READERS’ FRONT
RUMORS SPREAD ON MON SURRENDER
COVERING THEIR TRACKS: SPDC HIDES CARS
WORLD HITS ON KAOWAO
REMITTANCES: A TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT
SHAN STATE ARMIES MERGE TO FIGHT MILITARY
GOVERNMENT
FORMING THE UNION WITHOUT THE MYANMAR /
BURMAN
SURRENDER OR FIGHT: DKBA FACE DILEMMA
THAI GOV’T URGED TO REVIEW BAN ON BURMA’S
TIMBER
FREE AND INDEPENDENT BURMESE TV LAUNCHED
READERS’ FRONT
Dear Readers,
We invite comments
and suggestions on improvements to Kaowao newsletter. With your help,
we hope that Kaowao News will continue to grow to serve better the
needs of those seeking social justice in Burma. And we hope that it
will become an important forum for discussion and debate and help
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Regards,
Editor
RUMORS SPREAD ON MON SURRENDER
(Kaowao: May 25,
2005)
The New Mon State
Party remains silent amid rumors that it will surrender to Rangoon
this month says a source from Mon State.
The news that NMSP
must give up their firearms on May 27 came from a former MI source in Rangoon, a senior Mon monk said. “The Mon monks and local communities
are concerned that the NMSP will surrender to Rangoon,” according
to the source from revered Buddhist monks in Ye township,
southern Mon State.
“The NMSP provides
security for our many activities on Mon national affairs. Some monks
want the NMSP to take another look on how to deal with the SPDC,” said
the senior monk during a religious ceremony.
“We are sure that
very soon the SPDC will force us to do so,” a senior member of the
NMSP talked to a Kaowao correspondent. He added that some senior
members of the party may have to surrender if the party continues to
face pressure from the military regime.
The source close to
the party estimated that about a quarter of the members will yield to
pressure to surrender at that time.
Another junior
officer of the party from Karen State told Kaowao that he is
frustrated with the state of affairs and wants a more direct approach
against the SPDC because they are too strict. He said that he cannot
travel outside of his military camp. “I want to know what is going
on, who will surrender and who will resume the fight.”
According to a
retired NMSP leader, the party faces a dilemma, like the DKBA, whether
it should surrender or continue the armed rebellion against the
military junta. Some party members with businesses in town may find
it difficult not to surrender to the SPDC.
COVERING THEIR TRACKS: SPDC HIDES CARS
(Kaowao: May 22,
2005)
State Peace and
Development Council officials and civil servants continue to drive
cars without licenses which are smuggled in from Thailand, a Mon
businessman from Moulmein said.
“The officials who
refuse to comply with new regulations in having to pay for licenses
for their cars have them stashed away from authorities with the help
of their friends,” said the businessman. “They are worried about
getting sacked from their jobs and having their cars seized if caught
driving them around illegally.”
Another Mon
activist said that some of the SPDC officials have hidden their
illegal cars in areas controlled by cease-fire groups such as DKBA and
NMSP’s.
Hundreds of non
licensed cars have been concealed in Mon and Karen States especially
in cease-fire controlled areas and in remote areas of the jungle, he
added.
The illegal car
market business came to a halt after the crackdown on the Burmese
intelligence apparatus back in November 2004. The Buddhist Monks and
local communities in Mon and Karen States, he said, are angry at SPDC
for confiscating their cars. They raised the issue with them that they
had bought the cars legally in the first place.
Most of the SPDC
officials and civil servants have gotten away with driving around
unlicensed cars after purchasing them in their home state.
WORLD HITS ON KAOWAO
Since June 2004 our
website has been viewed by 48,211 to date (May 23, 2005). According
to Nedstat, Kaowao’s website is viewed by an average of 170 users per
day. By country, United States ranks 1st followed by Canada, Finland,
Thailand, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, China and
others worldwide. Our website is viewed by all continents, with North
America taking up 37.5%, Europe 32.9%, Asia 25.6%, and Australia 3.2%
with Central America, South America, and Africa sharing each 1%.
