KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Asian countries are failing to stem the illegal cross-border trade of bear bile amid growing demand for folk remedies harvested from the live animals, an anti-smuggling group said Wednesday.
The trafficking of bile-based traditional medicine is a key threat to the region's bears, especially Asiatic black bears whose numbers in the wild have declined to as few as 25,000 in recent years, partly because of poaching, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia said in a report.
Digestive juice drained from the gall bladders of live bears has been used for centuries across Asia to treat ailments ranging from sore throats and muscle aches to epilepsy and hemorrhoids.
"The demand for bile is one of the greatest drivers behind (the illegal bear parts) trade and must be reduced if bear conservation efforts are to succeed," said TRAFFIC official Kaitlyn-Elizabeth Foley.
Researchers found bile pills, powders and ointments in more than 50 percent of traditional medicine shops they visited in mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam over the past year, TRAFFIC's report said.
More than 30 percent of such businesses in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand also sold those products, it said. Other countries, such as Cambodia, Laos and Singapore, had stores selling them but to a lesser extent.
All the territories had a significant amount of bile products that the stores claimed originated from other countries, especially China, TRAFFIC said.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species forbids the cross-border trade of bear bile.
In other signs of smuggling, Hong Kong's shops sold bile pills believed to be from Japan, South Korea had products from Russian wild bears and Myanmar had whole bear gall bladders from Laos, the report said.
Bile products come from farms in various nations where thousands of captive bears are legally used for bile extraction. Those products are supposed to be sold only in the country of origin.
TRAFFIC urged Asian authorities to step up enforcement by shutting down medicine outlets that offer bear parts from other nations. It also called for strong penalties against people caught illegally collecting or transporting bear parts.
Over the years, wildlife activists have also voiced concerns that bile collection can cause agony and slow death for bears. Legal methods of bile extraction involve making a permanent hole in a bear's abdomen, but some farms are believed to use more painful measures such as illegally inserting metal catheters and rubber tubes into the bears.
Many farms also do not have captive breeding programs, raising fears that they rely on bears snatched from the wild.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Aung San Suu Kyi: Liberty 28 Jun 2011 (Reith Lecture)
Aung San Suu Kyi discusses what freedom means in the first of her 2011 Reith Lectures, entitled Liberty. The Burmese pro-democracy leader reflects on her own experience under house arrest in Burma, exploring the universal human aspiration to be free and the spirit which drives people to dissent. She also comments on the Arab Spring, comparing the event that triggered last December's revolution in Tunisia with the death of a student during a protest in Burma in 1988.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Stop blogging for 10 days
STOP BLOGGING FOR 10 DAYS FOR NEWS RELATED BURMA......BE BACK SOON FOR BLOGGING AFTER 10 DAYS....
Thursday, May 12, 2011
UN special envoy to Myanmar meets Aung San Suu Kyi despite objections
May 12, 2011, 13:48 GMT
Yangon - The United Nations special envoy to Myanmar met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday on an official visit that has been criticised by human rights groups as part of the military-run government's new 'charm offensive.'
After his talks with Suu Kyi, Vijay Nambiar described his visit as 'encouraging,' but cautioned that its outcome 'depends on the government's reaction.'
Myanmar held a general election on November 7 which brought the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party to power led by President Thein Sein, a former general.
'The UN and Nambiar should not allow his visit to be misused by the government to shore up its credibility on human rights in the absence of meaningful progress,' said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
The New York based human rights group had urged UN envoy to push for the freeing of 2,000 political prisoners in Myanmar jails.
'He raised the issue of the political prisoners but the government didn't respond clearly,' Suu Kyi told a press conference after her meeting with Nambiar.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's special envoy was in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday where he met Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and other officials but was not granted an audience with Thein Sein.
Over the weekend, Thein Sein pushed for Myanmar to host the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in 2014 in Jakarta. The proposal was widely condemned by human rights groups.
'The chairmanship is not important,' Suu Kyi said of the bid. 'The most important thing is reforms within the country.'
