tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64631890695922974042024-03-13T19:52:04.165-07:00Welcome to Coral Land (သႏၱာၿမီ)ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.comBlogger228125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-37436656507165408912011-11-21T01:42:00.003-08:002011-11-21T01:42:35.362-08:00Five Fires in Arakan State this November<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara<br />
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Mra Bon: Five consecutive fires broke out this November in western Burma's Arakan State, with the latest one gutting 146 houses in Cittara Village in cyclone-ravaged Mraybon Township. <br />
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A resident from Cittara village whose house was destroyed in the fire, told Narinjara that they have become homeless again after their homes - newly reconstructed after being hit by Cyclone Giri - were burned up in the fire. <br />
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"We had just rebuilt our houses that were badly damaged in Cyclone Giri last year. Our houses have not gone to the fire and we are homeless again," said the resident with tears in his eyes. <br />
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146 houses were gutted in the fire that broke out at 8:30 am and burned until 1 pm on 19 November in Cittara Village in Mraybon Township. The houses had just been rebuilt or repaired after being hit by Cyclone Giri last year. <br />
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"I do not know how and from which house the fire started, but there were no humans injured or killed in the fire," said the resident. <br />
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"Now we, the fire victims, are sheltering in the Buddhist monastery here and taking food offered by fellow and nearby villagers," he added. There are 400 homes in Cittara Village, one of the largest villages in Mraybon Township. <br />
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The fire in Cittara Village was the fifth to hit the state, after a similar disasters hit Kyauknimaw Village in Ramere Township on 1 November, Minbya's largest market on 12 November, Mrauk-U on 17 November, and Tamanthar Village in Maungdaw Township on 18 November. <br />
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According to local residents, they have been suffering from such fires every year, especially in the cool and dry season, in Arakan State due to failure by the local authorities to raise awareness on how to avoid fires, and failure to deploy fire services equipped with modern fire engines in their state. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-28902086979776977932011-11-21T01:42:00.001-08:002011-11-21T01:42:09.752-08:00Three Remaining Burmese Freedom Fighters Released from Indian Jail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara<br />
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New Dehli: The remaining three Burmese freedom fighters were released from jail in India on Wednesday, thirteen years after being arrested on charges of gun-running from Andaman's Landfall Island.<br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 398px;"> <img alt="34-Arakan-and-Karen's-Freedom-Fighters-release" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/34-Arakan-and-Karen%27s-Freedom-Fighters-release.jpg" /></div>They were identified as Arakanese nationals Lu Lu and Hayli, and Karen national Maung Naing. The judge in Port Blair in the Andaman Islands released them unconditionally. <br />
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The three were still being held in jail for charges filed by a police officer for irresponsibility of his duty. Because of this, the three rebels remained after their colleagues, 31 Arakanese rebels from Burma, walked out of the Presidency Jail in Kolkata on 19 May, 2011. <br />
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Ko Danya Lun, who was released on 19 May, confirmed their release. <br />
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"The three of our comrades remaining in the Kolkata prison were released and they will come to New Delhi to join us living here," Ko Danya said. <br />
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The 36 Arakanese and Karen nationals were arrested on February 11, 1998, by the Indian Military Intelligence in what was codenamed Operation Leech. Two of the men arrested - one an Arakanese national and another Karen - have been missing since the arrest, but they are suspected to have died at some point in Port Blair. <br />
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All the arrested men were from the National United Party of Arakan, or NUPA, and the Karen National Union, or KNU, and were arrested when they came to Landfall Island in Indian to set up a base to carry out operations against the Burmese junta. <br />
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Six top rebel leaders, including Khaing Raza were killed in cold blood during the operation - and what the Arakanese allege was an act of back-stabbing by an Indian Military Intelligence officer - a day after they reached the island on 11 February, 1998. <br />
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Initially, the defense ministry of India claimed the 36 arrested rebels and their slain leaders were part of a gang of gun-runners allegedly supplying weapons to insurgent groups in the country's northeast, but as the trial progressed it became clear the "arms smuggers" were not New Delhi's enemy. <br />
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The NUPA and KNU rebels had reached Landfall Island to set up a base of operations in its movement against the junta. The fighters were promised the base and assured of support by Lieutenant-Colonel V.S. Grewal, and Indian Military Intelligence officer. <br />
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The rebels, however, report that they were arrested on arrival and their leaders, including General Khaing Raza, the outfit's military wing chief, were killed in cold blood. <br />
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The released rebels are now living in the Indian capital New Delhi with refugee status granted by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-72330889707698943062011-11-21T01:41:00.002-08:002011-11-21T01:41:34.994-08:00Fire Gutts Main Market in Minbya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara<br />
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A fire broke out in Myoma Market in Minbya in the evening on Saturday (12th of November 2011) and gutted almost all the shops in the market. <br />
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The fire is said to have started around 7 pm and continued with blaze-busters until 12 pm in the market panicking people living in the nearby residential wards who vacated their houses and ran away. <br />
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“I do not know how the fire started, but I started to notice the fire around 7 pm when I could hear the people shouting ‘fire, fire’….I rushed to bundle and vacate all valuables from my house”, said a housewife who is living nearby the market. <br />
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“The fire was continuing with fierce blazes and could not be put out until 12 pm and gutted almost all the shops in the market.” <br />
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However she said she did not notice if the fire-engines came to put out the fire. <br />
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Narinjara has contacted the office of the fire-brigade in the town over telephone, but failed to get any answers from the office. <br />
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Another resident living nearby the market said the fire started from an electrical accessories shop in the market. <br />
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“I do not know how the fire started, but it started from an electrical accessories shop in the market and was worsened by the diesel and petrol shops also situated in the market. It gutted almost all other shops that sell clothes, electrical accessories, engine parts, utensils and dry fish as well”, said the resident. <br />
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According to the local residents, Myoma market is the biggest market in Minbya and the fire losses are estimated at about a thousand million kyat. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-21002432927843775402011-11-21T01:41:00.000-08:002011-11-21T01:41:06.873-08:00Campaign for 24-Hour Electricity in Arakan State<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara<br />
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Sittwe: A clandestine poster campaign demanding 24 hour electricity be supplied all over Arakan State in western Burma with power generated from local gas was recently launched.<br />
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<img alt="Campaign for 24-Hour Electricity in Arakan State" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/sign-board-24-Hours-Action-Groups--Rakhine-State.jpg" /> The 24-Hour Action Group Rakhine State has claimed that it has carried out the campaign on the 10th of November, coinciding the religious festive occasion in a number of townships including Sittwe, Ponnakyaun, Mrauk-U, Kyaukpru, Ramere and Taungok. <br />
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“Our members in different townships of the state have jointly worked on and launched this campaign at the same time on the same day in almost every township in our state. We have launched this campaign to demand that the Burmese regime supply 24-hour electricity in our state with power generated from the gas extracted from the local Shwe offshore gas fields in the state," said one of campaigners of the group. <br />
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The campaigner said they stuck posters that demanded 24-hour electricity at public places, on government buildings, and on the lamp posts of every street and also spread the posters in most busy streets in the towns. <br />
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The group had started to launch similar campaigns across Arakan state last October just after the Energy Minister U Than Htay stated in the parliament that his regime had already sold off the natural gas found in the Shwe offshore gas fields in Arakan State to China and had no plans to use any of the gas for the state. <br />
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“The regime will export 90% of the natural gas reserves to China within 30 years and will fetch US$ 970 million for exporting 400 cubic feet in a year and we can calculate how much profit the regime will earn by the gas from our state. However we local people will not get any benefit from this gas and that is why we have to launch this campaign to fight for our rights to those natural resources”, said the campaigner. <br />
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According to the 24 Hours Action Group, Arakan State is abundant in gas and other natural resources, but even its Capital Sittwe gets only five-hours of electricity supplied per day and the consumers have to pay 500 kyat per unit of electricity a price 20 times higher than that being charged in Rangoon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw in mainland Burma. The group said they have also sent a letter to Dr. Aye Maung, the president of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, on the same day of the campaign urging him and his party to work for getting 24-hour electricity supply in Arakan State. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-29081748428910952712011-11-21T01:40:00.001-08:002011-11-21T01:40:17.998-08:00Two of Eleven Imprisoned Arakanese Youth Walk Free from Insein Prison<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara<br />
