PRESS CONFERENCE OF Past & Present SOE THU Live @ Mandalay

# လာမယ့္ ဧျပီလ (၁၁) ရက္ေန႔တြင္ မႏၱေလးျမိဳ႔မွာ က်င္းပမယ့္

Past & Present SOE THU LIVE @ Mandalay စာနယ္ဇင္းရွင္းလင္းပြဲ #

The Press Conference of "Past & Present SOE THU Live @ Mandalay", Soe Thu's One Man Show, was held at the Park Royal Hotel in Yangon on March 30, 2014. Myanmar well-known artist Soe Thu will host his Entrance-Free One Man Show at Aung Pin Lae Sports Ground in Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar, on April 11, 2014, two days right before Myanmar New Year festival. The Plus Three music band and MAJESTA music band will play amazing music for Soe Thu's Live Show. (Photos by Wai Yan)

Original source: Myanmar Celebrity: Gossip, News, Video, Photo, Fashion, Entertainment

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/press-conference-of-past-present-soe-thu-live-mandalay/

Burma’s Logging Ban Is Great for Forests, but a Disaster for Its Working Elephants

An elephant pulls a teak log in a logging camp in Pinlebu township, Sagaing, northern Burma, in this picture taken March 6, 2014.
Soe Zeya Tun—Reuters

Some 5,000 elephants are used in Burma's timber industry. When logging stops, they'll either be left to fend for themselves in the wild or else slaughtered for their hides and tusks

Modern Burmese history was built on teak, which is to say it was built on the backs of elephants. The British quickly saw teak's potential after colonizing Burma in 1824, and realized that hitching an elephant to a two-ton log was the only way of getting timber from where it was felled to the nearest waterway, and floating it to mill and market.

It was arduous work, with malaria and anthrax decimating man and behemoth. But fortunes were made and the timber helped shape the world map by being the stuff from which the British imperial fleet was fashioned. Teak remained vital after Burma's independence in 1948. It was the second highest source of legal foreign exchange and exports for the military dictatorship, earning the junta hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

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Last year, in the land that is now officially known as Myanmar, total timber exports surpassed 1.24 million cubic tons and generated more than $1 billion in revenue, of which teak alone earned $359 million. From Tuesday, however, the new quasi-democratic government is banning the export of round logs and slashing its total logging quotas. The plan is to stimulate a domestic milling and carpentry industry and protect already plundered forest, which plummeted from 58% of total land in 1990 to 47% in 2010, according to government figures.

But while applauded in many environmental quarters, this move will likely spell disaster for the more than 5,000 elephants and their oosi, or handlers, who rely on this trade. Sixty percent of Burma's timber industry still depends on elephants — not only for their tremendous strength but for their ability to haul huge logs with minimal damage to the surrounding forest.

Currently, 2,851 of these working animals belong to the state-run Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE), while around 2,700 belong to private firms involved in logging, says Tin Win Maw, who founded Green Valley Elephant Camp in Shan State for retired timber elephants.

After some 25 years backbreaking toil, "some have health problems — cardiac problems or eye problems — and we decide they are not suitable to work any longer," she tells TIME. The government has camps for retired elephants, but "they don't have enough resources" and need to "give more supplementary treatments" for elephants that fall ill.

In the wake of the April 1 logging ban, and with nowhere else to go, many timber elephants may be released into the wild, but "because of deforestation there are not enough habitats for them," the campaigner adds. Competition for land and food will likely bring them into conflict with humans; in India, parallel pressures see up to 300 people killed each year from marauding elephants.

If not set free, elephants risk being slaughtered for their precious ivory or hides. Many could also be smuggled across the border to Thailand and put to work in the tourism industry, where animal abuse is rife. Still others could used in Burma's illegal timber trade, which in fact accounts for the great majority of the business.

According to report released last week by a green nonprofit, the Environmental Investigation Agency, nearly three-quarters of all Burmese logs were smuggled across the border through illicit export deals between 2000 and 2013. (Most of these were harvested from inferior or juvenile trees, however — the best timber is sold through legitimate dealers in Rangoon.) "Sometimes there are a thousand trucks each day going into China with teak, and years ago it was even more than that," says Bob Steber, managing director of Singapore-based Ginnacle Import Export, who has dealt in teak for more than four decades.

The fear is that banning legal Burmese timber exports will cause this unregulated sector to grow even more. Plantation teak now exists as far afield as Indonesia, Africa and the Caribbean, but typically grows quickly due to overly wet climates, and so is comparatively soft and liable to crack. The best Burmese teak, by contrast, is richer in natural oils and dries out for around eight or nine months of the year, sometimes taking up to 20 years for one inch of growth. "For the real good teak there's only one thing, and that's the Burma teak," says Steber.

While plantation teak is adequate for garden furniture, picture frames and assorted curios, natural teak is essential for luxury yachts, as the oils repel water and keeps the wood from cracking. "And teak has silica — sand — in it so you don't slip and fall when its wet," says Steber. "It really is amazing."

