The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Rangoon’s Arakanese Gather to Honor U Ottama for the First Time in Decades
- Ethnic Leaders Say Nationwide Ceasefire Accord Unlikely in October
- Bangkok Airway to Begin Mandalay Service
- Singapore: Constricting the Space for Online Expression of Opinion
- Paving the Road to Peace
- Watercolors for a Cause
- Cambodia: Prolonged Stand-off Looms as Opposition Pledges More Protests over Election
- Australia’s New Gov’t Vows to Cut Foreign Aid, Stop Asylum Seekers
- Indian Troops Sent to Halt Deadly Communal Clashes
- Miss World Opens in Indonesia After Protests
- Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Shot in the Arm for Aging Nation
| Rangoon’s Arakanese Gather to Honor U Ottama for the First Time in Decades Posted: 09 Sep 2013 06:45 AM PDT  A large crowd attends U Ottama Day at Rangoon's Myanmar convention Center. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The ethnic Arakanese community of Rangoon gathered on Monday to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the death of U Ottama, a Buddhist monk who played a leading role in Burma's independence struggle. It was the first time that they were able to publicly honor the Sittwe-born leader, as any expressions of Arakanese national pride were not tolerated under the previous military governments that ruled Burma for decades. The event, called 'Venerable Ashin Ottama Day', was organized by Arakanese Affairs Ministry of Rangoon Division and Arakanese civil society groups in Rangoon. Minister of Arakanese Affairs Zaw Aye Maung said during his opening speech that the public celebration of U Ottama's achievements heralded a new era for Arakanese people in Burma. "Until the 1962 military government came to power, the day was celebrated quite openly on such a grand scale," he said. "We always remembered venerable U Ottama for his initiative to educate the whole country to 'say no' to the British colonialism." The commemorative ceremony in Rangoon's Myanmar Convention Center was joined by several thousands of Arakanese people and leading national politicians and activists. Among the audience were many Buddhist monks, including ultra-nationalist monk U Wirathu, while Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, 88 Students leader Min Ko Naing and foreign diplomats were also in attendance. U Ottama, a globe-trotting, widely respected monk was ethnic Arakanese, a popular author and one of the intellectual leaders of Burma's Independence Movement. He was renowned for opposing British colonial rule since 1911, famously writing an open letter to the then British governor, Sir Reginald Henry Craddock, in 1921 in which he bluntly stated: "Craddock Get Out!" "It was a very shocking for the Burmese at that time to address a governor like this for they were sort of slaves to the British masters," writes Bamakhit U Ba Yin in a Burmese-language biography of the monk. "At the same time, it enlightened the Burmese that they had a right oppose the British." U Ottama was one of the first Burmese monks to study abroad. He taught Pali and Sanskrit at the Academy of Buddhist Science in Tokyo. Under the British colonial rule, he had been imprisoned three times, becoming the first Buddhist monk in Burma to be jailed for political activism. "I'm very proud of him, for he is the very first Buddhist monk to join the politics for the country's independence," U Wirathu said during a speech at the event. "We Buddhist monks entered politics before Burma's national hero Gen. Aung San was born," he said. U Wirathu has made international headlines as the leader of the influential, nationalist 969 movement, which calls on Buddhist communities to shun Muslim-owned businesses. His rhetoric has been condemned by human rights groups who say it contributes to inter-communal tensions between Burma's Buddhist and Muslim communities. Dr San Hla Kyaw of Arakanese Literature and Culture Association, one of the co-organizers of the event, said the ceremony is aimed at raising awareness about U Ottama's historic political struggle for independence, adding that previous military government had sought to downplay the monk's achievements. "In Arakan state, he is still quite well known but it's not the case in other parts of the country," he said. Before 1962, the Burmese government named a park near Rangoon's Shwedagon Pagoda 'U Ottama Park' to honor him. But since then, it has been renamed 'Kantaw Mingalar Park.' During today's celebration, the attendants of the event agreed that the government should take steps to restore the park's former name in honor of the pro-independence leader. "As a leading monk who opened the eyes of the Burmese on activism against the British, I believe he deserves that kind of state-level treatment because what he had done was not only for we Arakanese but for the whole country," said Kyaw Myat Tha, an ethnic Arakanese who attended the event. | |
| Ethnic Leaders Say Nationwide Ceasefire Accord Unlikely in October Posted: 09 Sep 2013 06:33 AM PDT  UNFC leaders, right, talk with a government-led ceasefire negotiation team in Chiang Mai, Thailand, this weekend. (Photo: Nyo Ohn Myint / Facebook) RANGOON — Leaders of Burma's ethnic groups said a nationwide ceasefire agreement was unlikely to be signed next month, after a meeting with a government-led negotiating team ended with disagreement this weekend. The leaders of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of 11 of Burma's armed ethnic groups, met with negotiators led by President's Office Minister Aung Min in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. Nai Hong Sa, the general secretary of the UNFC, said ethnic leaders gave no immediate response to an invitation by the government-led negotiating team, which includes members of the Myanmar Peace Center, to sign an agreement in Burma next month. The UNFC will respond to the invitation later, but a national deal will likely not be signed in October, as the government wishes, he said. During the meeting, Aung Min listed a number of demands that drew disagreement from ethnic leaders, according to Nai Hong Sa, who said the minister told the UNFC member groups not to kill civilians, collect taxes, recruit new members, intervene in the government's administration or initiate hostilities with government-backed ethnic militias. Nai Hong Sa added that the Aung Min-led delegation claimed there would be no fighting if the ethnic armed groups refrained from attacking government-backed militias, giving the example of clashes in northern Burma. The UNFC general secretary said an ethnic Shan participant insisted at the meeting, in reply to Aung Min, that the ethnic armed groups do not target civilians, unlike the government. "We told them that we engage in armed struggle with the support of our people. We don't conduct tax by force. Just like the government collects taxes from citizens, we also need to collect taxes from our people to survive," said Nai Hong Sa. "This is unavoidable as long as there are armed conflicts. If you don't want us to [levy taxes], you better solve the conflict by political means." In a press conference in Chiang Mai on Sunday following the talks, Aung Min told the media that 14 of the 16 ethnic armed groups have signed individual ceasefire agreements with the government. "After all the ethnic armed groups sign ceasefire agreements, we need to sign a nationwide ceasefire accord. We plan to organize the nationwide ceasefire accord in October," said Aung Min. The UNFC is also, along with other ethnic groups within Burma, planning within three months to propose a new Constitution to replace the 2008 document, which is not in line with their demands for a federalist system in Burma. "We have prepared the drafts already, which is why we say we will finish drawing up [the new Constitution] in three months. We may take one more month in case it won't be finished," Col Khun Okkar, a leader of the effort to draft a federal Constitution, told The Irrawaddy. "The new Constitution is going to be created using the suitable points we achieved from our 20-year-old policies." The United Nationalities Alliance, the United Nationalities League for Democracy and the National Council of the Union of Burma are all involved in drawing up a proposal for a new Constitution, along with ethnic and legal experts. Aye Thar Aung, chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy, said Burma's current Constitution was not accepted by the majority of the public "Whether the government and the Parliament will accept [the new Constitution draft] or not is another issue. The 2008 Constitution is publicly slammed for being undemocratic and for its lack of rights to ethics minorities," he said. "If the present Constitution is incomplete, we need to prepare another Constitution that is complete." The Irrawaddy reporter Khin Oo Thar contributed to this report. | |
