myanmar
times
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April 16 - 22, 2012
Myanmar’s first international weekly Volume 32, No. 623 1200 Kyats
By Cherry Thein
A MUSEUM in the former residence of Bogyoke Aung San has reopened to thepublic more than five years after it wasshuttered for renovations.U Thaung Win, director of the NationalMuseum (Yangon), who is also responsiblefor administration of the Bogyoke AungSan museum, told
The Myanmar Times
last week that the decision to reopen thesite had been made so that people had theopportunity to learn about the country’sindependence hero.“The museum is one of the places tolearn about the independence leader of ourcountry and for younger generations to seehow he devoted his life for independence,”U Thaung Win said.The museum reopened on March 24 andcan be visited Wednesday through Sundayfrom 10am to 4pm, except public holidays.To encourage people to visit, the entrancefee has been set at K300 for adults – bothMyanmar and foreigners – and K100 forchildren under 12, while entry is free forschoolchildren.“We have set a very reasonable fee sothat people from all walks of life can comeand visit the museum – we want everyoneto visit Bogyoke’s residence museum,” thedirector said. “In my experience, in othercountries all museums are open to thepublic and most are free to enter.”The Bogyoke Aung San Museum is atwo-storey wooden building set on 2.4acres in Bahan township that was built in1921. He lived in the house with his familyfrom May 1945 until his assassination inJuly 1947. The site opened as a museumin 1962 but shut in January 2007 formaintenance, reopening only on Martyrs’Day each year since then.It features pictures and paintings of Bogyoke Aung San, excerpts from hismost well-known speeches and a hostof his personal possessions, including acollection of 240 books.In the house’s dining room, a table is setwith the Bogyoke’s favourite meal – boiledpeas (
pe pyote
) and Indian-style bakedwheat bread (
nan bya
).Extracts from prominent speeches –many of which could not be republished inlocal publications until a recent relaxationof censorship – are likely to capture a lotof interest from visitors.“The re-opening of the museum is apositive change. Bogyoke is the mostpowerful figure in Myanmar politics –he once united the nation and everyoneloves and trusts him. I think spreadingBogyoke’s words in the media could helpto re-unite the country again,” said 88-year-old U Maung Mya from Sanchaungtownship.“Most of Bogyoke’s speeches remainrelevant today and some are almost likea prediction when you think what hashappened in our country,” U Maung Myasaid.“It has been such a long road for thecountry to get democracy. We have beenwaiting for a long time and some of myfriends are no longer around to see thecountry get democracy but luckily I nowhave the chance,” he said.
With museumreopening, achance to seeanother side of national hero
More page 4More page 4A woman looks at photos of Bogyoke Aung San at the Aung San Museum, which recently reopened to the public after more than
ve years. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm.
Pic: Kaung Htet
By Yadana Htun with
AFP
PRESIDENT U Thein Sein heldhis first meeting with KarenNational Union leaders earlierthis month, officials said, asthe government intensifiesefforts to bolster peace withthe country’s oldest insurgentgroup.The April 7 meeting was thelatest sign that the governmentis keen to cement a ceasefirein the war-torn eastern state,amid pressure from theinternational community to endethnic conflict as it considerslifting sanctions to rewardrecent reforms.Delegates from the KNU metPresident U Thein Sein in NayPyi Taw, according to unnamedofficials, following negotiationswith ministers in Yangon on April 6. An independent member of the peace negotiation grouppresent at the talks, who askednot to be named, describedthe encounter as “warm andopen”.He said the KNU leaderswere “surprised and satisfiedbecause it was the first timethey had met the president”.“The KNU said they willcontinue peace talks with thegovernment until the end.They said they would urgeother ethnic groups to work forpeace,” he said.Six delegates, includingmembers of the armed wingof the group, were taken “byspecial flight” for the landmarkmeeting, which lasted about 90minutes, officials said, addingthat four ministers accompaniedthe KNU delegates to Nay PyiTaw.Thailand-based U Aung NaingOo, of the Vahu DevelopmentInstitute think-tank, said thetalks were “very significant”.“The group that the presidentis meeting is people who arereally critical of the militaryregime and even the currentgovernment,” he said.“It is a huge confidence-building measure and it showsthe government is really willingto reach out to many of theethnic groups.”The KNU members returnedto Yangon and met Daw AungSan Suu Kyi for about two hourson April 8. The National Leaguefor Democracy leader describedthe meeting as a “significantevent” that would help to fosternational reconciliation.She added: “As the NLD’sgoal is to have true democraticunity, we believe all ethnicitiesshould be included in thisprocess together.”The KNU said before thetalks that it was keen to assessthe NLD’s commitment toreconciliation efforts.Daw Aung San Suu Kyi saidshe shared the Karen NationalUnion’s views on the peaceprocess.She told reporters thatmeetings with ethnic groupssuch as the KNU wereimportant for establishing agenuine democratic union.“I’m satisfied with thediscussion. I found that we havecommon points of views andthese lead to great potential forunity in future,” she said.Daw Aung San Suu Kyi saidshe wanted to support thepeace efforts and said nationalreconciliation was one of herparty’s three priorities.“Not only with the KNU –we will cooperate with otherethnic groups and every localgroup that wants to get peace.By exchanging points of view,we become closer to each otherand this is also a step towardspeace,” Daw Aung San SuuKyi said.
