Junta Tightens Passports for NGO Staff

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org

February 12, 2008 - The Burmese regime appears to be tightening access to passports for Burmese staff members of international non-governmental organizations, according to Rangoon sources.

Burmese staff members with UN organizations and international NGOs who have applied for a passport renewal at the passport office, which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, report longer than usual delays and other problems, sources told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

A Burmese passport is only valid for six months after the date of issue, according to information on the passport office Web site. If it is not used within six months, it must be renewed for another six months.

If the bearer cannot depart within the second six-month period, they must apply for a new passport from the very beginning.

The passport office has told some Burmese staff of international NGOs that their passports could be seized if they return home from a foreign trip. The passport office is also refusing to issue passports to some Burmese staffers, according to sources who asked for anonymity.

“The office said that if a staffer wants to travel abroad, they should apply for a passport three months in advance,” said one source.

“Officials at the office said the restrictions were ordered by Maj-Gen Maung Oo, the minister of home affairs,” she said.

A Burmese staff member with a UN organization said many of his colleagues have been waiting for a passport renewal for months.

“I think all Burmese working for UN organizations have been affected by the tighter regulations,” he said.

“They [the passport office] said ‘if you want to go again, you have to apply for a passport again,’” he said. “I am not sure whether they will issue a new passport to me again or not.”

One source said a passport renewal usually took about ten days.

“But now some staff at my NGO have waited for more than two months,” she said. “But there’s been no response. The passport office told us there is some problem. But they do not give any details.”

The passport of one NGO worker, the husband of a Burmese staff member at the US embassy, was recently seized by authorities at Rangoon’s Mingaladon International Airport when he returned from abroad, said a source.

The Myanmar Passport Issuing Office was not available for comment when contacted by The Irrawaddy. The office is run by the Police Special Branch, which handles intelligence.

Meanwhile, since late 2007, the junta has also tightened visa regulations on Western diplomats, their family members and NGO employees working in Burma.

In some cases, the regime has refused to renew or extend visas for some staff of Western embassies and their family members.

Foreign NGO workers traveling to project sites in the country must have a special permit from authorities, according to a junta decree regulating NGOs.

In 2005, the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria cancelled its program in Burma, saying the travel regulations prevented it from accomplishing its mission.