Financial Crisis, Impacts and Call for Coordinated Push for Change.

Loosing of jobs by over 20,000 persons within three months in the construction sector indicates a financial crisis in Burma. The statistics from a highway transport agency in Naypyidawi of Burma provides proof of workers from all over Burma leaving Naypyidaw, due to dismissal by the construction companies working at Naypyidaw. The companies which dismissed the workers are the sub contractors. Their connections with the junta's cronies had allowed them to get the contracts at Naypyidawii. The impact, affecting the market, will be reflected as another round of increasing consumer prices. The agriculture workers will feel the impact through rising fuel and industry related essential goods. The impact on the market will bear pressure on the government service employees, especially those on the low income levels. The low income levels of the government sector include the office staff of the ministries and departments as well as the soldiers, police, immigration, jail staff etc. will feel the impact most. The soldiers will be hurt twice. The inflation is taking place and yet their savings in the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, which could ease their daily hardship, are not returned by the military. Sympathetic officers are unable to solve the problems, as it is the top level military officers, who are refusing to give back the savings. Compounding the issue is the death and wounded resulting from unnecessary attacks on the ethnic nationalities initiated by commander in chief of the Tatmadaw, Gen Min Aung Hlaing. We know that many ranks and files are objecting to these unfair practices. Unregulated monetary practices led to a financial crisis in 2003iii. This time, the cause is the white-elephant "Nuclear and Long range Missile" project of Than Shwe. It is draining most of the income received from the sale of the country's resources. It was not the international sanctions that had caused the financial crisis in 2003. Now also, it is not the international sanctions. Denying equal political status by the regime to the ethnic organizations and their leadership had resulted in the junta's much heralded "ceasefires" unraveling, once its election began. This led to the Burma junta declaring areas where elections would not be heldiv. At the present, in these areas where the junta had made joint ventures with China and India, provocation by the junta top level leadership had resulted in full scale battles and refugees where the junta has used planes to bomb locations of the ethnic organizations.

The financial crisis, the denial of political freedom, imprisonment of political activists, the closure of border tradev, the attacks on the ethnic organizations, the deaths and the wounded soldiers, the loss of jobs, the growing cross border migration are all results of the unilateral decisions of the successive juntas in many guises. It is time to stand up firmly and change the system finally. We recognize many people of many sectors and with various responsibilities are doing in whatever way they can for change. We cannot do it alone or as one group or one sector. We call upon all these individuals and the many organizations, which have the same desire for a better Burma to coordinate and act resolutely for change. Lets all push -- we can do it. We must do it.

Contact:

Maung Maung Aung Moe Zaw

66 8 6054 9152 66 8 1281 5350

i
http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/news/inside-burma/7959-2011-07-15-13-37-38.html

ii
http://www.irrawaddy.org/bur/index.php/news/6861-2011-07-15-08-21-35

iii
Burmas Private Banking Crisis - a Chronology By Irrawaddy - December 06, 2003

iv
Union Election Commission issues Notification No. 101/2010. NAY PYI TAW, 16 Sept The following is the translation of the notification Areas where elections will not be held

v
Burma shuts Thailand border crossing - By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESS Published: 21 July 2010