CNI News

13 July 2022

As eight sailors, who tested positive for coronavirus, from Rakhine-Bangladesh border trade have recovered from COVID-19, border trade was not affected.

As various measures under different restrictions for prevention of COVID-19 have been taken at Sittway Border Trade Camp since the resumption of border trade, the current outbreak will not have an impact on border trade, Rakhine State Federation of Chambers and Commerce Chairman U Tin Aung Oo told the CNI News.

U Tin Aung Oo said, “The outbreak has not affected border trade so far. This is mainly because we have taken various measures for prevention of COVID-19 as much as we can since border trade resumed in late 2021. Those who return from Bangladesh are required to be placed under quarantine. They were required to stay under quarantine for ten days previously. Now, we place them three days under quarantine. As we took such measures and tested them, we were able to separate and give treatments to those who tested positive for coronavirus. So, we have not seen any impact of the current outbreak on border trade at border trade camps so far.”

A quarantine centre in Bangladesh-Rakhine border trade zone.

Two vessel crew recently tested positive for coronavirus and a total of eight crew members have tested positive for COVID-19 in July.

Those who recently tested positive do not suffer serious symptoms and were hospitalized just for patient monitoring and border trade activities are being carried out as usual.

Currently, only those who have been vaccinated are allowed to engage in border trade in Rakhine State while those who return from Bangladesh are required to be placed under quarantine and to receive tests, Assistant Director Dr. Soe Win Paing of Rakhine State Public Health Department told the CNI News.

“We allow only those who have been vaccinated to engage in border trade. All those who engage in border trade including company staff, crew members, loading and unloading labourers at entry points like Mingan port are required to submit their vaccine certificates. We take such measures. When they return from other countries, they are required to be placed under quarantine in accordance with rules and regulations. When they are under quarantine, we test them for COVID-19. So, we were able to identify those who were infected,” he said.

Bangladesh-Rakhine border trade.

As it is impossible to say whether recent outbreaks were caused by Omicron or new variants of Omicron in Sittwe due to lack of equipment, samples have to be sent to Yangon, according to Dr Soe Win Paing.

To prevent impacts of COVID-19 on border trade, the Ministry of Health and Republic of Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry are cooperating for COVID-19 prevention measures.

The RUMFCCI has urged merchants, crew members and loading and unloading workers to cooperate with authorities by observing restrictions.

 CNI News 

13 July 2022 

The withdrawal of the Kachin Political Intrim Coordination Team (KPICT) as a permanent member from the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) undermined the Spring Revolution, political analyst U Than Soe Naing told the CNI News. 

As the NUCC serves as an advisory body for the Spring Revolution, issues should be resolved through negotiation, he urged. 

U Than Soe Naing told the CNI, “ I have nothing unusual to say but such withdrawals undermine the Spring Revolution. So, we have nothing to do but to request all stakeholders to concertedly prevent such incidents. It seems that they had differences of opinion. However, an advisory body that serves as a comprehensive united front is a force we need. Unity is important. As the terms such as withdrawals and departures make the public sad. So, I have nothing to do but to request all stakeholders to renegotiate, cooperate and to be united by taking the feelings of the public into consideration.

A press conference of the NUCC.

 Although the KPICT withdrew as a permanent member from the NUCC, the former said it would coordinate with the latter when necessary. 

The withdrawal of the KPICT from the NUCC weakened the latter as a force, Kachin politician U Kwan Gaung Aung Kham told the CNI. 

“As far as I understand, the position of the NUCC as a force will be weakened if the news is true. In my opinion, the KPICT is still working with the NUCC. Moreover, the withdrawal will have an impact to some extent, especially on the public opinion about unity. However, I cannot foretell what will happen. I am sure that it will have certain consequences. We will have to watch whether this will have major impacts as the KPICT is still working with the National Unity Government (NUG) despite its withdrawal from the NUCC,” he said.

 Last May, some news agencies reported that the National League for Democracy (NLD) announced it left the NUCC and would continue to engage in partnership relations with the latter. 

The Spring Revolution. 

The NUCC was formed with 33 organizations in accordance with the federal democracy charter and eight ethnic armed organizations participated in the council through different forms, according to a statement made in a press conference. 

Though the NUCC plays a leading role in the Spring Revolution, the public is concerned that the withdrawal of powerful organizations like the NLD and the KPICT will affect the Spring Revolution.