Access to the
Internet and email is restricted by the military regime in Burma,
ranking 17 after Australia, France, and Germany.
Kaowao’s
coordinator Arkar Ong, says our audience in Burma is probably viewed
by government agencies and military officers. Arkar Ong, who was in
Australia visiting the Mon community says, “Even though the Mon
community in Australia is concerned about news back home in Mon State,
it is way too expensive for them to get online compared to Mon users
in Europe and North America who have cheaper access.”
Our readers range
from the U.N. officials, students, and academics interested in human
rights and Buddhism, to Mon exiles and activists living in far flung
places of the world like Baerum, Rutherford, Gayle and Jvvaskylan in
the Nordic countries and others who, not heard from them since they
left Burma 2 decades ago appeared online from South and Central
America to the Caribbean to find out news on events back home.
Migrant Watch
REMITTANCES: A TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT
(By Taing Taw,
Kaowao: May 20, 2005)
Sangkhlaburi -- Nai
Htee (not his real name) has no shortage of work these days on the
Thai-Burma border as the time for registration for migrant workers
draws near for illegal workers in Thailand. Aged 40, he earns about
three hundred thousand Baht trafficking hundreds of migrants across
the Burma border into Thailand every month. He and his people on both
sides of the border pack along guns with them to protect and lead
their clients safely across the border. “He set himself up here for
business over a decade ago and is well established in the region
overseeing one of the most successful human trafficking rackets in the
area.” said a local resident.
Nai Htee is like
the shepherd watching over his precious flock, protecting them from
the wolves. He is much sought after in the human trafficking business
and he takes pride in taking care of his clients when they get in a
fix like being arrested. “He can get you out in under a week through
his connections.” another local resident said. “He can also arrange
for a special trip from the border to inside Thailand that costs about
12,000 or 14,000 Baht.”
There are about
1,000 migrants now waiting at the Three Pagodas Pass border, 80 arrive
daily. “I see more and more people over the age of 50 making the
difficult journey,” a DKBA checkpoint officer said.
From Mon State in
southern Burma to the TPP border town is roughly 65 miles of jungle
trekking through some of the roughest terrain in the region, they pass
through no less than 32 checkpoints in total. Most of them are
controlled by the SPDC while others who want a slice of the pie belong
to the KNU, the NMSP, DKBA and other cease-fire groups.
“Agents guide
migrants along the motor road and pay the soldiers at the checkpoints,
the migrants cannot do it themselves, if they do, they risk losing
everything, the guards respond only to the art of skilled bribery,”
said a local observer. Migrants pay 25,000 Kyats to agents for the
journey including bribes for the checkpoints.
After arriving to
the border town, they dole out more cash to the SPDC’s immigration
office, 500 Baht to this guy and another 50 to a guy from the SPDC’s
local militia force. Additionally they must pay 100 Baht for temporary
stay in a designated camp arranged for by their agents.
The migrants
usually start out at 9:00 a.m. travel all day into the late evening
until they arrive at the border. Once they arrive they spend another 3
to 4 hours avoiding the Thai checkpoint to get to Nam Kote which is
about 2 kilometers from the Three pagodas Pass border town. This area
served as a major trading juncture for centuries between Thailand and
Burma and during WW II was one of the terminals of the infamous
Railway of Death that connected the line from Bangkok to Thanbyu Zayat
to the Andaman Sea for the Japanese; today it is promoted by the Thai
government as a tourist destination.
Not far from the
memorial that commemorates the thousands dead who built the railway
are the waiting vehicles for migrant workers who have slipped past
Thai checkpoints to be transported for their last leg of the journey
into Thailand.
Through special
arrangement the migrants can avoid making the journey on foot and can
cross the famous checkpoint by van or truck that can hold up to 4
people. “Some human traffickers have a fleet of vans to take the
migrants by car, that journey is the first class package,” said a Mon
political activist who has close relations with one of the
traffickers.
