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12 News THE MYANMAR TIMES SEPTEMBER 2 - 8, 2013
Opposition to Shan return plan
Refugees and civil society groups say it is too early for families displaced in 2002 to return to eastern Shan State
THAN NAING SOE
thennaingsoe@gmail.com
THE proposed resettlement of a group
of Shan refugees living in a camp in
northern Thailand will require extensive
preparatory work if it is to succeed,
a number of Shan organisations
say.
Residents of the Kone Kyaw temporary
refugee camp north of Chiang
Mai in Thailand’s Wane Hai township
were told during a visit by police from
Myanmar and Thailand in July that
they would be resettled to Mone Htar
village in Mongton township, eastern
Shan State.
Camp chief U Sai Lyan said that
four days later he was asked by the Tatmadaw’s
tactical operations commander
from Mongton township how many
people were staying in the camp. He
was told the army needed to know the
number so it could begin building new
houses ahead of the planned return.
But the plan faces opposition from
the refugees, civil society group and
the refugees, who all say it is too soon
for refugees to return.
“The situation in the region isn’t
stable,” said Captain Sai Main, an assistant
spokesperson for the Restoration
Council of Shan State and its armed
wing, the Shan State Army-South
(RCSS/SSA).
He said the area had previously
been a battleground for Tatmadaw and
SSA-South troops and is still covered in
land mines.
“There are still tensions between
the Wa and government armies. The
government should offer assurances
that the livelihoods, transportation,
health and education of the [refugees
in Kone Kyaw village] will be looked
after before resettling [them]. If it
does not, they will have difficulty living
there,” he said.
While agreeing with RCSS/SSA
concerns, U Sai Lyan said many in the
camp feel caught between the Shan
army and the government.
“We don’t want to be in a situation
where we have to live according
to the desire of the government and
the Shan State Army. They use us as a
pawn, sending us wherever they want.
We don’t want to be used as a pawn to
show the country is stable before the
2015 election.”
TIM MCLAUGHLIN
timothy.mclaughlin3@gmail.com
MYANMAR’S presence at next year’s
G20 summit will help the grouping develop
more effective development policies,
a representative of host country
Australia said during a recent visit to
Myanmar.
The 2014 G20 summit will be held
in Brisbane in November 2014. As the
ASEAN chair, Myanmar is invited to
attend as an observer at the event,
which brings together leaders from
19 of the world’s largest economies,
along with the European Union, to
Shan children use laptop computers in the Thai border village of Kone Kyaw, which is home to about 400 refugees
displaced by fighting in Shan State in 2002. Photo: Supplied/MT
U Sai Lyan said any proposed relocation
should be discussed with Shan
civil society groups and the refugees
first.
“There are some Shan civil society
groups that help us. They should consult
with them. Or they should consult
with us, the refugees,” he said.
In 2002, a month-long battle between
the SSA and the Tatmadaw
‘I just thank God
that I haven’t lost
my mind yet – I’ve
certainly lost
everything else .’
Daw Parla
Shan resident of Kone Kyaw village
discuss global economic issues.
“Myanmar’s presence will provide an
excellent opportunity to get feedback
from a low-income country which is
the recipient of international assistance
on whether the things that are being
done in the development sphere are really
the kinds of things that need to be
done from the point of view of recipient
countries,” said Richard Andrews,
assistant secretary of international policy
and engagement for Australia’s G20
taskforce.
Mr Andrews led a team from the
Australian Prime Minister’s Office to
Myanmar earlier this month to discuss
displaced 636 people from Pan
Kankaw, Pan Hawk, Hway Yauk and
Pan Mai Sone villages in Mongton.
They later settled across the border
in Kone Kyaw, an ethnic Shan village.
While some of the original refugees
have left the area and are staying with
relatives, more than 400 remain in
Kone Kyaw and are not recognised by
Thailand as refugees.
One refugee in the camp told The
Myanmar Times that she would not
return to Myanmar “if I was given an
aeroplane”.
