more photo of Miss Asia Pacific World 2014 _ May Myat Noe
http://ift.tt/1nXL6YQ
Original source: Venuscurves
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/miss-asia-pacific-world-2014-_-may-myat-noe-2/
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Miss Asia Pacific World 2014 _ May Myat Noe
more photo of Miss Asia Pacific World 2014 _ May Myat Noe
http://ift.tt/1nXL6YQ
Original source: Venuscurves
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/miss-asia-pacific-world-2014-_-may-myat-noe-2/
Miss Asia Pacific World 2014 _ May Myat Noe
more photo of Miss Asia Pacific World 2014 _ May Myat Noe
http://ift.tt/1nXL6YQ
Original source: Venuscurves
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/miss-asia-pacific-world-2014-_-may-myat-noe-2/
MissAsiaPacificWorld 2014, MayMyatNoe,
//www.youtube.com/embed/ndg1obzRtLc
Original source: Venuscurves
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/missasiapacificworld-2014-maymyatnoe/
Miss Asia Pacific World Super Talent 2014
http://ift.tt/1m0tcP9
Original source: Venuscurves
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/miss-asia-pacific-world-super-talent-2014/
Myanmar returns body of BGB man
Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) Saturday handed over the body of a Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) member killed in a BGP firing along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border at Naikhonchhari in Bandarban district on Wednesday.
The body of Nayek Mizanur Rahman was handed over to BGB at a flag meeting in Panchhari near the border pillar-52 around 5:45pm, said locals.
Commanding officer of BGB Ramu Battalion-50 Major Tareque received the body, said Dochhari union parishad chairman Abdur Rashid who was present on the occasion.
Mizan went missing amid indiscriminate firing by the BGP members along the Naikhonchhari border on Wednesday morning.
Later, a BGP officer confirmed that a member of the Border Guard Bangladesh was killed by his unit on Wednesday when a clash broke out between the two sides amid rising tension along the border.
After the incident, tension escalated along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. It further intensified on Friday afternoon when BGP further fired gunshots along Panchhari border in Naikhonchhari, according to UNB.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/myanmar-returns-body-of-bgb-man/
Memorial service for 2003 Depayin incident
Memorial service for 2003 Depayin incident
Published on Saturday, 31 May 2014 21:17
The memorial service to mark Depayin incident
The National League for Democracy held a memorial service on Friday to mark Depayin incident for victims of unrest triggered opponents of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi on May 30, 2003.
"We pray for our comrades who fell during the attack and recite poems paying tribute to their courage. Then, they (ceremony organisers) give a clear explanation on that incident to us," said Moe Min, one of the participants.
The service, lasted three hours, took place at Kyi village. Its participants included about a thousand residents from Khin-U, Yae-U, Tantsal, Monywa and Chaung-U townships.
The incident happened 11 years ago during a trip taken by Suu Kyi to meet her supporters in Sagaing Region in Central Myanmar.
The military-backed mob attacked Suu Kyi and a convoy of her supporters resulting in high casualties. Many believed the incident was meant to assassinate the NLD leader amid the commotion.
"I think there were about 300 followers on Daw Suu's convoy that night – 120 of them were later detained by the government. Therefore, the remainder might be killed or fled the attack. But I think the latter was impossible because the 3,000-strong mob with arms surrounded and attacked the convoy," said one of the witnesses.
The official of NLD (Mandalay Region branch) announced at the previous year's memorial that they had all the evidence needed to expose the Dapayin crime.
Under the supervision of the then State Peace and Development Council, thugs who were called Swan-Arr-Shin (Superhumans), members of Union Solidarity and Development Association (now the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party), convicts and monk imposters were involved in the incident, based on evidence uncovered.
"If the government is willing to build peace and mutual trust, the case should have been made clear. We do not insist on legal action but on getting to the bottom of what had happened. This is in line with a responsible government under democratic rule," a memorial participant said.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/memorial-service-for-2003-depayin-incident/
Sky Net TV starts sharing monthly profit with government
Sky Net TV starts sharing monthly profit with government
Published on Saturday, 31 May 2014 21:25
MRTV Director General Tint Swe (Photo-EMG)
Sky Net Television, projected to earn Ks 5 billion a month, has started paying Ks 30 million (about US$3,000) of its monthly profit to the government, said the director general of Myanmar Radio and Television on Friday.
The television station, operated by Shwe Than Lwin Media which is the country's leading private media company, has been sharing the profit to the state for eight months because a three-year tax exemption granted by the government in 2010 was void.
The operator paid Ks 240.8 million from July 2013 to March 2014 to the government through the Information Ministry. The four per cent benefit went to the state after Sky Net had paid taxes for the income derived from subscriptions and advertisements.
Under the contract awarded by the government, Sky Net is entitled to 96 per cent of the profit and only 4 per cent will be paid to the state.
Information Ministry-organised press conference on May 30 (Photo-EMG)
Based on the Friday's press conference, the station operator will pay additional taxes after audited figures have been released in July, when taxes would be checked.
