BurmaNet News, April 17, 2007

[Editor]

April 17, 2007 Issue # 3185


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Thingyan a washout for pandal owners
Khonumthung News: Meat prices soar following ban on livestock from Burma

REGIONAL
DVB: Indian authorities close Mizzima office
New Straits Times: Malaysia hosts 40,000 refugees

PRESS RELEASE
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL): Burma/Myanmar: Three
non-state armed groups pledge to halt antipersonnel mine use

ANNOUNCEMENT
The Burmese University in Diaspora: AEIOU is calling New Students and
Teachers for 2008 Semester

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 17, Democratic Voice of Burma
Thingyan a washout for pandal owners

With far fewer revelers choosing to take to the Rangoon streets for this
year’s Thingyan festival, pandal organisers have reportedly lost hundreds
of thousands of kyats worth of business.

Pandal (a Southeast Asian term for a marquee or stage) organisers told DVB
that a Burmese government decision to only give building permits to the
children of high-ranking officials meant that young Burmese people were
forced to pay high prices to buy the second-hand permits.

Some people in Rangoon reported having to pay as much as three million
kyats for a pandal building permit before also being asked for millions of
kyats worth of bribes to municipal officials.

The high prices for the pandals also meant that the organisers were forced
to charge high prices for admission, leaving many young Rangoon residents
unable to pay.

“We just wanted to have fun but those permit sellers ruined it all. They
made people unable to afford to have fun. We lost a lot of money big
time,” the organiser of one pandal said.

“They are making us fed up with our own traditional Thingyan festival. I
am really fed up.”

Several young people who went out into the street to celebrate Thingyan
said some pandals on Inya road—usually crammed with people, water and
thumping music during the festival—were completely deserted.

High petrol prices have also reportedly resulted in many people abandoning
the tradition of riding around town in trucks in favour of walking.

“The strange thing about this year’s Thingyan is that there are a lot of
people who dressed up so well and went out on foot on Inya road . . . it
seems like Inya road’s Thingyan spirit is gone,” one Rangoon resident
said.

But other locations were packed including Pyi road around the Htoo Trading
and Air Bagan pandal which hosted the famous band Emperor and the
Kandawgyi Aquarium where Iron Cross played at the Myanmar Beer pandal.

____________________________________

April 16, Khonumthung News
Meat prices soar following ban on livestock from Burma

Price of meat has soared since March in Mizoram after the state government
banned entry of livestock from Burma (Myanmar) following an outbreak of
bird flu in the neighbouring country.

"The prices of cows are going up following the government ban. Sometimes
we do not recover the capital invested when we slaughter a cow and sell it
per kilogram. Therefore the price goes up," a butcher in Aizawl said.

In the last few years the rate of beef has been Rs. 120 per kilogram but
now it is Rs. 140 a kilogram. Pork prices have gone up from Rs. 100 to Rs.
120 a kilogram while chicken has climbed from Rs. 120 to Rs. 150 a
Kilogram. There has been a chain effect and the prices of all goods have
risen following the ban on livestock in the Indo-Myanmar border area
recently.

The cost of domestic animals has pushed up the prices of all meat
products. Earlier a cow cost between Rs. 5,000 to 9,000, but now it is Rs.
6,000 to Rs. 10,000.

"Price of meat has gone up following the ban on livestock entering through
the border. At the same time, price of all domestic animals have gone up
in Sagaing and Magwe divisions in Burma. So naturally prices are higher
now in Aizawl," a man into cattle trade from Chin state, Burma said,

Although the neighbouring state of Manipur sends cows to Aizawl the
percentage of cattle exported by Myanmar is about 70 percent. About 20 to
30 cows are slaughtered daily in Aizawl. It used to sell twice as much on
Saturdays.

Despite SPDC restrictions on selling domestic animals in Sagaing and Magwe
divisions, some traders purchase cattle and take it to Mizoram bypassing
the Burma Army, police and check points. But sometimes the authorities
catch them with their cattle before they enter Mizoram and imprison them
for three to six months. They are also fined Kyat five lakhs to Kyat 2
million depending on the number of heads of cattle they are transporting.

Poor families can only purchase one kilogram or two kilograms, given the
high price of meat. Earlier they could afford to buy between two kilograms
to three kilograms. Now most can only buy meat on Saturdays. On other days
butchers face a dearth of customers in Aizawl market.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 17, Democratic Voice of Burma
Indian authorities close Mizzima office

The New Delhi office of the India-based Burmese exile media group Mizzima
News was sealed off by Indian authorities yesterday, according to editor
Sein Win.

The New Delhi police and Municipal Corporation of Delhi officers
reportedly arrived at the Mizzima News headquarters in the Vikas Puri
disctrict at about midday, refusing to allow staff entry and taking video
footage of the inside of the building.

