BurmaNet News, July 1, 2008

[Editor]

July 1, 2008 Issue #3502


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Blast hits pro-junta office in Myanmar
DVB: NLD begins cleaning ponds for drinking water
Irrawaddy: Restrictions tightened on Insein political prisoners
Irrawaddy: Rare birds also victims of Cyclone Nargis
Xinhua: Myanmar plans permanent houses for storm victims

ON THE BORDER
Bangkok Post: Thais evacuated as KNU attacked by Burmese army
IMNA: Teenage migrant worker gang raped, survives

BUSINESS / TRADE
The Strait Times: China signs natural gas deal with Myanmar
Xinhua: Burma pharmaceutical imports on rise

GUNS
Khonumthung News: Mizoram police arrests Burmese arms dealer

ASEAN
Borneo Bulletin: Brunei delegation in Myanmar for Asean-COCI meet

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: UN chief says will press Myanmar on democracy
Mizzima News: WFP considers shipping in food for Burmese cyclone victims
DVB: Burmese protestors lobby Ban in Japan

OPINION / OTHER
BBC News: Building Burma's digital front line
UPI: Junta harrassing Burma's cyclone survivors
Malaysia Star: Call to action



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 1, Associated Press
Blast hits pro-junta office in Myanmar

An explosion at dawn Tuesday rocked the office of a government-backed
social welfare group whose members have been accused in attacks against
Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition, witnesses said.

The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of official
reprisal, said the blast occurred at the office of Union Solidarity and
Development Association office in the northern Yangon suburb of
Shwepyithar. No casualties were reported.

Residents in Shwepyithar said riot police and security officials swarmed
into the area after the explosion.

No further details were immediately available, and there were no immediate
claims of responsibility. The government has not blamed any group for the
bombing.

The USDA, a social welfare organization which was formed 15 years ago ,
claims to have more than 23 million members out of a national population
of 57 million. Its members often have been accused of involvement in
attacks against supporters of the pro-democracy opposition.

The organization, headed by junta chairman Senior Gen. Than Shwe, is to be
transformed into a political party when general elections are held in
2010. Currently, the USDA is engaged in a wide range of social activities,
from organizing health treatment in rural areas to planting trees.

The last explosion in Yangon, the country's largest city, occurred in
April when two bombs damaged some parked cars but caused no casualties.

The government often blames such attacks on anti-government dissident
groups and separate ethnic rebels seeking autonomy.

Terrorism is rare but not unknown in Myanmar, which has been under
military rule since 1962.

In 1990, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a general
election but was not allowed to take power by the military, which
continues to tightly control the country.

Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention
without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.

____________________________________

July 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
NLD begins cleaning ponds for drinking water – Khin Hnin Htet

The National League for Democracy’s Cyclone Relief Committee started its
work cleaning ponds in villages in Latputta township in the Irrawaddy
Delta on Monday, according to committee chairperson Ohn Kyaing.

The committee announced its plans last week to focus its efforts on
providing clean drinking water to cyclone-hit villages.

The chairperson said that the committee would begin by cleaning ponds in
35 villages in the area including Daungtalein, Kharchinkwin and
Shankyaung, using six water pumps. The ponds were destroyed by salt water
brought in by the cyclone in early May.

“Based on the amount of support we receive we will continue to arrange for
locals to have easy access to drinking water,” said Ohn Kyaing.

After the cleaning, the committee will mend the ponds, collect rain water
and then test if it is drinkable. If necessary, the committee will also
use alkaline and purifying tablets to treat the water.

With the cooperation of local NLD members, the committee expects to finish
the cleaning process for 60 ponds in Latputta, which will cost 300,000
kyat per pond, within the month.

“After Latputta, we will move on to ponds in Mawlamyaingkyun and Bogalay,”
said Ohn Kyaing.

____________________________________

July 1, Irrawaddy
Restrictions tightened on Insein political prisoners – Wai Moe

An exercise ban has been imposed on political prisoners in Rangoon’s
Insein prison, according to the Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners-Burma (AAPP). The regular supplies of books from family members
and friends have also been stopped by the authorities, the Thailand-based
organization said.

AAPP’s joint secretary, Bo Kyi, drew attention to health problems suffered
by Burma’s longest serving political prisoner, the 79-year-old journalist
Win Tin, and a prominent leader of the 88 Students Generation, Min Ko
Naing.

Min Ko Naing, a close associate of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
was arrested on August 21 2007 after leading a protest march against
rising fuel prices. He has a serious eye ailment and is reported to be
suffering now from other health problems.
Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD),
has called in a statement for the release of NLD members arrested for
praying for Aung San Suu Kyi on her 63th birthday on June 19. The arrests
were illegal, the NLD statement said.

