Burma’s Maritime University gaining popularity

August 9th, 2010

Kong Janoi, IMNA : Staff members at the Myanmar Maritime University report that increasing numbers of students are applying for the university’s programs, despite the school’s increasingly competitive admission standards.

The Myanmar Maritime University, located in Thanlyin city on the outskirts of Rangoon, is controlled by the Burmese government’s Ministry of Transport. The university was founded in 2002, and according to its official website, aims to produce qualified “Naval Architects, Ocean Engineers, Marine Engineers, Marine Electrical Systems and Electronic Engineers, Port and Habour Engineers, River and Coastal Engineers and Navigation Officers.”

A staff member informed IMNA that seats at the university are given to 450 students, based on their university entrance examination results, an exam that students take at the close of high school. Candidates must apply through the country’s university’s entrance application process, in which they prioritize which courses of study available in Burma they would like to enroll in.

Admittance is not based on test scores alone; the staff member interviewed told IMNA that the university was only opened up to female applicants in 2008, and only 90 students out of a class of 450 individuals are allowed to be women.

The staff member interviewed claimed that women are not believed to have the physical fitness needed for a career in Burma’s maritime industry, and are therefore only admitted to majors related to onshore employment, such as port management. “Generally speaking, women are weak in physicality. So as seaman need to be strong, they [Burma's Ministry of Transport] will not allow females to go to sea and has limited number the of [female] students who can enter the university.”

A Rangoon-based journalist stated that Burma’s maritime industry represents an area where the country needs to strive for gender-equality.

“There are many jobs in shipping that women can do. Besides this is not a relevant reason to say that women are weak because there are many strong women who can do the job better than men. This is not fair for women.”

A mother of two from Rangoon informed IMNA that concern for her daughter’s welfare caused her to prevent her female child from applying to the Maritime University; she says felt no such concern for her son, who is a graduate of the university and who now works in Burma’s shipping industry. This woman claims that the salaries earned by maritime workers far exceed those of most Burmese citizens.

“As you know, there is a lack of job opportunities in our country, when we think which job can earn more, it is only a job as a seaman,” she explained. “As soon as you are on board, you will earn 1,000 USD a month, which is a big amount of money for us. We were very happy when our son sent back money last month.”

This woman also reported that working on different shipping routes earned maritime workers varying salary amounts.

“My son has gone with the “East Way” line which is shipping from Burma to western countries, like France. This line is better. Some shipping lines within Asia, [the workers] can earn less. You have to know this before you choose the line. It is expensive to start getting work on those better paying ships [because bribes are necessary],” she added.

Students who fail to gain admittance to the Maritime University are not totally devoid of options. Under the amendments made to the Myanmar Merchant Shipping Act in 2007, individuals can apply to one of Burma’s many shipping lines for an apprenticeship, after which they may receive a “certificate of competence”.

Piracy crackdown aims to boost Burma’s film and music industries

August 6th, 2010

Kong Janoi, IMNA : Recent police crackdowns on pirated copies of Burmese music and films in the cities of Rangoon and Mandalay are expected to provide an economic boost to Burma’s struggling entertainment industry.

A resident in Burma’s capital city, Rangoon, told IMNA today that the streets of Rangoon are currently completely devoid of vendors selling pirated copies of Burmese films or music. The crackdown is reported to have been in effect since May 2010.

“Before, we could find some pirated copies everywhere, although it was illegal to buy them, because the venders bribed the police to [allow them to] sell them , but now they [venders] cannot bribe the police anymore. The police have even give some money to people who informed them about pirated CDs and DVD [being sold],” she said.

This source reported that the crackdown includes only Burmese films productions. Film vendors selling pirated western and Korean films can still be seen on Rangoon’s streets, yelling for customers.

“The police were paid to crack down on pirated copies of Burmese film and music productions. The other films, like Korean movies and western movies, they are not paid [to confiscate] so who cares?” she said.

Representatives from Burma’s entertainment industry complained to The Irrawaddy newspaper on June 29th, 2007, that widespread piracy of Burmese music and film were driving both industries to the brink of collapse; the Burmese government’s periodic attempts to stifle piracy were deemed too weak to be truly effective.

According to a journalist in Rangoon, the orders for this most recent, and more stringent, attempt to quell piracy were issued by the Burmese government after insistant complains from representatives of the country’s film industry.

“The serious crackdown happened when [film] director Maung Myo Min’s group demanded that the government enforce the laws three month ago. After that they [the police] have arrested many vendors in the cities of Rangoon and Mandalay,” he explained.

The police headquarters in Rangoon were not available for comment.

A travel agent in Rangoon informed IMNA that airports have become the sites of police searches for contraband pirated material, and that her agency is now taking care to warn customers of the situation before they attempt to fly out of the country.

“The airport authorities check everything, and if they see some pirated CDs and DVDs, they will bring travelers to the Special Police. They [the Special Police] will fine them about 10,000 Kyat [US $10] . So to avoid trouble and fines, we recommend our customer buy legitimate one,” she said.

Buying legal DVDs and CDs is an excessive expense for most Rangoon dwellers, IMNA’s first source in Rangoon reports. She claims that legal DVDs and CDs cost around 2,000 kyat [US $2] each, while pirated copies cost as little as 400 kyat [$0.40]. Barring this option, individuals with internet access (including herself, she admits) can always download entertainment for free.

Moulmein University students struggle with internet research

August 5th, 2010

Jaloon Htaw : Students of the natural sciences at Moulmein University, in Mon State, complain that they are ill-equipped to conduct internet research-based projects, which they say are being assigned this year for the very first time in the university’s history.

According to a final year Chemistry major, this is the first school year in which he has been asked to complete projects using internet research. He claimed that he and his fellow natural science majors are struggling for a variety of reasons. Students are not permitted to use university computers, so they must instead pay to use private computer and internet centers; poor power supplies to the city of Moulmein often mean that these centers have little or no internet connection.

The students themselves pose another problem, as very few have any sort of understanding of how to conduct academic internet research, and many have never before used the internet at all.

