HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION
1200
WWW.MMTIMES.COM
Booze crackdown continues
City Mart
slams govt
for ‘unclear’
trade policy
THOMAS KEAN
tdkean@gmail.com
CITY Mart Holdings has pulled im-
ported alcohol and cigarettes from the
shelves of its retail outlets and slammed
the government over its trade policy
following a raid on the warehouse of its
major supplier last week.
The country’s largest retailer said in
a statement that it had pulled the stock
from shelves at its City Mart, Ocean
and City Express shops because of the
“unclear” situation over alcohol and
cigarette imports.
City Mart described the current
policy, under which only hotels and
duty-free shops can legally import alco-
hol and cigarettes, as a loss for retailers,
consumers and the government.
The company said the policy meant
it had been forced to rely on hotels
and duty-free shops for these prod-
ucts, as well as distributors who import
through “illegal channels”.
“There has been no transparency
in the retail sector since we started in
1996. It is difficult for us to check how
the products from our suppliers have
been imported ... This situation has
cost the country a lot of revenue.”
“The business sector is very impor-
tant for the country’s future develop-
ment and we need transparency and
clear rules and policies.”
The company said it had, through
the Myanmar Retailers Association,
been lobbying for changes to import
rules since July. “Since then we have
submitted suggestion letters continu-
ously to get a legal trading channel for
importing these products,” it said.
EXCLUSIVE 3
Landmark waits on
govt approval
Serge Pun’s proposed Landmark
development in downtown Yangon
is still waiting on approval as a
December 31 deadline looms.
WINE CRACKDOWN YIELDS ANOTHER CASUALTY
A Ministry of Commerce
official examines wine
stocks at a Premium
Distribution warehouse
on December 6.
More Reports
PAGES 26, 27
PHOTO: BOOTHEE
BUSINESS 30
Gold prices hit five-
year low
The price of gold continued its slide
last week, sinking to K653,500 for
a 24 karat tical – its lowest price
since 2009.
SPECIAL REPORT 8-9
Religion in focus on
human rights day
The Myanmar Times examines
the state of religious freedom in
Myanmar ahead of World Human
Rights Day next week.
PROPERTY 32
Zoning policy limits
high-rises
Development in much of Yangon’s
downtown area would be limited
to 12 storeys under a proposed new
zoning plan.
Ks.
ISSUE 707 | DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2013
1000 cases
seized by
grog squad
in new raid
AYE THIDAR KYAW
ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com
A SECOND major food and wine im-
porter is being investigated for pos-
sible illegal importation of alcohol.
On December 4, a government task
force found 1000 cases of wine and
foodstuffs in a warehouse in Thaketa
township industrial zone belonging
to Premium Distribution Co. Ltd.
The investigations have triggered
shops and supermarkets throughout
Yangon to pull imported wine and
spirit stocks, forcing customers to
settle for locally produced alcohol,
which is notoriously poor in quality.
U Ngwe Soe, deputy director at the
commerce ministry, who is on a gov-
ernment task force cracking down on
illegal alcohol imports, said the esti-
mated price of one bottle of the wine
found at Premium’s warehouses in Yan-
gon ranged from K7000 to K20,000.
“These are the prices cited by Premium,
we haven’t estimated yet,” he said. If so,
the store would be worth several hun-
dred thousand US dollars.
A source at Premium said about
90,000 bottles of wine had been
found in the 7920-sq-ft space, though
the mobile team’s estimate was nearly
80,000 bottles and about 30 tonnes
of foodstuffs, including frozen meat,
vegetables and preserved foods. The
team, which was still examining the
products as of December 5, said their
investigation would conclude that
night and they would confiscate the
products.
FULL STORY PAGE 26
WORLD 36
Mandela leaves legacy
of tolerance
Tributes flowed from around the
globe for South Africa’s first post-
apartheid president, who passed
away peacefully on December 5.
2 THE MYANMAR TIMES DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2013
Page 2
THE INSIDER: The local lowdown & best of the web
Spitfire dig revived with cash injection
UK farmer and aviation enthusiast David Cundall’s
search for the fabled WWII-era spitfire planes suppos-
edly buried in teak crates somewhere in the vicinity of
Yangon’s Mingalardon airport has been revived, with
global logistics firm Claridon announcing it would fund
the expedition.
Previous efforts to find the aircraft came to
naught, causing Belarusian online gaming website
Wargaming.net to pull its funding from the expedition in
February.
In a post-mortem of the abandoned expedition, Bagan
Capital consultant Derek Tonkin weighed in calling the
Spitfire story “a classic case of mass hysteria induced by
irresponsible media hype”.
“I have the niggling feeling that this saga was in
retrospect in considerable measure a waste of time and
resources, a legend based on oral myth which used the
charismatic icon of the Spitfire to seduce all and sundry,”
Tonkin wrote.
Despite many observers having concluded that the
When Myanmar
was Burma...
Archival material provided by
Pansodan Gallery
Short Films of Japan by The Association for the
Diffusion of Japanese Films Abroad
online editor Kayleigh Long |
kayleighelong@gmail.com
Spitfire tale was nothing but an enticing myth based on
dubious anecdotal evidence, the ever-determined David
Cundall will be returning to Myanmar soon to resume
digging.
Cundall believes that, once found, the restoration of
the aircraft will create 400 jobs in the UK over a five-year
period. After that, he hopes many of the aircraft will find
homes in museums across the country.
If you all stopped honking you wouldn’t need to honk
Local traffic police say Yangon’s “No Car Horn Zone”
policy has been an abject failure – a fact immediately
apparent to anyone with ears, which authorities have
reportedly confirmed as the rule marks its tenth year
in effect.
“We can evaluate now that the project was a failure.
But we will restart it to be successful. The main
objectives were for the public to travel peacefully and
without any panic. Some vehicles have very noisy horns
installed, which can frighten the public. That’s why we
established the project,” Police Colonel Lin Htut told
Eleven media.
In a controlled scientific experiment carried out by
Page 2 on December 6, it was found that honking around
the downtown area could be classified as “incessant”,
with an average of three horns sounding in any given ten-
second period around rush hour.
Speaking with Eleven, motorist Kyaw Naing shed some
light on why motorists are so trigger-happy when it
comes to car horns:
“Cars have horns installed to honk. If they’re not to
honk, all horns have to be uninstalled. Traffic accidents
may occur as a result if not to use horn,” said Kyaw Na-
ing.
The report neglected to indicate whether or not Kyaw
Naing feels this circuitous logic ought to be applied to
seatbelts.
The long, tentacled arm of the surveillance state
The US launched a rocket into space last week, as part of
its dragnet surveillance operations which will see data col-
lected from the digital ether. Given the recent uproar over
allegations of phone-tapping and surveillance, it seemed
odd that the department of National Intelligence was so
publicly live-tweeting the launch. Stranger still was the
choice of logo given to the mission: an octopus wrapping its
tentacles around the earth, with the vaguely sinister slogan
of “Nothing is beyond our reach” emblazoned below.
In a comment provided to Forbes,
National Reconnaissance Of-
fice spokesperson Karen
Furgerson justified the
choice:
“NROL-39 is
represented by the
octopus, a versatile,
Style
adaptable, and highly
intelligent creature. Moe Hay Ko
Emblematically,
enemies of the United
for NOW! magazine. Statement
States can be reached Photo: Pyae Han (ColorMax)
no matter where they
choose to hide,” she said.
www.mmtimes.com
Landmark waits on govt approval
Application to extend the lease for downtown Yangon site still yet to get green light from the Ministry of Railways, Serge Pun says
THOMAS KEAN
NYAN LYNN AUNG
TIN YADANAR HTUN
newsroom@mmtimes.com
THE US$400 million Landmark pro-
ject in downtown Yangon is waiting
on Ministry of Railways approval for
a lease extension that developers say
is essential to making it economically
viable.
The project’s main backer, business
tycoon Serge Pun, said last week that
the delay was the result of successive
personnel changes at the top of the
ministry over the past year. However,
he expressed confidence that the nec-
essary paperwork will be completed
in the coming months to enable con-
struction work to begin and agree-
ments to be finalised with prospective
investors in the project.
Covering more than 10 acres, the
mixed-use project will include a part-
nership with Hong Kong-based HK &
Shanghai Hotels to convert the her-
itage-listed former Burma Railways
headquarters building into the Penin-
sula Hotel Yangon. A partnership with
Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubi-
shi Estate will see a separate business
hotel, serviced apartments, a high-end
condominium, and retail and office
space developed. It occupies a prime
location at the corner of Sule Pagoda
and Bogyoke Aung San roads.
While the project has planning ap-
proval in principle from Yangon City
Development Committee, complies
with its new zoning plan and faces no
objections from heritage campaigners,
the lease extension requires approval
first from the Ministry of Railways
and, later, from the Myanmar Invest-
ment Commission.
Mr Pun, the chairman of public
company First Myanmar Investment
(FMI), Serge Pun & Associates (My-
anmar), and Singapore-listed Yoma
Strategic Holdings, told The Myan-
mar Times in an exclusive interview
that he has applied to the ministry to
extend the original 1995 lease for the
maximum 70 years – 50 years, with
two 10-year extensions – allowable un-
der current investment laws.
“The total investment is going to
be around $400 million, and this is a
great deal more than our original lease
anticipated. Therefore in accordance
with the foreign investment law today
we have applied to extend our lease to
the maximum permissible number of
years,” he said on December 5.
Under the proposed deal, FMI and
Yoma will become the majority equity
partners in the project.
Once agreement is reached with
the Ministry of Railways on the terms
of the lease extension, the application
will be submitted to MIC, he said.
Amendments to bring the original
lease into conformity with the Foreign
Investment Law that was approved in
late 2012 have also been submitted to
the Attorney General’s Office.
“MIC is a body that only approves
things when it comes to it. In order to
get to MIC we have to get an agree-
ment signed with the Ministry of
Railways as well as an endorsement
of the MIC application by Myanma
Railways.”
This has been complicated by two
changes of minister at the Ministry of
Railways in the past two years. Most
‘I have been assured
repeatedly by the
government that it
will be done and it’s
only a matter of the
process.’
Serge Pun
Landmark developer
EXCLUSIVE
An artist’s impression of the completed
Landmark development. Photo: Supplied
recently, on July 25, U Zeyar Aung
was replaced by U Than Htay, while a
long-serving deputy minister, Thura U
Thaung Lwin, was moved to another
position.
“When a new minister assumes a
new post, it is understandable that he
has to study and review the history of
the case afresh. That naturally takes
time. The same applies to the higher
authorities in Myanma Railways. We
just have to be patient about it,” a vis-
ibly frustrated Mr Pun said.
“Everybody knows what is going to
be built and are supportive but until I
have MIC approval major permits to
allow construction to commence can-
not be granted.”
He did not back away from his
comments at the FMI annual general
meeting on November 22 that the pro-
ject would hopefully receive approval
“by the end of the year”, although that
prospect appears increasingly unlikely.
“I have been assured repeatedly by
the government that it will be done
and it’s only a matter of the process.
Even a few days ago I was assured
again by the president’s office that it
is taking note of that and giving the
right directions to get it done as soon
as possible.”
The Landmark project could not
move forward without resolving a dis-
pute with Nawarat Patanakarn Public
Company, the original majority inves-
tor in Meeyahta International Hotels
Limited, the leaseholder of the site.
Mr Pun said an “amicable settlement”
was reached between minority partner
SPA and the Thai company in August
2012 and its debts with the govern-
ment cleared by SPA.
“We have fully paid them for [their
shares] and settled all the debts that
they owed the government.”
Three months later, on Novem-
ber 19, 2012 – the day Air Force One
brought United States President
Barack Obama to Yangon – Yoma an-
nounced its intention to undertake
the Landmark project, including the
renovation of the railways building,
the demolition of Grand Mee Ya Hta
Executive Residences and FMI Centre,
and construction of four new build-
ings.
In April it reached an agreement to
form a joint venture with Hongkong
and Shanghai Hotels to restore the
former railways headquarters into a
Peninsula Hotel as part of the devel-
opment of the site. The company will
also manage the high-end Peninsula
Residences, while US firm Starwood
Hotels has been selected to run the
business hotel.
The developers submitted the lease
extension for Landmark almost im-
mediately after the enactment of the
rules for the Foreign Investment Law
in late January, Mr Pun said. On June
16, however, Yoma announced the
“long-stop deadline” – the deadline for
News 3
SPA to acquire the new lease, as part
of the sale and purchase agreement -–
had been pushed back from June 30 to
December 31.
In October, Yoma said it had signed
a memorandum of understanding
with Mitsubishi Corporation and Mit-
subishi Estate, the largest real estate
developer in Japan, to cooperate on
the Landmark site. Mitsubishi is likely
to have a minority stake, while FMI
and Yoma will hold a majority. Around
50 percent of the cost will be covered
by equity between the partners and
the rest will be funded by debt.
However, neither the agreements
with HK & Shanghai Hotels, Mitsubi-
shi or Starwood can proceed until MIC
approval has been received for the ex-
tension of the current lease. Even Yoma
is not yet officially a partner and as a
result SPA and Mr Pun have agreed to
reimburse Yoma’s start-up costs, which
are already several million dollars, if
the project does not go ahead.
“We’re waiting for the final MIC
approval,” he said, “before we can en-
ter into formal agreements and move
forward.”
An MIC member confirmed last
week that no formal application had
been received for Landmark.
“We think the companies are con-
ducting discussions or meetings with
the government for their project,” said
MIC member and Directorate of In-
vestment and Company Administra-
tion director Daw Khin Aye Tint.
“The commission is ready to con-
sider this project according to the of-
ficial channels if it receives an applica-
tion,” she said.
The Landmark project is consid-
ered crucial for the future prospects
of Yoma Strategic Holdings, which
is trading at around S$0.75 (about
US$0.60) on the Singapore stock ex-
change, about 25 cents off its peak in
2012.
In a company update issued on De-
cember 4, Singapore-based OCBC In-
vestment Research said failure to meet
a December 31 long-stop deadline for
the Landmark site acquisition “may be
a temporary speed-bump for the share
price” and recommended a hold for
investors. It has previously described
the project as a “key catalyst” for the
company’s share price.
“Now that it is less than a month
away from the long-stop deadline ...
we believe that the group will soon
provide more colour regarding the
site,” it said. [W]e continue to see good
odds that the group will ultimately ac-
quire the site successfully.”
4 News THE MYANMAR TIMES DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2013

Protesters
clash with
World has lost a ‘great man’
military BRIDGET DI
“This is what women should instil
in our children.”
Citing the so-called “Burmese

NINE people, including three elderly

women, have been hospitalised after
protesters calling for the return of con-
fiscated land clashed with the military.
Many of the demonstrators, who
lived in Mee Gyaung Kan 1, 2, 3 wards
in Thingangyun township until they
were evicted by the military about two
decades ago, were injured when they
tried to stop workers from a Military
Development Committee fencing the
disputed site at about 11:45am on De-
cember 6. The three elderly women
were sent to hospital at 1:15pm.
“At around 11:45, many people from
the military arrived and tried to cor-
don off the land. We tried to stop them
... so they pushed us back. The workers
didn’t care about us and were making
the fence urgently,” said Daw Ei, 45,
her feet covered in blood.
When The Myanmar Times vis-
ited the area, dozens of men from the
Mingalardon-based Military Devel-
opment Committee carrying rubber
truncheons were maintaining security.
“Police were sitting and just watch-
ing from the other side of the road as
the violence happened,” said Ko Naung
Naung of MTSF, a civil society group.
The demonstration had been run-
ning for 12 days as of December 6.
– Noe Noe Aung
CERTO
bridget.dicerto@gmail.com
NATIONAL League for Democracy
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi ex-
pressed “extreme grief” at the pass-
ing of fellow Nobel Peace Prize laure-
ate Nelson Mandela last week.
During opening remarks at the
Myanmar Women’s Forum 2013 on
December 6, Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi spoke about the “great man who
stood for human rights and equality”.
The former South African presi-
dent, who played a pivotal role in
ending the apartheid policy that
made blacks second-class citizens,
passed away on December 5.
“He taught us that we can change
the world by changing attitudes and
perceptions,” she said, drawing par-
allels between the lessons of Nelson
Mandela’s struggle against apartheid
and the continuing struggle in Myan-
mar for true democracy.
“He was a great human being who
raised the standard of humanity,” she
said. “Nobody is inferior. Every hu-
man being is born with the innate
right to human dignity.”
Myanmar society must also strive
to meet this higher standard of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the opening of the Myanmar Women’s
Forum 2013 in Yangon on December 6. Photo: Boothee
humanity and civilisation, Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi added.
“We the people want to be in con-
trol of our own destiny. This is the
road we started in 1988.”
This new culture of democracy
starts at home, the NLD leader
stressed.
envy syndrome”, Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi said there was a tendency in My-
anmar society for envy to overpower
spiritual generosity, a cultural issue
she said she found “the most disturb-
ing”.
“I think this is because of the
way our children are brought up,”
the politician said. “I have heard
parents say, ‘We won’t love you if
you are not good.’ Children are then
taught to please those with influ-
ence and power to have a comfort-
able life.
“Those who [are raised] with self-
confidence rejoice in the achieve-
ments of others.”
Women have a special role to play
in bringing up this next generation
of Myanmar leaders with a spirit of
generosity, she said.
“We do not want democracy as
window dressing. Rights cannot be
divorced from responsibilities.”
The role of women in rearing
children is a fundamental element of
societal change, Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi said.
“There is a [Myanmar] saying: You
must treat your son like a lord and
your husband like a god,” she said.
“This doesn’t do them any good.”
The Women’s Forum concluded in
Yangon on December 7.

Girl, 10,
dies four
days after
accident
AUNG KYAW MIN
newsroom@mmtimes.com

A NOVEMBER 29 accident in down-

town Yangon that killed a 45-year-
old woman has claimed another life.
Ma Nhin April Tant, 10, the daugh-
ter of the deceased woman, passed
away at Yangon General Hospital at
9:30pm on December 2 from head
injuries sustained in the accident.
Father U Myo Thant said he was
devastated by the loss of his wife and
daughter but believed they had “died
under the Buddha’s Dhamma”.
He said his daughter had waited
three hours in the hospital’s emer-
gency department for treatment and
passed in and out of consciousness.
“She was vomiting blood while
on a stretcher. One time she gained
consciousness and asked about her
mother so we told her that her moth-
er was also being treated,” he said.
Two other students, aged nine
and 10, were injured when the group
was hit by a taxi while walking home
along Bogyoke Aung San Road.
Driver U Zaw Than has been
charged over the accident, police
said. But U Myo Thant said he was
unhappy at the response from the
company that owns the taxi.
“The manager of the company
apologised to me … but only on the
evening after my wife was buried.
They said that they couldn’t come
earlier because they were busy and
their boss was travelling abroad,” he
said.
Car owner U Khin Maung Lay
said in addition to the apology the
company had given K200,000 to cov-
er funeral expenses.
“What happened was an acci-
dent. We will do as much as we can
for them and they have our contact
details,” he said. “Our boss said to
make sure all the proper procedures
are followed.”
www.mmtimes.com News 5

FDA pushes for lawsuit against Licence

consumer protection group
SHWE
YEE SAW
MYINT
poepwintphyu2011@gmail.com
CONSUMER protection bodies are
embroiled in a row over a blog article
that allegedly misrepresented their
activities. The Ministry of Health’s
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
has accused the Consumer Protection
Association of misusing its authority
and its director has asked the minis-
try to take legal action against the as-
sociation, which has also threatened
to retaliate with a law suit.
“I wrote to the ministry because
the Thit Htoo Lwin blog said the
Consumer Protection Association was
going to inspect food vendors in ac-
cordance with the ministry’s request,”
FDA director Dr Tun Zaw told The
Myanmar Times last week.
Dr Tun Zaw said the ministry had
made no such request. He said he has
not yet received a reply from the min-
istry to his request for legal action.
On December 1, the Ministry of
Information also submitted a report
to the minister for health outlining its
observations about the association’s
activities. It also recommended taking
legal action against the association.
Thit Htoo Lwin is a widely read
Myanmar-language website that re-
packages articles from media outlets.
The article in question was referenced
as from army-run Myawaddy Daily.
However, Myawaddy said it had not
published the article. The Myanmar
Times traced the report to an un-
bylined article in state-run Mandalay
daily Yadanabone on November 5. U
Soe Naing, the editor of Yadanabone,
which is published by the Ministry
of Information, said the article came
from a freelance reporter in Yangon
but declined to give any further details.
Consumer Protection Association
chair U Ba Oak Khaing said the article
was wrong but the group would de-
fend itself in any legal case that arises.
“The story [republished] on the blog
is not attributed to any reporter, and
we made no such statement. We’ve
asked them to publish a correction.”
In turn, he has accused Dr Tun
Zaw of trying to discredit the associa-
tion and said it was considering legal
action against the Ministry of Health.
The association was established
last year to complement government
efforts to tackle the production and
sale of unhealthy and dangerous
foods in cooperation with the FDA.
But the anticipated cooperation
has been lacking, as the two organi-
sations have been in dispute because
the FDA has taken no action over the
results of laboratory tests that the as-
sociation believes show food products
may be tainted.
‘The story ... is
not attributed to
any reporter, and
we made no such
statement.’
U Ba Oak Khaing
Consumer Protection Association
In one recent case, the association
sent fish paste to be tested at the FDA
laboratory after receiving eyewitness
reports that fish paste manufactur-
ers are using chemical fertiliser when
producing fish paste. The fertiliser,
the association alleges, is used to
speed up the production process,
which would normally take six to 12
months.
While the tests confirmed the pres-
ence of urea in the fish paste in the
three samples, the FDA refused to re-
veal the exact amount, saying it was
within the normal range. The associa-
tion then went public with the results,
causing anger in both the FDA and
sections of the business community.
“The FDA test results were unclear
and did not provide the information
we need to know so we were not hap-
py,” U Ba Oak Khaing said. “But then
we were attacked many times over this
case. Some people said we were trying
to harm some businesspeople because
after we told the media that we discov-
ered urea in the fish paste sales slowed
down. The businessmen were so angry
about that and said the products had
been declared safe by the FDA.”
U Ba Oak Khaing said the associa-
tion also plans to build its own lab to
test food products because it does not
trust the results from the FDA.
“We are fighting with the FDA on
paper but we did not fight their of-
ficials personally,” he said. “But now
they have attacked our association
and me personally ... I can’t under-
stand why they are behaving like this.”
approvals
stop during
SEA Games
SOME food and medicines could be
in short supply this month as import-
ers face delays getting their licences
renewed, a businessman has warned,
after the Food and Drug Administra-
tion has announced that the grant of
import and licences will be suspended
from December 2-22.
During that period, the staff who
usually process the licences will be
working full-time on ensuring food
safety for athletes at the Southeast
Asian Games in Nay Pyi Taw and Yan-
gon, said FDA deputy director Dr Zaw
Lwin. “[We] cannot carry out labora-
tory tests, but some processes will be
kept going,” he said.
U Myo Zaw Lwin, business man-
ager of Amethyst Company, said the
suspension could cause some food and
pharmacy prices to rise. “If a company’s
licence expires during this month they
will have to wait 20 days to get it re-
newed. High-demand pharmaceuticals
could be in short supply during that
time,” he said.
The expansion of the FDA is branch
offices in August has left the agency
short of staff. “We need 665 staff, but
have only 165 staff,” Dr Zaw Lwin said.
“We need more people for our branch
offices.” – Shwe Yee Saw Myint

UN targets
armed
groups
over child
soldiers
NAN TIN HTWE
nantin.htwe@gmail.com

THE Myanmar government will help

the United Nations make contact with
non-state armed groups accused of re-
cruiting child soldiers, a senior UN of-
ficial said last week.
A UN report earlier this year named
seven non-state groups in Myanmar
that it said had soldiers aged under 18,
including the Kachin Independence
Army, The Karen National Liberation
Army and The United Wa State Army.
“We have discussed this with
the government, and they said they
would help,” Sylvie Lucas, chair of the
UN Working Group on Children and
Armed Conflict, said at a press confer-
ence on December 4.
Despite the persistence of fighting
in some areas that could hinder efforts
to stop underage recruitment, Ms Lu-
cas said progress toward a nationwide
ceasefire was a positive step. “We also
discussed the importance of including
child soldiers in the peace process and
ceasefire agreements,” Ms Lucas said.
“No child should be in any army.”
Myanmar signed an agreement to
stop child recruitment in June 2012
with the Myanmar Country Task Force
which comprises the UN and interna-
tional NGOs based in Myanmar. The
plan expires in late December and Ms
Lucas said she hopes a new agreement
would be signed “very soon” in line
with international protocols.
Myanmar is one of 15 countries
where child recruitment and other vio-
lations of child rights still exist, accord-
ing to the UN.
Although 176 children have been
discharged from the Tatmadaw since
the action plan was signed, 23 new cas-
es were reported between January and
September, according to Child Soldiers
International, an NGO based in the
United Kingdom.
6 News
Children raise voices, but who’s listening?
The National Children’s Forum was supposed to give children the chance to speak up but attendees say their voices fell on deaf ears
CHERRY THEIN
t.cherry6@gmail.com
A GATHERING to discuss the needs
of children resulted in an outpouring
of frustration from activists – both
children and adults – who said their
message was not taken seriously by
the government.
“I braced myself for dialogue on
behalf of children but now my con-
fidence is decreased,” said Ma Ngu
Wah Htay, 17, who spoke on behalf
of children in Mandalay. “I am not
sure I can say I am unsatisfied and
unhappy, but I certainly feel it is use-
less now.”
Held on November 21 in Nay Pyi
Taw, the first National Children’s Fo-
rum was organised by more than 20
NGOs working for children’s rights
and development. The event brought
together 70 children’s representatives
and 200 participants, including gov-
ernment and NGO representatives,
and MPs from Yangon, Mandalay and
Mon and Rakhine states.
The children entered talks with
high hopes, they said, ready to talk
about issues such as child labour,
education, health, sexual abuse and
drug addiction. After the forum, how-
ever, many told The Myanmar Times
their voices had been muzzled by the
one-sided response given by officials.
“It took two months to prepare
the collection of children’s voices in
our region,” Ma Ngu Wah Htay said.
“We tried to present the real condi-
tions and challenges of children. The
officials and parliamentarians sug-
gested we work with the regional
USDP. It is like playing volleyball.”
Others voiced similar frustrations.
Ma Win Thandar Phyo, 15, a chil-
dren’s representative from Chaung
Sone township in Mon State, said
children in her area face malnutri-
tion due to poverty and struggle to
get by in a drug-prone environment.
“I tried to speak up before the
ladies from the health department
but they asked, ‘Do you read news-
papers or watch television? There are
answers for your question there. Do
you know the national census? You
don’t know [the answers] because
you are wasting your time with use-
less [activities],’” Ma Win Thandar
Children conduct a role play at the National Children’s Forum in Nay Pyi Taw on November 21. Photo: Cherry Thein
Phyo said, recounting the response
her presentation received.
After the public ridiculing, she
said, “I was so nervous. I swallowed
my words.”
She added some officials seemed
to take the children’s reports as per-
sonal criticisms.
“They [officials] are defending
themselves. [But] we are not blam-
ing them. We just wanted to speak
out. If they would listen carefully to
what we are saying we would be very
grateful. We would feel better if they
could understand our difficulties.”
Mg Kyaw Nyut Oo, 12, from Pauk-
taw township in Rakhine State, spoke
about child labour, an issue that af-
fects many parts of the country.
“In our village, children of 10 or 12
have to work in dirty jobs,” he said.
“But they earn half of normal daily
wages: Adult men get K4000 but
children get K2000 ... even though
they have to work full-time like the
adults.”
Mg Kyaw Nyut Oo also spoke
about the dangers faced by children
in transit due to internal migration,
such as abuse and homelessness, but
time constraints meant he wasn’t
able to cover everything he wanted
to say.
“I didn’t have the chance to say
everything within 45 minutes. I will
try to keep it shorter and to the point
if the elders hold a similar event next
time,” he said.
The children’s representative from
Sagaing township said that while the
event was called the National Chil-
dren’s Forum, children’s voices were
not properly heard.
“Actually, it was not our voices”
being raised, he said. “It is the [MPs’]
MGM Hotel killer gets 10-year sentence
TOE WAI AUNG
newsroom@mmtimes.com
A MAN accused of murdering a wom-
an in a downtown Yangon hotel in
April has been found guilty and given
a 10-year jail term with hard labour.
Yangon’s western district court on
December 2 handed down the sen-
tence to U Aung Ko Latt, 27, from
Tarmwe township. The woman, whose
name has not been released, was found
strangled with a telephone cable at
THE MYANMAR TIMES DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2013
voices. They blocked our voices.”
“But we’re happy we tried to rise
up,” he added.
The children’s representatives
spoke about child labour, barriers to
education and health services - in-
cluding shortages of medical staff in
remote areas, poor transportation to
clinics and reliance on sometimes-
dangerous folk medicines. They also
discussed troubles faced by those in
conflict and restricted areas.
But many expressed disappoint-
MGM Hotel in Lanmadaw’s Wardan
Street on April 13.
The judge rejected U Aung Ko
Latt’s defence that he had killed her
in a moment of anger because she had
slapped his face and assaulted him
with a wooden rod and the telephone
cable. He said the attack had been pro-
voked by him telling her that he had
recorded a conversation between them
and planned to play it to her husband,
who was abroad at the time.
However, the defendant could not
ment that they weren’t allowed great-
er participation in issues affecting
them directly, as all decisions would
inevitably be made by their elders.
One organiser, Daw Wah Wah Lin
Tun, of the NGO Friendly Child, said
the event encouraged advocacy on
children’s issues and on that basis
she considered it successful.
She added, however, that she
hoped for a more balanced exchange
in the future. “I’m sorry for the chil-
dren who worked hard for it. We
hope to make more reciprocated dis-
cussion in the next event.”
Police Captain U Min Naing from
the Nay Pyi Taw Task Force office said
he welcomed the input of children
and said that it would be valuable for
decision-makers.
“The children presented many
true stories. If we can learn [from
them] and think about taking action,
it would be great. I wish the parlia-
mentarians could present those is-
sues in parliament to bring about ef-
fective action,” Pol Capt U Min Naing
said.
One rare satisfactory note came
from Mg Yin Thwe, a children’s rep-
resentative for Yangon Region, who _
in spite of the disappointments oth-
ers expressed _ said he was proud to
have had the chance to play a role in
the country’s future.
“I am happy about the event be-
cause I was able to show the work
of my dream,” Mg Yin Thwe said. “I
wish to contribute in building my
country.”t
show any firm evidence to the judge to
back up his version of events. Noting
that the deceased woman was signifi-
cantly shorter than the defendant, the
judge said it was unlikely she could
hurt him to the point he would have to
respond with violence.
The husband of the victim told the
court that he recognised the man cap-
tured on CCTV footage with his wife was
U Aung Ko Latt because he ran a phar-
macy beside the stairway to their apart-
ment. – Translation by Thiri Min Htun
www.mmtimes.com
Ministry
to revoke
some daily
licences
PYAE THET PHYO
pyaethetphyo87@gmail.com
THE Ministry of Information will re-
voke daily newspaper licences issued
earlier this year if licence holders do
not begin publishing by December 31,
it announced last week.
Information and Public Relations
Department director U Aung Kyaw Oo
said up to 15 licences could be revoked
in the coming month.
“If publishers do not issue daily
newspapers before December 31, we will
withdraw their temporary certificates.
This is the decision from a meeting we
held on November 29,” U Aung Kyaw Oo
told reporters on November 30.
The 15 daily licences in the spot-
light were issued on or prior to June
25. To date 31 daily licences have been
issued, he said. About a dozen daily
newspapers are in circulation, while
a handful have started but have since
stopped publishing.
U Aung Kyaw Oo said the minis-
try would give all publishers around
six months after receiving licence ap-
proval to start daily operations. He
said this deadline is necessary so that
the number of licences in circulation
is kept under control.
“If they fail to publish within this
deadline we will revoke both their
permission to publish and their pub-
lisher’s certificate.”
After speech, eivil society
calls for action, not rhetoric
WA LONE
walone14@gmail.com
COOPERATION between govern-
ment and civil societies is crucial for
peaceful democratic reforms, Presi-
dent U Thein Sein said last week –
but representatives from those same
civil society organisations say gov-
ernment officials continue to treat
them with suspicion.
Speaking to representatives of
more than 100 civil society groups at
Yangon University on November 30,
U Thein Sein said he gave “special
consideration to the civil societies
who are involved in the reform pro-
cess of this country”.
But some in the audience at Dia-
mond Jubilee Hall told The Myan-
mar Times a different story.
Ma May Sabae Phyu from the
Kachin Peace Network said that
even though the president has been
encouraging civil society leaders to
get involved in politics and the peace
process since last year, authorities
continue to obstruct their work.
“The government should have a
plan to help us rather than invite
us to cooperate with them,” Ma May
Sabae Phyu, who in late Novem-
ber was convicted of violating the
peaceful protest law for organising
President U Thein Sein greets civil society leaders following a speech at
Yangon’s Diamond Jubilee Hall on November 30. Photo: Boothee
a peace march in Yangon in Sep-
tember 2012.
U Mya Aye from the 88 Genera-
tion student group called on the gov-
ernment to show it is genuine about
wanting to work with civil society. He
said non-government groups have
been excluded from some important
processes, such as peace negotiation
efforts.
“The government still has a sense
of suspicious about civil society,” he
said.
U Hla Maung Shwe, a senior advis-
er at the Myanmar Peace Center, said
civil societies are normally shut out of
conflict resolution talks because talks
with armed groups are usually closed-
door discussions. He suggested that
the political dialogue might be more
open once ceasefire agreements are
signed across the whole country.
News 7
Another point of contention
between the authorities and civil
society is the proposed association
law drafted by parliament, which
would cover registration of non-
government organisations. While
extensive consultations have taken
place in recent months, organisa-
tions remain unhappy about some
provisions.
“The government has been deal-
ing with us very carefully,” said Ko
Thantzin Soe from the Yangon Youth
Volunteers Network.
U Ye Htun, the Pyithu Hluttaw
representative for Hsipaw and a
member of the Shan Nationalities
Democratic Party (SNDP), said the
Pyithu Hluttaw Public Affairs Man-
agement Committee had discussed
the bill with 50 civil society organisa-
tions to gather feedback.
“The new law is going to follow
the rights [enshrined in] the consti-
tution,” he said.
The president acknowledged in
his remarks that trust in society,
including between the government
and civil society, has been absent for
many decades.
“The civil societies have more
power to rebuild the trust as well,”
he said.
He said that while civil society
groups can work freely in politics
and public affairs they should avoid
confrontation.
“Find the way to solve the prob-
lem by negotiation.”
Accused still face hard
times in criminal cases
BILL O’TOOLE
botoole12@gmail.com
KO Aung was a 23-year-old English
student at the University of Foreign
Languages in Yangon when he was ar-
rested.
Speaking to The Myanmar Times,
he explained that in the summer of
2004 he and his friends had a side
business selling “small amounts” of
marijuana out of a beer station in Ba-
han township, their childhood home.
According to Ko Aung, he, his
friend and a neighbour were jumped
and beaten by plainclothed police as
they were leaving the beer station in
late May. The trio was placed in an
unmarked police car and taken to the
local station, where they were beaten
and made to sign blank pieces of pa-
per, which Ko Aung said were later
made into confessions for the three
men.
At no point in the process did the
police mention the prisoners’ right to
legal counsel, even though the consti-
tution in force at that time explicitly
stated that defendants were entitled to
consult a legal advisor at any point in
the process.
Ko Aung was sentenced to 12 years
in prison, later commuted to six years
because he agreed to do part of his
sentence in a labour camp.
Lawyers and human rights groups
say that cases like Ko Aung’s are all too
common across Myanmar, especially
for criminal offenders.
The word of the constitution and
the promises of politicians aside, law-
yers and analysts in Myanmar and
abroad say the reality is that defend-
ants below a certain income level are
routinely abused and denied access to
fair and independent legal council, a
right that is also enshrined in interna-
tional law.
In a report released on December 3
titled Right to Counsel: The Independ-
ence of Lawyers in Myanmar, Geneva-
based advocacy group the Interna-
tional Commission of Jurists harshly
condemned the corruption and abuse
that are endemic in the country, espe-
cially in criminal proceedings.
“Corruption is so embedded in the
legal system that it is taken for grant-
ed,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ’s Asia-Pacific
regional director. “When the public
also generally assumes that corrup-
tion undermines the legal system, this
severely weakens the notion of rule of
law.”
Based on interviews with defend-
ants and lawyers during the past year,
the report details numerous instances
of attorneys and their clients in Myan-
mar being forced to pay bribes just to
meet with one another.
Ko Aung recalled his family being
forced to pay K5000 for a one-hour
meeting with his attorney. Prison
guards only allowed a handful of such
meetings during the five-month trial.
As Ko Aung’s ordeal makes clear,
the lack of access to lawyers leaves
the defendants vulnerable to being co-
erced into false confessions.
“It’s in the first few days of deten-
tion you see the most incidents of po-
lice abuse … That’s exactly when they
need lawyers the most,” said Mr Zarifi,
speaking over the phone from south-
ern Thailand.
He added that his group’s research
found that access to legal counsel of-
ten depends on the whims of prison
authorities. The Myanmar report cites
the example of a prison in Bago where
lawyers can visit any day except Sun-
day, while another prison in Pyay has
designated Sunday as the only day
when lawyers are permitted to visit.
For many offenders, a lawyer is
simply too expensive, and the govern-
ment will only provide an attorney in
death penalty cases.
As Mr Zarifi noted, “Even if they
can get [legal advisors], they have
problems using them effectively,” espe-
cially considering how little time they
are allowed with their clients, and the
lack of cooperation from judges and
prosecutors.
“[Judges and prosecutors] must
protect the rights of detainees in crim-
inal cases. Right now they are not do-
ing that,” he said.
U Kyaw Min San, a legal advocate
with the law firm Justice For All and
a member of the Legal Aid Network,
said that while he still has many prob-
lems accessing clients and even get-
ting the pertinent paperwork from
the courthouse, the legal climate has
undoubtedly improved since the gov-
ernment began transitioning from
military rule.
“From 2012 to 2013 things have
been improving,” he said. “Lawyers are
doing more pro bono work” for politi-
cal cases and for cases involving abuse,
like Ko Aung’s.
He acknowledged that much work
still needs to be done and said his
group will lobby for stronger legal aid
laws in the coming years.
“Everybody on every side of the po-
litical aisle has identified rule of law as
the most important issuing facing the
country,” said Mr Zarifi, “and you can’t
have rule of law without providing le-
gal aid to the people.”
Freeing religion fro
International reports often paint a picture of Myanmar as a place where religious rights
abuse, but many local residents say the key to national harmony lies with approaching
CHERRY
THEIN
t.cherry6@gmail.com
RELIGIOUS conflict has been at the
forefront of international discussions
about Myanmar ever since violence
erupted between Buddhists and Mus-
lims in Rakhine State in June 2012.
Attacks on Muslim communities
were cited in the US Commission on
International Religious Freedom’s
2013 Annual Report as being among
the primary reasons that Myanmar
continues to be designated by the
US State Department as a “country
of particular concern” in the area of
religious freedom.
According to the report, Muslims
were not alone in suffering ill treat-
ment based on their religious beliefs.
“During the reporting period (Jan-
uary 2012 to January 2013) … serious
abuses against mainly Christian civil-
ians occurred during military inter-
ventions in Kachin State,” the report
said, while “Buddhist monks suspect-
ed of anti-government activities were
also detained and removed from their
pagodas.” A man sorts through the wreckage of a burned mosque in Thabuchai village in Than
According to a 2012 report by To-
mas Quintana, the United Nations rights, and its protection is enshrined of the Yangon-based Interfaith Dia-
special rapporteur on human rights in in Article 34 of Myanmar’s 2008 Con- logue Organisation, said Myanmar is
Myanmar, other forms of oppression stitution, which states that “every “better than many other countries”
aimed at Kachin and Chin Christians citizen is equally entitled to freedom when it comes to religious freedom.
included “restrictions on the building of conscience and the right to freely “Although Buddhism is the domi-
of places of worship, destruction of profess and practice religion”. nant belief, the government gives
religious venues and artifacts … and While Article 361 notes that the equal freedom to all religions. This is
the policy of coerced conversions to government “recognises the special a good policy because conflicts can be
Buddhism”. position of Buddhism as the faith very hard to control if one religion is
Such statements seem to contra- professed by the great majority of favoured over others,” he said.
dict perceptions that, since the 2010 the citizens of the Union”, Article 363 He said conflict often starts when
election, Myanmar has been moving “also recognises Christianity, Islam, a minority religion is made to fear the
toward a more democratic system in Hinduism and Animism as the reli- loss of its identity.
which human rights abuses are be- gions existing in the Union”. “When a fearful minority tries to
coming a thing of the past. Despite the wide international at- assert its identity, the majority feels
Freedom of religion is consid- tention given to religious conflict in threatened and starts discriminating
ered one of the most basic of human the country, U Aung Naing, a member against the minority,” U Aung Naing
said.
The best approach, he said, was
‘When a fearful minority tries to assert its for all people to live according to the
teachings of their own religion and
identity, the majority feels threatened and avoid forcing their beliefs on others.
“If people stop trying to convert
starts discriminating against the minority.’ others to their own religion, many
problems will be solved,” he said.
U Aung Naing Daw Yamin Aung, a Muslim living
Interfaith Dialogue Organisation in Yangon’s Insein township, agreed
that religion should be approached
on a personal level and should not be
om oppression
are curtailed by communal violence and government
religion on a personal, rather than a political, level.
dwe on October 3. Photo: Kaung Htet
politicised or used as a means to dis-
criminate against others.
“Each person is unique, and even
people in the same family can have
different beliefs, but we can negotiate
and live together,” she said. “So why
can’t people of different religions live
together in the same community?”
She also disagreed with the assess-
ment that Myanmar was failing in the
area of religious freedom.
“If a person is allowed to worship
or pursue activities according to their
religious beliefs, this is freedom. I
think we have this now in Myanmar.
I don’t know of any restrictions, and
I don’t think the government is at-
tacking the basic teachings of my reli-
gion,” she said.
Baptist U Saw George Shey said he
felt there were some restrictions on
freedom of religion in Myanmar, but
for the most part people were able
worship as they liked within their
own churches, monasteries, mosques
and temples.
“Religious organisations are re-
quired to get permission from the
Ministry of Religious Affairs when
they want to hold activities, and the
government will not interfere with
these activities if they have been in-
formed,” he said.
As an example, last week tens of
thousands of Baptists converged on
Yangon to celebrate the 200th anni-
versary of American missionary Adi-
noram Judson’s arrival in Myanmar.
Such a gathering of Christians would
have been unimaginable just a few
years ago.
Although there were reports that
trains carrying Kachin Baptists from
Myitkyina to Yangon were pelted with
rocks by unknown attackers, the gov-
ernment did not interfere with the
four-day commemoration.
Ko Saw Ehe Lin, an ethnic Kayin
who travelled from his home state to
Yangon for the event, said he felt free
to celebrate the anniversary and had
not even considered the issue of reli-
gious freedom.
“Myanmar is our country. We were
born here and live here. The choice
of religion is our right, and most peo-
ple in the country follow the religion
of their parents. It has nothing to
do with government restrictions,” he
said.
“We have never felt that we lacked
freedom of religion. We have always
been able to pursue our religious ac-
tivities. Yet people outside the coun-
try, especially academics, sometimes
try to create controversy by writing
about lack of religious freedom in
Myanmar.”
But U Hla Myo, president of the
Dhamma Yaung Chi Buddhist organi-
sation, said that although Buddhism
is the main religion in the country, it
often face government restrictions.
“People from other religions think
the government does not restrict
Buddhism because it’s the dominant
religion, but this is not true. Some-
times Buddhism faces greater re-
strictions than others. For example,
it was very difficult to hold sermons
following the 2007 Saffron Revolu-
tion,” he said.
U Hla Myo added that the gov-
ernment is correct in targeting those
who “try to change or add new con-
cepts to Theravada Buddhism”.
He cited the case of U Nyanna,
who in 2012 was sentenced to 20
years in prison for starting the Moe
Pya religious group and preaching an
unorthodox version of Buddhism.
MORE ON NEWS 12
Transforming the culture of
human rights in Myanmar
DAVID SCOTT MATHIESON
newsroom@mmtimes.com.mm
FOR nearly two decades, Myanmar was
a key case study in the growth of the
international human rights movement,
a country beset by systematic denial of
basic freedoms of assembly, association
and expression. It stifled a once-asser-
tive media; suffered a brutal, decades-
long civil war; and incarcerated thou-
sands of political prisoners.
Political and economic reforms
since 2011 have done much to improve
this dire condition, going even further
than some of the government’s critics
in the local Myanmar human rights
community and international move-
ment could have thought possible. But
with these tentative gains come greater
challenges to turn promises into reality
and address the disastrous effects of 50
years of ruinous military rule.
The world marks Human Rights
Day on December 10, a reminder that
as Myanmar opens up to new internal
and external pressures, economic, so-
cial and cultural (ESC) rights will take
on more prominence – in some cases,
they will demand even more attention
than the civil and political rights that
have long been at the core of human
rights activism aimed at the country.
The right to health, education and
basic social services, as well as cultural
rights and workers’ rights, are sectors
that impact the majority of the country.
Yet they have been little-discussed in
the past despite their centrality to hu-
man rights norms.
Forcible displacement, denial of ac-
cess to education, lack of safe drinking
water and inadequate food production
are key ESC rights issues that drive
ethnic conflict, yet they are often over-
looked by human rights groups that
home in on violations of civil rights,
political rights and international law.
The tensions may well come from
Myanmar communities that wish to
promote these rights because they im-
pact more immediately on their every-
day realities.
Already, many of the communities
protesting against development pro-
jects, such as the Letpadaung copper
mine, insist on getting access to basic
services long denied or only desultorily
provided by the state.
In peace negotiations, the right to
preserve their own culture is a long-
term demand of many ethnic groups
that have waged armed conflict with
the central state since independence.
Myanmar is not a party to the Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and Politi-
cal Rights (ICCPR) or the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cul-
tural Rights (ICESCR), or their optional
protocols. In a positive move, the My-
anmar National Human Rights Com-
mission recommended in June that the
government ratify the covenants and
the optional protocols.
Chapter 8 of the 2008 Constitution
guarantees many ESC rights, even if
they are interspersed with quixotic qual-
ifications about national security and
non-disintegration of the union. This
chapter purportedly guides the fledg-
ing and uneven legal reform process: As
new laws are passed and drafted in the
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, they must be in ac-
cordance with the constitution.
ESC rights must be protected from
abuses of state power, such as illegal
land grabs, but also guaranteed by the
‘Many of the communities protesting
against development projects, such as the
Letpadaung copper mine, insist on getting
access to basic services long denied or only
desultorily provided by the state.’
state, such as providing adequate hous-
ing and helping the elderly and people
with disabilities.
Myanmar is party to several inter-
national human rights treaties related
to ESC rights, including the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Dis-
crimination Against Women (CEDAW),
which the former military government
signed in the 1990s and which became
a hotly contested issue between govern-
ment officials and women’s groups at
international meetings. Another such
treaty is the Convention on the Rights
of the Child.
The immense developmental chal-
lenges now facing the country are,
more than ever, linked to the promo-
tion of economic, social and cultural
rights. As development aid and invest-
ment ramp up, ill-conceived or abusive
programs pose the danger of exacerbat-
ing already deep-seated social inequali-
ties. Communities must insist that de-
velopment agencies and donors place
ESC rights at the core of their program
planning.
Fostering a broader understanding
of these rights could also serve to ad-
dress the communal, religious and sec-
tarian fault-lines that frustrate genuine
national reconciliation, in solving both
the civil war in ethnic states and the
conflicts between Buddhist and Mus-
lim communities.
There is a clear way forward to
guarantee that the full spectrum of
rights are respected, but it will take
great effort on the part of authorities.
First, the government needs to rat-
ify the ICESCR and ICCPR and their
optional protocols. The government
and parliament need to cooperate in
ensuring that the rights contained
in these covenants, and of course in
the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, are infused throughout the le-
gal reform process, which will go a long
way toward averting social instability
as Myanmar transforms. Lack of re-
sources for the progressive realisation
of ESC rights is no longer an excuse in
Myanmar, and already the government
has taken laudable steps to increase the
health and education budgets.
Second, the government must per-
mit the flourishing of civil society to act
as a “transmission belt” for grievances
between communities and authorities,
to limit disagreements or protests from
turning violent through misunder-
standings or through the active denial
of basic freedoms by local officials.
Already, Myanmar has a robust and
increasingly sophisticated civil society
sector that is active in promoting ESC
rights. Donors and investors also need
to see civil society’s promotion of ESC
rights not as an annoyance or impedi-
ment – and many do, even if they won’t
admit it – but as a valuable reflection of
local needs.
The government should not be
afraid of signing international laws
promoting the very rights their own
people are demanding, and the univer-
sal application of which could avert the
ruinous effects of uneven development.
David Scott Mathieson is a senior
researcher in the Asia Division of Human
Rights Watch
10 News THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief (MTE)