Some migrants use
fake ID cards to migrate to Kanchanaburi province or Bangkok. They
must pay over 10,000 Baht to someone with an endless supply of ID
cards. A Mon woman who works in a restaurant in Sangkhla said, “One
human trafficker uses fake ID cards to take illegal migrants into
Thailand. This is the fast track way believed to be more secure.”
For those with less
money and no access to a network of friends and relatives, most
migrants who hire agents with little experience in the business are
arrested, only a few are lucky enough to get through once arrested.
They usually walk or take a boat which takes about two days to get to
Kanchanaburi and then on to employment in many of the fish processing
plants or other industries. “Even those who know the ropes well and
who have good contacts with the fake ID suppliers get nabbed; about 40
migrants were arrested on their way to Kanchanaburi last week,” said a
medic.
“As we enter into
the raining season the roads through the mountains are more
treacherous to drive on and migrants have to sleep in the jungle for a
couple of nights, some who have no mosquito nets to cover them
contract malaria and get really sick and even die,” he added.
“The sixty people I
attended to with malaria are migrants. They got malaria during their
stay in the small camps set up for them, they are not provided with
mosquito netting. They are taking a big risk if they sleep without the
nets,” he added.
“Young people drop
out of college or university because their parents cannot support
them,” said Nai Zaw Minn Oo. “It’s the only way to get their families
out of poverty. Remittances are the answer to development back home
in Ye township,” he noted. But there are sacrifices too, his friend
lost his chance to win a scholarship to study in Japan recently
because he was working in Thailand to support his family. “He was too
late getting back to his village to apply and missed the deadline,” he
added.
Having a social
network linked through family connections has its advantages
especially since most migrants come from the same area in Ye
Township. “Those who cannot afford to pay agents borrow huge sums of
cash to pay for the journey. They have to work for at least half year
to pay off their debt,” said a veteran trafficker. “If they can’t get
a job right away some traffickers let it slide a bit because they know
each other’s family and friends back home, relatives allows pay back
later,” he added.
Many young Mon
political activists have put their activist career on hold and headed
for Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to find a job. The Mon National
Democratic Front has seen some of their best people leave to try to
make ends meet. “Some of them hold passports and some of them are
working illegally in these countries,” said Nai Taming Ong, a former
university student who recently joined up with the Mon revolutionary
group.
“There are no young
people in my village, they have all gone abroad to work,” said an old
Mon woman in Karen State. She said that almost all the young people
in her village which consists of over 500 household have left. Some of
the most active cultural organizations have shut down because there
are no more young people left in the villages to organize affairs,”
said an old Mon man in Kawkareit Township, Karen State, his village is
the most well known in the state for being traditional, but has lost a
little of its vibrancy because the young people have left.
People leave Burma
to escape human rights violations and find employment, especially in
one of the newly industrialized countries in Asia. “Back home their
daily income does not provide enough to make ends meet.” said Nai
Bang, a social worker on the border. “At least money is sent back
home to help support the family and to keep villages afloat,
remittances sent back to Burma are probably bigger than what the
tourist industry makes in foreign exchange in Burma,” he concluded.
(Title Cited from
UN)
Commentary
FORMING THE UNION WITHOUT THE MYANMAR / BURMAN
Kanbawza Win
The
flashing of the photo of SSA (Shan State Army) leader Col. Yawd Serk
and SSNA (Shan State National Army) and announcing the merger to fight
against the genocidal regime in Rangoon, over the media is worthy of
inspiration and imitation to all the ethnic groups of the Union of
Burma, if not the world. It is also time to think whether we could
form the Union of Burma or rather Union of Nationalities minus the
dominant Myanmar/Burman tribe.
