PROTESTERS SET UP NEW CAMPS NEAR CONTROVISIAL MINE.

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Comments (1)By AYE NAI

Published: 18 December 2012

A boy carries a bag of sulphur sand to make copper near the controversial copper mine in Sarlingyi township on 1 December 2012. (Reuters)

 

Government authorities in Sagain division’s Monywa district have warned locals to shut down new rally camps set up last week to protest against the expansion of the Latpadaung Copper Mining Project.

On 12 December, local activists established two new protest sites after local police launched a pre-dawn assault on the former camps in late November, which left dozens of protesters, primarily monks, with severe burn injuries.
Salingyi township administration’s director Zaw Moe Aung instructed the protesters to close the camps but failed to convince them to follow suit.

According to DVB sources on the ground, the Ministry of Home Affair’s deputy-director general and member of the Latpadaung Investigation Commission Tin Myint arrived at the camp on 16 December and stressed the need for the protesters to vacate the area.

“The Home Affair Ministry’s deputy-director and Investigation Commission member U Tin Myint told the protesters to shut down the camps, but the camps’ committee told him they will remain until the Latpadaung Copper Mining Project is fully suspended,” said a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“We will not let our trees and farmland we’ve cultivated fall into the hands of Wenbao and U-Paing. We will protect them with our lives,” said Aung Myint Thein, who witnessed last month’s crackdown first hand.

There are at least 800 protesters, mostly women, and about 20 monks currently at the two camps.In the wake of last month’s crackdowns, demonstrations have been held across the country, which prompted officials to deliver an official apology to the affected monks earlier this month.

However, police officers have continued to arrest activists for protesting without permits.
Yesterday, activist Htin Kyaw was charged under Article-18 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for staging a solo protest without formal permission in Rangoon following the police’s crackdown on Latpadaung protest camps last month.
Htin Kyaw, who is well known for protesting against rising commodity prices in 2007 prior to mass monk-led demonstrations, said he refused to sign a paper acknowledging the charges that were being pressed against him. The activists said he also plans to travel to Mandalay to hold more solo protests.

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Comments

1. Maung Min Nway says:

   December 18, 2012 at 11:25 am

   It is important to support the protesters before being attacked by Junta.
   The prtesters could not expect any help from ASSK as she already discouraged the demonstration a few weeks ago.
   She even asked: Why people were demonstrating?
   Moreover, she advised the copper project to be continued.
   Monks ,students and people should join the prtesters before it is too late.
   Please help us–Le Di Sayar daw Pha Ya!
   Our poor protestes were soon to be attacked by Junta.
   
2. Maung Kyaw Nu,a former political prisoner of conscience says:

   Your comment is awaiting moderation.
   

   December 19, 2012 at 6:09 pm

   Daw Suu used to keep silence in Foreign when many students ,and working people of Burma shed their blood in 1962,1974 ,75,76 etc to topple the Military rule and restore democracy in the country.
   She sneaked into 8888 popular general democratic demonstration by promising to change Military rule from the soil of Burma.
   Now the same lady starts talking in favor of Military rule and against the democratic demonstration. The democratic loving people widely understood her hidden policy against the public interest .
   She is a heartless lady. Her silence to Arakan ,Kachin and recent brutal crack dawn of Copper strike proved that she is an ICON of Militarism and dictatorial rule.
   We fully support every movement for the well being of the people and against Military democracy.
   Keep fight till victory.
   Let Daw Suu enjoy in Naypyidaw.

Malaysia takes in 40 Myanmar shipwreck survivors

The captain of the Nosco Victory told The Straits Times that Malaysia's maritime agency had sent a boat to the vessel on Tuesday to pick up the 40 people.

AFP

Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's maritime agency on Tuesday said it "rescued" 40 Myanmar shipwreck survivors, who are thought to be Muslim Rohingya fleeing ethnic violence who had been denied entry to Singapore.

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The agency told AFP the survivors of a wreck off the Myanmar coast on December 4, in which 160 others were reportedly drowned, were in good health and being transported to southern Johor state on one of its vessels.

"I confirm 40 Myanmar nationals were rescued from the Vietnam-flagged cargo ship Nosco Victory," Hamid Mohamad Amin, the agency's director for command and control, told AFP, declining to elaborate.

Singapore had turned away the ship carrying the 40 survivors amid media reports they could be stateless Muslim Rohingya.

Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said it denied entry to the Vietnamese-registered bulk carrier Nosco Victory because of a lack of information about its passengers.

Australia's Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported the 40 were believed to be Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine, who had been fleeing ethnic violence there.

Clashes between Buddhists and the Rohingya have left scores of people dead and displaced more than 115,000 people since June.

According to the Herald, the 40 were believed to have been in the water for 30 hours before they were rescued on December 5.

