Suu Kyi campaigns in Dawei

Monday, 30 January 2012 12:29 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Burmese voters got their first real taste of Aung San Suu Kyi the political campaigner on Sunday as thousands of supporters greeted her in Dawei, the site of a huge industrial project planned for southern Burma. Thousands gathered along the roads, villages and towns to see the 66-year-old Nobel peace prize winner who spoke...

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SSA-North signs two peace agreements

Monday, 30 January 2012 19:56 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – The Shan State Progressive Party and the Shan State Army-North (SSAN) signed two peace agreements with the government peacemaking team on Saturday. The agreements were signed in Taunggyi, the Shan State capital, according to Maj Sai La, the SSAN spokesman. One agreement included the resettlement of the party and army around Wanhai, the group’s main base; establishing liaison offices in Taunggyi, Lashio and Kholam; informing each side before one one travels in the area...

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Political parties discuss Kaladan project

Monday, 30 January 2012 16:08 Ko Pauk New Delhi (Mizzima) – Members of eight Burmese political parties arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the Kaladan River project, a joint India-Burma trade venture. The two-day meeting is hosted by Jamia Millia Islamia University, said Chin National Party chairman Zam Ciin Paul.   “I want our people to know what the project intends to do, what benefits the people will receive and what disadvantages people will suffer,” said Zam Ciin Paul. “It is in our area, so we want...

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Burma plans foreign investment tax exemption

Monday, 30 January 2012 15:44 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Burma will introduce a law in this session of Parliament for an eight-year tax exemption for foreign investors as Western companies have “rushed” to build economic ties, an industrial minister told the Davos Economic Forum on Saturday. Industry Minister U Soe Thane told reporters that as the country’s democracy reform continues, “They are rushing to us. We are just opening the door,” according to Agency France Press. The minister said his first visit to Davos had been...

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Burma tapping into Singapore’s financial expertise

Monday, 30 January 2012 14:59 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Burmese President Thein Sein began a state visit to Singapore on Sunday, accompanied by a delegation of ministers who are expected to seek expertise in financial areas. During the visit, which ends on Wednesday, the president will sign a memorandum of understanding on a technical co-operation program. Singapore will provide training for reforms in the legal, banking and financial sectors, according to Agence France Press. “After so many years of isolation, their capacity...

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Airlines starting to look at Burma

Monday, 30 January 2012 14:00 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – With the expected ramp up in tourism in Burma in the coming year, some airlines are wondering how long it will be before they can schedule more flights to benefit from an influx of business people and tourists, in spite of woefully weak infrastructure.  Emerging democratic reforms are leading to renewed interests in the country after decades of isolation, economic sanctions and a formerly repressive military regime. Reuters news agency said Monday that Thai Airways...

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NLD will try to repeal unjust laws

Monday, 30 January 2012 13:15 Ko Pauk New Delhi (Mizzima) – The National League for Democracy (NLD) plans to try to repeal laws that allow the Burmese government to detain people without trial and other laws used to oppress human rights.  Senior leader Tin Oo, who is also a member of NLD Law Affairs Committee, told Mizzima that two laws particularly, the Emergency Provisions Act and the Law Safeguarding the State from the Danger of Subversive Elements, popularly known as state protection laws will be the subject...

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Arakan Liberation Party invited to peace talks

Monday, 30 January 2012 13:28 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – The Burmese government has invited the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) to attend peace negotiations, a party spokesperson told the Narinjara news agency.  Khine Thukha, secretary-2 of the ALP, said the party received the request through its armed wing based on the Thai-Burma border on January 23. No date for the talks was available. "The deputy leader of the regime's Union Level Peace Making Group, Thein Zaw, sent an invitation letter to our Vice President U Khine...

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Burma’s censorship dep’t to be abolished?

Friday, 27 January 2012 22:13 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – The director of the Burmese Press Scrutiny and Registration Department (PSRD) repeated claims this week that the department would be abolished in coming months.  “The new press law, which is still in the process of being enacted, will guarantee freedom of expression in Burma,” Tint Swe told Radio Free Asia (RFA) in an interview on Wednesday. “It won’t take too long to adopt the press law—it would just be a matter of months after discussions at the upcoming parliament...

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Money exchange services start next month

Friday, 27 January 2012 18:11 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Four Burmese private banks will provide money exchange services in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand starting in February, according to Rangoon media. The move is designed to begin foreign trade services with Asean members. The banks participating are the Cooperative Bank, Kanbawza Bank, Asian Green Development Bank and Ayeyawaddy Bank, said an article in the Yangon Times. The service will allow migrant workers in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia to remit money to Burma. The...

