BNI Weekly News-
.
. Ethnic Nagas forced to work ahead of New Year celebration
.
.
Authorities destroy 26 houses in a northern Arakan
village
. The
authorities had also promised to provide compensation and alternative site for
the rehabilitating the displaced villagers.
. SPDC
using cultural troupes for propaganda, defaming democratic forces
. Farmers
ordered to grow Mustard, green gram on paddy fields in northern Arakan
. Nasaka collecting Paddy for Buddhist village in Northern Arakan
. Maung Daw authorities arrest three Muslim youth
. Burmese
Navy arrests eight Bangladeshi
. Burmese
Military Intelligence arrests ten democracy activists
.
. A Nasaka check-post erected to frisk and check Rohingya travellers
. Burmese
PM claims support of six cease-fire groups for democracy Road Map
.
____________________________________________
The
repatriation in Burmese Rohingya refugees from camps in Cox Bazar
in
In-charge of the Kutupalong camp Mr Mohammad Yasin has ordered his
clerks
and other refugee collaborators (Majees) to demand Taka 200 for each family
member absent during distribution
of ration at the distribution center.
The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) distributes
rations, provided
under the World Food Program, to
the refugees, a Burmese Rohingya refugee
said.
If any refugee fails to pay the bribe, he or she is forced
to sign or
provide thumb impression on
affidavits for voluntary repatriation.
Otherwise, half of the ration is cut, another refugee said
on condition of
anonymity.
Majees from seven camp blocks in Kutupalong refugee camp have being carrying
out this method forced
repatriation.
When asked about the forced repatriation program and
corruption in the
distribution of rations, the UNHCR
administration officer Mr Kader
refused
to comment and referred the matter
to the Camp-in-Charge.
Some refugees also alleged that there was discrepancy in the
distribution of
rations as the records were
inaccurate. For instance, though the records
stipulate 7 kg of rice in practice
only 5 kg per head is issued for two
weeks.
The same is true for the distribution of rest of items of
basic need like
oil, salt, sugar, pulses, and
blended food.#
______________________________________________
Ethnic Nagas forced to work ahead of New Year celebration
Burmese local authorities in Layshee,
Sagaing division in upper
the Naga
villagers to work for the construction of accommodations for
visitors expected to attend the Naga New Year celebrations.
‘’We had to construct a number of buildings to accommodate
foreigners. The
buildings were constructed on
traditional design. At least 50 people had to
work for more than a week,’’ a Naga said.
The celebration for the Naga traditional
New Year would be held for four
days starting from January 15 at Layshee, Sagaing Division in
upper
The construction was carried out using unpaid forced labour .
‘’People from western part of Layshee
had to walk for two days to reach the
construction site. They worked
there for a week without getting any food
from authorities and had to manage
with the food supplies that they had
brought along," a Naga said.
Last year the Nagas celebrated the
New Year at La-he, over one hundred
foreigners attended the
celebration.
Over 500 tourists are expected to take part in the New Year
celebration this
year. The tourists will be asked to
pay in US dollars.
The traditional Naga New Year has
been celebrated in the respective towns
such as Lay-shee,
La-he, Khan-te.
Foreign visitors started frequenting the region inhabited by
the Nagas to
take part in the New Year
celebration six years back in 1998.
In
Khan-te in upper
part of Sagaing Division. #
_________________________________
Indian army chief, General NC Vij,
hinted there would be an army operation
in
However, he refused to give the exact timing of the Burmese
operation saying
only that a massive operation was
on the cards in
insurgent camps.
Addressing a press conference yesterday in
said that the Indian army is now
closely connected with the Burmese army to
launch an operation in the
bordering areas to drive out the insurgents of
north east
The Indian government has already submitted a proposal to
the Burmese junta
for a joint military operation in
army chief revealed that the Indian
army has been assisting the Burmese army
to fight militancy. "We are
optimistic that this time the Burmese army would
provide all possible assistance to
dismantle the ultra's camps,” Vij said.
In this context, he said that the Indian army has been
providing training to
the Burmese army personnel on
guerrilla warfare.
In 2001, Burmese army personnel conducted a raid on the
camps of the United
National Liberation Front (UNLF), one of the leading
underground groups in
north east
the Burmese junta released all detainees
following an agreement wit the
UNLF. Since then, the Indian
government has been pursuing the Burmese junta
to carry out joint military
operations to drive out the militants of the
region.
