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BURMA RELATED NEWS - OCTOBER 22, 2005. YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Merchants and consumers both struggled Friday to cope with rising prices of goods and services in the wake of the military government's surprise nine-fold increase in the price of gasoline. The fuel price hike, which took effect Thursday, was an evident effort to cut government losses on its subsidy of gasoline and curb black market sales of supplies allocated at the subsidized price. The government holds a monopoly on the distribution of fuel. Prices of consumer goods had already been creeping up as a recent fall to historic lows in the value of the kyat currency spurred inflation because of increased purchases on fears that the value would fall further. Since the fuel price increase, transport costs have doubled in some cases, and food prices have also gone up as a result, though not at as high a rate. A bag of middle-quality rice which was about $8 last week is now $8.50 Thursday and a viss (3.52 pounds) of onion which cost the equivalent of $0.33 last week is now $0.42. Grocery store owners predict that prices would continue to increase as cost of transportation goes up. Myanmar faces constant fuel shortages due to limited domestic oil production and tight foreign exchange reserves. It has had a rationing system in the capital since 1980, allowing car owners to purchase 60 gallons per month. Vehicle owners who do not use their full quota often sell the excess to black-market vendors, who in turn sell it to other drivers. The increase in the price of gasoline to 1,500 kyats ($1.25) a gallon from 180 kyats ($0.15) was announced Wednesday in notices posted at gas stations but not in the media. Aside from keeping pace with high world oil prices, the move appears to be an effort to curb the black market by forcing prices too high for resale. The move, however, also affects ordinary purchasers who don't resell their gasoline. After the announcement, armed police, auxiliary fire brigade and ward authorities manned gas stations to prevent possible violence by motorists upset by the hike. "If the government intends to thwart a handful of black marketeers by raising the fuel price, it is a failure. It hasn't brought down the black market fuel price but citizens suffer under reeling prices," said schoolteacher Win Maung, whose monthly salary is about 10,000 kyats ($8.30). Taxi fares have doubled, bus fare are two to four times higher, and even trips by bicycle-powered trishaws have become more expensive, with a short trip that used to cost 100 kyats ($0.08) now costing 150 kyats ($0.13). "I have to charge more because food prices go up and I have to feed my family," trishaw driver Than Hla explained. Bus commuters who paid 20 kyats ($0.02) for a trip now pay 40-80 kyats ($0.04-0.08), depending on distance, as bus drivers and operators said they have to increase bus fares to meet the exorbitant fuel price. A taxi ride of about five kilometers (three miles) which used to cost 1,000 kyats ($0.83) now cost 2,000 kyats ($1.66). YANGON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - A small explosion occurred in front of a luxury hotel in central Yangon on Friday but caused no casualties, police said. There was no damage to the Traders Hotel and police did not comment on the cause of the explosion, on a small lawn in front of the building. One witness said he heard an "ear splitting blast" as he drove past the hotel which caters to foreign tourists and business travellers. Police cordoned off the area but declined to comment on their investigation. Several areas of the city are under tight security after a series of bomb attacks killed 23 people and wounded 162 on May 7. The military, which has ruled the former Burma in various guises since 1962, blamed the May attack on exiled opponents of the regime. 21 October 2005 – The absence of an all-inclusive process of democratization and national reconciliation in Myanmar is exacerbating the suffering of the country’s people, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report which calls on the authorities to take steps to rectify the situation. Political contacts between the United Nations and Yangon have been significantly reduced since former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was ousted late last year, according to the report on the situation of human rights in the country. At the same time, UN relief organizations face a slew of problems, “with authorities imposing onerous fees, bureaucratic hurdles, and extensive restrictions on both travel to projects sites and the import of supplies and equipment,” according to the report. The Secretary-General warns of a “significant risk” that other aid groups will follow the example of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which recently withdrew $98 million in funding pledges from Myanmar because its work was being hampered. If relief organizations were to leave, this would result in “worsening the plight of millions of people in Myanmar,” he says. While there had been signs of progress in 2003 when the Myanmar authorities announced their seven-point road map towards democracy, since then even basic requirements have not been met, according to the report. The National Convention charged with drawing up principles for a new constitution continues to exclude representatives of many political parties, including the National League for Democracy headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. With the Convention set to reconvene before the end of this year, the Secretary-General urges the Myanmar authorities to make the road map process more inclusive and credible. Toward that end, he calls on them to resume dialogue with representatives of all ethnic nationality groups and political leaders, release political prisoners, lift constraints on political leaders, re-open the offices of the National League for Democracy, and include all concerned parties in the road