Presidential adviser discusses amnesty for Burmese exiles

(Interview) – Burmese President Thein Sein recently encouraged Burmese exiles to return home. One of his presidential advisers  says Parliament will pass a bill to implement the offer. Mizzima correspondent Tun Tun asked Ko Ko Hlaing, a presidential adviser, how the amnesty offer will work. Ko Ko Hlaing explained that all exiles could return and no one would be punished except people who have committed criminal offenses, and he described other aspects of the bill to be introduced in Parliament.

Burmese President Thein Sein, here shown in traditional dress in Parliament, has invited exiles to return home. A bill to enact the offer will be introduced in Parliament. Photo: Mizzima

Question: How will this amnesty offer for exiles work?

Answer: As far as I know, no one will be punished except people who committed “personal offences” against someone such as murder, robbery or physical assault and so on. Except for punishing people who committed crimes against someone, the government will not punish exiles. The details will be disclosed when the law is officially approved in Parliament. They are arranging to put forward that bill. You will know the details when the bill has been brought before Parliament. Then, they will debate and vote on the bill.

Q: So the only penalties will concern people who committed crimes against someone?

A: Yes. The reason is that the nation cannot forgive a person who harmed someone, because there is a person who has suffered. The nation cannot pardon those culprits. Otherwise, the other side will accuse the government of bias. For rebelling against the nation such as membership in an illegal association or joining rebels and so on, some criminal cases are unavoidable. But former amnesties forgave all of those kinds of people if they didn’t commit criminal crimes.

Even insurgents were forgiven. So, there is no reason not to forgive others.

Q: For example, how would the All Burma Students' Democratic Front and ethnic armed groups be treated?

A: If they lay down their arms, the government is ready to grant amnesty. If they want to return to the legal fold immediately, they will be accepted immediately. Regarding the killing of soldiers during fighting, fighting is an armed conflict. The army will shoot rebels. Rebels will attack the army. There are such cases in every country.

But, there is one exception. If someone killed villagers after alleging that they [villagers] gave information to the army….for instance, the case in Sinzwe Village, we cannot forgive those kinds of cases.

Q: Do you mean that they would be punished in accordance with the current laws?

A: If they committed crimes against villagers, those will be exceptional cases. Mutual shootings between armed groups are usual. Armed groups have the right to shot each other. They have the right to protect themselves. For villagers, they are not armed to protect themselves. In the past, “Red Flag Communist” led by Thakhin Soe [now deceased] killed all the villagers of Sinzwe Village.

Now, for instance, on some occasions, the SSA and some armed groups killed female teachers. In those cases, they will receive the punishment they deserve, and then they will be free.

Q: Does the government have a plan about how to reintroduce exiles back into the country?

A: I don’t know exactly because I’m neither a member of the government nor an MP. I think that the government will plan to resettle them in Burma and so on. The administrative bodies will do the necessary things after the amnesty, I think.

Q: In your opinion, how soon could the law to bring back exiles be passed and ready to implement?

A: Now parliament is beginning to work on this. Parliament will put up the bill. The bill will be debated and amended in one house first. Then if the house approves the bill, it will be submitted to the other house. If both houses approve the bill, it will be forwarded to the president. When the president signs the bill, it can be enforced as a law. I don’t know how long the process will take. That depends on the Parliament.

Q: Some people have criticized the offer and expressed distrust of the government. How will you overcome such doubts?

A: Nothing [no description] can be as transparent and strong as a law. If laws are passed and enforced, nothing can be better than that. Do you agree?”

Q: So, we have to wait and see the law.

A: Laws govern each country. We need to do everything in accordance with the law, so everyone, from the president to ordinary staff, must obey the laws. There is no better guarantee than enforcing the laws.

Q: Some observers have alleged that the government has made this offer because it wants to chair Asean in 2014. How do you respond to such charges?

A: Whether we can chair Asean or not, they [the exiles] are Burmese citizens. I will work for the sake of the people and the nation. We work together for everyone’s sake. Some people in foreign countries are criticizing the offer based on their own views. They can criticize in various ways. But our good intentions will be obvious later because of our actions.

If we invite exiles to return to Burma just to show off, they can criticize us for being fake. If our invitation is genuine, the people will recognize that and then believe the offer is real.

Src   :  Mizzima

Burmese Parliament rejects motion to repeal Emergency Provisions Act

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A motion in the Burmese Lower House to repeal the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, which is used to imprison democracy activists has been overwhelmingly rejected by the majority opposition dominated by the Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Only 7 MPs supported the motion made by New Democracy Party MP Thein Nyunt. The motion was voted down by 220 USDP MPs; 99 military-appointed MPs; 16 MPs from the National Unity Party (NUP) and other smaller-party MPs. Forty-one MPs abstained.

A joint session of the Burmese Parliament in Naypyitaw, the capital. Photo: Mizzima

Voting in favour on Monday were Dr. Than Win and Khaing Khing Maung Yee from the National Democratic Force; Nan Wah Nu from the Shan Nationalities Development Party; Thein Nyunt and Kyi Myint from the New Democracy Party, Zar Telem from the Chin National Party and Myint Than from the All Mon Region Democracy Party.

MPs who rose to speak against the motion were USDP members Than Oo from the Myawaddy constituency; Aung Kyaw Soe from the Natmauk constituency; Soe Paing from the Wuntho constituency; and Zaung Khaung from the Hsawlaw constituency.

In speaking against the motion, Thein Oo argued that the law should be in force because insurgency was still taking place, referring to recent fighting between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and government troops.

USDP MP Zaung Khaung said the Emergency Provisions Act was essential to the country, citing recent fighting between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and government troops.

The late Prime Minister U Nu enacted the emergency act two years after Burma regained independence in 1948, to be used for suppression of the civil war. The law says that those who obstruct or delay the performance of duty by the armed forces or police force or those who intend or act to undermine the stability in the government can receive up to life in prison term or capital punishment.