Tint Swe, the director general of MRTV, said the ministry did not know the number of subscribers to Sky Net TV across the country.
According to some sources, about 500,000 Sky Net signal receivers have been sold to subscribers. And the numbers are expected even higher because the TV station refused to comment after being contacted.
The projection of station's revenues stands at Ks 5 billion based on 500,000 subscribers.
The director general said the government collected taxes from the station operator from 2010 to 2013.
However, Shwe Than Lwin Media is not on the list of Myanmar's top 500 tax payers, according to official data released last year.
The ministry has formed a broadcasting governing body in order to scrutinise the functions of broadcasting media operating under contracts and to check whether the operators shared benefits with the state.
Moreover, the existing media contracts are being revised to meet the current situation and requirements needs. The draft contracts will be sent to the relevant departments this month.
Tint Swe used to serve as director of the censorship department of the Information Ministry under the military regime. He was then known for literary Kempeitai. Presently he is still writing news articles seen as government propaganda.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/sky-net-tv-starts-sharing-monthly-profit-with-government/
BURMA/MYANMAR: Draft anti-religious conversion law released
BURMA/MYANMAR: Draft anti-religious conversion law
released
On 27 May 2014 the state media in Burma
(Myanmar) published the latest in a series of
anti-democratic laws for the national legislature to
consider: the Law Relating to Religious Conversion
(Draft).
Like other anti-democratic draft laws brought
through the legislature since the country's shift from
overt to covert military rule, this new draft law
disingenuously denies precisely the rights that it claims to
protect: those concerned with religious freedom. It denies
rights to religious freedom by proposing to establish, at
the local level, boards that will scrutinize the credentials
of any person wanting to change his or her religion. No
formal recognition will be accorded to a change in religion
without someone getting a permit from one of these
boards—which matters greatly in a country where religion
is recorded on all identity documents, and questions of
inheritance are decided with reference to so-called
customary religious law.
Under section 3 of the draft law,
the inquisitorial boards will consist, at the township
level, of the head of religious affairs (chairperson), the
head of the national registration department (deputy
chairperson), the deputy administrator of the township and a
person of his choice, the chairperson of the women's
affairs federation, and a member of the education
department. Under section 7(a) at least four of these
persons form a quorum with which to interrogate someone
seeking to convert her or his religion. Under section 7(b),
the interrogation, to take place within 90 days of an
application, will inquire about the extent to which the
person wanting to convert has grasped the "essence" of
the religion to which she or he wishes to convert; its
cultural practices relating to marriage, divorce and the
separation of property, and inheritance and child custody.
Following this inquisition, the board will either issue or
deny a permit with which to convert.
In short, someone
wanting to change religion in Burma will, if this law is
passed, have to submit herself or himself to an inquisition
by an assortment of government officials, who will
arbitrarily decide whether or not to grant the person
interrogated what amounts to an official permission slip to
change her or his religion.
It goes without saying that
the draft law is designed to prevent Buddhists from
converting to other religions, especially Islam, by creating
such onerous requirements and establishing through a process
of interrogation and intimidation that conversion will be
practically impossible. In particular, it aims to stop
non-Muslim women from marrying Muslims, by preventing them
from converting to Islam before or after marriage. On the
other hand, one cannot imagine much resistance on the part
of these scrutinizing bodies to the conversion of
Christians, Muslims or animists to Buddhism.
On the
pretext of protecting the rights of citizens, this law is a
further step to their withdrawal. In particular, it is on
the pretext of protecting the rights of vulnerable young
(Buddhist) women that this law is being put forward to the
legislature, and we need not think long or hard to recall
other governments in Burma that used exactly the same
pretext in their own programs for the denial of rights: the
military dictatorships from 1988 to 2011 throughout
represented themselves as consisting of benevolent, paternal
statesmen above all concerned for the lives, morality and
chastity of their young, female citizenry. This population
was not allowed to speak, but it was spoken for by these
regimes and their collaborators, just as the boards proposed
under the current law will presume to speak for the
knowledge of persons wanting to convert as to the contents
and character of the religions to which they seek to
convert. Even more than patriotism, the claim to be
protecting the rights of vulnerable young (Buddhist) women
is in Burma the refuge of the scoundrel.
The Asian Human
Rights Commission calls for the strongest opposition to this
law in Burma, both in the public domain, and in the
legislature. It calls for this opposition not only as a
matter of concern for the rights of minority religions and
the rights of people who want to convert to them, but also
as a matter of concern for every person in Burma, since the
denials of rights to some groups precipitate the denial of
the same to the whole, and since this latest draft law is
only the latest in a series of highly regressive,
anti-democratic laws to come to Burma's legislature,
speaking to a trend not towards further democratisation, as
some ill-informed and naïve observers have claimed, but in
the opposite direction, towards the entrenchment of
authoritarianism, albeit in more diverse and less explicit
forms than in earlier periods.
