| Burma Police Say Karen Businessmen Plotted Bombings Posted: 18 Oct 2013 05:21 AM PDT  Police officers stand beside a table of explosive devices which were discovered over the past week in five divisions and states, at a press conference on Friday at the Rangoon Division government office. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Rangoon Division's police chief says a group of ethnic Karen businessmen allegedly planned the recent string of bomb blasts in Burma to scare off foreign investors from their resource-rich Karen State. The police have detained eight suspects following bomb blasts in several states and divisions over the past week, the police chief said on Friday. "They [the eight suspects] were from a group of mining businessmen. We will also arrest more suspects," Zaw Win told reporters at a press conference in Rangoon. "They intended to ward off foreign investors." Burma is emerging as an untapped market for foreign investment as it emerges from nearly half a century of military dictatorship. Ethnic states have attracted particular attention because they are rich in natural resources. The police chief identified one detained bombing suspect as Nay Toe, who manages a mining project in Karen State. A group of Karen businessmen allegedly offered Nay Toe a permit for a gold mine if he successfully planted bombs at hotels and restaurants, the police chief said He said another detainee, Saw Myint Lwin, reportedly served in the past with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of a Karen rebel group known as the Karen National Union (KNU). The police say the homemade bombs found in various states and divisions across the country were the same type that the KNU used in attacks against the government army over decades of civil war. The KNU signed a ceasefire with the government last year, and a senior general from the KNLA insisted that the rebel group should not be linked to the bombings. "We are staying in the jungle. We do not know anything about these bombings," Gen Saw Johnny, commander-in-chief of the KNLA, told The Irrawaddy. "We don't know who did it and we also do not have any evidence to provide. It is not our members who have done this." Three people were killed and at least 10 people have been wounded by bomb blasts in five states and divisions since late last week. The attacks garnered international attention on Monday when an American woman was injured by a bomb that went off in her hotel room at the high-end Traders Hotel in downtown Rangoon. In northern Shan State, where a bomb blast on Thursday left one person dead, one person seriously wounded and five others slightly injured, a police investigation is ongoing, the police chief said. Ye Htut, the deputy minister of information and a spokesman for President Thein Sein, said the KNU had agreed to help the government investigate the recent bomb blasts and search for more suspects. "Our working peace process with the KNU has not been damaged because of the bomb blasts," the presidential spokesman told reporters at the press conference. "Leaders of the KNU would have no desire to do this [plot the attacks]." The post Burma Police Say Karen Businessmen Plotted Bombings appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Who’s Behind the Bombings in Burma? Posted: 18 Oct 2013 05:10 AM PDT  A Burma Army soldier holds a grenade found in a restaurant in Mandalay. It was one of a series of explosive devices planted around the country in the past week. (Photo: Tay Za Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A string of unexplained bombings has killed at least three people and injured at least 10 more over the past week in different parts of Burma. There is no strong evidence to blame a particular group, but these attacks were likely connected. Three main possibilities have been suggested to explain the bomb blasts and the discovery of undetonated explosive devices in Rangoon, Pegu, Mandalay and Sagaing divisions as well as Shan State. One source of suspicion is hardline military leaders who want to derail President Thein Sein's peace process, which threatens their power in ethnic minority areas. On the other hand, some wonder whether disgruntled ethnic armed groups are to blame, perhaps planning the bomb attacks to show their dissatisfaction with the peace talks, which many say are one-sided in favor of the government. The last potential culprits are radical Muslims from Malaysia, where many Burmese Muslims have sought refuge over the past year following attacks by Buddhist mobs. Although two of the arrested suspects hold Malaysian passports, radical Muslims seem to be the least likely instigator of the bombings. The blasts have not targeted extremist Buddhist communities, and indeed they have not occurred in areas where radical Muslim groups are active, such as Arakan State. Muslim groups have been persecuted in Burma over the past year, but they would not likely benefit from a widespread bombing campaign, and they also lack the manpower to pull one off. It would also be odd for hardliner military leaders in the government to plan the bombings, because despite their dissatisfaction with Thein Sein, many of them are eager to promote Burma's image ahead of the Southeast Asian Games and as their country takes the chairmanship for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Several observers, including sources from an ethnic Karen rebel group known as the Karen National Union (KNU), have suggested that disgruntled KNU members could be behind the bomb plots, perhaps in collaboration with members of other allied ethnic armed groups. Many ethnic rebel groups have voiced frustrations over recent months because they believe that despite individual ceasefires, the government's peace process has produced no change for ordinary people on the ground. The KNU is now divided into two factions—one is hardline, and the other is more pragmatic. The pragmatic faction, dominated by the current KNU leadership, wants to move forward quickly with the peace process, despite complaints that little has been done to protect civilians, implement a code of conduct for ceasefires, or withdraw government troops from KNU territories. The so-called hardline faction, dominated by KNU Brigade 5, has support from armed leaders and does not want to follow the government's plans so easily. In addition to protection for civilians, it wants a guarantee that development projects in the state will benefit local people. Leaders of the hardline faction are allied with an alliance of ethnic armed groups known as the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), which held peace talks with the government peace delegation in September in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. Afterward, UNFC leaders said a nationwide ceasefire agreement between the government and all ethnic rebel groups was unlikely to be signed anytime soon because the meeting had ended with disagreement. In August, an ethnic Kachin leader in Chiang Mai told The Irrawaddy that he would support ethnic armed groups to use any means—including