At 11 AM in the morning of Tuesday the 7th of April a fire broke out in section 12 and section 1 of the Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand. Fortunately there were no casualties, but 185 houses and 2 community buildings – a school and a psycho-social clinic – were totally destroyed by the flames.
EARTHQUAKE BURMA MYANMAR 5,5 16.28 – 622 km away from Mae Hong son has not yet affected Thailand. CR. JS100
Origin Time (UTC) Mag Latitude Longitude Region
2014-09-08 17:16:36 4.1 20.08 97.91 Myanmar
2014-09-08 13:11:06 4.6 14.47 93.16 Andaman Islands, India Region
2014-09-08 04:04:47 2.4 18.84 97.12 Myanmar
Two Karen refugees fleeing fighting in Myanmar were drowned when flashflood swept through the farm where they were employed to keep watch in Tambon Pangmoo of Mae Hong Son province yesterday.
Their bodies were recovered from Soi canal after villagers at ban Naisoi and Ban Sop soi returned to their villages and farmlands to inspect damages to their houses and farms after flashflood swept the two villages following several days of rainfalls.
Both fled fighting in Myanmar and were given temporary shelters at the border.
Meanwhile provincial authorities have banned entry by tourists to the Karen Kor Yao (long-neck Karen) village at Ban Naisoi, and all river cruises along the Paid river due to rising water and floating love that could pose danger.
8.08.2014 SPEZIAL COMBINED FORCE SEARCHED WITH EXTRA EQUIPEMENT THE AEREA AROUND THE HOUSE OF Charuwong Rueangsuwan,former head of the Democratic Party pheu Thai.
HUGE AMOUNT OF TEAK WOOD WAS HIDING AT UNDERGROUND,deep into the soil About 300 golden teak planks were found buried about three metres under ground.
More diggings are to be carried out to search for war weapons thought to be hidden in the resort.
Dr Charuwong was not at the resort and was believed to have escaped overseas while Mr Charupong is also living in exile abroad.
Origin Time (UTC) Mag Latitude Longitude Region
2014-05-05 11:08:42 6.3 19.68 99.69 Tambon Saikhao ,Amphur Phan , Chiangrai
5.may 2014
many have been affected. Chiang Mai, lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Lampang, phrae, uttaradit…
A 6.1 magnitude quake struck Chiang Rai province at 6.08 p.m. Monday night, causing extensive damage to properties in the northern provinces.
The earthquake with its epi-center in Phan distric at the depth of 10 kilometers was felt by people living on high-rise buildings in Bangkok with many of them reporting objects falling from shelves and people and tourists in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces running out to the streets from hotels.Many roads, such as the Mae Lao – Mae Sruai highway, suffered major damage and many homes developed cracks as a result of the quake
By KP, unedited
Since yesterday (March 15) Burma Army were shelling heavy artilleries targeting at Loi Naga mountain ranges, where Shan State Army Homong bases are located in southern Shan State, sources from Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) said.
Loi Naga Mountain ranges are located at 7 km from Wan Mai village, north-west of Ban Rath-thai, Mae Hong Son, Thailand and 20 km south-west of Homong in Shan State side. It was reported that Burma Army was firing with 105 mm and 120 mm heavy artilleries, but the SSA did not retaliate, said the Lt-Gen Yawd Serk.
“One reason why we did not respond with retaliation is that the Burma Army’s shelling did not hit the SSA’s bases, and also we are still committed to peace and strictly comply to the truce agreement,” said Lt-Gen Yawd Serk.
“The sound of machine guns’ firings could be heard from Na Mon village in the Thai side,” said the locals.
Similarly, in January the Burma Army attempted to take over the SSA’s bases located in the Loi Naga mountain ranges, which has failed. In that fight 3 attempts were made in a day, which resulted a soldier from Burma army killed. In February, the Burma Army has ordered the two RCSS/SSA bases be withdrawn from Homong areas. Nevertheless, none of the RCSS/SSA bases has been withdrawn so far.
During the February, when the RCSS/SSA leader Lt-Gen Yawd Serk and U Aung Min, the leader of Government Peace Creating committee met in Chiang Mai. “We will not allow such incidents, fighting and attacks on ceasefire agreement armed groups to occur again”, promised U Aung Min.
20.february 2012 Shan State Army (SSA) South’s Hsipaw township administrator Sai Ta Long and his wife were shot dead by Hsipaw-based IB 23 troops at Haikwi while they were shopping on 17 February. He was wearing the SSA uniform. The SSA South signed the ceasefire agreement on 2 December 2011. The killing has upset both the SSA and the local people, said the source. (SHAN)
———–
20.02.2012 A Shan State Army (SSA) South patrol clashed with a Burma Army column on 18 February in Monghai, where Mongphyak and Tachilek townships meet, according to SSA Sources. “It could escalate into a prolonged battle, if nothing is done”, said Lt-Col Gawn Zeun, Commander of the SSA forces in Shan State East. As far as the Burma Army is concerned, the “no-fighting zone” is the Homong-Monghta area, opposite Maehongson and Chiangrai, said an informed source on the border. (SHAN)
Karenni Refugee Camp 1, about a one hour drive from Mae Hong Son City, in northwestern Thailand, is my home. I have lived there among 15,000 of my people for nearly 10 years, after being born in Camp 3, which was an hour’s walk away.
