Monday, 31 January 2011 13:39 Mizzima News
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Burmese exiled media is undergoing some funding cuts by international donors and governments, both in response to the worldwide financial crisis and policy changes among donor groups and governments. Mizzima reporter Tun Tun talks with Burma Media Association (BMA) chairman Maung Maung Myint on the implications, the change in policies and the affect on Burmese exiled media.
Q: How does BMA view the current cuts in funding and the policy changes that are underway?
A: The financial...
Monday, January 31, 2011
Karenni leader Khun Hte Bu Peh dies
Monday, 31 January 2011 13:51 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) chairman Khun Hte Bu Peh died of throat cancer on Thursday in Mae Hon Song, Thailand, according to his relatives and party officials.
Burial was scheduled for Monday, January 31, at a location on the Karenni State border with Thailand. A Baptist Christian, he is survived by his wife Day Daw Phaw and five children.
Khun Hte Bu Peh, 74, had been in the resistance movement for more than 45 years and served as general secretary of the KNPP and...
Thailand to set up more nationality verification centers
Monday, 31 January 2011 13:26 Aung Myat Soe
Bangkok (Mizzima) - The Thai government will set up more nationality verification centers for Burmese workers in Thailand, according to The Nation newspaper.
The Thai Labour Minister Chalermchai Sri-on visited Burma last week to meet with Burmese deputy foreign minister Maung Myint.
‘The Burmese authorities will establish an office to identify workers' nationality in Ranong and also send more officials to Chiang Rai's Mae Sai checkpoint’, the newspaper quoted the Labour Minister as saying. Mae Sai...
USDP member elected chief of Mon State Assembly
Monday, 31 January 2011 21:33 Ko Pauk
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Members of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) were elected as chief, assistant chief and chairman of the Mon State Assembly.
Kyin Pe, a lawmaker from Chaungzon Township constituency No. (2), was elected as chief of the assembly; Htay Lwin, a lawmaker from Kyaikto constituency No. (1), was elected as the assistant chief; and Ohn Myint, a retired Brigadier General, and a lawmaker from Mudon constituency No. (1) was elected chairman.
Naing Ngwe Thein, the chairman of the...
USDP members new chief, chairman of Rangoon Assembly
Monday, 31 January 2011 19:56 Tun Tun
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Two members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) were elected as the chief of the assembly and the chairman of the assembly of the Rangoon Regional Assembly, according to a source close to the assembly.
Sein Tin Win of Kunchankone Township was elected chief of the assembly and Maung Maung Win of Shwepyithar Township was elected chairman of the assembly, the source said.
‘So far, we only have information from the Rangoon Division Assembly’, he told Mizzima.
There...
Speakers elected to both houses of Parliament
Monday, 31 January 2011 18:47 Phanida
Naypyidaw (Mizzima) – The first convening of the national and regional Parliaments in Burma took place on Monday including the first elected speakers of the lower and upper houses.
Thura Shwe Man, the military junta's former No. 3 man as joint chief of staff, was elected speaker of the Lower House, which has 440 members.
The next step is the election of three vice presidents on Tuesday, followed by the election of a president from among the vice presidents. The date for the election of the president is...
NLD website created by anonymous source
Monday, 31 January 2011 20:10 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was reportedly pleased with the creation of a National League for Democracy (NLD) party website by an unidentified third party outside of Burma.
A greeting message sent by Aung San Suu Kyi was posted on the Internet website which was inaugurated on Sunday evening.
‘I am very pleased indeed that there is now a web page that will make the policies and activities of the National League for Democracy known around the globe’, she wrote. ‘A...
Speakers elected to both houses of Parliament
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Monday, 31 January 2011 18:47 Phanida
Naypyidaw (Mizzima) – The first convening of the national and regional Parliaments in Burma took place on Monday including the first elected speakers of the lower and upper houses.
Thura Shwe Man.Thura Shwe Man, the military junta's former No. 3 man as joint chief of staff, was elected speaker...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Critics blast Junta’s presentation at UN Rights Council
Saturday, 29 January 2011 11:26 Thomas Maung Shwe
Mizzima - Opposition critics hit back at the Burmese regime following its diplomatic corps defense of Burma’s human rights record at before the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Thursday.
The junta’s appearance before the human rights council was the first time its rights record has been scrutinized under the newly reformatted Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which all UN members must undergo.
The revised process entails a public review of the human rights record of each UN Member...
Friday, January 28, 2011
DVB plans to cut radio programmes, expand TV
Friday, 28 January 2011 20:20 Tun Tun
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), which suffered funding cut recently, says it will eliminate some morning radio programmes.
