Oiling the Castors of the Junta Physic Nuts!

[GWR]

It is a fact that almost every day the online version of the New Light of Myanmar carries endless dreary stories about projects to grow Physic Nuts:

http://www.mizzima.com/Cartoon/asean-5-x.jpg
[Cartoon: http://www.mizzima.com]
Full-size cartoon:
http://www.mizzima.com/Cartoon/asean-5-xbig.jpg

Than Shwe Finds Burma’s Fate in the Stars
By Wai Moe
November 23, 2007

Burmese junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s wife Kyaing Kyaing recently visited the celebrated Shit Myet Hna pagoda in her husband’s birthplace, Kyaukse, in central Burma, but she wasn’t just sightseeing or calling on friends and relatives.

The revered site is known as the “Eight Faces” pagoda because it faces eight points of the compass. Kyaing Kyaing is reported to have prayed symbolically there for support from all sides for her beleaguered husband and his despised regime.

Kyaing Kyaing and her husband, like many members of the ruling military, are deeply superstitious and rely on astrologers and other soothsayers to advise them.

They also indulge in yadaya, a kind of voodoo said to ward off ill-fortune, and are said to have employed its rituals in an occult bid to influence meetings between opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the official appointed by Than Shwe to act as a go-between, retired general Aung Kyi.

Than Shwe reportedly even attaches significance to Aung Kyi’s name, combining as it does Aung at the start and Kyi at the end. This combination is known in Burmese as “Ket’ Kin,” meaning the state of two names being diametrically opposite to each other and thus astrologically significant.

There are others examples of ‘Ket’ Kin’ within the military junta. The names of Than Shwe, Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein and the official who signs government decrees and statements, Col Thant Shin, all begin with the letter T and end with S—‘Ket’ Kin,” according to the superstitious.

Than Shwe wasn’t always so subject to superstitious belief—one source close to the family says he was no strong believer in astrology when he was regional military commander in the Irrawaddy delta.

His wife Kyaing Kyaing, originally ethnic Pa-O, has long been a strong believer in nats, or spirits, astrology and yadaya.

She is said to have been told by an astrologer in the 1980s that her husband would one day head the government. The astrologer, a monk, also offered the delighted Kyaing Kyaing the information that her husband had been a king in his past life.

After the first prediction came true, Than Shwe (not surprisingly) developed his interest in astrology and yadaya and began to seek the advice of astrologers and soothsayers—including Rangoon’s most famous fortune-teller, ET (also known as E Thi).

A Buddhist nun, Daw Dhammathi, is believed to be one of his family’s most favored astrologists, and Kyaing Kyaing is a frequent visitor to her temple compound in Rangoon’s
North Okkalapa suburb.

Than Shwe’s efforts to neutralize the powers of Suu Kyi are also said to account for his extraordinary initiative to force Burmese to grow physic nuts, which are intended to provide alternative fuel for the cash-strapped country.

Physic nuts are known as kyet suu in Burmese, a combination of words that carry the astrological meaning of Monday-Tuesday. Suu Kyi’s own name has the astrological meaning of Tuesday-Monday, and it’s said that Than Shwe’s astrologer suggested that by planting kyet suu throughout the country Suu Kyi’s powers could be neutralized.

There’s no sign of that happening yet. Astrology and yadaya obviously have their limitations.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9407

[GWR]

It is a fact that almost every day the online version of the New Light of Myanmar carries endless dreary stories about projects to grow Physic Nuts:

http://www.mizzima.com/Cartoon/asean-5-x.jpg
[Cartoon: http://www.mizzima.com]
Full-size cartoon:
http://www.mizzima.com/Cartoon/asean-5-xbig.jpg
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9407

Sunflowers—Than Shwe’s Latest Yadaya?
By Shah Paung
December 6, 2007

First it was physic nuts. Now it’s sunflowers. Farmers in Pegu Division, about 80km north of Rangoon, are being instructed by local authorities to grow them, in the apparent superstitious belief that the flowers symbolize long life for the regime.

The order last year to grow physic nuts at least had an apparently practical purpose—to provide oil for possible use as an alternative fuel. This time, farmers who dared ask why they were now being ordered to plant sunflowers met only official evasion.

Local sources told The Irrawaddy that the order to plant sunflowers was issued to farmers in Waw Township and Nyaunglaybin Township, Pegu Division. Each was instructed to buy one pyi (2 kg) of sunflower seed at a cost of 1,500 kyat (US $1.10). No commitment was made to buy seed from the resulting sunflower crop, and no reason was given for the order.