The AHRC also calls for
strong opposition to the law among civil society groups and
those concerned with religious freedoms throughout the
region, and in international agencies. Although to the
outside world the government of Burma will present this law,
like laws on protests and farmland before it, as a new
development in building a modern and progressive society,
the purpose of this technique is to conceal precisely the
opposite type of law from view: one aimed at keeping Burma
stuck in its past, rather than moving towards a new and
better
future.
Ends
© Scoop Media
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/burmamyanmar-draft-anti-religious-conversion-law-released/
Poets, cartoonists join campaign to overturn Article 436
A group of Burmese poets and cartoonists joined together in Rangoon on Friday to sign a petition to amend Article 436 of the Constitution, which stipulates that no provision of the 2008 charter can be altered without the prior approval of more than 75 percent of MPs in the Union Parliament.
Many critics of Burma's Constitution – notable among them Aung San Suu Kyi of the main opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD) – have prioritised the overturning of Article 436 as they say it gives the military full veto power over any other proposed changes, owing to the fact that they control 25 percent of the seats in both houses.
On Friday, some of the country's best known poets signed the petition at The Last Leaf Gallery on Pansodan Street while cartoonists put pen to paper at the Capacity Development Center on 35th Street.
Related Stories
Peace without constitutional reform is like 'hopping on one leg', says Min Ko Naing- Suu Kyi rebuked for 'challenge' to military
- Constitutional reform rally held in Irrawaddy division
Renowned cartoonist Shwe Min Thar said, "Everything depends on the military. If they don't change, we can't do anything. But it is possible for them to change. The Constitution is written by human beings, so it is easily within our power to change it. All of us here want to amend it. If the government follows the will of the people, then they will change it. I think it all depends on them."
Another well-known cartoonist, Aw Pi Kyal, said, "I know that this petition will not compel the government to amend the Constitution, but we are offering our opinion to the president."
Similarly, in Mandalay, about 100 members of a former political prisoners' network signed a petition to amend the Constitution on Friday. Poets and cartoonists in Mandalay had earlier in the week signed the petition at Mandalay's main NLD office.
The petition was launched by the NLD and the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society civil society group this month as a 50-day campaign to collect signatures from people across the country, calling for the government to amend Article 436.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/poets-cartoonists-join-campaign-to-overturn-article-436-2/
Poets, cartoonists join campaign to overturn Article 436
A group of Burmese poets and cartoonists joined together in Rangoon on Friday to sign a petition to amend Article 436 of the Constitution, which stipulates that no provision of the 2008 charter can be altered without the prior approval of more than 75 percent of MPs in the Union Parliament.
Many critics of Burma's Constitution – notable among them Aung San Suu Kyi of the main opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD) – have prioritised the overturning of Article 436 as they say it gives the military full veto power over any other proposed changes, owing to the fact that they control 25 percent of the seats in both houses.
On Friday, some of the country's best known poets signed the petition at The Last Leaf Gallery on Pansodan Street while cartoonists put pen to paper at the Capacity Development Center on 35th Street.
Related Stories
- Peace without constitutional reform is like 'hopping on one leg', says Min Ko Naing
- Suu Kyi rebuked for 'challenge' to military
- Constitutional reform rally held in Irrawaddy division
Renowned cartoonist Shwe Min Thar said, "Everything depends on the military. If they don't change, we can't do anything. But it is possible for them to change. The Constitution is written by human beings, so it is easily within our power to change it. All of us here want to amend it. If the government follows the will of the people, then they will change it. I think it all depends on them."
Another well-known cartoonist, Aw Pi Kyal, said, "I know that this petition will not compel the government to amend the Constitution, but we are offering our opinion to the president."
Similarly, in Mandalay, about 100 members of a former political prisoners' network signed a petition to amend the Constitution on Friday. Poets and cartoonists in Mandalay had earlier in the week signed the petition at Mandalay's main NLD office.
The petition was launched by the NLD and the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society civil society group this month as a 50-day campaign to collect signatures from people across the country, calling for the government to amend Article 436.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/poets-cartoonists-join-campaign-to-overturn-article-436/
Left Behind, Elderly Find an Advocate in Burma
Than Myint Aung, deputy chairman of Free Funeral Service Society at her office (Photo by Jpaing/The Irrawaddy)
RANGOON — Burmese philanthropist Than Myint Aung has carried hundreds of coffins since co-founding the Free Funeral Services Society (FFSS). But more recently, she has focused on assisting another group of people: those who are left behind after their loved ones pass away.
In 2001, Than Myint Aung, now 60 years old, co-founded the FFSS along with ex-actor Kyaw Thu, the late writer Thu Kha and philanthropist Myint Myint Khin Pe. The Rangoon-based nonprofit organization offers free funerals for families who cannot afford to pay for services.
As part of her job with the FFSS, Than Myint Aung would visit the homes of families after deaths were reported. In many cases, she found something that troubled her: elderly family members who had been dependent upon the deceased prior to his or her passing. Without a caretaker, she says, many were left to struggle on their own.
