• UNFC SETS DEADLINE FOR END TO BURMESE OFFENSIVE!
• NEW PEACEMAKERS ANNOUNCED!
• VP TIN AUNG MYINT OO RESIGNS?
• IMF POINTS TO SHADOW FINANCIAL SYSTEM IN MYANMAR!
• NEW CLASHES BETWEEN BA, SSA!

Cartoon
Tips to the SSA North/South: That’s what you should do!

Think Piece
The military has to accept the election result. Our military is a very obedient one, senior officials are well educated and I hope there will be no more coup.

Ko Ko Hlaing, top presidential adviser, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 May 2012

The government will take their land and continue pipeline construction whether they agree to it or not. That is why they (the people) try to be content with the compensation. Nobody wants to give up their land.

Senior monk in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mizzima News, 7 May 2012

The World
9 May 2012
Beijing pledges to investigate dead baby pills being produced on its own soil to be smuggled into South Korea after disclosure by Korea customs on 6 May. (AFP)

International Relations
9 May 2012
Switzerland lifts sanctions excepting embargo on arms and other goods liable to be used for suppression. Other nations that have suspended sanctions include EU, Canada, Australia and Japan. (AFP)

10 May 2012
Lawmakers from Burma visit European parliament in Brussels led by lower house speaker Shwe Mann, (AFP)

Thai-Burma Relations
8 May 2012

Deputy PM Chalerm Yubamroong cites a court warrant issued for DKBA Nakhamwe in 2003. He says he will travel to Burma to discuss the matter if necessary. (TN)

8 May 2012
Asian Green Development Bank and Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank sign agreement to create a remittance service between the two countries. AGDB is owned by Tayza. (DVB)

Politics/ Inside Burma
3 May 2012
President Thein Sein forms two level peace teams:

• Central Committee, chaired by himself, has 11 members, including Gen Min Aung Hlaing
• Working Committee, 52 members, chaired by Sai Mawk Kham has U Aung Min, U Thein Zaw and Gen Soe Win as vice chairmen

(Agencies)

3 May 2012

Hardliner Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo tenders resignation after returning from medical treatment in Singapore. No official confirmation. (Jakarta Post)

4 May 2012
Aung San Suu Kyi informed by authorities she has got her passport. (AFP)

7 May 2012

USDP General Secretary Htay Oo says the party’s defeat in the by-elections were due to 3 weaknesses:

• Failure to deal effectively with the media
• Poor candidates who did not appeal to the people
• A lack of organization at the grassroots level

(Mizzima)

9 May 2012
Meeting with 9 leaders of Burma’s banned student unions, Aung San suu Kyi pledges to help revive the student rights organization outlawed since 1962. (RFA)

Ethnic Affaris
8 May 2012
The Rohingya question is still too delicate for the NLD to speak out, says an NLD senior official to BBC World Service. (DVB)

7 May 2012
Chin National Front (CNF) delegation meets Naypyitaw negotiator U Aung Min and signs 15 point (including the 9 points in the state-level) agreement. (FEVR)

Shans/ Shan State
7 May 2012
Shan State Army (SSA) South meeting appoints

• Anti-narcotics committee
• Negotiating team for the second union-level meeting

(SHAN)

Economy/ Business
6 May 2012
Three major port projects being developed will be of immeasurably more benefit to the investing countries than they are to Burma:

• Sittwe port ($ 120 million) is perfect for landlocked provinces in eastern India but far too isolated for Burma
• Oil port in Kyaukphyu gives China a secure route for its oil supplies but not much to Burma
• Dawei port ($ 50 billion) is 200km due west of Bangkok but 600 treacherous km from Rangoon

(Vancouver Sun)

8 May 2012
IMF report released this week says:

• Myanmar could become the next economic frontier in Asia
• But it has a number of “key obstacles” that must be put in line with international standards leading to a large unregulated “shadow financial system”

(Mizzima)

9-10 May 2012

1,800 HI Mo High Art factory workers demands agreed to after negotiations. Factory is owned by a Korean. (Irrawaddy)

10 May 2012

Noeleen Heyzer, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, speaking in Bangkok, cautions Burma’s re-emergence into the global economy is at a very early stage and the concerns regarding nepotism and cronyism remain. “There needs to be support for new small and medium enterprises (SMEs) so that growth is not driven by monopolies and families.” (Irrawaddy)

11 May 2012
President Thein Sein tells top government officials the formation of a Social Economic Advisory Council in the near future (Mizzima)

Human Rights
8 May 2012
Venus News and Myanmar Post warned they face disciplinary action it they publish reports of the recent resignation of Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo by Press Secrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD). Official sources say the report is accurate. (Irrawaddy)

10 May 2012
Greg Vines, Chairperson of the ILO’s Governing Body last week, said military personnel alleged to have utilized forced labor will be prosecuted under the penal code rather than military regulations. (DVB)

Environment
8 May 2012
Lahu Women Organization (LWO) releases “Grab for White Gold”, a report on impacts of platinum mining in Tachilek township. (SHAN)

Drugs
10 May 2012

Mekong Godfather Naw Kham, captured by Laotian officials on 25 April, turned over to Chinese authorities in Vientiane. (CCTV)

11 May 2012
Liu Jun, a member of Chinese investigative team, Chinese Central Television that Naw Kham has been taken from Beijing to Yunnan, where he will stand trial. Chinese and Lao authorities will continue to hunt down his associates at large. (Irrawaddy)

War
9-10 May 2012

Three new clashes between the Burma Army and the Shan State Army (SSA) South in Loilem and Mongpan townships. (SHAN)

10 May 2012
United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) warns Naypyitaw if offensives against KIA are not stopped by 10 June, members that have signed ceasefire agreements will “review the process and future programs.” (Statement)

11 May 2012
52 clashes have taken place this month in KIA areas. Fighting around Laiza is the most intense. The Burma Army is mainly relying on artillery fire, according to KIA spokesman La Nan. (DVB)