map process. UNITED NATIONS, , Oct. 21 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the flawed process of democratization in Myanmar is exacerbating the plight of millions. Relief organizations in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, are unable to perform effectively, said a report released by Annan Friday. Humanitarian groups have been forced to limit operations due to "authorities imposing onerous fees, bureaucratic hurdles and extensive restrictions," said the five-page report detailing the human rights situation in Southeast Asia. The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has withdrawn funding of $98 million, claiming effective program implementation was impossible. It's the first time the Geneva-based organization had withdrawn from a country of operation. Annan warned of a "significant risk" that other groups will follow suit. The unstable political situation is worsening the humanitarian crisis, the report said. Since the ouster of former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt last year, political contact between the United Nations and Yangon has been minimal. The secretary-general's special envoy has not been allowed to visit Yangon since March 2004, and recent discussions with Myanmar's government have been held only outside the country. Myanmar authorities announced in 2003 a seven-point road map toward democracy. Since then, the convention has failed to adhere to recommendations put forth by the U.N. General Assembly. "The convention continues to exclude representatives from the National League for Democracy, ethnic groups and crucial members of society," said the report. With the convention set to reconvene later this year, Annan urged Myanmar authorities to ensure the democratization process is credible and inclusive. Some of the secretary-general's suggestions included releasing political prisoners, entering into dialogue with ethnic groups and lifting constraints on politicians. If progress occurs, the secretary-general will do his utmost to mobilize international assistance, "to support the Myanmar authorities in facilitating their national reconciliation efforts," the report said. The Myanmar government has offered equity in an oil and gas block adjoining Assam to India. The offer was made during the recent visit of Myanmar Energy Minister Lun Thi to India. BANGKOK, Thailand — Branding Myanmar's military regime a "threat to the peace," a global coalition of human rights advocates is urging the United Nations to intervene in the Southeast Asian nation to restore democracy, deliver humanitarian aid and win the release of political prisoners. Led by retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and former Czech President Vaclav Havel, activists are calling on the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution that would pave the way for nonmilitary intervention in Myanmar, also known as Burma. In a 70-page report that accuses the regime of using forced labor, rape, "ethnic cleansing" and child soldiers to control its population, Tutu and Havel make the case that abuses by Myanmar are more egregious than in countries where the United Nations intervened during the 1990s, including Sierra Leone, Haiti and Cambodia. "If a government violates the fundamental rights of its own people, that can't be left as a domestic issue," said Tutu in a telephone interview from his home in Cape Town, South Africa. "I believe that we have an almost open-and-shut case for the intervention of the United Nations." Tutu, 74, the 1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle against apartheid, and Havel, 69, the Czech playwright who helped end the era of Soviet domination, called on the Security Council to pass a resolution requiring Myanmar to work with the U.N. to achieve national reconciliation and restore a democratically elected government. The proposed resolution also calls for the immediate release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and 1,100 other political prisoners and urges Myanmar to give unhindered access to international aid workers so they can deliver assistance in the impoverished country. So far, the proposal has not won enough support from the 15-member Security Council to get on its agenda. Among those unwilling to discuss the measure is China, one of Myanmar's biggest investors and supporters. The United States, a vocal critic of the regime, supports the plan. Myanmar has been ruled by the military for virtually all of the last 43 years. In 1988, the regime killed hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators, a precursor to the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing the following year. In 1990, the regime held elections and the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, won more than 80% of the vote. However, the military refused to hand over power. On Monday, party leader Suu Kyi will mark her 10th year in detention out of the last 16 years. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, she is being held in virtual isolation at her house in the capital, Yangon, also known as Rangoon. Now 60, she is the only Peace Prize winner in custody anywhere in the world. The Tutu-Havel report, titled "Threat to the Peace" and prepared by the global law firm DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, alleges numerous human rights violations, including the rape of ethnic minority women and the spread of HIV by soldiers; widespread forced labor; destruction of more than 2,700 villages; massive forced relocations; and the torture and killing of political prisoners. As many as 70,000 children have been forced to become soldiers, more than in any other country, the report says, and more than 700,000 refugees have fled across the border into Thailand and other countries. Myanmar is a leading producer of opium and amphetamine, and its heroin trade has made it a primary contributor to the spread of AIDS in Southeast Asia, the report charges. Strains of human immunodeficiency virus