Ross Dunkley
rsdunkley@gmail.com
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General Counsel and
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drtto@myanmartimes.com.mm

EDITORIAL
newsroom@mmtimes.com
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myolwin@myanmartimes.com.mm
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Aung
Naing Oo
newsroom@mmtimes.com
IN 2002, when I published my Myan-
mar-language book on political nego-
tiations called Dialogue, I dedicated it
to “the people of Burma, who do not
have the culture of dialogue”. It gener-
ated angry protests from fellow exiles.
They thought it was an insult to My-
anmar culture and pressured me to
remove the dedication. Undeterred,
I put it on the cover of the book. I
wanted to point out that in Myanmar
we did not have the political culture
to resolve differences through peace-
ful and inclusive means.
A few years later, a Myanmar per-
son living in Singapore called me to
admonish me for things I had said
in interviews which he thought were
against the interests of the pro-de-
mocracy movement. I offered to dis-
cuss “politics” with him and his group
on my next visit to the city state. He
replied that his group would not talk
to me. It saddened me to see how the
politics of black-and-white had over-
taken rationality and that dialogue
was misconstrued.
Fast-forward to 2013 and it is clear
Myanmar has entered a new era. To
my amazement, a new political cul-
ture is emerging. The changes are
already more profound than I could
have dreamed possible two decades
ago because at the centre of this new
political culture is dialogue.
Although there is not yet wide-
spread awareness or acknowledge-
ment that this new political culture is
slowly taking root, President U Thein
Sein has spoken of it. Myanmar’s chief
negotiator with the ethnic armed
groups, Minister for the President’s
Office U Aung Min, has on many oc-
casions, including in peace negotia-
tions, proudly made this point.
At this critical time, as peace
initiatives and reforms are taking
place, this concept of political culture
and its practical implementation is
supremely important.
So what does this new political
culture look like and where did it
come from?
It all started with the end of our
long democratic hibernation follow-
ing the elections in 2010. Like it or
not, it is entirely linked to the sev-
enth Basic Principle of the widely
criticised 2008 constitution, which
stipulates that Myanmar “practises a
genuine, disciplined multi-party dem-
ocratic system”.
The new political culture is the politics of
rationality – a recognition of the multitude of
shades that exist between black and white.
One may argue on the merit of in-
cluding the two qualifying adjectives
– “genuine” and “disciplined” – in the
provision and what they really mean.
But it is undeniable that thanks to
the constitutional, legal and practi-
cal developments brought about by
this provision, we are now practising
a form of democracy, albeit one far
from perfection.
Second, as a result of these demo-
cratic changes and the two rounds
of elections in the past three years,
politics is no longer the exclusive do-
main of the elite. Many new political
parties, actors, civil society groups
and institutions have emerged. Most
crucially, politics has now become
competitive.
Third, exclusion fuels conflict. The
politics of exclusion has to end. To
reverse Myanmar’s tainted political
legacy, the new political system seeks
inclusion, as opposed to the exclusion
exercised in the past. Marginalisation
is still rampant and ethnic armed
groups have yet to become part of
mainstream politics. However, the
new polity offers the opportunity to
redress such discrepancies and bring
about genuine inclusiveness.
Fourth, there is the principle of
“agreeing to disagree”. Where neces-
sary, consensus will be sought. This
approach will likely be an integral
part of the decision-making process
in political negotiations to end the
country’s long-standing ethnic con-
flicts next year.
Fifth, there is mutual respect and
acceptance of each others’ positions.
It is the recognition that acknowledg-
ing differences is a strength rather
than a weakness and that there must
be unity with diversity. This concep-
tion is particularly crucial in the mul-
ti-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-
religious setting that is Myanmar.
Finally, dialogue, which is still in
its infancy and needs proper nurtur-
ing, will become the norm for resolv-
ing differences. Efforts will focus on
Letter
Dear editor,
Do you really think tourists take
sleeping bags up to pagoda spires
(“Unruly tourists wreak havoc in
Bagan”, December 2) for no other rea-
son “than ungodly bus arrival times
and a desire to catch the sunrise”?
What about trying to save a buck?
For over a decade there have been
travel blogs suggesting that tourists
should go in and eat if they see an
ahlu donation ceremony anywhere in
the commitment to peace and peace-
ful settlement of problems. Political
compromise will be the name of the
game and violence will be avoided as
much as possible.
The new political culture is the
politics of rationality – recognition of
the multitude of shades that exist be-
tween black and white. It is the way
forward.
However, this development is, in
and of itself, not enough. The new po-
litical culture will not be the panacea
for Myanmar’s numerous ills. Other
aspects of democracy, accountability,
transparency, rule of law and conflict
mitigation must be vigorously devel-
oped and practised. Bringing about
lasting peace and a properly function-
ing democracy will require more than
a political culture of dialogue and
inclusiveness.
Yet one cannot overemphasise
how important it is for all stakehold-
ers in Myanmar to recognise the role
this new political culture has played
to date – and can play in future – in
rapidly consolidating democracy in
Myanmar. It is critical that this new
way of working is actively embraced
and strengthened, and not taken for
granted.
Aung Naing Oo is associate director
of the Peace Dialogue Program at the
Myanmar Peace Center.
the country because it’s a free meal.
There have been reports of tourists
sleeping on long and deserted pagoda
walkways, such as at the Shwezigon
Pagoda in Bagan, and trying to camp
out in monasteries but the insensitiv-
ity of some towards our culture made
it more difficult for others to do so; in
some places they are being asked to
move. What better place to hide out
than up a spire?
Ma Thanegi
www.mmtimes.com
LETTER
Dear Roger Mitton,
I have come to notice that
most of your articles in The
Myanmar Times target Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, criticise
her personal rights and at-
tempt to degrade her status
as a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Are you taking advantage
of being a white man and
presumably non-Muslim,
thinking that you have the
right to insult Myanmar
people and, in particular, its
Buddhists, who make up the
majority of the population. I
certainly hope not.
You said in your article
“Daw Suu takes a battering”,
on November 18 that, “In My-
anmar today, deploring the
fatal stabbing of a 94-year-
old woman is considered tak-
ing sides.” In the paragraph
above, you raised the “burn-
ing to death of crippled and
elderly Muslims”, using the
plural form. This creates a
picture that many crippled
and elderly Muslims are be-
ing killed. Are you throwing
gasoline on to the fire?
And you also said Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi “is going
to do what her fellow Bud-
dhist compatriots do: stay
quiet or dissemble and in
private cheer”.
“Stay quiet or dissem-
ble” is far enough. But when
you say “cheer in private” it
makes me question your eth-
ics. Do you want to be an in-
stigator or a hero challenger?
Has someone paid you to do
that? Again, I hope not.
Your comment that Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi “will con-
tinue to [remain silent on the
violence] because she wants
to be president” is a dirty,
below-the-belt strike. It is a
personal insult that neither
you nor nobody else should
level at anyone.
Lastly, what is your in-
tention in saying that visi-
tors should “take a big black
marker pen and daub a swas-
tika over those foul 969 stick-
ers”? You are insulting a sym-
bol of our Buddhist religion
and calling on others to fol-
low suit. Who are you to talk
like that?
Shame on you and The
Myanmar Times for publish-
ing such a dirty, low-grade
article.
Best regards,
Kyi Tha
News 11
Views
Thailand: Here we go again
ROGER
MITTON
roger.mitton@gmail.com
THE recent protests in Bangkok echo
the biblical story of Barabbas, which is
described in all four gospels due to its
shockingly emblematic depiction of the
power of group emotion.
After a mob had been roused by fa-
natics, it bayed for the blood of Jesus
Christ; but the governor, Pontius Pilate,
knowing the man had done little except
preach his own doctrine, held back.
The fired-up rabble would not re-
lent, however, despite Pilate asking
them three times to be conciliatory and
to engage in dialogue.
Exasperated, he tried another tack
and asked if he should release the tran-
quil Jesus – or Barabbas, a foul thug
who had committed insurrection and An anti-government protester cuts barbed wire at Government House in Bangkok on December 3. Photo: AFP
murder.
“Give us Barabbas!” the crowd mistakes, notably over an ill-conceived and poor – decide her fate. sign of ending.
roared. scheme to pay rice farmers a guaran- Suthep’s Democrat Party, ostensibly Perhaps the only way out is to
Metaphorically speaking, the duly teed price for their crop. led by the puppet Abhisit Vejjajiva, will emulate Pilate and give the people a
elected government of Thailand’s And it botched an attempt to pass not even accept that outcome to the straight shout-it-out choice between
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is a blanket amnesty bill that would have current unrest because it lacks enough Yingluck and Suthep.
being asked by the mob to make way allowed Thaksin to return home – and support to win a general election. The women and the poorer folks in
for a foul-mouthed bunch led by their would have let Suthep off the hook for The only way it can come to power the countryside will naturally go for
favourite thug, Suthep Thaugsuban. the murder charges he faces. is by fomenting mobs that force mili- Yingluck.
Suthep’s past shady dealings led to But in a civilised society, mobs tary intervention which then leads to But the fat cats in Bangkok, the guys
the downfall of then-PM Chuan Leek- do not go on the rampage and politi- a Democrat regime taking over, as in who decide these things, they’ll bellow,
pai’s Democrat Party-led government cians are not crucified for policy mis- 2008 – and as they clearly hope will “Give us Suthep!”
in 1995 and, later, in another case of judgements; instead, they face internal happen now. So let ‘em have him. It’ll serve them
alleged illegality in 2009, Suthep was leadership challenges or no-confidence If it does not happen, then, as in right.
disqualified as an MP. votes in parliament. 2006, they will boycott the next elec- Let’s see how long they can tolerate
Soon after, in his capacity as deputy In fact, Yingluck won a confidence tion and later argue the poll was fraud- his shady shenanigans, his endemic
prime minister in the previous Demo- vote handsomely last month. But had ulent because they did not take part – immorality, his pigsty mouth and gar-
crat government, Suthep signed an the vote gone the other way she would and then they will again instigate mob gantuan ego; it’s a fair bet that they’ll
order for troops to move against Red have been obliged to call an election action. soon be calling for nice Ms Yingluck to
Shirt protesters in central Bangkok and let the people – young and old, rich It is a despicable cycle that shows no come back.
leading to scores of civilian deaths.
Most recently, wearing his Nazi-like
blackshirt uniform, the histrionic Suth-
ep has been whipping up his lemming-
like followers into an anarchic frenzy
and urging them to occupy public
buildings across the capital.
Actually, comparing him to Barab-
bas is perhaps unfair to Barabbas – and
I say that advisedly, having interviewed
Suthep many times and lunched regu-
larly for years with his former sidekick,
Likit Hongladarom.
All that is not to suggest that Yin-
gluck’s government is without fault.
For starters, it has been unduly in-
fluenced by her elder brother, the for-
mer PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who fled
into exile to avoid serving a jail term for
corruption.
Under Thaksin’s apparent direc-
tion, it has made profound political
12 News THE MYANMAR TIMES DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2013

Landmines kill three IN BRIEF

CONTINUED FROM NEWS 9

The case has been highlighted by the Asian

Human Rights Commission, which believes

that U Nyanna has been persecuted for “peace-
ful practice of his faith”. An online petition on
the commission’s website calls for “revision
or revocation of laws in Burma that deny re-
ligious freedom”.
But U Hla Myo disagreed with the com-
mission’s assessment: “U Nyanna tried to
change the basic teachings of the Buddha and
propagate a new form of Buddhism. We con-
sider this to be misuse of freedom of religion
because he tried to insult the core of original
Theravada Buddhism.”
This difference in views highlights the con-
fusion over concepts like religious freedom
and interfaith dialogue. One problem, accord-
ing to U Aung Myo Min, executive director of
Equality Myanmar, is that elite-level discus-
sions are not trickling down to the grassroots
level.
“Now religious leaders are promoting inter-
faith dialogue, which is a good sign for peace.
But this discussion should occur not only at
the top level but also in the community, where
conflicts often arise,” he said.
He added that such general understanding
was essential for the stability of Myanmar.
“If there is lack of harmony between re-
ligions, it will benefit the dictators. While
people are fighting over power, it ensures a
doomed future for the country.”
Palaung in Kyaukme
NAN TIN
HTWE
nantin.htwe@gmail.com
THREE ethnic Palaung were
killed in Shan State’s Kyaukme
township last week after step-
ping on landmines placed by
the Ta Aung Nationalities Lib-
eration Army, according to a
local non-government group.
The Palaung Women’s Or-
ganisation said on December
6 said that a young man and
two middle-aged women were
killed in separate incidents
near Ar Ram village.
Mg Kyar Kyi, 20, died
around 1:30pm, while the two
women were killed 90 minutes
later. PWO general secretary
Ma De De Poe Jaine said they
died on the spot.
“This shouldn’t have hap-
pened. We are deeply sorry
about it and for the remaining
family members,” she said.
The statement said the
women – 53-year old Daw Mar
Than Aye, also known as Ei
Mhan, and Daw Mar Si Aye, 45,
also known as Ei Bon – were
both mothers of four children.
Ma De De Poe Jaine added
that the group believed the
landmines were laid by the
TNLA as villagers had seen
TNLA soldiers shortly after the
incident. The TNLA officers
gave K200,000 to the relatives
of the deceased to help pay for
the funerals. “If things contin-
ue our own people will be suf-
fering,” she said.
In July, TNLA leaders and
members of a government
peace team met for the first
time on the China-Myanmar
border. Chief government
negotiator U Aung Min told
reporters that further talks
would be held in Namhsan
within 10 days. Three months
on, the second round of talks
has not yet taken place.
The TNLA issued a state-
ment on December 5 alleg-
ing that Tatmadaw soldiers
launched an offensive the
previous afternoon near Nant
Late mountain. It said that
about 30 government soldiers
were killed and 20 injured be-
cause of landmines set up by
their group and the Kachin In-
dependence Army. The report
has not been independently
verified.
Thant Myint-U receives
honour from US magazine
Writer and historian U Thant
Myint-U has been placed among
the world’s top thinkers by a
prominent US magazine.
The chairman of Yangon Herit-
age Trust - a non-profit organisa-
tion that works to preserve and
protect Yangon’s urban heritage
- was selected as one of Foreign
Policy magazine’s “100 Leading
Global Thinkers” of 2013.
President U Thein Sein and
National League for Democracy
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were
chosen for the magazine’s 2012
list.
“I am very pleased and honoured
to be included in this year’s list. It’s
a recognition of the hard work that
everyone at YHT have undertaken
over the past year and of the criti-
cal importance of Yangon urban
planning,” U Thant Myint-U said.
“Yangon can be one of Asia’s
most beautiful and livable cities,
a city not only for tourists and the
rich but for all its people.”
– Noe Noe Aung

TRADE MARK CAUTION
Merck KGaA, (a Corporation with general partners), of Darmstadt, Germany, is the
Owner of the following Trade Marks:-
Reg. No. 2852/2011
in respect of “Class 1: Chemicals used in industry, science and photography, as well as in
agriculture, horticulture and forestry; unprocessed artificial resins, unprocessed plastics;
manures; fire extinguishing compositions; tempering and soldering preparations;
chemical substances for preserving foodstuffs; tanning substances; adhesives used in
industry. Class 5: Pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations; sanitary preparations
for medical purposes; dietetic substances adapted for medical use, food for babies;
plasters, materials for dressings; material for stopping teeth, dental wax; disinfectants;
preparations for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides. Class 9: Scientific, nautical,
surveying, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling,
checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus
and instruments for conducting, switching, transforming, accumulating, regulating or
controlling electricity; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound
or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; automatic vending machines and
mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data
processing equipment and computers; fire-extinguishing apparatus. Class 16: Paper,
cardboard and goods made from these materials, not included in other classes; printed
matter; book binding material; photographs; stationery; adhesives for stationery or
household purposes; artists’ materials; paint brushes; typewriters and office requisites
(except furniture); instructional and teaching material (except apparatus); plastic
materials for packaging (not included in other classes); printers’ type; printing blocks.
Class 42: Scientific and technological services and research and design relating
thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design and development of computer
hardware and software”.
Reg. No. 2850/2011 Reg. No. 2851/2011
in respect of “Class 1: Chemicals used in industry, science and photography, as well
as in agriculture, horticulture and forestry; unprocessed artificial resins, unprocessed
plastics; manures; fire extinguishing compositions; tempering and soldering
preparations; chemical substances for preserving foodstuffs; tanning substances;
adhesives used in industry. Class 5: Pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations;
sanitary preparations for medical purposes; dietetic substances adapted for medical
use, food for babies; plasters, materials for dressings; material for stopping teeth,
dental wax; disinfectants; preparations for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides.
Class 7: Machines and machine tools; motors and engines (except for land vehicles);
machine coupling and transmission components (except for land vehicles); agricultural
implements other than hand-operated; incubators for eggs. Class 9: Scientific, nautical,
surveying, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling,
checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus
and instruments for conducting, switching, transforming, accumulating, regulating or
controlling electricity; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound
or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; automatic vending machines and
mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data
processing equipment and computers; fire-extinguishing apparatus. Class 16: Paper,
cardboard and goods made from these materials, not included in other classes; printed
matter; book binding material; photographs; stationery; adhesives for stationery or
household purposes; artists’ materials; paint brushes; typewriters and office requisites
(except furniture); instructional and teaching material (except apparatus); plastic
materials for packaging (not included in other classes); printers’ type; printing blocks.
Class 40: Treatment of materials. Class 42: Scientific and technological services and
research and design relating thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design
and development of computer hardware and software”.
Reg. No. 2849/2011 Reg. No. 2853/2011 Reg. No. 2854/2011
MERCK MILLIPORE
Reg. No. 2855/2011
in respect of “Class 1: Chemicals used in industry, science and photography, as well
as in agriculture, horticulture and forestry; unprocessed artificial resins, unprocessed
plastics; manures; fire extinguishing compositions; tempering and soldering preparations;
chemical substances for preserving foodstuffs; tanning substances; adhesives used in
industry. Class 5: Pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations; sanitary preparations
for medical purposes; dietetic substances adapted for medical use, food for babies;
plasters, materials for dressings; material for stopping teeth, dental wax; disinfectants;
preparations for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides. Class 7: Machines and
machine tools; motors and engines (except for land vehicles); machine coupling and
transmission components (except for land vehicles); agricultural implements other than
hand-operated; incubators for eggs. Class 9: Scientific, nautical, surveying, photographic,
cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling, checking (supervision),
life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus and instruments for
conducting, switching, transforming, accumulating, regulating or controlling electricity;
apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data
carriers, recording discs; automatic vending machines and mechanisms for coin-operated
apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment and computers;
fire-extinguishing apparatus. Class 11: Apparatus for lighting, heating, steam generating,
cooking, refrigerating, drying, ventilating, water supply and sanitary purposes. Class
16: Paper, cardboard and goods made from these materials, not included in other classes;
printed matter; book binding material; photographs; stationery; adhesives for stationery
or household purposes; artists’ materials; paint brushes; typewriters and office requisites
(except furniture); instructional and teaching material (except apparatus); plastic materials
for packaging (not included in other classes); printers’ type; printing blocks. Class 40:
Treatment of materials. Class 42: Scientific and technological services and research and
design relating thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design and development
of computer hardware and software”.
Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Marks will be dealt with
according to law.
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L
for Merck KGaA
P. O. Box 60, Yangon.
Dated: 9th December, 2013
www.mmtimes.com
Enforcement could
trip up government’s
Anti-Corruption Law
BRIDGET DI CERTO
bridget.dicerto@gmail.com
A NEW law intended to support the
government’s anti-corruption agenda
could be hamstrung by its own provi-
sions, experts say.
The Anti-Corruption Law estab-
lishes a detailed framework for a presi-
dential commission to investigate cases
of bribery. While it primarily targets
bribe-taking by public office holders,
the net can be expanded to catch law-
breakers in the private sector.
However, without proper implemen-
tation the law will have little impact on
the worst forms of Myanmar’s corrup-
tion culture, experts said – and could
even undermine efforts to fight bribery,
as without adequate resources the com-
mission could create a bottleneck in
achieving corruption convictions.
“Law without policy action is not
a smart move,” said U Naing Ko Ko, a
visiting Myanmar scholar at the Aus-
tralian National University in Canberra
who writes on political developments.
“[Only] law with both action and strat-
egy can be effective.”
The Anti-Corruption Law schedules
the commission to form a preliminary
scrutinising team and an investigation
team to accept and investigate com-
plaints of bribery, as well as spearhead
investigations into the assets of public
officials on its own initiative.
While the sweeping powers and
responsibilities of the commission ap-
pear positive, U Naing Ko Ko said they
could lead to failure without uniform
political and budgetary support.
“There is still no vividly defined fis-
cal and public revenue management
system in the country. It is very signifi-
cant for the people of Burma to enter a
war against corruption.”
The Anti-Corruption Law was
passed by parliament in August and
aims to “eradicate bribery as a national
cause, emerge a clean government and
good governance and to promote pres-
tige and accountability”.
The introduction of the Anti-
Corruption Law is tied to Myanmar’s
commitments under the UN Conven-
tion against Corruption, which was
ratified earlier this year. However, U
Thein Sein proposed 12 amendments
to the bill approved by parliament to
bring the legislation in line with the
convention, including the protection of
witnesses, experts and victims involved
in the investigation of a complaint. The
president also proposed broadening
the focus of the law from bribery alone.
However, all but two of these proposals
were rejected by MPs.
Nevertheless, the law and other
corruption-fighting and transparency
initiatives helped Myanmar’s move up
the rankings in Transparency Interna-
tional’s Corruptions Perception Index
for 2013 (see related story right).
While Transparency International
said the rise was the result of specific
actions, business advisor U Aung Thura
of consulting firm Thura Swiss said
there had been a significant shift in per-
ceptions of doing business in Myanmar.
The culture of “tea money” and
bribery remains difficult to navigate,
however. “In some cases it might make
your life easier. For international com-
panies coming in, they have their own
laws and they will often contract with
a local agent or consultant to contract
out work [that might require payment
of facilitation fees],” U Aung Thura
said.
“It is the same in other Asian coun-
tries. Foreign investors can have double
standards where their country doesn’t
allow one thing, so they use subcon-
tractors to get around it.”
U Aung Thura said action against
corrupt officials normally took place
behind closed doors. Just because there
haven’t been widely publicised cases of
bribery it does not mean the issue is be-
ing ignored, he said.
“It’s not the government sanction-
ing corruption – at the highest levels
there is government commitment,”
he said. “For the government, there is
much to do and they are giving pri-
orities to these laws, but there are only
limited resources.
“Myanmar already has laws that are
very stringent that deal with corruption.
The problem is more enforcement.”
Lawyer Alessio Polastri from Po-
lastri Wint & Partners agreed that the
Anti-Corruption Law would only be as
good at fighting bribery as its yet-to-be-
formed commission.
Mr Polastri said that while the law
is geared toward eradicating bribery
committed by public officials, the law
is clear and general enough to cover
all forms of corruption, including cor-
ruption perpetrated by actors in the
private sector.
“Ultimately, the best law is useless if
the relevant authorities do not imple-
ment its application and enforce it on
a daily basis.”
Chin meet to discuss results of conference
A man speaks at a press conference on December 5. Photo: Zarni Phyo
Myanmar rises in
transparency rankings
TIM
MCLAUGHLIN
timothy.mclaughlin3@gmail.com
GRAFT watchdog Transparency Inter-
national last week ranked Myanmar
157 out of 177 countries in its annual
Corruption Perceptions Index, which
measures the perceived amount of cor-
ruption in countries’ public sectors.
With a score of 21, Myanmar was tied
with the African nations of Zimbabwe
and Burundi.
The ranking represented a signifi-
cant rise for Myanmar, which ranked
172 out of 176 last year. That lowly rank-
ing drew criticism from some Myanmar
watchers, who questioned whether the
widely cited index had failed to ade-
quately account for Myanmar’s reforms
agenda undertaken by the government
of President U Thein Sein.
Srirak Plipat, Transparency Inter-
national’s regional director for Asia Pa-
cific, said this year’s ranking more fully
accounts for the country’s reform pro-
cess. While he said the country’s open-
ing was not directly responsible for
Myanmar’s rise, it has led to a number
of new regulatory frameworks aimed
at combating corruption being imple-
mented and in turn strengthened the
country’s position in the index.
Mr Srirak said enactment of the
Anti-Corruption Law, which was
passed by parliament in July, and My-
anmar becoming a state party to the
UN Convention against Corruption
(UNCAC) in January were the most
important factors in the rankings rise.
The government’s formation of an
Anti-Corruption Committee was an-
other positive step, Mr Srirak said.
However, he said concerns remain over
the committee’s independence from
the government, adding that it must be
fully independent in order “to fight im-
punity in a meaningful way”.
Another area of concern for Trans-
parency International is the extractive
industries sector, one that has seen
a flurry of activity over the past year.
Winners of exploration licences for 18
onshore oil and gas blocks were an-
nounced in October. The bidding round
for 30 offshore blocks closed in Novem-
ber and the winners are expected to be
announced in the first quarter of 2014.
“The government needs to ensure
that these [natural resources] revenues
News 13
ORGANISERS of the Chin National
Conference in Hakha last month have
formed a “negotiation committee” to
conduct talks with the government
over recommendations from the event.
At a press conference in Yangon on
December 5, Chin political and civil
society leaders said they had reached
agreement on 13 issues, ranging from
ethnic identity to religious discrimina-
tion, based on discussions at the No-
vember 12-15 conference.
They said the negotiation team
would meet for the first time in Janu-
ary. Its 45 members were drawn from
the conference’s thematic discussion
groups, as well as other prominent
Chin leaders.
“We invited all Chin who can rep-
resent their townships, as well as or-
ganisations and civil society groups. We
wanted to follow up on the points we
agreed on so we founded this commit-
tee,” said Salai Isaac Khen, a conference
organiser. – Nyein Ei Ei Htwe
will benefit the majority,” Mr Srirak
said, adding that Myanmar is battling
a culture of corruption and not just at
the highest levels of government and
business.
“In Myanmar corruption has been
part of people’s lives for decades. You
have to have many strong messages for
anti-corruption” to fight this culture.
The criticism of last year’s index
intensified when Samantha Grant, the
group’s Southeast Asia program coor-
dinator, told the Irrawaddy that the
reforms had not impacted the 2012
rankings as some of the data had been
collected two years earlier.
In an op-ed published in The Myan-
mar Times in December 2012, Derek
Tonkin, chairman of non-profit Net-
work Myanmar and adviser to Bagan
Capital, called the index an “exercise in
futility”.
“It is at heart a political statement,
not a reliable indicator of the current
level of official corruption in Myan-
mar,” Mr Tonkin wrote.
Transparency International de-
scribes it as a “composite index, draw-
ing on corruption-related data from
expert and business surveys carried out
by a variety of independent and reputa-
ble institutions”.
www.mmtimes.com
Family of
victim seeks
longer jail
terms for
murderers
PHYO WAI KYAW
pwkyaw@gmail.com
HLAING KYAW SOE
hlaingkyawsoe85@gmail.com
A MANDALAY court is expected to
rule in the coming weeks whether
to accept an application to consider
additional charges against two men
convicted in relation to the brutal
murder of a young mother.
Ma Win Khin, the mother of a
four-month-old child, was killed in
her Pyigyitagun township home on
January 15. Her body was later found
with 13 stab wounds.
On October 4, Mandalay district
court sentenced U Aung Ko Latt to
eight years’ imprisonment with hard
labour for the murder of Ma Win
Khin. A second man, U Zaw Myo
Aung, was sentenced to seven years’
imprisonment with hard labour for
abetting the offence.
Lawyer Daw Zin Mar Myint, act-
ing on behalf of Ma Win Khin’s fam-
ily, submitted an application to Man-
dalay Region court on November 22
asking it to reconsider the sentences.
“We can know the result in the
next two weeks,” she said. “If the
case is dismissed at the region level
we can apply to the Union Supreme
Court. The victim was killed with 13
stab wounds and we asked the region
court to give them a heavier sentence
after considering their offence.”
She said that while seminal fluid
had been found on some pieces of evi-
dence the accused only faced charg-
es related to the murder because of
problems with the statements from
plaintiffs.
“We can’t ask to charge them
for rape now [because the case has
closed]. The plaintiffs didn’t really
understand the legal process,” she
said.
U Maung Ko, a neighbour of the
victim who examined her body with
police, said Ma Win Khin’s hands
had been placed above her head, her
longyi was raised to her thigh on one
leg and the buttons of her blouse had
been undone. He had volunteered to
give testimony in the murder trial but
was never called by the prosecutor.
– Translation by Thiri Min Htun
Farmers put up vinyl sign’s before clearing brush from a disused section of a military plantation. Photo: Si Thu Lwin
Farmers reclaim land
confiscated by military
SI THU LWIN
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com
AFTER multiple letters of com-
plaint brought no official response
from authorities, farmers in Pyin
Oo Lwin township in Mandalay Re-
gion have taken matters into their
own hands and started ploughing
fields left unused since being con-
fiscated by the military.
Pyin Oo Lwin’s Defence Service
Academy seized Field No 23 – in the
three villages of Warnet, Thapyeyay
and Laypin Sakhan – for a planta-
tion project in 1995. The farmers
were allowed to continue working
the land as tenant farmers until
April 2005, when the fields were
handed over to the Defence Services
Technology Academy.
Since then, residents say, the
three areas have not been devel-
oped, with only a small plantation
under cultivation.
“They gave no compensation
when they took it, but just said it
was for a military-run mango plan-
tation,” said U Soe Win, secretary of
the farmers’ association in Laypin
Sakhan village. “But they failed to
grow anything.”
Since 2011 farmers have sent
seven letters to the authorities – in-
cluding the President’s Office – say-
ing that the farmland is not being
used and that it should be returned
to them according to law.
Chapter 11, article 32 of the
Farmland Law of March 2012 re-
quires land confiscated for pro-
jects to be returned to its original
owner if the project is not imple-
mented. Chapter 10, article 95 of
the farmland by-law states confis-
cated land should be returned to
its original owner once a project
is completed.
Their requests, however, have
brought “no action”, said U Soe Win,
which is why they plan to clear the
fields without permission – even
though they risk being hit with a
trespassing charge.
“A few farmers have been com-
pensated to some extent, but it
was not at a market price,” said U
Than Lwin, the chair of the farmers’
association. “Now we are preparing
to grow on our own.
“We are all ready to face the
court if they charge us.”
A retired military captain in
charge of the plantations said the
military initially grew durian and
rambutan on the sites in Laypin,
Thapye and Thamanthar. When
those failed to grow, he said, they
switched to sein ta lone mangoes.
“We have 1269 trees on 400 acres
now, but not all the trees produce
fruit. The fruit was sold through
brokers. I just stay here as instruct-
ed. If there is a notice or order by
the officials [to give back the land],
we have to leave,” he said.
Mandalay Region Minister for
Agriculture and Livestock U Myint
Than said the regional government
is dealing with 46 separate instanc-
es of Tatmadaw land confiscation
involving 3740 acres of land. He
said the regional government is pre-
paring to return the land back to its
original owners once the cases have
been examined.
– Translation by Zaw Win
News 17
Thai visa
agreement
delayed to
next year
NYAN LYNN AUNG
29.nyanlynnaung@gmail.com
THE signing of a planned visa
exemption program between
Myanmar and Thailand is likely
to be delayed until early next
year, a government official said
last week.
The agreement, which was
proposed by Myanmar, would
enable those arriving by air in
either country to attain a free 14-
day visa on arrival. Thai Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
was expected to sign the agree-
ment in November during a
ceremony to mark the 65th an-
niversary of diplomatic relations
between the two countries but
she was forced to cancel the visit
because of political turmoil at
home.
U Aung Lynn, director gen-
eral of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs’ ASEAN Affairs Depart-
ment, said Thailand is also not
yet ready to sign the agreement
but declined to comment further.
“We are waiting but we can’t
get it signed yet because the
Thailand side still has some in-
ternal processes to complete,” he
said. “When they are ready we
will sign it.”
Myanmar has proposed set-
ting up a visa exemption pro-
gram with all of its Southeast
Asian counterparts to enable
their citizens to visit easily when
it hosts ASEAN meetings in 2014
and hoped to have the agree-
ments in place by the end of the
year.
However, it has deals with
only two countries: Laos, which
signed on in 2009, and Vietnam,
which agreed to the visa exemp-
tion program on September 26.
While Singapore is consider-
ing the proposal, Cambodia and
Indonesia have agreed to sign a
deal soon, the ministry said.
U Aung Htoo, a deputy direc-
tor general in the department,
said one issue for Thailand,
Malaysia and Singapore is the
potential impact on migrant
worker inflows if they agree to
issue visas to all air arrivals from
Myanmar.
 TRADE MARK CAUTION 18 News THE MYANMAR TIMES DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2013

NOTICE is hereby given that Goodman Fielder Consumer Foods

Aquino pledges to help

Pty Limited, a corporation organized under the laws of Australia of
T2/39 Delhi Road, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2113, Australia,
do solemnly and sincerely declare that we are the owners and sole

democratic transition
proprietors of the following trade mark in Myanmar:
MOTHER’S CHOICE
The said mark is used in respect of ‘Edible oils and fats, margarine’.
The said trade mark is the subject of Declaration of Ownership
recorded with the Registrar of Deeds and Assurances, Yangon, PHILIPPINE President Benigno Aqui-
Myanmar, in Book IV under No. IV/5216/2013 Dated 23rd May, 2013. no lauded democratic reforms in My-
anmar last week as he signed several
Any infringement or colourable imitation thereof or other infringement bilateral agreements with President U
of the rights of the said corporation will be dealt with according to law. Thein Sein in Manila.
U Thein Sein arrived at the presi-
U Kyi Win Associates dential palace on December 5 where
for Goodman Fielder Consumer Foods Pty Limited he was accorded a red carpet welcome
by its Attorneys-at-Law for his first visit to the Philippines.
Mr Aquino said the Philippines,
REMFRY & SAGAR which also made a transition from au-
INDIA. Dated: 9th December, 2013 thoritarian rule to democracy in the
1980s, would be helping Myanmar in
opening up its society.
Formerly one of the most vocal crit-
TRADE MARK CAUTION ics within ASEAN of Myanmar’s gov-
ernment, Mr Aquino praised recent
NOTICE is hereby given that The Goodyear Tire & Rubber “historic developments” in the coun-
try, including the holding of elections,
Company of 1144 East Market Street, Akron, Ohio 44316-0001, release of political prisoners, dialogue
United States of America, are the Owners and Sole Proprietors of with the opposition and opening up to
the following trademark: - foreign investment.
“These herald a new chapter in
Myanmar’s history. The Philippines
EAGLE supports these initiatives and offered
assistance through capacity building,
The said mark is used in respect of “tires”. through technical cooperation,” Mr
The said trade mark is the subject of a Declaration of Ownership Aquino said after a meeting with U President U Thein Sein shakes hands with Philippine President Benigno Aquino
Thein Sein. upon his arrival at the Malacañan Palace in Manila on December 5. Photo: AFP
recorded with the Registrar of Deeds and Assurances, Yangon, The Philippines has offered to help
Myanmar, in book IV under No. IV/10820/2012 dated 17th September, Myanmar establish its human rights more than 7500 dead or missing. Myanmar suffered as a result of Cy-
2012. commission and training in areas like U Thein Sein, who brought doctors clone Nargis in 2008 made the coun-
agriculture, entrepreneurship, fisher- and relief goods to typhoon-hit areas try more aware of the suffering of the
Any infringement or colourable imitation thereof or other infringement ies, eco-tourism and gender issues, Mr during his visit, said the damage that victims of such disasters.
Aquino said. The Myanmar president, who was
of the rights of the said Corporation will be dealt with according to law. The two presidents also discussed on a three-day state visit, said he asked
U Kyi Win Associates peace efforts with rebel groups in their ‘The Philippines Mr Aquino to help his country in ar-
respective countries, Mr Aquino said, eas like “health, education, economy
for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company adding that the Philippines would be ... [has] offered and human resource development”,
by its Attorneys appointing a resident defence attaché because it was lagging behind in these
to further cooperation. assistance through areas due to several years of economic
INDIA
Remfry & Sagar Dated: 9th December, 2013
The leaders also oversaw the sign-
ing of several agreements including
capacity building, sanctions.
He also said “there have never been
one that will allow Filipinos to enter
Myanmar without a visa and another
through technical any issues between Myanmar and the
Philippines”, despite the Philippine
that will expand cooperation in renew- cooperation.’ leaders’ criticism of the former mili-
TRADE MARK CAUTION able energy. tary government.
Mr Aquino thanked Myanmar for Benigno Aquino U Thein Sein arrived in Manila on
Sigma-Tau Industrie Farmaceutiche Riunite S.p.A., of Viale the aid it provided after Typhoon Hai- Philippines president December 4 and returned home on
Shakespeare, 47, 00144 ROMA, Italy, is the Owner of the following yan hit the Philippines last month, December 6 after visiting typhoon-
Trade Marks:- flattening whole towns and leaving stricken areas. – AFP