Sunflower translates into Burmese as Nay Kyar, which literally means “long stay.” The Pegu farmers are convinced that they are being asked to plant Nay Kyar to support the Burmese regime’s hope that it will stay long in power.

Local people point out that the astrological meaning of Nay is Saturday, the seventh day of the week. Kyar means Monday, the second day. Add the two together and—hey presto!—you have nine, a lucky number in Burma.

The head of the junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, is particularly fond of this superstitious symbolism, known as yadaya.

When the order went out last year for Burmese households and farmers to grow physic nuts, many believed that yadaya was behind the decision.

Physic nuts are known as kyet suu in Burmese, a combination of words with the astrological meaning Monday and Tuesday. The name of Than Shwe’s chief adversary, opposition leader Suu Kyi, has the meaning Tuesday-Monday, and it’s said that Than Shwe’s astrologer suggested that by planting kyet suu throughout the country Suu Kyi’s powers could be neutralized by this juxtaposition of four words.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9522

[GWR]

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9522

Physic nut plantations weeded in Gangaw

GANGAW, 25 Dec - Deputy Head of Gangaw District Information and Public Relations Department Daw Aye Aye and staff together with in-charge technician-2 U Kee Htang Nai and staff of TV relay station of Myanma Radio and Television performed weeding of physic nut plantations and repairing of the fence of the relay station on 22 December morning.
Non-specific link:
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html

[GWR]

New Light of Myanmar
Officials urged to run commuter trains punctually

http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/images/Apr05.4.jpghttp://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/images/Apr05.10.jpg
[Photos: NLM]

YANGON, 3 April - Chairman of Yangon Division Peace and Development Council Commander of Yangon Command Maj-Gen Hla Htay Win and officials inspected Yangon circular railroads, here, this morning.

The commander called for sanitation and beautifying tasks along the circular railroads and the stations, cultivation of vegetables and security measures for the stations.

General Manager (Lower Myanmar) U Myint Wai of Myanma Railway and chairmen of district and township PDCs reported on work being done.

At the Yangon Rail-way Station, the commander instructed the officials to hold competitions for sanitation and beautifying of the stations along the circular rail road and award prizes, to redouble efforts for maintanence of railroads and the stations, and to run the commuter trains punctually.
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html

And if you are still wondering what the "cultivation of vegetables" has to do with commuter trains. Truthfully, almost every depot & station visit by a railway general (reported by NLM) includes some mention of an inspection of the physic & castor oil bushes growing trackside. No exaggeration! See below for some illumination on this obsession:

Pointless plants, needless burden
April 4, 2008
http://ratchasima.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/physic-nuts.jpg
[Photo: http://ratchasima.net/ ]

Around the suburbs of Rangoon small scraggly bushes now occupy plots of land that once were used for growing vegetables or beans. They look miserable. Unattended among weeds and debris, they show no signs of growth and bear few leaves. Some are used for hanging laundry. Others catch plastic bags in the breeze.

They are also a flagship state project. The order to grow these physic nut plants, which belong to the same family as castor oil, is said to have come directly from Burma’s military supremo, Senior General Than Shwe. His supposed idea is to alleviate the country’s fuel shortages through biodiesel, although some speculate that the order may have had as much to do with astrology as the economy.

People all around the country have been given seeds and pressed into planting them [or, the Myanmar Times suggests, "at the government's request"] along roads, football fields, schoolyards and government compounds. Some bear the signboards of government departments, police stations and military units. Television broadcasts reassure viewers that the bushes will soon bear a great bounty, and demonstrate how simple it is to extract their oil and use it for fuel.

Reality suggests otherwise.

...........

http://ratchasima.net/2008/04/04/pointless-plants-needless-burden/#more-626

[GWR]

Students paste anti-Castor-oil-trees posters in Myitkyina
News - Kachin News Group
Written by Kachin News
Thursday, 03 July 2008

Before dawn this morning, students pasted about 200 A-4 sized hand-written posters against anti-Castor-oil-tree plantations in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state in Northern Burma, local student activists said.

The posters said 'No castor-oil-tree' and 'No military junta' in big letters in Burmese with red-coloured soft pens, a student leader Mr. Naw Awng told KNG.

According to student activists, the posters were pasted mainly at crowded places like grocery markets in Shwe Nyaung Pyin, Lekone, Dukahtawng (Du Mare), Yan Gyi Aung, Tatkone (Dapkawng) and Shatapru quarters in Myitkyina. The posters were also put up at the entrance of Myitkyina University and electric power-posts on the main street in Myitkyina downtown, the activists added.

