The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- KIO Signs New Peace Deal, But Still No Ceasefire
- Burma Removes 1,000 Doctors From Blacklist
- Firms Vie to Turn Rangoon’s Waste into Power
- Director to Make Film About ’88 Victim Win Maw Oo — If Constitution Is Amended
- Court Fines NLD Spokesperson Over Electoral Fraud Claim
- Generation Wave Celebrates 6th Anniversary
- Mon Rebels Say Burma Army Forced Them to Abandon Base
- Scant Mention of Recent Violence as Burma Gears Up for Asean Handover
- Regional Competitors Set to Challenge Domestic Airlines
- Critics Question Burma’s Readiness to Head Asean
- Asian Officials Look at Valuing Nature in Economic Decision-Making
- Britain’s Cameron to Raise Human Rights With Sri Lanka At Commonwealth Summit
- US, Japan Press China on South China Sea Dispute
| KIO Signs New Peace Deal, But Still No Ceasefire Posted: 10 Oct 2013 05:07 AM PDT  A delegation from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) signs a preliminary seven-point peace agreement on Thursday in Myitkyina. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy) MYITKYINA, Kachin State — The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has signed another preliminary peace deal with the Burma government pledging to reduce fighting, while stopping short of a full ceasefire. The seven-point agreement signed on Thursday goes a step further than past agreements by calling for the establishment of a joint monitoring team to monitor troops on the frontlines. It also calls for the development of a plan for the voluntary return and resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as the reopening of roads that have been closed due to fighting. The deal came after three days of discussion between leaders of the KIO and the government peace delegation in the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina. Minister Aung Min, head of the government peace delegation, said the meetings were successful. "We discussed how to ensure that there is no more fighting," he said. "We discussed pilot projects for the resettlement of IDPs. We will draw the plan for the pilot project. "We both agreed on almost every point. We have very few disagreements. We will move forward to political dialogue." Thursday was the final day of this round of peace talks in Kachin State. Asked why the seven-point agreement did not include a full ceasefire, Gen Sumlut Gun Maw, the KIA deputy chief-of-staff, said the conditions were not yet in place for that. "It is KIO policy that we will not sign a ceasefire agreement so long as we feel there is no firm and concrete ceasefire condition on the ground," he said. "This is based on our previous experience. That's why we asked for political dialogue instead of a ceasefire agreement." He added that the KIO would continue to de-escalate fighting. "Even though we did not sign a ceasefire, we can work to reduce and control fighting on the ground," he said. The Myanmar Peace Center, a government-associated organization, said in a statement on Thursday that both sides would work toward a nationwide ceasefire agreement. "The Myanmar government and the Kachin Independence Organization agreed to work together toward a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and lay a foundation for political dialogue," it said. "The NCA will include the government and all non-state armed groups and would represent an end to fighting in Myanmar for the first time since independence in 1948." The government has signed individual ceasefire agreements with most of the country's major ethnic rebel groups. It plans to hold a nationwide ceasefire conference in Naypyidaw next month to consolidate these agreements. The KIO will likely to join this conference, but before then the rebel group plans to host a meeting in Laiza with top leaders of other ethnic armed groups to discuss their common goals. Aung Min also said he would invite the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a political alliance of ethnic armed groups, to Rangoon from Oct 18-20. During earlier peace talks between the KIO and the government in late May, both sides signed a preliminary agreement to "undertake efforts to achieve de-escalation and cessation of hostilities" and to "continue discussions on military matters related to repositioning of troops," according to a translation of that agreement. Other points in the May agreement included allowing a KIO technical team to stay in Myitkyina for further discussions with government officials. The post KIO Signs New Peace Deal, But Still No Ceasefire appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma Removes 1,000 Doctors From Blacklist Posted: 10 Oct 2013 04:59 AM PDT  A patient rests in bed at a hospital in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's government has removed more than 1,000 Burmese doctors from a blacklist that stripped them of their medical licenses and prevented many who lived abroad from returning home. As Burma attempts to overhaul its long-neglected health care system and address a major shortage of doctors, the government on Thursday removed 1,010 doctors from its blacklist at the recommendation of the Ministry of Health, according to Myo Win Aung, a ministry director at the President's Office. He said in a statement that many more doctors remained on the blacklist but would be removed in the future. The blacklist, which is not accessible to the public, prohibits Burmese doctors who live overseas from returning home, while also preventing trained doctors in the country from practicing locally or moving abroad. Of those removed from the list, about a tenth of the doctors were sanctioned early in their careers, after graduating with bachelor's degrees in medicine and surgery, because they refused to move out to rural areas where they had been posted to work, or because they decided to take leave without permission. Some doctors never returned after traveling to the United Kingdom, Singapore and other countries for training or medical workshops, while others were allegedly involved in cases of hospital mismanagement or corruption. Some were dismissed and blacklisted for making a mistake on duty. Dr. Soe Khine, an expert in consumer health and security, welcomed the government's move to remove the doctors from the blacklist, but said it was wrong to put many of them on the list in the first place. "If a doctor breaks the law or is not working according to proper ethics, or is corrupt or asks for an inappropriate amount of money from a patient, he should be blacklisted. But if they do not break the law, they shouldn't be on the blacklist," he told The Irrawaddy. Burmese doctors say that those who were removed from the blacklist will be able to reapply for their licenses through the Myanmar Medical Council, which is under the Ministry of Health. Win Zaw, secretary of the Myanmar Medical Association, said doctors would likely receive licenses so long as they had not