I have been away from the camp for 2 months. When I return I will have to sneak back in, avoiding the armed guard at the main checkpoint, because I had to sneak out when I left. Karenni refugees cannot get permission to leave the camp from the Thai border guards whose job is herd us like 15,000 head of cattle inside the confines of the camp, about 3 square kilometers.
I am grateful to have a place to live in Thailand, however, my home feels like a prison, cut off from the rest of the world.
As human beings, we should have the right to live in our own village inside our homeland, with full recognition of our citizenship and protection of our basic human rights.
Instead, the military-controlled government of Burma has driven us off our land as it waged a long-standing war against the Karenni insurgency, forcing upwards of 20,000 civilians to become refugees in Thailand.
My father fled to the Thai border after the 1988 revolution and was joined by my mother and their three children in 1991. My younger brother and I were born inside the Thai border. So, we have no Burmese birth certificate and are not recognized as citizens of any country, only as official refugees by the UN.
Even though the Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) provides food rations to refugees including rice, cooking oil, salt, sugar, chilli, yellow beans and mixed grains, camp residents worry their children are suffering from malnutrition because of a lack of dairy foods, meat and fish. As a result camp social workers say the IQ of refugee children is lower than that of Thai children living nearby.
The food ration is appreciated; however, refugees say they need to work to supplement their diets but are prevented by restrictions on movement placed on them by Thai authorities.
So, some families raise chicken or pigs to improve their diet and earn money. Some families leave the camp illegally to forage for eatable plants in the nearby jungle because they cannot afford to buy food in shops.
During the planting season camp residents work as daily wage workers in paddy fields in nearby Ban Nai Soi Village, where they can earn 50-100 baht per day.
Others open small shops inside the camp selling linen or groceries.
A small number of educated refugees work for NGO and CBOs in the camp. Continue reading “Painful Past and a Future Without Hope-Karenni Refugee”
No one was injured in the fire, but most victims lost all their possessions.
A kitchen fire broke out in House No. 117 in Ward 13 of the refugee camp at about 4 a.m. and spread to other houses, sources said. The houses were constructed of thatch roofs, bamboo walls and wooden floors.
At first, refugees fought the fire, and a fire engine from Mae Hong Song arrived to extinguish the blaze. Twenty houses had to be sacrificed to prevent the fire from spreading.
A temporary shelter for victims was opened at the camp committee office and camp school, and the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) and the International Rescue Committee provided relief supplies.
There are 1,515 refugees living in camp No. 1 and 3,556 refugees in camp No. 2.
In March last year, 54 houses were destroyed in a fire in camp No. 1. At that time, the TBBC rebuilt the damaged houses within one month in collaboration with camp officials, said a camp committee member. This time, refugees are worried that a lack of TBBC funds could prevent quick rebuilding.
Most of the refugees fled Burma to escape from conflict zones. There are nine refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border and a total of 145,000 refugees. Over the years, 65,000 refugees have left to resettle in third countries.
By Phitsanu Thepthong
Maj Gen Hla Min, the Chairman of Bago Division Peace and Development Council Commander of the Southern Command, Burma, recently announced full support for Thailand’s road improvement project to link Thailand and Burma through Huay Ton Noon border pass in Mae Hong Son. He noted that the new link had a high potential for cross border trade and tourism.
During the visit of the Mae Hong Son, Lamphun and Chiang Mai trade and tourism delegation to Burma late last month, apart from attending the grand celebration of the Taung Oo city’s 500th anniversary for its establishment, trade and tourism talks were also held between the Thai and Burmese delegates.
“We have raised the trade issues on the five western gateways to Burma by proposing to using the North-South and East -West economic corridors, as well as the improvement plan for the R3W road links, the maintenance work of the first Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge in Mae Sot, Tak and then mapping out the building up of the second Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge,” Supoj Klinparneet, President of the Mae Hong Son Chamber of Commerce noted.
A top priority is to accelerate cooperation on the upgrade at Huay Ton Noon and the S
And one of the top priorities, it’s to speed up the cooperation plan to upgrade the Huay Ton Noon – BP13 border pass for trade and tourism to be the permanent check- point in Khun Yuam district, Mae Hong Son, as well as the Sinkhon border pass in Prachuab Khiri Khan. Re-opening closed border passes, such as the one in Three Pagodas in Kanchanaburi also remains a priority.
Finally, they also considered opening new ones at Myawaddy, in Kanchanaburi, and Mae Hong Son.
Earlier this year, Thai Deputy Minister of Commerce Alongkorn Polabutre, Myanmar’s Director of Border Trade Department Aung Soe Thein, and Mae Hong Son Governor Kamthorn Thawornsathit, accompanied by both Thai and Myanmar delegates visited Huay Ton Noon border pass in Khun Yuam District to discuss upgrading it to a permanent border checkpoint.
It was then that the group of business and trade officials visited Myanmar to discuss the status of the pass.
http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/current/news.shtml
democracy for burma 
You must be logged in to post a comment.