“We are not in a state of emergency. So this law is irrelevant in the current time,” said Khaing Khin Maung Yee, who supported the motion.

According to the figures released by the exile-based Assistance Association of Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP-B), out of a total of 1,995 political prisoners 500 prisoners were charged and imprisoned under the Emergency Provisions Act.

According to parliamentary procedures, a motion must be seconded and moved by at least one MP for deliberation in the house.

In other Lower House business:

––USDP MP Soe Thar moved a motion to explore ways to help business enterprises which have been struggling as a result of the falling US dollar. MP Nyi Nyi seconded the motion and it will be brought up for deliberation at a later date.

––Former Minister of National Planning and Economic Development Soe Thar told MPs that there was an increase of import volume by 78 per cent in the 2010-11 fiscal year and there was a trade deficit of 796 million kyat (US$1.1 million), decreasing export values and volume of rice, pulses and beans, and fish in moving his motion.

––USDP MP Maung Maung Thein from the Kayan constituency made a motion to exempt income tax on interest earned by treasury bills issued by the government. The motion was seconded by MP Nan Wah Nu from the Kunhing constituency and the motion will be deliberated at a later date. House Speaker Thura Shwe Mahn urged the lawmakers to consult with the Finance and Revenue Ministry and Parliament Bills Committee regarding their motion.

The sessions of the lower and upper houses concluded at 3 p.m. There will be a joint session of Parliament on September 5.


Src  : Mizzima

Super-typhoon kills 13 in Philippines

 
Super-typhoon Nanmadol left at least 13 people dead after hitting the Philippines, and the toll is expected to rise as hopes of finding those missing fade, the civil defence chief said on Monday.
More than 61,000 people are still evacuated from their homes after Nanmadol, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, lashed the northern edge of the main island of Luzon on the weekend, causing landslides and floods.

The 13 killed were mostly buried in landslides, including two children in northern Baguio who were killed in an avalanche of garbage at the city dumpsite, said head of civil defence operations Benito Ramos.

Eight other people are still missing across the country, feared washed away at sea, in raging rivers, or buried under garbage, he told AFP.

"The missing are most likely dead but we are still searching for them, it is unlikely they are still alive after two or three days," he said.

Ramos said the dead and missing in garbage dumps were scavengers who made their living foraging for items to salvage, despite the risk that storms could cause the mountain of trash to cascade down upon them.

The problem is widespread in the impoverished Philippines where people refuse to leave dangerous areas because they need to scratch out a living, he said.

"We know which areas get flooded, which areas are landslide-prone. Every time there is a calamity like the storm, these areas always get flooded then we evacuate the people but afterwards, they come back."

Large parts of northern Luzon still remain without power after Nanmadol hit with gusts of up to 230 kilometres (145 miles) per hour starting on Saturday, the civil defence office added.

The typhoon, named after an ancient site in Micronesia, weakened after clipping Luzon and has moved away from the Philippines, towards Taiwan and China.

Taiwanese authorities have evacuated about 8,000 people, closed down schools and halted rail services as Nanmadol made landfall Monday and swept across some of the island's most densely populated areas.

An average of 20 storms and typhoons, many of them deadly, hit the Philippines annually. The last storms, Nock-ten and Muifa, left at least 70 dead when they hit in July.

Src : smh.com.au

Japan to accept Burmese refugees from Umpiem camp

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Japan will accept the first batch of Burmese refugees from Umpiem refugee camp, the second largest refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border, in September 2013.

Camp officials, said: “In September 2012, Japan will scrutinize the list of refugees. In September 2013, they [the first batch of refugees] will leave from the camp [for Japan],” Saw Wah Htee, the chairman of the Umpiem refugee camp committee, told Mizzima.

Relevant Japanese officials and officials of the Mae Sot [on the Thai side of the Moei River opposite Myawaddy] branch of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) visited the refugee camp in Tak Province in July and met with 200 refugees who are interested in resettling in Japan. Earlier, Japan accepted refugees from the Mae La refugee camp, the largest on the Thai-Burmese border.

The Japanese government has not disclosed that how many refugees it will accept. Currently, more than 25,000 people live in the Umpiem refugee camp located 75 km south of Mae Sot. Among them, 11,404 people are recognized by the UNHCR and the remainder have applied for refugee status with the UNHCR. Japan said that it would not accept people over age 60 or the handicapped. There are 140 refugees over age 70, and 100 who are handicapped in the Mae La camp, according to officials.

“There are three options for the refugees; going back to Burma, living in Thailand and resettling in a resettlement country. Among them, resettling in a resettlement country is the only option for a brighter future,” said Saw Wah Htee.

He said most refugees would like to resettle in the US; to resettle in Japan requires a longer time. The Umpiem refugee camp was set up in 1999; it has 16 quarters. More than 10,000 refugees from the camp have resettled in resettlement countries; 75 percent of them went to the US and the rest have resettled in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Canada and England.

Recently, Thai authorities gave instructions to officials at the Umpiem camp to compile a list that included four areas; the number of refugees who want to return Burma, the number of Burmese refugees who have already arrived in resettlement countries, the number of refugees who have applied to resettlement countries and the number of refugees who want to continue to live in Thailand.

Saw Wah Htee said that they had prepared a list with the education backgrounds of refugees and had made a list of people who were born in Thailand. A final list will be submitted to camp officials by September 7. Because of the instructions, refugees in the camp are concerned that Thai authorities will close the camp sometime in the future.

 Src  : Mizzima

Hrehawm tuar la (II Tim 4:5)

Tangkaipui kan awm takin Pathian thu lam ka rawn post ve ang nge, a vawi khatna tan.

“Zingtin ni chhuak hian mihring nunah hlimna rawn thlen ziah ta thin sela; van ram chakna kan nei ngai lovang.”

