Wednesday, June 4, 2014

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Activists Face Violent Threats After Opposing Interfaith Marriage Bill

Posted: 04 Jun 2014 05:44 AM PDT

An activist's phone shows messages from an anonymous sender asking where the activist lives. (Photo courtesy of Khon Ja)

RANGOON — Burmese activists who publicly opposed a controversial interfaith marriage bill say they are receiving violent threats from anonymous callers.

At least four activists have been targeted by threats after listing their contact information in early May on a public statement backed by nearly 100 civil society groups that objected to the bill.

Since then, they have received anonymous phone calls and online messages threatening violence. One activist was forced to change her phone number after her original digits were posted on a Facebook page advertising prostitutes.

Another activist, Aung Myo Min, says he has been urged to stop fighting the interfaith marriage bill, which places restrictions on marriages between Buddhist women and men of any other faith.

"Some messages were like, 'You will regret it. Stop working for this issue. If you continue, don't blame others for the consequences,'" the director of Equality Myanmar told The Irrawaddy.

Khon Ja, a well-known women's rights activist from the Kachin Peace Network, said some anonymous callers have even used phone numbers from Thailand and Malaysia.

"They called saying, "If you dare come to Mandalay, you will be dead when we see you," she said, adding that she wondered if the Association to Protect Race and Religion, a radical monk-led group promoting the bill, knew about the threats.

Zin Mar Aung, founder of the Rainfall Gender Study Group,says she has received obscene messages on Viber, a phone application. She said one Viber group has been created with the name, "We will kill those who destroy the race."

May Sabe Phyu, senior coordinator of the Gender Equality Network, says she is reluctant to connect to the Internet on her phone due to negative messages. "Once I connect, lots of Viber messages come up instantly, with some asking to call so we can talk," she says.

Burmese civil society groups have grown increasingly concerned about the interfaith marriage bill, which is part of a package of four bills to protect race and religion. The other three bills would ban polygamy, enact population control measures and restrict religious conversion.

The interfaith marriage bill calls for Buddhist women to receive permission from parents and authorities before marrying a man of another faith, who would be forced to convert to Buddhism.

Opponents have criticized the bill as undemocratic and discriminatory. Some say it prevents women from making their own choices, while others believe it is intended specifically to prevent conversions to Islam.

Aung Myo Min of Equality Myanmar said he is taking precautions with his safety following the threats.

"If they are courageous, they need to tell us who they are and why they are doing this," he said of the callers. "It's like they are threatening us from the dark.

"Our aim is not to destroy or disrespect race and religion. We also want to protect these. But there are some aims and concepts [in the bill] that we can't accept."

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Burmese Nationalist Campaign to Call for Anti-Ooredoo Boycott

Posted: 04 Jun 2014 05:03 AM PDT

Ooredoo

The logo of telecommunications firm Ooredoo is seen at the company's head office in Doha, Qatar. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — A Burmese nationalist movement led by Buddhist monks is set to begin a campaign in calling for people to boycott Qatari mobile phone operator Ooredoo.

An abbot who supports the movement, U Parmaukha, told The Irrawaddy that a publicity campaign would begin in Rangoon on Saturday discouraging people from buying Ooredoo SIM cards, or even answering calls from phones using an Ooredoo SIM, because the company hails from a Muslim country.

U Parmaukha, from Magwe Kyaung Tike monastery in Rangoon, said a group called the Burmese Nationalist Youth will distribute pamphlets and CDs in the former capital with information about the boycott.

"The campaign is to protect the integrity of the Burmese nation and the religion because we doubt that we will have freedom when talking over their mobile network because the company is from an Islamic country," said U Parmaukha.

In support of the campaign, the abbot will open up his monastery for a press conference to launch it on Saturday. He added that similar campaigns against Ooredoo would soon be underway across the country.

Ooredoo—which is owned by the natural gas-rich Qatari government—is one of two foreign firms awarded the right to operate mobile phone services in Burma. The company said last month that it would make mobile phone and internet services available to 30 percent of the country sometime between the start of July and the end of September.

U Parmaukha said he was aware that the boycott would raise concerns about the environment for overseas businesses in Burma, which is currently seeing a massive influx of foreign investment, much of it in the nascent telecommunications sector.

