Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing attend Waso robes offering ceremony of families of Defence Services (Army, Navy and Air) of Ministry of Defence

NAY PYI TAW, 5 July — Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing attended the Waso robes offering ceremony of families of Defence Services (Army, Navy and Air) of the Ministry of Defence at Anawrahta Hall in Nay Pyi Taw at 9.15 am today.

Also present on the occasion were Chairman of State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee Magway Maha Withoddayama Taikthit Sayadaw Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru Abhidhaja Agga Maha Saddhammajotika Bhaddanta Kumara and member Sayadaws, invited members of the Sangha, Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Commander-in-Chief (Army) Vice-Senior General Maung Aye and wife Daw Mya Mya San, Member of the State Peace and Development Council General Thura Shwe Mann of the Ministry of Defence and wife Daw Khin Lay Thet, Prime Minister General Soe Win and wife Daw Than Than Nwe, Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Thein Sein and wife Daw Khin Khin Win, members of the State Peace and Development Council and their wives, the Commander-in-Chief (Navy) and the Commander-in-Chief (Air) and their wives, the Commander of Nay Pyi Taw Command and wife, ministers, the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, the Auditor-General, the Chairman of Civil Service Selection and Training Board, senior military officers of the Ministry of Defence and their wives, families of the Defence Services (Army, Navy and Air).

The ceremony was opened with three-time recitation of Namo Tassa.

Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and party took the Nine Precepts from the Chairman Sayadaw. Members of the Sangha recited Parittas. The Senior General and wife offered Waso robes and alms to the Chairman Sayadaw.

Vice-Senior General Maung Aye and wife Daw Mya Mya San also donated Waso robes and provisions to the Sayadaw.

General Thura Shwe Mann and wife Daw Khin Lay Thet presented Waso robes and offertories to the Sayadaw.

Likewise, Prime Minister General Soe Win and wife Daw Than Than Nwe offered Waso robes and donations to the Sayadaw.

Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Thein Sein and wife Daw Khin Khin Win presented Waso robes and alms to the Sayadaw.

Afterwards, members of the State Peace and Development Council, the Commander-in-Chief (Navy), the Commander-in-Chief (Air), the ministers, senior military officers and officials donated Waso robes and offertories to the Sayadaws.

Secretary Nyaung-don Sayadaw Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru Bhaddanta Osad- habhivamsa delivered a sermon, and the Senior General and wife shared merits gained.

The ceremony concluded with three-time recitation of Bud-dha Sasanam Çiram Titthatu.

After the ceremony, Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and party offered ‘soon’ to the Sayadaws.

 Only with stability of the State, will lives of women be secure Kachin State marks Myanmar Women’s Day

YANGON , 5 July—Kachin State Women’s Affairs Organization marked the Myanmar Women’s Day at the City Hall in Myitkyina on 3 July.

Chairperson of the organization Daw Tin Tin Ohn in her address said that Kachin State , a peaceful and pleasant region, is home to various national races such as Bamar, Shan, Chin, Rakhine, Kayin and Naga besides six Kachin ethnic groups and five Shan ethnic groups. And the national brethren have been living in the region through thick and thin in amity for thousands of years. Kachin State is located in the northernmost part of the nation, sharing the border with India in the west, the People’s Republic of China in the north and in the east, with Sagaing Division in the south and in the north, and with Shan State in the south. It is the second largest state with an area of 34,378.38 square miles. It is made up of four districts, 18 townships and six sub-townships with a population of more than 1.4 million, over 710,000 of which are women.

Its sown acreage has increased to more than 580,000, up from over 440,000. The sown acreage of monsoon and summer paddy has been doubled and that has ensured the region’s surplus food. In addition, 18,722 acres of fallow and virgin lands have been reclaimed. On completion of the Paungnet Dam Project being implemented with an investment of K 3,622 million in Shwegu Township , Bhamo District, it will benefit more than 5,000 more cultivable acres. The output of fish and meat has been nearly trippled. It is running the fishery on 863.756 acres.