that originated in Myanmar have spread to neighboring countries, it says. More than 75% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the report. "The government is responsible for a decline in the economic situation so alarming that Burma is now one of the poorest countries in the world, providing its people little or no access to healthcare or education," it says. The report concludes that the country "threatens the peace and stability of the region" and that the situation meets all the Security Council criteria used in the past for intervention. The Myanmar regime, which often ignores international criticism, has denounced the report. The government declared that it was "based on false information provided by some rebel remnants and the expatriate dissidents who are surviving on politically motivated aid of some Western nations." "These are vast exaggerations or mere outright distortions," the regime said in a statement. "The truth is that the government does not condone human rights violations and is in fact the guarantor of human rights in the country." Myanmar's reaction suggests that the regime is concerned about the efforts by human rights activists to get the Security Council involved. So far, Myanmar's allies on the Security Council have kept the issue from being heard. For years, there have been two competing but ineffective, approaches to Myanmar. The U.S. has imposed economic sanctions, contributing to the country's financial decline but failing to topple the regime. Neighbors such as China, India and Thailand have advocated engagement with the regime while developing economic ties, but this strategy has produced no significant concessions. The U.N. has had no success in promoting political change or winning the release of Suu Kyi through negotiations. The world body's special envoy to Myanmar, Razali Ismail, has not even been allowed to enter the country since March 2004. In the face of global criticism, Myanmar has pursued a strategy of promising change while delivering little. It has claimed for years that it is working toward democracy, but no elections have been held since 1990, and military officers hold virtually every top position in government. The drafting of a new constitution has been in progress for more than 12 years. Tutu said the situation in Myanmar was similar to that of South Africa under apartheid two decades ago: a small ruling minority, facing economic sanctions, imposing its will on the majority while the nation's most popular leader (Nelson Mandela in South Africa) languishes in detention. But of the two ex-British colonies, Tutu said, the situation in Myanmar is "a great deal worse." "They are using rape as a weapon of war and deliberately infecting people with HIV, which fortunately we didn't have at the time" in South Africa, he said. "They are using child soldiers and participating in the drug trade." On his wall, Tutu said, he has two photos of Suu Kyi, whom he has never met but admires greatly. "These men who are armed to the teeth are dead scared of her because she has this incredible thing: She has integrity," he said. "The people, who are the ultimate arbiter, look upon her as their leader. I look forward to attending her inauguration as president of Burma one day." Apart from providing opportunities to Chinese business circles, the ongoing second China-ASEAN Expo also serves as a new platform for trade and economic exchanges between China and ASEAN member countries. Entrepreneurs and businessmen attending the exposition say this explains the theme of this year's exposition -- "ten plus one is more than eleven." Rick San Juan from the Philippines, who does business in fruit, artistic work and garments, said the exposition has been very profitable. "It is my first time at the fair. Not only have I found many trade partners in China, I have also made many friends from other ASEAN countries, and this will be a huge help to our future development," he said. "I feel excited to see so many peers here," said Andrew Huang, sales manager of private Singapore-based LASER company's Shanghai office. "Friends from Malaysia and Brunei talked with us today about our business and hundreds of people have come to visit our product display." Companies and business chambers from ASEAN member countries took an active role during the exposition in tourism and culture exchanges. A clerk named Chan from a Singaporean travel agency said he went to the Myanmar tourism exhibition area to ask for a set of tourism advertising materials. "Myanmar is a country with a very special flavor, and we are thinking of cooperating with Myanmar travel agencies to open some transnational travel routes," Chan said. After years of joint efforts, the ASEAN has become a mature regional organization. Along with the building of the China-ASEAN free trade area, collaboration among member countries in trade, services and investment will be closer and more frequent, said Huang Ge from the bureau of China-ASEAN expo affairs. The official said the exposition is held for the entire China-ASEAN region, which is also open to the whole world. "As host of the exposition, we are glad to see that it is becoming a good platform for cooperation among ASEAN countries," Huang said.