"We are also concerned that the foreign investment would draw back, but we are worried that this Islamic company would threaten the integrity of the Burmese nation and the religion," said U Parmaukha.

"The government needs to think before giving permission to Islamic-related companies to run their business in the country, looking at it from A nationalistic point of view. For us, we prefer to give permission only to other companies, rather than Islamic ones."

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Craftsmen and Toymakers Struggle to Survive in Sagaing

Posted: 04 Jun 2014 04:29 AM PDT

crafts

A child looks at the papier marche toys for sale at the Kaung Mu Daw Pagoda stairway. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)

SAGAING, Mandalay Division — Sagaing, known as the cultural sister city of Mandalay, is a popular tourist destination in central Burma, where visitors can climb the famous Sagaing Hill and see traditional arts such pottery and papier mâché toys.

The top of Sagaing Hill offers scenic views of pagodas and monasteries, while those who prefer to wander the shady streets of the city below can observe the workings of earthen pot studios, silversmith workshops and other craft centers.

The city appears peaceful, thanks to the Buddhist religious buildings surrounding it, but the struggles of local residents, especially the craftsmen, remain largely hidden from tourists.

The main road to Kaung Mu Daw Pagoda is lined with earthen pots, ranging from containers for drinking water to flower pots. A rhythmic rolling sound from pottery wheels can be heard from one hut along the road, a manufacturing center famous for its "Sagaing Pot," which is said to have a cooling effect on water. Tourist cars are parked outside.

Inside, potters begin to make the earthen pots by stepping over a mud mixture to create smooth dough. Nearby, women are busy molding a semi-dried pot into proper shape, lining the inside with wet sand and creating patterns on the exterior. Once fully shaped, the pots will dry under the shade and will later be transferred to the oven for baking.

Despite the pots' renowned natural cooling power, these potters in Sagaing say they struggle to sell their wares at markets in big cities because shoppers are increasingly opting for refrigerators or electric water coolers. Some potters have given up their craft to make more money by opening grocery stores or looking for jobs as migrant workers abroad.

"We still receive orders from remote areas and small villages," says potter Khine Yin Mon. "But even so, we only earn between 800 kyats and 6,000 kyats ($0.80 to $6) during tourist season," says potter Khine Yin Mon. "Sometimes we depend on tips from tourists. There are no more than a dozen potters left in the city because so many have left the business."

Not far from the pottery hut, a small silversmith workshop sits behind a showroom. Inside, about 10 young men use small hammers to carve Buddhist mythical images onto a silver bowl. In another corner, two men sweat heavily as they mold raw silver near a fireplace.

"It will take about seven months because we need to create the details, and it will cost about 20 million kyats," said the chief silversmith, Min Naing, of the silver bowl.

With no modern machinery, the silversmiths in Sagaing create intricate jewelery, souvenirs and even decorative table lamps. The creations are labor intensive, but wealthy Burmese buyers are willing to pay a high cost for ornate silverware that can be showcased at special religious ceremonies and weddings.

The silverware shops are always busy with local and foreign tourists. But a shortage of skilled laborers is a challenge for the future of business.

"A skilled labourer earns 5,000 kyats per day at minimum, but it's really hard to find them these days because youngsters are less interested in this industry and more interested in working at a company or going abroad," Min Naing says.

"We don't know how long we will last. We have fewer local buyers because of the high cost and we are becoming more dependent on foreign buyers. We believe we can manage if we stick to traditional methods, but we don't know what will happen if eventually we can't find more skilled laborers. We hope that day never comes."

Meanwhile, papier mâché toymakers in town are facing too much foreign competition.

A traditional Burmese toy known as the Tumbling Kelly as well as animal figures are mainly produced in Sagaing, but the toy market has become increasingly dominated by imported plastic toys and stuffed animals.

"Children nowadays prefer foreign toys and rarely play with these paper toys. Only few parents, who refer to them as 'ancient Burmese toys,' buy them for their children," says Tin Myint Yee as she makes a Tumbling Kelly.

There are only about five or six papier mâché toymakers left in Sagaing, and many worry they will not be able to sustain their business throughout the year, as most orders are placed once annually for pagoda festivals at the end of Buddhist lent.

"Many traditional craftsmen have changed their profession. We were also hit by the poor market, but we've managed to stand up again, like the Tumbling Kelly," Tin Myint Yee says, referring to the rounded-toy with a woman's face painted on the front, with a flattened bottom to keep it standing.

