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Five Fires in Arakan State this November

2011-11-21T01:42:00.003-08:00

Narinjara

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.

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.

"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.

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.

"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.

"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.

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.

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.

Three Remaining Burmese Freedom Fighters Released from Indian Jail

2011-11-21T01:42:00.001-08:00

Narinjara

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.

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.

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.

Ko Danya Lun, who was released on 19 May, confirmed their release.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The released rebels are now living in the Indian capital New Delhi with refugee status granted by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Fire Gutts Main Market in Minbya

2011-11-21T01:41:00.002-08:00

Narinjara

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.

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.

“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.

“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.”

However she said she did not notice if the fire-engines came to put out the fire.

Narinjara has contacted the office of the fire-brigade in the town over telephone, but failed to get any answers from the office.

Another resident living nearby the market said the fire started from an electrical accessories shop in the market.

“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.

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.

Campaign for 24-Hour Electricity in Arakan State

2011-11-21T01:41:00.000-08:00

Narinjara

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

Two of Eleven Imprisoned Arakanese Youth Walk Free from Insein Prison

2011-11-21T01:40:00.001-08:00

Narinjara

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.

The two released youth are Ko Khine Kyaw Moe and Ko Zaw Tun Nine.

"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.

"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.

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".

"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.

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.

"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.

"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.

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.

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.

Army Recruits 14-Year-Old Student in Arakan State

2011-11-21T01:39:00.001-08:00

Narinjara

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.

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.

"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.

The source added that the child is a class seven student studying at Awrama Joint Middle School in Buthidaung Township.

"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.

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.

"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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

Construction of Indian Port Harms Residents in Sittwe

2011-11-12T20:18:00.002-08:00

Narinjara

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.

Construction site of India port in Sittwe, Arakan.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

“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.

He said that the best streets in the town including Strand Road are being badly damaged by heavy weight.

“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."

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.

“Now Point Beach is potted, and is not beautiful like before”, said the student.

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.

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.

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.

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.

China Commences Construction of Oil Tanks on Madae Island

2011-11-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

Narinjara

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

Government Officials Take Chinese Pipeline Compensation

2011-11-12T20:17:00.001-08:00

Narinjara

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.

The construction of Chinese gas pipeline now reaches at Kyauk Pru Township in Arakan.

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.

“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.

“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.”

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.

“The officials include an assistant director and a clerk of the land registration department and the village administrator." said U Thin Phay.

“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.”

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.

“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.

“But the villagers are continuing to come to our office”, he added.

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.

Mass Protest Around Misuse of the Term ‘Arakan’ Arises in Arakan State

2011-11-02T18:32:00.001-07:00

Narinjara

By Takaloo
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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.

Mass Protest meeting in Maung Daw, Arakan state.

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.

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).

"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.

"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."

Mass Protest meeting in Buthidaung, Arakan state.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

Farmers in Arakan State Demand Return of Their Confiscated Lands

2011-11-02T18:31:00.001-07:00

Narinjara
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.

“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.

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.

The farmer said the lands are now registered under the names of the commanders’ wives.

“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.

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.

“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.

Min Pyin Village area in Kyaukpru Township is also rich in onshore crude oil and confiscated lands from the village are now being fenced.

“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.

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.

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.

Responses of some Arakanese leaders upon the statement of Union Minister for Energy that there is no plan to use Arakan gas for Arakan

2011-10-30T06:03:00.001-07:00

Narinjara News

Maung Rammar reports.
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.

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:

U Aye Thar Aung
General Secretary of Arakan League for Democracy (ALD)
Secretary of Committee of Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP)

“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.”

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Dr. Aye Kyaw (U.S.A)

“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.”

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Dr. Khin Maung
Chairman of National Union Party of Arakan (NUPA)
Vice-Chairman I of Arakan National Council (ANC)

“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"

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Daw Saw Mra Raza Lurn
Chairwoman of Arakan Women Union

“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.

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Ko Tun Zaw
Joint Secretary I of All Arakan Students and Youth Congress (AASYC)

“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.”

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Ko Wong Aung
Global Coordinator of Shwe Gas Movement

“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.

Summary of Shwe Gas Project

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.

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.

Burma: Cyclones affect more and more Women

2011-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Narinjara News

Nava Thakuria
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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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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’.

“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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.”

Several Agricultural and Human Losses Reported from Recent Storm

2011-10-30T05:58:00.001-07:00

Narinjara News

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

"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.

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.

Police Seize T-Shirt for Campaign Against Shwe Gas Project

2011-10-30T05:54:00.001-07:00

Narinjara News

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.

Rathidaung Jetty

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.

"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.

When they seized the t-shirts, police warned the youths who had participated by wearing them not to travel outside of town.

"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.

However the youths, who are leading the campaign, have vowed to carry out the campaign to the end.

"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.

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".

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.

Woman Arrested for Sending Another to Exiled Organization in Bangladesh

2011-10-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

Narinjara News
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.

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.

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.

Daw Saw Mra Raza Lunn, the President of RWU also confirmed the arrest of Daw Ma Thein in Maungdaw.

“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."

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

Arakanese Suffer from More Toll Taxes

2011-10-26T02:29:00.001-07:00

Narinjara News
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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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.”

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.

“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.”

Prayer Ceremonies Held for Giri Anniversary

2011-10-26T02:28:00.000-07:00

Narinjara News
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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.

The ceremonies were held in Kyaukpru and Taungok in Arakan State and in Mae Sot and Phukhet in Thailand.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Issue of Illegal Toll Taxes by Armed Forces to Stop in parliament

2011-10-16T02:11:00.001-07:00

Narinjara News

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.

A navy outpost in Arakan which collecting tolls from local people

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

Dissatisfaction With Daewoo Company Growing in Kyaukpru

2011-10-16T02:10:00.000-07:00

Narinjara News

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.

“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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

7 Arakanese Political Prisoners Included Amongst those Released

2011-10-16T02:08:00.001-07:00

Narinjara News
Sittwe:

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.

people gathered in insein prison on October 12, 2011

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.

“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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Arakan Human Rights Organization Inaugurated in Thailand

2011-10-16T02:07:00.000-07:00

Narinjara News

By Takaloo
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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.

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.

“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.

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.

“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.

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.

Rock Mass Emerges Off Arakan Coast

2011-01-12T01:16:00.001-08:00

Sittwe: 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.

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."

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.

"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.

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.

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.
http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2860

Remote Buddhist Villages Threatened by Rampant Robberies

2011-01-12T01:15:00.001-08:00

Buthidaung: 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.

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."

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

Nasaka Demands 1.5 Million Kyat Ransom for Bangladeshi Fishermen

2011-01-12T01:14:00.001-08:00

By Takaloo, Teknaf
-------------------------
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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ottama Day Ceremony Held at RNDP Headquarters in Sittwe

2010-09-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

By Thin Thazin Khaing
-----------------------------

Sittwe: The 71st anniversary of prominent Arakanese monk Ottama Day was held at the main office of the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) in Sittwe, Arakan State, on 9 September, said a party leader.

He said, "We were not given permission by the Rakhine State Election Commission to hold the Ottama Day ceremony at Ottama Garden in downtown Sittwe, so we held the ceremony in our headquarters in Sittwe. We started the ceremony at 9 am and ended at 4 pm."

The RNDP had submitted a letter to the Rakhine State Election Commission requesting permission to hold the Saradaw Ottama Day ceremony officially in public, but the Election Commission refused to grant the permission.

"At 9 am, we offered food to nine monks in our office to dedicate to Ottama, who sacrificed greatly in his life for Burma's independence. When it reached 1 pm, we started the public lecture about Ottama. Over 70 people attended the ceremony," the leader said.

According to a source, many police, including plainclothes officers, were deployed near the RNDP office to closely watch the activities, but the authorities did not disturb the ceremony.

This is the first time Ottama Day has been celebrated publicly in Sittwe, as Burmese authorities have not allowed Ottama Day to be observed anywhere in Burma. It is believed that the government has banned the observance out of fear that it might spark political opposition.

"We were able to distribute some pamphlets regarding Ottama Day and party policy. We are very glad because we were able to hold Saradaw Ottama Day in sittwe. We have never before seen such a public ceremony for Ottama Day in my lifetime," the source added.

Saradaw Ottama was an Arakanese monk who sacrificed throughout his life for Burmese independence from British rule. He is considered the first architect of the independence movement because he began to organize Burmese people to fight against the British for independence.

Ottama was born in 1879 and passed away in 1939 during British rule in Burma. The day of his death was designated as Ottama Day to honor him, and Arakanese people outside of Burma hold Ottama Day ceremonies every year in nearby countries such as Bangladesh, India, and Thailand. Burmese authorities however, have banned ceremonies marking Ottama Day inside Burma.

Some student groups in Sittwe also held Saradaw Ottama Day memorials in secret, to honor the monk for his sacrifice for Burma's independence, in spite of the increased security in the area during the holiday.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2721

34 Freedom Fighters Reach Final in Indian Prison Football Tournament

2010-09-13T07:47:00.003-07:00

By Takaloo
----------------

Kolkata : The team of the 34 Burmese freedom fighters has entered the final round after beating the team that was pegged to be the champions in the prison football tournament at the Presidential Jail in Kolkata, India.

The tournament is dubbed the "Inter-ward Friendship Football Tournament 2010", and is sponsored by local NGO Satyam Seva Kenfra and the local football club of the Rotary Club of Kolkata Metropolitan, for the recreation of inmates in the prison, reports a prison source.

There are six teams competing in the tournament that started in August are Supremo, Warders, Twister-B, Venga Boys, New Supporting, and Burmese Freedom Fighters.

"It was a very exciting semi-final match between Supremo and the Burmese Freedom Fighters that was held on 8 September. The match ended in a draw after the score was 3-3. The Burmese finally won the match after penalty shots. Everyone here thought that Supremo would be the champion as they have two Nigerians who play very well and their team was the best in the tournament," the source told Narinjara.

The source added that almost all of the prisoners watching the match were cheering for the Burmese as they understand they are freedom fighters who have been unfairly languishing in Indian jails for more than a decade and they sympathize with their plight.

The 34 freedom fighters are members of the National United Party of Arakan and the Karen National Union, both of which are fighting for their ethnic rights and democracy in military-run Burma.

Indian authorities arrested the men in February 1998 after luring them to Indian territory in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on false pretenses. Six of their leaders were shot dead by Indian forces in cold blood when they arrived at the island.

They have been detained in jails for several years without trials. Their case was finally settled on 12 July, 2010, in the City Sessions Court in Kolkata when they agreed to accept a plea bargain with the Indian spy agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the main plaintiff in the case.

The judge of the court, Uday Chandra Nag, sentenced the freedom fighters to three years in prison and fines of 6,000 rupees, which is approximately 130 US Dollars, on three charges of entering the country illegally, and possession of weapons and explosives.

According to the judgment, the 12 years they have already spent in jail will count as time served for their sentences, but their release from jail will be delayed until they can pay the fines to the court.

The final match of the prison football tournament is scheduled for 18 September, and the Burmese team will compete against the winner of the second semi-final match between the prison officials' team, the Warders, and the inmate team Twister-B.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2722

15 Abbots Appeal to Western Command on Behalf of Arrested Monk

2010-09-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

Sittwe: 15 abbots in Arakan State have appealed to the newly appointed Western Command Commander Brigadier Soe Thein to act justly and fairly toward arrested Arakanese historian monk Ashon Pyinya Sara, said one abbot.

"We sent the five-page appeal letter with the signatures of 15 monks to the Western Command Commander on 7 September, requesting they treat U Pyinya Sara justly and fairly in accordance with the law. U Pyinya Sara had many charges filed against him after he was arrested. Some charges are unrelated to his arrest and some are unacceptable. So I requested the Western Command Commander to reduce some of the charges and to try him justly in accordance with Burmese law," he said.

Among the monks to joined the appeal, 13 are from well-known monasteries in Sittwe while another two are from Ponna Kyunt and Min Bya Townships.

"We have no plans for future campaigns for his release if the authority does not follow our request. We sent the appeal as we have a duty to carry out such activities for Ashon Pyinya Sara. So we wrote the appeal letter to the highest authority in our state. The authority will consider what they will do about Pyinya Sara after they receive our appeal," the abbot said.

In Buddhist law, a monk may be dispelled from the monkhood if he abuses the precepts by living together with a woman.

"The authority told us at first the reason for his arrest is that U Pyinya Sara was living with a woman, but later the authority charged him with several other crimes beyond that. So it is unacceptable. Because of that we requested the Western Command Commander to consider the arrest of U Pyinya Sara on the many charges against him," the monk said.

In the appeal letter, the abbots explained that U Pyinya Sara is a historian monk who also carried out social works by keeping many orphans in his monasteries. He began establishing the orphanages in 1989 and has sacrificed for 20 years for the orphans staying there. So the abbots urged the Western Commander to consider his good behavior and to think about withdrawing some of the more unjust charges, such as the charges for disrupting the stability of the state.

U Pyinya Sara was arrested by authorities in Sittwe on 27 July, 2010, in a raid. When they raided the orphanage, the army authority seized many precious antiques from the library, including ancient silver and gold Arakanese coins, Buddha statues, and palm-leaf inscriptions that had been collected by Ashion Pyinya Sara over the years.

U Pyinya Sara is now being detained at the Sittwe prison and authorities have filed seven charges against him.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2720

RNDP to Hold Ottama Day Ceremony Without Authorization

2010-09-09T02:20:00.002-07:00

Sittwe: The Rakhine National Development Party, which will run in 45 constituencies in the coming election in Arakan State, will hold a ceremony marking the 71st U Ottama Day in Sittwe today, in spite of the Election Commission's refusal to give permission for the event, said a party source.

Dr. Aye Maung, who is president of the party said, "We submitted our application to the Rakhine State Election Commission on 2 September to hold the Saradaw Ottama Day ceremony, but the EC refused to give permission. But we will hold a ceremony in our headquarters to mark Ottama Day despite the EC's refusal."

Saradaw Ottama was an Arakanese monk who sacrificed throughout his life for Burmese independence from British rule. He is considered the first architect of the independence movement because he began to organize Burmese people to fight against the British for independence.

"U Ottama is our great leader who was working not only for Arakanese but for all the Burmese people. We have been unable to hold the memorial day for Ottama for many decades, even though Burma gained independence. So now the RNDP is a political party and it is the time to work toward democracy. So we thought we would hold a memorial ceremony for Ottama to honor his sacrifice for Burma's independence," Dr. Aye said.

According to a party source, the memorial ceremony for Ottama Day will have started at 9 am today, with all party leaders paying respects to a portrait of Ottama. At 1 pm, the party will present speeches about Ottama's lifelong sacrifice for Burma's independence.

A party leader said, "We invited 100 town elders to attend the ceremony. Some historians and lecturers will deliver speeches about Saradaw Ottama at the ceremony."

Arakanese people as well as other Burmese citizens who respect Ottama will hold ceremonies for the 71st anniversary of Saradaw Ottama Day in several countries, including Bangladesh, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and the USA.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2719

Students Barred From Having Cameras at Sittwe University

2010-09-09T02:20:00.000-07:00

By Tun Tun
----------------
Sittwe: Students have been banned from holding cameras in Sittwe University compound by university authorities in order to prevent them from sending photos to exile media and democratic activist in exile, said a student.

"We have been unable to take cameras to Sittwe University at present. The authority has seized the cameras from students if they take them to the university. Many students have lost their cameras after bringing them to the university. The ban is intended to prevent students sending photos of the university to exiled media and activists," the student said.

The prohibition came about after some photos related to Sittwe University were published on a website and journal of exiled media during the student protest that took place in Sittwe last month.

"There is no public notice at Sittwe University that cameras are not allowed, but authorities have been seizing cameras whenever they see students with them. But authorities told us the cameras will be returned to students after the school term is complete," the student added.

At least ten cameras have been taken by university authorities.

Another student from Government Technical College said that the college authority also does not allow students to bring cameras to the GTC. If the authority sees a camera in a student's hand, they will seize it.

Despite the ban, students have still been holding cameras and MP3 devices secretly inside the GTC compound, he said.

Speaking to Narinjara over the phone, a senior student at Sittwe University said, "Many student protests have taken place in the last few years at Sittwe University and the Government Technical College. News of the protests were picked up by exiled media, and exiled radio shows also aired reports of the protests. Because of that, the authority is worried about the spread of news from the schools and has imposed many restrictions at the university and college."

Before the 1988 democracy uprising in Burma, there was a student protest at Sittwe University against the government. The democracy uprising broke out shortly after in Rangoon.

At the Government Technical College, a large demonstration took place last month to protest the increase of school bus fares. About 300 students participated and marched to the Rakhine State Administration Office.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2718

One Robber Killed and Two Seriously Wounded by Nasaka

2010-09-09T02:19:00.001-07:00

By Khin Thein
--------------------
Maungdaw: One robber was killed and another two were seriously injured when Nasaka forces shot at them as they were entering into Rok Nhyo Taung Village in Maungdaw on the western Burmese border , reported a Nasaka source.

"There was a group of ten robbers armed with guns and swords going to rob Rok Nhyo Taung Village around 10:00 pm last Tuesday. Nasaka personnel came across the robbers and shot them. One was killed on the spot, two of them were seriously injured, and the rests ran away," said the source on condition of anonymity.

The deceased robber was identified as Saya Ahmed, son of Sultan Ahmed, while the two injured were identified as Abu, son of Nur Mohammed, and Karim Ullah, son of Yasin. The source could not identify the remaining robbers that escaped.

The robbers were reported to have come from Leda Village in Teknaf on the Bangladesh side by crossing the Naf River in a boat to carry out robberies on the Burmese side.

The source said that some of them were Burmese refugees sheltering in the unofficial refugee camp in Leda Village.

A Burmese refugee from Leda Camp told Narinjara that eight robberies have already occurred inside the camp since last June.

The latest robbery happened on 21 August, 2010, in which ten refugees were injured as the robbers beat them after tying their hands and legs and taking their possessions. The robbers took away their valuables as well as their clothes, cooking pots, and water carrying pitchers.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2717

Villagers Forced to Join USDP

2010-09-09T02:17:00.002-07:00

Kyauk Pru: The Union Solidarity and Development Party, the proxy party of the current military government, has forced Arakanese people to join its party in order to ensure victory in the upcoming election scheduled for 7 November, according to local villagers.