It said they were survivors from a Bangladesh-flagged ship that sank on its way to Malaysia, a largely Muslim country that has a big Rohingya population.

BANGLADESH: NGO ban hurting undocumented Rohingya

Photo: David Swanson/IRIN

Thousands of Rohingya are affected

COX’S BAZAR, 17 December 2012 (IRIN) - Some 40,000 undocumented Rohingya refugees are being adversely affected by a government ban four months ago on NGOs working at two makeshift sites in southeastern Bangladesh. 

“If we get some rice, we eat. Otherwise, we don’t eat,” Anowara Begum , an undocumented Rohingya refugee and 40-year-old mother-of-four at the Leda makeshift camp outside Nayapara, one of two makeshift sites outside two official government camps for Rohingya refugees told IRIN.

"Since the NGOs stopped coming our kids don't get medicine. They don't get treated for what they need. They  don't get the food they need," Sokeya Begum, 39, another undocumented Rohingya, said.

In August, Bangladeshi authorities ordered three NGOs - Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Action Against Hunger and Muslim Aid UK – to stop the formal delivery of humanitarian services, including health care and food to undocumented Rohingya refugees, saying such services would encourage more to flee to Bangladesh.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are more than 200,000 Rohingyas in Bangladesh, of whom only 30,000 are documented and living in two government camps assisted by the agency.

Some 12,000 documented refugees live at the Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar District, with another nearly 18,000 further south at Nayapara - both within 2km of Myanmar.

Documented refugees are provided food rations by the World Food Programme (WFP), along with shelter assistance, non-food items, water/sanitation services, vocational training and supplementary feeding for malnourished refugees by UNHCR.

However, most Rohingya - a mainly Muslim ethnic group who fled persecution en masse to Bangladesh from Myanmar’s neighbouring Rakhine State years earlier - are undocumented.

UNHCR has not been permitted to register newly arriving Rohingya since mid-1992. 

Only those who are documented receive regular assistance, while those who are undocumented are largely dependent on a handful of international NGOs who until recently were allowed to work in the area.

Poor living conditions

Prior to the government ban, conditions in the makeshift camps were described by Physicians for Human Rights as “among the worst they had ever seen”.

Most people outside the Kutupalong camp are housed in ramshackle huts made of twigs and plastic sheeting, denied food aid, and live beside open sewers, the Boston-based group says.

Photo: David Swanson/IRIN

Camp conditions are already dire

In its most recent survey, MSF found that global acute malnutrition, one of the basic indicators for assessing the severity of a humanitarian crisis, was as high as 27 percent at the Kutupalong makeshift camp, where an estimated 20,000 unregistered refugees live - almost double the emergency threshold of 15 percent set by the World Health Organization, as reported in international media.
No further surveys have been made since the ban took effect.

In June, the Bangladeshi authorities effectively closed the door to Rohingya fleeing communal violence in Rakhine State in June and October which left dozens dead and thousands of homes destroyed. 

"We are not interested in more people coming to Bangladesh," Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told reporters at the time, noting that Bangladesh was already a densely populated country and could not afford a fresh influx.

Government figures suggest 200,000-500,000 undocumented Rohingya live in villages and towns outside the camps, many of them in Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban and Chittagong.

UNHCR has repeatedly called on Dhaka to lift the ban, but more than four months on it remains in place, leaving aid workers reluctant to comment on the record.
 
“The situation here is very bad, it’s horrific,” Shahina Akter, a local nutrition volunteer who asked that her organization not be identified, citing issues of severe malnutrition.

“Because of the ban, it’s harder for us to help the Rohingya,” another aid worker who asked not to be identified, confirmed.

Jason Mraz rocks Myanmar anti-trafficking concer

Published: 17/12/2012 at 02:25 PMOnline news: Asia

Yangon - American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz mixed entertainment with education to become the first world-class entertainer in decades to perform in Myanmar, with a concert to raise awareness of human trafficking.
Mraz's 2008 hit "I'm Yours" was the finale for Sunday night's concert before a crowd of about 50,000 people at the People's Square at the base of Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the country's biggest city.

Local artists, including a hip-hop singer, also played at the event organised by the anti-trafficking media group MTV EXIT - for "End Exploitation and Trafficking" - in cooperation with US and Australian government aid agencies and the anti-slavery organisation Walk Free.

Jason Mraz performs at the People's Square in Yangon on Sunday. (EPA Photo).

Myanmar is emerging from decades of isolation under a reformist elected government that took office last year after almost five decades of military rule. It has been one of the region's poorest countries, and its bad human rights record made it the target of political and economic sanctions by Western nations.