| Bangkok Airway to Begin Mandalay Service Posted: 09 Sep 2013 05:49 AM PDT  Budget airline AirAsia has moved aggressively to increase its flights to Burma to capture more of the tourist market. Now Bangkok Airways plans to launch services from Bangkok to Mandalay as well as Naypyidaw this month. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Bangkok Airways will become the fourth Thai airline to fly from Bangkok to Mandalay this month, launching the new route from the Thai capital to Burma's second-biggest city on Sept. 15. The privately owned Thai carrier will service the route with Airbus A319 aircraft four times weekly—on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday—according to reports by Thai media. It will also start flying regularly from Bangkok to Naypyidaw on Sept. 30, local travel agents say. Bangkok Airways has been flying to Rangoon, Burma's biggest city and commercial capital, since 2004. A promotional deal will be available until Nov. 30 for the Mandalay flight, with round-trip fare starting at 3,790 baht (about US$125), including airport tax and fuel surcharges, local travel agents say. "The Mandalay route will cost US$240 normally," a ticketing agent at Columbus Travels & Tours in Rangoon said, adding that the Rangoon-Bangkok fare for Bangkok Airways was about $290. Other carriers including Thai Smile, Thai Airways International (TG) and Thai AirAsia—a joint venture between Malaysia's AirAsia and Thailand's Asia Aviation—already fly from Bangkok to Mandalay. "Now with Bangkok Airways, customers can choose which one has the best service and is safest, and they can also consider price," Zin Min Swe, a Mandalay-based developer who frequently flies between the two cities, told The Irrawaddy. Burma's Myanmar Airways International (MAI) began servicing flights from Mandalay to Bangkok in late March but stopped flying the route due to competition from other Thai airways. | |
| Singapore: Constricting the Space for Online Expression of Opinion Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:47 AM PDT  A man covers his mouth with a Singaporean 50 dollar note (US$40) during a protest against new licensing regulations imposed by the government for online news sites, at Hong Lim Park in Singapore June 8, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) "If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." — George Washington, first president of the United States SINGAPORE — It is past 10 pm and I am walking along the dimly lit street, looking for the headquarters of Singapore's main opposition Workers Party (WP). Cars parked on both sides leave almost no space for vehicles to pass through the narrow road. Two-storey shop houses, some of them Chinese restaurants, line my side of the street, while on the other, cigarette-smoking young women in skimpy dresses and high heels, their faces covered in thick makeup, are "negotiating" with potential clients. Nervously, I walk on, thinking, surely I have lost my way while following directions to the party's office at 216G Syed Alwi Road #02-03, given to me by Gerald Giam, a non-constituency WP member of Singapore's Parliament. After walking back and forth past the shop houses for half an hour and asking people for directions, an old woman working in one of the Chinese eateries finally shows me the way to the WP office, located above a Chinese restaurant and across the road from the street walkers. The party logo on the shop house wall is barely visible in the dark and the office is a single, medium-sized room on the second floor, reached after climbing a narrow stairway and one among other rooms lining the corridor. Like its political influence, the office of one of Singapore's oldest political parties is in stark contrast to that of its rival, Singapore's ruling People's Action Party (PAP), which works out of a large, corporate-style building set in its own grounds in an upscale area near Singapore's Changi International Airport. State of Political Opposition: A Pointer to Freedom of Online Dissent? Yet, sitting in his office, Giam does not share the general pessimistic view of the state of the political opposition in Singapore. Pointing to the WP's impressive showing in the 2011 national election after going unrepresented in Parliament between 1968 and 1981 and having only five lawmakers in the legislature between 1981 and 2006, he says Singapore citizens have become more politically aware since 2006, with the Internet playing a big role in this. "I see that there is an increasing political awareness in Singapore, particularly among young people, even among many older people," he says. The first-time lawmaker who joined politics in 2009 after a career in the civil service also does not think that online freedom of expression is under threat in Singapore. A keen political blogger, he says he was inspired by the emergence of bloggers commenting on social and political issues starting with the 2006 election. Giam, however, does not think bloggers will replace mainstream media for a number of reasons, including their inability to match the news gathering resources of traditional media. "They will definitely complement the mainstream media," he says. "They add different opinions and perspectives. In a way, many of them are freer to speak their mind than mainstream media journalists." He is optimistic about the future for freedom of expression in his country. He doubts Singapore's rulers will be able to control online media, which is playing an important role in political development in Singapore. Social media had a significant influence on the outcome of the 2011 elections to Parliament, providing information to let people make the right choice. In particular, it helped opposition candidates reach out to and connect directly with voters. The opposition lawmaker is critical of the May 2013 online licensing regulation issued by the state media regulator, the Media Development Authority (MDA), which requires online sites to pay a licensing fee of US$39,200 if they report at least one Singapore news story a week over a period of two months and are visited by at least 50,000 unique IP address from within Singapore. But he hastens to add that it should not be interpreted as an attempt at stifling online freedom of expression. "In general, I don't agree with the MDA regulation. But it doesn't mean the government does not allow online media," he says, adding that it cannot be compared to the much harsher restriction on online political activities in Vietnam, which has banned sharing of anything other than personal information on popular social media like Facebook . "There's been no such regulation in Singapore." He tries to explain the reason behind the MDA regulation. "I think that from the government perspective, the regulation's purpose is to ensure that any news, whether online or not, which has a significant following, comes under a certain type of regulation," he says. He is, nonetheless, concerned that the regulation was issued even though Singapore has the Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA) and Broadcasting (Class License) Notification of 2001, which, he says, covers news websites. Yet he expresses optimism that the MDA regulation will not be a major obstacle to independent online bloggers. "I don't see that the MDA licensing framework for online media is a big impediment to political development in Singapore," he says, adding