One villager said, "The organizing department of Kyauk Pru Township's USDP ordered all village chairmen in the township to organize 50 villagers from each village tract for the USDP. Afterward, the village chairman in our village forced many villagers to join the USDP."

U Myo Han, secretary of the Kyauk Pru Township USDP organizing department, has been conducting the plan to compel residents to join the party in an effort to secure victory in the election.

Another villager from Zin Chaug Village Tract said, "U Myo Han came to our village in the last week to organize our villagers for the USDP. He met many villagers at the home of the village chairman and forced them to join the USDP."

In Kyauk Pru Township, the National United Party and Rakhaing National Development Party have been conducting wide campaigns to gain popular support for their respective candidates in the election. Within days of the party campaigns starting, the USDP began compelling people to join.

The USDP has conducted their campaign in every village in Kyauk Pru Township with the help of the village councils, known as Rayaka, as well as the people's militias and fire brigades.

According to villager sources, the USDP has also been collecting 1,500 kyats from new party members as entrance fees and to make member ID cards.

Some villagers in Zin Chaung and Sanae Village Tracts have been forced to join the USDP by the USDA authorities, even though they do not wish to be party members for a number of reasons.

The villagers said, "Most Arakanese people are opposed to the upcoming election. They also dislike the USDP because it is a proxy party of the Burmese military government that has oppressed the Arakanese people since gaining power in 1988. Additionally, it is a very busy agricultural season for Arakanese people, so everyone is worried about missing work days if they join the USDP."

The USDP is a political party that formed out of the USDA in order to separate itself from current government affairs, but the influence of the USDP is still high as the party remains controlled by government servicemen and village administration bodies.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2715

The land that is known as Arakan by the foreigners is called Rakhaing-pray by its own people, Rakhaing-thar (Arakanese) who were titled this name in honour of preservation on their national heritage and ethics or morality. Tuesday, September 7, 2010 Internet Slows in Sittwe

2010-09-09T02:17:00.000-07:00

By Tun Tun
---------------

Sittwe: The speed of the internet has become increasingly slow since the end of August, preventing users from even sending any emails with attachments or uploading photos from any of the internet cafes in the city, said a regular internet user.

He said, "The internet connections in Sittwe were not so bad in the past and photos and file attachments could be sent relatively quickly at any of the internet shops. Currently, the internet connections in every shop in Sittwe are very slow and we can not send any attachments or photos."

The slow connection speed in the Sittwe is suspected to be related to politics, not technical issues, said one youth from Sittwe.

"We can use the internet shop in Sittwe for chatting at present. We are unable to visit any website, even though in the past we were able to connect to websites through proxy servers in the past, even though some were prohibited by the authority. I think the election is getting close, so the authority has imposed these restrictions on the internet in Sittwe," he said.

In August, some political parties in Sittwe distributed some statements and photos related to their activities through the internet. The internet connections became slow shortly after.

The authorities were unable to take action against the political parties that had used the internet for their campaign, so they slowed the connection speed so people could not send any big files such as the party statements and photos through the internet," said another user.

Currently, it takes users about three hours to send a large file attachment through email, and many internet users have stopped going to the cafes.

A student from Sittwe said, "Internet fees in Sittwe are a little bit high. We have to pay 500 kyat per hour. We can not sit in the internet shop for three hours to send an email. If we did, we'd have to spend 1,500 kyats just for sending one letter. So we don't visit the internet shops right now."

As the number of customers visiting the internet shops has fallen, the shops are suffering from lost profits. There are ten internet shops in Sittwe, and all are now losing money on running their businesses.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2714

Child Beggars Increases in Western Burma

2010-09-09T02:16:00.000-07:00

Maungdaw: The number of children begging for food has increased this rainy season in the western border town of Maungdaw as many poor families in the area are facing starvation, said one monk from Maungdaw.

The monk said, "Recently, the number of child beggars has widely increased in Maungdaw. About 50 children come to my monastery every day to ask for food. At the beginning of the rainy season, there were about ten children asking for food, but now the number has increased to 50."

Most of the children are from the model villages that have been set up by the military government in the western border area to be settled by ethnic Burmans from Burma proper.

"Most of the children are from the model villages located near Maungdaw. They come to the monastery every morning to ask for food. We donate food every day after our lunch, before noon," the monk said.

According to local sources, many families in several model villages are facing hunger after they have failed to find a regular income or jobs. The parents can not provide daily food to their children so the children visit the monasteries nearby to ask for leftover food.

A businessman from Maungdaw said that the child beggars are not just asking the monks for food, but are also begging from other residents in Maungdaw, adding that, "many child beggars can seen everywhere in Maungdaw at the present."

Some elders from the model villages also come frequently to monasteries in Maungdaw to ask for food whenever they do not have enough food at home, said a source.

The authority has brought many model villagers from Burma proper to settle on the western Burmese border on promises they will develop good livelihoods. The government provides the model villagers with paddy farms, cattle, and other necessary equipment to help them establish their lives in the area.

However, the model villagers are unfamiliar with the area and are unable to successfully run their business or trade in the area due to lack of skills and experience. Because of that, many model villagers face hunger every rainy season and their children have to beg for food from the monasteries and residents in order to survive.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2716

Burmese Immigration Charges Fees for IDs Before Election

2010-09-09T02:13:00.001-07:00

By Takaloo
---------------
Sittwe: Burmese immigration officials have been taking large fees from residents in suburban villages outside the capital Sittwe in western Burma's Arakan State to issue National ID cards that are required to vote in the upcoming election, said one villager.

"The officials are charging a fee that ranges from 3,000 to 10,000 kyat for a card for our villagers even though they have charged residents in urban wards just 1,500 or 2,000 kyat. Most of our villagers here are very poor and can not afford to pay such a fee," the source said.

The daily income for most villagers averages less than 3,000 kyat, approximately equivalent to 3 US dollars, as most are day laborers and farmers.

"We now have great difficulty as the officials have forced us with an order that everyone who is 18 and above by October 2010, and does not yet have an ID card must get a card in order to cast their votes in the election that will be held by the state, and anyone who comes to apply for a card after the election will be rejected," the villager added.

The source said that officials have been issuing ID cards to villagers from five blocks of Mingan, Kandawgree, and Kandawchay Villages in suburban Sittwe since 1 September, and opened a temporary office in Mingan Block 2 to do so.

Applicants for an ID must submit two passport size photos, a photocopy of their family card or photocopies of their parents' ID cards, approval of the VPDC office, and approval from their school if they are still a student. Applicants must also appear in person at the office to have their fingerprints taken. Once all necessary documents can be submitted and fingerprints taken, the applicant must pay a fee of 3,000 kyat. If someone can not appear in person or submit all the necessary documents, they will be charged a fee up to 10,000 kyat by officials.

"As the card is very important for local travelers here in Burma and the authorities are forcing villagers to get the IDs before the election or be denied one later, most have had to pay enormous fees to get their ID cards," he added.

According to local sources, the Burmese military regime's immigration department has been carrying out a census of individuals and updating household and family lists, has been setting up billboards at villages with the village name, population, number of households, and has been issuing National ID cards to people across Arakan State to ensure detailed lists of voters in the election that is scheduled for 7 November.

Local residents reported to Narinjara that immigration officials have also forced parents to get National ID cards for their children as young as ten years old for a fee of 3,000 kyat when they began issuing cards to the non-Muslim ethnic people living in the border townships of Buthidaung and Maungdaw in Arakan State.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2713

Paddy Fields in Arakan Damaged by Drought

2010-09-09T02:11:00.001-07:00

Rambree: Many acres of paddy fields in three townships in western Burma's Arakan State have been damaged by the lack of rain the area this rainy season, said several farmer sources.

The three townships are Taungup, Rambree, and Kyauk Pru in central Arakan State.

A farmer from Taungup said, "Rice plants in many paddy fields in our township have died after the plants did not receive enough water to grow due to the lack of rain."

Arakan Sate typically gets more rainfall than other areas of Burma, receiving up to 200 inches of rainfall per year. This year however, the rainfall has been very scarce.

"Our state gets more rainfall than other regions of Burma. But this year there has not been very much rain. The rain comes one day, but then not again for another ten days. All the paddy fields were damaged without the water and from the high temperatures when it didn't rain," he said.

The paddy fields located on higher ground have been the most damaged because there is no existing water for irrigation when it does not rain.

A local farmer from Min Byin Village in Rambree Township also said that many paddy fields located beside the motor road between Rambree and Kyauk Pru have also been damaged from the lack of rain in the region.

He added that cultivation of some paddy fields in Rambree and Kyauk Pru Townships has also been postponed due to the lack of rain.

Farmers in the township are now concerned for their crop and livelihood after the drought because paddy product will be scarce in the next paddy season.

According to local environmental sources inside Burma, the lack of rainfall in Arakan State this year is related to the deforestation in the mountains of Arakan Roma. Many thousands of trees in the area have been cut down by local authorities and local timber magnates to export to other countries, including Bangladesh.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2711

Northeast Indian Freedom Fighters Move Bases to Burma

2010-09-09T02:10:00.000-07:00

Dhaka: Rebel groups from northeast India, including the United Liberation Front of Assam, the National Liberation Front of Tripura, and the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front have moved their bases to Burma from Bangladesh after Bangladesh authorities cracked down on their activities, according to official reports.

Officials said that northeast Indian insurgent groups have now shifting their bases to Burma from Bangladesh after extreme pressure from Bangladesh authorities.

Bangladesh authorities recently destroyed three camps of the NLFT in Khagrachari District of the Chittagong Hill Tracts near the Indian border. They reconstructed the camps inside Burma, which shares a 1,650-kilometer border with India, the report said.

Bangladesh authorities also recently arrested some leaders of the ULFA in Bangladesh, who are now facing several charges in Bangladesh courts.

The report said that the Indian government has taken up the issue of the rebel groups moving into Burma with the Burmese military junta.

Burmese military authorities have several times promised the Indian government they would expel the groups from Burma, but has yet to take any action. Because of this, the Indian freedom fighters have been able to operate from Burmese soil for a long time.

The Indian rebel groups like the ULFA, KNLF, and NLFA stayed at hideout camps in the remote frontiers of Bangladesh to wage their war against the Indian government for independence for the past few years before the recent crackdown by Bangladesh authorities. The minority groups in northeast India have been struggling for independence from India for nearly four decades because of human rights violations in their states by Indian law enforcement.

http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2712

Free Ashun Pinnyasara (Burmese pronounciation: Ashin Pyinnyasara)

2010-09-04T06:11:00.001-07:00

World Arakanese Community has created Online Petition for
Ven.Pinnasara who was arrested by Burmese Military Government also
known as State Peace and Development Councial (SPDC) on Tueday, July
27, 2010.

Ashun Pinnyasara, 57, is one of the famous Monks of Arakan and he is
highly esteemed by Arakanese people due to his good morality and
selflessness. As antiquarian and historian, he collected a lot of
valuable curios and palm leaf inscriptions which are all Arakanese
ancient materials as evidences and documents. And he was taking care
120 children, whose parents are lost, in his monastery like orphanage.

Burmese military personals occupied his Buddhist monastery, all
ancient materials of his properties which are belonging to Arakanese
National and 90 of his orphans were sent to Mandalay and Maguey far
away from their native place of Arakan by Burmese Army. He is sued by
unacceptable Seven Cases of lawsuit by Burmese authorities who have
created a lot of issues among the Burmese and Arakanese. He recently
transferred from Police Station I to Akyab jail and he was faced two
times had summoned for jury to the court of Akyab.

As the expression of World Arakanese Community concern to be released
of Ven. Pinnyasara, and they have created and published web email
signature campaign globally and all Arakanese and all people from
Burma should be united to show the signature as this is one of causes
of our concern under the unlawful rule of SPDC.
(We kindly request you to fwd this email as much as you can)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please sign your petition via the following link.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/free-ashun-pinnyasara/

Arakan Indobhasa

Authority Bans Public at Ashion Pyinya Sara Trial

2010-09-04T06:07:00.001-07:00

Sittwe: The military authority banned the public from attending the trial of Arakanese historian monk Ashion Pyinya Sara's trial that was held on Monday in the Sittwe district court, despite previously allowing the public to be present when the monk was produced before the court.

A relative of the monk said, "We went to the court to hear the trial of U Pyinya Sara on Monday, but the authorities did not allow us to attend the hearing."

Ashion Pyinya Sara was arrested by the Burmese military authority on 27 July. Since then, the monk has been brought before the court three times. All previous times, members of the public were able to sit in the courtroom to hear the trial.

"Many armed security police were deployed at the entrance gate of the court compound as well as inside the courtroom on the day. The police officials barred us from entering the courtroom to hear the trial, but the police did not disclose why they authority was banning the public from the trial," he added.

On 17 August, during the second day of the trial, the government's main witness, Daw Mala, stated before the judge that the monk had not lived with her and that that the monk was innocent of the charges. She confessed to accusing the monk of cohabitation in order to get money after the complainants, U Tun Thein and Aung Win Kyaw, offered to pay her two million kyat if she accused Ashion Pyinya Sara of living with her.

News about Daw Mala's confession spread wide and many people realized the accusations against the monk are baseless.

"The authority worried the information from the trial would leak out if the public was allowed to attend the court. So the authority barred the public from attending the hearing. It further proves the charges against Ashion Pyinya Sara have been fabricated by the authority," the relative said.

Ashion Pyinya Sara is a well-known Arakanese historian who has written many articles related to the ancient kingdom of Arakan and Arakanese literature. The authority, however, sees this as behavior contrary to the solidarity of the union. U Pyinya Sara also refused to cooperate with the military authority when they proposed he work for the military government.

It was learned that many people believe the arrest of Ashion Pyinya Sara is related to politics and his behavior against the military government.

U Pyinya Sara is now being detained at the Sittwe prison and authorities have filed seven charges against him. Among them is one serious charge of disrupting the stability of the state.

Narinjara

RNDP Submits 45 Candidates to Election Commission

2010-09-04T06:06:00.001-07:00

Sittwe: The Rakhine National Development Party, the largest Arakanese political party, submitted a list of 45 candidates to the Election Commission to run in elections for three parliamentary bodies in the upcoming election scheduled for 7 November.

President Dr. Aye Maung said, "Our party submitted our candidate list to the Election Commission during 27 to 30 August. We had planned to submit 65 candidates from our party but we were able to submit only 45 candidates from our party due to financial crisis and insufficient time."

Among the 45 candidates, 43 will run in Arakan State for three places in parliament - the Lower House, Upper House, and state and regional parliament - and two candidates will run in Rangoon and Irrawaddy Divisions.

The RNDP will not be running for any parliamentary seats in Maungdaw Township on the western border, nor for three parliamentary seats in Ann, where the Western Command is stationed.

"We did not have enough time to organize people from some townships, especially Maungdaw, Ann, and Man Aung. So we neglected some parliamentary seats from those townships," Dr. Aye said.

Dr. Aye Maung, who will himself run in Sittwe for a seat in the Upper House of the national parliament, believes his party will win a majority of seats in Arakan State in the election.

"It is the only nationalist party of Arakan to carry out our national interests and the people of Arakan understand which party represents the people of Arakan. Our candidates are expected to be voted by our people in the election," he added.

Meanwhile, the Union Solidarity Development Party, the proxy party of the military government, submitted candidates for all parliamentary seats throughout Arakan State. The USDP selected many educated Arakanese and retired army officials from Arakan as candidates to run in the state.

According to a source, the other major political parties, including the National Unity Party, the successor of the Burmese Socialist Programme Party, and the Rakhine National Force Party (Myanmar) also submitted several candidates who are Arakanese nationals to the Election Commission on 30 August.

According to the recent constitution approved by the military government in 2008, there are a total of 1,187 seats in all the parliamentary bodies, including 330 seats in the People's Parliament, or Lower House, 168 in the Nationalities Parliament, or Upper House, and 689 in the state and regional parliaments.

Narinjara

Village Level Election Commissions Suffer Poor Funding

2010-09-04T06:04:00.001-07:00

Maungdaw: Village-level election commissions throughout Arakan State are suffering from a shortage of government funding for their work, said a member of one village election commission in Maungdaw.

"Our village election commission has spent 300,000 kyats from our own pockets for the election work since we were appointed in August to the commission. We especially spent money traveling from our village to Maungdaw several times, and have also spent money for receptions for township Election Commission officials when they visited our village," the source said.

In Maungdaw Township, the Township Election Commission has not provided any funds yet to the village election commissions. Because of the lack of funding, the village election commissions are carrying out their work using their own personal funds.

"We have no authority like the army and village council, known as Rayaka, to collect money from villagers for our work. So we spend our own money for the election mechanism," the source added.

According to local sources, many chairmen from the village election commissions in Maungdaw Township are disappointed with their role and work after the authority has neglected to provide funds for their operation.

A village council clerk who is now secretary of a village election commission told Narinjara over the phone that there is a rumor in Maungdaw that the village commissions will serve food and necessities to polling security forces and poll-booth officials during the election.

After hearing this information, some chairmen want to resign from their village election commission posts out of fear that with the lack of funding from the military government, they will have to spend money from their own pockets to fulfill this duty of providing food and necessities.

Narinjara

Arakanese KNPP Party Submits 6 Candidates to UEC

2010-09-04T06:03:00.001-07:00

By Maung Aye
-----------------
Sittwe: The Kaman National Progressive Party, an ethnic minority party in Arakan State, was able to submit only six candidates to the Union Election Commission, or UEC, to contest in the upcoming election scheduled for 7 November, 2010, said party president U Zaw Min.

Speaking to Narinjara over the phone, he said, "We submitted six candidates to the UEC for three townships in Arakan State. We could not submit candidates in some townships in Arakan State due to insufficient time and funds."

U Zaw Win said that he will run in the Sittwe constituency for Pyitaungsu Parliament, or the Lower House, while senior leader U Hla Toe will run in the Sittwe constituency for the National Parliament, or Upper House.

Another two leaders, U Kyaw Nyein and U Aung Hla Tun, will run in the Sittwe constituency for the Rakhine State Parliament.

U Tun Myint will run in Rambree Township for the Rakhine State Parliament, while U Tin Hlaing will run in Thandwe for the State Parliament.

