| Rangoon’s Sex Workers Face Unscrupulous Police Force Posted: 07 Nov 2013 04:15 AM PST  Women wait by the road near Rangoon's Inya Lake. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) A man steps out of a taxi and starts chatting to another man standing in front of DJ, a night club in Rangoon's Tamwe Plaza. Moments later, a 20-year-old woman emerges from the club. "Here she is, brother. She is ok for everything," says the second man, who is acting as a pimp for sex workers based at the club. "You can sleep with her till dawn. You can talk to each other to make a deal. We do not want to take bribes, but it is important for you to be ok." A deal is reached and the taxi pulls away with Chue Chue and her client inside. Prostitution is illegal in Burma and there are no licensed brothels. But women can be procured for sex at clubs like DJ, or simply by calling the correct pimp. The trade's illegality puts Rangoon's sex workers, like Chue Chue, at risk of arrest. Women who work as prostitutes and campaigners say Rangoon's police regularly extort money from sex workers for "protection," or arbitrarily arrest them to bolster police crime statistics. Chue Chue, which is not her real name, charges men 20,000 kyat, or about US$20, to spend the night with her at a guesthouse or a hotel. She told The Irrawaddy that she works as a sex worker, without the knowledge of her husband, to provide for her family. Chue Chue's nightly fee of about $20 compares with the standard $25 and $37 per month that a garment worker—her previous job—makes in Rangoon, according to a survey published last week. Chue Chue was first persuaded by a friend to take a job as a masseuse instead of at a factory. After four months, her boyfriend asked her to stop. She agreed and they were married. But since her new husband works as a garment worker, his wage is not sufficient to make ends meet, so Chue Chue sneaks out while he is working to have sex for money. Chue Chue said working out of a club like DJ provides some protection from the police. "Here they have good security and I do not have to worry about the authorities coming to arrest us," she said. "When we hear there will be a crackdown, the club closes completely. They have an inside contact with the authorities who lets them know before a crackdown." Sint Sint, another sex worker in Tamwe Township, said another way women deal with the police is by agreeing with officers which sex worker will be arrested each night. Arresting one prearranged woman a night, using a rotation system, makes it appear the police are doing their job, she said. "Once, one man brought me to a guesthouse room in Tamwe Plaza," she recounted. "He wanted me to perform abnormal sex acts, which I refused to do. Then, he threatened to call the police. For me, it was funny because we were already in contact with the police about who would be arrested that night, and it wasn't me." Hnim Hnim, chairwoman of the Taw Win Khaya Network, an organization that tries to help sex workers in Burma, said it was common for police to use sex workers, who can easily be located and arrested, to improve their crime figures. "The police have a duty to report how many crimes they have discovered each month. It is easy for them to arrest these sex workers using the law," she said, adding that in the final two months of the calendar year, more sex workers are arrested as police try to improve their yearly figures. Hnim Hnim said sex workers in Burma, most of who are trying to earn money to support their families, were forced to deal with an unscrupulous police force, criminalized and receive little support. Another way sex workers are procured in Rangoon is by phone, which minimizes the risk of encountering the police. "You can call my phone and tell me the age [sex worker] you need," said a taxi driver from South Okkapala Township, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I will bring the girl to your hotel, but if you do not like her, you have to give me a fee for the taxi." The taxi driver and pimp insisted he was not exploiting the women. "They even give me some money sometimes, depending on their situation," he said. The post Rangoon's Sex Workers Face Unscrupulous Police Force appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Natural Beauty Blighted by Myitsone Dam, Locals Say Posted: 07 Nov 2013 04:05 AM PST  The small-scale gold miner examines gold powder. (JPaing / The Irrawaddy) MYITSONE, Kachin State — Sitting along the banks of the Irrawaddy River, Hseng Khun takes a break from her work to point out a white sign bearing a cross. "At the top of that hill, we used to pray every morning. That's a very important site for us. We respect it. We even planned to build a church there," says the ethnic Kachin woman, who like most people in Kachin State is Christian. But those plans were halted several years ago when a state-owned Chinese company came to build a major hydropower dam on the river. "They took are land," she says, while setting up a small makeshift shop on the riverbank to sell snacks and drinks. "They forced us to leave. The Mytisone dam is planned to be built in the Myitsone region, at a junction where two rivers known as the May Kha and Malikha meet to become the Irrawaddy. Some concrete walls were constructed for the dam but not all were completed, after the project was suspended in 2011 by Burma's President Thein Sein in the face of protests by local people. The Myitsone region was once famous for tourism, with the natural beauty of mountains, hills and the rocky riverbank. Local residents say tourists are now rarely seen there. Khin Maung, who lives in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina, remembers traveling to the Irrawaddy when he was younger. "The beauty of the Irrawaddy was amazing," he says. "About 50 years ago, when we were children, dozens of peacocks lived on the