that the new rule has not yet affected any individual blogger in Singapore. "I don't see it as a restriction on the freedom of expression." "Although we still have the PAP, the ability to restrict the flow of information has been severely curtailed by the emergence of the Internet and online media," he points out. "Unless they are prepared to shut down the Internet like in North Korea, put opposition politicians in jail or restrict the [flow of] online information. I think those days are hopefully over." Giam thinks the government will not be able to secure popular backing for "such tactics," he says, adding, "I think Singaporeans will not stand for that." But Lina Chiam, a non-constituency member of Parliament and chairwoman of the opposition Singapore People's Party, believes the MDA regulation is detrimental to media freedom because of its ambiguous wording. "The definition of news sites under the regulations, as they stand, are so arbitrary, and can encompass any website posting at least one news-related article in a week," she says. Chiam thinks one does not even need to believe in the constitutional right to free speech to realize how worrying the new MDA rules are, from the point of view of legal order, transparency in governance, and good business sense. "With the freedom of expression suppressed, Singapore is not living up to its potential as a First World country," she adds. The Singapore People's Party has called on the government to withdraw the MDA regulation. A Long History of Media Regulation The Singapore government's relationship with traditional news media organizations is hardly encouraging for those trying to use the online space to criticize the ruling party's philosophy that has guided the city state's development over the past six decades. Speaking at the National Day Rally last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took a dig at online media, accusing it of unreliability and lack of balanced reporting. "It [online media] lends itself to many negative views and ridiculous untruths," Singapore's leader said on the occasion. Over the past four decades, government control of mainstream media has been aided by legislation such as the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPPA) and the Broadcasting Act. All print and broadcast media in Singapore are also owned by government-linked companies Singapore Press Holding and Mediacorp. Kumeran Pillai, managing editor of the online alternative newspaper Independent Singapore, says government ownership is a "fear factor" for the journalist. The feeling is that "if I write something bad, I am going to lose my job," he says. Leon Perera, an adviser of Independent Singapore, adds, "In Singapore, you don't have private ownership. All [media outlets are] owned by the government. So if a journalist wants to write from a different view [to that held by the government], the government is in a position to hit them very hard." Singapore's first political website, Sintercom (Singapore Internet Community), which launched in 1994 by Tan Chong Kee as a public platform for free discussion on a variety of national issues, had to license itself in 2001 with the national Internet policy maker and regulator, the Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA). (The SBA's role was taken over by the MDA in 2003.) Kee said he decided to shut down the website after realizing that it was impossible for him to run it with integrity. Last year, the popular socio-political blog The Online Citizen (TOC) was registered as a political organization under the Broadcasting Act. The government said this was necessary as TOC was in a position to influence public opinion and shape political outcomes in Singapore. Registration has barred TOC from receiving foreign funds or allowing foreign citizens to take part in its events. Moreover, the Political Donations Act requires registered websites to list domestic sources of funding—a potentially crippling blow in a country where dissent results in political and economic marginalization. Cautious Optimism That Government May Be Unable to Control Online Opinion Prominent blogger Ravi Philemon, whose investigative online reports have embarrassed the government and triggered debates in Parliament, thinks it is not easy for the government to control expression of opinion online. "I think the Internet is a different animal altogether. Because how do you control the Internet unless you are a country like China, which is so big, and where citizens are inclined to speak in one language?" he says. Even though the government is trying to regulate Internet content, it is not easy to control. Singaporeans are turning to online media to get a perspective on news other than that offered by mainstream media, he says. "There is always another side of a story. I am sure that what mainstream media tells is not the whole story." Technology has also made it easier to evade state control, he points out. "There are so many tools for you to bypass censorship. So how do you control something like that, especially in a country like Singapore, which is so connected? How do you restrict peoples' reading? It is a very big challenge." He says the government can now no longer "control the political discourse, and for any government, it will be very troubling if you can't lead the social-political discourse. … If you can't lead it [political discourse], it means you [go] down [in] your power. In my opinion, it is understandable why the government wants to control the Internet, but it's impossible." By making it possible to reach out to a much wider audience, online communication can be a powerful tool to challenge authority, he says, citing his own example. During the severe haze crisis in Singapore in June this year, he highlighted on his blog the public frustration that was expressed on social media over the government's failure to keep its promise to make air filter masks available in all pharmacies. He said the government accused him of lying but could do nothing more. He says that after ignoring online media for a long time, the government became aware of the importance of Internet-based communication after the 2011 election. Cherian George, a well-known Singaporean media freedom advocate and professor of journalism from Nanyang Technological University, also thinks it is not easy to control online expression of opinion. "Criticizing the government through online media with your own name is more common now, because you are not alone. The Internet has given confidence to the Singaporean, that if you have critical views about the government, you are not alone," he says. The government will have to arrest thousands of people if it starts cracking down on those expressing critical views online, he explains. He cites the large number of online comments criticizing the prime minister's statement at the Aug. 18 National Day Rally. The Singapore government is getting "very annoyed" with online criticism, but it has to realize that there are limits to regulating online expression of opinion, George says. While "realists" in the government "realize" that they will need to learn to live with online criticism, the danger is that "hardliners" may have the urge to act, he says. This is evident in the new MDA licensing regulation for news bloggers. "There is nobody outside government who can understand why it is necessary or what problem it is supposed to solve. I can only conclude that it is more a symptom of frustration." "I am not afraid about the regulation [in itself], but what this regulation signals about government thinking. It shows that the government still doesn't understand the need to reform the media. It is the clearest sign for many years that the government doesn't want to recognize the reality," he adds. "It seems that the government is trying to make online media more like mainstream media. [The cases of] China, Iran, North Korea show it is possible to restrict [online media freedom]. But, is that the direction you want to go?" he asks rhetorically. "Nobody imagines Singapore will go that way." Choo Zheng Xi, co-founder of TOC, thinks likewise. "They can't control the