"They were just waiting for their own day to die," she says, adding that some neighbors and relatives even asked her to "abandon" the elderly relatives along with the corpses.
"There was an 80-year-old woman who had suffered from a stroke, and her 50-year-old son had been taking care of her. The son was the one who died, and she was left alone, with flies around her body as she wet herself," the philanthropist recalls.
After seeing many similar cases, in 2010 she decided to found the Twilight Villa (See Zar Yeik), a home for the elderly in Rangoon. The home cares for about 70 people who are suffering and on the verge of death, with about 50 others still on the waiting list.
"There are emergency cases, including a 95-year-old woman who was living in the shed of someone's home. We needed to bring her here," she says, adding that a second home for the elderly is currently being constructed.
She says she received her philanthropic gene from her mother, who "was very helpful to others." From her father she inherited a love of reading, which she says prompted her to become a writer, and an award-winning one at that, after taking home Burma's National Literature Award in 2002.
As a child she read books that motivated her to work for the benefit of her people. "Burmese creative literature makes the mind gentle and full of sympathy," she says. "For example, take this line from a novel by the writer Khin Hnin Yu: 'What distinguishes humans from animals is their selflessness and sacrifice for the public good.'"
In addition to her work with the FFSS and the elderly, Than Myint Aung founded a private school in Rangoon that offers free education through high school, and she co-founded an orphanage for children with HIV, also in Rangoon. The orphanage, Thukha Yeik Myone, has cared for 116 children since its establishment in 2005, with an emphasis on providing regular health care. Last year, a second orphanage for children with HIV opened in Mandalay.
"I try to alleviate social problems when I can, supporting projects that others have already started. If a service does not exist, I cooperate with friends and donors who are like-minded to help," she says.
After a doctor offered his own home to her as a residence, she turned it into a foundation that teaches youths about capacity building and philanthropic work.
"She is honest, optimistic and a role model in philanthropic work," Tun Lwin, a famous meteorologist and a board member of her youth philanthropy foundation, told The Irrawaddy.
She also founded a blood donor group in Malaysia. "I want every youth to save lives with clean blood. I want to see every youth become a blood donor when they turn 18," she says.
Than Myint Aung has received several literary and humanitarian awards. Most recently, she was awarded with US$10,000 from the Citizen of Burma Award Organization, based in the United States. She says she plans to invest the money into her charity work.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/left-behind-elderly-find-an-advocate-in-burma/
Men’s: Trend Report AW14
Yohji Yamamoto
Boys, we are looking forward towards the new times of fashion! So arty, gloomy, grey and posh- the AW14 season is for all sorts of men. Here, look at the strong five trends that are going to rule in your fall wardrobe.
They were moody, not sombre, said Haider Ackermann about his new season clothes that were all about his Victorian poets, floor length coats swaying through the room and Tchaikovsky chart topper. The fresh mood of men fashion is about dandy gloom that is romantic and attractive. Comme des Garcons had this wet hair look that reminded of gothic ghosts and Philip Lim had some neo-Romantism in it. Do you get that?
Camel coat, camel jacket or a camel parka- whatever, Parisian men think of camel as men's best-friend. It's neutral, but looks perfect with sweatpants, leather over-sized pants or elegant trousers. I really want to steal Ami's look, where the models wore camel with white Adidas and wool sweaters… maybe it's slightly normcore, but you may still wear it as a cowboy like at Versace (see leather bag, crocodile gloves and fur covered motorcycle helmet)!
Grey is beautiful, moody and human. There is nothing better than a luxe, comfortable track suit from Christophe Lemaire or Louis Vuitton. The razor-sharp relaxdness kills me! Every man shows his different shade of grey. So the question is, which one are you?
Raf Simons designed a collection in collaboration with Sterling Ruby. He managed to connect two worlds, fashion and art, in men collection. And he nailed it. Just like my favourite Yohji Yamamoto with his manga themed leather garments! The contrasting prints, smart signs and colour splash is the perfect way to kill normcore (normal hardcore) and be the men of art (and fashion).
This one is strange. And ugly in my opinion. But at the same time, takes men to a new dimension of uniformism- utilitarian vests Prada and Rick Owens; reconstructed and constructed coats at Maison Martin Margiela… this season brings more than excepted to men fashion. And which trend is in your type most?
Original source: Design & Culture by Ed
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/mens-trend-report-aw14/
What’s Hot (31.5.14)
Original source: Design & Culture by Ed
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/whats-hot-31-5-14/
Press Launch of Hlwan Paing's "Gita Sar So"
# ေမလ (၂၈) ရက္ေန႔က ရန္ကုန္၊ Orchid Hotel မွာ ျပဳလုပ္ခဲ့တဲ့
လႊမ္းပိုင္ ရဲ့ "ဂီတစာဆို Hlwan Paing" ေတးစီးရီး စာနယ္ဇင္း မိတ္ဆက္ပြဲ #
This is the video of Press launch of well-known hip hop singer Hlwan Paing's first solo music album, titled "Gi Ta Sar So Hlwan Paing" or "Lyricist Hlwan Paing", was held at the Orchid Hotel in Yangon on May 28, 2014. Bunny Phyoe, Yair Yint Aung, Eaint Chit, Little Zee and Bobby Soxer feature in the album. The promotion event of "Gi Ta Sar So Hlwan Paing" Audio CDs will be held at the Dagon Centre in Yangon on June 8.
