( 1 ) Chairman of State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe and Daw Kyaing Kyaing host 53rd Anniversary Independence Day reception and banquet

Yangon, 4 Jan -Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing hosted the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day reception and banquet at Pyithu Hluttaw building on Pyay Road this evening. Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing arrived at the venue of the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day reception and banquet at 6.30 pm.

Senior General Than Shwe and Daw Kyaing Kyaing together with Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Commander-in-Chief (Army) General Maung Aye, Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, Secretary-2 Lt-Gen Tin Oo and Secretary-3 Lt-Gen Win Myint,  member of the State Peace and Development Council Chairman of Yangon Division Peace and Development Council Commander Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than, Deputy Prime Ministers Vice-Admiral Maung Maung Khin and Lt-Gen Tin Tun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Military Affairs Lt-Gen Tin Hla, Minister for Foreign Affairs U Win Aung cordially greeted the diplomats and their wives, Charges d' Affaires, resident representatives of UN agencies and their wives led by Dean of Diplomatic Corps Ambassador of Lao People's Democratic Republic Mr Ly Bounkham and wife.

Also present at the dinner were the Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council and wife, the Secretary-1 and wife, the Secretary-2 and wife, the Secretary-3 and wife, members of the State Peace and Development Council and their wives, Deputy Prime Ministers and their wives, ministers and their wives, the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, the Auditor-General, the Chairman of Civil Services Selection and Training Board, the Chairman of Yangon City Development Committee and their wives, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and wife, Secretaries of Multiparty Democracy General Election Commission and National Convention Convening Commission and directors-general of the State Peace and Development Council Office, Government's Office, the Pyithu Hluttaw Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomats and their wives led by Ambassador Dean of Diplomatic Corps Ambassador of Lao People's Democratic Republic Mr Ly Bounkham, Charges d' Affaires, resident representatives of UN agencies and their wives, chairmen of sub-committees for organizing the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day, entrepreneurs, delegates of States and Division Union Solidarity and Development Associations, guests, outstanding students who received prizes at the prize-presentation ceremony of the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Commemorative Essay, Poem, TV Quiz and Computer Arts Competitions. The guests were entertained to the programmes of songs by vocalists accompanied by Myanma Athan Modern Music Troupe during the banquet. After the banquet, the guests were entertained to the programmes of variety dances by artistes of the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture, in the Thabin Hall.

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( 2 ) Prime Minister Senior General Than Shwe and wife see off Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad and wife

Yangon, 4 Jan- Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad and wife Datin Seri Dr Sitti Hasmah Haji Mohamad Ali, who are currently here on a working visit at the invitation of Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Prime Minister Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing, left here by special flight this morning to continue their visit. Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Prime Minister Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing met Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad and wife Datin Seri Dr Sitti Hasmah Haji Mohamad Ali at Seinle Kantha State House at 8.25 am today.

Then, Prime Minister Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad and wife Datin Seri Dr Sitti Hasmah Haji Mohamad Ali left Seinle Kantha State House in a motorcade and arrived at Yangon International Airport at 8.55 am. The Malaysian Prime Minister and wife left the airport at 9.10 am to continue their visit in Myanmar.

The Malaysian Prime Minister and wife were seen off at the airport by Prime Minister Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing, Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Commander-in-Chief (Army) General Maung Aye and wife Daw Mya Mya San,Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt and wife Dr Daw Khin Win Shwe,Secretary-2 Lt-Gen Tin Oo and wife Daw Khin Than Nwe, Secretary-3 Lt-Gen Win Myint and wife Daw Khin Cho Oo,member of the State Peace and Development Council Chairman of Yangon Division Peace and Development Council Commander Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than and wife,Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Military Affairs Lt-Gen Tin Hla and wife,Minister for Foreign Affairs U Win Aung and wife,Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs U Khin Maung Win, Ambassador of Malaysia to Myanmar Dato Mohamad bin Noh and wife and embassy staff and heads of department.

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( 3 ) Student youths urged to always safeguard independence, sovereignty while learning modern technologies to keep abreast of the world

Yangon, 4 Jan - A prize-giving ceremony for the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Commemorative Essay and Poetry Competitions, TV Quiz and Computer Graphic Art Competition was held at the Pyithu Hluttaw building on Pyay Road, with an address by Chairman of the Central Committee for Organizing the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Celebration Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt. Also present were Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Tin Oo, Secretary-3 Lt-Gen Win Myint, member of the State Peace and Development Council Commander of Yangon Command Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than, ministers, the Yangon Mayor, deputy ministers, the Vice-Mayor, members of the Central Committee for Organizing the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Celebration, members of the sub-committees for organizing the competitions, the Director-General of the State Peace and Development Council Office, departmental heads, rectors, principals, school heads, prize winners and guests.

Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt said it was a great honour to hold the prize-giving ceremony in accord with the saying " Honouring those to whom honour is due" as deserving prizes were to be given to the students who wrote, composed and described in their prize-winning works the value of independence and its essence and meaning with facts and adequate reference to historical records.