been blacklisted for malpractice, corruption or hospital mismanagement. "Since the country needs manpower, they will be able to work for the country," he said. "They can also travel or work freely in the country as well as abroad." Doctors are in extremely short supply in Burma, where the former military regime neglected the health care system for decades. Availability varies from about six doctors per 100,000 people in Mon State to about 59 doctors for the same population in Chin State, where more health personnel have been posted due to the nature of terrain and difficulty of travel, according to Ministry of Health statistics from 2009, the latest publicly available. Rangoon Division and Mandalay Division, where major teaching hospitals are located, have a relatively high concentration of medical doctors, with 46 doctors and 23 doctors per 100,000 people, respectively. The lack of doctors has led to an overreliance on midwives, who are responsible for about 3,000 patients each in some rural states, according to the Ministry of Health. In addition to overseeing labor, midwives are often tasked with primary health care, ante and postnatal care, and collecting health data. Burma's former junta spent less than US$1 per person on health care five years ago. The current government, which came to power in 2011, has allocated a bigger share of funds for health, but health care spending still accounts for only about 3 percent of the national budget. Among leaders of the health care reform effort is Dr. Tin Myo Win, the personal physician of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The doctor, who is developing the national health policy for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, says many doctors moved abroad during military rule, and he is urging them to return now and offer their services—even briefly. "When I was in the [United] States for about a month, arranging everything for the visit of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, I met so many Americans and Burmese nationals living there. I asked them to come back, and they're very willing to, provided it's not permanent," he said. "That's fine. Come work with us, train the doctors here." If doctors return, this might alleviate the shortage of health personnel in rural areas. "No doctors want to go there—that's understandable," he said. "If you can send someone from the United States to work there in the border area, they can spend about a month there. Then we are happy, they have lots of job training." Burma's border areas are largely undeveloped and impoverished, and many experienced decades-long insurgencies during military rule. Today clashes continue in some border states, including Kachin State and Shan State, while communal violence between Muslims and Buddhists has torn apart communities in Arakan State. Medical aid workers say that this unrest has made it difficult to recruit staff. The post Burma Removes 1,000 Doctors From Blacklist appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Firms Vie to Turn Rangoon’s Waste into Power Posted: 10 Oct 2013 03:44 AM PDT  Colored bins separating waste, as seen outside downtown Rangoon's Sakura Tower, may become a more common sight under new waste management plans. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Two international companies made their cases to the Rangoon regional government Thursday, competing to lead a project to turn the city's garbage into renewable materials. The plan to make productive use of the city's waste is just one element of the Yangon City Development Committee's (YCDC) efforts to implement a more sustainable waste management program in the city. According to city officials, Rangoon currently produces 1,600 tons of trash per day. Although residents are known to litter, the waste that does make it onto the city's garbage trucks heads straight for two landfill sites. Both will be full in five years, according to estimates from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). British company Organics and a consortium led by the Korea Environment Corporation (Keco), a branch of the South Korean Ministry of Environment, are in the final round to win the city's waste management contract and on Thursday presented their bids to city officials. Organics has plans to turn incoming garbage into bio-fuel and even electricity using a process known as anaerobic digestion. If the company is chosen, Robert Eden, managing director of Organics Asia, said that over the 20 year project term, the city's "landfills will disappear." Keco's competing plan would be to turn some landfill material into biogas. City officials say the winner of the contract will be named in early 2014. City Hall also plans to roll out separate trash receptacles on streets next year for recyclables (plastics, cans, plastic bottles) and organic waste. According to the Pollution Control & Cleansing Department (PCCD) at YCDC, the plan will start in three or four townships in the city's central business district, although Rangoon Mayor Hla Myint has yet to decide exactly where and when. A senior official at PCCD, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that "a lack of budget allocations" was constraining larger plans, but the department would also like to expand an educational program in some schools that addresses awareness of proper waste disposal and how to recycle. In 2012, the city implemented a plan to separate dry waste into green bins and trucks and wet waste into blue. But the PCCD official acknowledged that only a small portion of residents knew about and followed the regulations. Of the garbage the city collects, only "30 percent obeys the rules and regulation, and 70 percent is mixed waste," the official said. The Japan International Cooperation Agency also has plans to work with YCDC to improve waste management as part of the much heralded Strategic Plan for Greater Yangon. Officials are still working out the details and no concrete plans have been announced yet. The post Firms Vie to Turn Rangoon's Waste into Power appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Director to Make Film About ’88 Victim Win Maw Oo — If Constitution Is Amended Posted: 10 Oct 2013 03:27 AM PDT  A photograph of Ma Win Maw Oo hangs on the wall of her parents' home. (Photo: Sean Havey / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A Burmese film director said he plans to make a movie about the true story of Win Maw Oo, a 16-year-old high school student who was fatally shot by soldiers during a crackdown on the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. One caveat to the plan remains, however: The film will be only be made if Burma's Constitution is amended. "I had the idea to film her true story that goes back to that period since last year, and this year at the 25-year memorial [of her death] last month I spoke to her father about the film," said Anthony, a director who is well-known in Burma and