Monday, July 7, 2025
မြန်မာ
Earthquake Update
Home Blog Page 2242

Karen group lose outpost to army

By
Staff Reporter
-
1

Apr 30, 2009 (DVB), Burma's principal armed opposition group has lost sections of a strategically important outpost near the Thai border after nearly a month of fighting between the group and government troops.

The Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, yesterday said it has lost parts of its Walakee outpost run by Battalion 201 in eastern Karen state.

Government troops, backed by the pro-junta Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, launched the latest offensive against the battalion two days ago.

A KNLA officer said that main section of the outpost was still under their control, although the army had taken the artillery firing ground.

According to the KNLA, three government soldiers were killed in the offensive and ten were injured.

Villagers living near the base were reportedly being forced to work for the army and were running out of food, said Battalion 201 official Captain Kyi Aung.

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army split from the KNU in 1994 and allied themselves with the government.

Reconciliation talks between the KNU and ruling State Peace and Development Council, whose conflict is thought to be the world's longest running, have been on the cards for some time.

Both sides have agreed in principle to hold discussions, although the KNU have repeatedly stated that they will not disarm.

Reporting by Nay Htoo

Diarrhea outbreak claims three lives

By
Staff Reporter
-
1

Apr 30, 2009 (DVB), Outbreaks of severe diarrhea have continued in several towns in Burma, with hospitals now unable to cope with the upsurge in patient numbers and several deaths being reported.

Fresh outbreaks have occurred in Nyaung Lay Pin township in Bago division and Pakokku township in Magwe division.

"At our Nyaung Lay Pin hospital, patients have to be lined up on the corridors because the hospital is full up," a local resident said.

"Up to last night, three people had died."

It is possible that the outbreak was caused by a combination of rising temperatures and people eating food contaminated by flies, said a retired local medical staff.

The illness has mainly affected poor people in Pakokku township, a local resident said.

"It is happening more among grassroots people as they are poor," he said.

"They can’t afford to drink clean water, and there is no electricity."

A member of staff on duty at Pakokku said however that the situation was not dire.

Other outbreaks have been occurring in Rangoon, Mandalay, and some towns in Irrawaddy division.

The government's health ministry has previously said it would publish details of the condition of the illness but so far there has been no report.

Reporting by Ahunt Phone Myat

Dialogue necessary before 2010 elections

By
Staff Reporter
-
1

Apr 30, 2009 (DVB), If the Burmese government releases all political prisoners and holds dialogue without preconditions with opposition groups then Burma's main opposition party will contest the 2010 elections, said a statement yesterday.

Following a plenary meeting on Tuesday between senior officials of the National League for Democracy, whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest, a statement was released outlining conditions under which the NLD would participate in the elections next year.

The so-called Shwegondaing statement also emphasized that dialogue without precondition between senior government officials and NLD members was the key to resolving Burma's political problems.

"The NLD has a big role in solving the problems the country is currently facing – the release of political prisoners, the amendment of the constitution, the recognition of the 1990 election result, and the holding of dialogue," said Ohn Kyaing, a member of the NLD central information committee.

"These are problems that need sorting out now, but dialogue is the main thing."

He added, however, that dialogue would have to take place without preconditions, and that any discussion should include the provision of equal opportunities for the ethnic nationalities.

Critics have said the draft constitution, ratified by the government last year in the weeks following cyclone Nargis, guarantees entrenchment of military rule.

The plenary meeting was attended by over 150 party organizers, members of parliament, and central executive committee members.

Diplomats from countries such as United States, United Kingdom, France and Italy also attended.

Reporting by Aye Nai

Burma to accept Bangladesh prisoners

By
Staff Reporter
-
0

Apr 29, 2009 (DVB), Burma has agreed to take back 68 Burmese nationals who have been imprisoned in Bangladesh following a meeting between the Burmese government and a Bangladeshi paramilitary border force.

Officials from Burma's Department of Border Trade and Bangladesh's paramilitary border control, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), met yesterday in Cox's Bazar district on the Bangladesh side of the border.

Bangladesh is now set to release 68 Burmese nationals, 65 civilians of which are and three of which are army deserters. The army deserters were detained by BDR troops in Bandarban, near the border, on 20 March this year.

A total of 133 Burmese nationals are due to be released from Bangladeshi prisons, although the Burmese junta are reluctant to accept them all.