“Everything has been sealed [in the building] including every document. We
can’t get access to anything now,” Sein Win, who is based in the Thai city
of Chiang Mai, told DVB.

Sein Win said Indian-based representatives for the group had been ordered
to report to the MCD office in one week and that the reason for the
closure was unknown.

Mizzima’s editor-in-chief, Soe Myint said it was possible that the
crackdown was an Indian intelligence reaction to his position as a
translator for 34 Karen and Arakan rebels, who are on trial in Calcutta
for allegedly supplying arms to Indian rebels, and Mizzima’s ongoing
coverage of the case.

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance, of which Mizzima News is a partner,
condemned the Indian government’s move yesterday and called on the
country, as the world’s largest democracy, to do more to encourage press
freedom.

“SEAPA condemns the action of the Indian authorities, which it views as a
serious impediment to free expression in Burma . . . SEAPA urges the
Indian authorities to immediately reopen the office of Mizzima News and
desist from taking any further action on the organisation,” the group said
in a statement yesterday.

Mizzima News was founded in August 1998 and is one of a handful of
independent, non-profit media organisations working on Burma.

____________________________________

April 17, New Straits Times (Malaysia)
Malaysia hosts 40,000 refugees

Kuala Lumpur: About 40,000 refugees are registered with the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia.

As of March this year, the highest number of refugees were the Rohingyas
from the northern Rakhine state in Myanmar, who totalled about 12,600.

About 11,300 are other ethnic minorities from Myanmar, like the Chins and
Myanmar Muslims.

Another 10,000 refugees are from the province of Aceh but their number is
gradually decreasing, following positive changes in Aceh.

Other refugees are from countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and African
countries, such as Nigeria and Sudan.

According to the UNHCR public information source, some 13,000, or 30 per
cent of the refugees, are women.

There are 9,200 refugee children aged 18 and below. Most of them live with
their families.

The refugees live mostly in the Klang Valley, sometimes in groups of 20
people, sharing low-cost apartments, in urban villages or housing estates.

Some live near construction sites and in makeshift camps in the jungles
near Selangor.

The UNHCR does not aid the refugees financially, thus making them
independent.

As the refugees are not recognised by Malaysian law, they cannot be
legally employed. Most of them take up jobs which are dirty, dangerous or
difficult — jobs which locals do not want to do.

The UNHCR defines refugees as those who were forced to leave their
countries because of the difficult living conditions in their home
countries, due to armed conflict, serious public disorder and complex
human rights issues.

The Rohingya community numbers about 3,700. They have lived here for the
past decade with their children, making them the largest group of refugee
children here.

Most of the Rohingyas speak Malay fluently.

They have also integrated fairly well with the local community, finding
some level of support in the local mosques in terms of religious and
spiritual needs.

Their men mostly work in the garbage collection sector, in shops or at wet
markets.

The Chin community, who are Christians, came here about five years ago due
to the difficult situation they faced in the Chin state in Myanmar.

Most of them live in urban areas, mostly in flats, shared by 20 to 30 people.

The men work in construction sites and tend to live in makeshift camps in
the jungles near the work area. The women wash dishes in restaurants or
work as waitresses.

Recently, some of the women have begun small-scale income-generating
projects such as embroidery and knitting.

The UNHCR began its operations in Malaysia in 1975 when the Vietnamese
boat people arrived on the eastern shores of the country.

It has about 90 workers here.

_____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

April 17, International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
Burma/Myanmar: Three non-state armed groups pledge to halt antipersonnel
mine use

The Lahu Democratic Front (LDF), the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF)
and the Pa-O People's Liberation Organization (PPLO), all members of the
armed, anti-junta alliance, the National Democratic Front of Burma (NDF),
declared that they will no longer use antipersonnel landmines in their
armed struggle in Burma, Swiss-based NGO Geneva Call announced in a press
release on 16 April 2006.

In the press release announcing the groups' agreement to the Deed of
Commitment – a document committing non-state armed groups to ban
landmines, promoted by Geneva Call – Mai Aik Phone, General Secretary of
the PSLF was quoted as saying “I know all too well the effect of landmines
on the civilian population. My own grandmother lost her life after
stepping on a mine laid in a tea plantation. Although opposition groups
are using mines to target the military and for defence, all too often the
victims are civilians and animals”.

Combined with the signing of the Deed of Commitment by the Chin National
Front (also an NDF member) in August 2006, now four out of eight NDF
member organizations have committed to the landmine ban.

All three recent signatories reside in Shan State of Burma/Myanmar, where
at least eleven other armed non-state groups are active. These include
other factions of the Pa-O and Palaung which have ceased hostilities with
the military regime, but maintain arms. It is not known if the signature
by these groups will include the other factions of their ethnic group.