CARNITOR
Reg. No. 4517/2010

DROMOS
Reg. No. 4518/2010

NICETILE
Reg. No. 4519/2010
in respect of “Pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations; sanitary
preparations for medical purposes; dietetic substances adapted
for medical use, food for babies; plasters, materials for dressings;
material for stopping teeth, dental wax; disinfectants; preparations
for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides”.
Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Marks
will be dealt with according to law.
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L
for Sigma-Tau Industrie Farmaceutiche
Riunite S.p.A.
P. O. Box 60, Yangon
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm
Dated: 9 December 2013
www.mmtimes.com
Indonesia jails
Rohingya over
Buddhist killings
AN Indonesian court last week
jailed 14 Muslim Rohingya men
from Myanmar for nine months
each for bludgeoning eight Bud-
dhists from their country to
death in an Indonesian detention
centre.
The Rohingya asylum-seekers
killed the Buddhist men, who had
been detained for illegally fishing
in Indonesian waters, in April as
sectarian tensions in their home
country flared.
The Rohingyas, aged 18 to 37,
accused the fishermen of sexually
harassing two Rohingya women
and said the Buddhists started
the violence in the detention cen-
tre, in the port town of Belawan
near Medan city on the island of
Sumatra.
‘They said they
wanted freedom
because there was
no real evidence
shown during
the trial that
they committed a
violent attack.’
Mahmud Irsyad Lubis
Lawyer for 14 Rohingya men
“The defendants have been
proven legally and convinc-
ingly guilty of working together
to blatantly carry out violence,
which resulted in the loss of hu-
man lives,” chief judge Aksir
told the Medan district court on
December 4.
“We sentenced them to nine
months in prison,” he said.
The sentence was lighter than
the two-year term sought by pros-
ecutors and the maximum penalty
for violence resulting in death,
which is 12 years.
The men, along with 100 Indo-
nesian Muslim supporters, chant-
ed “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater)
in the court room after the sen-
tences were handed down.
According to court documents,
a fisherman had tried to stab one
of the Rohingya men, who retali-
ated by hitting him with a broom-
stick.
A mass fight broke out and
eight Myanmar Buddhists were
found dead and bloodied when
the police arrived at the scene.
Three minors suspected to be
involved in the attack were freed
in July due to lack of evidence.
The men’s lawyer, Mahmud
Irsyad Lubis, said the men would
appeal for freedom.
“They said they wanted free-
dom because there was no real
evidence shown during the trial
that they committed a violent at-
tack,” he told reporters.
In a separate case in Jakarta,
an Indonesian on trial for a foiled
scheme to bomb the Myanmar
embassy confessed on December
5 to being the mastermind of the
plot, saying he was “still at war”
with anyone oppressing Muslims.
Sigit Indrajid, 23, testified that
he led a group of Islamic extrem-
ists that planned the attack to
avenge the harsh treatment of Ro-
hingya in Myanmar.
The group wanted to avenge
the treatment of Muslim Rohing-
ya in Myanmar – an issue that has
resonated widely in Indonesia, the
world’s biggest Muslim-majority
nation.
“It was my initiative,” he told
the South Jakarta district court.
Asked by a judge if he regretted
his actions, Mr Indrajid respond-
ed in a raised voice, “No. This was
a warning to Myanmar as well as
others who treat Muslims as they
please.”
“I am still at war – as long as
there is oppression of Muslims,”
he said.
Mr Indrajid faces three charges
under tough anti-terror laws, in-
cluding possession of weapons or
explosive materials, which carries
a maximum penalty of death.
He said he became incensed
after reading reports on Facebook
about the violence against Roh-
ingya in the Buddhist-majority
country, many of whom have died
in sectarian unrest since last year.
He got the idea to attack the
embassy after being invited by a
local Muslim group to take part in
a protest against the violence in
Myanmar, he said. – AFP
A woman sits beside a road near the site of the proposed Myitsone dam in May. Photo: Boothee
Myitsone residents
threatened with arrest
The floodwaters aren’t flowing into the dam and it is uncertain when – or if – they
ever will. But those displaced from their villages still aren’t allowed to go home
THAN NAING SOE
thannaingsoe@gmail.com
RESIDENTS forced out of their homes
for the Myitsone dam project say that
those who have tried to return to their
old, as-yet-unflooded houses are being
threatened with arrest, even though
construction on the dam is officially
on hold and conditions in their new
village have left them unable to make
a living.
Ko Zaw Lon from Tanpe village
said that on November 29 Myit-
kyina township’s administrator U
Thein Tun and a group of policemen
came to Tanpe – one of the villages
on land that would be flooded by
the controversial dam project if it is
completed – and told those who had
returned that they must leave again,
even though construction has been
halted. Almost one-third of the 200
households relocated from Tanpe
have returned to the village.
“He told us we can’t live here any-
more and that this place is owned by
the company and isn’t ours anymore,”
Ko Zaw Lon said. “If we will not go
back to the new village, he said we
would have action taken against us
under section 188.”
Section 188 states that a person not
following an order of a public servant
who is legally permitted to give such
an order can be jailed for a month,
fined or both. If the failure to obey
causes danger or leads to rioting, the
punishment jumps to six months in
jail, a fine or both.
Originally scheduled to be com-
pleted in 2017, the US$3.6 billion My-
itsone dam project was to be built by
Chinese state-owned firm China Pow-
er International (CPI).
The project, however, faced a flur-
ry of criticism for its impact on the
environment, its displacement of vil-
lagers and the fact that the vast ma-
jority of energy produced would be
sold to China. The site’s location - in
the midst of conflict between the gov-
ernment and Kachin armed ethnic
groups - also caused delays.
To widespread popular acclaim,
President U Thein Sein in September
2011 suspended all progress, delaying
the final decision on the site’s future
until after the end of his term, which
expires in 2016. But even with the
dam’s construction in limbo, residents
are being prevented from returning to
their homes.
“In past, we had hopes because we
had good livelihoods,” Ko Tu Khaung,
originally from Tanpe, told The Myan-
mar Times. “The surrounding of Myit-
sone was also beneficial to us.”
Residents of Tanpe, Mazut and
Lape villages were transferred out of
News 19
the area in 2010 and 2011 and moved
to a new village, Aung Myin Thar, one
of two newly constructed model vil-
lages built to house more than 2600
people who were to be displaced for
the project.
The transition hasn’t been smooth,
Ko Tu Khaung said.
In Tanpe residents used to earned
their living from plantations, farming
and fishery jobs. In their new location,
however, they are having “a very dif-
ficult time” – so much so that nearly
60 out of Tanpe’s over 200 households
have chosen to return to their old vil-
lage site.
“It’s very hard to earn our living in
the new village,” Ko Tu Khaung said.
“We can’t grow any crops there so we
are returning to our old village.”
Ko Zaw Lon said residents had
been told in the past that they could
return home so long as the dam was
not operational.
But the township administrator
took pictures of inhabited houses and
warned them they should leave or
face potential charges. As a result, the
possibility of the Myitsone dam’s con-
struction resuming is no longer Tanpe
residents’ biggest worry. “Now we are
worrying we will face eviction today
or tomorrow.”
– Translation by Zar Zar Soe
www.mmtimes.com
Letpadaung
trial in
Myingyan
postponed
SI THU LWIN
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com
THE trial of nine activists who al-
legedly staged an illegal protest in
Myingyan in December 2012 over a
crackdown at the Letpadaung copper
mine the previous month has been
postponed.
The nine were summoned to ap-
pear in court for the first time on De-
cember 2 but the hearing was delayed
because not all of the defendants were
present.
“It had to be cancelled because Ko
Thaw Zin Oo, a student from the Uni-
versity of Technology, is in Yangon. We
don’t know when the next summons
will be,” said Ko Thant Zin, a former
chairman of the All Burma Federation
of Students’ Union (for upper Myan-
mar), who is among those charged.
The nine have been charged under
section 18 of the peaceful protest law
and face up to a one-year jail term if
found guilty.
“We marched without permission.
We demonstrated for the monks who
were attacked violently while they
were demonstrating against the cop-
per mine expansion. We walked with
our student flag, which shows the
fighting peacock,” Ko Thant Zin said.
Police Captain U Myint Naing from
Myingyan in Mandalay Region con-
firmed the delay last week.
– Translation by Thiri Min Htun
News 21
Activists lament lack of justice
over bloody police crackdown
THAN NAING SOE
thannaingsoe@gmail.com
A VIOLENT police crackdown on
protesters at Letpadaung feels “like
it happened yesterday”, a resident
said on the first anniversary of the
bloody confrontation, which left
scores injured.
Protest leader Ma Thwe Thwe
Win, a resident of Wettmay village
in the Letpadaung area, said the
crackdown had failed to break the
resolve of residents.
“The violent crackdown on the
protest camp was one year ago but for
us it feels like it happened yesterday,”
she said at a ceremony at Mandalay’s
Kantetkone Masoeyein Monastery on
November 29. “We have invited the
relevant authorities to negotiate with
us, but they haven’t so far – we have
just encountered more violence.”
Activists at the ceremony also
decried the lack of punitive action
taken against police officers over the
raid, in which they allegedly used
phosphorous grenades, in violation
of international norms.
“Whether the [grenades] used
to disperse the Letpadaung protest
camps were [phosphorous] or not, Activists and monks gather at a ceremony in Mandalay on November 29 to mark the first anniversary of a police
it is true that the protesters were crackdown on protesters at the Letpadaung mine. Photo: Than Naing Soe
burned alive,” said Ko Thant Zin, a
former chairman of the upper My- the Letpadaung residents who keep federation’s record and research place just days before this anniver-
anmar branch of the All Burma Fed- battling, even after one-and-a-half committee said the investigation of sary,” he said. “We will stand firmly
eration of Students’ Union, which years, against Letpadaung copper the Letpadaung Commission into for Letpadaung residents who are
organised the ceremony. mine expansion,” he said. the crackdown was not transparent. victimised in their region.”
“We’d like to honour as heroes Ko Aung Hmaing San from the “More violent attacks have taken – Translation by Thiri Min Htun
22 News THE MYANMAR TIMES DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2013

Red Shan to consider IN BRIEF

SNLD merger talks

Shan Nationalities League for Democracy invites Red Shan and others for merger
talks as ethnic minority parties consolidate ahead of 2015 general election
issues of concern to ethnic minori-
ties. He said talks around the issue of
KHIN SU a merger had been taking place since
WAI 2012. Most recently, in October, the
SNLD visited the Red Shan party’s
it easier for Burmese parties, such as
the National League for Democracy
or Union Solidarity and Develop-
ment Party, to win seats in minority
areas.
Talkin’ ’bout my education: MDY students hold speech contest
For the second year in a row, students from monastic schools in and around
Mandalay and Sagaing have competed against one another to see who could
deliver the best speech on a given topic.
Middle school children from six monastic schools gathered at Phaung Daw Oo
Monastic School in Mandalay’s Aung Myay Thar San township on November 30
to debate the question, “Should opportunities be created to improve access to
learning for school-age children?”
As well as giving students a chance to develop their critical thinking and
public speaking skills, teacher Daw Khin Chit Win, one of the supervisors of
the committee that organised the competition, said the topic was chosen for a
reason. “We want to highlight the reforms needed in the education sector.”
Chief judge Daw Thiri Tun said the students competed in groups of three and
prizes were given in multiple categories – Si Thu Lwin, translation by Zar Zar Soe

Mandalay office to discuss a possible In October, the Union Election

jasminekhin@gmail.com
THE Tai-Leng (Red Shan) Nationali-
ties Development Party will consider
a merger with other Shan groups,
party officials said last week.
The Shan Nationalities League
for Democracy was recently quoted
in a Shan newspaper as saying that
it planned to propose a merger with
the Red Shan. The comments came
after the SNLD invited its main rival,
the Shan Nationalities Democratic
Party, for merger talks on November
16.
Red Shan party secretary U Sai
Saw Tun said a merger was possible if
the parties can agree on policies con-
cerning the peace process and other
merger, U Sai Saw Tun said.
“Last November there was a meet-
ing of Shan groups in Yangon, includ-
ing both parties and armed groups ...
[from which we found] the SNLD,
SNDP and us have the same basic
policy but to merge there would still
be many things to negotiate,” he said.
“We can’t say yet whether we will
join with them for the 2015 election.”
Over the past year many ethnic
parties have entered merger talks in
an effort to strengthen their position
prior to the 2015 election. First-past-
the-post voting is likely to be used
again, and the trend toward consoli-
dation reflects concerns among mi-
nority groups that splitting the vote
between ethnic parties could make
Commission gave approval for the
formation of the Federal Union Party,
which will represent ethnic minority
parties in majority Burmese areas.
The Federal Union Party was estab-
lished by members of 16 ethnic mi-
nority parties.
Following an agreement in June,
the Rakhine Nationalities Develop-
ment Party and the Arakan League
for Democracy Rakhine National
Party set up the Rakhine National
Party. In Mon State, the All Mon
Regions Democracy Party and the
Mon National Democratic Front are
negotiating a merger deal, while in
Chin State the Chin Progressive Party
andthe Chin National Party are also
in talks.

Military engineers inspect a suspicious device at Diamond Plaza on

December 2. Photo: Si Thu Lwin

Shoppers flee Diamond

Plaza amid bomb scare
SI THU LWIN
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com
A BOMB scare at Mandalay’s Diamond
Plaza last week prompted shoppers to
flee and shops to close early.
A security guard called police after
finding a suspicious object in the plaza’s
car park on the night of December 2. It
was safely removed for testing but po-
lice have not yet confirmed whether it
was an explosive device.
“When officials from a military en-
gineer battalion came and checked [the
object], they found that it had a clock
and a cylindrical metal pipe wrapped
with adhesive tape inside,” said a po-
lice officer, who asked not to be named.
“They took it with them to examine
whether it is explosive.”
The military engineers and Dia-
mond Plaza security piled sandbags
around the object before removing it to
protect bystanders.
News of the bomb scare spread
through the plaza quickly, prompting
shop owners to close early.
“People were really scared when
they heard a bomb had been found;
customers left straight away so we
closed,” said Daw Arr Yone, who owns
a fashion shop. “Fortunately there was
no explosion.” – Translation by Thiri
Min Htun

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24 News
US seeks to
boost its ties
with Tatmadaw
UNITED States President Barack
Obama’s administration said last week
it hoped to expand limited training for
Myanmar’s military but faced skepti-
cism from lawmakers unimpressed by
the pace of democratic reforms.
Testifying before Congress, admin-
istration officials said on December 4
that the US wanted to provide train-
ing on human rights to Myanmar’s
military, which ruled the country for
decades before U Thein Sein became
president in March 2011.
‘Our limited
engagements have
begun to expose
the military to
international norms
of behaviour.’
Vikram Singh
Pentagon official
“The importance of the military’s
support of reforms so far should not
be underestimated,” Pentagon official
Vikram Singh told a House of Repre-
sentatives committee, saying the US
believes the army “is interested in tak-
ing steps to modernise, professionalise
and reform itself as well”.
“Our limited engagements have
begun to expose the military to inter-
national norms of behaviour and fos-
tered new trust and understanding.
This will help us gain influence with
the Burmese military and encourage
reform after decades of disengage-
ment,” Mr Singh said.
But representative Joe Crowley,
who spearheaded sanctions on My-
anmar that have now been mostly
lifted, said that the US was moving
too quickly to build military ties in
the face of “outrageous and terrible”
abuses against minorities.
“I personally don’t think that the
Burmese military needs to be trained
to stop killing and raping and stealing
lands,” Mr Crowley, a member of the
Democratic Party, said at the hearing.
“Training the Burmese military, even
if it’s on a limited basis, is a huge win
public relations-wise.”
Mr Crowley said that the prospect
of defence relations could be used as
an incentive to encourage the military
to undertake further reforms, such as
reforming the constitution to allow
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to seek the
presidency after the 2015 election.
Representative Steve Chabot, a
Republican, said that Mr Obama has
“raced to turn Burma into a success
story”.
“I believe its engagement strategy
has lost sight of the realities on the
ground and has become hasty and,
I’m afraid, also misguided,” said Mr
Chabot, who heads the House Foreign
Affairs subcommittee on East Asia and
the Pacific.
But Mr Singh pledged there would
be no “slippery slope” of the US offer-
ing more substantive military support
to Myanmar without more progress on
human rights concerns.
“I want to be absolutely clear: The
[Defense] Department does not seek
and is not recommending the full
normalisation of bilateral defense ties
with Burma at this time,” Mr Singh
said.
Vendors from War Khin Kone Market march to Mandalay
City Development Committee’s Department of Markets and
Slaughterhouses on November 29. Photo: Si Thu Lwin
Dispute over market
stalls in MDY settled
SI THU LWIN
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com
A DISPUTE over the allocation
of retail space in a Mandalay
market has been resolved after
a meeting between vendors and
Mandalay City Development
Committee.
The stalls were allocated
to make the market, near War
Khin Kone Pagoda in Maha
Aung Myay township, more or-
derly. But vendors allege that
the spaces that should have
been allocated to them were in-
stead given to people with con-
nections to officials in charge of
the project.
On November 29, the vendors
marched to the Department of
THE MYANMAR TIMES DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2013
Markets and Slaughterhouses
office to raise the issue with the
head of the department.
“When the market stalls
were allocated, the real ven-
dors didn’t get a space to sell
their goods,” said vendor Daw
Aye. “It’s not fair. We walked
to see the head of the depart-
ment because we were asked to
meet him. Our walking is not a
protest.”
Department head U Thein
Htay said he would investigate
the case and ensure the stalls
are allocated fairly. “I will en-
sure all vendors are able to sell
their goods in the market and
find out if there has been any
dishonesty.” – Translation by
Thiri Min Htun
IN BRIEF
Four more news agencies to open
The Ministry of Information has given
approval for four foreign news agen-
cies, including the BBC and Reuters,
to open offices in Myanmar, an official
said last week.
U Aung Kyaw Oo, director of the
ministry’s Information and Public Re-
lations Department, said on Novem-
ber 30 that the Nikkei Shimbun from
Japan and Voice of America from the
United States had also received the
green light.
“So far, 12 foreign news agencies
have been given approval to open
offices in Myanmar,” he said.
Those that have already received
approval include Associated Press,
Kyodo and Agence France-Presse.
BBC Global News director Peter
Horrocks said it was “hard to over-
state the significance” of the govern-
ment allowing it to open a bureau,
adding that it showed “the astonish-
ing pace of change in a country which
has long been a byword for media
repression and censorship”. – Pyae
Thet Phyo, translation by Zar Zar Soe
Government to give away
300,000 set-top boxes
Free digital set-top boxes are to be
given away by the Ministry of Infor-
mation. Almost 305,000 units are to
be distributed before the start of the
Southeast Asian Games, which begin
on December 11.
Starting October 15, three TV sta-
tions began broadcasting in the new
digital DVB-T2 format and ceased
broadcasting in analogue. The new
sets, which will allow analogue tel-
evisions to display the digital signals,
will be given out first in Nay Pyi Taw,
Yangon and Mandalay, said informa-
tion department director U Win Kyi.
More than 250 new broadcasting
stations are to be built by 2017 as
part of Myanmar’s transition to digital
broadcasting.
“The 25 stations to be built in the
first two stages of construction can
reach 65 percent of the country. The
new digital receivers will soon be on
the market,” said a ministry spokes-
person.
The sets will be given to families
earning less than K150,000 a month,
and who live in wooden, bamboo or
nipa-palm houses, and to hospi-
tals, clinics, public schools, public
areas, orphanages, homes for the
elderly, public libraries, colleges and
universities. – Nyein Ei Ei Htwe
26 THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

Business
Pipeline
impact still Booze crackdown ramps
at issue Aye Thidar
Officers of the commerce ministry
taskforce search bottles of wine

aung shin
koshumgtha@gmail.com
AS controversy continues to swirl
around the now-complete natural
gas pipeline from Rakhine State to
the Chinese border, critics say they
will soon release a report on the en-
vironmental and social impact of the
project. The group, Myanmar-China
Pipeline Watch Committee, is also
continuing to press the issue of com-
pensation for land acquired by the
pipeline operators.
Although finished, it remains un-
clear where the profits from the pipe-
line will wind up, one watchdog group
said.
“We are collecting data on land use
and the impact of both the natural gas
and crude oil pipeline projects. This
process is expected to be complete
by mid-December. We will say more
about the pipeline impact at that
time,” said U Tin Thit, an adviser to
the Myanmar-China Pipeline Watch
Committee.
The committee comprises 25 civil
society groups active in 21 townships
along the route of both the natural gas
and crude oil pipelines from Rakhine
State to the border with China.
“In our study, the total acreage of
land for permanent use amounted to
6499 acres, of which 5638 acres can be
cultivated. Some landowners got less
compensation than they should have
because of measuring mistakes by gov-
ernment officials,” said U Tin Thit.
The Ta’ang Students and Youth
Union (TSYU), an ethnic association
Kyaw belonging to wholesale wine
seller Premium Distribution on
December 6. Photo: Boothee
ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com
A SECOND major food and wine im-
porter is being investigated for pos-
sible illegal importation of alcohol.
On December 4, a government task
force found 1000 cases of wine and
foodstuffs in a warehouse in Thaketa
township industrial zone belonging
to Premium Distribution Co. Ltd.
The investigations have triggered
shops and supermarkets throughout
Yangon to pull imported wine and
spirit stocks, forcing customers to
settle for locally produced alcohol,
which is notoriously poor in quality.
U Ngwe Soe, deputy director at
the commerce ministry, who is on a
government task force cracking down
on illegal alcohol imports, said the
estimated price of one bottle of the
wine found at Premium’s warehous-
es in Yangon ranged from K7000 to
K20,000. “These are the prices cited
by Premium, we haven’t estimated
yet,” he said. If so, the store would be
worth several hundred thousand US
dollars.
A source at Premium said about
90,000 bottles of wine had been
found in the 7920-sq-ft space, though
the mobile team’s estimate was nearly
80,000 bottles and about 30 tonnes
of foodstuffs, including frozen meat, night and they would confiscate the He said that Premium has been and beverages.
vegetables and preserved foods. The products. unable to import any wine for more “There has been no transparency
team, which was still examining the Premium’s manager Daw May than three months and that its largest in the retail sector since we started
products as of December 5, said their Myo Oo declined comment to The customers have begun stockpiling as in 1996,” the company said in a state-
investigation would conclude that Myanmar Times as the investigation much imported alcohol and wine as ment on December 6, announcing
continued. they can get their hands on. they have pulled their imported alco-

based in Namhkhan township, north-
ern Shan State, said, “The compensa-
tion process is not complete. Only a
third of the money has reached the
landowners. The rest is still in hands
of the administration,” said Mai Amm
Ngeal of TSYU. The organisation has
watched the pipeline projects since
construction began.
More on business 29
90,000
Number of wine bottles being
investigated by the Ministry of
Commerce’s illicit import task force
Premium, which is the largest dis-
tributor in the city, shut its wine and
spirits wing last week, leaving its cus-
tomers high and dry, a source close to
the situation said.
“Basically, the SEA Games are
coming and nobody is going to have
wine. It is going to be a dry Christ-
mas,” the source said, requesting ano-
nymity for fear of persecution by the
government.
“At this point, there is almost no
champagne left in the country. It is
like gold,” the source said, adding that
without new import rules in place,
the country could be completely dry
of imported alcohol in one month’s
time.
The investigation has drawn the
ire of local supermarket chain City
Mart, who openly criticised the gov-
ernment policies on imported food
hol and wine stock from their shops.
“The trade policy at the moment
is unclear. Because of that, over the
past three months some supermar-
kets and shops stopped selling these
products. City Mart, Ocean and City
Express shops have stopped selling
from today,” the statement continued.
But City Mart is not the only one
to stop selling imported wine and
alcohol as it is now as most shops
BUSINESS editor: Philip Heijmans | pheijmans13@gmail.com
Gold prices reach five
year low
Business 30
up, shops dry
in Yangon have either pull stock,
or, like imported wine shop The
Warehouse, shut down indefinitely
while the investigation on Premium
continues.
The raid follows the closure of
Quarto Products, a major food and
alcohol importer with links to inter-
national hotels, at the end of October.
The Ministry of Commerce’s Depart-
ment of Commerce and Consumer
Affairs is now prosecuting Quarto’s
managing director, who is facing a
three-year jail term. The company has
since resumed deliveries.
“When we investigated Quarto,
they could show the hotels’ import
Cambodia port terminal
is now set for early 2014
Updates to Cambodia’s outdated Sihanoukville Autonomous Port
will allow for greater capacity as bilateral trade continues to grow
CONSTRUCTION on a new multi-
purpose terminal at Cambodia’s
Sihanoukville Autonomous Port
is expected to begin in early 2014
to support the country’s rising ex-
ports, port officials said last week.
The new terminal, linking sea to
shore, will occupy three hectares
and is expected to be finished by
late 2016. It will cost close to US$80
million and will be funded with a
loan from the Japanese govern-
ment, according to port authorities.
Var Sonath, deputy director of
Sihanoukville Autonomous Port,
said that the port is needed to sup-
port Cambodia’s growing agricul-
tural and garment exports.
“As Cambodia’s economy keeps
growing, we see an increasing num-
ber of agricultural products being
exported,” Mr Sonath said.
“The new terminal will be built
licences. But Premium might have
a problem if they don’t have any li-
cence or duty-free permit, and these
are massive amounts,” said a director
of the Illegal Trade Prevention and
Supervision Control Committee of
Commerce.
The officials will allow Premium
a few weeks to provide the necessary
documentation before taking action,
he said.
“We will allow their foodstuffs if
they can show FDA approval, but if
there are no licences to import wine
and alcohol, we will act according to
the law,” he said.
Despite laws against the impor-
tation of wine, hotels and duty-free
shops are allowed to bring alcohol
and cigarettes into the country. The
restrictions, which date back several
decades, have been criticised for en-
couraging illegal imports.
To get around the ban, some busi-
nesses have been known to collabo-
rate with hotels to import additional
alcohol products that are then sold to
restaurants and retailers – as Quarto is
accused of doing – while others simply
import through illegal channels.
Hotels importing relatively small
amounts of alcohol found it easier
to work with a distribution compa-
ny. But in a regulation promulgated
last month, the Ministry of Hotels
and Tourism now requires hotels to
import alcohol directly, not through
distributors. The commerce minis-
try will check import licences, sales
contracts, and the nature and price
of the products, and the hotel has to
agree not to sell the products off its
premises.
Hotels imported about
US$330,000 worth of alcohol and
foodstuffs (including $124,000 worth
of alcohol) on the basis of letters of
recommendation from the Ministry
of Hotels and Tourism in the 2012-
2013 fiscal year, according to govern-
ment data. The amount for the cur-
rent year up to November was about
$216,000 (of which $123,000 was for
alcohol).
– Additional reporting by Philip
Heijmans
to keep up with the growth.”
The terminal was originally slat-
ed for completion in 2014, accord-
ing to Mr Sonath, but was delayed
as designs were changed to include
more space for warehousing.
With the government targeting
the export of 1 million tonnes of rice
in 2015, the president of the Federa-
tion of Cambodian Rice Exporters,
Kim Savuth, said he welcomed the
new construction.
He added, however, that im-
provements were still needed for
the logistics of getting cargo to the
terminal.
“What [also] matters is the fee I
have to pay when the rice arrives at
the port, like the fee for transport-
ing the containers to the scanning
machine after they are unloaded
from the train,” he said.
– The Phnom Penh Post
Limited high-rises for
Yangon in zoning plan
property 32
Heineken, Quarto in distribution
deal talks before government raid
thomas
kean
tdkean@gmail.com
DUTCH brewer Heineken has con-
firmed it was negotiating a beer dis-
tribution arrangement with Quarto
Products shortly before the Myanmar
company was forced to temporarily
close in late October following a Minis-
try of Commerce raid.
The terms of the agreement would
have seen Quarto distribute Heineken
beer through to the completion of the
company’s Yangon brewery, likely in
late 2014. However, the deal appears
in doubt following a raid on Quarto’s
premises, which resulted in more than
K600 million worth of food and bever-
age products being seized. The com-
pany’s managing director was arrested
MILLION
$60
Heineken’s investment for a new
brewery to be built in Myanmar
and went on trial on November 22.
The raid came as a part of a
nationwide government crackdown on
illegal food and beverage imports over
the past two months. However, despite
the confiscation of tens of thousands
of bottles of alcohol from Quarto, the
company was allowed to resume sales
on December 2.
Mark Campbell, a spokesperson for
Heineken Asia Pacific, told The My-
anmar Times that the planned distri-
bution deal would see Quarto import
Exchange Rates (December 6 close)
Currency
Euro
Malaysia Ringitt
Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar
Heineken using the import licences of
Myanmar-based hotels.
“We currently have no formal writ-
ten agreement with Quarto, but we
have engaged them to help us list and
distribute our brands into some hotels,”
Mr Campbell said.
“We have been planning a more
formal distribution arrangement with
Quarto before our new brewery is built.
In terms of imports we would like to
be able to import our beer through the
hotels in advance of the brewery being
completed by this time next year.”
“Our discussions with Quarto are
ongoing ... The details of any distribu-
tion contract are commercially sensi-
tive so we are not able to share this in-
formation. It is also still early days for
us to be able to form a view of what a
future more formal market looks like.”
He said Heineken also cooperated
with Quarto on an Oktoberfest event
at Parkroyal Hotel. The two companies
had planned to host a joint booth at the
MyanFood ’13 food and beverage exhi-
bition in early November, Mr Campbell
said, adding that it “didn’t go ahead”
– because Quarto had been forced to
close by the Ministry of Commerce.
There is no evidence to suggest
that the planned distribution arrange-
ment and Quarto’s recent problems are
linked. Government officials say the
recent raids were launched based on
tip-offs.
“Currently, we are able to seize al-
cohol in any case where we are getting
information,” U Win Myint, director of
the Ministry of Commerce’s Directorate
of Trade, told The Myanmar Times last
month.
The ministry does not consider
the motivation or background of the
informant when it receives and acts
on information about potentially il-
legal imports. U Aung Than Soe, the
lawyer for Quarto’s managing director,
suggested however that the informant
in the case “might be a competitor of
Quarto”, but noted that the ministry
would not be required to reveal the
person’s identity to the court during
the trial.
27
Buying Selling
K1320
K300
K1330
K302
K780 K785
K30.50 K31
K981 K983
In May, Heineken announced that
it had reached a deal to invest US$60
million in a brewery in partnership
with Alliance Brewery Company, which
is owned by U Aung Moe Kyaw, whose
IBTC Group also produces Grand Royal
whisky.
Heineken’s 57-percent stake in the
brewery is through subsidiary Asia Pa-
cific Breweries, which the brewing gi-
ant – the world’s third-largest beer com-
pany – bought outright last year. APB
‘Currently, we are
able to seize alcohol
in any case where
we are getting
information’
U Win Myint
Director of the Ministry of
Commerce’s Directorate of Trade
pulled out of a deal with army-owned
Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings
Limited to build a brewery in 1996 and
was replaced by Fraser & Neave. The
latter owns 55pc of their joint venture
company, Myanmar Brewery Limited,
which produces Myanmar Beer, Tiger
Beer and ABC Extra Stout.
Meanwhile, Quarto Products re-
sumed deliveries on December 2 and
sent an expanded list of products to
its clients, including hundreds of
types of wine from Australia, France,
Italy and Spain, along with liquors
such as cognac, grappa and kirsch.
It was unclear how the products had
been imported and the company de-
clined to comment.
“We are able to resell again our
products ... And we would like to say
thank you all [for] supporting and
helping us during this period,” Quarto’s
sales manager said in an email to cus-
tomers on November 30.
www.mmtimes.com
The Fine Print
Legal & tax insight
Foreign investment:
making it a reality
Alessio
Polastri
alessio@pwplegal.com
AMENDING the foreign invest-
ment law, passed in November
2012, to remove restrictions on
actions that foreign companies or
investors can take would certainly
be good news, and would help at-
tract the investment the economy
needs in order to grow.
China has mastered this disci-
pline over the past few decades,
opening its economy to maximise
foreign investment.
But what Myanmar needs is a
change of mindset – a break with
the past.
There is a strong contradic-
tion between what politicians are
saying and what they are actually
doing. Calling for investment, and
then failing to attend meetings
with major investors, sends the
wrong message, whatever the law
says, particularly when junior of-
ficials lack the authority to accept
or reject a deal. Giving 48 hours of
a meeting with CEOs who reside
in Europe or the United States is
not practical.
The wording of the law is only
a small part of the appeal of a
country for foreign investors.
The actual opportunities and the
chance to make a deal are much
more important. These are what
prompt investors to inject their
cash and capital in the economy.
The law can always be amended
to suit the circumstances.
On a separate matter, I am
pleased to see that Myanmar has
moved up in the corruption per-
ception index. According to the
latest report, Myanmar is still
ranked quite unrealistically low,
but at least is not the lowest of
the ASEAN countries. This will
certainly help the government at-
tract not just investors’ attention,
but also investments.
Alessio Polastri is managing partner
of Polastri Wint & Partners.
More trade corridors
essential, experts say
Nyan Lynn Aung
29.nyanlynnaung@gmail.com
MORE trade corridors linking the
Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)
countries will boost Myanmar’s eco-
nomic development, former secretary
general of the UN Conference on Trade
and Development says – and Myanmar
is in the perfect position, both geo-
graphically and politically, to take the
lead.
Supachai Panitchpakdi, World Trade
Organisation director general from
2002-2005, made the claim following
the Joint Committee Meeting for the
GMS Cross-Border Transport Agree-
ment in Nay Pyi Taw on November 21.
Many GMS members – which include
Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thai-
land, as well as China’s Yunnan prov-
ince and Guangxi autonomous region
– are among the least developed in the
region.
More trade corridors would help
correct the imbalance, he said. “Myan-
mar should build border corridors to
connect [countries with] each other for
trade.” As ASEAN chair for 2014, Myan-
mar was in a key position to do so, he
suggested.
According to the Ministry of Trans-
portation, Myanmar is currently
building four highways, including the
so-called ASEAN Road, slated to be fin-
ished by 2015.
Construction resumed in early 2012
of roads to Thailand along two routes –
Bago-Thaton-Phayargyi-Myawady, and
Meiktila-Taunggyi-Kengtong-Tachileik,
said U Thein Zaw, chief engineer for
the Ministry of Construction. Another
route, planned for completion before
2015, will link Yangon and India via
Taungoo-Gangaw-Kale-Tamu, while two
others will link Yangon to China, via
Mandalay-Lashio-Muse and Meiktila-
Taunggyi-Kengtong-Mongla.
Myanmar is also converting the
once-notorious “Burma Railway” into
a road. Built by the Japanese during
World War II, the 258-mile (415-kilo-
metre) railway line once joined Yangon
and Bangkok. It was widely known as
the “Death Railway” because more than
100,000 labourers and POWs died dur-
ing its construction, and it inspired the
film The Bridge on the River Kwai.
“We are reconstructing missing
links of the Singapore-Kunming road
by rebuilding a 100-kilometre [62-mile]
section between Payathonzu and Than-
byuzayat [in Mon State, the terminus
of the original Burma Railway],” said
U Myint Thu, deputy director general
of the Department of ASEAN Affairs.
Business 29
He said the project should be finished
in 2015 and is being supported by the
Asia Development Bank (ADB).
Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan,
Thai deputy minister for commerce,
said Thailand had already nearly com-
pleted its section of corridors to Laos,
which would allow Myanmar to export
to Laos, via a Tachileik-Melsia-Chaung
Kong-Chaung Rai route.
“We are planning to reduce the de-
velopment gap between ASEAN and
GMS countries,” said U Soe Win, dep-
uty director general of the commerce
ministry. “We will form partnerships
between GMS countries to [create the]
ASEAN single market.
Myanmar’s trade volume is current-
ly the smallest among GMS countries,
which have agreed on a three-year plan
to cooperate in promoting trade, involv-
ing transportation contracts among
Myanmar, China, Thailand and Laos.
Myanmar has to take action during
its tenure as ASEAN chair to reduce
the development gap, said the Min-
istry of National Planning and Eco-
nomic Development’s deputy direc-
tor general of planning, U Thant Do
Chin. He added that Myanmar, as the
least-developed of the GMS countries,
had to make increased efforts to build
trade corridors.

continued from business 26

The pipeline spans central My-

anmar, with unloading points
at Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State,
Yenanchaung in Magwe Regim and
Thaungtha in Mandalay. Myanmar
will receive 88.28 billion cubic feet
(2.5 billion cubic metres) of natural
gas a year from the pipeline.
“We pay attention to land issues.
There have been complaints about
the social and economic impact,
some because of external instiga-
tion. We accept responsibility for
these issues. That is why we built
schools and clinics,” said an offi-
cial at SEAGP/SEAOP, the South-
east Asian Gas Pipeline and Oil
Pipeline company that operates the
lines.
SEAGP/SEAOP has spent K30
billion for land compensation so far,
said the company.

BILLION

K30
SEAGP/SEAOPs expenditure on land
compensation so far

“We work with MOGE [Myanmar

Oil and Gas Enterprise], regional
administration officials and resi-
dents or landowners in awarding
compensation,” said the official.
The country will receive US$30
billion a year over the next 30 years
from the gas pipeline, but the dis-
position of that income may be un-
regulated, according to a report by
the Shwe Gas Movement.
The Myanmar governmen awarded
purchasing rights for the gas to China
in 2008 with an agreement to export
6.5 trillion cubic feet (184 billion cubic
metres) over 30 years. SEAGP/SEAOP,
a consortium of energy companies
from China, Korea and India, and
MOGE operate the line, which runs
between Kyaukphyu and Muse on My-
anmar territory. The estimated cost of
792.5km-long line is $2.01 billion.
30 Business THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

Job watch Gold prices fall to a five-year low

Aye Thidar Kyaw
ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com

GOLD prices have fallen to a five-year low

Job Vacancy
The British Embassy is currently looking to recruit a highly
motivated and energetic individual to join our team as a
Deputy Corporate Services Manager.
For more information and details on how to apply, please
visit the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/
british-embassy-rangoon/about/recruitment
Deadline for submission of applications will be on 23
December 2013.
as investors in the local markets are increas-
ingly turning to foreign currencies, experts
said.
A tical of 24 karat gold (one tical equals
0.576 ounces) sold on December 4 for about
K653,500 (equivalent to about US$1228 an
ounce), the lowest since 2009, said U Win
Myint, secretary of the Myanmar Gold En-
trepreneurs’ Association (MGEA).
The decline has been evident since March,
when a tical still cost K768,500, down from
gold’s August 2012 high of K793,500.
“This is normally the peak season for
gold sales, because farmers have money
after the harvest. But there is a lack of in-
terest,” he said, adding that price would
continue to fall due to the commodity’s

Which
poor performance on the international
market.
With steady decreases in the market over
the past 9 months, he said that investors
have turned to the property market and the Shoppers examine a gold necklace in a jewellery shop in Yangon. Photo: Zarni Phyo
US dollar.
is why more than 500,000 U Win Myint said he expected that gold adding that her shop has ceased to be

$1228
prices would bottom out sometime in the profitable.
range K650,000 - K655,000. Daw Ei Ei Khaing, owner of Shwe Nan
readers choose the two Gold trading tends to take place in the Daw gold shop in Yangon’s Lanmadaw
cities and not the borders as tical prices than Township, said she has had better luck as de-
newspapers that have the are about K10,000 lower than in Yangon and mand had remained steady, from both retail
Mandalay, he said. and wholesale customers, who successfully
nation covered Price of one tical of 24 karat gold in the local
markets last week .
“Since prices have been falling continu-
ously since April, people just want to sell
negotiate prices.
“We don’t keep stockpiles for a long time.
24 hours a day. out,” said Daw Zin Mi Mi Aung, owner of
Aung Thamadi gold shop in Mandalay,
Our products sell out within days, so we
haven’t lost out so far,” she said.