"Our party is formed by Kaman patriots in order to carry out the development of the Kaman people as well as our state, Arakan. We are able to win some seats, where our people are a majority, in Arakan State," he added.

In the 1990 military sponsored election, U Shwe Ya, a candidate from the Kaman party, which was banned later by the authority, won in the second seat in the Sittwe constituency, but authorities later canceled the results after some rival politicians in Sittwe complained.

The Kaman are an ethnic minority nationality in Arakan, and the Kaman people are primarily Muslim.

Narinjara

Paddy Fields in Arakan Damaged by Drought

2010-09-04T06:02:00.001-07:00

40 Arrested in Southeastern Bangladesh for Involvement in Drug Trafficking from Burma

2010-09-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

Tun Tun
-----------
Coxâ€™sbazar: Bangladesh authorities arrested 40 people in the southeastern border district of Cox's Bazar near Burma in connection with drug trafficking during the eight month period from January to August, according to a report of the local authorities.

In eight months, the authorities also seized 18,000 yaba tablets from individuals who had smuggled the tablets from Burma to Bangladesh through several border points along the Naff River.

According to the report, most of the yaba traffickers were arrested at busy public areas like the jetty, markets, and bus station in Teknaf Town, opposite the Burmese town Maungdaw.

Among those arrested are both Burmese and Bangladeshi nationals.

A businessman from Teknaf told Narinjara yesterday over the phone that the number of people arrested in connection with yaba trafficking has increased recently in the Bangladesh border area after authorities began increasing law enforcement on the border.

Many ordinary people in the western border area of Burma have become involved in yaba trafficking after suffering from the economic crisis and chronic unemployment.

In Burma, the price of a standard yaba is 3,300 kyat, while a lower standard yaba fetches 2,000 kyat. However, in Bangladesh the prices for the same standard and lower standard tablets are 5,000 and 3,500 kyat respectively.

Narinjara

RNDP Submits 45 Candidates to Election Commission

2010-08-31T05:41:00.000-07:00

Sittwe: The Rakhine National Development Party, the largest Arakanese political party, submitted a list of 45 candidates to the Election Commission to run in elections for three parliamentary bodies in the upcoming election scheduled for 7 November.

President Dr. Aye Maung said, "Our party submitted our candidate list to the Election Commission during 27 to 30 August. We had planned to submit 65 candidates from our party but we were able to submit only 45 candidates from our party due to financial crisis and insufficient time."

Among the 45 candidates, 43 will run in Arakan State for three places in parliament - the Lower House, Upper House, and state and regional parliament - and two candidates will run in Rangoon and Irrawaddy Divisions.

The RNDP will not be running for any parliamentary seats in Maungdaw Township on the western border, nor for three parliamentary seats in Ann, where the Western Command is stationed.

"We did not have enough time to organize people from some townships, especially Maungdaw, Ann, and Man Aung. So we neglected some parliamentary seats from those townships," Dr. Aye said.

Dr. Aye Maung, who will himself run in Sittwe for a seat in the Upper House of the national parliament, believes his party will win a majority of seats in Arakan State in the election.

"It is the only nationalist party of Arakan to carry out our national interests and the people of Arakan understand which party represents the people of Arakan. Our candidates are expected to be voted in by our people in the election," he added.

Meanwhile, the Union Solidarity Development Party, the proxy party of the military government, submitted candidates for all parliamentary seats throughout Arakan State. The USDP selected many educated Arakanese and retired army officials from Arakan as candidates to run in the state.

According to a source, the other major political parties, including the National Unity Party, the successor of the Burmese Socialist Programme Party, and the Rakhine National Force Party (Myanmar) also submitted several candidates who are Arakanese nationals to the Election Commission on 30 August.

According to the recent constitution approved by the military government in 2008, there are a total of 1,187 seats in all the parliamentary bodies, including 330 seats in the People's Parliament, or Lower House, 168 in the Nationalities Parliament, or Upper House, and 689 in the state and regional parliaments.

Narinjara

Bangladesh and China Keen to Construct Tri-Nation Road and Rail Link Via Burma

2010-08-31T05:39:00.001-07:00

Dhaka: The issue of proposed road and rail links between Bangladesh and China via Burma was discussed by the visiting governor of Yunnan Province, Qin Guangrong, and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Prime Minister's office in Dhaka on Sunday morning.

The two leaders discussed the issue when Governor Qin Guangrong paid a courtesy call on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladesh Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad briefed media after the meeting, reporting that China is keen to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh regarding road and rail communications between the two countries.

"China will provide support to Bangladesh to increase the tri-nation road connectivity involving Burma," he said, quoting Governor of Yunnan Qin Guangrong.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina intends for tri-nation road and rail connectivity to promote trade and business between Bangladesh and China.

During the meeting, Qin explained to the PM that the Chinese government will extend all necessary cooperation to establish the 170-kilometer highway to connect Bangladesh, Burma, and China.

In reply, the Prime Minister said that the proposed highway connecting Chittagong with Burma and Kunming would play a vital role in increasing bilateral trade and commerce.

During the meeting, the two leaders also discussed several other bilateral issues, including agriculture, education, civil aviation, tourism, and power and energy.

Bangladesh has been approaching the Burmese military government to construct the tri-nation road and rail link from Bangladesh to China for decades.

Burma has expressed a willingness to construct the tri-nation road link but has yet to implement any part of the plan. Because of this, Bangladesh is seeking China's help to pressure Burma to implement the road and rail link projects.

Narinjara

3 Female Students Remain Under House Arrest in Sittwe

2010-08-30T05:02:00.000-07:00

Sittwe: Three female Arakanese students who were taken into custody by authorities at the Mahamuni Buddha Vihara orphanage on 27 July, 2010, remain in detention at a police home, said a family source.

18-year-old Pyu Pyu Win, 16-year-old Hla Thein Khaing, and 16-year-old Hla Than New have been detained by authorities in Sittwe since 27 July, 2010. The girls had been completing their education at the Mahamuni Buddha Vihara orphanage.

A family member said, "We had a chance to meet them at the police link, but were unable to bring them to their family who are living in rural villages in Arakan State. They have been detained by authorities since Ashion Pyinya Sara was arrested by authorities on 27 July."

The authorities took the girls along with over 100 orphans from Mahamuni Buddha Vihara to the police station a day after arresting the abbot of the orphanage, which was soon sealed off.

Authorities first detained the three girls at the No. 1 police station along with the orphans, but later moved them to a police line located in Rupa Ward in Sittwe.

"The authority moved over 100 orphans to Burma proper, particularly Mandalay and Magwe Division, but has kept the three girls in Sittwe. We do not know the reason behind the authorities keeping them under house arrest in Sittwe up to now," the source said.

Pyu Pyu Win is the daughter of U Sein Shwe Aung from Kyin Chaung Village in Minbya Township, while Aye Thein Khaing is the daughter of U Aung Kyaw Thaung from Own Padi Village in Kyauk Taw Township. Ma Than New has no parents and her address is unknown.

The parents of Pyu Pyu Win and Aye Thein Khaing came to Sittwe to take their daughters, but the authorities have not allowed them to take their daughters anywhere.

The girls were studying as high school level students at the Mahamuni Buddha Vihara orphanage, which was organized and established by Ashion Pyinya Sara. The authority arrested the monk on several accusations on 27 July. Since then the girls have been kept under house arrest without any explanation.

U Pyinya Sara is now being detained at the Sittwe prison and authorities have filed seven charges against him. Among them is one serious charge of disrupting the stability of the state.

Narinajra

USDP Candidates of Maungdaw Deposit 500,000 Kyats for Election Commission

2010-08-30T05:01:00.001-07:00

Maungdaw: Five candidates from the Union Solidarity Development Party in Maungdaw Township in Burma's western Arakan State deposited 500,000 kyats each with the Township Election Commission on Thursday as registration fees, said a close associate of the USDP.

"They deposited the money with the Election Commission after their oats were completed in the township court. The candidates submitted the money to the EC along with the certificate of oaths," he said.

Among the candidates are three Muslims and two Buddhists, but most are living in Rangoon and Sittwe.

"The USDP candidates for Maungdaw are U Htay Win, U Maung Tha Khin, U Jahangir, U Mra Aung, and U Aung Zaw Win. They went to the EC yesterday to deposit the registration fees," the source added.

U Aung Zaw Win, a Muslim businessman living in Rangoon, will run for a seat in the upper house, or Pyithaungsu Lwet Taw.

Retired teacher U Maung Tha Kin, an Arakanese national living in Maungdaw, will also run for a seat in the National Legislature as a USDP candidate, while another Muslim man, U Htay Win, will run for a seat in the National Legislature.

Mr. Jahangir, a retired Muslim teacher, and U Mra Aung, an official from the Cooperative Department, will run for seats in the Arakan State Legislature.

According to a source, the USDP candidates in Arakan State have been depositing the registration fees with the EC in their respective townships in Arakan State since 26 August.

All candidates who want to run in the upcoming election must pay the EC a fee of 500,000 kyat, the equivalent of 500 US dollars, which is more than half a year's salary for an average schoolteacher.

Narinjara

Two Robbers Executed at Nasaka Headquarters

2010-08-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

By Takaloo
--------------
Maungdaw: Two robbers were executed on the night of Monday, 23 August, at the headquarters of the Burmese border guard force Nasaka, a week after they were arrested in Kyikan Pyin of Maungdaw in western Burma's Arakan State, reported a witness source at the headquarters.

The robbers were identified as Mohammed, 30 years old, and Kashem, 28 years old, who were said to have been caught by Nasaka officers during an operation in the jungle of the Mayu Mountains on 16 August.

"The robbers were executed with sharp blows by a strong wooden rod on the back of their heads while they were put in a squatting position after being blindfolded and having their hands and legs bound, at around 10:00 pm last Monday at the Hill No. 4 Security Outpost at the headquarters," the source told Narinjara on condition of anonymity.

The source added that the bodies of the robbers were buried at the base of the Hill Outpost.

In connection with the robbers, Nasaka forces have also arrested 48-year-old Nur Alam, who was a former VPDC secretary in Ward No. 5 in Maungdaw. He is still being detained at the detention camp at Nasaka headquarters.

According to the source, more than 20 robbers broke up into separate groups after committing an armed robber around midnight on 9 August in a Hindu village near Maungdaw. The robbers split up when villagers resisted them with an alarm; the robbers fatally shot one young villagers and seriously wounded five others.

The two executed robbers had been on the look-out for the authorities during the robbery and missed their groups when they quickly pulled out of the village. One group of the robbers was said to have snuck into Alaethankyaw in southern Maungdaw while another group fled across the Mayu Range into Bangladesh.

The source said that the group that ran to Bangladesh also robbed a Buddhist monastery in Ngwe Taung Village in the Mayu Range as they ran, leaving the monk of the monastery with his hands and feet tied.

Local residents who have been victims of the robbers told Narinjara that in every case the robbers impersonated Nasaka personnel who are checking guests in the household, then intruded into the homes and looted possessions.

In some cases, the victims had witnessed the robbers wearing Nasaka uniforms and using guns similar to those used by the border guard forces.

One local elder said, "They should not execute the arrested robbers in a quiet way. The robbers should be brought to a public trial, and then they should be convicted for the long perpetrated crimes. Now it is quite sure, people in our localities say, that the crime had the involvement of and was abetted by some Nasaka personnel."

Nearly 50 armed robberies have happened in Maungdaw and Buthidaung on the western border in Burma's Arakan State from mid-2009 to present, reports a police source.

Narinjara

Bangladeshi Youth Arrested With Counterfeit Kyat Notes in Burma

2010-08-30T04:59:00.000-07:00

Takaloo
----------

Maungdaw: A Bangladeshi youth was arrested by Burmese border guard force Nasaka with counterfeit 5,000 kyat notes last Thursday in Maungdaw on the border in western Burma's Arakan State, said a police sergeant.

"The youth was arrested with more than 20 counterfeit 5,000 kyat notes by Nasaka personnel in a restaurant in Maungdaw last Thursday," the sergeant told Narinjara on condition of anonymity.

Issak was said to have been arrested by Nasaka forces who happened to be nearby and became suspicious after he paid the restaurant with one of the fake notes. He is now being detained in Kyikan Pyin Nasaka Headquarters in Maungdaw.

Cross-border traders told Narinjara that the counterfeit 5,000 kyat notes are in wide circulation on the western Burmese border and they have to exercise caution when receiving notes during trading.

"We have been finding the fake notes quite often at the moment, especially the 5,000 kyat notes. If we are careless we suffer the losses, as they are usually coming mixed in with the real currency. So we have to ensure we don't receive or pay the notes," said money exchanger from Maungdaw.

"It is quite easy to differentiate the real and the fake ones, but we have to rub it with our finger tips properly. The real ones are thin and smooth while the fake ones are thick and rough," he added.

According to traders from Burma, the fake notes usually come in with the traders who have exchanged their money in Bangladesh, as well as with Bangladeshi traders who come to Bangladesh for business.

Similarly, forged 500 taka notes are also in wide circulation across the Bangladesh - Burma border area, and for Burmese it is very difficult to distinguish the fake notes from the real ones.

The cross-border money exchangers explained that some fake 500 taka notes are quite difficult to identify. The fake notes can be determined after closely checking the silver flat ropes bearing words in the Bengali language, which are embedded on the right side of the real notes. Such silver ropes are not present in the fake notes, which simply have silver lines printed on the surface of the notes in the same location.

According to Bangladesh media, during the past month one Filipino woman, one Nigerian man, and one Bangladesh man were arrested by local authorities in Gulshan, a diplomatic quarter in Dhaka, for forging Bangladesh currency and US dollars.

Narinjara

RNDP to Contest in 15 Townships in Arakan

2010-08-17T08:10:00.002-07:00

By Maung Aye
--------------------

Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP)

Sittwe: The Rakhine National Development Party, or RNDP, has decided to contest in the upcoming 7 November election in 15 townships in Arakan State, said a party leader.

Speaking to Narinjara over the phone, Dr. Aye Maung, President of the RNDP, said, "We have decided to run in 15 constituencies in Arakan State, excluding Buthidaung and Maungdaw due to financial and other problems."

He added that the constituencies of Buthidaung and Maungdaw are Muslim-dominated areas where they feel they have little chance to win, and they are forgoing running in those areas to focus on other townships.

The Election Commission designated a total of 17 constituencies in Arakan State in an announcement that was made on 11 August, 2010.

"We are having problems finding the 500,000 kyat deposit per candidate, but we hope the crisis will be overcome by collecting funds from party members and wealth Arakanese who support our party. If we are unable to collect enough money in contributions, we will have to take a loan from some business companies," he said.

The RNDP is now selecting its candidates to enroll their names with the Election Commission, which is allowing the submission of candidates from 16 to 30 August.

The party is expected to win many places in Arakan State if the election is free and fair, as it has received broad support from the people of Arakan.

"We hope our party will win in Arakan State in the election. Our party policy is based on nationalism, the Arakanese people like our party policy and would support us in the election," Dr. Aye Maung said.

Narinjara

Burma to Lease Over 100,000 Acres of Arakanese Land to Vietnam

2010-08-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

Maung Aye
----------------
Taungup: The Burmese military government is now preparing to least 129,000 acres of land in Arakan State to Vietnam for rubber cultivation, according to a report of local journal Hot News published on 13 August, 2010.

The report stated that the Burmese military authority has already agreed to lease the land to a Vietnamese company, but did not mention the name of the company.

If true, most of the land located between Taungup Township and Ma Ei Sub-Township in Southern Arakan will be leased to the Vietnamese corporation in the near future. A survey of land in the two townships, including mountain ranges near Ma Ei Sub Township, was recently completed by the survey department.

According to a local source, officials from Arakan State's survey department in Sittwe traveled to the area along with several officials from the local survey department last week to inspect and survey the lands located in the eastern and western parts of Ma Ei Township.

In Arakan State, rubber plantation projects began several years ago in 1995, and there are now 2,231 privately-owned acres of rubber plantation as well as 978 acres owned by Industry Ministry 1.

The Burmese military government also agreed to lease 50,000 acres of farm land to Bangladesh in 2007, but the project has not yet been implemented for reasons that are unknown.

Narinjara

5 Burmese Arrested with Bangladesh Passports

2010-08-17T08:08:00.001-07:00

Dhaka: Bangladesh police on Wednesday arrested five Burmese nationals with Bangladesh passports in the capital Dhaka, according to a police report.

The report stated that five Burmese nationals along with two Bangladeshis were arrested with Bangladesh passports Wednesday night in a raid on Hotel Shuvo Internationa in the Askhon area of Dhaka.

The arrested Burmese were identified as 27-year-old Mohammad Kaies, 22-year-old Jahed Alam, 20-year-old Rahidullah, 20-year-old Amin, 22-year-old Ershad, while their Bangladesh partners were identified as Hossain Mobarak and Adamzi, both 23 years old.

A police source said the Burmese nationals are from Arakan State and they admitted they obtained the Bangladesh passports using false documents.

Burmese nationals using Bangladesh passports are getting involved in crime abroad, besmirching the image of Bangladesh, the police source added.

However, Burmese Muslim youth Habi Owler, who is living in Chittagong, denied this accusation and said many Muslim people from Arakan have traveled to Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, using Bangladesh passports in order to find work.

He added that Muslims in Arakan State are unable to travel freely abroad, or even within the state and because of this some enter Bangladesh and obtain Bangladesh passports so they can travel abroad and find jobs.

Narinjara

Burmese Yaba Continually Seized in Bangladesh

2010-08-17T08:07:00.001-07:00

By Takaloo
--------------
Teknaf: Thousands of yaba stimulant tablets smuggled across the border into Bangladesh were seized by Bangladesh law enforcement over the last week, according to border media reports.

Two Bangladeshi traffickers were arrested with 5,000 yaba tablets by BDR, Bangladesh's border security force, on Thursday, 12 August 2010, at the checkpoint in Dumdum Mia in southern Bangladesh's Teknaf on the border with Burma's Maungdaw.

The two were identified as 26-year-old Mohammed Nazan, and 25-year-old Dilwar. They were caught by BDR at the checkpost with the tablets while traveling in a car from Teknaf to the sea resort Cox's Bazar. The tablets were reportedly smuggled into Teknaf by a rowboat from Maungdaw.

