Mrauk U: The Mrauk U Township authority has issued warrants for 17 farmers from a remote village in the township for being unable to pay money to the township authority in accordance with their demand, reports one farmer in the group. He said, "U Hla Myo, Chairman of Mrauk U Township, issued the warrant for us as we could not afford his demands for leasing farms from the authority."

The farmers are from Out Thakan Village under Bu Wrat Village Tract in Mrauk U Township, and they are now attempting to avoid arrest by the authority.

A village source said the 17 farmers from the village began cultivating 48.13 acres of vacant land in 1997. Afterwards, the township authority announced the farmlands were owned by the state, and locals were not allowed to cultivate the land without the authorities' permission.

After the announcement, the villagers appealed to the Chairman of Mrauk U Township to lease the lands to them on a yearly basis.

U Hla Myo agreed to lease the land to the farmers and ordered them to pay 15 tinns of paddy per acre during the harvest season to Mrauk U Township.

"We have given the paddy to the authority every year in accordance with their demand since 1997, but last year U Hla Myo asked for 60,000 kyats per acre from us. We could not pay that high amount. So now the authority has issued a warrant to arrest us. So now we are culprits because we could not pay the demand," he said.

On 22 July, 2008, a group of police led by Senior Clerk U Maung Ni and Village Chairman U Maung Hla Aung came to the village to arrest the men, but they had luckily managed to escape being arrested that day.

The village source said the police force had come to look for U Kyaw Zan, U Aung Kyaw Thein, U Kyaw Tun Oo, U Maung Gri Chay, and U Tun Aung to arrest because they could not pay the authorities' demand for leasing the farmland.

Written by Khaing Aung Aung Friday, 13 June 2008 Useful educational links:

• Burma Study Abroad website contents
• Scholarships Data Base
• Myanmar Scholar Blog

Good programmes to study social sciences and humanities:

• ISHSS.UVA in Amsterdam

The Gate Cambridge Scholarships:

• Cambridge Scholarships

 

Fundings and scholarships

Asian Development Bank - Japan Scholarship Program

http://cms.services.unimelb.edu.au/scholarships/pgrad/available/international/adb

Scholarships and Grants for Women

http://un-instraw.org/wiki/training/index.php/Main_Page

The World Bank Scholarship and Fellowship Programs (Click “Learning”)

http://www.worldbank.org/

The Fulbright Scholarship Program, US State Department, Washington

http://www.foreign.fulbrightonline.org/

The Gates Scholarship Program at the University of Cambridge, UK

http://www.gatesscholar.org/about/

The ASEAN Scholarship Program, Ministry of Education, Singapore

http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/scholarships/asean/

The Heinrich Boell Foundation Southeast Asia Regional Office, Thailand (Germany)

http://www.boell-southeastasia.org/en/web/index_112.html#scholarship_program

Prospect Burma, London, The United Kingdom

http://www.prospectburma.org/

The Open Society Institute, New York, USA

http://www.soros.org/grants

Cetana Educational Foundation, Portland, Oregon, USA

http://www.cetana.org/Home.html

Myanmar Egress, Yangon, Myanma/Burma http://www.myanmaregress.org/

Saturday, 02 August 2008

Khaing Moe Lunn helped to establish the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) on 9 April 1967 in Yangoon. It was founded by him and fourteen other Arakan men fighting for democracy. Originally the leader of the ALP was Khaing Pyi Thein, but the arrest of the original members on November 26th 1968, prevented any further democratic activism by the ALP and Khaing Pyi Thein’s leadership ended. Determined to revive the ALP and its pro democracy-efforts, Khaing Moe Lunn planned its revival while imprisoned. The (BSPP) Burma Socialist People Progressive party gave amnesty to most ALP members including Khaing Moe Lunn, as the remark of the triumph of assembly of International Sanghā. Actually they are imposed for 20 years imprisonment.

In 1971, Khaing Moe Lunn and seven jailed members of the ALP were released and relocated to the Winkha camp, occupied by the KNU. There, Khaing Moe Lunn survived as a medic and produced and sold charcoal.

On 7 January 1973 he decided to reestablish the ALP and begin fighting for democratic change in Burma. Khaing Moe Lunn by this time determined that given the long history of oppression and genocide of the Arakan people by the Burmese military, peaceful means were not working As a result Khaing Moe Lunn established the Arakan Liberation Army.

When Khaing Moe Lunn approached the KNU for an alliance, the KNU had already given its’ support to the Arakan Independence Organization (AIO) led by ALP’s original leader Khaing Pyi Thein. The KNU believed that Khaing Moe Lunn should speak with the KIO and work with them. Because at that time the KNU believed that one ethnic group should have one armed group. So, they wanted him to join the AIO and he sent many telegraphs to Khaing Pyi Thein. But the message didn’t get through. Without support of the AIO or the KNU, Khaing Moe Lunn decided to go to Vietnam to seek assistance. At last, the KNU gave their support to the ALP.