President, Daw Suumeet KNU leaders
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April 16 - 22, 2012
By Aye Sapay Phyu
ENVIRONMENTAL groupshave welcomed the Ministry of Mining’s decision late last monthto ban mining in and along the Ayeyarwady, Chindwin, ThanLwin and Sittoung rivers.However, they cautioned thatthe notification needed to bestrictly enforced and broadenedto also protect the tributaries of the four waterways.The ministry released anotification on March 28 statingthat searching for, testing ormanufacturing precious stones,minerals, industrial materialsand stone by mining or othermeans was banned in each of thefour rivers and within 300 feet(90 metres) of their banks.The notification said thedecision had been taken topreserve the natural environmentof the rivers and the notificationwould remain active until it ismodified or abolished by anothernotification.U Ohn, vice chairman of non-government organisationForest Resource EnvironmentDevelopment and Conservation Association, said the notificationshould be extended to includetributaries of the four rivers.“It is a good decision not to allowmining near these four riversbut the tributaries need to bepreserved under this notificationas well. If not, we need to push forthis to be included,” he said at aceremony on March 30 markingthe six month anniversary of the suspension of the MyitsoneDam.U Sein Myo Myint, a freelancephotographer and author,said that the notification hadsimply resulted in gold miningenterprises shifting about 100minland or other sections of theriver with less surveillance.“I frequently visit the Ayeyarwady River and in thepast I would see many goldsearching boats – maybe 60 or70 – in Pay Thaung village inthe Singu area of MandalayRegion,” he said. “I didn’t seethose boats when I visited thisyear and at first I was pleasebut I later noticed that the goldminers have just moved slightlyinland, about 100 yards fromthe riverbank, and they stillpump their waste water intothe river.“We also saw about 300 goldsearching boats between thevillages of Bu Taung and NatKhote (located near second defileof the river in Shwegu). A hugevillage has appeared near theboats with the shops that sellpipes, diesel, food and so on. Sowhile I am really happy to readthe notification banning [goldmining] in these four rivers butthat on its own is not enough toprotect our rivers.”
Ministry bans miningon four major rivers
By Aye Sapay Phyu and NuamBawi
You’ve won a Pyithu Hluttaw seat.What’s your next plan of action?
I am representing the NationalLeague for Democracy and willcontinue my activities by followingguidelines of the party.
The NLD will be dramaticallyoutnumbered by representativesfrom the Union Solidarity andDevelopment Party. What influencedo you expect to have in thePyidaungsu Hluttaw?
As we said before the election,we think there will be manychanges in the hluttaw. There willbe about 40 NLD representativesin the hluttaw and that is a verysmall number compared with totalnumber of 440 representatives.But we do not consider ourselvesthe opposition party. After themeeting between President UThein Sein and Daw Aung San SuuKyi we think we can collaborateon things where we share thesame views and negotiate wherewe have different ideas. One of the objectives of the NLD is tochange the sections of the 2008constitution that are not up todemocratic standards and do notbenefit society. We will presentour findings in the hluttaw andwe believe that representativeswho are already in the hluttawwill agree with our point of viewif we can propose them with solidfacts. President U Thein Sein alsosaid in his address on March 1that they will give considerationto the ethnic role and we will havethe chance to correct some lawsby negotiating with ethnic partiesin the hluttaw. So we have highhopes that we can achieve ouraims in the hluttaw.
Will the NLD collaborate with otherdemocratic groups in the hluttaw?
Yes, we will collaborate withother democratic forces in thehluttaw. In the past few daysDaw Suu also invited others tocollaborate with us when shespoke to the public. We are readyto collaborate with all democraticforces. Although we have just a smallpercentage [of representatives] inthe hluttaw, we will collaborateon issues that benefit the publicand we will point out issues thatcan [have a negative] effect forthe country.