"We also need to run a grocery store to survive, but we will continue this business, which we still love, even if there is no-one to buy our creations."

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Switch to Telenor by Ex-Ambassador to Burma Provokes Criticism in Norway

Posted: 04 Jun 2014 02:45 AM PDT

A view of the office building of Norwegian firm Telenor in central Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The recent appointment of Katja Nordgaard, Norway's former ambassador to Burma, to Executive Vice President at the Oslo-based telecommunications firm Telenor Group has come under scrutiny in the Norwegian media, with critics questioning whether she is using her public position to gain advantages for the private sector.

As ambassador to Burma, Thailand and Cambodia from 2010 to 2013, Nordgaard oversaw the normalization of relations with Burma's reformist government and helped secure deals between the government and Norwegian firms, including for the multinational company that that she will be joining in August.

Telenor won a hotly contested bid last year for a US$500 million license that will allow it to develop telecommunications infrastructure and operate mobile phone services in Burma for 15 years.

Telenor and Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs have said that the move by Nordgaard, who is currently Norway's ambassador to Thailand and Cambodia, does not violate any ethics policy.

However, Norway's major newspapers, Dagens Naeringsliv and Aftenposten, ran critical articles last week about her switch from diplomat to Telenor executive, saying that it blurred the line between Norway's public and private sector interests in Burma.

Audun Aagre, director of the Norwegian Burma Committee, told Dagens Naeringsliv, "Nordgaard has maintained good and close relations with Burmese authorities and has been one of their strongest defenders internationally.

"There can be little doubt that this is one of the reasons why Telenor is hiring her."

Halvor Leira, chair of the research group on foreign policy and diplomacy at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, told the paper, "I find this [move] a bit peculiar."

"When you are an ambassador, you represent Norway abroad. When you go from representing Norway's interests abroad to representing Telenor's interests abroad, you use the contacts that you have built up as a public person for private gain," Leira said.

Critics said Nordgaard's position as a supporter of President Thein Sein's government, and her subsequent move to a company that was granted Burmese government licenses, could damage Norway's reputation with the democratic opposition, ethnic groups and human rights activists.

Aagre said, "Our experience is that an increasing number of Burmese organizations are questioning Norway's strategy in Burma. It is important that Norwegian authorities distinguish clearly between the political goals of democracy and human rights, and the goals of Norwegian business.

"It would be sad if a mixing of roles were to undermine the trust that Norway has built up over 20 years" when it supported the democratic opposition, Aagre said.

"MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] can say whatever they want, but this is about reputation, about how this will be perceived in Myanmar—this is something that MFA cannot control," Leira said.

"Norway is a country which in recent years has gone from having a close relationship with the democracy movement to a close relationship with the authorities," said Camilla Buzzi, Norwegian Church Aid's country program manager in Burma. "Katja Nordgaard has had a key role in the normalization of the relationship between Norway and Myanmar and has opened doors for Norwegian businesses wanting to enter the country.

"This creates uncertainty about Norway's motivations in Myanmar," she said.

Norway has long supported Burma's democratic opposition and the ethnic minority refugees stranded on the Thai-Burma border. When it launched the $2 million Myanmar Peace Support Initiative in 2012, however, the project drew the ire of border-based civil society groups, who said it had failed to properly consult them and was closely aligned to the Burmese government's peace process objectives.

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Film Set for Premier on 60th Anniversary of Burma’s First Hijacking

Posted: 04 Jun 2014 02:38 AM PDT

Culture, arts, history, Yangon,

Maj. Saw Kyaw Aye, who led the 1954 plane hijacking on which the new film "With the Dawn: The First Hijack in Burma" is based. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — A new film based on Burma's first airplane hijacking will premier in Rangoon later this month, with the inaugural screening timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the real-life event.

The film, "With the Dawn: The First Hijack in Burma," tells the story of the June 25, 1954, hijack of a Rangoon-Sittwe flight by a team led by the Karen National Defense Organization's Maj. Saw Kyaw Aye.

The movie's director, Anthony, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that it will be screened for special guests and the press at the Thamada cinema in the former capital on the same date this month.

The film will then be screened elsewhere in Southeast Asia, but the Burmese public will have to wait until October for the film to go on general release in the country, he said.