(Source: Xinhua) United Nations, Oct 22, (PTI):UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan has warned Myanmar of "significant risk" that other aid groups would follow the example of Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which recently withdrew USD 98 million in funding, unless it stops hampering their work. If the relief organisations leave, it would result in "worsening the plight" of millions of people, he said adding absence of an all-inclusive process of democratization and national reconciliation was "exacerbating" the suffering of the people. Political contacts between the UN and Yangon have been significantly reduced since Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was ousted late last year. At the same time, UN relief organisations face a slew of problems, "with authorities imposing onerous fees, bureaucratic hurdles, and extensive restrictions on both travel to projects sites and the import of supplies and equipment," Annan said yesterday. Urging Myanmar authorities to make the proposed roadmap to democracy more inclusive and credible, Annan asked the military junta to resume dialogue with representatives of all ethnic nationality groups and political leaders, release political prisoners and lift restrictions on leaders. He also asked Myanmar to reopen the offices of the National League for Democracy headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. There had been signs of progress in 2003 when the junta announced its seven-point road map towards democracy but even its basic requirements have not been met. The National Convention in charge of drawing up principles for a new constitution continues to exclude representatives of many political parties. Oct 21, 2005 (DVB) - Recent petrol price hike in Burma, has been causing untold difficulties and problems to the residents of Rangoon especially among the poor, civil servants, company staff and small business owners. Companies staff and civil servants are demanding their bosses to let them go to work only three days a week as they could not afford the rising bus fares. At the same time, there has been an increase in robbery and mugging at several places in Rangoon. To make the matter worse, a bomb exploded in Rangoon on 21 October and bad feelings against the ruling military junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), are increasing among the populace. “Big car owners are becoming richer and richer and they seem to believe that the higher the water, the more beautiful the lotus. Some pensioners who try to make a living through hiring their cars are finding it very difficult to survive.” “Civil servants are demanding that they go to their office only once in every two days. People who have to travel from afar (for work) from Hlaing Thaya areas forced cars/buses to stop and they climbed onto them. Very dire! People in Rangoon are feeling helpless. They don’t know who to turn to. There have been 18 cases of robbery within this month…The feelings on the buses are running very high and now the bomb exploded. They are swearing at the government with all their hearts…” “What else is going to happen, how is it going to happen and what will the consequences be? People are living with these feelings of fear and anxiety, waiting and watching for tomorrow almost all of a sudden.” “Life would be better when it (the junta) is gone. Let them shoot each other. Let the Americans come in. People are saying all that kinds of things.” Oct 21, 2005 (DVB) - A Burmese youth was seriously wounded and later died unnecessarily of the wounds he received, when the motorcycle he was travelling on was hit by a speeding army truck at Tamu, Sagaing Division in northwest Burma near India, on 13 October. Maung Win, the son of Soe Han and Hla Waing, was driving home on a motorbike with a friend when he was hit by an army truck driven by Sergeant Aye Lwin Maung of Light Infantry Battalion – 363. But instead of sending the seriously wounded boys to the hospital, the sergeant took them to the army barracks in an attempt to hide his crime. Maung Win’s parents only learnt of the accident when their son’s friend who was released three days later, told them. They requested the army to release their son for urgent medical treatments at the hospital, but the request was rejected. Maung Win was eventually taken to the hospital on 16 October and the doctors tried to save his life with an operation but it was too late by then. The local army commander himself came to see the victim’s parents and pressurised them to accept 100,000 kyat (approx. US$ 70) as compensation but they refused and reported the incident to the commander of Northwest Command Maj-Gen Tha Aye. Oct 21, 2005 (DVB) - A bomb exploded at the 22-storeyed Traders Hotel, situated at the corner of Sule Pagoda Road and Boyoke Aung San Road in downtown Rangoon around 6.30pm local time on 21 October. Although the explosion was reported to be quite strong, the full extent and details of the damages and injuries caused haven’t emerged. But a staff on duty at the hotel told DVB that the damages inflicted were not much. Security forces arrived at the scene within a couple of minutes and sealed off the streets around the area and carried out searches and interrogations, the staff added. DVB contacted the ruling junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) news and information department to confirm the report, but officials in charge refused to give comments. Rangoon residents told DVB that the junta is still unable to find out more about the real culprits who planted the bombs which killed scores of people on 7 May and the latest incident clearly shows that it has no ability to provide security for the population and protect their lives. Sources from political circles in Rangoon told DVB that the latest explosion could be the work of some army officers who want to show their displeasure at recent promotion of army security chief and Rangoon Division Command commander Maj- Gen Myint Swe. A Rangoon-based western diplomat pointed out that the explosion occurred at a time when the population was feeling agitated and outraged by the nine-fold hike of petrol price. Some observers believe that the explosion could be an effort to repel or divert the anger of the people against the junta, but it could inadvertently trigger off the explosion of people’s anger. Whatever the reasons behind the explosion, the majority of Rangoon residents believe that the junta is likely to point fingers at exiled pro-democracy opposition groups for the explosion as usual. According to another unconfirmed report, there had also been an explosion at Hmawbi airbase, situated north of Rangoon, according to sources close to the Burmese Air Force. |
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