“When we type the topic of what the teacher gives us [into the internet search engine], there are many kind of headlines [results] that appear. We don’t know what headline we should choose. Some we don’t understand. Sometimes the connection cuts off while we are still making a choice. We never had to do this last year, this is the first time we have had to find something from the internet,” he said.

According to a final year Zoology student, Zoology majors have been asked to complete internet research project on top of their regular schoolwork, which she explained involves hands-on research such as dissection projects. She explained that students are usually placed in groups of 10 for internet projects; such large groups are reportedly necessary due to the small number of internet centers in the city. She and other students were unanimous in their claims that there are only around 10 internet centers in Moulmein city, and nearly 10,000 students at the university.

Professors have reportedly informed their classes that internet projects are in their students’ best interests.

“As for attending school this year, the rules are strict. The professors said that we are finishing school but we don’t have practical experience, so they are forcing the students to do it [conduct internet research],” the Zoology major explained.

According to a former Moulmein University student, professors’ desires to broaden their students’ educational experiences with internet research projects is admirable, but highly impractical due to lack of access and students’ inexperience.

He explained, “The computers and internet at school are only for professor and teacher use. The students are never allowed to use them. Research like that is good for their [the student's] education but there are not enough internet centers and also some students have no experience with using the internet. I heard about students complaining.”

Yephyu Township villagers flee from people’s militia plans

August 3rd, 2010

IMNA : About 100 villagers have fled from Puckpinkwin village in Kaleinaung Sub-Township, in Tenasserim Division’s Yephyu Township, after they were ordered by Burmese military battalions to form a new military-controlled people’s militia.

Villagers still remaining in Puckpinkwin informed IMNA that the refugees fled to both Ye Township and the Thailand-Burma border area after the battalions arrived in the village in mid July of this year.

According to a villager who recently arrived at the Thai-Burma border, Lieutenant-Colonel Zaw Lin and soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 282 and Infantry Battalion (IB) 273 arrived in Puckpinkwin village on July 14th ; both battalions are based in Kaleinaung Sub-Township. The battalions reportedly ordered that all male villagers between the ages of 18 and 50 years old gather in the center of the village; the order also included monks residing in the village. There, the male villagers were required to draw lots to see who among them would make up the 40 men required by the battalions to form the new people’s militia.

“The houses who have no boys, one girl [was sent] to draw lots, if the girl won [as spot in the people's militia], they [the soldiers] took a photo of the girl [as a threat]. If the girl’s husband was not at home [away for work], we needed to call them back home. As for the monks [who drew a spot in the militia], they need to change to be a person [revoke being a monk],” this refugee explained to IMNA.

A villager remaining in Puckpinkwin village, who asked that his age and identity be concealed, told IMNA that after the new militia members were selected, men and their families began to flee from the village, despite how they’d fared in the drawing.

“The villager who won in drawing lots and the villager who did not win, all of them left from the village, now [remaining] in the village are just the old men and girls,” he explained.

This villager told IMNA that the mass exodus of men and their families had caused LIB 282 and IB 273 to abandon their plans of forming a people’s militia. However, this villager claimed that before leaving PuckpinKwin, the battalions forced 10 households situated outside of the village to move into the central community, and gave orders that all individuals desiring to leave the village to work on plantations must for each trip ask permission from the village’s headman, and pay a fee of 200 kyat.

According to this individual, before the Burmese government and the New Mon State Party (NMSP) reached a cease-fire agreement in 1995, PuckpinKwin village contained 500 households. Reportedly, large amounts of NMSP activity in the area incited the Burmese army to torch the village and abuse the villagers in the time just before the cease-fire was established. Large amounts of villagers moved to safer locations, and currently. Puckpinkwin is only 300 households strong.

Woman tells tale of abuse in Rangoon Division

August 2nd, 2010

Kong Janoi, IMNA : A woman taking refuge on the Thai-Burma border claims that she fled her home, after abuse at the hands of that township-level authorities in her village in south Dagon Township, Rangoon Division made life for herself and her family unbearable.

Mya Thein Khine, of Karen and Burmese heritage, told IMNA that local authorities used their political powers to harass , imprison, and fine her husband and brother-in-law; she and her husband fled to the Thai-Burma border three months ago.

Mya Thein Khine explained to IMNA that south Dagon Township’s chairman U Khin Zaw and township secretary U Hla Sein, who were appointed to those positions after Burma’s military government reformed the local administration in 2009, repeatedly accused Mya Thein Khine’s husband, an ethnic Shan man, of being connected to Shan armed groups, simply because the couple had immigrated to Yangon Divison from Shan State looking for new business opportunities.

Mya Thein Khine reported to IMNA that the township authorities’ accusations and abuse were groundless and discriminatory.

“Because my husband is Shan, they [local authorities] accused him of being a Shan rebel group member. We are citizens in this country. We have ID cards. We have the right to move everywhere in the country. We did nothing wrong against the country. They do not have an evidence to prove that he is a Shan armed group member.”

Living in 168 quarter in South Dagon she also informed that her sister’s husband, who lived with the family, was arrested and sent to jail for singing a song that local authorities found offensive.

“He was just singing in the street on the way back home after drinking with his friends. They thought he sang indirectly to them about what they had done to people [human rights abuses]. So they accused him of disrespecting authorities and ordered the police to arrest him. We had to give police 20,000 kyat [20 USD] in order to get his release,” she said.

“It is not much money but for poor people like us, we struggled to get it,” she added.

Although her brother-in-law was released after bribing the police, Mya Thein Khine reported that the case is still ongoing because the local authorities wanted to continue to punish her brother, who is still living in Dagon Township.

“The local authorities are not satisfied with the release of our brother-in-law so they are being overly harsh with him,” she said.

U Aung Myo Thein from The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners informed IMNA that cases like those of Mya Thein Khine’s family are common in Bumra. He reported that local-level authorities have been given increased legal and executive power since the Saffron Revolution.

“People can be arrested for expressing their dissatisfactions in Burma. They will be accused of being rebels. After the authorities give the title to those who complain to them of being ‘rebels’, they can arrest them at any time. There is no further investigation as to whether their accusation is right or wrong. Before, the Military Intelligent Unit and the Police used to investigate the cases and arrest people but after 2007, even pro-junta associations such as Union Solidarity and Development Association can arrest people which is not the correct thing to do. That’s why people may choose to flee from their homes after they feel insecure in their [native] places,” he said.