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Internal refugees need help: KNU

Friday, 27 January 2012 14:44 Kyaw Kha Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – It’s past time to offer direct aid to tens of thousands of internal refugees in Karen State and other areas. The Karen National Union (KNU) and Burmese government peace delegation will discuss the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) during the second round of peace talks, KNU officials said prior to the meeting. KNU peacemaking committee Secretary Pado Saw David Htaw said that the KNU plans to prioritize the issue because internal refugees need...

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Up to 900 political prisoners may remain in Burmese jails

Friday, 27 January 2012 14:08 Nay Myo New Delhi (Mizzima) – As many as 918 political prisoners may still be locked up in Burmese prisons, but an accurate list of the number is still incomplete, say groups working on the political prisoner issue. According to the list compiled by the Thai-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP-B), 918 political prisoners are still behind bars. According to the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, 388 are political prisoners are still being detained. The two...

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‘Burma’s Plea’ to raise funds for Burma Campaign UK

Friday, 27 January 2012 21:44 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – “Burma’s Plea,” a 407-page photo album of life in Burma by award-winning photographer Dimitra Stasinopoulou can be purchased from the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium. The funds from the sale by the TBBC will be donated to Burma Campaign UK. Dimitra Stasinopoulou was born in Athens in 1953. After completing her studies, she worked in the banking sector for 20 years, and later on took up photography. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, writes in the introduction:...

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Suu Kyi addresses World Economic Forum

Friday, 27 January 2012 12:26 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi told delegates to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday that the possibility of a great transformation “is in sight for our country.” “An important step that will take us nearer to a truly revolutionary break through will be the inclusion of all relevant political forces in the electoral and legislative process of our country,” she said. She said a sign of that break through was the inclusion of Burmese...

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Meeting Suu Kyi was ‘quite a moment’: McConnell

Friday, 27 January 2012 12:09 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – A top U.S. lawmaker, in an address to his colleagues in the U.S. Senate, said he never thought he would get to meet Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in person.   “It was quite a moment,” Senator Mitch McConnell said, to be welcomed by her in her home in Rangoon, during his two-day visit to Burma earlier this month. Senate Minority Leader McConnell said recent democratic changes in Burma are real and, “I am pleased to say that change is clearly in the...

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Joint parliament session to debate budget on Tuesday

Thursday, 26 January 2012 22:43 Myo Thant Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A joint session of both houses of the Burmese Parliament will have only one day to deliberate on next year’s budget, say lawmakers. The joint session will meet on Tuesday in Naypyitaw. Parliament speaker Khin Aung Myint told lawmakers on Thursday that the budget would be the only item on that day’s agenda. Upper House MP Phone Myint Aung told Mizzima that ministers and state government officials would brief lawmakers throughout the day. “We were told that we...

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Thailand PM touts Dawei in India

Thursday, 26 January 2012 18:21 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Burma’s Dawei deep-sea port industrial zone could be India’s long-sought transport corridor to Southeast Asia. In her address to business associations in New Delhi on Wednesday, Shinawatra said Thailand is commitment to building a deep sea port in southern Burma and a massive industrial complex to serve as a gateway to Southeast Asian countries, according to an article on the Indianexpress.com website. Estimated to cost...

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Burma ‘has a high growth potential’: IMF

Thursday, 26 January 2012 16:25 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – After a two-week assessment period, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team says Burma has the potential to become “the next economic frontier in Asia.”  Meral Karasulu, the deputy division chief of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund, who led the IMF assessment team, said in a statement released on Wednesday: “Burma has a high growth potential and could become the next economic frontier in Asia, if it can turn its rich natural...

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Hotel chains eyeing Burma as new market

Thursday, 26 January 2012 15:15 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – The topic of hotels in Burma came up in Davos Switzerland this week when two international hoteliers said they would like to open hotels in the once-isolated country. Starwood Hotels & Resorts – which runs hotel chains such as Westin, Sheraton and W – and Marriott International, said during the World Economic Forum in Davos they wanted to expand into Burma. “Marriott would love to be there if the conditions are right,” said Arne Sorenson, president and CEO-elect...

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EU looking at 150 million euro aid package

Thursday, 26 January 2012 12:49 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – EU diplomats are talking about an aid package to Burma, perhaps reaching 150 million euro, Agence France Presses (AFP) said on Wednesday. The aid package, aimed at health, education, agriculture and institutional capacity building, was discussed by EU foreign ministers at talks in Brussels on Monday, an anonymous source told AFP. EU ministers agreed to the immediate lifting of travel bans on Burma leaders as a first step towards easing its sanctions. It also called...

