The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Supporters of Two-Child Limit for Rohingya Stage Demonstration in Sittwe
• Madeleine Albright Applauds Burma’s ‘Long Overdue’ Reform
• Karen Community Leaders Call for Transparency on Business Deals Amid Peace Talks
• Hundreds Pay Respects to Popular Composer KAT
• In Lashio, Displaced Families Return Home
• Coca-Cola Pops the Top on First Burma Bottling Operation in 60 Years
• ‘Don’t Believe Everything You Hear’
• After Amnesties, Burma’s Political Prisoners Pull Together
• Installing Burma 2.0
• Fatal Car Wash Stabbing Latest Attack on Burmese in Malaysia
• Digicel-Soros consortium pledges $9 billion cellphone investment
• Top UK general in Burma to build military ties
• Rohingya two-child policy under scrutiny — President’s Office
• Arakan Buddhists in Bangladesh ‘fleeing persecution’
• Arakan Buddhists in Bangladesh ‘Fleeing Persecution’
• Rohingya Two-Child Policy Under Scrutiny — President’s Office
• Top UK General in Burma to Build Military Ties
• Digicel-Soros Consortium Pledges $9 Billion Cellphone Investment
• Fire, Locked Doors Kill 119 at China Poultry Plant
• North Korean Economy Surrenders to Foreign Currency Invasion

Supporters of Two-Child Limit for Rohingya Stage Demonstration in Sittwe Posted: 04 Jun 2013 05:15 AM PDT Demonstrators in Sittwe, Arakan State, march in support of a local policy limiting Rohingya Muslims to two children on Tuesday. (Photo: Min Naing Thu / The Irrawaddy) Nearly 1,000 Arakanese people gathered in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State in western Burma, to show their support for local authorities' ban on Rohingya Muslims having more than two children and one wife, urging that the ban be extended to cover the entire state. Last month, authorities in Arakan State's Maungdaw district enforced the ban because, authorities said, the population of Rohingya in the district was growing at an unacceptable rate and needed to be stemmed. "Rakhine [Arakan] State is close to Bangladesh, so that we need to have something to keep their population in check in our state," said Tha Pwint, one of the demonstration's leaders, during the mass gathering in Sittwe on Tuesday. The United Nations said last month that a decision by authorities in western Burma to restore a two-child limit on Rohingya Muslims was discriminatory and in violation of their human rights. UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said UN human rights bodies have called on the authorities in Arakan State "to remove such policies or practices." The Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi also questioned the recent introduction of a two-child policy for Rohingya families in Arakan State, saying the measure is "illegal" and "not in accordance with human rights." Earlier on Tuesday, AFP reported that Burma will review the local decision to forcibly limit Muslim Rohingya in two areas of Arakan State to two children. Participants said they held Tuesday's demonstration to show their solidarity with the local authorities' two-child policy for Rohingya. "If the United States and the UN put pressure on the government on the issue, we can respond to it now as we show our support for the order," said Aung Thit Soe, a youth leader who took part the demonstration. The demonstration was joined by political party members, members of social networks and Sittwe residents. Participants were surrounded by Buddhist monks. "Despite their participation in the demonstration, they are not involved as party members," said Aung Myat Kyaw, an MP from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP). "They might want to join it because they are Rakhine people."

Madeleine Albright Applauds Burma’s ‘Long Overdue’ Reform Posted: 04 Jun 2013 04:39 AM PDT Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright speaks at Rangoon University's Diamond Jubilee Hall on Tuesday. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is in Burma for the first time since 1995, on Tuesday congratulated the country's move toward democracy and urged its leaders to stem religious and ethnic intolerance. "Yours is not only a beautiful country, but also a hopeful one—full of energy, committed to reform, and preparing to resume its rightful place in the community of nations," Albright said during public remarks at Rangoon University's Diamond Jubilee Hall. "For what you have done in the past to help your country move from despotism into a new era of hope, I congratulate you. For what you are doing now and will do in the future to create a robust and durable democracy, I applaud you," she added. Albright recalled back to her last visit in 1995, when she said the country was a place of fear, intimidation and economic stagnation, at a time when other countries in the region were moving forward. She noted the contrast with the Burma she returned to last week. She praised the country's reform process, including the appointment of a new president, the release of many political prisoners, a reduction in censorship, last year's parliamentary by-elections and the planned general elections in 2015. "The changes that have taken place are long overdue, but also necessary and important," she said. "The most important, and often the hardest, is the need for patience. A successful democracy is not possible without trust between the Parliament and president, among different political parties, and between the people and governing institutions, including the military." Albright also addressed the recent communal violence in the country, describing the unrest as "disturbing incidents." "This kind of abuse against any group based on religion or ethnicity is unacceptable. The people responsible must be prosecuted. Vulnerable populations must be kept safe," Albright said. She said the leaders of every party and faction should endeavor to avert any religious- or ethnically based strife, which over the last year has seen religious buildings, schools and homes torched, and more than 150,000 people displaced. "In emphasizing these issues, my desire is not to criticize your country but to encourage your democracy to grow," she added. Albright is the current chairwoman of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), an organization created by the US government to promote democracy in developing countries. In her five-day visit to Burma, she met with Burmese political parties, ethnic leaders and civil society organizations in Rangoon to discuss the country's political environment and ongoing reform process. She met with opposition leader and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw as well. The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that Albright also met Burma's Vice President Nyan Tun, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Thant Kyaw, and Deputy Minister at the President's Office Aung Thein in Naypyidaw, where she reportedly held talks to boost ties between the United States and Burma. NDI has pledged to assist Burma in its democratic transition. She also met Tin Aye, chairman of the Union Election Commission, with their discussion focusing on procedural matters as Burma gears up to hold elections in 2015. Albright, the first women to become a US secretary of state, was part of a US diplomatic contingent that once delivered tough talk to Burma's generals, warning that the country would face continued isolation if the leaders of the military junta did not take steps toward greater political freedom and democracy. She met in 1995 with military intelligence leader Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt and other government officials, as well as Suu Kyi.