But democratic reforms initiated by President Thein Sein have led to the lifting of most sanctions, and the country is hopeful of a political and economic revival. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy opposition leader, was released from house arrest in late 2010 and won a seat in parliament last April.
Mraz called his top-billed appearance at the concert a "tremendous honour."
"I think the country is, at this time, downloading lots of new information from all around the world," he said. "I've always wanted my music to be here, (for) hope and celebration, peace, love and happiness. And so I'm delighted that my music can be a part of this big download that Myanmar is experiencing right now."

Organisers said Mraz was the first international artist to perform at an open-air, mass public concert in Myanmar. Jazz artists Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Charlie Byrd visited the country under US government sponsorship in the 1970s, when it was still called Burma, but played at much smaller venues.

Many in the crowd queued for two hours before being admitted to the concert site. Yangon native Sann Oo, 31, wearing a white T-shirt with a sketch of Mraz, said he was pleased that Mraz had come and that there would be a broadcast of the event.
"His visit can promote the image of Myanmar, because people outside have been seeing the country as an insecure place, and poor," he said. "Now they can see how we look like from the concert. It also opens the potential for more concerts by foreign artists."

About 50,000 concert goers cheer while watching the concert at the People's Square in the business capital. (AP Photo)

Mraz has a history of involvement with human rights and other social causes.  
But there was some criticism of his visit by campaigners for Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya community, which has been the target of ethnic-based violence this year that has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes into makeshift refugee camps. They feel Myanmar's government has been complicit in the discrimination, and that Mraz's visit provides it cover with the image of being a defender of human rights.
Mraz said he was aware of the issue, but that if he didn't come to do the concert because someone else had asked him to protest another problem, then that would not help tackle the exploitation and human trafficking issue.  
"I understand that there is a lot of wrongdoing in this world," he said. "Today I'm here for this."  

Walk Free used the occasion of Sunday's concert to launch a campaign calling on the world's major corporations "to work together to end modern slavery by identifying, eradicating and preventing forced labour in their operations and supply chains." They are seeking to have the companies make a "zero tolerance for slavery pledge" by the end of March next year.

"While many think of slavery as a relic of history, experts estimate that there are currently 20.9 million people living under threat of violence, abuse and harsh penalties," the Australia-based group said in a statement.
"Within this massive number, the majority of people - more than 14.2 million - are in a forced labour situation, used to source raw materials, and create products in sectors such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and domestic work."

Jason Mraz mixes entertainment with education in his concert in Myanmar. (EPA Photo)

The concert began with local favourites like Chan Chan, Sai Sai, Chut Htu Wai, Lynn Lynn, R Zarni before Mraz went on stage.
"By the time Jason Mraz took the stage, the huge crowd just wanted the night to go on non-stop," said Danny Lee, director for Community Affairs Development at the Jakarta-based Asean Secretariat.

"How could you not, when you see the huge crowd waving, singing, as music pulsates through the huge People's Square and beyond," he said in an e-mail sent to the Bangkok Post.
"As I enjoyed the show, I am also grateful for the changes that is happening, which allowed once-upon-a-time adversaries to pull this absolutely happening event off. Sure, there were hundreds of police and uniformed personnel to help the crowds find their places, but no one feels intimidated or threatened," he added.
Related search: Jason Mraz, Yangon, Myanmar, concert

Phuket-Bound Burmese Nabbed by Navy, Set for Court and Jail

A young Burmese heads for jail after surviving the 2008 mass suffocation Photo by phuketwan.com/file By Chutima Sidasathian Monday, December 17, 2012 PHUKET: A group of Burmese arrested on their way to Phuket are being sent to face court as Thai authorities attempt to slow the illegal trade in human trafficking. The 27 Burmese and a Thai were arrested off the coast near the Burma-Thailand border yesterday, a police officer based in the Thai border port of Ranong said today. ''Instead of repatriating them straight away we will process them through the courts,'' Lieutenant Athid Eakmanop said. The group of 20 men and seven women were being ferried by a Thai longtail boat from Victoria Point in Burma to Baang Ben village in Kaper, south of Ranong. An employer on Phuket had paid 4000 baht for each of the 27 workers to cover costs, Lt Athid said. The workers were to meet a truck to take them on to Phuket and would have to repay the money, Lt Athid said. The Thai boatman was paid 1000 baht to ferry the group from Burma to Thailand. Royal Thai Navy sailors and Marine Police apprehended the longtail about two kilometres off the tourist island of Prayam at 11am yesterday. All the group were transferred to Ranong's Pak Nam Police Station where they arrived at 1am today, Lt Athid said. Instead of being handed straight over to the Army's Internal Security Operations Command or Immigration officials, the group will be processed through the courts, the lieutenant said. This could mean the Burmese and the longtail boatman being held for up to 48 hours at the police station. A fine of 1000 baht is usually imposed by Ranong Provincial Court for illegal entry to Thailand. Burmese caught jumping the border usually serve time in jail to cover the fine at a rate of 200 baht per day. ''We hope this will end the cycle of people going straight back across the border straight into the hands of people traffickers,'' Lt Athid. The expiry of the nationality verification process deadline last week could possibly bring a crackdown on as many as 30,000 Burmese working illegally on Phuket and hundreds of thousands more throughout Thailand. However, expulsion of the Burmese would trigger an economic crisis within Thailand so mass arrests are considered unlikely, especially on Phuket. Today's change in approach in Ranong is coincidental and designed merely to slow the ''revolving door'' through which huge numbers of Burmese are smuggled to Phuket and other parts of Thailand's Andaman coast. Thousands of Burmese are trafficked to Phuket each year by sea and by road to meet demand in the construction industry especially. In perhaps the worst example of how the system can go wrong, 54 would-be illegal workers suffocated inside a refrigerated seafood truck on the way to Phuket when the air conditioning failed in April, 2008. Another 64 gasped for air but survived when the driver eventually opened the large sealed doors. The survivors - mostly young men and women in their teens and 20s - served 10 days in Ranong Prison before being sent back to Burma.