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Yangon: Two of eleven Arakanese youth were were arrested and imprisoned in 2009 walked free from Insein Prison in Rangoon on Friday morning after they completed their respective prison terms.<br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 300px;"> <img alt="Insein Prison" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/InseinPrisondtl.gif" /> </div>The two released youth are Ko Khine Kyaw Moe and Ko Zaw Tun Nine. <br />
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"Zaw Tun Nine and I were freed from Insein Prison this morning. We were freed because we have completed our respective terms in prison," said Ko Khine Kyaw Moe. <br />
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"We were charged under Section 7 for unlawful association and jailed. I was charged as the coordinator of the All Arakanese Student and Youth Congress, based in exile, and all of us have had connections with the AASYC. We were arrested in 2009 and sentenced to our respective jail terms in November 2010. Zaw Tun Nine and I from our group have been released from prison because we completed our jail terms, but the other eight are still remaining in the prison," he added. <br />
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Khine Kyaw Moe said the prison conditions for the political prisoners have improved a bit with the change in political climate, but they are still "at the stage of window dressing".<br />
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"I have found that political prisoners are now a bit favored inside the prison and allowed to get necessary medical treatments, and I think [the prison authorities] have lessened their stiffness a bit toward the political prisoners with the change in the political climate in our country, but the general prisoners are still living like before without getting any rights. They would lime the prison cells and prepare everything every time before their bosses come to visit the prison, and so I can say the improvements for the prison conditions are still at the stage or window dressing," he said. <br />
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Ko Zaw Tun Nine also said that he felt happy for his freedom from prison, but sorry for those political prisoners remaining in the prison for their consciences. <br />
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"I am happy because I am already freed from the prison, but feeling very sorry for those remaining political prisoners whose faces I am always seeing in my eyes," he said. <br />
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"I never feel sad for the jail terms I have served, but proud of myself for being jailed because I was jailed just for working for the cause of my compatriot people and country, and that is just the cause every national must work for," he added. <br />
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Both men said they are in good health and will continue to work for the development of Arakanese youth as well as for peace in Burma. <br />
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They also said they would use their freedom and try their best for the freedom of their nine colleagues, including Tun Lin Kyaw, Ko Kyaw Win, and Ko Mae Lone, who are still remaining in different prisons. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-23001325911979223062011-11-21T01:39:00.001-08:002011-11-21T01:39:40.319-08:00Army Recruits 14-Year-Old Student in Arakan State<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara<br />
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Buthidaung: An army battalion based in Buthidaung in western Burma's Arakan State has recently recruited a 14-year-old student from the area, reportedly after deceiving him about support for receiving a better education in the army. <br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="burmese-army-camp-Arakan-state" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/burmese-army-camp-Arakan-state.jpg" /></div>A source close to the child's parents told Narinjara that Light Infantry Battalion 234 based in Buthidaung conscripted him into the army on 27 October, 2011. <br />
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"The name of the school-aged child is Maung Ray Nyien, son of U Aung Thar Aung and Daw Pulay Maung from Awrama Village in Buthidaung Township. Corporal Soe Aung and Private Maung Pya from local LIB 234 tricked the child by claiming he would get a better education in the army," said the source. <br />
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The source added that the child is a class seven student studying at Awrama Joint Middle School in Buthidaung Township. <br />
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"His parents went to the army on 31 October and asked the army to return their child to them, but the child is unwilling to return with his parents because the army has tricked him into believing he'll receive a better education," said the source. <br />
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A school teacher who wished to remain anonymous from the Joint Basic Middle School No. 3 in Awrama Village confirmed that Maung Ray Nyein is just 14 years old and is a class seven student at the school. <br />
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"We made an inquiry with his parents because he was absent from school for a long time, and we came to learn that he has been recruited into a local army battalion. He is just 14 years old and a student in class seven in our school, and his admission number is 122," said the teacher. <br />
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An official from the branch office of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party in Buthidaung also said the child had already been sent to the recruitment center in the capital Sittwe. <br />
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"The child's parents also came to our office here and requested help getting their child back from the army. So, we have directly gone to the army to inquire about the child and found the child was already sent to the recruiting center in Sittwe," said the official. <br />
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According to sources close to the army, the army battalions based in Arakan State are still continuing to recruit children despite claims by the Burmese regime that there are no child soldiers in Burma. <br />
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They added that many children are found being collected in the cantonment area of Military Operation Command, of Sa Ka Kha 9 based in Kyauktaw in northern Arakan for conscription into the army battalions as well. <br />
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They said the local battalions have not only been recruiting under-aged children, but also physically unfit individuals as soldiers because the number of people who want to join the Burmese army is getting lower every year in Arakan State. <br />
</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-76738951986321675052011-11-12T20:18:00.002-08:002011-11-12T20:18:39.667-08:00Construction of Indian Port Harms Residents in Sittwe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara<br />
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Residents in Sittwe, the capital of western Burma’s Arakan State, said the construction of an Indian-owned port in their town is harming many people, due to the large volume of sands that have blown away from the site, near the Sittwe general hospital.<br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="Sittwe-port-construction-Arakan-Burma" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Sittwe-port-construction-Arakan-Burma.jpg" />Construction site of India port in Sittwe, Arakan. </div>According to them, dust and sand is being blown away from the construction site of the port and has been greatly troubling patients in the hospital, as well as polluting the environment and air of the town. Undisciplined drivers of heavy vehicles that carry the sand from the beach for landfills in the site have damaged the roads in the town as well. <br />
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An educated youth from the town who recently underwent treatment in the hospital said the hospital is filled with sand, dust and noise from the construction of the port. <br />
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"Sand which is supposed to be filling in land for the port is blowing into the hospital. The site is closely situated to the eye Sand, dust and sharp noises of engines have made the hospital quite unpleasant and unhygienic for its patients", said the youth. <br />
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Narinjara has contacted the hospital, but the in-charge of the hospital replied that the construction of the port is making no harms to its patients. <br />
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An elder from Kyipungree residential ward near to the port also said the sands and the heavy vehicles of the port have polluted the town and caused damage to the streets in the town. <br />
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“The residential wards near to the port and the streets in the town are now polluted by the sand and dust from the construction site and spilled from the sand-carrying vehicles that are driving without discipline on the streets in the town. Now the people here are feeling quite uneasy as the whole town is covered with sand and dust”, said the elder. <br />
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He said that the best streets in the town including Strand Road are being badly damaged by heavy weight. <br />
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“Streets in the town such as the Strand Road are now badly damaged and the main bridge of the road was broken by over-weighted sand-carrying vehicles, but both the municipal department in the town and the Indian company are neglecting to fix the damage." <br />
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A student from Sittwe University also said the natural beauty of Point Beach, the public recreation place in the town has also been destroyed by the construction. <br />
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“Now Point Beach is potted, and is not beautiful like before”, said the student. <br />
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She said the port construction has not only destroyed the natural beauty of the Point beach, but also polluted the whole town with the sands from the beach, but the authorities are turning a blind eye to the work. <br />
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According to residents, the people who suffer from some respiratory diseases are being badly affected by the pollution caused by the port construction in their town. <br />
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U Aung Mra Kyaw, an MP of the Arakan State Parliament and the President of the Sittwe Branch of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, said he submitted a note of the problems to the regional government. <br />
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The port is being constructed by the India’s Essar Company, and is a major component of the ‘Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project’ that was proposed by the Indian government under a framework agreement with the Burmese military regime in 2008 to ease the movement of goods into land locked areas. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-82871936102383047882011-11-12T20:18:00.000-08:002011-11-12T20:18:02.732-08:00China Commences Construction of Oil Tanks on Madae Island<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara<br />
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China has recently started building giant tanks for storing crude oil shipped from Africa and Middle East within the compound of the deep seaport on the Madae Island in Kyaukpru in western Burma’s Arakan State.<br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="Madae-island-construction " class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Madae-island-construction.jpg" /></div>A Burmese engineer who is working with the project said the construction of the oil tanks will be completed in mid 2012 and importing the oil from the tanks through the pipeline to China will begin in 2013. <br />