Karen Community Leaders Call for Transparency on Business Deals Amid Peace Talks Posted: 04 Jun 2013 04:27 AM PDT Representatives from Karen civil society meet to discuss development and the peace process on May 27. (Photo: Pyi Daw Myint / The Irrawaddy) More than 150 representatives from 40 Karen community organizations in Burma and overseas have called for transparency and accountability in economic, development projects that have been signed amid on-going peace talks between the government and Karen rebels. The representatives, including community leaders from civil society groups, made the call after they concluded a five-day seminar on May 31. The seminar was organized by the Karen National Unity Seminar Organizing Committee and held from May 27 to 31 in an area of Karen State, Burma, not controlled by the Burmese government. In a statement on May 31, they called for "transparency and accountability in matters related to economic, development and investment activities as it is imperative that local communities benefit from those projects." "We are still in the process of achieving durable ceasefire, mining and mega-development projects that are potentially destructive to the environment and peace process; and, to widely distribute and educate the public about the economic policies of KNU," the statement read. Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe, a spokesperson for the Karen National Unity Seminar Organizing Committee, said: "The KNU told us about their business policy. It is quite positive. It included businesses that don’t harm local communities, but benefit the communities. And ideas emerging from the middle-class business people." "We urged them to publicly explain their position to Karen civilians before making a final decision. We ask both the KNU and the Burmese government," Susanna said. She added that the Karen representatives also called on the KNU to talk to the public whenever they want to sign big business deals, such as for power plants and dams, which might damage the livelihoods of local civilians. She said some business projects, for an example a dam on Thaut Yin Ka River in Taungoo District, Pegu Division, which flooded villages and displaced civilians, were damaging to local communities. "We only find out about the projects after they're already having a negative impact on civilians. We don’t want such incidents to happen in the future," she added. Recently, KNU leaders were accused of not being transparent after they were granted 120 car licenses by the Burmese government. The scandal came amid ongoing peace negotiations, a gesture seen by critics as bribery. The seminar participants pushed for a political participation, encouraging both the government and the KNU to establish a timeframe for the peace process, which they say should include economic and land issues. Meanwhile, the participants also raised concerns over the significant drop in cross-border humanitarian assistance which is provided to needy communities in Karen areas and called on the international community to continue its cross-border aid until real peace is achieved. The representatives also called on the Burmese government, the KNU and Karen community-based organizations to collaboratively work on eliminating widespread drug addiction and gambling problems in Karen state.

Hundreds Pay Respects to Popular Composer KAT Posted: 04 Jun 2013 04:07 AM PDT Family, friends and fans paid tribute to Burmese songwriter Kyaw Kyaw Aung, better known as KAT, on Monday, after he suddenly died this past weekend. RANGOON — Family, friends and fans paid tribute to popular Burmese songwriter Kyaw Kyaw Aung, better known as KAT, in Rangoon on Monday, after he suddenly passed away on Saturday. Hundreds of people attended a wake that was held for Kyaw Kyaw Aung at Yayway Cemetery on Monday evening, including dozens of his friends and colleagues from the Burmese music and art scene. He was cremated on the same day. Members of popular rock band Iron Cross and famous singers Lay Phyu and R Zarni were among mourners. Singer and actor Myat Thu Aung told The Irrawaddy that he was saddened by the death of Kyaw Kyaw Aung, who wrote a song for his new music album only a month ago. "The early departure of KAT is an irreplaceable loss for us, as we can no longer listen to anymore of his great songs," said singer Irene Zin Mar Myint, adding that she has been a fan of his work for a long time. Singer Kaung Kaung also expressed condolences for KAT and said he would pray for the soul of his mentor. Kyaw Kyaw Aung, 48, died around 3 pm on Saturday of heart failure. He had suffered from cardiovascular disease for the past 10 years and had undergone an operation for his ailments in recent years. "He choked while chewing betel nut and then became unconscious, so we took him to nearest hospital but he had already died by the time we got there," said David, a close friend of Kyaw Kyaw Aung. A native of Monywa City in Sagaing Division, he worked in Burma's music industry as a song writer for more than 20 years. Kyaw Kyaw Aung also wrote poetry under the name of Kyaw Aung Thit. He mostly composed romantic rock songs for well-known artists, including Burma's most popular band Iron Cross. In 2006, Kyaw Kyaw Aung joined Melody World Music Contest, a popular talent show on Burmese television, where he served as a judge. Kyaw Kyaw Aung is survived by his wife Chan Ai Mon, and a brother and two sisters.

In Lashio, Displaced Families Return Home Posted: 04 Jun 2013 03:54 AM PDT Families displaced in religious clashes last week in Lashio, Shan State, take shelter at a local monastery. Nearly 1,400 people displaced in the violence began returning home on Monday. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) LASHIO, Shan State—Nearly 1,400 people who were displaced in anti-Muslim riots in the east Burma town of Lashio have returned to their homes, local authorities say. The displaced people from more than 270 families left their temporary shelter at a local monastery and football field on Monday, although a couple households were temporarily stalled. "Two families haven't been able to go home yet," said an official at the Shan State Information Department. "The first family's house was burned down [in the rioting], so they don't have anywhere to go. The second family's home was damaged and is now being repaired." The two families have been moved temporarily to a Chinese-Muslim school in Lashio's Quarter Seven. Markets and public schools also reopened, about one week after religious rioting broke out and destroyed a mosque, an Islamic boarding school and other buildings in the Shan State town. Lashio's Central Market, which has been closed since last Wednesday, reopened on Monday morning and was as crowded as ever, the Shan State official told The Irrawaddy. Although the situation was stabilizing, a nighttime curfew remained in place between 8 pm and 4 am, while local authorities continued to urge calm. Security is being provided for local Muslims by the military, police, township militia and local town leaders. "All relevant [town] quarter leaders and sub-leaders have been assigned to keep an eye on the neighborhood, checking whether there are strangers in their areas or unusual activities," an official from Lashio Township's administrative office told The Irrawaddy. As the curfew remains in effect, trucks transporting goods between Mandalay and the east Burma town of Muse have been stopped at toll gates for brief periods but are released at every hour to maintain a normal flow of goods. The violence in Lashio began last Tuesday after a Muslim fuel vendor allegedly poured gasoline on a Buddhist woman and set her alight, with mobs forming to take revenge after the attack. Rioting continued the next day, with casualties confirmed by Wednesday evening. The unrest caused damages worth 68 million kyats (US$72,000) and 44 suspects have been detained for their alleged roles in the riots, the Shan State Information Department said.

Coca-Cola Pops the Top on First Burma Bottling Operation in 60 Years Posted: 04 Jun 2013 02:57 AM PDT A factory worker inspects packages of Coca-Cola bottles on a conveyer belt at the new Coca-Cola plant in Rangoon on June 4, 2013. (Photo: Sean Havey / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Bottles rolled down the assembly line in packs of 12, the first Coca-Cola products made in Burma in more than 60 years, as the US beverage behemoth became the most high-profile international company to date to re-enter a market long closed off to Western investment. Coca-Cola on Tuesday inaugurated a bottling facility in Rangoon's Hmawbi Township, pledging to employ 2,500 people directly and create 22,000 jobs across its supply chain. "As global as Coca-Cola is, we operate a local business in more than 200 nations around the world," Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent said outside the new bottling plant on Tuesday. "And the cornerstone, the key success factor for being a local business, is producing, distributing, selling and employing locally." Coca-Cola is partnering with local firm Pinya Manufacturing in the venture, and plans to invest more than US$200 million in its Burma operations over the next five years. The company will open up a second factory in Burma within the next month, Kent said before a gathering that included Myint Swe, Rangoon Division's chief minister, as well as Rangoon Mayor Hla Myint and former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "This is an important moment for Myanmar, a moment not just for the Coca-Cola Company, but for the city of Yangon as well," Myint Swe said, describing the partnership as a "blueprint" for future responsible investment. Coca-Cola began shipping its globally recognized bottles and cans into Burma in September, also for the first time in more than six decades. Plans for a bottling plant inside the country were made public in June of last year, and Tuesday marked a realization of that aspiration, reaffirming the company's reputation as a first mover into emerging markets—however risky the enterprise might be. In the case of Burma, those risks are notable. Political uncertainty, frequent blackouts, underdeveloped infrastructure and the government's poor human rights record all pose potential challenges for the plant in Hmawbi Township. Last month, Human Rights Watch cautioned US companies against rushing to invest in the former pariah nation, saying: "Doing business in Burma involves various human rights risks that the US rules do not fully address," referring to recently enacted requirements from the US government that dictate conditions that US companies investing in Burma must meet. HRW said those risks "include the lack of rule of law and an independent judiciary, major tensions over the acquisition and use of land, and disregard of community concerns in government-approved projects. The military's extensive involvement in the economy, use of forced labor, and abusive security practices in business operations heightens concerns. Corruption is pervasive throughout the country." Coca-Cola appears intent on heading off such concerns. "The Coca-Cola Company's well-established global standards for corporate ethics are being incorporated into Coca-Cola's business practices in Myanmar," it said in a statement on Tuesday. "This includes strict adherence to its global human and workplace rights policy, supplier guiding principles, code of business conduct and anti-bribery policies." The US beverage maker has never been one to shy away from frontier markets. In a June 2012 announcement that the company's charity arm would partner with an NGO in Burma, Kent touted Coca-Cola's pioneering spirit. "From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the establishment of normal US relations with Vietnam to the positive changes we are seeing today in Myanmar, Coca-Cola has proudly been there to refresh, invest, partner and bring hope for a better tomorrow," he said. On Tuesday, the company touted those charitable works in Burma, where since last year the Coca-Cola Foundation has given $3 million to the women's empowerment NGO Pact. Kent said on Tuesday that 10,000 women in Burma had begun their own businesses in the year since Coca-Cola inked the partnership with Pact. Their joint effort, known as Swan Yi, aims to empower 25,000 women over three years, with a focus on "financial literacy, entrepreneurship and business management." With the company's entry into Burma, Cuba and North Korea remain the only two nations in the world where Coca-Cola is not legally manufactured or distributed.

‘Don’t Believe Everything You Hear’ Posted: 04 Jun 2013 02:13 AM PDT Lt-Gen Myint Soe, the commander who oversees the government army's Kachin State operations, right, speaks with a KIO representative and peace negotiator last week in Myitkyina, Kachin State. MYITKYINA, Kachin State—In Burma's northernmost state, ethnic Kachin rebels and government officials agreed last week to a tentative peace pact to end a long-running war between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the government army. Following the negotiations, Lt-Gen Myint Soe, the commander who oversees the government army's Kachin State operations, caught up with The Irrawaddy in an exclusive interview—his first in decades—to explain how the military has changed under the quasi civilian regime, why clashes continued in Kachin State earlier this year despite the president's call for a unilateral ceasefire, and what he thinks of allegations of military rights abuses. Question: What's the military's role in the peace process? Answer: The peace process is done. What we need to do now is protect our country. We have a plan to give back farmland, with our soldiers assisting in the cultivation of crops if necessary. After the ceasefire agreement, we're focusing on pragmatic plans to serve the people. Q: When will the military return the land it confiscated? A: I'm just responsible for military campaigns. This issue should be handled by the military's division of transportation. I don't know the details. Q: The military has long inspired fear in the people. How will the military show that it is changing, and that it will serve the people? A: Just look at the Meikhtila crisis, when the military restored peace and order. In the Kachin peace process, we've held discussions with the KIO [Kachin Independence Organization], and they believe what we're doing. The KIO has accepted that the [government] army has changed its stance. In this way, I hope the public believes us. Q: Was the military happy with its meeting with the KIO, or did the military give in? A: Neither the KIO nor the military has given in. Q: The KIA's deputy chief, Maj-Gen Gwan Maw, said he wanted to integrate the KIA into the national military. Will the national military agree? A: The Constitution says there should only be one military. If there's more than one military group, they must all be under the command of the commander-in-chief. Q: Although the president called for a unilateral ceasefire [in Kachin State], the military continued fighting. Does this imply the military is above the president? A: The president issued an order on Dec. 10, 2012, calling for an end to military offensives, although we could still defend ourselves. But here, opinions differ. For example, if Maj-Gen Gwan Maw [from the KIA] is traveling back [to his base from government-controlled areas], I have to arrange for his security, so I will order my soldiers to shoot any suspect who threatens him. If they shoot, can you say a clash has erupted? Yes. But the soldier was shooting due to the situation. Many say the military is above the president because they don't fully understand the nature of the military. Q: What do you think about the use of child soldiers in the army? A: We have been working on the issue with Unicef. We don't have child soldiers. But some soldiers told us they were 18, when in fact they were younger. If we find a soldier is younger than 18 we let them go. Q: Is there any plan for future elections for military representatives for Parliament? A: No. Military representatives will only be chosen by the chief of staff. There is no voting in the military. Q: There were reports of crimes committed by the military in Kachin State last year, yet no one has been punished. How does the military deal with criminals in its ranks? A: In the military, every soldier has to obey two types of law: military law and civil law. As the military laws are stricter, there is a court of inquiry and, if found guilty, a soldier will be arrested and punished accordingly. Q: There have been frequent reports of abuses by soldiers. Is it a systematic problem? Or are there just a few bad apples? A: How many cases have you heard? Don't believe everything you hear. There are many rumors, endless rumors. You should ask the military's information department [for the facts]. Q: How are the military's funds looking? A: We don't have any problems. Q: Does the military have any enterprises it's making money from? A: I can't answer that. But I can say the military will never burden the government. We can stand on our own, but we need a budget to grow. Q: Are there any plans in the works to expand Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd, which has served as the economic backbone of the armed forces? A: I can't say, as I'm not the CEO. We are trying to be independent, that's all I can say.

After Amnesties, Burma’s Political Prisoners Pull Together Posted: 04 Jun 2013 01:30 AM PDT Former political prisoners Zaw Moe shows his prison papers, shortly after his release from Insein Prison in Rangoon in April. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON—When the guards came to his cell and said he was free to leave Rangoon's Insein Prison, Zaw Moe had surprisingly mixed feelings. The 35-year-old, along with dozens of other political prisoners, was granted amnesty by President Thein Sein in late April, a day after the European Union lifted its economic sanctions against Burma. After more than three years in one of the country's most notorious detention centers, he was eager to see his family again, but also uneasy. "At 2 pm, they said I was released and they told me to pack my things. But as I was leaving, I saw my other cellmates and didn't feel happy. I was free, but what about my friends?" he told The Irrawaddy. "I didn't feel happy until I saw my parents." The day after being released, Zaw Moe heard from a friend in prison that some detainees had been beaten for breaking prison rules. He couldn't stop thinking about his cellmates. "But I felt like I couldn't talk to my parents, brothers and sisters," he said. "They asked me not to talk about it anymore, after one or two times." Zaw Moe, who has lived in Burma's biggest city for about two decades, speaks stoically about his arrest in 2009, when an informant gave him over to the police at a tea shop in Rangoon's Ahlone Township. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his political activism, which included forming an organization with links to the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), a group that was outlawed by the former military junta. "I wasn't scared," he said of the arrest. "I just thought, this is it, everything's over." But however stoic, he said the feeling of isolation weighed heavily on him for a few weeks after his release in April. "I remember in the car, driving with my parents, my father told me not to speak on this topic, about prison," he said. "They didn't want to hear it anymore. I actually started crying in the car. "I didn't do anything wrong, I didn't deserve to go to prison, but I felt like my family was ashamed of me. Before, I thought they had been proud of me." Zaw Moe is one of several hundreds of political prisoners who have been freed by Thein Sein's nominally civilian government during the past two years. The mass amnesties have often coincided with concessions by the West, including the suspension or lifting of economic sanctions, and have been praised by the international community as a sign of Burma's transition toward democracy. But Zaw Moe's experiences during his early days of freedom are emblematic of some continuing challenges faced by many former political prisoners, who say the government has done nothing to help them reintegrate into their communities. "Former political prisoners often feel marginalized by the government and the community," said Bo Kyi, a prominent activist from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a nonprofit that provides financial and medical assistance to political prisoners during their detention and after their release. As organizers of the decades-long democracy movement, many of Burma's former political prisoners have emerged as prominent journalists, activists and leaders of civil society, but Bo Kyi said the majority struggle to find stable employment. "If they were lawyers or doctors [before their arrest], maybe they didn't get back their license," he said. "If they were in prison for a very long time, maybe they didn't have a chance to finish their education to get a good job. … They sacrificed their life [for their activism], and then they're released and they feel as though they have nothing." Bo Kyi and other activists have criticized the government for using political prisoners as bargaining chips, freeing them only at opportune moments to win favor in the West. Zaw Moe agreed, adding: "The government doesn't do anything. No job placement, no health assistance, nothing." Building Trust Instead, former political prisoners are taking measures to assist each other. "AAPP and the Former Political Prisoners Group, these two organizations have helped us, the released political prisoners, so much," Zaw Moe said. "They've given us financial assistance, including education and health assistance." Since 2010, AAPP has offered counseling services for former political prisoners and their families over the border in Thailand, in Mae Sot, where more than 100,000 Burmese refugees fled during the decades of military rule. In the same Thai town, free mental health services are also offered at the popular Mae Tao Clinic, which was founded by Dr. Cynthia Maung, an ethnic Karen doctor, and serves more than 150,000 Burmese patients. About half the patients at the clinic are migrants who live in Thailand, but the rest cross over the border from Burma for the sole purpose of receiving treatment. Now, for the first time, AAPP is launching an extension of its counseling program in Rangoon. Kyaw Soe Win, AAPP's chief clinical supervisor, said 15 counselors from the group had received training from Johns Hopkins University in the United States to offer individual counseling sessions for former political prisoners and their families, free of charge. "Clients can come here, or our counselors will meet them somewhere else," he told The Irrawaddy, adding that the group began developing the Rangoon-based program last year and was wrapping up its three-month pilot period. With the new degree of openness under Thein Sein's government, he said life had gotten easier in some ways for former political prisoners. "The political situation is better, so former political prisoners can get involved in the ongoing political process," he said. "The main problem is that people in our society aren't familiar with counseling and mental health—especially counseling," he said. "They think counseling is just for crazy people, not for normal people. They might not realize they feel depressed or anxious. So right now we're trying to raise awareness." AAPP's counseling program has received funding from Johns Hopkins, Bo Kyi said, but no support from Burma's government. "The government is very slow to work on this issue," he said. "There might be some psychologists, but they're just sitting at the hospital or the clinic, not going into the communities." Even if the government did set up assistance programs, he said, many former political prisoners might be reluctant to make use of them. "In order to do this program, what we need is trust. Without trust, we cannot do anything," he said. "Many former political prisoners in the community know AAPP, we've been helping them with our assistance program. So it's easier for us to earn their trust." Many former political prisoners also receive free medical care at the Muslim Free Hospital in Rangoon, a charity hospital where opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's doctor has worked as a surgeon for about two decades. In Burma, the government's public hospitals are prohibitively expensive for most people, as patients are charged for all equipment used during their stay—including bandages and stiches for surgery—so the Muslim Free Hospital has earned a reputation for its charity. Named for its founders' religion, the hospital is nonsectarian, serving patients of all classes and faiths, and is a particularly popular option for political activists, largely because Suu Kyi's doctor, Dr. Tin Myo Win, works there. "Most of the patients here happen to be politicians, student activists, former political prisoners and also their family members," said Tin Myo Win, adding that the hospital had received training from the United States to develop a mental health program that includes services for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. The doctor arranged for Zaw Moe to come for a free checkup in April. "He [Tin Myo Win] told me I should just send all the political prisoners to him," Zaw Moe said. Speaking to The Irrawaddy recently, Zaw Moe said he was feeling more upbeat again, especially after some of his friends were freed from Insein Prison in the latest mass amnesty last month, before Thein Sein's landmark visit to the United States. He said he benefited from talking to older former political prisoners after his release, when his family and other friends urged him to stop dwelling on the past, but added that he would likely not participate in a formal counseling program. Still, he said the AAPP program—or any outlet to discuss experiences in prison—could be useful for former political prisoners. "If they [AAPP] can do what they say, it's a good idea," he said of the Rangoon-based mental health program. With his family's support, he is now pursuing a certificate in computer networking and teaching English-language lessons part time to support himself. "When I received my prison sentence, the government thought they had won and I had lost. But no—in prison I thought, what can I do to polish myself, what can I do to make myself better?" And now that he's out: "What can I do? I'm going to pick myself up. I'm going to polish."

Installing Burma 2.0 Posted: 04 Jun 2013 01:14 AM PDT

Fatal Car Wash Stabbing Latest Attack on Burmese in Malaysia Posted: 04 Jun 2013 12:39 AM PDT Burmese Muslims living in Malaysia demonstrate against the killings of Muslims in Meikhtila, Burma (Reuters) RANGOON — A 20-year-old Burmese man was found slashed to death at a car wash in Malaysia in the latest in a series of attacks on Burmese in the Muslim-majority country. The as yet unnamed man was one of eight Burmese migrant workers at the car wash in Ampang Jaya village who were attacked with parang—traditional Malaysian long knives—on Tuesday morning, Malaysia's state news agency Bernama reported. Ampang Jaya deputy police chief Nazri Zawawi told Bernama the victim had been slashed on the back, neck and ribs and two of his roommates had also suffered injuries. The fatal attack follows another attack against Burmese migrants in Selayang, Malaysia, in late May. Burma's state newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday that three Burmese were recovering from the attack in Selayang and that six others had been released from hospital. Presidential spokesman Ye Htut wrote on Facebook on Tuesday about the attacks: "The Burmese Embassy in Malaysia has diplomatically urged the Malaysian Foreign Ministry to investigate the crimes against the Burmese citizens and take care of security for the Burmese residing in the country." He added that the Malaysian police had also arrested several people connected to the Selayang attack.

Digicel-Soros consortium pledges $9 billion cellphone investment Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:12 PM PDT

Top UK general in Burma to build military ties Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:12 PM PDT

Rohingya two-child policy under scrutiny — President’s Office Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:11 PM PDT

Arakan Buddhists in Bangladesh ‘fleeing persecution’ Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:10 PM PDT

Arakan Buddhists in Bangladesh ‘Fleeing Persecution’ Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:06 PM PDT Hundreds of Buddhists in Burma's neighbor Bangladesh have fled to their home country in recent months saying they had suffered religious persecution, Mizzima reported on Tuesday. They have taken shelter in two townships in northern Arakan State. One displaced monk criticized the international response when the Buddhists were displaced by largely anti-Muslim violence in the state last year. "At first the WFP [UN World Food Programme] provided rice, but they stopped delivering it because they said these people were not real refugees," he told Mizzima, adding that altogether 1,067 people had been displaced.

Rohingya Two-Child Policy Under Scrutiny — President’s Office Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:05 PM PDT Burma will review local decisions in Arakan State to forcibly limit Muslim Rohingya in two areas of the state to two children, AFP reported on Tuesday. Presidential spokesman Ye Htut told the news agency that the rule, which was first introduced under the military junta, was not central government policy. The UN has called on Burma to end the restrictions, which it said broke human rights laws. The rule has caused a split within the National League for Democracy, with local officials backing the ban, while its leader Aung San Suu Kyi came out against it.

Top UK General in Burma to Build Military Ties Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:05 PM PDT Britain's top general was in Burma on Monday to build ties with the Burmese military, which until recently was ostracized in the West. General Sir David Richards became the first Western military chief to visit the country since the beginning of a transition from outright military rule began in 2010. Gen Richards met the head of the Burmese military Gen Min Aung Hlaing, President Thein Sein and National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday. The move follows Australia's decision earlier in the year to open military ties with Burma.

Digicel-Soros Consortium Pledges $9 Billion Cellphone Investment Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:04 PM PDT If granted a license, the consortium led by billionaire George Soros bidding on cellphone licenses in Burma will invest US $9 billion in the new network, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The consortium includes Soros' Digicel Group and local property developer YSH Finance. The winning bidder—12 consortia have been shortlisted for the contract—will create a high-speed 4G network in the country by Dec. 1, with coverage expected to reach 96 percent of the country by 2016, the group said. The government has said it will announce the winning bids on June 27.

Fire, Locked Doors Kill 119 at China Poultry Plant Posted: 03 Jun 2013 10:22 PM PDT Relatives wait outside a poultry slaughterhouse after a fire broke out in Dehui on Monday. The death toll from a fire at the factory in northeast China’s Jilin Province had risen to 119. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — A swift-moving fire trapped panicked workers inside a poultry slaughterhouse in northeastern China that had only a single open exit, killing at least 119 people in one of the country’s worst industrial disasters in years. Survivors described workers, mostly women, struggling through smoke and flames to reach doors that turned out to be locked or blocked. One worker, 39-year-old Guo Yan, said the emergency exit at her workstation could not be opened and she was knocked to the ground in the crush of workers searching for a way to escape the fire Monday. “I could only crawl desperately forward,” Guo was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. “I worked alongside an old lady and a young girl, but I don’t know if they survived or not.” The accident highlights the high human costs of China’s lax industrial safety standards, which continue to endanger workers despite recent improvements in the country’s work safety record. It also comes amid growing international concern over factory safety across Asia following the collapse in April of a garment factory building in Bangladesh where more than 1,100 people died. Besides the dead, dozens were injured in the blaze in Jilin province’s Mishazi township, which appeared to have been sparked by three early morning explosions, Xinhua said. The provincial fire department attributed the blasts to an ammonia leak. The chemical is kept pressurized as part of the cooling system in meat processing plants. It was one of China’s worst recent industrial disasters, with the death toll the highest since a September 2008 mining cave-in that claimed 281 lives. State broadcaster CCTV quoted workers as saying the fire broke out during a shift change when about 350 workers were at the plant, owned by Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co. Some employees raised the alarm shortly after the shift began at 6 a.m., and then the lights went out, causing panic as workers scrambled to find an exit, 44-year-old Wang Fengya told Xinhua. “When I finally ran out and looked back at the plant, I saw high flames,” she said. The fire broke out in a factory building where chickens were being dismembered, and spread rapidly, with industrial boilers exploding, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported on its microblog. Only a side door to the building was open with the rest of the exits locked, the newspaper said. It quoted an unidentified worker as saying the fire engulfed the building in three minutes, leaving too little time for many to flee. The disaster killed 119 people and injured a further 70, Xinhua said Tuesday. Most of the injured were being treated for inhalation of toxic gases, such as ammonia, while others had burns. It wasn’t immediately clear if the workers were local residents or migrants from other areas. A provincial government media official, who refused to give his name, said he expected the death toll to rise as more bodies were recovered from the charred building. The fire was extinguished by some 500 firefighters and bodies were being recovered from the charred buildings. CCTV footage showed dark smoke billowing from the prefabricated cement structures topped with corrugated iron roofs. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders ordered that no effort be spared to rescue and treat survivors, as well as to investigate the cause of the disaster. It was the third major industrial blaze to be reported in China in the past four days. The two earlier fires were an oil tank explosion in Liaoning province that caused another oil tank to catch fire, killing two, and a blaze in a large granary in Heilongjiang province that wiped out 1,000 tons of grain. Many of China’s factories were built in recent decades to drive the country’s rapid economic growth, and accidents and chemical spills are common, often blamed on lax enforcement of safety rules and poor worker training. The government has tightened checks on factories and mines to improve compliance with safety requirements, and deaths from workplace accidents fell nearly 5 percent last year from the previous year, according to Yang Dongliang, head of the State Administration of Work Safety. Even in China’s notoriously deadly coal mines, the death toll fell by more than 30 percent last year because of stricter management. Jason Yan, technical director in Beijing of the U.S. Grains Council, said safety considerations usually take a back seat in China to features designed to maximize production and energy efficiency. “I’m sure they consider some aspects of safety design. However, I think safety … is not the first priority in their design plan,” Yan said. The poultry plant is one of several in the area where chickens are slaughtered and then quickly cut up into pieces and shipped to market. The process takes place in near-freezing conditions and plants are usually built with large amounts of flammable foam insulation to keep temperatures constant. Established in 2009, Jilin Baoyuanfeng produces 67,000 tons of processed chicken per year and employs about 1,200 people. It serves markets in 20 cities nationwide and has won numerous awards for its contribution to the local economy, according to online postings. The plant is located outside the city of Dehui, about 500 miles (800 kilometers) northeast of China’s capital, Beijing. The area is an agribusiness center, especially for poultry. Nearby is one of the biggest producers of broiler chickens in China, Jilin Deda Co., which is partly owned by Thailand-based conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group. Monday’s fire hit a company that is much smaller than Jilin Deda. Though it’s unlikely to have an impact on China’s chicken supply, the accident came as chicken producers were seeing sales recover after an outbreak of a deadly new strain of bird flu, H7N9, briefly scared the public in April and early May.

North Korean Economy Surrenders to Foreign Currency Invasion Posted: 03 Jun 2013 10:16 PM PDT North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the Seong-cheon River Fishnet Factory and Plastic Factory in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang June 1, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) CHANGBAI, China/SEOUL — Chinese currency and US dollars are being used more widely than ever in North Korea instead of the country’s own money, a stark illustration of the extent to which the leadership under Kim Jong-un has lost control over the economy. The use of dollars and Chinese yuan, or renminbi, has accelerated since a disastrous revaluation of the North Korean won in 2009 wiped out the savings of millions of people, said experts on the country, defectors and Chinese border traders. On the black market the won has shed more than 99 percent of its value against the dollar since the revaluation, according to exchange rates tracked by Daily NK, a Seoul-based news and information website about North Korea. North Korea is one of the most closed countries in the world, so it is difficult to determine what impact this could ultimately have on Kim’s regime. But experts said the growing use of foreign currency is making it increasingly difficult for Pyongyang to implement economic policy, resulting in the creation of a private economy outside the reach of the state that only draconian measures could rein in. For now Pyongyang appeared to be capitulating, rather than trying to stamp out foreign currency use, they said. Estimates of how much hard currency is in circulation vary, but an analyst at the Samsung Economic Research Institute in Seoul put it at US $2 billion in an April study, out of an economy worth $21.5 billion, according to some assessments. Pyongyang doesn’t publish economic data. The use of dollars and yuan is now so pervasive there is little Pyongyang can do about it, said Marcus Noland, a North Korea expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. The government would increasingly have to force people to provide goods and services to the state and get paid in won, added Noland, who closely studies the North Korean economy. “It’s been a tug of war for 20 years where the state would like to get control of the economy, to quash the market and to get everyone to use the North Korean won, but it just doesn’t have the capacity to do any of those things,” he said. “It just makes it harder and harder for them to govern. Nobody wants what they’re selling.” SECRET VIDEO In the Chinese town of Changbai in Jilin province, just across the border from the hardscrabble North Korean city of Hyesan, one Chinese trader said North Korean officials he dealt with wanted yuan more than anything else, even food. The yuan they earned from doing business quickly gets circulated into Hyesan, a city of roughly 190,000 people whose industry-based economy has slumped since the 1990s. “The only thing they want is foreign currency,” said the trader, who sells products including medicine and tea in Changbai. He declined to be identified because he did not want to jeopardise his business or endanger his North Korean partners. In April, Daily NK posted video it said was shot secretly in February at an open-air market in Hyesan. The shaky footage showed vendors openly quoting prices in yuan for products like gloves and jackets, and one accepting payment in yuan. Pyongyang has waged periodic campaigns to try to stop the use of foreign currency but with no success. North Korea made circulating foreign currency a crime punishable by death in September 2012, the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights said in a report last month. Another group, Human Rights Watch, recently interviewed more than 90 defectors who had fled North Korea in the past two years about punishment they had received for economic crimes. None said they were penalised for using or holding hard currency. Nevertheless, ordinary North Koreans are very careful. “I have heard multiple stories of people hiding foreign money under the floorboards in the house, or burying it up the hill in the woods out back,” said one person in northeastern China who has lived in Pyongyang and regularly interacts with North Koreans. “Nobody puts it in the bank because nobody trusts the government.” THE WORTHLESS WON Faith in the North Korean won crumbled when Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, ordered the sudden revaluation of the currency in November 2009. The government chopped two zeroes off banknotes and limited the amount of old money that could be exchanged for new cash. The move, seen as an attack on private market activity at the time, spurred a rush to hold hard currency. It also quickened inflation and according to South Korea’s spy agency, sparked rare civil unrest in one of the world’s most entrenched authoritarian states after North Koreans realised the won was not a safe store of value. The government is widely believed to have executed the economic official who oversaw the revaluation. Dollars have circulated in North Korea for decades, partly because of the cash siphoned off from official foreign trade. The rise in the use of yuan is a more recent phenomenon and reflects a surge in trade and smuggling between North Korea and China along their 1,400 km (875 mile) land border, where a lot of the currency changes hands. Official trade with China is worth $6 billion annually. Black market rates illustrate how far the won has fallen since the revaluation. It has plunged from 30 to one US dollar to about 8,500, according to exchange rates tracked by Daily NK. The current official exchange rate is about 130 won per dollar. Daily NK has sources in North Korea who report every fortnight on rates in Hyesan, the city of Sinuiju opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong and also the capital Pyongyang. In border areas some 90 percent of transactions occur in hard currency, said Christopher Green, Daily NK’s manager of international affairs. Elsewhere, foreign cash accounts for 50 to 80 percent transactions in private markets, he estimated. INFORMAL ECONOMY EXCEEDS FORMAL – EXPERT North Koreans increasingly did not refer to prices in won, Dong Yong-Sueng, senior fellow at the Samsung Economic Research Institute in Seoul, wrote in the April study on the use of foreign currency in the country. Prices were marked in US dollars for beer, university preparation courses and apartments, Dong wrote. South Korea’s central bank estimated foreign currency in circulation at $1 billion in 2000. Dong reckoned $2 billion in foreign cash was now sloshing around the economy. Around half was in US dollars, 40 percent in yuan and 10 percent in euros, he told Reuters. Dollars seeped into the market because trading firms exploited government quotas for exports and imports, making profits when prices diverged from those set by the state, Dong said. It was not possible to estimate the amount of North Korean won in circulation, Dong added. He said the North Korean informal economy was now bigger than the formal, state-led economy. “Without foreign exchange, the economy would stop functioning,” Dong said. US officials have previously accused North Korea of making extremely high-quality counterfeit $100 notes. This money is believed to have been used to raise real cash for the regime abroad rather than get cycled into the economy. “JUCHE” IN NAME ONLY Despite purporting to follow an ideology of “juche”, or self-reliance, Pyongyang did not have the will to stop the circulation of hard currency even if it had the means to do so, said Yang Moon-soo, an expert on the North’s economy at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. Ordinary North Koreans wanted yuan while the elite preferred dollars, said Yang, who has carried out a study on the use of both currencies based on interviews with North Korean defectors. One official at a European embassy in Pyongyang, who has been visiting North Korea for more than a decade, said the most noticeable change had been the increased use of yuan. Most shops carried prices in dollars, yuan or euros, said the official. “People … pay in yuan at the market for rice and other daily necessities,” said Ji Seong-ho, a defector living in South Korea who stays in touch with friends in the North. An estimated 70 percent of defectors in South Korea also send cash back to family in North Korea, according to the Organization for One Korea, a South Korean support and research institute on North Korean defectors. A Reuters report last year showed how this money was getting to North Korea via underground agents in China, mostly Chinese of Korean descent. They use ties on both sides of the border to funnel around $10 million into the Northeach year, usually in yuan given the defectors send money to banks in China where it is collected by agents. Use of the South Korean won is unheard of in North Korea. Even in the recently closed Kaesong industrial zone between the two Koreas, which employed 53,000 workers from the North, wages were made to a North Korean management committee in US dollars, not the South’s legal tender. There are small signs some in the North Korean government may be coming to grips with the hard currency reality. In the Rason special economic zone in the far northeast of the country on the border with China, the government-run Golden Triangle Exchange Bank changes yuan into North Korean won. The rate – according to people who visited the bank recently – was 1,200 won per yuan, or 7,350 won per dollar. That’s a long way from the official rate of 130 won for one dollar.

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