"I plan to show this film in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, other Asean countries, before showing it in Burma," he said, explaining that Rangoon's cinema's already had a backlog of movies waiting to be shown on the limited number of screens.

Anthony said the film has a running time of about two-and-a-half hours. It includes animated scenes and is produced to international standards, he said, adding that production costs ran to nearly 300 million kyat, or about US$300,000.

"I tried my best shooting this film," he said.

Anthony said the film, which is in the Burmese-language, will include English subtitles for international theaters, and he expects it to find an audience, especially among migrant Burmese communities in the region.

"I'm going to contact with the international film market soon after the press showing on June 25," he said.

The hijacking that gives the film its subject—involving a Dakota airline with 14 passengers and four airline staff on board—ended when the plane landed in Arakan State's Gwa Township. The plane did not have enough fuel on board to make it to the Karen mountains, where the three hijackers had planned to use it to access a storied weapons cache left behind by the Japanese after World War II.

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Karen Rebel Leaders Meeting Burmese President, Army Chief in Naypyidaw

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 11:52 PM PDT

Karen

The Burmese government's chief peace negotiator Aung Min (left) chats with KNU chairman Gen. Mutu Say Poe in Hpa-an in 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Leaders of the Karen National Union (KNU) and its armed wing are this week meeting with Burmese President Thein Sein and the army's commander in chief in Naypyidaw, according to the ethnic group.

KNU Secretary Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win told The Irrawaddy that a delegation led by chairman Mutu Say Poe arrived in the capital Monday.

"The talks will include the current efforts around the nationwide ceasefire process, and how the KNU can contribute support for peace building," Kwe Htoo Win said.

The Karen National Liberation Army's chief, Gen. Johnny, is expected to meet with Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, his counterpart in the Burma Army. Similar meetings have been taking place regularly as the government attempts to cement a ceasefire agreement with all of the country's ethnic armed groups, but the two sides have not met since March 7.

"We have been busy with the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team working on the nationwide ceasefire draft and the regular meeting with the commander in chief was delayed this time," he said, adding that regular meetings were important for the peace process.

"We, both sides, exchange views, and more meetings create a platform for friendly and open discussions between us, who have responsibility for the stability and peace for the country."

The KNU chair is also accompanied by executive committee members such as Padoh Man Nyein Maung, Col. Saw Roger and Col. Htoo Htoo Lay.

The KNU and the government have been on good terms since signing a ceasefire agreement in Jan 2012. Mutu Say Poe and Min Aung Hlaing have met five times since 2013.

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Will Private-Public Partnerships Fly?

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 05:30 PM PDT

airports

An Air KBZ plane refuels at Yangon International Airport. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

YANGON — Myanmar's government is planning to offer up contracts to expand and operate some 39 regional airports in the country later this year, but some doubt whether the private sector will bring the help needed to update the country's crumbling smaller airstrips.

When a major aviation conference was held in Yangon in March, officials from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) told interested businesspeople that they have a plan—the details of which were sparse—that will return Myanmar to its once-proud place as a regional aviation hub.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is currently working on a "survey," which will feed into a government transport master plan, but a JICA spokesperson declined to go into detail about the plan. Japan last year initiated a US$12 million project to upgrade safety at the country's six biggest airports with new communications and navigation equipment.

But in terms of tangible policy, it is clear only that Myanmar will continue offering up parts of the sector in competitive tenders. According to the DCA, as the clouds disperse at the end of the current rainy season, the latest tender will go out asking for companies to invest in improving airports and operate them as public-private partnerships.

The airports include those serving growing tourist destinations, like Heho near Inle Lake, Nyaung-U at Bagan, and Thandwe near Ngapali beach, but also planned economic hubs like Kyaukphyu and Dawei.

The aim is to modernize and improve the safety record of the large network of airports as it deals with rising passenger numbers. That should facilitate business and tourist travel across Myanmar's vast distances, which would in theory help spread economic growth around.

Henrich Dahm, a Yangon-based analyst who specializes in the tourism sector, told The Irrawaddy that developing some of the regional airports was needed for the tourism industry to handle the increasing numbers of visitors wanting to see more than just the major cities.

It was only in 2012 that Myanmar surpassed 1 million tourists per year, but President U Thein Sein has predicted that the country could get 5 million foreign visitors next year.