Burma is estimated to have half of all the world's natural teak, and is the only country where it can still be felled. Last year, nearly 400,000 cu m of teak were felled and exported — three quarters of global supply — but the proposed cut in quotas for 2014 means that just 80,000 cu m will be felled across all grades this year. "There is no doubt the prices will rise dramatically but total supply is still very much in doubt," says Shannon Rogers, of Philadelphia timber company J. Gibson McIlvain.

So is the future of Burma's elephants, upon which so much of the country's wealth has been founded.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/burmas-logging-ban-is-great-for-forests-but-a-disaster-for-its-working-elephants-2/

Burma: ASEAN activist meet-up raises worrying parallels with Cambodia

Burma's President Thein Sein, left, and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen appear to have much in common when it comes to political thinking. Pic: AP.

Is Burma heading for genuine reform, or is it just following the Cambodian model? asks Daniel Quinlan

Three thousand members of civil society from across ASEAN met in Burma earlier this month to discuss human rights and development, including the record of the host country.

Not so long ago such a gathering would have been unthinkable and the event marked another symbolic step in the country's reform process, while highlighting stalled democratization of certain neighbors.

The ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC), also known as the ASEAN People's Forum (APF), is held each year in the country that holds the ASEAN Chairmanship. Like the ASEAN summits, it provides an opportunity to discuss regional concerns and local views and experiences, albeit from a less lofty perspective.

Despite being monitored by Burma's infamous special branch, participants were allowed to meet and discuss a host of issues that remain extremely sensitive both in Burma and across the region. The fact that participants were allowed to meet unhindered is in itself worthy of praise.

While the event itself is another symbolic example of Burma's reform process, many of the issues brought up by local participants indicated just how far it still has to go on its road to democratic reform. Land grabbing and sexual abuse, not to mention a 60-year civil war, were just some of the local issues yet to properly addressed by government.

For local activists it was an opportunity to meet colleagues from around the region for the first time in a country long synonymous with political repression.

The meeting also highlighted another county's failure to reform. In 2012, 19 years after the UN sponsored elections, Cambodia hosted its own ACSC/APF meet, an event that was to become symbolic of the failings of its democratic reforms. The government refused to allow discussions on land issues – or, ironically, Burma's land issues – to take place. They pressured hotels and conference rooms to cancel events and even cut the electricity to one venue.

The brutal crackdown earlier this year on protesting garment workers after an sometimes violent election marred by allegations of fraud has only highlighted Cambodia's democratic shortcomings and provided unfavorable comparisons.

One of the participants, returning from this year's event, Rong Panha, an officer from the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions said, "it's great that we can share and have discussions on finding strategies related to human rights issues amongst ASEAN countries".

But referring to the crackdown earlier this year he warned Cambodia could end up "far behind Myanmar [Burma] as they are on their way to fast reform on their democratic journey."

A report released two days after the end of the conference highlights some of the shared ground between the two countries.

From 2000 to 2013, Burma's forests were relieved of some US$8 billion worth of timber which left the country through illegal and illegal trade, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). US$5.7 billion of that remains off the government books, raising serious questions over who is benefiting from the 22.8 million cubic meters of wood Burma has lost.

Land grabs continue to devastate urban and poor rural communities in both countries as the environment is stripped of its natural wealth.

Media reports of riots from Rakhine State in Burma last week again drew attention to another issue that offers reasons for serious concern: inter-communal violence. While inter-communal tensions in Cambodia have been simmering for years, in Burma they have exploded with worrying consistency throughout the reform period, resulting in the murder of some 240 people and the displacement of 140,000 since June 2012.

The issue remains the largest elephant in the room of Burma's reforms and one that local activists are struggling to come to terms with. The fact that the issue was not brought up at the conference is an indication that it's not only governments that have problems addressing certain issues.

Aid workers, seen as biased towards the country's besieged Muslim and Rohingya minorities, were targeted by Buddhist-led mobs last week and were  holed up in the police station in the regional capital of Sittwe.

Just before one of Burma's first highly symbolic moments, its 2012 bi-elections, an ex-political prisoner and member of the student group the 88 generation joked he hoped they would not follow the Cambodian model of democratization.

