Weekly Diary No. 158 (30 July - 5 August, 2005)

A UN TOP OFFICIAL IN BURMA AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR!

Think Piece

Our greatest enemy is our confusion, the inability to think clearly, the fear of thinking critically. We cling to myths which are heavy and useless baggages for comfort and support.
The result is that we fight and kill for a bunch of utter nonsense, and unwittingly we brainwash the coming and future generations as well.
Chao Tzang Yawnghwe (1939  2004)
19 July 2004

The World

29 July

• Gloria Arroyo No. 4
• J K Rowling No. 40
• Queen Elizabeth No. 75

Vanished from the top 100 list includes Megawati Sukarnoputri and Sonia Gandhi. (The Nation)

31 July
Believe it or Not! AIDS kill 1 of 3 people in South Africa, making it the country’s most lethal killer! (Bangkok Post Comics)

1 August

Linda McIntosh

Linda McIntosh, whose mother is a Red Tai, will be speaking at the “Status, Myth and the Supernatural Ritual Tai Textiles” held by James H.W.Foundation on 4-5 August. (Bangkok Post)

2 August

Admiral Zheng He

On 11 July 600 years ago Admiral Zheng He set sail to parts of the world that would not be discovered by Europeans for many more years to come, with an armada consisting of 317 ships manned by more than 28,000 men. (Outlook)

International Relations

29 July
12-year-old Asean Regional Forum (ARF) calls on Burma to speedup its planned transition to multi-party rule. The group expresses concern at the pace of the democratization process, tells the generals to ease restrictions and open talks with the opposition. It also presses Rangoon to give a visa to UN envoy Razali Ismail, who has not been allowed into the country since March 2004. (Reuters)
East Timor’s Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta meanwhile speaks in favor of inducing change through diplomatic engagement and contact with tourism, education investment and trade instead of sanctions. (AFP)

29 July
Aung San Suu Kyi is 15th most influential woman in the world, according to Forbes Magazine that has formulated the list based on “visibility, measured by press citations and economic impact.” (Irrawaddy)

1-4 August
Jim Morris, Executive Director of World Food Program visits Burma. WFP spokesman Gerald Bourke does not know “if he is carrying a message from UN Secretary General” regarding a possible visit. The restrictions on UN and INGOs will be one of the problems he will be raising, says Morris. The WFP has been experiencing “operational constraints.” (Reuters)

2 August
James Morris meets UWSA spokesman Aung Myint and Karen State development officials in Rangoon.
Nang Hseng Noung of SWAN says the organizations should not only think of feeding hungry people but also address the main cause of their hunger. (DVB)

3 August
Kuala Lumpur is considering giving some form of identification to the estimated 60,000 illegal migrants. (Travel Videos)

4 August
James Morris, WFP chief, says he is not carrying any message from the UN Secretary General as speculated by the press. (AP)

5 August
James Morris, WFP chief, at the press conference in Bangkok on his return from Rangoon, demands Burma’s rulers to do more as the humanitarian situation in Burma is “getting worse” and “the primary responsibility for making things better rests squarely with the government.” His demands include the following:

Fundamental changes that promote the socio-economic well-being of the population
Relaxation of controls on the procurement and distribution of food commodities and access to them for the most vulnerable, noting that there are restrictions on the movement of people
Improvements in operation for aid agencies noting “constraints” hampering the timely purchase and distribution of urgently needed food assistance
Freedom of movement for humanitarian workers (News Release)

Thai-Burma Relations

26 July
Many farmers have crossed the border into Maesod to work in the paddy fields. They say their income is three times as much as they had been getting back in Burma. (DVB)

29 July
Since we have kept Burma engaged, we have been able to relay to Rangoon our concerns about their national reconciliation process, Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhaon tells reporters in Vientiane. “The pressure is not off,” he promises. (AFP)

31 July
Police Gen Noppadol Somboonsub, head of the Tsunami Victims Identification Center (TTVI-IMC) says the identification process should be completed by the end of the year. It will take a bit longer for the Thai nationals because they still haven’t gotten enough information from family members.
It may take even longer for Burmese migrant workers, many of whom were illegal. To date, only one Burmese victim has been identified, although more that 1,000 are still listed as missing. “We have nothing to go on and may have to ask the Myanmar government to assist us in this matter,” he declared. (Bangkok Post)

31 July
Burma reopens the Three Pagodas Pass today. Fuel trucks move across the border all day to the Burmese side, where the price is 3 baht higher than on the Thai side. (Kaowao)

1 August
Exim Bank of Thailand as per order by the government has transferred 2.3 billion baht ($57.5 million) out of the agreed 4 billion baht ($100 million) loan. (Post Today)

3 August
The Exim Bank says it is giving credit to Burma at a loss, because while it is getting a 3% interest from Burma, other institutions are getting 4.3% interest from it. (Matichon)

4 August
33 Karen refugees in Phop Phra district, Tak province, have complained to the UNHCR alleging sexual harassment and extortion by 4 policemen on the Maesod-Umphang road:

Both men and women ordered to strip and their money taken.
One woman slapped for being unable to communicate in Thai. (Bangkok Post)

4 August
Foreign Minister Kantathi Supamongkhon says he is scheduled to visit Burma, 31 August-1 September. It is the only country he has yet to visit since taking up his job in March. (Reuters)

