BI Weekly No. 311

December 21th - December 31th, 2006

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

Inside

Border

International

UN Resolution on Burma Pressed by US
Providing More Humanitarian Aid

* denotes BI commentary

A hopeful Burmese migrant worker from Sagaing Division who paid a foreign employment agency to fly him to a job and a new life in Malaysia found himself still in Burma when he stepped from the plane.

The hard-luck stories were reported by the Rangoon-based weekly Khit Myanmar , and illustrate the extent of racketeering by shady employment agencies, both within Burma and based outside the country.

Up to 200employment agencies are reported to be operating in Burma , handling a flood of applications from job-seekers encouraged by a relaxation of passport and travel formalities.

A Khit Myanmar staff member, requesting anonymity, told The Irrawaddy that similar cases were commonplace in Burma , with most victims being promised jobs in Malaysia , Japan and South Korea , but official censorship prevented investigative reporting of racketeering.

Racketeers Prey on Burmese Job-seekers, Irrawaddy December 21, 2006

Fuel Crisis in Arakan

A well-known businessman from Akyab said many government ships in several inland waterways in Arakan state have not been allowed to maintain their normal schedules due to a fuel crisis.

He said that the authority has reduced the frequency of ship trips between the Arakan state capital and other towns in Arakan since a recent fuel price increase.

Arakan state is a costal region and people have to use ships to travel around the state. Since the reduction of ship trips, many travelers are facing problems and many goods are not able to be transported on time.

New Restrictions on Ships Prompted by Fuel Crisis in Arakan, Narinjara News, December, 22, 2006

According to “the Donik Purbokon” of today, a local Bengala newspaper, on 24 th about 11:00 am eleven Burmese nationals were arrested by Bangladesh authority in Teknaf, a border town of Bangladesh-Burma  

They were arrested by Bangladesh authorities soon after crossing Naf River by a small boat. The Naf River separates Burma and Bangladesh . All the arrested persons are from Maungdaw township of Arakan State, Burma .
 
According to a relative of the arrested men, they illegally crossed the Burma-Bangladesh border as they want to contact their relatives who have been living in overseas to get money for the upcoming Qurban (Eid-ul-Azha), which to be held on January 1, 2007.
 
Later on, the concerned authority handed over them to the Teknaf Police Station to take legal action against them.

11 Burmese Nationals arrested in Teknaf, Kaladan News, December 25, 2006

Crack Down on Camp

Burma has launched a military crackdown against an Indian tribal separatist group camped in the country, with heavy fighting reported between Burmese troops and guerrillas.

A spokesman for the S.S. Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) said rebels and the Burmese soldiers were fighting pitched battles in Hkmati district in Burma 's northern Sagaing Division.

Burma has repeatedly assured New Delhi that it will not let Indian rebels operate from its soil. The last crackdown on Indian rebel camps was last February.

Indian officials say the porous frontier allows the rebels to escape into Burma after attacking Indian troops.

The NSCN-K, fighting for an independent homeland for the Naga tribe in northeastern India , has at least 50 camps with a total of around 5,000 guerrilla fighters in Sagaing, according to Indian estimates.

The group has been observing a ceasefire with New Delhi since 2001, though formal peace talks are yet to start.

Myanmar Cracks Down against Northeastern Indian Rebels, AFP, December 29, 2006

UN Resolution on Burma Pressed by US

The United States vowed Thursday to press ahead with efforts to push a resolution through the UN Security Council condemning political repression in Burma , despite the reluctance of council heavyweights China and Russia .

State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said they remain concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian and political situation in Burma , which poses a threat to stability in the region.

The United States introduced the resolution on December 13, but the measure faced opposition from China and was expected to make little immediate progress in the new year when Russia takes over the presidency of the Security Council for January.

US Vows to Press on with UN Resolution on Myanmar Repression, Agence France Presse, December 28, 2006

Providing More Humanitarian Aid

A local weekly reported the European Union (EU) has pledged another humanitarian aid of 2 million U.S. dollars to Myanmar through the World Bank

The EU aid, pledged by EU Minister Counselor (Health and Food Safety) Patrick Deboyser during a recent visit to Burma , will be used for health and livestock-related projects in the country, the Khit Myanmar quoted Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Brigadier- General Maung Maung Thein as saying.

According to the Yangon-based European Commission, EU extended 8 million euros or 10.48 million dollars' humanitarian aid to  Burma in 2006 and has drawn an aid program to Burma for 2007  with regard to the social sector.

Earlier reports said that the EU has allotted 40 million euros' aid to Burma for use in the latter's education and health sectors for a period of seven years between 2007 and 2013.

EU to Provide More Humanitarian Aid to Myanmar , Xinhua General News Service,December 28, 2006