Internet," he says. "They have imposed a lot of regulation that makes them very stupid. If they ask online media to pay $50,000 [Singapore dollars] and they don't want to pay, what would they do?" Xi thinks the government is "afraid" and scared that independent bloggers can now affect the outcome of elections. He thinks the Internet provides a useful outlet for people to express their feelings on social and political issues. George thinks the government needs to realize that loosening its grip on mainstream media will actually lead to an improvement in public and political life in Singapore. Instead of trying to suppress the online expression of political opinion, the aim of Internet regulation should be to protect citizens from unethical online behavior such as intrusion of privacy and cyber bullying, he says. "The government is more concerned about themselves instead of the ordinary people. Internet regulation should be about making the Internet safe for [the] ordinary citizen." Challenges for Independent Online Media Even as they try to evade government control, bloggers and independent online news websites have to prepare themselves to become credible alternative media voices. While bloggers and social media cannot replace mainstream media, they can play a valuable supplementary role, says George. Surveys he conducted show that while people consider mainstream media to be biased in its coverage of the government, they have to depend on mainstream media for information because there is no other choice available. He sees the establishment of the online news blog Independent Singapore as a positive development but adds that it will not be easy for it to sustain itself as it lacks adequate resources in terms of funding and staff. After the National Day Rally, which was the biggest political event of the year, the website could publish only two commentaries, one of them authored by George. Singapore still does not have independent online news sites that can guarantee comprehensive and reliable coverage of current issue. Even TOC, the best so far, can barely manage to pay its editors and interns. Xi of TOC says the website was started to make up for the "very unbalanced" coverage of mainstream news media and its "lack of objectivity." In the past two to three years since its establishment, the website readership has grown from "a few hundred" to "thousands." During the 2011 election, TOC organized a political forum, to which all political parties were invited, though only the main opposition party took part. Initially the government was not affected by TOC's reporting "because we are very small," but TOC news stories are now forcing the government to act. "Many times, the government is responding to our articles," says Xi. The TOC story on homelessness in Singapore led to a debate in Parliament. Although the government claimed the report was exaggerated, it launched an investigation into the issue. Xi says mainstream media coverage tends to ignore issues like poverty, homelessness and foreign workers in Singapore. Unlike most other blogs that only carry opinion, TOC also provides reliable news to the public. "We are considered pioneers. We do reporting, cover news events and [carry] opinion [articles]," he says. TOC readers include retirees, professionals and students. However, he does not think bloggers and alternative online news groups can lead in shaping public opinion. "Only the mainstream media can do that," he said. He is, nonetheless, optimistic about the future and expects TOC to become stronger over the next five to 10 years. "Recently we've seen, former journalists, who have retired or were kicked out by their media organization, feeling frustrated and joining online media," Xi says. The website has a core team of five staff and also between 10 to 15 volunteers, many of them students. "We have to nurture them, lead them, make them feel their work is worth something," he says. TOC is not finding it easy it obtain financial support as potential business backers are nervous about supporting a political news and opinion website that they see as being critical of the government, says Xi. The website runs on reader donations that add up to about $785 per month. "It is enough," he says. A significant addition to Singapore's alternative media landscape was the launch of the Independent Singapore on June 15. The site's managing editor, Pillai, a former TOC editor, thinks alternative online media organizations need to professionalize themselves, moving beyond reliance on volunteers to paid staff. Independent Singapore director and legal advisor Alfred Dodwell says the website aims to be independent of any political party. "I suppose the mainstream media is a PAP mouthpiece [and] TOC and TRE [Temasek Review Emeritus] are more like the opposition." The website writes about issues not covered by mainstream media and tries to be professional, unlike a blog, he says. "We have an editorial team. Like a real newspaper," he says. Hopes for the Future George thinks more and more of his fellow citizens are now beginning to realize that they need the freedom to criticize the government. Until recently, he says, the number of "Singaporeans that want to fight for freedom of expression for its own sake was very small." Yet in recent years, "more and more Singaporeans" are feeling "the government isn't noticing our problems seriously enough [and that] they need freedom of expression to voice their unhappiness." Dodwell hopes the Singapore Independent will give rise to a better informed younger generation. "The reason why we started Independent Singapore was because we are all parents, we have children," he says. "We want to do this for the future of Singapore [so that] children do not grow up with the Straits Times as the only one newspaper." This article was produced for the 2013 Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) fellowship program. Ulisari Eslita, a senior writer for the Jakarta-based Forbes Indonesia, is one of the 2013 fellows. This year's theme is Freedom of Expression Challenges to Internet Government in Southeast Asia. | |
| Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:55 AM PDT  This photo of CBE and ethnic leaders returning to the jungle after the collapse of peace talks in November 1963 was widely published at the time as a symbol of the failure to end armed conflict in Myanmar's border regions. (Photo: Forward Journal) In 1963, the year after Myanmar's military seized power, the ruling Revolutionary Council of Gen Ne Win invited the country's armed groups, including the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) and all the main ethnic militias, to hold talks aimed at ending more than a decade of conflict. Now, 50 years after that failed attempt to achieve a nationwide peace agreement ushered in a further half-century of fighting in Myanmar's border areas, the nominally civilian government of President U Thein Sein is hoping he will have more success. Since coming to office more than two years ago, U Thein Sein has wasted no time in trying to lay the groundwork for what would be a historic moment in Myanmar's post-independence history. His government has reached ceasefire agreements with 13 armed groups, and now believes that it is almost ready to take the push for peace to the next level: a multilateral agreement to be called the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord. In the coming months, there will be a great deal of activity related to reaching this elusive goal. One significant hurdle that remains is the fact that the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of the largest of the ethnic armed groups, has yet to agree to a ceasefire. It has been fighting since an earlier truce that had lasted 17 years broke down in June 2011—just months after U Thein Sein took office. But the KIA is not alone in believing that the government can't be completely trusted. Other groups that have signed ceasefire agreements also suspect that the government is more interested in improving its international image than in actually achieving peace. Whatever doubts there may be, however, it appears that the