Rejecting Shipwreck Survivors Shows Singapore Lacks a Heart

Top of the tree in so many ways, Singapore just lacks a heart Photo by phuketwan.com By Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian Sunday, December 16, 2012 News Analysis PHUKET: Where did Singapore lose its heart? We visited the go-ahead city-state a while back and admired the stunning new developments, the efficiency of its taxis, the cleanliness of its streets. Then came this week's sad account of the Vietnamese cargo vessel whose captain took a courageous decision to rescue 40 survivors from a shipwreck. A second vessel plucked nine more from the Andaman Sea. Another 210 probably drowned when the ill-fated Nagu sank. Both rescue vessels are now reported to be at anchor off Singapore as a UN agency tries to negotiate with Malaysia to take the 49 survivors, who may possibly even be Rohingya, the stateless Muslims from Burma. Why Malaysia? Why not Singapore? Earlier in the week, Singapore, the first-world country where prosperity is evident at every corner, turned away the shipwreck survivors. According to Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority, it was all the fault of the courageous captain. He should have gone to the nearest port - which would have meant turning around - rather than continuing on to Singapore. We can't speak for the captain of the Nosco Victory but perhaps he foolishly thought that Bandgladesh already had enough refugees, and that Singapore might be a better option. Little did he know about Singapore's black soul. Prosperous Singapore was the destination for many refugees in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. In 1975, Singapore was the first country to stop the boatpeople from coming. Other countries, including Thailand and Malaysia, followed. Although 5000 eventually reached Singapore via commercial ships, which picked them up at sea, thousands of others died. One reader of an online site publishing details of this fascinating piece of Singapore history wrote: ''I was in the spore navy at that time and those refugees that were intercepted before they reached our coast were provided with food and water and towed out and left to the mercy of the sea. looking back i think it was a shameful thing to do, the boats were definately not seaworthly and most of them perished at sea, the lucky ones made it to australia. how many died after we pushed them back into the ocean, nobody will ever know. it was like a death sentense with a very slim chance of clemency. could we have been more humane and given these people shelter until a third country decides to take them? how would you have felt if you were one of them being treated as if your life is almost worthless? ''and by the way, some of the boats which were in better condition were seized by the navy and painted in the navy colours and became part of the fleet. what a joke. anyway this sad part of our history, of how we were so cruel to our fellow human beings will never be taught in schools or mentioned in public.'' Indeed. Singapore has progressed in remarkable ways in the 21st century. Its people now rank as among the most prosperous in Asia. But lost at sea 40 years ago, along with those thousands of Vietnamese boatpeople, was Singapore's heart

Malaysia in Talks Over Fate of Shipwreck Survivors

Sunday, December 16, 2012 

An armed police officer guards as Muslim refugees stand behind him at a refugee camp in Sittwe, capital of Rakhine State, western Burma (Photo - AP)

Chun Han Wong & Celine Fernandez

The Wall Street Journal

December 14, 2012

Malaysia is considering taking in 40 shipwreck survivors believed to be refugees from Myanmar, who have been in limbo this week after the Singapore government denied them entry. 

Malaysia's deliberations over the men saved by a Vietnamese cargo ship come as Singapore authorities declined to admit nine other survivors from the shipwreck who were picked up by a Liberia-flagged freighter after their vessel sank in Myanmar waters. 

For now, both ships and their rescued passengers remain anchored off Singapore's coast after attempts by the Vietnamese ship's owner—the Northern Shipping Joint Stock Co., or Nosco—to seek assistance were turned down by Singapore authorities, highlighting the wariness among Southeast Asian governments to accept asylum seekers from a recent exodus caused by Myanmar's ethnic violence. 