military means, and if necessary in urban areas—to fight for their cause. This ethnic leader was allied with the UNFC and has solid financial resources. "We will need to fight. We will need to launch our operation," he said, declining to elaborate. The KNU's pragmatic faction has denied involvement in the bomb plots. It has also tried to distance itself from the hardline faction in this regard. "Don't blame us for the bombings. It will damage the whole KNU," a KNU leader told The Irrawaddy this week. The government has not openly blamed the KNU, but state media reported that the police arrested one suspect who formerly worked with the Karen rebel group and other suspects who were believed to be connected to it. The KNU source said a Burmese businessman who operates a gold mine in Karen State's Papun District—which is partly under the control of KNU Brigade 5—was also being questioned by local police officers. Some observers say that disgruntled ethnic leaders are trying to obstruct the nationwide ceasefire agreement that the government hopes to achieve with all rebel groups next month. These leaders might worry that their time is running out to voice frustrations with the peace process. There is no proof that hardline ethnic factions are responsible for the recent bombings, but they seem to have a motive. The bomb attacks have targeted civilians, but perhaps they were planned as a warning to the government—a call to address ethnic demands before pushing through a nationwide ceasefire agreement next month. The post Who's Behind the Bombings in Burma? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Political Prisoners in Burma Increase in September: AAPP Posted: 18 Oct 2013 04:34 AM PDT  A prisoner's hand grips the bars on the window of a prison van as he leaves a court in Rangoon, where he was charged with inciting unrest by participating in a Nov. 26 protest against a copper mine in northwest Burma. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says the number of political prisoners in Burma rose last month, with 33 activists and protestors put behind bars in September while more than 200 others are facing trials. The number marked a "significant increase," said the Thailand-based AAPP, despite President Thein Sein's vow to release all of Burma's remaining political prisoners by the end of this year. The AAPP said 232 activists are facing trial for leading various protests across the country since 2012. Ten convicted political prisoners were discharged last month after fully serving their prison terms, meaning Burma added a net 23 political prisoners to its cells last month. Those imprisoned in September included 20 peace protest organizers, six farmers charged with trespassing and others found guilty of violating a variety of statutes including defamation, the Unlawful Association Law, Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Act and Section 505(b) of the Burmese Penal Code, according to Khin Cho Myint, the AAPP's documentation officer. Section 18 requires that would-be demonstrators receive permission from relevant government authorities before staging a protest, while Section 505(b) pertains to those accused of "intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility." The AAPP also separately recorded the cases of farmers who are facing trial for plowing lands confiscated by the government. "We were able to record about 149 farmers," Khin Cho Myint said, "who are charged under Section 18 and with trespassing, within the three-month period from June to August 2013." She said the number of farmers' cases could increase by several hundred more that AAPP has not yet been able to gather adequate information about. Most of the documented cases are from Irrawaddy, Pegu and Rangoon divisions and northern Arakan State, she added. Some 135 political prisoners remain in prison, according to the AAPP, 10 days after the government released 56 largely ethnic political prisoners, most of whom were charged under the Unlawful Association Law. The 33 convictions considered by AAPP to be political in nature compare with just seven people sentenced in August. Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the AAPP, said on Friday that talks between his organization and the government were ongoing. "We are still discussing the details about the remaining political prisoners," he told The Irrawaddy.Bo Kyi is also a member of a government-appointed committee charged with assessing the legal status of prisoners suspected of having been jailed for political reasons. Both political prisoners locked up under the previous military regime and those charged since Thein Sein took office have been released in several presidential amnesties since 2011. Those still serving sentences are a mix of convictions made prior to and during Thein Sein's presidency. "In our list, 66 of them were imprisoned under the previous regime, while 38 were imprisoned under the current government," said Bo Kyi, referring to the official government committee's list, which differs slightly from AAPP's tally. The scrutinizing committee's job is getting more difficult as some of the prisoners still under consideration are behind bars on criminal charges such as rape or murder, he said, adding that "the government cannot provide us with the information we need for the process." This week, two Arkanese protest organizers were sentence to three months in prison under Section 18, while two others in Rangoon and Prome were released after paying fines. Bo Kyi said the application of Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law remained a concern for Burma's justice system, which AAPP was discussing with the government. "As we have said repeatedly, we cannot say that there are no more political prisoners without releasing all of them," he said. The post Political Prisoners in Burma Increase in September: AAPP appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Photo of the Week 20 Posted: 18 Oct 2013 03:43 AM PDT |
| Burma’s First Arts Festival for Disabled Gets Underway Posted: 18 Oct 2013 03:05 AM PDT  Aye Min Tun from Rangoon's Shwe Pyi Thar Township displays his paintings at Burma's first arts festival for the disabled. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's first arts festival for the disabled is being held in Rangoon and offers 270 disabled people the opportunity to express themselves creatively and showcase their talents through painting, sculpturing, music, dance and theatre. "It is the first national wide arts festival for disabled citizens in Myanmar," Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Relief and Resettlement Su Su Hlaing said during the festival's opening ceremony on Thursday. She said the ministry and the event's organizers "intend to help the most talented disabled artists from this festival" advance with their art work. Soe Maung, a minister of the President's Office, said 2.3 percent of Burma's population, estimated between 50 and 60 million people, have a physical impairment, adding that they "have been facing obstacles, not because they are incomplete but because of barriers in their environment." The three-day "Immense Spectrum Myanmar Arts Festival of Disabled Artists" is held at the Myanmar Convention Center in Rangoon's Mayan Gone Township and is organized by the Social Welfare Relief and Resettlement Ministry, Japan's Nippon Foundation and 10 disability support groups, including the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative. Aung Ko Myint, the latter group's operations director and president of the Myanmar National Association for the Blind, said the festival provided Burma's disabled with a much needed opportunity to express themselves creatively. "There are so many disabled people who are interested in arts. But we, disabled citizens, have really difficulty to enter the arts field because there are no programs or supporters to nurture us," he said. "And we didn't get the chance to participate in other festivals and programs because most believe that disabled people will cause delays in their events." This week's festival, he said, would help people with disabilities exhibit and develop their creative skills and connect with others. Aung Ko Myint said 270 participants with physical and learning disabilities had been chosen from 390 applicants, adding that participants could paint, create wood carvings, perform music, dance, theatre, poetry and literature. Several prominent Burmese singers and comedians put on a show at the festival, among them was the festival's ambassador Chit Thu Wai. The actress and singer said, "I want to let the participants see that the audience in this whole hall comes to support them." Aung Kaung Myat, a 20-year-old man with a walking disability, said he hoped that the festival would promote public awareness of the fact that disabled people have as much talent as any other persons. "People can learn that the disabled can also do a variety of arts," he said, adding that Burma's disabled are often stigmatized and excluded from society. "We are not getting on well, socially. People think that we will make them unlucky and that we are disabled because of the deeds carried out in past lives," he said. "It is used to justify that they don't need to help us. This superstition is still present." Participant U Tint, who misses both his underarms, has mastered a painting technique where he uses his foot to hold a brush. "I started drawing paintings when I was 20 years old and now I am 40 years old. I really wanted to participate in an exhibition and now I get the chance to participate in this festival. I'm really happy for that." Aung Ko Myint, of the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative, said that much work still remains to be done to improve the plight of Burma's physically impaired. A key step, he said, was creating laws that would better protect and support the disabled in Burma, where—unlike in many other countries—there is no special law yet that offers support, care, protection and job opportunities for those with disabilities. He said that the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is drafting such legislation, adding, "Disabled citizens in the Myanmar urgently need fundamental opportunities. Although we need to get more opportunities than other people, we will just ask to get same opportunities like others especially in education and jobs." The post Burma's First Arts Festival for Disabled Gets Underway appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| JICA Meets with Thilawa Villagers Over Relocation Posted: 18 Oct 2013 02:46 AM PDT  The port of Thilawa looms in the background as two Burmese fishermen row past. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Representatives of villagers being relocated to make way for the Thilawa Special Economic Zone on Tuesday met with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to discuss the ongoing dispute with the Rangoon government over compensation. With work on the deep-sea port, industrial zone and residential project slated to begin at the end of the month, representatives of those being moved to make way for the development last week claimed they were coerced into accepting compensation by the authorities. All but three families from a first group to be relocated agreed to compensation at the end of September. However, representatives maintain they were pressured into signing agreements and had little opportunity to negotiate. The Rangoon Regional Government has denied the allegations. Representatives of both the initial group of Thilawa residents being relocated and more families slated to be evicted at a later date expressed their concerns to JICA—which is developing the infrastructure for the Japan-funded project. Notoriously tight-lipped, JICA insisted that the meeting be off-limits to the media and declined to comment on what was discussed. According to villagers at the meeting, JICA was sympathetic to their plight and said they would present their demands to the government. "JICA didn't promise anything, but they listened very carefully," said village representative Aung Ko Min. Another representative, Soe Thein, said he told JICA the government must be more transparent, provide ample time for negotiations, and, most importantly, properly compensate villagers for the loss of their land. The villagers also asked the government to provide paper deeds for the new land to avoid future problems, differentiate between long-term residents and newcomers and for an end to police monitoring in the area. Construction on a relocation site for Thilawa residents started only this week, according to Set Aung, an economic adviser to President Thein Sein and chairman of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone Management Committee. Set Aung also told The Irrawaddy that residents who have already signed may be eligible for increased compensation if the regional government agrees to better terms with other villagers. However, villagers have not been given copies of their compensation agreements, and the government has so far not made them publicly available. Set Aung said the government side was working to communicate better with the public about the project, and that he will be in Rangoon next week to hold meetings with the villagers, JICA, as well as relevant NGOs. "My plan has always been to have very strong collaboration with all the stakeholders to come up with a much better, win-win solution," he said. Thilawa was originally marked for development in the mid-1990s. The military junta gave most residents 20,000 kyat (roughly $20) for each acre of land, effectively confiscating it. The project never materialized and the residents remained on the land, but the regional government claims it legally owns the deeds to the land. The Thilawa Special Economic Zone is one of Japan's flagship investment projects in the Southeast Asia. A public joint venture company, expected to be called the Thilawa Development Holding Company will eventually be set up to manage the project. The post JICA Meets with Thilawa Villagers Over Relocation appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Bomb