HIV increasing among Burmese migrant workers, survey claims

July 30th, 2010

Min Taw Lawe, IMNA : According to the Pattanarak Foundation, a Thai non-governmental organization, a recently conducted HIV survey in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province has revealed that 3% of the 300 Burmese migrant workers tested were HIV-positive.

Testing for the survey took place from July 20th to July 26th, amongst 300 Burmese workers in the VITA FOOD Factory in Tahmaka District, Kanchanburi province. Medical professionals that conducted the exam informed IMNA that the survey’s results indicate that HIV is on the rise in Thailand’s Burmese migrant worker population.

“People are lacking in knowledge of HIV prevention education…None of them use condoms when they have sex. That’s why it is easy to spread HIV virus among the migrant workers,” a medic explained.

Sources speculated to IMNA that many Burmese migrant workers are afraid to get tested for HIV, due to cultural prejudices against sex/HIV education. Naw Htoo from Thailand’s Phamit2 program, claimed that survey takers had to rely on the VITA FOOD factory manager to force unwilling workers to participate in the survey; Burmese migrant workers frequently have tenuous legal status and must heed the dictates of their employers.

“We had to negotiate with the factory authorities to test people in the factory, otherwise no one would come and get tested. Only when the authorities said that they would fire the ones who would not come, did people come to get tested,” Naw Htoo explained.

The VITA FOOD factory work force is comprised of 15,000 people, but only 8,100 are Burmese workers with legal Thai work permits. Of these legal workers, 300 Burmese migrant workers were selected for testing. According to medic Saw Abow, five women and four men were confirmed to be HIV-positive; an additional 10 people’s test results were unconfirmed, are still considered at risk for HIV.

He added that the Pattanarak Foundation plans to report the survey’s results to the Thai Health Organization in Kanchanaburi in order to obtain antiretroviral drugs for the HIV-positive patients in the VITA FOODS factory.

According to the Phamit2 project manager, the Pattanarak Foundation plans to initially focus on HIV testing among migrant worker populations, and then move on to testing for syphilis.

Saw Abow reported to IMNA that after conducting testing in three provinces – Ubonrathani, Kanchanaburi, and Kalasin – Pattanarak medics confirmed 11,000 syphilis cases, signaling a serious need for sex/STI- related education in all three regions.

The Pattanarak Foundation, which is run under the Phamit2 program, is supported by Global Fund in its fight against HIV/AIDS and syphilis within disadvantaged populations in Thailand. The foundation is also involved in community development, culture heritage preservation, and environmental conservation.

USDP claims to have “same goals” as Mon political party

July 30th, 2010

Jaloon Htaw : Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) organizer General Ohm Myint has informed audiences that the party shares the same democratic goals as the All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMRDP), the only all-Mon political party campaigning in the 2010 elections.

According to witnesses, the statement was made during the first week of July, when General Ohm Myint traveled from Naypyidow to Mudon town to spearhead the party’s ongoing political campaign in the Mudon Township; the General used the allegation of being “the same” as the AMRDP to defend the USDP’s ongoing campaign to register 50 new members from each village in Mon State.

“We are the same like the Mon Party [in goals for democracy]. So you can vote for our party. We will take only 50 people from each village. After that [the rest] can vote for the Mon party,” a member of the USDP in Mudon town quoted Ohm Myint as saying.

The USDP is the official Burmese government-backed political party running in the 2010 elections. According to the Burmese section of the British Broadcasting Corporation on July 6th, the party replaced the former Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a civilian-based social organizing program that was disbanded in early July.

This USDP member informed IMNA that General Ohm Myint traveled from Naypyidow to Mon State in early July, after the USDP’s campaign in Mudon Township proved to be largely unsuccessful.

“When we organized [for the elections], no one was interested. Now that General Ohm Myint has come to organize [the people], we have gotten successful,” he added.

According to this source, the General’s success has been demonstrated by the implementation of a new USDP recruiting program in every village in Mudon Township; in each Mudon village, 5 individuals have been appointed as USDP village leaders, and charged with the task of each recruiting 10 individuals for the party. This is intended to supplement the party’s original recruiting method in Mon State, which involved ordering village headmen themselves to recruit 50 USDP members from their fellow villagers. Village headmen reported in IMNA’s July 8th article that they were struggling to gain interest from community members.

The General’s new recruitment system and ongoing “pro-democracy” campaign is, according to UDSP insiders, expected to be extended throughout Mon State and Mon-controlled areas, competing with other political groups that are already working in the region, including the AMRDP and the Union Development Party (UDP), which plans to campaign in Tenasserim Division.

Phyo Min Thein, chairman of the UDP, complained to IMNA this week that the conversion of the former USDA into the USDP has already left the latter with an unfair boost of finances and government support, making the group’s basis and goals wholly undemocratic:

“We [in Burma] have about 40 political parties. No one gets rights like the USDP. I think, the USDP should not use a power over democracy parties and other political parties. After changing from the USDA to the USDP, now they [the USDP] are using the USDA’s finances. They are not obeying the rules. We are saving up what they are doing [that is] unjust, and will report it to the Election Commission”.

VPDC chairmen reluctant to collect student distinction taxes

July 28th, 2010

Hong Dein, IMNA : Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) chairmen around Mon State complain that they are uncomfortable taxing village residents for funds that are awarded to Mon State high school graduates who have gained distinction on their 10-standard exams in 2010.

VPDC chairmen in Mudon Township reported to IMNA field reporters that the Burmese military regime has ordered Township authorities to each collect 4 million kyat to fund awards given to honored students. Mon State contains 10 townships and two sub-townships; VPDC chairman have been ordered to collect award taxes from villager residents and submit the funds to township authorities by today, July 28th.

A VPDC chairman from Mudon township explained, “Each township has to pay 4 million kyat to Mon State authorities for awards for the high school students”. He claimed that villages in Mudon Township were expected to submit between 80,000 and 100,000 kyat per village to township authorities.

VPDC chairmen around Mudon Township informed an IMNA field reporter that they were forced to collect the distinction taxes from citizens in their villages –between 2,000 and 3,000 kyat per household –despite the fact that they were reluctant to do so.