Malaysia is considering accepting those aboard the Nosco Victory after requests by Nosco officials and the United Nations refugee agency, according to Vivian Tan, a Bangkok-based spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. 

The Malaysian foreign ministry on Friday confirmed that discussions were under way but didn't provide a timeline for a decision. 

"UNHCR has been in touch with Malaysian authorities and are advocating for them to take these people. UNHCR is ready to help when they disembark" with humanitarian assistance and potentially starting asylum proceedings for those who qualify, Ms. Tan said. 

Neither Singapore nor Malaysia are signatories to the U.N. Convention on Refugees, which establishes a basic framework for protecting people escaping persecution. The convention bars signatories from expelling recognized refugees—with some exceptions—or punishing refugees for illegal entry. 

The 49 survivors had been aboard the ill-fated Nagu, which was carrying about 250 people when it sank Dec. 5 after making a port call in Myanmar's western Rakhine province, according to the Indian coast guard. The Rakhine region has been embroiled in violence in recent months that has left tens of thousands of minority Muslim Rohingya people homeless. 

It isn't clear whether the survivors are Rohingya, whose plight has put pressure on Myanmar's government. The 40 men saved by the Nosco Victory say they are Muslims—16 to 45 years old—from Myanmar's Rakhine state, according to a manifest seen by The Wall Street Journal and prepared by a marine insurer, which interviewed the survivors. 

The identities of the other nine survivors, currently aboard the X-Press Hoogly, are unclear. 

The Nosco Victory was due to dock Dec. 9 in Singapore, while the X-Press Hoogly had been scheduled for a stop Friday at the island state. But Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority said in response to queries that it denied both ships entry because the rescued "do not appear to be persons eligible to enter Singapore," and alleged the captains of both vessels had ignored advice from Indian authorities to take the survivors to the "nearest port of safety," without clarifying which destination. 

The captains couldn't be reached to comment. The Authority didn't respond to a query on the survivors' ethnicity. 

Nosco executives say they had sought help from the Vietnamese foreign ministry and the Singapore and Myanmar embassies in Hanoi, but grew impatient over the lack of a solution as health and safety risks grew onboard their ship, because of overcrowding and a potential shortage of food supplies. 

An official at X-Press Feeder, the shipping firm that chartered the X-Press Hoogly, declined to comment on whether the company was negotiating with Singapore authorities. 

The Nosco Victory was originally scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on Dec. 15, although Indonesian officials have indicated reluctance to accept the shipwrecked people, saying they won't actively encourage refugees to come but would process those who have already arrived. An X-Press Feeder official said it isn't clear if the X-Press Hoogly can reach Kolkata on Dec. 20 as initially planned. 

The incident comes as civil-society groups warn that growing numbers of Rohingya refugees are fleeing Rakhine by boat to nearby countries, prompted by Bangladesh's continued closure of its border with Rakhine state. Some recent attempts have ended in tragedy, including an October sinking in which about 130 Rohingya were reportedly killed. 

Singapore has in the past said it can't accept refugees and asylum seekers due to its small size and limited resources, although it would help such people find other asylum destinations. 

Malaysia, meanwhile, has become reluctant hosts to some 24,000 Rohingya, who form one of the largest refugee groups in the Muslim-majority country, where asylum seekers are vulnerable to arrests for immigration offenses, according to the U.N. refugee agency. 

Myanmar's former military regime last year handed power to a quasi-civilian government that has embarked on a series of reforms. But analysts say rivalries between various ethnicities that had been suppressed by the military now present a challenge to its fledgling democracy. 

About 800,000 Rohingya Muslims live in Myanmar. They make up just 1.25% of Myanmar's 64 million population, but a much larger proportion in Rakhine state, about a quarter. The majority in the state are Buddhist Rakhines. 

The U.N. refugee agency estimates the latest spate of ethnic violence in Rakhine has so far displaced about 115,000 people, most of them Rohingya. 

source :Vu Trong Khanh in Hanoi

sation

Statement by Rt Hon Hugo Swire MP at the conclusion of his visit to Burma

Sunday, December 16, 2012 

Rt Hon Hugo Swire MP

British Embassy Rangoon

December 15, 2012

Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire led a trade mission to Burma earlier this week. This is a transcript of the speech that was given by the Minister at the conclusion of his visit.

First of all I would like to thank the people of this beautiful country for the very warm welcome I have received here. I have been touched by their remarkable kindness and courtesy. 

In the past few days I have met leading ministers, civil society and business leaders who have been eager to share with me their aspirations for the future. 

With the Government I discussed a full range of issues. I welcomed their efforts on ethnic reconciliation, but registered my serious concerns about the ongoing situation in Kachin urging the government to take all necessary measures to stabilise conditions there and insure the safety of civilians. We continue to urge both sides to bring an end to the conflict.