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“We are now building the foundations of the tanks. The tanks are on target to be completed in mid 2012, so to transporting the oil from the port through the pipeline to China will begin from 2013”, said the engineer. <br />
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China is now building the deep seaport project on the Madae Island, construction includes a port for storing 3 lakh tons of crude oil, a 2.9 km-long navigable channel, a 480 meter-long jetty for the oil tankers and a water reservoir of 600,000 cubic meters. <br />
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About 22 million tons of crude oil in a year will be transported from the port to China through the 2,380 km long pipeline of which about 800km will run through Burma. <br />
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12 billion cubic meters of natural gas that is produced from the A(1) and A(3) blocks of the offshore gas fields of Arakan State will be also exported to China through the pipeline. <br />
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The engineer said China is now speeding up the construction of the port by working both day and night. Most of the machinery and labourers are being brought in from its own country. <br />
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“Most of the engineers and workers constructing the port are from China and the machinery and other important material, such as cement, is also brought in from their country. The Burmese government is also allowing them to import whatever they need for the construction of their projects freely”, he said. <br />
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According to local residents, many farmers on Madae Island have become unemployed after their farmlands were confiscated. They were given very little compensation - much less than what the Chinese paid for the land needed for the port. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-90625905527625483052011-11-12T20:17:00.001-08:002011-11-12T20:17:31.545-08:00Government Officials Take Chinese Pipeline Compensation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara<br />
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Kyauk Pru: Government officials in Kyaukpru in western Burma’s Arakan State have taken the compensation offered to local residents for whose lands were confiscated to make way for the corridor of the Chinese gas pipeline.<br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="Arakan-Gas-Pipeline-to-China " class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Arakan-Gas-Pipeline-to-China.jpg" />The construction of Chinese gas pipeline now reaches at Kyauk Pru Township in Arakan. </div>A resident of Kapaingchaung Village in Kyaukpru Township who received compensation for his lands confiscated for the pipeline told Narinjara in a telephone interview that the payment of the compensation has been altered by third parties, including government officials. <br />
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“Our villagers here are now quite busy receiving compensation. However most of them have not got the full amount owed due to exploitation by government officials. There are also some villagers who did not receive any compensation for their lands”, said the villager. <br />
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“So, some of the villagers have to go to court, and others to the land registration office to claim the compensation owed. The village administrator himself has gone to Kyaukpru for this matter so please contact him.” <br />
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U Tin Phay, an MP of the regional government from Kyaukpru, also said that the responsible departmental officials have exploited the villagers and taken the compensation owed to them. <br />
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“The officials include an assistant director and a clerk of the land registration department and the village administrator." said U Thin Phay. <br />
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“They have cut 1 million Kyat from the compensation of 4 million Kyat offered to U Maung Than Kyi, 1.5 million Kyat from 3.5 million Kyat to Daw Ma Win Nu, 5 lakhs Kyat from 1.5 million Kyat to Daw Ma Kyaw Thein, 1.5 million Kyat from 5.7 million Kyat to U Kyaw Thein and 4 lakhs Kyat from 1.25 million Kyat to Daw Khin Win Tin respectively.” <br />
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He said 24 villagers from Kapaingchaung Village have been compensated for the lands lost to the pipelines, but 23 of them have come to the RNDP’s Kyaukpru branch office to lodge complaints providing their own signatures and written accounts of their particular stories because the officials forcibly and unofficially cut their compensations. <br />
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“We also know from the villagers from the Kapaingchaung Village and other villages through which the pipelines will cross that the responsible officials have threatened them not to complain to their management or they will confiscate or stop all compensations for them”, said U Tin Phay. <br />
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“But the villagers are continuing to come to our office”, he added. <br />
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The pipeline that comes from the sea to export gas from the Shwe offshore gas reservoir to China has already arrived in Kapaingchaung Village, situated 10 mile east of Kyaukpru main town. It is also learnt that the authorities have already confiscated necessary lands owned by the 26 villagers from the Kyaukkhamaung Village for the pipeline, but no compensation has been offered to the villagers yet. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-3305576293380644952011-11-02T18:32:00.001-07:002011-11-02T18:32:10.969-07:00Mass Protest Around Misuse of the Term ‘Arakan’ Arises in Arakan State<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Narinjara</b><br />
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By Takaloo<br />
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Maungdaw: Mass protests against the destructive and deceptive use of the term "Arakan" by a group of people who are not associated with it have been arising in western Burma’s Arakan State. <br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 320px;"> <img alt="Mass Protest Around Misuse of the Term " arakan"="" arakan="" arises="" class="scaled" in="" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Arakan-historian-meeting-Maung-Daw.png" state"="" /> Mass Protest meeting in Maung Daw, Arakan state. </div>Public conferences were held in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and the capital Sittwe in Arakan State denouncing those who they claim have made up a fallacious history of Arakan, misusing the terminology of "Arakan and Arakanese" in order to make human rights claims before international communities. <br />
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A public conference to denounce those allegedly misusing the term "Arakan" was held on Saturday (29 October 2011) at Myoma Buddhist Monastery in Maungdaw with participations of different tribes such as Mro, Khami, Thet, Dainak and the peoples who describe themselves as Bengali (Hindu). <br />
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"We all are living and suffering together here on the land of Arakan regardless of our race and creed and so we should not selfishly destroy the image of Arakan by making up a false and illusive history about it in order to build an international facade, simply so a small group of people may make a short lived profit", said U Thar Thar Maung (Nat Mrite Hline Prar), a native of Maungdaw and a well-known writer and historian. <br />
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"But a group of Chittagonian Bengali Muslims who are living in Bangladesh and other countries have concocted the name Rohingya, a name that has never found in the Arakanese or world history before Burma's independence. They then started to imprudently Rohingyanize and Islamize the land, culture and religion of the Arakan without considering the other peoples living in Arakan. We cannot accept their narrow-minded ideology, it insults Arakan and all the peoples here and we should prepare to prevent our land and ourselves from those destructive elements." <br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="Mass Protest Around Misuse of the Term " arakan"="" arakan="" arises="" class="scaled" in="" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Arakan-historian-meeting-Buthidaung.png" state"="" /> Mass Protest meeting in Buthidaung, Arakan state. </div>He said the term Arakan or Arkanese is derived from the Pali word "Arakkha" and started to be used widely when the British ruled Arakan State. It is also known as Rakkhapura or Rakhine in ancient history. <br />
<br />
The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, who won the majority of votes in Arakan State, also held a similar conference on the 27th of October in Ayezayti Monastery in Buthidaung, sixteen miles northeast of Maungdaw, on the Bangladesh border, and again on the 9th of October in its head office in Sittwe, the capital of the State. The different tribes living in those townships participated in both conferences, contributing their support against those who have been perpetuating the misuse of the term Arakan. <br />
<br />
"Many people did not want to return home, even after concluding the conference that was held here from 12:30 pm to 4 pm, because they were embittered with the feelings that their land and valued heritages are being insulted by those groups of Chittagonian Bengali Muslims with their made up histories of Rohingya", said a resident from Buthidaung who attended the conference. <br />
<br />
U Aung Mra Kyaw, an MP of the State Parliament and the President of the RNDP branch in Sittwe Township said his party held the public conferences not to breed racial or religious hatred amongst the nationalities or communities living together in the Arakan State. <br />
<br />
"Some groups of Bengali Muslims living in foreign countries have widely insulted the glory of the land and peoples of Arakan by misusing the term "Arakan" when they are making up their histories of land, peoples, culture, religion and literature. " Arakan" is being used as an English term for Rakhine. <br />
<br />
As we are responsible to protect our land and peoples and to raise awareness of those insults amongst true Arakan people, we are holding these public conferences, but we have no intention to breed racial or religious hatred among the peoples living together on our land", said U Aung Mra Kyaw. <br />
<br />
The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party has also declared in its statement that Arakan and Arakanese are just the English terms for the Rakhine (land and nationalities), and that they strongly denounce the fallacious usage of these terms by groups of Bengali Muslim in Bangladesh.<br />
</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-43970916693175690882011-11-02T18:31:00.001-07:002011-11-02T18:31:29.251-07:00Farmers in Arakan State Demand Return of Their Confiscated Lands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<b>Narinjara</b><br />
Kyauk Pru: Farmers from Kyaukpru Township in western Burma’s Arakan State have written an appeal letter to the regional government demanding the return of 72 acres of farmlands which had been confiscated without compensation during the tenure of the last regime.<br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="OGT-restriction-area" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/OGT-restriction-area.jpg" /> </div>“Our farmlands were forcibly confiscated from us through state orders by high ranking military officers on the pretext that it was in the state's interest, but now we have found out that this was actually done simply for personal interests. So we have written an appeal letter to the Arakan State Chief Minister U Hla Maung Tin and requested the return our confiscated farmlands”, said one of the farmers from the area. <br />
