CNI News

19 Oct 2022

As Malaysian authorities are intensifying the arrests of illegal migrant workers due to political rivalries and the upcoming election, Myanmar migrant workers are facing hardship in the country, Myanmar communities told the CNI.

General Secretary of an association offering assistance for Myanmar migrant workers in Malaysia said, “Authorities are currently targeting factories and workers have to live carefully. However, illegal workers are required to take them into account because they have to work for their living. Those who are working legally in Malaysia do not need to worry about such problems.”

Myanmar workers in Malaysia have difficulty receiving treatments in hospital and clinicsin the country even in normal period and it is more difficult for them to do so as the situation is deteriorating, he said.

As the arrests were intensified, some organization which were helping Myanmar workers suspended their operations, forcing Myanmar workers to suffer problems, Steven of the Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR) told the CNI.

He said, “There are ethnic communities in Malaysia. If someone from a community is detained, the relevant community or the government warn them of the danger. All refugees in Malaysia are required to be under the protection of the UNHCR.

When political changes take place, Malay authorities detain illegal migrant workers and receive billions in fines, U Chit Kaung told the CNI.

When the illegal workers are granted permits to work in Malaysia, each of them have to pay about 2,800 Ringgits.

CNI News

19 Oct 2022

Medicine prices including the non-prescribed and prescribed medicines including for those with diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases have dropped slightly, according to pharmacies.

Prices of medicines dropped by 10 percent when they are purchased from medicine companies, a manager of a medicine wholesaler Shwe Mingalar Market in Mingalar Taungnyunt Township told the CNI.

He said, “Medicine prices have dropped. Medicine companies have lowered the prices by about 10 percent.”

Myanmar imports almost half of its medicine needs from other countries and has to pay in US dollars in US dollars. As a result, medicine prices rise exorbitantly, according to medicine merchants.

People buying medicines.

Although medicine prices have dropped, some people who stored a large amount of medicines have stopped buying medicines, according to Daw Wut Ye Thwe, a shop owner from Shwe Pyae Sone Market, told the CNI.

He told the CNI, “Prices have dropped slightly but they rose by 60 percent from their normal prices. However, the medicine prices do not fall back to the previous levels. As the prices are falling, no one is interested in storing medicines. S0k the sales have dropped.”

Medicine retailers are trying to sell their medicine as soon as possible but buyers are still waiting for further drops.

However, buyers still have to purchase medicines at higher prices and prices vary from pharmacy to pharmacy.

CNI News

19 Oct 2022

Establishing a court by the National Unity Government in Katha Township in Sagaing Region is likely to aim at building public confidence, Advocate U Kyee Myint told the CNI.

The court was established in a liberated area to remedy the collapsed judicial system, he added.

He told the CNI, “Katha Township Court (of the junta) may be running as usual but the court of the NUG has been established for people in the liberated area. It is hearing the civil cases as well as drug trafficking cases. The NUG is building the public confidence. It is building public trust on the judicial system because the country has become a failed state. I think the court moves to other places when the military troops come to them.”

  The court building in Katha Township.

The court has been established in accordance with the policies of the NUG to implement administrative, judicial, health and education in the interests of the local people under the control of the PDG, a spokesperson for the PDF told the RFA.

A Katha resident told the CNI that he learnt of the establishment of the court on social media and it was likely that the court was established in villages under the control of the PDF.

He said, “I don’t go out and I don’t know anything. It is peaceful at my place. I don’t go outside the town. They may establish the court outside the town. I don’t know exactly. It is a heresy.”

The archway to Katha.

The NUG has established prisons and detention centres, U Kyee Myint said.

Armed clashes erupted in Katha Township between the military and the joint force of the KIA and PDF after the military staged a coup against the NLD government on 1st February, 2021.

CNI News

18 Oct 2022

It is impossible to arrange package tours to conflict areas including Sagaing Region, Kayah State and northern Rakhine State due to instabilities there, according to tourism entrepreneurs and tour agencies.