“I’ve been here for 10 years. I
walked over dead bodies all the way
to the Thai border to get here and was
so afraid,” said 70-year-old Daw Parla,
who is originally from Hway Yauk village.
“Now we are safe here and I don’t
believe [the government and Shan] are
making peace. All the armed forces are
the same. I don’t believe any of them.
If there is fighting, the residents suffer.
I just thank God that I haven’t lost my
Myanmar’s role at the G20 with officials
in Nay Pyi Taw.
Minister for Finance U Win Shein
is expected to attend and an invite
has also been extended to President U
Thein Sein, Mr Andrews said. U Thein
Sein visited Australia for three days
in March but has not yet confirmed
whether he will make another visit for
the G20.
The G20 was formed in 1999 and its
importance has grown since the 2008 financial
crisis. Since 2011 the group has
met annually. This year’s summit will
take place in September in St Petersburg,
Russia.
mind yet - I’ve certainly lost everything
else.”
On August 9, six Shan civil society
groups collectively released a statement
detailing their concerns about
sending refugees living in Thailand
back to Mone Htar.
The statement said that an initiative
of the Norwegian Peace Council,
the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative,
scrapped a similar proposal in August
2012 due to continued fighting and the
large number of uncleared mines in
the area. The statement also expressed
uncertainty about who would fund the
construction of homes for the refugees
if international donors were not
willing to support the resettlement
program.
The resettlement program was also
discussed at the first union-level meeting
between the RCSS/SSA and government
peace negotiators in Taunggyi
in January 2012.
– Translated by Thiri Min Htun
Myanmar to assist G20 on development policies
While more inclusive than the G8,
the G20 is still crticised by those who
believe that the group is too limited in
its membership.
“[The] great risk is that you only have
the big countries present only interest of
the big countries,” Mr Andrews agreed.
In this regard he said he was hopeful
that Myanmar would provide a useful
alternative perspective, particularly on
Southeast Asia.
“[Myanmar’s presence] will ensure
that both the views of ASEAN can be inputted
into the G20’s deliberations and
that ASEAN is kept well informed about
what is going on in the G20.”
BRIEFS
UNDP to begin surveying
local governance
International experts are to
launch a year-long survey of
the country in support of the
government’s programs to
help local communities.
UNDP Myanmar’s nationwide
mapping program to
identify local governance
status and community needs
will start in September in
Mon and Chin states, said the
agency’s country director, Toily
Kurbanov.
The mapping program is a
part of the government’s plan
to strengthen local governance
and provide “people-centred”
services.
“The idea of local governance
mapping is to collect
information as to what sorts
of services have been made
available in all parts of the
country, what are the capacity
gaps and how those gaps can
be filled,” said Mr Kurbanov,
adding that UNDP was working
closely with the government
on the methodology of
the study.
“If everything goes according
to the schedule ... local
governance mapping for the
all of Myanmar should be over
by August or September next
year,” he said.
– Sandar Lwin
Group heads to Australia
on heritage study trip
A group of 12 urban planners,
architects and academics
is visiting Australia for a
five-week course aimed at
strengthening efforts to conserve
and enhance Yangon’s
heritage buildings.
The group includes officials
from the Yangon City Development
Committee, Mandalay
and Yangon universities and
the Ministry of Construction,
as well as private sector
architectural firms. The group
will return to Myanmar on
September 20.
“The course aims to
strengthen the technical skills
and knowledge of the participants,
focusing on developing
skills which can be applied to
conserving and enhancing the
historic buildings of Yangon,”
said a spokesperson for the
Australian Agency for International
Development (AusAID),
which is funding the trip.
“It will provide the participants
with exposure to
the latest thinking about best
practices in built heritage conservation
and management,”
the spokesperson said.
The course is being delivered
in Brisbane by the
University of Queensland and
Conrad Gargett Riddel, an
Australian design and heritage
consultancy firm, and includes
a field trip to Sydney.
An additional sixth week
will be held in Yangon after
the Australian component has
been finished.
– Thomas Kean