government's peace committee is intent on implementing an unofficial three-step process before elections in 2015. The first step will be to announce the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord; the second, to work on a framework for political dialogue; and the third, to hold a nationwide political dialogue. According to one of the main peace brokers, who asked to remain anonymous until the blueprint is officially announced, the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord will likely be reached by October or no later than November of this year. In his speech to the nation on Aug. 14, President U Thein Sein laid out his plans in general terms. "Shortly, we are going to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement," he said. "But a ceasefire is not enough. To maintain peace, we are going to continue political dialogue with committees which will be formed by the two Houses of Parliament." In December, the peace committee will try to speed up its schedule to enter the political dialogue, the peace broker confided. In order to help convince ethnic leaders, the international community and all stakeholders that it is sincere about wanting to reach a permanent peace, the government is expected to invite opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to participate in the process. The Nobel laureate has in the past sought a role in talks with the ethnic armed groups, but the government has never extended an official invitation to her. Behind the scenes, however, the president has given his peace team a green light to include her in the peace process. In May, a few days before the government's peace team made a trip to Kachin State to discuss preliminary ceasefire talks with the KIA, U Thein Sein told his chief peace negotiator, President's Office Minister U Aung Min, to invite her. However, there wasn't enough time to work out the details, so in the end she couldn't actually join them. But a clear signal had been sent that she would be welcome to participate in future peace talks. When the peace committee starts working on a framework for a political dialogue in December, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to be one of the participants. Although she won't be given a key role, she will at least have an opportunity to become more familiar with the entire process. According to one inside source, she will be one of a few dozen people, including government, military, ethnic and political leaders, taking part in the process at that stage. The government's peace committee seems to believe that the second phase will take three to four months to complete. But if the KIA is still not part of the process by that time, it could undermine the legitimacy of the entire effort. On the other hand, the KIA may feel pressured to join, lest it come under criticism for being the lone holdout. But the peace broker said that even if the KIA does decide to sit out this stage, it can still join the political dialogue later. The nationwide political dialogue is expected to begin early next year. If this actually comes to pass, it will be a big deal, as it has been one of the key demands of the ethnic armed groups all along to have talks that bring all of them to the same negotiating table with the government. The keyword, however, will be "genuine": Any sign that the whole thing has been an elaborate sham will inevitably bring the entire process crashing to the ground. Once the dialogue begins, it may take a full year—from around March 2014 to March 2015—to complete, according to the peace broker. As many as a thousand participants from different political parties and organizations, including civil society groups, may be involved, he added. If this unofficial blueprint seems ambitious, that's because it is. But U Thein Sein and his peace committee are desperate to achieve real results before the country goes to the polls in 2015, so they are pulling out all the stops. So far, it seems that the plan has the tacit approval of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Lower House Speaker U Shwe Mann, who have reportedly seen the blueprint. But it is difficult to know what the military top brass think of the whole thing. Observers have noted that U Aung Min, who was himself a high-ranking military official in the previous regime, has had an uphill struggle convincing senior figures within the army to accept some of the deals he has made with the ethnic armed groups. So this may bode ill for the rest of the process, which can't move forward without military approval. There are also a multitude of other issues that could throw a spanner into the works. Despite the ceasefire agreements that are already in place, there is still no clear demarcation of territory or systematic monitoring mechanism to reduce the risk of clashes between government troops and those of the ethnic armed groups. This is why there have been numerous incidents on the ground over the past two years, and why even in mid-August, fighting broke out between government-backed border guard forces and Kachin and Kayin rebels. But it is the more fundamental issue of how Myanmar's armed forces and ethnic minorities will relate in the envisioned post-conflict era that will ultimately decide whether a lasting peace is possible. The ethnic armed groups say they would like to see the Tatmadaw, or armed forces, become a "Union Tatmadaw," representative of the country's ethnic diversity. But for now, at least, the mindset of the country's powerful generals is that only a Burman-dominated military can guarantee the unity of the nation. If Myanmar is ever to overcome its history of endemic conflict, it may have to look even further into the past than 1963, to the Panglong Agreement reached between independence hero Bogyoke Aung San and ethnic leaders in 1947. That pact, which brought Myanmar's ethnic minorities into the newly independent nation that was born the following year, was effectively nullified by Gen Ne Win's coup in 1962. But the "Panglong spirit" continues to define the aspirations of many of Myanmar's minorities, who seek a degree of autonomy that is still anathema to the country's military. It remains to be seen whether the president and his peace negotiators will ever be able to realize their goals. But one thing that is certain even now is that genuine peace and stability can only be achieved through a system that is radically different from the one that has existed for most of the past 50 years. And if that new system is federalism, then U Thein Sein should be prepared to deliver it. This viewpoint appeared in the September 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. Kyaw Zwa Moe is the editor of the English-language edition of The Irrawaddy. | |
| Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:38 AM PDT  A painting entitled "Horse Carts in the Rain," by Burmese artist Lun Gywe. (Photo: Trish Gallery) RANGOON — With a price tag of about US$4,000 apiece, paintings by the celebrated Burmese artist Lun Gywe's are generally out of reach for local fans in Burma, but an art exhibition in the country's former capital is now offering a rare chance for buyers with a budget to add to their collections. At the "Donation Water Color Art Show" at Trish Gallery in Rangoon, 70 watercolor paintings by the master impressionist painter are on display, with prices significantly reduced to between $100 and $300, depending on the size. And at the painter's request, the proceeds will be donated to two child welfare projects. "We will donate all money from the sales to the [Yangon] Children's Hospital in Rangoon and the Dopin orphanage in Pyin Oo Lwin [in Mandalay Division]," Tin Win, the gallery manager, told The Irrawaddy. "Given the prices and the motivation for the show, it's quite irresistible for anyone who admires U Lun Gywe's work." Lun Gywe, 83, is a former principal of the State School of Fine Arts in Rangoon. He has exhibited his paintings internationally, including in China, Korea, Australia, New York and Singapore. His works have also been on display at Burma's National Museum, Malaysia's National Art Gallery and the Singapore Art Museum.
