Tuesday, 31 August 2010 20:23 Thomas Maung Shwe
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Critics of Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines say that a recent report in Burma’s state-controlled media that Chinese weapons firm Norinco is to spend nearly US$1 billion to develop the Monywa copper project’s long-stalled second phase is further evidence that the notorious weapons firm has bought Ivanhoe’s stake in Burma’s largest mining project – a charge the Vancouver-based miner has repeatedly denied.
The Myanmar Times, Burma’s state-controlled English-language business weekly reported...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Junta seizes KIO medicines as armed clashes loom
Tuesday, 31 August 2010 00:27 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Junta military security and police this morning seized a year’s supply of medicines from a Kachin rebel motorboat docked on the Irrawaddy River in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina, the boat’s skipper said.
The seizure comes amid heightened tensions between the ethnic peoples of the northern Burmese state led by the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the Burma’s ruling military junta, which is raising the ante over the KIO’s continued rejection of the order for it to bring...
Monday, August 30, 2010
Karen party flags readiness to join forces with USDP
Monday, 30 August 2010 22:04 Mizzima News
Rangoon (Mizzima) – An ethnic Karen party has signalled its readiness to form an alliance with a controversial junta-backed party, according to its chairman. Some members have expressed disdain for such a deal.
The Kayin People’s Party (KPP), with headquarters in Shwepyitha Township, Rangoon Division, was willing to join forces with the main junta-supported party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, KPP chairman Tun Aung Myint, a retired Burmese Navy commander, said. The USDP was set up by current...
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Kachin majority rejects regime’s order to disarm
Saturday, 28 August 2010 02:02 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A majority of participants at a congress of ethnic Kachin groups has rejected disarming despite a Burmese military junta threat to end the ceasefire between the two sides, a spokesman said. Meanwhile, the main Kachin militia are gearing up for war, a soldier told Mizzima.
The junta deadline for the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) to reply to its order for the group’s estimated 20,000 troops to disarm is September 1. The congress opened today in the Kachin stronghold of Laiza,...
Than Shwe and deputy quit military in major reshuffle
Saturday, 28 August 2010 00:02 Thomas Maung Shwe
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burma’s junta leaders including Senior General Than Shwe, who holds the title of Commander in Chief of Defence Services, and his right-hand man, Deputy Senior General Maung Aye, resigned their military posts in a major reshuffle today.
Replacing them will be former Adjutant General Lieutenant General Thura Myint Aung and former Bureau of Special Operations (BSO) 3 chief Lieutenant General Ko Ko, who have become Commander in Chief of Defence Services and Deputy Commander...
Friday, August 27, 2010
New Delhi says no clandestine Burmese nuclear program
Friday, 27 August 2010 12:25 Mizzima News
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – India has weighed in on the debate surrounding a clandestine Burmese nuclear program, concluding that its eastern neighbor is without such a project.
Speaking yesterday in New Delhi, Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said while New Delhi does not believe Burma presently operates a nuclear program, it continues to monitor the situation for any signs that could lead to a different conclusion.
"Myanamar [Burma] asserts that it has no nuclear program on its anvil. The...
Britain issues fresh travel alert ahead of elections
Friday, 27 August 2010 00:08 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The political situation in Burma remains unsettled and tensions could resurface ahead of elections in November, the British foreign office warned its citizens in a travel-advice update for the Southeast Asian country on Tuesday.
The notice said: “Security forces are on increased alert. Visitors and residents should exercise caution, avoid all demonstrations and large gatherings and avoid taking photographs or videos of the military, the police or demonstrations as doing so could be...
Border Guard Force accepts children from DKBA
Friday, 27 August 2010 00:55 Kyaw Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – At least 40 child soldiers have joined the ranks of the Burmese regime’s new border forces, after a number of Democratic Karen Buddhist Army battalions this month came under junta command, a fellow soldier revealed today.
Child_Soldiers“In the past, they [the children] were DKBA soldiers but now they have become BGF soldiers,” a soldier from the Border Guard Force (BGF) central office told Mizzima. “As far as I know, there are about 40 child soldiers in the 999th Brigade and Kalohtoobaw’s...