In its 2002 Annual Report, the Landmine Monitor reported that the Lahu
National Organization General Secretary U Aye Maung declared a no-mine-use
policy and issued a command to its soldiers to neither use nor acquire
antipersonnel mines. Military junta linked Lahu militias within ShanState
have also been alleged to be involved in mine use. The PPLO was reported
to be a mine user in the 2002-2004 Landmine Monitor reports.

Geneva Call's Deed of Commitment requires signatory organizations not only
to refrain from mine use, but to cooperate in a program to destroy any
mine stocks they may hold. They will further be expected to cooperate in
the clearance of mines which they or others may have laid previously in
their areas of operation. Both the LDF and PSLF have declared themselves
ready to destroy the stockpiles that they possess, and the LDF has pledged
to remove the mines that they had laid previously, according to the Geneva
Call press release.

The National Democratic Front was first engaged by the Australian Campaign
to Ban Landmines in 1997, and has shown an openness to dialogue on this
issue for several years. The ICBL's Halt Mine Use in Burma Campaign has
consistently encouraged National Democratic Front members, the military
junta, and other non-state armed groups within Burma/Myanmar, to agree to
a halt in mine use, as part of a general nationwide ceasefire over the
past seven years. (Click here for more information)

In 2003, the ICBL was invited to make a presentation to the National
Democratic Front membership on the landmine ban, and its work. Then NDF
General Secretary Zing Cung stated on that occasion that it was
unavoidable that some of their members must use landmines in self defence,
a statement the NDF repeated to Geneva Call in January 2007. The ICBL is
pleased to see that some members of the NDF have rethought this, and
strongly encourages all NDF members to halt mine use.

_____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

April16, The Burmese University in Diaspora
AEIOU is calling New Students and Teachers for 2008 Semester

(Matriculation Examination)

The Burmese University in Diaspora is calling for new students for 2008
Cold Season Semester. Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons, Migrant
Workers in the peripherals of Burma and potential youths from inside Burma
are cordially invited to appear for the Matriculation Examination to be
held on 25thth June, 2007(Monday) at the various centres inside and
outside the country for the faculty of Social Sciences leading to BA and
BMA.

There will be two papers to answer, one is on English and the other is on
General Knowledge. The level is GCE (A), TOFEL 5.5, CANTAS level including
translation from English to Burmese and vice versa. Any youth from Burma
is encouraged to answer within the age level of 20 to 30 provided he/she
doesn't smoke and drink or indulge in narcotics.

Students who passed both the written and oral examinations will be given
full stipend, transport and security. Those residing in the peripherals of
Burma must apply with the O Form and those inside the country must apply
with the I Form to the various volunteers in their locality.

Refugees		Please contact their respective Education Committee in the camps
IDP			Please contact their respective contact persons.*
Inside Burma		Please contact our representative in every major town and
city.*
Migrant Workers            Please contact the designated  AEIOU
representatives


• for security reasons we could not announced the contact person, as they
may be persecuted for the regime is against educating its youths except
their off springs and cronies.
Those interested can apply in written to P.O. Box 19, CMU PO, Chiangmai
50202 or via email to profwin at gmail.com after filling up the M forms
(below). The candidate will have to go through a tough English and General
Knowledge exam before being admitted to the Chiang Mai University Faculty
of Medicine.

Calling for Teachers' Training for 2008 Semester

AEIOU Programme Faculty of Pedagogy is calling for Teachers Training to
incumbent teachers who had serve more than three years in their respective
community
Any incumbent teachers whether he/she is a Refugee, IDPs, Migrant Workers
or working voluntarily in Parahita schools inside Burma are eligible to
attend. It is a six months course and will teach the following specialize
disciplines:

(1) Curriculum Development
(2) Child Psychology
(3) Theory and Practice
(4) School and Classroom Administration
(5) Moral and Manners
(6) Integrated Teaching
(7) Physical Education
(8) Co-curriculum and extra-curriculum activities

All the teachers both PAT (Primary Assistant Teacher) and JAT (Junior
Assistant Teacher) teachers who successfully completed this intensive
course will be given a Diploma in Teaching by the AEIOU Programme,
recognized by the affiliated universities.
If the teacher is working in an NGO sponsored school, a written
recommendation
is needed from that NGO followed up with the resources for his/her sojourn in
Chiangmai.

(a) be studious, dedicated, hard working and must not apply for a
resettlement in any Third country
(b) have good ethics and a good moral character.
(c) promise to continue to serve in their respective community for at
least two years after graduation.

Those interested can apply in written to P O Box 19, CMU PO, Chiangmai
50202 or via email to profwin at gmail.com after filling up the T forms
(below).