An eyewitness told KNG, he saw anti-castor-oil-tree posters at the entrance of Myitkyina University around 8:30 a.m. local time.

The poster movement was at the behest of Myitkyina University students in the township organized by the local underground students' organization known as the All Kachin Students Union (AKSU), the student activist leader Naw Awng said.

The AKSU was established in Kachin before the monk-led Saffron Revolution in Burma in September last year and the organization has launched non-stop poster movements against the ruling junta in Kachin state.

Aim of the poster movement

Student leader Naw Awng told KNG that this morning's anti-castor-oil-tree plantation movement was organized for the two reasons.

First, the posters were written by hand which will encourage the local people that they can reveal their attitude towards the authorities by pasting hand-written posters themselves in their communities.

Second, the meaning of 'No castor-oil-tree' and 'No military junta' on the posters were the same. This is because there is no government firm and private company buys the castor-oil fruits in Kachin state at a high human and monetary cost. The plantation project is not beneficial to the public. Similarly, the Burmese ruling junta does not serve its people and only threaten them.

So, the AKSU strongly encourages the people that they have to oppose the junta's project the Castor-oil-tree plantation also called Jet Suu in Burmese as well as to topple the repressive military junta.

Authorities are reluctant to pull down anti-junta posters

Today, the junta authorities in Myitkyina were unusually reluctant to pull down the anti-castor-oil-tree posters from public areas in Myitkyina Township , local sources said.

According to student activists and eyewitnesses, they could see the anti-castor-oil-tree posters in different areas in Myitkyina till before noon because the reserved firefighters, members of the junta-sponsored Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in each quarter and village, and policemen did not pull it down without orders from senior officers.

Earlier, all kinds of anti-junta posters were taken down as soon as the posters were seen in Myitkyina by local reserved firefighters, members of USDA and the police without waiting for orders, student activists said.

The problems have surfaced between the men and officers of reserved firefighters, USDA members and policemen after they were sent to relief programms in the Cyclone Nargis-hit Irrawaddy River Delta in Southern Burma since late May, sources close them said.

This is because, they had not received any medical support from their senior officers while they fell ill during relief duty for a month in Irrawaddy Delta and had to come back home at their own cost, sources close to firefighters said.

As a response, the local firefighters and USDA members in Myitkyina just let the anti-castor-oil-tree posters in their quarters and villages be, till orders came from senior officers, a resident who met a local reserved firefighter in Shatapru told KNG.

Castor-oil-tree plantation season in Myitkyina

Locals also call Castor-oil-tree -- Physic nut tree or Jatropha Curcas. Planting started in Myitkyina soon after the junta-run referendum on the draft constitution on May 10.

Residents of Myitkyina said, the Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) has ordered that people in Myitkyina municipal area have to grow over 300,000 Physic nut saplings on their own within this year's plantation season, said locals.

Now, each quarters and villages under Myitkyina municipal area have been ordered to plant 300,000 Physic nut saplings without any support from the authorities, according to administrators of quarters and villages.

To implement the order, each quarter and village administration has to buy a Pyi of Physic nut seeds (1 Pyi = 8 condensed milk cans) costing 8,000 Kyat (US $ 7) and employ civilians without wages in the Physic nut plantations, quarter administration sources said.

In Kachin state, the junta has ordered growing 500,000 acres of Physic nut trees for the country's future bio diesel production project, residents said.

The Physic nut trees bear fruits after one year after biding planted.

Fruit-poisoned children in hospital

The number children poisoned by castor-oil-tree fruit are gradually increasing in the general public hospital in Myitkyina Township in the current fruit bearing season of Castor-oil-trees, said residents of Myitkyina.

On June 5 last month, 8 children aged 8 to 11 in Maymyint quarter were poisoned and sent to hospital. They ate immature castor-oil-tree fruits near their playground, a resident told KNG today.

"The instances of castor-oil-tree fruit poisoning are happening in every quarter and village in Myitkyina not. Adults have also been poisoned," he added.

He said, the fruit poisoning causes eaters to vomit and feel dozy. However, the authorities have not cautioned through posters or signboards about not eating castor-oil-tree fruits in Myitkyina.
http://bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4409&Itemid=1

[GWR]

Commander attends collective growing of physic nut plants

NAY PYI TAW, 23 July- A ceremony to collectively grow physic nut plants was held in Hsaungpyaung village of Shan State (South) on 11 July, attended by Chairman of Shan State Peace and Development Council Commander of Eastern Command Brig-Gen Ya Pyae, senior military officers, departmental officials at state, district and township levels, members of social organizations and the local people.

