• NATIONWIDE MARTYRS DAY MEMORIALS!
• WHO SHOULD MANAGE THE FOREIGN SUPPORT FOR PEACE?
• SHWE MANN FOR 14 STATE UNION?
• BURMA ARMY VIOLATES CEASEFIRE, TAKES A BEATING!
• WELCOME TO THAILAND, PRESIDENT THEIN SEIN!

Cartoon
Tips for all politicians: I hope you like it, as I do!

Think Piece
Where there is understanding, there is no hate.

Louis L’amour, American writer (1915-1985)

The World
20 July 2012

Batman screening in Aurora, Colorado, crashed by a Ph.D student masquerading as Joker. (Agencies)

International Relations
9 July 2012
Naypyitaw has formed a Foreign Support Management Committee headed by the President and Vice Presidents as well as 22 Union ministers. It will scrutinize and approve foreign assistance to the union government, union ministries, regional and state governments and state agencies. (The Voice)

14 July 2012
Arakan Assisting Committee issues statement boycotting “hardly enough and useless aid” provided by UN and NGO:

• Interference in national affairs using humanitarian aid as a cover
• Giving all support to “Bengali Muslims”

(Statement)

16 July 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi asks US Senator Mitch McConnell in a telephone call to remove more US sanctions to encourage more investment that is needed to improve people’s livelihood. (Mizzima)

18 July 2012
US Senate Finance Committee votes to extend imports ban on Burma for 3 more years. It also preserves the White House authority to waive or terminate the sanctions to reward the country for positive steps. (Reuters)

19 July 2012
Czech FM Karel Schwarzenberg, on a 4-day visit to Burma, speaks to journalists:

• Impressed with the meeting with “your president”; he was “very frank and very open”
• Sanctions will be lifted if the EU is convinced after two years or something the way of reform is irreversible

(Irrawaddy)

20 July 2012
Voice of America says while direct investment sanctions were removed on 11 July, other underlying sanction authorities remain in place:

• Individuals who violate human rights
• Investment in entities owned by Ministry of Defense or other state / non-state armed groups
• US will continue to call for further progress in democratization, a halt to hostilities in ethnic areas, unconditional release of political prisoners and a cessation of military trade with North Korea.

(Mizzima)

Thai-Burma Relations
16 July 2012

U Nyanissara, one of the most revered monks from Burma, who is in Lampang to attend a cremation ceremony of a senior monk, gives a dhamma talk at the disputed Wat Sai Moon in Chiangmai. He urges all Burmese people to preserve their legacy wherever they live, and form a committee to talk to the Thai authorities regarding a solution to the dispute. (Irrawaddy)

17 July 2012
Thailand’s state-controlled PTT will be setting up a new subsidiary, PTT Myanmar to invest in projects including a 150,000 barrels a day crude oil refinery, coal mines and a power plant, says Nattachat Charuchinda, PTT’s chief operating officer. (Financial Times / BP)

Politics/ Inside Burma
17 July 2012
The Pyithu Hluttaw (People’s Assembly) decides to discuss the 1908 Unlawful Associations Act (India Act 14) to be able to amend and revoke it. The proposals will be passed to the Pyithu Hluttaw Bills Committee. (MNA)

18 July 2012

President Thein Sein meets 12 leaders of 10 political parties, including 6 ethnic parties. They discuss a wide range of issues including peace building as well as mooted changes to the electoral system before 2015 elections. (Irrawaddy)

19 July 2012

Vice President Sai Mawk Kham leads Martyrs Day memorial, an event broadcast live on state television. (AFP) The event has been played down for more than 20 years as part of efforts to stem the popularity Aung San Suu Kyi. (AP) In Naypyitaw, government officials lead the ceremony, although President Thein Sein is not among those who attend. (Irrawaddy)

Ethnic Affairs
14 July 2012
Two Mon political parties: All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP) and Mon Democracy Party (MDP) agree to emerge at a meeting in Moulmein. Mon Affairs Union (MAU) and New Mon State Party (NMSP) have been and New Mon State Party (NMSP) have been requesting the two to unify. AMRDP won 16 seats in 2010 while MDP (then known as MNDF) won 5 seats in 1990. (IMNA)

17 July 2012
At least 20 Kachins have been jailed over the past year for their alleged association with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), says Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)’s Bo Kyi. (Irrawaddy)

19 July 2012
MP Banya Aung Moe says Speaker Shwe Mann told MPs on the sidelines of the legislature’s fourth session that the government “agrees to set up a federal union in order to have peace in the country”, but it “will not agree to have 8 states.” Aung Moe was part of a group of MPs that visited India earlier this month to study its federal system, and how power is shared between state and union levels. (Irrawaddy)

Shans/ Shan State
19 July 2012

Sao Kai Hpa, the son of Shan Martyr Sao Sam Tun welcomes the fact the government had sent Vice President Sai Mawk Kham to pay its respects to the Martyrs. “It is a change in the right direction and it is a way of showing gratitude to those who gave up their lives for the country’s independence,” he says. (AP)

Economy/ Business
16 July 2012
Over 70 executives from 38 leading US companies conclude business mission to Burma, the first in 27 years. (TN)

Human Rights
16 July 2012
Farmers in Mingladon township hold a 4-day protest with the permission of township authorities. It is the first legal protest since 1962. (DVB)

18 July 2012
Lashio township authorities deny NLD request to publicly commemorate Martyrs Day at the Martyrs monument. Reasons given:

• National-level commemoration is suitable to be held in Rangoon
• It could annoy people passing by the Pyidaungsu Road
• It is close to the market where a trade expo is usually held

(DVB)

19 July 2012
School heads from Kyaikmayaw not complying with policy change on Mon language, saying teaching it will limit “our time for other instructions.” Mon literature committee says offering Mon language before or after school hours could tire or demotivate students, and is not an effective approach. (IMNA)

Environment
14-16 July 2012
Our Irrawaddy, Our Future seminar held in Rangoon. Protecting the Irrawaddy is protecting the Union, says an 88 Generation Students Group. (Irrawaddy)

Drugs
14 July 2012
Police sized 73 kg of crystal meth and hundreds of kg of drug-making chemicals worth $ 3.6 million on a raid on 9 July on a house in Laukkai (Laogai). 9 were arrested. (Kyemon / AP)

18 July 2012
A new synthetic drug, “bath salts”, widely used in the US and Europe, has been put on the watch list by the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). It comes in white or white-brown powder form, producing similar effects to cocaine or methamphetamine. (Bangkok Post)

War
18 July 2012
Burma Army’s Infantry Battalion 41 suffers more than 10 killed and 15 wounded after attack on Shan State Army (SSA) at Napiem village, Hsipaw township. (SHAN)

18 July 2012
Since June 2011, 1,640 clashes have taken place between Kachin Independence Army and the Burma Army. (Irrawaddy)