Khawvel hmuntin leh ramtina, chhungkawtin fang chhuak ila, mahni tawka harsatna sawi tur nei miah lo chu an awm a rinawm loh.

Kan harsatna nia kan hriat aia thuk nei deuh vek kan tawng ngei ang. Khawvelin chhiatna, lirnghing, accidents, indo thuthang,.. a tawng chamchi a; chutih rualin mi tam takte’n rinna tihderthawn nan lo hmangin, “Pathian reng a awm lo”, an tih phah fo thinna hi enge a chhan ni ang le?

Khawi lai hmun pakhata puaktheithil puakin ka fapa duat leh hmangaih em em, mite pawisawi tam lo nunna a lak avanga ka hreawm tawrhna nasa takah hian ka Lalpa beng hi a ngawng tlat em ni?

Ni hauh lo e, Pathian chuan thi thei tura A din mihring chu hmang tangkaiin kan nuna kan la hriat fiah loh A thuruatte kan zir theih nan tihhreawmin kan awm mai a ni zawk.(Sam 119:71, Job 36:15)

Chu thil chuan midangteah chhinchhiahna(warning) tangkai a siam bawk thin. Chutiang atana ka fapa ngei A hman avanga vui mai lova fak tura hnena Lawmthu sawi mai hian, kan hmelmate pawh hmangaih tura min titu hi, a tih lawm viau ka ring!

Chanchintha hriltu ropui ber pawl Paula hian harsatna a tawng mai a ni lo; a nun pui hial zawk a ni. Pathianthu hrila a vahna hmuntin rengah tihduhdahna nasa tak, vuak, lunga den, tan ina khung, tihhlum tumna hial vawi tam tak a tawng a.(II Kor. 11:23-27, Tirh. 16:19-24, 21:27, 14: 19-20) .

Mahse, chung a harsatna tawh zawng zawng chuan a pawt ding lo, a nuna eng lo la thleng tur chu thlirin a tuarnaah lawm zawkin a chak lohnate chhuangin hreawm tuara chanchintha hrilhna lam hna thawk turin min la ti zawk a ni. (II Kor. 12:8-10, II Tim. 4:5)

Tunah khan harsatna engemawin a tuam vel ang che, I chhungte hun I tih loh taka boralna khan a tilungngai ang che, I tisa leh thlarau retheihna khan a tihreawm ang che, mite aia chan chau bik nia I inhriatna khan a tihreawm ang che. Mi thenkhatten anmahni nunna ngei an lak phah hialna ang harsatna I tawng chamchi ang.

Chung avang chuan I siamtu hnenah vui mai lo la, Lalpan zirtir tur che a nei tih leh A hmangaih che a, I chungah a lo thlen a phal a ni tih hrethiamin pawm thlap mai rawh. Joban mihring chu buainaa khat pangpar anga lo para vuai leh mai thin a ni a tih thu te; Kristan amah zui duh apiangin hreawm tuara an zui tur a ni a tih thu te, Rilrua retheite engthawlna leh van ram an ta a ni a tih thu te leh Lungngaite chu thlamuana an la awm tur thu a sawite hian nun a va khawih em!

Heng nun harsatna kan hriat thiam lohna hian tihtawp ahnekin a tibelhchhah zawk a. Amah ngeiin Tirhkoh Paula hmanga hreawm tuar tur kan ni tih thu min hrilh te hrerengin Amah kan hmuh chian zawkna leh van ram lo la thleng tur nawmzia puanna a ni tih I pawm thlap ang u.
Joba pohin a hreawm tuarna nasa tak atang khan a ni, Pathian chu “Benga hriatna mai zawngin ka hre tawh chia, Mahse tunah zawng ka hmu ta che”, a tih hial ni! Lalpa’n malsawm rawh se.
 
He thu hi ka pa (21th June 2009-a min boralsan ta) damloh lai Good Friday, 2009-a ka ziah a ni.


Src  : Misual

Palaung civilian shot dead on the spot by government troops

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Suspected of being a rebel, a Palaung villager was shot dead on the spot by government soldiers in Monton Township in northern Shan State, said a Palaung organization based on the Sino-Burmese border.

Troops line up for inspection at the KIO headquarters in Laiza. Photo: Mizzima

On August 16, Aik San Pi of Loisaung village in Monton Township was shot dead by troops from Infantry Unit No. 130 led by Colonel Kyaw Zeyar Tun, the Palaung Women’s Organization [PWO] reported.

The man, Aik San Pi, 27, was hiding because he was afraid of being forced to carry supplies for government troops, according to sources. When the soldiers discovered him they accused him of being a rebel and shot him, said Lwe Amm, a PWO spokesperson.

“After the [Burmese] army arrived in the village, many men fled because they were afraid of being forced to porter goods. They shot him three times. He died on the spot.”

The village head told the troops Aik San Pi was not a member of an armed group and the soldiers gave 5,000 kyat (about US$ 7) to the family for funeral expenses.

In the Monton Township, various armed groups are active including Burmese government battalions, Palaung militant groups, Shan State Army-North troops and soldiers of the Kachin Independence Organization. The KIO and SSA-N said that government troops forced local villagers to porter goods and weapons in fighting in June.

SSA-N spokesman Major Sai Hla said that some civilians suspected of being rebels were tortured and killed by government troops. He said government soldiers set fire to five houses near Wanphwi Dam on Tuesday morning, alleging that residents were SSA supporters.

KIO spokesman La Nang said that in some ethnic areas civilians are placed on a blacklist by the government because of the armed groups’ activities, but it was usual that residents were shot by government troops.

“Some ethnic people were shot because they were suspected and some were shot intentionally by the government troops. Those cases have happened. In every fight, many victims are civilians,” La Nang told Mizzima.

La Nang said government troops use Kachin and Shan villagers as human mine sweepers during fighting between KIO and government troops.

The BBC Burmese Service recently reported that in Pyapon Township in Irrawaddy Region, government Infantry Unit No. 93 ordered a motorboat carrying bananas to stop to demand money. When the motorboat failed to stop, the soldiers opened fire, killing one man.