The Mudon Township VPDC chairman quoted above explained that he and his fellow chairmen felt embarrassed about collecting the distinction taxes from village residents because villagers are already required to submit funds for a wide variety of purposes. These include funds used to support security patrols for the Kanbauk – Myaingkalay gas pipeline that runs through Mon State, forced labour costs, and village militia taxes.

“We have a feeling of discomfort about collecting money frequently from villagers”, this chairman explained.

According to a high school teacher from Thanbyzaryat Township, a visit from Southeast Command (SEC) Commander Thet Naing Win is expected near the end of July, the same time of year when he visited Mon State high schools in 2009. Thet Naing Win will distribute prizes to students who gained distinction in four or more of their subject exams. This teacher reported that in the year 2010, four students passed with six distinctions (otherwise known as full distinction), thirty-seven students passed with five distinctions, and 141 students passed with four distinctions. Schools in which over 50 percent of exam takers passed all of their exam will be, as in previous years, also be awarded a prize of 1 million kyat.

Mon party’s campaign dogged by government surveillance

July 28th, 2010

Kong Janoi, IMNA : Representatives from the All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMRDP) are finding that Burmese government surveillance measures are stifling their campaign activities.

According to IMNA field reporters, AMRDP leading organizers Nai Nwe Soe and Nai Baya Aung Moe are being closely monitored by a regional Military Intelligence Unit this week during their campaign in Myiek Township, Tenasserim Division. Witnesses from around Mon State report that that all AMRDP representatives have been followed by the Military Intelligence office in every Township they visit during their campaign, which began in late June.

The party has reportedly been troubled by the Burmese Election Commission’s requirement that all campaign activities be reported to the Commission in advance.

“Last week, when they [AMRDP campaigners] were organizing people in Mudon town, they faced a problem with authorities because they [the AMRDP] informed the [Election] Commission that they would give a speech with two people. In the campaign meeting, when the audience asked a question of their party, one of their members, whose name had not been given to the authorities, talked to the public, so the authorities gave a warning to their party,” a Mudon town witness reported.

“I would like to ask them why pro-junta party like Union Solidarity and Development and Ethnic Unity Party is free to do anything without any restriction from the government,” he added.

Despite pressure from Burma’s military regime, Nai Ngwe Thein, the leader of the AMRDP, believes that the party will ultimately be successful in gaining votes in Mon State.

“We will definitely win the [parliamentary] seat in Mon State if there are free and fair elections, because as far as we know, many people don’t like the pro-junta party. People will only vote to pro-junta party if they feel a threat [from the Burmese government]. We have to explain our people not to afraid to vote to our party,” he explained to IMNA’s field reporters in an interview this month.

According to IMNA field reporters observe situation in Mon State, many people are increasingly enthusiastic about casting their votes in favor of the AMRDP.

Nai Tun, a resident of Mudon Township, said, “Although we see this election is not fair, when the Mon party will come up for elections in our region, we will vote for them because our votes will go only for the Mon Party which we believe will care for our people.”

A political observer from Rangoon named Nai Htaw Mon explained to IMNA that even one member of the AMRDP in Burma’s parliament will likely increase the Mon people’s cultural rights.

“If we look at the Mon culture and literature aspect, it will be freer to learn and teach after the election [if even one AMRDP member is elected]. Politically speaking, if the Mon Party will properly get elected at last, with ten members, what they can do is be a voice in parliament with that amount of people.”

The AMRDP was formed in April 2010; the group is currently the only Mon political group campaigning in Mon State and Mon-controlled areas in the 2010 Burmese elections.

New Mon political party registers more than 1,000 members

July 27th, 2010

AMRDP committee member Dr. Min Nwe Soe addresses an audience in Moulmein during the party’s election campaign

IMNA, Rai Maraoh : The All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP) claims that the party has thus far managed to formally register 1,400 members during its recent campaign, despite the restrictions imposed by the Burmese government’s Election Commission.

Before the AMRDP began actively campaigning in late July 2010, the party was forced to submit its official symbols and committee roster before to the Commission for approval, pay large fees for registering representatives, and notify the Commission of its campaign’s commencement a week ahead of time. Despite these obstacles, party representatives boasted to IMNA last week that their election campaign has been both highly successful and entirely legal.

“We have not broken the Election Commission’s announcements [rules], but we can still campaign very well. We are doing it [campaigning] the legal way, so there is no need [for us to be] scared. We [the party] get satisfaction from [registering] our Mon people, and we are successful,” said AMRPD chairman Nai Nwe Thein, also known as Nai Janu.

Nai Nwe Thein also explained that that the party had, since it’s campaign’s commencement in June, formally registered more than 1,000 members from Ye Township, Thanphyuzayart Township, Mudon Township, and Karen State. The party is also currently conducting campaigns in Moulmein city and Tenasserim Divison; a future campaign in Paung Township is planned.

He informed IMNA that by the second week of July 2010 the party had sent in a list of 1,400 officially-registered AMRDP members, along with the names of the party’s Central Executive committee (CEC) members, to the Election Commission in Naypyidaw.

“[Many] Mon people do not know which party they will vote for and how to vote in an election. Some of them do not know anything about the political [situation], and they do not know about our party, but now they will know that they have party to vote for [the AMRDP], as a result of our party’s campaign,” Nai Nwe Thein stated.

He added that many of the Mon people AMRDP members had spoken with indicated that they were fearful that registering with the party would lead to harassment from Burmese authorities. Nai Nwe Thein informed IMNA that in order to curb such fears, party members have begun explaining the AMRDP’s strict observance of Election Commission’s rules to their audiences, and that the Mon people need have no fear about registering as AMRDP members.

The AMRDP was founded on April 7th, 2010, and was formed around a 5 member “breakaway faction” from the original 15 member Mon “Working Committee”. The party’s official goals include representing Mon people in all areas of Burma, as well as all ethnic groups living in Mon -controlled regions of the country.

UNICEF notebook donations fall flat as supplies are sold to students

July 20th, 2010

Hong Dein : Teachers from Burmese government controlled primary schools in Mudon Township, Mon State, have sold study books donated by UNICEF to primary school students, according to parents.

