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Karen group clarifies election stance

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Oct 6, 2009 (DVB), Burma's elections next year are not a sign of progress towards democratization, according to a prominent ethnic opposition group who said that repression will continue beyond 2010.

The Karen National Union (KNU) made the statement in reaction to a letter sent by the umbrella Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) to US senator Jim Webb, suggesting that elections might herald change in Burma.

"It is, our hope that the new government will be more open to negotiating a political solution with the ethnic groups that are still engaged in armed struggle," the ENC letter said, adding that it would "support eligible ethnic groups in running for office in the 2010 elections".

Critics of the Burmese government have said however that the elections are likely to be a farce, with the 2008 constitution appearing to guarantee continuation of military rule.

The KNU today responded with a statement repeating its calls to the international community not to endorse the elections, claiming that they "will not result in any improvement of the human rights and humanitarian situation".

"Before the elections there must be freedom to campaign, and there must be freedom of the press, and there must election monitoring by international NGOs and organizations," said KNU spokesperson David Thakabaw.

While the ENC letter echoed Thakabaw's comments, it appeared ultimately to support participation in the elections.

"[ENC] thinking has become very reactionary," Thakabaw said. "They think if they boycott the elections, the ethnic groups will become very sidelined or isolated.

"But if democratic and ethnic groups boycott the elections, then the [government] will become sidelined. Nobody will accept the election results."

Reporting by Francis Wade

Education in Burma 'propagandist'

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Staff Reporter
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Oct 6, 2009 (DVB), Burma's education system focuses too much on testing and curriculum material is strictly controlled by the military government, according to an exiled Burmese education expert.

Burma yesterday took part in events to mark International Teachers' Day, with an award ceremony held for teachers and education officials in the capital Naypyidaw. Events were also held abroad for exiled Burmese teachers.

"We didn't have a chance to celebrate something like this in Burma because there was no teachers' association," said a teacher attending the event in Thailand's Mae Sot.

According to the National Health and Education Committee (Burma), the Burmese government spends an estimated 1.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on health and education.

A report released last year by the Australia-based Burma Economic Watch said that illiteracy in rural areas is now twice as common as it was under British rule, which ended in 1948.

Teachers in Burma are forced to follow a strict policy on what they can and cannot teach, according to the director of the Thailand-based Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), Aung Myo Min. Furthermore, participatory learning does not exist.

"Students are not encouraged to create dialogue between themselves and teachers," he said. "It's all about exams and being tested."

"A lot of education material focuses on how good the government is. The military claim to teach human rights, but what it ends up being is teaching about the responsibility of citizens to respect the military."

A teacher in Burma's southern Irrawaddy delta, which was hit by cyclone Nargis last year, said that teachers earn only around 40,000 kyat ($US40) a month.

"It is impossible for a family to survive nowadays without having an income of 150,000 to 200,000 kyat [$US150-200] a month," he said.

"Under these circumstances, teachers are being forced to find sources of income from other jobs such as private tutoring."

Reporting by Francis Wade and Htet Aung Kyaw

Three monks killed in landslide

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Staff Reporter
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Oct 6, 2009 (DVB), Three monks have been killed in a landslide after heavy rain hit a town in southern Burma last week, locals said.

A monastery at the foot of a cliff in Tenasserim division's Kawthaung town was buried on Saturday after four days of heavy rain dislodged earth and rocks.

"[The cliff] collapsed after constant rain over several days, and the monastery below was crushed underneath the rocks. Three monks were killed," said a town local.

He said the body of one of the monks was recovered on Saturday morning and buried on 5 October.

Huts in a nearby neighbourhood were also destroyed by the landslide, leaving several people injured.

Last month three villages, located alongside of Aung Lan-Pyay highway road in Bago division's Pyay township were hit by flooding.

Annual events marking the end of Buddhist lent were cancelled in Magwe division last week after heavy rain affected the area, a local said.

Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew

China blocks Security Council talks on Burma

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Staff Reporter
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Oct 6, 2009 (DVB), China has used the threat of dialogue over Afghan civilian casualties to block the inclusion of Burma at recent Security Council talks, a spokesperson for the French ambassador to the UN said.

After negotiations between China and NATO powers, including Britain, France and the United States, neither issue was discussed.

"[China was] blocking the inclusion of Burma as a footnote in the programme of work," said the spokesperson for the French ambassador to the UN, Stephane Crouzat. "It was an obvious attempt to thwart the footnote."

The issue of civilian deaths in Afghanistan has grown in controversy, with Afghan politicians complaining to NATO forces about excessive casualties.

Crouzat said however that the French were "very interested" in talking about civilian deaths, but that "the way the Chinese put it was a tactical position to block the inclusion of Burma".

