The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Brawl Leads to Anti-Muslim Riot in Rangoon’s Outskirts
- ‘This Is the First Time We Are Having a Serious Impact on State Schools’
- A Tip for Dealing With Burma’s Government
- The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (April 5, 2014)
| Brawl Leads to Anti-Muslim Riot in Rangoon’s Outskirts Posted: 05 Apr 2014 08:14 AM PDT  Hundreds of police officers were deployed after an anti-Muslim riot broke out in Hlegu town, near Rangoon, on Friday night. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) HLEGU, Rangoon Division — A personal fight has sparked an anti-Muslim riot in the town of Hlegu on the outskirts of Rangoon. A Muslim man reportedly stabbed a Buddhist with a pair of scissors during an argument on Friday afternoon, after which an angry Buddhist mob pelted Muslim-owned properties with stones. A mob of about 300 people destroyed a Muslim home and later attacked a mosque at about 6 pm on Friday, according to Ee Mang, a security guard at the mosque. He said local Buddhists were shouting profanity and calling for the death of Muslims as they shattered windows, broke into the building and stole money from the donation box. "They threw stones and some of them got inside the mosque. But the police prevented them from doing further damage," he told The Irrawaddy on Saturday, adding that he was born in Hlegu and had never before experienced conflict with local Buddhists. Hundreds of police officers were deployed to the town on Friday night, about 45 kilometers outside the major city of Rangoon, while local authorities declared Section 188 of the Penal Code, ordering the crowd to disperse and imposing a curfew to prevent further unrest. The police and community leaders did not report any injuries of local residents during interviews with The Irrawaddy on Saturday. A police officer standing guard near the mosque said two other officers had been wounded while attempting to stop the mob from entering the mosque. "They used slingshots to shoot at us," he told The Irrawaddy. "One police was shot in the head and the other in the leg." The riot was sparked after a Muslim man allegedly stabbed a Buddhist man in the eye with scissors during a dispute in the public market at about 4:30 pm on Friday. Four Muslim men were reportedly involved in the fight and afterward went to hide in a home. When the police came for their arrest, the homeowner handed over only one of the men, angering a group of Buddhists, who subsequently destroyed the home, according to Myo Win, a Buddhist community leader. "There would not have been violence if the homeowner handed over all four men," he said, adding that he had worried the mob might target other Muslim properties in the town, even though the dispute was personal and not related to religion. He added that there were no problems in the past between Buddhists and Muslims in the town, and that he believed the situation would be stable again soon. Tensions following the riot have encouraged some Muslim families to seek shelter in Rangoon. Others are remaining indoors due to safety concerns. Muslim homes and shops were closed on Saturday, with business owners saying they feared they might be targeted. Three Muslims have been detained and the police have arrested six Buddhists who are suspected of involvement in the mob attacks, according to Nyunt Hlaing, another community leader. Buddhist-majority Burma has seen several outbreaks of communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims over the past two years. The worst clashes, in the western state of Arakan, have left scores dead and over 140,000 people displaced. Other riots have broken out in Shan State, Mandalay Division, Pegu Division, Rangoon Division, and Sagaing Division, often in communities where Muslims and Buddhists have lived peacefully for generations. In some cases, locals have said that outsiders came to instigate the unrest. Some observers have questioned whether the violence has been connected to a nationalist Buddhist movement known as 969 that encourages people to shun Muslim businesses. The post Brawl Leads to Anti-Muslim Riot in Rangoon's Outskirts appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| ‘This Is the First Time We Are Having a Serious Impact on State Schools’ Posted: 04 Apr 2014 09:03 PM PDT  Kevin Mackenzie, director of the British Council in Burma, speaks with The Irrawaddy at his office in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) The director and cultural attaché at the British Council in Burma, Kevin Mackenzie, sees an expanding role for Britain in helping revitalize the country's education sector. Mackenzie has been in the post for less than two years, but is no stranger to the region, having served in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, as well as stints in Europe, over the last 23 years. With the signing late last month of a Memorandum of Understanding between the British Council and Burma's Ministry of Education, the former hopes to put teachers into more than 20 educational institutions that train teachers in Burma, where they will provide English-language instruction. The Irrawaddy sat down with Mackenzie to discuss that plan, and more. Question: What is the purposed of the MoU signed between the British Council and the Ministry of Education? Answer: Ever since the new government took power and started changing the environment here—started to become more openly engaged with the British Council, the international community—we have wanted to define the areas where we will work with the government. The MoU that we have signed describes areas we have already started working at, but we wanted to be clear about those areas and how they contribute to reforms that the country is implementing. The MoU defines a list of areas where we want to work more and continue to work. Basically, they are around the teaching of English, supporting Myanmar teachers of English, supporting the Ministry of Education through its Comprehensive Education Sector Review [CESR], supporting other groups—the parliamentary committee