I raised my serious concerns about the situation in Rakhine State, which I visited this morning, and where thousands of people have displaced by violent unrest. 

Earlier this afternoon I had the great honour to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and spoke to her about the many challenges facing Burma, not least the ongoing conflict in Rakhine State. 

I share Daw Suu's concern about the situation having witnessed for myself the seriousness of the humanitarian situation. Conditions remain extremely worrying. I have visited the IDP camps and seen the thousands of people, crowded into tents, with little food or sanitation, and reliant on aid. It left me in no doubt that without urgent action this tragedy will continue to deepen for all concerned. We spoke about the work of her Parliamentary committee and its recent urging for greater security, humanitarian aid, accountability and respect for human rights. 

If I can deliver one message on behalf of the people I met at these camps it is that we need to see determination on all sides to bring an end to this conflict and reach a meaningful political solution. 

The British Government is already playing its part including working with trusted NGOs to deliver emergency water, sanitation and healthcare to over 58,000 people from both communities. While we are presently the single largest aid provider, much more needs to be done and we are working to rally international action. 

In terms of this country's broader progress, what everyone wants to see here is rapid development and consolidation of democracy. What does that mean? It means that the country operates under the rule of law with strengthened democratic institutions and with respect for human rights; it means greater trade and prosperity so that people are employed; and it means utilities and services from roads to railways, from accessible credit to clean water, and reliable electricity. 

To that end I led a trade mission here focusing on the power sector with the aim of helping this country meet its ambition of a tenfold increase in its energy generation over the next decade. This is the sort of responsible investment we need to see here. Modern energy infrastructure, developed we hope with British expertise, will mean that everyone will have access to electricity in their homes and that manufacturers will be able to invest with confidence and produce things people want to buy. I welcomed the government's commitment to responsible investment. 

I want to finish on a positive note. This is a beautiful country with lofty ambitions. 

Britain believes in Burma and the Burmese people. The best way we can help is not by ignoring its problems but by working together to tackle them. If we can do that then everyone will be able to enjoy the benefits of a free, developed, and prosperous nation.

UPTODATE INFORMATION FROM SHWEZAR VILLAGGE.

	9:44 PM (3 hours ago)
This mail was sent to me .But what can I do ? There are mails and phone calls from the ground most of the time.It makes me sick,cry and heart break suffering .We can't be sit idle .We must have to come out and take responsibility as a principle duty. Maung Kyaw Nu  ------

1. The NASAKA form Shwezá Village track camp N0-14 in Maungdaw  come to the Shwezá Village track about 11 pm in name of family list check and they torture innocent men and women and extort money. The NASAKA officer U Kyaw Min and Rashid s/o Khalilur Rahman(Kaakuwee Batu) lead this night operation team. 

2. They take away the family lists with them if the family unable to manage money for them. The following day the family must go to the camp pay the demanded money to get back their family lists. It is very unfortunate and sad that the villagers face acute starvation due to constant extortion. 

3. The NASAKA extorted money at night on 13th and 14th December, 2012 from the below listed villagers:

 

1. Nazir Hussain s/o Nurul Islam-45

2. Ibrahim Khalil s/o Shahib Meah-60

3. Zia Uddin s/o Zakaria-35

4. Abdu Shukkur s/o Noor Hussain-35

5. Noor Alam s/o Hussain-25

6. Abdul Hashim s/o Abdul Rahman

7. Nurul Islam s/o Nur Ahmed-70

8. Harun s/o Mohd Noor-42

9. Yassin s/o Bashir-45

10. Marizan d/o Unknown

11. Kurban Ali s/o Sayed Ahmed-45

12. Mohd Siddek s/o Mohammed

13. Nu s/o -32

4. They also dishonor young girls and women whole night and go back to their camp at dawn. All the villagers live in great fear. 

In the above circumstances I would like to request Your Excellency to take the necessary step as early as possible. 

I thank you in advance. 

Yours faithfully ,

            (The sender name is omitted -40 yrs.

           Shwezá Village track

           Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar.

Burma's displaced Rohingya suffer as aid blocked

By Jonah Fisher BBC News, Rakhine state, Burma

The BBC's Jonah Fisher takes a rare look inside the Rohingya camp, where conditions are described as among the worst in Asia

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Displaced and divided in Burma's Rakhine
• Burma images 'show mass burnings'
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Six months of sectarian violence has driven more than 100,000 people from their homes in western Burma.

Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim communities that have lived separately for generations are now forcibly segregated.
Barriers have been erected across roads in the state capital and thousands of Rakhine have had their homes destroyed.
But its the Rohingya who endure the worst conditions. Rejected as citizens by both Bangladesh and Burma, they continue to be victimised in the camps where they sought shelter.