<br />
The farmlands are situated in Minpyin Village in Kyaukpru Township and were reportedly confiscated by the former General Win Myint and Colonel Thura Maung Ni who had served as the commander and the vice-commander of the Arakan State during the rule of last SPDC regime. <br />
<br />
The farmer said the lands are now registered under the names of the commanders’ wives. <br />
<br />
“Now we have found out that those confiscated lands have been registered under the names of Daw Khin Cho Oo, wife of Commander Win Myint and of Daw Ma Mya Khin, wife of Vice-Commander Thura Maung Ni at the Directorate of Land Registration”, he said. <br />
<br />
U Tin Phay, an MP from the State Parliament and the President of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party of Kyaukpru Township, also confirmed that the farmers has sent the letter addressed to the CM requesting the return of the lands. <br />
<br />
“We can confirm the farmers have sent a letter requesting the return of their confiscated farmlands because they have also given a copy of the letter to our office”, said U Tin Phay. <br />
<br />
Min Pyin Village area in Kyaukpru Township is also rich in onshore crude oil and confiscated lands from the village are now being fenced. <br />
<br />
“The confiscated lands and the names of the undersigned farmers in the letter are: (1) 2 acres of farmlands and 4 acres of grazing lands owned by Daw Than Aye, (2) 1 acre of farmland and 2 acres of grazing lands owned by U -----, (3) 1 acre of farmland and 4 acres of grazing lands owned by U Hla Maung, (4) 1 acre of farmland and 1 acre of grazing land owned by U Ba Sein, (5) 1 acre of farmland and 1 acre of grazing land owned by U Thar Tun Aung (6) 4 acres of grazing lands owned by Daw Nan Khine and I could not remember the remaining lands and farmers”, said U Tin Phay. <br />
<br />
According to sources close to the land departments, thousands of farmlands were confiscated by the armies across the Arakan State on the official reason that it was a state order and in the state's interest, but much of the lands are now being registered under the names of armies’ officers or their spouses for their own interests. This has been achieved through the use of bribes. <br />
<br />
A minister of the Arakan State government under a condition of anonymity told Narinjara that most of the public complaint letters so far received by the state government since the U Thein Sein led regime took office are from farmers appealing for the return of their lands which had been confiscated by military officers during the last regime.</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-4955893396125212582011-10-30T06:03:00.001-07:002011-10-30T06:03:58.540-07:00Responses of some Arakanese leaders upon the statement of Union Minister for Energy that there is no plan to use Arakan gas for Arakan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Narinjara News</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Maung Rammar reports.<br />
In Pyithu Hluttaw on September 27, U Ba Shin, a Pyithu Hluttaw Representative from Kyauk Pru asked if there is any plan to distribute electricity to Kyauk Pru using natural gas from Shwe Natural Gas deposits located about 25 miles from the township. In his reply to the question, Union Minister for Energy U Than Htay said that natural gas obtained from Shwe Natural Gas fields will be exported to China through the Burma-China natural gas pipeline and gas cannot be used against the China-Burma agreement. <br />
<br />
The opinions of some Arakanese leaders on the statement made by Union Minister for Energy U Than Htay were solicited by Narinjara and gathered together here as follows: <br />
<br />
<b>U Aye Thar Aung<br />
General Secretary of Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) <br />
Secretary of Committee of Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP) </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 150px;"> <img alt="U-Aye-Tha-Aung" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/U-Aye-Tha-Aung-CRPP.jpg" /> </div>“It is very insulting to the Arakanese that gas from Arakan will not be used in Arakan. In short, those words are very hurting ones. Arakanese mainly own all the resources extracted from Arakan. Whether it is gas or oil or wood products or seafood, Arakanese own all those valuable resources. If Burma is a true union and Arakan is a part of it, Arakan should have rights to enjoy some benefits of local products. Therefore, I think the statement saying that there is no plan to use Arakan gas for Arakan is an insult to all Arakanese.” <br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Dr. Aye Kyaw (U.S.A) </b><br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 150px;"> <img alt="DrAyeKyaw" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/DrAyeKyaw.jpg" /> </div>“Gas and other resources from Arakan should bring benefits to all Arakanese. Right now, Arakanese do not get any benefits they deserve. Therefore, we cannot say Burma is a true union as she should be. Though we heard the term Union of Burma, in reality, Burma is just a fake union. Therefore, some appropriate arrangements for Arakanese should be made so that Arakanese can gain some benefits from Arakan gas, teak, and ironwood. I am not saying just for Arakan. Such arrangements should also be done for other states. Then, our country will become a true union. Otherwise, Burma will not become a true union and we will get stuck with a fake one.” <br />
<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
<b>Dr. Khin Maung <br />
Chairman of National Union Party of Arakan (NUPA) <br />
Vice-Chairman I of Arakan National Council (ANC) </b><br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 150px;"> <img alt="Dr.Khine-Maung-NUPA" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Dr.Khine-Maung-NUPA.jpg" /> </div>“The Union Minister openly and bluntly reaffirmed their policy that Arakan’s land, water, air, and all natural energy are all under [the central government's] total control. All of them are actually Arakanese property. However, Arakanese do not have the right for self-determination and freedom of speech. It indicates that Arakanese are losing rights to use its own resources. Therefore, I think Union Minister for Energy dare to imply that the current government does not care for Arakanese and the government will manipulate Arakan resources any way they want for their own benefits instead" <br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Daw Saw Mra Raza Lurn<br />
Chairwoman of Arakan Women Union</b><br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 150px;"> <img alt="Soe-Mrarazar-Lunn" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Soe-Mrarazar-Lunn.jpg" /> </div>“In my opinion, such statement that Arakan natural gas will not be used for Arakan is an utter insult to all Arakanese. Arakanese own that oil and natural gas and they should be used in Arakan. The statement made by the current government, though it publicly said it is moving toward democracy, is an insult to all Arakanese. All Arakanese should protest this effectively. For the sake of all Arakanese and Arakanese interests, I would like to urge all Arakanese to join hands together with the prominent Arakanese leaders and protect [our own] interests. <br />
<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
<b>Ko Tun Zaw <br />
Joint Secretary I of All Arakan Students and Youth Congress (AASYC)</b> <br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 150px;"> <img alt="Tun-Zaw-AASYC" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Tun-Zaw-AASYC.jpg" /> </div>“Exporting all the energy generated in Arakan to a foreign state, instead of using it to fulfill the needs of the state, shows, in my opinion, the lack of respect to the will of Arakanese. Though [the leaders of the current government] are currently declaring that they would listen to the voice of the people and the government is a democratic one that respects the people, I think this incident shows that the government is not democratic and does not listen to the peoples' voice.” <br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Ko Wong Aung <br />
Global Coordinator of Shwe Gas Movement</b><br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 150px;"> <img alt="Wong-Aung-SGM" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Wong-Aung-SGM.jpg" /></div>“We welcome to the efforts of the companies involved in Shwe Natural Gas Project for the development of the locals; whether they try to help in health care or education sectors by building clinics and schools. However, we can’t be satisfied by having new schools, and clinics without medical supplies and doctors. What they have done is not operating well at all. In reality, due to Shwe Gas project, the farmers lost their ancestral lands and they have become landless farmers. When their lands that have been passed down generation after generation were stripped from them, they had no right to refuse. Both the government and the companies are forcing the farmers to sell their land at the meager price they want to pay. Nothing has so far benefited the locals; whether in terms of job opportunities or electricity for development purposes, or water or gas. Some portion of the gas will be allocated for government cronies to run their industry and the rest would be sold to China. For the locals, they lost the livelihoods including their ancestral lands. People become unemployed. National and cultural heritages are even now being threatened to vanish. <br />
<br />
<b>Summary of Shwe Gas Project</b> <br />
<br />
The Ministry of Energy and Daewoo International Corporation started the oil and natural gas exploration off the coast of Arakan. In 2004, the huge natural gas deposit called “Shwe” was found and the efforts to extract were later undertaken to produce economically. <br />
<br />
It is estimated that over 2,900 million dollars of revenue will be generated annually. While the Arakanese (the sole owner of the oil and gas) believe that some profits from the Shwe gas should be used for the development of Arakan, Union Minister for Energy U Than Htay spoke up that there is no plan to use Arakan gas for Arakan causing tension between the government and Arakanese.</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-75499802369654559572011-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:002011-10-30T06:00:06.038-07:00Burma: Cyclones affect more and more Women<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<b>Narinjara News</b><br />
<br />
Nava Thakuria <br />
-----------------<br />
Even as the military rulers of Burma (Myanmar) completed a general election in November 2010 and a new so-called democratic regime is installed in the poverty stricken country, millions of Burmese are still living in terrible conditions in the cyclones Nargis and Giri affected areas, with many without pure drinking water and food or proper shelter. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="Tropical Cyclone Giri Arakan state" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Tropical-Cyclone-Giri-Arakan-state-pic-17.jpg" /> </div>The lives of hundred thousand poor Burmese women have not changed though there are some plastic changes like the release of pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and many other from jails, regular sittings of parliamentarians in their new capital Nay Pyi Taw and so on. <br />
<br />