Dr Naing Aung, chairperson of the Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB), said the derailment of talks was down to political conflict.

"It is very bad as the [Security Council] cannot move on to save the suffering of innocent people around the world due to their conflict of interest and power balancing," he said. "That is why we Burmese used to say the UN is united in nothing for emergency matters".

Crouzat said however that "if a majority of Security Council members wished to include Burma in the discussions of the Security Council in October it will happen".

"In all probability there will be a meeting discussing Burma in October". He added however that any member could "veto any resolution".

China famously vetoed a Security Council resolution in January 2007 to pressure Burma's ruling junta to end human rights abuses against its citizens.

The following month, China signed a multi-billion dollar deal with the junta to construct pipelines connecting Burma's vast offshore gas reserves to China's southern Yunnan province.

China was last week party to a UN Human Rights Council statement that called on Burma to release all political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Reporting by Joseph Allchin

Bangladesh sends troops to Burma border

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Staff Reporter
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Oct 5, 2009 (DVB), Bangladesh's border patrol army has sent troops to its border with Burma after the Burmese government resumed construction of its controversial border fence.

The move comes amid rising tension between the two countries, with a recent flare-up in maritime disputes over the contested Bay of Bengal gas fields.

Burma in April suspended work on the fence following a meeting between the Burmese border security force, Nasaka, and their counterparts in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).

"Burmese authorities are restarting the fence construction as planned upon re-entering the dry season, after taking a break during the rainy season," said Khaing Pray Thein, an Burma observer based on the Bangladesh-Burma border.

Some BDR companies were also withdrawn in late February this year after an attempted mutiny occurred.

Following the resumption of building, the BDR reportedly sent three fresh battalions to the border last week.

Khaing Pray Thein added that the construction of a Bangladeshi naval base near the Naf river, adjacent to Burma, has further exacerbated tension.

A maritime dispute in November 2008 threatened to draw the two countries into conflict, with land and naval forces lining up within striking distance of one another. The Burmese navy was earlier this year accused of straying into Bangladeshi waters.

Bangladesh recently granted rights to the US company ConcoPhilips and Ireland's Tullow to explore for gas in its waters. They have been expressly forbidden by Dhaka from exploring in fields adjacent to Burmese waters.

Bangladesh has remained vigilant on its border due to influxes of Burmese produced narcotics, particularly methamphetamines, and the ongoing refugee crisis.

A Bangladeshi official recently stated that as many as 400,000 Rohingya refugees could be living illegally in the country, having fled alleged racial persecution and poverty in their native Burma.

Meanwhile there are approximately 28,000 said to be living officially in camps inside Bangladesh.

The issue of their plight was said to have been brought up at recent talks between the US and the Burmese government, with the Bangladesh government law ministry providing statistics to the US.

Reporting by Joseph Allchin

Burma reassures Japan on nuclear ambitions

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Staff Reporter
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1

Oct 5, 2009 (DVB), Burma has told Japan that it does not intend to develop nuclear weaponry, but said it will continue to work with Russia on a nuclear energy programme.

Suspicions of Burma's nuclear ambitions have been heightened in recent months following an apparent warming of relations with North Korea.

The United States has repeatedly expressed concern about the relationship, and its recent policy shift on Burma appears to be in part a reaction to this.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Japan-Mekong ministerial meeting in Cambodia, Burma foreign minister Nyan Win reportedly told his Japanese counterpart, Katsuya Okada, that any nuclear programmes were peaceful.

"(Nyan Win) told Japan’s foreign minister that Myanmar [Burma] has no intention to have a nuclear weapon," a Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters reporters at the meeting.

"Myanmar has conducted a consultation to have assistance from Russia for a peaceful use of nuclear energy."

According to a Burmese military analyst, however, the announcement was similar to statements made by Burma to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"But according to facts we have gathered, we see that the junta has plans to develop a modernised army by gaining nuclear weapons," said Htay Aung.

"We have also obtained information that the technology minister, U Thaung, was individually assigned by Senior General Than Shwe to develop a nuclear bomb."

He said the plans have been in place since 2000, and many Burmese students were being sent to Russia and North Korea to learn about nuclear technology.

Several incidents this year have compounded fears about North Korean assistance in bolstering Burma's military muscle, although no hard evidence has yet come to light about Burma's progress on nuclear weaponry.

In July a South Korean newspaper reported that North Korea was illegally exporting weapons to Burma via overland routes through China, to avoid naval or air detection.

The news followed reports that a North Korean ship being tracked by the US navy on suspicion that it is carrying weapons appeared to be heading towards Burma, before turning around.

Reporting by Min Lwin

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