Src  : Mizzima

Clashes near Gaddafi's compound

Fighting rages in Tripoli near compound of beleaguered Libyan leader as rebels sweep into capital.

The sound of heavy fighting and gun battles were heard in pockets of Tripoli, after rebels overnight gained control of much of the Libyan capital in a sweeping operation. Clashes erupted on Monday after tanks left Bab Azaziya, Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, and foreign journalists have been trapped inside the Rixos hotel. "They are not allowed to leave the hotel because there are Gaddafi men in the area and around the area," Zeina Khodr, Al Jazeera's correspondent, said from Green Square. "We have been in contact with some of them [journalists trapped in Rixos hotel] and they are telling us basically they were held there almost as human shields." In other developments: Gaddafi's two eldest sons are in custody. Saif al-Islam, had been arrested in a tourist village in western Tripoli and has been detained by the International Criminal Court and Mohammed, surrendered to rebel forces and spoke to Al Jazeera shortly afterwards. US President Barack Obama says momentum against Gaddafi has reached a tipping point as world leaders heralded a "new beginning" for Libya. For the latest news and developments on Libya check out Al Jazeera's Libya Live Blog Throughout the night, euphoric Libyan rebels moved into the centre of Tripoli as Gaddafi's defenders melted away and thousands of jubilant civilians rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convoys of pickup trucks packed with fighters shooting in the air. Green Square which has now been renamed Martyrs Square by the rebels had been the site of night rallies by Gaddafi supporters throughout the uprising. The rebels' surprising and speedy leap forward, after six months of largely deadlocked civil war, was packed into just a few dramatic hours. By nightfall on Sunday, they had advanced more than 32km to Tripoli. Our correspondent said rebels have tried to maintain order in the capital. "The people of Tripoli really are maintaining law and order in the areas that they are now controlling in Tripoli. "They have set up checkpoints, are searching cars and looking for possible Gaddaffi supporters, because ever since late last night they were worried about sleeper cells in the capital." There has been no word on the whereabouts of Gaddafi himself. Gaddafi has delivered a series of angry and defiant audio messages in recent days, vowing not to surrender. In the latest one, he acknowledged that opposition forces were moving into Tripoli and warned the city would be turned into another Baghdad. "How come you allow Tripoli, the capital, to be under occupation once again?" he said. "The traitors are paving the way for the occupation forces to be deployed in Tripoli." South Africa is understood to be in negotiations with the Gaddafi camp to find a country of refuge for the Libyan leader. Al Jazeera's correspondent in Johannesburg, Haru Matasa, said Angola and Zimbabwe have been cited as countries the embattled leader is most likely to go to.

Source :   :  Al Jazeera and agencies

When will the KIA/KIO, Burmese government conflict end?

(Commentary) – The Kachin Independence Army/Kachin Independence Organization (KIA/KIO) signed a cease-fire agreement with the former Burmese military regime in 1994, but it was broken shortly after the so-called civilian government came in to power earlier this year.

KIO troops prepare for inspection. Peace negotiations between the KIO and the government have come to a stand off with the two sides unable to find a common ground for a cease-fire. Photo: Mizzima

Since then, a civil war has grown more intense although two negotiation meetings have been held. The KIA/KIO wants to negotiate a cease-fire based on principles in the Panglong Agreement of 1947. Also, it demanded that the government stop the offensive war nationwide and initiate cease-fire discussions through the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).

The government questioned the KIA/KIO about how it could deal with the United State Wa Army (USWA) if it only talked with the UNFC? The WSWA is not a member of the UNFC, and repeatedly has insisted it wanted a cease-fire signed with the KIO/KIA first. The KIA/KIO agreed to a cease-fire based on the 2008 Constitution, which it said it does not believe in. With such obstacles and disagreements, the civil war will likely continue in Burma.

With the majority of ethnic armed groups reunited and speaking in one voice to challenge the government, the country s entering it most crucial period since 1988.

The KIA/KIO is holding out on peace talks until the government agrees to negotiate through the UNFC. On the other side, the government wants to sign a cease-fire agreement with KIO/KIA first, and then start to talk with other ethnic armed groups based on their particular situations.

The trauma of breaking the cease-fire agreement has impacted on the discussion process, causing a lack of trust. Both sides need to share their views openly and discuss why and how the cease-fire agreement was broken and how to solve the current issues. In order to cultivate trust, some government officers need to be held accountable for breaching the cease-fire agreement. That will also serve as a warning that anyone who breaks a cease-fire in the future will be held accountable.

In an open letter recently, Aung San Suu Kyi offered to be a mediator between the government and the Kachin Independence Organization, the Karen National Union, the New Mon State Party and the Shan State Army. Her offer is a positive sign, but the question is will the government let her act as a peace mediator and how much can she influence the two sides to come to an agreement? There would seem to be little possibility that she could make a big difference in a cease-fire deal because her influence on the government is limited.

The government may doubt minor ethnic armed groups’ attitudes, but the Burmese people are more integrated now than ever before because of better transportation, communications and education. In terms of culture, literature and geography, the people of Burma share many common areas that bound them together as brothers and sisters.

In order to achieve peace, ethnic minorities must be granted equal rights and control over their affairs as outlined in the Panglong Agreement. That’s how to build a more united Union in Burma, instead of trying to extinguish their identity and language. The government should recognize who they are, instead of trying to make a mountain tiger become a delta lion. It also means leaving it up to them if they prefer to wear their traditional dress, to dance to their traditional songs and to practice different religious beliefs (Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc.). The acceptance and respect of minorities’ wishes and rights will bring a much a better future. And it will also make ethnic minorities feel as if they are a part of Burma. If these types of things were done, the peace process would move faster.