The NLD members were attacked by pro-government thugs belonging to the
paramilitary Swan Ah Shin and the Union Solidarity and Development
Association while they were taking part in a prayer ceremony for Suu Kyi.
Police looked on as the thugs beat the participants, the NLD statement
said.

NLD sources say about five people, including two party members, Theingi
and Ma Cho, were also arrested on June 24 for their involvement in Nargis
relief works.

____________________________________

July 1, Irrawaddy
Rare birds also victims of Cyclone Nargis – Violet Cho

Several rare bird species were decimated by Cyclone Nargis, according to
the Myanmar (Burma) Bird and Nature Society.

The Brahminy duck, Chinese magpie and Sarus crane, all of which make their
migratory home in the Irrawaddy delta, were among the already threatened
varieties of bird life hard hit by the violent winds and flooding that
accompanied the May cyclone. Seagulls also suffered in large numbers.

Soe Nyunt, chairman of the Myanmar (Burma) Bird and Nature Society, said
the Brahminy duck and Sarus crane were already threatened with extinction
in Burma.

Burma has more than 1,000 species of bird, many of which inhabit lowlands
such as the Irrawaddy delta and the coast.

Forty three threatened species have been registered with the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Five are listed as “Critically
Endangered”—the white-shouldered ibis, white-rumped vulture,
slender-billed vulture, pink-headed duck and Gurney’s pitta.

The Irrawaddy delta’s mangrove swamps, inundated by the cyclone, provide a
natural habitat for birds, as well as for fish, crabs and prawns.

“After saving the lives of people in storm-hit areas, we now have to
rehabilitate the environment and ecosystem destroyed by the cyclone,” Soe
Nyunt said.

Rangoon-based journalist Kyi Wai also contributed to this report.

____________________________________

July 1, Xinhua
Myanmar plans permanent houses for storm victims

The Myanmar government is planning permanent houses for homeless storm
victims in two cyclone-hard-hit regions, assigning some 18 private
companies and bankers to implement the special project, the official
newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.

The project involves some 4,000 permanent houses to be built in Bogalay,
Phyapon, Dedaye and Laputta in Ayeyawaddy division.

The builder companies include Htoo, CB Bank, the Union of Myanmar
Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI),Asia World,
Yuzana, Zaykaba and Tet Lan, the report said.

Meanwhile, Myanmar is also reclaiming land plots in the cyclone-hit areas
to build up to 100,000 other low-cost provisional housings for homeless
storm victims, the local weekly Voice reported earlier.

These low-cost housings at 500,000 Kyats (450 U.S. dollars) each will be
constructed free of charge for the survived villagers in Ayeyawaddy delta
region's Laputta, Bogalay, Dedaye and Phyapon.

A total of 30 private companies have been assigned by the government's
National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee to undertake
reconstruction work in 17 disaster-affected areas.

Farmers in cyclone-hard-hit areas such as Bogalay, Laputta, Ngaputtaw,
Mawlamyinegyun and Dedaye in the Ayeyawaddy delta and Kungyangon in Yangon
division have reportedly started ploughing monsoon paddy after paddy
strains and draught-cattle-substitute powered tillers were provided to the
local farmers.

Meanwhile, a Japan Platform Foundation will also help build 2,500 to 3,000
houses for Myanmar cyclone victims in the two divisions and the project
will be implemented with the cooperation of the UMFCCI, earlier reports
also said.

Myanmar has announced that the first phase of the country's post-disaster
restoration work -- rescue and relief, has finished up to a certain extent
and it has now entered into a second phase of resettlement and
reconstruction.

Deadly tropical cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit
five divisions and states -- Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago,Mon and Kayin on
last May 2 and 3, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest
casualties and massive infrastructural damage.

Myanmar estimated the damages and losses caused by the storm at10.67
billion U.S. dollars with 5.5 million people affected.

The storm has killed 84,537 people, leaving 53,836 missing and 19,359
injured according to the latest official death toll.


____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

July 5, Bangkok Post
Thais evacuated as KNU attacked by Burmese army – Supamart Kasem

More than 100 Thais were evacuated from Phop Phra district bordering Burma
yesterday after Burmese troops sealed off and attacked a Karen stronghold.
A resident of Ban Padi said he heard gunfire from 5am. The battleground
was opposite the village, just across Padi stream, he said.

Thai soldiers and rangers provided safety for the evacuees and stood by to
prevent any intrusion by foreign troops.