Pearson warned that Myanmar's new regime was 'on a desperate charm offensive to convince the world it's a rights-respecting democracy, despite all evidence to the contrary.'
Thursday's meeting was Nambiar's first face-to-face encounter with Suu Kyi, the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was released from six years of house detention on November 13. She has spent about 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest.
The UN special envoy last visited Myanmar five months ago, after the November polls.
The election was generally criticized by Western democracies since it excluded Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD).
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The NLD won an election in 1990 but was blocked from assuming power by the junta.
The NLD boycotted the November polls after the military passed regulations that would have forced them to expel Suu Kyi from their party in order to contest the elections.
After his talks with Suu Kyi, Vijay Nambiar described his visit as 'encouraging,' but cautioned that its outcome 'depends on the government's reaction.'
Myanmar held a general election on November 7 which brought the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party to power led by President Thein Sein, a former general.
'The UN and Nambiar should not allow his visit to be misused by the government to shore up its credibility on human rights in the absence of meaningful progress,' said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
The New York based human rights group had urged UN envoy to push for the freeing of 2,000 political prisoners in Myanmar jails.
'He raised the issue of the political prisoners but the government didn't respond clearly,' Suu Kyi told a press conference after her meeting with Nambiar.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's special envoy was in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday where he met Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and other officials but was not granted an audience with Thein Sein.
Over the weekend, Thein Sein pushed for Myanmar to host the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in 2014 in Jakarta. The proposal was widely condemned by human rights groups.
'The chairmanship is not important,' Suu Kyi said of the bid. 'The most important thing is reforms within the country.'
Pearson warned that Myanmar's new regime was 'on a desperate charm offensive to convince the world it's a rights-respecting democracy, despite all evidence to the contrary.'
Thursday's meeting was Nambiar's first face-to-face encounter with Suu Kyi, the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was released from six years of house detention on November 13. She has spent about 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest.
The UN special envoy last visited Myanmar five months ago, after the November polls.
The election was generally criticized by Western democracies since it excluded Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD).
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The NLD won an election in 1990 but was blocked from assuming power by the junta.
The NLD boycotted the November polls after the military passed regulations that would have forced them to expel Suu Kyi from their party in order to contest the elections.
Two Myanmar refugees on murder rap
Thursday, May 12th, 2011 11:13:00
The suspects, Salai Zaw Ki, 27, and Pan Hung, 22, had allegedly murdered Peng Thung on April 27 between 12.30am and 3.20am at Lot 526, Batu 6, Jalan Cheras.
Both suspects were arrested later that same day.
All three had worked as construction workers and no plea was recorded when the charge was made at the magistrate's court here yesterday.
Magistrate Siti Shakirah Mohtaruddin set July 11 for next mention and for a translator to be present.
Both suspects were unrepresented.
Purnomo Yusgiantoro: ASEAN Needs Common Security Standards
Jimmy Hitipeuw | Kamis, 12 Mei 2011
Reuters A man shows a gold bar to costumers during the ASEAN Jewellery Expo in Jakarta May 5, 2011. Indonesias gross domestic product expanded 6.5 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, in line with expectations and driven by strong consumption and investment in Southeast Asias biggest economy. JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said ASEAN absolutely needs common security standards to create regional stability in support of its member states’ economic growth and bargaining power in global forums.
Purnomo made the remark at a meeting with editors-in-chief here on Wednesday. The meeting was called to explain the agenda of an ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting (ADMM) scheduled for May 19 in Jakarta.
The meeting is part of the activities carried out by Indonesia as the current chair of ASEAN. It also serves as the implementation of ASEAN three pillars which put emphasis on development of political, security and economic sectors in the quest for an ASEAN community by 2015.
In essence, the meeting would focus on efforts to create a more stable and peaceful region, he said. "We will focus on practical cooperation such as exchange of regional cooperation, settlement of dispute in the South China Sea, maritime security by realizing code of conduct among ASEAN member states in a clear manner."