who goes by one name. Win Maw Oo was gunned down in downtown Rangoon with other pro-democracy demonstrators on Sept. 19, 1988 during a bloody crackdown by the military regime. Her fatal shooting was captured in a photograph that shows her blood-soaked body being carried away by two young doctors. That image, which appeared on the cover of Newsweek's Asian edition, soon became an icon of the brutality of the crackdown. Her story also became famous because she asked her parents on her deathbed not to perform the last Buddhist rites until Burma has democracy. The girl's final wish is shocking to Burmese society, where a deeply rooted traditional belief has it that a person's soul can't rest in peace until his or her name is called out by the family to share their merit with the deceased. Anthony said he spoke to Win Maw Oo's family about making the film and had received their support. The director told the parents, however, that he would only make the movie if he could end it with a scene in which the parents perform her last Buddhist rites. "For a movie, we need to move people to tears through emotion, so I would like to add this last scene… But her parents told me that they have still not made merit for her," Anthony said, adding that he had repeatedly approached the family, asking them to make merit so that he could include this ending in his movie. Win Maw Oo's father, Win Kyu said he supported the plans to make a biographical film about his daughter's life and tragic death. "I have seen the film production sets on 35 and 36 streets in downtown [Rangoon]. I really want to see the producer and director make a film about my daughter's life," Win Kyu said. "I am going to help Anthony whatever he needs to make a film about my daughter." He said that after being approached for several times by Anthony on the issue of the movie's ending, he agreed to make merit for his daughter's soul when Burma's military-drafted 2008 Constitution is amended. The Constitution is considered undemocratic, bans Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president and entrenches the military's political powers. It also shields former junta members from prosecution for past crimes. "As her parents, we want to make merit for our daughter, but because of her final wish, we have not still made merit for her. We feel sadness about this," Win Kyu said, "But now we decided that we will give merit for her if the government begins to amend the Constitution." Anthony said he was looking forward to that moment when he could complete his film, adding that he would work together with Thai movie production firm Gear Head Company and invest about US $500,000 in the movie's production. "As soon as the Constitution is amended and her parents make merit for Win Maw Oo, I can shoot the last scene as I wanted," he said. The post Director to Make Film About '88 Victim Win Maw Oo — If Constitution Is Amended appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Court Fines NLD Spokesperson Over Electoral Fraud Claim Posted: 10 Oct 2013 05:18 AM PDT  NLD spokesperson Nyan Win. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) NLD spokesperson Nyan Win is sentenced to a US $1 fine or one month imprisonment for alleging that vote cheating occurred during last year's by-elections. A Naypyidaw Court sentenced the 70-year-old Nyan Win over his claims, which he made last year shortly after the April 2012 elections. Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD party won most of the available seats during the voting. "The judges said Nyan Win is guilty as his claims defamed the dignity of the free and fair election," said Sandar Min, a NLD parliamentarian. "They said the sentence is only this heavy as the judges sympathized with him due to his old age. He already paid the 1,000 kyat [$1] fine to the court." Following the elections, Nyan Win said the party had received evidence showing that a thin layer of wax had been placed on some of the voting ballots, so that vote marks for a political party could be removed afterward and replaced. The NLD submitted a complaint to Burma's Election Commission, but it rejected the complaint as it found no evidence to suggest that the ballots had been tampered with. When Nyan Win refused to withdraw his claims, the commission filed a lawsuit against him, saying he spread false and misleading information that disturbed the work of the commission and defamed the dignity of the state. Although Nyan Win paid the fine, the NLD is preparing to submit an appeal and present their report about ballot tampering in court. "Actually we did not present the wrong information. These are complaints from citizens, so that's what we reported," said Sandar Min. "Maybe the Election Commission used low-quality papers that had wax on them. Since we did not make up this problem without evidence, we will submit an appeal to the higher courts." The post Court Fines NLD Spokesperson Over Electoral Fraud Claim appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Generation Wave Celebrates 6th Anniversary Posted: 10 Oct 2013 03:07 AM PDT  Several members of Generation Wave pose for a photograph at their birthday celebration in Rangoon on Wednesday. (Photo: Naomi Gingold / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Youth political activist group Generation Wave celebrated its sixth anniversary on Wednesday night with a public "birthday party" at Pansodan Scene, a gallery and event space in Rangoon. It was the second time that Generation Wave has ever publicly celebrated its anniversary. The group worked underground in Burma for four years, as they were outlawed by the former military regime. Before a nominally civilian government took power in 2011, the group was known for using creative means such as hip-hop and graffiti to advocate for democracy. These days, Generation Wave focuses on direct political activities and political capacity building among youth in the country. The anniversary event on Wednesday featured poetry, solo and group musical performances, and a raffle of products carrying the group's signature logo, a red "thumbs up" sign. Pictures of the group's notable past activities and events were displayed around the art space, as well as a poster for visitors to sign. More than 100 friends and well-wishers, including leaders of other prominent civil society groups, members of the press and diplomatic personnel, were in attendance. Joe Fisher, second secretary and spokesman for the British Embassy in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy that he was happy to attend the event. "Civil society has a key role to play in Burma's democratic transition," he said. More than 20 Generation Wave members are former political prisoners, and several currently face ongoing charges, including co-founder and current president Moe Thway, who has appeared in court more than 130 times. Co-founder Zayar Thaw, who first came to prominence as the lead singer in the hip-hop group Acid, is now an elected member of Burma's Lower House of Parliament, representing the country's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). The post Generation Wave Celebrates 6th Anniversary appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Mon Rebels Say Burma Army Forced Them to Abandon Base Posted: 10 Oct 2013 01:36 AM PDT  Mon National Liberation Army troops patrol near their headquarters in southern Ye Township in February 2012. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON— A rebel armed group in southern Burma's Mon State was this week forced by Burma Army troops to leave one of its bases after a short standoff, ethnic Mon sources said Thursday. The New Mon State Party (NMSP) renewed a ceasefire agreement with the government in 2012. Its armed wing, the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), still holds a number of bases in the region, where the party has a degree of control. M-Seik Chan, a NMSP central committee member, told the Irrawaddy that a base in Yeedakon village near Thanbyuzayat Township had been occupied by a small rebel battalion since the group's original 1995 ceasefire with the government. This week, however, local Burma Army officials met with representatives to demand the battalion leave the base to make way for the expansion of a nearby government-run school, he said. The rebels were happy to vacate the base for the public good, M-Seik Chan said, but he took offense to the Burma Army instead of the government kicking out the MNLA itself. "They met us at our liaison office in Thanpyuzayat and told us to leave from our base as soon as possible. Their voices sounded no different from the military regime," said M-Seik Chan, identifying the Burma Army delegation as Colonel Aung Min and Junior Colonel Myint Sein from No. 4 Military Training Center near Waekalee village. "If the community needs land for the school, we will give it to the people," said M-Seik Chan. "But, if the Burma Army comes to our base after we move out, we will need to find justice." The area became tense on Tuesday with the initial refusal of the Mon soldiers to obey the Burma Army's order, but rebel troops left the base on Wednesday morning. "They deployed their troops near to our base after they ordered us to leave. Our troops have built fences around the whole base and [at first] did not let them to come inside," said Nai Marng, an NMSP member in Thanbyuzayat Township. "But now, our troops have moved out already." He said the Burma Army was confrontational, coming to the base twice on Tuesday morning to order the Mon fighters to leave. "I think they are testing whether we dare to confront them with our troops," said Nai Marng. "The second time they ordered us was very strong. They told us to leave as soon as we can. If not, they threatened us that they will fight." The Mon rebels are among the majority of armed rebel groups in Burma that have in place ceasefire agreements with the government. The quasi-civilian government of President Thein Sein is attempting to have all parties sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement in Naypyidaw this month, but groups in parts of the country are still fighting and negotiations with ethnic leaders have been troubled. The NMSP's party secretary Nai Hong Sar has said he does not want to sign the national ceasefire since the Mon group has already signed its own ceasefire with the government. Small outbreaks of fighting have occurred between the MNLA and the Burma Army recently, despite the agreement. In July, rebel troops in Tavoy came under attack from government forces in a clash in which two Mon troops were killed. The NMSP has called for two soldiers captured during the clash to be released. The post Mon Rebels Say Burma Army Forced Them to Abandon Base appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Scant Mention of Recent Violence as Burma Gears Up for Asean Handover Posted: 10 Oct 2013 12:57 AM PDT  US Sec. of State John Kerry and Burma President Thein Sein after their bilateral meeting in Brunei earlier Thursday. (Photo: Simon Roughneen / The Irrawaddy) BANDAR SERI BAGAWAN — At the 23rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and related summits in Brunei-Darussalam this week, there has seemingly been scant mention of the ongoing sectarian violence in Burma, which will chair the bloc for the first time in 2014. Asked if the issue had come up during the course of the various meetings and summits ongoing in Brunei, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natelagawa told The Irrawaddy, "Not to my recollection, except at the Asean meeting, when the Myanmar delegation briefed us on the situation in their country." Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, and—along with Malaysia and summit host Brunei—is one of three Muslim-majority Asean members. Much of the recent sectarian violence in Buddhist-majority Burma has been directed at the country's estimated five million-strong Muslim minority, as well as against the stateless Rohingya—a Muslim group regarded by the Burmese government as migrants from Bangladesh. The latest bout of inter-communal violence came last week, in Thandwe, a town in troubled Arakan state in Burma’s west, located close to a well-known tourist resort at Ngapali Beach. Wednesday’s Asean summit, a meeting of the ten member-states of the Southeast Asian bloc, preceded a series of regional meetings involving Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the US, as well as the Asean countries. The meetings are overshadowed by the absence of US President Barack Obama, who cancelled a regional tour due to political wrangles at home. Secretary of State John Kerry filled in for Obama, and on Thursday morning he had a bilateral meeting with Burma's President Thein Sein. Burma’s Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut told The Irrawaddy that the meeting was brief. "The Secretary of State fully understands the challenges we are facing in the reform process and said that the United States wants to give full support to us in this." The remaining American sanctions on Burma were not among the topics of the fifteen-minute closed-door meeting, Ye Htut said. And asked if Sec. Kerry had raised the issue of Burma’s sectarian troubles, the Burma government spokesman said, "That’s what we call among the challenges we are facing." At a handover ceremony later Thursday, Brunei will pass the rotating Asean chairmanship to Burma, which will host the various meetings and summits on behalf of the bloc next year—a crucial final year before the group establishes a hoped-for closer-knit Asean economic community in 2015. Sec. Ramon Carandang, spokesman for Philippines President Benigno Aquino, said Asean member-states are confident that Burma can prove a successful host, citing Naypyidaw’s staging of the World Economic Forum earlier in 2013. "On the whole they managed it pretty well," he said. Asked if he thought Burma is ready to chair Asean, Indonesian Foreign Minister Natelagawa told The Irrawaddy, "I’m looking at it the other way around, and I am convinced that the Myanmar chairmanship of Asean will provide additional momentum to lock in the reform efforts that are already underway." Asked the same question, the bloc’s Secretary-General Le Luong Minh said, "We are confident that Myanmar will be able to undertake its chairmanship effectively." Philippines spokesman Sec. Carandang said, "The best thing the international community can do is try support the changes in Myanmar." The post Scant Mention of Recent Violence as Burma Gears Up for Asean Handover appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Regional Competitors Set to Challenge Domestic Airlines Posted: 10 Oct 2013 12:50 AM PDT  Domestic airlines like MAI are being forced to cede territory to more competitive regional carriers. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) YANGON — Myanmar's domestic airlines face challenges in coming years as foreign players are expected to take a larger slice of the aviation market as the country opens up. Alongside Myanmar Airways International (MAI)—which is majority owned by Kanbawza Bank chairman U Aung Ko Win, with the government holding a minority stake—and domestic counterpart Myanma Airways, there are six other domestic carriers. Ownership of the domestic industry is concentrated in the hands of the well-connected businesspeople who thrived under the country's crony-favoring military junta. U Aung Ko Win also owns Air KBZ and Golden Myanmar Airline is owned by KMA Group's U Khin Maung Aye. Yangon Air has been linked to the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and is blacklisted by the US Treasury Department. U Tay Za, chairman of Htoo Group, owns Air Bagan—which is also on the blacklist—and reportedly at some time held a stake in another local carrier, Asian Wings Airways. The sixth local airline, Air Mandalay, is a joint venture involving the government and Singapore and Malaysian companies. Industry sources say these carries should prepare for disruption, since they are currently seen to be offering a service below the level of regional competitors. There are also safety concerns, with the possibility that Air Bagan's crash in Heho, Shan State, which killed two people in December, will turn tourists off local carriers. Slicker regional carriers, which come with large networks linking far-flung destinations, will be given a boost by ambitious regional plans to open Southeast Asia's aviation market. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is attempting to bring in an "Open Skies" policy in 2015, part of a broader plan to integrate the region's economies. Open Skies will mean Asean member states must open their airports to flights from regional airlines, giving local carriers less of an advantage. Preparing for the increased competition of a liberalized aviation market, Asian Wings agreed in September to team up with All Nippon Airways (ANA), selling 49 percent of its shares to Japan's largest airline for US$25 million. "The thing we have to be cautious about is that international airlines could bring many passengers to all entry points [in Myanmar] in two years," U Lwin Moe, the executive director of Asian Wings, told The Irrawaddy. "We, domestic airlines, have a chance to bring more passengers. That is a benefit. But if such international airlines operate on local routes, our domestic share could fall." Whether it turns out to be a positive or a negative development, the regional agreement was the key factor behind the ANA deal, U Lwin Moe said. "[Asean Open Skies] is the main reason why we're working with ANA," he said. Under the companies' agreement, ANA will lease aircraft to Asian Wings and provide training to its pilots. Daw Aye Mra Tha, an executive at MAI, said it was too early to assess what impact the deal would have on the local aviation industry, since it was not clear whether ANA would codeshare with Asian Wings. Codesharing allows airlines to sell tickets on each other's flights, effectively combining their networks and the capacity of flights they can offer customers. "We have to wait and see the exact law about this by the government. ANA has now just bought shares. It's not a codesharing agreement, so it's too early to say how it will impact on the local sector," Daw Aye MraTha said. A bad omen for local carriers may be that Myanmar's international flag carrier, MAI, has already been pushed off a route by a regional competitor. In March, Thai Airways began flights between Bangkok and Mandalay and just a month later, MAI ceased its flight between the two cities. Bangkok Airways also announced in September it would begin flying between Mandalay and Bangkok—one of a number of new routes into Myanmar opened up by regional airlines that are taking advantage of soaring visitor numbers. A manager at Columbus Travels & Tours said passengers will choose whichever airline offers the most convenient option. During the peak tourism season, between October and April, she said, local carriers are already struggling to offer enough flights to meet demand. "During the peak season, there are about between 10 and 15 flights a day for an airline, depending on the number of passengers. But the problem is most of the airlines' flights don't arrive on time," the manager said. Local airlines would have to change their business practices to compete, she said. "Some domestic airlines are now preparing to launch e-ticketing systems so passengers don't need to get a paper ticket, making it more convenient for them. If some don't upgrade their system, they will be left out of the game," she said. Frequent fliers already say domestic airlines' flights are overpriced and buying tickets is inconvenient. U Zin Min Swe, managing director of Mandalay-based construction and decoration firm C.A.D, said local airlines have to learn how to deliver a better service and offer customers more choice. He said flying with Air Asia, for example, which has stopped a flight it used to run between Bangkok and Mandalay, contrasted with the experience of using a local carrier. "The service is quite different. The check-in time is short [with Air Asia]. So they, local airlines, have to prepare to operate like this," he said, adding that 24-hour booking and the option to book online, now expected of airlines, are not offered by any local carriers. U Zin Min Swe also pointed out that flying between Yangon and Mandalay with a local carrier costs about the same—around $80—as flying from Yangon to Bangkok with regional carriers. "The price [of domestic flights] shouldn't be that much," he said. A senior official at state-owned Myanma Airways, who declined to be named, said if international airlines get into the local market, domestic airlines will be pushed out, since they will struggle during times of low demand. In order to avoid this, the