"The development of regional airports is important to ease the overstretched tourism infrastructure and address the lack of airport capacity in Yangon," Mr. Dahm said.

"More tourists need to [be able to] fly directly to Bagan, Inle, Mandalay, Myeik, etc., to promote new destinations in the country."

The tender follows the awarding of deals to operate the Yangon International Airport and Mandalay's airport, given to a subsidiary of Myanmar-owned company Asia World and Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation, respectively.

The model of private operators taking over airports has had success elsewhere, and has been useful for governments short on capital who wish to expand their aviation infrastructure.

However, the private sector is not always willing to stump up all the cash for such projects, as the government has discovered with the tender to build a new airport serving Yangon. A new tender had to be issued for the Hanthawaddy airport project after South Korea's Incheon and the DCA could not agree on how it would be funded. The government eventually agreed to guarantee development loans for half of the project cost—estimated at between $1.4 and $1.5 billion.

In other sectors, the government has had considerable success bringing in private money to pay for upgrades in infrastructure.

Peter Brimble, the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) principal country specialist based in Yangon, said the tender for telecommunications licenses last year was widely seen as competitive and fair and secured promises of large upfront capital investment.

The ADB has just begun a program in the energy sector to help the government develop a robust tendering process to make sure future deals get the best outcome for Myanmar. "It's not just to go through the process of tendering, it's also to think about the national needs—whether that means using a public-private partnership or the government's own money or a partnership [with donors]," said Mr. Brimble.

The government's preferred choice, though, as demonstrated by the stumbling Hanthawaddy project, has been to ask private firms to take the entire hit, in exchange for rewards later as long-term operators.

"There's a tendency to try to raise funds however you can," Mr. Brimble said.

The DCA appears confident that there is enough private-sector interest, and the department's director general U Tin Naing Tun told The Irrawaddy in April that "many" companies had come forward to register their interest.

However, he said that much of that interest was from local firms, and it is unclear whether the investment necessary to revamp the domestic aviation market will be forthcoming.

A 2012 report by Business Monitor International, looking ahead to the development of Myanmar aviation, threw cold water on the idea that the sector offered attractive investment opportunities.

"We do not see a lot of financially viable opportunities in the construction and management of airports in Myanmar over the next decade," the report said.

Noting that Myanmar already has a large number of airports in operation—69 in total—the report warned that "even though Myanmar is keen on private investment…the rewards from this sector are very uncertain for the next decade and would depend on several long-term factors such as a general rise in incomes within Myanmar and the development of a vibrant tourism sector."

Economist and country specialist Sean Turnell said the airports at tourist destinations had potential, particularly considering the growth of low-cost carriers in the region, which could take advantage of "secondary" airports that are cheaper for airlines to fly into.

"Many others will not be attractive, though—too out of the way, no viable tourist traffic and no reservoir of middle-class travelers or business activity to sustain them," Mr. Turnell said.

"The sort of returns these airports could generate would not be sufficient for the relatively high capital outlays creating a modern airport would require.

"Of course, on top of the possibility of low and variable returns, you have that fundamental problem in Myanmar of the absence of secure property rights. Investing in an airport will be a long-term proposition, with all the insecurities such decision-making may involve," Mr. Turnell added.

Kyaw Hsu Mon contributed reporting. This article first appeared in the June 2014 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.

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‘The Violin Is More Than Just a Tool. It’s More Like My Voice’

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 05:00 PM PDT

violin

Burmese-born violinist San Win Htike plays during a trip to Rangoon. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burmese-born violinist San Win Htike has just completed his third year at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore. During a visit to his homeland in May this year, he gave a short recital of his adventures in music across China, Thailand and Singapore. In his performance, at the Legacy Music Academy in Rangoon, he showed off his skills, and his own ideas about music.

San Win Htike a.k.a Phong Phong started studying violin at the age of 5 in Ruili, on the Chinese side of the Yunnan-Shan State border. Aged 14, he enrolled in a young artists program at Yong Siew Toh. He has participated in festivals such as SAYOWE in Thailand and the Hong Kong New Music Festival in Hong Kong. He sometimes returns to Burma during the school holidays to raise people's interest in music through teaching and giving recitals in the Rangoon and Mandalay. During his recent visit, he sat down with The Irrawaddy to discuss his music, his inspiration and his instrument.