7 days a week.
365 days a year.
Women must evolve from their
Advertising & Subscription
Hotline: +951 392 928
traditional roles, experts say
email: advertising@ their lives. “My grandmother was one of Tourism entrepreneur Daw Khin Sanda
16 children. My mother was one of eight ... Win agreed that tradition was a hurdle.
myanmartimes.com.mm I have only one child. This gives us some “We need old laws repealed and new
room [to enter business],” she said. laws to enhance women [alongside] our
circulation@ Daw Thet Thet Khine highlighted Sin- traditional way of living,” she said.
gapore as a positive example of creating Daw Khin Sanda Win said medical and
Bridget Di Certo Su Phyo Win an empowering arena for women entrepre- communications technology could ben-
myanmartimes.com.mm neurs by encouraging entrepreneurship efit women entrepreneurs. “Once I could
WHILE scientific advances have created through grants, streamlined business reg- not have a fax machine because I needed
new opportunities for women entrepre- istration and family-friendly labour laws. special permission,” she said. “Sometimes
neurs, traditional family roles can hin- it would take the phone shop two hours
der their progress in the business sector, to get a line for me to make a one-minute
leading businesswomen said at the Myan-
mar Women’s Forum 2013 on December
‘We need old laws phone call to order more cement for the
hotel.”
6. repealed and new laws Both financial opportunity and techno-
As a developing country, it is critical for logical assistance are becoming increas-
the economy to capture the contribution to enhance women ingly accessible for budding entrepre-
New Vacancies APPLY NOW!

of its 30 million female citizens, Myanmar neurs, Daw Khin Sanda Win said.
Women Entrepreneurs’ Association vice [alongside] our “Doing business is still a great chal-
president Daw Thet Thet Khine told the lenge. [Myanmar] was isolated for 50 years
forum.
traditional way of living’ We have to start from the very bottom,”
“Women have qualities and can make she said.
Daw Khin Sanda Win
contributions [to the economy] but are “In the countryside, women are respon-
Tourism entrepreneur
Business Development Manager still left behind because of traditional sible for daily livelihood,” and this innate
practices,” Dr Daw Thet Thet Khine said. business sense makes them ideal candi-
Marketing Manager “In the private sector, you rarely see wom- dates for launching their own businesses,
Sales and Distribution Manager en in senior positions.” Daw Khin Sanda Win said.
Brand Manager “[Success] is a challenge for business- But for true success, women needed the
women who are overloaded with family “If we want to develop the whole coun- support of the men in their families, Daw
Logistic Officer responsibilities. That’s why family is of try we don’t want to exclude women. By Thet Thet Khine said, adding, “The family
Medical Doctor paramount importance.” ignoring female entrepreneurship, we will needs to encourage women, and workplac-
Project Manager She said advances in family planning cut out half the country’s contribution,” es need to create a family-friendly work
had given women the power to control she said. environment.”
Sales Engineer
Site Engineer
Chief Accountant
Accountant IN BRIEF
HR Manager The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Myanmar is inviting qualified candidates to apply for
HR Executive the following positions:
Mercedes launches showroom
Legal Executive
Sr. Title and level Duty Station Position Deadline Mercedes, which began exporting cars
1. Finance Assistant (Treasury) (LICA 3) Yangon National 10 Dec 13 to Myanmar in July, has now opened a
Secretary showroom on Yangon’s Pyay Road.
2. IT and M&E Database Officer (LICA 6) Yangon National 11 Dec 13
Passenger Service Agent ( Airline) “The car market has great potential
3. ICT Assistant (LICA 3) Yangon National 15 Dec 13
Receptionist in Myanmar. We don’t know how it will
4. Security Guard (LICA 1A) (3 Positions) Yangon National 19 Dec 13 develop, but we want to be on top of
Customer Service The benefit package for the above positions includes an attractive remuneration, 30 days annual leave and it,” said CEO Wolfgang Huppenbauer,
10 holidays per year, medical insurance, learning and development opportunities and a challenging working president of Daimler Southeast Asia.
environment with 250 national and international colleagues.
No. 851/853 (A/B), 3rd Floor, Room (7/8), Bogyoke Aung San Road, U Aung Thet Lwin, head of sales
Lanmadaw Township, Yangon, Myanmar. All applications must be made through the UNOPS E-recruitment System (https://gprs.unops.org) and click on at Cycle and Carriage Automobile
the post you are interested in applying for.
Tel: (951) 229 437, 09 49 227 773, 09 730 94007 Myanmar, said the car market would
Email: esearch@yangon.net.mm, esearch.myanmar@gmail.com For Sr.4, applicants are kindly requested to submit by manual application (paper) to HR Unit, UNOPS Myanmar at continue to grow so long as the
No. 12(O), Pyithu Lane, 7 Mile, Mayangone Township, Yangon.
www.esearchmyanmar.com www.facebook.com/esearchmyanmar economy and reforms keep moving
If you have further queries, please contact 95 1 657 281-7 Ext: 149 forward. – Aye Nyein Win
www.mmtimes.com
singapore
Commercial court
set to open its
doors in Singapore
SINGAPORE last week said it plans
to launch an international commer-
cial court that will aid in settling an
increasing number of cross-border
disputes as Asia’s economies boom.
The Ministry of Law said in a
statement the proposed Singapore
International Commercial Court
(SICC) will leverage on robust
cross-border investment and trade
in Asia, where gross domestic prod-
uct is expected to triple over the
current decade to US$34.9 trillion
in 2020.
“Against this backdrop, the num-
ber and complexity of cross-border
disputes is expected to increase,
enabling the legal services sector
in the Asia Pacific to grow signifi-
cantly,” the ministry said.
It said the SICC will build on
‘The proposed ...
court will make
Singapore an even
more attractive
venue for dispute
resolution in Asia’
Singapore’s Ministry of Law
Singapore’s reputation as a leading
destination for international arbi-
tration, which allows for disputes
to be resolved by third-party arbi-
trators outside of court.
The Singapore International Ar-
bitration Centre, set up in 1991, last
year handled 235 disputes worth
S$3.61 billion ($2.87 billion).
It is considered the fourth most
preferred arbitration institution in
the world, after similar bodies head-
quartered in Paris, London and New
York, according to a survey by inter-
national law firm White & Case.
“Building on the success of the
arbitration sector in Singapore, the
proposed international commercial
court will make Singapore an even
more attractive venue for dispute
resolution in Asia and beyond,” the
ministry said.
With similar commercial courts
in London and Dubai handling a
growing number of global cases, “a
window of opportunity currently
exists for an Asian dispute resolu-
tion hub catering to international
disputes with an Asian connection,”
said a report of an international
committee that looked into the fea-
sibility of setting up the court.
Law Minister K Shanmugam
told reporters that Singapore is the
“obvious choice” for investors look-
ing to have disputes resolved in a
transparent and efficient manner.
Business 31
tokyo
Biden urges Japan to
open auto market, farms
US Vice President Joe Biden last week
urged Japan to step up efforts to open
its auto and farm markets in order to
conclude a huge regional free trade
deal.
Mr Biden, who is in Tokyo on the
first leg of a three-nation tour of North-
east Asia, held talks with Prime Min-
ister Shinzo Abe before a ministerial
meeting on the ambitious deal in Singa-
pore this weekend.
“To state the obvious, for the coun-
tries involved, the decisions and com-
promises that need to be made are very
sensitive and very difficult,” Mr Biden
said following the talks.
But “we need a comprehensive
agreement that involves longstanding
differences between the United States
and Japan including issues like agricul-
ture and automobiles”, he said.
Foreign automakers have long com-
plained that Japanese authorities erect US Vice President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks during a meeting with
huge barriers to entry into the lucrative Japanese business leaders at the headquarters of Japan’s mobile portal and
market. e-commerce website DeNA in Tokyo on December 3. Photo: AFP
Tokyo for its part insists it will never
lift all tariffs, in particular on its sensi- “All countries – including mine – negotiations, describing the TPP as
tive farm products. are grappling with sensitive issues,” creating “gold standards” for the 21st
Mr Biden told a Japanese newspaper
that negotiators had their shoulders to
he said. “The most important thing is
that countries make the tough choices
Century economy by taking into ac-
count fast-changing sectors such as
the wheel to try to thrash out the Trans- necessary to deliver a successful agree- intellectual property.
Pacific Partnership (TPP) before a self- ment.” But there is significant resistance
imposed year-end deadline. The TPP would group 12 nations, in some participating countries, and
“Our negotiators are working including the US, Japan, Indonesia outside observers are skeptical that
around the clock, full speed ahead,” Mr and Mexico, that together make up 40 such a diverse field can reach accord
Biden told the Asahi Shimbun ahead of percent of the global economy. before the new year.
his trip. Washington has been spearheading – AFP
32 THE MYANMAR TIMES december 9 - 15, 2013
Property
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian
tribe ends
dam protest
ABOUT 100 Malaysian tribespeople
were forced to end a three-month
blockade of a dam after rising waters
threatened to flood their homes in
Borneo, activists said last week.
The state-linked Sarawak Energy
company began filling the reservoir
in late September, a week after some
100 Penan natives from seven villages
began a protest on the only road to the
remote, US$1.3 billion Murum dam in
Sarawak state, located in the north-
west of Borneo.
“They have no choice. The water
is rising fast so they have to get their
belongings,” Peter Kallang, chairman
of the NGO Save Sarawak’s Rivers Net-
work, told AFP.
He said their homes were
already being flooded before promised
resettlement houses had even been
completed.
Malaysian police last month arrest-
ed eight tribespeople blocking access
to a dam which they say will displace
them from their lands, amidincreasing
protests on Borneo island.
The Murum dam is one of a series
of hydroelectric facilities planned by
the Sarawak government as it pushes
economic development in one of Ma-
laysia’s poorest states.
The Penans set up the blockade in
September to demand 500,000 ringgit
($155,000) for the loss of their land,
property and livelihood.
The 944-megawatt dam is expected
to flood 95 square miles (245 square
kilometres), and cause 1500 Penan and
80 Kenyah natives to lose their homes.
Sarawak Energy had said reloca-
tion of affected natives was set to be
completed by year-end and insisted
that displaced villagers were being
compensated fairly.
An initial sum of 15,000 ringgit
per family was reportedly raised to
23,000, with Sarawak’s chief minister
Abdul Taib Mahmud calling Penan de-
mands “outrageous”.
Kallang said the protestors would
continue with legal action against au-
thorities despite being forced to aban-
don their blockade.
The building spree in the resource-
rich state along the powerful jungle
rivers has been dogged by controversy
as activists allege massive corruption,
while natives complain it has flooded
rainforests and uprooted tens of thou-
sands of people.
Hundreds of Malaysian tribespeo-
ple have also blockaded the construc-
tion site of the nearby Baram dam.
While Baram is expected to gener-
ate 1200 MW of power, activists claim
it will flood 400 square kilometres of
rainforest (154 square miles) and dis-
place 20,000 tribespeople. – AFP
BUSINESS editor: Philip Heijmans | pheijmans13@gmail.com
Limited high-rises for Yangon
in new government zoning plan
myat nyein aye tin yadanar Tun
LIMITING the number of high-rise
development projects in Yangon will
preserve the city’s heritage while
continuing to attract foreign invest-
ment – that’s the message of the Yan-
gon City Development Committee
(YCDC) regarding the city’s zoning
plan, a spokesperson said last week
during a meeting.
Speaking at the December 4 dis-
cussion about Yangon land use and
building heritage zoning, architect
Daw Hlaing Maw Oo said, “The plan
for the long term is to have a city
that is attractive for residents and
interesting to foreign or local inves-
tors. That’s why we need to include
conservation in our land-use and
building heritage zoning plan.” Daw
Hlaing Maw Oo works for the De-
partment of Human Settlements and
Housing Development.
Limiting the high-rise building
zone will help conserve Yangon city
features, she added.
“If we allow high-rise buildings
throughout the region, the heritage
buildings and their culture will dis-
appear,” she said. A view of downtown Yangon. Photo: Staff
The YCDC’s claims of limiting
Yangon’s development in order to Serge Pun, chairman of the mul- The YCDC has rolled out new in public, she said.
preserve the city’s current infrastruc- tinational realty firm Serge Pun & land-use classifications such as low-, Uncontrolled growth could dam-
ture come as numerous investors are Associates, agrees with the mu- medium- and high-density residen- age the quality of life for residents,
either turned away from developing nicipal plan, saying that it will give tial, mixed-use, commercial and warned YCDC consultant U Kyaw Lat.
modern high-rise buildings in cen- developers more specific guidelines business, industrial and warehouse, “Increased floor-area ratios down-
tral areas of town or being forced to to draw from that perhaps did not and others, with the hope of prevent- town will cause more congestion,” he
scale back on existing projects. exist before. ing misallocations of land that could said, adding that traffic jams could re-
Many buildings in downtown “I think [the zoning plan is] very damage the city’s infrastructure. duce average vehicle speeds in built-
Yangon, meanwhile, remain outdat- necessary. Yangon city has never “We need this zoning plan so as up areas to 3 miles an hour.
ed with poor safety standards, and had a zoning law and that actually to avoid making mistakes, like allow- Vice chair of Yangon Heritage
are in some cases dilapidated. opens up to a lot of loopholes so ing high-rise buildings that obscure Trust, Daw Moe Moe Lwin, said wide
“Different people will have differ- having a new set of regulations is the view of Shwedagon Pagoda,” said variations in materials, building
ent views on what’s best for the city very good,” he said. Daw Hlaing Maw Oo. heights and quality standards, mean-
and compromises will be needed in “We have to be extremely sensi- The plan, once approved, will ap- while, would harm the city.
framing policies, but once the rules tive toward preserving the heritage ply to both private and government YCDC deputy director U Toe Aung
and regulations are in place every- building.” buildings. Discussions will take place suggested a trade-off by which high-
one should be treated equally,” said er buildings could be located uptown
U Thant Myint-U, chairman of the if building density was decreased.
Yangon Heritage Trust. ‘Different people will have different “We restrict buildings in Ahlone
Nevertheless, experts believe that township to 12 storeys, but that could
investors are willing to work around views on what’s best for the city go up to 18 storeys if there are fewer
building restrictions so long as eco- buildings. But we can’t do that down-
nomic prospects remain high. and compromises will be needed in town,” he said.
“People in the future will invest
in the areas that don’t have such
framing policies, but once the rules and Economic adviser to the president
Aung Htun Thet said some experts
limitations and where you can de- regulations are in place everyone should predicted that by 2030, 25 percent
velop high-rise buildings,” said U of Yangon’s population would live in
Aung Thura, chief executive at lo- be treated equally’ the downtown area – about double
cally-based consultancy firm Thura the current proportion. “Responsible
Swiss. “If you look at Shanghai and U Than Myint-U people accept zoning and height re-
Beijing, completely new areas have Chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust strictions,” he said.
now been developed where nothing – Additional reporting by Philip
existed before.” Heijmans and Thomas Kean
 Quote of the week
‘We need this zoning plan so as to avoid
making mistakes’
— Hlaing Maw Oo, architect at the Department of Human Settlements and Housing Development
UN to train
planners
Myat Noe Oo
myantnoe.mcm@gmail.com
THE United Nations has launched a
series of training programs in Hpa-an,
Kayin State, that will teach dozens of
local urban planners how to properly
monitor the influx of property develop-
ments in Myanmar.
Put on by the United Nations Human
Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
and the Urban Research and Develop-
ment Institute – established in Yangon
in 2012 by UN-Habitat in partnership
with the Department of Human Settle-
ment and Housing Development – the
training program will focus on modern
strategies for urban development, said
Daw Moe Moe Oo, training and com-
munications officer at UN-Habitat.
“The first training session is fin-
ished,” Daw Moe Moe Oo said, with the
second session picking up in a month
and a half. The sessions are spaced out,
she said, so that they can monitor pro-
gress and keep track of trainees’ devel-
opment over time.
A related program in Yangon run-
ning from December 12-16 will deal
with water provision, urban drain
connection system and transportation
issues. Housing-related training pro-
grams have already run one session
each in Yangon, Mandalay, Taunggyi
and Monywa.
33
Nelson Mandela leaves
legacy of tolerance
World 36
Thilawa SEZ breaks ground
noe noe aung
noenoeag@gmail.com
IN another major step toward de-
velopment, representatives of Japan
and Myanmar last week attended the
ground-breaking ceremony for the
Thilawa special economic zone. The
first phase of the project, covering
400 hectares of Thanlyin and Kyauk-
tan townships, is to be implemented
by 2015.
At the November 30 ceremony at
the port, the vice minister of Japan’s
Ministry of Economy, Trade and In-
dustry (METI), said. Myanmar’s ef-
forts to attract foreign investment
would depend on the success of Thil-
awa special economic zone, which is
20km (12.4 miles) from Yangon.
“Though Japanese investors are
very interested in Myanmar and its
emerging economy, they are hesitant
to invest here,” said Yoshihiko Isozaki.
“The Myanmar government is Japanese and local officials cut the ceremonial rope,
preparing new laws for international breaking ground on the Thilawa SEZ. Photo: Boothee
investors. And many investors are
still worrying about terms and con-
ditions. Increasing international in- and Sumitomo corporations, and “Now is the time to implement the plemented in 2015 with the construc-
vestment depends on the success of the Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings special economic zone,” said U Win tion of automobile and electronics
the Thilawa special economic zone,” company (MTSH) involving nine Aung, saying he expected the zone factories.
he added. Myanmar companies. The Myanmar to provide job opportunities for local According to the METI website, Ja-
The zone is being developed by and Japanese governments signed an people. pan will provide ¥20 million (US$3.28
a consortium involving the Japan agreement establishing the consor- U Set Aung, chair of the Thilawa billion) for the related infrastruc-
Thilawa SEZ Company, with partici- tium on October 29, said MTSH chair SEZ management committee, said the ture, electrical systems, ports and
pation from Mitsubishi, Marubeni U Win Aung. first phase of the project would be im- transportation.
34 Business Property THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

Lisbon
HOUSE OF THE WEEK

Rich Chinese snap up visas

buying Portugal property
A DREAM home in Portugal is be-
coming a golden ticket for wealthy
Chinese, where property assets can
also yield a prized residence permit al-
lowing them to travel and do business
across Europe.
Portugal is rolling out the red car-
pet to discriminating Chinese buyers,
where they are stabilising property
prices that have dropped by nearly a

Living in style
third during a deep recession that has
accompanied the eurozone country’s
international bailout.
GRACIOUS, spacious and family-friend- keep it in touch. There is also a garage One year ago the Portugese govern-
ly – if a tad on the expensive side – this alongside. – Ei The The Naing ment launched a program to attract
week’s house occupies a 15,400-square- wealthy investors, and the results are
foot private compound with a beautiful Location : Ahlone Road, Dagon Tsp
now beginning to bear fruit.
tree-shaded lawn. Four of the five bed- Price :
US$25,000 (for rent) For the purchase of a home or
rooms are double, and there is also a apartment of at least 500,000 euros
maid’s room. Three living rooms are de- Contact : Estate Myanmar (US$700,000) which is to be kept
signer-decorated in white. Ten air condi- Phone : 09 73114860, 0943118787 for at least five years, investors will
tioners keep it cool, and two landlinesww receive a Portuguese residence per-
mit.
Only obliged to spend seven days
per year in Portugal, the holders of
these residence permits may travel
TRADE MARK CAUTION and work throughout Europe with-
out a visa within the Schengen area of
NOTICE is hereby given that Goodman Fielder Consumer Foods countries.
Pty Limited, a corporation organized under the laws of Australia of Chinese account for the over-
T2/39 Delhi Road, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2113, Australia, whelming majority of investors in the
scheme, followed by Brazilians, Rus-
do solemnly and sincerely declare that we are the owners and sole sians and Angolans. A man enters a real estate office with Chinese characters announcing properties
proprietors of the following trade mark in Myanmar: The scheme is similar to those in to sell in downtown Lisbon. Property assets in Portugal can yield a residence
place in a number of other European
MEADOW LEA nations, and data released last week
permit allowing property owners to work in Europe. Photo: AFP

The said mark is used in respect of ‘Margarine; edible oils and fats’. by the foreign ministry showed that
The said trade mark is the subject of Declaration of Ownership 356 of these residence permits issued
so far have brought $300 million in
recorded with the Registrar of Deeds and Assurances, Yangon, investment.
Myanmar, in Book IV under No. IV/ 5217/2013 Dated 23rd May, 2013. Now that the program is up and
running, the increase in investment is
Any infringement or colourable imitation thereof or other infringement expected to be swifter, said Luis Lima,
of the rights of the said corporation will be dealt with according to law. head of the Portugese real estate agent
association.
U Kyi Win Associates More than 300 new requests for
for Goodman Fielder Consumer Foods Pty Limited permits are under review, which
by its Attorneys-at-Law would take the total investment to
$815 million, he estimated, and “the
REMFRY & SAGAR requests are almost always accepted,”
INDIA. Dated: 9th December, 2013 he said.
In a single week last month, 15 mil-
lion euros was invested, according to
government figures, a rate which if
TRADEMARK CAUTION sustained would take annual invest-
ment to nearly $1 trillion.
NOTICE is hereby given that PAREXGROUP PARTICIPATIONS And companies are adapting to
SAS, a company incorporated in the laws of France of 19 Place de
la Résistance 92446 ISSY LES MOULINEAUX CEDEX, France,
do solemnly and sincerely declare that we are the owners and sole Athens
proprietor of the following trade mark in Myanmar:-
the rich newcomers. Lisbon real es-
tate agency Casa em Portugal hired
Yansi Xu solely to better serve Chinese
clients.
“They are almost all businessmen.
I have sold them seven houses in two
months,” said the 34-year-old, taking a
break from tapping frenetically at his
computer.
One client is a 35-year-old busi-
nessman who with his wife plans to
move into a modern apartment near
the Luz stadium in Lisbon’s Benfica
neighbourhood, so their young son
can go to an English-language school
in Lisbon.
The Chinese education system is
“too demanding” for the child, Lima
said, so the parents would prefer him
to be educated in Europe.
Another advantage, the realtor
said, is space.
“For 500,000 euros clients can buy
an apartment with four rooms at 130
square metres [1400 square feet] in
Benfica, while in Beijing or Shanghai
that is the price of a two-room space
of 60 square metres,” he said.
Most Chinese investors do not aim
to make Portugal their home, but want
to use the visa to conduct business in
other European countries, which they
can visit freely within the Schengen
area of 26 countries, which excludes
Britain and Ireland.
“As a general rule, Chinese buy-
ers are looking for new or renovated
homes that they can rent out at a
higher rate,” said lawyer Raquel Cuba
Martins, whose firm helps Chinese cli-
ents navigate Portuguese bureaucracy.
– AFP

LANKO Home grabs a high-risk mission

for fragile Greek government
The said mark is used in respect of ‘Chemicals used in industry;
chemicals used for building; adhesives and glues for industrial purposes,
adhesives and glues for wall and floors coverings; chemicals additives
for building materials, in particular compositions and products for the
preparation, the protection and the waterproofing of concretes, mortars RISING poverty, pressure from credi-
tors and a looming parliamentary
and cements; chemicals used for resurfacing and smoothing walls revolt: Greece’s government has its
and floors. Mould release preparations; damp proofing preparations work cut out as it ponders whether to
(except paints) for building; waterproof packing and insulating broaden home foreclosures to thin the
ranks of evasive debtors.
materials; insulating materials and products for building. Insulating A law passed in 2010 currently pro-
plaster; gaskets; sealant compounds for joints; non metallic building tects the principal residence of debt-
materials; mortar, concrete, cement for building; non metallic wall and ors from outright seizure, providing a
floor coverings for building; coatings (building materials); non metallic cushion of support in a country stuck
in a six-year recession and four years
building materials for resurfacing and smoothing walls and floors’. of austerity cutbacks.
But according to Greece’s credi-
The said trade mark is the subject of Declaration of Ownership recorded tors – the EU, IMF and the European
with the Registrar of Deeds and Assurances, Yangon, Myanmar, in Central Bank – the measure has been
Book IV under No. IV/2155/2013 dated 1st March, 2013. systematically abused.
“The moratorium on seizures has
creditors and the government in re-
turn for loans under from the Greek
bailout agreement.
According to Kathimerini, the
ban reduced home auctions by 50
percent between 2009 and 2012, and
removing it could see 110,000 homes
seized and sold.
“Changing the rules on home sei-
zures would mark the beginning of
a political, economic and social rup-
ture,” said Louka Katseli, the former
finance minister who promoted the
law in question.
One prominent magistrate has
warned that ending the moratorium
on foreclosures would cause “a sec-
ond Asia Minor disaster”, referring
to the traumatic conclusion of the
Greek-Turkish war of 1919-1922 that
saw the elimination of Anatolia’s
ethnic Greek minority through kill-
ings and exile.
Facing an internal revolt on the
issue from its own lawmakers, the
coalition government of conservative
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is
seeking a compromise that will satisfy
everyone.
“The weak will be protected, poor
and middle-class households will be
protected,” government spokesman

Any infringement or colourable imitation thereof or other infringements brought about an important increase in
strategic bankruptcies, meaning people
of the rights of the said corporation will be dealt with according to law. who stopped repaying their loans even
though they had the means to do so,”
U Kyi Win Associates Poul Thomsen, head of the IMF’s audit
for PAREXGROUP PARTICIPATIONS SAS mission to Greece, told Kathimerini
by its Attorneys-at-Law daily in a recent interview.
The protective measure is set to
REMFRY & SAGAR lapse in January, and has become a
INDIA. Dated: 9th December, 2013 major sticking point in the negotia-
tions between the so-called troika of
110,000
Homes that could be seized or sold with
the removal of government measures
currently protecting Greece’s property
market
Simos Kedikoglou told Antenna televi-
sion last week.
“We are trying to locate freeload-
ers, and protect those who truly can’t
meet their obligations owing to the
crisis,” he said.
The European Commission this
week also stressed that it was merely
seeking to “rework” the ban to elimi-
nate “systematic abuse brought about
by the general moratorium”. – AFP
www.mmtimes.com Science & Technology 35
WASHINGTON MANILA

US sanctions Scientists discover wonder

rice gene: IRRI
hurt democracy SCIENTISTS have discovered a won-

activists: study
BROAD US sanctions aimed at keeping
certain technologies out of the hands of
repressive regimes can often backfire by
hurting democracy movements, a think
tank report said Thursday.
The New America Foundation study
said US sanctions policies “remain
largely outdated in recognizing how
communications technology can ben-
efit both the civilian population and
serve broader American foreign policy
goals”.
It added that the broad-brush sanc-
tions “often have negative consequences
on the populations in sanctioned coun-
tries, inadvertently aiding the repres-
sive regimes that seek to control access
to information within their borders.”
The researchers urged a move to
“smart sanctions” which could deny tar-
geted governments the ability to moni-
tor and silence opposition movements,
while allowing more access to personal
communications tools.
“These technologies increase citi-
zens’ ability to access and share infor-
mation and communicate with each
other,” said Danielle Kehl, one of the
authors of the report.
“They can also provide stronger pro-
tection against censorship and surveil-
lance from local governments than the
alternatives people rely on if American
products are blocked by sanctions.”
The report examined sanctions on
Iran, Syria, Sudan, Suba and North Ko-
rea, where US companies are barred
from selling many types of telecommu-
nications equipment.
Because of this, researchers told a
forum discussing the report, citizens
in those countries often use outdated
software that is riddled with security
holes which can be easily exploited by
the regimes.
“If you are in Iran you cannot get a
legitimate copy of your operating sys-
tem,” said Collin Anderson, an inde-
pendent researcher who contributed to
the report.
He said because the software is of-
ten illegitimate, it cannot get security
updates and governments “are going
to [insert] malware [on] everybody ...
State-sponsored actors use this as a way
to round up political dissidents.”
Ian Schuler, a former State Depart-
ment official who now heads a digital
activism group, said that in the United
States “there is general agreement that
the free flow of ideas is beneficial to eve-
ryone”.
But Mr Schuler told the forum that
refining sanctions policies is complex
because some technologies “can be used
for good things or for bad things”.
The report said exemptions should
be made in sanctions for “personal com-
munications tools, from email to anti-
filtering software”, saying they “clearly
enhance the free flow of information,
enabling citizens in repressive countries
to communicate with one another and
with the outside world”.
der rice gene that could dramatically
increase yields of one of the world’s
most important food crops, the Inter-
national Rice Research Institute said
Tuesday.
Preliminary tests show that yields
of modern long-grain “indica” rice va-
rieties, the world’s most widely grown
types of rice, can rise by 13-36 per-
cent when infused with the so-called
SPIKE gene, the Philippines-based
institute said.
“Our work showed that SPIKE is
indeed one of the major genes respon-
sible for the yield increase that breed-
ers have spent so many years search-
ing for,” IRRI genetic transformation
laboratory chief Inez Slamet-Loedin
said in a statement.
Testing of new rice varieties in-
fused with the gene is under way
across several developing countries
in Asia, said rice breeder Tsutomu
Ishimaru, head of the IRRI-led SPIKE
breeding programme.
“We believe that these will con-
tribute to food security in these areas
once the new varieties are released,”
Mr Ishimaru said.
Increasing the yield means grow- Researcher Tsutomu Ishimaru inspects a rice plant with
ing more rice on the same amount of the SPIKE gene in IRRI Los Banos in Manila. Photo: AFP
land, using the same resources.
There is so far no definite timeta-
ble for when the rice containing the just 10pc of global rice production. by more than half of humanity, in-
SPIKE gene will be distributed to Breeders from IRRI, a non-profit cluding 640 million Asians who live
farmers, according to IRRI spokes- research group established in the in poverty, according to IRRI.
woman Gladys Ebron. 1960s, then worked to incorporate To keep rice prices stable and af-
The SPIKE gene was first discov- the gene into indica varieties that are fordable at about $300 a tonne, the
ered by Japanese breeder Nobuya widely used in major rice-growing ar- institute estimates production needs
Kobayashi following long-running eas of Asia. to increase by 8-10 million tonnes eve-
research starting in 1989 on a tropical Ms Ebron said the transfer did not ry year. Asia accounts for about 90pc
“japonica” rice variety that is grown involve genetical modification of the of global rice production, it added.
in Indonesia, Ms Ebron told AFP. The crop, a controversial issue in food pro- IRRI is widely recognised as hav-
findings of the study were published duction. “It’s just conventional breed- ing played an important role in the
Monday. ing,” she added. “Green Revolution” of the 1960s in
Tropical japonica rice is mainly Rice is the developing world’s which new varieties of rice dramati-
grown in East Asia and accounts for most important food crop, consumed cally increased yields.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev

IN PICTUREs takes part in a pre-flight underwater
training session in a pool at the Gagarin
Cosmonauts’ Training Centre in Star City
centre outside Moscow on December 4, 2013. Oleg Artemyev
is scheduled to blast off to the International Space
Station (ISS) from the Russian-leased Kazakhstan’s
Baikonur cosmodrome in March 2014. Photo: AFP
36 THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013
World
JOHANNESBURG
Nelson Mandela leaves
legacy of tolerance
amid great inequality
NELSON Mandela’s long walk from
apartheid prisoner to South African
president remade a country and in-
spired the world.
He died peacefully at home in Jo-
hannesburg aged 95 after spending
months in a critical condition following
treatment for a lung infection.
Twenty-three years earlier, on Feb-
ruary 11, 1990, Nelson Rolihlahla Man-
dela emerged, greying but unbowed,
from 27 years’ detention for opposing
the white-minority apartheid regime.
It was a defining moment of the 20th
century.
In freeing the world’s most famous
political prisoner, President FW de
Klerk sent an unequivocal message. Af-
ter centuries of subjugation, millions of
other black South Africans would soon
be free too.
Apartheid was over.
“I greet you all in the name of peace,
democracy and freedom for all,” a
71-year-old Nelson Mandela said in his
first public speech in 27 years.
“I stand here before you not as a
prophet, but as a humble servant of
you, the people.”
Devoid of self-pity, he reached out
to the same people who jailed him and
who brutalised fellow blacks to preach
“true reconciliation” in what was, and
remains, a deeply scarred country.
“He came out a far greater person
than the man who went in,” said former
archbishop Desmond Tutu.
“He had learned to understand the
foibles and weaknesses of human be-
ings and to be more generous in his
judgement of others.”
Four years after his release – and
just a year after he received the Nobel
Peace Prize – South Africans would
People light candles outside the house of former South African President Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg on December
6. Photo: AFP
A man reads a local newspaper with
the front page dedicated to South
African former President Nelson
Mandela in Soweto on December 6.
Photo: AFP
vote in droves to elect Nelson Mandela
the country’s first black president.
As that rarest of politicians, a leader
imbued with moral force, Mr Mandela
was never likely to lose. But his task in
office was immense, nothing less than
preventing a civil war.
“We enter into a covenant that we
shall build a society in which all South
Africans, both black and white, will be
able to walk tall, without any fear in
their hearts, assured of their inalien-
able right to human dignity – a Rain-
bow Nation at peace with itself and the
world,” he declared on being sworn in.
He succeeded in preventing serious
racial violence in part through his easy
manner and mastery of symbolism.
Two of his finest moments as a rec-
onciler came when he had tea with the
widow of apartheid architect Hendrik
World editor: Bridget Di Certo | bridget.dicerto@gmail.com
Verwoerd and when he donned the
Springbok rugby jersey to congratulate
the mainly white team’s victory in the
1995 Rugby World Cup.
Mr Mandela remains a unifying
symbol in a country still riven by racial
tensions and deep inequality.
“His life tells a story that stands in
direct opposition to the cynicism and
hopelessness that so often afflict our
word,” US President Barack Obama
wrote in the foreword to Nelson Man-
dela’s most recent autobiography.
But crime, grinding poverty and
corruption scandals have effectively
ended the honeymoon enjoyed after
Mr Mandela ushered in the “Rainbow
Nation”.
“Nelson Mandela, in a sense, was a
once-in-a-hundred-year phenomenon,”
said Frans Cronje of the Institute for
Race Relations.
“Thinking that South Africa would
maintain that level or that standard of
governance, of attitude, of role in inter-
national politics, I think was expecting
too much.”
Born in the village of Mvezo in one
of South Africa’s poorest regions, the
Transkei, on July 18, 1918, Rolihlahla
Dalibhunga Mandela was the great-
grandson of a Tembu king.
He was given his English name IN PICTUREs Masaharu Nakagawa (left), chairman of the upper
“Nelson” by a teacher at his school. committee session at the Diet in Tokyo on Decemb
An activist since his student days at
the University of Fort Hare, Mr Man-
dela opened the first black law firm in
Johannesburg in 1952, along with fel- in Algeria and Ethiopia. He served only one five-year term,
low activist Oliver Tambo. After more than a year under- and after his retirement in 1999 he de-
He became commander-in-chief of ground, he was arrested and in 1964 voted his considerable energy, despite
Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Na- sentenced to life in prison during the increasing physical frailty, to mediating
tion), the armed underground wing Rivonia trial where he delivered a conflicts, especially the war in Burundi.
of the African National Congress, in speech that was to become the mani- In 1998, on his 80th birthday, Mr
1961, and underwent military training festo of the anti-apartheid movement. Mandela, after having divorced his
“During my lifetime, I have dedi- second wife Winnie Madikizela-Man-
cated myself to this struggle of the Afri- dela, married Graca Machel, the wid-
can people. I have fought against white ow of Mozambican president Samora
domination and I have fought against Machel.
black domination. I have cherished the Having been deprived of seeing his
ideal of a democratic and free society ... own children grow up while he was
It is an ideal for which I am prepared incarcerated, he dedicated much time
to die.” to improving the lives of youngsters,
Nelson Mandela was jailed on Rob- drumming up money from businesses
ben Island for 18 years before being to build schools in remote areas.
transferred in 1982 to Pollsmoor prison At age 83, he was diagnosed with
in Cape Town and later to Victor Ver- prostate cancer and successfully under-
ster prison in nearby Paarl. went treatment.
Throughout his incarceration inter- Throughout his life he suffered from
national pressure increased on South respiratory ailments.
Africa. He was diagnosed with early-stage
Then, in 1989, hardline President tuberculosis while in prison in 1988.
PW Botha was replaced by the more In May 2004, Mr Mandela an-
conciliatory FW de Klerk. nounced that he was scaling back his
A year later, de Klerk ordered Mr public schedule to enjoy “a much qui-
Mandela’s release. eter life” with his family and friends.
“I wish to put it plainly that the Eight months later, Mr Mandela
government has taken a firm decision convened the press at his home to an-
to release Mr Nelson Mandela uncondi- nounce that his only surviving son had
tionally,” he told a shocked parliament. died of AIDS in a bid to encourage
“The time for negotiation has ar- more openness about the disease.
rived.” he said, adding, “The alterna- In January 2011 he suffered a lung
tive is growing violence, tension and infection, which recurred in late 2012
conflict.” and again in late March.
Nelson Mandela’s presidency, like Nelson Mandela is survived by his
that of US President Abraham Lincoln wife Graca and daughters Maki, Zindzi
or British Prime Minister Winston and Zenani and dozens of grandchil-
Churchill, will not be remembered for dren and great-grandchildren.
legislative achievements. – AFP
 37

Charity accuses South Korea seeks Bikes a hit in

Sri Lanka over to change history checkpoint-strewn
executions textbooks Syria capital
world 41 world 38 World 43

BANGKOK

Tense Thailand braces

for continuing protests
THAI opposition protesters were pre-
paring on December 6 to relaunch
their campaign to overthrow the gov-
ernment after a temporary truce in the
strife-hit capital for the birthday of the
country’s revered king.
Despite a call by the ailing mon-
arch for “stability and security” in his
birthday speech, the demonstrators
have vowed to step up their rallies af-
ter the lull in tensions, which follows
violence that left five people dead and
more than 200 injured.
Protesters have no immediate
plans for action on Friday and will
await an “important speech” in the
evening from their leader Suthep
Thaugsuban about their next move,
said Akanat Promphan, a spokesman
for the demonstrators.
The kingdom remains on edge fol-
lowing several days of street clashes
between police using tear gas, water
cannon and rubber bullets against
rock-throwing demonstrators seeking
to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra and curb the political in-
fluence of her brother Thaksin.
With fresh unrest looming, Ms Yin-
gluck has cancelled two planned trips
overseas next week to Russia and to
the opening ceremony of the South-
east Asian Games in Myanmar, her
office said.
The protesters, a mix of royalists,
middle class and other Thaksin oppo-
nents – sometimes numbering in the
tens of thousands – want to suspend
the country’s democracy in favour of
an unelected “people’s council”.
Mr Suthep, a former deputy pre-
mier who now faces an arrest warrant
for insurrection, has pledged to rid
Thailand of what he calls the “Thaksin
regime”.
Demonstrators and police in Bang-
kok have observed a temporary truce
since Wednesday for the 86th birthday
of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is
treated as a near-deity by many Thais.
Any political action or violence
during the public holiday would
have been seen as a serious sign of
disrespect.
The government on December 3
abruptly ordered police to avoid con-
frontation with protesters, briefly al-
lowing them into the police and gov-
ernment headquarters in a surprise
move that sharply reduced tensions in
the capital.
– AFP

house special Diet committee, announces the approval of a controversial bill for a new secrecy law in the
er 5, while lawmakers of opposition parties try to stop the approval. Photo: AFP

SYDNEY

Myanmar-origin asylum-seekers
rounded up in Australia jungle
A young Thai boy blows a whistle as he sits with his grandmother as anti-
government protesters listen to a recorded speech in the near-empty Finance
Ministry in Bangkok on December 6. Photo: AFP

AUSTRALIAN authorities said on
December 6 they had rounded up
all 27 asylum-seekers who arrived
undetected on the country’s remote
Indian Ocean outpost of Christmas
Island, adding they were lucky to
survive.
How the group, believed to be eth-
nic Rohingya from Myanmar, came to
land on the island was not known but
reports said they had survived for sev-
eral days on crabs and coconut in the
inhospitable terrain.
“These are very small vessels and
these 27 people who are now safe
should count themselves extremely
fortunate that they did not suffer a
far worse fate,” Immigration Minister
Scott Morrison said.
Hundreds of people have died
trying to reach Australia on people-
smuggling boats, with one of the worst
incidents on Christmas Island in De-
cember 2010 when a boat splintered
on rocks and sank, killing about 50
people.
The government had originally
said 28 people arrived on the vessel
which reportedly ran aground on
Christmas Island’s Greta Beach late
Monday, but revised the number to
27 on December 6, adding that details
were still sketchy.
“I think they had a very difficult
and distressing time. It’s not clear
how they came ashore,” said Lieuten-
ant General Angus Campbell, who
leads the government’s people-smug-
gling crackdown Operation Sovereign
Borders.
“Those cliffs are extremely difficult
and jagged and the jungle very thick.
“Christmas Island, I would note,
is a sea mount, prone to rough seas,
jagged cliffs and extensively covered
by dense jungle. These people are ex-
tremely lucky to have survived their
ordeal.”
Of the 27 on the vessel, 22 were in a
detention centre and one was in a sta-
ble condition in hospital with minor
injuries, Mr Campbell said.
“An additional four persons have
been transferred into immigration
custody this morning after the assis-
tance of the Australian Federal Police
in recovering them from the vicinity of
Greta Beach,” he added.
Christmas Island, an Australian
territory 2600 kilometres (1600 miles)
from the mainland’s west coast, is lo-
cated on a major people-smuggling
route from Indonesia.
Mr Campbell said while undetected
arrivals had occurred in the past, he TRADE MARK CAUTION
had directed the commander of bor-
der protection command to undertake Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V., a company organized and existing
an assessment of “procedures, disposi- under the laws of the Netherlands, of Waarderweg 39, 2031 BN
tion and capability to mitigate where HAARLEM, The Netherlands, is the Owner of the following
possible such surprises”.
“Their arrival was not detected but Trade Mark:-
their outcome ... will be the same as all
other illegal maritime arrivals. They
will go to the offshore processing cen-
tres either on Nauru or in Papua New
OVESTIN
Guinea.” Reg. No. 3542/1998
Asylum-seeker boat arrivals have
dropped dramatically under the new
conservative government of Prime in respect of “Int’l Class 05: Medicines and pharmaceutical
Minister Tony Abbott, which has preparations for human use”.
retained a hardline policy adopted
by the former Labor administration
of sending all boatpeople to Papua Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark
New Guinea or Nauru for perma- will be dealt with according to law.
nent resettlement.
But close to 200 people have ar-
rived on four boats in the past week. Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L
Myanmar views the Muslim Ro- for Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V.
hingya as illegal immigrants from P. O. Box 60, Yangon
neighbouring Bangladesh. Thousands
have fled in rickety boats since deadly
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm
clashes broke out with Buddhists last Dated: 9 December 2013
year. – AFP
38 World International
SYDNEY
Australia defends raids in
East Timor arbitration
AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Tony
Abbott on December 4 defended
intelligence raids on the offices of
a lawyer representing East Timor
in a spying case against Canberra,
saying they were necessary for na-
tional security.
Mr Abbott’s government was
under fire after lawyer Bernard
Collaery’s offices was raided by the
domestic spy agency, the Austral-
ian Security Intelligence Organisa-
tion (ASIO), on December 2 and a
range of material seized on a secret
warrant.
Mr Collaery is representing East
Timor’s government in an arbitra-
tion at The Hague accusing Austral-
ia of espionage over a controversial
Timor Sea gas treaty, and has de-
scribed the raids as “intimidatory”
tactics ahead of a hearing in the
case on December 5.
The Labor-Greens opposition
called for an explanation from At-
torney-General George Brandis. But
Mr Abbott defended the move as in
Australia’s national interest.
“We don’t interfere in cases but
we always act to ensure that our
national security is being properly
upheld – that’s what we’re doing,”
the prime minister said.
In a statement confirming he
had ordered the raids on the night
of December 3, Mr Brandis said the
documents seized “contained intel-
ligence related to security matters”
and dismissed any suggestion that
they were an attempt to interfere in
the case at The Hague.
“I have instructed ASIO that the
material taken into possession is
not under any circumstances to be
communicated to those conducting
those proceedings on behalf of Aus-
tralia,” Mr Brandis said.
In a separate ASIO operation on
December 3, Mr Collaery said the
key witness in his case, a retired
senior intelligence officer-turned-
whistleblower, was detained and
questioned at length before his pass-
port was cancelled to prevent him
from travelling to The Hague.
“This proceeding will continue.
The evidence is available here in
the Hague as I speak,” Mr Collaery
told ABC television. “Muzzling the
oral evidence of the prime witness
is so crass. What do you think the
tribunal is going to think of it? It’s a
contemptuous action.”
Mr Collaery’s witness will allege
that Australia’s foreign intelligence
service, the Australian Secret Intel-
ligence Service (ASIS), used an aid
project refurbishing East Timor’s
cabinet offices as a front to plant lis-
tening devices in the walls in order
to eavesdrop on deliberations about
a Timor Sea gas treaty in 2004.
That treaty sets out a 50-50 split
of proceeds from the vast mari-
time gas fields between Australia
and East Timor estimated at some
AUS$40 billion (US$36 billion).
Dili is now seeking to have the
document ripped up on the grounds
that Australia spied on ministers to
gain a commercial advantage.
– AFP
WASHINGTON
Trafficking a worry in
post-typhoon Philippines
THOUSANDS of women and children
in the Philippines risk falling prey to
human traffickers in the aftermath
of last month’s catastrophic typhoon,
lawmakers and the chief US aid agen-
cy warned last week.
A US congressman returning from
a visit to the storm-ravaged island na-
tion said that while Filipino authori-
ties and US forces were helping vast
numbers of storm victims, more at-
tention was needed to thwart crimi-
nal opportunists taking advantage of
the chaos after Super-typhoon Haiyan
roared ashore.
“The most vulnerable – women,
children, the elderly and those with
special needs – always fare worst dur-
ing disasters,” Republican congress-
man Chris Smith, who led the three-
member delegation to the disaster
zone last week, told a House Foreign
Affairs subcommittee.
At particular risk of sex traffick-
ing are vulnerable people “who over
a longer period of time may have lost
some hope”, said Mr Smith.
Such persons in the Philippines,
many among the thousands transport-
ed out of the disaster zone to cities like
the capital Manila, could fall victim to
offers of work in Saudi Arabia or Ko-
rea, Mr Smith said, only to find them-
selves with “an engraved invitation to
a hell on Earth”.
Washington considers the Philip-
pines as not in full compliance with
THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013
Typhoon survivors ride onboard a C-130 military plane out of Tacloban, Leyte
province, to Manila on November 29. Photo: AFP
minimum standards for eliminating
trafficking. The State Department’s
2013 trafficking report describes it as a
source country for sex-trafficking and
forced labour, and that “child sex tour-
ism remained a serious problem” there.
The US Agency for International De-
velopment, which for years has worked
with the government of the Philip-
pines to reduce human trafficking, also
sounded the alarm at the hearing.
“We are watching this very closely,”
Nancy Lindborg, the USAID’s assistant
administrator for democracy, conflict
and humanitarian assistance, testified.
“To protect the children of the
central Philippines during this time
of heightened vulnerability, the gov-
ernment of the Philippines and the
international community will need
to make every effort ... to ensure and
strengthen local and national protec-
tive services.”
That includes creation of safe spac-
es for women and children, she said,
as well as programs that help identify,
trace and reunify unaccompanied chil-
dren, – AFP
SEOUL
S Korea
changes
history
textbooks
SOUTH Korea’s Education Ministry has
ordered revisions to a number of high
school history textbooks, part of a long-
running ideological battle over the nar-
rative of modern Korea.
In a statement, the ministry said
the publishers of seven government-
approved textbooks had been ordered
to revise 41 instances of “obscure and
unbalanced” descriptions of history.
Failure to do so would result in pub-
lication of the books being halted com-
pletely, the ministry said.
The 41 corrections demanded by the
ministry involved writings on subjects
ranging from civilian killings during the
1950-53 Korean War, territorial disputes
with Japan and North Korean human
rights abuses.
“The most important factors for de-
termining the subjects of modification
were if there are any factual errors and
elements that could negatively affect
students’ perspective of the right histor-
ical events,” Deputy Education Minister
Na Seung-Il told reporters.
The directive follows a row that was
triggered in August by protests from
liberal opposition lawmakers over one
particular textbook which they accused
of a pronounced right-wing bias.
Ruling conservative MPs countered
by challenging a perceived left-wing
bias in a handful of other textbooks.
The turbulent, traumatic history of
the Korean peninsula in the 20th cen-
tury is something of an academic mine-
field. Of particular sensitivity are the
1910-45 period of Japanese occupation,
the division of the peninsula into North
and South, post-Korean War military
rule, the pro-democracy movement of
the 1980s and 1990s, and pretty much
anything to do with North Korea. – AFP
 TRADE MARK CAUTION 40 World International THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

