Villagers caught between Burmese Army and Mon rebel group in Yebyu Township

HURFOM, Yebyu Township:
The Burmese military has been preventing Mon villagers in Kalein Aung Sub-Township, Yebyu Township from leaving their villages to work on their farms due to increased activity by the armed Mon rebel group, Chan Dein. This is causing immense difficulties for the villagers as they are effectively being stopped from earning their livelihoods.
Previously Chan Dein had been active around Ye Township but, when the Burmese military launched an offensive in the area earlier this year, the rebel group moved operations to Kalein Aung Sub-Township. Now Burmese Battalion No. 282 is refusing to allow residents outside their villages in an effort to prevent communication between them and the rebels.
A fifty year old resident of Kyauk Tha Lin village said, “We’re not allowed to cross the Tavoy Stream near the village or the main road behind. We can go the farms that are very close by but only in the daytime – we’re not allowed to sleep there. If someone did sleep on their farm and got shot by the military then the soldiers could say it was the person’s own fault and wouldn’t take responsibility.”
Most villagers do not want to continue living in the area due to the security situation but many have little choice because of their financial circumstances and dependency on small scale farming. Even those who are slightly better off and have land to sell are facing difficulties because few people want to buy land in such an insecure area despite land owners offering low prices.

The ‘Music Association’ has banned wearing international flags, dresses with political symbols and dress not in keeping with the tradition and culture of the country

Dress code imposed for singers during water festival

by Nem Davies
Friday, 03 April 2009 21:33

New Delhi (Mizzima) – A dress code for singers to perform in the ensuing Burmese traditional water festival called ‘Thingyan’, prohibiting them from wearing dress alien to Burmese culture has been issued by the Music Association.

The ‘Music Association’ has banned wearing international flags, dresses with political symbols and dress not in keeping with the tradition and culture of the country. They have also been prohibited from performing songs which might hurt or are felt to be insinuations for others on stage.

“We have banned wearing decadent dresses, unsuitable for stage performances. We have also prohibited singing songs which may be felt to be insinuating and construed as sly digs at others,” Joint-Secretary (2) of the Music Association and song writer ‘Maung Thit Min’ told Mizzima.

The ‘Thingyan’ (New Year) mundap (pandal) in-charge had to sign a bond complying with these regulations when they asked for permission from the authorities to build the mandaps.

They have been told to pass on the regulations to the singers who are to perform on stage.

There is no clear interpretation and definition of a ‘political symbol’ printed on the dress, Saya Maung Thit Min said.

Wanting to return home, over 180 Burmese migrant workers held in ‘Samonyin’ detention camp by the Malaysian Immigration Department have been staging protests since yesterday evening.

by Myint Maung
Friday, 03 April 2009 22:08

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Wanting to return home, over 180 Burmese migrant workers held in ‘Samonyin’ detention camp by the Malaysian Immigration Department have been staging protests since yesterday evening.

The protests have to do with their being held at the Immigration detention centre and not releasing those arrested before last December on the Thai border.

“We are demanding that we be left on the Thailand border as we nurture no hope of being released. So we are staging demonstrations,” a Burmese migrant worker Nyi Nyi told Mizzima from the detention centre.
There are five barracks in the centre. Burmese migrant workers being held in two of the barracks are staging the protests.

“The living condition in this camp is appalling. It is extremely hot in the day time and very cold at night. The barracks are built only with wire netting. As for meals, only dried fish is made available. We do not receive any assistance from UNHCR either. The barracks are packed like sardines in a tin with detainees. There is no space even for lying down,” he told Mizzima.

Each barrack measures 200′ x 80′ and accommodates about 300 to 500 detainees. There are four barracks for men and one for women detainees in the camp.

KIA Scribd Burmese

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13908392/KIA

Khitpyaing news print edition NEW ERA Journal Burmese.3.april

http://www.khitpyaingnews.org/print_edition/NEJ-191.pdf

South Korea’s Daewoo International Corp said on Friday it had extended exploration rights to Myanmar’s AD-7 oil and gas field, after other members of the project dropped out when the original exploration period ended in February.

