A State of Anxiety

Posted By Min Zin Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 4:05 PM Share

I visited Burma for the first time in 16 years last December. Back then I felt relative optimism about our country's political transition -- despite its deepening poverty, the ongoing war against the Kachin ethnic group, and sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims. The release of hundreds of political prisoners, the emergence of a free press, and Aung San Suu Kyi's electoral victory in the 2012 by-elections gave people reason to hope that the country would soon be free and developed.
Now I've come back, and this time I see a totally different country. The winds of change are carrying a bad smell rather than fresh air. Anti-Muslim hate speech and riots have spread to major cities, and Buddhist monks are aggressively interfering in our multi-ethnic polity by pushing a draft law that restricts inter-faith marriages. The monks are even threatening politicians who refuse to endorse their bill with retaliation when the country holds its next general election three years from now. There's no doubt that elements within both the ruling elite and the political opposition are taking advantage of rising ultra-nationalism by either jumping on the bandwagon or dodging responsibility for tackling the problem. Horrible as this is, it's not just ethnic and religious minority groups that are being attacked. Women, too, are increasingly becoming victims of ideological extremism and political opportunism, as manifested by the draft law on inter-faith marriage. 
But perhaps the most worrisome trend in Burma these days is a widening split between the president and the powerful speaker of the lower house of parliament. Worst of all, part of the responsibility for the resulting anxiety lies with Aung San Suu Kyi, since she has decided to side with Speaker Thura Shwe Mann against the government.
Since the start of the political opening and the initial negotiations between Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein in 2011, observers have noted that a stable relationship among the three leading figures in the country -- the president, the speaker of the house, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- is critical to the success of Burma's reform. There has been a constant personal (and to some extent institutional) rivalry between the president and the speaker almost from the beginning of the current transition. But despite everything the two men's relationship has never been as ugly as it is right now.
Most recently, the speaker has challenged the government's approach to peace talks with the ethnic rebel groups, demanding parliament's direct involvement in ceasefire negotiations with the Kachin. "I've been informed by some lawmakers and through public opinion that the peace talks have failed to achieve peace," Shwe Mann told parliament.
He has even called for a meeting of National Defense and Security Council (NDSC), the military-dominated eleven-member body that holds wide-ranging powers, in order to discuss the executive's handling of the peace issue. This unusual attempt to activate the NDSC, which has not met for some time, raised the eyebrows of several observers who once viewed the speaker of the house as a champion of reform. 
It is now clear that Shwe Mann's move was intended to weaken President Thein Sein and his reformist aides from the government think tank, the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). The president is reportedly being strongly considered as a candidate to win the Nobel Peace Prize later this year for his reforms, and any major fallout from the intensifying power struggle within the troika could damage his credibility and even put proposed reforms off track.
But even before Shwe Mann began his public criticism of the government's peace initiative, Aung San Suu Kyi said in late May that the government's reform measures in recent years "have produced no tangible changes" for the rule of law and peace in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi's unofficial alliance with Shwe Mann against the government, therefore, has become the biggest constraint on Thein Sein's power.
Many people in intellectual circles and the business community worry that Aung San Suu Kyi is in the wrong political camp. Civil society activists are dismayed by her political maneuvering within the elite and her neglect of the population's more immediate problems, ranging from ethno-religious conflicts to dire poverty. It seems that all stakeholders, including the ethnic groups, will be forced to take sides in this escalating power struggle as the 2015 elections approach.
All observers, in any case, tend to agree that the political situation in Burma this year is becoming a serious cause for anxiety. One last thing that could compound these concerns is the lack of clarity about the military's preferences. No one knows whether the head of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, will choose to take sides in this power struggle, or whether he entertains political ambitions of his own. If the latter is the case, it would almost certainly complicate Burma's political transition and perhaps disrupt the reform process. Given the recent events in Egypt, there seems good reason to be worried about the possibility of a fresh military coup in Burma as well. 
Min Zin is the Burma blogger for Transitions. Read the rest of his posts here.
http://transitions.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/07/10/a_state_of_anxiety 