Merck KGaA., a Corporation with general partners ) of Darmstadt,

Germany, is the Owner of the following Trade Mark:- HONG KONG

PENCYLCAP
Reg. No. 11620/2013
in respect of “Class 5: Pharmaceutical preparations; sanitary
Chinese fuel Hong Kong
preparations for medical purposes; dietetic food and substances
adapted for medical use, food for babies; dietary supplements for
humans; plasters, materials for dressings; material for stopping
illegal cancer drug trade
teeth, dental wax. Class 10: Surgical, medical and dental apparatus
SAFETY fears over medication in
and instruments, artificial limbs, eyes and teeth; orthopedic articles; mainland China are driving a risky
suture materials”. illegal trade in cancer drugs in Hong
Kong, experts say, warning of short-
Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark ages in a similar scenario to the milk
will be dealt with according to law. formula crisis that emptied shelves in
the territory.
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L Hong Kong pharmacies are selling
for Merck KGaA the drugs under the counter to main-
P. O. Box 60, Yangon land Chinese visitors who have lost
faith in their own medical system and
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm are dodging high prices, in another ex-
Dated: 9 December 2013 ample of how demand from China can
impact wider markets.
One shopper at a Hong Kong phar-
macy in the bustling commercial area
TRADE MARK CAUTION of Mong Kok said he had travelled
from the southern mainland city of
NOTICE is hereby given that P.H. FOODS CO., LTD. a company Guangzhou to buy the breast cancer Customers buy goods in an independent pharmacy in Hong Kong. Photo: AFP
organized under the laws of Thailand and having its principal office treatment Herceptin.
at 33/1 Moo 1, Petchkasem Road, Aom-yai, Samparn, Nakorn “My wife needs it to survive,” the in the city to tackle increasing “birth said he feared the consequences of
man, surnamed Li, said. tourism”, fuelled by mums-to-be seek- the uncontrolled sale of such strong
Pathom 73160, Thailand is the owner and sole proprietor of the “I will save more than 8000 yuan ing better medical care and residency medication.
following trademark:- [US$1280] per bottle if I buy Hercep- rights for their children. “They [anti-cancer drugs] are more
tin here. They may charge you 24,000 Among their concerns are fears toxic. It is not like you are buying Pan-
yuan for this on the mainland.” over the safety of medicines produced adol,” he said.
Customers from China buying the in China. Recent scandals include Mr Tse added that the organisation
medication without the required pre- drug capsules made from toxic raw had reported the problem to Hong
scription is “very common”, said Chui material derived from scrap leather Kong’s Department of Health, but had
(Reg: No. IV/10263/2013) Chun-ming, chair of the Society of and the busting of a ring peddling not seen a significant response.
in respect of :- “Crispy Snack (Crunchy Snack), Biscuit, Bread, Hospital Pharmacists of Hong Kong. counterfeit tablets. Pharmacies tend to buy their can-
Cookies, Corn chips, Jelly, Chocolate coated confectionery.” Class: 30 “This illegal trade brings them In 2008 a blood thinner called hep- cer drugs from private doctors as a
[pharmacies] a lot of money,” he said, arin, produced in China, was found to safer route than getting them direct
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said trademark or referring to the city’s small independ- be contaminated and linked to dozens from drug companies, as direct orders
other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law. ent high street businesses. of deaths. are likely to be more closely monitored
Mr Chui says that 90 percent of “People are not trusting their sup- by the authorities, says Mr Chui.
U Kyi Win Associates the cancer drugs sold in pharmacies ply chains,” Ben Cavender, an associate The Hong Kong branch of Roche,
for P.H. FOODS CO., LTD. in Hong Kong go to mainland buyers principal at the Shanghai-based China which manufactures Herceptin, said it
as most local residents get them direct Market Research Group, said. had been “made aware” of reports of
P.O. Box No. 26, Yangon. from hospitals or their own doctors. “They are worried that the drugs mainland visitors coming over to buy
Phone: 372416 Dated: 9th December, 2013 With drug companies imposing may be labelled incorrectly, or the oncology drugs.
supply quotas for different countries quality is not that high, or the com- “We are committed to supporting
based on factors including popula- pany decides to make it more cheaply the relevant authorities with any in-
tion size, Hong Kong could fall short in China than in the other countries, vestigations,” it said in a statement to
TRADE MARK CAUTION if demand continues from beyond its or they might be fake.” AFP.
borders, Mr Chui said. Buying or selling an anti-cancer According to a 2012 report released
Notice is hereby given that LES LABORATOIRES SERVIER “The problem is Hong Kong is a drug without a prescription can lead by the China National Cancer Registry,
very small city and the supply is very to maximum fines of HK$100,000 the country sees 3.12 million new can-
of 50, rue Carnot 92284 Suresnes cedex, FRANCE, is the Owner limited,” he said. ($13,000) and two years’ imprison- cer cases every year.
and Sole Proprietor of the following trademark:- “In a few years, it might turn out to ment for buyers, salespeople and From 2006 to 2010, the number
be another ‘infant formula’ issue.” pharmacy owners, according to the of cancer cases in Hong Kong rose at

SERVIER Chinese parents became distrust-

ful of domestic milk brands after a
huge 2008 scandal involving formula
(Reg: No. IV/12633/2013) tainted with melamine that killed six
In respect of: - children and sickened 300,000 others.
“Pharmaceutical products, advertisements and business, namely Their concern triggered a rush on
milk powder, which saw shelves emp-
assistant to the management of the business: services for the tied around the world – Hong Kong
organization of the business; services of medical promotion services of banned travellers taking out more
promotion for the sales of products; professional business consultation; than 1.8 kilograms (4 pounds) of for-
mula from March 1 this year.
business information; searches in chemistry, consultation in pharmacy; Mainland demand has heaped
exploitation of patents; health services.” in classes 5,35,42 pressure on Hong Kong’s healthcare
system in the past. Hospitals have
banned mainland women who do not
have local spouses from giving birth
Department of Health.
A spokesman said that it had
boosted surveillance in response to
mainland drug demand.
There were 24 cases in 2012 which
led to convictions for the illegal sale of
prescription medicines.
But despite the threat of prosecu-
tion, the trade continues.
When a reporter visited four small
independent pharmacies in Hong
Kong and asked for 440 milligrams of
Herceptin, all offered to sell it without
a prescription.
Tse Hung-hing, president of the
Hong Kong Medical Association,
an average rate of 2.7 percent each
year, four times more than the annual
population growth rate, a report by
Hong Kong Cancer Registry (HKCR)
showed.
Mr Chui believes the increasing
pressure on Hong Kong’s cancer drug
supply could soon reach crisis point.
“The majority of community phar-
macies in Hong Kong are owned by
businessmen rather than professional
pharmacists,” he said.
“There is a high probability that, in
up to three years, the supply of anti-can-
cer drugs will become an issue.”
– AFP

SYDNEY
(Reg: No.IV/12632/2013)
In respect of: -
“Pharmaceutical; veterinary and sanitary preparations; dietetic
Researchers launch croc attack file
substances adapted for medical use, food for babies; plasters,
materials for dressings; material for stopping teeth, dental wax; AUSTRALIAN researchers on December 2 launched the
world’s first crocodile attack database, hoping to establish
disinfectants; preparations for destroying vermin; fungicides, whether conservation of the reptiles had “come back to bite
herbicides in class 05.” itself”.
CrocBITE, a new global database of human-crocodile inter-
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said trademark actions, will be managed by researchers at Australia’s Charles
or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according Darwin University (CDU), aiming to explore whether protec-
tion had increased attacks.
to law. Since laws were passed in Australia’s tropical Northern
Territory in 1971 protecting crocodiles, CDU researcher Adam
U Nyein Kyaw Britton said species numbers had boomed, leading to greater
B.Sc., Dip Engg., R.L., D.B.L. interactions with humans, with “similar stories from around
For LES LABORATOIRES SERVIER the world”.
“Crocodile conservation has come back to bite itself,” said
Room 007, Inya Lake Hotel Mr Britton.
37, Kaba Aye Pagoda Road “Human-crocodile conflict is increasing each year as croco-
Mayangone Tsp, Yangon, Myanmar dile populations recover from decades of overhunting, and hu-
man populations continue to grow and encroach upon croco-
Tes: (951) 9662866 dile habitat.”
E-mail: nyeinkyaw@rajahtann.com The aim of CrocBITE would not be to “vilify” the predatory
Date: 9th December, 2013 reptiles but “better analyse crocodile and human conflict”.
“The project will be an ongoing attempt to compile all
reported attacks by any crocodilian species on a human to bet-
ter understand risk factors leading to such attacks,” he said.
This would “ultimately help to improve human safety and,
as a consequence, crocodilian conservation,” said Mr Britton.
There are already some 1700 entries in the database, drawn
from historical records and news articles, and Mr Britton said
the team was “already beginning to see patterns.”
Members of the public can view the latest data and report
attacks at www.crocodile-attack.info. Reports will be verified
by the CDU team before being uploaded into the database.
The data – which includes the date of an attack, gender and
age of victim, country, crocodile type and size – will be fed into
interactive maps and there will also be species description and
distribution information available on the site.
Saltwater crocodiles can grow up to 7 metres (22 feet) long,
weigh more than a tonne, and are a common feature of Aus-
tralia’s tropical north.
Their numbers have increased steadily since the introduc-
tion of protection laws, with government estimates putting the
population at between 75,000-100,000.
Until now, quantifying the frequency of attacks on humans
has been anecdotal. – AFP
www.mmtimes.com International World 41
TRADEMARK CAUTION NOTICE
PARIS S.R.Tyres Co., Ltd, a company organized under the laws
of Thailand and having its principal office at 222 Moo 1,
Suwinthawong Road, Khokthai Sub District, Srimahosot District,
Prachinburi 25190, Thailand the owner and sole proprietor of the
following Trademarks:-

Reg. No. 4/8117/2013

Reg. No. 4/8118/2013

Parisian subway riders walk past an awareness campaign by international relief organisation Action Contre la Faim on
December 3. Photo: AFP

Charity accuses Sri Reg. No. 4/8119/2013

Lanka over executions

Used in respect of:-

Vehicle tires and tubes. (International Class 12)

FRANCE’s Action Contre la Faim
(ACF) on December 3 accused Sri Lan-
kan security forces of killing 17 aid
workers in cold blood and then organ-
ising a cover-up of what it described as
a “heinous” war crime.
In a report on the bleakest day in
its history, the charity said it has proof
that Sri Lankan army, navy and police
personnel were implicated in the Au-
gust 4, 2006, massacre in the city of
Muttur, in the mainly Tamil north of
the island.
“In one of the most heinous crimes
ever committed against humanitarian
workers, the 17 aid workers were lined
up, forced to their knees and each shot
in the head,” ACF said.
The aid workers, 16 ethnic Tam-
ils and one Muslim, were killed
as Sri Lankan government forces, then
engaged in a civil war against Tamil
Tiger separatists, took over Muttur.
Government forces finally tri-
umphed in the conflict in 2009 after
decades of fighting characterised by
numerous atrocities on both sides.
Defence officials in Colombo last
week dismissed ACF’s report and
questioned why the charity had “with-
held” evidence that could have helped
local investigators.
“This is another instance of a pat-
tern which has emerged since the end
of the conflict where certain organisa-
tions level allegations against the gov-
ernment without providing sufficient
SEOUL
details to enable an investigation,”
military spokesperson Brigadier Ru-
wan Wanigasooriya said.
ACF’s report into what happened is
entitled The Truth Revealed about the
Assassination of 17 Humanitarian Aid
Workers in Sri Lanka.
It alleges that the killers were pro-
tected by Sri Lankan authorities at the
highest levels and describes an offi-
cial investigation into the killing as a
“farce” characterised by the systematic
destruction of evidence and multiple
irregularities.
“Every day we and other humani-
tarian organisations work in war
zones,” said Mike Penrose, executive
director of ACF-France. “It is para-
mount that those who do not respect
humanitarian aid workers are brought
to justice and that these crimes do not
go unpunished.”
ACF said it had been prepared to
wait for the outcome of the official in-
vestigation but had finally lost hope
of Sri Lanka acting to bring those re-
sponsible to justice.
“Now that relevant domestic
mechanisms have been exhausted,
witnesses have been silenced and the
internal Sri Lankan investigation has
become a farce, ACF considers it to be
its moral duty to publicly denounce
the perpetrators of this crime.”
The organisation said only an in-
dependent international investigation
could now lead to prosecution of the
killers.
The aid workers were in Muttur
helping local people recover from the
devastating aftermath of the 2004 tsu-
nami. ACF was one of the few NGOs
not to have withdrawn its staff from
the area as fighting between govern-
ment forces and the Tigers intensified.
ACF insists it delivered aid impar-
tially to rebel and government-held
areas but a suspicion among govern-
ment forces that many aid workers
were pro-rebel seems to have provided
the motive for the killings.
According to what ACF regards as
credible accounts of the incident, the
workers were unarmed and having a
tea break when the government forces
arrived.
They were forced to kneel and 15
of them were shot in the head on the
spot by police officers and a home
guard in the presence of naval special
forces, according to these accounts.
Two others appear to have tried to flee
and were shot while doing so.
In the days after the killings, ACF
officials attempting to reach Muttur
were blocked on four occasions by the
military and they were not allowed to
collect the bodies until August 7.
ACF last week put up a series of 10
posters in Paris’s busy Odeon metro
station to denounce the Muttur attack
and other killings of humanitarian
workers that have gone unpunished.
– AFP
Any unauthorised use, imitation, infringements or fraudulent
intentions of the above marks will be dealt with according to law.
Tin Ohnmar Tun & The Law Chambers
Ph: 0973150632
Email:law_chambers@seasiren.com.mm
(For.Domnern Somgiat & Boonma,
Attorneys at Law, Thailand)
Dated. 9th December, 2013
TRADEMARK CAUTION
NOTICE is hereby given that CARL ZEISS AG, a company
organized under the laws of Germany of Carl-Zeiss-Strasse 22,
73447 Oberkochen, Germany, are the owners and sole proprietors
of the following Trade Marks in Myanmar:
1. ZEISS
The said mark is used in respect of ‘Optical physical and electro-
technical apparatus, instruments and equipment as well as their
component parts, spectacle lenses, spectacle frames and protection
spectacles, surveying, navigational and weighing instruments spirit
levels, instruments for the measuring and plotting of photographs,
photographic instruments and film and plate holders for same,
medical instruments and their component parts, measuring
instruments, measuring tools and measuring scales, illumination
apparatus, motor car lamps, machines for the working of glass,
metal, wood, leather, horn and celluloid, drawing instruments,
computing machines and slide rules’.
2. BIOGON 3. PLANAR 4. TESSAR

Amnesty says N Korea gulag expanding
SATELLITE images of one of North Korea’s largest politi-
cal prison camps suggest its inmate population is expand-
ing, Amnesty International said on December 5 in a report
detailing rape and torture in the North’s notorious gulag.
The report by the London-based rights watchdog included
rare testimony from a former camp guard, as well as from
former inmates about the brutality prevalent in the prison
system.
“For Amnesty International, which has been investigating
human rights violations for the last 50 years, we find North
Korea to be in a category of its own,” said Amnesty’s East Asia
researcher Rajiv Narayan.
North Korea denies the existence of the political prison
camps which, according to independent estimates, form a
network holding between 100,000 and 200,000 people.
The images analysed in the Amnesty report were taken
over a two-year period from 2011 to 2013, and were of Camp 15
in the south of the country and Camp 16 in the north.
Amnesty estimated the size of Camp 16 is 560 square
kilometres (216 square miles) – three times the size of
Washington, DC – with around 20,000 prisoners.
Analysis indicated a slight increase in the remote camp’s
population, with new housing blocks clearly visible and signs
of “significant” economic activity such as mining and logging,
the report said.
A former security guard based at the camp from the 1980s
until the mid-1990s, named only as Lee in the report, told
Amnesty of the methods used to execute prisoners.
He revealed detainees were forced to dig their own graves
and were then killed with hammer blows to their necks.
The former guard said he also witnessed prison officers
strangling detainees and then beating them to death with
wooden sticks.
Prison officials frequently raped women inmates who were
then killed, he said.
“After a night of ‘servicing’ the officials, the women had to
die because the secret could not get out. This happens at most
of the political prison camps,” he told Amnesty.
Former Camp 15 inmates said detainees were subject to
forced labour – usually for between 10 to 12 hours a day on
near-starvation rations with a strict production target.
“Often we did not meet our targets because we were
always hungry and weak,” one former Camp 15 prisoner
told Amnesty.
“We were punished with beatings and also reductions in
our food quota,” said the prisoner, whose name was withheld.
Camp 15 covers an area of 370 square kilometres (140
square miles). In 2011, an estimated 50,000 people were im-
prisoned within the camp.
The recent images of Camp 15 – also known as
Yodok – show that 39 housing blocks have been demolished
since Amnesty International last assessed satellite pictures of
the camp two years ago.
The testimony echoed those provided recently by camp
survivors to a landmark UN commission investigating human
rights abuses in North Korea.
Amnesty called on North Korea to close the camps imme-
diately, and urged countries like China to stop repatriating
North Koreans who flee the country on the grounds that they
would likely be sent to the gulag. – AFP
The said marks are used in respect of ‘Optical instruments and parts
thereof, especially consisting of one or several lenses as photographic,
microphotographic, projecting and microscope objectives’.
5.
The said mark is used in respect of ‘Optical instruments and their
parts, spectacles, magnifier, spectacles, safety goggles, magnifying
glasses, spectacle lenses, including tinted lenses and such made of
plastics, spectacle frames, binoculars and microscopes, ophthalmic
and optometrical instruments and apparatus as well as parts thereof’.
The said trade marks are the subject of Declarations of Ownership
recorded with the Registrar of Deeds and Assurances, Yangon,
Myanmar in Book under Nos. IV/7243/2005, IV/7244/2005,
IV/7245/2005 dated September 7, 2005, IV/7247/2005 dated September
5, 2005 and IV/7250/2005 dated September 7, 2005 respectively.
Any infringement or colourable imitation thereof or other infringement
of the rights of the said Corporation will be dealt with according to law.
U Kyi Win Associates
For CARL ZEISS AG,
by its Attorneys
Remfry & Sagar
Attorneys-at-Law Dated: 9th December, 2013
www.mmtimes.com International World 43 TRADE MARK CAUTION
Notice is hereby given that BIOGARAN of 15, boulevard Charles
DAMASCUS de Gaulle – 92700 Colombes, FRANCE, is the Owner and Sole
Proprietor of the following trademark:-

BIOGARAN
(Reg: No. IV/12634/2013)
In respect of: -

“Pharmaceutical, veterinary and sanitary preparations dietetic

substances for medical use. in class 05.”

Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said trademark

or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according
to law.

U Nyein Kyaw
B.Sc., Dip Engg., R.L., D.B.L.
For BIOGARAN
Room 007, Inya Lake Hotel
37, Kaba Aye Pagoda Road
Mayangone Tsp, Yangon, Myanmar
Tes: (951) 9662866
E-mail: nyeinkyaw@rajahtann.com
Date: 9th December, 2013
A man walks past a bicycle shop in the Syrian capital Damascus on November 28. Photo: AFP

Bikes a hit in checkpoint- TRADEMARK CAUTION NOTICE

SENSO CORPORATION LIMITED, a company organized

strewn Syria capital
under the laws of Thailand and having its principal office at 28
Soi Somdejprapinklao 4, Somdejprapinklao Rd, Bangyeekhun,
Bangplat, Bangkok 10700, Thailand is the owner and sole
proprietor of the following Trademark:-

DAMASCUS bike shop owner Ali
Jumaa is a happy man despite the
civil war raging across Syria: With
checkpoint-weary locals in the capi-
tal increasingly swapping their cars
for bicycles, business has never been
better.
“Bike sales are exploding,” he said
with a big smile.
Young Damascenes especially have
turned to bikes en masse to avoid the
endless traffic jams caused by hun-
dreds of army checkpoints.
Two and a half years into Syria’s
brutal war, the economy has taken a
beating, with inflation soaring at 68
percent and scores of businesspeople
leaving the country.
While the conflict has caused
heavy losses for most businesses in
Damascus, Mr Jumaa, a trader in his
40s, is among the lucky ones.
It’s hard to miss his store, which
sells bicycles of all types and colours
as well as carrying out repairs.
“We have regular clients,” said Mr
Jumaa, while repairing a bicycle in
front of his shop on Khaled bin Walid
Street.
“Young women, including uni-
versity professors, use bicycles to get
around,” he said.
Syria is a conservative Muslim
country and women on bicycles used
to be a rare sight.
But for months now, residents say
driving in Damascus has turned into
a nightmare because of the multi-
BAGHDAD
tude of army checkpoints which have
popped up across the city, with troops
inspecting every passing car.
More than half the capital’s streets
have been shut down, leading to traffic
jams which can paralyse the capital’s
roads for hours on end.
The aim of the checkpoints is
to protect the capital from bomb
attacks and to stop weapons and
explosive-laden cars from slipping in.
The drastic security measures
and the congestion they cause have
encouraged people to use bicycles,
whereas just a few months ago
only delivery men and newspaper
distributors could be seen using them.
Mohammad Sabbagh, an
engineering student, is thrilled at
having taken to two wheels.
“I get to university in 20
minutes, while it used to take me one or
two hours [by bus], depending on the
traffic,” said Mr Sabbagh, parking his
bike.
“I can do whatever I want with my
time now, as I don’t have to wait for
the bus any more,” he smiled.
Manar Masri, also a student, said
he took up cycling after he stumbled
on a Facebook page named “We need
a bike”.
“It’s wonderful that all these
people, especially young girls, want to
cycle,” he said.
Even some religious figures have
joined in.
Mohammed Ali Malla, a cleric
at Leila Basha mosque, said on the
group’s Facebook page, “To navigate
the streets of Damascus, our only op-
tion is bicycles.”
Another social media user wrote,
“When I’m stuck at a checkpoint and Reg. No. 4/8389/2013
I see 32 bicycles in front of me, I think
to myself, I really need a bike.”
Used in respect of:-
Some have grown so tired of the
traffic that they make jokes about it. Shoes, upper outer garment for men and women, pants for men
“Life is too short to spend on a bus,”
wrote another Facebook user.
and women. (International class 25)
In Damascus, an average
bi­­cycle costs about 400 Syrian pounds Any unauthorised use, imitation, infringements or fraudulent
(US$30), with most of them imported
from China.
intentions of the above mark will be dealt with according to law.
Some residents also see bicycles as
a way of saving money on fuel, which Tin Ohnmar Tun & The Law Chambers
has grown scarce as fighting has cut
Ph: 0973150632
off supply routes across Syria.
Ms Fadia is upset so much of her Email:law_chambers@seasiren.com.mm
salary goes on petrol. (For.Domnern Somgiat & Boonma,
Buying a bicycle “would be the Attorneys at Law, Thailand)
ideal solution,” she said, as the price of
fuel has nearly doubled in two years. Dated. 9th December, 2013
The Facebook campaign en­­­­­cour­­­
ages women like Ms Fadia to abandon
their cars.
“Women feel embarrassed to ride a TRADEMARK CAUTION NOTICE
bike, but we need to break all those ta-
boos ... even if that seems unusual in our
conservative society,” one post reads. Oracle America, Inc., a company organized under the laws of the
But not everyone supports the idea. State of Delaware and having its principal office at 500 Oracle
A street seller grumbled as he Parkway, Redwood Shores, California 94065 United States of America
watched a young woman riding
through the Shaalan commercial dis- is the owner and sole proprietor of the following Trademark:-
trict. “Now we’ve seen it all!” he called
out. – AFP
SUN
Reg. No. 4/3677/2011

Iraq attacks kill nine as 2013 toll tops 6200 Used in respect of:-

Computer software, computer hardware, computer peripherals,

ATTACKS in predominantly-Sunni Arab areas of Baghdad
as well as in northern and western Iraq killed at least nine
people on December 3, the latest in a months-long nation-
wide surge in bloodletting.
The rise in violence, which has killed more than 6200
people this year, has prompted the authorities to appeal for
international help in combating militancy ahead of general
elections due in April.
Officials have blamed a resurgent al-Qaeda embold-
ened by the civil war raging in neighbouring Syria, but the
government has itself faced criticism for not doing enough
to address the concerns of Iraq’s disaffected Sunni Arab
minority.
Bombings last week hit west Baghdad, as well as the pre-
dominantly Sunni cities of Abu Ghraib, Mosul and Tarmiyah.
In the deadliest attack, twin roadside bombs exploded
near municipal offices in Tarmiyah, a town just north of
Baghdad that has seen multiple deadly attacks in recent and related products manufactured, imported and/or sold by or
weeks.
When onlookers gathered at the scene, two suicide
on behalf of the Company in Myanmar.
bombers blew themselves up.
Overall, seven people were killed and 15 wounded, two Any unauthorised use, imitation, infringements or fraudulent
security officials said.
intentions of the above mark will be dealt with according to law.
Violence elsewhere in Iraq left two people dead and
more than a dozen wounded, according to security and
medical officials. Tin Ohnmar Tun & The Law Chambers
The authorities have made some concessions aimed at Ph: 0973150632
placating Sunnis, including freeing prisoners and raising
the salaries of anti-al-Qaeda Sahwa fighters. Email:law_chambers@seasiren.com.mm
But the daily attacks show no sign of abating. (For.Domnern Somgiat & Boonma)
Diplomats, analysts and human rights groups say the (Attorneys at Law, Thailand)
government is not doing enough to address disquiet among
Sunnis over what they see as mistreatment at the hands of Dated: 9th December, 2013
the Shiite-led authorities. – AFP
 TRADE MARK CAUTION 44 World International THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

Intervet, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the laws

of the State of Delaware, of 56 Livingston Avenue, Roseland, NUSA DUA

India resists pressure in

New Jersey 07068,United States of America, is the Owner of the
following Trade Mark:-

VETOPRIM
Reg. No. 1077/1983
Reg. No. 2449/1995
Reg. No. 392/1998
tense WTO impasse
in respect of “Int’l Class 5: Veterinary preparations and substances”. INDIA on December 5 shrugged off
mounting pressure to compromise in
a global impasse over food security
Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark will that has cast the future of the World
be dealt with according to law. Trade Organisation into doubt.
New Delhi’s insistence that it be
allowed to stockpile and subsidise
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L grain for its millions of hungry poor
for Intervet, Inc. has emerged as a major stumbling
P. O. Box 60, Yangon block at a WTO conference of trade
ministers in Bali.
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm The WTO has warned that failure
Dated: 9 December 2013 to reach a compromise on that and
other issues could be a death blow to
the body’s 12-year-old effort to remove
trade barriers, which is at a stalemate.
TRADE MARK CAUTION “This is a fundamental issue.
NOTICE is hereby given that Millennium & Copthorne
We will never compromise,” Indian
Commerce and Industry Minister
International Limited a company organized under the laws of Anand Sharma told reporters at the
conference venue on the Indonesian
Singapore and having its principal office at 36 Robinson Road
#04-01 City House, Singapore 068877 is the owner and sole
resort island.
The WTO launched its main “Doha
proprietor of the following trademark:- Round” of talks in Qatar in 2001,
aiming to create an open trading
You are the Centre of Our World environment and rules that are fair to
(Reg: No. IV/9231/2012) both rich and poor countries.
But protectionist disputes,
in respect of: “Business management of hotels and resorts/motels and particularly between the industri-
other temporary accommodation including serviced apartments and alised and developing worlds, have
apartment hotels; public relations services in relation to temporary made progress elusive.
accommodation, including hotels and motels, serviced apartments and New WTO chief Roberto Azevedo
of Brazil is pushing for an agreement
apartment hotels; marketing of temporary accommodation including in Bali on a more modest package
hotels and motels, serviced apartments and apartment hotels including touching on agricultural subsidies
the advertising of the aforementioned services via the Internet and and other issues, hoping to buy time
until Doha can be revived.
other global computer networks.” - Class: 35 Indonesian Trade Minister Gita
“Temporary accommodation services, accommodation (rental of Wirjawan, chair of the talks, said
temporary), catering (food and drink), rental of meeting rooms, he and Mr Azevedo were seeking to
broker a compromise between India
restaurants, cafés, reservations of temporary accommodation; and the United States.
providing temporary housing accommodation; providing serviced
apartments; hotel services.” Class: 43
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said trademark or GABORONE
other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law.
U Kyi Win Associates Africa risks losing 20% of elephants by 2023
for Millennium & Copthorne International Limited
P.O. Box No. 26, Yangon. AFRICA could lose 20 percent of its
Phone: 372416 Dated: 9th December, 2013 elephant population within a decade,
conservation groups warned Monday
as governments met in Botswana to
discuss measures to curb poaching.
TRADE MARK CAUTION An estimated 22,000 elephants
were illegally killed across the
NOTICE is hereby given that Medinova AG a company organized continent last year, as poaching
under the laws of Switzerland and having its principal office at reached “unacceptably elevated lev-
Eggbühlstrasse 14, CH-8052, Zürich, Switzerland is the owner els”, according to a report by CITES,
TRAFFIC and IUCN.
and sole proprietor of the following trademarks:- “If poaching rates are sustained at
current levels, Africa is likely to lose
a fifth of its elephants in the next ten
years,” the group said.
(Reg: Nos. IV/1835/2005 & 1933/2010 & IV/13414/2012) The study was released as experts
and ministers met in Gaborone to
in respect of :- “Soaps, perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, hair look at ways to stamp out the slaugh-
lotions, dentifrices and pharmaceutical, veterinary and sanitary ter, fuelled by a growing demand for
ivory in Asia.
preparations” The meeting is expected to adopt
13 “urgent” steps to stem the tide of
illegal elephant killings.
These will include classification of
(Reg: Nos. IV/1834/2005 & IV/1934/2010 & IV/13416/2012) trafficking in ivory as a serious crime
and securing stiff sentences for of-
in respect of :- “Pharmaceutical preparations” fenders.
Prevention would be tackled
through better arming of national
protection agencies and discouraging
(Reg: Nos. IV/1833/2005 & IV/1935/2010 & IV/13415/2012) demand in destination countries.
The meeting will also recommend
in respect of :- “Pharmaceutical, veterinary and sanitary the adequate securing of government-
preparations” and privately-held ivory stockpiles
so they do not make their way into
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said wrong hands.
“We continue to face a critical situ-
trademarks or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with ation,” said John E Scanlon, secretary
according to law. general of the Convention on Interna-
tional Trade in Endangered Species of
U Kyi Win Associates Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
for Medinova AG “Current elephant poaching in Af-
rica remains far too high, and could
P.O. Box No. 26, Yangon. soon lead to local extinctions if the
Phone: 372416 Dated: 9th December, 2013 present killing rates continue,” said
Mr Scanlon.
Washington and some other
trading nations are said to feel the
Indian position violates WTO lim-
its on subsidies and fear stockpiled
grain could end up on global markets,
skewing prices.
The crux of the impasse is New
Delhi’s demand that it be made
exempt from any WTO challenges
over the issue indefinitely, while
‘It comes off more
as a domestic issue
for India than a
true commitment
to be a leader for
the developing
world.’
Mark Kennedy
George Washington University
the Bali package would limit the
exemption period.
“This doesn’t mean that this
is a mission impossible,” said Mr
Wirjawan, who has called for com-
promise in comments that appeared
aimed at New Delhi.
Earlier on Thursday, EU Trade
Commissioner Karel De Gucht hinted
at possible movement behind closed
doors.
“There has been a development in
A Kenya Wildlife Services ranger stands guard over an ivory haul seized
overnight as it transited through Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi. Photo: AFP
He described the situation in
central Africa, where the estimated
poaching rate is twice the continental
average, as “particularly acute”.
There are around half a million el-
ephants left in Africa compared with
1.2 million in 1980 and 10 million in
1900.
Researchers believe that poverty
and weak governance in African coun-
tries harbouring elephants are driving
forces behind a spike in poaching.
Ivory trade is banned under the
CITES, yet the illegal trade is es-
timated to be worth up to US$10
billion a year.
The price of ivory on the black
market shot up tenfold in the past
decade to more than $2000 per kilo-
gram. On average, an adult elephant
the Indian position but it is difficult
to say what that could mean,” he said.
India’s ruling Congress Party is
facing tough elections next year, but
Mr Sharma said domestic politics
were not a factor in its WTO stance.
He framed the issue as a divide
between industrialised countries
and a developing world that he said
viewed WTO rules as favouring rich
nations.
“India speaks for the vast majority
of people in the developing countries
and the poor countries. India is not
alone,” he said.
However Mark Kennedy, who
leads the graduate school of political
management at George Washington
University, said developing coun-
tries did not “appear to be rallying to
India’s cry”.
“It comes off more as a domestic
political issue for India than a true
commitment to be a leader for the
developing world,” added Mr
Kennedy, who has also advised the US
government on trade issues.
Trade ministers have issued stark
warnings that a failure to close gaps
in Bali would fatally wound the
WTO’s waning world influence.
Mr Azevedo has raised an alarm
over alternative regional pacts be-
tween major trading nations, such
as the 12-country Trans-Pacific
Partnership pushed by Washington.
He said a trend in that direction
would have “tragic” consequences
for countless poor in developing
countries around the world that are
struggling to compete in the global
marketplace. – AFP
tusk can weigh 20kg (44 pounds), ac-
cording to experts.
In terms of international crime,
wildlife trafficking now ranks fifth
after narcotics, counterfeiting, the traf-
fic of human beings and the traffic of oil,
according to estimates cited at the
meeting.
Beyond worries about the species’
survival, elephant poaching has given
rise to security and terrorism con-
cerns.
Proceeds from ivory are “known
to fund terrorism acts, support con-
flicts” said the conference document.
Experts suggest the funds could be
financing groups such as Somalia’s
al-Qaeda-linked Shebab, Uganda’s
Lord’s Resistance Army and Sudan’s
Janjaweed militia. – AFP
 TRADE MARK CAUTION
NOTICE is hereby given that Apple Inc. a company
organized under the laws of the States of California, United
States of America and having its principal office at 1 Infinite,
Cupertino, California 95014, United States of America is
the owner and sole proprietor of the following trademarks:-
APPLE
(Reg: No. IV/8278/2013)
(Reg: No. IV/8279/2013)
the above two trademarks are in respect of:-
“Telecommunications; communication and
telecommunication services; providing access to web sites on
the Internet; delivery of digital music by telecommunications;
providing wireless telecommunications via electronic
communications networks; wireless digital messaging,
paging services, and electronic mail services, including
services that enable a user to send and/or receive messages
through a wireless data network; one-way and two-way
paging services; communication by computer, computer
intercommunication; telex, telegram and telephone services;
rental, hire and leasing of communications apparatus and
of electronic mailboxes; electronic bulletin board services;
electronic communications consultancy; facsimile, message
collection and transmission services; transmission of data
and of information by electronic means, computer, cable,
radio, teleprinter, teleletter, electronic mail, telecopier,
television, microwave, laser beam, communications satellite
or electronic communication means; transmission of data
by audio-visual apparatus controlled by data processing
apparatus or computers; broadcasting or transmission of
radio and television programmes; time sharing services for
communication apparatus; provision of telecommunications
access and links to computer databases and the Internet;
electronic transmission of streamed and downloadable audio
and video files via computer and other communications
networks; web casting services; delivery of messages by
electronic transmission; provision of connectivity services
and access to electronic communications networks, for
transmission or reception of audio, video or multimedia
content; providing access to digital music web sites on the
Intemet; providing access to MP3 web sites on the Intemet;
delivery of digital music by telecommunications; operating
search engines; providing telecommunications connections
to the Internet or databases; providing user access to the
Internet (service providers); electronic mail services;
telecommunication of information (including web pages),
computer programs and any other data; video broadcasting,
broadcasting prerecorded videos featuring music and
entertainment, television programs, motion pictures, news,
sports, games, cultural events, and entertainment-related
programs of all kinds, via a global computer network;
streaming of video content via a global computer network;
subscription audio broadcasting via a global computer
network; audio broadcasting, broadcasting music, concerts,
and radio programs, via a global computer network, streaming
of audio content via a global computer network; electronic
transmission of audio and video files via communications
networks; providing search engines for obtaining data on
a global computer network; communication services in the
form of matching users for the transfer of music, video and
audio recordings via communication networks; providing
on-line bulletin boards for the transmission of messages
among computer users concerning entertainment, music,
concerts, videos, radio, television, film, news, sports, games
and cultural events; information, advisory and consultancy
services relating to all the aforesaid.” Class: 38
“Providing digital music [not downloadable] from MP3 Internet
web sites; providing digital music fnot downloadable] from
the Intemet; operating chat rooms; publication of electronic
books and journals on-line; providing on-line electronic
publications [not downloadable]; electronic games services
provided by means of the Internet; information relating to
music entertainment, education, interactive entertainment and
education, provided on-line from a computer database or the
Internet; music library services; organizing and conducting
seminars and training courses relating to science, engineering,
computer systems and business; education services relating to
planning, production and distribution of live or recorded audio,
visual or audio visual material; education and entertainment
information services; providing online databases and directories
in the field of music, concerts, videos, radio television, news,
sports, games, cultural events and entertainment; providing
online magazines, newsletters and books in the field of
music, concerts, videos, radio, television news, sports, games,
cultural events, and entertainment; organizing exhibitions
for entertainment, educational and cultural purposes, music,
concerts, film and motion picture events, audio and video
events; publishing of text, graphic via communications
networks; matching users for the transfer of music, video, and
audio recordings via communications networks.” Class: 41
“Application services provider (ASP) featuring software for use
in connection with online music subscription service, software
that enables users to play and program music and entertainment
related audio, video, text and multimedia content, and software
featuring musical sound recordings, entertainment-related
audio, video, text and multimedia content; providing temporary
use of on-line and non-downloadable software to enable users
to program audio, video, text and other multimedia content,
including music, concerts, videos, radio, television, news,
sports, games, cultural events, and entertainment-related
programs; providing on-line facilities, via a global computer
network, to enable users to program the scheduling of audio,
video, text and other multimedia content, music, concerts,
videos, radio, television, news, sports, games, cultural events,
and entertainment-related programs as they will be aired;
licensing services relating to music publishing; services for the
exploitation of music rights; providing access to a computer
data base in the nature of a bulletin board in the fields of music,
video, film, books, television, games and sports.” Class: 42
“Online social networking services; providing a social
networking website; concierge services.” Class: 45
IPOD
(Reg: No. IV/8280/2013)
in respect of :- “Scientific, nautical, surveying, photographic,
cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling,
checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus
and instruments; apparatus and instruments for conducting,
switching, transforming, accumulating, regulating or
controlling electricity; apparatus for recording, transmission
and/or reproduction of sounds, images or other data magnetic
data carriers, recording discs; apparatus, instruments and
materials for transmitting and/or receiving and/or recording
sound and/or images; downloadable audio and video recordings
featuring music, comedy, drama, action, adventure andlor
animation; automatic vending machines and mechanisms for
coin operated apparatus; cash registers; calculating machines,
data processing equipment; computers, computer peripherals,
computer terminals; computer hardware; facsimile machines,
answering machines, telephone-based information retrieval
software and hardware; adapters, adapter cards, connectors and
drivers; blank computer storage media, fonts, typefaces, type
designs and symbols in the form of recorded data; chips, discs
and tapes bearing or for recording computer programs and
software; random access memory, read only memory; solid state
memory apparatus; electronic communication equipment and
instruments; telecommunications apparatus and instruments;
computer and electronic games; computer equipment for
use with any of the aforesaid goods; electronic apparatus
with multimedia functions for use with any of the aforesaid
goods; electronic products with interactive functions for
use with any of the aforesaid goods; accessories, parts,
fittings, and testing apparatus for all the aforementioned
goods; user manuals in electronically readable, machine
readable or computer readable form for use with, and sold
as a unit with, all the aforementioned goods; apparatus for
data storage; hard drives; miniature hard disk drive storage
units; pre-recorded vinyl records, audio tapes, audio-video
tapes, audio video cassettes, audio video discs; audio tapes
(all being sold together with booklets); CD-ROMs; digital
versatile discs; mouse pads; batteries; rechargeable batteries;
chargers; chargers for electric batteries; headphones; stereo
headphones; in-ear headphones; stereo speakers; audio
speakers; audio speakers for home; monitor speakers;
speakers for computers; personal stereo speaker apparatus;
radio receivers, amplifiers, sound recording and reproducing
apparatus, electric phonographs, record players, high fidelity
stereo apparatus, tape recorders and reproducing apparatus,
loudspeakers, multiple speaker units, microphones; digital
audio and video devices; audio cassette recorders and
players, video cassette recorders and players, compact disc
players, digital versatile disc recorders and players, digital
audio tape recorders and players; radios; cameras; video
cameras; bags and cases adapted or shaped to contain
cameras and/or video cameras; cordless telephones; mobile
telephones; parts and accessories for mobile telephones;
mobile telephone covers; mobile telephone cases; mobile
telephone cases made of leather or imitations of leather;
mobile telephone covers made of cloth or textile materials;
portable digital electronic devices and software related
thereto; handheld digital electronic devices and software
related thereto; MP3 players; hand held computers, personal
digital assistants, electronic organizers, electronic notepads;
magnetic data carriers; mobile digital electronic devices,
telephones, computer gaming machines, microprocessors,
memory boards, monitors, displays, keyboards, cables,
modems, printers, videophones, disk drives, cameras;
computer software, pre-recorded computer programs for
personal information management, database management
software, character recognition software, telephony
management software, electronic mail and messaging
software, paging software, mobile telephone software;
database synchronization software, computer programs
for accessing, browsing and searching online databases,
computer software and firmware for operating system
programs, data synchronization prograrns, and application
development tool programs for personal and handheld
computers; electronic handheld devices for the wireless
receipt, storage andlor transmission of data and messages,
and electronic devices that enable the user to keep track of
or manage personal information; software for the redirection
of messages, Internet e-mail, andlor other data to one or
more electronic handheld devices from a data store on or
associated with a personal computer or a server; software
for the synchronization of data between a remote station
or device and a fixed or remote station or device; bags and
cases adapted or shaped to contain MP3 players, hand held
computers, personal digital assistants, electronic organizers
and electronic notepads; audio, video, and digital mixers;
radio transmitters; car audio apparatus; parts and fittings for
all the aforesaid goods.” Class: 9
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said
trademarks or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt
with according to law.
U Kyi Win Associates
For Apple Inc.
P.O. Box No. 26, Yangon.
Phone: 372416 Dated: 9th December, 2013