official said, carriers should try to take advantage of regional liberalization themselves, and fly routes out into the region. "I would prefer the domestic airlines to attempt to fly regional routes," he said. Additional reporting by Yan Pai. This story first appeared in the October 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Regional Competitors Set to Challenge Domestic Airlines appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Critics Question Burma’s Readiness to Head Asean Posted: 09 Oct 2013 11:11 PM PDT  Burma President Thein Sein, center right, links hands with fellow Asean leaders at the BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei — Just a few years ago Burma was an isolated dictatorship that embarrassed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) with its dismal human rights record. Now it's poised to take over leadership of the 10-nation bloc for the first time—a move critics say may be premature given conflicts at home that have left hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands more displaced. The appointment of Burma to Asean's chairmanship is meant to reward the former pariah's transformation since its military junta turned over power to an elected government two years ago, and some are hopeful that putting the spotlight on Burma will serve as further incentive for reform. But Burma still has a long way to go. Last week, smoke and flames rose once again from the twisted wreckage of charred Muslim homes and mosques ransacked by machete-wielding Buddhist mobs, this time in Thandwe in western Rakhine state, where five people were killed—one of them a 94-year-old Muslim woman who was too frail to flee. "From a human rights perspective, the chairmanship is an honor the government hasn't earned," said Matthew Smith, a Burma expert who directs the advocacy group Fortify Rights. "More than 250,000 people have been forcibly displaced from their homes in the last two years, wartime abuses continue, and there is an ongoing campaign of 'ethnic cleansing' of Muslim communities, creating a regional refugee crisis," he said. "None of that spells regional leadership." Burma will be officially appointed head of Asean, which aims to promote regional economic development and cooperation, in a handover ceremony in Brunei on Thursday, but it will not take up its duties until Jan. 1. From time to time, Asean had criticized Burma, seeing its former heavy-handed military regime as a roadblock to regional progress. But in 1997, when the country won admission to Asean despite strong opposition from Western nations, the regional bloc cited its intention to encourage positive change. Burma changed little, however, until 2011, when the long-ruling military junta ceded power to a quasi-civilian government led by retired army officers. Few expected a transformation, but President Thein Sein's government surprised the world with a wave of reforms that have liberalized the economic and politics. Aung San Suu Kyi—the longtime opposition leader who spent most of the last two decades as a prisoner in her own home—is now an elected lawmaker. Hundreds of political prisoners have been freed. A draconian system of media censorship has been abolished. And the government has signed cease-fire deals with most rebel groups. But much remains to be done. Anti-Muslim violence that began in June 2012 has spread nationwide, displacing nearly 150,000 people with no end in sight. And in the north, fighting between the army and ethnic Kachin rebels grinds on, with more than 100,000 driven from their homes. Asean's sentiment, meanwhile, remains largely the same—it says it is trying to encourage more reform. "We acknowledge that issues remain…and we believe that they are working on them to the best of their ability," Philippine presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said Wednesday in Brunei. "But we also need to recognize the dramatic changes that have taken place in that country and the reforms that have been undertaken by the president of Myanmar." "The best thing that the international community can do at this point is to encourage them to continue to move in this direction, so we support Myanmar is taking over as chair," he said. Asean has generally maintained a policy of non-interference in members' internal matters, but Carandang said leaders are expected to quietly push Burma on the sidelines to take more concrete steps to resolve the violence. Speaking to a young woman from Burma at an Asean young leaders' meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry said: "What is happening in Myanmar is exciting, but incomplete. We have to see the political transformation continue and our hope is that democracy will continue to evolve." Tin Oo, a senior leader of Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy party agreed, saying Burma has gradually changed. "It is time they become chairman of Asean, even though they have difficulties," he said of the government. In Cambodia, which labors under its own delicate balance of democracy and authoritarianism, at least one analyst thinks the Asean leadership role will drive further reforms in Burma. Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said that while Burma's bureaucracy remains old and inefficient, "the spotlight is probably going to force Burma to reform a bit more." But Yan Myo, a Yangon-based political analyst, said that since Burma's "leaders cannot yet solve their own domestic problems…it is questionable how [they] can take the regional leadership role." Burma has responded to international concerns so far in at least making the right gestures over human rights, such as freeing political prisoners before Thein Sein makes high-profile visits abroad, said Panitan Wattanayagorn, an international relations specialist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "But now that the Asean leadership has fallen into their laps," he said, "they may think they don't have to do more." The post Critics Question Burma's Readiness to Head Asean appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Asian Officials Look at Valuing Nature in Economic Decision-Making Posted: 09 Oct 2013 11:02 PM PDT  Construction of the China-backed Myitsone dam project in Kachin State. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) BANGKOK — Over 80 statisticians, economists, ecologists and senior policy makers across Asia began a three-day workshop at the United Nations in Bangkok on Tuesday to look at ways of valuing natural resources so they can be better protected. Current national accounting systems, used since 1950, produce numbers such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to measure the value of goods and services produced in a national economy. But such measures rarely value assets such as mangroves, wetlands, coral reefs or clean air and water, leading to decisions that degrade them and undermine poverty alleviation goals. "The development process is very rapacious in its demand for natural capital because it’s out there for the taking," Sir Partha Dasgupta, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Cambridge, told Thomson Reuters Foundation on Tuesday. "When mangroves are destroyed in order to create fish farms, the national accounts don't look at the loss. It only looks at the increase in income coming out of the fish," said the environmental economist, who has long pointed to links between sustainability and economics. A good accounting system should include the costs as well as the benefits of replacing mangroves with aquaculture, he added. But how does one value mangroves? By looking at the services they provide, such as a place for the spawning of fish, protection against storm surges and provision of wood, Dasgupta said. Value of Mangroves A 2012 report by World Bank calculated just that. Coastal mangrove forests in Thailand are currently worth about $955 a hectare, the value of their wood and non-wood products, it found. That is a paltry sum compared to the potential $10,949 per hectare that can be earned from the same land from farming shrimp. But if the value of mangrove forests in protecting vulnerable communities from coastal flooding is taken into account, a hectare's worth of standing mangroves in Thailand has a value of $18,641, the report found. "If the mangroves' ability to store carbon as well as their role as a nursery and breeding habitat for offshore fisheries are considered, the value further increases to as much as $21,456 per hectare," it said. Rethinking Numbers Effectively valuing natural capital requires a new mindset too, of focusing on broader ranges of benefits rather than exact numbers. Gupta said he hopes one of the outcomes of this week's workshop will be for national accounts to begin incorporating ranges instead of a specific numbers – something they should already be doing anyway, he said. For instance, national statistics might report that exports for a given year amounted to 10 percent of GDP. But such exact numbers fail to take into account black markets and other hidden effects on the formal economy, and as such do not reflect the true output of the economy. Working instead with broader range of outcomes would be more honest, and make Natural Capital Accounting easier to incorporate. Right now, "I think we’re so used to point estimates that the moment you have something difficult to measure, you say, 'You can’t do that,'" he said. Dasgupta is aware that getting decision-makers in finance ministries and economic planning agencies – let alone the general public and media – to start accepting ambiguity in economic figures would be a tall order, but insists it needs to happen. "We don’t like ranges so we ignore them. We know the value is positive but since we can’t pin it down, we’re going to assume it’s zero. Now, does that look rational? It doesn’t look rational at all," he argued. “We’re used to ambiguity in our lives. Why on earth do we feel that in the public domain we have to give a number?" he asked. Link to Poverty Alleviation Pushpam Kumar from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), a co-organizer of the workshop, said the time is now right to move beyond just GDP as the measure of an economy. Countries in Asia such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines have started to incorporate Natural Capital Accounting into their process, he said, adding that Vietnam, Laos, Bhutan and Bangladesh also have green growth strategies with similar goals. Kumar also pointed to the Rio+20 sustainability conference last year, where governments expressed support for the valuation of natural capital. "In the past it would have been economists and statisticians talking, but this time the interest is coming from politicians," partly because protecting natural resources is key to poverty alleviation, which remains a key goal for policymakers, he said. When UNEP looked at the value of ecosystems and biodiversity in three countries – Indonesia, Brazil and India – it found that 10 to 21 percent of the country's value, in terms of natural systems, was missing in existing national accounts, Kumar said. Because so many rural people in Indonesia, in particular, rely on natural systems for their income, "that (missing) 10 percent constitutes 90 percent of the poor people's income," Kumar said. As a result, any policy based "on wrong microeconomic indicators like the current GDP is bound to be a failure in the goal of alleviation of poverty," he added. The post Asian Officials Look at Valuing Nature in Economic Decision-Making appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Britain’s Cameron to Raise Human Rights With Sri Lanka At Commonwealth Summit Posted: 09 Oct 2013 10:53 PM PDT  British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will travel to a summit in Sri Lanka next month. (Photo: Reuters) LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday rejected calls to boycott a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka next month because of concerns over the country's human rights record, but said he would raise difficult issues at the talks. Rights groups have urged world leaders to stay away from the meeting in Colombo to protest against what they have described as a "human rights crisis" in the former British colony, suggesting attendance could help legitimize the situation. In particular, campaigners want the Sri Lankan government to allow an independent investigation into allegations that government forces committed war crimes towards the end of a civil war that ended in 2009 after almost three decades. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Monday he would not attend the summit, citing reports of "incarceration of political leaders and journalists, harassment of minorities, reported disappearances, and allegations of extra judicial killings." But Cameron told the British Parliament on Wednesday he had decided to attend as he thought the best policy was engagement rather than staying away. "It is right for the British prime minister to go to the Commonwealth conference because we are big believers in the Commonwealth," Cameron told lawmakers, referring to the organization whose members are mostly former British colonies. "But I think it is right in going to the Commonwealth conference we should not hold back in being very clear about those aspects of the human rights record in Sri Lanka that we are not happy with." If he didn't go, he couldn't raise such issues in person, he said. Chitranganee Wagiswara, Sri Lanka's high commissioner to Canada, told Reuters that the rights situation had improved over the last four years and that Colombo did not accept Harper's comments. The Sri Lankan government has faced global condemnation over its rights record, with criticism focused on its final campaign against separatist Tamil Tigers, an offensive the United Nations said killed tens of thousands of civilians in 2009. UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said in a report last month that she also had concerns "about the degree to which the rule of law and democratic institutions in Sri Lanka are being undermined and eroded." Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa may be overseeing a slide towards an authoritarian system in the island nation off India's south coast, the same UN report said. Pressed about Cameron's stance on Sri Lanka, his official spokesman said nothing would be "off the table" at the Commonwealth meeting. Rights group Amnesty International has accused the Commonwealth of being "shamefully silent so far about Sri Lanka's human rights crisis". The post Britain's Cameron to Raise Human Rights With Sri Lanka At Commonwealth Summit appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| US, Japan Press China on South China Sea Dispute Posted: 09 Oct 2013 10:32 PM PDT  US Secretary of State John Kerry, second left, and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, pose for photos during their meeting at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Oct. 3, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei — US Secretary of State John Kerry will press China and Southeast Asian nations to discuss the South China Sea dispute at an Asian summit, a senior US official said, despite Beijing's reluctance to address the issue in public forums. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is also attending, said late on Wednesday the South China Sea dispute was a matter of concern to the entire region. In pointed remarks, he said Tokyo would continue to cooperate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in resolving the row. Kerry arrived in Brunei on Wednesday for the annual East Asia Summit (EAS) and talks with leaders of Southeast Asian nations and, separately, met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the sidelines of the summit. A US official said Kerry would urge Asean member states to continue to work "for enhanced coherence and unity" to strengthen their position with China in negotiating a code of conduct for the South China Sea. Obama last week cancelled his scheduled trip to the summit because of the US government shutdown, raising concern that Washington would lose some of its influence in countering China's assertive claims over the South China Sea and in maintaining its strategic "rebalancing" toward Asia. "That rebalance is a commitment, it is there to stay and will continue into the future," Kerry told Asean leaders in opening remarks shortly after arriving. He began his speech by apologizing that Obama was not able to attend but emphasized the US commitment to the region. "I assure you that these events in Washington are a moment in politics and not more than that," Kerry said. "The partnership that we share with Asean remains a top priority for the Obama administration." China has resisted discussing the territorial issue with the 10-member Asean, preferring to settle disputes in the South China Sea through negotiations with individual claimants. It has also frowned at what it sees as US meddling in a regional issue. China claims almost the entire oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, overlapping with claims from Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam. The last four are members of Asean. The row is one of the region's biggest flashpoints amid China's military build-up and the US strategic "pivot" back to Asia signaled by the Obama administration in 2011. "The Chinese consistently indicate their view that 'difficult issues' that might fall outside the comfort zone of any member need not be discussed," the US official said. "That is not a view that is held by the US, or, I believe, many if not most of the EAS member states, but we will find out." Conflicting Claims In a speech to Asean leaders reported by Kyodo news agency, Japan's Abe came out squarely in favor of the Southeast Asian grouping. Japan has its own territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea and Abe said there were "moves aimed at changing the status quo by force" in the South China Sea. Abe said the dispute had to be resolved in accordance with international law and pledged Japan's continuing cooperation with Asean as it was a "common problem" for both. The United States says it is neutral but has put pressure on China and other claimants to end the dispute through talks. Kerry would emphasize the role of the United States as "a longstanding champion of security and stability in the region, and as an advocate of the rule of law, peaceful solution of disputes, and freedom of navigation, and the principle of unimpeded lawful commerce," the senior official said. Nevertheless, Washington will be hamstrung at the summit because of Obama's absence. "I'm sure the Chinese don't mind that I'm not there right now," the US president said at a news conference in Washington on Tuesday. "There are areas where we have differences and they can present their point of view and not get as much push back as if I were there." As Li and Kerry met for talks on the sidelines of the summit some tensions were evident. "I'm sure that we are all committed to living with each other in harmony and discussing jointly those issues of common interest," Li said. "While China is the largest developing country in the world, while the United States is the largest developed one in the world." Li's remark later that the US and Chinese economies were at "different stages of development" prompted Kerry to respond: "I know you know we think you're a little more developed than you may want to say you are, but nevertheless we have the same responsibilities." In an apparent softening of its stance, China agreed this year to hold "consultations" with Asean on a code of conduct (CoC) for disputes in the South China Sea. But some diplomats and analysts say China may be giving the appearance of dialogue without committing to anything substantive, aiming to drag the talks out for years while it consolidates its expansive maritime claims. "It's a face-saving mechanism to show the world, to show Asean, that China is committed to come up with a CoC but the consultations are designed to delay formal negotiations on a binding code," said one diplomat from an Asean nation. However, Li said the code of conduct talks last month were a success and China would be willing to build on that, although he did not give any specifics. "We've always agreed that South China Sea disputes should be dealt with in a direct way, and to seek a resolution through negotiations and talks," Li said in a speech at the summit. He, however, maintained China was "unshakable in its resolve to uphold national sovereignty and territorial integrity." The post US, Japan Press China on South China Sea Dispute appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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