mountains and would fly into the Irrawaddy River whenever they heard the sound of a boat. "But now we no longer sea peacocks in the Irrawaddy. The water was so clean in the past. Now you can see muddy water." Families in the Myitsone region were displaced and relocated to villages that were established by the government in 2010 and 2011, before the dam project was suspended. In the Aung Myint Thar village, relocated residents say they can no longer sustain their livelihoods as farmers. "We can't plant vegetables in Aung Myint Thar," says Hseng Khun. "We can't even plant banana trees. The land is full of stones and there are rocks underground, so I travel every day and sell snacks and drinks here for my living." The Myitsone site is also rich in gold. On the Irrawaddy's banks, small-scale miners can be seen using traditional methods to find bits of the valuable metal. They collect sand from the river and put it on plastic sheets, draped over a bamboo frame, before using water to sift for gold powder. The religious site where residents once planned to build a church is also reportedly rich in gold. "But the place is now a dam site. The Chinese took it. They took the soil. We heard they found a lot of gold there," says Hseng Khun. Her neighbor in Aung Myint Thar, Hong Ra, an ethnic Lisu woman, works as a small-scale miner. "We get 5,000 or 6,000 kyats (US$5 or $6) per day after we sell the gold," she says. "We dig with our hands, so we don't get much. Before, when the Chinese came and used machines, they got several tons a day." Due to the suspension of the dam construction, Chinese gold miners and engineers have left the site, but some security guards remain. Police are stationed at an entrance checkpoint on the road leading to the suspended dam sites, where visitors are prohibited. Local residents say they were never fairly compensated for their land. "We haven't gotten all the compensation that was promised by the Chinese company. They said they would hold the payment because the construction projects were halted," says Hseng Khun. The 6,000-megawatt Myitsone Dam is a project of the state-owned Chinese Power International (CIP). It was suspended by the Burmese government in September 2011 due to widespread public outcry over its potential environmental and social impact. Thein Sein said the project would not be resumed during his term in office, but China has made it clear that it hopes to restart operations eventually, and CPI reportedly continues to keep a small squad of staff members at the dam site. The post Natural Beauty Blighted by Myitsone Dam, Locals Say appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Police Charge 4 People for Illegal Candle Protest Posted: 07 Nov 2013 03:51 AM PST  People hold candles on Wednesday during a protest against plans to increase electricity rates in Rangoon. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Police in Rangoon's Kyauktada Township will charge four activists with staging an illegal demonstration after they organized a protest on Wednesday against the local government's plan to increase electricity prices in Burma's commercial capital. About 100 protestors took part in Wednesday night's protest in front of Rangoon's City Hall, where participants lit candles and urged Rangoon officials to rethink the electricity rate hike, which the Yangon Electricity Supply Board (YESB) announced last week. Protest organizer Si Thu said four people, Thein Aung Myint, Tin Htut Paing, Kyaw Nay Win and himself, were informed by the Kyauktada police that they would be charged under Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, which requires prior permission from local authorities for any planned protest. "Actually, only one of us, Tin Htut Paing, was brought to the police station after marching. Later the four of us were informed of the Section 18 charge, but I am not surprised—I have already been charged in seven other cases like this," Si Thu said. A Kyauktada Township police officer confirmed Si Thu's account. "We'll charge them because they didn't have permission to do that. One person was detained and we already released him with assurances [that he would not violate Section 18 again]," the officer told The Irrawaddy. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday ahead of the planned protest, Si Thu acknowledged that organizers risked Section 18 charges, having failed to obtain government approval for the candle-lit demonstration. "I don't accept Section 18 because it is very complicated law. The law means authorities don't accept people's criticism. It should be abolished," he said. Separately, activists and civil society groups met in Rangoon on Wednesday to discuss free speech issues in Burma. Out of that meeting, participants agreed to form a Freedom of Expression Network that will, among other things, "hold consultations and collect a broader public opinion on Section 18." Last week, the YESB said households consuming more than 101 units of electricity per month would have to pay 50 kyats (US$0.05) per unit, a price increase of about 40 percent. Commercial electricity rates will also rise. A protestor who was involved in the protest on Wednesday said the size of the demonstration indicated people's dissatisfaction over the electricity price hike. "Our activists will also march again today from San Chanung [Township] to YESB's head office in Ahlone [Township] at 6pm," he told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. The post Police Charge 4 People for Illegal Candle Protest appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| UNICEF Tells Govt to Increase Education, Health Spending Posted: 07 Nov 2013 03:46 AM PST  A mother and child in drought-hit Dala, a town located close to Rangoon, carry water containers to fetch drinking water in June. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — UNICEF is calling on the government to drastically increase government spending on education and health care in order to boost socio-economic development and improve the child rights situation in Burma. Two UNICEF studies released on Wednesday analyze current government spending and conclude that revenues from the country's rich natural resources should be redirected towards a sharp increase in health, education and social welfare spending. Current government spending on the social sectors "is strikingly low by international standards," one of the reports notes, adding that Burma spends less on these sectors than almost any other country in Southeast Asia. In Burma, education and health care expenditure represent about 2.3 percent of GDP. In Cambodia and Thailand, social expenditure represents about 5 percent and 8 percent of GDP, respectively. Even though social sector spending increased significantly in the fiscal year 2012-2013—when Burma's government budget stood at about US$7.13 billion—health care makes up just 5.7 percent, education 11 percent and social welfare 0.3 percent of government spending. UNICEF, which released the reports during current parliamentary discussions on the 2013-2014 budget, said lawmakers and government should use revenues from natural resources, such as oil, gas, mining and timber, to drastically increase social sector spending, although the agency stopped short of recommending exactly how much it thinks should be spent. Giving examples of the positive social impact resource revenues could have, UNICEF calculated that "0.87 percent of revenues from new natural gas projects would provide for the purchase of allthe vaccines needed annually," while "9 days of natural gas revenues is all that is needed to ensure 1 teacher per primary school grade per year across the country." "Myanmar is blessed with an abundance of natural resources which can be turned into meaningful, sustainable, impactful social investments right now, starting with children," Bertrand Bainvel, UNICEF country representative, said in a press release. "Reform presents real opportunities for a successful transition from a heavily natural resource-reliant economy to an economy that leverages the skills and expertise of its human capital." Under the previous military regime, defense spending dominated the budget for decades, while health and education comprised only a small fraction of government expenditure. Such government decisions left the country deeply impoverished and with underfunded and crumbling health and education systems. Since assuming office in 2011, President Thein Sein's reformist government has pushed through a raft of political and socio-economic reforms. Yet, Burma's powerful military, which continues to hold great political power, is still allocated the largest share of government expenditure. In 2012-2013, about 29 percent of the budget went to the defense forces, according to a budget overview in the UNICEF report. Lower House opposition member Thein Nyunt, of the New National Democracy Party, said in a reaction that UNICEF was right to call for a jump in social spending in next year's government budget. "Some lawmakers agree with these UN reports' message to the government," he said. "Investing in children's education and health care would be an investment in our future human resources. The budget should spend more on child education and health care right now." "The budget is increasing year by year, but under the military government the health and education budget was less than 1 percent," he said, adding that the effects of decades of neglect of the social sector were easy to see. "What I've seen for example in [Rangoon's] North Okkopala and Pale townships, is that there are a lot of malnourished poor children on streets, many of them are 8 years or younger," he said. "That's why orphanages should get more government support." Lawmakers from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party could not be reached for comment on UNICEF's appeal. Aung Myo Min, the director of Equality Myanmar, a human rights education NGO, said increasing government social expenditure is crucial for the country's development and improving the child rights' situation. "This is the time to invest in education," he said, adding that investing in education would help reduce child labor. The post UNICEF Tells Govt to Increase Education, Health Spending appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Small-Scale Gold Miners Publicly Called Out for Govt Debt Posted: 07 Nov 2013 03:06 AM PST  People pan for gold on a rocky bank of the Irrawaddy River in Burma's northern Kachin State. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — A public notice accusing dozens of mining companies of failing to pay a required portion of the gold they produce to government coffers has shed light on what critics say is a burdensome requirement that is taxing Burma's gold miners out of business. The Ministry of Mines published the notice in state-run newspapers on Monday, accusing 35 small-scale gold mining operators of having signed production-sharing contracts with the ministry and then failing to give the agreed-to gold share to the government over a five-year period from 2007 to 2012. The noticed ordered the accused gold miners to contact the ministry by Nov. 11 in order to address the shortfall or face "action in accordance with the law." Under production-sharing contracts (PSC), private companies in the extractive industries sign a deal with the Ministry of Mines in which the former agrees to pay the latter a percentage of its total output. "We have been using that production-sharing system in gold mining since the former [military] government. Present gold debts and problems between the Ministry of Mines and private mining companies are all because of that system," Kyaw Win, senior vice president of the Myanmar Gold Development