At the same time, as the sole exile TV broadcaster, DVB is making preparations to expand its TV programmes.
Mizzima reporter Tun Tun interviewed DVB Executive Director Aye Chan Naing on the funding cuts, trends in the exiled Burmese media, stopping the short wave radio programmes and the implications and changes in the policies of organizations...
Coverage of Parliament by journalists in doubt
Friday, 28 January 2011 20:26 Ko Pauk
New Delhi (Mizzima) – With only three days remaining before the opening of the People’s Parliament and National Parliament, no one is certain if foreign and local journalists will be allowed to cover the proceedings of the assemblies.
The first parliamentary sessions will be held in Naypyidaw on Monday.
Aye Aye Win, a writer for The Associated Press in Rangoon, told Mizzima that journalists were waiting for a yes or no from the military regime, and the longer the wait, the more doubts they have.
A journal...
Burma defends its human rights record at UN council
Friday, 28 January 2011 13:16 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The UN Human Rights Council met in Geneva on Thursday morning to hear Burmese representatives defend the country’s human rights record.
The three-hour review was conducted as a process of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which involves a review of the human rights record of all UN members once every four years.
The proceedings were broadcast live on the webpage of the UN human rights council.
The Burmese representatives included Dr. Myint Kyi, a member of the Burmese Human Rights...
Win Tin, environmentalists alarmed by Myitsone Dam
Friday, 28 January 2011 14:54 Thomas Maung Shwe
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Win Tin, the co-founder of the National League for Democracy, says he and his colleagues are “deeply concerned” by the potentially devastating impact of the 152-meter high Myitsone Dam now under construction on the upper Irrawaddy River in northern Kachin State.
Win Tin told Mizzima that he is worried the project will cause increased ethnic tensions because of the widespread displacement of villagers and the impact on the environment.
The project’s critics also fear that...
Supreme Court dismisses NLD appeal against dissolution
Friday, 28 January 2011 13:56 Thel Thel
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burma’s Supreme Court in Naypyidaw on Friday dismissed the National League for Democracy’s second appeal against the dissolution of the party for failing to register prior to last year’s election.
On January 13, the court agreed to hear a special appeal, which was heard on Monday.
Kyaw Hoe, one of the NLD lawyers, said there is still one more chance for the NLD, if it files a final appeal with the court’s Chief Justice.
However, Kyaw Hoe said, ‘We haven’t decided whether we will...
Two publications suspended for using ‘indecent photos’
Friday, 28 January 2011 13:44 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Two Rangoon publications which covered the wedding reception of popular film stars Pyay Ti Oo and Eindra Kyaw Zin have been suspended by censors in the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division for publishing ‘indecent’ photographs.
The publications, Monitor and Hello, were suspended for two weeks and one week, respectively.
‘We have been suspended for printing alleged indecent photos’, Monitor chief editor Myat Khaing told Mizzima.
The publications were suspended when editors met...
Authorities find a time bomb planted at gas pipeline
Friday, 28 January 2011 20:34 Mizzima News
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The state-run newspaper ‘The Mirror’ on Friday reported that security personnel defused a time bomb planted beneath a gas pipeline on Dedaye-Pyarpon Road in Phyarpon Township in Irrawaddy Division on Wednesday, January 26.
The bomb was planted beneath a gas pipeline beside concrete bridge No 1/13 at mile post No. 12/ 5, the newspaper said.
Authorities said the time bomb was made with four 4-inch long, 2-inch wide and 1-inch thick gunpowder blocks, with a 7 foot-long blasting...
Junta enacts special economic zone law
Friday, 28 January 2011 16:05 Mizzima News
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – To attract foreign investment, the Burmese junta has enacted the Myanmar Special Economic Zone Law, the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported on Friday.
The law comprises 12 sections including ‘Special Privileges of Investors’, ‘Land Use’, and ‘Banks and Financial Management and Insurance’.
Since the military junta came into power in 1988, about 430 companies from 31 countries have invested in 12 economic sectors in Burma.
Among the sectors, the highest earnings...
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Problems of a legal migrant worker
Thursday, 27 January 2011 18:49 Mizzima News
Dear Editor,
I’m a Burmese migrant worker in Thailand.
I have a legal migrant ID card issued by Thai authorities. As a low-paid worker, my average salary is about 4,500 baht (about US$ 146) a month.
In previous years, Thai authorities announced that we need to verify our nationality and apply for temporary passports. So, I lodged an application to obtain a passport with the help of a legal Thai broker company. I had to pay 5,800 baht. (about US$ 188).