The "Donation Water Color Art Show" featuring Burmese artist Lun Gywe is open to the public from Sep 7-15, from 9 am to 5 pm daily (except Monday) at Trish Gallery: 46/A, Ground Floor, Flat C, Excellent Condominium, Min Kyaung Street, Dagon Township, Rangoon. | |
| Cambodia: Prolonged Stand-off Looms as Opposition Pledges More Protests over Election Posted: 09 Sep 2013 01:57 AM PDT  CNRP leaders Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy confer onstage at the Sept. 7 opposition rally in Phnom Penh (Photo: Simon Roughneen / The Irrawaddy) PHNOM PENH — To the left of the stage in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park on Saturday, Bun Saoak sheltered behind a throbbing speaker, seeking shade from the blinding mid-morning sun. On the platform nearby, opposition leader Sam Rainsy told the estimated 20,000 crowd that his Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) would not budge on its demand that an investigation be held into alleged cheating in July 28 parliamentary elections. Echoing Mr Rainsy’s claims that the election was unjust, Mu Sochea, a former government minister and an influential Rainsy ally, told The Irrawaddy that "1.2 million voters were disenfranchised intentionally and deliberately." Bun Saoak was not one of those voters that the opposition says were omitted from voting lists, but nonetheless was adamant there was cheating on election day. "It was not a free and fair election," he told The Irrawaddy. Official election results were finally released on Sunday, six weeks after the vote. Unsurprisingly, the outcome, announced by the National Election Commission (NEC), upheld the win claimed on July 28 by Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The NEC said that the CPP won 68 seats, with the NCRP getting 55. After the results were released, the CNRP said that it will boycott parliament and return to the streets, with three days of protests lined up for September 15-17. While Saturday’s protest was peaceful, with police keeping a watchful distance, Cambodia’s security forces have a track record of cracking down on smaller marches by garment workers and by people affected by land grabs. A large-scale and prolonged rally could test Hun Sen’s willingness to allow continued dissent. Before Saturday’s protest, riot police were seen practicing crowd control measures, around Phnom Penh, while the Ministry of Interior sent a letter to foreign embassies suggesting that the CNRP plan was to foment a coup, though the ministry has not backed up its claim with evidence. Both sides stand accused of stirring up tension, however. The opposition’s election campaign was marked by anti-Vietnamese rhetoric, alleging that Hun Sen, who came to power during Vietnam’s post-Khmer Rouge occupation of Cambodia, is a puppet of the Hanoi government. Rainsy has been stirring up anti-Vietnamese sentiment in a country where pogroms against Vietnamese have flared in the past, and where the two surviving Khmer Rouge leaders stand accused of genocide against Cambodia’s ethnic Vietnamese minority. The contentions have been entwined with scaremongering over Vietnamese migrants in Cambodia and claims that Vietnamese — presumably Hun Sen supporters — were allowed to vote. Such claims emerged at last Saturday’s rally. "At the high school where I vote, there was a problem. Vietnamese were voting, and Khmer were not," said Bun Saoak. It seems unlikely, however, that the opposition can pressure Hun Sen into drastic concessions, with CPP lawmakers saying that the CPP will form a government regardless of any opposition boycott. Kheang Un, a Cambodian politics lecturer at Northern Illinois University, said the proposed boycott and protests are unlikely have much impact — unless supplemented by international pressure such as trade sanctions and aid cuts. "At the moment the situation in Cambodia is not that grave that it warrants such drastic action," said Kheang Un. The CNRP has said that the official bodies such as NEC and the Constitutional Committee — which earlier rejected opposition cheating claims — are biased in favor of the CPP and Cambodia’s long-entrenched Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is now nearing three decades in office. Koul Panha of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections (COMFREL), which monitored the July 28 vote, said that Cambodia needs long term electoral reform, including overhauling the NEC and the Constitutional Committee. "The voter registration and lists need to be looked at as well," he told The Irrawaddy. And though the CNRP has failed to dislodge Hun Sen from office, the opposition made hefty gains in the election, winning 44.5 per cent of the popular vote to the CPP’s 48.8 per cent – a drop of almost 10 per cent for Hun Sen’s party since its landslide win in the 2008 election. The close call — even if on the back of cheating — could serve as a wake-up call for the CPP, which stands accused of widespread corruption, nepotism and of backing controversial land grabs, improprieties that seemingly prompted voters to opt for the CNRP. "If the CPP fails to initiate meaningful reforms then it will face even more vocal opposition, backed by an even more restless youth," said Kheang Un. | |
| Australia’s New Gov’t Vows to Cut Foreign Aid, Stop Asylum Seekers Posted: 08 Sep 2013 11:18 PM PDT  Opposition leader Tony Abbott talks during the People’s Forum with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Sydney August 28, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) CANBERRA — Australia’s new government prepared to take control of the nation Sunday, with Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott vowing to immediately scrap a hated tax on carbon polluters, cut pledges in foreign aid and implement a controversial plan to stop asylum seekers from reaching the nation’s shores. Abbott met with bureaucrats to go over his border security plans and said his first priority would be to repeal the deeply unpopular carbon tax on Australia’s biggest industrial polluters. Abbott’s conservative Liberal party-led coalition won a crushing victory in elections Saturday against the center-left Labor Party, which had ruled for six years, including during the turbulent global financial crisis. Labor was ultimately doomed by years of party instability and bickering, and by its decision to renege on an election promise by implementing the carbon tax, which many Australians blame for steep increases in their power bills. The Australian Electoral Commission’s latest count Sunday had the coalition likely to win a clear majority of 86 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. Labor appeared likely to secure 57. In an open letter Sunday, Abbott said he would immediately implement his border protection plan, under which the Australian navy would turn back Indonesian fishing boats carrying asylum seekers into Australian waters. The coalition has also proposed that the government buy old fishing boats from Indonesian fishermen to prevent them from falling into the hands of people smugglers. Labor has dismissed the boat-buying policy as "crazy," and the idea was sharply criticized on Sunday by Mahfudz Siddiq, a senior Indonesian lawmaker, who said it would threaten relations between the two countries. "His idea is clearly insulting the dignity of Indonesians," he said. "It showed to us that he does not understand diplomacy." Abbott, a supremely fit 55-year-old, began his first day as prime minister-elect with an early morning bicycle ride from his Sydney home with friends. "It was a very big night, but this is just the start of another normal day and