In order to
understand this current trend let us go back to a short history of
Burma, the Myanmar tribe originating from South of India known as
Mrama became dominant with the ethnic cleansing policy and in the
early days wipe out the Pyu, Kanyan and Thet tribes before the
founding of the first Burmese dynasty of 1044 AD. Following the ethnic
cleansing policy, the founder of the last Burmese dynasty U Aung Zeya
gathered all the Mon monks under the pretext and killed all of them in
order to wipe out the Mon civilization and race as well. These are all
vividly written in the history books. Now when the Union of Burma was
formed some of the ethnic nationalities seeing the chance to get
independence join the Union while some advanced groups as Karen,
Arakan, Mon, Karenni were deliberately left out.
As soon as the
Union was formed the Myanmar dominated government, at once launched
the ethnic cleansing policy with the avowed goal of one country
(Burma) one race (Burman) and one religion (Buddhist). Making
Buddhism, a state religion, changing the country's name to Myanmar,
using rape as a weapon of war against the ethnic groups is all
authenticated proof, which nobody can deny.
The majority of the
Myanmar have an incurable disease 'uniformity' and 'homogeneity' in
terms of ethnicity, culture, religion, organization and even opinion
and sexuality, that tends to create varieties of social and political
problems. The end result was a never-ending ethnic and racial problem.
When Burma was
under the colonial rules, anti-colonial movement in Burma Proper
employed 'nationalism' in their struggle against the British (see
Dharma Vappa). The version of nationalism at that time was
ethnicity-and-religion oriented, that revolved around the identity,
culture and language of Myanmar and Buddhism in order to inspire the
people to rise up against the British. 'Doh Bama Azi Ayone (and
not Doh Myanmar Azi Ayone) became a rallying point and although
it worked well for anti-colonial movement it paid no attention to
non-Myanmar. Obviously it claimed cultural superiority, partially
based on the perceived or imagined glorious past which also led some
Burman nationalists to view themselves as superior, not only to
British but also to develop the attitudes of superiority and contempt
over other non-Myanmar ethnic groups because in their views, these
groups were historically conquered by the Myanmar kings. This is the
crux of Burmanization or Myanmafication accompanied by forced
assimilation and suppression of diverse (dangerous and divisive
according to the regimes) cultures, histories, identities and
aspirations of non-Myanmar ethnic groups. or in the words of Ashley
South, "'national identity' derived from the Burman historical
tradition". Even though the democracy groups both inside and outside
of Burma deny that they held or share any ethno-nationalist views of
the military regime, their actions and attitudes of many of them
indicate otherwise. Their attitudes, worldviews and actions are filled
with chauvinism albeit less obvious to themselves and thus, it is very
rare for them to acknowledge it, much less to accept it as according
to Dhama Vappa, " Their chauvinism is displayed when they
express that their goal for restoration of democracy must precede over
the aspirations of non-Burman ethnic nationalities or when they do not
recognize the differences and diversities--be it social customs,
experiences or aspirations. They tend to refuse to listen to the
experiences of the suffering of non-Burman ethnic nationalities and
quick to interrupt with: Oh, we understand your sufferings. We also
gone through the same experiences. You are not alone." Another
instance is when the news or reports of non-Burman ethnic women are
being raped by the military regime comes out, instead of expressing
the outrage at the injustice the women have been facing, the defensive
mechanisms in some Burman oppositional groups pop up quickly. They
rush to say that, Well, the army is not consists of Myanmar alone.
There are also other ethnic nationalities as well." This is
because they are unable and unwilling to comprehend the relation
between themselves and the system that they live in and gone through,
which generate and perpetuate oppressions and destructive ideologies
including ethno-nationalism. A classic example is that when renegade
Sao Hser and Khun Hom declared independence, most of the ethnic
leaders opted for Federal Union but we sorrowfully discovered that the
tune of the Myanmar inside Burma led by NLD, the peripherals and the
Diaspora are of the same chauvinistic tune.
What
more, those ethnic nationalities that grow up among the Myanmar groups
were converted to this chauvinist view, e.g. an up coming Arakanese
boy from Ontario is defending the chauvinistic idea tooth and nail in
the internet. What the ethnic nationalities are afraid of is that such
kind of episodes will finally lead them to the disappearance of their
race, culture and values. They clearly foresee that in not so distant
a future they will be in the lost of
vanishing tribes only seen in museum and books as the Pyu, Kanyan and
Thet.