Also in the agenda of the meeting would be counter-terrorism programs, informal meetings among defence and military top officials to settle a wide range of problems in the region by observing the ASEAN Charter, he said.
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
--- KOMPAS.com ---
Reuters A man shows a gold bar to costumers during the ASEAN Jewellery Expo in Jakarta May 5, 2011. Indonesias gross domestic product expanded 6.5 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, in line with expectations and driven by strong consumption and investment in Southeast Asias biggest economy. Purnomo made the remark at a meeting with editors-in-chief here on Wednesday. The meeting was called to explain the agenda of an ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting (ADMM) scheduled for May 19 in Jakarta.
The meeting is part of the activities carried out by Indonesia as the current chair of ASEAN. It also serves as the implementation of ASEAN three pillars which put emphasis on development of political, security and economic sectors in the quest for an ASEAN community by 2015.
In essence, the meeting would focus on efforts to create a more stable and peaceful region, he said. "We will focus on practical cooperation such as exchange of regional cooperation, settlement of dispute in the South China Sea, maritime security by realizing code of conduct among ASEAN member states in a clear manner."
Also in the agenda of the meeting would be counter-terrorism programs, informal meetings among defence and military top officials to settle a wide range of problems in the region by observing the ASEAN Charter, he said.
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
--- KOMPAS.com ---
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Libya: Nato doesn't know if Col Gaddafi is dead or alive
Nato has admitted that it doesn't know if Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is dead or alive.
Colonel Muamar Gaddafi Photo: REUTERS
A spokesman for Nato said its air strikes on Tripoli were not aimed at killing him.
"All Nato targets are military targets, which means that the targets we've been hitting are command and control bunkers," Claudio Gabellini said.
"Nato is not targeting individuals."
Asked about the whereabouts of Gaddafi, who has not been seen in public since he reportedly escaped an air strike on April 30 that killed his son, Mr Gabellini said: "We don't have any evidence. We don't know what Gaddafi is doing right now.
"And I tell you the truth we're not really interested in what he is doing,"
While the Libyan government insists that Gaddafi is in mourning for his son and will make an appearance in public soon, his absence has led to rumours that he died in the attack, the Guardian reports. At least two NATO bombs struck the family compound on April 30 while Gaddafi was there, although his supporters said that he had survived "unhurt".
However, he did not attend the funeral of his son Saif al-Arab and three grandchildren who were also reportedly killed in the attack.
Officials blamed security fears for keeping him away and accused Nato of trying to assassinate him.
An FCO spokesman said: "We don't comment on rumour and speculation."
Nato officials, who began the campaign in March, have stepped up the pace of air strikes in Tripoli in recent weeks, aimed at what they described as the regime's military command and communications centres.
Statement From the Family of Osama bin Laden
Statement from the family of Sheikh Osama bin Laden
I Omar Ossama Binladin and my brothers the lawful children and heirs of the Ossama Binladin (OBL) have noted wide coverage of the news of the death of our father, but we are not convinced on the available evidence in the absence of dead body, photographs, and video evidence that our natural father is dead. Therefore, with this press statement, we seek such conclusive evidence to believe the stories published in relation to 2 May 2011 operation Geronimo as declared by the President of United States Barrack Hussein Obama in his speech that he authorized the said operation and killing of OBL and later confirmed his death.
If OBL has been killed in that operation as President of United States has claimed then we are just in questioning as per media reports that why an unarmed man was not arrested and tried in a court of law so that truth is revealed to the people of the world. If he has been summarily executed then, we question the propriety of such assassination where not only international law has been blatantly violated but USA has set a very different example whereby right to have a fair trial, and presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a court of law has been sacrificed on which western society is built and is standing when a trial of OBL was possible for any wrongdoing as that of Iraqi President Sadam Hussein and Serbian President Slobodan Miloševic'. We maintain that arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems and crime's adjudication as Justice must be seen to be done.