By signing a cease-fire only with the KIA/KIO, it will not bring lasting peace in the country because all ethnic minorities are now entwined. That’s why the government should start cease-fire negotiations with all ethnic armed groups through the UNFC, if it really wants peace and thinks of itself as the country’s parents.

The KIO/KIA demands represent the true desire of all ethnic armed groups, including the WSWA and Shan State Army (South), even though they are not members of the UNFC.

There may be significant reasons behind why the WSWA and SSA (South) didn’t join the UNFC. Perhaps it has something to do with allegations that the WSWA is involved in producing illegal drugs and its leader Boa Youxiang is wanted by the USA. The UNFC may find it hard to accept the WSWA as a member. SSA (South) is likely to become the next UNFC member, if trust is established between the two groups. However, it is certain that if the groups in the UNFC started fighting with the government intensively, then both the WSWA and SSA (South) would join them in what would be a massive civil war.

At this moment, both the government and UNFC members are preparing for the best and the worst. At the same time, they are both considering how to solve the cease-fire deal crisis. If the current issues cannot be solved, then Burma will revert to the civil war era of the 1980s to 1990.

There is no doubt that the government will use its divide and rule policy in talking with UNFC members. On August 18, it said all cease-fire armed groups and non-ceasefire armed groups that want a cease-fire agreement should negotiate individually with their state or regional government. This kind of cease-fire offer directly challenges the UNFC unity.

But a divide and rule policy may not work well this time, because armed groups are more sophisticated and experienced politically and militarily. They also have a more savvy media to keep the international community informed, which can bring a lot of pressure on the government.

But we needed to wait and see how much unity exists among UNFC members. If only one of the UNFC members breaks away from the group and start cease-fire talks, then it will impact the group’s effectiveness.

The government appears unwilling to meet KIA/KIO demands. For now, there is little hope for peace. Probably, the fighting between the two sides will continue politically and militarily, adding one more civil war to the ongoing civil wars in other parts of Burma.


Src   : Mizzima

Dozens Dead After Bomb Explodes in Pakistan Mosque

A bomb exploded inside a mosque during midday prayers in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding 85, according to news agency reports.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Associated Press reported that an estimated 300 people had gathered for prayers Friday afternoon in the Sunni mosque. Many were on their way out of the building when the bomb exploded, a local administrator, Iqbal Khan, said.

Television footage showed a heavily damaged building, with clothing and prayer mats scattered across a blood-splattered floor.

The English-language newspaper Dawn said the bombing was the deadliest incident since twin attacks in a crowded supermarket-hotel complex killed 39 people in Peshawar in June.

The bomb went off in Ghundi, a village in the Khyber tribal region, a part of Pakistan’s tribal belt, The Associated Press reported.

The Pakistani Army has waged multiple operations in Khyber aimed at pacifying the region but with limited success. Khyber also is a key region for the United States and NATO, because a large portion of nonlethal supplies heading to U.S. forces in Afghanistan passes through it.

Src  : The New York Times

Suu Kyi leaves home for first trip to Burmese capital

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi left her home in Rangoon on Friday morning to attend a national-level workshop on economic development in Naypyitaw, the political capital, said party sources.

Under a security arrangement with the government, Suu Kyi was picked up by car at 9 a.m. local time. A commander of the Special Branch Police, Colonel Win Naing Tun, led the government team escorting her. It was not clear if the security staff of the National League for Democracy (NLD) would also accompany her to Naypyitaw.

In her first-ever trip to Naypyitaw and first high-level official function since her release from house detention in November, she may meet President Thein Sein, who was Burma’s prime minister in the previous junta-led government.

Suu Kyi’s official status at the workshop is as an observer, since the government has dissolved the NLD party because it failed to re-register as a political party. Government officials, political party representatives and businessmen will attend the workshop.

Recently, Suu Kyi met twice with Social Welfare and the Labour Minister Aung Kyi in talks that they said were “productive,” and relations between Suu Kyi and the government have taken a positive turn in recent months. For the first time since her release, Suu Kyi recently traveled outside Rangoon, visiting Bagan, the ancient temple complex in central Burma, and Pegu, about 60 km north of Rangoon, to open two libraries named in her honour.

          Aung San Suu Kyi on her visit to Pegu. Photo: Mizzima

Src  : Mizzima

SSA-N refutes Burmese gov’t accusation it fired on civilians

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – It was Burmese government troops who fired heavy artillery into a market in Man San village in Mongyai Township in Shan State, killing nine people, according to the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N). On Wednesday, a state-run newspaper alleged that it was the SSA-N that shelled the village.

Shan State Army-North troops have been fighting government forces since July 11. Photo: SSA

A SSA-N spokesperson said: “The people are our people, the same ethnic people. We don’t fire like that without a reason. We don’t fire our heavy weapons negligently.”


Major Sai Hla said that Chief of Staff Major General Pan Pha issued an order on June 16 not to allow racial discrimination, arbitrary killing, rape or other activities that would hurt Shan civilians.

“We don’t even live in the villages so as not to hurt our people. We didn’t even attack a village when government troops fled and took cover in a monastery in these villages,” he said.

The state-run “New Light of Myanmar” ran an article on Wednesday that SSA-N troops fired six 40 mm mortar shells into a busy marketplace in the village and wounded five civilians including two children. The village administrator, Sai Ohn, lost his house in a fire, according to the article.