Question: What made you begin playing the violin?

Answer: I played it by accident. My mother found an advertisement that a teacher in Ruili would open a violin course. My mother went there and made enquiries. When I got home, I found a violin waiting for me! I had no idea about this tool, but I tried it. At first, I was still so young and I didn't know what I was doing. The tips of my fingers felt pain. But I found it fresh and new in the beginning. I was interested in it. With time, I felt unhappy doing it sometimes. But when I played some songs, I found it so interesting again.

Q: After you had succeeded in playing some difficult notes on the violin, did you feel you could apply the same kind of hard work to other problems?

A: Most of my friends would tell me: "It's impossible to play these songs at your level." But, for me, I had been practicing the songs without ever thinking of impossibilities. I simply practiced it. In my mind, if I try, I'll get it. If I repeat something again and again, I know I will master it. I never say to myself it is impossible to get something. If you say to yourself it is impossible, you will not get it.

Q: What is the most difficult part of playing the violin?

A: In my opinion, it's not that difficult to play the instrument. If you practice enough, you can play it. But the difficult part is: Why are you playing? You need to consider it, even though nobody asks you like that. If you play without thinking about what you are playing, it will look like a robot.

Q: At the moment, who is the most influential violinist for you?

A: In recent years, Bela Bartok is the one who influences me. He combined classical music theories and the themes from Hungarian folk songs and created his own music. I like his idea of creating something new, not deleting what's different.

Q: What is your relationship with your instrument?

A: I'd say we are partners. Sometimes, when I practice, when I cannot get something, I talk to the violin: "Why can't I get this?" "Why are you doing this to me?" Afterward, I'm sorry and I keep on practicing. After I get it, I feel sorry for blaming the violin. He's there to create songs for me. And the violin is more than just a tool, I think. It's more like my voice. I can't sing, but with the violin I can make something musical.

Q: In Burma, we have our own well-known violinists like U Tin Yi. How did you feel when you met him?

A: When I met with him about 10 years ago, he could still play and it was really fun playing with him. Everyday I'd go to his house and we'd play something together. And he started teaching me Burmese traditional folk songs and it was really enjoyable. But now…he's still healthy, but he's getting old. He cannot play as much as before.  He's really a good player. I enjoyed playing with him, 10 years ago.

Q: Do you have any intention to present Burmese traditional songs to a Western audience?

A: Yeah, someday when I'm really confident. I'm still learning.

Q: What's the best part about being a musician?

A: The best part is we don't have to wake up at 9 in the morning to go to work.

Q: What is the hardest part about being a musician?

A: Ha. We have no proper job.

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Wary China Keeps Close Watch as Tiananmen Anniversary Arrives

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 09:51 PM PDT

Tiananmen anniversary

Zhang Xianling, whose son Wang Nan was killed by soldiers at the Tiananmen Square in 1989, holds his picture after journalists were turned away, at the window of her home in Beijing, on April 24, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

BEIJING — Twenty-five years ago, Wang Nan took his camera and headed out to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where tens of thousands of people had gathered calling for democratic reforms. The 19-year-old told a friend he wanted to record history.

Before he left his home late on June 3, 1989, he asked his mother, "Do you think the troops would open fire?" She said she did not. Around three hours later, he was shot dead by soldiers.

As his 77-year-old mother, Zhang Xianling, prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of her son’s death, she is under around-the-clock surveillance by eight police and security officers.

Zhang said the level of scrutiny this year was unprecedented. As early as April, police officers barred foreign journalists, including Reuters reporters, from visiting her home.

"I find it ridiculous, I’m an old lady," Zhang told Reuters by telephone. "What can I say [to reporters]? I don’t know any state secrets. All I can talk about is the matter concerning my son. What is there to be afraid of?"

The Chinese Communist Party’s harshest crackdown on political dissent in recent years would suggest plenty.

As Wednesday’s big anniversary of the bloody repression of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square approached, authorities deployed hundreds of police, many armed with rifles, to patrol the area.

Rights group Amnesty International said at least 66 people have been detained in connection with the anniversary, and major Chinese internet sites censor references to the day on which hundreds, possibly thousands of unarmed civilians were killed.

For Zhang, whenever she wants to travel anywhere she is driven in a police car. Two police officers walk with her when she goes to the market.