on education, for example. We are advising on policy reform. We are supporting UK links. We are supporting the teaching of English and we are supporting the assessment of English and professional skills. Q: What are the details of the agreement laid out in the MoU? A: The agreement is basically that we can do all these things. We want to grow our activities in this country. In order to do that, we have to be able to employ teachers from overseas, and so we want to be sure that we can do that. We are asking that the government allow us to bring in overseas teachers to be able to teach in different parts of the country. Not only in Yangon, possibly Mandalay, Naypyidaw and other parts of the country. We want to be able to deliver more and more services and we want an agreement to be able to do that. So, the agreement is a really a quid pro quo—that we will do all of these things and support your education reform, but to do that we need to be able to grow our operation. Q: As I understand it, there is a project where you will employ two foreign English trainers in nearly all of the education institutions that train teachers in Burma? A: This is a key part of the MoU. It's called the English for Education College Trainers [EfECT]. This is a new project that we will start in September of this year. We will be bringing in up to 44 English-language teachers to put into the state education colleges—teacher training colleges that you find in many towns around Myanmar. The idea is that they will provide English-language trainings that the staff of the education colleges need. As you know, much teaching in Myanmar needs to be done through English. The staff who work at education colleges need to improve their English in order to be able to train teachers themselves. We are focusing on training those people—the staff of the education colleges, not the teachers who come through colleges. But it has multiplying effects in helping to train the teachers who come through those colleges as well. The funding will come from the British government, both from British Council ourselves and [UK] Department for International Development. There is going to be 4.2 million pounds [US$7.2 million] over two years. This is a significant investment and we believe it will have a very great impact on the quality of English teachers. And also the quality of education generally, because the teachers that we bring in will be bringing in new ideas, new methodology, new techniques for teaching. Q: Why did you set a two-year duration? A: We have to have a set time period. We believe two years is a good length of time for this type of activity. We are not committed to anything after those two years. It may continue, it may turn into something else, we don't know. We are starting in September 2014, and will continue until the same time in 2016. Q: What do you expect at the end of the two years? A: We expect that the trainers will improve their level of English by a significant amount. According to the common European framework, which is a framework for assessing levels of English, we expect that the teachers will move up by at least one level within the framework, which is quite a significant step—there are only five levels in the framework. We also hope that they will be exposed to and understand more communicative ways of teaching English, where they're involving students into a more learner-centered approach. This can be applied in the teaching of English and it can also be applied in teaching other subjects. Q: Has there been any program like this in the past? A: It is only with the arrival of the new government here that we have been able to work with the public education sector. Previously, we were working with the informal sector—monastic schools. We did not have a relationship with public schools. This is the first time we are having a proper, serious impact on the state schools, on the public sector. Q: What is your opinion of Burma's current system of language instruction? A: There is a lot of, from what I understand, rote learning and repeating what you have been taught rather than encouraging the students to think for themselves, to express themselves. I think that is typically, partly to do with tradition, and partly to do with a lack of exposure to more contemporary ideas about teachings. Q: What would you suggest for improvements to teachers? A: What I would suggest is what I always suggest: 'experiment,' that they open their minds to different ways of teachings, to ideas about learning. And they experiment and see what works. Q: How can Burma's education policy and laws give space to teachers to be more creative and open to new teaching styles? A: From my understanding of working with the government, there is interest in working with devolving autonomy to the right level. In my experience, if you want to devolve autonomy, the lowest it can go is the best way. What you want is for your teachers to have autonomy. Obviously, the teachers have to be well-informed; they have to be accountable to their schools for what they are doing. I think you have got to have freedom to make your own decisions in the classroom based on the students that you have encountered. The post 'This Is the First Time We Are Having a Serious Impact on State Schools' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| A Tip for Dealing With Burma’s Government Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:23 PM PDT When dealing with Burmese government officials, one tip is just as true today as it was during former military regime: Never underestimate their political manipulation. The international community, including Western and Asian countries, has eagerly welcomed Burma's transition from dictatorship toward democracy. But sooner or later, frustrations are bound to emerge as reforms roll out slowly and Naypyidaw appears at times to backtrack. To avoid disappointment, international actors need to take a realistic look at President Thein Sein's government and re-evaluate their policies. The early stages of the general turned president's reform process were quite impressive: Thein Sein released hundreds of political prisoners, allowed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other activists to contest by-elections in 2012, eased draconian censorship against the media, initiated economic changes by allowing foreign investment, granted the right of assembly to the people, and invited Burmese exiles from around the world to return home. In a significant acknowledgment of these positive developments, US President Barack Obama flew to Rangoon in 2012 to meet with Thein Sein and Suu Kyi. That year the United States eased economic sanctions against the Burma government and gave a green light for some American companies to work with Burmese state-owned businesses. Likewise, the European Union suspended and then eventually lifted its economic sanctions last year. Meanwhile, development funds flowed into the country, as many countries and organizations resume support after a long break. The United States has allocated more than US$180 million in aid, while the European Union provided a package of support worth $200 million for 2012-13. This year the World Bank promised to give Burma $2 billion in loans, aid and investment, while the United States and the European Union have started to engage with the Burmese armed forces.  Kyaw Zwa Moe is editor (English Edition) of Burma has attracted so much interest and new investment over the past three years. But international donors need to seriously ask themselves a question: Is the country still moving closer to democracy, even gradually, or have the reforms started to stall? It is important to be realistic and remember that Burma's government has a knack for packaging its agenda in various disguises. Since the military coup in 1962, the country's rulers have never been defeated or forced to fundamentally change their political system for the sake of their citizens. But to maintain their grip on power they have transformed their image from time to time—from a military regime to a socialist dictatorship, to another military regime and finally to the current nominally civilian government. Many foreign diplomats and observers continue to wonder why the former regime wanted to change out of the blue in 2010. But in fact, this reform process was envisioned by the generals as far back as the early 1990s, when the West was just beginning its sanctions. Thein Sein's presidency is the last phase of the junta's so-called "roadmap to democracy," which traces its roots back to 1992 when Snr-Gen Than Shwe became head of state and announced the government would hold a national convention. The roadmap, which became official in 2003, included seven steps, beginning with the organization of national conventions starting in 1993 to draft a constitution. The second step was a vague call to implement tasks for founding a democratic system. Third, the constitution was drafted by handpicked delegates, and it was passed in the rigged 2008 referendum, which was the fourth step. The 2010 election was the fifth step. Next came the convening of Parliament and the transfer of power to an "elected" government as the sixth and seventh steps. Why did the junta draw this roadmap? Simply to ensure that the armed forces would continue to play an important role in politics, and that military leaders would continue to hold onto power even under a new political system. It seems they succeeded. Today, high-ranking officials from the ex-junta control the government and the legislature, the armed forces fill up one-quarter of Parliament seats with appointed representatives, and Suu Kyi remains ineligible for the presidency due to an undemocratic clause in the Constitution. The economy and wealth of the country are still monopolized by the military and cronies, and human rights abuses are ongoing, with tens of thousands more refugees and internally displaced persons over the past three years. Real progress will require dialogue between the government and the main opposition groups, something which is not yet happening. The international community seems to believe that Thein Sein has engaged with Suu Kyi, but in reality, although the two leaders have met six times since 2011, substantive dialogue has never occurred. And despite frequent requests, Suu Kyi has not had an opportunity to meet for four-way talks with the president, the speaker of parliament, and the commander-in-chief of the military. So I ask again, is the current reform process moving forward? On March 26, Thein Sein said in a speech to lawmakers that the armed forces would keep a role in politics. And regarding constitutional reform, he said, "I would like to urge you to do it softly and gently, depending on the experience, long-sightedness and sincerity of all stakeholders involved." The next day, Burma's Armed Forces Day, the commander-in-chief of the military, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, said the Constitution was not written for only one party, organization or ethnic group, nor was it intended to benefit only the military, but was approved by 92.48 percent of the entire population. He said constitutional reform must proceed according to Article 436 of Chapter 12 in the Constitution, which gives the military an effective veto over amendments. Suu Kyi and other activists have demanded a change to this article and other undemocratic clauses. These two speeches indicated that the reform process that began in 2011 is no longer moving. They indicated that now is not the time to look back and praise the progress of three years ago. After months of backtracking, it is time for more concrete changes, including constitutional amendments. And if the country has lost its momentum on the path to democracy, it is time for donor countries to review their positions and put pressure on the Burmese government. The post A Tip for Dealing With Burma's Government appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (April 5, 2014) Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:13 PM PDT Lasting Peace Deal in Ethnic Conflicts is 'Key to Improved Investment' Continuing talks between the Naypyidaw government and Burma's