Unfortunately, Hun Sen's 29 years in power have not gone unnoticed. His example of taking millions in aid while promising reforms year after year – all the while using brutal repression and overseeing a state of epic corruption – raises serious questions about how seriously Western governments engage with reform. The 'reformers' that have brought 'disciplined democracy' to Burma owe far more of their political thinking to Hun Sen than Thomas Paine. Democracy activists and civil society in either country are unlikely to run out of work any time soon.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/burma-asean-activist-meet-up-raises-worrying-parallels-with-cambodia/

Burma's Logging Ban Is Great for Forests, but a Disaster for Its Working Elephants

An elephant pulls a teak log in a logging camp in Pinlebu township, Sagaing, northern Burma, in this picture taken March 6, 2014.
Soe Zeya Tun—Reuters

Some 5,000 elephants are used in Burma's timber industry. When logging stops, they'll either be left to fend for themselves in the wild or else slaughtered for their hides and tusks

Modern Burmese history was built on teak, which is to say it was built on the backs of elephants. The British quickly saw teak's potential after colonizing Burma in 1824, and realized that hitching an elephant to a two-ton log was the only way of getting timber from where it was felled to the nearest waterway, and floating it to mill and market.

It was arduous work, with malaria and anthrax decimating man and behemoth. But fortunes were made and the timber helped shape the world map by being the stuff from which the British imperial fleet was fashioned. Teak remained vital after Burma's independence in 1948. It was the second highest source of legal foreign exchange and exports for the military dictatorship, earning the junta hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

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Mad Men's Conquest of Cool

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Fred Phelps

10 Questions with Gene Baur

Last year, in the land that is now officially known as Myanmar, total timber exports surpassed 1.24 million cubic tons and generated more than $1 billion in revenue, of which teak alone earned $359 million. From Tuesday, however, the new quasi-democratic government is banning the export of round logs and slashing its total logging quotas. The plan is to stimulate a domestic milling and carpentry industry and protect already plundered forest, which plummeted from 58% of total land in 1990 to 47% in 2010, according to government figures.

But while applauded in many environmental quarters, this move will likely spell disaster for the more than 5,000 elephants and their oosi, or handlers, who rely on this trade. Sixty percent of Burma's timber industry still depends on elephants — not only for their tremendous strength but for their ability to haul huge logs with minimal damage to the surrounding forest.

Currently, 2,851 of these working animals belong to the state-run Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE), while around 2,700 belong to private firms involved in logging, says Tin Win Maw, who founded Green Valley Elephant Camp in Shan State for retired timber elephants.

After some 25 years backbreaking toil, "some have health problems — cardiac problems or eye problems — and we decide they are not suitable to work any longer," she tells TIME. The government has camps for retired elephants, but "they don't have enough resources" and need to "give more supplementary treatments" for elephants that fall ill.

In the wake of the April 1 logging ban, and with nowhere else to go, many timber elephants may be released into the wild, but "because of deforestation there are not enough habitats for them," the campaigner adds. Competition for land and food will likely bring them into conflict with humans; in India, parallel pressures see up to 300 people killed each year from marauding elephants.

If not set free, elephants risk being slaughtered for their precious ivory or hides. Many could also be smuggled across the border to Thailand and put to work in the tourism industry, where animal abuse is rife. Still others could used in Burma's illegal timber trade, which in fact accounts for the great majority of the business.

According to report released last week by a green nonprofit, the Environmental Investigation Agency, nearly three-quarters of all Burmese logs were smuggled across the border through illicit export deals between 2000 and 2013. (Most of these were harvested from inferior or juvenile trees, however — the best timber is sold through legitimate dealers in Rangoon.) "Sometimes there are a thousand trucks each day going into China with teak, and years ago it was even more than that," says Bob Steber, managing director of Singapore-based Ginnacle Import Export, who has dealt in teak for more than four decades.

The fear is that banning legal Burmese timber exports will cause this unregulated sector to grow even more. Plantation teak now exists as far afield as Indonesia, Africa and the Caribbean, but typically grows quickly due to overly wet climates, and so is comparatively soft and liable to crack. The best Burmese teak, by contrast, is richer in natural oils and dries out for around eight or nine months of the year, sometimes taking up to 20 years for one inch of growth. "For the real good teak there's only one thing, and that's the Burma teak," says Steber.

While plantation teak is adequate for garden furniture, picture frames and assorted curios, natural teak is essential for luxury yachts, as the oils repel water and keeps the wood from cracking. "And teak has silica — sand — in it so you don't slip and fall when its wet," says Steber. "It really is amazing."

Burma is estimated to have half of all the world's natural teak, and is the only country where it can still be felled. Last year, nearly 400,000 cu m of teak were felled and exported — three quarters of global supply — but the proposed cut in quotas for 2014 means that just 80,000 cu m will be felled across all grades this year. "There is no doubt the prices will rise dramatically but total supply is still very much in doubt," says Shannon Rogers, of Philadelphia timber company J. Gibson McIlvain.

So is the future of Burma's elephants, upon which so much of the country's wealth has been founded.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/burmas-logging-ban-is-great-for-forests-but-a-disaster-for-its-working-elephants/

Michaungkan protestors forcibly dispersed from Maha Bandula Park

A protest camp made up of over 100 residents from the eastern Rangoon suburb of Michaungkan has been dispersed from their sit-in location at Maha Bandula Park near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon.