It has a jade land and copper, gold, coal and ruby are produced in it. In 2005-2006 fiscal year, it produced over 2,740,000 kilos of jade. The Myanma Gems Enterprise discovered a jade boulder weighing more than 3,000 tons in Phakant Township , Kachin State .

Now, the number of basic education schools in Kachin State has reached 134, and the number of teachers has been two times the previous figures with more than 280,000 students. In the past, there was only one degree college. Now, the region has been served with a university, two computer colleges and two technological colleges. The number of its hospitals has risen to 44, up from 35. Moreover, one traditional hospital and five dispensaries have been upgraded. It has also seen 80 post offices, 28 telegraph offices, 46 fax stations, seven computer telegraph offices, 56 auto exchanges, 13 microwave stations, 17 rural auto exchanges, six e-mail and Internet centres and three satellite stations.

The government has constructed three medium-scale hydropower stations. After 1988, the government built 667 under-180-foot bridges and 33 over-180-foot bridges in Kachin State including 2,688 feet long Bala Min Htin Bridge . It has also constructed 124 miles of tarred roads, 190 miles of gravel roads, 259 miles of macadam roads and 16 miles of earth roads. Thanks to 350-mile Mandalay-Shwebo-Myitkyina Road and 417-mile Mandalay-Tagaung-NgaO-Shwegu-Bhamo-Myitkyina Union Highway , people can travel between the northern part and the southern part of the nation.

The government has made peace with Kachin Special Regions (1) and (2). And their contribution towards regional development has enhanced the spirit of national unity and Union Spirit.

Due to their trust in the government, NDAK exchanged arms for peace on 15 December 1989 and KIO, on 24 April 1994 and they are now joining hands with the government in the tasks for the progress of national races. So far, a total of K 200.93 million from the funds for the development of border areas has been spent for the development of the Special Regions (1) and (2). As a result, Kachin State has enjoyed unprecedented progress.

The government is transforming the nation into a modern and developed one. It has designated 24 areas as development regions for ensuring equitable development of urban and rural areas. Members of women’s affairs organizations at different levels are taking part in these tasks. So, the accusations on cleansing the ethnic groups are totally groundless.

With goodwill and loving-kindness, Myanmar people by nature make voluntary contribution towards the building of pagodas, monasteries, roads and bridges. Myanmar people were saddened when their voluntary contribution are labeled as forced labour.

From time imme-morial, Myanmar national people have been contributing towards construction of self-reliant roads and bridges of their own volition. Those who used the norms practised in western countries to make accusations of forced labour have not participated in the con-struction of a road or a bridge. She said she objected the sanctions imposed and actions taken against the nation by the ILO.

Of the Kachin State ’s population of 1,422,890 people, 540,763 are Kachins; 416,775, Bamars; and 144,132, Shans. Regarding the religious faiths, Buddhists make up 5.81 per cent, Christians, 36.4 per cent, Hindus, 1.56 per cent, and Muslims 1.15 per cent and other faiths, 3.07 per cent. The accusations such as detecting, keeping a watchful eye and control of religious activities are absolutely baseless. Local people with different faiths have freedom of their religious activities.

In conclusion, she said that only with stability of the State, will the lives of women be secure. She said that she was deeply concerned over the security of the lives of the entire people including women, owing to the sanctions imposed by certain western powers finding pretexts to install a puppet government, their encouragement and support for anti-government groups that are perpetrating subversive acts to disrupt stability of the State and peace, and various forms of fabrications.

Next, the chairperson and leaders of respective working groups presented gifts to the outstanding members. The chairperson accepted 7,100 membership applications.

Well-wishers made cash donations to the Kachin State WAO.

Forty-one Tatmadaw members, social organization members and well-wishers donated blood to Kachin State General Hospital in Myitkyina. The chairperson and party encouraged the blood donors and pre-sented gifts to them. They also grew 300 physic nut plants near the pre-primary school of the Social Welfare Department in Thida Ward, Myitkyina, and inspected the feeding of nutritious cereals to the kids.