Do you think the by-election wasfree and fair?
We have to look at two things.First there is the part of the[election] commission that wasresponsible for overseeing votingon election day. I was satisfiedwith their performance. Anotherissue was the errors with thevoter lists. The commission alsocollaborated with us to correct theerrors before election days but [inMayangone] there were still 49people with the same NationalRegistration Card number onthe list on election day. It is notthe fault of commission but theresponsibility of the townshipadministrators. We recorded allcases of voter list errors and otherobservations on the by-electionsand presented these to the YangonRegion Election Sub-commission. Another issue was lack of time;our party and the commissioncorrected [the voter lists] butcorrections made after March 24were not included in the final listused for the by-election.
How will you prepare for the 2015election?
Firstly, I want to prepare thevoter lists. We are ready to helpin preparing voter lists if theyneed volunteers. [In Mayangone]we found that there were peoplelisted who had passed away, whowere under 18 and there were alsorepeated names. Preparing thevoter list is the most importanttask to do for the 2015 election.
What will be your priority actionsin hluttaw?
As Daw Suu said, there willbe a long-term plan and short-term action. Short-term actionwill include the unemploymentproblem and high commodityprices. Problems such as braindrain and other social issuesappear because of lack of jobopportunities for graduates. Whenwe create job opportunities, therewill be many foreign investors. Atthat time there should be securelabour rights to protect our citizens. Another thing is the health budgetneeds to be increased. I welcomethe president’s address to markthe first anniversary of his takingoffice in which he said that healthexpenditure will increase fourtimes. But I think health expensesshould be increased another seventimes.
Were you surprised by the results of the by-elections?
I was amazed by the electionresult. On election day I noticedthat people who voted were fewerthan I expected, though. Altogether just under 60 percent of eligiblevoters voted. But when we gotthe election results, we realisedthat there might be two reasonsfor having fewer voters. Somepeople decided to remain neutraland give up their right to votebecause of personal difficulties. Another thing is that peoplewho voted did so overwhelmingfor the NLD … ensuring a winfor the democratic forces. I wasamazed and appreciated theirpolitical knowledge. While I won114 polling sites, I lost a stationin an army quarter. However,one of the sons of U Khin Nyunt,[former prime minister] told themedia that he voted for me and UKhin Nyunt also said his vote maybe the same as the public’s wish.I am glad that although I lost thearmy polling station, the familyof a high profile former memberof the army supported me.
‘I was amazed by the election result’
A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Mayangone township onApril 1.
Pic: Kaung Htet
National League or Democracy representative or Mayangone
Dr May Win Myint
on her party’s hluttawplans, working with the president and winning the army’s support
Note to readers:
Because of the extendedThingyan water festival holidaythis year, the English-languageedition of
The Myanmar Times
will not appear on Monday, April23. Instead, the next edition willbe published on April 30. Weapologise for any confusionand wish all our readers anenjoyable, safe and prosperousMyanmar New Year.
A man participates in the Myanmar Traditional Kite Beauty and Kite Contest at Kyaikkasan Sports
Ground in Yangon’s Tarmwe township on April 5. The competition, organised by the Sports and
Physical Education Department of the Ministry of Sports, was being held for the eight time and ran
from April 3 to 8.