Scares Fail to Dampen Thadingyut Revelry Posted: 18 Oct 2013 02:23 AM PDT  Scenes from Thadyingyut street festival in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Despite several bomb attacks, some fatal, across Burma over the past week, the Buddhist light festival, called Thadingyut locally, is drawing thousands each evening to a busy downtown Rangoon intersection, where food and fairground attractions are taking people's minds off recent explosions that killed three people and injured several more. Thadingyut marks the end of Buddhist lent and, for monks, the festivities mean the end of a three-month Lenten retreat during which the contemplatives are to stay inside their monasteries. Tiloka, a 67-year-old monk who goes by a Pali name, ambled through the crowd while trying to make himself heard above the hip-hop blasting through speakers around street-hawkers selling fried crickets and burnt-black corn. The old man wasn't unnerved by the recent bombs, which he said were too random to count as a valid reason for people to steer clear of the street party or for officials to cancel the festivities. "I don't know why the bombs are going on around Myanmar," he told The Irrawaddy. "There is no meaning [to the bomb attacks]. Up to now, even the government, they said they don't know who is the culprit." By Friday morning, four people were reportedly being held by police in relation to the recent attacks, which officials have speculated were an attempt to undermine Burma's upcoming hosting of the Southeast Asia Games and the country's chairmanship next year of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Whatever the motive for the attacks, festivalgoers were not too concerned that these packed Rangoon streets would be targeted. Tukun Nath, a doctor who returned to Burma two years ago after four decades practicing abroad, felt sure he was safe to stroll around and sample the fried snacks and glutinous-looking desserts shining under vending cart lights. Festivals have been attacked in the past, however, notably in three explosions that killed at least 10 people during the 2010 Thingyan or Buddhist New Year festival. Despite the precedent, Tukun Nath doesn't think that this area, close to where he lives, will be targeted, as there is a police station nearby. "In this crowded place, this area I think cannot," he said. "I don't think the bombs are meant to kill so many people like this." The festival area is a 10-minute walk east of Rangoon's well-known Traders Hotel, site of a small explosion on Monday night that wounded an American tourist, news that has sparked concerns that Burma's budding tourism sector could be affected. At a Tuesday press conference, Burma's director general of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Aung Zaw Win, said the government was encouraging hotels to bolster their security measures. "The SEA Games are drawing closer. [The Ministry] is instructing hotels near SEA Games venues in Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyitaw, and Ngwe Saung to mount CCTV cameras and invest in other security devices." Half-visible behind a Ferris wheel, the MK Hotel is right in the middle of the carnival. Hotel management is worried—not so much about a security threat, but by the prospect of lost bookings. Joseph Saw Min Thein, a receptionist and assistant manager, said the hotel has hired additional security in recent days. "There is a police station across the street, and every day they check here and keep watch," he told The Irrawaddy. But business has taken a hit. "Last night a tourist from Germany sent us an e-mail saying she doesn't want to come now because of the bombing," he conceded, adding that the hotel sought to reassure the reluctant traveler by suggesting that extra security was in place. "We sent back the e-mail saying we have more security so instead of cancelling, she postponed till later this month." Back outside on the nearby streets, children wait in line, watched by parents, to jump on merry-go-rounds or get strapped into their seats on the Ferris wheel beside the hotel. For some younger festivalgoers, this year marks a first chance to sample a Thadingyut street festival. Zin Noble, 21, and Phyu Mar, 23, were among the carnival novices. Asked if they were concerned by the recent bombings or were inclined to give the event a miss, they shook their heads. "No not all, we don't mind," said Zin Noble. "If we have fun, we aren't scared at all," added Phyu Mar. The post Bomb Scares Fail to Dampen Thadingyut Revelry appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| US Budget Crisis Hits Home for Burma-Thai Border Refugees Posted: 18 Oct 2013 01:42 AM PDT  A Karen refugee child waits patiently for Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi to visit the Mae La refugee Camp north of Mae Sot, Thailand. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Though Washington has sent its federal employees back to work after a 16-day crisis of governance, Burmese refugees in Thailand who were preparing to resettle in the United States are still finding those plans put on hold a day after most US government services resumed. Vivian Tan, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangkok, confirmed to The Irrawaddy that resettlement flights have been temporarily suspended due to developments in Washington. "Our partners working in the resettlement program in Thailand have been informing the affected refugees. Everything should resume once the shutdown is resolved," Tan said on Thursday. "Should" being the operative word. As of Friday, an official at the US Embassy in Rangoon said the program for refugees in camps along the Thai border remained on hold, despite the resumption of most federal government services on Thursday. "We understand that the program will resume, but I don't have any further details for you at this time," the official said, when asked by The Irrawaddy if resolution of the US budget impasse meant the resettlement program would resume. On Thursday, the US Congress passed a bill that raised the federal debt ceiling and reopened the government. "Nonessential" government services, from the United States' national parks system to its space exploration program, had been suspended since Oct. 1, when US lawmakers could not muster the votes to continue funding the government. The US refugee resettlement program was also on the list of nonessential services. There are more than 120,000 Burmese refugees living on the Thai-Burma border in nine refugee camps. About 80,000 Burmese refugees have been settled in third countries in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan, with the United States receiving the largest number of resettled Burmese. Contacted by The Irrawaddy earlier, the US Embassy official said the resettlement program was still operating in a limited capacity. "The United States has been forced to suspend the majority of refugee arrivals for the duration of the government shutdown. This is because services upon which refugees rely after their arrival are not available