Press Launch of Hlwan Paing's "Gita Sar So", Youtube!
Press Launch of Hlwan Paing's "Gita Sar So", Vimeo!
Press Launch of Hlwan Paing's "Gita Sar So", Vimeo!
Original source: Myanmar Celebrity: Gossip, News, Video, Photo, Fashion, Entertainment
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/press-launch-of-hlwan-paings-gita-sar-so/
Myanmar Sexy Model @ Pool
Original source: M y a n m a r H u n k s
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/myanmar-sexy-model-pool/
Quake strikes southwestern China; at least 33 hurt
BEIJING — A moderately strong earthquake in southwestern China has injured 45 people and forced thousands to seek shelter in an area near the border with Myanmar, Chinese authorities said Saturday.
Residents fled buildings during Friday's quake and students evacuated schools that had already been damaged by another quake in the same area of Yunnan province last week.
Eight people were seriously injured, and 184, 678 were moved to more than four dozen temporary shelters, according to a notice Saturday from the Dehong prefectural government in Yunnan.
The quake in Dehong's Yingjiang county was registered at magnitude 6.1 by China's earthquake monitoring agency, but at 5.9 by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Electricity was cut to some areas in the quake zone, but communications were not affected.
While such quakes are capable of causing serious damage, the number of injured was much reduced because authorities had ordered the evacuation of buildings damaged following last week's 5.6 magnitude quake.
More than 1,000 soldiers were helping rescue efforts, and tents and bedding were sent to aid survivors. About 300,000 people live in the area.
A tremor lasting a few seconds was felt in Myitkyina, the capital of Myanmar's northeastern state of Kachin, and in the town of Bhamo, according to people reached there by phone. There were no reports of injuries or damage there.
China's mountainous southwest suffers frequent earthquakes. Last August, a quake in Yunnan killed five people.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/quake-strikes-southwestern-china-at-least-33-hurt-2/
45 hurt in China quake along Myanmar border
A moderately strong earthquake in southwestern China has injured 45 people and forced thousands to seek shelter in an area near the border with Myanmar, The Associated Press reported, citing Chinese authorities.
Residents fled buildings during Friday's quake and students evacuated schools that had already been damaged by another quake in the same area of Yunnan province last week.
Eight people were seriously injured, and 184, 678 were moved to more than four dozen temporary shelters, according to a notice Saturday from the Dehong prefectural government in Yunnan.
The quake in Dehong's Yingjiang county was registered at magnitude 6.1 by China's earthquake monitoring agency, but at 5.9 by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Electricity was cut to some areas in the quake zone, but communications were not affected.
While such quakes are capable of causing serious damage, the number of injured was much reduced because authorities had ordered the evacuation of buildings damaged following last week's 5.6 magnitude quake.
More than 1,000 soldiers were helping rescue efforts, and tents and bedding were sent to aid survivors. About 300,000 people live in the area.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/45-hurt-in-china-quake-along-myanmar-border/
Myanmar: “Build on achievements and reach for democracy”
Myanmar: "Build on achievements and reach for
democracy" – Outgoing UN Special Rapporteur
GENEVA (30 May 2014) – The United
Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in
Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, today calls on the Government
and people of Myanmar to build on the many achievements of
the last three years in laying a solid foundation for a
robust democracy.
Mr. Ojea Quintana completes his
six-year term as the Special Rapporteur on the human rights
situation in Myanmar at the end of this month. His
successor, Ms. Yanghee Lee (Republic of Korea) will take up
the position as of June:
"During my six-year term
as Special Rapporteur, Myanmar has been undergoing an
historic transition which has already significantly expanded
freedoms in the country, helped to consolidate peace and
promises a better human rights future for all.
Throughout
my work, I emphasized on four core human rights elements in
assessing Myanmar's democratic transition: the
establishment of the rule of law and the institution of an
impartial and independent judiciary; constitutional and
legislative reform; reform of the armed forces; and the
progressive release of political prisoners.
Rule
of Law
The release of over 1,100 prisoners of
conscience has been, for me personally, the most welcome
step taken by the Government and I commend President Thein
Sein for his leadership in this regard. I remain concerned
for the remaining political prisoners numbering at least 59,
and hope their release will be expedited too, and that all
those who have served unjust sentences will receive redress
accordingly.
Myanmar is to be commended for the recent
adoption of a law on the establishment of an independent
human rights commission, for the vibrant work of its
Parliament, for initiating police reforms, and for seeking
to ensure better development, health, education and social
protection for its population. But its state institutions in
general remain unaccountable, and the judiciary is not yet
functioning as an independent branch of Government.