KIO( Kachin )turns military headquarter into a boarding school

By KLN
Published on July 10, 2013

Opening ceremony of a boarding school was held at Hpung Mai hall in Laiza on July 9 at 9 am. The combined boarding school which accommodates 1725 middle and high school students is located at Alen Bum, the former KIA’s military headquarter, in Laiza. 107 teachers and school staffs are currently serving at the boarding school. The school is administered by KIO’s education department and funded by KIO, NGOs and the parents.
Sara Kaba Sumlut Gam, head of KIO’s education department, urged teachers and school staffs to serve as positive role models for the students during the ceremony. The school’s headmaster Sara Maru Hkawng Lum chaired the opening ceremony and Sara Kaba Lasang Tu San led a prayer of dedication for the school and the students.
Sara Hkawng Lum said, “there are a lot of needs for the students such as clothes, food, and books as most parents cannot provide for their children because they themselves are displaced”. He said KIO plans to provide free education and boarding for IDP children and assistance from other organizations will be helpful.
Another boarding school, Htoi Ningshawng School, which is located at Wung Gau hill and administered by KIO Youth Committee was opened on May 18, 2013. Htoi Ningshawng School currently accommodates 100 students from 3^rd-10^th grades.
There are about 40,000 war-affected children out of over 100,000 IDPs currently living in about two dozen camps along China-Burma border. The education of those 40,000 school-age children has been disrupted by renewed conflict between Kachin Independence Army and Burmese Army in Kachin and northern Shan State.

Burma’s supreme seat of power

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By KO HTWE
Published: 3 July 2013

Kachin farmer Dau Lum holds a picture of his wife, who was abducted by the Burmese military more than 20 months ago. (Photo by Edward Chung Ho)

A 17-year ceasefire between the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and Burma’s military unraveled in dramatic fashion in June 2011, unleashing some of the heaviest fighting to hit the country since the Second World War.
The resumption of hostilities in Kachin state, which began some three months after Thein Sein’s nominally civilian government took office, has brought untold misery upon the more than 100,000 civilians estimated by the UN to have been displaced by the conflict that’s now in its second year.
Dau Lum, a 31-year-old Kachin farmer from Hkai Bang, a small village close to the Chinese border knows firsthand that despite a series of substantial democratic reforms Burma’s military continues to reign supreme.
A potentially precedent setting habeas corpus case filled by Dau Lum in early 2012 accusing the government of having unlawfully abducted his 28-year-old wife was quickly dismissed by Burma’s supreme court, in a terse ruling absolving the infamous Tatmadaw of any wrong doing.
Speaking via a crackling Chinese cell phone from the poorly equipped internally displaced persons (IDP) camp where he now lives on the Sino-Burmese border, Dau Lum recounts the horrific events that took place the last day he ever saw his wife alive. October 28, 2011 started out as fairly normal day for Dau Lum, who with his wife Sumlut Roi Ja and his elderly father were busy harvesting corn on their hillside farm near Maijayang, the second largest town controlled by the KIO.
Despite the fact that fighting had been going on between the military and the KIO for several months, Dau Lum and his family had yet to face the full effects of the conflict which had not yet spread to their area, that is until late in the afternoon when six heavily armed Burmese soldiers suddenly appeared at his farm, surrounding him, his wife and his father.
With guns drawn the soldiers accused Dau Lum and his 70-year father of being KIO soldiers. A bitter irony considering Dau Lum’s father had served in the Tatmadaw in the 1970s. Despite their protests that they were just simple farmers the soldiers tied Dau Lum and his father up and ordered them to carry their corn to the Mu Bum military base located on a nearby hill top. Although she was left untied Dau Lum’s young wife Roi Ja was also compelled to follow, according to Dau Lum.

“Before dismissing the case the court did not take into account the detailed evidence we submitted”