gers o
fin
r it
u
yo
t
ge
A drum,
a drum!
Macbeth
doth come…
With a cast of hundreds and a bit of
imagination, Yangon schoolchildren
bring Shakespeare to life
W
ith these words,
a trio of Scottish
witches calling
themselves the
“weird sisters” begin
to prophesy the bloody rise – and
still bloodier fall – of a once-heroic
general turned power-hungry and
corrupt, determined to take the
throne at any cost.
Last Wednesday, however, the
lines were being incanted by an
even more unlikely grouping: a pair
of expats and two dozen 10-year-
olds, clad not in dented armour but
in thanaka and green-and-white
school uniforms.
In the words of Macbeth himself,
“Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell
me more.”
The children were putting the
final touches to their scenes prior to
an unexpectedly delightful perfor-
mance of the Scottish play, held last
the pulse editor: MANNY MAUNG manny.maung@gmail.com
n
Nandar
Aung
nandaraung.mcm@gmail.com
Friday at the National Theatre –
surely the most unique Shakespear-
ean performance ever held in this
country.
Around 300 youngsters between
the ages of 6 and 20 came together
to bring one of William Shake-
speare’s most famous – and gory –
works to life.
With support from the British Em-
bassy as part of Great Britain Week
in Myanmar, the free performance
was put on by a new organisation in
Yangon called Shakespeare Schools,
an outreach group set up by a veteran
of London’s Globe Theatre.
Liam Shea
and James
Erskine
do acting
training at
Sandayama
monastary
school.
Photo: Zarni
Scenes alternated between Eng-
lish and Myanmar language; in one
striking scene of dialogue, one actor
spoke in English while another
replied in Myanmar.
And to give everyone their time
to shine, many roles were played by
multiple actors simultaneously: Five
Lady Macbeths, for example, tried
and failed to wash the dangling
ribbons of blood from their hands –
and one of them wasn’t even a lady.
Combined with the acoustics
of the auditorium, the ages of the
speakers and the sometimes over-
enthusiastic chatter in the audience
– a mix of children, parents and
curious expats – from some seats
it was difficult to make out many
lines.
But the older actors had their
parts down solidly, and the younger
ones made up for any moments of
confusion by performing surely the
THE MYANMAR TIMES december 9 - 15, 2013
most adorable battlefield displays
ever put on.
As any good director knows,
Shakespeare has always been about
more than just the words – no mat-
ter how famous those words may be.
Highlights included an extended
sequence of expertly portrayed
mimed pratfalls – a universal lan-
guage which needs no translation
– that had the crowd exploding with
laughter; weapon-free imaginary
swordfights that saw each side
strike down the other to a four-
count rhythm; and a rousing dance
number with the audience clapping
enthusiastically to the rhythm.
“The kids are so lovely,” said
audience member Marca after the
show. “They’re doing the whole play
and made only one or two mistakes.
Now I’m really disappointed that I
didn’t bring my flash camera.”
Friday’s show began with a brief
video showing the preparations,
during which the two expat direc-
tors, Liam Shea and James Erskine,
worked with children in interna-
tional and monastery schools, build-
ing their confidence and teaching
them how to get up on stage and
deliver with gusto.
Liam explained the project’s
goals to The Myanmar Times in
between last-minute rehearsals with
the makeshift troupe of players at
Sandayama monastic school in Hla-
ing township last Wednesday.
“It is intended to give the
students a chance to understand
a Shakespeare play through active
learning,” he said.
“And the nice thing about it is
bringing communities together.
The kids who go to international
schools don’t always meet kids from
monastery schools. It’s nice to put
them on an even playing field. The
www.mmtimes.com
international school students are
performing a scene; the monastic
school students are performing a
scene. They’re all equal in the play.”
Overall, over a dozen organisa-
tions were involved, including
Laurel Art School and four local
monastic schools: Sandayama, Nang
Oo, Mi Gadar Yone and Shwe Myint
Zu convent school.
Shakespeare is no easy feat
in any classroom, let alone when
trying to bridge two languages. So
while the children tended to have
no problems following the instruc-
tions of their director – a testament
to the two men’s enthusiasm and
charisma – instructors from the
non-profit community outreach
program Gitameit also helped guide
the progress.
Thila Min, 36, a drama teacher
with Gitameit, said the monks and
teachers at Sandayama immediately
understood the advantages such an
ambitious production can bring to
the children’s learning.
“I’ve been in contact with this
school for a long time,” he said.“I’ve
explained what they do to the prin-
cipal monk and the teacher in this
school, and they understand what
benefits can be had by teaching arts
and drama. It is rarely seen in other
schools in Myanmar.”
The children only had three
weeks to practice – a nightmare for
any thespian, amateur or profes-
sional – but the children seemed
undaunted.
“I act the part of Macbeth in the
beginning of the play,” said Soe Ko
Ko, 11, who was suprisingly at ease
explaining the play’s labyrinthine
double-crossings. “I am a general
in the army of King Duncan. I’m
Thane of Glamis, and when the king
executes the Thane of Cawdor, I get
to be Thane of Cawdor.
“I have practised three times
today and I want to do more and
more. All of my friends like to
rehearse the play and really love to
perform in the theatre.”
Co-director James Erskine said
the “Scottish play”, as it’s supersti-
tiously known, was a good match for
the students.
“Shakespeare’s Macbeth is new
and fresh for the students from the
monastic schools, so they are full
of interest in learning,” he told The
Myanmar Times.
Part of the fun, he said, comes
with excitement of actually bringing
the words to life – a process too
often missing from most classroom
treatments.
“Most of the people around the
world approached Shakespeare by
reading his plays. But I think that
makes them more boring. Person-
the pulse 47
ally, I prefer seeing them performed
on stage,” James said.
Liam said acting the play out to-
gether encourages students to think
differently about its language – and
‘I have
their lives.
“You don’t get to pretend to be practiced
three
a king every day. It’s not every day
you can pretend to be a witch. But
you can when you’re doing the play.
I think it encourages people to use
imagination as a way out.” times
today
That’s a good lesson for everyone
of all ages. As Shakespeare wrote else-
where, “All the world’s a stage, and all
the men and women merely players.”
And while it’s unlikely that any
coconut trees ever grew in Birnam
and i
Wood in Scotland, for a few mo-
ments last Friday a veritable army
want to
of schoolchildren marched enthu-
siastically behind some well-placed
fronds toward a stage in Yangon,
do more’
and anything seemed possible. – Soe Koko, 11
48 the pulse
Busts of champions
past help kick off the
SEA Games
Chit Su
suwai.chit@gmail.com
A
S an artistic tribute to
Myanmar’s sporting
greats, sculptor Kyaw
Kyaw Min and painter
Shwe Myint are
depicting some of the country’s
gold medallists from past Southeast
Asia Games. Their work will be on
display from December 3 to 7 at
Yangon’s Thuwunna Stadium, where
some of the events of the 27th SEA
Games will take place.
Kyaw Kyaw Min said: “Shwe
Myint and I wanted to celebrate
the Games by drawing and
Kyaw Kyaw Min creates a likeness of . Photo: Thiri Lu
sculpting athletes who brought
glory to Myanmar. The Ministry
of Sport selected the subjects for
us. We intend these art works as a
memorial for the next generation of
sportsmen and women.”
The five athletes selected are
weightlifter U San Myint, who
won 13 gold medals, tennis player
U Maung Zaw, who won four
golds, Daw Aye Shwe and U Aung
Hla, track and field athletes who
each won four gold medals, and
volleyball player U Soe Thein, who
scored three golds.
Daw Aye Shwe took her four
golds in 1969, when Myanmar
hosted the SEA Games, in 1971 in
Malaysia and in 1973 in Singapore.
She said: “When I modelled for
the sculpture I felt young again,
and wanted to compete. I advise
children who aspire to compete
in the Games to practise over the
long term. This sculpture will be a
memorial for my grandchild and
the next sporting generation.”
The 27th Southeast Asia Games,
the first to be hosted by Myanmar
in 44 years, is being held in Nay
Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay and
Ngwesaung Beach. The official
mascot of the 2013 Games is a pair of
owls, lucky charms in the Myanmar
tradition. The male is called Shwe
Yoe and the female Ma Moe.
THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013
The Myanmar Times own photographer Kaung Htet poses with his work.
Myanmar photo-book
launches in Yangon
Ei Ei Thu
91.eieithu@gmail.com
INTERNATIONAL photographers
collaborated with their local
counterparts to produce 7 Days in
Myanmar featuring the country’s
most picturesque locations. The book
was launched at Yangon’s Chatrium
Hotel on December 2.
A gallery of 100 pictures was
exhibited at the launching ceremony
from December 2-8.
Nine Myanmar photographers and
21 from around the world depicted
scenes of business, culture, scenery
and people, taken within a seven-day
period last April-May.
“I spent a lot of time and energy
on this book, but it was worth it,”
editor Nicholas Grossman told The
Myanmar Times.
Mr Grossman wrote the text
accompanying the work of the
photographers, describing their
experiences and the locations they
visited.
Abbas, Steve McCurry, Michael
Yamashita, Michael Freeman, Bruno
Barbey and Raghu Rai were among
the international photographers
Photo: Ko Thaik
who took part, as well as Aung Pyae,
Kaung Htet, Kyaw Kyaw Winn and
others.
“This is my tenth visit. My first
was in 1992, but at that time I
couldn’t go to many places outside
Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan. This
time I went to Chin State. The roads
are bad, but there is so much to see,
and the images are great,” said UK
photographer Michael Freeman.
“The book is wonderful. I think
I did a good job,” said Michael. “I
wrote captions for more than 100
photos, with a brief history of each.
Myanmar photographers rank with
their professional counterparts in the
rest of the world,” U Thaw Kaung,
Life Achievement Award of Literature
and Myanmar Historical Commission,
National Museum in Yangon, told The
Myanmar Times.
The more than 300 outstanding
original images include seven from
the prestigious Magnum Photos
cooperative, several from National
Geographic magazine and nine from
Myanmar’s rising stars.
7 Days in Myanmar, published by
Editions Didier Millet, is available for
US$60.
www.mmtimes.com
Music Review, Chill Session: Wi Thay Tha
Chill Session gains new fans for hip-hop
Lwin
Mar
hTun
lwinmarhtun.mcm@gmail.com
F
OUR of Myanmar’s best
rappers have joined forces
to form the hip-hop super-
group Chill Session, which
last month released their
debut album titled Wi Thay Tha
(Extraordinary).
Chill Session is made up of J-me
and Chit Soe from the Project-1
group, and Bo Lay and Chan A Win
from Firecracker.
These artists have spent the past
several years forging their own
unique styles, but the new project
has allowed them to combine their
creative forces and explore new
approaches to their music.
J-me, for example, is well known
for his rapid-fire vocal delivery,
but here he slows it down and
enunciates his lyrics more clearly,
allowing fans to better understand
and appreciate his mad rhyming
skills.
Wi Thay Tha features 12 songs
written by Chill Session and guest
composers Thaw D Wai, Thuta Ill
and Ar-T. KGK, Chan A Win, C2
and Chan Myae Oo contribute to
production.
There’s not a single weak track
on the CD – it’s one of those rare
the pulse 49
releases that can be enjoyed from
beginning to end, without any
temptation to skip songs.
The strong lyrics cover a range
of topics. Even the love songs
“A Cake” (A Great Bitterness)
and “A Tate Thit” (New Past) are
clever, avoiding the saccharine
childishness common in
Myanmar music in favour of witty
meditations on the finer aspects of
the female body.
The song “Mary Jane” has
proven to be particularly popular
with the kids. Leading off with
pleasant backing vocals, the
rappers soon launch into an ode
to their affection for Mary Jane, a
well-known 1970s code word for
ganja (aka da chronic, aka wacky
tabbacky).
“Paradise” celebrates the joys of
life like beach parties and spending
time with the family, while “Alin
Yin Myint” is a cool song that
skillfully combines hip-hop with
gospel music.
“Ta Kyoung Lout Yay Par Oo”
(Please Write One Song Lyric) relies
on old-school beats and nimble
rhymes to belittle rappers suffering
from sub-par vocal skills.
I could go on and on,
highlighting the greatness of each
song, but it would be better if
you just bought the album and
enjoyed it for yourself. Many
others in Myanmar already have:
Even teenagers and adults who
never liked hip-hop are singing the
praises of Chill Session. Chill Session’s album art. Photo: Supplied
www.mmtimes.com
Jam It in
Mandalay
GREG holland
greg.c.holland@gmail.com
I
N between the car horns,
yelping dogs and the aggressive
sound of gargling betel spit, an
underground music scene can
be heard in Yangon, if you listen
closely enough. A severe lack of live
music venues that cater to the bands
and the fans would, in any other
time or place, crush such a diverse,
creative and justly abrasive music
scene. With alcohol licences at 20
lakhs and entertainment licences up
to 3000 lakhs, depending on whose
pocket you’re in, its plain to see why
there are such a shortage of live
music venues. Despite the pressures
of this rather bleak situation, and the
lure of over-priced expat venues, JAM
IT! have managed to host packed-
out reduced-cost gigs in unassuming
venues. With an increasingly large
local fan-base and a growing number
of talented alternative bands and
DJ’s, Yangon needs a central hub for
Mandalay’s Skunx play through the pain. Photo: Greg Holland
the pulse 51
all this creativity. When that day will
come depends on a lot of factors, but
you can be sure in the meantime that
JAM IT! will push on through with
their true DIY spirit.
This month, JAM IT! took to
the road with their growing roster
of bands and teamed up with local
promoters in Mandalay to host the
first of hopefully many joint gigs.
A rickety plywood structure would
be the stage, set at the far end of
an impressively sized skate park in Mandalay’s Death Rising. Photo: Greg Holland
Mandalay, where JAM IT! provided
five acts and the Mandalay promoters elbow sustained from the previous metal- heads took a breather and said, “The crowd was feeling excited
championed eight of their own. The night’s motorbike incident affect the breakdancing circles emerged. and wanted to taste something new.
free gig was a seven-hour barrage of their performance, Skunx front man Mandalay’s “socially conscious” Rebel They are very supportive of us and
noise delivered to a crowd of eager Eugene delivered a vicious set to a Force and Wild Boyz, while reluctant I’m grateful for that,” he added.
young fans, music scene aficionados rapturous crowd of head-bangers. to admit a political sentiment to their “Right now [JAM IT! is] planning
the weary-eyed Yangonites who made The Mandalay and Yangon acts music, had each and every member of to have more gigs all over Myanmar
the 10-hour bus journey up. took turns performing, feeding off the crowd whipped into a frenzy. not only Mandalay but also Taunggyi
Mandalay’s Skunx, having made each other’s energy with rowdy Other notable performances and everywhere where they have
a name for themselves for their competition. The gig was equal came from Yangon punks No U Turn, underground bands so we can perform
uncompromisingly harsh sets at parts punk, hip-hop and metal with who were testing out new material all together. I think JAM IT! is on
recent Yangon appearances, took to Yangon’s G-Tone and his Cyclone in anticipation of recording their its way to becoming something that
the stage at the peak of the event’s crew taking leadership of the hip- third album. Speaking about their young people are interested in and we
energetic bill. Not letting a fractured hop segment of the show while the performance, lead singer Ye Ngwe So hope it to become more successful.”
Yangon’s No U Turn. Photo: Greg Holland
52 the pulse tea break THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

Universal Crossword SUDOKU PACIFIC

Edited by Timothy E. Parker

DNA TEST By Martin G. Morris

ACROSS 3 Jimmy Carter’s middle 23 Recommend 42 Repeated Catholic
1 Final Greek letter name big-time prayer
6 Intensifies (with “up”) 4 Tribal historian 25 Type of auto 43 Take ten
10 Spill the beans 5 Ridicule or collision 49 Picks
14 Lion’s plaints berate 26 Muss, as hair 51 Hold a meeting
15 Rummage 6 Prince 27 Star in 54 Sty noises
through Valiant’s son Orion’s foot 56 Some cookies
16 Actress Kudrow 7 Runway figure 28 Old hags 57 “Ghostbusters” goop
17 Scheming duo of old 8 Soft, thin silk 29 Ethically 59 Sack attachment
cartoons cloth challenged 61 Hotshot pilots
20 “McSorley’s Bar” 9 Adult male deer 32 Pre-meal drink 62 “The stockings ___
painter John 10 Disposable razor 34 Shocking win hung ...”
21 ___ on (prodded) insert 36 “Much ___ About 63 Be beholden to
22 Dot above the i 11 Fleur-de-___ Nothing” 64 Soldier in Lee’s army
24 Put through the 12 Cigar residue 38 Smallest 65 Hair gel amount
paces 13 Sheep bleat possible team 66 Select (with “for”)
27 Alternative to 18 Come before 40 “Walk-___ 67 White or wheat
Panasonic, once 19 Any foursome welcome” alternative
30 The MGM lion
31 You might play
something by it
33 Vow to pony up
35 Cooking maven
Rombauer
37 Fizzled firecracker
39 All square
41 Cheerful willingness to
be obliging
44 Implant deeply, as in
soil
45 Atop, poetically
46 Kind of proprietor or
survivor
47 Farmer’s field
48 Gaggle formation
50 Attack word
52 After expenses
amount
53 Blackthorn plum
55 State gambling
games
58 Cartoonist’s
colleague
60 Eloper’s
acquisition
63 One ensuring army
equipment works
68 Too diluted
69 Straddling
70 Manicure board
material
71 Dwindles
72 “You ... yeah, you”
73 Sit through again

DOWN
1 Christmas bulb
shape
2 Cows hit a low with
these?

DILBERT BY SCOTT ADAMS

PEANUTS BY CHARLES SCHULZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES BY BILL WATTERSON PUZZLE SOLUTIONS

Laugh all the way to the bank when you rent this space.
The tea break page is being re-formatted in readiness for our move to a daily cycle. It may look something like this in the future.
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www.mmtimes.com
phyocooking@gmail.com
W
ITH Christmastime
approaching, din-
ner party season is
kicking into high
gear. This month I’ll
be sharing fun recipes for the festive
season – dishes which are quick and
yummy at holiday time or any time.
Here are two recipes to bridge
the gap between last month’s noodle
theme and this month’s festive dishes.
Dried egg noodles are the key ingredi-
ent in both recipes this week, and
– just like you do at parties – we’re
starting out with the nibbles.
Both recipes start the same way
before diverging for very different
results. You can make spiced crispy
noodles with paprika or any other
spice you like, while chocolate spiders
are given a local twist by calling for
caramelised jaggery instead of more
expensive imported chocolate. Either
way, your guests won’t be able to stay
away.
Spiced crispy noodles
(Serves 6)
8-10 leaves basil (pin seinn)
4 pieces dried egg noodles
2 cups vegetable oil
2 teaspoons paprika powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
Wash the basil leaves and dry well.
Prepare egg noodles as per pack-
age instructions, adding 1 tablespoon
of oil into the boiling water so noo-
dles will not be sticky after draining.
Add oil to a wok and heat on
medium-high. When oil is ready, turn
heat to medium and deep-fry noodles
in batches, ensuring noodles are flat
and evenly spread. Flip at least once.
When the noodles turn golden,
Newly opened Green Gallery is not to be missed
THERE’S a new restaurant in down-
town Yangon, and it’s a gem. Situated
on the lower block of 52nd street,
“Green Gallery snacks and drinks”
specializes in salads and Thai food.
Diners in the downtown area looking
for a break from over-oiled curries
and over-priced western fare, your
prayers have been answered.
Ma Bo, the proprietor, head cook,
and occasional server of Green Gal-
lery, spent more than a decade living
and working in Thailand, and in that
time she acquired what can only be
called a mastery of the Thai cuisine.
This is not Thai-Burmese fusion, and
it’s not some processed take on pad
thai. This is the real deal: authentic
Thai.
I started the meal with chicken
stir-fried in oyster sauce served with
Green Gallery
No.58, 52nd St, Botahtaung
Township.
Food 9
Drink 8
Atmosphere 9
X-factor 10
Service 9
Value for money 10
Total Score: 9/10
Phyo’s cooking adventure
It’s my party
and I’ll fry if I want to
Jaggery Noodle Spiders. Photo: Phyo
transfer to kitchen paper and drain
excess oil.
Deep-fry basil leaves, then remove
and drain excess oil on the kitchen
paper as well.
In a bowl, combine paprika, salt,
ground black pepper, sugar and deep-
fried basil leaves. Mix well, shaking if
necessary.
Lay noodles in a bowl or plate and
sprinkle spices mix over them.
Jaggery noodle spiders
(Serves 6)
4 pieces dried egg noodles
2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup dark jaggery
1 cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon roughly crushed
roasted peanuts
Chicken with Oyster Sauce. Photo: Staff
white rice. It was tangy and fishy in
the best possible way, with a melody
of herbs and spices in the sauce
kicking the dish into the realm of
delicious.
My companion enjoyed egg
salad and rice noodle salad, both of
which she reported were delicious
and hearty enough to make an ideal
breakfast.
However, the real standout dish
was the coconut soup. Tender
chicken and succulent mushrooms
served in coconut milk, the dish
manages to be many different and
wonderful tastes all at once: sweet
yet savory, spicy yet smooth, with a
fresh zestiness that had me literally
smacking my lips.
Of course, with all these dishes,
the operative word is “fresh”. Ma Bo
buys fresh produce at nearby markets
Prepare egg noodles as per pack-
age instructions, adding 1 tablespoon
of oil into the boiling water so noo-
dles will not be sticky after draining.
Add oil to a wok and heat on
medium-high. When oil is ready, turn
heat to medium and deep-fry noodles
in batches, ensuring noodles are flat
and evenly spread. Flip at least once.
When noodles turn golden, trans-
fer to kitchen paper and drain excess
oil.
Wash jaggery gently and add to
sauce pan with 1 cup water. Sim-
mer until jaggery becomes sticky
and runny, then remove from heat.
Let cool for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile,
spread grease paper on a tray and set
aside.
Crush the noodles and add to
sauce pan. Coat with caramelised jag-
gery. Add sesame seeds and peanuts,
coating noodles evenly.
Spicy Egg Salad. Photo: Staff
every morning for the day’s bounty,
and the effort more than comes
through in the taste.
The affordable prices of the vari-
ous dishes, nothing more than K3000,
make splurging on several dishes
the pulse food and drink 53
Spicy Crispy Noodles. Photo: Phyo
Coat two spoons lightly with oil. Foodie quote
Scoop out noodle mixture and roll “Food is not about impressing
with two spoons into a ball. Trans- people. It’s about making them feel
fer the ball to the grease paper and comfortable.”
repeat for rest of noodles. Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa
Put finished tray in refrigerator to Cookbook
cool down.
Serve later that day or store in the Next week
fridge in an airtight container. Holiday recipes continue
Tips
Wine Review
The jaggery will need constant
monitoring while making the sauce,
so keep stirring. Adding a couple
of pinches of salt will bring out the
sweetness even more.
Myaung Mya
in e
W hit
Pineapple Wine
Shopping list
e
w
I use packaged dried egg noodles. 2004
Jaggery is available at the supermar-
ket as well as at local markets: Ask This wine does not
for mote loke hta nyat/hta nyat kyan taste like pineapple. It
(literally, jaggery for making sweet). is not even sweet. In fact,
the taste is quite harsh
on the nose. Not a good
bottle, but this is what
we’ve been reduced
to with the ban on
imported wine.
Score
4/10
K 3,000
Aythaya
W red
Cabernet 2012
e
in
tempting, and perhaps even obliga- This Shan State brand does
tory. Diners who travel in packs and not fare much better,
love to share will find a home at offering little beyond
Green Gallery. a dry yet watery taste.
The decoration scheme has a The smell is powerfully
stripped down, DIY aesthetic. Tables alcoholic, leaving me
and chairs are custom-made from hard-pressed to think
salvaged wood, and the countertops of any food or snack
are made from repurposed and this would pair nicely
slightly modified wooden pallets. with.
The spare approach adds up to a
laid-back, convivial atmosphere. It’s
a perfect setting for long lunches or
late dinners. Score
6/10
Ma Bo has stated her plans to
expand the menu in the coming
weeks, hoping to add fruit shakes
and mangos with sticky rice as soon
as the fruits are in season – all the
more reason for lovers of fine food to
check out this excellent new estab-
lishment.
K 9,500
54 the pulse socialite THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9-15, 2013

City Baby Club 3rd anniversary

Iren Zin Mar Myint

Attendees

Ko Nyi Nyi Tun and family Ma Zar Zar Htike

Mercedes-Benz car showroom opening

May Grace

Pyae Ti Oo and Eaindra Kyaw Zin Attendees Lu Min and wife

Precious Gems 6th anniversary sale promotion Chic magazine anniversary

Nu Myat Theingi Oo

Daw Than Cho Nwe, Daw Mi Mi Naing, Aunty Cho and Ma Ei Po Me N Ma girls

SCG Sharing the Dream Program

Pisanu Suvanajata Ma Tharaphe, Ma Wai Phyo and Ma Wint Mon Swe

PEB steel building seminar

Sami Kteily Staff members

www.mmtimes.com the pulse socialite 55
Guy Laroche Paris new wears launch

Nyein
Ei Ei Htwe
nyeineieihtwe23@gmail.com

Happy Sweet December to you all, readers!

Socialite was enjoying a relaxed pace of ‘socialit-
Bangladesh Cultural festival 2013

ing’ this week, but certainly wasn’t bored, it’s

because she loves December the most and cooler
weather. She said farewell to November with vari-
ous kinds of events. On November 27, she enjoyed
an afternoon with the toddler attendees
at City Baby’s 3rd anniversary at City
Mart, China Town Point Center. On the
following day, she attended the SCG’s
‘Sharing the Dream’ event which
supports the Education of Myanmar
students at IBC. On November 29th,
she was at the seminar of steel build-
ing by PEB steel company at Sum-
mit Park View hotel. Next day, our
Socialite dropped by the Precious
Gems 6th anniversary sale pro-
motion at its shop. Guy Laroche
Ms Tasanee

Paris new wears launch at Junction Models

Square, was also a fantastic fashion Kaung Pyae
event before heading to the Monte
Vino wine launch at the Sedona
Hotel and ending the week at the
Bangladesh Cultural Festival
2013 at Bangladesh Embassy,
Than lwin road.

A performer

SK Al Emran and Minur Rahman

Ko Lin Kyi Min, Ma Htet Htet Khin and Ko Zayyar Myo Khin

Monte Vino wine launch

Ma Tin Thandar Khine Ko Min Zaw Than

56 the pulse travel THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw YH 910 3,4,6 7:55 10:00 Nyaung U to Yangon W9 203 Daily 11:00 12:10 Yangon to Thandwe
Flight Days Dep Arr Y5 233 Daily 8:10 9:25 Flight Days Dep Arr W9 119 1,3,6 11:15 12:25 Flight Days Dep Arr
FMI A1 1,2,3,4,5 7:30 8:30 YH 918 3,4,6 8:20 10:15 YH 917 3,4,6 7:35 10:15 W9 129 Daily 15:00 16:10 W9 141 Daily 6:15 9:35
Y5 777 1,2,3,4,6 7:45 8:25 YJ 891 Daily 8:30 10:25 YJ 891 Daily 7:45 10:25 K7 826 2,6 11:45 13:00 6T 351 1,2,3,4,6,7 6:30 10:00
FMI A1 6 8:00 9:00 6T 402 Daily 8:45 10:45 W9 141 Daily 7:50 10:40 6T 807 1 12:00 14:20 6T 605 Daily 11:15 12:10
FMI B1 1,2,3,4,5 11:30 12:30 YJ 902 7 8:20 10:25 YH 917 1 7:50 11:30 K7 224 Daily 14:30 15:45 YH 505 3,4,6 10:30 13:10
FMI A1 7 15:30 16:30 K7 223 Daily 8:55 11:00 6T 401 Daily 7:55 10:45 YH 731 1,2,3,4,5,6 15:00 16:25 W9307 2,4 11:30 13:50
FMI C1 1,2,3,4,5 16:30 17:30 W9 201 Daily 9:10 11:05 K7 222 Daily 8:05 11:00 6T 501 Daily 15:30 16:40 W9 309 1,3,5,6,7 11:30 13:50
YH 918 2 9:10 11:05 YJ 901 1,2,3,4,5,6 8:25 9:45 YH 511 6 11:30 14:05
Nay Pyi Taw To Yangon W9 144 Daily 9:20 10:45 YH 917 2 8:25 11:05 Heho to Yangon
Flight Days Dep Arr Y5 132 3,5,6,7 9:30 10:30 YH 910 1 8:25 10:30 Thandwe to Yangon
Flight Days Dep Arr
Flights Days Dep Arr YH 918 1 9:35 11:30 Flight Days Dep Arr
YH 910 3,4,6 8:40 10:00 W9 141 Daily 8:35 10:40
FMI A2 1,2,3,4,5 8:50 9:50 YJ 001 1,2,3,4,5 9:50 10:45 W9 141 Daily 9:50 10:40
W9 144 Daily 8:50 10:10 YH 910 2 8:45 11:00
FMI A2 6 10:00 11:00 K7 227 2,4 10:35 12:00 6T 632 1,2,3,4,6,7 10:15 11:10
YJ 902 7 9:05 10:25 6T 352 Daily 9:00 11:10
FMI B2 1,2,3,4,5 13:00 14:00 K7 627 1,5 10:55 12:20 6T 605 Dailys 12:25 15:00
YH 910 2,5 9:40 11:00 YH 918 3,4,6 9:05 10:15
FMI A2 7 17:00 18:00 YH 832 4,6 11:30 12:55 6T 632 5 13:00 13:55
6T 351 5 10:50 13:55 YJ 891 Daily 9:15 10:25
Y5 778 1,2,3,4,6 17:30 18:10 K7 845 2,4,7 12:50 16:00 YH 506 3,4,6 13:10 14:00
YJ 202 2 16:15 17:35 YH 910 1 9:20 10:30
FMI C2 1,2,3,4,5 18:00 19:00 6T 808 7 13:15 15:15 W9 307 2,4 14:05 14:55
K7 225 Daily 17:45 19:00 6T 402 Daily 9:35 10:45
YH 738 5 13:40 18:05 W9 309 1,3,5,6,7 14:05 14:55
W9 211 Daily 17:55 19:15 K7 223 Daily 9:45 11:00
6T 808 1 13:45 15:45 YH 512 5 14:05 14:55
Yangon to Mandalay YH 732 1,2,3,4,5,6 17:55 19:15 W9 201 Daily 9:55 11:05
YJ 202 1,3 15:30 16:55
Flight Days Dep Arr 6T 502 Daily 18:35 19:55 YH 918 2,5 9:55 11:05
YJ 212 5 15:30 16:55
YH 917 2 6:00 7:40
YH 909 1 6:00 7:40
YH 514
YJ 202
3
2,4
15:30
15:30
16:55
17:35 Yangon to Myitkyina
YH 918
YH 506
1
3,4,6
10:20
11:55
11:30
14:00
Domestic Airlines
YJ 901 1,2,3,4,5,6 6:00 7:25
YJ 602/W9 7602 6 15:50 17:15 Flight Days Dep Arr W9 204 Daily 12:25 13:35
YJ 901 7 6:00 8:05 Air Bagan Ltd. (W9)
YJ 212 7 16:00 17:25 K7 844 2,4,7 7:30 11:05 YH 506 2 12:55 15:00 Tel : 513322, 513422, 504888, Fax : 515102
YH 917 3,4,6 6:00 8:20
YH 728 1 16:30 17:55 K7 624 Daily 10:30 13:25 K7 829 1,3,5 13:50 15:05
YJ 891 Daily 6:10 8:15 Air KBZ (K7)
YJ 762 2,4,6 16:35 18:00 YJ 211 5 10:30 13:20 6T 808 7 14:05 15:15
Y5 234 Daily 6:15 7:30 Tel: 372977~80, 533030~39 (Airport),
W9 120 1,3,6 16:30 17:55 YJ 201 1,2,3,4 11:00 13:50 6T 808 1 14:35 15:45 Fax: 372983
YH 917 1 6:15 9:35
K7 225 Daily 16:50 19:00 YJ 211 7 11:00 13:50 W9 120 1,3,6 15:45 17:55
YH 909 3,4,6 6:15 7:55
W9 251 2,5 11:15 14:10 YH 728 1 15:45 17:55
Air Mandalay (6T)
W9 129 Daily 17:10 18:35 Tel : (Head Office) 501520, 525488,
6T 401 Daily 6:20 8:25
YH 738 3 17:10 18:35 YJ 762 2,4,6 15:50 18:00 Fax: 525937. Airport: 533222~3, 09-73152853.
K7 222 Daily 6:30 8:40 Fax: 533223.
W9 211 Daily 17:10 19:15 Myitkyina to Yangon K7 224 Daily 16:00 19:00
K7 626 1,5 6:45 8:10
YH 732 Daily 17:10 19:15 Flight Days Dep Arr YH 738 3 16:25 18:35 Asian Wings (YJ)
K7 226 2,4 6:45 8:10
K7 625 Daily 17:10 18:35 YJ 211 5 13:35 16:55 YJ 762 1 16:25 18:35 Tel: 951 516654, 532253, 09-731-35991~3.
YH 831 4 7:00 8:40 Fax: 951 532333
YJ 762 1 17:10 18:35 YJ 202 1,3,4 14:05 16:55 W9 129 Daily 16:25 18:35
YJ 001 1,2,3,4,5 7:30 9:20
8M 6604 2,4,7 17:20 18:30 YJ 211 7 14:05 17:25 YH 731 1,2,3,4,5,6 16:25 19:15 Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)
W9 201 Daily 7:30 8:55
YJ 752 5 17:30 18:55 YJ 202 2 14:05 17:35 YJ 752 5 16:45 18:55 Tel: 95 9 400446999, 95 9 400447999,
8M 6603 2,4,7 9:00 10:10 Fax: 01 860 4051
YJ 752/W9 7752 3 17:45 19:10 K7 625 Daily 15:40 18:35 YH 738 5 16:55 18:05
K7 624 Daily 10:30 11:55
YH 730 4,6 17:45 19:10 W9 252 2,5 16:05 19:00 6T 501 Daily 16:55 19:55 Yangon Airways(YH)
YJ 211 5 10:30 11:55
6T 502 Daily 17:50 19:55 YJ 752/W97752 3 17:00 19:10 Tel: (+95-1) 383 100, 383 107, 700 264,
YJ 761 1 10:30 13:30 Fax: 652 533.
YJ 752/W9 7752 5 17:50 19:15 K7 827 2,6 17:25 18:40
YJ 761 2,4,6 11:00 12:55 Yangon to Heho
YJ 201 1,2,3,4 11:00 12:25 Flight Days Dep Arr YH 730 2 18:15 19:25 FMI Air Charter - Sales &
Yangon to Nyaung U YH 917 3,4,6 6:00 9:05 Reservations
YJ 211 7 11:00 12:25 Tel: (95-1) 240363, 240373 / (+95-9) 421146545
Flight Days Dep Arr YH 917 5 6:00 9:55
YJ 751/W9 7751 3,5,7 11:00 12:55 YANGON TO SIT T WE
YJ 901 7 6:00 7:20
YH 727 1 11:00 12:25 YH 909 1 6:00 9:20 Flight Days Dep Arr
YH 917 3,4,6 6:00 7:35
YJ 891 Daily 6:10 9:00 6T 605 Daily 11:15 13:15
Domestic
YH 513 3 11:00 12:40 YJ 901 1,2,3,4,5,6 6:00 8:10
YH 737 3 11:00 13:10 W9 141 Daily 6:15 8:20 6T 611 4,6 14:30 15:55
YH 917 2,5 6:00 8:25
YH 729 4,6 11:00 14:00 YH 909 2,5 6:15 8:45 W9 309 1,3,5,6,7 11:30 12:55 6T = Air Mandalay
YH 909 1 6:00 8:25
W9 251 2,5 11:15 12:40 YH 917 1 6:15 8:50 K7 426 Daily 12:30 13:50 W9 = Air Bagan
YJ 891 Daily 6:10 7:30
6T 807 7 11:30 12:55 6T 401 Daily 6:20 9:20
W9 141 Daily 6:15 7:35 YJ = Asian Wings
YH 737 5 11:30 13:40 K7 222 Daily 6:30 9:30 SIT T WE to yangon
YH 917 1 6:15 7:50 K7 = AIR KBZ
YH 729 2 11:30 14:30 6T 351 1,2,3,4,6,7 6:30 8:45 Flight Days Dep Arr
YH 909 2,5 6:15 7:50 YH = Yangon Airways
6T 807 1 12:00 13:25 W9 201 Daily 7:30 9:40 6T 606 Daily 13:35 15:00
YH 909 3,4,6 6:15 8:40
K7 828 1,3,5 7:30 8:45 K7 427 Daily 14:05 15:25 FMI = FMI AIR Charter
K7 224 Daily 14:30 16:35 6T 401 Daily 6:20 7:40
W9 129 Daily 15:00 16:55 6T 351 1,2,3,4,6,7 6:30 7:50 YH 505 3,4,6 10:30 11:55 6T 612 4,6 16:15 17:40 Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines
YJ 761 1 10:30 12:45
YH 731 1,2,3,4,5,6 15:00 17:10 K7 222 Daily 6:30 7:50
YJ 751/W9 7751 3,5,7 11:00 12:10 Yangon to Myeik
Subject to change
6T 501 Daily 15:30 17:30
W9 211 Daily 15:30 16:55
YJ 601/W9 77601 6 10:30 11:50
YJ 761 2,4,6 11:00 12:10 Flight Days Dep Arr
without notice
YJ 761 1 10:30 11:50
W9 143 Daily 7:15 8:35 YH 737 3 11:00 12:25 K7 319 Daily 7:00 9:05
Mandalay to Yangon K7 224 Daily 14:30 17:25 YH 727 1 11:00 12:25 Day 4 = Thursday
Flight Days Dep Arr W9 211 Daily 15:30 17:40 6T 807 7 11:30 13:50 Myeik to Yangon 1 = Monday 5 = Friday
2 = Tuesday 6 = Saturday
YJ 901 1,2,3,4,5,6 7:40 9:45 YH 731 1,2,3,4,5,6 15:00 17:55 YH 505 2 11:30 12:55 Flight Days Dep Arr
3 = Wednesday 7 = Sunday
YH 910 1 7:40 10:30 6T 501 Daily 15:30 18:20 YH 737 5 11:30 12:55 K7 320 Daily 11:30 13:35
www.mmtimes.com the pulse travel 57

International FLIGHT SCHEDULES

YANGON TO BANGKOK NAYPYIDAW TO BANGKOK KUNMING TO MANDALAY
Jane Fonda’s
controversial 1972
Flights Days Dep Arr Flights Days Dep Arr Flights Days Dep Arr
PG 706 Daily 7:15 9:30 PG 722 Daily 19:45 22:45 MU 2029 Daily 13:55 13:50
8M 335 Daily 8:40 10:25
TG 304 Daily 9:50 11:45 BANGKOK TO YANGON BANGKOK TO NAYPYIDAW
PG 702 Daily 10:30 12:25 Flights Days Dep Arr Flights Days Dep Arr
TG 302 Daily 14:55 16:50 8M 336 Daily 11:55 12:40 PG 721 Daily 17:15 19:15

visit remains a part

PG 708 Daily 15:20 17:15 TG 303 Daily 8:00 8:45
8M 331 Daily 16:30 18:15 PG 701 Daily 8:50 9:40
PG 704 Daily 18:20 20:15
International Airlines
TG 301 Daily 13:00 13:45
Y5 237 Daily 18:05 19:50 PG 707 Daily 13:40 14:30
TG 306 Daily 19:45 21:40 PG 703 Daily 16:45 17:35
TG 305 Daily 17:50 18:45
YANGON TO DON MUENG Air Asia (FD)

of Hanoi’s culture
8M 332 Daily 19:20 20:05
Flights Days Dep Arr PG 705 Daily 20:00 21:15
DD 4231 1,3,5,7 8:00 9:45 Tel: 251 885, 251 886.
Y5 238 Daily 21:10 21:55
FD 2752 Daily 8:30 10:20
FD 2756 Daily 12:50 14:40 DON MUENG TO YANGON Air Bagan Ltd.(W9)
FD 2754 Daily 17:35 19:25 Flights Days Dep Arr
FD 2758 1,2,3,4 20:55 22:50 Tel : 513322, 513422, 504888, Fax : 515102
DD 4230 1,3,5,7 6:30 7:15
FD 2751 Daily 7:15 8:00
YANGON TO SINGAPORE FD 2755 Daily 11:35 12:20 Air China (CA)
Flights Days Dep Arr
Kazuo Nagata state broadcaster, remembers seeing

H
FD 2753 Daily 16:20 17:05 Tel : 666112, 655882.
MI 509/SQ 5019 1,2,6,7 0:25 5:00 FD 2757 1,2,3,4 19:35 20:25
8M 231 Daily 8:00 12:25 Fonda dressed in an ao ba ba, a tradi-
8M 233 5,6,7 14:00 18:25 SINGAPORE TO YANGON Air India ANOI, Vietnam — Go down tional Vietnamese outfit.
Y5 233 Daily 10:10 14:40
SQ 997/MI 5871 Daily 10:25 14:45
Flights Days Dep Arr Tel : 253597~98, 254758. Fax: 248175 an unassuming stairway be- Fonda seemed very approachable,
SQ 998/MI 5872 Daily 7:55 9:20 tween the pool and outdoor Thanh said, recalling that it made
3K 586 Daily 11:40 16:20 8M 6231/3K 585 2,4,7 8:55 10:25
MI 517/SQ 5017 Daily 16:40 21:15 bar at the luxurious Sofitel him realize that while the U.S. mili-
TR 2827 1,6,7 15:10 19:35 3K 585 Daily 9:10 10:40 Bangkok Airways (PG)
TR 2827 2,3,4,5 17:10 21:35 8M 6231/3K 585 1,3,5,6 9:10 10:40 Tel: 255122, 255 265, Fax: 255119 Legend Metropole Hanoi tary was their enemy, the American
8M 232 Daily 13:25 14:50 hotel — which opened in 1901 to serve
3K 588 2,3,5 19:30 00:10+1
TR 2826 1,6,7 13:10 14:30 people were friends. It reassured
YANGON TO KUALA LUMPUR MI 518/MI 5018 Daily 14:20 15:45 Condor (DE) Hanoi’s expatriate population — and him that his country was not in fact
Flights Days Dep Arr TR 2826 2,3,4,5 15:00 16:30 Tel: + 95 1 -370836 up to 39 (ext : 810) you’ll find yourself in an old air-raid isolated, he said.
Y5 234 Daily 15:35 17:05
8M 501 1,2,3,5,6 11:30 15:30
3K 587 2,3,5 17:20 18:50 shelter from the Vietnam War. Fonda was followed by cameras
AK 1427 Daily 8:30 12:50
MH 741 Daily 12:15 16:30 8M 234 5,6,7 19:25 20:50 Dragonair (KA) The basement shelter was re- wherever she went in war-torn Hanoi,
MH 743 Daily 16:00 20:15 MI 520/SQ 5020 1,5,6,7 22:10 23:35 Tel: 95-1-255320, 255321, Fax : 255329 discovered during renovations two including a visit to Bach Mai Hospital.
AK 1421 Daily 18:50 23:10 years ago and is now open to visitors. She appeared on numerous radio
BEIJING TO YANGON Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)
YANGON TO BEIJING Flights Days Dep Arr American actress Jane Fonda and broadcasts, on which she spoke to
CA 905 2,3,4,6,7 8:05 13:15 Tel: 95 9 400446999, 95 9 400447999,
Flights Days Dep Arr
Fax: 01 860 4051
other luminaries took refuge here U.S. soldiers in South Vietnam about
CA 906 2,3,4,6,7 14:15 21:55 during the war, according to a tour the destruction she had seen.
KAULA LUMPUR TO YANGON
YANGON TO GAUNGZHOU Flights Days Dep Arr Malaysia Airlines (MH) guide leading a group that included These actions on what was then
Flights Days Dep Arr AK 1426 Daily 6:55 8:00 Tel : 387648, 241007 ext : 120, 121, 122 Fax some elderly Americans. considered enemy territory caused a
8M 711 2,4,7 8:40 13:15 MH 740 Daily 10:05 11:15
MH742 Daily 13:50 15:00 : 241124 Tran Minh Quoc, a former major stir back in the United States,
CZ 3056 3,6 11:35 15:50
CZ 3056 1,5 17:40 22:15 8M 502 1,2,3,5,6 16:30 17:30 Vietnamese ambassador to Italy, re- with many taking to calling her “Ha-
AK 1420 Daily 17:20 18:25 Myanmar Airways International(8M) members taking refuge in the shelter noi Jane.”
YANGON TO INCHEON Tel : 255260, Fax: 255305
Flights Days Dep Arr GUANGZHOU TO YANGON with Fonda when he served as her According to Norm Smith, who
8M 7502 Daily 0:50 8:50 Flights Days Dep Arr interpreter during her June 1972 visit was stationed in South Vietnam as a
8M 7702 Daily 23:45 8:05 CZ 3055 3,6 8:40 10:30 Silk Air(MI)
CZ 3055 1,5 14:45 16:35 Tel: 255 287~9, Fax: 255 290 to the city. civilian employee of the U.S. military
YANGON TO TAIPEI 8M 712 2,4,7 14:15 15:50 Quoc, 65, said Fonda did not ap- during the war, Fonda deserves to be
Flights Days Dep Arr Thai Airways (TG) pear frightened, and as soon as the si- branded a traitor because her visit
CI 7916 1,2,3,5,6 10:50 16:15 TAIPEI TO YANGON Tel : 255491~6, Fax : 255223
QR 288 2,5,6 11:35 17:20 Flights Days Dep Arr rens stopped, she grabbed her camera bolstered North Vietnam’s position as
CI 7915 1,2,3,5,6 7:00 9:55 and went above ground. But he also they sought to negotiate an end to the
YANGON TO KUNMING BR 287 2,5,6 7:45 10:35 Vietnam Airlines (VN)
Flights Days Dep Arr Fax : 255086. Tel 255066/ 255088/ 255068.
said she had a sentimental side, re- war in the Paris Peace Accords.
MU 2012 1,3 12:20 18:35 INCHEON TO YANGON calling an incident in which she burst Although Fonda was undeterred
MU 2032 Daily 14:40 18:00 Flights Days Dep Arr Qatar Airways (Temporary Office) into tears upon seeing schoolchildren by the criticism she received, she said,
CA 906 2,3,4,6,7 14:15 17:35 8M 7701 Daily 18:40 22:15
8M 7501 Daily 19:30 23:40
Tel: 01-250388, (ext: 8142, 8210) wearing straw hoods to protect them “I will go to my grave regretting the
YANGON TO CHIANG MAI during bombings. photograph of me in an antiaircraft
Flights
W9 9607 4,7
Days Dep
14:20
Arr
16:10 Flights
KUNMING TO YANGON
Days Dep Arr International Fonda gained fame for creating a carrier [sic],” referring to the iconic
MU 2011 1,3 8:20 11:30
sensation on the screen in the 1960s, picture of her sitting at the controls of
FD & AK = Air Asia
YANGON TO HANOI CA 905 2,3,4,6,7 13:00 13:15 but around 1970 she became an in- a North Vietnamese antiaircraft gun.
Flights Days Dep Arr TG = Thai Airways
VN 956 1,3,5,6,7 19:10 21:30
MU 2031 Daily 13:30 13:55 creasingly active opponent of United The photograph made it look like she
8M = Myanmar Airways International States involvement in Vietnam. was taking aim at her own country.
CHIANG MAI TO YANGON
YANGON TO HO CHI MINH CITY Flights Days Dep Arr Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines She received an invitation to visit When she and Quoc met again
Flights Days Dep Arr W9 9608 4,7 17:20 18:10
VN 942 2,4,7 14:25 17:10 PG = Bangkok Airways Hanoi in May 1972 after criticizing in the United States in 2002, she
HANOI TO YANGON MI = Silk Air the administration of then President asked him if she had been set up. He
YANGON TO DOHA Flights Days Dep Arr Richard Nixon for escalating the air answered “no,” but he later said that
Flights Days Dep Arr VN = Vietnam Airline
VN 957 1,3,5,6,7 16:35 18:10 campaign against North Vietnam. the number of U.S. visitors to North
QR 619 Daily 7:30 11:15 MH = Malaysia Airlines
QR 919 Daily 7:30 11:15 HO CHI MINH CITY TO YANGON The invitation came from the Vietnam doubled after Fonda came
CZ = China Southern
YANGON TO PHNOM PENH
Flights Days Dep Arr Vietnamese Committee for Solidarity and that they all organized antiwar
Flights Days Dep Arr VN 943 2,4,7 11:40 13:25 CI = China Airlines with the American People, a group that activities after returning home.
8M 403 1,3,6 8:35 12:30 DOHA TO YANGON CA = Air China invited several hundred U.S. antiwar ac- Fonda’s visit was incredibly valu-
YANGON TO SEOUL
Flights Days Dep Arr KA = Dragonair tivists to visit Vietnam during the war, able to North Vietnam, Quoc said. It
QR 618 Daily 21:15 06:29+1 and by which Quoc was employed.
Flights Days Dep Arr
QR 918 Daily 21:15 6:29 Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines seems she had been used after all.
0Z 770 4,7 0:50 8:50 At the time, it was unlikely that When the two met in 2002, Fonda
KE 472 Daily 23:35 07:45+1 IC = Indian Airlines Limited
GAYA TO YANGON many North Vietnamese had ever told Quoc she wanted to someday
Flights Days Dep Arr W9 = Air Bagan
YANGON TO HONG KONG
8M 602 1,3,5,6 11:20 14:30 seen a Jane Fonda movie. Yet Chu Chi return to Vietnam. Eleven years later,
Flights Days Dep Arr 3K = Jet Star
KA 251 1,2,4,6 01:10 05:35 Thanh, a former cameraman for a however, she has not been back.
PHNOM PENH TO YANGON AI = Air India
YANGON TO TOKYO Flights Days Dep Arr QR = Qatar Airways
Flights Days Dep Arr 8M 404 1,3,6 13:30 14:55
NH 914 Daily 22:10 06:45+1 KE = Korea Airlines
SEOUL TO YANGON NH = All Nippon Airways
YANGON TO SIEM REAP Flights Days Dep Arr
Flights Days Dep Arr KE 471 Daily 18:30 22:30 SQ = Singapore Airways
8M 401 1,3,6 8:35 10:45 0Z 769 3,6 19:30 23:40 DE = Condor Airlines
YANGON TO GAYA TOKYO TO YANGON MU=China Eastern Airlines
Flights Days Dep Arr Flights Days Dep Arr
NH 913 Daily 11:40 17:15 BR = Eva Airlines
8M 601 1,3,5,6 9:00 10:20
DE = Condor
MANDALAY TO BANGKOK HONG KONG TO YANGON
Flights Days Dep Arr Flights Days Dep Arr AI = Air India
TG 2982 2,4,6 9:30 11:45 KA 250 1,3,5,7 21:50 23:45
TG 2984 5,7 19:35 21:45 Subject to change
PG 710 Daily 14:15 16:40
Flights
BANGKOK TO MANDALAY
Days Dep Arr without notice
MANDALAY TO DON MUENG TG 2981 2,4,6 7:30 8:45
Flights Days Dep Arr TG 2983 5,7 17:30 18:45
FD 2761 Daily 12:50 15:15 PG 709 Daily 12:05 13:25 Day 4 = Thursday
1 = Monday 5 = Friday
MANDALAY TO KUNMING DON MUEANG TO MANDALAY 2 = Tuesday 6 = Saturday A memorial to the victims of US air raid on the grounds of Bach Kai Hospital in
Flights Days Dep Arr Flights Days Dep Arr 3 = Wednesday 7 = Sunday
MU 2030 Daily 14:40 17:20 FD 2760 Daily 10:55 12:20 Hanoi, one of Jane Fonda’s stops on her controversial tour. Photo: Washington Post
58 the pulse THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

WEEKLY predictions
december 9 - 15, 2013

Aquarius | Jan 20 - Feb 18 Leo | Jul 23 - Aug 22

Explore what it means to Management skills in

pay attention to your
truths, again inner and
outer. Life’s up and down
provide windows of
opportunity to determine the true
values and goals on different directions
relating your interests to enduring life
purposes and your some of destiny. Get
a think of using all obstacles as
stepping stones to build the life you
want. Self-incentive needs to open up
your emotions.
position of authority and
power are good at making
decisions. What needs to be
settled is what kind of an
influencer will you be? You should make a
difference tomorrow by becoming a
better leader today. You must try to
skillfully wave your persuasive magic in
the global arena where governments and
mega- corporation meet. Life partner
must be qualified in emotional
challenges.