A ranger said about 100 Burmese soldiers from the 409th Light Infantry
Regiment joined the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army's (DKBA) 907th
Battalion. The joint force sealed off and attacked the Karen National
Union (KNU) at Valeki, opposite Ban Padi.

The source said the KNU's 102nd Battalion were out-gunned by the joint
force, which had more manpower and weapons. One KNU soldier died and two
others were injured, he said. Burmese casualties were not known.

Later in the day, Col Nerda Mya led KNU forces in a counter-strike against
the joint force from behind, hoping to reclaim their stronghold.

Meanwhile, 23 Burmese petitioned staff of the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees in the province, claiming they had not been
registered as refugees and received no food or aid in the two years since
the UNHCR's Bangkok office sent them to Mae La refugee camp in Tha Song
Yang district.

Thet Oo, 25, said: ''Our group of 100 Burmese stay in a refugee camp but
have not received any food or basic necessities because we have not been
registered as refugees. We have made a living as hired labourers.''

An official in Tak said the group were illegal immigrants travelling to
Thailand to work as illegal workers in Bangkok and other provinces.

The government wants Burmese who were given UNHCR registration slips and
People of Concern status to stay in a refugee camp, pending the provincial
administration board's decision on whether to grant them ''asylum seeker''
status.

____________________________________

July 1, Independent Mon News Agency
Teenage migrant worker gang raped, survives

A 16-year old Burmese migrant worker survived with help from people when
she regained consciousness in a bush after a gang in Samut Sakhon Province
Southern Thailand raped her for four days and beat her up.

A cotton factory worker, she was hospitalized. She was taken away by the
gang who worked at the same factory on June 22. She claimed that she was
raped by two Thai men and a Burmese.

She is being treated at Samut Sakhon hospital since Thursday, June 26
after the leader of workers found her in a bush inside the factory
compound which is about 100 acres, according to her relative Nai Pi Ya
Mon.

She was severely beaten on the head and other parts of body by the gang
who wanted to kill her after torturing and raping her to hide evidence.

"She will be operated in her mouth in the hospital. Three of her teeth
were broken and she cannot eat food properly because of wounds in her
mouth," her relative said.

Her mother cried her heart out but was happy because her daughter was alive.

She arrived in Thailand over a year ago and was staying with her mother.
She is from Thanpyuzayart Township, Mon State.

"She disappeared on the evening of June 22 after two Thai men and a
Burmese man asked her to eat some snacks but she refused. They forcibly
fed her and she fell unconscious," according to her relative.

According to the Women and Child Rights Project based in Thailand, the
same thing happened to a Karen girl the same week.


____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

July 1, The Strait Times
China signs natural gas deal with Myanmar – Chua Chin Hon

CHINA has signed a new deal to buy and pipe natural gas from neighbouring
Myanmar to southern Yunnan province, a move that could boost plans for an
ambitious oil pipeline along the same route.

An oil pipeline linking Myanmar's western coast with Yunnan in China has
been talked about for years as a possible solution to the country's
'Malacca Predicament'. This is a reference to the mainland's overwhelming
reliance on the Strait of Malacca as the main transit route for oil
imports to feed its booming economy.

About 80 per cent of the crude oil that China imports from the Middle East
and Africa has to sail through the Strait of Malacca and up through the
South China Sea before reaching the mainland's eastern coast.

This has prompted fears in Beijing that the busy strait could become a
potential choke point where China's rivals could shut down its access to
oil and raw materials in the event of a conflict.

The proposed Myanmar- Yunnan oil pipeline will ease this problem, at least
on paper, by allowing tankers to unload their cargoes on the western coast
of Myanmar before the oil is piped to the mainland.

This would boost China's energy security, and potentially cut costs and
shipping times.

But the prohibitive cost, as well as the political uncertainties involved
in such a project, could still emerge as stumbling blocks, observers say.

Politics likely played a huge part in China's decision not to highlight
the natural gas deal. It announced it in the state media only 10 days
after it was signed in Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw.

Myanmar's military junta has come under severe international criticism for
its crackdown on anti-government protests last year, as well as its
sluggish response to the recent cyclone which killed tens of thousands of
people.

The lucrative natural gas deal, however, would bolster the generals'
ability to continue resisting threats of international sanctions over
their rule.

According to a recently released Myanmar government report, foreign
investment in the country's oil and gas sectors more than tripled last
year to $474US.3 million ($645S million).

That figure accounted for 90 per cent of all foreign investment in Myanmar
last year of $504US.8 million.

China's success in clinching the pact also likely came at the expense of
India, which is competing for influence in Myanmar and also reportedly in
hot pursuit of this natural gas deal.