Public Company and owner of U Htone Goldsmith Shop, said on Wednesday. He said some mining companies had failed to produce the amount of gold that they expected to from their fields and, with predetermined PSCs and factoring in production costs, were facing losses. "I want to say that rather than a production-sharing system, a profit sharing system would be better because private mining companies can face losses under the production-sharing system," Kyaw Win said. He added that the local gold market was fueled largely by gold already in circulation, with traders like himself recycling refined products and adding little to the supply from mining operations. "We buy back from customers," Kyaw Win explained. "So, even though gold production is down, the domestic gold market isn't really affected because we can get gold back from resellers." Almost half of all small- and medium-scale gold miners have been unable to continue their mining operations this year because they can't pay their gold debt to the government, Khin Maung Han, vice president of the Myanmar Mineral Entrepreneurs Association, said in July. The smallest-scale gold miners, those whose mining plots are 20 acres or less, have to pay about 24 ticals (one tical, a local unit of measurement, equals 0.576 ounce) a year. Those operating on plots larger than 20 acres pay based on individually negotiated PSCs, with the terms generally based on the size of the plot. "There were about 1,366 gold fields before 2010, but this year, there are only about 779," Khin Maung Han said. He said another hindrance for industry players was the inclusion of provisions in PSCs for some larger companies requiring payment of gold to the ministry in advance, an up-front expense that could make operations financially unfeasible. Zaw Aung, owner of Rangoon's Tate Sein Gold Shop, said the boom-or-bust nature of the gold mining business made it easy to accumulate debts to the Ministry of Mines under the PSC system. "Most debts are from the past. Now, the government takes gold in advance," he said. Through the first six months of the 2012-13 fiscal year, the Ministry of Mines contributed about 320 million kyats and more than 821 viss (about 1,341 kilograms) of gold to the government, said lawmaker Phone Myint Aung, a member of the Union Parliament's public accounts committee. The parliamentarian was citing a report on state revenues and expenditures from April to September 2012, which his committee submitted to Parliament on Tuesday. Phone Myint Aung said in cases where multiple gold miners were competing for a permit on the same plot of land, it was common for the ministry to select the operator who offered the PSC deal that was most generous to government coffers. "Under the current production-sharing system, there is no consideration for gold miners' production costs and other conditions," such as operators who were unable to mine because their gold plots were located in areas of Burma where ethnic conflict raged. He added that a new draft mining law was submitted to Parliament last week to address some of these concerns. The local gold price on Thursday stood at 686,300 kyats per tical—equivalent to about US$1,228 per ounce—and the international gold price was $1,316 an ounce. In Burma, gold is mined commercially in Kachin, Karen and Mon states, and in the divisions of Mandalay, Tenasserim, Pegu, Sagaing and Magwe, with most output coming from Sagaing and Mandalay. The post Small-Scale Gold Miners Publicly Called Out for Govt Debt appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Risks and Opportunities for Burma’s Economy as Climate Change Bites Posted: 07 Nov 2013 01:30 AM PST  Burmese rice farmers in the Irrawaddy Delta. (Photo: WikiMedia) Two new international reports warning of the economic consequences of climate change for Southeast Asia have emerged just as Burma, backed by European Union funds, begins a program to mitigate impacts. One of the reports suggests that Burma—already labelled a country in "extreme risk" if temperatures rise as predicted—will be wedged between neighbors whose capital cities face serious disruption in the future. The Thai capital Bangkok, which has close and growing business links with Rangoon, and the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka are rated in top five most at risk cities in the world due to the effects of climate change. That is according to the Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas published by business risk analysis company Maplecroft of the UK, which doesn't refer specifically to Burma's commercial capital Rangoon but ranks the country as a whole at 16th among the world's most at risk economies. It comes as documents leaked from a new United Nations study on the likely effects of global warming warn of threats to the world's food supply. "A United Nations panel of scientists says that globally, rising temperatures will make it harder for crops to thrive. Climate change will pose sharp risks to the world's food supply in coming decades, potentially undermining crop production and driving up prices at a time when the demand for food is expected to soar," said the New York Times, quoting from a leaked United Nations document. The warnings are in a report being prepared by a United Nations panel, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report is not final and could change before it is officially released in March, the Times said. "In a departure from an earlier assessment, the scientists concluded that rising temperatures will have some beneficial effects on crops in some places, but that globally they will make it harder for crops to thrive—perhaps reducing production over all by as much as 2% each decade for the rest of this century, compared with what it would be without climate change" the newspaper quoted. This is potentially bad news for Burma as it tries to expand