About twenty minutes into the march along the steep mountain path Dau Lam says he and his father managed to break free of their ropes and get away by jumping down a ravine, narrowly escaping a hail of gunfire in the process. Roi Ja who was being closely guarded by the troops was unable to get away, explains Dau Lum, in a heavily Kachin accented Burmese.
“I have many things to say but I can’t speak out. I’ve cried many times since my wife was arrested and I have difficulty sleeping and no appetite,” adds Dau Lum.
Compounding his difficulties Dau Lum’s now two and half year old daughter Lum Nor, has been robbed of her mother. “After my wife was arrested, my daughter cried for her mother to come,” says Dau Lum before adding that his daughter’s first words were “mum”. He remains unsure how he will tell her what happened to Roi Ja, partially because he doesn’t know.
“Whenever my daughter sees some of her friends accompanied with their parents, she asks where her mother is. For me it is very hard to reply. I lie to her and say her mother has gone away to buy a snack,” Dau Lum said.
Life has been difficult since Dau Lum was forced to abandon his farm the day the alleged abduction took place. Thanks to the conflict, his once prosperous cornfield has been transformed into a land mine laden no man’s land situated between two opposing sides who continue to shoot at each other from time to time, this despite a recent series of positive negotiating sessions.
Dau Lum, who for many years served as his family’s main bread winner has the added responsibility of not just looking after his daughter but also his elderly parents and siblings, a task made increasingly difficult by the fact that he’s been forced to take shelter in an IDP camp where he has little means to earn a living. In the camp he lives alongside his fellow villagers who all evacuated from their farms when heavy fighting broke out nearby just days after Roi Ja disappeared.
In the days that followed her alleged abduction several witnesses using binoculars saw Roi Ja inside Mu Bum base, surrounded on three sides by the KIO with the fourth side against the Chinese border. On at least one instance Roi Ja was dressed in a Burmese military uniform and appeared to be paraded around for the soldiers entertainment. The sightings ceased after less than a week giving rise to suspicions that Roi Ja met an unnatural end.
Dau Lum’s attempt to seek justice using the Naypyidaw-based Supreme Court ended without any satisfaction says Mar Khar, a human rights lawyer based in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina. Shortly after hearing about what happened Mar Khar took up the case launching a habeas corpus challenge made possible under the new and largely pro-military constitution.
“Before dismissing the case the court did not take into account the detailed evidence we submitted,” said Mar Khar who has pursued several other high-profile cases involving Kachin civilians detained during the conflict, all with similar outcomes.
In their decision the judges said there was a lack of evidence citing the government’s claim that neither Dau Lum nor his father had taken steps to inform government authorities about the incident immediately after it reportedly happened. This despite the fact that On 4 November 2011, less than a week after the alleged abduction took place, Dau Lum’s father sent three near identical letters to the Kachin state chief minister, the Bhamo District governor and a local military commander who heads Battalion 321, which includes the Mubum base, recounting what he witnessed. The letters, which requested that his daughter in law be released immediately, never received any reply.
The fact that Dau Lum and his father were barred from testifying during the hearings in Naypyidaw, although military personnel from the unit alleged to be involved were given this opportunity, added to the widely held view in Burma that the country’s highest court is not even remotely independent. Part of a judiciary that experts claim has not changed at all since the days of strict military rule.
In September 2012, a leading Kachin advocacy group the Kachin Women Association Thailand (KWAT) wrote an open letter to President Thein Sein urging him to immediately authorise a retrial of the Roi Ja case. This request was also met with no response.
“We have no way, no place to find justice for the person who has suffered human rights abuses or violence committed by the government’s army,” said Moon Nay Li from the advocacy team at KWAT. “[The] military still has the power in Burma.”
Despite mounting criticism of Burma’s legal system has kept with up with pace of reform, Soe Thane, a former general who serves as the country’s investment minister claimed during a panel discussion held as part of the World Economic Forum in Naypyidaw that the country’s judiciary had made great strides as of late. A claim met with scepticism by his co-panelist opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Although the fighting in northern Burma has lessened significantly since January, when military aircraft carried out unprecedented air strikes against KIO positions, things are far from stable in Kachin state.
A coalition of 60 Kachin community organisations and Burma campaign groups based in 21 countries recently held a global day of action to mark the second anniversary of the end of Kachin ceasefire. A joint statement released by the groups involved accused the Burmese military of committing serious war crimes.
“Kachin civilians have suffered from human rights violations, including rape of women and children, arbitrary execution, torture, forced labour, mortar bombing, burning and looting of villages,” the statement read.
During a recent interview with The Irrawaddy, Lt-Gen Myint Soe, the commander who oversees the army’s operations in Kachin state, refuted criticism of the military’s conduct during the Kachin conflict.
“Don’t believe everything you hear. There are many rumors, endless rumors,” he said.
Myint Soe’s pronouncement gives cold comfort to Dau Lum, who faces a very uncertain future.
“I don’t expect to see my wife again.”

Tags: Burmese military, courts, Kachin Indepedence Organisation, Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Kachin State, naypyidaw, reforms

Burma army and KIA battle in southern Kachin state

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(KNG)
Clashes between the Burma army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke out in the Bhamo district of southern Kachin state earlier this week.