Chinese state media reports gave no details of the politically sensitive
deal, such as its value or commencement date. It merely said that it
involved the A-1 and A-3 offshore natural gas blocks in Myanmar.

According to Reuters, South Korea's Daewoo International Corp has a 51 per
cent stake in the fields, followed by India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp
with 17 per cent, India's GAIL with 8.5 per cent, South Korea's Korea Gas
Corp with 8.5 per cent and Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise with 15 per cent.

Under the deal, signed on June 20, the mainland's China National Petroleum
Corp will work with these five partners for the 'sale and transportation'
of the Myanmar natural gas.

'This signalled the full launch of China and Myanmar's collaboration in
natural gas,' the official Xinhua news agency said yesterday.

'This is also an important part of the cross-border energy network that
has been in the works for years.'

News of the natural gas deal came in the same month that saw Beijing raise
fuel prices by 18 per cent - its highest one-time increase ever.

Yesterday, China's top economic planning agency, the National Reform and
Development Commission, ordered a freeze on major public transport fares
in a bid to curb a 'chain reaction' that would lead to higher inflation.

But with crude oil prices hitting fresh highs in international markets, a
rise in transportation costs seems inevitable in China, despite government
price controls.

Meanwhile, Chinese airlines yesterday received the green light to raise
domestic fuel surcharges by up to 50 per cent.

___________________________________

July 1, Xinhua
Burma pharmaceutical imports on rise

The import value of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment of Myanmar
continued to grow due to ever increasing demand in the country's market,
the local weekly Myanmar Times reported Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the pharmaceutical products imports
increased to over 113 million US dollars in the fiscal year of 2007-08
which ended in March, from 100 million dollars in 2006-07.

Of the Asian nations from which Myanmar mostly imports the
pharmaceuticals, India stood the largest portion of the country's market
share and comprised more than 40 per cent of its total imports, followed
by Thailand, China and Bangladesh, the weekly said,adding that only a few
per cent are from European countries.

Since Myanmar introduced a market-oriented economic policy in 1989, the
private sector has been allowed to import pharmaceuticals from abroad.

Under the impact, local companies have struggled to compete with the
foreign distribution firms and have had to put in a lot of effort over
several years developing capable logistics systems.

Pharmaceuticals now stands Myanmar's seventh largest import item, the
report added.

____________________________________
GUNS

July 1, Khonumthung News
Mizoram police arrests Burmese arms dealer

The Mizoram police arrested a Burmese arms dealer on Saturday for alleged
links with Northeast armed groups in India . Arms and ammunition were
seized from him.

On June 28, the Mizoram police led by the Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) raided the home of the suspect, Lalliana from Burma
staying in Sairang village near Aizawl capital of Mizoram state. The
police seized 19 Chinese made AK-47 assault rifles and 12 magazines from
him, Vanglaini, a local newspaper in Mizoram said.

The seized weapons were meant for sale to two Northeast armed groups
called Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram (BLFM) and Dema Halam Deoga (DHD).

Mizoram police launched a raid searching for weapons in Lalliana's home
after CID arrested 8 members of the BLFM and DHD in Aizawl on June 25.

The current price of a Chinese made AK-47 rifle is over Rs. 300,000 and
one bullet costs Rs. 150 in the black market in northeast India ,
according to the local newspaper.

The price of seized weapons from Lalliana will be around Rs.80, 90, 000.


____________________________________
ASEAN

July 1, Borneo Bulletin
Brunei delegation in Myanmar for Asean-COCI meet – Azaraimy HH

An 11-member delegation left the country yesterday to take part in the
43rd Meeting of the Asean Committee on Culture and Information
(Asean-COCI) to be held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, from July 1 to July 3.

The Brunei contingent is being led by Dato Paduka Hj Mahmud bin Hj Bakyr,
the National Committee Chairman of Asean-COCI Brunei Darussalam. The
delegation comprises Hj Mahrub bin Awg Hj Murni, Hjh Norsham bte Hj Yahya,
as well as officers from the Information Department, RTB, Museum
Departments, Asean Departments and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs &
Trade.

High on the agenda will be discussions on projects and activities in the
field of information and culture, suggestion of new projects in the field
of information and culture, financial allotment for 2008/2009 and
examining the reports of the 9th Small Committee Meetings on Culture and
Information of Asean-COCI that was held in BSB in November 2007 and
Myanmar in December 2007.

They will also assess the relationship between Asean and dialogue
partners, such as Australia, Canada, China, EU, India, Republic of Korea,
New Zealand, Russia, USA and Asean Plus Three.

The Brunei delegation will also discuss about projects in information
under the small committee, such as organising Asean information seminars,
quizzes, Asean Journalists Visit Programme and Asean Campus Journalist
Exchange Programme.