In previous years, Zhang said she was usually guarded by three to five police officers who would appear outside her home a month before the anniversary.

Xi Takes hard Line

The extraordinary measures are explained by the fact that she is one of the co-founders of a group of families called the Tiananmen Mothers, who have long demanded justice for the victims of the massacre.

Ding Zilin, the other co-founder who was travelling in the eastern city of Wuxi, near Shanghai, was not allowed to return to Beijing, said Zhang and other rights activists.

"There is much empathy for them given they lost children in 1989," said William Nee, Amnesty International’s China researcher. "They are seen as credible and their continued fight for justice, especially given their age, has drawn much sympathy.

"The authorities are acutely aware of this and that is why we believe they are placed under such heavy surveillance this year."

Asked about the restrictions on the Tiananmen Mothers, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the legal rights of Chinese citizens are guaranteed, but every Chinese citizen must "consciously respect the country’s rules and laws."

Since Xi Jinping became president in March last year, his administration has taken a hard line on dissent, detaining and jailing activists, clamping down on Internet critics and tightening curbs on journalists in what rights groups call the worst suppression of free expression for several years.

Censors have scrubbed out references on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, to "May 35th," a substitute for the date of the Tiananmen crackdown.

Tencent Holdings Ltd’s microblog censors the characters for "willow silk," which sound similar to the words "six four," a Chinese way to say June 4.

Qihoo 360 Technology Co censors "VIIIIXVIIV," the Roman numerals for "8 9 6 4" or June 4, 1989.

"The government is concerned about what they call stability maintenance," said Andrew Nathan, a professor of political science who specializes in Chinese politics at Columbia University in New York.

Nathan said Chinese leaders are concerned about the so-called "Arab Spring" uprisings and revolutions in Ukraine, and want to prevent such open acts of rebellion against the state from taking hold in China.

"So their idea of preventing it is not to take the lid off and let people hash things out, but instead try to prevent anybody from raising any of these troubling issues," he said.

'We've Left the Battlefield'

After initially tolerating the student-led demonstrations in the spring of 1989, the Communist Party sent in troops to crush a rare display of public defiance.

The government has never released a death toll from the violence, but estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand.

Stunned by the government’s harsh response to the Tiananmen movement that officials have termed "counter-revolutionary," and tired of decades of turmoil under Communist rule, many Chinese people now balk at the idea of mass revolution.

Instead, they chase new opportunities offered by the country’s booming economic growth.

And while the authorities have moved swiftly to squash criticism of the one-party system, people are enjoying the kind of individual freedoms never accorded them before.

They can report on corrupt officials, sue the government for pollution and miscarriages of justice, and stage protests for labor and environmental rights.

The Chinese government has also loosened the one-child policy, allowing many urban couples to have two children.

It has been effective, too, in scrubbing out memories of the 1989 protests. Many young people, indoctrinated by years of "patriotic education," have no inkling of the movement.

Beijing has forced many of the student leaders into exile in the United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where they are effectively neutralized, being barred from the mainland.

"Once we leave China, we’ve left the battlefield," said Wu’er Kaixi, a leading figure in the pro-democracy movement who now lives in Taiwan. "We are no longer the main actors on the stage."

Wang Dan, who was one of the most visible leaders in the movement and is also in exile in Taiwan, said he was able to hold a "democracy salon"—an open forum for intellectuals to discuss political problems—at Peking University 25 years ago.

"Everyone knows that anyone who dares to do anything like that these days will be detained. This is a clear regression from where we were back then."

Michael Gold in Taipei and Ben Blanchard and Paul Carsten in Beijing contributed reporting.

The post Wary China Keeps Close Watch as Tiananmen Anniversary Arrives appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

4 Hawaii Farms Settle Thai Workers Suit for $2.4 Million

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 09:44 PM PDT

Thai workers in Hawaii

In this screenshot from a video by the anti-human-trafficking group 808HALT, migrant workers are shown tending crops in Hawaii. (Photo: 808HALT / Youtube)

HONOLULU — Four Hawaii farms are settling a discrimination lawsuit for a total of US$2.4 million over allegations that they exploited hundreds of Thai workers.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit in 2011 against California-based labor contractor Global Horizons and six Hawaii farms, with allegations including subjecting workers to discrimination, uninhabitable housing, insufficient food, inadequate wages and deportation threats.