its rice production to become a leading exporter as it was in the past before independence. The UN is partnering the EU in financing a US$5.4 million research program in Burma to help prepare the country for climate change, but the Maplecroft study is a timely warning that the Southeast Asian nation's new opening up exposes it to even more risks to its economic development, say some analysts. "Myanmar's growing commercial interconnectivity with the region, especially with Thailand where a lot of investment is originating from, will inevitably expose it to more climate change problems," an economist with a Western embassy Bangkok told The Irrawaddy. "We saw what economic chaos can result from the huge weather-inflicted floods that swept down into Bangkok in 2011," said the economist, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The other cities in Maplecroft's top five most at risk are all in Asia: Mumbai, Manila and Kolkata. Maplecroft said its risk rankings are based on three factors: "Exposure to extreme climate-related events, including sea level rise and future changes in temperature, precipitation and specific humidity; the sensitivity of populations, in terms of health, education, agricultural dependence and available infrastructure; and the adaptive capacity of countries to combat the impacts of climate change, which encompasses, R&D, economic factors, resource security and the effectiveness of government." However, Maplecroft sees some positives for countries such as Burma with extreme-risk status. "The ability of highly vulnerable countries to manage the direct impact of extreme events on infrastructure will be a significant factor in mitigating the economic impacts of climate change and may present opportunities for investment," it said. "Adaptive measures, such as building flood defences and greater infrastructure resiliency, will, however, require the sustained commitment of governments." Several Burmese government ministries are now working in partnership with the EU and UN in the Myanmar Climate Change Alliance which will use the US$5.4 million of mostly European grant money to investigate problems and solutions. They include the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology of the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development. The program will be financed until 2018 by the EU and UN. "The potential impacts of climate change and the current low state of preparedness necessitate an overarching response. Myanmar is engaged in an active process of reform which presents great opportunities as well as challenges in terms of moving to a climate-resilient, low-emission development path," said the Global Climate Change Alliance, established by the EU in 2007. "The new [Burmese] government is starting from quite a low base in responding to climate change with respect to awareness, technical capacity and an appropriate institutional framework. It recognises the need for a national climate change strategy defining the overarching framework for mainstream climate change into development planning," said the alliance. The post Risks and Opportunities for Burma's Economy as Climate Change Bites appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma Economy to Grow 6.8% in 2014: World Bank Posted: 06 Nov 2013 11:04 PM PST  Workers labor at the Vietnam Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) construction site in Rangoon on Sept. 20, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) RANGOON — Burma's economy is set to grow an estimated 6.8 percent next year, placing it among Southeast Asia's fastest growing economies, although rising inflation threatens the poor, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Expansion would be driven by energy and commodities exports, foreign investment, services and construction and growth would exceed the 6.5 percent achieved in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, the Bank said. "It's not just a historical trend," Khwima Nthara, the Bank's senior country economist, told Reuters, referring to the growth forecast, which outpaces the average annual expansion of 5.1 percent expected for the region this year and the next. "This is very much attributable to the new wave of reforms." Despite abundant resources, a population of about 60 million and a land mass the size of Britain and France combined, Myanmar's economy is one Asia's smallest and least developed, hurt by fiscal mismanagement and Western sanctions, most of which have now been suspended. That has allowed a reformist, civilian-led government that took office in March 2011 to focus on attracting foreign investment, creating jobs and boosting infrastructure. Those aspects of the economy had been neglected during five decades of rule by kleptocratic generals who turned one of Southeast Asia's most promising economies into a basket case. Foreign direct investment in Burma had risen to US$2.7 billion in 2012-13 from $1.9 billion in 2011-12, the World Bank said on Wednesday, in its first report since resuming operations in Burma in January. Most of that investment went into the country's energy, garment, information technology and food and beverages sectors, the Bank added. Burma does not compile data for calendar years and few independent economists trusted official data provided by the former regime, which was sometimes cited in double digits. Burma's investment commission says $54 million of foreign investment flowed in in September, mostly destined for the manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and hotels and tourism sectors that are expected to drive future growth. The World Bank said it was most concerned about inflation, which rose to 7.3 percent in August, fueled by higher costs for housing and food, particularly rice. Inflation needed to be kept under control as the majority of the population could suffer, Nthara said, adding, "It's certainly a worrying trend. Inflation hits the poor most." Rice prices rose in tandem with exports, which squeezed local supplies, but the government planned to release domestic stocks to tackle the problem, he said. Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun. The post Burma Economy to Grow 6.8% in 2014: World Bank appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Japan Self-Defense Should Include Others, Not Just US: Adviser Posted: 06 Nov 2013 09:38 PM PST  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,right, reviews Japan Self-Defense Forces' (SDF) troops during the annual SDF ceremony at Asaka Base in Asaka, near Tokyo, on Oct. 27, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Issei Kato) TOKYO — Japan should change the interpretation of its constitution to allow its military to defend not only its ally, the United States, but also other countries whose interests are closely intertwined with Tokyo, a key security adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. The proposed change would represent a further stretching of the limits of Japan's post-war, pacifist constitution and go beyond proposals that the country should only exercise its right of collective self-defense to aid forces of the United States, with which it has a formal alliance. The right to exercise collective self-defense should be applied "to any country which is very close to Japan," Shinichi Kitaoka, who is a member of a panel preparing a report for Abe on the topic, told Reuters in an interview this week. "In other words, if that country is heavily damaged and that might bring a serious threat to Japan, then this is a situation in which Japan may consider exercising the right of collective self-defense." Coming to the defense of Southeast Asian countries, several of which—like Japan—are engaged in territorial disputes with China, could be one of the scenarios that the change could address, Kitaoka said. Another example Kitaoka cited was a threat to sea lanes of vital interest to Japan. "If this is an attack on a Japanese vessel, this belongs to our right of individual self-defense. If this invites big confusion, then this will belong to collective security under the UN umbrella," he said. "If US vessels or Australian vessels or Indian vessels which are protecting this sea lane were attacked and this has a very big impact on Japan, then Japan has the right to cooperate with those countries and remove it [the threat]." Abe has long advocated revising the interpretation of the 1947 US-drafted constitution held by successive Japanese governments that says that Japan has the right to collective self-defense but should not exercise that right. A panel appointed during Abe's first 2006-07 term advocated lifting the ban in some specific cases, but he resigned over a political stalemate and ill health before the controversial change could be implemented. This time, Abe appears determined to move ahead and has appointed a sympathetic bureaucrat to head the constitutional watchdog in charge of the interpretation. But the junior partner in his Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition, the dovish New Komeito, is dragging its heels, so more drastic proposals may not win government approval. 'Normal Nation' The proposed shift is part of Abe's long-term agenda whose end point is revising the constitution's pacifist Article 9, adopted after Japan's defeat in World War II and seen by conservative critics as hobbling its ability to defend itself as a "normal nation" in line with international practices. Kitaoka, who is also head of a panel drafting Japan's first National Security Strategy to underpin a new US-style National Security Council that will coordinate policies, said Japan should not shy away from UN-led peacekeeping missions that potentially could involve its soldiers in combat. "It is wrong to remove all the possibilities of engaging in combat activities," Kitaoka said. Currently, Japanese military participation in peacekeeping operations is limited to areas where a ceasefire is in effect. Kitaoka also said that a review of Japan's mid-term defense posture, also expected to be finalized next month, might recommend that Japan consider obtaining the capability to strike enemy bases overseas to bolster defense against missile attacks, such as from nearby North Korea. The controversial step would further stretch the definition of Tokyo's "purely defensive" defense policy, although Kitaoka stressed any such capability—which experts say might involve cruise missiles—would only be used when an attack was imminent and not for "preemptive strikes." "'Imminent attack' means there have been a lot of declarations from the adversary country on the attack, and if we find that the missile is directed at us and fueling has started, this is imminent and in this case, it is the same as an actual attack," he said. Kitaoka rejected criticism that Japan's whittling away at constitutional limits on its military were making Article 9 meaningless. "Yes, you may argue that way. But the spirit will remain," he said. "Japan will not have any weapons of mass destruction. Japan will not have weapons with long projection [capability] and Japan will limit the exercise of the right of collective self-defense to the minimum level." The post Japan Self-Defense Should Include Others, Not Just US: Adviser appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| US Arrests Third Navy Officer Arrested in Asian Bribery Scheme Posted: 06 Nov 2013 09:09 PM PST  A US Navy ship is seen in a March 2011 file photo. (Photo: US Navy) SAN DIEGO — Federal authorities arrested a third senior US Navy official Wednesday in connection with a massive bribery scheme in Asia involving prostitutes and luxury travel. US Navy Cmdr. Jose Luis Sanchez was arrested in Tampa, Florida. His lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment. In a criminal complaint, Sanchez is accused of accepting prostitutes, $100,000 cash and other bribes from Leonard Glenn Francis, the CEO of Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., or GDMA. Prosecutors say in exchange, Sanchez passed on classified US Navy information to the Malaysian contractor, whose company has serviced Navy ships in the Pacific for 25 years and is accused of overbilling the Pentagon by millions. Wednesday's arrest marks the latest development in the case rocking the US Navy. The accusations signal serious national security breaches and corruption and has set off high-level meetings at the Pentagon with the threat that more people, including those of higher ranks, could be swept up as the investigation continues. A hearing Nov. 8 could set a trial date. "According to the allegations in this case, a number of officials were willing to sacrifice their integrity and millions of taxpayer dollars for personal gratification," US Attorney Laura Duffy said after Wednesday's arrest. The two other senior officials arrested in recent weeks in the case are Navy Cmdr. Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz—who like Sanchez, is accused of giving Francis' company confidential information about Navy ship routes—and a senior Navy investigator, John Beliveau II. Prosecutors allege in a criminal complaint that Beliveau, 44, kept Francis abreast of the bribery probe and advised him on how to respond in exchange for such things as prostitution services. Federal authorities said Wednesday they will seek to have Sanchez, 41, sent to San Diego to face the charges. GDMA overcharged the Navy millions of dollars for fuel, food and other services it provided, and invented tariffs by using phony port authorities, prosecutors say. Misiewicz and Francis moved Navy vessels like chess pieces, diverting aircraft carriers, destroyers and other ships to Asian ports with lax oversight where Francis could inflate costs, the criminal complaint alleges. Francis, 49, was arrested in San Diego in September. A few weeks later, authorities arrested his company's general manager of global government contracts, Alex Wisidagama, 40. Misiewicz, Beliveau, Francis and Wisidagama have pleaded not guilty. Their defense attorneys declined to comment. Court records allege that Sanchez regularly emailed Francis internal Navy discussions about GDMA, including legal opinions, and made recommendations in GDMA's favor about port visits and Navy personnel assignments. The conspiracy began in January 2009, when Sanchez was the deputy logistics officer for the commander of the Navy's 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan, according to charging documents. Francis, who is known in Navy circles as "Fat Leonard," hired prostitutes for Sanchez and friends on multiple occasions, according to the investigation. In one 2009 email exchange, Sanchez and Francis discussed a trip Sanchez planned to take to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore with Navy friends he called his "Wolf Pack," according to the complaint. They discussed the number of rooms the "Wolf Pack" needed, and Sanchez asked Francis for pictures of prostitutes for "motivation." Francis replied that he would take care of it. A few days later, Sanchez sent a Facebook message to Francis saying, "Yummy…daddy like," according to charging documents. Shortly after that, Francis sent an email asking Sanchez to help "swing" business his way regarding a U.S. Navy ship's need to refuel in Thailand. As a result, the USS Mustin paid more than $1 million for fuel from GDMA at the Thai port—more than twice what the fuel should have cost, prosecutors allege. Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman said the GDMA executives "boasted" about their unlawful dealings. "Day by day, this massive Navy fraud and bribery investigation continues to widen, and as the charges announced today show, we will follow the evidence wherever it takes us," he said. The defendants could face up to five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery. The federal government has suspended its contracts with Francis. The post US Arrests Third Navy Officer Arrested in Asian Bribery Scheme appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Failure to End China’s Labor Camps Shows Limits of Xi’s Power Posted: 06 Nov 2013 08:58 PM PST  China's President Xi Jinping, right, talks with China's former President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in March. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping has been blocked in efforts to dismantle the country's labor camp system in a clear sign that he has yet to cement his grip on the ruling Communist Party a year after gaining power, leadership sources said. Xi, whose father was sacked as vice premier and then imprisoned for seven years during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, is deeply opposed to the use of labor camps for arbitrary detention and his failure to close them suggests he is not as strong as he appears, the sources said. "Xi Jinping loathes re-education through labor," a source who has known Xi since the 1990s told Reuters. Xi had approved a proposal by domestic security chief Meng Jianzhu to eradicate the system but was thwarted by conservative sections of the party, two other sources said. There are several other instances of Xi being unable to push through his decisions. Despite holding the three top posts in the country—president, party chief and head of the military—he is not as strong as he seems, said at least half a dozen sources in the party and government. His two immediate predecessors as president, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, wield considerable clout through allies and protégés they promoted, as do powerful factions within the Communist Party. Xi must keep the two former