Last week the villagers resumed their protest against a 1990 land confiscation by the Burmese military, which they had agreed to suspend for a period of three months following negotiations with the parliamentary Farmland Investigation Commission in December.

Those negotiations failed, and the group renewed their demonstration on 23 March.

However this most recent incarnation of the 24-year-old demonstration was to be short lived, as municipal officials and dozens of men in plain clothes forced the group from the park in the early morning hours of 30 March.

The protesters, evicted from their homes in the Rangoon suburban township in the midst of a land grab by the Burmese military in 1990, have periodically descended on Rangoon City Hall in attempts to pressure government officials to weigh in on their dispute with the military.

Last week, a member of the group staging the Maha Bandula Park sit-in, Kan Kyi, a resident of Michaungkan, told DVB that she would continue the fight to get back the land which belonged to her grandparents.

"I will fight for my land until the day I die," she told DVB.

The dispersal of demonstrators followed a breakdown in negotiations between the group and municipal officials who had attempted to cajole them into disbanding the sit-in.

They were forcibly removed at around 3.30am on Sunday.

No resistance or confrontation was reported in the crackdown, but the Michaungkan villagers have vowed to continue protesting until their losses are compensated.

This is not the first violent attack on the Michaungkan group. In December last year, the protestors were attacked by a group of men dressed in black waistcoats with military ID cards pinned to their shirts, claiming to be "cleaning workers from the army". At least eight people were injured in that incident, including elderly women.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/michaungkan-protestors-forcibly-dispersed-from-maha-bandula-park-2/

The battle for Burma’s crowded skies

With Burma's eighth domestic airline taking to the skies last month and another three set to follow suit, the country's civil aviation sector is overcrowded, and on the whole, unprofitable. However some suggest that increased competition will precipitate a shake-up of the sector, which still has much to be desired in terms of its safety record and infrastructure.

"Frankly, there are too many airlines. That's what everybody is saying," said Kyaw Myo, the CEO of the newest arrival in Burmese skies, Mann Yatanarpon.

It seems that 2014 will be a decisive year in determining the winners and losers of the civil aviation sector, and that this will necessarily shift the focus onto boosting low expectations among Burma's regular passengers.

"I've flown pretty much all the carriers and they are basically all the same. The on-board food is a bit funny at times, but all in all, so long as it stays in the sky, I'm a happy man," said Australian engineer Peter Lloyd.

In October last year, Win Swe Tun, deputy director of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), told Reuters that Burma's accident rate is "nine times higher" than the global average.

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"Any airline, whether international or domestic, tends to become complacent after establishing a reputation," Kyaw Myo told DVB, before adding: "[Mann Yatanarpon] will offer better service … both on the ground and in-flight."

However as it stands now, the vast majority of domestic airlines remain unprofitable. Air KBZ is one of the few exceptions, and it wasn't until recently that things began to turn around for the airline. Air KBZ is owned by Kanbawza Bank, which has the largest capital base in the country.

"In our first and second years we were losing money," Myat Thu, Air KBZ's general manager told DVB. He said that when Air KBZ upped its fleet to six aircraft – more than any other – that operational costs began to drop and schedules became more convenient for customers, as it was able to offer more direct flights than its rivals.

Air KBZ also benefitted from introducing a computerised reservation system (CRS) to issue e-tickets.

"Thanks to CRS I can block out the seats booked on various routes – there's no human error. For two years we were doing it manually, using paper and pen. It was lots of work and there were lots of mistakes," Myat Thu said.

Air KBZ currently has a 30 percent market share and sold nearly 240,000 seats during the previous financial year.

An ongoing inconvenience for passengers is the inability to purchase flights online from domestic airlines – however Myat Thu said that KBZ is "working on it".

And surprisingly, despite wide consumer choice – including two low cost carriers, Air Asia and Golden Myanmar Airlines – discounted fares are rare.

"We're starting with a promotional period of three months but instead of offering promotional fares, we're giving passengers souvenirs, such as t-shirts or coffee mugs," said Kyaw Myo of Mann Yatanarpon.

Standard airlines offer comparable fares and while KBZ's are on the whole slightly more expensive, it was only recently that the airline introduced an alternative to the flat fare.

Those who book six months in advance have "a chance of getting a cheaper flight – maybe 5 percent," said Myat Thu.

"If we get involved in a price war, we won't make money," Myat Thu said, before explaining that discounts won't be available during the high season because the demand for tickets simply wouldn't justify it.

"There are lots of tourists coming in," he added.

According to figures from the Ministry of Tourism, more than two million tourists visited Myanmar in 2013 – a two-fold increase on 2012.

"Although Myanmar has a population of around 60 million, even by a conservative estimate I'd say that that no more than 20 million would actually be able to afford a flight," said Myat Thu.

However despite the fact that each of the domestic airlines operates a route between the commercial capital of Rangoon and the administrative capital of Naypyidaw, FMI's charter flight, which uses Air KBZ's fleet, costs a whopping US$160 for the one-hour journey.