Burma receives international media headlines with the flawed constitution and electoral laws that finally prevented the pro-democracy icon Suu Kyi to take part in the November 2010 polls. Her party National League for Democracy, which recorded massive victory in the last general election in 1990- but denied power by the junta- even faced forced dissolution as it did not register with the election commission as a mark of protest. The recent visit of Burmese President Thein Sein to India on October 12 -15, 2011 was an attempt to improve its tie with the largest democracy of the globe and also enhance the Southeast Asian country’s image as a welfare nation. But the ground reality remains almost the same. <br />
<br />
Since the day when the devastating tropical cyclone Nargis struck Burma (Myanmar) on May 2, 2008, the women survivors remain worst sufferers. Despite the fact that three full years passed since fateful night, the relief from international agencies, originally blocked by the then military regime, remains sporadic, paltry and tragically late, those all compiled to the continued agony for the poor Burmese people primarily women and children. The cyclone, originating in the Bay of Bengal, ripped a trail of destruction across the Irrawaddy and Rangoon divisions and also ravaged parts of the Bago, Mon and Kayin regions. A water wall of four meters high is said to have rolled some 25 miles inland across the Irrawaddy River Valley, flattening everything in its path. Although the military government reported the final death toll as 84,537, with 53,836 missing, independent estimates are that 140,000 were killed and tens of thousands more have never been found. The cyclone devastated the already spavined social infrastructure, and wiped out paddy fields, which at the time were being readied for the country's primary rice crop. Even one of latest reports of Human Rights Watch, New York reveals that the Burmese government continues to deny basic freedoms and place undue restrictions on aid agencies despite significant gains in rehabilitating areas devastated by the cyclone Nargis. Mentionable is that the then Burmese group of generals named State Peace and Development Council initially did not allow international aids to its own people initially and thus they received condemnation and brickbats from the international community for their callous and cruel attitude. <br />
<br />
“For nearly five decades, Burma's military rulers had systematically undermined the interests of their own citizens. It wasn't until days into the tragedy, goaded by international criticism, that the SPDC chief senior general Than Shwe found the time to visit the destroyed areas,” said in the report. <br />
<br />
The then military chief Than Shwe and his company later softened following a personal visit of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the middle of May 2008. Slowly communications between the local government and the international agencies began to improve. Visas and travel permits were made a little easier and faster for the foreign aid workers. <br />
<br />
The officials of Human Rights Watch however claim that the local aid workers still feel the brunt of continued repression by the military authorities. The report quoted many woman survivors of Cyclone Nargis to narrate the tale of awfulness. One May Khin, a middle aged woman from Laputta township described her pain, “Nargis was the worst experience of my life. The last thing I remember is the lightning coming together with a strong wind and later a giant wave covered my daughter and me while we were running to the monastery. Then we were separated. I was washed away by the wave and became unconscious. When I came around, there were no clothes on my body and I could not walk as I had no strength. Beside me there was a dead body.” The International Organization for Migration claimed that nearly 400,000 people in Burma were still living without a proper home after a devastating cyclone. It also disclosed that the government while failed to provide adequate food, water and shelter to the survivors, shamefully continues violating the rights of the victims as well as the local relief workers. <br />
<br />
Quoting the officials and aid workers, The Myanmar Times, a semi-government weekly newspaper published from Rangoon, reported that even after ‘three years after Cyclone Nargis thousands remain in need of shelter assistance’. <br />
<br />
“This is an area where there are still huge needs,” said Arne Jan Flolo, first secretary of the Norwegian embassy in Bangkok. Even the UN Human Settlements Program estimated that some 375,000 people still need housing, 36 months after the worst natural disaster that stroke Burma. <br />
<br />
If Nargis was of higher intensity, the Cyclone Giri struck the Arakan coast with comparatively lower magnitude. The category 4 cyclone hit the western coast of Burma on October 22, 2011 affecting the whole province. Over 100 people were killed and nearly one million Burmese were affected by the cyclone. According to the UN, over 70,000 people were left homeless by the disaster. <br />
<br />
Quoting the Arakan League for Democracy, the Narinjara news, a pro-democracy portal, reported that villages like Kyuntharyar, Pyintharhtwatwa, Taungpaw, Angu, Ywathikay, Taungnyo, Kangyemaw, Dagon, Kanthar were severely affected where the people are still running out of safe drinking water. <br />
<br />
“There is a shortage of drinking water. In the contaminated wells and ponds, saltwater sinks and the freshwater stays atop. So people collect and use the water sitting at the top portion of the well. But it is not that safe to drink. Some people still use water contaminated with saltwater. Some use the water from the well that is full with garbage,” the ALD source claimed. <br />
<br />
Responding to this writer’s queries, a Rangoon based UN official argues that Nargis was a tragedy that every one has learnt bitter lessons from. So the large scale deaths could have avoided in the time of Giri with more awareness and early warning efforts. Putting his individual view, Aye Win, an official of United Nations Information Centre at Rangoon said, “The earthquake in Tachilek, tragic though it was, brought a greater closeness of cooperation between the humanitarian community and the authorities. The importance of disaster risk reduction was recently underscored by the visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on DRR, Margareta Wahlstrom, to Myanmar in early October. There is now greater awareness, and more importantly, greater political willingness to approach DRR holistically because of its long term impact.” Talking to this writer from New Delhi, Thin Thin Win, an exile Burmese lady claimed that the regime had done very little for the rehabilitation for the cyclone victims and they turned out to be inhuman for the women and children. Form the ground reality, it is understood that it would take few more years to completely rehabilitate the affected people in the cyclone affected areas of Burma, she asserted. <br />
<br />
The hapless situation has compelled the poor Burmese, mostly young girl and women to fall in trap of traffickers, the fact admitted by the UN official. The US Campaign for Burma stated in a report that the underdeveloped country emerges as a source place for women, and children who subjected to sex trafficking in other countries. Burmese children are forced to labor as hawkers and beggars in Thailand. Many Burmese men, women, and children who migrate for work in Thailand, Malaysia, China, Bangladesh, India, and South Korea are subjected to conditions of forced labor or sex trafficking in these countries. The Rangoon UN official agrees that trafficking in Burma is an important issue to deal with. It will continue to be as long as the grass is continued to be perceived as greener on the other side. The driving force therefore is poverty. The issue of poverty is now publicly and openly acknowledged, a first step on a journey of perhaps a thousand miles, to quote Confucius, Aye Win concluded. The US Campaign for Burma also added in the report, “Military and civilian officials subject men, women, and children to forced labor, and men and boys as young as 11 years old are forcibly recruited to serve in the Burma army as well as the armed wings of ethnic minority groups through intimidation, coercion, threats, and violence. Some observers estimate that thousands of children are forced to serve in Burma’s national army as desertions of men in the army continue.”</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-41793522092654612362011-10-30T05:58:00.001-07:002011-10-30T05:58:58.940-07:00Several Agricultural and Human Losses Reported from Recent Storm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Narinjara News</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Minbya: Thousands of acres of cultivated fields were reportedly damaged and a number of human casualties occurred during the tropical storm that crossed into northern Arakan State in western Burma on the 19th of October. <br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 320px;"> <img alt="laymyo river" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/laymyo-river.jpg" /> </div>Local residents said the heavy shower of rain just after the storm made landfall triggered flashfloods and submerged thousands acres of ripe paddy fields along the banks of Laymyo River and its tributary creeks in Minbya Township in Northern Arakan on the night of the 20th. <br />
<br />
"Several acres of paddy corps that were almost ripe along the banks of Panmyaunggyi and Phonethar creeks in Minbya Township were devastated and around the area of the Phonethar Creek, nearly 5,000 acres of the cultivated paddy were submerged under the flash flood, all the crops have been damaged", said one of the local residents from the area. <br />
<br />
Panmyaunggyi and Phonethar creeks are tributaries of the Laymyo River in the township and many paddy fields on the lower areas along banks of the river were also said to be submerged and destroyed due to the flash flood in the river. <br />
<br />
A shopkeeper from Panmyaung Market also said at least 10 people were killed in the upper area of Panmyaung Town in Minbya Township, near where the Laymyo River originates. <br />
<br />
"Because of incessant heavy rains after the storm, the flashfloods occurred in the creeks of Loo, Wak and Shwelaung at upper Laymyo River on that night and washed away at least 10 people who were killed. So far we have found three bodies of those killed floating in the lower part of the river", said the shopkeeper. <br />
<br />
He said that much of the peanut, chili, sesame and cotton crops were covered by muddy flood water rushing from the nearby mountains and destroyed, though there was not much damages to the paddy fields in Panmyaung. A Buddhist monk from the area also said over 100 acres of paddy were covered with muddy floods and destroyed in some villages in southern Minbya Township as well. <br />
<br />
"As the storm caused heavy rains, mudslides coming down with the rain water from the nearby mountains covered the paddy cultivations in the villages of Mintat, Nyaungkhrun, Kaunnchaung and Uthataung insouthern Minbya and all the paddy crops have fallen in those villages. Now all villagers who are living off of the paddy cultivations are greatly troubled. They have written appeals for government aid through the Rakhine Party, but no governmental response has yet been given", said the monk. <br />
<br />
The residents also said the moderate storm that made landfall into the northern part of Arakan State in the evening of the 19th of October caused incessant heavy rains triggering intense flashfloods, never before experienced in the Laymyo River and its tributaries,but the government is still neglecting to investigate the natural calamity nor to give necessary assistance to the affected people.</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-57827496042523523312011-10-30T05:54:00.001-07:002011-10-30T05:54:53.957-07:00Police Seize T-Shirt for Campaign Against Shwe Gas Project<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<b>Narinjara News</b><br />
<br />
