More aid needed for refugees
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US$35.8 million (Bt1.1 billion) more is needed for internally displaced persons, or IDPs, in Myanmar’s Kachin State and northern Shan State, according to the Kachin Response Plan.
Kachin local administration said that they saw increasing needs for aid of these refugees as their numbers were also gradual rising because of instability due to ongoing conflict in the two areas.
The plan, which is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs and several international aid agencies, said that the camps actually needed more than $143 million for food only.
According to the plan, people in the camps are facing shortages of medicines and mosquito-nets, as well as facing threats of frequent outbreaks of diarrhea, skin infections and respiratory tract infections.
The plan focuses on food supply, shelters, healthcare, water and sanitation, education and child care, as well as raising AIDS awareness and providing vocational training. It received $21 million donations from various humanitarian organizations between October 2011 and August 2012.
Public outcry over murder rumour
A rumour that a 12-year-old boy was killed in Sittwe, the capital of the western state of Rakhine, sparked a strong public outcry.
No untoward incident took place as the authorities were quick to bring the situation under control.
Around the noon on Friday, a rumor spread that a Rakhine boy, Maung Aung Naing Oo, was allegedly killed by Bengalis while he was selling ice jollies in Inparlar Ward.
Hearing the rumor, hundreds of locals gathered on nearby streets to protest the rumored killing. By 2:30pm, the number of angry people reached around 3,000.
Fearing that the situation may spin out of control, some elderly and respected Buddhist monks rushed there quickly. They took the situation under control within a short time.
It emerged later that the boy turned up there with his mother at 5:45pm the same day.
“I was selling ice jollies today near the market. I didn’t go to Inparlar Ward. I didn’t know what happened… Now, I have come from my home,” Aung Naing Oo, the 15-year-old boy told the Eleven Media Group.
Talking about the incident, Hla Thein, chairman of Rakhine State Government Information and Record Sub-committee, said: “This is totally a rumor. The people have misunderstood. They should have learned first whether the boy was really murdered or not.”
Locals celebrate project suspension
Kachin people celebrated the first anniversary of the suspension of the Myitsone hydropower project.
Myanmar President Thein Sein’s announced the suspension of the hydropower project, which was being built on the Ayeyawaddy River near Tanphe village, about 7 kilometers downstream of the confluence, on September 30 last year.
Authorities relocated the locals to new villages due to the construction of the China-backed hydropower project.
“We have prayed to God for an end to Myitsone dam project,” a Christian preacher said during the first anniversary celebration.