various armed ethnic groups "indicate growing confidence in the peace process" but investment in resource-rich areas will be limited without a lasting agreement, said a business risks analysis. "Both the army and ethnic militias have supported their operations through illicit trade such as illegal jade, logging and opium cultivation along the borders of China, Thailand and Laos," said analysts Maplecroft of the UK. "Vested interests in these trades, on both sides of the conflict, are likely to harm the business environment, even if the conflict is resolved. In order to be durable, any future peace agreement will need to aptly address the elimination of illicit trade and the sharing of natural resources—with dedicated cooperation on both sides," said Maplecroft in its latest assessment on Burma. It said the national census now under way could raise ethnic tensions, and warned that Burma's economic system still "needs significant reform" if it is to cope with the influx of foreign investment and integrate into the world economy. "In particular, banking, telecommunications, and transportation infrastructure are in need of substantial upgrade." Sand Exports to Expand Singapore 'Damaging Burma's Coastline' Sand dredged from a river estuary in southeast Burma for sale to Singapore is causing environmental damage, a report said. The sand, dredged from the Dawei area in Tenasserim Division is used to expand land-short Singapore, which has grown in size by more than 20 percent due to in-filling construction work, reports said. But the dredging, which has been going on since 2011, is now causing landslides and river erosion in the Dawei River basin, said Eleven Media, quoting local member of Parliament Soe Htwe. Eleven Media also quoted the regional minister for transport and communications, Kyaw Hsan, saying that Myawaddy Trading Limited also has a contract to supply sand to Singapore from the Myeik and Kawthaung areas, also in Tenasserim. Myawaddy Trading is linked with the military-owned Myanmar Economic Holding Ltd. Several Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, have banned the export of sand to Singapore in recent years because of environmental damage caused by dredging in ecologically sensitive coastal areas. In a report several years ago criticizing Singapore's dredging work in Cambodia, the NGO Global Witness named the city state as one of the world's biggest sand importers and said demand for sand had "wreaked havoc on the region's coastlines." Burma Offers More 'Authentic' Experience for Tourists Burma is offering a "more genuine authentic culture" for foreign tourists than Thailand, a travel industry conference was told. Westerners planning holidays in Southeast Asia are now looking at countries other than Thailand, which has long been a favorite destination, the Association of Thai Travel Agents heard. "Currently, French tourists favor travel to [Burma], Laos and Sri Lanka as well as Vietnam because they believe they will see a more genuine authentic culture and travel products that reflect the people's way of life than we are presenting in Thailand," Tourist Authority of Thailand's Paris director Areerat Chunprapanusorn told the conference in Bangkok, the trade magazine TTR Weekly reported. "[Areerat's] comments reflect a growing concern that official promotions are geared to promoting imported brand shopping, mega shopping malls, extravagant spending on food and night club entertainment at the expense of presenting real Thai values," said TTR Weekly. UK Government Accused of Shelving Human Rights to Promote Businesses The British government is putting business in Burma by UK firms ahead of maintaining pressure on the Naypyidaw government to improve human rights, an NGO alleged. "Trade and investment are now the priority for the British government," said the Burma Campaign UK which has begun a poster campaign in Britain to illustrate what it says is a political U-turn by London. It said the government of Prime Minister David Cameron has "tended to downplay serious human rights abuses, or even ignore them altogether". "This appears in part to be in order to try to avoid criticism of the current soft engagement Burma policy, which is focused on building a closer relationship with the government of Burma in order to win more business contracts from the Burmese government," said campaign executive director Anna Roberts. The NGOs first poster criticizing London shows Cameron shaking hands with the Burmese president alongside the headline: "When visiting the UK, President Thein Sein said he would release all political prisoners by the end of 2013. He didn't." Burmese Workers in Mae Sot 'Paid Only Half of Thai Minimum Wage' Hundreds of Burmese workers at a garment factory in Mae Sot on the Thai border with Burma have been on strike to try to win the minimum legal wage, said human rights NGOs. The migrant workers, at a Thai-owned factory producing upmarket "Jack Wolfskin" German brand clothes, are in some cases receiving only half the minimum Thai daily wage of 300 baht (US$9). Workers identity documents are held by the company, Yuan Jun Garment Limited, 14-hour working days are enforced and compulsory deductions made from wages, said noted activist Andy Hall in an email to The Irrawaddy on behalf of Burmese and Thai NGOs. Separately, the rights group Finnwatch has accused a factory in Songkhla in southern Thailand co-owned by an Austria firm of numerous labor violations against migrant workers, including wages below the legal minimum and excessive hours with no rest break. Finnwatch, based in Helsinki, said the Siam Sempermed factory produces industrial gloves for Semperit, a leading hospital glove manufacturer and distributor. "Workers are packing gloves for up to 13 hours per day with only 30 minutes break and are facing numerous deductions from their salaries. This is unacceptable," said Finnwatch executive director Sonja Vartiala. The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (April 5, 2014) appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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