The following is a list of injured persons reported in The New Light of Myanmar:

1. Sai Kham Pan (M) (6 years old)

2. Nan Muay Khaung (F) (10 years)

3. Nan Shwe Sein (F) (23 years)

4. Lone Maung (M) (40 years)

People beaten, questioned and wounded, according to the SSA-N:

Wounded:

1. Sai Kham (M) (6 years old)

2. Sai Om (M) (11 years), son of Lun Maung Yauk

3. Nan Faung (F) (11 years), daughter of Lun Lu

4. Lun Maung Yauk (M) (53 years)

5. Lun Lu (65 years)

6. Nan Shwe Sein (F) (26 years)

7. Nan Fun (F) (24 years), daughter of Nar Li

8. Nan Kyein (F) (26 years), daughter of Lun Faw

9. Saw Ya (M) (45 years)

People beaten and questioned:

1. Tint Mar (M) (50 years old)

2. Kaw Lu (M) (50 years)

3. Seik Ta (M) (50 years)

4. Saw Aung (M) (51 years)

The SSA claimed that Mongyai-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 325 fired 24 heavy weapons shells into the village from its outpost south of Man San village, which killed nine people including three children. Four elderly villagers were beaten and questioned by the army, it said.

A spokesman said the house of village administrator Sai Lai Sai was set on fire, and government troops fired on village secretary Sai Lao’s residence and then destroyed his house.

The SSA said about 20 government soldiers from LIB 325 entered the town’s marketplace while two SSA soldiers were shopping in the market about 8 a.m. on August 11. Government soldiers questioned the people in the market. The two SSA soldiers evaded the questioning and then overpowered a government soldier who was on sentry duty and took his weapons. Government troops retaliated by firing on the village with heavy artillery said the SSA.

Currently, the government has deployed 10 battalions in an area three miles southeast and five miles west of Wan Hai, the SSA headquarters, said Major Sai Hla. The government its offensive against SSA-N troops on July 11. More than 2,000 civilians from around 20 villages have fled their homes and 15 schools have been closed.

An estimated 30,000 villagers have fled their homes in northern Shan State since the war broke out. The Shan Women’s Action Network and the Shan Human Rights Group (SHRG) issued a joint statement on August 10 calling for humanitarian aid to Shan war refugees.

Src   :   mizzima

‘Crossing Salween’ to be shown in Los Angeles

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Getting the subject of Burma onto the Hollywood movie circuit is tough but the makers of “Crossing Salween” hope their video will encourage investors to fund a full movie version.

“Crossing Salween,” a 20-minute video short, will be shown at Laemmle Theatre in Los Angeles this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Irish film producer Gary Moore said the film, based on a Karen girl who flees the fighting in Burma, is a story that also throws light on the reality of Karen life and the lives of Burmese in general.

“We hope it raises awareness of the situation there in the wider world,” Moore told Mizzima recently.

The film stars 11-year-old Karen refugee Ronnachai Mai Whittio, or Mai for short, who Moore found through “street casting”––searching for talent among non-professionals to play the lead role, as happened with the casting of slum children in the 2008 Hollywood hit,“Slumdog Millionaire.”

Moore said the young girl was “a natural” for the part.

The filmmaker said he became concerned about the plight of Karen villagers, caught up since 1949 in the world’s longest civil war, when he was asked to mount a photographic exhibition on Burmese refugees. He visited the Thai-Burmese border region, and on his return to Ireland wrote a short story, titled “Ko Reh,” the name of its central character, a 9-year-old Karen girl who flees into the jungle when the Burmese army burns down her village and slaughters the inhabitants. With the aid of a mysterious hunter, she sets out on an arduous trek to safety over the border in Thailand.



Los Angeles is just the latest venue for a showing of “Crossing Salween.” The film, that has the backing of the Irish Film Board, has been shown in Fort Wayne, in the US, and at festivals in Berlin, Dublin, Cork and Sydney, winning accolades at each screening. Further screenings are planned at other film festivals, while Moore and his team look for the US$ 2.1 million to fund a full-length feature.

Humanity, not politics, is the main thrust of both the pilot and planned full-length feature film that Moore’s Dublin-based film company, Red Rage, hopes to make.

The film will be shown Aug. 19-21 in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Theatre http://www.laemmle.com/




Src  : Mizzima

Second Tibetan Monk Burns Himself to Death in Protest

Ashwini Bhatia/Associated Press

In Dharmsala, India, on Monday, a Tibetan at a vigil held a portrait of the monk Tsewang Norbu.

By RICK GLADSTONE  

A Tibetan Buddhist monk protesting Chinese policies immolated himself publicly in a Tibetan area of Sichuan Province in southwest China on Monday, an outside advocacy group reported. It was the second such act in the area in the past five months and appeared to reflect resistance to increased Chinese repression of loyalty to Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The monk was heard calling, “We Tibetan people want freedom,” “Long live the Dalai Lama” and “Let the Dalai Lama return to Tibet,” after he drank gasoline, doused himself with it and set himself alight on a bridge in the center of Daofu, a town in Ganzi County in Sichuan, according to the advocacy group Free Tibet. The group is based in London, but has a network of contacts in Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas elsewhere in China.
Xinhua, China’s official news agency, reported the death of a monk in Daofu, but did not provide details.

Ganzi, known in Tibetan as Kardze, is overwhelmingly populated by ethnic Tibetans. It has been an area of chronic tensions for the Chinese authorities, most related to the country’s Han ethnic majority.

China’s government regards the vast Himalayan region of Tibet as an integral part of China and is sensitive to expressions of support for the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in 1959 and who has accused China of stifling Tibetan culture. The Chinese consider the Dalai Lama a subversive advocate of Tibetan independence, although he has said he only wants greater autonomy for Tibet.

Stephanie Brigden, the director of Free Tibet, identified the monk who killed himself as Tsewang Norbu, 29. She said he was protesting what she described as the harsh treatment of Tibetans following the March 16 immolation by a monk from the Kirti monastery in Aba, or Ngaba in Tibetan, in the same region of Sichuan. She said the repression worsened further when Tibetans in Daofu and elsewhere defied a government ban on celebrating the Dalai Lama’s 76th birthday on July 6.

“We’ve basically seen an escalation in the clamping down,” she said in a telephone interview. “It is not just limited to this area.”

In a news release, Ms. Brigden said her group had “grave concerns” about what could happen in Daofu in the aftermath of the monk’s immolation, and at his monastery, Nyitso. She said that telephone and Internet access had been cut and that the group had “received reports that the army has surrounded the monastery.”