He said the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day was observed in accord with the four national objectives  all the national peoples to maintain and safeguard independence and sovereignty of the State for perpetuation as a national duty; all the national peoples to implement the task to built a new modern and developed nation; all the national peoples to be united to ensure non-disintegration of the Union and non-disintegration of national solidarity; and, all the national peoples to strive for emergence of an enduring Constitution.

He also spoke of the discovery of the high primates belonging to the time 40 million years back and development of human civilizations on the land of Myanmar 2000 years ago, and noted that historical records show that city states had been in existence for aeons. Myanmar had stood staunchly with pride as an independent nation, and the First Myanmar Empire was founded in Bagan Era, the Second Myanmar Empire in Toungoo Era and the Third Myanmar Empire in Konbaung Era.

The colonialists waged three aggressive wars against  Myanmar and the sovereignty was entirely eclipsed in 1885. With the fervent desire to regain the independence, the peoples of Myanmar unitedly fought against the usurpers and were able to regain independence on 4 January 1948. It is a national duty demanded by history for each and every citizen to safeguard the independence and sovereignty perpetually and strive their utmost for building a modern, developed nation, he said. Today, the super power neo-colonialist countries are employing the tactics of overtly meddling in the internal affairs of the countries where they want to dominate their power, rearing their followers in those countries and giving pressure in all sectors to destabilize politics and economic and to undermine national unity.

Then, all the new generation educated, intelligent youths need to know that it is a time calling for efforts to vitalize the inherited nationalism and the Union Spirit more than ever. He quoted Senior General Than Shwe as saying in his speech at the opening ceremony of skill and intellectual development courses of the Union Solidarity and Development Association on 29 November 2000 that Myanmar is standing as a nation free of bonds and shackles, that although it faces external pressure and political interference common to some developing nations, Myanmar manages to safeguard its own stand, and that Myanmar is friendly with the world's nations maintaining relations in accord with the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence.

The Secretary-1 spoke of the need for the national peoples and youths to guard their nation against internal and external destructionists with the Union Spirit and patriotism in harmony and unison. Entering a new century, the world is witnessing the rapidly advancing technologies and intellectual property, and thus, today's world is called " Knowledge Age".

Myanmar needs to strive to keep up with the advancing technologies and knowhow, he pointed out. He also spoke of the national plans and tasks for human resources development, new establishments in the higher education sector and opening of courses for post-graduate and doctorate degrees. These tasks are aimed at emergence of a permanent " Learning Society", he said and added that for this objective to materialize, educational promotion plans are being implemented in both the higher education and in the basic education sectors to face the challenges in the modern world. Regarding youth development schemes and actions, the Secretary-1 noted that Myanma traditional cultural performing arts competitions have been held since 1993 and in them, student youths ranging from those of the primary education level to those of the institutes of higher education actively and talentedly compete and win deserving awards.

This is one of the encouraging results, and the skill and talent of new generation student youths prove that they will be able to preserve and promote cultural heritage in their times. He urged the youths to preserve national cultural heritage, traditional customs and values and vitalize nationalism while they are learning the ever-advancing technologies to keep abreast of the world. For the student youths to understand the essence and value of independence, the commemorative essay and poetry competitions have been held 10 times, TV quiz nine times and computer graphic art competition five times.

Altogether 328,319 student youths 1,800 in the higher education level, 119,044 in the basic education high school level and 207,475 in the basic education middle school level   took part in the commemorative essay competition. It is encourage to see more and more student youths participating in the Independence Day commemorative literary and art competitions and improvement of their skill and talent year after year.

In conclusion, the Secretary-1 urged the prize winners and all student youths to strive for emergence of a modern, developed nation in accord with the Twelve National Objectives, cooperate in their respective roles for successful implementation of the national educational development special four-year plan, strive as a national duty in human resources development projects, and cultivate themselves to always safeguard independence and sovereignty and ever vitalize nationalism and Union Spirit among youths in accordance with the objectives of the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Celebration.

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( 4 ) Secretary-2 visits 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Exhibition

Yangon, 4 Jan-Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt- Gen Tin Oo this morning visited the 53 rd Anniversary Independence Day Exhibition sponsored by the 53 rd Anniversary Independence Day Exhibition Sub- committee at Tatmadaw Convention Center U Wisara Road.Secretary-2 Lt- Gen Tin Oo arrived at exhibition at 11.15 . Then Secretary-2 Lt- Gen Tin Oo viewed the booths of the exhibition and left there in the afternoon.

Over 10,000 attend 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Yangon City Flag-Hoisting Ceremony

Yangon, 4 Jan - The 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Yangon City Flag-Hoisting and Saluting Ceremony was held at the People's Square on Pyay Road this morning, attended by over 10,000 people.