In a different case, another Bangladeshi youth was arrested with 1,011 yaba tablets by BDR on the banks of the Naff River in Teknaf on Tuesday, 10 August 2010, while he was smuggling the tablets across the border in his row boat from Maungdaw. He was identified as 18-year-old Mohammed Kaiser from DumDum Mia Village in Teknaf.

Another Burmese Muslim youth was arrested with 1,800 yaba tablets in Lamar Bazar Market in Teknaf by local police on Monday, 9 August 2010, while he was on his way to meet his Bangladeshi syndicate contact in Zaila Para in Teknaf.

The Burmese youth was identified as 21-year-old Kamal Hossain, son of Nur Ahmed from Ward No. 2 in Maungdaw. His syndicate contact was identified as 26-year-old Masou, who was also arrested by police in connection with the case.

According to sources across the border area, both Burmese and Bangladeshi traffickers are widely engaging in the yaba trade as it has become one of the most lucrative businesses in the area, with demand high in Bangladesh.

There are three types of yaba being smuggled into Bangladesh from Burma - Super, R7D, and Champa - all of which bear the mark "WY" on the face of the pills. Wholesale prices are approximately 2,000 to 3,500 Kyat per pill in Maungdaw in Burma, while the price ranges from 300 to 500 Taka in Bangladesh, or approximately 4,000 to 7,000 Kyat at the current exchange rate of 1.00 Taka to 13.8 Kyat.

Although Bangladesh has been taking serious action to stop the cross-border yaba trafficking, officers from Burma's border guard force Nasaka have been abetting the crime by taking bribes from the traffickers or indirectly engaging in the business themselves, said the sources.

Narinjara

Authority Increases Electricity to Taungup to Avoid Protests

2010-08-17T08:06:00.001-07:00

Taungup: The military government has adopted the new tactic this year of providing more electricity to Taungup in an effort to placate residents and avoid further protests like those that have taken place over the last few years.

Taungup is a town located in western Burma's Arakan State where dozens of protests against the military government have broken out over the last few years, in spite of efforts by the authorities to crack down on such demonstrations.

Every Burmese person knows of the town's role in the democracy movement in Burma due to the many protests that have been staged there. As a result of the protests, many democracy activists in the town have been arrested by the authorities and sentenced to long prison terms.

U Kyaw Khaing, Chairman of Taungup Township's NLD, was sentenced to two years in prison while Ko Min Aung, General Secretary of the township NLD, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

U Khin Hla, Vice-Chairman of Taungup Township's NLD, as well as many youths, including Ms. Ni Ni May Myint, Moe Nay Soe, Chit Mg Mg, Maung Maung Thet, and Than Htay, are being detained in several prisons for their anti-junta activities.

Speaking to Narinjara over the phone, a youth from Taungup said, "The authority has been distributing electricity twice a day to our town, during the day and night, since the beginning of August. It is very strange compared to previous times, but I know why the authority is supplying more power to our town - it is intended to placate people and lure them to support the government."

The authority supplies electricity from the state-owned generator in the town from 6 pm to 10 pm at night, and supplies electricity from another generator owned by businessman U Kyauk Taung from 10 am to 4 pm during the day.

"U Kyauk Taung is a business partner of army generals in Burma. He distributes the electricity in the town during the day, but the authority provides the fuel for his generator," the youth said.

According to a local source, the government has also constructed a black-top paved road between downtown and the traffic jetty in a further attempt to gain support of the locals for the upcoming election, and to avoid protests. The road was ruthless in the past and people were unable to travel it in cars.

In Arakan State there are several towns larger than Taungup, including Sittwe, Thandwe, and Kyauk Pru, but they are currently not getting more than three hours of electricity a day.

Narinjara

Anti-Election Campaign in Arakan

2010-08-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

By Takaloo
----------------

A monastery in Kyauk Pru

Kyauk Pru: A poster and leaflet campaign urging people to oppose the upcoming junta-planned election and the political parties that have registered to run has been occurring in Kyaukpru Township in western Burma's Arakan State, report local residents.

A resident of Kyaukpru told Narinjara that posters stating, "Oppose the Election to Save Yourself from Being a Lifelong Military Slave", and leaflets bearing the title, "Oppose the Registered Political Parties in Support of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi", were posted and distributed in public places throughout the city during the night of 6 August.

"It was amazing to see such a poster and leaflet in almost every place including households, markets, and offices in our town. But we do not know yet who has done this. We heard that the campaign is still spreading to the rural areas such as Krettin, Pyatwe, Saikrun, Katthapyay, and so many other villages in our township," the resident said.

They added that the leaflets are urging the public to boycott the election by not voting for any political party, accusing the parties of being national traitors that support legitimizing the military junta that seized state power by force and illegal maneuvers.

A goldsmith from the Kyaukpru market reported that local police came to their market the next morning and took the posters and leaflets from their shops, and interrogated the shopkeepers about whether they saw the culprits. However, no shopkeepers were arrested for possessing the posters or leaflets.

According to the source, local authorities have been stepping up security with the deployment of police forces in every place that draws crowds, and four police vehicles have been patrolling the streets around the clock since the anti-election campaign started.

Kyaukpru is one of the towns that supported the National League for Democracy led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the 1990 election in Arakan State.

Special Branch police are suspicious that NLD members may be involved in the campaign because the leaflets contained the name of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. They have been closely watching local NLD members since the campaign started, said the sources.

Narinjara

Recently Formed Political Party Issues Statement on Monk's Arrest

2010-08-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Sittwe: A recently formed Arakanese political party issued a statement on the arrest of a historian monk in Arakan State on Monday, after authorities seized many precious ancient artifacts and relocated 100 orphans to undisclosed locations.

The information department of the Rakhine National Development Party issued the statement with a title of "Our opinion on the event of Mahamuni Buddhavihara" on 9 August.

A 20 - year - old student from Sittwe said, "Such a statement issued in Burma in the past would be very dangerous, but now the political party in Burma can do it in accordance with the law. It is the first ever statement in my life as I have never seen such a thing issued before by an Arakanese group inside Burma."

In the statement, the party expressed thanks to people who enthusiastically discussed with party leaders the issues of relocating the orphans and seizure of precious antiques.

The party stated that the ancient antiques that were seized by authorities are an invaluable part of Arakanese inheritance and should be placed in Arakan State in accordance with law so they may be displayed for visitors.

Moreover, the party said that the arrested monk Ashion Pyinya Sara should get the chance to face charges in court in accordance with the law of Burma because he is a citizen.

Party spokesperson U Khaing Pyi Soe said, "Our statement is concerned with several orphans from the monastery and the ancient antiques. We also have a duty to protecting the children and the valuable Arakanese artifacts. So we want to know how to protect the orphans and conserve the ancient antiques by ourselves. We issued the statement to offer Arakanese people the chance to do so together."

When they raided the orphanage on 27 July, the army authority seized many precious ancient antiques from the library of the orphanage, including ancient silver and gold Arakanese coins, Buddha statues, and palm-leaf inscriptions that had been collected by Ashion Pyinya Sara over the years.

After the raid, the authority forced nearly 100 orphans to move to Burma proper, including Rangoon and Mandalay.

According to local sources, the Arakanese people are angry with the authorities' seizure of the artifacts and relocation of the 100 orphans.

Narinjara

Arrested Monk Refuses to Eat

2010-08-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

Sittwe: Ashion Pyinya Sara, an Arakanese historian monk who was arrested by military authorities on allegations of impropriety, has refused to eat since 27 July, when authorities detained him in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, reported a town elder.

ရခိုင္သမိုင္းသုေတသီ ရမၼာ၀တီ အသွ်င္ ပညာစာရ

He said, "I heard through an inside police source that Ashion Pyinya Sara has refused to take food since he was arrested by authorities. He is now in serious condition due to not eating for a long time."

57-year-old Ashion Pyinya Sara is being detained at Sittwe No. 1 police station for interrogation, without any formal remand from the court.

"There are many reports that he has been tortured severely by authorities during the interrogation. Since he was arrested, he has been brought to the interrogation cell several times where authorities questioned and tortured him. However, he has remained silent and not offered any information," the source said.

U Pyinya Sara is a well known Arakanese historian as well as a leading abbot of the Buddha Vihara Mahamuni orphanage in suburban Sittwe, where more than 100 orphans live and receive an education.

The military authority arrested him on charges that he was living with a woman against religious law, that he has been involved in politics, and that he buried many children in the orphanage compound without notifying authorities.

According to a local source, the authority arrested the monk soon after some officials from the NGO Martayzar, which provides food and educational support for children and women, complained to the military authority in Sittwe.

One analyst in Sittwe said, "The arrest of U Pyinya Sara is a little strange and different because the army's second commander of the Western Command himself participated in the arrest along with many soldiers. The allegations and arrest are not an army concern, but army officials were still involved in the arrest. It shows what authorities wanted to arrest him."

The army authority also seized many precious ancient antiques from the library of the orphanage, including ancient silver and gold Arakanese coins, Buddha statues, and palm-leaf inscriptions that have been collected by Ashion Pyinya Sara over the years.

Ashion Pyinya Sara is a respected historian who often revealed the history of Arakan through articles published in journals and magazines. The authority, however, sees this as behavior against the solidarity of the union.

It was learned that some Sittwe residents believe the authorities' accusations against Ashion Pyinya Sara, but others believe the charges are baseless.

Narinjara

RNDP Opens 11 Township Offices in Arakan State

2010-08-10T07:40:00.001-07:00

Kyauk Taw: The Rakhine National Development Party has opened 11 township offices in Arakan State since the party was given formal approval as a political party by the Election Commission, said a party source.

Speaking to Narinjara, party chairman U Aye Maung said, "We were able to open 11 township offices in our state by opening an office in Kyauk Taw on Thursday. Only six township offices remain to be opened in Arakan."

The party has opened offices in all but six townships in Arakan. The remaining townships are Maungdaw, Man Aung, Ann, Taungup, Thandwe, and Gwa.

The RNDP opened an office on Thursday in Kyauk Taw, with Chairman U Aye Maung and over 300 participants in attendance. Kyauk Taw is a business town close to Paletwa Township in southern Chin State.

"Over 300 people attended the opening ceremony of the office in the town. The ceremony was held with a traditional ceremony, and many attendees asked several questions to party leaders, especially on the 2008 constitution," he said. Party leaders responded to questions one after the other about the 2008 referendum.

"People in our state doubted the constitution approved by the government's referendum in 2008, but they understood after explanations of our leaders. They understood our policy and main objectives in the ceremony, and they donated cash worth 900,000 kyats to the party's fund," the chairman said.

During the opening ceremony, the RNDP Kyauk Taw Township committee was formed with 20 members. Some pamphlets and newsletters containing party policies were also distributed among the people.

Some officers from army intelligence and the police department attended the opening ceremony to closely watch party activities, but did not cause any disturbances.

"Our party is the only nationalist party of Arakan State to carry out the state's interest and development, so many people in our state support our party morally and physically. We hope we will win in Arakan State in the forthcoming election," the chairman said.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party and the Rakhin National Force (Myanmar) Party are also strong in Arakan State, and are major rivals of RNDP in the elections scheduled for the end of this year.

Narinjara

Imprisoned Shan Leader Arrives in Sittwe

2010-08-10T07:39:00.001-07:00

Photo by SHAN

Sittwe: Imprisoned Shan leader, 74-year-old Major-General Hso Ten, arrived in Sittwe on Saturday from Rangoon, to be transferred to Sittwe prison, said a source close to the prison.

"He arrived at the Sittwe airport at 1:50 pm on 7 August along with many escorts and was brought to Sittwe prison soon after he landed," the source said.

He was reportedly transferred to Sittwe from Khamit in Sagaing Division in upper Burma.

The leader of the Shan State Army-North, Major-General Hso Ten was sentenced by the junta authority in Naypyidaw to 106 years in prison in 2005 for defamation of the state, association with illegal parties, and conspiring against the state.

"He was sentenced by Naypyidaw on 3 November, 2005, along with eight other Shan politicians," a Shan source said.

Major-General Hso Ten is reported to have been suffering from high blood pressure and an eye problem since 2008, three years after his arrest. He is also reported to have broken his arm when he slipped and fell in the bathroom recently. To date he has received no treatment for his health problems, according to the Shan Herald Agency for News.

Sittwe prison is the largest in western Burma, and held prominent 88 Generation student leader Ko Min Ko Naing when he was detained from 1989 to 2004.

Narinjara

47 Orphans Moved to Undisclosed Location

2010-08-10T07:38:00.001-07:00

Sittwe: 47 orphans from Maha Muni Buddha Vihara orphanage have been moved by authorities to an undisclosed location after their orphanage was closed and sealed off on Monday.

A social worker from Sittwe said, "The authority brought 47 orphans aged between 5 and 7 from the orphanage to an unknown place on a bus labeled Kyin Din Aung on Monday. We do now know why or where the children have been moved by authorities."

People in Sittwe strongly suspect the 47 orphans were taken to Rangoon and Mandalay to be placed in orphanages run by the military government.

The Burmese military took steps to move the children to undisclosed locations after the orphanage was sealed off by authorities on Monday, after the abbot of the orphanage, Ashion Pyinya Sara, was arrested.

More than 100 orphans had been living and studying at the Maha Muni Buddha Vihara orphanage in suburban Sittwe for a long time.

"The other 70 orphans have been detained at the Sittwe No. 1 police station since the 47 were taken to unknown locations. Among them are some young adults who many expect will be sent by the authorities to army recruiters to join the army," the source said.

Because of reports they would be conscripted, some of the adult orphans fled from where they were being detained at the police station.

Authorities have also prepared to send the rest of the orphans to other places soon, but no one knows where they will be sent.

"We are now anxious about the children and many people in Sittwe oppose the authority's plan for sending them to unknown locations and the army recruitment unit. Now the issue is facing public criticism in Sittwe," the man said.

Narinjara

Member of RNDP Secretary Board Interrogated for Six Hours

2010-08-10T07:36:00.001-07:00

Sittwe: A member of the secretary board for the recently approved Rakhine National Development Party was interrogated on Monday by military intelligence officers about two political papers that were seized from Ashion Pyinya Sara.

U Khaing Pyi Soe, a member of the secretary board of the RNDP, said, "The police officials brought me along with two of my pupils to Police Station No. 1 in Sittwe by motorbikes at 6:30 pm on Monday, saying they wanted to ask me some questions. When I arrived at the police station, the officials from military intelligence and the police department asked some questions about the two political papers."

The two political papers were found by military authorities in the library of Ashion Pyinya Sara when they raided the Maha Muni Buddha Vihara orphanage in suburban Sittwe to arrest the monk.

"They asked me several questions about the two papers, one was, 'When the slave term of Arakanese reached 226 years' and the other was titled, 'A comparison of the 2008 election'. They asked if I owned the papers but I denied that they belonged to me," U Khaing said.

U Khaing Pyi Soe and his pupils were released at 10:30 pm after six hours of interrogation at the police station.

U Khaing Pyi Soe is also a former central committee member of the Arakan Communist Party, and served 22 years in prison for involvement in an insurgency against the central Burmese government.

He became a member of the RNDP secretary board when the party was formed this year to contest in the election scheduled for later this year.

The military authority arrested Ashion Pyinya Sara, an Arakanese historian monk, on 27 July on allegations of many improprieties.

The army authority also seized many precious ancient antiques from the library of the orphanage, including ancient silver and gold Arakanese coins, Buddha statues, and palm-leaf inscriptions that had been collected by Asion Pyinya Sara over the years.

U Khaing said, "I had served as a volunteer teacher in the orphanage for a few years. The authorities thought the papers belonged to me, so they questioned me about them. Now I realize the arrest of Ashin Pyinya Sara was related to the breaking religious law but also politics."

U Pyinya Sara is still being detained at a police station and has not been brought before any court to face charges, despite one week having passed since his arrest.

Ashion Pyinya Sara is a respected historian who often revealed the history of Arakan through articles published in journals and magazines. The authority, however, sees this as behavior against the solidarity of the union.

Narinjara

1 Killed and 3 Injured in Robbery in Hindu Village in Western Burma

2010-08-10T07:32:00.001-07:00

Maungdaw: One person was killed and another three were seriously injured by armed robbers to looted cash and jewelry from a goldsmith's house on Monday night in Maungdaw on the western Burmese border, said a police officer.

"One Hindu youth, who tried to defend himself, was killed when the robbers opened fire, and another three were wounded during the robbery of a goldsmith's house in a Hindu village in Maungdaw Township," he said.

About 15 bandits with guns entered the Hindu village, located at four mile ward outside Maungdaw Town, at midnight, impersonating Nasaka officials to perpetrate the robbery.

The bandits tied up four village sentries with roped when they reached the entrance gates of the village. They then forced the sentries to show them the goldsmith U Ni Maung's house. A nephew of U Ni Maung attempted to defend himself during the course of the robbery, and the culprits opened fire and shot the youth to death, the police source added.

The robbers also beat up many people in the village, injuring three villagers who tried to resist before they fled the village with their loot. Among those injured are one village who had his eye gouged, and another who had his hand broken.

The deceased victim and wounded were sent to Maungdaw hospital soon after the incident.

On the western Burmese border, there are a number of law enforcement agencies to maintain security, but robberies continue to take place. Because of this, people in the border area are now living in a state of insecurity.

Narinjara

Deputy Home Minister to Run in Maungdaw for Pyidaungsu Hluttaw

2010-07-27T21:16:00.001-07:00

Maungdaw: The Union Solidarity Development Party, USDP, is now preparing a list of candidates to run in the upcoming election, including some candidates in Arakan State, said an official from Maungdaw on condition of anonymity.

In Maungdaw Township, Deputy Home Minister U Phone Swe was reportedly selected as the USDP candidate for the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union Parliament) while two other candidates have been selected for the Amyotha Hluttaw( National Parliament).

"There is information spreading in Maungdaw that U Phone Swe will contest in the Maungdaw constituency for the Union Parliament and U Mra Aung and San Swe will contest in Maungdaw for the National Parliament," the official said.

U Mra Aung is Chief In-Charge of the Cooperatives Department in Arakan State and U San Swe is a former teacher and owner of United Boarding in Maungdaw.