Yet according to Myat Thu, the plane is "full every time".

Kyaw Myo, who is also an advisor to the Department of Civil Aviation, said that all new airlines must be based at either Mandalay or Naypyidaw due to existing congestion at Yangon International Airport.

Plans are underway to build a state of the art international airport in Pegu [Bago] Region, which is 80 km from Rangoon, and it is slated for completion in 2018.

In the 1950s, prior to the military regime's takeover in 1962, Burma was considered an Asian aviation hub: however restoring that former position will be no easy task, if at all possible, having long ago been overtaken by Bangkok and Singapore.

"It will be very hard to regain our position. It certainly won't happen in five years' time. If the [political] situation in Bangkok were to continue … then maybe. But then there's Singapore's Changi," said Myat Thu.

"It would be very difficult to compete with Bangkok. Myanmar could become a secondary hub, perhaps in 15 years from now," said Kyaw Myo.

Although Myat Thu described Burma's civil aviation sector as "really booming", Kyaw Myo stressed that the government will be instrumental in determining its measure of success.

"The future of the industry depends a lot on the air transport policy of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and the Ministry of Transport. It could make [the sector] more sustainable."

On the opening of the three-day Myanmar Civil Aviation Development Conference on Monday, DCA's director-general Tin Naing Tun gave a press conference about Burma's aviation "master plan" for 2014. Details were scarce, but included helping local airlines to become more competitive regionally, liberalising the sector's regulations and creating direct flights to countries outside Southeast Asia, such as Europe and America. How this will be achieved, however, remains to be seen.

"Whether you say it's our expectation or our dream, we will put infrastructure and strategic plans in place to get our position as an aviation hub back in 2030," said Tin Naing Tun.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/the-battle-for-burmas-crowded-skies/

Burma: readers' tips

Tom and Mary Barton win a £350 holiday voucher provided by DialAFlight

Head for the hills

My tip is to stay a couple of nights in Kalaw - a former British hill station
which is an unremarkable town in itself, but is surrounded by stunning
trekking country and lovely, unspoilt villages. The train journey from Kalaw
to Inle is also very beautiful (though very slow, but that doesn't matter).
Peter Leppard, Derbyshire

A soft trek?

In Kalaw, our itinerary promised a "short, soft trek". Our guide, Miss Mee,
was petite and immaculate in a red floral longyi and flip-flops. She led us
down a steep, narrow, rutted track and then back up. We saw workers picking
tea and harvesting cabbages and ginger. After 90 minutes a village loomed,
which we assumed was our destination. We were taken to tea with an elderly
Paulaung lady. In the sparsely furnished room, tea was poured into delicate
Chinese cups.

We then discovered we had to walk around the mountain. Miss Mee was surefooted
in her flip-flops despite the rough terrain. After four hours our car
appeared. That night, we soothed away our aches in a deep marble bath in a
house that would not have looked out of place in the Cotswolds. Appearances
can be deceptive in Burma.Roy Messenger, London

See the real Yangon

In Yangon take yourself to the colonial-era railway station and, for $1, buy a
ticket for a circular journey of the city and surrounding countryside. This
is not a tourist train and there appears to be no timetable, but the trains
are frequent. There are no facilities on the train and you travel in
converted cattle wagons with benches along the sides. "Air conditioning" is
provided by the fact that there is no door.

At every stop there seems to be a market. Locals and traders with their
produce get on and off, possibly in the hope that the next place will be
better for trade. Everyone is cheerful, friendly and inquisitive and you may
well be offered eggs, fruit and so on as a gift. This fascinating journey
takes about two hours and gives you a glimpse into the busy city and rural
life of many Yangon citizens that most tourists do not see.

Robert Charlett, Warwickshire

Unspoiled sands

Burma has 1,250 miles of coastline and some of the finest stretches of beach
in Asia. As many face west they have great sunsets.The best-known is Ngapali
Beach, but less developed is Ngwe Saung, a beautifully unspoiled stretch of
coast five hours' drive from Yangon. Also called Silver Beach, its
eight-mile stretch makes it one of the longest beaches in Asia.
Kathy Cakebread, Kent

Beware low water

Consider carefully whether to go on a river cruise, at any rate from Mandalay
to Bagan. If the river level is low, you will not be able to see over the
banks. This voyage was the low point of my trip, but that was insignificant
compared with the high points, namely the scenery, the people, and the
temples, above all the Shwedagon Pagoda, which for me is one of the wonders
of the world.
John Duffield, Loughton, Essex

Make for the mess

If you are in Yangon on the first Friday of the month, the British Embassy
opens up its mess to tourists. This is not confined to British nationals.
Hand in your passport and you receive a ticket. You can then use the mess
bar in the embassy grounds. You pay $14 for a card on which a record is made
of the drinks you consume from the bar. Very simple – and highly enjoyable.