CNI News

13 July 2022

Chairman of State Administration Council Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Mr. Alexey Likhachev, head of state-own nuclear corporation Rosatom State Corporation discussed cooperation in nuclear energy technology sectors that would bring mutual benefits for people in both countries.

The visiting SAC chairman and Mr. Alexey Likhachev held the discussions on 12th July, according to a statement released by the SAC.

They discussed possibilities of nuclear technological cooperation in sectors that would bring mutual benefits for people in both countries such as peaceful utilization of nuclear energy for science and research and in pharmaceutical, agriculture, livestock breeding, industrial and foodstuff industries, according to the SAC.

On 11th July, the SAC chairman discussed exports of products based on agriculture and technical cooperation in production of oil crops, electricity generation and promotion of exports and imports between the two countries with Russia-ASEAN Business Council Chairman Mr. Ivan Polyakov.

Similarly, the SAC chairman visited State Space Corporation Roscosmos and held talks with Director General and Special Envoy for International Space Exploration Dr. Dmitry Rogozin on development of science and technological sector and human resource development, the statement added.

During the visit, the SAC chairman attended a ceremony to hoist the diamond orb atop a replica pagoda of the Shwezigon Pagoda in ETHNOMIR cultural city.

CNI News 

2022, July 9

According to cross-border traders, good price is not paid when onions are exported owing to the onion price surge in the country, thereby onion exports to China, Thailand and Bangladesh being suspended.

 U Aung Naing, a trader from Maungdaw Border Trade Centre, told CNI that although the price of one viss of onion in the local market is around K1500, that price amount is not being paid when exported, hence, exports are halted and he is waiting for the time which will come with better prices.

U Aung Naing said, “Here, onions are not exported at all these days. It’s been about a month. Onion costs 400-500 kyats per viss here, thus, it is reasonable for export when you get 600-700 kyats. Now, by the time the price is nearly K1500-2000, it is still 40 QAR (Qutar currency) like before, 30-40 QAR per one kilo. There is no change in the price over there while it has gone up here. We just have to wait to get a better price.”

 The onion price amounted to K1650 per viss at present in the local market, soaring up to K2000 last June.

In addition, there is a decline and even a cessation in onion purchases from China, Thailand and Bangladesh.

Due to the suspension of onion exports, there are no buyers although nearly 20 onion trucks arrived at trade business and commodity exchange centers, according to Bayintnaung Commodity Exchange Center.

U Zaw Htay, an onion trader, said that sales in onion market is sluggish with no purchases at this time also in Magway Region, where onion is the main crop.

“Brokers now have their ways blocked as the onions they bought and stored cannot be sold. I heard that there are not ways both in and out, as a result, there are no buyers also in the countryside, leading to sales inactivity as a consequence.”, said U Zaw Htay.

It is further known that despite the fact that onion export is desisted, there are also farmers who buy and store onions while anticipating getting good prices.

CNI International News

9 July 2022 

 Japanese people come to the place where former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was gunned down, place condolence flowers and pay homage.

 Shinzo Abe was shot dead while delivering a campaign speech for a parliamentary election on July 8 in the city of Nara, Japan.

 Security officers have arrested and been investigating Yamagami Tetsuya, who is supposed to be a suspect of assassinating Shinzo Abe.

 Yamagami Tetsuya himself admitted shooting Abe. It has been known that Yamagami Tetsuya served for three years until 2005 in Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force.

CNI News

11 July 2022As the number of Myanmar youths who want to work in Japan is increasing, Japanese language schools are mushrooming in the country but it is still difficult for them to get jobs in Japan, according to agencies and those who are trying to go to Japan.

Many people from Myanmar are enthusiastic to work in Japan but it is still difficult to get jobs there as the number of job offer letters Myanmar received from Japan is still low, Director Ko Nay Oo of Naytic Asia Agency told the CNI News.

“We have accepted about three to four hundred applications from three language schools but received fewer job offer letters from Japan. As ours is not a big company like others, we can send more than 100 workers to Japan each year. We have many more applicants than job offer letters from Japan. In addition, Japan offered much fewer jobs to Myanmar workers than other nationals. Myanmar received only one-tenth of job offer letters other countries received. For example, if Japan sends 60,000 job offer letters to Vietnam, Myanmar receives only 6,000 job offer letters. Therefore, the number of people who want to work in Japan is much higher than that of job offers,” he said.