Than Shwe's retirement imminent
Friday, 27 August 2010 21:04 Mizzima News
Mizzima has learned from military sources that Burma's military dictator Senior General Than Shwe will officially resign his post in September. The ageing dictator will be replaced as head of the Armed Forces by General Thura Myint Aung, a close ally in his 50's.
Our sources have also confirmed that the regime's second in command, Vice Senior General Maung Aye, will also follow Burma's notorious strongman into official retirement. Maung Aye, widely known for his alcoholism and loyalty to Than Shwe will...
Burma reshuffles top military brass
Friday, 27 August 2010 17:09 Mizzima News.
Several Lieutenant Generals have today resigned and seen their positions in the armed forces replaced by Major Generals. According to unconfirmed reports, General Thura Shwe Man and the junta’s Secretary (1) General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo are among those who have resigned from their military posts. It is predicted that the resigned officers will contest in the upcoming election. Details of the latest reshuffling of Burma's armed forces are still under investigation....
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Khin Maung Swe discusses his election withdrawal
Thursday, 26 August 2010 20:30 Kyaw Kha
Mizzima spoke today with Khin Maung Swe, leader of the National Democratic Force (NDF), who yesterday withdrew his standing for elections on November 7, though he remains supportive of the process.
What prompted your decision not to contest the elections?
The Union Election Commission (UEC) chairman called and told us [four leaders of the party] that had been imprisoned under penal codes 122 and 124 [for acts of treason related to forming a parallel government following the 1990 general election], we...
Parties call for electoral watchdog to delay polls
Thursday, 26 August 2010 23:05 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Three political parties running out of time to meet membership quotas and submit candidate lists to qualify for Burmese elections in November have called on the electoral watchdog to postpone the polls until mid-December, party representatives said.
In a joint letter to the Union Election Commmission (UEC) yesterday, the 88 Generation Students and Youths (Union of Myanmar), Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics and Myanmar Democracy Congress parties, said the 15 days by...
Bo Moustache and followers still reject BGF plan
Thursday, 26 August 2010 16:54 Kyaw Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A renegade faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) continues to keep the junta at arm's length, refusing to subscribe to the regime’s Border Guard Force scheme.
dkba-notkhanmwayLed by Bo Moustache, approximately 1,000 DKBA troops remain outside the junta’s designs for the transformation of the Karen splinter army into a Border Guard Force under the junta’s leadership.
The 906th battalion, led by Major Nyan Min, 905th battalion, led by Major Kyaw Kyaw and 904th battalion,...
Suu Kyi urges party and public to monitor polls
Thursday, 26 August 2010 19:13 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has agreed with her party’s decision to boycott Burmese elections on November 7 and urged members and the public to monitor polling fairness, her lawyer said.
The response came during a two-hour meeting between the National League for Democracy (NLD) party general secretary and Nobel Peace laureate, and her laywers, Nyan Win, Kyi Win and Khin Htay Kywe, at her home in the former Burmese capital of Rangoon, from 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
“She...
NUP lodges complaint against USDP
Thursday, 26 August 2010 16:47 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Allegations of violations of electoral laws continue to be leveled against the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), with the National Union Party (NUP) the latest to cry foul.
The dispute arose in regard to campaign tactics in Pegu, where USDP members chanted slogans such as, ‘USDP will win’, prompting the NUP to file a complaint with the Pegu District Election Commission that electoral laws had been violated.
Some believe the USDP and NUP are working in alliance toward...
Junta threatens Wa army with ‘unlawful association’
Thursday, 26 August 2010 00:29 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Burmese junta’s chief negotiator with armed ceasefire groups has threatened the Wa army with unlawful association charges and military force, a Wa leader says.
Lieutenant General Ye Myint, the head of Military Affairs Security (MAS), the junta’s military intelligence wing, said the United Wa State Army (UWSA) would be declared in breach of laws governing unlawful association and that the State Peace and Development Council (the junta) would deploy its army units to effect those...
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Officials hedge on junta’s future with hidden funds
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 00:48 Bern Smith
Sydney (Mizzima) – Senior Burmese government officials are salting away assets of all kinds and stashing funds in offshore banks in a sure sign the insiders are beginning to hedge their bets on the ruling military junta’s future, a prominent Australian analyst of the Burmese economy has said.
