Friendship Bridge to be renovated
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The Myanmar-Thailand Friendship Bridge across the Moei River will soon be renovated at a cost of over Bt40 million, according to the chief Thai government engineer in Myawaddy.
See Sang Co Ltd started renovating the bridge through the Jet Ground system on January 8. The company constructed a new detour route on Dawna mountain on the Myawady-Kawkareik Road.
Thai engineer Paralong Yoot Kasinowong said that Bt40 million out of the budget for the new Myawaddy-Kawkareik road would be spent on renovating the bridge. It is expected the renovation would be complete by the end of June.
The flow of commodities and the travel of passengers are going well as before despite ongoing repairs to the bridge. They will be carried out without impact on local business to minimise loss and waste.
Workers to get advice
Myanmar will educate migrant workers to submit complaints if they face difficulties in their jobs via INGOs, the media and embassies, Myint Thein, Deputy Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security said.
The Deputy Minister answered a question from Eleven Media at a labour law meeting held by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security and the International Labour Organisation on Monday at Kandawkyi Palace Hotel, Yangon.
“I met with Myanmar workers who are working on the construction of Central Department Store in Chiang Mai. They don’t know much about overtime fees. They don’t know where to complain and some don’t know who their boss is. They don’t have necessary documents, either. We concluded that we need to educate them to improve their working conditions,” he said.
He led a delegation to Thailand on February 4 and attended a conference with the Myanmar Assoc-iation for Employee Protection, INGOs and the Ambassador to Thailand on February 9. The ministry plans to announce phone numbers of 11 temporary passports offices in a few days. It will urge the agencies to educate workers before sending them to take jobs.
88 Gen leaders to tour
Min Ko Naing and Pyone Cho of 88 Generation Students will tour Denmark, France and Norway and accept the Student Peace Prize awarded by Norway. They are leaders of a pro-democracy movement known for their activism against the junta in August 1988.
The visit will take nine days from February 14-22. This is the third overseas visit for Min Ko Naing.
Min Ko Naing will make an address on “How students participate in the peace process” in Norway and will give lecture at Oslo University for two hours.
Court reporters
Court reporters will be appointed in township courts to monitor the judiciary, which many consider tainted, Thura Aung Ko, chairman of the Lower House’s Judicial and Legal Committee said.
Thura Aung Ko said the committee will get help from the media to make a fairer judicial system.
Another official said the panel would arrange for the reporters to have free movement inside courts, without disturbing the judiciary.
“At least two or three [reporters] will be appointed for each township,” the official said.
Thura Aung Ko said the influence of administrative bodies had tainted the judicial system. The courts did not do thorough investigations, although the committee has sent over 2,000 cases for reinvestigation. “They have only retried about 1,000 cases out of obligation. They hardly retried civil cases,” he said.
Last July, Parliament rejected a proposal to amend and enact laws to protect the rights of ethnic minorities. “The judicial pillar has not moved. The rights given to the [judiciary] have been controlled by by-laws,” he added.
The Lawyers Network also said the tainted judiciary needs to immediate change.