SEOUL, April 3 (Reuters) – South Korea’s Daewoo International Corp said on Friday it had extended exploration rights to Myanmar’s AD-7 oil and gas field, after other members of the project dropped out when the original exploration period ended in February.
Daewoo International will have a 100 percent stake in the field under the new deal, from its previous 60 percent stake.
India’s ONGC Videsh Limited had owned a 20 percent stake in the field, while another Indian firm, Gail, and state-run Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) each had 10 percent, it said.
The initial exploration period was from March 1, 2007 to Feb 28, 2009, but Daewoo alone extended the period to August 31, 2009.
“Because of the dispute over the field between Myanmar and Bangladesh, the other firms have decided not to extend the exploration agreement,” said spokesman at Daewoo International.
The test drilling became a source of contention between the two countries in October, with both sides sending naval vessels to the field in the Bay of Bengal.
Daewoo said that the field was “promising”, adding other members could rejoin the project once the dispute between the two countries was settled.
But in December, Myanmar officials said an initial test drill at the field failed to confirm commercially viable deposits.

BURMA: China’s Thirst for Oil Ignores Environment, Rights

BURMA: China’s Thirst for Oil Ignores Environment, Rights
By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Oct 31 (IPS) – The largest island off Burma’s west coast is emerging as another frontier for China’s expanding plans to extract the rich oil and gas reserves of military-ruled Burma.

Initial explorations by a consortium, led by China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), has left a deep scar on Ramree Island, which is twice the size of Singapore and home to about 400,000 people. ‘’They have destroyed rice fields and plantations when conducting the seismic surveys and mining the island in search of oil,’’ says Jockai Khaing, director of Arakan Oil Watch (AOW), an environmental group made up of Burmese living in exile.

‘’The local communities have been directly and indirectly affected,’’ he Said during an IPS interview. ‘’Hundreds of people have been forced to relocate as a result of the drilling conducted near their communities. The locals hate the Chinese; their world has become crazy after the Chinese arrived.’’

CNOOC has been pushing ahead with its work since early 2005, with no attempt to consult the local residents and showing little regard to such notions as corporate social responsibility, adds Jockai. The Chinese company, which is listed on the New York and the Hong Kong stock exchanges, has ‘’not conducted the required environmental impact assessments and social impact assessments that are recognised internationally as a must before exploration work begins.’’

Disaster and Famine Relief video features the work that ADRA is doing in the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar, as a response to last year’s Cyclone Nargis.

Gas and Competition in the Sea of Arakan

By Tun Kyaw:
Sittwe: China and Burma have signed an agreement for the construction of a fuel pipeline from Burma’s Arakan Coast to China’s southwestern Yunnan Province.
Under the 27 March agreement, a US $1 billion gas pipeline will tap into Burma’s reserves in the Shwe gas fields, while a US $1.5 billion oil pipeline will carry crude from the Middle East and Africa to China.
The Shwe gas reserves off the Arakan Coast have attracted considerable attention following the discovery of deposits at block A-1, in Shwe and Shwepyu fields, in January 2004, and at block A-3 in Mya field in April 2005. It has been estimated that the Shwe field holds a gas reserve of four to six trillion cubic feet, while the Shwepyu and Mya fields have a combined proved reserve of 5.7 to 10 trillion cubic feet. The finds have triggered competition between India, China, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore.

Sai Din Hydropower Project Resumes-“The project has already started with the help of the Chinese government, and it is a five-year project set to complete in 2014,”

Buthidaung: Construction on the Sai Din hydropower plant in northern Arakan State started in March 2009 with the aim of developing power to distribute in Arakan, said an engineer from the Buthidaung municipal office.
“The project has already started with the help of the Chinese government, and it is a five-year project set to complete in 2014,” he said.
The Sai Din hydropower site is located 30 miles southeast of Buthidaung, a town in northern Arakan State.
“The project is situated on the Sai Din Waterfall, the largest waterfall in Arakan, and it is estimated it will have a capacity of 70 megawatts,” he added.
Burmese governments in the past, including the U Nu government, tried to set up a hydropower on the Sai Din Waterfall but were unsuccessful due to many obstacles.