It is also unworthy of the special forces to shoot unarmed female family members of Binladen killing a female and that of one of his son.
Most importantly, when it is a common knowledge that OBL's family is residing at one place outside KSA, why they were not contacted to receive his dead body. His sudden and un witnessed burial at sea has deprived the family of performing religious rights of a Muslim man.
Finally, now that the operation is concluded we wish the Government of Pakistan to release and hand over all minors of the family and all the family members are reunited at one place and are repatriated to their country of origin, especially female members of the family to avoid further oppression and we seek international support to that effect.
Without agreeing to the ways of OBL as to how he professed, believed and operated, We Omar Ossama Binladin, and my brothers, the lawful children of the Ossama Binladin (OBL) herewith demand an inquiry under UNO to reach to the accuracy of the facts as stated by United States into the fundamental question as to why our father was not arrested and tried but summarily executed without a court of law. We are putting these questions to the United Nations, OIC, President of United States that a necessary evidence is presented to the family in private and or public to make us believe what they claim, and all the remaining family members are repatriated and united after necessary initial investigation.
In making this statement, we want to remind the world that Omar Ossam Binladin, the fourth-born son of our father, always disagreed with our father regarding any violence and always sent messages to our father, that he must change his ways and that no civilians should be attacked under any circumstances. Despite the difficulty of publicly disagreeing with our father, he never hesitated to condemn any violent attacks made by anyone, and expressed sorrow for the victims of any and all attacks. As he condemned our father, we now condemn the president of the United States for ordering the execution of unarmed men and women.
Failure to answer these questions will force us to go to International forum for justice such as International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice and UN must take notice of the violation of international law and assist us to have answers for which we are lawful in seeking them. A panel of eminent British and international lawyers is being constituted and a necessary action may be taken if no answers are furnished within 30 days of this statement.
---The New York Times---
I Omar Ossama Binladin and my brothers the lawful children and heirs of the Ossama Binladin (OBL) have noted wide coverage of the news of the death of our father, but we are not convinced on the available evidence in the absence of dead body, photographs, and video evidence that our natural father is dead. Therefore, with this press statement, we seek such conclusive evidence to believe the stories published in relation to 2 May 2011 operation Geronimo as declared by the President of United States Barrack Hussein Obama in his speech that he authorized the said operation and killing of OBL and later confirmed his death.
If OBL has been killed in that operation as President of United States has claimed then we are just in questioning as per media reports that why an unarmed man was not arrested and tried in a court of law so that truth is revealed to the people of the world. If he has been summarily executed then, we question the propriety of such assassination where not only international law has been blatantly violated but USA has set a very different example whereby right to have a fair trial, and presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a court of law has been sacrificed on which western society is built and is standing when a trial of OBL was possible for any wrongdoing as that of Iraqi President Sadam Hussein and Serbian President Slobodan Miloševic'. We maintain that arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems and crime's adjudication as Justice must be seen to be done.
It is also unworthy of the special forces to shoot unarmed female family members of Binladen killing a female and that of one of his son.
Most importantly, when it is a common knowledge that OBL's family is residing at one place outside KSA, why they were not contacted to receive his dead body. His sudden and un witnessed burial at sea has deprived the family of performing religious rights of a Muslim man.
Finally, now that the operation is concluded we wish the Government of Pakistan to release and hand over all minors of the family and all the family members are reunited at one place and are repatriated to their country of origin, especially female members of the family to avoid further oppression and we seek international support to that effect.
Without agreeing to the ways of OBL as to how he professed, believed and operated, We Omar Ossama Binladin, and my brothers, the lawful children of the Ossama Binladin (OBL) herewith demand an inquiry under UNO to reach to the accuracy of the facts as stated by United States into the fundamental question as to why our father was not arrested and tried but summarily executed without a court of law. We are putting these questions to the United Nations, OIC, President of United States that a necessary evidence is presented to the family in private and or public to make us believe what they claim, and all the remaining family members are repatriated and united after necessary initial investigation.