A primary school in Mudon town which had been given notebooks bearing UNICEF logos, charged students for the books, which had been initially donated by the international aid agency for distribution to students for free. When parents went to enroll their children in school they ended up having to pay 5,000 kyat for the notebooks and 5,000 kyat each for the curriculum cost, according to Mi Hla Ngwe, the parent of 3rd grade student.

Mi Hla Ngwe explained, “My children only got a book this year from school. Last year they got bags [for carrying books] and note books from school.”

The UNICEF notebooks and bags that had been donated and then distributed to students, had been free with not cost to enrolling families.

But the request for payment from students families for the donated supplies isn’t the only surprising cost. Families must pay for all their enrolment and curriculum costs despite announcements in the government newspaper, the New Light of Myanmar, that this year enrolment in primary schools would be free.

According to the Mudon primary school headmistress, while the Burmese government announced free primary school enrolment, the government has not given the schools extra money to cover their expenses without enrolment costs. As a result teachers have had to collect money from the students to cover the expenses for the school.

“The government just gave [us] the amount they wanted to for building a school. The school and the village parent association were paid on with the surplus money from the [completed] building,” a primary school teacher said. Once that money runs out it appears the school will have no funding.

The UNICEF program, which was first implemented in 2008, is still relatively small, operating in only 9 townships in different states and divisions throughout Burma. The program includes trainings for teachers in the use of school equipments, in addition to the donation of bags and notebooks. One primary school teacher who had attended the UNICEF training said, “Last year primary schools in [our] township got bags and books from UNICEF. But not this year.”

The decision to charge students for items donated for free distribution highlights the larger problem of underfunding that Burma’s schools notoriously face. With little support funding, schools must charge students and families anyway they can to keep functioning at a minimum level.

The teacher who received the training reported that the students at her school have become very difficult to control and that teaching is not easy due to her extreme class size of over 40 students. In addition teaching is difficult as the classes are very close together and noisy.

Students’ parents in Kalorthot village in Mudon Township have also reported having to pay high costs for middle and high school level courses. These include enrollment fees and traveling cost for both students and teachers who have to come to school from far way. The current enrollment fee for a middle school student is about 15,000 kyat and for a high school student it’s about 20,000 kyat. The traveling cost for a student is about 40,000 kyat per month. In addition for teachers, the village parent association and teachers collect money from students’ parents for each teacher traveling long distances to the school.

The headmistress added, “due to all students passing through the system [without good grades or understanding] the students will face trouble when they get to higher grades.” In some cases as a result of the under funded and over run system, some students end up dropping out before the completion of the academic year.

As a result, parents end up having to compensate for the lack of a working classroom by paying additional costs for private tutors if they want children to understand the lessons.

As noted by the MSF’s report on the “Top 10 Humanitarian Crisis of 2008”, only a quarter of children in Burma end up completing primary school.

Increased fighting stymies Thanphyuzayart to Three Pagoda Pass trade routes

July 15th, 2010

The Thai/ Burma trade checkpoint for Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) is seen in April, 2010

Jaloon Htaw : Traders in Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) Township have shut down their trade routes after increased fighting between the Burmese army and insurgent Karen forces have made the road between TPP and Thanphyuzayart too dangerous to travel.

According to traders, the presence of Burmese army coastline command Light Infantry Battalion No. 409 and the Karen National Union’s (KNU) Battalion’s No. 16 and No. 17 has caused significant fighting along the route between Three Pagoda Pass town to Thanphyuzayart Town.

This route is the only road between TPP town and Thanphyuzayart. It is the primary trade route for traders brining Thai products form the border to Thanphyuzayart, and basic foodstuffs back to community’s living on the border.

Beginning in the last week of June to the present, traders have decided against taking the risk of traveling the route after KNU and Burmese army forces engaged each other on at least 4 occasions.

According to a source close to the KNU, on June 10th, 3 brief skirmishes with Burmese forces occurred. More recently on July 11th, at around 3 pm near Aplone village, TPP Township, KNU forces ambushed a Burmese unit and the Lieutenant commanding the unit was killed. Over the last two months the frequent clashes have lead to the deaths of over 30 Burmese soldiers.

“If they are always fighting, we don’t have security to travel this route. If they are still fighting at that time we try to travel, we will face danger,” said one merchant who trades groceries form TPP to Thanphyuzayart. “Then if they stop our car, it is takes a long time to arrive at the border.”

While valuing their safety, traders who have decided against traveling the route have begun to feel the economic impact.

The grocery trader in TPP town invested over 100,000 baht into his grocery store. On an average day when traders normally make the trip, he will turn a profit of 3,000 to 4,000 baht. However since traders have stopped traveling to Thanphyuzayart, where he normally buys his goods from a warehouse, he has not been able to restock his store. As a result his family has been living off of the money they had saved for their business.

“Because we can’t trade, I have no income,” the grocery trader told IMNA. “We’ve stopped our regular jobs. Now we have to use the money for re-investing [to survive], since we don’t have any profit.”

For regular citizens this absence of trade has also had a negative impact. As products become more scare, villagers dependent on goods coming from Thanphyuzayart or from TPP village, will have to contend with increased prices.

“If we cannot trade our goods, [those people] who need our goods will meet with problems,” explained one trader. “Also the prices of the goods will increase. If we can’t cross this way [soon], we will have to find another way [to trade]. We’ll have to look at the situation [as it progresses].”

Most of the manufactured goods that are useful every day throughout Burma are imported from just over the border in Thailand; Most of the home and food products often used, including rice, oil, onions, etc. are exported to the border areas, from within Burma.

The trader added, “In TPP, the population is estimated to be 50,000 just in town and almost 100,000 are in the Township – [all] using the goods imported to TPP.”

According to a political observer based out of TPP, the, Burmese army and KNU will continue fighting frequently throughout 2010. He told IMNA that he believes the Burmese army now has an even greater interest in wiping KNU forces out of the area.

“Burma’s authorities will destroy those who will make a conflict in the election period. They will likely fight like that again and the traders will continue to meet [these] problems.”