Three other meetings between Burmese army officials BDR officials were held in Bandarban yesterday, during which Burmese officials made a promised to move the planned construction of the border fence 150 yards further inside Burma.

Bangladesh has voiced concern that the planned border fence, aimed at stemming the flow of illegal migrants into Burma, ran too close to the border.

Reporting by DVB

Lack of army food could lead to corruption

By
Staff Reporter
-
2

Apr 29, 2009 (DVB), A new system that gives lower-ranking army soldiers a weekly allowance equivalent to around eight cups of rice could cause an exodus from the army and deepen corruption among troops, said a military analyst.

The new system was introduced last month by the defence ministry in place of weekly food rations. The weekly allowance will be 800 kyat (US80¢).

"Privates are no longer allowed ration quotas such as beans, condensed milk cans and other dried groceries," said a military source who asked to remain anonymous.

He said this new system would make the privates' life more difficult as they were already struggling for survival on a meagre salary of around 30,000 kyat (US$30) a month.

Yet the move could backfire, said a Burmese military analyst with Thailand-based Network for Democracy and Development.

"This could end up with a mass-resignation of soldiers in the Tatmadaw [army] and also could drive the rest of them to deeper level of corruption where they start to use their arms to bully and steal things from people," said Htay Aung.

"These soldiers are the people who have to go to the frontlines and risk their lives and I don't see how they would manage to fulfill their duties properly if they are now even given enough food for them and their families to survive on," he added.

According to Burmese government military statistics, the head of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, Senior General Than Shwe, who is also chief of the armed forces, is paid 1.2 million kyat per year.

Reporting by Ahunt Phone Myat

Foreign investment in Burma ‘costly for companies’

By
Staff Reporter
-
3

Apr 29, 2009 (DVB), Foreign investments in Burma's oil and gas sector pose a risk to companies and lead directly to human rights abuses against civilians, including rape and torture, says a human rights watchdog.

Speaking at a conference in Jakarta, Inodnesia, attended by leading figures from the region's oil industry, EarthRights International said that foreign businesses partnering with Burmese companies carried significant risks.

"Due to the reputation and material risks posed by doing business in Burma's extractive sectors, it may actually cost a company more to go into Burma than to stay away from it," said Matthew Smith, Project Coordinator at ERI's Burma Project.

Furthermore, incidences such as French oil company Total's investment in the Yadana pipeline in the 1990's implicates them in severe human rights abuses.

"Documented abuses connected to the Yadana project include land confiscation, forced labour, rape, torture, and killings," say ERI.

Yesterday the EU announced it would be renewing its package of sanctions against the ruling State Peace and Development Council.

The EU sanctions package does not however include a ban on European companies investing in Burma vast oil and natural gas reserves.

A number of domestic and international human rights groups have called for a complete stop to foreign business investments in Burma.

Stephen Frost, director of Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia, suggested however that targeted investments in Burma should be considered in light of the failure of sanctions.

"For every Western firm pressured to divest, or forced not to invest in the first place, there are numerous others in Asia that are under no such pressure," he said.

"Talking of lifting sanctions is tantamount to support for the generals in some circles, but it’s not as if European Union companies don’t invest in places with bad human rights records."

Dr Khin Mg Kyi, a Singapore-based Burmese economist, argued that banning foreign investment from certain countries and not others leads to monopolization.

"We are committed to a superpower like China; it's a very powerful country," he said.

"We are giving them all our resources. Why should we let China monopolize us?"

Reporting by Rosalie Smith

1...2,2412,2422,243...2,635Page 2,242 of 2,635

EDITOR'S PICKS

LONG READS

FOLLOW US

ABOUT DVB

The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) publishes daily independent news and information across Myanmar and around the world by satellite TV and the internet. DVB was founded in 1992 and is registered as a non-profit association in Thailand.

© Democratic Voice of Burma 2024.

Contact

Feel the passion for press freedom ignite within you.

Join us as a valued contributor to our vibrant community, where your voice harmonizes with the symphony of truth. Together, we'll amplify the power of free journalism.

Support DVB

Free Member

Receive DVB’s Daily Briefing newsletter

Paid Member

Experience DVB ads free and receive DVB’s Daily Briefing newsletter

Already a member? Login

Lost Password?
Contact