Pic: Boo Thee
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April 16 - 22, 2012
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THE government plans to amenda law concerning the registrationof local and international non-government organisations, apresidential adviser revealed lastweek.“The current law for [registrationof] NGOs will be amended followinga proposal from a member of parliament,” adviser Dr NayZin Latt said last week. “Thegovernment wants to increasecooperation with NGOs … [and]intends to loosen restrictionsgradually.”The amendments come afterthe government cut the waitingtime for registration and alsoextended the length of validity forregistration.The change in policy cameabout in 2011 after the handoverto President U Thein Sein’sgovernment and by the end of the year 280 domestic groups hadregistered, according to Ministry of Home Affairs statistics. However,that still represents just a smallpercentage of the total number of non-government groups, which isestimated at about 20,000.“We had to wait for two yearsfor our application to register tobe approved,” said U Nay Myofrom Ratana Metta Organisation,which focuses on health, childprotection and livelihoods andwas officially registered in March2011. “And we still had to promiseto do only social affairs.” Among the more high-profileorganisations to be able to registeris the Free Funeral ServiceSociety, led by actor Kyaw Thu.The group, which formed in 2000,had its registration revoked in2008 after a dispute with thegovernment but it was reinstatedlast month with a validity periodof five years, Kyaw Thu told
The Myanmar Times
.However, he said the K500,000(about US$600) registration feewas “unfair”.“For small organisations, howthey can afford this amount? Socialwelfare work is not a business.Instead of having to pay this feeit would be more beneficial to usethis amount to improve people’shealth and education,” he added.Despite the relaxation of the registration process, manylocal organisations, particularlysmaller informal groups, arestill not interested in applyingto register, said Dr Sid Naing,country director for Marie StopesInternational.“According to the Law of Founding an Organisation, allorganisations must registerbut the law did not come intoeffect until 2006,” he said. “Theformer government only gavea registration number to theorganisations that it trusted.“After Cyclone Nargis in 2008,the number of local NGOs rosedramatically. While some of these organisations are officiallyregistered with the government,many are not.”However, those that operatewithout official registration canface difficulties, particularly fromlocal officials.“We had some problem when wewent in the wards. The authoritiesasked our team, do we have anofficial registration number? If wehaven’t, they said only to come backand do our welfare work when wehave one,” said U Kyaw Thain Tun,head of Ratna Mahal, a Yangon-based education organisation thatformed in 2009.“We applied to register officiallyin August 2011 and I hope to get aregistration number when I go tothe Home Affairs Ministry office inNay Pyi Taw next month.”U Myo Yan Naung Thein,director of the Bayda Institute,a political education trainingcentre based in Yangon, said therestrictions on political activitiesin the current law should beremoved.“It is not fair that NGOsare unable to join politicalmovements. This meant thatduring the Myitsone Dam affairsome environmental NGOs didnot participate,” he said. “If NGOsare able to operate freely it willimprove the democratic reformsin Myanmar.“I want to apply to register ourorganisation because I want towork according to the law butwe cannot do so under theserestrictions … I would like tosuggest to the government thatthe 1988 registration law is toorestrictive and the governmentshould create a new law that isvery free and fair.”
Govt relaxes NGO registration process
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Kyaw Thu at a ceremony to mark the 10
th
anniversary of the Free FuneralService Society (Yangon) at its North Dagon township headquarters on April 23, 2011.
Pic: Kaung Htet
By Yamon Phu Thit
THE Social Security Boardis planning to negotiatecontracts with state andprivate hospitals and clinicsso that insured workers havemore treatment options, asenior official said last week.Under the contract system,the cost of medicine andtreatment for insured patientswill be paid directly to therespective hospitals, saidU Yu Lwin Aung, directorgeneral of the Social SecurityBoard. He said the contractsystem would dramaticallyexpand the number of placeswhere injured workers couldreceive treatment and theSocial Security Board hopedto attract more members asa result.“The current healthcaresystem is not enough forworkers as the social securityclinics cannot provide 24-hour service,” he said. “Socialsecurity clinics cannot befound all over the country soworkers in areas where thereare no social security clinicscan face difficulties.”There are currently onlythree workers hospitals – in Yangon, Mandalay and BagoRegion’s Tantabin – and 92social security clinics. Only570,000 workers across 110townships have joined theSocial Security Board.U Yu Lwin Aung said theexample of Thailand, wheremore than 9.3 million workerswere members of the SocialSecurity Board, showed thatMyanmar’s “social securityhospitals and clinics are notreliable for workers”.Thailand’s Social SecurityBoard works with morethan 150 government and90 private hospitals to offertreatment to members.Social Security Boardmember Ma Ei Thandarsaid her experience withthe board’s clinic in SouthDagon township had not beenpleasant.“There was a long queueof patients and I wasparticularly upset by thepoor service from the doctorsand nurses,” she said.“I really don’t trust thembecause they don’t havespecialists, they have onlygeneral practitioners. I onlywent there to claim the costof my medicines.”U Yu Lwin Aung said theboard’s contract plan couldbe limited by the space andpersonnel constraints of itspartners and may not coverall kinds of treatments,particularly chronic diseases.He said the board hoped toget advice from the MyanmarMedical Association toensure the system workedsmoothly.“If we can set a fair pricefor medical expenses thenpoor people will be able torely on our group for healthtreatment,” he said. “Morepeople will join if we offermore benefits.”The proposed changescome after the PyidaungsuHluttaw last month approvedthe Social Security Bill toreplace the Social Security Act, which was introducedin 1954.
Social Security Board plansrevamp of health services
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