in many locations," the official said on Thursday, adding that the suspension leaves thousands of refugees approved for resettlement sitting in limbo. "However, we have been able to work with resettlement agencies around the country to continue to bring in the most vulnerable refugees over the coming weeks. State agencies and local communities that are finding ways to assist these refugees despite the shutdown deserve extra recognition for their efforts," the official added. Most of the refugees fled Burma due to government army attacks in their home regions. Many of them have been living in refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border for more than two decades. As reforms have been introduced by the new civilian government of President Thein Sein, foreign donors who have been supporting the refugees for over 20 years have begun to push for their return home. However, most of the refugees have indicated that they would prefer resettlement to a third country, or to remain in Thailand. According to a survey conducted earlier this month in the largest of the Thai border camps, 90 percent preferred one or both of those options over repatriation, with respondents citing safety and economic concerns, among other worries about starting life anew in Burma. Recently, The Border Consortium (TBC), an nongovernmental organization that provides food and other services to the refugees, reported that rice rations for many of the refugees would be reduced in the near future due to a reduction in funding for its organization. Under the revised rice rations plan, households are categorized according to their level of need, with four groups: self-reliant, standard, vulnerable and most vulnerable. Self-reliant households will see a cut in rice rations for adults. The TBC said that the funding for humanitarian work has dropped as donors redirect their funds to programs preparing for the return of refugees to Burma. The post US Budget Crisis Hits Home for Burma-Thai Border Refugees appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Pressed for Time Posted: 18 Oct 2013 12:18 AM PDT  An old printing press manufactured by John G. Sherwin in 1855 is left to rust on the street in Pyin Oo Lwin. (Photo: Laetitia Millois / The Irrawaddy) PYIN OO LWIN — With its horse-drawn carriages and charming colonial-era architecture, Pyin Oo Lwin feels very much like a place with one foot planted firmly in the past. But even here, in this hill town some 70 km east of Mandalay that once served as the summer capital of Myanmar's former British rulers, some remnants of the past don't stand a chance against the forces of change. While many foreign visitors are drawn to Myanmar precisely because it often feels like a land that time forgot, those who live here tend to be less sentimental about what they see as symbols of their "backwardness," prompting some to jettison items that many a museum would covet. "We have computers now; we don't need this anymore," says one Pyin Oo Lwin resident, referring to a vintage cast-iron printing press sitting on a street corner, apparently abandoned. Manufactured in 1855 by John G. Sherwin of London, it is identical to one now on display at a museum in Melbourne, Australia—except that after long exposure to the elements, it is covered in rust. This is a sad fate for an object that has long since outlived its usefulness, but remains a thing of beauty. Its details—the claw feet, antique colonnades and embedded brass plaque—are testimony to its creator's attention to aesthetic, as well as practical, principles. As difficult as it may be to understand why anyone would treat something of this quality with such evident disdain, it did not take long to find someone who saw things in a different light. "They are too heavy and take up too much space," said the owner of a nearby printing shop, matter-of-factly. He lamented that he had two unwieldy old presses of his own, which he considered more of a burden than anything else. "I don't know what to do with them!" As for their value as artifacts of the past, he scoffed at the idea that anybody would want such reminders of "how poor we are". Finding a nice "retirement home" for these old workhorses of a bygone era was also out of the question, at least locally. "There is no museum in Pyin Oo Lwin," declared one young woman when asked if there wasn't a more suitable place to put an antique printing press than out on the curb. But if Myanmar's people were really as in tune with the times as they would like to be, they would soon realize that the worthless "junk" all around them could, in many cases, fetch high prices from aficionados of obsolete technology. Keen to revive the "authenticity" of old-school mechanical printing presses, many analogue lovers scour the Internet for machines that take them back to a time before printing—and seemingly everything else—went digital. One man's trash is another man's treasure, they say. But if Myanmar is to preserve its unique character, its people would do well to hold on to at least some of the things that have served them so well for so long. If they do, they may discover that they are far richer than they realize. This story first appeared in the October 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Pressed for Time appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| SHOWDOWN Posted: 17 Oct 2013 11:02 PM PDT  A power struggle between President U Thein Sein and Union Parliament Speaker U Shwe Mann has resulted in divisions in Parliament, the government and the military. The post SHOWDOWN appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| India, China Near Pact Aimed at Keeping Lid on Border Tension Posted: 17 Oct 2013 10:57 PM PDT  Indian and Chinese government officials and military personnel are pictured at a checkpoint on the Sino-Indian border (Photo: Subir Bhaumik / The Irrawaddy) NEW DELHI — India and China are close to an agreement to stop tension on their contested border touching off confrontation, while they try to figure out a way to break decades-old stalemate on overlapping claims to long stretches of the Himalayas. The border defense cooperation pact that diplomats are racing to finalize ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to China next week is a small step forward in a complicated relationship marked by booming economic ties but also growing distrust. In May, the two armies ended a three-week standoff in the western Himalayas after Chinese troops set up a camp at least 10 km (6 miles) inside territory claimed by India, triggering a public outcry and calls that India should stand up to its powerful neighbor. China denied that troops had crossed into Indian territory. Under the new agreement, the two nuclear-armed sides will give notice of patrols along the ill-defined border. They will ensure that patrols do not "tail" each other to reduce the chance of confrontation. The two armies, strung out along the 4,000-km (2,500-mile) border from the high altitude Ladakh plateau in the west to the jungles of Arunachal Pradesh in the east, have also agreed