Deputy Home Minister Phone Swe visited Maungdaw several times along with some prominent Muslim businessmen from Rangoon to organize the Muslim community in Maungdaw Township during the past few months.

Phone Swe is very close with two Muslim businessmen - U Aung Naing and Aung Zaw Win - who are natives of Maungdaw Township, and he is receiving the support of some Muslim businessmen in Maungdaw.

The official also said that the National United Party, the party descended from the late General Ne Win's Burmese Socialist Programme Party, has no plans to put up a candidate in the Maungdaw constituency, but will support the USDP there.

Maungdaw is a Muslim dominated area, and Phone Swe will run as a representative of the Muslim community there, despite that he himself is not Muslim. To date there has been no word of any Muslim candidates running in the election in Maungdaw.

It was also learned that some Muslim leaders in Buthidaung and Maungdaw have visited Naypyidaw on the invitation of Phone Swe to discuss election issues.

Narinjara

2 Burmese Border Guards Arrested in Bangladesh

2010-07-27T21:15:00.001-07:00

By Maung Than Sein
-----------------------

In 2007, two Nasaka border guards surrendered to Bangladesh police with sophisticated weapons

Cox’s bazaar: Two officers from Nasaka, Burma's border guard forces, were arrested by Bangladesh Rifles for illegally entering Bangladesh territory on Saturday, 24 July, at 11 am.

According to an official source, BDR Battalion 17 arrested the two men in Chakma Headman Village located at the Gundhum - Tumbro Border Pillar 37, 120 yards inside Bangladesh. The area is located close to Maungdaw on Burma's northwest frontier.

The arrestees were identified as 35-year-old Sergeant Tin Aung Soe, and 38-year-old Lance Corporal Aung Myo Thung. BDR personnel arrested the men while they were drinking wine in Chakma Village.

The Nasaka officers are from a checkpost where Nasaka collects tolls for goods, including cows and goats, when they are smuggled into Bangladesh from Burma. The two officers are currently being questioned at the BDR camp, the source said.

In 2007, two Nasaka border guards surrendered to Bangladesh police with sophisticated weapons in their possession, but Bangladesh authorities later handed them back over to Burma.

The source added that the two men most recently arrested will also soon be transferred back to Burmese authorities.

Narinjara

Burmese dictator Than Shwe’s visit to India: Shame for New Delhi

2010-07-27T21:02:00.001-07:00

By Nava Thakuria
-----------------------

Cartoon by Nituparna Rajbangsi

The Burmese military ruler Than Shwe is visiting India this week. The chairman of State Peace and Development Council is supposed to meet many high profiles in the largest democracy of the world. Senior General Than Shwe is expecting moral support and endorsement from New Delhi for the proposed general election in Burma (Myanmar).

The international community may not repose faith on the proposed election later this year, but the regime at Naypyi Taw has completed all necessary formalities for the polls to be held after two decades in the Southeast Asian country. From the United Nations to the Amnesty International and America to several other democratic and progressive nations, everyone has raised voices for a free, fair and comprehensive election in the poverty stricken country. They are unanimous in their views that the proposed election would bring little change for the poverty stricken nation.

Meanwhile, Burma Centre Delhi has submitted a memorandum to the Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh urging New Delhi to denounce the proposed 2010 Burma election, unless the military regime initiates for the release all political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, engage in genuine political dialogue and review the 2008 Constitution. The India based pressure group has also appealed the government to pursue with the Burmese military regime for a free, fair and inclusive election in Burma.

“We are deeply disturbed with the official visit of General Than Shwe to India as he does not represent the 50 million peoples of Burma. Rather the dictator represents only the military regime that has been culpable in mass atrocities and many systematic international crimes. Than Shwe is also solely responsible for attempting to assassinate Ms Suu Kyi, in what has become known as the 2003 Depayin Massacre,” said in the memorandum, which was endorsed by a good number of organization and individuals.

The Burmese Head-of-State is meeting the Indian President Pratibha Devising Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the UPA chief Sonia Gandhi with other dignitaries during his visit. Than Shwe will also meet some Indian business-giants including the TATA group before he left India.

An Indian sympathizer to the pro-democracy Burmese cause argues that New Delhi has provided some legitimacy to the junta in its endeavour to continue ruling the country with different attire. He has also criticized the Indian government for giving an opportunity to Than Shwe to ‘clean up some of his blood stained hands’ after all the rights violation activities in Burma.

Even the International Federation for Human Rights has termed the State visit of General Than Shwe to India a shame for the world's largest democracy. In an open letter to Dr Manmohan Singh, the rights body urged for New Delhi’s indirect responsibility for improving the grave human rights violations in Burma.

Earlier the Burmese communities living in different parts of the world had taken the opportunity to celebrate 65th birthday of the pro-democracy icon Ms Suu Kyi and tried to draw the attention of international community. In fact, the pro-democracy activists and sympathizers used the event to start coordinated demonstrations against the military controlled election in their country.

The democratically elected leader of Myanmar, Ms Suu Kyi had observed her birthday on June 19 once again under the house arrest in Yangon. Not only the Nobel Peace Laureate lady, the military junta has imprisoned over 2000 political leaders and activists. They are denied free movement as well as liberty to participate in the forthcoming election.

Amnesty International also advocates for the release of all political prisoners including Ms Suu Kyi. The London based rights body has urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, to pursue with the junta for an immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience. It also insisted for protection of rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association throughout the elections period and beyond in Myanmar.

"ASEAN has repeatedly emphasized that the elections should be held in a 'free, fair and inclusive manner'. Yet those calls do not go far enough to highlight the human rights that are most at risk in the elections context. Indeed, the Myanmar government has not taken any steps to improve its poor human rights record as the polls approach', said Benjamin Zawacki of AI.

On the other hand, the Indian Parliamentarian's Forum for Democracy in Myanmar has urged the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-moon and also friendly countries of the Burmese regime to adopt pragmatic actions for the release of Ms Suu Kyi with other political prisoners in the country.

The Parliamentarian's Forum has sent letters to the Heads of the States and Governments of Australia, European Union, UK, France, Norway, Russia, US, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China and India strongly urging them to keep on pressurizing on military rulers of Myanmar to engage Ms Suu Kyi in the process of democratization.

The Parliamentarian's Forum has appealed the Heads of the States and Governments not to endorse and recognize the 2010 election result if the constitution announced in 2008 is not amended and if political prisoners are not released before the polls. They were supported by the Burmese exile groups organizing demonstrations against the imposed military election in front of Myanmar Embassy, United Nations building and other public places on the day to draw the attention of the international community.

"It is already clear that the military's elections this year will not be a step forward that Burma needs. The NLD and many ethnic groups have already decided that they cannot participate in such a sham election. The Indian government should stand with the people of Burma in demanding genuine democratic elections, rather than supporting the military's election," said Dr Tint Swe, MP elect in 1990 Myanmar election.

In the meantime, the Myanmar Election Commission issued a directive on June 21 prohibiting the political parties on campaigning that 'harms security, the rule of law and community peace'. With this order, the regime has simply tried to deny the freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in Myanmar.

Condemning the military dictatorship of Burma as well as flawed its election laws, the senior Burmese political leader demanded an immediate release of all political prisoners. Even the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the US President Barack Obama also joined in the chorus for the release of Ms Suu Kyi.

Dr Swe concluded saying, "We demand for a genuine political dialogue with opposition and ethnic groups of Burma before the election. Moreover, we reaffirm our conviction that the people of Burma deserve the freedom to choose their future for themselves."

Burma to Strengthen Pipeline Security Under Chinese Pressure

2010-07-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

By Takaloo
--------------
Kyaukpru: Burmese military authorities are planning to beef up security for oil and gas pipeline projects on Madae Island in Arakan State due to Chinese pressure, reports a police officer.

The source said that China had raised concerns over security risks at its pipeline projects in Arakan after a series of bomb explosions at the Chinese hydropower dam project in Myitsone in northern Burma's Kachin State.

"Authorities' plans for strengthening security for oil and gas projects are now underway as China expressed concerns for its pipeline projects in Arakan after deadly bomb blasts at its Myitsone Dam project this past April," the officer told Narinjara on the condition of anonymity.

The officer added that a large police station is now under construction and nearly 100 police personnel will be deployed to safeguard the Chinese projects on Madae Island.

China National Petroleum Corporation has begun construction in February on two oil and natural gas pipelines and a deep-sea port on Madae Island in Arakan's Kyaukpru Township, in collaboration with Burma's Asia World Company.

According to the local villagers, there is anger over the Chinese projects on the island as the Burmese military authorities and Asia World Company have evicted nearly 50 families from their homes and confiscated 30 acres of arable lands for the projects, without compensation.

The villagers, however, also said that there is no local armed group or organization that is capable of attacking the Chinese projects in Arakan State, which is ruled under high security. They are concerned that the security reinforcements for the project will result in more violations and restrictions against villagers in the project areas.

Currently, there are Burmese navy headquarters, three army battalions, and several police stations in the areas near Madae Island in Kyaukpru Township.

Narinjara

White Elephant Captured in Arakan

2010-07-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

By Khaing Khaing Zan
----------------------------
Maungdaw: Burmese authorities captured a rare white elephant on Sunday in the deep forest of the Mayu Range in Maungdaw Township on the western Burmese border, according to local and official reports.

The white elephant is reportedly young and fairly small, and has pearl-colored eyes and light pink skin.

The white elephant was captured by a group of officials from the forest department with the help of local villagers in the deep forest near Pawet Chaung Village in northern Maungdaw Township.

The elephant was moved to the Nga Khura Nasaka outpost yesterday to begin training.

According to a Nasaka source, the elephant will be brought to Naypyidaw, the new capital of Burma, after being trained in Arakan for seven days.

This is the third rare white elephant to be found in Burma after two were captured in the same mountain range in Arakan State in 2001 and 2002. The elephants have been placed in a garden in Rangoon that allows visitors.

In Burma, the ancient kings believed that white elephants were strong symbols of royalty, power, and prosperity, and that possession of a white elephant increased their own power.

Narinjara

Sittwe GTC Students Stage Demonstration for School Taxis

2010-07-08T07:31:00.001-07:00

Sittwe: Over 300 students from the Government Technical College in western Burma's Arakan State staged a demonstration on Monday by walking on the streets after the school taxis failed to pick up students at the college, one student said.

"We gathered in front of the Rakhine State Peace and Development Councilâ€™s office gate and staged the demonstration after the school taxis failed to take us from the school to our homes. Later authorities from the university came and promised to solve the problem immediately, so we stopped our demonstration," he said.

The Government Technical College is located on the outskirts of Sittwe, ten miles from downtown. Students have to travel to and from schools in private taxis.

The demonstration was started by students at 3 pm when they usually return home after school in taxis, and the demonstration finished at 9:30 pm.

"The school taxis could not come to our school yesterday to pick us up because the fuel supply for the taxis was stopped by the authority. Even though some taxis came to our school, they demanded 100 kyat more than the normal fee of 200 kyat. At that time the demonstration broke out at our college and marched on the streets," the student added.

The government recently transferred the business of supplying fuel to the privately-owned Htoo Company, led by business icon Teza. The Htoo Company has been unable to supply fuel to the taxis as before, and the taxis subsequently stopped serving the college due to a loss of profit.

According to student sources, the college authority has been in discussions with local high authorities in Arakan State to solve the problem since the demonstration, but so far no decision has been reached.

"We will continue to stage the demonstration if the taxis are still absent and demanding more fare from us. We have to know the college authorities' decision today about the problem with the school taxis," the student said.

Two years ago there were similar student demonstrations after the taxis raised their fares, but the taxi drivers later cut their fares after the government authority intervened.

Narinjara

Special Police Forces to Fight Armed Robberies on Border in Western Burma

2010-07-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

By Takaloo
--------------
Sittwe: Two special police forces have been deployed to combat the rampant armed robberies in the border townships of western Burma's Arakan State, said a police officer from the Arakan State Police Headquarters based in the capital Sittwe.

"Two units of police forces were sent to Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships last Wednesday by the state headquarters, to combat cross-border robberies there," said the officer on condition of anonymity.

The officer said that more than 40 cases of dacoity, which were deemed to be committed by cross-border robbers, have been reported since mid-2009 in those townships near Bangladesh. Seven of those cases so far have lodged FIR with the local police stations, and most of the cases were reported to Nasaka forces deployed to guard the border in those townships.

"Police are responsible for curbing crimes in the state, that is why the police headquarters have sent additional forces to strengthen the local police stations to crack down on robberies in those areas," the officer said, although he refused to give further details about the robberies.

Border sources told Narinjara that there are at least two gangs of robbers operating in Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships, as well as in the Naff River that demarcates the border between Burma and Bangladesh. Each gang is estimated to have 15 to 30 members, along with automatic guns.

In most cases, the robbers have mimicked Nasaka's tactic of checking houses during the night in order to gain access and loot homes in villages in the border townships.

Some of the victims said that the robbers who entered their homes were local Muslims, but some of those robbers surrounding the house were in Nasaka uniforms and were armed with automatic guns like Nasaka personnel.

A number of fishing boats and boats illegally crossing the border have also been robbed in the Naff River at gunpoint.

A source close to the local police said that it would not be easy for the police to nab the robbers, who have been operating in the area for a long time and have tight security covers with Nasaka forces and local army battalions, both of which wield significantly more power than the police.

It was also learned that the gangs have been committing the robberies from bases of operation in Bangladesh, especially in hide-out camps located in remote areas of Bangladesh territory.

Narinjara

Bangladesh to Build Railroad to Burmese Border by 2014

2010-07-08T07:25:00.001-07:00

By Takaloo
----------------
Dhaka: Bangladesh on Tuesday said it is planning to build a railroad up to the Burmese border by 2014, at a cost of 18.52 billion taka, with aims to provide a corridor for the proposed Trans-Asian Railway and to connect to China through Burma.

The statement was made during a press briefing by AK Khandker, Planning Minister, after a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council that was chaired by Prime Minister Sheik Hasina.

"The committee has approved an 18.25 billion taka project to construct a single-track rail route from Chittagong to Gongdoon on the [Burmese] border. The rail route is especially aimed at providing a corridor for the Trans-Asian Railway as well as building up communications with China," the minister told the press after the meeting.

The proposed railroad will be a 128-kilometer long, single-track meter gauge, and construction is set to begin sometime this month.

Bangladesh signed as agreement to join the Trans-Asian Railway network in November 2007, after a three-year feasibility study conducted from 1999 to 2001 found connecting to the network would be beneficial.

By connecting to the Trans-Asian Railway, which will also be part of a trans-continental rail network, Bangladesh will be able to link with Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Singapore through Burma, as well as with Europe through Turkey.

Bangladesh is also keen on using the proposed Chittagong-Gongdoon rail track to connect with China's Kunming through Burma.

Premier Sheik Hasina had also raised the issue of Chittagong-Kunming road and rail links during her recent official visit to China as significant steps in boosting bilateral ties between the two countries.

According to a senior official from the Bangladesh Communications Ministry, it is quite feasible for Bangladesh to construct the rail link with China by crossing Burma, as much of the railway network currently exists, despite some significant gaps.

A railroad was constructed between Chittagong and Sittwe after a complete feasibility study by the Burmese railway authority from 1917 to 1919, during British colonial rule, but it could not be completed due to the breakout of World War II.

In Chittagong District in Bangladesh and in Maungdaw Township in western Burmaâ€™s Arakan State there are some partial rail tracks that are still being found that had been constructed for the then proposed Chittagong-Sittwe rail line.'

The official said Bangladesh is seeking cooperation from China and Burma for implementation of the proposed tri-nation railway network that would also be part of the Trans-Asian Railway, by renovating the existing old tracks and connecting the newly constructed tracks through Burma.

The proposed 14,000 kilometer Trans-Asian Railway was initiated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in the 1960's, with the primary purpose of providing a conduit through which trains could pass without interruption between Asia and Europe.

By 2001, four corridors provided for the project had been closely examined. Of those four, the southern corridor runs from Europe to Southeast Asia, connecting Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, and Thailand, with links to China's Yunnan Province and Singapore via Malaysia.

Narinjara

School Closed After Demonstration

2010-07-08T07:22:00.001-07:00

Sittwe: The Government Technical College in Sittwe was closed by authorities on Tuesday after students staged a demonstration against the increase in school bus fares on Monday, said Ko Kyaw Myint, a student from the college.

"The college authority announced the school would be closed immediately on 6 July, soon after the demonstration took place, as authorities were worried the demonstration would continue into the next day," he said.

Over 300 students from the college staged a demonstration on Monday by walking in the streets from the school to the state administration office in Sittwe, after the school bus fares increased suddenly.

"We staged the demonstration in front of the Rakhine State Peace and Development Council's office demanding the the school bus fare be reduced when we reached there. We stopped our demonstration after the authority promised us the fares would return to normal," he said.

The demonstration started at the college at 3 pm, when the school buses demanded 200 kyat per trip from each student. The fare had previously been only 100 kyat.

"We were unable to pay 200 kyats in bus fare one way, so we all agreed to stage a demonstration by marching to the Rakhine State Peace and Development Council office to state our demands. We started our walk at 3 pm and reached the office at 8:30 pm. When we arrived at the office we demonstrated and demanded a reduction in the school bus fares," he said.

The authority promised to reduce the fares, but the college authority still announced the school would be closed the next day. According to sources, many students are now avoiding the school out of fear that authorities will take action in response to the demonstration.

"The college authority announced it would close the school on 6 July, but many students would not go to school today on 7 July out of fear of action by the authorities. The school is to remain closed through next Sunday," the student added.

The school bus bus owners had to demand the 200 kyats for one-way fare from students after steadily losing profits. In the past the bus owners received fuel from the government to run between Sittwe and the college, but the government stopped supplying the fuel after handing over operations to the privately-owned Htoo Company, led by business icon Teza.

The Htoo Company has been unable to supply fuel to the school buses as before, and the buses subsequently demanded double fare from students.

Two years ago there were similar student demonstrations after the buses raised their fares, but the bus drivers later cut their fares after the government authority intervened.

Narinjara

UNICEF Provides Tent School for Tornado Affected Children

2010-06-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

By Takaloo
--------------
Sittwe: UNICEF set up a tent school for children in Thaychaung Village in Sittwe, the capital of western Burma's Arakan State, last Wednesday, a week after the village primary school was damaged by a powerful tornado.