Continue reading the main story

Background: Burma unrest

What sparked recent violence?
The rape and murder of a young Buddhist woman in Rakhine in May set off a chain of deadly religious clashes in June and then October.
Who are the Rohingyas?
The United Nations describes Rohingya as a persecuted religious and linguistic minority from western Burma. The Burmese government, on the other hand, says they are relatively recent migrants from the Indian sub-continent. Neighbouring Bangladesh already hosts several hundred thousand refugees from Burma and says it cannot take any more.

• Q&A: Unrest in Rakhine

On Myebon peninsula, south of the Rakhine state capital Sittwe, the double standards are clear.

Once the site of a daring amphibious raid by Allied troops in the Second World War, the peninsula is now home to two very different refugee camps.
Just a mile or so apart, they are populated entirely on ethnic lines - one for displaced Buddhists and the other for the Rohingyas.

Near the centre of town is the smaller of the camps.
On lush grass thirty five tents bearing the logo of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stand in ordered rows. This is Kan Thar Htwat Wa, home to 400 Buddhists who have been here since clashes in late October.
Phu Ma Gyi 's home was burnt down and, with her two daughters, she now shares a tent with three other families.
"The government is looking after us here," she says. "We have food, medicine and what we need."
Not far away the Burmese and UN officials who I am travelling with are being shown a table full of medical supplies and bags of rice. It is clear there are no shortages here.
Blocked deliveries

  A short drive in the back of a truck takes us to the Rohingya camp. On the way we pass by what was the Muslim neighbourhood.
Now it is completely flattened, with just the outlines of houses still visible on the ground.

Khin La May was headmistress of the local Rohingya primary school, now destroyed

Six weeks ago, one of those outlines was the primary school where Khin La May was headmistress.
"The Rakhine community came with knives and threw stones and sticks," she said.
So she fled, along with 4,000 other Rohingya to a small mound just outside town. That mound became what is now Taung Paw Camp.
It is a squalid muddy mess with raw sewage running through its open drains. The tents are ramshackle and the people inside hungry and desperate.
Aid workers told me this is one of the worst camps in Asia, if not the world.

Deliveries to both camps on Myebon have to be made by boat, and attempts to get proper sanitation and supplies into Taung Paw have so far been blocked.
Rakhine Buddhists control the jetty and are refusing to allow aid agencies regular access to the Rohingya camp, thwarting attempts to improve conditions.

Burmese Border Affairs Minister Thein Htay said it was not up to the military to intervene

It is a scene repeated in other locations in Rakhine. One major aid agency told me obstruction by the Buddhist community was preventing them from doing 90% of their work.
Given the local objections only the Burmese military could force the aid through. But they have so far refused to do so.

Instead they stand guard at Taung Paw, stopping the Rohingya leaving to tend their crops (the Rakhine have in their absence taken the fields over).
Burma's Border Affairs Minister Thein Htay visited both the Myebon camps with us and said that military were keeping the Rohingya inside for their own security.
The stark difference in conditions was due to the camps being different sizes, he said.
"There is some disturbance by the local people," he said. "In your country does the military always intervene? The Burmese military is not the ruling man. There is the government."
Better relations In Rakhine's urban centres the situation is better. Relations between the authorities and international aid agencies have improved and many of those displaced in June are being moved into better conditions.

UN representative Valerie Amos was shown food supplies at the Rakhine camp on Myebon

 

As she travelled to both Buddhist and Rohingya camps, the United Nations' top humanitarian official Valerie Amos repeatedly urged reconciliation.
For now with tensions high that appears a distant goal.
More money is needed to fund the Rakhine aid operation, Ms Amos said, but it is now up to the Burmese authorities to take a strong stand.
"The donors have a responsibility because we need m
ore money to really be effective but the government also has a responsibility," she said.
"They have to take the lead. They have to show the leadership they have to work to bring the communities together. And that work has to start now."

UN plea to take Burmese refugees

Date

December 13, 2012

• 
  

Lindsay Murdoch, 

THE United Nations refugee agency has appealed to Singapore to reverse its decision to refuse entry to 40 Burmese asylum seekers who have been stranded on a Vietnamese cargo ship for seven days.
A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the group plucked from the sea 30 hours after their boat sank should be allowed to ''safely disembark on humanitarian grounds''.
While not naming Singapore, the spokesperson said ''governments at the ship's closest port'' should accept the asylum seekers, who are Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Burma who were fleeing violent upheaval in the country's western Rakhine state.
The asylum seekers are on the 27,000-tonne Nosco Victory, which is believed to have been anchored off Singapore since Sunday when Singapore authorities refused it permission to dock, saying ''they do not appear to be persons eligible to enter Singapore''.