Michael Reid, Blackpool

Balloon spectacle

If you're in Taunggyi at the beginning of November you might catch the fire
balloon festival. Balloons made from paper held together with masking tape
are constructed in the shape of animals. After hot air is put into the
balloon with hand-held wooden torches soaked in petrol, a cross is then
fixed into the frame and set alight. With much whooping and shouting the
balloons are then launched. Points are awarded for getting them off the
ground (not always possible!), how high they go and how long they stay up.
An amazing show to watch, but not for the health-and-safety conscious!

Sue Coton, Kent

Poignant memorial

Just 25 minutes north of Yangon, the Taukkyan War Cemetery is a poignant
memorial to the dead of the Second World War. It is on the Bago Road and the
beautiful grounds are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The main memorial has the names of 27,000 of those who gave their lives and
have no known grave. Just walking around reading the ages and names of the
young men who gave their lives puts everything in perspective . There are
special memorials for those Hindus and Muslims from India who fought and
died in the campaign. We have visited on three occasions and have always
found something new to seek out.

The head gardener will usually be around to welcome you. Don't forget to sign
the visitors' book.

Geoff Becque, Warwickshire

City of Flowers

Far from the bustling tourist sites, around 40 miles from Mandalay, is Pyin Oo
Lwin (the City of Flowers), surely one of the most beautiful places in the
world.

We stayed at the Kandawgyi Hill Resort, right next to the inspiring botanical
gardens with their rose beds and orchid houses set around a spectacular
lake. The waterfall above the town will take your breath away, and you can
also explore the serene pagoda set deep within a mountain cave. The town was
the summer residence for the British colonial administrators.

We really wanted to stay somewhere vibrant and different and with Pyin Oo Lwin
we found just what we were looking for.

Lisa Anderson, West Sussex

Yangon food trail

Inya Lake Hotel in Yangon is a wonderful place to spend time relaxing by the
pool, but I would suggest you eat at L'Opera, which is close by. Here you
find the most delicious range of bread. For more traditional fare try the
House of Memories, where you can also visit General Aung San's office and a
prayer room. The 999 Shan Noodle Shop is a cheaper alternative with
high-quality food and service. The Parisian Cake Cafe has lots of
interesting cakes and serves the best hand-blended strawberry smoothies.
Coffee Circles serves very good coffee and a range of foods. It also has
Wi-Fi. Nearby is Sharky's, which does the nicest ice-creams and also has a
small delicatessen. I thoroughly recommend a walking/taxi food tour, but
it's a good idea to starve yourself beforehand, as you will sample many
tasty dishes. And do find time to visit the night market.

Teresa Yates, Rugby

Feet first

As you have to take socks and shoes off at every pagoda/temple, a good tip is
to treat your feet with surgical spirit for two weeks before you go. This
will harden your feet and make it easier to walk on tiles, brick or hard
baked earth without shoes.
Dianne Sims, Berkshire

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Each week we offer a prize to whoever sends us the best travel tip. Click
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More on Burma

Burma
in a different light

Joan Bakewell, the writer and broadcaster, discovers a new side to Burma at
the Irrawaddy Literary Festival

Follow @TelegraphTravel

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/burma-readers-tips/

Michaungkan protestors forcibly dispersed from Maha Bandula Park

A protest camp made up of over 100 residents from the eastern Rangoon suburb of Michaungkan has been dispersed from their sit-in location at Maha Bandula Park near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon.

Last week the villagers resumed their protest against a 1990 land confiscation by the Burmese military, which they had agreed to suspend for a period of three months following negotiations with the parliamentary Farmland Investigation Commission in December.

Those negotiations failed, and the group renewed their demonstration on 23 March.

However this most recent incarnation of the 24-year-old demonstration was to be short lived, as municipal officials and dozens of men in plain clothes forced the group from the park in the early morning hours of 30 March.

The protesters, evicted from their homes in the Rangoon suburban township in the midst of a land grab by the Burmese military in 1990, have periodically descended on Rangoon City Hall in attempts to pressure government officials to weigh in on their dispute with the military.

Last week, a member of the group staging the Maha Bandula Park sit-in, Kan Kyi, a resident of Michaungkan, told DVB that she would continue the fight to get back the land which belonged to her grandparents.

"I will fight for my land until the day I die," she told DVB.

The dispersal of demonstrators followed a breakdown in negotiations between the group and municipal officials who had attempted to cajole them into disbanding the sit-in.

They were forcibly removed at around 3.30am on Sunday.

No resistance or confrontation was reported in the crackdown, but the Michaungkan villagers have vowed to continue protesting until their losses are compensated.

