Saturday, May 16, 2009

Who is Tay Za

Tay Za

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Tay Za

တေဇ

Born 18 July 1967


Occupation Chairman, Htoo Trading

Tay Za (Burmese: တေဇ, also spelled Tayza or Teza) (born 18 July 1967)[1] is a Burmese business tycoon, and a close associate of the country's head, Than Shwe.

Contents [hide]

1 Business holdings

2 Relationship with the junta

3 Sanctions

4 References


 

[edit] Business holdings

His major business interests include Htoo Holdings and Air Bagan, the country's first and only fully privately-owned airline.[2] In 2006/2007 Htoo Trading, a division of Htoo Holdings involved in teak log exports, was Burma's top private exporter and fifth largest overall, with gross revenues of $65.1 million.[3] His son, Thiha Zaw, recently bought the London Cigarette Company, a large cigarette maker in Burma, and is believed to control the tobacco industry.[2]

Other activities include construction, tourism, infrastructure projects, and mobile phone services. He maintains close relations with the military leadership - a son of key junta member General Thura Shwe Mann serves on the board of Htoo Trading, and his Myanmar Avia Export, Burma’s sole representative of Russia’s Export Military Industrial Group and of the Russian helicopter company Rostvertol,[ 4] was instrumental in the junta’s 2002 purchase of advanced MiG-29 fighters for US$130 million.[5][ 2]

 

[edit] Relationship with the junta

Sean Turnell, an economics professor at Australia's Macquarie University who specializes in Myanmar, calls Tay Za "easily the most flamboyant of the tycoons that Burma has produced".[6] According to Thailand-based opposition sources, he and former drug baron Lo Hsing Han paid for the $300,000 wedding of the daughter of Senior-General Than Shwe in 2006, and he is reported to be romantically involved with another daughter.[7] Than Shwe's family frequently stay at a Tay Za-owned resort at Ngwe Saung on Burma's northwest coast,[8] and he is reported to act as a business agent for the family in Singapore.[4]

Tay Za is reported to be in the process of establishing an art museum in Rangoon and is reported to be buying paintings by contemporary Burmese artists through a US citizen (to avoid US sanctions). The art museum will be on Kaba Aye Pagoda Road near Inya Lake in Rangoon.[9]

 

[edit] Sanctions

In 2007, following protests against the junta on the streets of many cities in Burma, the United States government imposed sanctions against Tay Za and the companies he controls including Htoo Trading and Air Bagan.[10][11]

 

[edit] References

^ Jay Solomon and James Hookway (2007-10-24) . "U.S. Focuses on Myanmar Tycoon". The Wall Street Journal. http://online. wsj.com/article/ SB11931666891716 8700.html?.

^ a b c Money Men. The Irrawaddy. September 2008. http://www.irrawadd y.org/article. php?art_id= 14151.

^ Ye Lwin and Kyaw Thu (4-10 June 2007). Govt dominates foreign trade as gas sales pump up exports. The Myanmar Times. http://www.mmtimes. com/no369/ b004.htm.

^ a b Wai Moe (2007-10-23) . "Tay Za Grounded". The Irrawaddy. http://www.irrawadd y.org/article. php?art_id= 9085.

^ Peter Beaumont and Alex Duval Smith (2007-10-7). "Drugs and astrology: how 'Bulldog' wields power". The Guardian. http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ 2007/oct/ 07/burma. peterbeaumont.

^ "Tay Za: Junta links prove lucrative for Myanmar tycoon". The Strait Times. 5 May 2008. http://www.straitst imes.com/ print/Latest+ News/Asia/ STIStory_ 234209.html.

^ "Than Shwe Watch". The Irrawaddy. 2008-12-08. http://www.irrawadd y.org/article. php?art_id= 5597&page=6.

^ Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy (24 May 2008). "At home with the general". Mail and Guardian. http://www.mg. co.za/article/ 2008-05-24- at-home-with- the-general.

^ Tay Za, the Artful Dodger, The Irrawaddy, December 2008, pp. 11 ^ Executive Order: Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Burma ^ "HP-807: Treasury Action Targets Financial Network of Burmese Tycoon and Regime Henchman Tay Za". US Department of Treasury. 2008-02-05. http://www.ustreas. gov/press/ releases/ hp807.htm.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Tay_Za"


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Global Action day - Rally in Toronto for Burma's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi


Nobel Peace Prize recipient Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is Burma’s most celebrated and beloved person in the struggle for democratic governance in Burma. She has been under house arrest continuously since May 2003 and for a total of more than 13 of the past 19 years.

The release from her house arrest was due on the 27th of May. However, on May 13, Daw Suu and her two female caregivers were detained after an incident when an American national allegedly swam across Inya Lake and stayed at her house for two days. Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged under the regime’s Law Safeguarding the State from the Dangers of Subversive Elements and is being held in the notorious Insein Prison. Her trial is scheduled for May 18.


Her health has deteriorated recently, and due to the tight restrictions of her detention, she has often been denied access to her doctor, who was arrested last Thursday at the time of his monthly visit.

Burmese democracy movements and supporters around the globe are planning a ‘Global Day of Action’ scheduled on May 18, 2008 to demand her release and the release of all political prisoners in Burma.

In Canada, we will show our deepest concern for her well-being and our strong solidarity with her in a ‘Global Day of Action’ on Monday, May 18, 2008, by holding protests in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver.

We request all freedom loving Canadians to join us in our action in support of Aung San Suu Kyi and freedom and democracy in Burma.

The event in Toronto:

Date: Monday, May 18, 2009

Time: 1:30 pm

Place: Queen’s Park (in front of Ontario Provincial Legislative Building)

Contact Persons:


Zaw Wai Kyaw, phone: 416 358 2318

Aung Tin, phone: 647 343 7871

Timothy Zaw, phone: 416 735 4128

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