The resilient support for the Dalai Lama among China’s five million Tibetans has taken on increased significance with time. The Dalai Lama has said he may choose his own successor, deviating from the practice in which senior lamas identify each Dalai Lama’s reincarnation after his death. In response, Chinese authorities in Beijing have said they have the authority to name the next Dalai Lama. They have been seeking to promote their own handpicked successor, the Panchen Lama, second only to the Dalai Lama in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy.

The so-called Chinese Panchen Lama, who has spent most of his life in Beijing, went on a politically significant trip last week to a town that is home to a cherished monastery in a Tibetan-populated area of Gansu Province, where he was expected to study and meditate for weeks. Experts on Tibet said the trip appeared to have been part of the Chinese government’s attempt to give the Panchen Lama more legitimacy among monks and other Tibetans by broadening his exposure outside the capital.


Src  : New york times

Fighting breaks out between government and Shan troops

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Fighting broke out at the weekend between Burmese government troops and two battalions of Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), based in Kyethi Township in Shan State.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties, according to SSA-N sources.

Shan soldiers celebrate Shan State National Day in this file photo. Photo: Mizzima

In the six-hour fight, started at 2 p.m. on Saturday, both sides used both heavy and light weapons, according to Major Sai Hla of the SSA-N. One government soldier was killed and eight were injured. Six Shan soldiers are receiving medical treatment for their injuries, he said. 

The fighting took place near Wan Phui Village, seven miles north east of Kyethi.

“They [the government troops] also carried away their soldiers who were injured. They withdrew [from the battle zone] because the two sides were evenly matched. We also withdrew,” Major Sai Hla told Mizzima.

At around 9 a.m. on Sunday, Burmese government’s Infantry No. 503 fired heavy weapons into the jungle where SSA-N troops were camped, but the Shan troops had already moved, according to the SSA-N.

On August 11, Burmese government’s Infantry No. 35 led by Major Myo Saw Maung under North East Command fired heavy weapons into Wansant Village in Mong Yai, believing there were people linked with Shan armed groups in the area, according to Major Sai Hla.

Because of the attack, three primary students and six adults were injured, he said. The village head’s house and the village secretary’s house were burned in the attack. He claimed more fighting would take place in the areas controlled by SSA-N because the Burmese government were deploying more weapons and provided more food to its troops in nearby areas.

In a joint statement released on August 10 by the Thailand-based Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) and Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), more than 31,700 people from villages in nine townships in Northern Shan State, namely Mong Hsu, Mong Yai, Kyethi, Tang Yang, Hsipaw, Kyaukme, Lashio, Namhsan and Nankhan, had fled into the jungle near their villages because of fighting between SSA-N and Burmese government troops.

SSA-N said that some of the war refugees hiding in the jungle had returned to the nearby villages at Wanhai headquarters, but a doctor from Tang Yang Township Hospital told Mizzima that it seemed only a very limited number of war refugees could go back to their villages because of the instability.

Similarly, fighting between the Burmese government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke out in Kachin State on August 14. Government’s Infantry No. 37 under Northern Command and KIA’s Battalion No. 18 under Brigade No. 5 fought near Nansangyang Village in Waimaw Township, according to La Nang, spokesman of Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of KIA.

Both sides used both heavy and light weapons in the one hour of fighting and one government soldier was killed, said La Nang. The KIA did not suffer any casualties. Despite meetings between government officials and the KIO on August 1 and 2, a cease-fire agreement had not been reached, he said. 

Giving this situation and with no cease-fire agreement, shooting can take place in these circumstances, La Nang told Mizzima.

He said there was very little possibility of making peace given the government response.

“According to government’s statements and press conferences, there is just a faint possibility for holding dialogue. If dialogue cannot be held, the fighting will become more intense. If the government has good will and is willing to hold political dialogue, negotiations could be successful,” La Nang said.



Src  : Mizzima

Nearly 70 killed in attacks across Iraq

 BAGHDAD--Nearly 70 people were killed and dozens more were wounded Monday in a string of violent attacks around Iraq, one of the deadliest days in the country so far this year, police and government officials said.
In the worst incident, two bombs exploded in a busy jewelry market in the city center of Kut, killing at least 34 and injuring more than 50, officials said.

inShare

Car bombs also detonated in the northern city of Kirkuk and the pricey Mansour district of Baghdad. Elsewhere, AK-47 wielding assailants targeted leaders in Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad.
The attacks came after a period of relative quiet in the country, which had descended as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began in early August.
Lt. Col. Hachem Neama Abbas, an Iraqi army commander in Baghdad, said the military had been bracing for a new round of violence after the calm. The attacks, he said, are proof that insurgents still posed a threat to the country’s stability. They also raise questions about the Iraqi government’s ability to maintain security as American troops prepare to leave the country by December.
“This wave of explosions and attacks is evidence that al-Qaeda is still effective,” Abbas said.
Iraq is debating whether or not to ask a small contingent of U.S. forces to stay past the deadline, but no official request has been made yet, U.S. officials have said.
The day’s worst violence happened in Kut, a large city in central Iraq about 150 miles from Baghdad. Insurgents detonated a bomb at about 8:30 a.m. in a crowded area near a jewelry market, according to Dhiaa Al Deen Al Aabudi, the city’s health director. About 10 minutes later, a car bomb detonated in the same place. In all 34 people were killed and about 70 injured, some critically.
In Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, 13 people, including four Iraqi army officers, were killed in a string of car bombs, explosives and shootings. A police official there said he believed the commanders of the group Sons of Iraq were targeted by insurgents.
Elsewhere, at least two were killed in a series of car bombings in Baghdad, and eight died in attacks on police facilities in Najaf and Karbala. Nine people died in Tikrit after two suicide bombings there, including one by a man dressed in a traffic police uniform who blew himself up at the main gate of the city’s counter-terrorism facility.
In Kirkuk, where a car bomb and an motorcycle rigged with explosives exploded outside a church Monday, killing one, the provincial governor, Najmaldin Karim, called on American troops to stay in the country past the deadline.
Special correspondents Asaad Majeed in Baghdad, Sa’ad Sarhan in Najaf, Othman Almukhtar in Anbar province and Hassan Alshimmari in Diyala province contributed to this report.