In making this statement, we want to remind the world that Omar Ossam Binladin, the fourth-born son of our father, always disagreed with our father regarding any violence and always sent messages to our father, that he must change his ways and that no civilians should be attacked under any circumstances. Despite the difficulty of publicly disagreeing with our father, he never hesitated to condemn any violent attacks made by anyone, and expressed sorrow for the victims of any and all attacks. As he condemned our father, we now condemn the president of the United States for ordering the execution of unarmed men and women.
Failure to answer these questions will force us to go to International forum for justice such as International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice and UN must take notice of the violation of international law and assist us to have answers for which we are lawful in seeking them. A panel of eminent British and international lawyers is being constituted and a necessary action may be taken if no answers are furnished within 30 days of this statement.
---The New York Times---
Top UN official visits Myanmar
YANGON - A TOP aide to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has arrived in Myanmar on an official visit to meet members of the country's newly elected government and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The three-day visit by Vijay Nambiar is the first by a top UN diplomat since a nominally civilian government took over from the ruling junta in March.
Officials said Mr Nambiar was scheduled to meet high-ranking government officials on Wednesday in the remote capital of Naypyitaw.
He was expected to meet Suu Kyi on Thursday in Yangon. The Nobel laureate was released from house arrest after the elections, which her party boycotted.
Critics say Myanmar's election was a charade to ensure continued military domination. -- AP
The three-day visit by Vijay Nambiar is the first by a top UN diplomat since a nominally civilian government took over from the ruling junta in March.
Officials said Mr Nambiar was scheduled to meet high-ranking government officials on Wednesday in the remote capital of Naypyitaw.
He was expected to meet Suu Kyi on Thursday in Yangon. The Nobel laureate was released from house arrest after the elections, which her party boycotted.
Critics say Myanmar's election was a charade to ensure continued military domination. -- AP
Report: Asia fails to stop illegal bear bile trade
Asiatic Black Bear cub
In this Oct. 2, 2010 photo released by TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, an Asiatic Black Bear cub watches from its cage at a bear bile farm in Hanoi, Vietnam. Asian countries are failing to stem the illegal cross-border trade of bear bile amid robust demand for folk remedies harvested from the live animals, an anti-smuggling group said Wednesday, May 11, 2011.
(AP Photo/TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, M. Silverberg)
Oil drilling to begin in Burma’s eco-sensitive Hukaung Valley
Tuesday, 10 May 2011 17:24 Thomas Maung Shwe (Mizzima)
(News Analysis) – Endangered tigers and local villagers are threatened by an oil-drilling venture due to start in a remote area of Burma’s northern Kachin State.
A Singapore-based joint venture firm Silver Wave Exploration & Production announced last week that it will soon begin drilling for oil on land that includes the ecologically sensitive Hukaung Valley in Kachin state.
Environmentalists and opposition activists worry Silver Wave’s exploitation of the 19,066-sq km block of land could wipe out endangered animals and kick people off their land.
The Hukaung valley, also spelt Hukawang, is home to rare tigers and other endangered species including leopards, Himalayan bears and elephants.
Activists have expressed concern that local villagers and farmers will be driven off their land and made homeless by Silver Wave’s operations.
In 2001, the Burmese military regime in collaboration with the American NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) established the Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve. Local residents were given no opportunity for input and many critics from Burma’s democratic opposition worried that the reserve was a bogus ploy by the military regime to get foreign funds. The critics also charged that a key backer of the project WCS’s former director of science and exploration, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, was woefully naïve for working with the Burmese regime and praising the generals.
Tigers in the wild are said to number a mere 3,000 worldwide, according to WCS.
In 2004, the reserve’s total area expanded to include the entire valley of 21,890 square kilometers, creating what was heralded as the largest tiger reserve in the world. Since the reserve’s expansion, the Burmese regime has encouraged logging, gold mining, large scale farms and the building of factories inside what is supposed to be a tiger and nature reserve.
According to a report in the Business Times of Singapore, Silver Wave Exploration & Production was formed recently as a joint venture between Silver Wave Energy Pte Ltd, another Singaporean firm, BFI Holding Pte Ltd, and two firms from Japan, Star Field Corporation and Star Holding Corporation.
A press release issued by BFI Holdings on April 18 stated that Silver Wave Exploration’s drilling programme in the Hukaung valley will begin this year and have a budget of US$ 100 million. The press release also indicated that Silver Wave exploration ‘has acquired all licence rights for exploration and production oil-prospecting acquisitions at Block B (B 2)’ which Silver Wave energy had previously received from state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).
The BFI press release said that Block B2 is located in the Hukaung Valley, although several previous MOGE reports including a detailed map made for an Asia Development Bank conference in 2008 placed B2 further south in an area of Northern Sagain Division called Zebyutaung-Nandaw (also spelt Zeebyutaung) in Pinlebu Township. The 2008 MOGE report listed the Hukaung block as PSC-A. The reason for the discrepancy remains unclear.
Silver Wave Energy Pte Ltd while based in Singapore is owned by Burmese businessman Min Min Aung (also known as Minn Minn Oung) and is part of his Silver Wave Trading group, a conglomerate known for having close ties to Burma’s generals.
Silver Wave Energy Pte Ltd has been active in both offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration in Burma since at least 2006. Min Min Aung previously joined forces with government officials from the Russian republic of Kalmykia to form Silver Wave Sputnik Petroleum Pte incorporated in Singapore.
Burmese state media reported in March 2007 that Silver Wave Sputnik and Silver Wave Energy signed an agreement with state-owned MOGE to explore for oil in the Hukaung Valley. Boris Chedyrov, the Kalmykia Republic’s Minister for Energy, attended a March 2007 ceremony with Min Min Aung and Burmese government officials.
In September 2008, The New Light of Myanmar reported that MOGE had signed a deal with Russian firm Nobel Oil of the Russian Federation to allow for oil and gas exploration in the Hukaung and U-ru regions. It appears that Nobel Oil let their licenses for these areas expire without renewing them.
Junta land grab in Hukaung Valley makes thousands homeless
According to a report produced by the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) in August of last year, since 2006 the Yuzana Corporation has with the support of central government authorities expropriated more than 809 square km (200,000 acres) of land in the Hukaung valley from local Kachin villagers.
KDNG reports that hundreds of families have been displaced by Yuzana’s land acquisition. As with many other such state approved land grabs in Burma, the displaced families were not adequately compensated and many were forced to say they were moved ‘willingly’.
Yuzana has planted large plantations of cassava root and sugar cane on the contested land. Instead of hiring local people for the massive plantation farms, Yuzana has imported workers belonging to the Burman majority from the south of the country.
Reports from the area indicate that the Yuzana’s operations have created intense resentment among the remaining Kachin residents of the Hukaung Valley. The Burmese military is reportedly giving the Yuzana employees military training to deal with unhappy local residents. Yuzana is headed by Htay Myint, a real estate tycoon said to be close to Burma’s generals.
(News Analysis) – Endangered tigers and local villagers are threatened by an oil-drilling venture due to start in a remote area of Burma’s northern Kachin State.
The Hukaung valley is home to rare tigers and other endangered species including leopards, Himalayan bears and elephants. Photo: Wildlife Conservation Society
Environmentalists and opposition activists worry Silver Wave’s exploitation of the 19,066-sq km block of land could wipe out endangered animals and kick people off their land.
The Hukaung valley, also spelt Hukawang, is home to rare tigers and other endangered species including leopards, Himalayan bears and elephants.
Activists have expressed concern that local villagers and farmers will be driven off their land and made homeless by Silver Wave’s operations.
In 2001, the Burmese military regime in collaboration with the American NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) established the Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve. Local residents were given no opportunity for input and many critics from Burma’s democratic opposition worried that the reserve was a bogus ploy by the military regime to get foreign funds. The critics also charged that a key backer of the project WCS’s former director of science and exploration, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, was woefully naïve for working with the Burmese regime and praising the generals.
Tigers in the wild are said to number a mere 3,000 worldwide, according to WCS.
In 2004, the reserve’s total area expanded to include the entire valley of 21,890 square kilometers, creating what was heralded as the largest tiger reserve in the world. Since the reserve’s expansion, the Burmese regime has encouraged logging, gold mining, large scale farms and the building of factories inside what is supposed to be a tiger and nature reserve.
According to a report in the Business Times of Singapore, Silver Wave Exploration & Production was formed recently as a joint venture between Silver Wave Energy Pte Ltd, another Singaporean firm, BFI Holding Pte Ltd, and two firms from Japan, Star Field Corporation and Star Holding Corporation.
A press release issued by BFI Holdings on April 18 stated that Silver Wave Exploration’s drilling programme in the Hukaung valley will begin this year and have a budget of US$ 100 million. The press release also indicated that Silver Wave exploration ‘has acquired all licence rights for exploration and production oil-prospecting acquisitions at Block B (B 2)’ which Silver Wave energy had previously received from state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).
The BFI press release said that Block B2 is located in the Hukaung Valley, although several previous MOGE reports including a detailed map made for an Asia Development Bank conference in 2008 placed B2 further south in an area of Northern Sagain Division called Zebyutaung-Nandaw (also spelt Zeebyutaung) in Pinlebu Township. The 2008 MOGE report listed the Hukaung block as PSC-A. The reason for the discrepancy remains unclear.
The red star marks the area of the Hukaung Valley wildlife reserve.
Silver Wave Energy Pte Ltd has been active in both offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration in Burma since at least 2006. Min Min Aung previously joined forces with government officials from the Russian republic of Kalmykia to form Silver Wave Sputnik Petroleum Pte incorporated in Singapore.
Burmese state media reported in March 2007 that Silver Wave Sputnik and Silver Wave Energy signed an agreement with state-owned MOGE to explore for oil in the Hukaung Valley. Boris Chedyrov, the Kalmykia Republic’s Minister for Energy, attended a March 2007 ceremony with Min Min Aung and Burmese government officials.
In September 2008, The New Light of Myanmar reported that MOGE had signed a deal with Russian firm Nobel Oil of the Russian Federation to allow for oil and gas exploration in the Hukaung and U-ru regions. It appears that Nobel Oil let their licenses for these areas expire without renewing them.
Junta land grab in Hukaung Valley makes thousands homeless
According to a report produced by the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) in August of last year, since 2006 the Yuzana Corporation has with the support of central government authorities expropriated more than 809 square km (200,000 acres) of land in the Hukaung valley from local Kachin villagers.
KDNG reports that hundreds of families have been displaced by Yuzana’s land acquisition. As with many other such state approved land grabs in Burma, the displaced families were not adequately compensated and many were forced to say they were moved ‘willingly’.
Yuzana has planted large plantations of cassava root and sugar cane on the contested land. Instead of hiring local people for the massive plantation farms, Yuzana has imported workers belonging to the Burman majority from the south of the country.
Reports from the area indicate that the Yuzana’s operations have created intense resentment among the remaining Kachin residents of the Hukaung Valley. The Burmese military is reportedly giving the Yuzana employees military training to deal with unhappy local residents. Yuzana is headed by Htay Myint, a real estate tycoon said to be close to Burma’s generals.
Water transport protocol with Myanmar soon
Bss, Dhaka
The government is to sign an Inland Water Transport Protocol (IWTP) agreement with Myanmar to increase connectivity aimed at boosting Dhaka-Yangon trade, a source in the Ministry of Shipping said yesterday.
“We are now at the final stage of signing a river transport protocol agreement with Myanmar. This will be Bangladesh's second river protocol agreement after India,” said M Alauddin, joint secretary of the ministry.
Waterway is a low cost transport mode compared to other ones as Tk 4.50 is required for per kilometre transport cost by road while it costs only Tk 0.98 for waterway, according to a World Bank (WB) report titled 'Revival of Inland Water Transport: Option and Strategies'.
Alauddin said 25 non-conventional Bangladeshi ships will be able to transport goods through the Myanmar rivers under the planned agreement while the same number of Myanmar ships would be plying the Bangladesh rivers.
The government has already formed a joint shipping committee with 11 members each from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The committee would have representatives from the Ministries of Commerce, Home and Shipping, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Cargo Owners' Association (BCOA), Bangladesh Coastal Ships Association (BCSA) and private bodies, said Alauddin, also convener of the committee.
The committee will visit Myanmar on May 17 to conduct a physical survey to identify suitable ports where Bangladeshi ships to be anchored, he said, adding that a Myanmar delegation would also visit Bangladesh later.
The official said Bangladeshi ships would transport various goods mainly cement and medicines while ships from Myanmar would carry rice and wood. The protocol may be three-year term, he added.
Alauddin said Dhaka-Yangon proposed such a river transport protocol in 2002.
Bangladesh has the Inland Water Transport Protocol signed in 1972 which is being renewed every two years under the article-8 of Bangladesh-India trade treaty.
Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni at the 13th Bangladesh India Myanmar Sri Lanka Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMST- EC) ministerial meeting underlined the importance of direct road, waterways and railway links between the two neighbouring countries.
The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Myanmar has been taking place under the General Trade Agreement and Border Trade Agreement, signed in 1973 and 1994 respectively.
Dhaka exported goods and commodities worth US$ 9.17 million to Yangon in 2008-09, while its import during the period was US $66.65 million, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
--- The Daily Star ---
The government is to sign an Inland Water Transport Protocol (IWTP) agreement with Myanmar to increase connectivity aimed at boosting Dhaka-Yangon trade, a source in the Ministry of Shipping said yesterday.
“We are now at the final stage of signing a river transport protocol agreement with Myanmar. This will be Bangladesh's second river protocol agreement after India,” said M Alauddin, joint secretary of the ministry.
Waterway is a low cost transport mode compared to other ones as Tk 4.50 is required for per kilometre transport cost by road while it costs only Tk 0.98 for waterway, according to a World Bank (WB) report titled 'Revival of Inland Water Transport: Option and Strategies'.
Alauddin said 25 non-conventional Bangladeshi ships will be able to transport goods through the Myanmar rivers under the planned agreement while the same number of Myanmar ships would be plying the Bangladesh rivers.
The government has already formed a joint shipping committee with 11 members each from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The committee would have representatives from the Ministries of Commerce, Home and Shipping, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Cargo Owners' Association (BCOA), Bangladesh Coastal Ships Association (BCSA) and private bodies, said Alauddin, also convener of the committee.
The committee will visit Myanmar on May 17 to conduct a physical survey to identify suitable ports where Bangladeshi ships to be anchored, he said, adding that a Myanmar delegation would also visit Bangladesh later.
The official said Bangladeshi ships would transport various goods mainly cement and medicines while ships from Myanmar would carry rice and wood. The protocol may be three-year term, he added.
Alauddin said Dhaka-Yangon proposed such a river transport protocol in 2002.
Bangladesh has the Inland Water Transport Protocol signed in 1972 which is being renewed every two years under the article-8 of Bangladesh-India trade treaty.
Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni at the 13th Bangladesh India Myanmar Sri Lanka Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMST- EC) ministerial meeting underlined the importance of direct road, waterways and railway links between the two neighbouring countries.
The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Myanmar has been taking place under the General Trade Agreement and Border Trade Agreement, signed in 1973 and 1994 respectively.
Dhaka exported goods and commodities worth US$ 9.17 million to Yangon in 2008-09, while its import during the period was US $66.65 million, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
--- The Daily Star ---
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