January 13, 2016

Rakhine Men Suspected of Having Links with Militants Escape from Arrest

Maungdaw, Arakan State (Rohingya Vision) – Several Rakhine (Magh) men suspected of having links with a militant group called Arakan Army (AA) escaped from the arrests by the Burmese (Myanmar) Military during raids conducted at Rakhine villages in Maungdaw last week, the local sources report.

It has been learnt that the suspected Rakhines managed to escape the military arrests due to the information tips shared by the township administration and the respective village.

Of the suspected Rakhines managed to escape the arrests, one man is identified to be U Hla Myint (son of) U Ni Maung Chay, 26, from the West-Quarter in Maungdaw. He is a rich Rakhine businessman and also a member of Arakan National Party (ANP). Sources have also revealed that he has been involved with Arakan Army (AA) and Illegal Businesses.

He managed to escape from the arrests by the military during a raid carried out in the West-Quarter on 7th January afternoon as he had pre-informed of the raid by the township administration. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)

Ambon immigration office deports 14 Myanmar nationals

Ambon, Maluku (ANTARA News) - The immigration office of Ambon city in Maluku province deported 14 Myanmar nationals to their country of origin on Tuesday, according to the immigration office spokesman Ekjon Lingga.

"The 14 Myanmar nationals were flown aboard a Garuda aircraft to Jakarta where they will be deported to their country of origin," Lingga remarked here on Tuesday.

He said that they were escorted by two immigration officials from Ambons Pattimura Airport to the Soekarno Hatta Airport in Jakarta where they will head to Myanmar. (Courtesy of Antara News.)

Human trafficking case on hold until remaining defendants are caught

The trial of five human smugglers who have been charged for trafficking children to beg in Malaysia has been delayed because two of the defendants are still at large.

Three of the smugglers have been arrested, while the other two are thought to be at large in Malaysia.

“The trial cannot begin. Anti-drug police from Nay Pyi Taw are planning to seize the two escaped traffickers by coordinating with the Malaysian police. Then, the trial will proceed,” said an officer from the Yangon Southern District court. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)

Suu Kyi in the spotlight at Myanmar peace meeting

NAY PYI TAW — Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi will address ethnic armed groups Tuesday, organisers of a fresh round of peace talks said, after she outlined peace as a priority for her government when it takes power in March.

The political dialogue stage of talks between the government, army and ethnic rebels, encompasses key economic and social issues that have spurred the violence, including the ownership of natural resources.

Suu Kyi, who led her party to victory in Myanmar's November elections, is expected to give an opening speech at the talks in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.

It is a rare appearance for the democracy figurehead at the years-long peace process, which has been steered by the country's reformist post-junta leadership. (Courtesy of Bangkokpost: News)

Indian Coast Guard Chief Visits for Talks On New Ties

The head of the Indian Coast Guard spent three days in Myanmar last week on a visit aimed at strengthening maritime cooperation, media reported.

Vice Admiral H.C.S. Bisht arrived on January 6 for a three-day visit that included meetings with Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and the Commander-in-Chief (Navy) Vice Admiral Tin Aung San, the Press Trust of India reported.

A Coast Guard official told PTI ahead of the visit that the two sides were expected to discuss the possibility of joint exercises and issues related to smuggling.

Vice Adm Bisht was also due to visit training and operational facilities in Yangon and Mandalay, PTI said.

His visit coincided with the arrival of an Indian Coast Guard ship at Yangon port on January 7. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)

Fighter Jets Worth $560m Ordered Last Year, Says Magazine

YANGON — Myanmar has ordered a fleet of Chinese-designed fighter jets worth more than half a billion US dollars from Pakistan, an Israeli online defence magazine has reported.

Myanmar placed an order “in 2015” for 16 JF-17 Thunder jets, each worth US$35 million, Defense Update reported on January 11.

Myanmar was the first country to order the jets from Pakistan, the report said.

It said the jets were designed and developed by the state-run Aviation Industry Corporation of China to meet Pakistani requirements for a lightweight, affordable fighter jet. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)

Recent visit confirms deportation fears

Myanmar (MNN) — Hopelessness is rising among refugees in Thailand as threats of deportation loom. According to Vision Beyond Borders (VBB), plans are underway to send thousands of ethnic minorities back to Myanmar (also known as Burma) in 2017.

“They’re doing this based on the fact that [Myanmar’s] government is showing all these democratic reforms and changes. They [Thailand’s government] hope that this means the refugees will then be safe,” VBB’s Dyann Romeijn explains.

“All the information coming from the ethnic areas, where there’s still fighting, [shows] that they would not be safe,” she adds.

Myanmar’s leaders may have inched toward democracy, Romeijn explains, but the armed forces are a different matter. (Courtesy of Mission Network News)

Hepatitis survey points to nearly 5 million infected

Nearly 5 million people in Myanmar suffer from a form of hepatitis, health officials say. A nationwide survey conducted last year estimated that about 3.3 million people suffer from hepatitis B and a further 1.3 million live with hepatitis C.

The survey – conducted by the Department of Medical Research, the Central Epidemiological Unit of the Department of Public Health and the Myanmar Liver Foundation – was done between May and November 2015 among men and women aged between 15 and 80, living in 18 townships in nine states and regions and Nay Pyi Taw.

The results were announced to the Myanmar Research Congress, which is currently meeting in Yangon.

Daw Aye Aye Lwin, deputy director of the Immunology Research Division at the Department of Medical Research, told participants on January 6 that the survey results would be used to help better target measures to fight the disease.

The survey found that the highest prevalence of HB infection was 12.4 percent in Yangon Region and the lowest was 3.3pc in Magwe Region. HC infection was highest in Mon State at 10.3pc, and lowest in Bago Region and Chin State at 0.32pc. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)

Union peace conference begins in Myanmar

NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A union peace conference kicked off in Myanmar's capital here Tuesday, ahead of the first round of national-level formal political dialogue between the government and eight ethnic armed groups.

The conference, which will last for five days until Saturday, was opened by President U Thein Sein.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, U Thein Sein said the conference is the biggest gathering of political forces in the country in over six decades after independence in 1948.

Since his government took office in 2011, various efforts have been made to bring the armed conflicts that have persisted since the country's independence to an end, the president said. (Courtesy of Xinhua)

Gold miner opens case amid fresh protests

A gold-mining company supported by military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings opened a case with Mandalay police last week, after 100 people occupied the site of its mining operations in a new wave of protests, police sources said.

The latest case comes amid ongoing clashes between Myanmar Sithu Company and villagers, which saw protesters set fire to property and one local resident shot last July.

On January 3, residents from Yehtwet village in Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin township and those from Patheingyi, Madaya and Singu townships – around 100 in total – re-occupied the mining site near to Yehtwet village and put up red flags and signboards, according to Mandalay Region Police Office.

They were concerned, as they have been since the company began operations last year, that it is muscling in on their right to dig for gold. Following the sit-in, a township management meeting was held by the Tabeikkyin Township Administration Office, which decided to take legal action. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)