presidents on his side, but this means an erosion of his power. Xi's choice of General Zhang Youxia as one of two vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission was vetoed by Jiang and Hu, who got two of their loyalists into the jobs, two sources said. Zhang was named a member of the commission and is currently director of the People's Liberation Army's General Armament Department. Xi also failed to promote another political ally, He Yiting, to become the party's top researcher, the sources said. He settled for executive vice president of the Central Party School, which grooms up-and-coming cadres. Wang Huning, who has served both Jiang and Hu, held on to the researcher job. "Jiang and Hu have veto power and some say in major political and economic decisions," said a retired policy official. But despite being obstructed on major political and social change, Xi has implemented considerable economic reform in recent months—on interest rate policy, the banking system and converting Shanghai into a free trade zone—in the face of opposition from powerful ministries and state banks, two of the sources said. However, failure to address some of the political and social ills in China—including regional tensions, the rich-poor gap, corruption and degradation of the environment—could affect stability. On Wednesday, small bombs exploded at a communist party office in northern China, killing one person and injuring eight. Last week, three people from the restive western region of Xinjiang were accused of driving an SUV into a crowd at Beijing's Tiananmen Square and setting it on fire, in what the government said was a terror attack by Islamist militants. Five people were killed, including the three occupants, and more than 40 injured. Third Plenum The fate of any future reform and policy plans should become clear at the third plenum of the party's 205-member Central Committee from Nov. 9 to 12. Traditionally, the third plenum is the venue that Chinese leaders use to spell out the agenda for their term. Since it is a closed-door meeting, party seniors and various factions can express their views frankly, while maintaining the facade of unity. But even without the opposition from the party's old guard, Xi is likely to tread very carefully around any kind of political reform. He is steeped in the party's long-held belief that loosening control too quickly could lead to the disintegration of the country, much like the former Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev. Xi privately mourned the demise of the Soviet Union and will not "dig the [Chinese Communist] party's grave", said a former Red Guard, the paramilitary youth organization raised by Mao Zedong during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. "He will not be a Gorbachev," said the former Red Guard, who, like Xi, is a princeling, or the son of a senior party, government or military leader. Nevertheless, the labor camp reform is close to Xi's heart. He was greatly affected when his father, Xi Zhongxun, was reunited with his family 16 years after he was purged and then jailed. Xi Zhongxun did not recognize his sons and asked: "Are you Jinping or [younger brother] Yuanping?" The whole family broke into tears, Xi Yuanping wrote in an article. Xi, the president, has also tried to crack down on corruption, which he has said is one of the biggest threats facing the party. The campaign, which has more bite than previous clamp-downs, has ensnared the top regulator of state-owned enterprises who holds a rank equivalent to cabinet minister. But Xi has so far belied early expectations that as the son of one of China's most liberal leaders, he would bring in reforms across the board. He was pressured by the scandal over Bo Xilai, the pro-Mao party boss of Chongqing city, and courted party conservatives apparently to avert a widening split in the party's ranks and in society. Bo, who was sentenced to life imprisonment this year on charges of corruption and abuse of power, still has many supporters and sympathizers in the party, the government, the military and society. Xi's administration has overseen a renewed crackdown on human rights and civil society activists and freedom of speech. He has made frequent public remarks lauding Mao, the founder of modern China who also launched the brutality of the Cultural Revolution. "Xi is no leftist," said a princeling source with ties to China's military and leadership. "It's for show. He's playing it up for the conservative old guard to win their loyalty." The Realist Xi is neither a closet liberal nor an ultra-conservative, but a pragmatist, the sources say. "He cannot just represent one side" of the political spectrum, political commentator Wu Jiaxiang said, referring to hawks and doves. "Xi is seeking the widest common denominator," Wu said. Ultimately, even those who know him well are divided on which way Xi will head over the next decade that he is likely to rule. "Xi Jinping is a filial son. He will not betray his father," said Angela Sun, a businesswoman whose parents have known the Xi family since the 1930s. "The family was democratic. The children could speak their minds freely with their parents," she said, convinced that Xi would usher in real political reform after he consolidates power. Even if that does happen, Xi will not go too far, others said. Any type of Western-style democracy in China is unthinkable. "The red flag cannot fall," said the princeling who was a Red Guard. "There can be shades of red, but changing the color would be revolution, not reform." For now, Xi is not taking any chances and keeping the genie of political reform in the bottle. "Xi is a realist," said a source with leadership ties. "He will take risks only if they are manageable." The post Failure to End China's Labor Camps Shows Limits of Xi's Power appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