In
order for the rule of law to prevail, the laws of the land
must be in line with international human rights standards
and they must apply equally to all persons. There must be
civilian control and oversight over the military. The 2008
Constitution needs to be amended in line with the overall
transition to a democratic system of civilian governance.
Without the rule of law, the process of economic
development will have a corrosive effect on Myanmar society
and its environment, leading to exploitation and the
reinforcement of the position of privileged elites. The
international community, particularly those that engage in
trade and investment with Myanmar, have a tremendous
responsibility.
Democratic Freedoms
Despite the notable widening of space for freedom of
expression and the development of political freedoms, many
laws still remain which do not conform to international
human rights standards.
Such laws if not revised will
continue to be used to stifle freedom of expression and
opinion, and interfere with the people's rights to
peaceful assembly and association. Legislative reform must
be accompanied with better protection for human rights
defenders, an enabling environment for civil society, and a
change of mind-set within all levels of Government, to allow
civil society, political parties and a free media to
flourish beyond current limited freedoms.
The expansion
of freedom of expression and the proscription of hate speech
are complementary. I am deeply concerned about the spread of
incitement of racial and religious hatred, especially from
some religious leaders, which appear to be left unchecked by
the authorities.
This, and proposed legislation that
would put obstacles in the way of interfaith marriages and
religious conversions, can have a chilling effect on a
multi-cultural, pluralist democratic society as well as
being in contravention of international treaty obligations.
This cannot be the model to which Myanmar will want to
aspire as the current ASEAN Chair.
Humanitarian
Access and Rakhine State
No one has yet to be
made accountable for the mob attacks against international
humanitarian actors in Sittwe, Rakhine in late March this
year; and although some organizations have been allowed to
return, the humanitarian situation remains dire especially
for the Muslim communities in Rakhine State which rely the
most on services delivered by international actors.
Local
Rohingya leaders and three INGO humanitarian workers
continue to be in detention, and others face intimidation
and harassment by local groups in the provision of
healthcare to the Muslim communities, worsening their
limited access to healthcare. I have also received reports
of deaths in particular of women and children caused by
preventable, chronic or pregnancy-related conditions which
could have been avoided had adequate and timely medical
services been provided to these communities.
This
situation, as well as the recent denial of
self-identification during the Census process, is reflective
of the wider and systematic discrimination against and
marginalization of the Rohingya community. As I warned in my
last report to the UN Human Rights Council, the pattern of
widespread and systematic human rights violations in Rakhine
State may constitute crimes against humanity as defined
under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
I reiterate my call to the Council to engage the
Government of Myanmar in accounting for these violations
through the establishment of an independent and credible
investigative mechanism.
The Government as well as the
international community, particularly neighbouring member
states and ASEAN, must urgently address the human rights
situation in Rakhine State. To do otherwise would not only
risk local and extremist groups taking complete control over
the situation there, and compromise the entire democratic
transition for Myanmar. It will ultimately mean the
extermination of the Rohingyas.
Kachin State and
Peace Process
I have also received reports
regarding resumed clashes and increased fighting in Kachin
and Shan states. More worryingly, the army has been further
accused of attacking civilians particularly internally
displaced people (IDPs) in southern Kachin State.
The
Government has made commendable progress towards a national
ceasefire accord, but whatever the course of these
negotiations, military and non-state actors need to abide by
international humanitarian and human rights law. Access to
humanitarian aid in Kachin State is also critical.
Securing peace in Myanmar's ethnic border areas is
fundamental to Myanmar's transitional process. The
monitoring of ceasefire agreements would be vital and
addressing the resettlement of IDP and refugee communities
is just one of several challenging issues at stake. For
these issues to be resolved in a sustainable way, the voices
of all parties, especially of women, the youth and minority
groups, must be allowed to be heard in the national process
of peacebuilding and reconciliation.
There also needs to
be transparency in negotiations to allow for entire
communities, and not just their leaders, to benefit from
development projects and profitable business deals, and
ensure that the interests of the communities are at the
heart of such negotiations.
Accountability and
Participation
A truthful account of past human
rights violations is needed in order to inform and solidify
the ongoing process of national reconciliation. A lasting
reconciliation can only be achieved through the fulfillment
of the rights to truth, justice and reparation. Impunity,
which is deeply entrenched in Myanmar institutions, should
be confronted.
Evolving from a state of military rule of
five decades to one of civilian democracy obviously requires
a change in attitude and thinking for all especially the
military. While the civil society enjoys a long history of
activism, the military retains a prevailing role in the life
and institutions of Myanmar.
The energy and enthusiasm of
the younger generation and of women should be fully
developed to help reinvigorate the reform process and ensure
that Myanmar secures a successful transition.
The
international community will be watching closely for the
conduct of free and fair elections in 2015. The upcoming
elections provide a unique opportunity for the military
rulers of the past to allow the people of Myanmar to freely
choose their future leaders and President.