Then ALP and ALA grew stronger and stronger because there were many people who were interested in Arakan liberation and thanked the organizer, Khaing Soe Naing Aung, present vice president of ALP eastern border. They captured arms from the enemy. They tried to march to the Arakan State across the Rakhine mountain ranges, but failed. They first marched from WinKha camp to Thawlaetaw camp. On the 5th of June he decided to march with his forces from the Thawlaetaw camp through the Arakan State to the Chin State. On 20th of June they began this 1800 mile march. Before they reached Arakan State, they got the Arakan peoples support. On their journey they formed alliances with the (SSPP) Shan State Progressive Party, (SNLF) Shan Nationality Liberation Front and (PNO) Pa-O National Organization and they marched to the middle of Shan State to Northern Shan State. These forces met up with the KIA and moved to the far side of the Chintwin River. In April 1977, they reached the Naga Mountain ranges in Chin State near the border of India. The allied forces fought many battles galliantly, but were outnumbered, poorly equipped and low on rations.From there they marched to nearby Himawanta mountain ranges to avoid the enemy as much as possible. Khaing Moe Lunn told his friends that they will save their ammunition until they reached ithe Arakan State After suffering severe losses and seeing many friends die, Khaing Moe Lunn led his remaining forces on a journey back home to continue the fight from their home state.

On Saturday, June 4th 1977, eight miles away from the Morbane village on the way to the Arakan State with Burmese military forces closing in, Khaing Moe Lunn raised his pistol to his head and ended his life rather than suffer capture and torture at the hands of the Burmese.

Khaing Moe Lunn was ethnically a Rakhaing but he was above the racial prejeduice and dreamer of a liberated Arakan with the united strength of all Arakan people.He was one of the rare Rakhaing leaders with a clear vision for the people of Arakan.He knew very well that struggle of Arakan liberation will not be successful until and unless the second major community of Arakan known as the Rohingya are being incorporated into the liberation forces.So,he decided to meet the Rohingya leaders so that ALP aqrmy can be formed with all races of Arakan.

He went to meet a revolutionary Rohingya known as Sheik Ahmed later named as Bo Khaing Re Myint in ALP. He was a business man at Messod/Thailand engaged in trading border trade.Bo Khaing Moe Lunn persuaded him to take the responsibility to participate and recruit Rohingya youths in ALP.

ALP was blessed with Rakhaing and Rohingya people to carry on historical mission, unfortunately,they army could not reach to Arakan territory.U Khaing Ren Myint@Hj.Sheikh

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Ahmad alongwith other ALP Rakhaing and Rohingya comrades were arrested who were sentenced to death,however,they were later released by general Amnesty. Now U Khaing Re Myint Lives in Malaysia.

U Khaing Re Myint once visited the mother of BO Khaing Moe Lunn,when she met him she cried a lot embracing him telling that he found back her son who sacrificed his life for Arakan and requested to continue the uncomplete liberation struggle of Arakan as dreamed by her son until death.

Bo Khaing Moe Lunn was a real,visionary, far-sighted and politically sagacious Arakan leader blessed with all gifted qualities of a leader whose loss can not be recovered in the golden history of Arakan.All Arakan people disregarding race,religion and languge honor and salute this great son of the soil of Arakan.

Saturday, 02 August 2008 Maungdaw, Arakan: An officer of the Maungdaw Income Tax Department, U Aye Win was arrested by the special Crime Investigation Department of Maungdaw on July 30, said a local businessman.

The officer was posted on the Burma-Bangladesh special trading gate in Maungdwa town and his duty was to check and collect tax on export-import goods from Burma and Bangladesh , he added.

On a tip off, the officer was arrested after investigations at the outpost revealed that he allowed contraband goods to be exported to Bangladesh after taking bribes from traders of Maungdaw. He allowed mostly liquor and other contraband goods which are not listed as export items, said a trader who operates through the point.

This is the first time an income tax officer has been arrested on the border trading point.  His file has been sent to the authorities for necessary action. Exemplary punishment to the culprit has been recommended as a lesson to other officers working on the Burma- Bangladesh border trading points, said a source in the Customs Department.

From BNI

Saturday, 02 August 2008 Children suffering from Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) are crowding the Myitkyina Public Hospital in Kachin State 's capital Myitkyina in Northern Burma , hospital sources said.

There is now no place to admit new patients in the children's ward in the hospital because it already has over 80 DHF child patients. However, the hospital has officially declared that it has about 20 patients detected with the DHF disease following blood examination, said a hospital staff to KNG today.

Since last week, five or more patients who are not in a serious condition, though affected by DHF, have been attending the hospital for medication every day, a duty health worker in the children's ward told KNG.

A woman eyewitness told KNG today, this morning she saw that some patients were outside the children's ward free space and corridors because the ward is full with DHF child patients.

A nurse in the hospital said, "The number of DHF child patients have suddenly gone up this week in the hospital and most patients are between the ages two and 14.  The patients are suffering from high fever which is not declining.  The patients have been mainly diagnosed with malaria and are being treated with antibiotics."

However, all the cost of medicines has to be paid by the patients and they also have to pay 5,000 Kyat (US $4.2) per night when they hire a health staff in the hospital for taking care of them, according to hospital sources.

Sometimes, the health personnel have been coming to the aid of patients who do not have money to buy medicines. They are collecting the cost of medicines from among themselves in the hospital, added a hospital staff.

Meanwhile, private clinics in Myitkyina are also full with Malaria and DHF patients. The military authorities, however, are yet to take action despite the serious condition arising out of DHF in the township, said residents of Myitkyina.

Residents added, the DHF disease is serious and the infection is caused by mosquito bites. Mainly children are affected in Myitkyina because the military authorities in the township are yet to take up proper Malaria prevention programmes this rainy season.

Last year during this time, there were very few patients who came to Myitkyina Pubic Hospital with Malaria and DHF diseases, according to hospital sources.

From BNI