Professor Sean Turnell of Sydney’s Macquarie University said the officials were looking to guarantee their families’ futures in Burma’s ruling class.
The Burma Economic Watch principal has addressed the US Senate...
Burmese refugees suffer scabies in New Delhi
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 18:59 Salai Han Thar San
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Burmese refugees in New Delhi, India have been suffering from an outbreak of skin diseases since early this month, which free clinics catering to them blame on high humidity, poor access to clean water and inherent poverty.
Also blaming pollution in the metropolis of more than 22 million people, the clinics said the asylum-seekers and refugees, men and women, had scabies rashes on their heads, hands and legs.
About 8,400 Burmese refugees including those of Chin, Arakanese,...
Labour activists released
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 14:50 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Two activists who had assisted farmers in central Burma in filing legal proceedings against the seizure of their farmlands by local industry, have been released.
Myint Maung and Thura Aung, from Aunglan Township in Magway Division, were released from Thayat Prison on Tuesday after winning an appeal through the Central Court in Mandalay Division.
The appeal was lodged against decisions taken by the Aunglan District Township Court and Magway Division Court.
In December 2009, Myint...
Mizoram ruling party urges free, fair elections in Burma
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 21:49 Salai Tun
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The ruling party in India’s northeastern Mizoram State said yesterday it would like Burmese elections planned for November 7 to be free and fair.
The state is a vital step in land-trade links between India and Burma and employs more than 50,000 Burmese migrant workers.
The state's Congress party chief spokesman P. C. Lalruata said: “Our party would welcome [the polls] more if they [Burma’s ruling generals] hold these general elections in a democratic way, in free and fair manner....
Karen party to stand only in Irrawaddy Division
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 01:46 Khaing Suu
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Bureaucratic roadblocks by the junta’s electoral watchdog have forced the Union Karen League party to miss the deadline on membership quota to contest seats in nationwide elections slated for November 7 and will run only in Irrawaddy Division, a party organiser said.
It had intended to stand across the country but had trouble submitting the minimum required strength of 1,000 in the time allotted by the junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC). As a registered party, it managed to...
NDF leader gives up on polls citing bureaucratic obstacles
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 19:44 Kyaw Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – National Democratic Force party central executive committee member Khin Maung Swe announced today he is withdrawing from nationwide polls on November 7.
He and other members of the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party had split to form the National Democratic Force (NDF) so they could stand in this year’s elections.
The junta’s electoral watchdog, the Union Election Commission (UEC), told Khin Maung Swe and the NDF’s vice-chairman Tin Aung Aung, central executive...
Village dam breaks after heavy rain in Mandalay
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 19:30
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Five days of heavy monsoonal rain have caused the breach of a man-made village reservoir in central Burma’s Mandalay Division, villagers said.
Heavy rain that started five days ago caused the reservoir to fill, overflow and then break in Kyapinkone village, five miles (eight kilometres) east of Thazi Township in Meiktila District, a resident said.
“The [heaviest of the] downpours came twice and they were very heavy. The reservoir broke but it affected only just a little”, Ohn Shwe from Wundwin...
Parents forced into USDP in return for polio shots
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 02:09 Mizzima News
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Parents of children vaccinated against polio in the former Burmese capital have been pressured into joining the main junta-backed political party, they said.
From early this month, local authorities, health department staff and Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) members have run a vaccination programme for children under five at in the offices of township peace and development councils in Rangoon during which parents were coerced into signing forms to join the USDP.
A...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
India mulls further investment into Burmese energy sector
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:17 Mizzima News
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Scant weeks after Burmese head-of-state Senior General Than Shwe paid an official visit to India, New Delhi may be on the verge of upping its level of investment into Burmese natural gas.
State-owned oil companies Indian Oil (IOC) and Oil India (OIL) are said to be in talks with the Mumbai-based Essar Group to take up joint 20 percent shares in the shallow-water (A2) gas block.
The Economic Times today reports that an Indian oil ministry official has confirmed recent visits to...
Communist Party calls for unity in mass uprising
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 14:53 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Communist Party of Burma (CPB) has given notice of its desire to hold closed-door meetings with other organizations in order to formulate a common agenda for the post-election period.