The Myanmar being a
major dominant tribe have all sorts of human resources and ideas, the
idea of "Let the minority fight the minority" is not only
prevalent now a days with the Wa taking on the Shan or the Lahus
siding with the Wa or the Karen quarrelling the spoils with the Mon
etc, they have been in existence long ago. The Myanmar are expert in
dividing even among the same group e.g. the DKBA fighting the KNU,
KNLF taking on the KNPP, Honsawaddy groups fighting the NMSP, Kachin,
Arakans and so on. They created such an atmosphere that one will go
for the other throat, e.g. in the assault on the KNPP they forced the
KNLF group to go in front, so also the DKBA led the Myanmar army over
Manearplaw etc. The Shan has learned great lesson and have sent an
example to the other ethnic groups to follow suit. They have come to
realize what we say in Burmese as "Aien Kyet Chin Oe Mae Thoke"
smearing coke on one cock so that the other would not recognize and
fight the other. The most dangerous is the cooking pot where
eventually they would land. This means that if the ethnics do not
unite they will be handle one by one and will soon be finished.
No doubt some
ethnic groups have their hard feelings and bad memories over each
other, but these are nothing if compared to the SPDC who will stew
them one by one. The ceasefire groups especially the 18,000 strong
UWSA should also heed this warning. After taking on the smaller and
weaker ones their turn will come as even now the Junta is conniving
with the Thai army (how many times have the Burmese generals met with
the Thai counterparts) on to take on the formidable Wa tribe. Now that
most of the young educated Wa leaders has come to the foe having it
would be not difficult for the EN group to organize them, as unlike
the days when leadership was dominated by the ethnic Chinese. It is
high time to unite. The Wa has clearly indicated that they will never
lay down their arms until full democracy is achieved. They may have to
stick on their guns as long as they go along with the Burmese Junta
and it is time for them to try their luck with the EN groups to see
whether democracy is much more nearer. On the other hand the EN groups
which is on speaking terms with every ethnic group both the ceasefire
and fighting groups should played a leading role as a peace maker and
solidify the bonds of ethnic nationalities.
The EN leaders
should see the writings on the wall that their goal of tripartite
dialogue is no longer feasible. The Junta will never come to a
tripartite table because it does not want to share its power, the
Myanmar group both inside and outside the country paid only lip
service to the ethnic cause and grievances and even if forced by the
international community to the negotiating table is not so sure of the
latter support, who still shares chauvinistic idea. The only option
for the EN group is to take a leading role and unite the ethnic groups
who all have their armed wing and work it to a level that will pose a
viable alternative to the Junta. This will have to be proven
internationally. It must also be in a position to speak in the
language that the Junta understands and the only option is to have all
the armed groups under the umbrella of EN and proves to the Myanmar
men in uniforms cannot always speak from the position of strength.
The episode of
latest Rangoon bomb blast clearly paints the picture. Some one has
spoken to the regime in language they understand and that is why such
a confusion among the top brass. The regime changes its strategy. To
cover up the split among them as well as to create a common enemy they
blame the ethnic groups and forced the ceasefire groups either to lay
down their arms or to go back to the jungles to fight them. Their
strategy of taking one by one has backfired even though they forced
the much smaller ethnic groups to surrender. The example is just look
at the Shan groups uniting under one umbrella minus Khun Sa.