there’s going to be a fair bit of solid work this morning," Abbott told reporters. "There’s a lot of work that will be done later today." In his letter, Abbott took a dig at the outgoing Labor government’s notorious infighting. "We will be a careful, collegial, consultative, straight-forward government that says what it means and does what it says and that does not waste your money," Abbott wrote. Abbott also held briefings Sunday with defense and intelligence officials to get an update on the Syrian civil war. Abbott, whose party is often criticized for placing too little value on foreign relations, caught heat last week for describing the Syrian crisis in an interview as "baddies versus baddies." Outgoing Prime Minister Kevin Rudd dubbed the comments "the most simplistic analysis I’ve ever heard." The coalition has made clear that it intends to make steep cuts to spending in a bid to return the Australian budget to a surplus after five consecutive deficits delivered by Labor since the global economic crisis. Last week, the party announced that if elected it would plan to save 4.5 billion Australian dollars (US$4.1 billion) over the next four years by reducing increases in its aid spending to the Australian inflation rate, which is currently less than 3 percent. The money saved will be reallocated to fund road projects. The outgoing Labor government said in May that Australia’s long-standing pledge to increase its foreign aid spending to 0.5 percent of gross national income by 2015-16 would be postponed by two years. The coalition said in a statement last week that it shared Labor’s commitment to reach the 0.5 percent target "over time, but cannot commit to a date given the current state of the federal budget." "I have to say, there are higher immediate priorities" than reaching the 0.5 percent target, Abbott told reporters last week. "The best thing we can do for our country and ultimately the best thing we can do for people around the world is to strengthen our economy." The plans have been condemned by opponents and aid groups, who dubbed it short-sighted and contrary to the nation’s image of global cooperation, particularly in light of Australia’s recent appointments to presidency of the U.N. Security Council and the G-20 in 2014. "I think it says a great deal about the man, Tony Abbott, and his principles if he is prepared to attack the poor — home and abroad — and is prepared to jeopardize the long-term standing of our country while he is at it," Greens leader Christine Milne said last week. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said on Friday that cuts to planned spending will strain small Pacific island nations, a major beneficiary of Australian aid. "These are countries that need a lot of support and help, so if there is less money coming their way, they'll obviously feel that over time," Key told reporters in the Marshall Islands, where he was attending the Pacific Islands Forum. "It will certainly make the money that we spend here even more valuable." | |
| Indian Troops Sent to Halt Deadly Communal Clashes Posted: 08 Sep 2013 10:40 PM PDT  Indian army vehicles patrol on a deserted road during a curfew in Muzaffarnagar, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday. The Indian army was called in, an unusual measure, to contain communal violence pitting Hindus against Muslims in northern Uttar Pradesh state. (Photo: Reuters) LUCKNOW, India — Hundreds of troops have been deployed to quell deadly riots and clashes between Hindus and Muslims sparked by the killing of three villagers who had objected when a young woman was being harassed in northern India. Police said 19 people were killed, including an Indian broadcast journalist, a police photographer and several people who on Sunday succumbed to injuries received a day earlier when the two groups set upon each other with guns and knives in Kawal village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The violence quickly spread to neighboring villages in Muzaffarnagar district Saturday night. "A curfew has been imposed in three riot-hit areas of Muzaffarnagar," said the head of the state's home ministry, R.M. Srivastava. "The situation is still very tense, but under control." Soldiers were going door to door to search for weapons. A state of high alert was declared for the entire state of Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of 200 million people. The clashes broke out Saturday after thousands of Hindu farmers held a meeting in Kawal to demand justice in the Aug. 27 killing of three men who had spoken out when a woman was being verbally harassed. The state's minority welfare minister, Mohammad Azam Khan, said some at the meeting gave provocative speeches calling for Muslims to be killed. The farmers were attacked as they were returning home after the meeting, senior police official Arun Kumar said. "The attack seemed well planned," Kumar said. "Some were armed with rifles and sharp-edged weapons." Gunfire was reported from several areas of the village. Within hours clashes broke out in neighboring villages, Kumar said. A leader from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party said tensions had been simmering since the three men were killed Aug. 27 in a tea shop. "Had the killers been arrested, the situation might not have gone out of hand," Vijay Bahadur Pathak said. Uttar Pradesh was at the heart of some of India's worst communal clashes in December 1992, after a Hindu mob razed the 16th-century Babri mosque in Ayodhya. The government has warned that India is seeing a rise in communal violence, with 451 incidents reported already this year, compared with 410 for all of 2012. Tensions were expected to escalate in the run-up to next year's national elections, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday. He said all 28 of India's states should stay alert and improve their ability to gather intelligence. Communal violence last month left two dead and 22 injured in a village in Bihar state, east of Uttar Pradesh, according to Indian media. Outbreaks have also been reported recently in Uttar Pradesh's district of Shamli, as well as in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. | |
| Miss World Opens in Indonesia After Protests Posted: 08 Sep 2013 10:36 PM PDT  Indonesian Muslim women protesters shout slogans during a protest against the upcoming Miss World pageant in Jakarta, on Sept. 5, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) BALI — The 63rd edition of the Miss World pageant opened Sunday after protests by Muslim hardliners confined the event to Indonesia's predominantly Hindu resort island of Bali. The opening ceremony, which was televised to 186 countries, featured Bali's Kecak dance and a parade of all 131 contestants. Following days of protests by Indonesian hardline Muslim groups and the rejection of the contest by a leading clerics' organization, the government announced Saturday that it was moving the Sept. 28 final round to Bali. It was initially set to be held in Sentul, on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta. Bali is the only Hindu-dominated province in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country. Controversy over the pageant has been mounting in Indonesia, which has a reputation as a tolerant, pluralist society that respects freedom of expression. The Indonesia Ulema Council, the country's most influential clerics' organization, and the hardline groups Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia and Front for Islamic Defenders have urged the government to cancel the event. They have argued that the exposure of skin by women in a competition violates Muslim teachings, even after organizers agreed to cut the bikini competition and instead outfit contestants in more conservative sarongs. The chairwoman of the Miss World Organization, Julia Morley, has promised that none of the contestants will wear a bikini. The pageant began in the 1950s, and the first winner was crowned in a two-piece bathing suit. "We only want to try to find the best way of working together," Morley told a news conference Saturday in Bali. Most Muslims in Indonesia, a secular country of 240 million people, are moderate, but a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years. Lady Gaga was forced to cancel her sold-out concert in Indonesia in May following threats by Islamic hardliners who called her a "devil worshipper." Jennifer Lopez toned down her sexy outfits and dance moves during a show in Jakarta last December. | |
| Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Shot in the Arm for Aging Nation Posted: 08 Sep 2013 10:31 PM PDT  An aerial view shows people sitting in formation to the words “thank you” and displaying signs that collectively read “Arigato” (Thank You) during an event celebrating Tokyo being chosen to host the 2020 Olympic Games, at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo, in this photo taken by Kyodo on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters) TOKYO — A half-century after the 1964 Tokyo Games heralded Japan's reemergence from destruction and defeat in World War II, the city's triumphant bid to host the 2020 games is giving this aging nation a chance to revive both its sagging spirits and its stagnating economy. "In most competitions, if you don't win a gold medal, you can also win maybe a bronze one," Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose told reporters in Buenos Aires after the International Olympic Committee chose his city to host the 2020 summer Games. "In this battle, there was only the gold." Japan is counting on the Games to boost both the economy and morale. Already, Olympics hopes have lifted share prices in construction, real estate and tourism-related companies. The news from over the weekend helped boost Tokyo's Nikkei 225 share benchmark by 2.2 percent by midmorning Monday. Hundreds of Japanese athletes and officials gathered downtown for the early morning announcement shouted "Banzai!" jumping up and down and hugging in unusually demonstrative reactions to the announcement the International Olympic Committee had opted for Tokyo's guarantees of safety and stability, despite the festering nuclear crisis in its northeast. Japan's capital defeated Istanbul in the final round of voting at the International Olympic Committee meeting in Buenos Aires, after Madrid was eliminated in the first round. The decision suggests IOC members were convinced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's reassurances that radiation leaks from the nuclear plant wrecked in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster pose no threat to Tokyo or the Games. The 1964 Games were relatively bare bones by today's standards. "There were no facilities, no food to eat; no barbells; no place to practice. That was what it was like," said Yoshinobu Miyake, a featherweight weightlifting gold medalist at the 1964 Games who recalls walking the streets of Tokyo with a crooked barbell in hand, looking for a place to practice. "But still, we had to win—so it was a country that managed to go on with just a hungry spirit, a Japanese spirit," he said. To prepare for the 1964 Games, Japan rushed to build expressways and introduced its first high-speed "Shinkansen" bullet trains. The Games won it worldwide recognition for its growing affluence and economic power, and were a turning point for the country's athletics, as it captured 16 golds, 29 medals in total, trailing only the United States and Soviet Union. This time, many here consider the Olympics a symbol of recovery both from economic stagnation and from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 19,000 people dead or missing on Japan's northeast coast. "From here on, things will get better," said Yoko Kurahashi, 65, whose high school was just across the street from Tokyo's Metropolitan Gymnasium, the site for the 1964 Games gymnastics and water polo competitions. "This will help invigorate us," Kurohashi said as she stood outside Tokyo city hall with her 94-year-old mother-in-law watching hundreds of other Tokyo residents celebrating with gold streamers and balloons. Two decades after its economic ascent was cut short by the bursting of its financial bubble, its population shrinking and rapidly aging, Japan can use all the help it can get, said Yukio Takahashi, who was jubilant as he took his morning walk with his wife in a suburban park that was a main 1964 Olympic venue. "This will help us to not lose confidence," Takahashi said. "It gives us a goal, something to strive for." Surveys showed 70 percent of Tokyoites favored the bid. Hosting the 2020 Games could yield positive economic effects of over 4 trillion yen ($40.4 billion) and create more than 150,000 jobs, according to some estimates, more than half of it new demand for construction, sales of Olympics-related goods and purchases of new televisions and other appliances. Hosting the Olympics offers a strong excuse for pork-barrel-style construction projects. In reality, greater Tokyo, home to 35 million people, is facing a major overhaul of its aging infrastructure anyway, nowhere more so than in crumbling sports venues due to be refurbished for the 2020 Games. The government hopes to boost visits by foreign tourists to 30 million a year by then, from the 8.36 million who came to Japan last year. Improving consumer confidence is vital for the success of Abe's economic recovery strategy, which hinges on stimulating inflation by pumping more money into the economy, keeping interest rates near zero and improving Japan's competitiveness through a wide range of reforms. Whether the Olympics, seven years away, would bring the sort of boost needed right now remains to be seen. Unless Japanese companies, long wary of betting on a shrinking domestic market, step up investments and raise wages, price hikes are more likely to discourage rather than spur more spending in the long run. The ultimate economic impact from holding the games varies from city to city. The 2008 Games were a strong plus for Beijing, yielding an impressive new airport, subway lines and other welcome infrastructure. London's 2012 games likewise were a boost for the British economy. But the Bird's Nest stadium, the centerpiece of the 2008 games, stands neglected as a $500 million souvenir. In Athens, many of the venues from the 2004 Olympics are desolate and weed-infested, and the Greek economy is in crisis. Although Japan has a national debt amounting to twice the size of its economy, Tokyo itself has a $4.5 billion "reserve fund" for infrastructure projects for the games. Japan's status as the world's third-biggest economy and its strong links to Olympic sponsors were additional strengths. The huge Asian market was another draw for the IOC. Such assets outweighed concerns over leaks of radioactive water from the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. But they also will add to pressures on Tokyo to resolve the crisis. "We have made promises," Abe said after the decision. "Now we have a responsibility to meet those expectations." Associated Press writer Emily Wang contributed to this report. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Irrawaddy Magazine To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