Mac Farms of Hawaii will pay $1.6 million, Kelena Farms will pay $275,000, Captain Cook Coffee Co. will pay $100,000, and Kauai Coffee Co. will pay $425,000, according to settlement agreements made public on Tuesday.

A judge recently found Global Horizons liable for the discrimination and abuse of the workers.

Del Monte Fresh Produce Inc. settled for $1.2 million, the EEOC announced last year. Global Horizons and Maui Pineapple Co., the last farm that hasn’t settled, are scheduled to go to trial in November, said Anna Park, EEOC Los Angeles regional attorney, who traveled to Honolulu with other agency staff to announce the settlement details.

All of the $3.6 million in settlement funds will go directly to the workers, Park said, in a distribution process that involves determining who worked on the various farms, for how long and the severity of the abuse workers suffered.

Likhit Yoo-on and Khamjuan Namwichai told reporters through a translator Tuesday about how they were recruited in Thailand to do agricultural work in the United States with promises of earning enough money to support their families.

Their passports were taken away. Yoo-on said he had to sleep on the floor and was forced to harvest bananas even when sick. Manwichai said he lived in a bug-infested house where 26 workers shared one bathroom.

Among the allegations in the lawsuit is that 20 Mac Farms workers were living in a Naalehu house approved for only five people, which was cited because it "lacked a functioning toilet, toilet paper, and hot water and had a buckling kitchen floor."

The lawsuit also alleges Micronesian workers at Maui Pineapple were treated better than Thai workers, whose living conditions included portable toilets and five shower heads for 70 workers. The Thai workers were forbidden from using the Micronesian workers’ bathroom, the lawsuit states.

The contractor sought impoverished Thai nationals, who they stereotyped to be docile and compliant, Park said, and charged them fees ranging from $9,500 to $26,000. The overcrowded housing was often infested with bed bugs and some workers even resorted to making "primitive slingshots to catch chickens so they could eat," Park said.

Mordechai Orian, president and chief strategic officer of now-defunct Global Horizons, said by phone Tuesday that he doesn’t believe any of the allegations.

"We’re filing motions and everything to dismiss the case," he said. "It’s a baseless case."

The Hawaii farms that settled did so out of fear and for business reasons. "It’s a strategy of any businessman: If I’m making money, I’ll pay something and move on," Orian said. "It’s cheaper than paying lawyers."

Attorneys for the farms couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

The farms also agreed to various anti-discrimination measures, according to the consent decrees on the settlements.

The post 4 Hawaii Farms Settle Thai Workers Suit for $2.4 Million appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Malaysian PM Sues Online News Portal Malaysiakini

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 09:36 PM PDT

Malaysian media

Malaysian leader Najib Razak appears on the homepage of the Malaysiakini online news portal on June 4, 2014. (Photo: Malaysiakini)

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian leader Najib Razak is suing an independent online news portal for allegedly defaming him and his ruling Malay party.

The action against Malaysiakini is believed to be the first by a Malaysian prime minister against a media organization. Rights activists called it a threat to press freedom.

The news portal said on its website that it received legal papers on Tuesday accusing it of publishing readers’ comments that defamed Najib and damaged his image. The comments were critical of Najib and questioned alleged corruption in his party.

Malaysiakini editor Steven Gan said Najib was offered a chance to reply but refused.

"We will fight the suit vigorously," Gan said.

Najib lodged the suit after Malaysiakini, known for its criticism of the government, refused to apologize and retract the comments.

Last week, Najib said his action against the news portal was not part of a media crackdown to silence critics, and stressed "there is a difference between legitimate criticism and defamation." A court hearing has been set for June 18.

Malaysiakini, the country’s first online news portal, was formed in 1999 to offer "alternative news and views of Malaysia" in response to government control of the mass media.

Online media have since expanded and played a key role in helping the opposition make unprecedented gains in the last two general elections. The government earlier pledged not to censor the Internet.

Media rights group Reporters Without Borders earlier criticized Najib’s planned legal action, saying it was a threat to press freedom, and urged him to accept criticism.

Human Rights Watch also slammed Najib’s "heavy-handed efforts," saying they showed "a fundamental disregard for press freedom."

The post Malaysian PM Sues Online News Portal Malaysiakini appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.
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