Moreover, I had to pay 1,900 baht (about US$...
WLB to continue efforts to put generals on trial
Thursday, 27 January 2011 22:18 Myo Thein
Mizzima News – The Women's League of Burma (WLB) said on Thursday that it would continue its campaign to bring Burmese junta leaders before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The sixth congress of the WLB was held on the Thai-Burma border for three days starting Monday.
The pro-democracy opposition women’s organisation issued a statement that said it would continue work to create a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of human rights violations in Burma and to put junta leaders,...
Three political prisoners released
Thursday, 27 January 2011 22:23 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Three Burmese political prisoners who had served their full sentences were released on Wednesday.
Writer Aung Kyaw San, the publisher of the Myanmar Tribune, was released from Taunggyi Prison in Shan State; veterinary surgeon Dr. Nay Win was released from Hpaan Prison in Karen State; and Phone Pyace Kywe was released from Sittwe Prison in Arakan State.
They were sentenced to two years in prison under section 7 of the Unlawful Association Act by the Insein Prison court, according...
Oldest Rangoon University graduate passes away
Thursday, 27 January 2011 22:14 Mizzima News
Mizzima News – Former Myoma Girls’ High School Principal Saw Yin, 105, died at her residence on Cheng Chaung Avenue in Rangoon on Wednesday, January 26.
The wife of poet and academic Saya Zawgyi, who died in 1990, she was born on March 13, 1906. She was the mother of Dr. Khin Hla Han, a historical researcher on the Yadanbon period, and the aunt of the late Rangoon University geography Prof. Dr. Tin Htoo (Boonki) and former physics Prof. Tin Oo Hlaing.
She graduated from Rangoon University with a...
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
No arrest warrant issued for Bauk Ja, says lawyer
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 22:13 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – No arrest warrant has been issued for Bauk Ja, an outspoken critic of the Burmese junta, her lawyer said on Wednesday.
Lawyer Myint Thwin appeared before the election tribunal to represent Bauk Ja, a National Democratic Front (NDF) candidate, who has filed a complaint against the winning candidate, Ohn Myint of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), in the Phakant Township constituency in Kachin State, alleging that he violated electoral practices.
‘If the arrest warrant...
Goldpetrol drills for oil in old Burmese oilfields
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 20:52 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Goldpetrol Joint Operation Company is producing crude oil from old oil wells in the Yenanchaung and Chauk oilfields in Magwe Division in middle Burma.
Singapore-based Interra Resources Limited which owns 60 percent of Goldpetrol’s shares posted the information on its website on January 17.
Among these old oil wells, Well No. 2459 in the Yenanchaug oil field, which had been drilled down to 900 feet in 1931 and closed during WWII, and the Chauk-950 oil well, which was first drilled...
BBC World Service to cut some services
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 20:30 Mizzima News
Mizzima – The BBC World Service will carry out a fundamental restructure in order to meet a 16 percent savings target required by the British government.
To ensure the 16 percent target is achieved and other unavoidable cost increases are met, the BBC will cut five full language services, end selected radio programmes in seven languages and refocuse those services on online and new media content and distribution and reduce most short wave and medium wave distribution of remaining radio services.
BBC...
Burmese dance troupe to perform in Chiang Mai
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 20:27 Kyaw Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - The Thee Lay Thee traditional dance troupe will perform in Chiang Mai on Thursday to mark the 50th birthday of Zarganar, the well-known comedian and political prisoner.
The performance will be in the Art Museum at Chiang Mai University in honor of Zarganar, who is the troop’s mentor.
In addition to dancer Mya Sabai Ngone, the comedians Pan Thee, Kyel Thee and Zee Thee will perform in the show, which will start at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is 50 and 100 baht. The comedian Zee Thee told...
Striking Burmese workers win demands
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 13:31 Aung Myat Soe
Mizzima – More than 800 Burmese migrant workers went on strike at the V & K pineapple factory in Bankha Township in Latburi Province in Thailand on Tuesday after a supervisor hit a worker with his fist.
The supervisor, riding a motorcycle, accidentally struck a Burmese worker and then assaulted him, said striking workers.
The next day about 800 Burmese workers staged a protest, saying they could not tolerate anymore violations of their rights and physical assaults against them.
“The accident...
KIO and KNO agree to work together
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 12:07 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the foreign-based Kachin National Organisation (KNO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to co-operate with each other while working for the rights of Kachin people.
agreement-letterIn the past, the two organisations have competed with each other in politics for 12 years. On January 21 and 22, the top leaders of both groups met to discuss ways to co-operate with each other for the sake of the Kachin, according to KIO vice...