The 17-ceasefire
groups that have participated in the National Convention with hopes of
a genuine federal union of Burma have proved to be false. The Kachin
who are the first to betray the monolithic unity of the ethnic groups
are now in disarray with their leaders having more of an economic eye
rather than the welfare of the entire Kachin populace. We do hope that
the young Kachin leaders should take the initiative and throw their
lot with the other ethnic brethren
However, to unite
the ethnic nationalities is better said than done, great care must be
taken that the idea and philosophy in fighting the Myanmar Junta must
not be the version of nationalism ethno-nationalism. In other words
they must not be racist. There must be a broad-minded elements and
accept Burmese language as a lingua franca or how would
they correlates with one another. It is based on ethno nationalism it
will face the same problems such as exclusiveness, narrow-mindedness,
pervasive xenophobia, hatred, distrust, prejudices and stereotype of
all kinds, which can only lead to more conflicts. Of course there will
be extremist everywhere and Philip Resnick comments "Extremists will
react with hostility to moderates". If we were to adopt the attitude
that in relation with others, each ethnic group were to give
preference for its own interests and aspirations and that other ethnic
groups are not important as theirs, if not inferior, it will prevents
us from building effective coalitions. The late Chao Tzang Yawnghwe
has warned us;" An interesting aspect of resistance base on ethnic
and emotional solidarities is that once the enemy -- the oppressor
nation or race (or class) -- disappears from the scene, there is no
real freedom for the masses, the people." For a people to be
truly free, for the nation to be prosperous, peaceful and to grow,
decent people and their leaders must understand the evils inherent in
ideologies that strike people blind and make them dumb.
Hence the EN groups
should change their philosophy and goal and lobby for Federal Union of
Burma encompassing of the few Myanmar democrats that are not so
chauvinistic and who really have the union in heart. If that is not
successful, the EN should create its own Union of Nationalities minus
the Myanmar group. If the latter is the choice, we should soon be
witnessing the Junta and the pro-democracy groups going for each other
throat and if the ethnic groups are not united will see the country
drifting off to Balkanization. So let us form the Union without the
chauvinistic Myanmar. Until and unless we can give an alternative idea
and goals there is little or no hope for the utopia of the Union of
Burma.
Chiangmai
The views
express here are solely the opinion of the author. (Kaowao's Editor)
SHAN STATE ARMIES MERGE TO FIGHT MILITARY
GOVERNMENT
(AFP: May 22, 2005)
BANGKOK - A rebel
army from Myanmar's Shan state has broken its ceasefire with the
military government and merged with the Shan State Army to fight the
ruling junta, a Thai newspaper reports.
The Shan State
National Army (SSNA), which signed the ceasefire in 1995, and the Shan
State Army (SSA) agreed the merger at a ceremony Saturday at the SSA's
base at Doi Talaeng, near the Myanmar-Thailand border, the Bangkok
Post said.
The merger follows
the announcement by Yangon on Saturday that the 19th brigade of the
SSNA has handed over its weapons 10 years after signing a ceasefire.
Military leaders
from the merging Shan armies called on ethnic Shan in Myanmar and
overseas to unite and fight the junta which has ruled the impoverished
country for more than 40 years.
The SSNA's leader
Colonel Sai Yi will bring between 5,000 and 6,000 troops in exchange
for being promoted to become the SSA's top military leader, the paper
said.
The SSNA signed its
ceasefire agreement with Yangon in 1995, after splitting from the now
disbanded Mong Tai Army.
Sai Yi on Saturday
accused Yangon of being insincere and not honouring the 1995
agreement.
"The junta has
broken the agreement and taken away our key members," he was quoted as
saying. "Now they want us to lay down our arms. If we did, they could
have killed us any time."
Meanwhile, between
200 and 500 people, mostly Shan, are crossing into northern Thailand's
Chiang Mai province on a daily basis, saying they were escaping
attacks on their villages by government troops, the newspaper added.
The SSNA's 19th
brigade -- which also signed a 1995 ceasefire -- handed in their
weapons on Friday, becoming the third Shan former rebel army to so in
the past two months, the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper
reported Saturday.
The Shan armies'
merger could not be independently verified.
SURRENDER OR FIGHT: DKBA FACE DILEMMA
(Taramon /
Sangkhlaburi, May 15, 2005)
The Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army faces a dilemma whether it should surrender or
continue the armed rebellion against the military junta.