This is not the first violent attack on the Michaungkan group. In December last year, the protestors were attacked by a group of men dressed in black waistcoats with military ID cards pinned to their shirts, claiming to be "cleaning workers from the army". At least eight people were injured in that incident, including elderly women.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/michaungkan-protestors-forcibly-dispersed-from-maha-bandula-park/

Finland hosting conference on dialogue and mediation

Finland is hosting a 3-day Conference on National Dialogue and Mediation Process that begins today, according to a Pyidaungsu Institute (PI) for Peace and Dialogue research source reporting from Helsinki.

It will discuss conflicts and political dialogues in Burma, Yemen, Syria and South Africa.

Panelists from Burma side will include:

• Aung Naing Oo, Myanmar Peace Center, on Negotiating National Dialogue in Myanmar


• Padoh Kwe Htoo Win, Karen National Union (KNU), on the same subject


• Pu Zo Zam, Nationalities Brotherhood Federation (NBF), on the same subject


• Harn Yawnghwe, Euro Burma Office, on the same subject


• Debbie Aung Din, Proximity Designs, on National Resources


• Gawlu La Awng, Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), on Security Sector Reform

The Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) will be represented by Lt-Col Sai Ngeun.

The conference is jointly organized by Finnish foreign ministry, EBO, UNDP, The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, Common Space Initiative, Berghof Foundation, Finn Church Aid, CMI Martti Ahtisaari Center, Peace Appeal Foundation and UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

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Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/finland-hosting-conference-on-dialogue-and-mediation/

Spoiler alert: Myanmar is about to adopt IPR laws

Myanmar is a founding member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member since 2001. It is, thus, surprising for some to see that this country still does not have a coherent set of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) laws.

Myanmar agreed to draft its IPR legal framework in accordance with the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), and was given until July 1, 2013, to adopt such a framework. Adoption would provide, for the first time, comprehensive protection for copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial designs and other intellectual property under the WTO. Unfortunately, Myanmar did not complete the drafting of such laws by its deadline, but the country is expected to enact the required IPR protection by the summer of 2014. For patents for pharmaceutical products under the WTO, Myanmar has until 2016 to adopt pertinent legislation.

Without such comprehensive laws, patents and industrial designs are arguably still governed by the India Patents and Design Law of 1911, although no one in Myanmar seems to believe it. The 1911 statute was applied to the British territory of India and Burma. In 1945, the 1911 law was replaced by the Patents and Designs Act, which never became effective and it was repealed by the Myanmar government in 1993. With no replacement legislation, under the Patents and Designs (Emergency Provision) Act of 1946, Section 2, the India Patents and Design Law of 1911 is still in force, but with no effect. The Myanmar Office of Registration of Deeds will not register any patent or industrial design applications, although it will do so for trademarks under Section 18(f) of the Registration Act.

In practice, IPR are protected under various provisions of a myriad of laws, the first of which is the Myanmar Constitution of 2008. Furthermore, for example, one can find the definition of trademark in Section 478 of Penal Code and the Penal Code also provides penalties for infringement of a registered trademark. Yet, civil remedies can be secured through civil action based on the Myanmar case law.

Other laws which contain IPR protection section include:

• Merchandise Marks Act


• Specific Relief Act


• Sea Customs Act


• Land Customs Act


• Foreign Direct Investment Law


• Myanmar Citizen Investment Law


• Private Industry Law


• Science and Technology Development Law


• Computer Science Development Law


• Television and Video Law


• Motion Picture Law


• The Electronic Transaction Law


• Control of Money Laundering Law.

The only formal IPR protection law is the Burma (Myanmar) Copyright Act of 1911, dating from the British colonial era. The country, however, has not adhered to the Berne Convention, the TRIPS Agreement, and the WIPO Internet treaties (the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty) which would have extended protections to non-hosted Internet-based piracy, unauthorized camcording of motion pictures, or the unlawful dissemination of decrypted broadcast content. Furthermore, under Section 3 (b) of the Copyright Act, the protection conferred by that Act may be extended to a foreign copyright only by notification of the President of the Union. We do not know of any notification to the Union President which has actually taken place under this provision of this Act.

It may be useful to review the proposed draft Myanmar Copyright Law to understand the depth of the issues concerning the adoption of such legislation. A good precedent to this effort is the amendment to the Merchandise Marks Act (Law No. 35/2013). The proposed Copyright bill, in its draft sections 2(AS) and 2(AT), includes no express prohibition against the trafficking in devices designed to circumvent copyright protection, nor does it provide for civil penalties in such cases. This issue, in particular, becomes evident in the context of pirate commercial services. Furthermore, the draft provides the government the right to exclude from copyright protection works which are "contrary to public order, morality and faith" (Section 8(b)), or works "involving the prohibitions of any existing Law" (Section 8(c)), or "translations … made by the Ministries, Departments or any other government or local units" (Section 8(h)), or the use by "any governmental department and organization" of works "for the interest of the public and not for commercial purpose" (Section 79). All of these provisions are contrary to the terms of the Berne Convention and/or the TRIPS Agreement.