They will also touch on cultural projects such as the Asean Youth Camp,
Asean Folk Literature and Asean Awards Excellence in Arts & Crafts.

The meeting aims to raise the cooperation in the field of information and
culture among Asean member countries.


____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

July 1, Agence France Presse
UN chief says will press Myanmar on democracy

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pledged on Tuesday to press Myanmar to
bring "genuine freedom" to its people after he struck a deal to bring in
international aid after a devastating cyclone.

Ban in May became the first secretary general in 44 years to visit Myanmar
where he persuaded junta leader Than Shwe to accept foreign disaster
experts.

The junta, suspicious of the outside world, had waited weeks before
letting in significant international help to cope with the disaster, which
left more than 138,000 people dead or missing.

"If and when it is necessary, I am going to broaden and deepen this
process in my dialogue with the Myanmar authorities," Ban told a news
conference on a visit to Tokyo.

"You have my firm commitment and assurances that I will work very hard to
help the Myanmar people to enjoy genuine freedom and democracy," he said.

A UN envoy, former Nigerian foreign minister Ibrahim Gambari, has made
little visible progress on his missions to Myanmar since the junta clamped
down on mass protests in September last year.

The junta in May extended the house arrest of opposition leader and Nobel
Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent most of the last 18
years confined to her home.

Ban said that despite the delay in accepting international aid teams, the
junta has largely lived up to its word in allowing access.

"Things seem to be moving in the right direction," Ban said.

"As far as I know as of today, international workers and UN staff have
been able to carry out their humanitarian assistance as has been agreed,"
he said.

____________________________________

July 1, Mizzima News
WFP considers shipping in food for Burmese cyclone victims – Mungpi

The United Nations World Food Programme has said it is working out details
with the government to begin importing food from abroad to supply to
cyclone survivors, in Burma's southwest Irrawaddy and Rangoon division.

Paul Risley, spokesperson of WFP in Bangkok said, the organization has
been buying food locally since it begun supplying aid to cyclone victims,
but would now consider shipping food from abroad.

"We are now working out the details with the government on shipping food
supplies," Risley said.

Risley said the government had signaled WFP to consider importing food
supplies, which includes – rice, beans and cooking oil – during a
roundtable meeting held last week.

But a source close to the military establishment said, the government
fears that if the WFP continues buying food locally, it might lead to food
shortage, which might lead to a fresh agitation among the people.

"They [junta] fear that if the WFP continues buying food in huge bulk
there might be food shortage in Rangoon and other parts," the source, who
declined to be named for fear of reprisal, told Mizzima.

"And this might lead to unrest among the people and it might take a
political turn," said the source, who claimed to have received his
information from the government's aid monitoring team.

The source said the junta's primary fear was that a food crisis at this
critical time might provoke the anger of the people and might potentially
cause a political threat.

The source also added that the restrictions do not include other
individual donors and smaller groups, as the quantity of their purchase is
much lesser than that of UN agencies like WFP.

While, the information on the restriction of WFP, could not be
independently verified, Paul Risley from WFP, however, said they have not
received any kind of notice to indicate the government's restriction on
WFP to buy food locally.

"We have been buying food locally and will continue buying," said Risley.
"We will begin shipping food from abroad from next month."

Meanwhile, a private donor, who has been providing food supplies and
shelter to cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy delta, on Monday, told
Mizzima that they have been buying food, particularly rice, in the local
market.

"There are some villages, where there is lesser amount of rice available
but so far we have been able to get as much as we want," said the private
donor, who requested not to be named, as the junta targets individuals who
reveal their activities to the press.

"All we need is to give the order in advance if we want a huge quantity of
rice," added the donor, who is based in Rangoon.

____________________________________

July 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese protestors lobby Ban in Japan – Naw Say Phaw

More than 200 Burmese nationals living in Japan gathered in front of the
United Nations office in Tokyo yesterday to urge the visiting UN
secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to take effective measures to resolve
Burma’s political impasse.

Thaung Myint Oo from the Japanese branch of the National League of
Democracy (Liberated Area) told DVB that the rally was part of the
celebration to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the 2003 Depayin
Massacre in Burma.

“We want him to realise that more incidents like Depayin could happen in
our country if the international community, such as the UN and the UNSC,
doesn’t help and take action against the military regime that uses its
utmost military might to repress its own citizens however it wants,” said
Thaung Myint Oo.

On 30 May 2003, junta-back civilians attacked Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s
entourage in Depayin township in Sagaing Division, leaving over 70 of her
supporters dead and dozens injured.