Burma to host Asian Tennis championship
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 20:18 Tun Tun
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The 4-day Asian Tennis Championship tournament for under-14 players, sponsored by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), will be held starting Saturday in Rangoon.
The tournament will be held at the Theinbyu tennis courts from January 29 to February 1, the third such event held in Burma by the ITF.
The tournament is free and open to the public. It will begin at 8:30 a.m.
‘The International Tennis Federation provides the organization and will bear expenses for the tournament...
Dr. Sein Tun dies at 71
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 11:34 Mizzima News
(Mizzima) - Dr. Sein Tun, 71, the retired head of the Physics Department at Rangoon University, died in Rangoon on Monday, January 24.
Sein Tun, who conducted research in nuclear physics, was recognised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and was an organizing force behind the construction of a research nuclear reactor at the university, according to one of his students who is a former secretary of the Physicists Association at the university.
He graduated from Saint Paul High School...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
‘We must speak in one voice’
Tuesday, 25 January 2011 14:49 Mizzima News
(Mizzima) - Recently, the Committee for the Emergence of a Federal Union (CEFU) was formed after a joint meeting of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), the Karen National Union (KNU), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the Chin National Front (CNF), the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) in November 2010.
The committee plans to convene a broad ethnic conference, but one that its leaders describe as different from the proposed second Panglong-type...
Human Rights Watch report blasts 2010 election
Tuesday, 25 January 2011 20:37 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The US-based Human Right Watch (HRW) has issued a report saying the Burmese regime continually denied the public a fair election in 2010 and the human rights situation continues to deteriorate.
The report said that the regime held the general election only after further limiting the rights of freedom of speech and the media and after promulgating undemocratic electoral laws which favoured the junta-backed political party in the election.
HRW noted that the regime of taking ‘preventive...
Shwe Man seen as pick to become President
Tuesday, 25 January 2011 20:31 Myo Thein
New Delhi (Mizzima) – According to Naypyidaw observers, retired General Thura Shwe Man has the best chance to become the new President in the upcoming Parliament.
The military is eligible to nominate a vice president from the appointed military representatives in both houses of Parliament, according to the new constitution, giving Thura Shwe Man an advantage, say observers.
Among the civilian MPs, who are dominated by the Union Solidarity Development Party members of Parliament, the lower house is expected...
Mon Party to introduce farm ownership bill
Tuesday, 25 January 2011 13:23 Kun Chan
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - The All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP) will introduce a Parliamentary bill to allow farmers to own their farms.
Party leader Nai Ngwe Thein said: ‘We heard recently about the land confiscation cases in Kyaikmaraw to build a cement factory. We discussed that case in our party’s central committee meeting. We want farmers to own their own farms, and we will propose it’.
Last week, Mon MPs-elect traveled to Ye, Thanbyuzayat, Mudon, Chaungzon and Kyaikmaraw to conduct an informal...
Journalists’ group asks for access to parliamentary sessions
Tuesday, 25 January 2011 20:26 Myo Thant
Mizzima – The Committee for Professional Conduct (CPC) has asked the government censorship board for the right to gather news during parliamentary sessions, but the board has not yet replied, according to Ko Ko, the CPC chairman.
The CPC held a meeting on January 18 which included Myo Myint Maung, the director of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) under the Ministry of Information.
‘We have not been informed about the request’, said Ko Ko.
‘They have not established any policy on gathering...
Monday, January 24, 2011
Political parties urge Than Shwe to investigate electoral fraud
Monday, 24 January 2011 17:45 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics (UMFNP) has sent an official letter to Senior General Than Shwe urging him to establish a commission to investigate electoral fraud in the recent elections, according to the party. The letter was sent on January 10.
Party chairman Aye Lwin told Mizzima: ‘Senior General Than Shwe should investigate the reported electoral frauds. If he doesn’t, it will mean that he accepts the unfairness, and he will be an accomplice in the fraud’.
The...
Thailand to deport two journalists
Monday, 24 January 2011 12:25 Thomas Maung Shwe
Chiang Mai – Thai authorities are set to deport John San Lin, a Burmese freelance journalist, and his colleague Pascal Schatterman, a Belgian national, after they were arrested in the Mae Sot area on Thursday.
Thai authorities arrested the pair shortly after they entered Thai soil from Burma.
The journalists were covering the SPDC assault against a breakaway faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and its impact on local civilians.
The Committee to Project journalists issued a...
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