Two separate clashes took place at the abandoned Du Hku village located in an area controlled by KIA Battalion 27 (under KIA 3rd Brigade) on June 18 and 19 when government troops from Infantry Battalion No. 240 entered KIA territory, according to Salang Kaba Doi Pyi Sa, head of the local refugee and relief committee.

The first clash happened on Tuesday evening and lasted about 15 minutes. While the second clash took place Wednesday morning and lasted a little bit more than 20 minutes, said a KIA officer from the group's 3rd Brigade when contacted by the Kachin News Group. Both clashes occurred in about the same place.

“The Burmese troops intentionally made aggressive maneuvers towards the KIA post, so fighting broke out,” said the officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. There were no dead from either sides but troops from both sides sustained injuries, said the officer who requested anonymity.

The troops from IB No. 140 troops were joined by troops from Light Infantry Division No. 99, who had recently traveled to the area from Mansi (also Manje).

The fighting took place near Mai Ja Yang, the second largest town controlled by the KIA's political wing the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Mai Ja Yang is also home to thousands of internally displaced people (IDP). The fighting did not appear to threaten the safety of the IDPs said Doi Pyi Sa.

“The clashes happened although there is a process agreed to by both parties towards reducing the conflict. The conflict will continue if government forces continue to venture into KIO territory” he added.

The fighting stopped when the Burmese troops retreated from the area and returned to their base located in Kai Htik.

At the end of May a delegation from Burma's government and the KIO signed an agreement in which they both agreed to decrease military tensions and work towards peace. The agreement was not a ceasefire however and some fighting has continued to occur, in particular in northern Shan state.

Kachin peace marchers departed for Laiza from Myitkyina on June 21 carrying a Buddha statue and a Christian cross made of bullet shells collected during their journey to Laiza.

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Kachinlandnews Portal at Laiza, Kachin State

Religious symbols made of bullets departed for Laiza

By KLN

Published on June 21, 2013

Kachin peace marchers departed for Laiza from Myitkyina on June 21 carrying a Buddha statue and a Christian cross made of bullet shells collected during their journey to Laiza. The group included 6 monks and 37 Buddhists and Muslims laymen, said a source in Myitkyina.

The statue is 12-inch tall and made of 13 peittha (about 3.6 lb) of bullet shells and the cross is 12-inch tall.

U Win Cho, a leader of peace marchers, said “Laiza residents agree to keep the cross at Laiza Catholic Church but we are not very sure about the Buddha statue. If the residents are not prepared to accept the statue, we will bring back and deliver it to Maj General Min Aung Hlaing”. He said the intention of making a cross and a statue is to cause repentance by seeing the value of bullets used during the battles and to see their transformation from bullets to religious symbols.

Kachin locals who are mostly Christians expressed their objections to bringing religious symbols to Laiza as they are concerned of political problems in Kachin region turned into a religious one.

http://kachinlandnews.com/?p=23381

Kachin Global Day of Action in USA....

Kachin Alliance's photo.

Federalism is key to genuine peace

Statement by 60 organisations, 07 Jun 2013


60 Kachin community organisations and Burma campaign groups worldwide in 21 countries will take part in a Global Day of Action today to mark the 2nd anniversary of military attacks by the Burmese government against the Kachin Independence Army and Kachin civilians breaking a 17- year ceasefire.

It has been two years now since the Burmese Army broke the ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Army, which resulted in continuous military attacks on a daily basis and human rights abuses against Kachin civilians. During the military attacks, the Burmese Army targets civilians. This constitutes a war crime. Human rights abuses committed by the Burmese Army documented by the United Nations could also qualify as crimes against humanity. Kachin civilians have suffered from human rights violations, including rape of women and children, arbitrary execution, torture, forced labour, mortar bombing, burning and looting of villages. More than 100,000 Kachin civilians have had to flee from their homes to refugee camps and internally displaced areas. The Burmese government continues to restrict access for humanitarian aid to thousands of Kachin refugees. International humanitarian aid is still needed for the IDPs through local relief organisations.

The Global Day of Action highlights the human rights abuses in Kachin areas including widespread sexual violence against ethnic women used as a weapon of war without any repercussions. They are also calling for the establishment of a federal democratic Burma to guarantee a durable peace.

