets and winter clothing from NGOs.

The refugees' living conditions should improve as the public becomes more aware of their situation. The winter weather is expected to continue until late February.

"Freezing Weather Hits Thailand , Burma Border Areas" , Irrawaddy , December 20, 2006

From Burma to Bangkok : Hiding Inside Truck

Last week, Thai Police said a total of 120 migrant workers from Burma were found hidden inside two trucks as they were being smuggled from the border to Bangkok .

Maj.Rangsiman Songkhotham said police stopped an 18-wheel gasoline transport truck and found 41 workers inside its storage compartment. They looked exhausted due to heat and lack of air and two or three of them fainted after they got out. Each of the workers paid about 4,000 baht (US$115; euro85) for the trip to Bangkok .

Another case, police stopped another truck and found 79 illegal migrants standing crammed together in the back.

Lt. Col. Raphiphong Sukphaiboon said they were headed to locations around Bangkok and it was not clear whether the two smuggling cases were connected.

The illegal migrants will be deported to their home country and three Thai drivers of the trucks face up to five years in prison and fines of 50,000 baht (US$1,400; euro1,080) on charges of transporting illegal immigrants into the country.

"120 Myanmar Migrants Workers Found Hidden Inside Trucks", Associated Press, December 15, 2006

Rohingya Refugee Arrested in Bangladesh

Bangladesh police department said 17 Burmese Muslim refugees who are sheltering in Refugee camps in Bangladesh were arrested by the Bangladeshi authority on Thursday night.

The refugees were arrested in a border village in Bangladesh during a drive conducted by the Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The police source said that the RAB arrested 17 Burmese Muslim refugees on Thursday night in the village of Chapolkhali in the Okia Township under the Cox'sbazar district on the charge of involvement in trafficking and other crimes.

A source said that 17 arrestees would be produced a district court of Cox'sbazar on next Sunday and the arrestees are now sent to jail.

"17 Muslim Burmese Refugees Arrested in Bangladesh ", Narinjara News, December 16,2006

Right Group Urges to End Landmines

A New York-based human rights group claimed Wednesday that Burmar's military government was using landmines to terrorize and starve the civilian population.

The watchdog said the army used mines to disrupt the harvest and starve people in Karen state, where ongoing fighting between an ethnic rebel group and the army has forced thousands to flee.

The rights group said villagers and relief workers reported that soldiers had in November began laying the landmines by houses, rice fields and along paths leading to the fields to stop farmers harvesting their crops.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmine's Landmine Monitor Report 2006 said 225 people had been injured and at least five killed by landmines planted by government forces and non-state armed groups in 2005 and Human Rights Watch said "dozens" have been injured or killed by landmines in Karen state during 2006.

Myanmar is not a signatory to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which 153 states have signed.

"Rights Group Urges Myanmar to End Use of Landmines", Agence France Presse, December 20, 2006

Meeting of India and Burma Home Ministers

Burmese Home Minister Maj Gen. Maung Oo, who is on a three-day visit to India , will meet his Indian counterpart Mr. Shivraj Patil on December 21, sources in the Indian Home Ministry said.

While the two Ministers are likely to discuss a range of bilateral issues including security, border management, trade, drugs and smuggling, India is all set to make fresh calls on Burma to flush out Indian insurgents operating from Burmese soil.

In a bid to maintain bilateral relations and peace on the border, India and Burma had agreed to have Home Secretary level meetings annually as of 1994. The last Home Secretary level meeting was held in New Delhi in September 2006.

"Home Ministers of India-Burma to Meet in Delhi ", Mizzima News, December 20, 2006

Six Countries Trade Fair

The first ever "Six Countries Trade Fair" at Muse 105-mile border trade zone was inaugurated by Burmese Commence Minister Brigadier General Tin Naing Thein and north east military commander Aung Than Htut.

Companies from China , Thailand , Laos , India , Bangladesh and Burma are meant to participate in the three-day trade fair. It was attended by officials and businessmen from Yunnan , China .

Though it is called the "Six Countries Trade Fair", not a single stall from Laos has been set up. The majority are from China and Burma while there are a few stalls from the other countries.

Chinese and Burmese officials will have meetings at the Seinyadana Hotel in Muse while there will be meetings on the sidelines between business delegations over these three days.

About 108 stalls each from China and Burma and a few stalls from India , Thailand and Bangladesh were seen open in the trade fair.

" China , Burma Dominate Muse Trade Fair", Mizzima News, December 18, 2006