First, the commander made a speech and then he and those present collectively grew physic nut and perennial plants.

Upon arrival at Moebye dam, the commander and party inspected water storage, water supply, durability of the dam, and he inspected lecture halls at Loikaw Technological University. Next, the commander and party paid homage to Hsutaungpyae pagoda in Loikaw.
Non-specific link:
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html

[GWR]

http://bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4409&Itemid=1

Extortion for castor oil plants
News - IMNA
Monday, 28 July 2008
Burmese military junta authorities in Southern Burma are into extorting money from residents for replanting castor oil plants (Jatropha Curcas).

The Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) in Ye, Mon State extorted 1000 Kyat each from residents during the weekend.

According to Ye residents, the authorities took the money for replanting castor oil saplings where some had had died on the main road and in government's plantations.

A resident said TPDC forcibly collects money annually from residents to implement government projects.

Similarly the TPDC in Mudon Township collected funds recently from the people in the township for replanting castor oil saplings.

The Burmese regime had targeted to plant jatropha curcas on eight million acres of land in the country in three years, according to a report of the Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF). The areas are including Kachin, Karenni, Karen, Chin, Mon, Arakan, and Shan states.

The junta wants to grow 500,000 plants in each of its 12 regional military command in three years. The military southeast command ordered different levels of the government administration to grow the plant.

Government authorities used resources from the people to implement the project forcing people to shell out money.

Each government departments were ordered to grow the plant in their own land while people were ordered to grow at least five plants on their land.

Each high school has been directed to grow 1,000 plants, 700 plants in middle school and 300 in primary schools.

Castor oil plants will also have to be grown along the main motor road and highway.
http://bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4577&Itemid=1

[GWR]

Forced labour in Castor oil plantation
News - Narinjara News
Friday, 01 August 2008

Sittwe: Forced labour continues unabated in Arakan State. Many villagers have been forced by local Burmese military junta authorities to work at a castor oil plantation in Sittwe Township, Arakan State, without any payment, said a villager in the area.

"The military regime declared in 2000 that there is no forced labour in Burma, but in our area, forced labour is still relevant," the villager said.

Villagers from Kwee Day, Amyint Kyunt, Par Dalike, Nga Tauk, and Chi Li Byint in Sittwe Township have been summoned by village authorities to work in the castor oil plantations.

"The forced labour is at the behest of the village council, Rayaka, on the orders of the Sittwe Township authority, and the villagers have to work in the castor oil plantation whenever the authorities need forced labour for the plantation," the villager said.

The authorities planted the castor oil saplings in many acres of land in the area, after confiscating grazing pastures that were owned by local residents.

"Recently our villagers had to go to the castor plantation to work without any wage. We had to perform many tasks, including putting up fences, making drains or gutters, and cleaning up brush on the plantation," the villager said.

The villagers in the area have been used by authorities at all times of the year, during both the rainy season and the dry season.

The Burmese military authorities have declared that there is no forced labour in Burma, but there have been reports that local authorities are using people as forced labour in many areas in Arakan State, where people are unable to complain of the violation to the ILO office in Rangoon.
http://bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4617&Itemid=1

[GWR]

http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html
And if you are still wondering what the "cultivation of vegetables" has to do with commuter trains. Truthfully, almost every depot & station visit by a railway general (reported by NLM) includes some mention of an inspection of the physic & castor oil bushes growing trackside. No exaggeration! See below for some illumination on this obsession
http://ratchasima.net/2008/04/04/pointless-plants-needless-burden/#more-626

Rail Transportation Ministry plants trees

NAY PYI TAW, 4 Aug-Deputy Minister for Rail Transportation Thura U Thaung Lwin attended the tree planting ceremony (2008) of the Ministry of Rail Transportation at Nay Pyi Taw railways station here on 2 August and planted a perennial sapling.

Next, the deputy minister viewed the growing of shade trees by the staff in the compound of Myanma Railways (Head Office) Nay Pyi Taw and thriving seasonal crops and fruit trees, and stressed the need for officials concerned to strive for thriving of the already-grown trees.

The staff of the ministry grew altogether 1,890 flowery and perennial trees at the ceremony. And they have so far grown 3,400 trees in the environs of the railways stations.
Non-specific link:
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html