A school teacher, however, said that most of the children were unable to come back to their classes as their already poor lives had been worsened by the tornado.

"Most of my students have now dropped out of school because they have lost everything - their houses as well as stationary and textbooks - to the destructive tornado. They are very poor and the disaster has worsened their lives. As their parents are also relying on them to help rehabilitate their families, they have no opportunity to come to school," said the teacher.

According to the villagers, one man was killed and several others were injured, and more than 30 houses and the primary school were damaged when the tornado hit their village in the early morning on 14 June, 2010.

The victims are still in need of aid, particularly for rebuilding their homes that were destroyed.

UNICEF is the first to provide the tent school in the village in place of the only primary school, which was destroyed in the disaster.

According to local sources, more than 50 other schools in Ponna Kyunt, Kyauktaw, Minbya, Rathidaung, Buthidaung, and Maungdaw Township in Arakan State were also damaged by recent flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rains.

Ref: Narinjara

Two More Arakanese Parties Allowed to Form

2010-06-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

Sittwe: The junta-backed Election Commission has approved the applications of two more parties in Arakan State to form political parties for the upcoming election, report party sources.

The Kaman National Progressive Party was approved by the Election Commission on 16 June to form a political party to contest in the upcoming election, and the Khami National Development Party was approved by the Election Commission on 21 June.

A total of five political parties have been allowed to form for the election in Arakan State. Those parties are: Rakhine state National Force of Myanmar, Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, Mro (or) Khami National Solidarity Organization, The Kaman National Progressive Party and Khami National Development Party.

Another political party, the Mro National Party, has also registered with the Election Commission on 23 June but has not yet been approved to form an official party.

According to the Election Commission, there are 42 political parties in Burma that have already registered to form political parties. Among them, 33 parties have been approved to form political parties in accordance with election law.

Although five political parties have been approved by the Election Commission in Arakan State, the parties are still awaiting permission from the Election Commission to undertake campaigns in Arakan.

The Election Commission announced recently that every political party needs to apply to undertake an election campaign, but the Union Solidarity Development Party, the military-government backed party led by Prime Minister U Thein Sein, is currently conducting an election campaign in Arakan State without official permission.

Ref: Narainjara

Kaman Party to Remove Monogram from Flag After Opposition

2010-06-28T04:28:00.001-07:00

Sittwe: The Kaman National Progressive Party, which was recently granted permission to form by the Election Commission, will remove its monogram from the party flag after some Arakanese politicians expressed opposition to it, said a party spokesperson.

He said, "We have decided to remove the monogram from our flag because the monogram represents the state of Arakan, not the party. We realized we should not use the monogram of Arakan State for an individual party. We are now preparing to make another flag with a new design."

The Election Commission announced in military government-run newspapers on 16 June that the public had a week to voice opposition to the flag and seal of the Kaman National Progressive Party.

Afterward, some politicians filed their opposition to the party's use of Arakan State's monogram on the party flag. In the party flag, there is a monogram of Arakan State surrounded by seven stars along with three colors - red, green, and blue. Above the image is a sun and crescent.

"We will remove the monogram of the state but the seven stars will remain on the flag because they represent the seven nationalities in Arakan State," he said. However, he did not name the seven nationalities represented by the stars.

The Kaman National Progressive Party was formed by some Kaman patriots in Rangoon with the aim of promoting the development of Arakan and the Kaman people. The Kaman is an ethnic nationality living in Arakan State, and the people primarily practice Islam.

In the 1990 election, a Kaman party won a parliamentary seat in the Sittwe constituency, but later the government authorities withdrew the position from them after an Arakanese candidate who had lost challenged their victory with accusations of election fraud.

Ref: Narinjara

Tha Zwa Le’s Lyric

2010-06-16T07:32:00.001-07:00

In the deserted pasture

Of the monkey king

Grow the mixed vegation of ‘Thabyu’ trees

The pig in greed

Muches on the trees.

A trap is laid

The pig is killed

The pasture is raised to the ground

And the crafty monkey

Cut up the piggy

To fill up his belly.

Only then, Oh Rakhine

You live in peace!

...........................

Translated By Mrauk-U Thar

Opinion of One Exiled Arakanese Political Leader on Arakanese Parties Contesting in 2010 Election

2010-06-11T07:24:00.001-07:00

The Burmese military government has been planning to hold an election this year, and three political parties have recently emerged to represent Arakan and run in the 2010 election. They are the Rakhine National Progressive Party, the Mro and Khami National Solidarity Organization, and the Myanmar Rakhine State National Force Party. The Arakan League for Democracy, or ALD, which won the most votes in Arakan and 11 parliamentary seats, has officially announced that not only will they boycott the election but they will not even register as a party with the election commission. The ALD states as it reasons that the new constitution of Burma was unscrupulously adopted by force and fraud, and it will not bring any democratic or ethnic rights to the people of Burma.

Dr. Khin Maung Exiled Arakanese Political Leader As with the Arakanese political parties, perspectives on the election among the people are also mixed. In such circumstances, one of the leading figures from the Arakanese political community, Dr. Khin Maung, sat with Narinjara's Ko Maung Aye to discuss the parties that will run in the upcoming election.

Dr. Khin Maung: Before speaking about whether we should compete in the 2010 election or not, I would like to talk about our stand on the matter.

First, we denounce the new constitution that was single-handedly drafted and undemocratically ratified by the Burmese junta to prolong their dictatorship.

Second, the constitutional referendum was held in 2008 right after the Cyclone Nargis catastrophe that destroyed hundreds of thousands of people, ignoring the pain and suffering of the people. Therefore, we strongly condemn the 2008 constitutional referendum and the resulting constitution itself.

Third, since the upcoming 2010 election is going to be held on the basis of that 2008 constitution it will not be a free and fair election, so we also oppose it.

Now the election regulations have finally come out, and when we analyzed them we found more immoral tricks. That has solidified our opposition to the election and we will continue opposing it.

However, I won't rule out the necessity of having other political organizations and sincere people to stand up and serve all Arakanese and to protect Arakan's rights. So I won't oppose anyone who is trying to form a political party to run in this election. Anyone can become involved in politics based on their belief and passion, and I have no feelings against them.

Narinjara: Do you think that having Arakanese parties run in the election can bring some benefits to the state and its people?

Dr. Khin Maung: It all depends on the extend of freedom and democracy inside parliament. Burmese generals might give some slack that they think can not hurt them. Depending on how well the representatives and senators can take advantage of this, how far they can fight for Arakan, and how willing they are to represent Arakan, the benefits could vary.

Narinjara: Do you know how much Arakanese people trust the competing parties and their candidates?

Dr. Khin Maung: Only the party or a person who really serves the people of Arakan deserves the peoples' trust. People will vote for the party they trust. In the 1990 election, as people trusted some leaders of the ALD, they voted for the ALD. In reality, some dishonest and conniving people became representatives. We need to be careful that does not happen again.

Narinjara: If the competing parties win some seats in the parliament, how well will they be able to work for Arakan and her people?

Dr. Khin Maung: It depends on how well freedom and democracy prevail in the parliament. Also, it depends on how much the representatives would like to serve the people who election them. If a party led by individuals determined to work for the people wins, to some extent, it could benefit Arakan.

Narinjara: If a certain political party that truly represents Arakan does not register and run in the election, what kind of impact could that have on the state?

Dr. Khin Maung: Well, it is necessary to be politically clever and contemplative. As I mentioned above, it depends on which party or who will faithfully and seriously represent Arakan. People have to differentiate who is for them and who is not. We must understand that this election is a "system change" for Burmans. In other words, it is a change from a military dictatorship to a democratic system. But for other non-Burman ethnic groups, including Arakanese, it is a fight for survival of their national identities. Burmese and ethnic people might see that difference. In terms of how much a party that does not register and contest in the election could affect Arakan, it will also depend on how well parties and representatives in parliament will be able to work for their national survival and development. At the very least, I hope they have the chance to protect their national survival.

Narinjara: Regarding this upcoming election, what would you suggest to the people of Arakan?

Dr. Khin Maung: What I would like to say is rather than generally hoping that Arakanese parties win the election, I would like them to vote based on who and which party will truly fight for the people of Arakan, who and which party will serve the people of Arakan in the best of their knowledge, and who and which party will try to protect the national interest of Arakan. I would like them to elect someone who can serve Arakan by deeds rather than by words.

Ref: Narinjara

Unknown Disease Spreads on Western Burma Border

2010-04-14T00:18:00.000-07:00

Maungdaw:
An unknown disease has broken out and is spreading on the western Burma border, affecting many people in the area, according to local journal and residents.

A weekly eleven journal published a story related to the disease last week and referred to the illness as "Chikan Gannya", but no one knows what the disease actually is.

A housemaid from Maungdaw told Narinjara over the phone that a group of physicians from the Maungdaw general hospital visited many houses recently to investigate the disease, but she had no further details about the illness.

Narinjara called the Maungdaw hospital to inquire about the disease but the physician on the phone refused to reveal any information, saying, "A senior doctor is not in the hospital now. If you want to know of the disease, come to the hospital to ask."

According to a local source, the disease first causes a high fever, and the patient then becomes ill and his body bruised as though he was beaten by sticks. The victim can't walk and his face and legs become swollen.

A local doctor told Narinjara on the condition of anonymity that the disease is related to the flu but seems to be transmitted by mosquitoes, but he could offer no further detail.

Many people in several wards and villages in Maungdaw have fallen ill with the disease, but are unable to receive treatment at the government hospital in Maungdaw.

A daughter of one victim reported seeking treatment at a private clinic and being given some tablets and insecticides, but nothing else.

Narinjara

What is a war crime?

2010-04-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

By Tarik Kafala
BBC News

The trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic at The Hague throws a renewed spotlight on the prosecution of war crimes.
But what exactly are war crimes? What body of laws do they refer to and who has the right to try a suspect for such crimes?

Radovan Karadzic is set to follow Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague

The concept of war crimes is a recent one. Before World War II, it was generally accepted that the horrors of war were in the nature of war.

But during World War II the murder of several million people - mainly Jews - by Nazi Germany, and the mistreatment of both civilians and prisoners of war by the Japanese, prompted the Allied powers to prosecute the people they believed to be the perpetrators of these crimes.
The Nuremberg trials in 1945 and 1946 led to 12 Nazi leaders being executed.
A similar process started in Tokyo in 1948. Seven Japanese commanders were hanged, though the Allies decided not to put Emperor Hirohito in the dock.
These trials were essentially the precedents for the cases that the modern-day tribunal in The Hague hears.
In addition, individual governments, feeling that justice has not been done, have acted on their own initiative.

At the heart of the concept of war crimes is the idea that an individual can be held responsible for the actions of a country or that nation's soldiers

This happened most famously in 1960, when Adolf Eichmann, a high-profile Nazi closely involved in the organisation of the concentration camps and the policies of the Holocaust, was tracked down in Argentina by Israeli agents.
He was kidnapped and taken to Israel where he was put on trial and subsequently hanged.
A more recent example was the 1987 trial of Klaus Barbie - a leading Nazi during the German occupation of France. Barbie was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Body of laws
At the heart of the concept of war crimes is the idea that an individual can be held responsible for the actions of a country or that nation's soldiers.

Prosecutors aim to get justice for the victims of Bosnian war crimes

Genocide, crimes against humanity, mistreatment of civilians or combatants during war can all fall under the category of war crimes. Genocide is the most severe of these crimes.
The body of laws that define a war crime are the Geneva Conventions, a broader and older area of laws referred to as the Laws and Customs of War, and, in the case of the former Yugoslavia, the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague (ICTY).
Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines war crimes as: "Wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including... wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial, ...taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly."
This, international lawyers say, is the basic definition of war crimes.
The statutes of The Hague tribunal say the court has the right to try suspects alleged to have violated the laws or customs of war in the former Yugoslavia since 1992. Examples of such violations are given in article 3:

Wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity
Attack, or bombardment, by whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings
Seizure of, destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion, charity and education, the arts and sciences, historic monuments and works of art and science
Plunder of public or private property.

The tribunal defines crime against humanity as crimes committed in armed conflict but directed against a civilian population. Again a list of examples is given in article 5:

Murder
Extermination
Enslavement
Deportation
Imprisonment
Torture
Rape
Persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds.

Genocide is defined by the tribunal as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".
But the law on war crimes is continually evolving.
In February 2001, the tribunal in The Hague delivered a ruling that made mass systematic rape and sexual enslavement in a time of war a crime against humanity.
Mass rape, or rape used as a tool of war, was then elevated from being a violation of the customs of war to one of the most heinous war crimes of all - second only to genocide.
Spotting a war crime
It is not always easy to spot a war crime.
The displacement of civilians from their homes by an enemy army is not necessarily a war crime.
It can be argued that the displacement is being carried out for the protection of the civilians.
It only becomes a war crime if the expulsions can be proven to be part of campaign of ethnic cleansing or designed as a mass punishment of civilians.
Equally, is it a war crime for the air force of one country to bomb an enemy's television station because of the propaganda in the broadcasts?
Under the Geneva Conventions, this is not a war crime. Just about all aspects of a state's infrastructure - roads, bridges, power stations, factories - become legitimate targets if they might be put to military use.
Such attacks only become war crimes if the extent of collateral damage to civilians and civilian interests resulting from the attack would be excessive compared to the military advantage gained from the attack.
International court
International human rights groups have long called for a uniform and global legal system for dealing with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Apart from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, established in May 1993, an international tribunal was established in Arusha, Tanzania, for cases resulting from the atrocities carried out in Rwanda in 1994.
Another is trying former Liberian President Charles Taylor over war crimes committed during the civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
Although these represent significant further steps in bringing those accused of war crimes to justice, they are, like Nuremberg and Tokyo, committed to dealing with war crimes in specific conflicts.
In July 2008, Surinam became the 107th country to join the International Criminal Court, set up in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for crimes against humanity.
The United States has refused to sign the treaty, arguing the court could be used to pursue politically motivated prosecutions. Other major powers including Russia, China and India have also refused.
The question of whether international courts of this kind are political - as defendants like Slobodan Milosevic argued - hangs over all international legal institutions.
In a sense it is true that the tribunals are political since the international political will to establish and fund them has to exist before they can get to work.
Critics of international courts often argue that international justice can only be truly legitimate when all war crimes, committed by any county, come under the jurisdiction of a single international court.

BBC

Burmese Kyat Rises in Value on Western Border

2010-04-13T00:17:00.001-07:00

By Takaloo, Maungdaw:
The value of the Burmese Kyat has been gradually rising since the beginning of this year in exchange with the Bangladesh Taka on the western border, with the exchange rate on Monday set at 13.00 Kyat per 1.00 Taka, said a Burmese black market exchange agent from Maungdaw on the western Burmese border.

The agent also said that the value of the Kyat in the current exchange rate is the highest recorded in the past six years, during which time it has ranged from between 15.00 and 20.00 Kyat for 1.00 Taka.

"The Kyat has been rising against the Taka gradually since January, and the exchange rate here today is just 13.00 Kyat for 1.00 Taka. It used to rise and fall between 15.00 and 20.00 Kyat per 1.00 Taka and we can say the value of the Kyat with the current rate is the highest ever in our records for the last six years here on the western border," said the agent.

It is difficult explain why the Burmese Kyat has been rising in value against the Bangladesh Taka, as there is no official source for the money exchange on either side of the border and the official rate pegged against the dollar today is 1.00 Burmese Kyat to 10.43 Bangladeshi Taka.

However, the agent said the increase in the Kyat's value in the border markets is probably due to the fact that legal and black market trade across the border is using US Dollars for their payment clearance, and because the Burmese Kyat has been rising in value against the US Dollar since the beginning of this year.

According to local border sources, most Burmese cross-border traders have been relying on black market agents in Singapore and Rangoon for their money transfers and payments for their trade with Bangladesh, and the use of local border agents is declining.

With the rise of the Kyat, the export of Burmese goods and contraband into Bangladesh is slowing and prices of the exported goods have been rising in the Bangladesh border markets.

Burmese timber at the Teknaf Port in Bangladesh are currently priced at 225,000 Taka per one ton of teak, 77,500 Taka per one ton of Champac, and 52,500 Taka per one ton of other low-quality wood such as dipterocarpus alatus.

Other legal and illegal export goods, such as rice, cattle, bamboo, fresh and dry fish, spices, raisins, traditional medicine, cosmetics, clothing, and other items, have risen in price by 15 - 30 percent in the Bangladesh border markets.

Narinjara

Traditional Rakhine Water Festival - Rakhine Thungran

2010-04-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

By Kyaw Tha Hla

Traditional Rakhine Thungran is celebrated on 13-17 April every year, it''s also known as the Water Festival. Traditionally there is a festival for each of the twelve months.

Thungran is on Tangu, the first lunar month of Rakhine calendar. Thungran means passing from one year to another. The New Year, Thungran Celebration, symbolizes the feast of washing away the old year clean.

Traditional Rakhine Thungran is held in three stages which are: incense - grinding, offering of water to Buddha images and holding the water festival. There are four days of holiday. All marketing and shopping are closed. Before the arrival of Thungran, everyone''s household must be cleaned. On 12th April, the eve of Thungran, young women prepare the scented water at night. To make the scented water, a piece of sandal-wood is rubbed with a little water added on the surface of a flat, circular stone plate surrounded by a sunken ring to collect the mixture. Young men come and join them accompanied by music and dance, and then they make beautiful bamboo trees with hanging things to offer to the monasteries. They are called the "Padetharpon".On 13th April, the opening day of Thungran, young men-women, children and parents go to monasteries in lorries bringing scented water and "Padetharpon" (bamboo trees). When they arrive at the monastery compound the girls carry the water and the boys wash the Buddha images and statues, then offer scented water to the Buddha images. They go around from one monastery to another offering one "Padetharpon" to each monastery. Before bathing the Buddha no one is allowed to play with water. When they return home from visiting the monasteries, anyone can throw water at the lorries carrying people. The Water Festival starts the next day. In every suburb they make a beautiful pandal with wooden posts surrounded by toddy palm leaves hanging with green bunches of leaves and colourful flowers. In the middle of the pandal there is a wooden rowboat filled with water. In front of the boat there are benches in a single row which provide seats for the girls. A fence is placed three feet above the ground. It serves as the divider between males outside the pandal and females inside the pandal. Rakhine girls who are pandal members run the pandal. There are usually twenty to forty young girls at a pandal. The girls sit on the benches facing the boat, they wear the same colour and designed uniform. They all look alike from the rear. It is hard to tell the girls apart. The pandals open from 11.00am to 3.00pm.

The boys go around the city one pandal after another. The boy can choose the girl he likes as his mate and chat with her teasingly but politely. The boys come on foot and in the bullock carts with music instruments and utensil boards. Every group has to wait for its turn while the other group is enjoying the water festival in the pandal. While they are waiting for their turn, there is singing and dancing in the fore ground.

When the whistle blows, it means that the time is up. The next group takes the place opposite the girls of their choice. The boy invites the girl to join him for the water festival, he greets her with a cupful of water gently thrown her back.. The girl gets up and throws a bowl of water at him. He calls her "Maree", sister-in-law, before he politely asks for some water. The girl fills his bucket with water. He takes a cup of water from his bucket and throws it at her. She throws him a bowl of water from the boat. They play face-to-face, faster and faster If some-one''s cup drops down or he/she wipes his/her face, that will be a looser, as must pay a fine. A group is allowed to enjoy themselves for about 15 minutes. There are whole pandals filled with water sparks. After the pandals close the members of the pandals go around the city in the lorries. The Water Festival Celebration goes for three days in the cities but in the countryside it''s celebrated until the end of the month.

During the Thungran days, every house cooks some traditional food and sends it to monasteries. Also they send food to relatives and neighbors then, everywhere is filled of music until midnight. On New Year Day, the cultural association group goes around, suburb to suburb, and gives respect to the oldest people by prayer, singing, dancing and presents. It is the most joyful celebration of the year.

Narinjara

Leading Arakanese Party Decides Not to Register for Election

2010-04-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

4/12/2010

Rangoon:
The Arakan League for Democracy, a leading state political party, has decided not to register with the Election Commission or to contest in the military-sponsored election. The decision was made at an emergency party meeting held in Rangoon on 10 April.

U Aye Tha Aung, joint-secretary of the party, said, "The 2008 constitution is neither for ethnic rights nor human rights in Burma.
The constitution and other election laws are not fair or just. Because of that, our party decided not to register as a party and not to contest in the election."

A few senior leaders attended the meeting and agreed unanimously not to register with the Election Commission.

Although the ALD has not registered to contest the election, the party will continue their activities working for democracy, ethnic rights, and equal rights in Burma, the party leaders said.

U Tha Noe Aung, an active member of the ALD in Sittwe, said, "Our leaders gathered in Rangoon on 10 April and made the decision. We all welcomed the party leaders' decision not to register with the Election Commission or to contest in the upcoming election, as the decision is acceptable for all democratic activists."

The ALD is a leading political party among the Arakanese community and won 11 seats in the 1990 military-sponsored election, but the party was officially abolished by the military government in 1992 without any justification.

"We agreed on the decision because it is a reflection of our people's desire. Our Arakanese people strongly believe the election along with the 2008 constitution is not useful for the Arakanese people and it was constituted by the military government to oppress the Arakanese people continually," he said.

16 political parties had registered with the Election Commission as of 9 April, but there are no Arakanese parties among them.

He added, "It is proof, because there are no parties representing Arakan. It is obvious the Arakanese people are not interested in the election."

According to local sources, however, some Arakanese politicians from Sittwe are now discussing the formation of a political party to run in the upcoming election.

One leader among them said, on condition of anonymity, "Now the ALD decided not to register and contest in the election. We may lose our rights in Burma without a political party. So we need a political party to represent our Arakanese people. Because of that, we are preparing to form a political party with the name 'Arakan Democratic Party'".

During the meeting of the ALD, U Tha Ban was elected as vice-president of the ALD, but two posts - president and general secretary - were not filled during the meeting. The two positions were left vacant after ALD Chairman U Soe Mra Aung and Secretary U Aye Pe passed away.

The two posts will be filled with suitable leaders at the next conference of the ALD, said sources.

Narinjara

Arakan USDA Leaders Travel to Naypyidaw

2010-04-12T05:56:00.001-07:00

4/12/2010

Sittwe:
Leaders of the Arakan State Union Solidarity Development Association have traveled to Naypyidaw, the new capital of Burma, after authorities invited them there for the formation of the USDA political party, said a USDA member from Sittwe.

"All stated and district level leaders of the USDA in Arakan left for Naypyidaw last week to discuss the formation of the USDA party to run in the upcoming election," he said.

The USDA delegation from Arakan State is being led by U Kyaw Win, secretary of the Arakan State USDA, and left for Nayipyidaw from the state capital Sittwe by plane on 9 April.

"Now they are attending the USDA meeting in Naypyidaw and the meeting will end before the Burmese new year, Thingyan. They will return to Arakan State today or tomorrow with the new plan for the USDA for the election," he said.

A source from Sittwe reports that the USDA organization will register with the Election Commission in the near future after the organization is transformed into a party that can contest in the 2010 election.

Lt Col U Kyaw Zan Hla, a senior retired army officer, reportedly will lead the Arakan State USDA party and the Burmese military has selected him to serve as the minister of the state.

A politician from Sittwe said, "U Kyaw Zan Hla is chief of the USDA in Arakan State and he accompanied General Than Shwe whenever the general came to Arakan to organize in the state."

USDA members in Arakan State have been working to organize people in Arakan to support the USDA party in the upcoming election. According to a local source, army officials in Arakan are backing the USDA leaders in order to more freely and successful organize people during their trips to the many villages in Arakan State.

Narinjara

Pro-democratic groups apprehends junta crackdown on NLD

2010-04-12T05:55:00.001-07:00

4/12/2010

Nava Thakuria:
The pro-democracy Burmese exiles and campaign groups apprehend a crackdown on the democratic organizations in the coming days.

Soon after the deadline May 7 (for political party registration to Burmese authority) crosses, the junta may go for strong actions against all the parties, who have decided not to join the elections sometime later this year, the democracy campaigners argue.

“We apprehend that the military rulers of Burma will go for repressive actions against the leader and activists of National League for Democracy soon after May 7. The junta may take the actions against those people as they remain critical towards the electoral laws,” said Khin Ohmar of Forum for Democracy in Burma.

In that case, she added, we have already asked the pro-democracy partner and well-wisher groups to be ready for a Global Day of Action in May. And before that the solidarity groups have planned to launch a massive campaign through the internet involving all sympathizers for democracy in Burma.

Meanwhile, a Global Campaign Against Burma’s 2010 Military Elections was launched last month. As more as ten alliances of Burma’s movement for democracy and rights of ethnic nationalities, and over 150 endorsing organizations from different parts of the globe formally launched the global campaign against the flawed electoral laws of Burma through a press conference in Bangkok on March 19.

Various speakers in the conference, including Khin Ohmar, foreign affairs secretary of FDB Naw Zipporah Sein, general secretary of Karen National Union and U Thein Oo, an MP-elect of the NLD in 1990 Burma election, guessed that the present military regime led by Senior General Than Shwe would start a crack down on the political parties, which had won 1990 election but denied political power.

Narinjara

Burmese Refugees Unable to Attend UNHCR's Bengali Language School

2010-04-08T00:12:00.001-07:00

4/7/2010

By Takaloo, Cox's Bazar: The UNHCR on Monday opened a Bengali language class for Burmese urban refugees in Cox's Bazar, a sea resort town in southern Bangladesh.

But none of the refugees are able to attend the class because they are simply struggling for their daily survival, said Khaing Pray Thein, a Burmese urban refugee sheltering in Cox's Bazar.

"As we are refugees sheltering in Bangladesh, the Bengali language is necessary for all of us, and everyone is interested in learning the local language. But no one is able to attend the class because they have to struggle for their daily subsistence as the UNHCR is not providing any support for their daily food and travel during the training period," he said.

The language class is being held in U Korsalla Vidya Bihar primary school in Cox's Bazar, and is being implemented by the local NGO Resource Integration Center for the UNHCR. The training will be given to the refugees for two hours a day from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, every day except Friday, for three months.

Sangita Barua, the teacher who was appointed by RIC, said, "I can not start my training yet as no one is coming to attend the class. It seems that my trainees may have some difficulties for their studies. I will consult with my organization about the situation as soon as possible."

According to Khaing Pray Thein, there are nearly 300 Burmese urban refugees that have been recognized by the UNHCR in Bangladesh.

He said that most of the refugees are currently sheltering in remote villages in Cox's Bazar and Bandarban District in southern Bangladesh and are extremely vulnerable because they have been neglected by the UNHCR and other organizations in regards to their legal protection and aid for food and shelter.

Arakanese Worker in Malaysia Electrocuted

2010-04-08T00:11:00.003-07:00

4/6/2010

By Khaing Khaing Zan, Dhaka:An Arakanese migrant worker died in Malaysia on Sunday after suffering electrocution, said the victim's brother Ko Soe Aung.

"My brother Maung Myint Soe died on Sunday while showering in the bathroom after being shocked by electricity. He was sent to the hospital immediately after the accident but we were unable to save him," he said.

Maung Myint Soe, aged 30, was working in a factory in Joho Baru City in Malaysia when the accident occurred along with his two brothers, one elder and one younger.

"I am deeply worried for my mother. She may be overwrought with stress when she receives the information of my brother's death," said the youngest brother Ko Soe Lun Tun.

Maung Myint Soe hailed from Kala Chaung Village in Rathidaung Township, 20 miles north of the Arakan State capital Sittwe.

Word of the incident has been conveyed to the factory owner in order to get just compensation for the family, but the owner has yet to reply to the request, the brother said.

Sittwe Public Barred from Water Festival Celebration

2010-04-08T00:10:00.002-07:00

4/8/2010

Sittwe:
The state military authority is currently preparing to observe the New Year festivities in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, but Arakanese people have been denied the chance to celebrate the famous Rakhine festival in Sittwe this year, said a town elder.

"The authority has started the construction of many pavilions in front of government buildings and in front of the Vasila sports ground for Burmese style water play, but the authority is not allowing residents to construct the pavilions in the respective wards around Sittwe," the elder said.

The water festival starts on 13 April but the people will be engaging in the water play from 14 to 16 April.

The elder added, "The authority seems to not want people to celebrate the biggest Arakanese water festival in Sittwe this new year because the authority is afraid untoward incidents such as anti-government protests will break out in Sittwe during the water festival."

During the 2008 and 2009 new year celebrations, some Arakanese youths participated in anti-government activities by wearing t-shirts saying "No Vote" and "Ven Uttama". Many of the youths were detained by police in Sittwe but later released on bail.

"During this year's water festival, such anti-government activities may arise again in Sittwe because this year is very crucial in Burma with the election. So the authority is likely to fear this and bar celebration of the Arakanese water festival in the downtown area of Sittwe," he said.

The authority ordered its government departments and private businesses to construct stages and pavilions in front of Vasali sports ground, which is located on the outskirts of Sittwe some distance from the rest of the city.

In Sittwe, there are plans for 18 pavilions to be constructed by government ministries for this year's water festival for water play in the Burmese style.

A youth from Maw Late Ward said, "We lost the opportunity to celebrate the Arakanese traditional water festival in Sittwe this year because the authority barred celebration of the water festival in downtown Sittwe. It is difficult for us to participate in the Burmese-style water festival that will be celebrated by the government ministries."

The traditional Arakanese water festival is different than the Burmese water festival, but the authority does not want to encourage the Arakanese celebrations. It is typical for the authorities to try and substitute the Burmese style of celebrating for the traditional Arakanese water festival in Sittwe.

"The Burmese-style water festival is nice, but I like the Arakanese traditional water festival very much because we have the chance to throw water face to face between groups of women and men in the pavilions. In the Burmese-style, people are throwing water with water pipes from the stage onto the visitors who walk or drive in front," the youth said.

Wildlife Disappearing in Arakan

2010-04-08T00:10:00.000-07:00

4/7/2010

By Tun Tun, Sittwe: Wild animals in Arakan State have become scarce due to indiscriminate killing by hunters and locals, reports an environmental worker and other sources.

The environmental worker said, "We are unable to see deer, barking deer, sambur, tiger, or wild boars in the jungle currently because the animals have become rare in our state after so many have been killed by local people to sell and to eat for food."

In several mountain restaurants located at the top of the Arakan Roma along the Rangoon - Taungup highway, the meat of wild animals is available on the menu at any time and restaurants are selling the meat freely without any prohibition.

"We all can see the signboards and disk menus with the names of several kinds of meat of wild animals out in front of the restaurant entrances. The meat of deer, barking deer, and sambur are available at all times in the restaurants," the source said.

Hundreds of wild animals have been killed by hunters and locals for the restaurants over the last 50 years, but the authority has not yet prohibited the killing of wild animals for food in the area.

A farmer from Taungup said, "We were able to see the wild animals anywhere in Arakan Roma in the past, but now we can not see the animals even if we go deep into the jungles in Arakan Roma. I am a mountain cultivator so I know the animals will be extinct in our state in the future."

Arakan Roma is a famous mountain range in Burma because so many kinds of animals inhabit the area, but the wild animals are becoming increasingly scarce from the hunting. In addition to restaurants, the dried meat of the wild animals are available everywhere in Arakan State, such as at jetties, bus stations, and markets.

"Many poor people in rural areas in Arakan are involved in the business of selling the meat of wild animals just to survive. If this rate of killing of wild animals continues, the deer, barking deer, sambur, and wild boar will disappear from our state in the near future," the environmental worker concluded.

Anti-Social Activities in Model Village on Western Border

2010-04-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

4/2/2010

Khaing Khaing Zan:
Local people on the western Burmese border are worried about the spread of HIV after two Burman settlers set up prostitution businesses in their homes, said an elder woman in the village.

She said, "As two Burmese settlers are prostituting widely in our villages many people are worried about the spread of HIV and AIDS infections to the people in the area."

The model village is Shwe Yin Aye, which is located on the outskirts of Maungdaw on the western Burmese border and consists of 100 households belonging to both local Arakanese and Burman settlers.

"I did not want to attack them personally but it is dangerous for all our people, Buddhist and Muslim. So I had to inform you of the situation. The two settlers - U Win Aung and U Kyaw Naing Moe - are doing prostitution in our village," she said.

Some young poor women in the village are involved in the prostitution rings run by U Win Aung and U Kyaw Naing Moe, who moved to the area from Burma proper in 2000.

Another source said that because many model village settlers in the area suffering from economic hardship and crisis due to a lack of business skills, they are now involved in the prostitution as well.

"In our village, many people, including young women, are jobless and not earning income. So the work is not only luring men but also the young women. Currently some women in our village had to become involved in the prostitution along with women from other areas. I have been worried about other innocent young women," she said.

Despite the extent of the prostitution work being run by the two model settlers there has been no action by the authorities. Some concerned authorities have been receiving regular bribes from the two settlers.

Another witness in the village said, "Many people from every corner come to our village night and day by many ways - some people come to our village by foot, some by motorbike or bicycles - to hire prostitutes. Some government officials are among them."

Prostitution is illegal and there have been no systematic education or awareness programs around safe sex and because of this, people in the area are concerned about the spread of HIV and AIDS infections among the local people.

Ref: Narinjara

No Arakanese Among Registered Political Parties

2010-04-02T05:27:00.000-07:00

4/2/2010

Sittwe:
Five political parties have registered with the Election Commission since the election law was issued by the junta authorities on 8 March, but there are no Arakanese political parties among them.

The five political parties that registered are the 88 Generation students Union of Myanmar, the Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics, the National Unity Party, the Democratic Party ( Myanmar), and the Kayin People’s Party (KPP).

U Nyo , a politician from Sittwe said, "I heard some political parties would be formed very soon in Arakan State to register with the Election Commission, but none have registered yet."

The political parties that are now preparing to officially form in Arakan State are pro-military junta and have connection with government authorities.

"In the 1990 election, many independent political parties emerged in Arakan State like the ALD, MKNSO, ANDP, KNLD and ADPHR, but with this year's election there have been no independent political parties in Arakan State. Politicians believe the election will not serve real and independent political parties in Burma and will only be useful for pro-junta political parties," U Nyo said.

In Arakan State some parties, including the Union of Myanmar National Political Forces - Rakhine State led by Aye Khying, and the USDA Rakhine State Party led by senior retired army officer Kyaw Zan Hla, are preparing to form political parties among the people but these parties are close to the current military authorities.

Most political parties that registered in the 1990 election in Arakan State are planning to boycott this current election due to the unjust election laws and the 2008 constitution.

In the 1990 election, over 20 political parties registered with the election commission as independent parties, but this year no more than five political parties in Arakan have registered.

"Everybody knows the election is created by the junta authority for the pro-junta party to win and it is not an opportunity for political parties like the NLD and the ALD. So the politicians in Arakan State are unwilling to form political parties for the election because the election is useless for Burmese people and democracy," U Nyo concluded.

Ref: Narinjara

NLD will continue its fight even after it is abolished: DASSK

2010-04-02T05:25:00.001-07:00

3/31/2010

Nava Thakuria, Rangoon:
For Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the participation of her party in the election under the unjustified rules of the Burmese junta is not the ultimate goal. At the same time, the calling of the forthcoming Burma polls will also not indicate the end of National League for Democracy.

Rather, the Burmese democracy icon Suu Kyi believes with conviction that NLD will be able to continue its fight for democracy even if it is abolished as a political party in the military ruled country.

The Nobel laureate, while talking to U Nyan Win, chief spokesman of NLD recently at her residence in Rangoon, also reiterated that she would continue to strive for democracy in Burma for hundred thousands Burmese living inside and outside the Country.

Mentionable that following her strong views on the electoral laws of the military junta, the central committee of NLD had decided on March 29 not to register as a political party with the Burmese election commission.

U Nyan Win, who was briefed by Suu Kyi on the electoral laws, also informed the meeting held in Rangoon that DASSK ‘would never accept the 2008 State Constitution of the military government’ and would stick to Shwegonedine Declaration, which was issued by the NLD on April 29 last year.