In a statement issued on the 18th of this month, the CPB said it is interested in formulating a Minimum Common Programme (MCP) for the country following the November 7 polling.
The CPB, which does not accept junta efforts at ensuring victory for its chosen political debutante, the Union Solidarity...
Weekend gas blast closes school in Myawaddy
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 00:34 Mizzima News
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A school destroyed by fire late on Sunday night yesterday after the explosion of gas cylinders on a truck in Myawaddy, in eastern Karen State, remained closed yesterday for renovations.
Five people were injured by the ensuing flames that started after the tanks exploded during transport from a warehouse owned by Win Naing, a resident said. It took three fire engines to bring the fire under control.
The Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA), quoting a witness, reported that one of...
Visa on arrival stopped as poll date nears
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 14:47 Mizzima News
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Seeking to tighten control on foreigners entering the country, Burmese authorities will suspend the issuance of visas on arrival commencing on the first of next month, a senior official from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism in Naypyitaw said.
Visas on arrival had been issued at Rangoon and Mandalay International Airports since four months previously, but the service is to be temporarily suspended ahead of the November 7 general election, he elaborated.
“It will last at least three...
Ethnic Arakanese party leaders’ families harassed
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 03:12 Khaing Suu
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Police have been harassing relatives of registered ethnic Arakanese party leaders and stepped up monitoring of the party’s offices, over which it has complained to state and national electoral watchdogs, the party’s secretary said.
The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) party serving the main ethnic minority of Arakan State in western Burma sent letters of complaint to junta electoral watchdog Union Election Commission (UEC) and its state branch office on Friday to complain...
Rangoon police and PDC offices to move
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 15:00 Mizzima News
Mizzima - Offices of the Rangoon Division Police and the Rangoon Division Peace and Development Council (PDC) have been ordered to move to the Peoples’ Parliament Building on Pyay Road, an officer from the Rangoon Division Police Office said on the condition of anonymity.
However, the legislative office and Rangoon Division Court are not being required to relocate and the Rangoon Division Election Commission will remain open, commented a spokesperson from the Rangoon Division Peace and Development Council.
The...
Monday, August 23, 2010
State censor board bans use of bamboo-hat logo, seal
Monday, 23 August 2010 23:11 Khaing Suu
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Burma’s state censor has banned news journals using in their reporting the seal and logo of the party that broke away from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, National Democratic Front party leader Khin Maung Swe said.
The Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, the Burmese junta’s censor board had cut the NDF’s bamboo-hat logo from interviews and news presented by Rangoon-based journals Monitor, Hot News and The Voice weekly since the first week of this month,...
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Burmese cuisine popular but ‘envoys lacked junta support’
Saturday, 21 August 2010 00:26 Kyaw Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burmese traditional foods were a hit at a recent world food festival held by the Vietnamese government in Vung Tau, Vietnam, with strong visitor interest in Burma’s cuisine, food producers said. They added however that they received no help from the ruling military junta, despite being urged to go.
Food suppliers from 80 countries exhibited, but it was Burmese dishes that captured participants’ attention, according to the sources.
“Burmese traditional thick noodles, sticky rice...
Political prisoner denied surgery for 1½ years
Saturday, 21 August 2010 02:24 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Political prisoner Myo Win Wai, who voluntarily worked to collect the dead after Cyclone Nargis struck, has needed surgery for 1½ years for a serious medical condition but authorities continue to deny him care, his father said.
Myo Win Wai, 25, had been diagnosed as requiring surgery for severe haemorrhoids in March last year but authorities ignored his condition and sent him far from his parents’ home in Rangoon to Khantee Prison in the northwestern Burmese division of Sagaing, his...
Friday, August 20, 2010
Remembering Burma’s humanitarian workers
Friday, 20 August 2010 18:44 Mizzima News
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – In a social atmosphere often held hostage to competing political agendas, Burma’s humanitarian workers face constant obstacles in the fulfillment of their missions. But still, these caring agents attempt to provide their vital services in Burmese society.
Myint-Myint-Khin-PeAugust 19 marked the second anniversary of UN’s World Humanitarian Day, administered by its Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The occasion recognises the importance the world body places...
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