Tours cannot be arranged to the areas due to ongoing armed conflicts, Chairman U Naung Naung Han of Myanmar Tourism Entrepreneurs Association told the CNI.

He said, “As far as I know, we cannot arrange tours to Chin and Kayah states. In Rakhine State, tourists can travel to the Ngapali Beach but they cannot visit northern Rakhine State. However, no relevant ministry has officially banned trips to such areas. We have suspended such tours by ourselves.”

It was reported that travelling has been banned in Sagaing Region, Kayah State, Chin State and northern Rakhine State but the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism has not officially announced the travel bans.

  Foreign and domestic tourists.

It is expected that tourists from Thailand and Russia will visit Myanmar this year and Thai tourists started arriving in Myanmar but arrivals have halted due to delays at checkpoints and shoot-out at the Kyaiktiyo on 12th October, U Naung Naung Han told the CNI.

He told the CNI, “Foreign tourists are preparing to travel as international flights have resumed. Tourists from Thailand began to travel to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda. However, their first trip was delayed for four or five hours at a checkpoint between the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda and Mottama Bridge. So, fewer Thai tourists come to Myanmar. Arrivals from Thailand have halted since the shoot-out.”

The Ministry of Immigration and Man Power is processing online applications of tourist visas and business visas from Russia and eight ASEAN countries except Malaysia.

 The NUG and the PDF.

Foreign tourists are required to seek approvals for destinations, accommodations, times and purposes from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism 10 days ahead of their visits, Managing Director U Thet Lwin Toe of Myanmar Voyages International Tourism told the CNI.
He said, “Tourists can travel to Mandalay, PyinOoLwin and Kalaw but they should not go to areas on the western bank of the Ayeyarwady River in Sagaing Region. Even in Mandalay, which is relatively safe for them, they will have to take care of themselves. This is also the case in Yangon. So, we have been very careful with travel arrangements and have to seek approvals for every detail of tourists from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism ten days ahead of their arrivals. In the past, we were not required to do so.”

The tourism sector of Myanmar has suffered the impacts of COVID-19 since 2019 and again disrupted by political developments in 2021.

The sector is still affected by the current crises and tourism is unlikely to recover as long as conflicts in some areas, according to tour operators.

CNI News

18 Oct 2022

The number of Myanmar fishery workers who were sacked in Thailand has been increasing, labour activists for Myanmar migrant workers in the kingdom told the CNI.

Fishing companies have decreased the number of fishing boats since June and fishery workers were sacked or did not get full wages, Labour Activist U Min Oo of the FED told the CNI.

He said, “If the companies have five fishing boats, they currently operate only three boats. So, they sacked the workers from the two boats. Actually, they are required to tell their workers one month ahead of their dismissals and to pay one month’s wages. They failed to follow the rules. Most fishing company owners do not understand the rules. Fishing company owners do not communicate with their workers because they have their managers, clerks and foremen, who are responsible for wages and labour rights of their workers. We don’t know whether they do not know the rules or they don’t want to give compensation to their workers.”

 A fishery worksite.

Many Myanmar fishery workers were sacked while some of them were suspended from their jobs.

Moreover, job contracts signed between the workers and their employers are mostly kept by the latter and it is difficult to file complaints to authorities. So, some workers are losing their rights, labour activists told the CNI.

Most Myanmar fishery workers do not have skills required for other jobs but they can get jobs on other fishing boats if they have necessary documents, U Min Oo told the CNI.

Myanmar workers from factories were also frequently sacked by Thai employers, labour activists told the CNI.

 A female fishery worker at her worksite. (DW)

Some Myanmar migrant workers signed documents given by their employers without understanding what is written in them and were later sacked, Labour Activist U Ba Yee of the MWRN told the CNI.

“The main problem is that they signed documents they did not understand. Under the Thai Labour Law, employers are required to give compensation to workers when they sack them. So, they lost their compensations and their rights. If they are eligible to get Baht 50,000 compensation, they will get Baht 10,000 only because they signed the documents they did not understand. Their employers are sacking them by just giving bus fares.”

