* India-Burma border fencing delays due to protest by
local communities
*
*
=====================================================================
Surajit Khaund/Mizzima
News
A survey of the border between
the state of Manipur, which shares
a 300-kilometer border with
but subsequent fencing work along
the border cannot be carried out due
to protests raised by two
communities.
The Indian Home Ministry and its Burmese counterpart
completed the
survey work during March last year
and began erecting a fence along
the border, but Manipur’s
Tangkhul and Kuki Naga communities protested
so ardently that work was stopped.
Dwiju Mani
Singh, a senior officer of the Manipur government, said
protests from people living in the Moreh, Chorokhunou and Molchan
areas forced the Home Ministry to
refer the matter to the Manipur
government. He said the matter is
under discussion in the Manipur
cabinet.
Asked when the fencing work would resume, Singh said the
cabinet must
decide.
According to Tangkhul Naga and Kuki people living in
the area, a huge
stretch of land would become
people living on both sides of the
border.
contain drug trafficking and
cross-border terrorism. Both governments
agreed to conduct a joint survey
before erecting the fence. The survey
was completed within six months.
* * *
Mon State PDC ordered Chaungzon
USDA to form USDA battalion in town
===================================================================
Independent Mon News Agency
The Mon State Peace and Development Council (MSPDC) ordered Chaungzon
(BiluKyoon) township’s Union
Solidarity and Development Association
(USDA) to form a USDA battalion in the township, where the
National
League for Democracy (NLD) was powerless, according to a
USDA meeting
decision.
MSPDC secretary Lt. Col. Soe Myint Aung ordered it to be formed
quickly during the USDA meeting for
September that was held on Oct. 3.
According to his direction the USDA battalion is to be
formed with:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
including 22 points about the USDA
soldier’s biography.
The MSPDC general secretary also ordered Chaungzon
USDA to get more
than 140,000 USDA members in
In Chaungzon township, USDA and
Burmese authorities dealing with the
people and the NLD became
powerless, an IMNA source reported.
According to the source’s report, Chanugzon
authorities pressured the
NLD hard core by threats.
Because NLD elected representatives Daw Khin Htay Kyoa and U Aung Kyi
Nyunt are not constantly working in the township, other NLD
members
were hampered from moving freely,
and NLD authority decreased. But the
government authorities and its
other organizations generally took over
movement in the township.
On Oct. 1, Moulmein District Peace
and Development Council Colonel Ko
Ko Kyi went to
USDA members to form a Youth Affairs
organization.
Colonel Ko Ko Kyi directed the Youth Affairs
organization to be formed
with 15 members under 35 years old
who had degrees.
Like Chaungzon township, other
townships of the USDA in
organized people to join their USDA
and some USDA members forced
villagers to join it.
* * *
================================================
Thaw Zin
Mizzima News(www.mizzima.com)
Some delegates intending to participate in a conference in
democracy in
the Burmese exiled government, were
denied entry visas by Indian
officials, said George Fernendes, former defense minister of
Fernendes is convener of the
upcoming three-day international
convention called Restoration of
Democracy in
Conference participants are expected to come from various
countries
including
and
"There would have been delegations from more countries
but some could
not make it because visas were not
made available," Fernendes said at
a press conference on the
approaching conference. "A lot of us don't
understand [why this has
happened]," he added.
Dr. Sein Win, prime minister of
the exiled government of
based in Washington,
Australia-based, Burmese-elected Member of
Parliament Dr. Myint Cho, and Malaysian MP Dr. Datuk Ziad Ibrahim and
his wife were all denied entry
visas by the Indian embassies in their
respective countries.
Mizzima has learned that the
Consulate General of India in
said he couldn't issue a visa to
Dr. Myint Cho unless he
received
instructions from the Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA). However, no
response was forthcoming from the
MEA and Dr. Myint Cho was
not given
a reason why.
The second convention is scheduled to start tomorrow and is
expected
to be attended by delegates from 15
countries. The delegates are
expected to address issues
including advocacy for the freedom of Nobel
Laureate and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
human rights
violations perpetrated by the
ruling military junta, support for the
Burmese democratic movement, affairs concerning refugees
from
neighbouring
countries, policies on relations between
Southeast Asian nations and other neighbours;
drug trafficking, and
security matters related to
A former defense minister of
parliamentarians, diplomats, NGO
representatives, leaders of the
Burmese democratic movement and veteran journalists will
attend the
conference, organizers said.
"We are not the obstacles to the Than Shwe trip to
said when asked why he thought the
exiled prime minister of
not been issued a visa. Senior
General Than Shwe, chairman of the
military's State Peace and
Development Council, is set to arrive in
The Indian Foreign Ministry had requested the conference
convener
to "put off this
conference" until after the head of the military
junta's visit to
schedule because "we started
two months ago. We had done a lot of work
already and bought air tickets for
delegates."
In 1996, Fernendes organized the
first international convention for
democracy in
.................................................................
Burma News International is a network of nine exiled media
groups
such as Mizzima
News, Shan Herald Agency for News, Kao Wao News Group,
Khonumthung News Group, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press
Network,
Independent Mon News Agency, Karenni Information
Network Group and Network Media Group.
.........................
Contact: Duty Editor
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296
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