Asked about the possible operation in
to make any comment. We have
chalked out a strategy to teach a lesson to the
ultras.” According to a report by
the Indian Home Ministry, there are
approximately 500 underground north
east Indian insurgents undergoing
training in the Tamu,
Namphalang and Kachin areas
of
groups NSCN-K, ULFA, NDFB, UNLF and
MPLF have set strong bases in the
bordering areas of
_________________________________________
Authorities destroy
26 houses in a northern Arakan village
The SPDC authorities destroyed 26 houses in Myo Ma Kayan Dan (Shikdar Para)
for the construction of a ‘’meeting
hall’’.
Pho along with around 200 armed
members of police, Loon Htin (militant
police), Nasaka
(Border Security Force) demolished all the houses, a
villager said.
The Tactical Operation Commander (TOC) No.1 headquarters
from Buthidaung
Township also supervised the operation, the villager added.
Armed groups of men barricaded the Maungdaw-
Buthidaung road and
Maungdaw-Alay Sankyaw
road from
colleagues went ahead with the
demolition of 26 houses.
Some village youth tried to resist the armed men demolishing
their houses,
but had to withdraw their
resistance when two of them were arrested and
carried away by the Nasaka to their camp. The fate of these two men is not
known, a villager said on condition
of anonymity.
On
had called a meeting at his office
with villagers.
The Myoma Mosque’s Imam (Muslim
religious leader), the Chairman and
Secretary of Islamic Religious Council of
Ulema Association, the Chairman
and Secretary of
Affairs and TPDC Chairman were present at the meeting.
The DPDC Chairman stressed in the meeting that it was very
important for the
government to construct a ‘’meeting
hall" at the place where the Myoma Kayan
He requested those present at the meeting to pursue the villagers
to leave
the village and vacate their
houses.
Following the request by the DPDC Chairman, the next day,
those present in
the meeting went to the villagers
and asked them to abandon the village. The
villagers, however, did not comply
with this, a participant in the December
12 meeting said.
DPDC Chairman Lt. Col. Soe Htwe Maungdaw District collected
Kyat 20,000 from
each of those present in the
meeting and some agents of SPDC. This was to be
given as compensation to the
villagers who were to be displaced. #
____________________________________________
The authorities had
also promised to provide compensation and alternative
site for the rehabilitating the displaced
villagers.
TPDC Chairman Captain Hla Pho went to Sittwe, the Capital
of Arakan State,
to seek further advice from Western
Command Commander on the issue.
But, before leaving Sittwe, he had
warned the villagers that he would give
the order for vacating the village
once again, when he returned.
The villagers waited for the return of the TPDC Chairman
with great
suspicion and uncertainty.
After arriving from Sittwe, the
TPDC Chairman went straight to the village
on
in the
village.
The SPDC authorities had been trying to evacuate the village
since 2002 and
on
destroy this village by the SPDC
authorities. #
___________________________________________
SPDC using cultural
troupes for propaganda, defaming democratic forces
In the wake of immense national and international criticism
for scuttling
the democratic aspirations of the
people, the Public Relation Department of
the Defence
Ministry of the Burmese military government is now using
cultural troupes for propaganda and
defaming democratic forces.
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) -- military
government of
-- is sending culture troupes across the country to spread
their propaganda
to the remote areas. The troupes
include actors, dancers, singers and
musician.
It is learnt that theme of these plays and songs revolves
around praises of
the military government and defaming
the Opposition Leader and the party.
But what is most tragic is that the common people are being
forced to pay
for the expenses of the cultural
troupe visiting their villages.
The military authorities have been imposing heavy toll for
this on the
owners of business units and even
small units like bars, teashops,
groceries, restaurants, boarding
houses and all kinds of operations related
to agriculture.
The military has been charging kyat 5,000 from teashops,
kyat 10,000 from
boarding houses, kyat 20,000 to
30,000 from big business and farms,
respectively. The community of Maung daw had to pay the above
rates when a
culture troupe performed on the
nights of December 3 and 4. #
__________________________________________
Farmers ordered to
grow Mustard, green gram on paddy fields in northern Arakan
The State Peace and development Council (TPDC) Chairman has
ordered paddy
farmers of
on their fields where they had been
growing paddy, according to sources.
TPDC Chairman Captain Hla Pho had held a meeting on
his office with all the Village
Peace and Development Council (VPDC)
Chairmen and Secretaries.
In the meeting, he ordered the participants to ensure that
farmers grow
mustard and green gram on their
paddy fields. He also warned of dire
consequences if any one was found
not comply with the order. He said the
entire agricultural land of such
person would be seized and he would be
punished according to the local
law.
The SPDC authorities do not provide assistance such as
seeds, finance or
plough, a farmer said.
This year farmers are facing an acute financial crunch as
the price of paddy
was down. For instance last year a
hundred Tawn (1,400 kgs) of
paddy was
priced at Kyat 150,000 but this
year it is priced only at Kyat 60,000, the
farmer added.