Nai Kao Rot a retired member of the NMSP, told IMNA that the KNU want to disrupt the Burmese efforts to hold the 2010 election. He added that one way they appear to be attempting this is by asserting that they still control their territory, and can engage the Burmese military presence.

NMSP volunteer soldiers seized by Burmese army, forced portering suspected

July 14th, 2010

Photo Caption- Two Burmese soldiers oversee a civilian who is being used as a porter for the SPDC in Mon State

Jury Chai : In an unprecedented move, Burmese solders have apparently arrested members of the largest Mon ceasefire group to work as either guides or porters as the Burmese unit operates in the area.

On July 12th, soldiers from the Burmese soldiers from the Costal Regional Command Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 409 where conducting security operations around Three Pagoda Pass(TPP) Township, Karen State, and arrested three New Mon State Party (NMSP) volunteer soldiers while they worked at their plantation and took them to apparently use as porters.

The NMSP volunteer soldiers were seized around 7 am according to a villager who witnessed the interaction from a distance. The 3 NMSP members were not in their Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) uniforms at the time of the arrests.

The arrest of NMSP members for forced portering is an unprecedented move by Burmese military forces, as it appears to directly violate the terms of the ceasefire decided on between the NMSP and Burmese State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in 1995.

This apparent violation of ceasefire terms comes after the NMSP rejection of the SPDC border guard force proposal led the SPDC South East Command (SEC) to nearly abolish the ceasefire agreement in April. However the Burmese military backpedaled from harsher wording after the statement of a return to a “pre-ceasefire relationship” by Lt. Gen. Ye Myint prompted an exodus of NMSP families and supporters to the Thai Burma border.

“The soldiers arrested them on July 12th, and the soldiers have not allow them [to go free] yet,” said a source close to the NMSP. “We are still investigating.”

The NMSP volunteer soldiers who were arrested by the LIB No. 409 soldiers are Chan Lwin, Kyout Karaiand and Ye Aung. All three are from Jaw Kha Broud village, TPP Township.

LIB No. 409 which is led by battalion commander colonel Kyaw Soe Lwin is temporarily based in Chaung Zone village, TPP Township.

According to a source close to Chan Lwin’s family, ”They [NMSP volunteer soldiers] were arrested by Burmese soldiers when they went to the plantation south of Ma Papran village near Chaung Zone.”

The three soldiers are between 20 and 30 years old, and are already married. Two are ethnically Mon and one is ethnically Tavoyan.

“Now we have given the information to all of the NMSPs offices and check points [in TPP Township],” said an NMSP officer.

After the Burmese soldier’s arrested the NMSP members apparently for portering, the NMSP reported the arrests to Burmese Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 32 base in TPP town. IB No. 32 responded to party officials saying they would solve this problem, a NMSP officer based in TPP told IMNA.

The tactical commander of LIB No. 409 is slated to arrive in the TPP area later this July. As a result soldiers from LIB No. 409 have been ordered, beginning last week, to ensure security for the duration of the tactical commander’s stay in the area.

Other villagers have reported that local civilians have also been arrested in addition, to be used as porters. One political observer in the area speculated that the 3 NMSP volunteer soldiers have been taken as guides through the jungle by LIB No. 409.

Officials are worried that the arrested NMSP will face abuses that are reportedly common when villagers are forced to porter for the Burmese army.

The NMSP officer added, “I am worried but I can’t say anything, because we haven’t found them yet.”

Massage shop owner murdered on Thai-Burma border

July 13th, 2010

Although Thailand-Burma border is close, massage and brothel businesses in Three Pagoda Pass town is in operation

IMNA : A massage and restaurant owner who ran his business along the Thai-Burma border was killed near Boe Pow Yeik Tha last night, according to the witness.

He owner of the massage and restaurant facility, Saw Than Aung, 38, was a member of the Karen ceasefire group the Karen Peace Council (KPC). IMNA has learned, that in addition Saw Than Aung had previously been a member of the Karen Peace Force (KPF).

Both the KPC and KPF are pro government Karen ceasefire groups that split from the Karen National Union’s (KNU) armed wing in 2007 and 1997 respectively. The KPF and KPC are not militarily engaged with each other.

According to a witness, people found the body near an older persons retirement home in quarter No. 4, Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) Township. The mouth and neck were bound with copper wire rope, the face and head had been hacked at by a knife and the body then put in a hammock.

Saw Than Aung has been missing since 9 pm last night after left to go back home from his massage shop, but didn’t arrived home by dawn, said a source that had been close to him.

The witness who found the body informed the local Burmese authorities after which it was sent to the mortuary. An investigation by police has not yet been started.

The source close to Saw Than Aung, told IMNA that Saw Than Aung also used to sell amphetamines when he was with the KPF. It is not clear when Saw Than Aung shifted his allegiance from the KPF to the KPC.

His massage shop had been open about 3 years. Only two massage shops with restaurants are open in TPP Town.

Thai drug arrest seizes 10,100 amphetamine pills near Sangkhalaburi, Thailand

July 12th, 2010

IMNA : Thai authorities have made the largest drug bust in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand this year. The arrest came after a week of heightened security and manning checkpoints for 24 hrs a day.

On July 9th, Thai authorities reported seizing nearly 10,100 amphetamine pills that were being smuggled from Burma to Thailand, and arrested the carrier Friday morning near Sangkhalaburi, Thailand.

A source close to Thai authorities said, “according to [their] investigation he is the only carrier [involved in this bust] and that it is his second time [smuggling drugs over the border]. He is a member of a group that smuggles drugs.” After the arrest the smuggler was sent to a Police station in Kanchanaburi Province for booking.

The accused, Nai Mix, an ethnic Karen, is from Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) Township, Karen State, near the Thai/Burma border and possessed a fake Thai ID card.

The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) noted in their 2008 report, Protecting their rice pots the frequently with which TPP is used as a portal for drug smuggling as well as other illegal trade.

One Thai official announced, “The defendant said he accepted about 65,000 baht for carrying [pills] at one time”. He was arrested while carrying the amphetamines in his motorbike,.