Rathidaung: Police forces in a northern town of Arakan seized several anti-Shwe Gas t-shirts on Tuesday from youths who were wearing them for a campaign against the plan to sell gas from Shwe Gas Project in Arakan State to China, said a community leader who participated in the event.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 285px;"> <img alt="Rathidaung" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Rathidaung-285.jpg" /> Rathidaung Jetty </div>Over ten youth in Rathidaung were forced by police to take off the t-shirts so the police could take them when the youth were walking around the town, which is located 20 miles north of Sittwe, the capital of Arakan. <br />
<br />
"On the t-shirts, we printed some words against the Shwe Gas Project. Because of this, Police Inspector U Tun Tha and Corporal Hla Shwe came and seized t-shirts from us while we were walking on the streets in our town. Moreover, police officials gathered a list of participants in the campaign, but we do not know what they did with the list," said the community leader. <br />
<br />
When they seized the t-shirts, police warned the youths who had participated by wearing them not to travel outside of town. <br />
<br />
"The police official told us not to travel to other places from the town in the coming days as we were required to be interrogated about the campaign against Shwe Gas. We are now under surveillance by the police authority," he said. <br />
<br />
However the youths, who are leading the campaign, have vowed to carry out the campaign to the end. <br />
<br />
"Even though police seized t-shirts from us we will carry the campaign in our state for totally ending [the gas project]. The Shwe Gas Project is not beneficial for our people and it is only for China. It is our duty to oppose the project and to prevent our natural resources. In the next few days, the campaign would be continued widely in major towns of Arakan like Sittwe and Kyauk Pru," the youth said. <br />
<br />
On the t-shirts, one word on the front calls to stop the Shwe Gas Project, and on the back are three sentences as follows: "Use national gas for national interests", "Should Arakanese people suffer for a gas project for Chinese people?", and "Stop the greedy, preserve the environment in Arakan State".<br />
<br />
The anti-Shwe Gas campaign has come about after Energy Minister U Than Htay said that natural gas obtained from the Shwe natural gas fields will be exported to China through the Burma - China natural gas pipeline, and the gas can not be used in Arakan against the bilateral agreement with China.<br />
</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-37596064075899045862011-10-30T05:53:00.000-07:002011-10-30T05:53:11.117-07:00Woman Arrested for Sending Another to Exiled Organization in Bangladesh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Narinjara News</b><br />
Maungdaw: A woman was recently arrested by the police in Maungdaw in western Burma’s Arakan State for sending a younger woman from the town to an organization based in Bangladesh.<br />
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The woman is identified as 50 year old Daw Ma Thein from Waetharli Village in Maungdaw Township and she was arrested by the police on the 22nd of October, reportedly on charges of trafficking the young woman. <br />
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Ma Thein is said to have sent the young woman with her mother’s consent to the Rakhine Women's Union based in Bangladesh, but the stepfather of the young woman was dissatisfied with the arrangement and asked Ma Thein to return his daughter to him. She was then arrested by the police in Maungdaw when she brought the young woman back from Bangladesh. <br />
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Daw Saw Mra Raza Lunn, the President of RWU also confirmed the arrest of Daw Ma Thein in Maungdaw. <br />
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“The girl has just matriculated and her mother contacted us to send her here so that she could learn and work in our organization before continuing her higher education." <br />
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Daw Ma Thein had just sent her to us on behalf of her mother, but her father was dissatisfied with her being here, so Daw Ma Thein was arrested by the police in Maungdaw when she brought back the girl from here”, said Daw Saw Mra Raza Lunn. <br />
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The girl who was brought back by Daw Ma Thein is known as Ma Khin Ma Hline, the daughter of Daw Ma Khin Win from Maungdaw. <br />
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“We had accepted Khin Ma Hline because she had her mother’s consent. We also knew that her mother did not like to keep her at home for certain reasons. Daw Ma Thein brought her back from Bangladesh as her mother later requested because she feared that Kin Ma Hline's stepfather threatened to tell the police that she has sold her own daughter”, said Daw Saw Mra Raza Lunn. <br />
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It has also been learnt that some documents delivered from RWU regarding the campaign for stopping the capture of white elephants and preserving natural environments were seized from Daw Ma Thein when she was arrested. Daw Saw Mra Raza Lunn however said she was unsure if Daw Ma Thein had taken those documents along with her from the RWU, as the RWU had never given those documents to her. <br />
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Daw Ma Khin Win, the girl’s mother, was unreachable though Narinjara had tried to contact her via telephone for her comments on the matter. <br />
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According to sources in Maungdaw, Daw Ma Thein is a very poor widow and not the trafficker of the girl. She sent the girl to the RWU in Bangladesh according to a request from the girl’s mother. She is now being detained in the police station in Maungdaw for further interrogation.</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-85871563186195881652011-10-26T02:29:00.001-07:002011-10-26T02:29:28.304-07:00Arakanese Suffer from More Toll Taxes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
Narinjara News<br />
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Kyauk Pru: The Arakanese peoples are troubled by the Municipal Department of the U Thein Sein-led regime that proclaims to reduce poverty across the country, but which has actually been enforcing fraudulent laws or rules to collect capitation and other toll taxes from the public in western Burma’s Arakan State.<br />
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<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="Kyauk-pru-Japan-Ma-port-tax-collection" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Kyauk-pru-Japan-Ma-port-tax-collection.png" /> </div>“The municipal department in our area is now forcibly collecting 200 Kyat for a person, 1500 Kyat for a boat, 200 Kyat for a bull-cart and 400 Kyat for a push-cart at the Japanma Jetty, announcing changes with signboards, each time anyone uses the jetty”, said a female resident from Myitnartan Village of Kyaukpru Township in Arakan State. <br />
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Municipal officials in uniforms are said to have recently started collecting toll taxes from the commuters and vehicles accessing the jetty after withdrawing the auction bid from Daw Yu Yu Tun, a local business woman. “The municipal department in Kyaukpru has auctioned off the jetty to Daw Yu Yu Tun in April of this year with a price of Kyat 102 Lakhs, but has withdrawn the auction bid from her on charges of breaking auction discipline and rules on 14th of this month. Now officials in full uniform from the department are collecting illegal toll taxes from the people, vehicles and vessels that access the jetty”, said the resident. <br />
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One of the municipal officials, who did not want to be named, confirmed that they have to collect the tolls at the jetty directly as there is still no one to take the tender being offered by his department. “We have had to directly collect tolls at the jetty since the 15th of October because there is no one yet to take the tender offered by our department after the license for operating and collecting tolls on the jetty was confiscated from Daw Yu Yu Tun on the 14th of October”, said the official. <br />
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He said his department held a meeting on the 6th of October to discuss the tolls being collected at the Japanma Jetty and, according to the decisions of the meeting, the toll license was withdrawn from Daw Yu Yu Tun and a new amount for a particular toll at the jetty was fixed as well. <br />
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Daw Yu Yu Tun told Narinjara that she has suffered a great financial loss as the municipal department has withdrawn the toll license from her without refunding the bid money to her. <br />
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“I have suffered a great loss because the municipal department has forcibly withdrawn the toll license from me without refunding my bid money for the jetty. I had taken a bid for collecting tolls at the jetty with a price of Kyat 102 Lakhs for a year, signing agreements with the executive officer of the department U Than Lin Tun. I have completed just half of my bid term. Now, far from getting profits, I have lost all my capital to the municipal department and I have come to understand that it was just an illegal license made up by the local officials to fatten their own pockets”, said Daw Yu Yu Tun. <br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 320px;"> <img alt="Kyauk-pru-Japan-Ma-port-tax-collection" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Kyauk-Pru-Municipal-tax-collection.png" /> </div>It is also known that there is no one to take the bid for collecting tolls at the jetty, invitations to do so were issued by the director of the municipal department U Hla Thein instead of the executive officer of the township level department. <br />
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Another resident said, “The municipal department in Kyaukpru Township has already invited tenders for the job of collecting tolls at the Japanma Jetty for the period beginning the 15th of October to the 31st March 2012, from the price of 47 million Kyat for collecting capitation and transportation tolls and of 3.6 Lakh Kyat for collecting tolls from bullock-carts at the jetty. But no one is coming out to take the bid, as dissatisfaction over the illegal toll taxes are increasing amongst the local people here.” <br />
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He said that the illegal toll taxes have troubled the poverty stricken local people and no one wants to pay the kinds of toll taxes like those being collected at Japanma Jetty. <br />
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“It would be like troubling and suppressing the poor if the municipal or the bidder whosoever would continue to collect such toll taxes from the people in our state”, he said. “Such toll taxes are never heard of in any other regions or states in our country, but have become big burdens on the people here, amidst the current economic crisis in our state. So we would like to urge the government to stop such toll taxes in our state, if it really wants to reduce poverty in the country.”<br />
</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-20314127835798861282011-10-26T02:28:00.000-07:002011-10-26T02:28:29.093-07:00Prayer Ceremonies Held for Giri Anniversary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
Narinjara News<br />
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Prayer ceremonies were held at home and abroad to observe the anniversary of Cyclone Giri that slammed into the coast of western Burma's Arakan State on the 22nd of October 2010.<br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="Cyclone giri victims memorial prayer Arakan" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Cyclone-giri-victims-memorial-prayer.jpg" /> </div>The ceremonies were held in Kyaukpru and Taungok in Arakan State and in Mae Sot and Phukhet in Thailand. <br />