Farmers also lack sufficient draught animals and manpower to
plough the
marshlands as per the dictate of
SPDC authorities, even though the land was
not suitable for following the oil
seeds.
The SPDC authorities had passed the above ordered despite
knowing fully well
the hardships faced by the farmers
here, a farmer said.
The scarcity of grazing areas was another a major problem
for the farmers as
the entire available area had been
converted into paddy fields.#
_______________________________________________
Nasaka collecting Paddy for Buddhist village in
Northern Arakan
The Nasaka (Border Security Force)
of Maungdaw township in Arakan has been
collecting paddy from Rohingya farmers since
being settled in Natala (Model), a villager said.
The Nasaka had verbally ordered
the villagers to pay 2.5 Tawn (one Tawn
being 35 kgs)
of paddy per acre. But in practice the officials have been
collecting as much as Kyat 2,000
per acre, the villager added.
‘’It is doubtful whether all the collected money is going to
the Buddhist
villagers," said another
villager, who did not want his name revealed due
the fear of prosecution by the
SPDC.
Since 1988, the SPDC had been busy constructing the Natala village for
Buddhist settlers. The houses in
the village were built with forced labour
of the Rohingya
villagers.
This was nothing but an attempt to destroy the economic base
and old
establishment of the Rohingya people, said a Rohingya
intellectual.
The Natala villagers are spotted
erecting pagodas, monasteries and community
centers. All this was being built
with forced labour and funds extracted
from Rohingyas.
On the other hand the renovation, repair and building of
mosques and
religious schools were stalled. As
a result, more and more Rohingyas are
becoming ladles, internal refugees
or internally displaced with their lands
and properties being confiscated
and their homes uprooted, a school teacher
said.
In addition to forced labor, the poor Rohingya
villagers have to supply
funds and building material for the
construction of houses and building.#
______________________________________
Maung Daw authorities arrest three Muslim youth
Maung Daw township authorities in Arakan arrested Three Muslim youth on
December 27.
The arrested youth are (1) Adunasim,
21, son of Shweyur (2) MD Aryu,
13, son
of Abu Kalan
(3) Annawa, 15, son of Abu Sawyur,
all are residents of Kanyun
Dan quarter, Maung
Daw town.
The three youth were protesting against Maung
Daw authorities that had
demolished 26 houses of Myoma Kanyan Dan to construct a
government building
on December 27.
The youth were carrying posters, which read: " We have committed no crime
except being Muslims, treat us as a
human being, petition to be submitted to
religious organizations, provide us
with healthy environment, provide us
with clean water", a source
said.
Report says that police, Nasaka
and Military Intelligence (MI) demolished 26
Muslim houses under the direct command of president of Buthe Daung-Maung Daw
District Administration, Lt colonel.
Ran Myo Aung. #
__________________________________________________
Burmese Navy arrests
eight Bangladeshi
A Burmese Navy ship patrolling in the
Bangladeshi fishermen while they were fishing in the area.
The Burmese Navy ship intruded into
arrested the
Despite a representation by victims to the
on
The arrested
Nurul Islam (4) Abul Hossein (5) Noor Ahmmad (6) MD Hossein (7) Nasrul Islam
(8) MD Jakaria, all residents of Shaah Porir village
The Burmese Navy Ship and Burmese border security guards
intrude frequently
in Bangladeshi territorial water
and usually take away Bangladeshi fishermen
to
countries.#
_______________________________________________
Burmese Military
Intelligence arrests ten democracy activists
Burmese military intelligence celebrated ‘‘New Year’’ by
arresting ten
members of Opposition, including
NLD members (National League for
Democracy), a statement of DPNS (Democratic Party for a New
Society) said
today.
Most of the members arrested, who were arrested by the
military intelligence
on December 22, are members of NLD
Mandalay, said Htut Hlaing
Oo, the
secretary of information department
of DPNS, after having confirmed with
relatives of those arrested.
‘’The relatives of opposition members have told me that the
military
intelligence arrested the
opposition members on December 22 and have kept
then at an unknown place," Htut Hlaing Oo Said.
Some say they were arrested in connection with Depeyin incident while others
say they were involved in
underground anti-government activities.
The military government has not made any official
clarification on why the
arrests were made or where the
opposition members are being kept.
The opposition members who were arrested are: Ko Win Kyi, Ko Than
Win, Ko
Hla Oo, Ko
Hla Soe, Daw Hnin Pa Pa, Ko
Aung Aung, Ko Myint Oo and three
others and all of them are
residents of
in Thai-Burma border have confirmed
that among ten oppositions, Ko Win Kyi,
Ko Hla
Oo, Daw Hnin
for Democracy (NLD). #
____________________________________________________
Bangladesh Rifle (BDR) in an operation seized a haul of
deadly weapons from
the Bangladesh-Burma border,
according to The Daily Star.