Nai Mix was arrested on the way to Kanchanaburi Province carrying the amphetamine pills in his motorbike, a Wave 100 (N0- 514), after acting noticeably strange when being routinely stopped at the check point near Lantee Chaung (Lantee river). Thai Immigration police, army, and people’s militia had been manning the checkpoint 24 hours a day.

The current arrest and seizer of pills is the largest of its kind in Sangkhalaburi this year.

The Thai/Burma border is well known to be a broad route thorough which a wide variety of drugs pass into more economically stable Thailand. Earlier this year on May 9th, IMNA reported on the instance in which 10 members of the pro-junta ceasefire group, Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), were arrested with 90,000 amphetamine pills smuggled from the border town of Mae Sot to Bangkok.

Thai authorities have assumed that seized amphetamine was coming from the Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) area and believe the 10,100 pills to be connected with, as they described a, “Karen peace group”.

The arrests come only shortly after the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted in their latest world drug report a massive increase in amphetamine production in northern Burma.

Houses in Mudon Town Fumigated

July 9th, 2010

The rain in Mudon. Rain season attached with growth of mosquitoes and health problems – dengue and malaria in Mon State

Jury Chai :For the first time the Health Department is fumigating mosquito ridden houses in Mudon Town, Mon State.

Residents, who want their houses’ fumigated, have to pay and register their addresses with the Mudon Health Department. According to residents, the standard price for fumigation is 100,000 kyat; households that want additional spraying reported paying close to 200,000 kyat.

“I can only afford to have my house sprayed, I can’t pay for the whole quarter,” said a Mudon resident, who had her house fumigated. “I had to pay the Health Department about 100,000 kyat, and they sprayed around my house, but they didn’t spray any of the other houses.” Mudon Town is divided into eight quarters and estimated to have 15,000 households.

According to IMNA field reporters, residents that can afford to have their houses fumigated are doing so because of the growing number of Malaria and Dengue Hemorrhagic fever cases in Mudon town. These diseases are spread by Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes that tend to feed during the day time. For many Mudon residents however, fumigation is not affordable.

“I can’t spend 100,000 kyat, I don’t want [them] to spray mosquito repellent in my home because I have no money,” said a resident who could not afford to have her house fumigated. “Many houses in Mudon town have paid for the fumigation. Homes that can’t pay, can’t get the mosquito repellent spray.”

The Mudon Health Department started fumigating houses in June, around the same time as the Dengue Hemorrhagic fever outbreak peaked. As mentioned in previous IMNA articles, hospitals in Mon State have been unable to properly address and contain the outbreak.

The Mudon resident added, “Every rainy season someone from the Mudon Health Department checks every house in every quarter [for mosquitoes], but this year they did not come and check.”

In past years, the Health Department staff checked every house in Mon State for mosquito larvas in free standing bodies of water and other residential areas. This year the Health Department substituted checking households with fumigation, however since the fumigation is limited to prepaid individual households, villagers are concerned the mosquito infestation and disease outbreak are unlikely to be contained.

Pro-government ceasefire groups slide by license crackdown

July 8th, 2010

Asah : Although the government announced that they will arrest drivers without legal licenses, and confiscate the vehicles, pro-government ceasefire groups and police continue to trade products from Myawaddy with out restriction.

At the end of June the Burmese State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) announced a campaign to crack down on illegal drivers. However IMNA has found that in the border trade town of Myawaddy the Burmese secret police (SP) and pro government ceasefire groups of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Karen Peace Force (KPF) all continue to operate unlicensed trade trucks.

Most of the normally 500 four wheels trucks, which run the routes from Hpa-an to Myawaddy or Moulmein to Myawaddy, have no licenses. However since the crackdown, a little over 100 hundred trucks now run the route.

One truck owner who is close to a member of the KPF, but has since had to return to Hpa-an due to his lack of a licenses, said “After we heard the news about them arresting the cars which has no licenses in June, just the DKBA, KPF, SP’s trucks run.”

“I had to stop running my truck because I’m afraid [of being] arrested,” added the truck driver from Hpa-an. “That is why I had to sleep two nights in Myawaddy. It is very bad for people who have accesses to truck organizations [unions]. Some of the organization’s trucks have to [make the] run and avoid [the authorities].”

As a result of fewer trucks now making the trips to Myawaddy, truck drivers with licenses are cashing in.

From Hpa-an to Myawaddy truck owners – those with legal licenses as well as SP, DKBA, and KPF drivers – are asking for increased fare prices by 2X, according to one of traveler.

He explained, “[Before] we had to pay 5,000 kyat for the Hpa-an to Myawaddy [route] but now we have to pay 10,000 for one person…It is beneficial for traders in trading goods.”

A trader who trades commodities from Myawaddy to Hpa-an told IMNA, “As they still are arresting and checking, we are afraid to trade goods. Many of merchants have to stop because of the situation. Then we heard that special police from Nay Pyi Daw had arrived in Myawaddy.”

However many traders, rather then face the prospect of arrest and confiscation of truck and goods, instead have opted to sell their products to local shops and dealers in Myawaddy, or store their goods until the security crack down on licenses passes.

Headmen pressured to handpick for USDP membership

July 6th, 2010

Jaloon Htaw : Contrary to election laws laid out by Burma’s 2010 election commission, the new government backed political party is pressuring village headmen in Mon State to gather up to 50 residents from each village to join their party.

Last week members of the military government political party, the Union Solidarity Development Party, (USDP) visited village headman from Mudon Township, requesting that they organize 40 to 50 villagers in each village in Mudon township, Mon State, to join their party.

The 2010 election commission which initially announce laws surrounding the election has required all currently registered parties to have recruited 1,000 members within 90 days of the party’s initial registration. Failure to do so will result in the parties deregistration and abolition.

“How can I organize more villagers like this?” a Mudon Township headman said. “The villagers don’t want to join. No one is interested that party.”

The USDP has already made requests to village headman for securing villager support. According to one resident, in the last week of May the USDP asked the village headman to gather 2 people from with in the community member to join the party’s election committee. Later during the first week of June the USDP asked for just 2 members to join the party.

However, for the USDP, which shares subtle connections to the notorious government run civilian community group the Union Solidarity Development Association, the new membership demands seem to indicate the USDP will ostensibly be required to meet the election commission deadline.