Thailand is one of the countries that employ the largest numbers of Myanmar migrant workers. Millions of Myanmar migrant workers including undocumented ones are working Thailand.

As most Myanmar migrant workers do not understand laws in Thailand, they are being exploited by their employers.

CNI News

17 Oct 2022

Military unity alone does not work and public cooperation is essential, EAO leader Col Khun Okkar told the CNI.

SAC Chairman Snr Gen Min Aung Hlaing said that the country could not be divided as long as the military is united when he met with families in Mawlamyine Station on 16 October.

Col Khun Okkar told the CNI, “In my opinion, he should have talked about unity with the people. Unity among themselves does not work. They need public support and cooperation. Military unity alone does not work.”

The SAC chairman said that the military had been working for military unity for many years and measures were constantly taken for welfare, strengthening and training of the military.

The military is the only institution that is strong and powerful, Director U Thein Tun Oo of the Strategic Studies told the CNI.

Pro-democracy demonstrators. (Frontier Myanmar)

He told the CNI, “Many political analysts said that our country needs strong institutions. When we studied the institutions in Myanmar, we found that the military is the only institution that is strong and powerful and meets historical norms. There were some strong institutions but they could not survive in the long run and failed to meets the characteristics of a strong institution. The military has met all characteristics of a strong and powerful institution with correct objectives since it was established.”

The military ousted the National League for Democracy government on 1^st February ,2022 and declared a state of emergency on allegation that it formed a new government without settling voters’ lists disputes in the 2020 general election.

Since then, the PDF led by the NUG in cooperation with some EAOs has been trying to topple the military.

CNI News

16 Oct 2022

After a shoot-out erupted at a passenger station at the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda on 12^th October, the number of foreign and domestic pilgrimage cancellations has risen, according to foreign and domestic tour agencies.

Pilgrimages of foreign tourists to the Kyaiktiyo pagoda were forced to be cancelled, Chairman U Naung Naung Han of the Myanmar Tourism Entrepreneurs Association told the CNI.

He told the CNI, “We were forced to cancel the pilgrimage of foreign tourists to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda. The main reason was the shooting. There are no tour packages we can sell near Yangon. So, we have to rely on tour packages to Bago and Kyaiktiyo. It is difficult to sell tour packages beyond Kyaikhto. Now, we have to cancel tour packages to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda.”

 A CCTV record of a shoot-out at the passenger station of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda on 12^th October, 2022.

Shooting erupted at the passenger station at the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda in Kyaikhto Township in Mon State on 12^th October, killing three women and injuring 19 others.

The SAC accused the KNLA Brigade (1) and the PDF shooting members of the public but Thaton PDF denied the accusation.

Then, pilgrimage packages of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda were forced to cancel and ticket fares had to be reimbursed, according to U Naung Naung Han.

He told the CNI, “As far as we know, domestic tour packages to the pagoda were also forced to cancel. Some people had booked for packages and bought tickets. Most packages to the pagoda were forced to cancel. Some tour agencies had to reimburse service fees and bus tickets.”

 A CCTV record of a shoot-out at the passenger station of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda on 12^th October, 2022.

Recently, the public has chosen to make pilgrimages under their own arrangements rather than taking pilgrimage bus tours, Secretary U Kyaw Min Hlaing of the Myanmar Pilgrimage and Domestic Tour Operators Association told the CNI.

He said, “Only a few people take pilgrimage buses. Most of them choose to travel to pagodas in their own cars under their own arrangements. Myanmar people tend to forget to learn lessons. They are not afraid of such incidents. Now, they are travelling again.”

Currently, agencies have suspended tour packages to Kyaiktiyo for Myanmar citizens as well as foreigners until the region can restore stability.

CNI News

15 Oct 2022

SAC Chairman Snr Gen Min Aung Hlaing vowed to stand steadfastly on the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement and the 2008 constitution.