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NMSP forms peace delegation

Thursday, 26 January 2012 12:22 Kun Chan  (Mizzima) – New Mon State Party Vice Chairman Nai Rao Sa will lead a delegation for a second round of peace talks at Mawlamyaing in Mon State on February 1. “Our posture is the same as before,” NMSP Secretary-General Nai Hong Sar told Mizzima. “We want to talk about a nationwide cease-fire. Stopping the fighting is not the main thing. The main thing is to hold a political dialogue.” On January 20, NMSP chairman Nai Htaw Mon said in his closing speech at the 6th Mon National...

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New book praises Suu Kyi’s nonviolence

Thursday, 26 January 2012 11:58 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – A new book “Evolving the Spirit – From Democracy to Peace” by Anthony Russell praises Aung San Suu Kyi as one of the leaders who uses a religious spirit in her efforts to establish democracy and peace in Burma. Author Russell writes: “What fascinates me is the single belief-system that runs through all the great religions....

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U.N. behind-the-scenes work paying off: Ban

Thursday, 26 January 2012 13:09 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is “very pleased” with democratic reforms so far in Burma and that he plans another visit there soon. The freeing of political prisoners was a major step toward reconciliation, he told Voice of America, while noting that he and other U.N. diplomats have continuously and patiently carried out public and behind-the-scenes diplomacy with the former military regime and the newly elected Burmese government. He said...

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Vice president talks to Dawei residents

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 22:21 Ko Wild Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burma’s Vice President Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo has met with residents of the Dawei (Tavoy) Special Economic Zone project who will be relocated, confirming 18 villages would be relocated. The vice president met with a number of the homeowners and told them the giant energy project in southern Burma will create better social and economic conditions for the country, according to state-run newspapers. Government officials said 23,120 people from 3,984 homes...

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SSA-S leaders prepare to set up businesses

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 22:03 Phanida Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – After signing its cease-fire agreement with the Burmese government, Shan State Army – South (SSA-S) leaders have concluded a seven-day tour of businesses in three cities. At the invitation of the government peace team led by Railway Minister Aung Min, a seven-member SSA-S team visited Rangoon and Mandalay and a three-member team visited Muse in northern Shan State. “Our visits are just to survey businesses,” said Major Sai Lao Sai. “We looked at basic economic...

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Burmese army shoots pregnant Kachin teacher: BCUK

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 20:51 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) said it has confirmed reports that a pregnant Kachin woman was shot and killed by Burmese Army soldiers on January 11.  A statement released on Wednesday said Mangshang Ying Wang was shot by Burmese Army soldiers on January 11 at 9 a.m. on Hpakan Road in Kachin State. It is believed that soldiers from Battalion 58 under the command of Lieutenant Ye Min Twi, Lieutenant Ko Ko Latt and Colonel Htun Naing were in charge of soldiers in that...

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Press freedom ranking

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 18:58 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Burma ranked 169, slightly higher than China and Vietnam, in the ranking of countries with a free press in an analysis by Reporters Without Borders. Burma was in the bottom 10 in countries with the most restrictive free speech and press. In 2010, Burma was ranked seven places lower, reflecting a slight improvement in a loosening of prior censorship laws. However, newspapers and journals are still required to have all articles approved by censors before publication....

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Sanctions are not cause of economic problems

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 18:29 Nyein Chan Aye (Commentary) – Nowadays the Burmese “sanctions” question is a hot topic. I have neither opposed nor supported Western sanctions because I believe it’s not the main reason for the problems of our motherland, including the bad economy. According to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Western targeted sanctions mainly affect the regime...

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Lawmakers will try to cut state budgets to reduce deficit

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 12:27 Myo Thant Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – During the opening session of the Burmese Parliament on Thursday, lawmakers will review state budgets for the 2012-13 financial year in hope of reducing the deficit. Dr. Aye Maung of the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) told Mizzima that they would try to control spending on some nonessential state projects. “We must cancel unnecessary projects during this time of a financial crunch,” he said. “The projects which we must spend money on by borrowing...

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NLD member sets shirt on fire in protest

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 12:01 Kyaw Kha (Mizzima) – A National League for Democracy (NLD) member set fire to his shirt bearing an NLD logo on Monday in objection to NLD electoral candidate Tin Tin Yi. He set himself on fire in front of the NLD office in Myeik Township, Tanintharyi Region. He told people he objected to Tin Tin Yi’s candidacy because she had neglected the Myeik Township NLD in times of trouble, and she did not deserve to be an NLD candidate, according to eyewitness NLD members. “He said in front of the...

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Pakistan wants closer oil and gas ties with Burma

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 12:38 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Burma for a two-day official visit on Tuesday to promote trade and economic cooperation. The Pakistani president planned to raise the issue of upgrading institutional relations with Asean to a full dialogue partnership. He will also meet with Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Zardari said in a statement that he wanted to congratulate her on what it called “the beginning moments of her triumph” as she reenters...

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