to set up a hotline between top ranking officers, in addition to existing brigade-level contacts. "The key issue is maintaining peace and tranquility on the border," said an Indian government official. The border defense cooperation agreement is built on existing confidence-building measures and is designed to ensure that patrolling along the Line of Actual Control, as the unsettled border is called, does not escalate into an unintended skirmish, he said. "Barring last minute problems, there should be an agreement. It’s a question of crossing the Ts and dotting the Is," the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and since then ties have been mired in distrust. China lays claims to more than 90,000 square km (35,000 sq miles) of land in the eastern sector. India disputes that and instead says China occupies 38,000 sq km (14,600 sq miles) of territory on the Aksai Chin plateau in the west. A Chinese airline last week blocked two Indian archers from disputed Arunachal Pradesh from travelling to China, souring the mood in India just days before Singh travels to Beijing. "The fundamental problem they are not tackling is defining the Line of Actual Control and then a settlement of the border," said Srikanth Kondapalli, a China expert at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. Beefing Up Defenses One reason tension has risen is that both countries are upgrading civil and military infrastructure on either side of the frontier. China has vastly improved its roads and is building or extending airfields on its side of the border in Tibet. It has placed nuclear-capable intermediate missiles in the area and deployed about 300,000 troops across the Tibetan plateau, according to a 2010 Pentagon report. India has also woken up and is in the midst of a 10-year plan to scale up its side of the border with a network of roads and airfields. In July, the cabinet cleared the raising of a new mountain corps comprising about 50,000 troops to be deployed on the Chinese border. "China has developed the border infrastructure so intricately that its roads and tracks even in high mountainous regions look like fingers running down your spine," said retired Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch who commanded the Indian army’s Special Forces wing. Chinese nuclear and missile assistance to Pakistan as well as a widening trade deficit in China’s favor have added to Indian fear about encirclement. China, on the other hand, is concerned about Tibetan activists using India as a base to further their separatist aims. "It strikes me that many of the usual grievances have grown in prominence over the past several months: Chinese incursions on the border, the issuance of irregular visas, continued Chinese support for Pakistan’s nuclear program, and so on," said Shashank Joshi, a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London. "It also seems that India is eager to keep these grievances in check." The post India, China Near Pact Aimed at Keeping Lid on Border Tension appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| ADB Calculates the Cost of Climate Change for Asia Posted: 17 Oct 2013 10:51 PM PDT  An elderly man exercises in the morning as he faces chimneys emitting smoke behind buildings across the Songhua River in China's Jilin province. (Photo: Reuters) As many as 12 million people in 23 Asian cities are likely to be caught in the coils of climate change, at risk from rising sea levels, severe storms and intensified drought that could jeopardize US$864 billion in assets, according to a new report from the Asian Development Bank. Three major conurbations—the Pearl River Delta, Shanghai and the Kyoto-Osaka region in Japan—are particularly at risk from rising sea waters. Climate change can be mitigated over the 40 years to 2050, however, according to the exhaustive report, titled Economics of Climate Change in East Asia, at an aggregate cost amounting to less than 0.3 percent annually of the region's gross domestic product, for infrastructure, coastal protection and agriculture. Averaged over the period 2010-50 using a medium climate scenario, the cost of adaptation, ignoring cyclone damage and flooding, is $22.9 billion per year, with another $4.2 billion per year spent on coastal protection and $9.5 billion per year for modification of agriculture. Despite that cost, the cost of doing nothing is going to be worse, the report says. The report was edited by ADB researchers Michael Westphal, Gordon Hughes and Jörn Brömmelhörster from massive amounts of data collected from China, Japan, South Korea and Mongolia. Protecting against extreme weather and rising seas is only part of the solution for the region, which produces 30 percent of the world's CO2 emissions. Instead, the countries must adopt a combined approach, pooling emissions targets to create a regional carbon market to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, which recently passed 400 parts per million, which is considered a red line for the planet's well-being. The analysis of adapting to climate change focuses on three key sectors: infrastructure to protect water resources and guard against flooding, shoring up coastal zones against sea-level rise, and agriculture. The combination of sea-level rise and higher storm surges will inevitably lead to heavy losses, especially in China, where the losses encompass the submergence and or erosion of dryland areas, the disappearance of coastal wetlands and the forced migration of tens or hundreds of thousands of people. The disruption and loss of economic output caused by forced migration account for the major part of the damage associated with sea-level rise. Even without climate change, coastal subsidence, partly caused by urban development and the extraction of groundwater, will require significant expenditures on coastal protection not just in China but in Indonesia, Singapore and other countries where cities have been built on floodplains. The costs for infrastructure cover a wide range from energy networks to schools and housing, which must be protected against both flooding and increasingly severe tropical storms. The costs are expected to be highest for housing and roads, with an average cost of planned adaptation for roads equivalent to nearly 8 percent of total spending. "It is critical to understand the details of local weather and climate and their impacts on infrastructure," the authors write. "While climate uncertainty in the region is large, this is no excuse for inaction: There no guarantee that future climate uncertainty will diminish. As a prudent and low-cost first step, all countries should ensure that design standards and new assets fully reflect the current climate and weather variability." Up to 2050, the impact of changes in temperature and precipitation are expected to actually increase crop production in Japan and South Korea but to reduce it by up to 10 percent in China. Wheat is likely to be the most affected, with crops diminishing by as much as 24 percent in China in the worst-case scenario, although it is likely to