The ceremony was held in accord with the four national objectives laid down for the occasion . All the national people to maintain and safeguard independence and sovereignty of the State for their perpetuation as a national duty; all the national people to implement the task to build a new modern and developed nation; all the national people to be united to ensure non-disintegration of the Union and non-disintegration of national solidarity; all the national people to strive for the emergence of an enduring Constitution. Members of Division, District and Township Union Solidarity and Development Associations, teachers, students, members of Red Cross and Auxiliary Fire Brigade, departmental personnel, members of Township Maternal and Child Welfare Associations, farmers and workers from South Okkalapa, Dawbon, Yankin, North Okkalapa, Tamway, Mingala Taungnyunt, Thingangyun, Thakayta, Dagon Myothit (North), Dagon Myothit (South), Botahtaung, Pazundaung, Dagon Myothit (East) and Dagon Myothit (Seikkan) of Yangon East District, Kamayut, Kyauktada, Kyimyindine, Sangyoung, Seikkan, Dagon, Bahan, Pabedan, Mayangon, Latha, Lanmadaw, Hline and Ahlon of Yangon West District, Thanlyin, Kyauktan and Dalla of Yangon South District and Insein, Mingaladon, Hline-thaya and Shwepyithaya of Yangon North District totalling 9,000 assembled at their designated places.

Also present on the occasion were members of USDA Central Executive Committee, members of Division, District and Township Peace and Development Councils, senior military officers of Yangon Command, members of Organizing Work Committee for Observance of   the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Yangon City Flag Ceremony, senior military officers of the Ministry of Defence, heads of central bodies, directors-general and managing director of departments and enterprises, heads of office of the ministries, heads of departments of Yangon City Development Committee, rectors and principals, medical superintendents, division level officials, township education officers, executives of Division, District and Township USDAs, representatives of 16 NGOs, national race couples of Fine Arts Department, local and foreign journalists, military region commanders totalling 1,094. At 4.20 am, the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Yangon City Flag-Hoisting Ceremony was held.

The 53rd Anniversary Independence Flag Saluting Ceremony was held at 7 am. The Guard of Honour (Army, Navy, Air) Company marched from Pyithu Hluttaw toward the People's Square and took place. Member of the State Peace and Development Council Chairman of Yangon Division Peace and Development Council Chairman of Subcommittee for Organizing the 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Yangon City Flag Hoisting and Saluting Ceremony Commander Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than arrived there and took the salute of the Guard of Honour. Together with the Guard of Honour, the people saluted the State Flag, the State Military Band played the national anthem. The Guard of Honour then presented salute in memory of the Fallen Leaders and Comrades and recited the Four Oaths. Afterwards, Commander Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than read the message of Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe. The Guard of Honour then presented salute to the Commander and left.  

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( 5 ) 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Commemorative Exhibition continues

Yangon, 4 Jan - The 53rd Anniversary Independence Day Commemorative Exhibition continued at the Tatmadaw Hall on U Wisara Road in Dagon Township this morning. It was visited by members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association of Insein, Kyauktada and Ahlon Townships, teachers and pupils of Basic Education High School Nos 1, 2 and 3, monks and the people. On show at the exhibition are photos and documents concerning different eras of Myanma history, the First Myanmar Empire, the Second Myanmar Empire and the Third Myanmar Empire, independence struggles of Myanmar national races and efforts to perpetuate independence.

The subcommittee for organizing the exhibition will award K 50,000 to the one who can answer a quiz by correctly filling in the form the number of the most favorite photo, the poster, the painting and the name of the ministry. Soft Guide also presents prizes to students who can answer the names of towns shown on the map of Myanmar on the computer. News and Periodicals Enterprise, Information and Public Relations Department and Sarpay Beikman have opened book shops. The exhibition will be open from 9 am to 5 pm till 11 January. Altogether 4,272 monks and people visited the exhibition today, and the book shops sold books worth K 24,950.

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( 6 ) New roads opened

Yangon, 4 Jan-Minister for Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs Col Thein Nyunt together with officials attended the opening ceremony of urban and rural roads in Bago Township this morning. Also present were Officiating Tactical Operations Commander of No 77 LID Lt-Col Khin Maung Win, Director of the Division Development Department U Kyan Taing Aung, Secretary of Bago District Peace and Development Council Maj Thein Htay, Chairman of the township Peace and Development Council U Lu Pe Win and departmental heads, members of division/district/township Union Solidarity and Development Associations, members of the Township Committee for Women's Affairs and Maternal and Child Welfare Association, War Veteran Associations, Fire Brigade, Red Cross Society, band troupe and local residents. The minister and party attended the opening of self-reliance tarred road on Thon Phaya Street, Thon Phaya Ward in Bago. Then, the minister and party inspected newly opened road Kyidawgon-1 Street in Shinsawpu Ward. The minister and party attended the opening of Obo rural road (Seinthalyaung Pagoda Road) and inspected it. He also inspected construction of road linking Ngasudaung and East Kyainn Villages and left necessary instructions.

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( 7 ) Minister inspects fish breeding farm

Yangon, 4 Dec-Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Brig-Gen Maung Maung Thein arrived Ywathagyi Livestock Breeding Farm of Livestock, Feedstuff and Dairy Products Enterprise, this morning. Then, the minister and party also inspected fish breeding farms of YCDC and Fisheries Department in Laydauntkan. The Minister and party also inspected digging of fish and prawn ponds of KN Co in Hlegu Township and of BTB Co in Mingaladon Township and gave necessary instructions on systematic breeding and cleanliness of the environment.

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