Politics

27 July
NLD issues statement urging SPDC to implement its pledge in Vientiane for national reconciliation and democratization. (DVB)

29 July
U Kyaw Min, Member of Parliament from Buthidaung and his family members sentenced to imprisonment, 47 years and 17 years respectively. On top of that, each is required to pay 50,000 kyat in fine, failure of which, to serve an extra 2 years each. This is the first time a whole political family has been subjected to long-term punishment, comments a Rangoon-based politician. (Kaladan)

July
The Communist Party of Burma, once regarded as the threat to Rangoon, has now less than 500 members in Kunming, where they are no longer a threat to anyone.
They are impressed by China’s economic growth, but lips are sealed when the subject of China’s close relations with Rangoon is raised. CPB spokesman Aung Htet, based near Yunnan’s border with Burma, has to report to a local police station every three months to renew his stay. He says Burma has to solve his own problems without involving powerful countries.
Since 1998, the CPB has issued a series of statements attacking the regime but it has rarely touched on China’s policy toward Burma. (Irrawaddy)

Shans

31 July
Security sources on the border say Burmese forces have been sent in to replace UWSA troops at Lao Taileng opposite Maehongson, the scene of fierce fighting in April. Both Shan and other Thai security sources however deny the situation is such. “The 3 Wa bases facing our troops are still manned by the same number of Wa fighters as before, not more than 150,” says spokesperson Khurhsen of SSA. (Bangkok Post/SHAN)

3 August
Hkun Oo Kya, elder brother of imprisoned Hkun Htun Oo, taken into custody at his home in Hsipaw. (S.H.A.N.)

4 August

Janta Phraiwanawan

Shan newsman and aid worker Janta Phraiwanawan, 56, passes away in Chiangmai. (S.H.A.N.)

Economics/Business

26 July
The kyat continues to decline while gold prices have surged. The dollar has gone up to 1,170 kyat today. Meanwhile gold is going up to 260,000 ($ 260), despite warning by the government yesterday not to go beyond 249,000 kyat. (DVB)

1 August
The people are wondering whether there might be a new coup. They are hoarding rice and oil that has led a sudden rice in the commodity prices. Burmese gold is now 270,000 kyat ($270) per kyat. Radios are also selling like hot cakes. (DVB) A kyat of gold weighs 16.6 gm, while a baht weighs 15.2 gm. - S.H.A.N.

1 August
All public telephone booths on the Sino-Burma border ordered closed by Thein Zaw, Minister of Communications. It is due to the loss in revenue, says some. The Chinese government is giving out handsets and phone lines “free of charge” to their people and collect only the call charges, says a Muse local. (Mizzima)

2 August
There are no more than 150,000 cellular phone users and 397,000 direct line subscribers in the whole of Burma.
The reasons: first, it is too costly. Second, the applicants have to wait for years for a connection.
Rangoon applied for 135,000 GSM phones from Sky-Link of the British Virgin Islands in 2000. It has sold only 100,000 since March 2002. In addition to GSM, some are using networks connected to AMPs and CDMA.
Since 2001, there have been 2,000 fixed line public phones in Rangoon and also some in Mandalay. But they can only be used during the daytime. (Nava Thakuria)

Human Rights

23 July
Results of Matriculation, yet to be published, can be received by payment in Mandalay. Moreover a student who finds him/herself failing in one or two subjects can straighten out the fix by paying 75,000 kyat ($75) per subject. (NMG)

25-30 July
The 7th Ethnic Communities Development Seminar held in Karen State, participated by 50 representatives. The meeting demands the local people’s participation in development projects among others. (S.H.A.N.)

2 August
The Burma border security force (Nasaka) in Buthidaung, Arakan State, extracted 600,000 kyat ($600) on 26 July from two Rohingya couples who had tied knots without permission from the authorities. The two bridegrooms Jaffor Hussein and Soffi Ullah had applied to the township authorities on 4 January 2002, but, failing to receive response they held the weddings according to religious law in 2003.
Since 1999, marriage restrictions have been imposed on the Rohingya community. The marriage age is 22 for bridegrooms and 18 for brides. They have to swear they would not take more than 3 children. Also the bridegroom has to assure not to take more than one wife. (Kaladan)

Environment

30 July
Two Burmese forestry officials Saw Han and Khin Maung Zaw received the Alexander Abraham Foundation’s Environmental and Wildlife Conservation awards, reports the New Light of Myanmar. Burma is suffering the fastest deforestation in Southeast Asia. (AP)

2 August
A bridge on the Sittang in Kyaik Hto township collapses after a week of heavy downpour, cutting off the Pego-Thaton road. (NMG)

Drugs

2 August
Some of the drug factories that moved out to the Mekong basin 2-years earlier are moving back to the hinterland townships of Mongton, Monghsat and Mongpiang, opposite Chiangmai province. Wa commander Wei Hsuehkang says capture of Thai-Burma border areas crucial for Wa survival. (S.H.A.N.)

War

22 July
Kayan New Land Party controlled area in the quadrangle between Shan State, Karen State, Kayah State and Pyinmana is getting 2 Burma Army battalions instead of two companies as in the past. (NMG)