The weapons seized include 32 anti-tank mines, six rocket
launchers, seven
anti-personnel mines (with body
trap), 10 rockets launcher cells chargers, a
grenade firing bomb, 18 grenade
firing bomb chargers and equipment for 14
rocket launcher cells.
The weapons were seized by the BDR after a gunfight with the
terrorists at
Lemuchhari, 30 kilometers of Nakhongchari town, Bandaban, yesterday.
The terrorists were suspected to have links with Arakanese rebels of
the paper said in its edition
toady.
since August last year 2003 and
since then have seized considerable amount
of arms and ammunitions from Arakanese rebel hideouts. The seizure yesterday
by the BDR was first this year
2004. #
_______________________________________________
A Nasaka
check-post erected to frisk and check Rohingya travellers
A Nasaka (Border Security Force)
check-post has been set up around
three-miles from Maungdaw town to check Rohingya travellers within the
Maungdaw township,
according to a report.
This check-post is popularly known as a gate of "Bawli Bazar-Monastry Nasaka
Gate."
It has been set up especially for the travellers
moving up and down, those
who want to go to northern Maungdaw and those who come from northern side,
the
report added.
All Rohingya travellers
are required to show their travel passes to the
Nasaka authorities before passing through the gate.
The passes have to be obtained from Village Peace and
Development Council
(VPDC) or Ward Chairman of Maungdaw
town, a Rohingya traveler said.
Every Rohingya traveller,
who passes through the gate, has to pay Kyat 500
to the VPDC or Ward Chairman to
obtain travel pass valid for 14 days.
If a traveller fails to submit
travel pass to the Nasaka officials at the
check-post, he has to pay Kyat 500
as fine for the continuation of his
journey, a villager said.
Females passing through the check-post, she would be made to
take off her
scarf, while crossing the
check-post.
Besides, all the passengers have to be switch the ignition
of their vehicles
off while crossing the gate.
Communities other than Rohingyas are exempted
from these checks. #
_______________________________________________________
Burmese PM claims
support of six cease-fire groups for democracy Road Map
Burmese Prime Minister General Khin
Nyunt has said that the seven-point Road
Map to democracy, proposed by the military junta, has the
support of six
cease-fire groups, apart from the neighbouring countries like
In a New Year dinner speech on January One, attended by SPDC
officials,
diplomats and heads of organisations, Gen Nyunt,
however, warned that
international pressures and
objections on the Road Map would only hinder the
steps toward democracy
unnecessarily.
The general in his speech did not disclose the names of the
six cease-fire
groups.
Gen Nyunt said that he had organised the dinner so that he could interact
with the diplomats and heads of organisations on various issues.
Recently, Gen Nyunt had met the
leaders of some cease-fire groups and
negotiator Sabwe
Jum at the traditional festival organized by Kachin
After Gen Nyunt had announced his
seven-point plan, three cease-fire groups
the UWSA, NDAA and SSA-North - had issued a joint
statement that they
would not attend the National
Convention if the basic policy guidelines and
undemocratic procedures were not
changed.
Recently, Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung had explained
the prospects of
their Road Map at the ‘
12 nations -
special envoy Razali Ismail. #
_______________________________________________
By Zin Linn
The current arrests and imprisonments are the outer
manifestations of the
military regime's inner thinking.
Much to everybody's surprise, the Burmese military junta has
recently
stepped up its arrests of people
for peaceful dissent against the regime in
many places around the country. On
members of the National League for
Democracy (NLD) from Mandalay Division
were raided by the Military
Intelligence Service (MIS). A mobile-phone,
approximately one hundred-thousand
Kyat, books and papers were confiscated
and taken to an undisclosed
location.
Those detained in the raids include Daw Tin Myint (F), Ma Hninn Pa Pa Hlaing
(F), U Than Win (M), U Win Kyi (M),
U Myint Oo (M), U Hla Oo
(M), U Hla Soe
(M) and Ko
Aung Aung (M). To date, family members have not been
allowed to
meet with the detainees.
Most of the detainees were also victims of the Depayin attack on Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi and her supporters on 30 May when they were
arrested and only
recently released. The crackdown
occurred shortly after the sixth visit of
the UN Special Rapporteur,
Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, and the second
visit by two Amnesty International
(AI) representatives. Also, three
unidentified persons were arrested
in
According to a reliable source in
gathering evidence relating to the Depayin ambush to present to the UN
Special Rapporteur and the two AI
representatives.