“We want him to know that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National
League for Democracy, need more protection to avoid harm and so we ask him
to take effective measures to ensure their safety,” Thaung Myint Oo
continued.

After the rally, protestors sent a letter to the secretary-general through
the Tokyo UN office conveying their dissatisfaction with the lack of
progress in Burma since his visit to the country in May, Maing Kyaw Oo of
United Ethnic Nationalities said.

“We were not satisfied with the developments in the situation in the
country despite the promises Ban was given by the junta’s top leader
senior general Than Shwe,” he said.

“Even the aid distribution to cyclone survivors has not been as effective
as it should.”

Maing Kyaw Oo said that protestors also asked the secretary-general about
the result of the 10 May national referendum in their letter.

“We Burmese nationals in Japan really want to know the UN’s position on
the junta’s forced adoption of the state constitution,” he said.


____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

July 1, BBC News
Building Burma's digital front line

Two months after Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma aid is slowly continuing
to reach the affected people. Helping coordinate the relief effort are a
small team of emergency telecoms specialists. John Bursa of the UN's World
Food Programme is one of the few who have worked in the affected region.

“It is difficult to appreciate the scale of the disaster in Burma until
you see it with your own eyes.

Whole villages had been washed away, rice paddies were inundated with salt
water and the entire infrastructure of the Delta region had either been
damaged or destroyed.

In total, more than 90,000 people were killed, while more than 56,000 are
still missing.

Of the 1.5 million survivors who are in need of aid, many have been left
with nothing; in some cases they barely even have clothes on their back.

When confronted by situations like this it is difficult to see a way
forward for the affected population.

This was the scene that met us when we arrived to begin the relief effort,
some weeks after the cyclone struck.

It is our role to build and coordinate the emergency telecommunications
infrastructure.

Although this may not sound like a priority - perhaps compared to food,
water and medicine - it is vital.

Without communication it is nearly impossible to co-ordinate the relief
effort over such a large and logistically complex area.

Charities, NGOs and government need to be able to talk in order to plan,
avoid duplication and ensure that life-saving activities and distribution
of aid are as effective as possible.

Network failure

But in the case of the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, just getting to the
affected region proved to be a challenge.

It took time for us to be granted visas and clearance to enter the delta,
holding up the response.

And, even when we did get the necessary permissions, we found even moving
around was difficult.

Damage to the roads meant a usual 2 to 3 hour vehicle trip had doubled,
with some routes impassable. Even within towns, roads were either flooded
or simply washed away.

The lack of bridges and the poor state of others meant that larger
equipment had to be dispatched over a number of days in separate vehicles,
rather than by one truck.

And when we finally reached the region we found the wrath of Nargis had
also struck at the heart of the telecommunications infrastructure.

Cellular towers had been toppled, while the public telephone network was
either damaged or totally destroyed, rendering post-disaster
communications defunct.

But within the first week of aid workers arriving, we had the beginnings
of a network with voice and data facilities in the main co-ordination hubs
of Laputta and Bogale.

These relied on small, portable satellite links called "BGans", a key part
of our rapid deployment kits. These bags of equipment are kept on
permanent standby, ready to be deployed within 24 hours of an emergency.

Although the satellite units provide a much-needed link when nothing else
will do, they are expensive to use.

So, within days the team had started to put in place larger, more
permanent and cost- effective satellite dishes.

This turned out to be no easy task.

'Vital links'

The Monsoon rains were unrelenting, soaking staff and equipment. Any
break, no matter how brief, had to be capitalised upon.

A short dry spell would be followed by bursts of frenetic activity,
whether during the day or at 4 o'clock in the morning. In between, tired
staff would retreat to cramped offices to snatch an hour or two of sleep.

But the work paid off. In the end we were able to install large capacity
satellite dishes in five humanitarian centres across the Delta: Laputta,
Bogale, Pyapon, Mawlamgyun and Pathein.

These VSAT units provided a critical boost to the bandwidth, allowing the
increasing numbers of humanitarian workers reaching the area to transmit
key data and statistics on the needs of the struggling villagers who
survived the disaster.

Indeed, the World Food Programme's Director in Burma believes these vital
links helped facilitate the delivery of thousands of tons of food aid to
the worst affected areas.

Statistics like this show the importance of a fast and reliable emergency
telecom response.

Along with partners from the United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Group
Foundation, we had already in place a programme to train IT specialists.
(Coincidentally, the second such training course was underway soon after
the Burma cyclone.)

The intensive two-week course is designed to improve cooperation between
different aid groups and ensure that telecoms specialists are ready to be
deployed as fast and effectively as possible.