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U Aung Marm Oo, the director of the Arakan Human Rights Organization, said a prayer ceremony was held in a Buddhist monastery in Maepa Village in Thailand’s Mae Sot in order to make people more aware if what had happened during Cyclone Giri. <br />
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“We hold this ceremony especially to draw attention from the ethnic Burmese community as well as from the international community, and to make them aware of what really happened during that cyclone in Arakan State”, said Aung Marm Oo. <br />
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Attendees at the ceremony lit candles and prayed silently for a while according to their various religious faiths, for those who were killed and affected by the cyclone, and then speeches were given. <br />
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U Khine Oo Maung, the director of a migrant school on the Thai-Burmese border, said the natural calamity came as a result of damaging the natural environment, in his speech at the ceremony. <br />
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“Natural disasters were very rare in our childhood in Arakan State, but they are now quite frequently occurring because the natural environment that was a natural shield to such disasters has been badly damaged due to the greedy exploitation of natural resources by the Burmese military dictators in our region”, said Khine Oo Maung. <br />
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U Shwe Nhin, a Karen freedom fighter and headmaster of the migrant school, also spoke in the ceremony and said that he prays every Sunday and would continue his prayers, hoping that all people in Burma will be free from natural disasters and oppressed lives, and for peace and development in the country. <br />
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Videos and slideshows of photos from the Giri affected areas were presented in the ceremony in Mae Sot and over 120 people, including representatives of the Arakanese and other ethnic organizations, individuals and migrant workers attended in the ceremony. <br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="Cyclone giri victims memorial candle light Thailand" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Cyclone-giri-victims-memorial-candle-light.jpg" /> </div>A prayer ceremony was held in memory of the Giri Cyclone by the Laywady Arakanese Social Organization in Phuket in Thailand as well. “We hold this ceremony to mourn and pray for those who were killed and badly affected by Cyclone Giri on this day last year," said Ko Soe Myint, the president of the Laywady Organization. Mourning and prayer ceremonies were also held on the anniversary of Cyclone Giri in Kyaukpru and Taungok in Arakan State. <br />
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Cyclone Giri hit hardest on the townships of Kyaukpru, Mraybon, Pauktaw and Ann in Arakan State on 22 October 2011, leaving nearly 100 people killed, 70,975 peoples homeless and over 2, 60,000 affected.</div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-84719564194158919702011-10-16T02:11:00.001-07:002011-10-16T02:11:24.856-07:00Issue of Illegal Toll Taxes by Armed Forces to Stop in parliament<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara News<br />
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Sittwe: The issue of illegal toll taxes collected by Armed Forces in Arakan state was presented by an Arakanese MP in the people's parliament in an attempt to stop them, as the illegal collection is causing suffering for the Arakanese people. However the army is still collecting tolls illegally and widely from Arakanese people, said local resident sources.<br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 300px;"> <img alt="navy-in-arakan" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/navy-in-arakan.jpg" /> A navy outpost in Arakan which collecting tolls from local people </div>U Khin Maung Latt, an Arakanese lawmaker elected from Rathedaung Township in Northern Arakan State, has raised the issue of the armed forces’ illegal taxations in the state, and is now demanding the government stop the forces from doing so in the session of the Peoples’ Parliament that was held on the 23rd of September. <br />
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U Win Myint, the Minister of Economy and Commerce, replied to the issue that was brought up by MP U Khin Maung Latt in the parliament, by saying that police forces and other joint forces are undertaking their responsibilities in order to prevent cross-border trafficking of arms and explosives, restricted goods and narcotics, and illegal immigrations of foreigners as the [Arakan] State is closely situated on the border of a neighboring country. The minister however has declined to state whether he will look into the matter or to stop the forces from collecting illegal taxes. <br />
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As a result, the armed forces have been continuing illegal taxations on local peoples at their check-gates across the state, said U Khine Pray Soe, the secretary of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party. <br />
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“When this issue was proposed in the parliament, the forces temporarily suspended their illegal taxations. Now the forces have restarted again and are continuing their illegal taxations on the local peoples after the government neglected to stop them in the parliament”, said U Khine Pray Soe. <br />
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He said a naval ship that is deployed at Taunnfuwa between Sittwe and Pauktaw in Kaladan River has been collecting illegal toll taxes from every boat that crosses near it—1,000 Kyat from every small boat and 10,000-20,000 Kyat from every cargo-laden boat. <br />
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“The naval ships are deployed at the waterways only for security and these illegal toll taxes by those ships have caused more difficulties for poverty-stricken local peoples who are struggling in their day to day lives amidst the economic crisis in our state”, he said. <br />
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According to a number of local people, the regime’s armed forces such as the army, police, Nasaka and special immigration forces, which are deployed in Arakan State, have opened their own security check-gates and have been collecting similar illegal taxations from the people on land, not only on waterways. <br />
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U Khine Pray Soe said “Good Governance and Clean Government” as claimed by the President U Thein Sein led government is meaningless and the country is far from the “practical reforms and developments” promised as the governemnt continues to fail prevention of illegal taxations by its armed forces. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-65859617136581228092011-10-16T02:10:00.000-07:002011-10-16T02:10:12.859-07:00Dissatisfaction With Daewoo Company Growing in Kyaukpru<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara News<br />
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Kyauk Pru: Dissatisfaction with the Daewoo Company has been growing amongst local residents in Kyaukpru, the main hub for international oil and gas projects in western Burma’s Arakan State, as roads in the town have been damaged by the company’s over-weight vehicles.<br />
<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 320px;"> <img alt="road-in-kyuk-pru-Arakan" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/road-in-kyuk-pru-Arakan.jpg" /> </div>“We are now getting angry with Daewoo because every road in our area which is used by it's overweight vehicles has become badly damaged, yet they continue to ignore the weight limits or repair the roads in response to our complaints," said one of the residents. <br />
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He said the company’s vehicles have been carrying large and heavy pipes. All roads in the Katthapray Village Group and the road that leads from the village to the Kantkawtaw Pagoda are now heavily damaged by those vehicles. <br />
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“The company’s trucks used to carry no more than three pipes before, but now they have been driving with loads of up to five pipes, even after we complained of the road damages to the company. The road that goes to the Kantkawtaw Pagoda has been completely ruined and become twisted by those vehicles”, he said. <br />
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He said that it is now very difficult to travel on the road, not only for local residents but also for the pilgrims who come to make devotional offerings at the pagoda. <br />
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Moreover, the Kyaukpru-Rangoon road has also been damaged by the heavy and overweight vehicles used for the Shwe Gas Project and local residents who are traveling by road are facing many risks and troubles as a result. Far from recieving benefits, local residents have been suffering from land confiscations, rights violations and exploitation since the multi-billion dollars Shwe Gas Project started in their area. The project is run by the Burmese military regime and Korea’s Daewoo. <br />
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The resident said that they would try every avenue to get help if the roads and the need for repairs continue to be neglected by the project partners. <br />
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“We have already written to every department office in our town about the roads and we are now organizing all the residents so we can complain of the matter to the president U Thein Sein. We are also discussing whether or not we can carry on with our current jobs while we wait for the road to be properly repaired by the responsible company," he said. <br />
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He said the residents are also very unhappy about the difficulties of making a pilgrimage to the Kantkawtaw Pagoda, the famous ancient pagoda in Kyaukpru. The coming full-moon day which marks the end of Buddhist Lent will see a large amount of traffic on the now badly damaged roads. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-74927140693060179202011-10-16T02:08:00.001-07:002011-10-16T02:08:45.301-07:007 Arakanese Political Prisoners Included Amongst those Released<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara News<br />
Sittwe:<br />
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Only seven political prisoners from western Burma’s Arakan State were reportedly included among the nearly 300 prisoners released in the general amnesty on the 12th of October 2011 from prisons across Burma.<br />
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<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="welcome-to-prisoner-release--in-Burma" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/welcome-to-prisoner-release--in-Burma.jpg" /> people gathered in insein prison on October 12, 2011 </div>Ko Min Aung, from Taungok in southeastern Arakan State, who was sentenced to 17 jail terms, was released from the Kalay Prison in Sagaing Division. <br />
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“We have information that Ko Min Aung was released from the Kalay Prison and he will reach Taungok by tomorrow”, said one of his colleagues. <br />
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Ko San Lwin who is also from Taungok and was arrested on an informer’s tip that he was connected to Narinjara, and so sentenced to 5 years in jail, was also released from the Thandwe Prison in Arakan State. <br />
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Ashin Ithariya (a) Ko Aung Soe, one of the many famous political prisoners of Burma, was released from the Buthidaung Prison. He was arrested at Myoma Monastery in Maungdaw as he tried to escape to Bangladesh just after a crackdown on the Saffron Revolution. He was forcibly disrobed from the Buddhist monkhood and sentenced to 7 and a half years in jail. <br />