The declaration called on the State Peace and Development Council to release all political prisoners and conduct meaningful dialogue with all stake holders including the leaders of the ethnic nationalities, and also the review of the 2008 State Constitution.

The NLD general secretary, who is under detention for many years now, also asserted that she ‘would never accept political party registration law and election laws promulgated by the military junta’.

The NLD central committee meeting, which was organized at the party head office in Rangoon, was attended by 113 important members from all over Burma. In another resolution, the NLD had called on the Than Shwe led SPDC to release all political prisoners including Suu Kyi immediately.

The meeting was chaired by NLD vice-president U Tin Oo, who later informed media persons that they would ‘not abolish the NLD’ and it ‘will continue to work peacefully towards the democratic goal with the strength of the entire people and ethnic national races’ even after the NLD might not continue to be a political party.

“Now the military government can do as they like. They can arrest all of us and do whatever they like. We are ready for all kinds of persecution and intimidation,” concluded U Tin Oo.

Ref: Narinjara

Family Members of 11 Detained Youth Appeal to Witness Trial

2010-03-31T01:38:00.001-07:00

3/31/2010

By: Khaing Khaing Zan , Rangoon
Family members of 11 detained Arakanese youth submitted an appeal letter to the judge in the notorious Insein prison asking for the opportunity to hear their children's trials, reports a family source.

The source said, "The appeal was submitted by them through their lawyer on 29 March when the authority produced the 11 Arakanese youths in the court of Insein prison to hear the cases."

On 29 March, 2010, the 11 youths, who were arrested in September last year, were produced before a judge in the western district court inside Insein prison but the families were not given the opportunity to learn of developments in the case.

Lawyer U Kyaw Hoo submitted their appeal to the court on behalf of family members of the 11 youths and the court replied that will decide on the appeal on 5 April.

U Kyaw Hoo was quoted as saying, "The court is able to give the family members of the 11 Arakanese youths like other families of clients in Insein prison who are able to regularly hear of their relatives cases inside Insein prison during trial."

The youths have been facing trial since 29 December of last year, but their family members have not been able to hear any updates on their case during that time.

The Arakanese youths are Ko Kyaw Moe, Ko Kyaw Win, Ko Tun Lun Kyaw, Ko Kyaw Zaw Tun, Ko Khin Maung Htay, Ko Naing Soe, Ko Kyaw Zan Thein, Ko Aung Moe Zaw, Ko Kyaw San Hlaing, Ko Maung Naing Soe, and Ko Zaw Tun Oo. They were arrested by Burmese intelligence in September of last year on allegations of opposing the government.

The authority has accused them of trying to detonate bombs in Burma after connecting with exile student groups like the AASYC and ABSDF based on the Thai-Burma border.

The 11 Arakanese youth are now facing five charges in the court, including charges on attempting to plant bombs, illegally crossing the Thai-Burma border, and having connections with illegal organizations.

According to a source, Judge U Myint San questioned prosecuting police officer U Kyaw Yin only on the day of 29 March, in relation to the explosives charges, but did not question any of the youth.

It was learned that the youth were severely tortured and harassed by Burmese intelligence officers during their three months in detention from September to December before they were produced before the court by authorities.

Ref: Narinjara

NLD will continue its fight even after it is abolished: DASSK

2010-03-31T01:37:00.000-07:00

USDA Party on Western Border to be led by Muslim Businessmen

2010-03-30T04:34:00.000-07:00

3/30/2010

Maungdaw:
Two Muslim businessmen will lead the USDA party on the western Burmese border after the military junta transformed the USDA into a political party for contesting in the 2010 election, according to several local and official reports.

One report said, "Two Muslim businessmen - Aung Zaw Win and Aung Naing - were appointed by the high Burmese military authority to lead the USDA party in Maungdaw Township. Now the two leaders have issued application forms by their signatures to the public to become members of the new USDA political party."

Aung Zaw Win was appointed by the military authority as the in-charge of the USDA party in northern Maungdaw Township, while Aung Naing has been appointed in-charge of the USDA party southern Maungdaw. Both businessmen are currently living in Rangoon but are natives of Maungdaw Township.

An official from Maungdaw district office said, "Aung Zaw Win and Aung Naing are preparing to form the USDA party in Maungdaw Township with eight central executive committee members. Four committee members - two men and two women from southern and northern Maungdaw Township - will be selected to lead the USDA party in the township."

According to a local source, many notices have been issued by the two businessmen regarding formation of the central executive committee for the Maungdaw Township USDA party and have been distributed among the people to recruit members.

A Muslim youth from Maungdaw said, "The notices can be seen on many walls in mosques in our town, to lure the Muslim community to apply as members of the USDA party. I think our community will support the party in the forthcoming election because the two Muslim businessmen have been given the chance to lead the party in our township."

In Maungdaw Township there have been many USDA organization members under U Hla Tun Sein, Secretary of the USDA in Maungdaw Township before it was transformed into a political party. However, there is no clear information about how the former USDA organization will be connected to the new USDA party.

The USDA has 14 state and division-level branches, 66 district-level branches, 320 township-level branches, and 24 million members in total, according to an official statement issued in 2007. Agriculture Minister Major General Htay Oo is the general secretary.

The ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council set up the USDA on 15 September, 1993.

The two Muslim businessmen who have been appointed to lead the Maungdaw USDA party for the upcoming election had to pay a large sum of money to the military government for their positions.

"U Aung Zaw Win and U Aung Naing donated 5,000 million kyat to the newly formed USDA party to run in the upcoming election. Because of this, the two rich Muslim businessmen received the opportunity to lead the USDA party in the Muslim dominated area on the western Burmese border," said the official.

Ref: Narinjara

Nasaka Man Sentenced to Prison for Human Rights Violation

2010-03-30T04:33:00.000-07:00

3/30/2010

Maungdaw:
A Nasaka officer who had widely abused human rights in Maungdaw on the western Burmese border was sentenced to prison after he was expelled from his job by the Nasaka chief, said a government official on the border.

He said, "The human rights abuser whose name is Maung Win was sentenced to three years in prison after he was expelled from Nasaka by Nasaka Chief Colonel Aung Gyi recently. He grossly abused the human rights of four local people in 2009."

Maung Win abused four local people at Taung Bro Way - Left Village near the Bangladesh border in March and April 2009, when he was posted as a member of Nasaka Camp No. 7 in the area. At that time, U Ko Ko Hling from Immigration department was in charge of the camp.

Maung Win and some Nasaka men arrested four local people in Taung Bro Way in March 2009 on accusations they had connections to exiled groups in Bangladesh, in order to extract bribes from them.

After the arrest, Maung Win demanded large bribes from them. When the four refused, the Nasaka men led by Maung Win tied their hands and legs with ropes after stripping them naked. During the night, Maung Win forced them to sleep on the ground after ants' nests were tied to their bodies.

"The next morning, the four men lost consciousness from such atrocities by Maung Win in the Nasaka camp. Afterward, Maung Win handed them over to their families," the official state.

The family members reportedly filed a complaint about the torture with the Nasaka Chief in Maungdaw and the ILO office in Rangoon.

Ten months later, Nasaka chief Aung Gyi investigated and later discharged Maung Win from Nasaka. He was finally sentenced to three years in prison.

"If the Nasaka chief didn't punish Maung Win, he would be facing trouble. So he was afraid of this, and later he dispelled Maung Win and punished him with prison," the official added.

Ref: Narinjara

Arakanese Democratic Activists Stage Demonstration in Front of Burmese Embassy in Bangladesh

2010-03-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

3/27/2010

Dhaka: About 30 Arakanese democratic activists staged a demonstration today in front of the Burmese embassy in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, protesting the election law and upcoming election.

Ko Naing Naing, coordinator of the demonstration said, "Today is the 65th anniversary of Burma's revolution day. So we came here to celebrate the day by staging a demonstration against the election law and forthcoming election."

The demonstrators stood in front of the Burmese embassy holding a banner and posters with Daw Aung Suu Kyi's portrait, and shouted slogans against the military government. Many officials from the embassy were closely watching the demonstration from the compound, but did not disturb the protesters.

U Khaing Kyaw Khaing, and elder politician in the group said, "All we Arakanese are being oppressed by the military junta. Our people have been oppressed by the Burmese military government for over 20 years, since they came to power in 1988. In the new constitution, there is nothing for our people's rights. There will only be continual oppression for our people with the new constitution. The situation of our people's lives will never change under the new constitution. How can we accept the constitution and upcoming election?"

U Khaing Kyaw Khaing is a native of Sittwe and was sentenced by the Burmese military government to two and a half years in prison for involvement in the 2007 Saffron Revolution protests in Sittwe. After his jail term was complete, he came to Bangladesh to continue the struggle for democracy.

U Thila Wan Tha, secretary of the International Burmese Monks Organization in Bangladesh, said, "We requested NLD leaders to follow Daw Aung Suu Kyi's instruction not to register with the election commission because the election law is neither just nor fair. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is our leader and all ethnic people respect her. If NLD leaders register with the election commission it is a betrayal to Burmese people as well as our leader Daw Suu. We can not accept the election law because it barred Daw Suu and other ethnic politicians from running in the election."

Although the demonstration was organized by Arakanese democracy activists, the demonstrators represented many organizations, including the International Burmese Monks Organization, the All Arakan Students' and Youth Congress, and the Rakhine Women's Union.

30 minutes after the demonstration began, Bangladesh police arrived to stop it. A police officer explained to demonstrators that the area is highly restricted and no one is allowed to stage protests in front of any embassy, however, the police took no further action against the demonstrators.

Demonstration began at 10 am and concluded peacefully and successfully at 10:30 am.

Ref: Narinjara

Monks and Riot Police Clash in Maungdaw

2010-03-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

3/26/2010

Maungdaw:
A clash between monks and riot police took place on Thursday at a religious festival in Maungdaw on the western Burmese border when a group of riot police assaulted locals after drinking alcohol, reports a monk from the festival.

"As we could not tolerate the misbehavior of the riot police against the people in the festival, we beat them with sticks and later tied two riot police with a rope in a pile that is erected for tying unruly people in the festival if they abuse the festival rules," the monk said.

The clash broke out in front of a troupe at the festival around midnight, when the troupe was performing an opera to a large audience. After the riot police assaulted the locals, several monks beat the unarmed officers, who later fled leaving two men behind. The monks tied the remaining two riot police to the pile that is erected at the central part of the festival.

The riot police are reportedly from Riot Regiment No. 13 from Maungdaw, and had come to the festival to watch the troupe perform.

A witness who attended the festival said, "The incident took place when Shwe Rada Na Troupe presented an opera. When the clash happened, the festival was disordered but the monks regained control with the help of the normal police forces."

The festival is held for 100 young boys to become novice monks at 3 Mile Ward in Maungdaw, and about 200 monks from around Maungdaw Township attended the festival.

According to a source, the two riot police personnel who were restrained were handed over to police officers by senior monks in the early morning. There has been no retaliation by the riot police against the monks since the incident.

Tobida, a monk who was attending the festival said. "We monks are not guilty in the incident because the monks attacked the riot police for their misbehavior. If monks did not attack the riot police, it would have been impossible to continue the festival peacefully."

Most people at the festival supported the monks actions against the riot police, who had abused the festival rules and insulted people after drinking. Buddhist people in Arakan State traditionally obey monks' instructions because they are respected as religious leaders.

Monks in Burma are religiously not allowed to be counter-attacked or insulted by ordinary people, including government officials such as army, police, or riot police officers.

Ref: Narinjara

Naypyidaw Special Forces Sell Permits for Timber, Cattle Exports to Bangladesh

2010-03-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

3/25/2010

Takaloo, Maungdaw:
The Burmese regime's special force sent from head command in Naypyidaw to Arakan State in western Burma has been issuing permits to export timber and cattle to Bangladesh at a cost of one million kyat each since the first of this month.

An Arakanese cross-border trader said that each permit being issued with the signature of special force commander, Brigadier General Myo Than, is valid for one consignment of timber or cattle to be exported to Bangladesh by sea. He added that most traders are not following the authorities' permit system.

"The cost of the permit is very high and we have to apply for it for every shipment of our exports. There may be profit for those who can export in a large vessel, but nothing would be left for the small traders like us if we were to follow that permit system," said the trader.

He also said that shipments of exports without the special force's authorization have been seized by Nasaka forces deployed at the mouth of the Naff River.

Nasaka forces from Alethankyaw Nasaka Area No. 7 in Maungdaw on the western Burmese border are currently deployed with three engine boats at the mouth of the Naff River to catch Burmese smuggling boats that enter the mouth of the river, which is the only gateway to Teknaf and Shahpori land ports on the southern Bangladesh border.

According to border sources, Nasaka forces have already seized three timber and cattle smuggling boats in the last few weeks, reportedly in Bangladesh waters near Shahpori Island in the river mouth.

Due to Nasaka's harsh enforcement, Burmese smuggling boats with timber and cattle are currently seeking escorts from the Bangladesh coast guard to come into the Naff River from the Bangladesh side.

A Bangladeshi trader said, "We have to request our coast guard to safeguard the Burmese timber and cattle boats coming to our ports because Nasaka is rampant, even intruding into our Bangladesh territory."

The trader added that they have to pay 5,000 taka to the coast guard each time they are needed to escort Burmese boats.

According to the Arakanese trader, the Burmese traders must brave the risks of smuggling to Bangladesh across the sea because domestic trading is tightly restricted and all business ventures are being monopolized by the military authorities in Arakan State.

The regime's special force has based its offices in the capital Sittwe, Maungdaw, Taungup, and Gwa Towns in Arakan State, with the authority to confiscate private land and property, and to impose taxes on local businesses in the state.

Ref: Narinjara

Construction of Gas and Oil Pipelines in Arakan Underway

2010-03-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

3/26/2010

Kyauk Pru:
The construction of gas and oil pipelines connecting to China from Arakan State in Burma began recently at Madae Island off the Arakan Coast by a number of Chinese engineers, said a female villager from the island.

"60 Chinese engineers from Chinese National Petroleum Corp. arrived at our island in the last few weeks. Now they have started construction of some buildings on the island with 40 local workers," she said.

Madae Island is located ten miles south of Kyaukpru, the second-largest city in Arakan State, and is the main staging territory for a gas pipeline that will connect to Yunnan Province in China.

"They are now constructing some buildings and oil tanks on our island but have not started the gas and oil pipeline. However many large pipes are arriving at our island along with many big machines, including trucks and lorries. I have never seen such machinery before in my life," she said.

Two companies, Daewoo and Asia World, are leading the pipeline project on the island, and have dispatched much modern machinery to the island via the Kyaukpru seaport located on Rambree Island.

The source added, "Some officials from Daewoo and Asia World are working on the project along with Chinese engineers on the island, but we have not had the chance to meet them because the authority has prohibited us from visiting the restricted area where they are staying."

"We heard the mine explosions every day from a rocky mountain where the Chinese engineers are detonating mines to quarry stone to build a seaport and road. Now the Chinese engineers are constructing the bank of the seaport and wharf with the rocks and stone produced from the mountain," she said.

There are two villages, Madae Kyunt Ahet Wra and Madae Out Wra, which are about two miles from the construction site.

50 acres of farmland owned by villagers was recently confiscated by Burmese military authority for construction on the project, with promises of compensation that the villagers have yet to see.

Burma signed a deal with China last March to construct the two pipelines for gas and oil, which will run parallel to each other. The pipelines will start on Madae Island in Kyaukpru Township on the western coast of Burma and enter China at the border city of Ruili in China's Yunnan Province, sources said.

According to sources, the Chinese National Petroleum Corp. will construct the 771-kilometer overland gas pipeline from Arakan State, extending along the Bay of Bengal to Yunnan Province as the first phase of the project.

On 31 October, CNPC began construction on the wharf seaport in Madae Kyunt as the first step in the pipeline project.

China hopes to build the overland pipeline in order to supply natural gas from Arakan's offshore fields direct to its southern province of Yunnan, with a planned delivery output of 12 million tons.

The oil pipeline will eventually transfer 20 million tons of crude oil to China from the Middle East and Africa annually. The natural gas pipeline will be extended by an additional 1,700 kilometers from Yunnan to Guizhou and Guangxi Zhuang Provinces, moving 12 billion cubic meters of gas, according to an official report.

Ref: Narinjara

Largest Lying Buddha Statue Built in Bangladesh

2010-03-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

3/26/2010

Ramu: The largest lying Buddha statue in the country is being built in Bangladesh for the Buddhist population in a Muslim-dominated country, said Venerable Karunasree Bhikku, who had the statue constructed.

"The statue is 100 feet long and 30 feet high and it will be the largest lying Buddha statue in Bangladesh after completion," he said.

Ven. Karunasree Bhikku, founder and director of Vimatti Vipassana Meditations Center, is constructing the statue on a hillock in a former Rakhine Village named Taung Chay Wra in Ramu Township in Co'xs Bazar. Work began on the statue in 2007.

"The statue is built at a graveyard of a former Rakhine Village where over 1,600 Rakhine households were living. Currently there are no Rakhine in the area because they abandoned it at the time of the Bangladesh liberation war. Now our Baruna people are living in the area," Ven. Karunasree said.

When ground was broken for construction of the statue, over 60 Rakhine ancestor bones were discovered in the earth, Ven. Karunasree added.

The area was previously known to Rakhine people as Taung Chay Wra Village, but is now known to locals as North Mithachari Barua Para. It is in Ramu Township near the Cox's Bazar highway.

"Bangladesh is a Muslim-dominated country but there is religious freedom and harmony. Because of that, I built the statue for the Buddhist community in Bangladesh to worship it," the monk added.

Construction on the Buddha statue will be complete in the next two or three months, and the image is already 75 percent complete. Some foreign countries reportedly donated some of the funding for the statue.

U Hla Aung Sein from Cox's Bazar said, "It is the largest lying statue in Bangladesh. I have never seen this size of a Buddha statue in Bangladesh before. We were all happy when we saw the statue in our area because we will have the chance to revere the Buddha's image in our country."

Bangladesh has many old temples and monasteries in Cox's Bazar District near Burma's western border. Many ancient monasteries have also been excavated in northern Bangladesh, including Bogra District 170 kilometers northwest of the capital Dhaka, which archaeologists estimate were built around 1,700 years ago.

Ref: Narinjara