Pisces | Feb 19 - March 20 Virgo | Aug 23 - Sep 22

Follow the high-spirited few A vice is nothing more

who meet the unknown
effectively. You can devise a
personal strategy of
A representative from the Ministry of Information wlecomes the assembled authors. Photo: Zarni entrepreneur, whenever you
find yourself and however for fulfillment
than a virtue turned inside
out, misapplied or use in
the wrong context.
Learning about love
through trial and error, you can find

Evening of words returns

and you must meet yourself honestly.
Learn to persist even profit from setbacks
and build up your wisdom. Introduce the
question of what’s worth doing? Never
feel disconnected from routines and
yourself easy and cool to being to
stabilize everything according to your
belief and trust. Personal
transformation and reinvention could
be made by your own rules and you

to Yangon
structure of your usual life in connection will have a study of heartfelt things in
with love. life with wonder.

Aries | Mar 21 - Apr 19 Libra | Sep 23 - Oct 22

Mental imagery is very Your aesthetic sense,

National Literature Awards grants lifetime achievement
awards to unprecedented three writers
recognition or award.
“I was expecting something for
my novel,” the writer, now a frail
81-year-old, said from the stage at
the National Theater on December
3 as part of this year’s National Lit-
Zon Pann Pwint Ei Ei Thu erary Awards ceremony. She had to
be accompanied by fellow writer Mi
ries of awards year to year – as
well as the prize money given to
winners. This year, after writ-
ers lobbied for bigger prizes, the
committee opted to award lifetime
achievement winners K1,500,000
(about US$1500) compared to
the K10,000,000 (about $1000)
powerful. The secret to
using imagery is to develop
as vivid a scenario as
possible. Look for
opportunities to recognize the ideas and
successes of others, and pick up on the
suggestions made by others and
support them. Become involved in off
the job activities that are rewarding and
provide recognition. Try to see both
sides of the question in emotional
problem.
civilizing instinct and
pretty urge of the soul are
to beautify the world. Your
ability to see and love
another person’s point of view is
virtuous power to change everything
into harmony. Learn more about
spiritual laws that can make
relationships bearable and enjoyable.
Take time well enough to solve social
problems and remain yourself in love
life.

A
T the age of 28, writer
Khin Swe Oo made her
literary debut with her
novel Doe Tine Htar
Ni (Our Nation). Her
inspiration came from her distaste
at growing up during colonial times,
before the country’s independence;
the result has been hailed of one
of the finest novels ever written in
Myanmar.
Published in 1961, the novel
was twice reprinted and has even
been translated into Japanese.
But while her debut caught the at-
tention of readers and turned her
into a literary celebrity at a young
age – and while several of her
works were later made into suc-
cessful films – Khin Swe Oo said
she was never given any official
Author and translator Maung Myint Kywe accepts his award. Photo: Zarni
Chan Wai, but her words remained
as strong as ever.
“Since my first novel launched, I
was looking forward to an acknowl-
edgement. But I didn’t get it. I have
given up hope of any reward for my
works since then,” said Khin Swe
Oo.
That is until now. As well as
recognising works published in
2012, the prize-giving committee
was generous this year in handing
out lifetime achievement awards to
not one but three writers.
Khin Swe Oo, Aung Thin, Theik-
pan Hmu Tin – aged 81, 86 and
89 respectively – were all recog-
nised for their long and illustrious
careers.
First given out in 1972, the
National Literature Awards have
varied their number and catego-
they’ve been given since 2011.
Winners in other categories took
home K10,000,000 compared to
K5,000,000 the year before.
The ceremony was also notable
for its return to Yangon, having
been held in Nay Pyi Taw instead
since 2005.
Awards were handed out in 13
categories for works published in
2012, with no awards given this year
for English-language fiction, drama
and youth literature.
Among the winners was Maung
Myint Kywe, 79, who was awarded
a prize for Myanmar Pyi Hma Nay
Yat Myar, his translation of George
Orwell’s novel Burmese Days.
Maung Myint Kywe told The
Myanmar Times his friend gave
him a copy of Burmese Days as a
present back in that most Orwellian
of years, 1984.
“After I read Burmese Days, I
learnt how Burmese people lived
in a state of inferiority after losing
independence. The country lost
independence easily but strug-
gled hard to regain it. I thought I
should translate this book to show
the value of independence,” Maung
Myint Kywe said.
He translated the book in
[WHEN? Right away or years
later] but it was left without a
publisher until 2004. “At the age of
70 I found a publisher, but he gave
the green light [only] last year and
it was published in 2012.”
While the event was a celebra-
tion, Khin Swe Oo said it also
reminded her that many deserving
writers – including Journal Kyaw
Ma Ma Lay, Daw Khin Myo Chit,
Dagon Taryar and Mya Than Tint –
whose works have enjoyed fabulous
popularity over the years have
passed away without being given
lifetime achievement awards.
Maung Myint Kywe agreed: “It
is sad that they couldn’t enjoy the
awards, even though they are well
deserved.”
Taurus | Apr 20 - May 20
A positive expectancy about
your future is to become
motivated to certain
abstract value like beauty
or justice or some other esteemed
quality. You will be activated by your
inner truths and talents drawing forth
meaning and pleasure.Attention is your
power. Attract all different focusing to
classify the value which leaves you cool
and refreshed. Be sure to accept good
change in love life.
Gemini | May 21 - June 20
How you think about
yourself and how you want
others to think about you
and see you without any
emotional attachment are
depending on intellectual level between
you and others. Financial obligation
beyond your personal power will get
better than usual and now is the time to
be clear as to what you want in love and
in a partner. Get quiet and search your
heart.
Cancer | Jun 21 - Jul 22
You will be lucky
speculator especially
with residential property
or hotels and
restaurants, and
waterside properties will allure you
always. you need to develop
self-esteem and feeling of self-worth
if you are to realize your greatest
financial potential. Keeping the feeling
of being provider for others, you
should be hampered in your attempts
to lead and guide others by wit.
AUNG MYIN KYAW
4th Floor, 113, Thamain Bayan Road, Tarmwe township, Yangon.
Tel: 09-731-35632, Email: williameaste@gmail.com
Scorpio | Oct 23 - Nov 21
Don’t be considered
yourself secretive in nature
at all times and know that it
is good to show your simple
natural character. Money is
a transforming power sometimes, not
always and don’t be interested in money
for that reason. You can be overly awed by
the power of money to a point where you
think wrongly about money rules the
world. The financial status is to be
known by your abilities.
Sagittarius | Nov 22 - Dec 21
Social focusing should be
clear and you should
increase intellectual range
and scope to apply to all
aspects of today and
tomorrow. You must learn to set limits to
reach targets and goals through a
series of attainable points or objectives.
A long, drawn-out process may be
difficult for you, but cosmic changes will
make your fortune safe and great
wonderfully.
Capricorn | Dec 22 - Jan 19
Your habit like to argue with
success and different action
against reasonable factor
that could make you
disgraceful and ugly many
times.You need to learn the worthy of
social adaptable nature in order to fulfill
your highest inspiration. Cultivate your
social grace to develop a social style
along with charm and an ability to get
along with people. Don’t be deep
introverted and understand to make good
balance with your own counsel.
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tel: 6506 51~4. fax: 650630.
email: bdootygn@ Tel: 527100, 527101, fax: p.e. yangon@gmail.com YANGON
mptmail.net.mm 514565, email: ambyang. UNAIDS 137/1, Thaw Wun Rd, No. 277, Bogyoke Aung
mail@ esteri.it Russian 38, Sagawa Rd, Kamayut Tsp. San Road, Corner of
Brazil 56, Pyay Road, Tel : 534498, 504832
6th mile, Hlaing Tsp, Japan 100, Natmauk Rd, Yangon. 38th Street, Kyauktada No. 205, Corner of Wadan
Yangon. Tel: 507225, Yangon. Tel: 549644-8, Tel: 241955, 254161, UNDCP 11-A, Malikha St, Township, Yangon, Street & Min Ye Kyaw
507251. email: Administ. 540399, 540400, 540411, Royal Embassy of Saudi Mayangone tsp. Myanmar. Swa Road, Lanmadaw
yangon@itamaraty.gov.br. 545988, fax: 549643 Tel: 666903, 664539. Tel : (951) 391070, 391071. Tsp, Yangon. Myanmar.
Arabia No.287/289, U Reservation@391070 Tel: (95-1) 212850 ~ 3, 17, Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd,
Brunei 17, Kanbawza Embassy of the State of Wisara Rd, Sanchaung. UNDP 6, Natmauk Rd, Bahan (Ext) 1910, 106. 229358 ~ 61, Yankin Tsp.
Avenue, Golden Velly (1), Kuwait Chatrium Hotel, Tel : 01-536153, 516952. tel: 542910-19. fax: 292739. Fax : (951) 391375. Email : Tel: 650933. Fax: 650960.
Bahan Tsp, Yangon. Tel: Fax: (95-1) 212854.
Rm: 416, 418, 420, 422, Serbia No. 114-A, Inya UNFPA 6, Natmauk Rd, hotelasiaplaza@gmail.com info@myanmarpandahotel Email : micprm@
566985, 503978. 40 Natmauk Rd, Tarmwe
email: bruneiemb@ Rd, P.O.Box No. 943, Bahan tsp. tel: 546029. .com http://www. myanmar.com.mmwww.
Tsp, Tel: 544500. Avenue 64 Hotel myanmar micasahotel.com
bruneiemb.com.mm Yangon. Tel: 515282, myanmarpandahotel.com
UNHCR 287, Pyay Rd, No. 64 (G), Kyitewine
North Korea 77C, Shin 515283, email: serbemb Sanchaung tsp. Pagoda Rd, Mayangone Tsp,
Cambodia 25 (3B/4B), Saw Pu Rd, Sanchaung Parkroyal Yangon,
New University Avenue @ yangon.net.mm Tel: 524022, 524024. Yangon. Tel : 09-8631392, Myanmar ACCOMMODATION-
Tsp, Yangon.
Road, Bahan Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 512642, 510205 Singapore 238, UNIAP Rm: 1202, 12 Fl, 01 656913-9 33, Alan Pya Pagoda Rd, HOTELS (Nay Pyi Taw)
Tel: 549609, 540964. Dhamazedi Road, Bahan Traders Hotel. Chatrium Hotel Dagon tsp.
email: RECYANGON @ South Korea 97
University Avenue, Bahan Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 559001, Tel: 254852, 254853. 40 Natmauk Rd, Tarmwe. tel: 250388. fax: 252478.
mptmail.net.mm tel: 544500. fax: 544400.
Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 527142- email: singemb_ ygn@_ UNIC 6, Natmauk St., Bahan, email: enquiry.prygn@ (Nay Pyi Taw)
China 1, Pyidaungsu sgmfa. gov.sg parkroyalhotels.com
Yeiktha Road, Yangon. 4, 515190, fax: 513286, tel: 52910~19
email: myanmar@mofat. parkroyalhotels. com. Reservation Office (Yangon)
Tel: 221280, 221281. Sri Lanka 34 Taw Win UNICEF 14~15 Flr, Traders 123, Alanpya Pagoda Rd,
go.kr Road, Yangon.
Danmark, No.7, Pyi Thu Hotel. P.O. Box 1435, Dagon Township
St, Pyay Rd, 7 Miles, Lao A-1, Diplomatic Tel: 222812, Kyauktada. Tel: 375527~32, Tel : 951- 255 819~838
Mayangone Tsp, Yangon. Quarters, Tawwin Road, The Embassy of Email: unicef.yangon@unicef. Royal Kumudra Hotel,
Tel: 01 – 9669520 - 17. Dagon Tsp, Yangon. Tel: Switzerland org, www.unicef.org/myanmar. (Nay Pyi Taw)
222482, fax: 227446, No.7A, Wingabar Road, Tel : 067- 414 177,
Egypt 81, Pyidaungsu email: Laoembcab@ No 11, Kabaung Lane, 5 UNODC 11-A, Malikha Rd., Ward Royal White Elephant Hotel
Yeiktha Road, Yangon. ½ mile, Pyay Rd, Hlaing Bahan Tsp, Yangon. No-11, Kan Street, Hlaing 067- 4141 88
mptmail. net.mm 7, Mayangone. tel: 01-9666903, Tel : (951) 546313, E-Mail: reservation@
Tel: 222886, 222887, Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 534754, 9660556, 9660538, 9660398. Tsp. Yangon, Myanmar.
Egyptembassy86@ Malaysia 82, Pyidaungsu 512873, 507089. 430245. 09-731-77781~4. (+95-1) 500822, 503986. maxhotelsgroup.com
Yeiktha Road, Yangon. email: fo.myanmar@unodc.org Fax : (01) 546313.
gmail.com Fax: 534754, Ext: 110 www.rwehotel.com
Tel: 220248, 220249, UNOPS Inya Lake Hotel, 3rd www.cloverhotel.asia.
France 102, Pyidaungsu Thailand 94 Pyay Rd, info@cloverhotel.asia
Yeiktha Road, Yangon. email: mwkyangon@ floor, 37, Kaba Aye Pagoda MGM Hotel No (160), Warden
Tel: 212178, 212520, mptmail.net.mm Dagon Tsp, Yangon. Tel: Rd, Mayangone Tsp. Tel: 951- Street, Lanmadaw Tsp, Yangon, resorts
Clover Hotel City Center
email: ambaf rance. Nepal 16, Natmauk 226721, 226728, 226824 657281~7. Fax: 657279. Myanmar. +95-1-212454~9.
No. 217, 32nd Street
rangoun@ diplomatie.fr Yeiktha, Yangon. Tel: Turkish Embassy UNRC 6, Natmauk Rd, P.O. www. hotel-mgm.com
(Upper Block), Pabedan Tsp,
Germany 9, Bogyoke 545880, 557168, fax: 19AB, Kan Yeik Thar St, Box 650, TMWE Tel: 542911~19, Yangon, Myanmar. Savoy Hotel
Aung San Museum Road, 549803, email: nepemb Mayangone Tsp,Yangon. 292637 (Resident Coordinator), Tel : 377720, Fax : 377722 129, Damazedi Rd,
Bahan Tsp, Yangon. @mptmail.net.mm Tel : 662992, Fax : 661365 www.clovercitycenter.asia Kamayut tsp.
WFP 3rd-flr, Inya Lake Hotel,
Tel: 548951, 548952, Norway, No.7, Pyi Thu United Kingdom 80 37, Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd. Tel: tel: 526289, 526298,
email: info@rangun. Clover Hotel City Center Plus Reservation Office (Yangon)
St, Pyay Rd, 7 Miles, Strand Rd, Yangon. 657011~6 (6-lines) Ext: 2000. No. 229, 32nd Street Sedona Hotel
diplo.de Mayangone Tsp,Yangon. 123, Alanpya Pagoda Rd,
Tel: 370867, 380322, (Upper Block), Pabedan Tsp, Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd, Dagon Township.
India 545-547, Merchant Tel: 01 – 9669520 - 17 WHO No. 2, Pyay Rd, 7 Mile,
371852, 371853, 256438, Yangon, Myanmar. Yankin. tel: 666900. Tel : 951-255 819-838
St, Yangon. Fax – 01- 9669516 Mayangone Tsp, Tel : 650405-
United States of 6, 650416, 654386-90. Tel : 377975, Fax : 377974 Strand Hotel Hotel Max
Tel: 391219, 388412, New Zealand No. 43/C, (Chaung Tha Beach)
email: indiaembassy @ Inya Myaing Rd, Bahan America 110, University ASEAN Coordinating Of. for
www.clovercitycenterplus.asia 92 Strand Rd. tel: 243377.
Avenue, Kamayut Tsp, fax: 289880. Tel : 042-423 46-9,
mptmail.net.mm Tsp, Yangon. the ASEAN Humanitarian Confort Inn 042-421 33.
Indonesia 100, Tel : 01-2305805 Yangon. Tel: 536509, Task Force, 79, Taw Win st, 4, Shweli Rd, Bet: Inya Rd Summit Parkview Hotel Email :
Pyidaungsu Yeiktha Rd, Netherlands Diplomatic 535756, Fax: 650306 Dagon Tsp. Tel: 225258. & U Wisara Rd, Kamaryut, 350, Ahlone Rd, Dagon maxhotelsreservation@
Yangon. Tel: 254465, Mission No. 43/C, Inya Vietnam Bldg-72, tel: 525781, 526872 Tsp. tel: 211888, 211966. gmail.com
FAO Myanma Agriculture
254469, 229750, fax: Myaing Rd, Bahan Tsp, Thanlwin Rd, Bahan Tsp, Service Insein Rd, Insein. tel: Traders Hotel
254468, email: kukygn @ Yangon. Tel : 01-2305805 Yangon. Tel: 511305 223 Sule Pagoda Rd. tel:
641672, 641673. fax: 641561.
indonesia.com.mm 242828. fax: 242838.
Winner Inn AIR CONDITION
For more information about these listings, Please Contact - classified@myanmartimes.com.mm 42, Than Lwin Rd, Bahan
No. (356/366), Kyaikkasan Tsp. Tel: 503734, 524387.
Rd, Tamwe Township, email: reservation@winner
Yangon, Myanmar. innmyanmar.com

Emergency Numbers Ph: 542826, Fax: 545650

Email: reservation@
edenpalacehotel.com
Windsor Hotel No.31, Shin
Saw Pu Street, Sanchaung. The First Air conditioning
Yangon, Myanmar. systems designed to keep
Ambulance tel: 295133. Yangon Children Hospital tel: 222807, 222808, 222809. Ph: 95-1-511216~8, www. you fresh all day
Fire tel: 191, 252011, 252022. Yangon General Hospital (East) tel: 292835, 292836, 292837. hotelwindsoryangon.com Zeya & Associates Co., Ltd.
Police emergency tel: 199. Yangon General Hospital (New) tel: 384493, 384494, No.437 (A), Pyay Road,
Police headquarters tel: 282541, 284764. 384495, 379109. Yuzana Hotel
130, Shwegondaing Rd, Kamayut. P., O 11041
Red Cross tel:682600, 682368 Yangon General Hospital (West) tel: 222860, 222861, Yangon, Tel: +(95-1)
Traffic Control Branch tel:298651 220416. M-22, Shwe Htee Housing, Bahan Tsp, tel : 01-549600
502016-18,
Department of Post & Telecommunication tel: 591384, Yangon General Hospital (YGH) tel: 256112, 256123, Thamine Station St., Near Yuzana Garden Hotel Mandalay- Tel: 02-60933.
591387. 281443, 256131. the Bayint Naung Point, 44, Alanpya Pagoda Rd, Nay Pyi Taw- Tel:
Immigration tel: 286434. Mayangone Tsp., Yangon Mingalar Taung Nyunt Tsp, 067-420778, E-mail :
Ministry of Education tel:545500m 562390 ELECTRICITY Tel : 522763, 522744, tel : 01-248944 sales.ac@freshaircon.
Ministry of Sports tel: 370604, 370605 Power Station tel:414235 667557. Fax : (95-1) 652174 com. URL: http://www.
Ministry of Communications tel: 067-407037. E-mail : grandpalace@ ACCOMMODATION freshaircon.com
Myanma Post & Telecommunication (MPT) tel: 067- POST OFFICE myanmar.com.mm
407007. Long Term
General Post Office
Myanma Post & Tele-communication (Accountant Dept) 39, Bo Aung Kyaw St. (near British Council Library). tel:
tel: 254563, 370768. 285499. Air Con Sales & Service
Ministry of Foreign Affairs tel: 067-412009, 067-412344. No. 2/1, Than Thu Mar
Ministry of Health tel: 067-411358-9. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Rd, Thuwunna Junction.
Yangon City Development Committee tel: 248112. Yangon International Airport tel: 662811. Happy Homes Tel : 09-4224-64130
No. 12, Pho Sein Road, Real Estate & Property
HOSPITALS YANGON PORT Tamwe Township, Yangon Management
Central Women’s Hospital tel: 221013, 222811. Shipping (Coastal vessels) tel: 382722 Tel : (95-1) 209299, 209300, Tel: 09-7349-4483, BARS
Children Hospital tel: 221421, 222807 209343, 209345, 209346 09-4200-56994.
Ear, Nose & Throat Hospital tel: 543888. RAILWAYS Fax : (95-1) 209344 E-mail: aahappyhomes@ 50th Street
Naypyitaw Hospital (emergency) tel: 420096. Railways information E-mail : greenhill@ gmail.com, http://www. 9/13, 50th street-lower,
Worker’s Hospital tel: 554444, 554455, 554811. tel: 274027, 202175-8. myanmar.com.mm happyhomesyangon.com Botataung Tsp. Tel-397160.
 THE MYANMAR TIMES december 9 - 15, 2013