We can't prevent natural disasters from happening, but training means that
when one does occur, the humanitarian community can deliver life-saving
assistance as fast as possible.

John Bursa is the World Food Programme's Regional Telecommunications
Officer, with responsibility for Emergency Telecommunications in the
Asia/Pacific region.

____________________________________

July 1, United Press International
Junta harrassing Burma's cyclone survivors – Khin Ohmar

Almost two months after Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma, the preliminary
findings of the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment team dispatched to the
damaged areas have confirmed that more immediate, lifesaving relief still
needs to be provided. At the meeting to discuss these findings, the
military regime nudged the official death toll up to 84,537 from 77,738.
Although many survivors of the cyclone have yet to receive any aid, there
have miraculously been no reports of the expected outbreaks of disease.

Meanwhile, the junta’s State Peace and Development Council continues,
seemingly wilfully, to exacerbate the difficulties faced by cyclone
survivors as the international community wrangles with its own inaction.

At a meeting in Kyoto, the G8 foreign ministers accused Burma’s rulers of
worsening the actual death toll by obstructing foreign aid. Urging the
further involvement of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the positive
influence of China, the G8 ministers also pledged to encourage and
incentivize any signs of progress toward a civilian government in Burma.
Yet such words seem to ring hollow as the humanitarian operation limps on.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has reproached the international
community for its failure to take decisive action with regard to the
humanitarian and political crises in Burma. In an interview with CNN, Rice
criticized the U.N. Security Council for its inability to act and the
futility of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine if it couldn’t be
applied in the situation in Burma.

The Burma Campaign U.K. has condemned the charity Save the Children for
delivering aid from the British government’s Department for International
Development to the military regime. A parliamentary statement revealed
that Save the Children gave materials to the SPDC despite a U.K. ruling
prohibiting the distribution of British aid through the regime due to the
risk of it being stolen or used for propaganda purposes.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that stipulates that
U.S. agencies similarly avoid passing humanitarian relief through the
military junta.

The regime’s controversial operating guidelines demanding approval for all
aspects of aid distribution have been dropped. Following a meeting of the
Tripartite Core Group, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs has announced that U.N. agencies and international
nongovernmental organizations will return to the operating guidelines in
effect before June 10.

The plight of Nargis survivors continues as the regime tightens its
restrictions on refugees, however. Thousands of survivors set out for
Thailand in the wake of the cyclone, but the authorities are sending
anyone found bearing documents identifying them as residents of the
cyclone-afflicted region back to their towns or villages.

Monasteries in the town of Myawaddy on the Thai border have been warned to
refuse shelter to anyone from the cyclone-devastated region. The regime is
simultaneously cracking down on the smuggling of economic migrants into
Thailand and Malaysia.

The crisis facing farmers in cyclone-affected parts of the Irrawaddy delta
is being compounded by the lassitude of the oxen and water buffaloes
donated. These critical animals are proving to be suffering from extreme
stress, whether because they endured the cyclone or have had to travel for
several days to get to the delta. As the planting deadline draws closer,
the lack of effective draught animals is striking another blow to the
desperate delta region. To add insult to injury, an outbreak of the
devastating foot-and-mouth disease has struck townships affected by the
cyclone.

Farmers who bought farming equipment and seeds on credit from the
government have nowhere to put their equipment to use as the authorities
have seized thousands of acres of privately owned land in Bogalay. The
farmers who survived the cyclone have been lumbered with a debt of about
1.5 million kyat to be repaid within three years, lost their crops and
profit from last year and have had all hopes of planting this season’s
crop snatched away.

The Htoo Trading Company, known for its close links to the junta, has
promised to build new houses for the farmers whose land has been seized
and for villagers who have been forced to leave the area.

Concerns over the use of forced labour in the wake of Nargis are
apparently vindicated as it is reported that the authorities are demanding
laborers to work for extremely low pay cultivating land seized in the
affected region. Villagers in Kyauk Tan township, Rangoon, have been
forced to work on the reconstruction of a dam damaged in the cyclone in
order to receive aid materials donated by private donors.

The All Burma Federation of Student Unions has expressed concern over its
seven members arrested while clearing corpses from the Irrawaddy delta.
The seven men are being held in Bassein prison in what the ABFSU has
called the government’s “cold-blooded crime” in sabotaging private aid
work. The whereabouts of detained donors Zarganar and Zaw Thet Htway are
still unknown.

A journalist from Ecovision, Eint Khaing Oo, arrested as she covered
cyclone victims requesting aid from international NGOs in Rangoon, is due
in court on July 2, accused of selling information to foreign-based
Burmese media organisations.