Src  : Washingtonpost

‘88’ students urge government, ethnic groups to hold dialogue

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – To mark the 23^rd anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising on Monday, the 88-Generation Students group urged the Burmese government and armed ethnic groups to negotiate cease-fires and to create a peaceful Union.

A file photograph of the 1988 student demonstrations in Rangoon.

Soe Tun, a leader of 88-generation students, said in a statement on Friday: “The new government has launched military offensive against armed groups in border areas, causing refugees to flee and suffer many hardships.”

The 88-Generation Students group is an underground dissident group.

Soe Tun told Mizzima that to establish peace in the country, the government should be magnanimous in solving political problems via political means and both sides should build mutual trust and understanding.

“While all ethnic groups want to solve political problems via political means for the sake of peace, the ruling government is the strongest, and the most powerful should be magnanimous to effectively solve the problems,” Soe Tun said.

The student group said it welcomed the meeting on July 25 between Aung San Suu Kyi and Minister Aung Kyi, and urged them to work toward national reconciliation.

“They have not fixed a date for the next meeting. That shouldn’t be. I want them to work more effectively. Our country has lagged badly behind other countries, and neighbouring countries are exploiting our country. This is a very critical time. Our country has become very poor. They should take action as soon as possible,” he said.

Soe Tun said the group supported the Kachin Independence Organization’s demand for a nationwide cease-fire and permanent peace is needed, otherwise alleviation of poverty can not be successful.

The 88-Generation Students group also urged the government to show that it really wanted national reconciliation by immediately releasing all political prisoners including the leaders of the 88-generation students.

Meanwhile, on Monday, several 88 generation student leaders including former political prisoners Phyo Min Thein and Myo Yan Naung Thein will hold a robe donation ceremony in the Sadu Pariyatti Monastery in Kyimyindaing Township in Rangoon to mark the 23^rd anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

Src  : Mizzima

Afghanistan ah NATO te Helicopter khatkia, mi 38 si

ZomiDaily :: Eastern Afghanistan gamah NATO te Helicopter khat ahi Chinook kia in U.S. Special Forces pan galkap mi 31 leh Afghan galkap mi 7 si ci'n Afghan President Hamid Karzai in genkhia hi. Taliban te'n amau kapkhiatdingin gen himah taleh, akiatna athu ala kitelcian nailo a, aki kansan laitak ahihi. Aki theihcianphet in mipitung kigenkhiading ci'n Mohammad Halem Faidai (Regional Governor of Wardak) in genkhia hi.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai  in hih Helicopter pen Eastern Afghanistan gam Wardak Province sungah Friday ni-in akia hi a, hih Helicopter tungah atuang US galkap leh Afghan galkapte adingin kadah mahmah cihi. Tuabanah US President Barack Obama tung leh asite' innkuanpihte tungahzong dahpihna pulakkhia hi.

Hih tuahsiatna pen tuma kum 10 sungin Afghan War sungah tuahsiana khatbekpan in asi atampen dingin Official in ciamteh hi. Afghanistan gamsung ah galkidona hangin US gammi asipen hihtawh mi 1644 phata hi ci'n Independent Monitoring Organization (iCasualties.org) te'n ciamteh uhhi. 

Src  : ZomiDaily

ကမၻာ့အရွည္ဆံုး ေမာ္ေတာ္ဆိုင္ကယ္ လူ ၂၅ ဦးျဖင့္စံခ်ိန္တင္

လန္ဒန္ ။        ။ တင္းနစ္ကြင္း တစ္ကြင္းစာခန္႔ ရွည္လ်ားသည့္ ေမာ္ေတာ္ဆိုင္ကယ္ တစ္စီးအား တီထြင္သူ တစ္ဦးျဖစ္သည့္ Colin Furze မွာ ကမၻာ့စံခ်ိန္သစ္ တင္ႏိုင္ေရး အတြက္ စီးနင္းျပလိုက္ျပီ ျဖစ္သည္။

အံ့ၾသစရာ ေကာင္းေလာက္ေအာင္ပင္ စုစုေပါင္း အရွည္ေပ ၇၂ေပ ရွည္လ်ားသည့္ အဆိုပါ ဆိုင္ကယ္မွာ 125 cc အင္ဂ်င္ကို အသံုးျပဳထားျပီး တစ္လခန္႔ၾကာေအာင္ တည္ေဆာက္ခဲ့ရေၾကာင္းႏွင့္ လူေပါင္း ၂၅ ဦးအထိ တင္ေဆာင္ စီးနင္းႏိုင္ေၾကာင္း သိရသည္။

အသက္ ၃၁ ႏွစ္အရြယ္ ရွိျပီျဖစ္သည့္ Colin Furze ဆိုသူမွာ မိခင္ျဖစ္သူ၏ ေနအိမ္အေနာက္ဖက္တြင္  ေနာက္ထပ္ ဂင္းနစ္စံခ်ိန္သစ္ တင္ရန္ဆိုသည့္ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္ျဖင့္ ယခုလို တီထြင္ျခင္း ျဖစ္ျပီး Linconshire တြင္ ေနထိုင္သည့္ ပိုက္ျပင္လုပ္သား တစ္ဦးလည္း ျဖစ္သည့္ Furze မွာ ယခင္က အျမန္ဆံုး စကူတာ ေမာင္းႏွင္သူအျဖစ္ ဂင္းနစ္စံခ်ိန္ တင္ထားသူ တစ္ေယာက္လည္း ျဖစ္  

Src   : Zogampost