CONSULTING co working space Engineering GAS COOKER & HEALTH SERVICES

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Foam spray
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: 01-203743, 09-5007681.
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International Construction
Material Co.,
S.B. Ltd.
FURNITURE
No. 60, Sint-Oh-Dan St,
Lower Block, Latha Tsp,
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Tel : 01-2410292, 243551,
09-431-83689, 09-4480-
33905.
S.B. FURNITURE
No-001-002, Dagon Tower,
Ground Flr, Cor of Kabaraye
Pagoda Rd & Shwe Gon
Dine Rd, Bahan Tsp.
Tel: 544480, 09-730-98872.
december 9 - 15, 2013 THE MYANMAR TIMES
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uminsein@mptmail.net.mm
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Moby Dick Tours Co., Ltd.
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Archipelago
5 Days, 7 Days, 9 Days Trips
Tel: 95 1 202063, 202064
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islandsafarimergui.com
Road to Mandalay
Myanmar Hotels &
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Residence 39C, Taw Win
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Tel: (951) 229860
fax: (951) 217361. email:
RTMYGN@mptmail.net.mm
www.orient-express.com
REAL ESTATE
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01-242370, 394053
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gmail.com
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REMOVALISTS
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Made in Japan
Ocean Center (North
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Yangon Int’l School and Cooker Hood
Quality Chinese Dishes Tel : 09-731-83900
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Tel: 01-523840 Ext.109 with ESL support WATER PROOFING
Legendary Myanmar Int’l No.117,Thumingalar
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Ltd. Tel: 578171, 573149,
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09-431-83689, 09-4480-
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Botahtaung Tsp.
Near Thuka Kabar
Hospital on Pyay Rd,
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Aekar
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Kohaku Japanese Office available from $360 only Pearl Condo, Kabar Aye
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Chatrium Hotel Royal Hot Line : 09-4500-59000
Lake Yangon
40, Natmauk Road, Water Treatment
Crown Worldwide Tamwe Tsp, Lobby Level, The Emporia Restaurant Tel: + 95 1 374851
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Bogyoke Aung San Rd, 40, Natmauk Road, www.3ec.jp/mbic/ (JPN)
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a Bliss on the Lake No. (6), Lane 2 Tel: 01-218437~38.
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62 D, U Tun Nyein Road, Yangon. 09-43126571.
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Tel; 09-4250-20667,
651250. email: sche 09-503-9139
nker@mptmail.net.mm. Myaynigone (City Mart)
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All the way from Australia.
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tel: 650778.
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tel: 682323.
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 FREE
HOW TO GET A FREE AD
By Fax : 01-254158
By Email : classified@myanmartimes.com.mm, advertising@myanmartimes.com.mm
By Mail : 379/383, Bo Aung Kyaw St, Kyauktada Township, Yangon.
Computer
HIGHLIGHT Computer
Group : ComputerTraining
& Software Development
- 26, Myoh Thit (1) St,
Kyauk Myaung, Tamwe,
Yangon. Ph: 09-731-
46123, 09-2500-01664.
Computer Service
Group:Window
Installation, Software
Installation. Server
Installation (DHCP, AD,
ISA, Handy Cafe). CPE
& Router Configuration.
Network Cable
Installation. Ph:09-4201-
10247.
Education
Wisdom Management
Centre General
Psychology Program.
Level: Certificate Program
Outlines (1). Introduction
& History of Psychology
(2). Biopsychology &
the Foundations of
Neuroscience (3). States
of Consciousness (4).
Learning (5).Emotion
& Motivation (6).
Psychological Develop
ment (7). Personality (8).
Testing and Individual
Differences. Duration :
12-Week. Day : Friday,
Saturday (6:30 – 8:00 PM).
Starting Date : December
13, 2013. Fees: New
Participant: 95,000 Ks.
Regular Participant :
85,000 Ks. Add : 8, 6th
Flr (Right), Chan Thar St,
Sanchaung. (Near Shan
Lan Bus-Stop). Ph: 09-
537-0230, 09-730-02705.
“English Classes”
For both young learners
& adult, Good foundation
in Grammar, Good
foundation in English,
General English-4 skills,
Business English-4 skills,
Vocabulary enrichment
course. Intensive classes
only & no home visit . Ba
Yint Naung Tower – 1,
Ground Floor, Room -
C&D,KamaryutTownship,
Yangon . Contact - Ph:
09-4500- 45 916, gmail:
thewindyhills@gmail.
com.
FOR PRIMARY Student :
English, Maths, Myanmar,
Geography, History,
Science, Social, English
Language. If you need to
coach your child. Please
do contact at Teacher
Caroline : caroline.zita@
gamil.com
WANT TO LEARN
English? Learn English
with native speaker! -4
skills, Business English,
IELTS graduation, IELTS
foundation, Custom
Program. We are going
to open our new intake at
2th of December and offer
20,000 kyats Discount.
Contact our Friendly
Customer Service
Officers for complete
information. Ph: 09-731-
62586, 09-4211-19895,
01-230-5699, 01-230-
5822. Email: info@
edulinkaustralia.com .
Add : Bldg 6, Junction
Square, Kamaryut,
Yangon.
HOME Tution & Guide :
For pre - KG, Primary
& secondary level.
Specialized in Maths &
Biology. Tr. Daw Khin Swe
Win (B.E.H.S Thuwunna)
Rtd. Ph: 09-730-99679,
Teaching English :
Englishforyounglearners
and adults. English for
oversea travel, study,
workplace or social
purpose. Business
English, Basic English,
Everyday English,
Communicative English.
Taught by experienced
and qualified teacher.
Taught in abroad for
a few years. Effective
lessons, International
Learning materials,
Refresh, develop and
practise English. Ms Si
Si - Ph: 09-4207-85157
Special for Math :
For Int'l school (ILBC, ISY,
ISM & YIS) Geometry,
Algebra, Calculus.
Tr. Kaung Myat - BE
(PE), Guide&Leacturer.
Ph:09-731-42020.
Teaching English,
English for Young
Learners and High School
Graduates. English for
social, study, overseas
travel and work. General
English course. Qualified
and experienced teacher.
Using International
Syllabuses. Available
for small groups or
Individuals. Ph: (01)
291679 , 09-2501-36695
Willingly give a helping
hand to those who are
still difficult to answer
ABE question papers of
Business Management
( Graduate Diploma) for
December exams. Pls
contact: 09-4211-07662
give your child the best
possible start to life at
Int'l Montessori Myanmar
(English Education
Center) Accredited by
IMC Bangkok (Since
1991), Our Montessori
curriculum includes:
Practical life Exercises,
Sensorial training,
language development,
Mathematics, Cultural
studies, Botany & Car Insurance, Home
Zoology, History, Creative
Art, Music and Movement,
Cooking, Physical
Development, Social &
Emotional Development.
Learning through play.
55(B), Po Sein Rd,
Bahan, Yangon, Tel:
546097, 546761, Email:
imm.myn@gmail.com
For IGCSE (Edexcel &
Campridge) & Secondary
level Regular tuition
classes Home tuition
Exam preparation classes
All subjects available
Contact: 09-508-8683.
LCCI, Level I, II & III,
MYOB. Ph:09-520-0974
Expert Services
Real Estate : We
have Lands for sale
suitable for making
Industrial buildings in
large area. Buyers can
Contact Us on 09-4500-
59037. (There is no pay
for Agents & Third party
General
... Warmly welcome the
buyers )
Aung Professional
Translation Professional
Translation from
Myanmar to English &
English to Myanmar.
For legal Translation,
Technological , service Aera 51 group
Diplomatic, Contract,
Advertising, Movie,
Literature, etc. With
Various Services on paper,
electronic file, recording
& other relevant matters.
both regular and express
with expert service.
No139, 2nd Flr, Bargayar
Rd, Sanchaung, Yangon.
Ph: 09-732-11907,aung.
translation@gmail.com
For Foreigners:
Want to Business
Communicative skill in
Myanmar. Pls contact :
09-4210-91882
To consult how to buy
Insurance Coverages,
Insurance for your
cars, Insurance for your
homes, Insurance for your
showrooms, Insurance for
your factories, Insurance
for your stocks & other
contents, Insurance
for your employees,
Insurance for yourself and
your families, I'll be there,
Ko Nyi, Insurance Agent :
Licence No. A-1394, Ph:
09-4480-13031. email:
konyimia@gmail.com
Insurance, Life Insurance,
Personal Accident and
Disease Insurance,
Maine Hull Insurance,
Marine Cargo Insurance
I nterpretation /
Translation Service :
For INGOs’ workshops;
Power Points;
Documents; Reports;
Research Papers. Call:
09-4500-20560
A SEASONED account
ing prefessional with
more than 13 years
of experience in
various industries. Can
provide below services
in compliance with
international accounting
standards. (1)Financial
statements preparation
(profit & loss) (2)
Financial statements/
performance analysis
(3)Strategic planing
(budgeting/forecasting)
(4)Implementation of
internal controls (5)
Preparation for external
auditor (6)Development
standardized accounting WITHIN 24 hours can
procedures. Daw Thin
Thin Aung, Accounting
Consultant , Ph: 09-
4200-90037.
WE are the one of
Real - Estate. Who want to
buy, sell & rent for house,
Condo & Industry zone.
Contact ph: 01-293-314, English for Adults
09-4037-04805.
For Sale
Macbook Pro 13"
Retina Display Intel
Core i5 Ram 8GB S.S.D
128GB Mac OS 10.9
Price : 1380000. Ph :
09-4200-50651
99% New Samsung
Series 5 Ultra Book
Intel Core i5 Ram 8GB
FOR
give your child the
H.D.D + SSD Display
13.3 1 Year 6 Month
International Warranty
Price : 580000. Ph : 09-
501-6694
Toyota IQ 2008 130
akhs Push Start. Mileage
65000. Contact 01-650-
164, 09-731-10110
Macbook Pro 13"
Retina Display Intel
Core i5 Ram 8GB S.S.D English for Young
128GB Mac OS 10.9.
Price : 1430000. Ph :
09-4200-50651
MSI Board P4 Dual Core
CPU 3.2 ghz Ram 2 Gb
Hdd 500 GB VGA 512
MB DVD RW (ASUS)
Viewsonic 19 ' UPS
Green Tech 650 W. Ph:
09-4211-11780.
Samsung Galaxy S4 /
S3 / S2 / Grand / Note
1, 2 HTC One / Butterfly
Sony Z / SP / S / P. Ph :
09-3100-8866.
iPhone 5S/5/4/4S. Ph :
09-2540-04420
Intel Core i5 Ram 8GB
H.D.D + SSD Display
13.3 1 Year 6 Month
International Warranty.
Price : 580,000. Ph : 09-
501-6694.
Macbook Pro 13" Intel
Core 2 Duo Ram 4GB
H.D.D 750GB Mac OS
10.8.5 + Windown 7.
myanmar
Price : 599,000. Ph : 09-
4200-50651.
HTC One Silver Color With english Grammar for
Original Accessories.
Price : 490000. Ph : 09-
3100-8866
Myanmar Language
General
if you are thinking to
give a book-gift to your
loved ones. Meiji Soe's
"Culture & Beyond -
Myanmar" is a unique
of its king revealing
Myanmar Culture, SAT score raising classic
Beliefs and Superstitions
in sector by sector
together with photos.
Available at Book Stores
& MCM Ltd. Ph: 253642,
3922928, 392910.
Email: distmgr@
myanmartimes.com.mm
SHWE KYIN Slipper
shop, Yangon. Ph: 01-
240966 ext 333, 09-
515-7156.
Language
make you confidient in
Myanmar Language
speaking and scripts!
Teacher Phyu Phyu
Khin : 09-4930-8926,
phyuporcupine@gmail.
com, 56 I, Thiri Marlar
Lane, 7.5 mile, Pyay Rd,
Yangon.
&Young Learners 100 %
face to face classroom
based lessons, Small
classroom sized, limited
seats, Variety of learning
resources Experienced,
internationally qualified
teacher who get the best
out of you, whatever your
level. Offer courses that
build your confidence
for practical situations
and improve important
areas such as Speaking
and Listening in English.
English for young learners
: Teacher Yamin - Ph: (01)
291679, 09-250-136695.
FOREIGNERS
Want to learn Myanmar
speaking at your home?
Contact : 09-517-9125,
09-861-1052
best possible start to
life at International
Montessori Myanmar
(English Education
Center) Accredited by
IMC Bangkok (Since
1991). Our Montessori
curriculum includes:
Practical Life Exercises,
Sensorial Training,
Language Development,
Mathematics, Cultural
Studies, Botany and
Zoology, History, Creative
Art, Music and Movement,
Cooking, Physical,
Development, Social &
Emotional Development.
Learning through play.
55(B), Po Sein Rd,
Bahan, Yangon, Tel:
546097, 546761. Email:
imm.myn@gmail.com
Learners : Build
confidence in commu
nicating in English.
Build strong foundation
in English for further
education. Introducing
reading with variety
of books. Using Int'l
syllabusessuchasOxford,
Collins & Cambridge
,etc. Lesson will be
conducted in English.
Taught by qualified &
internationally experience
teacher.English for Adults
Speak fluently in various
situations. Improve
your pronunciation and
increase your vocabulary.
Communicate effectively
in everyday situations.
English for social, study,
overseas travel and
work purposes. Teacher
Yamin - Ph:291679, 09-
250-136695
for
Foreigners. Ph: 09-
2501-50791.
all classes. Ph: 09-541-
384
Guide (For Embassy
family & others) When
you stay in Myanmar,
do you want to ask to
your children to learn
Myanmar language?
Call:09-514-6505
(Christine)
novels and short stories
practice can be asked,it
is right to enjoy reading
classic and persuaded
writing ,critical thinking
and world culture.If you
are not the student of
SAT study. you tried as
much as you can to follow
the lesson with skill you
got good experienced
for your .further study.
Spanish language can
HOW TO GET MORE BUSINESS FROM
AS LITTLE AS K.5,000.
Call: Khin Mon Mon Yi - 01-392676, 392928
be inquired. U Thant
Zin : 09-503-5350 ,
01-547442. 28/3B,
Thadipahtan St, Tamwe.
Public Notice
HR Module -1,
Recruitment & Selection
Certificate Course Trainer
(1) Daw Soe Soe Kyi ,
HR Practitioner MPA
, B.Sc (Chemistry),
Executive Diploma in
Human Resources
Management Trainer
(2) Daw Swe Swe Aung,
HR Practitioner B.Agr.
Sc Executive Diploma
in Human Resources
Management Fees Ks-
120,000. Schedule,Start
date : - 14th December,
2013. Complete date -
29th December, 2013
, Sat: & Sun: (3-weeks)
Time - From 02:00 pm to
05:00 pm , total 6- hrs.
Address : Ba Yint Naung
Tower -1 , Ground Flr, Rm
C&D, Kamaryut Yangon.
Contacts : 09 4500 45916
emails : thewindyhills@
gmail.com , maytwonine.
tg@gmail.com
Training
Decent Myanmar
Training School Personal
Management & Business
Management Trainings
Basic English Grammar
IELTS preparation English
for Specific Purpose-
ESP. (1) Spoken English
(2) Business Writing (3)
Business English (4)
English for Marketing
(5) English for HRM (6)
English for Media (7)
English for IT (8) English
for Law (9) English for
Marine Engineering (10)
English for Medicine 29/
B, Rm 7, Myay Nu St,
Myaynigone. Ph:01-512-
467, 09-722-32047.
Travel
Virgin Land Tours - Visa
Services : Worldwide
Air Ticketing, Worldwide
Hotel Reservation, All
Kind Transportation
Rental, Inbound &
Outbound Tour Operator,
Tour Guide Services. Ph.
01-861-0252, 09-512-
3793, 09-520-2643.
BELTA CAR Rental Rate
with Professional English
Speaking Tour Car
Driver*600000 Ks/ month
(exclude fuel OCTANE)
contact: Mr.Sonny:
09-4200-48040 & Ms.
MyaMyaAung (Tourist
Guide): 09-4015-43732
The Any-ways Travel
& Tours Co : 1225,
Pinlon Rd, 35 Ward,
North Dagon (Email
:- anywaysmyanmar@
gmail.com) was
established since early
October, 2013. The
foreign visitors (Tourists,
Businessorotherpurpose)
are advised to contact us
and enjoy our services,
such as ticketing,hotel
reservation, tour
programming, holding
seminars,car rental and
etc. Welcome anyone
contact to Ph : 09-511-
7890, 01-581878
ASIAN BLISS Myanmar
Car Rental Service.
Ph:01-543-942, 09-519-
1785, 09-731-18957.
NYAN MYINT THU Car
Rental Service : Ko
Nyan Myint Win Kyi (MD)
- 56, Bo Ywe St, Latha,
Yangon, Myanmar. Ph :
01-246551, 01-375284.
ph:09-2132778. email:
nyanmyintthu1983@
gmail.com, nmt@nyan
myintthucarrental.
com, colwinkyi@
gmail. com. Web:www.
nyanmyintthucarrental.
com
Buy space ON THESE PAGES
Property
Rent/ Sale
KAMAYUT, Innya
Myaing Rd, 80' x 80'
land, 2RC, 4 MBR,
Fully furnished, New
(7) Aircons, Generator,
Lawn, Ph Line, US$
6500 per month. (2)
Innya Rd, 80' x 90' land,
2RC, 4 Master bedroom,
Ph Line, US$ 6000 per
month. Ph: 09-507-4241
PABEDAN, New Condo,
Downtown Near Sule
Pagoda, 3000 Sqft, 3
MBR, 1 Single bedroom
5 Aircons, Bathtub, Teak
floor, nice view, US$
3500 per month. Ph:
09-507-4241.
THINGANGYUN, On Thu
Min Ga La Main Rd, Near-
Yangon International
School (YIS), ILBC
Apartment - First Flr
(1,200 Sqft) One Master
Bed Room attached
bath room & toilet, Two
Single Rooms Extra Bath
Room & Toilet, Kitchen
Room,Dining Room,
Sitting Room Near KBZ
Bank, City Mart, Market,
Schools, Circular Train
Station car parking
space, Opposite of YIS
Teachers' apartments
Nice, Peace Location:
Ph-09-5148138, 01-
573881.
Bahan : A European
Style fully furnished
apartment at Pearl
Condominium, 12th flr,
1700 sqft. Most modern
interior decoration. Fully
Air conditioned. Best
for foreigners. Rent
expected USD 2500
per month. Can also
sell for USD 3,50,000.
Call owner (English
speaking 09-508-2244)
or (Myanmar speaking
09-735-67890)
HousingforRent
HLAING THAR YAR, FMI
City, 80' x 60', 2 Story
building, 2 living room,
4 MBR, 2 SR, with Ph,
Aircon, Hot, cool water,
nice to live. Ph : 09-731-
81377.
3 STOREY Building with
full facilities. Ph: 01-
241756, 370334, 09-
510-3207.
(1).Near Bogyoke
Market, 2500 sqft, 2
MBR, 1 SR , fully furnish,
3000 USD. (2).Near
Park Royal hotel, 1250
Sqft, 2 MBR, 1 SR, fully
furnish, 2500 USD. (3).
Near Park Royal hotel,
2500 Sqft, 3 MBR, fully
furnish, 4000 USD. Ph:
09-4921-4276.
(1) THUWUNNA, Duplex
for Sale, 2 storeys
building, 40 x 70 ft,
Thuwunna VIP-1, Main
Rd (2) North Oakklapa,
Main Rd (Wai Pon La Rd)
Near Medical School
Shop House, 1200 Sqft,
Hall type, . (3) Yankin,
Shwe Ohn Pin Housing,
900 Sqft. 3 rooms, fully
furnished, Near Sedona
Hotel. Ph:09-732-41848,
09-8601-042.
BAHAN, Golden velly,
(1) near ISY school,
2RC, 2400 Sqft, 2
MBR, 2 SR, fully furnish,
4500 USD (2).near City
Mark, 2 RC, (5600 Sqft)
, 6 MBR, fully furnish
(10000 USD) (3). 3 RC,
5000 Sqft, 3 MBR, good
for office, 4500 USD. Ph:
Ph: 09-4921-4276.
(1)Kyee Myint Dine,
Pan Hlaing housing, Pan
Hlaing St, first flr, 25' x
37', 2BR, 3 Aircon, 1Ph,
1heater, pressure pump,
2 exhaust fans, highly
decoration, 750 Lakhs,
Negotiable, (2)Pazun
Daung, Mahabandoola
Rd, 8th flr, 25'x60', 3BR,
1 Aircon, 800 Lakhs,
Negotiable, Ph-09-4016-
04409.
CENTRAL CITY
Residence near
Park Royal, marble/
hardwood premium
fittings, modern design.
4 rooms 3 bathroom (2
master w/ attached bath)
1955sqft $4850/month.
jasonwongjp@gmail.
com, 09-4211-02223.
PRIME OFFICE,
Pansodan Rd, 2500
sqft, office layout
w/ boardroom and
manager's office.
Clean open design,
foreign quality fittings.
Full building generator.
$ 6 2 5 0 / m o n t h .
jasonwongjp@gmail.
com, 09-4211-02223.
Condo (Pyin Nya
Waddy) 1 MB, 2 Single
Rooms, 1 Single room
with bath. Fully furnished,
Available to move in 1st
week of January' 2014.
Lift, Satellite, Internet. Ph
: 09-732-41848, 09-507-
9048, 09-8601042
Pansodan Business
Tower Rd, 2500sqft,
building generator, office
layout w/ boardroom
and manager's office.
Modern, open design,
imported fittings. $6250/
month. jasonwongjp@
gmail.com, 09-4211-
02223
THAMADA CONDO
1600sqft fully furinished
condo behind the
Thamada Cinema, 5
minutes from Traders
and Park Royal Hotel.
Suitable for office use as
well as residential. Free
Parking slot available.
3500$/month, negotiable.
Contact ebrahiemaadil@
hotmail.com, 09-503-
0604
a spacious Two Storey
House on University
Avenue Road for rent,
conveniently located
on the center of the
road and near to Inya
Road. 3 Living Rooms, 4
Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms,
2 Guest Toilets, 1 Dining
Room, an Indoor Kitchen
plus an Outdoor Kitchen,
a Well Maintained
Garden, Freshly painted
rooms with teak floors,
For further inquires, call
Mobiles: 09-25400-2213.
(No Brokers Please)
PRIME OFFICE, Panso
dan Rd, 2500sqft, office
layout w/ boardroom
and manager's office.
Clean open design,
foreign quality fittings.
Full building generator.
$ 6 2 5 0 / m o n t h .
jasonwongjp@gmail.
com, 09-4211-02223
HousingforSale
Land & Building for Sales
by owner:- 40' x 60' area
land & Wood Building
Water, Electricity OK
& ready for staying
No.294, South Dagon-
18(B) Aung Min Ga La
St (Concrete Rd) Ph:01
573881, 09-514-8138
We have Lands for sale
suitable for making
Industrial buildings in
large area. Buyers can
Contact Us on 09-4500-
59037. (There is no pay
for Agents & Third party
... Warmly welcome the
buyers )
Southern Dagon
- 18, Land and Good
Wood Building for Sales
20 x 60-Aung Min Ga La
street(18b)-250 Lakhs,
40 x 60, Aung Mingalar
St (18b)-500 Lakhs,
Ready for Staying,
Water, Electricity. Selling
by the Owner himself:
Ph:-01--573881, 09-
514-8138
THE MYANMAR TIMES december 9 - 15, 2013
UN Positions
unesco Myanmar
Project Office is
seeking Administrative
Assistant: University
degree at Bachelor or
higher level in public of
business administration
or a related field.
Excellent in English
language proficiency in
comprehension & ability
to speak, read and ability
to speak, read and write,
including ability to draft
correspondence and
minutes of the meetings.
5 years experience in
handling administrative
& secretarial tasks.
Computer literacy
with automated office
systems and proficiency
in the use of Microsoft
Office Suite. Excellent
typing skills in Myanmar
language are essential.
Pls submit a cover letter
(referencing the job
Announcement No. JA36-
13) accompanied by full
resume stating details of
educational qualifications
& working experience,
present income, home
& office telephone
numbers. Email:kk.lwin@
unesco.org; with copy
to: adm.bgk@unesco.
org, UNESCO Yangon
Project Office, UN Bldg
6, Natmauk Rd, Tamwe,
Yangon,
UNICEF Myanmar is
seeking Fixed-term
Appointment Education
Specialist (NO-C),
based in Yangon :
Advanced University
degree in one or more
of the disciplines
relevant in the following
areas: Education;
Primary Education or a
Social Sciences fields
relevant to international
development assistance.
5 years of progressively
professional work
experience at national
and international levels
in field programmes
relevant to Education
programmes. Fluency
in English and Myanmar
is required. Working
knowledge of another
UN language is an asset.
Pls send application
with updated CV or
Personal History form,
educational credentials
and references to jobs.
yangon@unicef.org by
17 December 2013.
UNICEF Myanmar is
seeking Fixed-term
Appointment Chief, Field
Office (NO-C), based in
Mandalay : Advanced
University degree
in Social Sciences,
International Relations,
Government, Public
Administration, Public
Policy, Social Policy,
Social Development,
Community Develop
ment or other relevant
disciplines with
specialized training
in conflict resoluttion.
5 years of relevant
professional work
experience, Fluency
in English & Myanmar.
Working knowledge of
another UN language
is an asset. Creating
& Innovating. Pls
send application
with updated CV or
Personal History form,
educational credentials
and references to jobs.
yangon@unicef.org by
11 December 2013.
IOM Int'l Organization
for Migration is seeking
Assistant Project
Manager (Medical
Services & Social
Mobilization) 1 post in
Myawaddy, Kayin State.
Pls submit an application
letter and an updated CV
with a maximum length
of 3 pages including
names & contact details
of referees (copies of
certificates and further
documents are not
required at this stage)
to Int'l Organization for
Migration (IOM) Mission
in Myanmar - Yangon
Office, 318-A, Ahlone Rd,
Dagon Tsp, Yangon, Ph:
210588, 09-732-36679,
Email: hryangon@iom.
int, Closing date :9
December, 2013.
Ingo Positions
world Vision
Int'l - Myanmar is
seeking Community
Development Facilitator
(CMCB Project) in
Thayetchaung - Coastal
Zone: University Degree.
Working experience in
community development.
Compe tent in used of
Microsoft Word, Excel
& Power Point. Good
command of Myanmar
and English. Must
provide a clean criminal
background. Pls submit
resume (clearly identify
the post you apply) by post
to HR Department, World
Vision Int'l - Myanmar or
in person to application
drop-box at (18), Shin
Saw Pu Rd; Ahlone,
Sanchaung PO or send
to myajobapps@wvi.org
Closing date : December
16, 2013
world Vision Int'l -
Myanmar is seeking (1)
Community Develop
ment Facilitator in
Kyangin - Ayeyarwaddy
Region: University
Degree, Working
experience in community
development. Compe
tent in used of Microsoft
Word, Excel & Power
Point. Good command
of Myanmar & English.
(2)Customer Services
Coordinator in Kyangin
- Ayeyarwaddy Region
: University Degree. 2
years experience in
the field of customer
services in commercial/
public institutions/ INGO.
(3) Education Quality
Specialist (Education
Department) (Re-Open)
in National Office,
Yangon : University
Bachelor Degree in any
discipline. Computer
skill & background in
education development
is essential. Extensive
experience of training &
working with child related
issues are essential. Must
provide a clean criminal
background. Pls submit
resume (clearly identify
the post you apply) by post
to HR Department, World
Vision Int'l - Myanmar or
in person to application
drop-box at No (18), Shin
Saw Pu, Sanchaung PO
or send to myajobapps@
wvi.org Closing date :
December 10, 2013
medecins Sans
Frontieres Switzerland
(MSFCH) is looking
for Head of Mission
Assistant 1 post
in Yangon : Proven
experience in the field
or humanitarian areas
of humanitarian aid, with
other non-government
organisations: experience
working with authorities at
anationalandinternational
level. English & Myanmar
required. French is an
asset. Preferably a
medical or paramedical
qualification & university-
level studies. Pls submit
application (motivation
letter, updated CV & copy
of prefessional diplomas)
to : HR Manager, MSF-
CH, Switzerland, No.101,
Dhamazedi Rd, Kamayut,
Yangon, Ph: 502509,
503548, E-mail: msfch-
rangoon-web@geneva.
msf.org
solidarites Int'l is
seeking Administrative
Manager 1 post in
Bhamo, Kachin State:
University level or
equivalent in Accounting/
M a n a g e m e n t /
Administration. 3 years
experience in a similar
position with NGOs.
Excellent knowledge of
Word, Excel, PowerPoint
presentation. Fluent in
EnglishandMyanmar.Pls
submit application (CV,
cover letter, references)
by email : recruitment@
solidarites-myanmar.org
solidarites Int'l is
seeking Water Facility
Construction Manager
1 post in Monywa,
Sagaing : 5 years
experience in water
construction. University
degree or diploma in civil
engineering or equivalent.
Knowledge of IT
management, AutoCAD
& MS Office. Good in
English & Myanmar. Pls
submit application (CV,
cover letter, references)
to : HR Department
Solidarites Int'l/ Or drop
your application on an
envelope at Solidarites
Int'l office : 44-A,
Tharyarwaddy Lane,
Bahan, Yangon or per
email: recruitment@
solidarites-myanmar.
org, cc:mon.admin@
solidarites-myanmar.
org, Closing date : 10th
December
myanmar Red Cross
Society is seeking (1)
Emergency Operation
Center (EOC) Officer
1 post in Nay Pyi Taw
: 2 years of relevant
experience in Disaster
Management. Proficiency
with Microsoft Office
applications. Proficiency
with GIS (geographic
information systems)
helpful. Good
communication & IT
knowledge skills. (2)
Monitoring & Reporting
Officer 1 post in Nay
Pyi Taw : 3 years
relevant experience in
monitoring and reporting
field. Effective English
language skills &
computer knowledge.
Red Cross Volunteers
are preferable. Pls send
application letter, CV
and related documents
to Myanmar Red Cross
Society Head Office,
Yazathingaha Rd,
Dekkhinathiri,NayPyiTaw.
Or mrcshrrecruitment@
gmail.com
medecins du Monde
(MDM) is seeking
Project Manager 1
post in Myitkyina, Kachin
State: Any graduate
(Public Health, Medical
Science, Social Work,
Public Administration,
Program Management).
3 years experience
in NGO's, possibly in
Health programs, out of
which 2 years in senior
management position.
Fluent in English.
Excellent computer
literacy. Pls submit CV
& a cover letter to MDM
Country Coordination
Office, Yangon, 47-B,
Po Sein St, Bahan,
Yangon. 542830, 09-
731-71002, Email:
office.mdmmyanmar@
gmail.com
medecins Sans
Frontieres - Switzerland
(MSF-CH) is seeking
(1)Human Resources
& Administrative
Assistant in Yangon
Office. Education:
Certificate or diploma in
business, hotel or HR
Management or similar
education. Experience
in a similar position of
at least 2 years in a
private company or in
NGO. Fluent in English
& Myanmar. (2)Medical
Doctor - 1 post in Sittwe,
Myauk Oo, KyaukTaw
- Rakhine State:
Recognized medical
doctor diploma/ degree
with valid SAMA. Previous
working experience
with humanitarian
organization & interested
in public health in remote
population are assest. 1
year clinical experience
essential. Fluent in
English & Myanmar. Pls
submit your application
(motivation letter,
updated CV and copy of
professional diplomas) to
HR Manager, Medecins
Sans Frontieres - Floor, Diamond Center,
Switzerland (MSF-CH)
101, Dhamazedi Rd,
Employment
Kamaryut, Yangon,
Email: msfch-rangoon-
web@geneva.msf.org.
myanmar Red Cross
Society is seeking (1)
Field Coordinator
(CBHD focus on MNCH)
1 post in Mindat,
Chin State: University
graduate (in public
health or management
or related fields). 3 years
experience in programme
manage ment with
experience in planning,
monitoring & reporting &
in budget control. 3 year's
experience in supervision,
manage ment of staff
& volunteers within the
NS or any other related
NGO. (2)Manager 1
post in Hpa-An, Kayin
State: University degree
in related field. 5 years
experience in senior
management. For all
posts : Effective computer
knowledge. Red cross
volunteers are preferable.
Pls send application
letter, CV & related
documents to Myanmar
Red Cross Society Head
Office, Yazathingaha Rd,
Dekkhinathiri,NayPyiTaw.
Or mrcshrrecruitment@
gmail.com
Local Positions
Centure Myanmar, a
leading office furniture
provider in Myanmar, is
seeking - Sales manager
(1 post) - Sales Executive
(2 posts) - Marketing
Executive (1 post) -
Showroom manager (1
post) - Showroom Sales
(2 posts) - Sales Trainee
(2 posts) - Secretary/
Assistance (1 post) -
Driver (2 posts). We offer
a young and international
working atmosphere and
search for competent and
dedicated employees to
grow with our expanding
business. Be part of the
team and send your
application letter and CV
to mailhrdepartment@
gmail.com
Parkway Cancer Centre
isseeking MedicalDoctor
Female 1 post : M.B,B.S
Graduate with SA MA
registration, 2 years
experienceinmedicalfield,
Good communication
in English, Must be
able to use computer,
internet and Microsoft
application with excellent
skills, We welcome the
candidates who are trust
worthy, self-motivated
with positive working
attitude. Interested
persons are invited to
submit: CV with relevant
certificates, documents,
recommendation letter
attach and documents,
and expected salary
to Rm(G-07), Ground
Pyay Rd, Kamayut. Tel :
532 438, 532 447, 09 513
6584, Email : yangon@
canhope.org
KELVIN CHIA Yangon
Ltd is a foreign legal
consultancy firm.
We invite motivated
and committed
individuals to join us
as: Administrative
Executive : Good written Urgent
& spoken communication
skills in English. Mature
& capable of supervising
& directing subordinates.
Must be well-organized,
meticulous, have
initiative & execute
instructions promptly.
Some accounting
background & work in Nigeria, Lagos.
experience preferred.
Interested applicants
are invited to send their
full resume stating their
current and expected
salaries, together with
a recent photograph to
chw@kcyangon.com.
We regret that only
shortlisted candidates
will be notified.
yangon Oil and East Meets West is
Gas Services Co.,
Ltd is seeking HSE
Supervisor 2 posts
in Sagaing Division
: Degree in relevant
Engineering discipline
such as HSE, Petroleum
or Mechanical. 5
years' experience in
the development &
implementation of HSE
programs. Computer
skills with working
knoweldge of Microsoft
Software. Pls send
full CV, detailing skills,
knowledge & experience
with recent color passport
sized photograph to
yogsmyanmar@gmail. KELVIN CHIA Yangon
com by email or submit
hard copy to room 1406,
14th Flr, Sakura Tower not
later than 15th December
2013 (or) until suitable
candidate is defined.
MiTA Myanmar @ ISBC
Company is urgently
looking for Myanmar
nationals for the
following positions: (1).
Maintenance Engineer
Horizon
(2 positions) - Packaging
Industry (2). Sales
Engineer (2 positions)
– Packaging Industry.
Work Location: Yangon,
Myanmar; Training in
Bangkok, Thailand. To
know more about above
positions & OTHER
VACANT positions and
sending CV, please visit:
https://mitaservices.
com.sg/jobs-career/
myanmar/
Savoy Hotel, Yangon
is urgently looking for
(1) Bar Supervisor - 2
~ 3 years experience,
good English and
good personality (2)
Storekeeper - minimum
1 ~ 2 years experience,
LCCI (Level II) (3) Driver
- minimum 3 years
experience (4) Security
- minimum 2 years
FREE
experience. Application
letter by email to savoy.
hra@gmail.com or
129, Dhammazedi
Rd, Yangon. Tel: (95-
1) 526298, 526289.
Please mention the
desire position on the
application letter.
Need
Accountants, General
Clerks, Marketing &
Sales Persons (M/F)-
Age above 30 years
US$ 1,000/Month, Free
Accomodation, Food,
Transport Yearly Bonus,
Local Allowances,
Festival Allowances. To
25 Myanmar are working
there No agent fees,
Air Ticket Free, During
Vacation with pay CPA or
ACCA or M.Ba or B.Com
or D.Ma or LCCI or any
Accounting Academic.
Good for English
Speaking, Computer
Skill & MYOB. Ph :01-
573881, 09-514-8138.
seeking a Program
Assistant based in
Yangon. Fluency in
Myanmar & English.
Proficiency in Italian
preferred. Good know
ledge of MS Word, excel
and email. Experience
in the healthcare sector
is advantageous. Pls
submit CV & cover letter
to EMW Yangon Office:
Rm. 01, Bldg. 27, Shwe
Ohn Pin Housing, Yankin
Tsp. 09420036369 /
098600282 danica@
eastmeetswest.org / field, Welcome to apply
mickytauktun@gmail.
com
Ltd is a foreign legal
consultancy firm. We
invite motivated &
committed individuals
to join us as,(1) Lawers
who will work on a
variety of corporate &
commercial matters &
transactions in Myanmar
. If you are a Myanmar
- qualified lawyer with
strong English language
skills, you are invited
to apply to join our
Myanmar prctice group.
Myanmar nationals
admitted to int'l bars are
also welcome to apply.
Training will be provided.
Applicants may email to
klm@kcyangon.com &
submit your curriculum
vitae.
Int'l
School is looking for
(Shukhinnthar Campus)
(1).Office secretary - F
1 post : Age under 30,
Bachelor’s Degree in any
field or Diploma in the
relevant field, Sufficient
work experience in
the related field, Good
command of English,
Computer literate,
Customer care skills,
(2).Assistant Teacher
- F 2 posts : Age 20 to
35, University graduate,
Proficient in English,
Comfortable working
with young learners,
Able to devote oneself
to teaching, Friendly,
enthusiastic & patient.
(3).Receptionist - F 1
post : Age under 30,
Bachelor’s Degree in any
field or Diploma in the
relevant field, Sufficient
work experience in
the related field, Good
command of English,
Able to handle phone
communication,
BENEFITS: Attractive
Salary, Lunch is also
provided , An opportunity
to work for an institution
where students have
lots of outstanding int'l
achievements, Enhance
ment training. Pls bring
CV along with a copy
of your credentials to:
235,Shukinthar Myo
Patt Rd, Taketa, Yangon.
Ph: 450396, 450397,
Closing date : December
15th, 2013.
BAGAN CAPITAL, an
investment and advisory
firm, is seeking an Office
Manager (Yangon head
office). Duties: Supervise
office staff, manage
accounts, maintain office
records and supplies,
perform general
clerical tasks, deal with
inquiries, organize office
operations, systems and
procedures. MUST BE:
Fluent in English and
Myanmar (native), able
to type in Myanmar, able
to travel locally within
Yangon state, have
excellent interpersonal
skills, be experienced
with software such as
Excel & Word, have
basic accounting &
math skills, able to
multitask, be detail-
oriented, have excellent
time management
skill. Must provide
own accommodation.
Must have no criminal
record.
to:
Email
recruitment@
CV
bcfmyanmar.com
Orion Business
Group is seeking
Education Consultant
- 4 Posts : 1 to 2
years experience in
educational consulting
fresh graduate MBA
or DMA , Excellent
in English, Support
Marketing director to
run effective marketing
strategy for education
service, Can consult
& communicate well
with any level of
customers (2)Marketing
Executive - 6 Posts :
Diploma or certificate in
marketing, Excellent in
English, Experience in
marketing field prefer,
Fresh graduate who
has a great enthusiasm
in marketing can also
welcome to apply,
Good communication
& negotiation skills,
Flexible and can work
as a team. Pls submit
application with CV,
recent passport photo
& copy of all relevant
documents to 512/B,
Waizayantar Rd, 4
Ward, South Okkalapa.
Ph:09-731-13092,
09-317-43835. hr1@
orionbusinessgroup.
com within two weeks.
(1). English - Japanese
Translator - (JLPT Level
1 and English language
skill) Salary 10 Lakh
& above http://goo.gl/
JfkQxU (2).Japanese
- Burmese Translator
(JLPT Level 1 ), Salary
5.5 Lakh http://goo.
gl/4YP3ar (3)Company
Introduction. Consult
ing company. Off day
is generally Sat, Sun
and public holidays. Fill
application form at, http://
goo.gl/ZS2epe or Send
Resume to DJ Myanmar
Ltd : 4th flr, Left Room,
Bldg 13/B, Shankone
St, Myaynigone,
Yangon, info@dream job
myanmar.com by post.
URGENT NEED : Sales and Marketing -
Accountants, General
Clerks, Marketing &
Sales Persons - M/F-
US$ 1,000 /Month, Free
Accomodation, Food,
Transport Yearly Bonus,
Local Allowances,
Festival Allowances. To
work in Nigeria, Lagos.
25 Myanmar are working
there No agent fees,
Air Ticket Free, During
Vacation with pay CPA
or ACCA or M.Ba or
B.Com or D.Ma or
LCCI, Good for English
speaking, Computer skill
& MYOB Ph:01-573881,
09-5148138
“Audier & Partners,
a Vietnam-based
international law firm
with offices in Vietnam,
Mongolia and Myanmar
is looking to hire
business lawyers for its
Yangon Office. Profile:
Myanmar nationals
holding advanced law
degrees, minimum
1-year work experience
in law firms/government
entities, full English
proficiency (reading,
writing, speaking),
computer software
proficiency. Pls submit
CV to grangerat@
audierpartners.com”
INTER GROUP of
companies : an int'l
management consulting
company is looking for
(1).Junior Consultant 1
Post : Diploma or Degree
in Business Management
and/ or Finance,
Good communication,
presentation & inter
personal skills, Comfor
table with engaging
clients, Ability to work
both independently and
as part of a team, Prior
knowledge on trade
matters, logistics and
shipping documents
required. Pls submit
detailed CV in person
or by email, stating
your current & expected
salary, date of availability,
reason for leaving and a
recent passport photo to
7(D), 1st Flr, Pyay Rd, 6
miles, Hlaing, Yangon,
Ph: 09-731-0 5353, 09-
731-05340, Email: hr-
ygn@icononline.net Pls
state the Job Title that
you are applied for in
the subject of your email.
Savoy Hotel, Yangon
is urgently looking for (1)
Sous Chef - minimum 3
~ 5 years experience
in the same position
(2) Driver - minimum
3 years experience (3)
Bell Man - minimum 2
years experience and
good English skill (4)
Storekeeper - minimum
2-3 years experience
(5) Security - minimum
2 years experience.
Application letter by email
to savoy.hra@gmail.com
or 129, Dhammazedi
Rd, Yangon. Tel: (95-
1) 526298, 526289.
Please mention the
desire position on the
application letter.
Aryu Thukha
Specialist Hospital,
Lashio is seeking suitable
person for the following
positions. (1). Nurses 3
posts (2). Laboratory
technician 2 posts (3).
Radiographer 2 posts.
Requirements :Dip. In
Nursing, B.Med.Tech.
(Lab technology), .
B.Med.Tech. (Medical
imaging). Interested
candidates can enquire
at 09-502-6602
World Trade
Associate Trading
Company Ltd is seeking
M 4 Posts : Degree or
Diploma holder in related
field. Good personality,
polite, neat and tidy. Pls
contact : 40/42, 136 St,
Tarmwe, Yangon. Ph: 01
200151 , 01 200288 , 09-
510-9966.
64 Sport
A ‘bluffer’s
guide’ to the
27 Southeast
th
Asian Games
27 th Sea Games Myanmar 2013
Chinlone
WHEN it was announced that Chin-
lone would make its debut at the
2013 SEA Games and that its inclu-
sion alongside other sports native to
the region such as the Vietnamese
martial art of Vovinam would be in
preference to more internationally
recognised Olympic disciplines, it
drew criticism from nations such as
the Phillipines. However the Filipino
martial art of arnis has only featured
at two SEA Games, both of which
were held in Manila. In a games de-
signed to reintroduce Myanmar to
the international stage, the inclusion
of an authentic cultural icon of the
country seems not only appropriate
but laudable.
Where does it originate?
When and how chinlone originated
in Myanmar is a question open to de-
bate. Believed to be over 1500 years
old, it may be related to the ancient
Chinese game of cuju or tsuchu, the
game FIFA recognises as the oldest
form of football. It is certainly linked
to similar games across Southeast
Asia known as takraw in Thailand,
sepak raga in Malaysia, Singapore
and Indonesia, sipa in the Philip-
pines, kator in Laos and da cau in
Vietnam.
As chinlone is predominantly
played with the foot, many interna-
tional onlookers consider the sport
a Myanmar version of football. How-
ever, with no goals or opposing side
required, the nature of this sport
and its part in Myanmar culture is
starkly different. Not only can the
game be seen played on every street
or open space in the country but a
silver chinlone was discovered en-
shrined within the relic chamber of
Baw Baw Gyi Pagoda in the old Pyu
Matt
Roebuck
matt.d.roebuck@googlemail.com
Our ‘bluffer’s guide’ to the
SEA Games focuses on those
sports that may never make it
to the Olympics but whose elite
will get their chance to compete
for international gold this De-
cember.
This week we focus on a
sport that’s inclusion though
causing some controversy
makes the 2013 SEA Games not
only an event with a Southeast
Asian character but one with a
distinctly Myanmar flavor.
city of Sre Kestra near Pyay.
Traditionally, playing chinlone
was a means of exercising the body
when one’s back and limbs became
cramped following long periods of
sitting, standing or working. Sir
JG Scott, the man who introduced
football to Myanmar, was also a fan
of chinlone. The Scotsman, whose
thighs were covered in traditional
Myanmar tattoos and had adopted
the local non-de-plume Shway Yoe,
did not at that time consider chin-
lone a game. As to him a game re-
quired two or more competitors
striving for supremacy but chinlone’s
co-operative nature made it pre-
dominantly an enjoyable, collective
means of exercise.
Since Scott’s time things have
changed. Just as gymnastics has
developed from a means of exercise
into an adjudicated sport, so has
chinlone. In 1908 the Rangoon Gov-
Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing
The Myanmar chinlone team celebrates after winning gold at the 27th SEA Games in Nay Pyi Taw on December 5.
ernment High School held a sports
competition including chinlone,
complete with a subjective marking
system. On June 29 1953, the All Bur-
ma Chinlone Conference was held in
Yangon. Delegates from 33 districts
attended the conference and agreed
upon the game’s universal laws and
regulations.
What’s it all about?
Traditionally non-competitive, chin-
lone is often described as a combina-
tion of sport and dance. As a team
sport with no opposing team, the fo-
cus is not on winning or losing, but
how beautifully one plays the game.
The primary objective in chinlone
is to keep the ball in the air for as
long as possible without touching it
with the hand. At grassroots level the
game is truly one for the whole com-
munity; both men and women play
and will often feature on the same
team. Adults and children can also
play together and it is not unusual to
see elders of 80 years joining a game.
How do you play?
Chinlone literally translated means
cane-ball. The game is played bare-
foot or while wearing specialist chin-
lone shoes that allow the players to
feel the woven, rattan ball. The balls
make a distinctive clicking sound
when kicked using the six points of
THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013
contact: the top of the toes, the inner
and outer sides of the foot, the sole,
the heel, and the knee.
In the team game, six players
must pass the ball between each
other as they walk around in a circle.
When a player moves to the centre,
they are supported by their team
mates to create a string of moves.
The typical playing circle is 6.7 me-
tres (22 feet) in diameter. The ideal
playing surface is dry, hard-packed
dirt, but almost any flat surface will
do.
When the ball drops to the ground
it’s dead, and the play starts again. In
the SEA Games, two teams perform
10 minute sets. Each set is scored
individually and the winners are de-
termined in a best of three format.
Should scores be tied in any one in-
dividual set then extra time is played
with an additional 5-minute set.
The 27th SEA Games chinlone
competition was conducted in ac-
cordance with the rules of Inter-
national Sepaktakraw Federation
(ISTAF). Each country entering a
team is likely to enter three of the
four events. Each of these events
has their own particular format and
rules and include a two-circle event
that has been created especially as a
spectacle for the 27th SEA Games.
How do you win?
What sets chinlone apart from oth-
er similar ball sports is the sheer
range of artistic expression executed
through an astoundingly dexterous
level of footwork and spirituality.
Players have identified over 200
different ways to kick the ball, with
many of the techniques having ele-
ments in common with traditional
Myanmar dance and martial arts.
As one must consider the beauty of
the game, there is a correct form and
position to deliver every kick. How
one holds their hands, arms, torso
and head as they execute the kick is
all important and a move can only
be considered to have been properly
completed if the form is good.
Some of the trickiest kicks are
played from behind the back where
the player is unable to see the ball.
To play chinlone well, the whole
team must be absolutely in the mo-
ment. Serious players often talk of
entering a focused state of mind
they refer to asjhana, a state similar
to that achieved through meditation.
What should you be saying?
I hope someone performs the man-
dala move. – A kick that is notori-
ously difficult to complete
Personally I’m not keen on these
shoes and shorts. Chinlone should be
played barefoot, wearing a gadann
kyaik. – a men’s longyi that has been
tucked around the thigh, allowing
the chinlone player freedom to move.
Where is it played?
Chinlone games feature as part
of many Buddhist festivals
heldthroughout the year. The largest
of these chinlone festivals lasts for
over a month and attracts hundreds,
maybe thousands of teams. Live mu-
sic from a traditional orchestra ac-
companies the players, who attempt
to play in time to the tempo of the
piece. Live commentary also adds
to the performance, including witty
wordplay designed to entertain the
crowds.
The introduction of chinlone at
the SEA Games has led to the rules
and regulations for the sport to be
drafted in the English language for
proliferation of the sport. With the
aspiration of forming an ASEAN
Chinlone Federation, Myanmar chin-
lone coaches and referees have been
touring neighboring countries seek-
ing to develop the level of interna-
tional interest, proficiency and com-
petition.
How many medals are available?
With four events each for men and
women, chinlone offers eight gold
medals in the Games.
What’s the betting?
Myanmar obviously starts as the fa-
vourites but watch out for the Thai
and Malaysian teams who are bet-
ting on the application of transfera-
ble skills as they enter their reserves
from the sepak takraw competitions
in a bid to medal.
Where will it all happen?
The chinlone events will be hosted
by the in WunnaTheikdi Indoor
Stadium, Naypyitaw starting on De-
cember 4 and will be concluding on
December 9.
Did you know?
Want to play chinlone but not sure
you have the required dexterity or
spirituality of mind? Well, there’s an
app for that.
The organisers of the 27th SEA
Games have celebrated the inaugu-
ral chinlone event by introducing a
game to be downloaded on phones
using the Android platform. The
game features SEA Games mascots
from current and past events and
500 offline levels to master.
Matt Roebuck is a sports writer
and sports development consultant
based in Yangon. He is the author
of the book The Other Olympics,
published in 2012.
66 Sport THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013

SAO PAULO

Phelps keeps mum on

US$1 million Rio question
S
WIMMING legend Michael
Phelps, winner of the most
medals in Olympic history,
would not be drawn last
week on whether he may
come out of retirement for the 2016
Rio Games.
Dubbing the issue the “million-dol-
lar question”, the 28-year-old, winner
of 18 gold, two silver and two bronze
medals, was visiting Brazil to shoot a
commercial with football legend Pele
but dodged making any commitment
on a possible return to the Olympic
arena.
“I don’t know what’s gonna hap-
pen in three years. I don’t even know
what is gonna happen tomorrow,” said
Phelps when pressed on a possible re-
turn to top competition.
It’s “the million-dollar question”, he
laughed.
Phelps, who landed four golds at
the 2012 London Games, has been
in training in Baltimore and in June
top rival Ryan Lochte intimated there
could yet be an Olympic rematch be-
tween them.
Phelps said, “I’ve said 100 times if
I feel like coming back ... I could. But
I’m not saying I am going to.”
Phelps’ long-term coach Bob Bow-
man fueled speculation of a comeback
for the star last month by revealing
the multiple champion signed up for
drug-testing in May.
That would enable him to return
to competition in March and Bowman
said he believed Phelps had it in him
to return to the top of the sport.
But Phelps would only say he was
looking to get back into shape gener-
ally and did not know if that would
lead to a top-level return.
On his last visit to Rio eight months
ago Phelps gave swimming tips to chil-
dren from the Rocinha favela in Rio de
Janeiro.
Phelps said that had been an enjoy-
able experience and was delighted to
see young fans turn out to greet him
and Pele in Sao Paulo.
“I always enjoy interacting with
kids, and to be with a legend like Pele
makes it even better. The kids were so
engaged when Pele walked into the
room.
“Being healthy and staying active US swimmer Michael Phelps (L) and Brazilian former football star Pele hug each
is very important to me and I want to other during an activity to promote healthy living and lifestyle among children, in
teach the kids the same message.” – AFP Sao Paulo, Brazil, on December 4. Photo: AFP

LONDON

Rodman heading back

to N Korea to train
basketball team
FORMER NBA star Dennis Rodman,
the new friend of North Korean leader
Kim Jong-un, will this month make a
third visit to the reclusive state to train
its basketball team, a source involved
in the trip said on December 4.
The heavily tattooed former Chi-
cago Bulls star is organising friend-
ship exhibition games between
North Korea and ex-NBA players in
January.
“We’re going back, most likely on
December 18-21. Dennis is going to
train the North Korean team and get
them ready for the big match in Janu-
ary,” said Rory Scott, a spokesman for
the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power,
which is sponsoring the games.
“We’ll be announcing the details of
the US NBA players that we’re taking
IN PICTUREs The Sixth Man: The “Cameron Crazies” taunt Caris LeVert (23) of the University
of Michigan as he waits to inbound the ball against Duke at Cameron Indoor
Stadium on December 3 in North Carolina. Photo: AFP
out in January. He’s going to spend a
few days training the North Korean
team,” Scott told AFP.
“I’m going with him, we’re taking a
documentary crew.”
Rodman announced in September
that the first game will be on January
8, Kim’s birthday, and the other on
January 10.
Rodman has struck up an extraor-
dinary friendship with Kim since
making his first trip to North Korea
in March, when he declared the young
ruler a “friend for life”.
Kim, who was educated in Switzer-
land, is reported to be a huge fan of
basketball and especially of the Chi-
cago Bulls, with whom Rodman won
three NBA titles alongside Michael
Jordan in the 1990s. – AFP

Former basketball player Dennis Rodman and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
watch a basketball game in in North Korea in March 2013. Photo: AFP
www.mmtimes.com
WELLINGTON
Mandela the secret weapon in
1995 final
For South Africans, winning the 1995
Rugby World Cup final marked the
emergence of the “Rainbow Nation,”
for New Zealanders, it was the day
Nelson Mandela single-handedly out-
psyched the mighty All Blacks.
The Jonah Lomu-inspired New
Zealanders were red-hot favourites go-
ing into the decider, breezing through
the group stages and humiliating Eng-
land in the semi-finals.
In contrast, the Springboks scraped
through on the back of an unconvinc-
ing 19-15 semi-final win over France,
raising fears they would be blown
away in the final at Johannesburg’s El-
lis Park.
Then Mandela, in one of the most
audacious political gambles of his ca-
reer, appeared before the mostly white
crowd of 62,000 wearing a Springbok
jersey to shake the players’ hands be-
fore kick-off.
The-then All Blacks coach Laurie
Mains said the entire stadium was
electrified at the sight of South Af-
rica’s first black president sporting a
garment that was indelibly associated
with the apartheid regime.
“We had no idea it was going to
happen,” Mains told AFP, just months
before Mandela died aged 95 after a
long illness.
“When Nelson Mandela appeared
from under the grandstand with a
Springbok jersey on, the crowd liter-
ally erupted.
“It was the most awesome expe-
rience I’ve had at a rugby stadium.
Clearly it was a huge boost, not just to
the crowd but to the Springbok team.”
Lomu, who was named player of
the tournament, said it was intimidat-
ing to meet Mandela decked out in his
opponents’ colours.
“It felt like the pressure was all on
us because they had Nelson Mandela
on their side,” he recalled ahead of the
2007 World Cup.
At the time, Mandela had been
president for barely a year and many
‘It was the most
awesome experience
I’ve had at a rugby
stadium.’
Laurie Mains
Former New Zealand rugby coach
whites still regarded him as a terror-
ist over his support for armed struggle
against apartheid.
He also risked alienating black sup-
porters, for whom rugby union, and
the Springbok jersey in particular,
had long been a hated symbol of white
supremacy.
But on June 24, 1995, the gamble
paid off and the chant of “Nelson, Nel-
son” reverberated around the stands
while millions more watched televi-
sion screens transfixed.
Sport 67
Continued from page 68 currently one of the strongest Eu-
ropean teams.”
“I am pleased with the draw as France, champions in 1998 but
we didn’t get into a Group of Death forced to come through the playoffs,
scenario and we also shan’t have to will meet Group E seeds Switzerland
travel huge distances,” said Alex Sa- as well as Ecuador and Honduras in
bella, the Argentina coach. a mixed-bag group.
“It’s a good group for us,” said Japan, meanwhile, saw themselves
“It was incredibly intense. The All Nigeria assistant coach Daniel lumped in with seeded Colombia,
Blacks may well have felt like they Amokachi. Ivory Coast and Greece in Group C.
were taking on the whole world. “Argentina are the world powers, After a poignant homage to the
“The atmosphere in that ground but you cannot afford to underrate late Nelson Mandela, the draw began
could not possibly be repeated, ever, Iran or Bosnia. Overall, it’s a good to the exhilarating sound of samba
because you’d never again get such a draw.” at the northeastern beach resort of
great moment in history and such a Former England boss Fabio Costa do Sauipe.
great man creating that moment.” Capello was happy after he saw his The draw build-up had been
To their credit, the All Blacks main- Russian charges draw seeded Bel- dominated by news of stadium de-
tained their composure to keep the gium, South Korea and Algeria in lays and anti-World Cup campaign-
scores level after 80 minutes but suc- Group H. ers threatening public protest.
cumbed to a Joel Stransky drop-goal “I’m pleased with the draw. Yet Mandela’s death changed the
deep into extra-time. Some of the other groups consist of tone as participants remembered
Mandela then took to the field much stronger teams,” said Capel- how he saw in sport a means of fos-
again, this time to present the William lo, while conceding “Belgium is tering social progress.
Webb Ellis trophy to Springbok skip-
per Francois Pienaar.
The defeat spelled the end of
Mains’ international coaching career,
but he says he still feels proud to have
been on the sidelines as history was
being made.
“Put the rugby aside, put the result
aside for the moment, I feel deeply
honoured and humbled that I was
part of such a great occasion in world
sport,” he said.
Nor does he bear any ill will to Man-
dela, the Springboks’ secret weapon
on the day, whom he subsequently met
when he returned to Johannesburg to
coach Super rugby in 2000-2001.
“The balance and compassion that
that man showed after what he had
been through is an example for all
leaders in the world,” he said.
“My everlasting impression of Nel- FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke and presenter Fernanda Lima draw
son Mandela is that if we could have a the groups for the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup, in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil, on
few more of him, then the world would December 6. Photo: AFP
be a much better place to live in.” – AFP
Sport
68 THE MYANMAR TIMES December 9 - 15, 2013 SPORT EDITOR: Tim McLaughlin | timothy.mclaughlin3@gmail.com

Rodman going back

to North Korea
SPORT 66

COSTA DO SAUIPE

Spain face Dutch in World Cup

repeat, England draw Italy
R
EIGNING champions Spain
will begin their defence
of the World Cup with a
rematch of the 2010 final
against the Netherlands,
while England were paired with Italy
in the December 6 draw.
Spain, who won their first title in
South Africa four years ago, start their
Group B campaign against the three-
time runners-up on June 13 in Salva-
dor.
They will also meet Chile, who they
beat in the group stage in 2010, in Rio
and Australia in Curitiba.
“I said to people this morning we
were going to get Holland and we did,
in the first game no less,” said Spain
coach Vicente Del Bosque.
“Holland will demand that we start
at our highest level.”
Hosts and five-time champions
Brazil were drawn to face Croatia in
the opening game, scheduled for Sao
Paulo on June 12 – assuming the venue
is ready after a fatal accident last week
delayed prospective completion until
April.
The Brazilians will then take on
Mexico and Cameroon in a Group A
that appears on the face of it unthreat-
ening, if not easy.
“We must pay close attention
to the opening phase,” said Brazil’s
2002 title-winning coach Luiz Felipe
Scolari.
“We must play every game as if it
were the final right from the outset.”
England, meanwhile, will start off
with a Group D meeting against four-
time champions Italy in the heat of
Amazonian venue Manaus on June 14,
though it is at least an evening kick-
off.
That match is a repeat of the
Euro 2012 quarter-final, which Italy,
who knocked England out of the
1978 World Cup qualifiers, won on
penalties.
“It’s a tough group, there’s no doubt
about that,” said England coach Roy
Hodgson, whose team also face Uru-
guay, a third former champion in their
group, and Costa Rica.
“In Italy and Uruguay it’s almost as
though we have got two number one
seeds in our group.”
Italian opposite number Cesare
Prandelli said the group looked a
tough call.
“It is the Group of Death, a very dif-
ficult group. We are worried about the
distances we shall have to cover. The
game against England will be very im-
portant,” Prandelli added.
After the Italians, Hodgson’s side
then takes on Uruguay in Sao Paulo on
June 19 and Costa Rica in Belo Hori-
zonte on June 24.
A notable subplot will see Germany
go up against the United States, now
coached by former Germany coach
Jurgen Klinsmann in Recife on June
26 in their final pool match.
“That’s one of those crazy stories
that football writes,” Klinsmann told
German broadcaster ARD.
Germany, whose third and last title
came in 1990, also drew Ghana and
Portugal in Group G.
Klinsmann coached Germany to
third at the 2006 World Cup with cur-
rent German boss Joachim Loew his
then assistant.”
“So, we will be meeting old friends,”
smiled Loew.
Argentina, champions in 1978 and
1986, meet sole newcomers Bosnia in
Rio on June 15 and then will face Iran
and Nigeria.
Continued on page 67

IN PICTUREs Striking gold: The Myanmar women’s chinlone team celebrates winning
the first medal of the 27th Southeast Asian Games on December 4 at Wunna
Theikdi Indoor Stadium, Nay Pyi Taw. Myanmar defeated neighboring Thai-
land 534-375 to take home gold. The opening ceremony for the Games takes
place on December 11. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing