Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Burma Faces ‘Massive’ Treatment Gap for Drug-Resistant TB

Posted: 22 Aug 2013 07:05 AM PDT

A patient with drug-resistant TB is being examined by a MSF doctor at a clinic in Lashio, Shan State, earlier this year. (Photo: Eddy McCall / MSF Holland)

RANGOON — Drug-resistant tuberculosis is spreading rapidly in Burma, with an estimated 9,000 new infections occurring every year, but only a fraction of patients are receiving proper diagnosis and treatment for this dangerous form of TB, Médecins Sans Frontières warned on Thursday.

The medical charity urged international donors, health organizations and governments to come together to curb the spread of drug-resistant TB and improve national treatment programs in Burma and across the globe.

"This a major public health crisis … not just in Myanmar but worldwide, and certainly the number of cases of drug-resistant TB are on the increase," Dr Sidney Wong, medical director at MSF Holland, told The Irrawaddy on the sidelines of a two-day symposium on drug-resistant TB held in Rangoon.

While 9,000 Burmese are newly infected with the disease every year, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, only 800 patients had received treatment by late 2012.

"The gap is still massive. If we don't try to make a concerted effort to try and reduce this, the number [of cases] will go up," Wong warned, adding that Burma's National Tuberculosis Program should be scaled-up and improved with outside support and funding.

The Ministry of Health first began treatment of drug-resistant TB in cooperation with MSF in 2009. It has since developed a plan to treat some 10,000 cases in 100 townships by 2015 in order to treat neglected cases in remote areas of Burma. It also plans to introduce faster diagnostic tests and to provide TB care in homes in local communities.

The US$55 million plan faces a funding shortfall of some $41 million, however, according to a WHO paper. "There is a massive funding gap; therefore we need to look at how we address that," Wong said.

Dr Thandar Lwin, manager of the National Tuberculosis Program, said Burma currently has only two laboratories—one in Rangoon and the other in Mandalay—to test patients for drug-resistant TB.

"That's why we don't know the exact number of DR-TB patients. We need to expand those labs in other parts of the country … If we could find out the patients, treatment would follow. Labs, funding and resources are the main challenges," she said.

But Thandar Lwin added, "To build that kind of lab, we need 24-hour electricity supply. Let's say we build those kinds of facilities in Shan State or Kachin State—there will be infrastructure problems. These challenges are beyond the capacity of the Ministry of Health."

Tuberculosis is an infectious airborne disease that affects the lungs and can easily spread from person to person. HIV/AIDS patients are at particular risk of contracting TB. Treatment requires the use of a combination of antibiotics.

In recent decades, strains of the disease have developed degrees of drug-resistance, and multiple, extensively and totally drug-resistant forms have emerged around the world, sparking major international health concerns.

India is one of the Asian countries worst-affected by this development, with the extremely dangerous, totally drug-resistant TB making inroads among the population there.

Burma is among a group of 22 countries with the highest burden of TB and an estimated 300,000 people suffer from the disease, according to MSF. Extensively drug-resistant TB has been reported in Burma since 2007.

Dr Anita Mesic, MSF's HIV/TB co-infection coordinator in Burma, said the most dangerous drug-resistant form had not been found so far. "Totally resistant TB, maybe we do have it here, but we haven't come to diagnose it yet," she said.

The MSF Medical Director Wong said governments, health organizations and the pharmaceutical industry should also ensure that improved medicines become available worldwide for patients with drug-resistant TB.

"We have to find better drugs that have shorter [treatment] regimes and are more tolerable for the patients," he said.

Medicines that are currently used to treat drug-resistant TB are highly toxic, have serious side effects and need to be taken for a period of up two years, with patients taking up to 20 pills and injections every day, according to MSF. Only half of the patients have a chance of being cured.

Ko Min Naing Oo, a Burmese patient who was cured of drug-resistant TB, described the severity of the current treatment methods in a post on an MSF blog this week.

"I felt dizziness, pain in my buttocks from all the injections, and problems with my hearing. I felt nauseous when I smelt cooking, found myself easily getting angry, constantly weak and tired, always having diarrhea, and experiencing hallucinations," he wrote.

Burma Loans $100 Mln From China to Fund Anti-Poverty Schemes

Posted: 22 Aug 2013 05:31 AM PDT

Farmers in Ma U village in Rangoon Division's Helgu Township, plant their paddy with rice. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burma's government will receive a US$100 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, which it will use to fund cooperative programs that support farmers and the urban poor, lawmakers said.

Upper House member Phone Myint Aung said lawmakers and cooperative representatives attended a meeting at the Ministry of Cooperatives (MOC) on Sunday, where President Thein Sein set out the loan conditions and planned usage of the funds.

"The president informed participants that his government had borrowed $100 million for [the funding of] cooperative programs," said Phone Myint Aung, adding that the Chinese loan came with a 4.5-percent annual interest and a repayment period of 10 years.

"He also said he would seek more international aid as 600 to 3,000 billion kyat [$600 million to $3 billion] is required to fund all cooperatives across the country," Phone Myint Aung said.

An office administrator from the MOC in Naypyidaw told The Irrawaddy, "This loan from China will be used in micro-credit schemes that mainly target peasants."

"Currently, we are working on these social and economic development programs with 50 billion kyat [$50 million] owned by cooperatives. These programs are aimed at rural people and low-income citizens in urban areas," he said.

Under the government's cooperatives policy, groups of farmers and poor urban communities can apply for microfinance loans if they join local cooperatives.

The cooperative policy was started by the British colonial administration in the early 20th century. During past decades of military rule, Burma's government continued to use the policy to address widespread poverty in the country. The MOC is currently headed by Kyaw Hsan, who previously served as Minister of Information. During his tenure at this ministry he was considered a hardliner.

According to a recent paper by the International Finance Cooperation, there are more than 10,000 primary cooperative societies with 470,000 members in Burma.

Some economists and parliamentarians questioned the government's decision to take out a loan from China to fund the cooperatives. They argued that the schemes have proven an ineffective socio-economic policy and are plagued by corruption.

"The cooperative system has never been successful in Burma's history," said Dr Maung Maung Soe, a retired economics professor at the University of Distance Education in Rangoon.

"In fact, the cooperative system doesn't suit a market economy as the former normally runs as a social welfare program and is a centralized system, while [a market economy] encourages competition," he said.

"If they borrow money, they will have to repay within a certain period. Also, because these are loans with interest they will suffer," he said of the cooperatives.

Maung Maung Soe said Burma's farmers and urban poor instead need interest-free credit through other programs. "If the government really wants to tackle poverty, it should provide the poor with loans without interest and ask them to gradually pay these back in 10 to 30 years."

Kyi Myint, a Lower House member, said successful cooperatives in other countries are owned by their members and provide loans without interest.

"A true cooperative system should be based upon shared financial ownership by a cooperative's members and their willingness to raise the status of the poor," he said.

"The one we have now, however, is financially backed by the government so it seems to me that everyone applies for membership as they only want to find opportunity to borrow money and so on."

Burma Police Hunt for 3 Muslim Men Suspected of Bomb Plot

Posted: 22 Aug 2013 05:23 AM PDT

Armed police officers guard the eastern entrance way to the upper terrace of Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon in July. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The police in southern Burma are searching for three Muslim men suspected of entering the country illegally from Thailand and plotting a bomb attack.

Security has been tightened in the Burmese border town of Myeik, in Tanintharyi Division, where the men are believed to have entered the country, a police officer in the town told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

"We have deployed more security forces because we received information about three people suspected of coming to plot a bombing," the officer said in a phone interview, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We have photos of the three suspects that we sent to every police station, to find them."

Leaked photographs of the suspects from the police were published on Thursday by the Rangoon-based Daily Eleven newspaper. The suspects were identified in the newspaper as Mahmed, Azziz and Hla Myint.

Mahmed, who lived in Burma for 12 years and was formerly a Burmese citizen, currently has Thai citizenship, the newspaper reported. The citizenship of Azziz, who lives in Indonesia, is currently unknown, it said, while Hla Myint has applied for Thai citizenship but was born in west Burma's Arakan State. The three men reportedly speak fluent Burmese.

The police are conducting security checks on travelers moving in and out of Myeik, The Daily Eleven reported.

Burma's national police force says security has been tightened across the country but not necessarily in relation to the three suspected bombers.

"All police in the country have been alerted to raise security, but it's not about the three suspects and the bomb plot," said Win Khaung, the national police chief. "It's because the SEA Games are coming soon, and it's for the tourists."

Burma has seen a rapid rise in tourists since the former military regime handed power to a quasi-civilian government two years ago, and the country is set to host the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), a major regional sporting event, in December.

"We want visitors who come to our country to stay peacefully. We do not want anything to happen to them," the police chief said.

He added that security concerns were raised after a Buddhist holy site in neighboring India was bombed last month.

After the series of blasts at Bodh Gaya temple in northern India, Burma's government tightened security in the country, especially at Buddhist sites. Police were stationed at Rangoon's Shwedagon Pagoda, Mandalay's Maha Myat Muni Pagoda, and the ancient temple complex of Pagan.

Some Indian media reported that the Bodh Gaya bombing was conducted by radical Muslim groups seeking to avenge violence committed against Muslims in Buddhist-majority Burma.

Waves of inter-communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims have rocked Burma since June 2012, killing about 250 people and displacing another 150,000 people, mostly Muslims. The government has been accused of doing little to prevent attacks on the country's Muslim minorities.

In Central Burma, a Spirited Celebration

Posted: 22 Aug 2013 03:17 AM PDT

Men and women of all ages dance in the palace of the nat princes Min Gyi and Min Lay. The worshipers believe the dance will bring prosperity. (Photo: Zarni Mann / The Irrawaddy)

For the last week, the village of Taung Pyone has been thronged by thousands of worshippers from across the country who traveled to central Burma to pay homage to the ancient spirits.

Along the route from Mandalay to Taung Pyone, youths and adults alike, each with small bags in hand, line the road shouting to cars and motorcycles that pass by: "Please throw us some money, please!"

"I've gotten about 5,000 kyats [US$5] every day. Last year, I got about one lakh [100,000 kyats, in total]," said Su Su, a teenage girl who has stood along the road for the last several years. "The worshippers throw us some money and candies. We came here to collect them for fun."

Widely known in Burma as Taung Pyone Pwe, a celebration of the ancient belief in inhabitants of the spirit world known as nats, the festival is a week-long commemoration of the legend of two nats, Min Gyi and Min Lay. The duo were brothers who are said to have been executed by King Anawrahta, the famed 11th century ruler of the kingdom of Bagan.

The two brothers—also known as Shwe Phyin Gyi and Shwe Phyin Lay—were princes once well-liked by the king, but they one day fell out of favor after failing to carry out a task assigned by the king. Min Gyi and Min Lay were told to contribute a token brick and a handful of sand to the construction of a pagoda, named "Su Taung Pyae Pagoda" (Wish-Fulfilling Pagoda), which was to enshrine relics of the Buddha in Taung Pyone, about 14 kms north of Mandalay.

The two princes failed to fulfill the duty and were executed by the king for their negligence. When Anawrahta later visited the village, his royal boat was halted by their spirits, who pleaded for forgiveness. The king granted them pardon, and the spirits were allowed to remain near the pagoda in Taung Pyone, where annual festivities are held at a palace later constructed in their honor.

The rituals of the festival are performed by medium performers—worshippers who are said to channel the spirit of the nats. Festival participants believe that the nats have the power to grant them good luck, health and wealth.

Thousands of people carry red roses and thapyay leaves, wandering between street stalls seemingly oblivious to the heat, dust and clamor of the shops, and destined for the palace of the two princes. Some carry kadaw pwe, offering baskets that include coconut and bananas to be given to the nats.

In the palace, worshippers dance to the thundering rhythm of traditional nat songs, performed by a traditional Burmese orchestra known as sai wine.

"I come here every year as a generational tradition. If I couldn't come, I'd be afraid that it would be a bad omen for my future," said 65-year-old Tin Yee. "I've prayed that the two princes will bless me and my family with good health and wealth and give me a chance to come again next year."

The nat kadaw, humans who are married to the nats and perform dances when they are said to be overwhelmed by the nats' spirit, are widely worshipped by believers and are sought after by fortune seekers and those wishing to rid themselves of bad karma.

Taung Pyone Pwe in the past was known as the festival of the drunks. Temporary liquor shops were set up on the festival grounds and crimes such as pickpocketing and robbery were prevalent, as was fighting between young revelers. Today, with liquor purveyors no longer allowed to set up shop in the area, crime has reportedly decreased and peaceful worship is the norm.

"Before, young ladies and girls dared not come to the festival. But two to three years back, the authorities prohibited the liquor shops and there are more security personnel. We don't see drunkards so people can enjoy the festival peacefully," said Lone Lone, a 50-year-old nat kadaw who came to this year's Taung Pyone Pwe from Mandalay.

Taung Pyone Pwe began on Aug. 14 and ends today.

Buddhist Monk Urges Mon Youth to Keep the Armed Revolution Alive

Posted: 22 Aug 2013 02:51 AM PDT

Ethnic Mon students attend an event in Rangoon's Bahan Township on Wednesday to commemorate Mon Revolution Day, marking the 66th anniversary of a Mon armed struggle against Burma's central government. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — A senior Buddhist monk from Mon State says armed struggle is necessary to achieve greater freedom, including political autonomy, from Burma's national government, as peace talks between rebel groups and the government continue after decades of civil war.

Speaking on Mon Revolution Day on Wednesday, marking 66 years since the Mon people began their fight against Burma's government, Ven U Ottama called for an increase in Mon military, economic and religious might.

"Our Mon people need a triple 'MMM' policy—meaning the military, merchants and missionaries," the abbot told more than 100 Mon youth at a commemorative event in Rangoon, where he leads a monastery in Bahan Township. "We need a strong military force … and our monks need to more actively spread our Buddhist beliefs."

"We have our own military, but it is not strong," he said, referring to the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), a rebel group. "If each of us can offer the support of one gun to our armed forces, our military will be strong.

"Mon people cannot get freedom simply by asking. They need to use armed struggle to get freedom."

The 66th Mon Revolution Day was commemorated in several locations in Mon State, including in areas controlled by the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the political wing of the MNLA.

In Rangoon, the commemorative event was held at a Buddhist monastery hall, with Mon students from different townships in attendance. Dressed in traditional red and white clothing, they paid respect to the Mon leaders and soldiers who sacrificed their lives fighting against the Burmese government for self-determination over the past 50 years.

Mi Win Maw, a university student, said she was happy to see fellow students at the event in Rangoon but regretted that more people had not attended.

"I asked some of my friends to join the revolution event, and they said they did not know that the Mon had a revolution day," she said. Some of her friends wanted to participate, she added, but they did not have traditional Mon dresses to wear.

"If you are Mon, how can you not have your own dress or buy one? I was really sad to hear that," she said, adding that some Mon residents in Rangoon seemed to have lost interest in Mon issues.

Burma achieved independence from British colonial rule in 1948. Since then, many ethnic minority groups in the country have waged wars against the central government, which is dominated by the ethnic Burman majority, for greater rights and political autonomy.

For the Mon, an armed revolution began on July 20, 1948, when 30 Mon leaders stole guns from a police station in Sarthapyin village, Kyaikmayaw Township. An armed group subsequently formed and launched a resistance effort.

In 1995, the NMSP and the former military regime agreed to a ceasefire, which broke down again in 2010. After a nominally civilian government came to power in 2011, under President Thein Sein, both sides signed another ceasefire agreement in February 2012.

Thein Sein's government has signed ceasefires with 10 of 11 major rebel armed groups in the country and has pledged to hold a national ceasefire conference soon.

The Mon were among the earliest people to live in Southeast Asia, but many Mon leaders in Burma fear that their culture is fading. At the event on Wednesday, Mon youths were urged to preserve their Mon identity and language.

"Our leaders sacrificed their lives to protect our people and the revolution," said Nai Sanddhima, another Buddhist monk. "It is time for our youth to maintain the revolution struggle, because we have yet to achieve real freedom."

Burma Rejects UN Rights Envoy’s Claim of Attack

Posted: 22 Aug 2013 12:19 AM PDT

Police hold journalists at bay prior to a press conference by the United Nations' human rights envoy to Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, on Wednesday at Rangoon International Airport. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burma said a UN human rights envoy was well-protected during a visit to a city wracked by religious violence, brushing off his claims that police did nothing as a 200-strong Buddhist mob descended on his car, kicking the windows and doors and shouting abuses.

President Thein Sein's spokesman, Ye Htut, said Thursday that UN rights rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana was never in any danger.

Members of the crowd, he said, approached the convoy only to give him a letter and a T-shirt, "so what Quintana said is very different from the true situation."

Burma, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million people, has been gripped by sectarian violence in the last year that has left more than 250 people dead and sent another 140,000 fleeing their homes. Most victims were Muslims.

Quintana's 10-day visit, which wrapped up Wednesday, was in part aimed at investigating ongoing tensions and the response of the government.

He told reporters that on arriving in the central city of Meikhtila to visit a camp for 1,600 displaced Muslims earlier this week, security forces did nothing as a Buddhist crowd descended on his convoy.

He said the incident hammered home the feeling of vulnerability victims of bloody attacks must have felt as they were chased down, beaten and killed—often as police looked on.

"I felt during this incident, being totally unprotected," said Quintana. "The state had a responsibility… and it failed."

Ye Htut had another version of events.

In addition to helping to disperse hundreds of people before Quintana's arrival—he said 100 were left by the time the convoy arrived—one police car was escorting the UN rights envoy. Thirty other officers were controlling the crowd, he said.

"Police gave protection to him and people had no intention to hurt him," Ye Htut said, adding that police successfully cleared a path and the convoy passed without incident.

Burma only recently emerged from decades of isolation and military rule. One of the biggest challenges of the new, quasi-civilian government has been the rising anti-Muslim sentiment.

Quintana said his own experience "highlighted for me the dangers of the spread of religious incitement in Myanmar and the deadly environment that this can create."

"Although the chief minister declared that the trust had been restored, this does not reflect reality."

The unrest began last year in the western state of Arakan, where Buddhists accuse the Rohingya Muslim community of illegally entering the country to encroach on their land.

The violence, on a smaller scale but still deadly, spread earlier this year to other parts of Burma—including Meikhtila, where 43 people were killed—and has stirred up prejudice.

Quintana faced several smaller protests during his visit, most of them peaceful.

Almost all were by Buddhists, who feel that the United Nations and other international agencies are ignoring their complaints and tilting relief and reconstruction efforts in favor of the Muslim community.

Quintana's ordeal recalled the difficulties previous UN envoys had in dealing with Burma before military rule ended in 2011, when they sometimes were barred from meeting people, snubbed by officials and even denied entry to the country.

He met with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and several prisoners of conscience who remain behind bars two years after the country's military junta handed over power. He also traveled to several states plagued by decades-long insurgencies.

After visiting Kachin State, he said, he was very distressed to hear that UN humanitarian organizations have been allowed access to non-government-controlled areas only once in the last year.

But added that he was pleased to see during a visit to Chin State that restrictions on Christians have eased notably in the last year.

It as Quintana's eighth trip to Burma since being named UN rights rapporteur. He will present his findings to the UN General Assembly on Oct. 24.

Thai Police Seize 14 Elephants Thought Smuggled From Burma

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 10:56 PM PDT

Two white elephants are trained at the Naypyidaw Zoo. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

BANGKOK — Thai police said they seized more than a dozen elephants Wednesday in raids after busting a gang that allegedly provided the animals' owners with false identification papers.

Fourteen unregistered or illegally registered elephants were taken in simultaneous raids on tourist destinations in the southern provinces of Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi, said Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression chief Police Maj-Gen Norasak Hemnithi.

He said the operation, carried out by nearly 100 police and wildlife officials, followed the discovery of identification certificates issued for elephants that were not residing in their registered locations. They were believed to be illegally held after being either smuggled from neighboring Burma or taken from the wild.

Two other elephants were seized Tuesday in the eastern province of Trat, TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network, said in a statement.

"Police believe that elephants were taken from the wild, either in Myanmar or elsewhere, smuggled into Thailand, where they were trained, transferred to the camps, and then registered at a later date using these falsely provided certificates," TRAFFIC said.

Elephants are the de facto national animal of Thailand, and once provided the backbone for a large forestry industry. With development and deforestation, their numbers dwindled, and there may be only some 2,000-3,000 left in the wild, with a similar number of domesticated elephants, many serving as tourist attractions.

Registration allows the commercial use of elephants. Normally, only calves born to elephants already legally in captivity can be registered, though proof of birth to a domesticated elephant is not required.

TRAFFIC said the case began after police found suspicious elephant identification certificates in camps in Phuket and Phang Nga. Further investigation uncovered 69 more fake certificates in the homes of two men in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum. The two men are now being sought for arrest.

Thailand and Burma are both parties to international agreements prohibiting the cross border trade in elephants. Thai law also bans the capture of wild elephants.

More unregistered elephants are expected to be seized from camps in four other provinces in the coming months, said TRAFFIC, adding that their disposition will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Cherry Mann’s Indian BBQ: A Great Place to Start a Night on the Town

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 10:28 PM PDT

Whole chickens being grilled at the Cherry Mann restaurant on Latha St. (Photo: Sean Havey / The Irrawaddy)

YANGON — In a city where curries dominate most menus, Cherry Mann sets itself apart by serving very good Indian barbecue at a reasonable price.

On most nights, this bright, clean and well air-conditioned restaurant is hopping with mostly local meat-hungry patrons. But if you can't get a table inside, never fear: there's also seating out front. (This is also where you'll have to go if you want to bring your own beer to have with your meal, since no alcohol is sold on the premises of this Muslim-run establishment.)

Meat lovers won't be disappointed by the offerings here, which include a very tasty mutton kebab, sweet-and-sour chicken coated in grilled onions and garlic, and an unctuous fried chicken platter.

The kebabs, at 4,000 kyat (US$4) a serving, are hands down the best option—nicely seasoned and a good match with the oily paratha bread. The chicken dishes are also decent value (4,000 kyat for the sweet-and-sour, and 6,000 kyat for the platter), but are less than substantial, as they are more bone than meat.

On the subject of bones, Cherry Mann's complimentary potato soup is also a big draw. With a strong meat and nutmeg flavor, the soup is delicious but very salty. When asked about the soup stock, a longyi-clad waiter explained that it was made with bones: "Chicken bones, beef bones, and sheep bones. Anything a Muslim can eat."

All in all, Cherry Mann on Latha Street delivers on taste, but not on portion size. But if you're looking for somewhere to start a night of drinking at nearby 19th street, this is the place.

This story first appeared in the August 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.

Indonesia Arrests 8 More in Burma Embassy Plot

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 10:22 PM PDT

Muslim activists protest outside the Burma Embassy in Jakarta in this Aug. 9, 2012 file photo. (Photo: Reuters / Supri)

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia's elite anti-terrorism squad arrested eight more suspected militants, including a former convicted terrorist, in connection with a plot to bomb the Burma Embassy to protest that country's treatment of Muslims, police said Wednesday.

Authorities have now arrested a total of 14 suspects since May in the plot to bomb the embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital.

Iqbal Hussaini, who was released from prison in 2008 after serving eight years for the attempted murder of a prominent moderate Muslim man and a Catholic priest, was captured late Tuesday in the eastern Jakarta area of Cipayung, said National Police spokesman Col. Agus Rianto.

Police also arrested three men who were found at Hussaini's house and were questioning them to determine their possible links to terrorism, Rianto said. Police seized two guns, two air guns and some ammunition from the house.

Another police spokesman, Lt. Col. Rikwanto, said four other suspected militants were arrested at about the same time in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, including Khoirul Ikhwan, a fugitive who allegedly planned the attack on the embassy.

Police seized two pistols, three magazines and about 70 bullets from the group. The arrest Sunday of another suspect in the embassy plot, Muhammad Zakaria, who was captured in Tangerang, just west of Jakarta, had led police to their whereabouts, said Rikwanto, who like many Indonesians uses one name.

"We have strong indications that they are part of a cell that planned to attack the Myanmar [Burma] Embassy," Rikwanto said, adding that the group allegedly was involved in two suicide attacks at a church in Central Java's Solo city and a police headquarters in the West Java town of Cirebon.

In early May, police arrested two suspected militants, Achmad Taufiq and Sefa Riano, in downtown Jakarta, and seized five homemade bombs from a backpack they were carrying. Other explosive materials were found later at their rented house in southern Jakarta. The two told authorities they wanted to retaliate against Burma for recent attacks there on Rohingya Muslims.

Since then, police have arrested 12 more suspects in the embassy plot, including Rohadi, who was believed to be the group's leader, and Sigit Indrajit, who authorities said was to be the suicide bomber for the attack.

Sectarian violence in Buddhist-majority Burma has killed scores of people, and tens of thousands of Muslims have been driven from their homes.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has seen a spate of deadly attacks by members of Jemaah Islamiyah, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. However, in recent years, smaller and less deadly strikes have been targeting the government, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces.

Anti-Superstition Activist Gunned Down in India

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 10:42 PM PDT


NEW DELHI — The killing of an Indian crusader against superstition and religious charlatans prompted hundreds of protesters to shut down a city near Mumbai on Wednesday as a group of Indian scientists decried an "atmosphere of intolerance and anti-science attitude" that could undermine development.

Police were hunting for two unidentified men suspected of firing four shots at Narendra Dabholkar as he was taking a morning walk Tuesday in Pune. A witness reported seeing the assailants flee on a motorcycle. Police released a sketch of one suspect and said the two were believed to be in their 20s.

Dabholkar, a 67-year-old doctor-turned-activist, had been receiving death threats for years since he began traveling by public buses to hundreds of villages around Maharashtra state to lecture against superstitions, religious extremism, black magic and animal or human sacrifice, according to his friend and fellow activist, Deepak Girme.

"He wanted to expose the people who cheat the poor in the name of gods, who promise false cures for cancer or do black magic to perform so-called miracles," Girme said. "He would say he was a medical doctor but that superstition was a bigger disease causing a lot of harm, especially to the poor and the gullible."

Hundreds of students and activists marched through the streets of Pune to protest the killing. Some carried banners in the local Marathi language reading "You can kill a person with a bullet, but you can't kill his thoughts" and "We are all Dabholkar."

Dabholkar had refused to join any political party and, while Hindu by birth, eschewed its traditional teachings. Instead, he believed that the best people could do for society was to "live in harmony with each other and use your brain," Girme said.

Dabholkar's body was cremated Tuesday night in his home town of Satara, where he ran a clinic for alcoholics.

Responding to the public outcry, Maharashtra's government said it would pass long-stalled legislation that Dabholkar had worked on to ban religious exploitation and fraudulent medical workers. Activists and scientists urged the federal government also to pass a bill.

Girme said Dabholkar's organization, the Maharashtra Blind Faith Eradication Committee, would continue its work in lecturing about the benefits of scientific attitudes and social cooperation and lifting women up from religious subjugation.

Physicist Yash Pal, former chairman of the University Grants Commission, said that Dabholkar's killing amounts to an attack on reason and science and that India is jeopardizing its future by allowing superstition and fanaticism to grow.

"One of the objectives of development should be the development of a scientific temper," he said.

A group of several Indian scientists, including Yash Pal, issued a statement Wednesday saying that attack on Dabholkar underlined an ongoing struggle within India between religious fundamentalists and voices of secular and scientific reason.

"The atmosphere of intolerance and anti-science attitude is sweeping the Indian subcontinent," the scientists said in a statement. "There is a deliberate plot to push our society towards fanaticism."

India is well known for its cacophony of cultures, with designations by caste, clan, tribe or religion, including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism. There are hundreds of languages spoken by its 1.2 billion people, with no true common language.

Countless places of worship, from lavish and enormous compounds to tiny altars that can be packed in a car trunk, can be found across India.

The country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, deliberately made secularism the keystone of the constitution, and in 1958 the parliament unanimously passed a "Scientific Policy Resolution" to encourage scientific questioning and discovery.

But as India's growing prosperity and its population boom have expanded the gap between rich and poor, many have reinvested in religion as they seek comfort, security or better fortune in the future.

Politicians often offer prayers or consult astrologists before important elections, and Hindu yogis famous by TV can amass millions of dollars in donations.

"Half of India is hungry, half is uneducated. These babas and gurus who preach all this humbug, it doesn't translate into betterment of society," Girme said. "It's like the Dark Ages in Europe."

Severe Tropical Storm Trami hits Taiwan

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 10:14 PM PDT

Fishing boats are seen docked in a harbor as tropical storm Trami approaches the northeastern coastal town of Nanfangao in Ilan county, on August 21, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Pichi Chuang)

TAIPEI — Severe Tropical Storm Trami struck Wednesday in heavily populated northern Taiwan, prompting schools and offices to close down as heavy rains triggered landslides and other disruptions throughout the island.

At 5:30 pm (0330 GMT), the Central Weather Bureau said the center of the storm was located offshore, 100 kilometers (63 miles) northeast of the capital of Taipei, packing sustained winds of 108 kmh (68 mph) with gusts of up to 137 kmh. It was expected to complete its passage of the island's northern coast by midnight, heading westward on a direct course toward the Chinese province of Fujian.

An increase of 10 kph in sustained wind speed would cause the storm to be upgraded to typhoon status, though forecasters were unsure if that would happen.

Earlier this week, Trami wreaked havoc in the Philippine capital of Manila and in outlying regions, leaving 15 dead, 41 injured and affecting more than 1 million people as floodwaters swamped wide swathes of the densely-populated region. President Benigno Aquino III visited emergency shelters to distribute food packs and cheer up thousands of displaced villagers.

In Taiwan, the storm had dumped 300 mm (12 inches) of rain on Taipei by nightfall Wednesday, and close to 500 mm in mountainous areas of northwestern Taiwan. With heavy rains expected to continue through most of Thursday, those totals could easily double.

Amid the downpour, a landslide closed the only road to a remote mountain community in Hsinchu county, trapping 70 residents, though authorities said no one was in danger and crews were working to redress the situation.

Other landslides were reported north of Taipei and in the central part of the island.

Late Tuesday government officials ordered schools and offices in Taipei and in some surrounding regions to close because of safety concerns. They also suspended service on the island's high speed rail system, which links Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung.

Taiwan's National Fire Agency reported only one injury from the storm, a 33-year-old woman whose motorbike flipped over after hitting a pothole in the Taipei district of Neihu.

The military evacuated more than 1,000 residents from an outlying island believed to be threatened by the storm, as well as 200 residents from the mountain community of Alishan, near Taiwan's geographical center.

AP reporter Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report.

Water leaks may become new Japan nuclear disaster

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 10:07 PM PDT

An aerial view shows workers wearing protective suits and masks working atop contaminated water storage tanks at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, in this photo taken by Kyodo on August 20, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

TOKYO — Japan's nuclear watchdog said a leak of highly radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant could be the beginning of a new disaster—a series of leaks of contaminated water from storage tanks.

The plant operator has built hundreds of steel tanks to store massive amounts of radioactive water coming from three melted reactors, as well as underground water running into reactor and turbine basements.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. says about 300 tons (300,000 liters, 80,000 gallons) of contaminated water leaked from one of the tanks, possibly through a seam. The leak is the fifth, and the worst, since last year involving tanks of the same design at the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, raising concerns that contaminated water could begin leaking from storage tanks one after another.

"That's what we fear the most. We must remain alert. We should assume that what has happened once could happen again, and prepare for more," Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka told a news conference. "We are in a situation where there is no time to waste."

The watchdog also proposed at a weekly meeting Wednesday to raise the rating of the seriousness of the leak to level 3, a "serious incident," from level 1, "an anomaly," on an International Nuclear and Radiological event scale of eight.

The watchdog urged TEPCO to step up monitoring for leaks and take precautionary measures.

During the meeting, officials also revealed that plant workers apparently have overlooked several signs of leaks, suggesting that their twice-daily patrols were largely just a walk. They have not monitored water levels inside tanks, obviously missed a puddle forming at the bottom of the tank earlier, and kept open a valve on an anti-leakage barrier around the tanks.

TEPCO said the leaked water is believed to have mostly seeped into the ground after escaping from the barrier around the tank. It initially said the leak did not pose an immediate threat to the sea because of its distance—about 500 meters (1,650 feet)—from the coastline.

But TEPCO reversed that view late Wednesday and acknowledged a possible leak to the sea after detecting high radioactivity inside a gutter extending to the ocean.

The company also said the tank may have been leaking slowly for weeks through a possible flaw in its bottom. That could create extensive soil contamination and a blow to plans to release untainted underground water into the sea as part of efforts to reduce the amount of radioactive water.

The leaks have shaken confidence in the reliability of hundreds of tanks that are crucial for storing water that has been pumped into the broken reactors to keep melted radioactive fuel cool.

The plant suffered multiple meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011—a level 7 "major accident" and the worst since Chernobyl in 1986.

About 350 of some 1,000 steel tanks built across the plant complex containing nearly 300,000 tons (300 million liters, 80 million gallons) of partially treated contaminated water are less-durable ones with rubber seams.

TEPCO says the tanks that have leaked use rubber seams that were intended to last about five years. TEPCO spokesman Masayuki Ono said it plans to build additional tanks with welded seams that are more watertight, but will still have to rely on ones with rubber seams.

Figuring out what to do with the radioactive water is among the most pressing issues affecting the cleanup process, which is expected to take decades.

"The growing contaminated water has been one of our biggest concerns since the March 11 accident," said Zengo Aizawa, TEPCO's executive vice president. "The contaminated water remains a problem that could lead to a crisis."

The leaked water's radiation level, measured about 50 centimeters (2 feet) above the puddle, was about 100 millisieverts per hour—the maximum cumulative exposure allowed for plant workers over five years, Ono said.

Contaminated water that TEPCO has been unable to contain continues to enter the Pacific Ocean at a rate of hundreds of tons per day. Much of that is ground water that has mixed with untreated radioactive water at the plant.

UN Envoy ‘Feels Fear’ of Communal Violence Victims on Burma Trip

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 09:07 AM PDT

Tomás Ojea Quintana speaks during a press conference at Rangoon International Airport on Wednesday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — A UN human rights envoy on Wednesday said he had gained personal insight into the terror experienced by victims of communal violence in Burma over the last 14 months after a mob of 200 people attacked his convoy in Meikhtila while he toured the country this week.

Wrapping up an 11-day tour that included visits to four states and the country's three biggest cities, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, acknowledged progress on several fronts since his last visit to the country in February, but said "critical challenges" remained.

"I believe that Myanmar is moving forward in a significant number of areas, which has brought positive changes to the human rights situation and have the potential to bring further improvements," he said during a press conference at Rangoon International Airport to discuss his eighth trip to Burma since taking up the UN post in 2008. "However, there are still critical challenges, including the historical need for reconciliation with ethnic groups."

In a wide-ranging assessment of the state of human rights in the country, covering everything from political prisoners and the Constitution to legislation under deliberation in Parliament and LGBT rights, Quintana spoke personally about the incident on Monday in the central Burma town of Meikhtila, where dozens of people were killed and thousands displaced earlier this year.

"My car was descended upon by a crowd of around 200 people who proceeded to punch and kick the windows and doors of my car while shouting abuse. Due to this serious security concern, I had to abandon my proposed visit to an IDP [internally displaced persons] camp containing around 1,600 Muslims who had been displaced; a visit which I had planned well in advance.

"I want to tell you that the fear that I felt during this incident—being left totally unprotected by the nearby police—gave me an insight into the fear residents would have felt when being chased down by the violent mob during the violence last March as police allegedly stood by as angry mobs beat, stabbed and burned to death some 43 people."

Quintana used the attack on his convoy in Meikhtila to emphasize the need to work toward eliminating a culture of impunity in Burma.

"I must highlight the obligation of the government of Myanmar to act immediately to control violent mobs running wild in communities and protect all people, regardless of religion or ethnicity."

The March violence in central Burma was preceded by inter-communal clashes last year in western Arakan State that, as was the case in Meikhtila, pitted Buddhists against Muslims.

Quintana's visit to Burma got off to a bumpy start last week when he was greeted in Arakan State by about 90 Arakanese Buddhist protesters, some of whom carried signs urging the "one-sided Bengali lobbyist" to "get out," reflecting perceptions among some that the UN envoy is biased in favor of the state's Rohingya Muslims. Many in Burma—including the government—refer to the Rohingya as Bengalis.

The human rights situation in Arakan State has drawn international attention and condemnation, with rights groups and foreign leaders alike expressing concern over the humanitarian conditions of some 140,000 IDPs who live in 76 squalid camps outside of the state's townships. The IDPs, most of whom are Rohingyas, were driven from their homes in two bouts of inter-communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims last year. The Rohingyas have faced systemic discrimination for decades and are denied citizenship by the government, which contends that they are illegal "Bengali" immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh.

Just days before Quintana's arrival, police opened fire on crowds of Rohingya Muslims in IDP camps outside of Sittwe, the state capital, in the latest instance of violence to hit the troubled region. At least one Rohingya was reportedly killed by police bullets and several others were wounded by the gunfire.

Despite the violence on Aug. 9, Quintana on Wednesday insisted that "the state and central government are working well with the international community to address urgent humanitarian needs of both Rakhine [Arakan] Buddhists and the Muslim community."

The independent UN investigator met with religious leaders from Arakan State's Buddhist and Muslim communities last week, in the process taking flak from local media and Arakanese residents for allegedly showing greater deference to the Muslim leaders he spoke to than he did for their Buddhist counterparts.

At Wednesday's press conference, Quintana pushed back against accusations of bias.

"Let me reaffirm that I have a willingness to work for the human rights of all the people of Myanmar. … I am ready also to talk to those who disagree with my approach and with my opinions. I did it in Rakhine State, I stepped off my car and I talked to the protesters," he said. "The condition is that it has to be a peaceful dialogue and that's the challenge in Myanmar with respect to this issue."

In Kachin State, Quintana met last week with government officials and representatives of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), but was denied access to the KIO stronghold of Laiza on the Sino-Burmese border, with the government citing security concerns.

"This pattern of denying access, not only to address humanitarian shortcomings but also serious human rights concerns, needs to change immediately," Quintana said on Wednesday.

The UN estimates that about 100,000 people in Kachin and northern Shan State have been displaced since fighting between government troops and the KIO's militant wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), began in June 2011. Only one UN aid convoy has reached IDPs in KIA-controlled areas in more than a year due to the government's ostensible inability to assure the safety of humanitarian workers seeking to make the aid deliveries.

Quintana will submit a final report on his visit this month to the UN General Assembly in October.

Floods in Thandwe Town Displace 600 People

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 05:27 AM PDT

A boat arrives in No. 4 quarter of Thandwe town on Wednesday to deliver food aid to stranded flood victims. (Photo: Rakhine Social Network/ Facebook)

Floods in Arakan State's Thandwe town have displaced about 600 people in recent days, while three residents drowned in the flood waters, local officials said on Wednesday.

Kyi Soe Htun, deputy director of the Thandwe Township administration, said authorities had set up six relief camps on Monday and Tuesday to provide shelter for displaced residents.

Authorities and local townspeople distributed rice rations, instant noodles and drinking water to the flood victims, the official said, adding that the local public hospital and a military medical unit are providing health care at the camps. "The health department will take care of providing clean water after the flood water goes away," he said.

Three people drowned in recent days after they ventured into the flood waters, according to Kyi Soe Htun. "They died when they went to fetch a log floating in the water. One died as he cannot swim back when he went fishing," he said.

Parts of town had become inundated in about 1.5 meter of water after the Thandwe River broke its banks following heavy rains last week, forcing schools and markets to close and residents to flee their homes.

Water levels had begun to drop by Wednesday afternoon, said Kyi Soe Htun, adding that two of the camps were now closed and some families had returned home.

Thandwe town, located in southern Arakan State, is regularly hit by flooding and every few years the flood damage is severe, according to officials and locals.

"Flooding is common every year, but the state government does not have a plan or a budget to use to support the flood victims," said Kyi Soe Htun.

Win Naing, a National League for Democracy representative in Thandwe, said local party members were also distributing relief items to flood victims who are not staying at camps.

A resident from No. 4 quarter of Thandwe said the townspeople were concerned that flooding would continue to impact them. "We are worried that the weather forecast will be bad and that there will be more rains," she said.

Additional reporting by Myat Su Mon.

 

As Thilawa SEZ Launch Nears, Farmers Concerned About Compensation

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 04:43 AM PDT

A man looks at his watermelon field near the Thilawa economic zone outside Rangoon in October 2012. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Residents who will be displaced by the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Rangoon Division are complaining that although the project is due to begin next month, procedures to compensate them for lost land remain unclear.

Plans to resolve land issues have lacked transparency, Mya Hlaing, a spokesman for farmers in the project area in Thanlyin Township, told The Irrawaddy.

"Negotiations are continuing, but no arrangements have been made to relocate local residents," he said. "Since the project is due to start next month, now is high time to announce an implementation plan for the project."

Set Aung, Burma's deputy minister of national planning and economic development, is chairman of the implementation group for the Japanese-backed Thilawa SEZ. He said negotiations were going relatively smoothly but had been complicated by businesspeople with separate interests who were backing the farmers.

"Those businesspeople behind the farmers never stop coming forward," he told The Irrawaddy. "Currently, half the farmland from the project zone has been purchased by business giants, and they bought this land in complicated ways."

"Our assessment methods regarding rates of compensation abide by international norms," he added. "We are still conducting surveys and making calculations."

In June, the deputy minister told The Irrawaddy that international World Bank and Japanese standards for compensation would be followed.

"We won't offer payments to the farmers for the rest of their lives, but we will offer them a fair amount so they have savings in their current situation," he said.

Farmers in the project area have decided to move only after receiving 30 million kyats (US$30,000) for each acre (0.40 hectares) of farmland. That amount of money is not much compared to the current price of farmland, says Aye Htay, speaking on behalf of the farmers.

He said the farmers were willing to negotiate with the government over compensation, but added that if negotiations were not conducted in a smooth manner, the project would likely be delayed.

Farmers are also concerned about where they will be relocated, he said.

"It seems that each person will get one plot that is 800 square feet [245 square meters] in the relocation process," he said. "It is unsatisfactory unless each person receives a plot that is 2,400 square feet. Nobody will accept a meager compensation."

Villages reportedly set to be relocated first include Phaya Gone, Alawn Soot, Phalan (Aye Mya Thida), Shwe Pyi Tha (Thilawa), Thaya Gone and Gayet Thida Myaing. Farmers in these villages will reportedly receive compensation first.

In 2012, Burma's government began planning the Thilawa SEZ, together with Japan's government, a consortium of Japanese firms and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The sprawling industrial complex, located about 25 km south of Rangoon, includes a deep sea port, Japanese factories and large housing projects. The Burmese side owns 51 percent of the project and is responsible for developing a 2,400-hectare core zone.

The massive project is expected to drive Rangoon's economic and urban growth in the next decades, and could generate up to 200,000 jobs when all four project phases are completed, a Burmese project developer said in May. But the project thus far has been marred by land disputes affecting hundreds of farmers.

Burma’s Lower House Discusses Amendments to Electronic Transactions Law

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 03:35 AM PDT

Internet users use computers at an Internet cafe in Rangoon on Nov. 21, 2011. (Photo: Reuters)

Burma's Lower House of Parliament is considering amending the draconian Electronic Transactions Law, a tool used by the country's former military dictators to suppress political activism, lawmakers said on Wednesday.

The Electronic Transactions Law, which was promulgated by the former military regime in April 2004, allows for up to 15 years in prison for Internet users who receive, send or distribute any information that threatens or disturbs state security, law and order, community peace, national solidarity, the national economy or national culture.

Amendments to the law were proposed in Parliament on Wednesday by lawmaker Thein Nyunt of the New National Democracy Party.

Kyi Myint, an independent lawmaker in the Lower House, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that Union House Speaker Shwe Mann supported Thein Nyunt's proposal.

The Electronic Transactions Law has been criticized for restricting freedom of expression, especially of activists, as the country transitions toward democracy after nearly half a century of military rule.

"This law is actually an important one to amend," said Ba Shein, a lawmaker from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) and a member of Parliament's Bill Committee. "The previous governing bodies made the laws just to protect their own self-interests."

Lawmakers said the deputy minister for communications and information technology, Thaung Tin, also agreed to discuss the amendments.

"But he said the Bill Committee and the ministry would need to collaborate on the amendments to reflect freedom of speech," said Kyi Myint. "And these amendments must be in accordance with the new communications bill."

Thein Nyunt has been pushing for amendments to the Electronic Transactions Law since last year. In January he called on lawmakers to completely abolish the law, but this proposal was rejected by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Raising the issue in Parliament on Wednesday, Thein Nyunt proposed an amendment to reduce the heavy penalties—up to 15 years in prison and a fine—allowed under Section 12 of the law.

Ba Shein said the Bill Committee would review the law and continue to discuss amendments.

He added that amendments could not be approved until the next parliamentary session, with the current 7th session closing at the end of this month.

Can Burma Cut Away Rampant Corruption?

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 03:22 AM PDT

Burmese Writer Dagon Taya’s Funeral Held

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 02:43 AM PDT

Free Funeral Services Society founder Kyaw Thu prepares decorations during the funeral of Burmese writer Dagon Taya in Aungban, Shan State. Click on the box below to see more photos. (Photo: Tay Za Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Well-known Burmese writer Dagon Taya, who died earlier this week at the age of 94, was laid to rest in his home town of Aungban, in Shan State, on Wednesday, said Kyaw Thu, the founder of the Rangoon-based Free Funeral Services Society.

The charity prepared his funeral and hundreds of admirers, including Burmese politicians, activists, writers, journalists and celebrities, attended the event.

The writer passed away in Aungban on Monday. His literary works were inked under the pen name "Dagon Taya," and the man born as Htay Myaing was renowned for his life-long conviction to peace.

He was a close friend of Burma's independence hero Gen Aung San. The general offered the writer a high-ranking position in the Japanese occupation government in 1943, but Dagon Taya refused. He later wrote an important, critical essay in 1947 about his friend's personality titled "Aung San the Untamed".

Dagon Taya's literary philosophy was "art for people's sake" and his post- World War II New Literature movement was founded on the belief that art can solve social problems and document the people's struggle for freedom and peace.

He was subjected to political persecution following the military coup of 1962 and was arrested and imprisoned for four years on suspicion of being a communist. Dagon Taya called himself "the Liberator," but never assumed an active role in any political party or governing regime.

In a 2010 interview, Dagon Taya told The Irrawaddy that to his understanding, politics was about making friends of foes. "Nothing but peace is democracy's goal," he said. "Friendship is only possible through peace."

Teacher Forced to Resign for Attending ’88 Uprising Commemoration

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 02:32 AM PDT

Former student leader Min Ko Naing, at lectern on right, speaks during the keynote address of a ceremony marking the 25-year anniversary of the 1988 popular uprising, in Rangoon on Tuesday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

A schoolteacher in Naypyidaw was sacked last week for attending a commemoration of the 25-year anniversary of Burma's 1988 pro-democracy uprising earlier this month.

Soe Soe Khaing told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that Myint Zaw, director of High School No. 5 in Naypyidaw's Zabuthiri Township, ordered her to resign from her position on the grounds that she had violated a school rule prohibiting teachers from involvement in politics.

"He told me that I'd violated three points of the regulation. The first one is that I attended one meeting with members of the 88 Generation Students group in Rangoon in June. Second is I did not inform the school that I went to the meeting and the third is that I attended the anniversary of the '88 uprising in Mandalay," Soe Soe Khaing said.

Soe Soe Khaing said the ban on political involvement could not be reconciled with a government policy during the 2010 national elections, which required that civil servants vote, and she questioned how the school's regulation could be enforced if a similar voting requirement were to be put in place for the 2015 elections

"Politics pertains to all issues, including the economy. So, how can they say that we should not get involved in any politics? They forced me to resign, but I did not do anything wrong; I did not kill anyone or bomb the country," Soe Soe Khaing added.

School authorities informed the 48-year-old of her dismissal on Thursday and offered a small severance pension.

Despite democratic political reforms that have been praised by many over the last two years, remnants of the former authoritarian regime persist, according to Soe Soe Khaing, who was a student involved in the pro-democracy protests that swept the nation in 1988.

"They have closely watched wherever I go, and what I do," she said. "I had to use another person's identity card to attend the '88 anniversary in Mandalay."

She said she was worried about the job security of other civil servants who might also be involved in politics, adding that the school did not pay her salary for the month of July.

Tun Myint Aung, who is in charge of education in Zabuthiri Township, told The Irrawaddy it was true that school officials had ordered Soe Soe Khaing to resign from her post, but he refused to provide details of the dismissal.

"I do not want to say all the details because you are better off asking her why she had to resign, as we mentioned this already in the letter we sent her," Tun Myint Aung said.

Burma's political activists in Rangoon, Mandalay and other parts of the country this month celebrated the Silver Jubilee of the historic popular uprising on Aug. 8, 1988, when hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets demanding an end to the military dictatorship of Gen Ne Win.

Widely known as the "88 Uprising," the nationwide pro-democracy movement drew hundreds of thousands of Burmese from all walks of life to join a protest in the former capital Rangoon. The movement sought an end to Ne Win's oppressive 26-year single-party rule, but the military ultimately crushed the protests with a heavy hand, killing at least 3,000 peaceful demonstrators.

The Documentarian and the Democracy Icon

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 01:48 AM PDT

U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi appears onstage with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the "Human Rights Human Dignity" international film festival in June. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

YANGON — She's an international darling, but Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has only a few close confidantes. Somehow, however, filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi has convinced the dissident turned lawmaker to open up for a documentary, making him the first native Myanmar director to ever portray her life on camera. The 51-year-old filmmaker from Magway Region told The Irrawaddy reporter Samantha Michaels about the challenges and surprises of working with the Lady, and about organizing the country's first human rights film festival in her honor.

Question: How did you get the chance to make a documentary about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?

Answer: It's a long story. After the Lady was released [from house arrest in 2010] on Nov. 13, I had a chance to meet her on Dec. 29 at her office. I brought a copy of my documentary "The Floating Tomatoes" and gave it to her, and I told her I wanted to make a documentary about her. She said she would watch my documentary and then consider it. In June 2011 I was invited to a poetry festival in Colombia, as I was known to be composing poems in Burma [Myanmar]. I asked the Lady to give me a poem to recite there, along with my own poems. When I came back I had a chance to meet her and I asked her again about the documentary. At that time she said, "OK, you can proceed."

Q: Have you seen French director Luc Besson's film "The Lady"? What did you think of it?

A: Yes, I have. As a feature film based on our national leader, I felt that the director didn't do proper research. He made a lot of historical inaccuracies.

Q: For your own documentary, what's been the biggest challenge in working with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?

A: I asked for 10 interviews, each one hour in length. So far I've only had two interviews, so I'm still waiting for another eight. That's a challenge. But I understand. She's very busy

Q: Has she surprised you in any way?

A: You know, actually, she always tries to cover up her heart, her real heart. But my documentary takes a look at her heart. Everyone knows about her political activities, so I didn't want to make that kind of documentary about her. Before the first interview, she told me, "OK, if I don't want to answer, I will not answer."

Q: Has she answered most of your questions?

A: So far, she hasn't declined to answer any of my questions.

Q: What was the toughest part about putting together the "Human Rights Human Dignity" international film festival in June?

A: Before the event, we had to get permission from the authorities.

Q: How long did that take?

A: Not very long—it was very easy. I mean, before I submitted everything to them, before I asked for permission, I was quite worried.

Q: How has film censorship affected your work in Myanmar?

A: We had had to submit all 56 films to the censorship board [for the film festival]. They watched all 56 films in two or three days. They didn't reject any.

Q: You also helped organize another film festival last year, "The Art of Freedom" festival. For that event, you didn't submit any films to the censors. Why did you change this year?

A: These two festivals were based on different ideas, so we had different strategies. The festival in 2012 was organized because there were still political prisoners in prison. It was about freedom, so we didn't submit the films to the censorship board—we screened what we wanted. But for this film festival, the "Human Rights Human Dignity" film festival, I wanted to get permission because it was not intended to be a one-time event. I want to organize this festival every year, so I needed permission.

Q: Are you working on any other projects?

A: I don't have other projects in the works, but I have an idea to make a short film about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has 30 articles, and how each of those apply to the Burmese people.

This Q&A first appeared in the August 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.
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