The impetus for adoption of the IPR laws this summer seems to stem from the Myanmar government's realization that, without such action, it stands little chance to be granted, once again, the GSP status it seeks from the United States. Once enacted, though, implementing regulations should follow shortly, and the entire subject should be clarified for foreign copyright owners under the country's 2012 Foreign Investment Law. Myanmar has come a long way to becoming again a full member of the international community. IPR protection is an essential element of that effort, and Myanmar will hopefully cross that threshold later this year.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/spoiler-alert-myanmar-is-about-to-adopt-ipr-laws/

Ericsson Wins Managed Services, Kit Deal in Myanmar

STOCKHOLM -- Major social and economic progress has been taking place in Myanmar over the last two years, as the country opens up its economy. Mobile licenses have recently been awarded which are expected to bring considerable socio-economic benefits to the country and its people.

Myanmar will experience increased network rollout activity as Ericsson
(NASDAQ: ERIC) participates in the development of Telenor's mobile network in the country. Ericsson today announced that it has been awarded a 5-year contract for multivendor managed services to support Telenor's nationwide network rollout. Late last year, Telenor also awarded Ericsson with a frame agreement to supply radio-access network
(RAN) and associated services for a significant portion of Telenor's network in the country.

Telenor's network in Myanmar is expected to cover 90 percent of the country's population of more than 60 million in five years.

It will be a multi-standard network comprising 2G and 3G to provide customers with both excellent voice quality and high-speed data connectivity. Ericsson's multi-standard network solution will be used in the deployment, along with 2G and 3G equipment that can be upgraded for future requirements.

Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC)

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Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/ericsson-wins-managed-services-kit-deal-in-myanmar/

Jonah Fisher Named as BBC Myanmar Correspondent

BBC News has appointed Jonah Fisher to be its first ever resident correspondent in Myanmar, the country also known as Burma.

He has arrived in Yangon and will shortly begin reporting for the BBC on television, radio and online.

Peter Horrocks, Director of BBC Global News, said: "The appointment of Jonah Fisher marks another important milestone in the rapid welcome changes taking place in Burma/Myanmar. Censorship and repression are being replaced with a new media environment where the BBC can freely broadcast trusted and impartial news. The BBC's charity BBC Media Action will continue its work to help train the next generation of Burma/Myanmar journalists which will further contribute to the country's transition towards media freedom. These investments are part of our commitment to our audiences in Burma/Myanmar and we look forward to covering the historic elections in 2015."

Jonah Fisher is an experienced BBC correspondent and during an eventful 10 years working for the corporation has been based in Eritrea, Sudan, London, South Africa, Nigeria and most recently Thailand.

This appointment follows the Myanmar Ministry of Information decision in December 2013 to approve the BBC News request to open a bureau. BBC Media Action and the BBC Burmese Service already have a presence in Myanmar.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/jonah-fisher-named-as-bbc-myanmar-correspondent/

Eaindra Thiri Ko Crowned Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar Trophy

# မတ္လ (၃၀) ရက္ေန႔က ရန္ကုန္၊ အမ်ဳိးသားကဇာတ္႐ုံမွာ က်င္းပခဲ့တဲ့

�Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar Beauty Pageant #

Sunday 30 March 2014, the final contest of Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar Beauty Pageant was held at the National Theatre in Yangon. Eaindra Thiri Ko, Contestant Number 22, was crowned Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar trophy and awarded (3) millions Kyat. Chaw Su Linn Phyu Thant (Contestant Number 23) and Myat Kyawt Khine (Contestant Number 11) won the 1st Runner Up and 2nd Runner Up Awards respectively. (Photos by Tin SUN)

MORE PHOTOS >>>

Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar Beauty Pageant
At National Theatre, Yangon
On March 30, 2014

Original source: Myanmar Celebrity: Gossip, News, Video, Photo, Fashion, Entertainment

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/eaindra-thiri-ko-crowned-miss-27th-sea-games-myanmar-trophy/

Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar Beauty Pageant in Yangon

# မတ္လ (၃၀) ရက္ေန႔က ရန္ကုန္၊ အမ်ဳိးသားကဇာတ္႐ုံမွာ က်င္းပခဲ့တဲ့�

�Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar Beauty Pageant #

MORE PHOTOS >>>

Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar Beauty Pageant
At National Theatre, Yangon
On March 30, 2014
Photos by Tin SUN

Winners of Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar Beauty Pageant;

1. Miss 27th SEA GAMES Myanmar : Eaindra Thiri Ko (Contestant Number 22)
2. 1st Runner Up : Chaw Su Linn Phyu Thant (Contestant Number 23)
3. 2nd Runner Up : Myat Kyawt Khine (Contestant Number 11)
4. Miss MRA : Sharr Htut Eaindra

Original source: Myanmar Celebrity: All about Myanmar Celebrities

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/03/31/miss-27th-sea-games-myanmar-beauty-pageant-in-yangon/