Closure
I hope that my time on this
mandate has helped to improve the human rights situation for
the people in Myanmar, and to keep human rights high on its
reform agenda. I praise the cooperation extended by the
Government of Myanmar to this mandate as well as by other
political and civil society actors. I call on the support of
the international community towards the fledgling democracy
in Myanmar through technical assistance and capacity
development. I particularly encourage the establishment of a
country office by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights with a full mandate.
I hope that through
this mandate I have assisted in elevating the voices of
those who have suffered as well as expressing their needs
and expectations to the United Nations and beyond, and I
wish my successor Ms. Yanghee Lee ever success."
ENDS
© Scoop Media
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/myanmar-build-on-achievements-and-reach-for-democracy/
Trishaw drivers protest 'unnecessary demands' by Prome council
Trishaw drivers pedalled the streets of Prome [Pyay], central Burma, on Thursday to protest a recent municipal council regulation requiring them to install side-rails on the passenger seats of their vehicles.
Thirty trishaw drivers were accompanied by some 50 supporters in the demonstration, which kicked into gear at 8:30 in the morning under the statute of Gen Aung San in the town centre. The ride continued on to the municipal office where trishaw licenses are issued as drivers chanted their objections to the new regulation.
"We are protesting today to demand a more streamlined procedure for gaining trishaw licenses," driver Win Hlaing told a crowd of bystanders.
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"As car owners, you all know how simple it is to extend your vehicle license at the Directorate of Road Administration – all you just need is to bring your license and the car to the license department. However it is not like that at the municipal council where they keep making unnecessary demands, just as they did under the Than Shwe military regime. This has to stop."
As the trishaw drivers made their point, the crowd's demands turned to the desire for an investigation into a 2012 case of forced displacement. In that instance, according to Ponn Ya of civil society organisation Karuna Latmyar (Hands of Compassion), the municipal council rounded up homeless families in Prome, including 30 children, and dumped them outside of town.
"The town's authorities rounded up the homeless children and their parents including a blind old man," Ponn Ya said. They were then taken on a garbage truck to a woodland called Nyaungchedauk, across the river from Prome. There they were left."
The trishaw protest ended at around 11am. No arrests were reported.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/trishaw-drivers-protest-unnecessary-demands-by-prome-council-2/
Trishaw drivers protest ‘unnecessary demands’ by Prome council
Trishaw drivers pedalled the streets of Prome [Pyay], central Burma, on Thursday to protest a recent municipal council regulation requiring them to install side-rails on the passenger seats of their vehicles.
Thirty trishaw drivers were accompanied by some 50 supporters in the demonstration, which kicked into gear at 8:30 in the morning under the statute of Gen Aung San in the town centre. The ride continued on to the municipal office where trishaw licenses are issued as drivers chanted their objections to the new regulation.
"We are protesting today to demand a more streamlined procedure for gaining trishaw licenses," driver Win Hlaing told a crowd of bystanders.
Related Stories
- Mizzima reporter arrested for protesting media suppression
- Kaladan project scheduled for mid-2014 completion
- China pledges, Burma dredges
"As car owners, you all know how simple it is to extend your vehicle license at the Directorate of Road Administration – all you just need is to bring your license and the car to the license department. However it is not like that at the municipal council where they keep making unnecessary demands, just as they did under the Than Shwe military regime. This has to stop."
As the trishaw drivers made their point, the crowd's demands turned to the desire for an investigation into a 2012 case of forced displacement. In that instance, according to Ponn Ya of civil society organisation Karuna Latmyar (Hands of Compassion), the municipal council rounded up homeless families in Prome, including 30 children, and dumped them outside of town.
"The town's authorities rounded up the homeless children and their parents including a blind old man," Ponn Ya said. They were then taken on a garbage truck to a woodland called Nyaungchedauk, across the river from Prome. There they were left."
The trishaw protest ended at around 11am. No arrests were reported.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/trishaw-drivers-protest-unnecessary-demands-by-prome-council/
Focus Online Issue 85 Cover Story - Hsu Myat Noe Oo
Original source: Myanmar Focus Online
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/focus-online-issue-85-cover-story-hsu-myat-noe-oo/
Issue 85 - Guy's Focus - Sithu Win
Original source: Myanmar Focus Online
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/issue-85-guys-focus-sithu-win/
Issue 84 - Interview With Aye Thida
Original source: Myanmar Focus Online
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/issue-84-interview-with-aye-thida/
Issue 84 - Summer Time & Skin Care
Original source: Myanmar Focus Online
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/issue-84-summer-time-skin-care/
New European Residents in Ne Win’s Old Neighborhood of Villains
The sumptuous village on Aye Road 19B is being rented by the EU Ambassador Roland from the family of the late Burmese dictator Ne Win. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
Ady Road, where Burma's late dictator Gen Ne Win once lived, has witnessed ups and downs during the country's history. During his rule, the grand and leafy residences on Rangoon's famous Inya Lake were heavily guarded and soldiers wouldn't allow any visitors in the area.