increase in Japan, Korea and Mongolia. Crop prices in Mongolia are expected to soar by up to 40 percent. Adapting to climate change will probably have to include investment in irrigation and R&D to increase crop yields or possibly the provision of consumer subsidies to compensate for soaring prices, which would cost less than $10 billion in 2050, provided expenditure for irritation and R&D are increased by $1 billion a year. The encouraging thing is that several East Asian countries, particularly Japan, South Korea and China—which admittedly has enormous problems from both pollution and greenhouse emissions—are committed to green growth that minimizes pollution and environmental impact and is efficient in the use of natural resources and which have the potential to provide new sources of growth. Japan, shaken to the core by the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster that led to the closure of much of its nuclear industry, is committed to energy and environmental policy redesign all the way up to the prime minister's office. The country expects to increase the share of renewables from 2 percent to 35-30 percent by 2030, reducing energy consumption by 20 percent and reforming the power supply system. South Korea, like Japan an energy-deficient country, has raised the issue of climate change to the presidential level and has set policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in building codes, transport, industry and afforestation, reducing the use of fossil fuels, increasing the use of renewables and expanding nuclear capacity. It hopes to develop green technologies to boost its share of the world market to 8 percent within five years. The government will promote the greening of existing industries and encourage the growth of green-oriented exports. As the report says, "a different model of economic development is needed for East Asia. This needs to build upon opportunities for 'green growth.'" The post ADB Calculates the Cost of Climate Change for Asia appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| As Khmer Rouge Trial Nears End, Prosecutors Say Tribunal Is Lesson to World Posted: 17 Oct 2013 10:45 PM PDT  A Cambodian boy stands inside a small Buddhist stupa full of human bones and skulls of victims of the Khmer Rouge near his home in Khnounh village, Kandal province, Cambodia. (Photo: AP) PHNOM PENH — Prosecutors at Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge tribunal said Thursday the trial sends a strong message to the world that massive human rights violations will not go unpunished. They spoke as the prosecution launched its closing arguments against two surviving leaders of the communist regime under which an estimated 1.7 million people died. Nuon Chea, the regime’s chief ideologist, and Khieu Samphan, its head of state, both in their 80s, are charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. The Khmer Rouge, in power from 1975 to 1979, emptied the country’s cities, forcing Cambodians into backbreaking work in rural cooperatives and executing anyone suspected of dissent. Executions, death by starvation, torture, lack of medical care and overwork were rampant. "Even today countless Cambodian families carry a heavy burden from the four-year period that the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia: memories of mistreatment, starvation and torture of loved ones lost who were killed or simply disappeared," Prosecutor Chea Leang told the court. "This trial is important for Cambodia, but not just Cambodia — it is important for the entire world," she said. "It demonstrates that crimes of such magnitude and severity will not be forgotten and that those responsible will be held to account." While Khieu Samphan sat in the courtroom Thursday, often closing his eyes, Nuon Chea followed the proceedings by a video link from a holding cell due to ill health. Their trial began in November 2011. To make a massive indictment more manageable, the judges split the case into a series of smaller trials that would examine evidence in rough chronological order. The present trial’s focus on the forced movement of people excludes some of the gravest charges related to genocide and detention centers. Many fear further trials will never take place, given the slow pace of the proceedings and the poor health of the aging defendants. The trial already has lost two other defendants to death and dementia. Chea Leang said she hoped the examination of the forced evacuation of the capital, Phnom Penh, would offer a foundation for understanding "one of the most factually complex criminal cases ever prosecuted." "From the moment that the residents of Phnom Penh left their homes and embarked into the unknown, they were the virtual slaves of the Khmer Rouge soldiers who escorted them," she said. The entire population, including young children, pregnant women, the elderly and even hospital patients were "exposed to the elements at the hottest month of the year without water, shelter, food or medical assistance," she said. "Those who could not leave and had no relatives to help them were abandoned to die." The UN-assisted court, launched in 2006, so far has convicted only one defendant, Khmer Rouge prison director Kaing Guek Eav, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2011. Cambodia has no death penalty. The post As Khmer Rouge Trial Nears End, Prosecutors Say Tribunal Is Lesson to World appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Bodies Recovered in Mekong After Laos Plane Crash Posted: 17 Oct 2013 10:25 PM PDT  People arrive at the crash site of an ATR-72 turboprop plane, in Laos, near Pakse October 17, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) PAKSE, Laos — Rescuers in fishing boats pulled bodies from the muddy Mekong River on Thursday as officials in Laos ruled out finding survivors from a plane that crashed in stormy weather, killing 49 people from 10 countries. Backpacks, two broken propellers and passports were among the debris scattered on the riverbank where the Lao Airlines turboprop plane left deep skid marks in the ground before disappearing into the water Wednesday. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said search teams had recovered the bodies of 15 crash victims by the time their operations ended Thursday because of darkness and the strong current. He said they were unable to immediately identify them. The last official count issued by Laos of bodies retrieved gave a lower number, nine. Thailand, which lost five nationals in the crash, is deeply involved in the search, providing skilled manpower and technology that its poorer neighbor lacks. Yakao Lopangkao, director-general of Lao's Department of Civil Aviation, who was at the crash site in Pakse in southern Laos, ruled out finding survivors. "There is no hope," he said. "The plane appears to have crashed very hard before entering the water." He said the plane's fuselage had not yet been found, but was underwater and divers were trying to locate it. Some of the bodies were found by fishermen floating downstream as far as 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the crash site, he said. "We have asked villagers and people who live along the river to look for bodies and alert authorities when they see anything," he said. Fleets of small boats and inflatable rafts plied the muddy, vast waterway as part of the search, with men in life vests peering into the water. After storms Wednesday, the search took place under sunny blue skies. State-run Lao Airlines released a second updated list of the 44 passengers' nationalities on Thursday. It said the flight included 16 Lao nationals, seven French, six Australians, five Thais, three Koreans, three Vietnamese and one person each from China, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States. A person who had been listed as a Canadian was instead added to the list of Vietnamese. The passengers included foreign tourists and expatriates working in Laos. Tourism has become a major source of income for Laos in the past decade. In 2012, the country received more than 3.3 million foreign tourists who generated total revenue of more than $513 million. The area where the plane crashed is off the main tourist circuit in Laos but known for its remote Buddhist temples, nature treks and waterfalls. Cambodian authorities said one of the plane's pilots was a 56-year-old Cambodian with more than 30 years' flying experience. Details of the crash remained murky. Lao Airlines said in a statement Wednesday that the plane took off from the capital, Vientiane, and "ran into extreme bad weather conditions" as it prepared to land at Pakse Airport. The crash occurred about 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the airport. The airline said it had yet to determine the cause of the crash of the ATR-72 aircraft, which had been delivered in March. French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR said in a statement that "the circumstances of the accident are still being determined." It said that it would assist in the investigation, which will be led by Lao authorities. It was the first fatal crash for Laos' state carrier since 2000, when two separate crashes left 23 people dead. The ATR-72 has been involved in 16 crashes since it went into service in 1988, according to databases kept by the Flight Safety Foundation and the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. The death toll from Wednesday's crash was the third highest on record involving an ATR-72; accidents in the United States in 1988 and Cuba in 2010 each killed 68 people. ATR had delivered 611 of the planes by the end of last year. An American man, Joel Babcock, from Nebraska and his wife Angelin of Malaysia were among the dead, the man's pastor Rev. Glen Wapelhorst said. Wapelhorst says Babcock moved from Nebraska to Laos with his family as a young boy, but lived in Lincoln and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 2007 until 2010 before moving back to Laos. Among the six Australians on board was a family of four. Relatives released a photo of the family, Gavin and Phoumalaysy Rhodes and their two children, a 3-year-old girl and a 17-month-old boy. The other two Australians were a father and son. They were identified as Michael Creighton, a 42-year-old aid worker based in Laos who had worked for the United Nations, and his father, Gordon Creighton, 71, a retired teacher who was visiting his son. "We have lost a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a fiancée and a best mate in one tragic circumstance and we are trying to come to terms with our loss," the family said in a statement. Michael Creighton was living in Laos with his fiancée, who was not on the plane. Lao Airlines was founded in 1976 after the communist takeover of Laos, operating under the name Lao Aviation until a rebranding in 2003. It originally operated with Chinese- and Soviet-built aircraft, which were replaced in the mid-1990s as part of a major upgrade that included the purchase of ATR turboprops and in 2011 the delivery of two Airbus A320 aircraft. The post Bodies Recovered in Mekong After Laos Plane Crash appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Minister’s Visit Fails to Ease Letpadaung Tensions Posted: 17 Oct 2013 09:57 PM PDT  Police and protesters separated by a fence face off against each other near the Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Division on Oct. 17. 2013. (Photo: Han Win Aung) Farmers opposed to a controversial Chinese-backed copper mining project in Sagaing Division said they will continue their protests against the project despite a visit two days ago by a senior government minister. President's Office Minister Hla Htun, who heads a committee responsible for implementing a report on the controversial Letpadaung copper mine commissioned by President Thein Sein earlier this year, met around 100 villagers in Salingyi Township, near Monywa, on Tuesday. "Minister U Hla Htun said he will respond to our demands after he talks to the relevant ministry," said Sandar, a protester from the village of Tone who was among those who attended the meeting. But the minister's visit has done little to ease tensions over the project, as around 300 protesters and an equal number of armed security officers hired by China's state-owned Wanbao Mining Company confronted each other on Thursday. The current standoff centers on fields that were confiscated from the farmers and are now fenced in to prevent them entering to harvest their crops. "The police warned us that if we touch the fence, they will shoot us," said Sandar. "But we women protesters were so sad about losing our crops, which they are destroying with bulldozers, that we touched the fence, anyway." Aung Than Oo, a farmer from Hsetae village, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that "the protests will continue until they stop fencing." He added that the security officers were "fully armed" and had used slingshots to try to chase them away, injuring at least one of the protesters. The protesters say they want their farmland returned to them and for the government to stop forcing local villagers to relocate. They also expressed concern about the fate of a religious site associated with the revered Buddhist monk Ledi Sayadaw, who died 90 years ago. The site is within the area now being fenced off. Wanbao started building the fence around a 400-acre area on Oct. 8 as a means of preventing farmers from reclaiming land that had been taken from them. Many of the farmers had returned to the fields to plant crops in defiance of government orders. "My sesame crop was completely destroyed when they started building the fence," complained Aung Than Oo, who also demanded compensation for his lost crops. Despite the still-strong opposition to the Letpadaung mine, Hla Tun reportedly told the protesters on Tuesday that the project would go ahead regardless, and that they should just accept the compensation that they have been offered. The post Minister's Visit Fails to Ease Letpadaung Tensions appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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