In addition to the above-mentioned arrests, three other NLD
members from
Tennasserim Division were arrested in mid December by the local MIS. They
are Ma Than Soe
(F) from Longlon township and Nyi
Nyi Lay (M) and Phoe Pe
(M) from Tha-yet-chaung
township. Their whereabouts is still unknown.
Moreover, two civilians, Nyi Soe from Tha-yet-chaung and
Pu-law in Tennasserim
Division were accused of participating in
anti-government political activities
and later arrested by Captain Tin Maung
Win of Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No 262 in December.
According to the Washington-based Radio Free Asia, three
Buddhist monks from
Mahadhammikayama Monastery in Magwe were put on arbitrary trial and
sentenced to 27 years imprisonment
each on
monks, U Ottara,
U Khemasara and U Kauthanla,
who were studying Buddhist
scripture at the monastery. The MIS
accused them of being agitators,
attempting to instigate a religious
riot.
Actually, the international community wants to see action
that clearly
demonstrates the State Peace and
Development Council's (SPDC) genuine
readiness to allow political
freedom for all
inclusion of ethnic nationalities
representatives in
future. The SPDC also needs to
demonstrate this readiness by releasing all
political prisoners and allowing
political parties to become involved in the
future of the nation. But the
military junta has failed to respect the
advice of the international
community and continues to act in its usual way
contrary to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
On
delegation called on the government
to release all prisoners of conscience
and cease arresting people for
peacefully dissenting against the regime. At
a press conference in
range of serious concerns
substantiated during the visit, and called on the
military authorities to take urgent
steps to improve the human rights
situation, which has deteriorated
significantly since the 30 May violent
attack on the NLD.
AI, which first visited
scores of people for non-violent
political activities since May 2003, many
of whom are now confirmed to have
been sentenced to long terms of
imprisonment under repressive
legislation. At the time, AI strongly urged
the SPDC to permit an independent,
impartial, and effective investigation
into the 30 May events, and to
bring those found responsible to justice.
The continued absence of such an investigation fuels the
climate of impunity
in
well-wishers, the junta is strongly
pursuing its 'iron-fist' policy and the
political prisoners' list continues
to grow.
In the fifteen years since the nation-wide civil uprising in
1988, little
progress has been made in the areas
of democracy and human rights in
The UN Special Rapporteur Prof Paulo Sergio Pinheiro has
repeatedly
criticized
slowly. He occasionally suggested
the generals speed up change and insisted
that all political prisoners must
be freed as a sign of sincerity. But, as
long as the generals dilly-dally on
the issue of releasing political
prisoners, it is clear they still
have no intention to restore democracy and
embark on a process of national
reconciliation in
The launching of a concerted effort among international
community to free
political prisoners in
with regional politics, but it is
also connected with global
humanitarianism. For that reason,
world leaders should consider pressuring
the SPDC to free all political
prisoners immediately and unconditionally.
It can be argued that military regime takes advantage of
releasing prisoners
in small numbers in order to reduce
international pressure, especially from
those who have brought sanctions
against the regime. However, the regime
should understand that building an
appropriate political atmosphere
foundational for national
reconciliation and the unconditional and immediate
release of all political prisoners
detained arbitrarily and inhumanely is
part of this process. The release
of all political prisoners can also spur
the country’s economic revival,
which is on the verge of collapse.
But the junta has not only repeatedly declined to release of
all political
prisoners but has also stepped up
its arrest of its citizens for expressing
dissenting opinions. In doing so,
the junta violates Article 19 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and challenges
decisions on "
Issue" by the UN.
Any announcement made by the military regime concerning
national
reconciliation will continue to be
meaningless unless there is political
space for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
the NLD. This means the Nobel laureate
and her colleagues must be released
from detention and must be free to
travel and communicate with each
other, NLD members and supporters.
The Burmese people have not been allowed to participate in
the nation's
political processes. The junta must
take the voices of the Burmese people
into account in any process of
political reform in
the regime has no rights to discard
the result of the 1990 general elections
in which people made clear their
desires for the future.
The current spate of arrests and imprisonments may be the
outer
manifestations of the military
regime's inner thinking. World leaders of
today should make a concerted
effort to help build the tomorrow of the
Burmese people. Without the world
leaders' genuine sympathy and sincere
help,
_______________________________________________
Burma News International (BNI) is a network of six
Independent Burma Media
organizations: The Mizzima News, The Narinjara News,
the Kaladan Press
Network, the Khonumthung News
Group, the Network Media Group and the
Independent Mon News Agency.#
____________________________________________________