After Ne Win's fall from power and his death in 2002, the area lost much of its allure, but access remained largely restricted and even today parts are closed off with a stop sign and a police checkpoint. The former strongman's relatives and daughters continue to live there and own several properties on Ady Road.
With the opening up of Burma the once quiet and secluded area has quickly become an upmarket villa neighborhood, as a growing number of international companies, UN agencies, Western governments and embassies rushing into the country are seeking suitable office space and residences. A shortage in quality housing and Burma's expected economic growth has set property and rent prices skyrocketing, and these days Ady Road residences are valued in millions of US dollars.
Last year, at one of the residences in a block of properties owned by Ne Win's relatives (numbers 19 to 30) large-scale renovations began. Burmese workers at the site said they had been instructed to upgrade a house next to the late general's home to international standards.
The new neighbor and renter of the Ne Win family was someone little known in Burma at the time, but important to the government in Naypyidaw: Roland Kobia, a Belgian, who was recently appointed as the European Union's ambassador to Burma. A lawyer by training, his last posting was in Azerbaijan. One of his missions, according to a press briefing, was to advance Burma-EU relations in the coming years and to establish a lasting relationship.
The EU opened a permanent mission in Burma in April 2012, following the relaxation of restrictions against the country and the international community's rapid embrace of President Thein Sein's reformist government.
Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at aungzaw@irrawaddy.org.
The house next to the EU Ambassador's home was where Ne Win received state visitors, held numerous parties and from where he ordered armed forces to clamp down on the 1988 streets protests.
In the late 1950s, then-Burma Army Chief Ne Win and his wife Khin May Than decided to live on Ady Road, an area which had many rich and prominent local and foreign residents. The house he built was made with tiles, furniture and an in-house stereo system imported from Hong Kong since only international quality would do for his wife.
After his 1962 coup, he ordered his feared spy unit to screen all residents and forced the eviction of those not considered loyal to the new regime. When he expelled all foreigners from Burma, Ady Road residents John Sydenham Furnivall (better known in Burma as J.S Furnivall) and G.H. Luce, both British historians, also left.
Only Ne Win's most trusted ministers and aides were ultimately allowed to live there. After his fall from power in 1988, Ne Win continued to live on Ady Road under house arrest until his death in 2002. His favorite daughter Khin Sandar Win and three of his grandsons were put in prison.
All were gradually freed, three of Ne Win's grandsons were released last year, and we can be sure that Burma's former first family still controls much wealth and property—the latter undoubtedly rising in value as a result of Burma's opening up.
The extensive renovations and sumptuous residence of the EU Ambassador Kobia on Ady Road have not gone unnoticed and raised questions among those familiar with the extremely high rent rates in Rangoon.
Some expats and Burmese working with the United Nations and international NGOs have remarked on the costs of renting the lakeside mansion, where monthly rent fees are believed to hover between US$80,000 and $100,000, or more
A foreign journalist familiar with the EU and its growing relations with Burma's reformist government said, "The regulations at the EU headquarters set a cap on rental fees but these had to be rewritten in order to accommodate the cost of the new ambassador's residence [in Rangoon] because it was so high. This was the first time that the EU had done this."
An expat who visited the residence said, "The EU ambassador's house, is beautiful, but I don't think anyone did due diligence on that. I do not even think they can say it was 'under market price."
The xenophobic strongman Ne Win, who expelled all foreigners after his 1962 coup, would surely be baffled to hear that his relatives are renting properties around his old home to foreign diplomats for a million dollar per year.
In the wake of Brussels' embrace of President Thein Sein's government, the European Commission's expanding mission in Burma has also required new office space and the commission has moved into the sixth floor of the Hledan Centre in Rangoon.
Here, the EU also struggled to avoid handing money to influential figures from Burma's dark past, as the center is owned by Asia World, a conglomerate founded with drug money by Lo Hsing Han, an ethnic Kokang Chinese warlord who once controlled one of Southeast Asia's largest heroin trafficking operations.
He passed away in Burma last year and his son Steven Law and Singaporean wife, Cecilia Ng now run Asia World. As one of Burma's largest conglomerates with interests in property, construction, transportation, retail, the company no doubt has very close links to former regime members and current government leaders.
Controversy also surrounded the construction of the center as former landowners complained that they were never given the promised compensation for vacating the 1.5 acre site in 2003. The Myanmar Times reported last that Asia World has still not offered the former owners apartments in the center.
Some foreign NGOs workers told me they were dismayed to learn that the new EC office was in Hledan Centre. One told me, "It's EU tax payer money meant for the Myanmar people and where is the transparency here?"
Related Posts :
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Finding Freedom With a Fake Passport
Shine's Off the Apple as Burma Govt Marks Three Years
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/new-european-residents-in-ne-wins-old-neighborhood-of-villains/
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