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“Four political prisoners including U Ithariya also known as Ko Aung Soe were released from the Buthidaung Prison. But the numbers of the released are very few and there are many political prisoners still kept behind bars. Political prisoners like Ko Htay Kywe and 75-year-old U Tun Nyo are still being detained in Buthidaung prison," said Sangyaunn Ko Ko Gyi, who was freed from Buthidaung Prison. <br />
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Two political prisoners known as U Kawvida and U Mrat Tun, who are natives of Pauktaw in Arakan State, were released from their respective jails as well. <br />
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U Kawvida was freed from the Tharat Prison after he was arrested on 4th October 2007 from the Ngwekyayan Monastery in Rangoon for his leading role in the Saffron Revolution and was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in the prison. U Mrat Tun was released from the Myaungmya Prison in Irrawaddy Division after he was arrested in 2008 at the army’s check-gate on Maungdaw-Buthidaung road on charges of reporting to exiled media. <br />
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Ko Naing Soe, son of U Maung Hla Phru from Nyaungchaung Village in Buthidaung Township, was also released from Bamaw Prison. He was arrested on the 18th of September 2009 after being accused of being connected to the All Arakan Student and Youth Congress based in exile. He was sentenced to 3 years in jail. <br />
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Ko Kyaw Won Chay, a representative of Arakanese youths in the Ethnic Youth Network Group (EYNG), was released from Tharat Prison. He was arrested on 20th January 2008 and sentenced to 9 years in jail, later his jail term was reduced to 6 years. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-57924387418383442982011-10-16T02:07:00.000-07:002011-10-16T02:07:25.771-07:00Arakan Human Rights Organization Inaugurated in Thailand<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Narinjara News<br />
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By Takaloo<br />
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Arakanese youth in exile have inaugurated their newly formed human rights organization by holding a press-conference at the launch of their organizational website on Sunday in Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand. <br />
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<br />
<div class="figure" style="width: 620px;"> <img alt="Arakan-Human-Rights-Development-Organisation-AHRDO" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Arakan-Human-Rights-Development-Organisation-AHRDO.jpg" /> </div>The organization is named the "Arakan Human Rights and Development Organization” and is said to have been formed for watching and reporting on human rights abuses and oppression resulting from the many international business projects in Arakan state, including the Shwe Gas Project, the Kaladan Project and a number of other hydropower projects. <br />
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“There is a lot of talk about progress in Burma, but we have seen little improvement in Arakan State where the majority of the population continues to live in poverty. We have established the AHRDO to help give our people a voice,” said Aung Marm Oo. <br />
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He said those projects implemented by the Burmese regime in partnership with foreign entities in Arakan State have not benefitted the local people and instead the population has been facing widespread human rights violations, land confiscations and demolition of their houses since those projects were initiated in their region. <br />
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“We would especially work on documentation and reporting of abuses and suffering of the people, as well as the environmental damage caused by those projects in our homeland. We will also help our nationals who have migrated into Thailand and Malaysia for various reasons”, he said. <br />
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The organization is structured with nine different working departments that include the Research and Documentation Department (RDD), the Health and Education Department (HED), the Human Rights and Development Department (HRDD), the Environmental and Ecosystem Protection Department (EEPD) and the Women Affairs Department (WAD) under a board of directors and an advisory board. </div>ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-88665365354658285132011-01-12T01:16:00.001-08:002011-01-12T01:16:41.870-08:00Rock Mass Emerges Off Arakan CoastSittwe: An amazing rock mass has emerged from the seawater near the offshore islands of Pharonga, located 20 miles south of Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, report numerous witnesses. <br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 315px;"> <img alt="Rock Mass Emerges Off Arakan Coast" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Sittwe-sea-mount.jpg" /></div>A fishing boat owner said, "We have never seen a rock mass before in the area near Pharonga Island. Now there is a rock mass appearing from the sea and it is very strange and wonderful for all." <br />
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The location of the rock mass is seven miles south of Pharonga Island, 20 miles southeast of Sittwe. The rock mass is 10 feet high when the tide is low, and remains five feet above the sea when the tide is high. <br />
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"All fishing boats have avoided going near the strange rock mass out of fear there is danger underwater near the rock. Many people believe the rock mass emerged from the water due to a volcano eruption under water, but no on can tell exactly how the rock mass formed," he said. <br />
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In the past, many fishing boats worked in the area because it is rich in fish, but now boats do not dare go near the rock mass to fish. <br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 315px;"> <img alt="Rock Mass Emerges Off Arakan Coast" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images/Sittwe-sea-mount-pic.jpg" /></div>According to biologist sources, there are many extinct mud volcanos around the Pharonga Islands, and the emergence of the rock mass is related to a volcano eruption in the area. However, no government officials have come near the rock so far to investigate how it appeared.<br />
http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2860ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-18393885002641624592011-01-12T01:15:00.001-08:002011-01-12T01:15:33.074-08:00Remote Buddhist Villages Threatened by Rampant RobberiesButhidaung: Some remote Buddhist villages in southern Buthidaung Township, 80 miles north of Sittwe, are under threat of damage due to the rampant Muslim robbers in the area, report local people widely. <br />
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<div class="figure" style="width: 315px;"> <img alt="/buthindaw" class="scaled" src="http://www.narinjara.com/images//buthindaw.jpg" /> </div>A villager in Kwe Gomaw Village said, "The authority is not protecting our village right now. So many families are thinking of moving to more safe places like downtown Buthidaung, where many army battalions are stationed." <br />
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The village of Kwe Gomaw is located near Nyung Chaung Nasaka outpost in southern Buthidaung Township, and the village was hit by dacoits on 1 January, 2011. <br />
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"At 12 pm on 1 January, around 30 armed Muslim robbers surrounded our village. After that the robbers entered our village and robbed property from all the houses one by one. When a villager refused to give over his property, a robber beat him with his gun and injured his head. Properties worth 3 million kyat were taken by the robbers," the villager said. <br />
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After the robbers left the village, they hit another Buddhist village in the area, Thein Daung Byint, where many people of the Dynet tribes are living. <br />
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During the second attack, the village chairman's wife was severely wounded when some of the robbers opened fire on villagers who were trying to fight back against them. The woman is now hospitalized in Buthidaung in critical condition, although her condition is improving. <br />
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A villager from Thein Daung Byint said, "We are now afraid to live in our village because we have no safety, despite that our village is located in inner Buthidaung Township, not in the border area. Moreover, when we informed the Nasaka officers about the robber, the officers beat us because were unable to defend ourselves against the robbers. Now we are facing many difficulties living in our village." <br />
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During December, 2010, a large robbery also took place in Shwet Bying Village under Zaydi Bying circle in Rathidaung Township. The villagers lost 30 million kyat of property. The robbery was also committed by a group of armed Muslim dacoits. <br />
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The Muslim robbers have never robbed any Muslim villages in the area, having so far only struck Buddhist villages in Buthidaung Township. Because of this, many ordinary citizens, including those in the Muslim community, are anxious that the robberies might foment conflict and lead to riots among the people in the area.ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6463189069592297404.post-85989715893776515222011-01-12T01:14:00.001-08:002011-01-12T01:14:32.814-08:00Nasaka Demands 1.5 Million Kyat Ransom for Bangladeshi FishermenBy Takaloo, Teknaf<br />
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The Burmese border guard force Nasaka is demanding 1.5 million Kyat, or 125,000 Taka for the release of three Bangladeshi fishermen, said the sister of one of the fishermen. <br />
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The fishermen were reportedly arrested along with their small engine boat last Saturday on the Naf River, which demarcates the border of Burma and Bangladesh. <br />
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"My younger brother phoned me yesterday and told me that he and two others from our village were being detained by Nasaka on the Burmese side, and requested we arrange for giving 15 lakh of Burmese money to Nasaka for their release," said the sister, Fatema. <br />
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She identified her younger brother as 22-year-old Mohammed Ali, while the other two fishermen are 19-year-old Osman Goni and 16-year-old Shamsul Alam. All are residents of Nattaung Para Village in Teknaf, a border town in southeastern Bangladesh. <br />
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She also said they were arrested on the Bangladesh side of the Naf River near Shahpori Island, and they are being detained at Maungni Rwa Nasaka outpost in Maungdaw, which is situated across the river from the island. <br />
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It is unclear how Nasaka forces are able to regularly intrude into Bangladesh territory on the Naf River to arrest fishermen, because the area is also well guarded by the Border Guards Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh coastguard. <br />
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Nasaka typically releases arrested Bangladeshi fishermen and their boats without taking any legal action after receiving large ransoms from their families or communities in Bangladesh.ေက်ာက္ၿဖဴသားေခ်http://www.blogger.com/profile/15814115584726391618noreply@blogger.com0