ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By LAWI WENG | Hundreds of people living near the Burma-Bangladesh border say they are worried that a new fence being built by the Burmese military will soon end their ability to travel freely in the area.

The purpose of the fence is to prevent Muslims from Bangladesh entering predominantly Buddhist Burma, according to Khaing Mrat Kyaw, an editor for Dhaka-based Narinjara News.

“Muslim people will be stuck soon as they won’t be able to travel to any country,” he said.

Until recently, there were about 200 people from the Burmese side who routinely went back and forth across the border every day, he added.

The Dhaka-based Daily Star reported on Tuesday that Burma started erecting fences along the 200-km border with Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged Prime Minster Gen Thein Sein of Burma to cooperate with international organizations to resolve the issue of Rohingya boat people fleeing from the sensitive Burma-Bangladesh border area.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, speaking at a dinner in honor of the visiting Burmese prime minister on Tuesday, also called for greater international cooperation.

“The global environment is changing, with a new administration in the US reviewing the global situation, and formulating its priorities and strategies in foreign policy for the next four years,” Lee said.

“We hope Myanmar [Burma] will seize this moment to take bolder steps towards national reconciliation and in engaging the international community,” he added.

At last year’s 7th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Burma was criticized for its resistance to offers of international aid for victims of Cyclone Nargis. Burma’s Deputy Defense Minister Maj-Gen Aye Myint attended the event.

Burma has reportedly rejected an invitation to attend this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, which is a key event for defense and security diplomacy for the region, organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.