He made the comment in his speech at the 7^th anniversary of the signing of the NCA on 15^th October, 2022.

He said, “National brethren, we have two fundamental positions on which we stand in implementing the peace process. We will stand firmly on the NCA and we will stand firmly on the 2008 constitution. I have already explained why we should stand firmly the NCA. Similarly, the 2008 constitution was not drafted based on the will of an individual or an organization. The constitution was drafted after holding comprehensive discussions with representatives from eight groups including political parties, elected lawmakers, ethnic people, peasants, workers, intellectuals, government employees and others who should be invited.”

EAOs sign the NCA on 15^th October, 2015.

He said that the constitution was drafted by 702 representatives from eight groups of people at the national convention from September, 1993 to 1996.

However, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which has been trying to topple the SAC and junta, announced on 31^st March, 2021 that the 2008 constitution had been abolished.

The SAC chairman intended to give the message that they would implement the peace process based on the 2008 constitution, Political Observer U Ye Tun told the CNI.

Snr Gen Min Aung Hlaing meets leaders of the UWSA, the NDAA and the SSPP.

He said, “The main point is that he would implement the peace process within the framework of the 2008 constitution. They would hold negotiations with ethnic armed organizations during the period when the SAC was assuming the responsibilities of the country. Then, they would draft proposed constitutional amendments based on what they think is acceptable and appropriate from the proposals submitted by EAOs and seek the approval of the Hluttaw. The military guarantees support for the draft amendments. The main point is that he would implement the seven-year-old peace process in accordance with the 2008 constitution.”

The SAC promised to hold a general election in 2023 in accordance with the 2008 constitution and transfer power to the winning party.

CNI News

15 Oct 2022

The demand for prefabricated bamboo tents has been rising thanks to orders from parks and restaurants, Vice Chairman U Kyaw Win of the Bamboo Products Cooperative Society told the CNI.

Most of the buyers of bamboo tents were from Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw.

He told the CNI, “Public interest in bamboo has been growing. Most bamboo tents were purchased for use in restaurants and parks. Some people bought bamboo tents to be set up in their plantations and compounds. Most buyers preferred complete prefabricated bamboo tents. Some people bought bamboo. It is profitable for every bamboo workshop. If bamboo craftsmen do their jobs properly, there are many buyers. We make bamboo tents, furniture and structures. We have received a large number of orders for all our products. Public interest in bamboo is growing. Most buyers place emphasis not on prices but on craftsmanship. As bamboo can absorb heat from the body, people who use bamboo furniture can relax their strained muscles. Increasing number of people are buying bamboo products because they are convenient and healthy for them.”

Bamboo handicrafts.

Prices of bamboo tents range between MMK 150,000 and MMK 1.8 million depending on their sizes and designs and U Kyaw Win’s workshop can sell at least one bamboo tent a week.

Similarly, public interest is also growing for other bamboo products like piggy banks, lamps, clocks and kettles.

A raw bamboo seller told the CNI, “As there are about six varieties of bamboo used by workshops, they order raw bamboo varieties which are not available at my shop from other shops. Mostly, I have to supply raw bamboo for the roof and wall. Last month, I sent about 2,000 poles of bamboo for the roof to them. Finished bamboo products are popular in the markets. We are selling bamboo just to maintain our business. Raw bamboo prices are rising because of growing fuel and transportation costs. The price of a bamboo pole has risen by MMK 30 or 40.”

Bamboo handicrafts.

Raw bamboo is produced from natural forests and the annual production target is set at 147 million bamboo poles but only about 127 million bamboo poles can be produced yearly. Bamboo is grown in the entire country. The prices of a pole of bamboo range between MMK 550 to 600 depending on their production sites and varieties, according to the bamboo products cooperative society.

Some people do not buy finished bamboo products but they attend bamboo handicraft training courses at the cooperative society for make bamboo products for themselves. The number of trainees is growing, according to the cooperative society.