“Every village has USDA members. But the villagers aren’t interested in joining the USDP party,” explained the Mudon resident. “So the headman chooses who is close to the headman in the village and who has power in the village for joining as a member with the USDP.”

According to the villager form Kamarwat village, MudonTownship, the village headman has been told he must organize 50 villagers for the USDP.

A local political observer based in Mudon town, told IMNA that he estimated only 25% of the community would be interested in joining the USDP from Mudon township, impart due to a vigorous campaign by the USDA to win villager support for the government by distributing GSM phones to its members previously this year.

The political observer, who is ethnically Mon, added, “I’m not interested in the USDP, and other [Mon] imitation party’s. Now we only think for the Mon party to get more votes and for [them to] win in the election. So we will join the Mon party.”

USDP efforts to organize spread beyond Mudon Township, according to a resident from Chaungzone Township. He stated that with in his community the village headmen had been told to organize 20 to 50 villagers for the USDP.

A university student from Chaungzone who is close to USDA members explained, “They [USDP] came to the village headmen. And the headmen is still organizing now…[but] the villagers don’t want to join.”

Speaking to IMNA about the USDP tactics, Phyo Min Thein, chairman of the Union Development Party (UDP) commented that the party was apparently using the power of current government’s administration to organize support amongst members of the ethic minority groups.

In contrast, the UDP says it will organize in Mandalay, Sagine, Magwe, Tenasserim and Irrawaddy divisions, but faces restrictions after the recently announced election commission No. 2/2010 law that requires party gatherings to give the election commission 1 weeks notice, and also bans slogans and chanting.

Phyo Min Thein added, “All political groups should organize under the rules of election. The USDP should not [be able to] organize like that. It is not allowed by the election rules.”

Lower water reveals historic pagodas and potential concerns in dam safety

July 5th, 2010

The origonal Three Pagodas are seen at an unknown date prior to their flooding by the Vajiralongkorn reservoir

Akka : Three ancient pagodas rise up from now dry land which, only a few months ago, was submerged below river waters. Sangkhlaburi, along with other lakeside communities popular with tourists, have been experiencing dramatic decreases in its water levels.

Villagers have reported to IMNA that they do not remember ever being able to see the ancient Pagoda.

However due to low water level, researchers and tourists from all over Thailand have been coming to see the historical Pagoda. The amount of interest being generated for this site from researchers and tourists has been further raised due to the Government’s recent initiative to promote Thailand’s pagodas.

The Three Pagodas were made by Mon people over 400 years ago. Many Mon fled to Thailand during this time because the Mon Kingdom was defeated by the Burmese army in1594. The Three Pagodas mark what used to be the border with Burma.Once arriving in Thailand the Mon built several pagodas, such as this one, the pagoda was built as a tribute to peace and ending conflict.

The remains of the Three Pagodas are seen rising up out of the water as the Vajiralongkorn reservoir empties

Despite the pagoda’s historical significance, in 1984 the Thai Government completed the construction of a hydroelectric dam based in Thom Pha Phum to serve Kanchanaburi District. As a result the water flooded the old town of Songkhalaburi and the Three Pagodas.

The Dam, first named the Khao Laem Dam, and later renamed to Vajiralongkorn Dam, powers three 100MW hydroelectric turbines, powering Kanchanaburi province. Additionally, according to EGAT the dam controls seasonal flooding and provides irrigation water for farmers.

The reservoir is fed by three rivers, the Sangkhlaburi, BeKey and Landdi. While water levels typically drop during hot season, Thailand is suffering from a significant drought that has emptied the lake into area irrigation ditches. According to Thai news sources, twenty-seven of the dams in Thailand have experienced nearly fifty percent water evaporation.

However some area residents also suspect the unseasonably low water level is due to the formation of a crack near the Vajalonkorn dam in Tong Pa Pume after a minor earthquake in 2006. The dam, which is situated over a fault line, has been considered a high-risk area for earthquake damage, according to the Thai newspaper The Nation.

Residents in Tong Pa Pume have reported that the dam has been opening all three of its run off gates in the evenings, and traffic towards the dam face is restricted.

Despite the attraction of the previously submerged pagodas, residents have reported some negative impacts including the cleanliness of drinking water and more frequent disruption of electricity. For reservoir side villages, a continued drop in water levels could impact local economy including, tourism, trade, and fishing.

Nai Chit Nge, who has lived in a houseboat on reservoir for over twenty five years, reported to IMNA that “We have been lived here for a long time. The water was at 226 inches at this time last year, while it is at 108 inches now.”

Kawthaung Temporary Passport Office to move to Ranoung

July 2nd, 2010

BY Akka : The Temporary Passport Office for migrant workers in Kwathaung is moving to Ranoung starting on 1 July 2010.

From 1 July through to 30 September, the temporary passport office will be moved after an agreement was reached between the Thai and Burmese governments.

According to one of public service personnel at Ranoung, the office is being moved because it is much safer and more convenient for Burmese migrant workers in Thailand without ID cards.

“Now that the office has moved here, it is much easier and cheaper for migrant workers to obtain temporary passports, which mean that they don’t need to worry about being arrested.”

She explained that 15 public service police from Burma had already arrived at Ranoung and also over 100 migrants workers have received passports, so as of this week operations are proceeding smoothly.

On an average day at the passport office in Kawthaung, around 400 migrant workers were issued with temporary passports. At the office in Ranoung thanks to a large wide office, around 1000 migrants can be issued with passports in a day, according to one of traveler service.

There are 14 Service Companies in Thailand that assist Burmese migrant workers who want to obtain a temporary passport.

A temporary passport holder can legally go to the whole of Thailand and Burma. Additionally, they hold the same rights as Thai citizens, such as health support, and in the case of violence, the right to make a report to the Human Rights Department.

Although the Thai government initially gave migrant workers without temporary passports until 28 February 2010 to obtain one, they have extended that deadline until 28 February 2012.

There are three temporary passport offices on Thai-Burma border. Ranoung, Myawaddy and Tachileik have all been assigned different registration codes as of 26 May 2010.

Burma Labour Solidarity Organization estimates that there are 2 million illegal and legal Burmese migrant workers in Thailand.