The junta is clearly determined to suppress honest coverage of the
cyclone. People in Arakan State are being threatened with punishment if
known to have watched a VCD of the storm and its aftermath. And a Korean
journalist was deported after she visited the offices of the NLD to obtain
information regarding cyclone victims.

--

(Khin Ohmar is coordinator of the Asia Pacific Peoples' Partnership on
Burma, based in Thailand. She can be contacted at appartnership at gmail.com.
Her blog may be found at http://apppb.blogspot.com.)

____________________________________

July 1, Malaysia Star
Call to action – Dr Ng Swee Ming

An aid worker in the aftermath of Myanmar’s delta disaster encourages more
people to get involved.

Tropical Cyclone Nargis was a strong Category 4 hurricane that caused the
deadliest natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar.

The cyclone made landfall on May 2, causing catastrophic destruction when
it swept over the Irrawaddy Delta leaving behind at least 90,000
fatalities with a further 56,000 people, and possibly more, still missing.
Countless buildings were destroyed and altogether more than two million
affected victims may require assistance.

When this disaster struck, Crest (Crisis Relief, Services & Training)
Malaysia started putting together an action plan and identifying local
partners on the ground as well as raising financial support for the relief
work.

I joined the third team from Crest flying into Yangon and after much
apprehension about visa applications, the six of us finally gathered at
KLIA on June 10 for the start of our adventure. The team consisted of two
medical doctors, a nursing matron, a dental nurse, a flight stewardess and
a pastor.

Through the generosity and support of Myanmar Air (MAI), we were able to
bring along 33 boxes of donated medical supplies weighing more than 500kg.
Some of the medical supplies were donated by pharmaceutical company
Pharmaforte, while the rest were purchased with donated funds. Trans-Asia
Shipping Corp helped to transfer the supplies from the Crest office to
KLIA.

We met our local partner on arrival at Yangon International Airport. There
was a slight delay at customs in view of our medical supplies but after
explaining that we were there to help their people, we were allowed
through.

Between the airport and Yangon, the destructive force of the cyclone could
still be seen in broken fences/walls, missing roof tiles and zinc sheets
and mangled billboards, but life generally appeared normal. Fallen trees
and branches had all been cleared away.

We set up a total of six medical clinics in some of the poorest parts of
Yangon city, such as Dala, South Dagon and Insein. Arrange-ments for the
clinics – including location, premises, transport and interpreters – were
made by our local partners, usually after getting the necessary permission
from the local headman of the respective villages

Poverty was evident in all the villages that we visited – dirty
surroundings full of rubbish as well as stagnant pools of water. The
health of the population was as expected – skin conditions, upper
respiratory tract infections, asthma, poor nutritional status generally
and worm infestation. Many also complained of difficulty in breathing,
headaches and inability to sleep – nearly all due to underlying
psychological stress. We saw a few cases of clinical tuberculous cervical
lymphadenitis, thyroid disorders and congestive heart failure.

Surprisingly, there was a large number of uncontrolled hypertensive and
diabetic cases – while aware of their medical condition those suffering
from these conditions were simply too poor to buy their follow-up
medication. We supplied what medication we had and could but, sad to say,
many of those with chronic medical conditions were already having stroke
complications.

It was satisfying to know that in those six clinics, we treated at least
1,300 patients and in a small way, helped many more since we also
distributed vitamins.

We attempted to move out into the Irra-waddy Delta where the needs were
greater but government restrictions were still in place and we could not
proceed. However, with the donated funds that we had, we managed to extend
the feeding programme for an entire village of over 750 people for an
additional three weeks (at about RM8,000 a week) as well as fund the
purchase of household utensils for families and the construction of about
10 toilets (at about RM500 per toilet).

But it was not work all the time. We managed to visit the famous Bogyoke
market where all sorts of clothes, handicrafts, jewellery and precious
gems are on sale. Our attempts at trying to wear the traditional Burmese
longi is too humorous to report. We did sample local Burmese durians, and
bought live crabs and big prawns at the evening market and got the hotel
chef to cook them for us. The 10 crabs cost us only US$3 (RM10) but the
cooking fee was US$6 (RM20)!

It was a tiring but memorable trip for the six of us. We started our
journey not knowing one another. All we had in common was a desire to
reach out and help the victims of Cyclone Nargis. But on our return, new
bonds of friendship and comradeship had been forged.

So I would greatly encourage more Malaysians to get out of their comfort
zone and make a difference in the world – and more so during times of
disasters when the need is greatest.


Dr Ng Swee Ming is a retired general practitioner who is involved
full-time in disaster relief. Crest is a non-profit Christian humanitarian
organisation (tel: 03-7725 7299).