General Maung Bo of
the Burma Army attended a meeting in Kaw Kareit Township, Karen State,
opposite of Maesot on May 6-8 with the leaders of the DKBA to convince
the cease fire group to surrender to the SPDC. During his trip in
Karen State last week, the pro-Rangoon troops were urged to surrender,
a Mon senior politician from Kaw Kareit said. There was tight
security around the area during the two days of negotiations between
the DKBA and SPDC.
During the past
three years, the DKBA extended it forces inside Mon State and
Tenasserim Division. Its members were also reinforced with locals
from the local Mon communities in Karen State who gradually joined up
with the armed group allied with Rangoon, the source from Karen State
said.
Local Mon in the
past have joined forces with the KNU, but over the past few years have
gone over to the DKBA side. Some of the Mon soldiers in DKBA can speak
Karen very well while some DKBA Karen soldiers can speak Mon fluently,
the local Mon said. There are over 25 Mon villages in Pha- An
towhship, the capital of Karen State alone.
After the DKBA
broke away from the KNU and cooperated with the junta, the DKBA gained
more business opportunities, the pro-Rangoon outfit has been actively
involved in the illegal vehicle business, logging, and drug trade
along the Thai-Burma border.
It is reported that
the Karen National Union also offered the DKBA an opportunity to
return to their fold so as to continue the armed fight against the
SPDC. “Since the DKBA is a break-away group from the KNU, the KNU
granted amnesty to DKBA members who wanted to return to the fold and
fight the SPDC,” a senior politician close to DKBA said under
condition of anonymity.
THAI GOV’T URGED TO REVIEW BAN ON BURMA’S TIMBER
(TNA: May 20, 2005)
KANCHANABURI– The chamber of commerce in Thailand's western border
province of Kanchanaburi today called on the government to review its
recent ban on the import of timber across the Thai-Burmese border,
warning that it would have a devastating impact on the national
economy.
Mr. Pratheep Phongwithayaphanu, the chamber's chairman, said that
retaliatory measures imposed by Burma would prevent all Thai goods
from being exported to Burma through Kanchanaburi’s Three Pagodas
Pass.
Warning that the move would cause Thailand to lose several million
baht in trade revenue each day, he noted that it would also cause
unemployment in Burma at a time when the Thai government was trying to
promote higher employment rates in neighbouring countries.
The end result, he said, would be an influx of unemployed Burmese
nationals into Thailand, and possibly an increase in drug smuggling
and crime along the border.
Accusing the government of failing to consult with local chambers of
commerce before imposing the ban, he called on the government to
review its decision.
The First Free and Independent Burmese-language TV channel to be
launched by DVB
FREE AND INDEPENDENT BURMESE TV LAUNCHED
(DVB: May 23, 2005)
Oslo, Norway --
The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) will start broadcasting satellite
TV into Burma from 28th May, 2005. This will be the first ever free
and independent Burmese-language TV channel.
The Burmese people
will finally be able to watch television programmes that have bypassed
the all-pervasive system of control and draconian censorship enforced
by the military dictatorship inside Burma. DVB television programmes
will be based on information, education and entertainment. It is
estimated that the DVB TV programmes will be able to reach more than
10 million people in Burma, one fifth of the total population, via
satellite.
The DVB began radio
broadcasting to Burma in July 1992. Today, it is broadcasting to Burma
via shortwave radio transmitter for two-hours daily. It has millions
of listeners inside Burma. The DVB is funded by the government and
non-governmental organizations in Europe and America. For satellite TV
broadcast, DVB received funding from the Free Voice of the
Netherlands, U.S-based National Endowment for Democracy and the
Freedom of _Expression Foundation in Norway.
The DVB television
programmes can be received via PAS 10, 68.5 Degree East, 3940 H,
Symbol rate 3000 on every weekend - Saturday (Burma time 20:00 to
21:00) and the repeat on Sunday (Burma time 12:00-13:00).
For More
Information, please contact: Aye Chan Naing (Director), Tel + 47 22 86
84 86/+ 47 911 077 43. Khin Maung Win (Deputy Director), Tel + 47 908
002 63