There will be peaceful demonstrations, letter- writing and events in various countries across the world targeting respective governments to put pressure on President U Thein Sein to stop the attacks against the Kachin and commit to a political solution based on the principle of federal democracy and equal rights for ethnic nationalities.

In Burma, various actions will take place where peace activists will lay wreaths at the Independence Monument and there will be a peace demonstration at Inya Lake followed by interfaith prayer event, organised by the Kachin Peace Network together with other community-based organisations.

In the UK, the Kachin community and Burma Campaign UK will hold a protest outside the British Foreign Office to urge William Hague, UK Foreign Secretary, to highlight the issue of rape and sexual violence committed by the Burmese government’s forces, and press for federal constitutional reform in Burma.

Although there have been some peace negotiations, there is little progress from the government side to commit to a genuine ceasefire and negotiate on the political root causes in a meaningful way. While the Kachin and other nationalities suffer under the military-backed government, the international community continues to ignore the horrific human rights abuses and has instead rewarded the government by lifting most key sanctions. We strongly urge the international community to actively participate in any future peace negotiations and political process.

“The root cause of the conflict in Kachin State is the lack of national equality based on the current constitution. Without a political solution which is the formation of a federal democratic Burma that guarantees self-determination for the Kachin and all ethnic nationalities, there can never be a durable peace in the country”, said Gawlu La Awng from the Foreign Department of the Kachin Independence Organisation.

The following organisations support this Global Day of Action:
1. Actions Birmanie (Belgium)
2. All Kachin Students and Youth Union
3. Altsean-Burma
4. ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC)
5. Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC- Philippines)
6. Association Suisse-Birmanie (Switzerland)
7. Austrian Burma Center (Austria)
8. BurmaInfo (Japan)
9. Burma Action Ireland
10. Burma Aktion (Germany)
11. Burma Campaign Australia
12. Burma Campaign UK
13. Burma Centre Delhi (India)
14. Burma Partnership
15. Center for Peoples Dialogue (Srilanka)
16. Chin Human Rights Organization
17. Christian Solidarity Worldwide
18. Dignity International (Global NGO)
19. European Karen Network
20. Forum for Democracy in Burma
21. Free Burma Campaign (South Africa)
22. Free Burma Coalition-Philippines
23. Human Rights Education Institute of Burma
24. IMPARSIAL, the Indonesian human rights monitor (Indonesia)
25. Info Birmanie (France)
26. Institute for Asian Democracy
27. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
28. Inter Pares (Canada)
29. Jinghpawland Cultural Exchange Committee
30. Kachin Association Australia (NSW)
31. Kachin Alliance, USA
32. Kachin Canadian Association (KCA)
33. Kachin Community in Europe
34. Kachin Community in New Zealand
35. Kachin Development Group (KDG)
36. Kachin Environmental Organization
37. Kachin Literature and Culture-Singapore
38. Kachin National Organization
39. Kachin Peace Network
40. Kachin Refugee Committee - Malaysia
41. Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT)
42. Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN)
43. Kayan Women’s Organization (Karenni)
44. Mae Tao Clinic
45. Mon Youth Forum (MYF)
46. Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO)
47. Nationalities Youth Forum (Burma)
48. PaxRomana ICMICA Asia
49. People’s Forum on Burma(Japan)
50. Project Maje, Portland Oregon USA
51. Queensland Kachin Community Inc (QKC)
52. Rohingya Arakanese Refugee Committee (RARC), Malaysia
53. Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF), Arakan-Burma
54. Shwe Gas Movement (SGM)
55. Ta’ang Students and Youth Organization
56. The Arakan Observer Group
57. The Best Friend Burmese Library
58. US Campaign for Burma
59. WunpawngNinghtoi (WPN)
60. Pan Taung Township Farmers Network


http://burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/news-stories/federalism-is-key-to-genuine-peace-statement-by-60-organisations/1

Kachin conflict ‘perfect storm’ for human trafficking

Pushed to the Brink

A new report by a Kachin women’s group says that the ongoing conflict in northern Myanmar between government forces and the Kachin Independence army (KIA) has created what they have termed “a perfect storm” of conditions for human trafficking along the Sino-Myanmar border. The report, titled “Pushed to the Brink,” was launched on June 5 by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT). It details how the displacement of over 100,000 people over the past two years, a lack of refugee protection, and shortages of humanitarian aid have become significant new “push factors” fuelling the trafficking of Kachin women to China, already a long-standing problem.+++++read more+++