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The UNHCR spokesperson said the group should receive ''any medical or other urgent assistance as needed and for the process to begin of determining if they are in need of international protection''.
The incident is similar to the Tampa affair, when in 2001 Australia refused entry to Afghan asylum seekers.
Fairfax Media revealed on Tuesday that the Nosco Victory's captain had ignored advice by Indian rescue authorities to take the group to the ''nearest port of safety'' from where the asylum seekers were rescued in the Bay of Bengal on December 5, which was probably an Indian or Bangladeshi port.
But the captain continued to Singapore, its original destination, which took more than three days' sailing time.
The UNHCR spokesperson said while ''we can't confirm the identity of those rescued, we have reason to believe there could be people in need of international protection among them''.
The UN has described the Rohingya as among the world's most persecuted races.
''We urge all parties to respect the principle of non-refoulement [returning a person to a place of persecution] and ensure that the rescued individuals are not returned to any country where their lives could be in danger,'' the spokesperson said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/un-plea-to-take-burmese-refugees-20121212-2bajd.html#ixzz2Et90rIQf

Singapore turns away rescued boat people

December 12, 2012

 Lindsay Murdoch

BANGKOK: Singapore has denied entry to a Vietnamese-registered cargo ship carrying 40 Burmese asylum seekers who were plucked from the sea after their boat sank in the Bay of Bengal.

In an incident similar to the 2001 Tampa affair, where Australia refused entry to Afghan asylum seekers, Singapore said it had blocked the ship because ''those aboard do not appear to be persons eligible to enter Singapore''.
The asylum seekers are believed to have been in the water for 30 hours before the ship Nosco Victory rescued them on December 5, meaning they would have been in a distressed state.
They are believed to be still aboard the ship anchored off Singapore. Their condition is unknown.

Singapore authorities said the Nosco Victory's captain ignored advice by Indian rescue authorities to take the asylum seekers to the ''nearest port of safety'', which probably would have been a Bangladeshi port.
The ship was due to dock in Singapore on Sunday.
''As information provided by the vessel's master concerning the rescued persons is sketchy and there is no other official documentation to assist at this point, they do not appear to be persons eligible to enter Singapore,'' the spokesperson said.
''Under these circumstances, MV Nosco Victory was denied entry to the Port of Singapore.''
The ship's agent could not be reached for comment.

The asylum seekers are believed to Rohingyas, a Muslim minority who were fleeing western Burma, where ethnic violence erupted in June.
They were plucked from the sea after the overcrowded Bangladesh-flagged ship Nayou sank at about midday on December 4. Up to 160 other Rohingya aboard the ship are believed to have drowned. The Nayou was en route to Muslim-majority Malaysia, where there is a large Rohingya population.

The sinking is one of at least four in the area since October that has resulted in drowning of several hundred Rohingya - stateless people described by the United Nations as among the world's most persecuted groups.
More than 4000 Rohingya have attempted the perilous journey to Malaysia in the past eight weeks as the UN describes the situation in Rohingya camps in Burma's western Rahkine state as ''dire'', with widespread starvation.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees last month called on regional countries to keep their borders open to people seeking asylum and international protection from Burma.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore spokesperson said the advice given to the captain of the Nosco Victory by Indian rescue authorities was made in consultation with the authority ''taking into consideration the safety and security of the ship''.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/singapore-turns-away-rescued-boat-people-20121211-2b7st.html#ixzz2EspD2WQ8

 

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"Nothing About Us Without Us"
Documentary Screening and Panel Discussion
A Burma Partnership Initiative
Filmed and directed by Timothy Syrota

7pm, Wednesday 12th December, 2012

Free

This is not an FCCT-sponsored event. Responsibility for program content is solely that of the event organizer

 

Thailand has been home for 150,000 refugees from Burma for decades. With reforms beginning to be implemented by the Burma government in the last year and a half, the return of these refugees is already being discussed and planned at a high level between the Burma and Thai governments and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

History has provided repeated warnings of the potential dangers of planning a massive repatriation of refugees without adequate consultations and feedback from the affected communities. Repatriation without the inputs and consent of the refugees could exacerbate underlying conflicts, causing renewed strife which in turn can lead to further flows of refugees seeking asylum.

"Nothing About Us Without Us: Refugees' Voices About their Return to Burma" is a short documentary feature highlighting refugees' voices about repatriation from camps along the Thailand border back into Burma.

The film features interviews with the UNHCR, leading academics, and the refugees themselves.
Representatives from Karen, Mon and Karenni refugee communities will speak on a panel, sharing their personal insight into the current situation in their respective areas. There will also be a photo exhibition depicting the daily life of refugees on the Thailand-Burma border.

For more information, please contact: Jessica Stevens,