5-11 July: The Economics of Protest in Burma

On 5 July, as many as 3,000 students protested in Sittwe, Arakan State, against the 100% increase in regime-run school bus fares due to rising fuel prices. In a statement, the All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress said that diesel and petrol prices have been on the rise since the junta’s wave of privatizations.

Increases in fuel prices have sparked protests in Sittwe before, but are most notably responsible for setting off the 2007 Saffron Revolution when hundreds of thousands of people took to the street.

The recent rise in fuel prices is the latest example of the military regime’s persistent mismanagement of the economy of Burma. In a country where the majority of people are struggling to make ends meet, an increase in the price of basic commodities or restrictions on their livelihoods can be unmanageable. Starting this week, roadside vendors are banned from the streets of Rangoon, with violators facing detention and the destruction of their stall. In addition to livelihoods being taken away, residents of the former capital are also facing apartment rents that have doubled in recent months due to the demolition of many buildings and new construction projects. Small and medium-sized business owners in Rangoon are also being ordered to pay taxes two years in advance in order to renew their business licences.

Two detailed reports about Burma’s economy have been released in recent months. In its report, The Economy of Burma/Myanmar on the Eve of the 2010 Elections, the United States Institute of Peace said that the military regime’s “misguided economic policies… have deprived the economy of the basic foundations for sustainable improvements in living standards.” Sean Turnell shows in his report, Dissecting the Data: Burma’s Macroeconomy at the Cusp of the 2010 ‘Elections’, that Burma’s economy is “unbalanced, unstable and largely without the institutions and attributes necessary to achieve transformational growth.” The reports show how the military regime has mismanaged the economy of Burma since it came into power, using the country’s resources to line their own pockets. As Turnell argues, the upcoming elections, already lacking in political credibility, will not offer any reforms necessary for Burma to achieve economic stability and growth. Only genuinely democratic and inclusive elections based on national reconciliation would provide the framework for economic progress and improvements in living standards for the people of Burma.

News Highlights

Hundreds of students demonstrated in Sittwe, Arakan State; Junta shuts down university the following day

Political parties begin to submit member lists to be scrutinized by the Election Commission

Inside Burma

The National Democratic Force (NDF) has received permission to participate in the elections

Five political parties, including the NDF, are trying to build a political alliance in preparation for the upcoming elections

Kachin State Progressive Party will appeal to the Election Commission for approval for a third and final time

Rangoon district committee is to file cases against 10 central committee members from two political parties for collecting funds to contest in the upcoming elections

The regime’s auditor general is separating the assets of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) to show the division between the two

University examinations pushed forward in order to avoid gathering of students around election time

Immigration department plans to issue ID cards to all individuals, granting them permission to vote in this year’s elections

Junta-allied sources speculate that elections will not take place until after October 2010

Burma’s censorship board has relaxed regulations requiring news publications to
allocate a page for the regime’s propaganda

Two NLD members were not allowed to stay in government guesthouses in Naypyidaw after submitting a letter of complaint about NDF’s new logo

NLD has transferred 2.55 million Kyat (US$2,642) to its state and division branches to distribute to families of political prisoners

The Karen National Union criticizes a Democratic Karen Buddhist Army statement calling for a truce as “deception” and “a fabrication” of the military regime

Burma’s army radar stations equipped with newly installed Russian 1L117 radars

Burma’s army coerced hundreds of children into military training in northeastern Shan State last month

A 17-year-old mentally-handicapped boy has been recruited by the army

Regional

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is planning his first official visit to Burma next month

Bangladesh plans to build a railroad to the Burma border by 2014 as part of the proposed Trans-Asian Railway

International

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton criticizes Burma at a democracy conference in Poland

British Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations tells the UN Security Council that the regime is targeting ethnic minorities with human rights abuses

The United Nations’ International Labor Organization says Burma has made limited progress in curtailing the use of forced labor

The son of junta-linked businessman Tay Za, Pye Phyo Tay Za, lost a legal bid to have EU sanctions against him overturned

Latest from the Elections Campaign

Junta’s Handpicked Election Commission Issues Unjust Directive
By Burma Partnership

Action

Students distribute leaflets in Rangoon, urging people to boycott the junta’s “fake” elections and calling for the right to form student unions

Opinion

Challenge impunity in Myanmar
By Yozo Yokota
Jakarta Post

The rise of Asia’s ‘bulletocracy’
By Naing Ko Ko
Democratic Voice of Burma

Statements and Press Releases

AASYC Statement on the Protest by Site-tway (Sittwe) Technological University Students Against the Increase in School Bus Fares
By All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress

Burma’s Human Rights Record Up For Review
By Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma

Burma regime continues to target civilians, UK tells UN Security Council
By Burma Campaign UK

Report: Oil Compaies Fueling Nuclear Proliferation in Burma (Myanmar), Complicit in Targeted Killings and Forced Labour
By EarthRights International

Burma’s Democracy Leaders Hold Parliamentary Hearings in Kuala Lumpur; Malaysian MPs Support Call for National Reconciliation
By Foreign Affairs Coordinating Team of the Ten Alliances

Reports

Energy Insecurity: How Total, Chevron, and PTTEP Contribute to Human Rights Violations, Financial Secrecy, and Nuclear Proliferation in Burma
By EarthRights International

NDD Monthly Chronology Events June – 2010
By Network for Democracy and Development

Weekly Political Events Regarding the SPDC’s Election (023-2010) (in Burmese and English)
By Network for Democracy and Development

Weekly Political Events Regarding the SPDC’s Election (024-2010) (in Burmese)
By Network for Democracy and Development

This post is in: Weekly Highlights