Although priority is given to those who passed interviews before the outbreak of COVID-19 in sending workers to Japan, he has not been sent in spite of passing interviews in 2019 due to the failures of his agency, Ko Nyein Chan told the CNI.

Japanese training school.

“The employer has not sent job offer letters and the Chinese agent has not replied either. The agency said they would contact us when they receive the reply. They told us frequently that they would contact us as soon as they received good news. However, those who passed interviews later than us have already left for Japan. We had to pay the agency one million kyats when we passed interviews. Then, we had to pay another one million kyats to submit the COE (certificate of education). Again, we had to pay over K 500,000 or nearly K 600,000 training fees, I think. As we had to borrow money from others to pay them, we are required to pay interest. The longer it takes to work in Japan, the more interest we have to pay. As it takes longer, we are getting older and some employers do not want to offer jobs to older people. We are worried,” he said.

In sending workers to Japan, official overseas employment agencies send trainees who passed interviews by linking with Japanese language schools.

As many youths are interested in working in Japan, Japanese language schools, which claim they have links with agencies and give false hopes in order to attract more of them, are mushrooming in Myanmar.

Therefore, Director Ko Nay Oo said it is necessary for trainees to make sure their language schools are actually linked to agencies.

“The list of official companies that are permitted to send workers to Japan has been announced by the Ministry of Labour. It is necessary to check whether the language school they intend to attend has a real link to the agency, if the agency has been permitted to send workers to Japan officially, and how many workers it has sent to Japan to avoid such undesirable problems. Youths should check them. Now, they are so enthusiastic to work in Japan that they fail to check them. As they think they will be able to go to Japan by paying a certain amount of money, they get cheated,” he added.

A Myanmar national working in a restaurant in Japan.

At present, the number of people who want to work in Japan has increased dramatically compared with the period before the outbreak of the pandemic, according to Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Federation.

Some youths intend to continue their education in Japan but others are trying to work there. However, it is important for all of them to be fluent in Japanese language to lead convenient lives in Japan, Ko Myat Thu Aung, who once worked in Japan, told the CNI.

“It is necessary for them to be well versed in Japanese because they have to live there. When I arrived in Japan, I faced many difficulties as I was not fluent in Japanese. First of all, they are required to be fluent in Japanese, which will contribute to learning job skills at work sites. If they are not, they will not understand what others say and will have problems,” he said.

Currently, Japan is offering jobs for Myanmar in factories, workshops, construction sites and the agriculture sector at the minimum wage of Yen 90,000 (more than one million kyats), according to the MOEAF.

CNI News

11 July 2022

It has been difficult to transport fertilizers in townships around Pakokku, according to farmers and merchants.

Farmers, who came to sell onions in Pakokku from other townships, bought fertilizers for their farms but truck drivers have refused to transport them, member U Hla Thaung of Pakokku Township Traders and Brokers Association told the CNI.

U Hla Thaung said, “Farmers who came to our commodity brokerages said that truck drivers have not been allowed to transport fertilizers. Farmers from Pale, Monywa, Yaw, Pauk, Seikphyu and Salin usually come to Pakokku to sell onions but when they tried to bring back fertilizers on their way home, truck drivers refused to transport them.”

During the last onion cultivation season, farmers had to use cattle manure for fertilizers due to high prices and shortages and as a result, onion yields dropped.

Transportation of onions

When farmers try to bring back fertilizers to their villages for the upcoming cultivation season, it is impossible to transport fertilizers as truck drivers have refused to carry them. They have not found a way to overcome the difficulty, according to U Zaw Htay, an onion farmer.

“We cannot buy fertilizers in our villages. Fertilizers are available in Pakokku but truck drivers have refused to carry them to our villages. We do not know what to do. We are still looking for ways to overcome it,” he told the CNI News.

As fertilizers have been used on most farmland in Myanmar for years, crop yields will drop when fertilizers cannot be used, according to farmers.

A farmer ploughs the land

When cattle manure is used for fertilizers, crop yields drop by half, U Hla Thaung told the CNI.

“If fertilizers can be used, onion yields are as high as 5,000 visses per acre. Onion yields drop to 2,500 or 3,000 visses when cattle manure is used for fertilizers. Fertilizers cannot boost yields while cattle manure alone cannot.” he added.

Transportation of fertilizers is not officially restricted in townships around Pakokku but security personnel at check-points have told truck drivers who carry fertilizers to turn back.

Truck drivers told farmers that they have refused to carry fertilizers as they are controlled tightly.

CNI News

11 July 2022

All existing political parties are reportedly required to register again, according to reports spread among political parties.

Chairman Dr Aye Maung of Arakan Front Party told the CNI that he had heard the news and it will be difficult for small ethnic parties to subsist if they are required to register again under new rules and regulations.

“We have been required to pay K 300,000 for registration of a political party since the term of former president U Thein Sein. We are wondering how much the Union Election Commission will raise the registration fees. State and regional parties are required to have a membership of 500 and national parties must have a membership of 1,000. It has been rumored that national parties are required to have 100,000 members and party registration fees will be raised to K 100 million. It is also said that state and regional parties are required to pay K 10 million registration fees and membership restrictions have not known yet. If they increase the fees and membership ten folds, regional parties will have to pay K 10 million registration fees and have a membership of 10,000. If they introduce the new rules and regulations, it will be difficult for smaller parties to subsist. It is even difficult for some national parties if they are required to pay the higher registration fees and have a membership of 100,000,” said Dr Aye Maung.

Union Election Commission (AFP)

The UEC has announced that proportional representation system will be introduced in the upcoming 2023 elections.

If the PR system is introduced, it is necessary to reduce the number of political parties. It is likely that the commission raise the registration fees and memberships for such reasons, according to Dr Aye Maung.

The new rules and regulations might be introduced as some national political parties have failed to represent the entire country, Chairman U Sein Win of National United Democratic Party told the CNI.

“First, the number of political parties is inflated but most parties have a membership 20, 30 or 1,000 despite being national parties. There are some political parties which do not have the ability to represent the entire countries. They (UEC) might have learnt that because they have already scrutinized political parties generally and learnt the true situation of them. Second, It is necessary political parties to have an appropriate membership. Although some people have formed political parties, they do not have an appropriate membership. They are political parties in name only. Therefore, the number of political parties is inflated due to such parties. They (UEC) might want to introduce the PR system by doing so,” said U Sein Win.

The flag of the NLD party.

The CNI contacted responsible officials from the SAC for the news reports but have not received a reply.

Under section 5 (f) of the Political Parties Registration Law, a pollical party shall organize at least 1000 party members within 90 days from the day of permission for registration as a political party if it is a party that will organize throughout the entire Union or it shall organize at least 500 party members within 90 days from the day of permission for registration as a political party if it is a party that will organize only in a Region or State.

There are 92 existing political parties in Myanmar, according to the UEC.

CNI News

5 July 2022

The Tatmadaw will continue to play a leading role in national politics in the interest of the country, said Chairman of State Administration Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

The senior general made the comment when he met officers and other ranks and families of Pathein Station in Northwestern Command on 4th July.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said, “ The Tatmadaw has taken a leading role in current reforms of the country and will continue to play a leading role in national politics in the interest of the country while taking appropriate measures properly.”

He also said that the country is moving forward on the democratic path and measures must be taken in accordance with the law in performing duties of the country in line with the 2008 Constitution.

“As I said previously, it is stipulated in the 2008 Constitution that the Tatmadaw will play a leading role in politics and they will continue to do so in accordance with the constitution. They also accept that the Tatmadaw will have to quit politics when the danger of disintegration of the country has been eliminated and peace has been restored but they do not set the time frame exactly. The NLD set the time frame for the Tatmadaw to quit politics and therefore, proposed constitutional amendments during the term of the previous Hluttaw to force the Tatmadaw to quit politics phase by phase by reducing the number of Tatmadaw representatives,” Political Observer U Ye Tun told the CNI.

It is stipulated in section 6(f) that the union’s consistent objectives are “enabling the Defence Services to be able to participate in the national political leadership role of the state.

However, ethnic armed organizations have said it is necessary for the Tatmadaw to withdraw from politics.

They hope to amend the provision by substituting the phrase “enabling the Defence Services to participate in the national political leadership role” with “to withdraw from politics at an appropriate time” or “to allow the Tatmadaw to participate in national political leadership during an appropriate period of time.”