The Irrawaddy Magazine

---

• Australian Universities Court Burmese Students
• Authorities Relax Mandalay Curfew
• Burmese Govt Reversed MSF Ban Because of ‘International Pressure’
• ‘Deeper Change Brings Deeper Resistance’
• Burma Pipeline Carries 1.87bln cm of Gas to China in First Year
• Three Escapees Shot Dead in Failed Kyauk Mae Jailbreak
• President’s Claim That Media Instigated Religious Violence Draws Ire
• ‘Global New Light of Myanmar’ to Launch in September
• ‘Time for an Energy Boost’
• Evicted
• India’s Modi Under Fire for Silence Over Religious Incidents
• Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers Arrive in Australia After Weeks Held at Sea
• Battered and Broke, Vietnam Fishermen Bear Brunt of China Row

Australian Universities Court Burmese Students Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:51 AM PDT Freshmen students attend a chemistry class in Yangon University in Rangoon on Dec. 5, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Higher education officials from Australia in the coming years hope to draw more Burmese students to study in their country, the world's third most popular international destination for college-goers, with the land down under holding its first education exhibition in Burma over the weekend. The Australian Education Exhibition was held at the Sule Shangri-La hotel in Rangoon on Sunday, with 23 leading universities and colleges from all parts of Australia taking part. The program included information seminars on Australia's education system, the country's student visa application process and the Australian government's Australia Awards scholarship program. Mark Wood, trade commissioner and counselor from the Australian Embassy in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy that Australia attracts almost 500,000 students from around the world every year, including around 500 students from Burma. "Compared to other countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, it is quite small at the moment. It's similar to Vietnam like 10 or 15 years ago. Vietnam is now Australia's fourth largest source of students. Thailand is sixth largest. Burma is about 46th," he said. He added that the reason Burma lagged many other countries in the region might be the financial costs associated with attending university abroad, as well as the difficult relations between Burma and Western countries in the past. "Burma is now emerging into the region and Australia is very keen to help with development of the Burmese education system," Wood said. He said the Australia government is providing scholarships, in addition to the various scholarships offered by the universities themselves. Canberra will grant scholarships to 40 Burmese students this year and 50 next year, according to the embassy official. "It's been a very positive response. A lot of people are coming to the exhibition, more than I expected. It's been young people who are just finishing high school or are in their final year of high school with their parents coming to ask us questions," Wood said. He said he expected the exhibition would increase awareness in Burma about Australia's education system, and would in turn offer Australian universities a chance to understand more about Burma. "We expect that in the next five or 10 years, the number Burmese students coming to Australia will increase to that same degree as Vietnam and Thailand," he said. Victoria Robinson, international manager from the University of Wollongong in Australia, said most students who visited to the exhibition were asking about studies in engineering, followed by business. "Generally students are interested to come to Australia but I think the hardest thing is money. That probably stops people," said C. Todd Palioca, vice president for Asia Pacific at the International College of Management in Sydney. Having recently passed his matriculation exam, Wai Yan agreed that finding a way to finance an education abroad was a primary concern for many Burmese, but the 18-year-old said he had nonetheless set his sights on school beyond Burma. "I want to study photography abroad. I finished the matriculation exam here and am now preparing to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam," said Wai Yan, who visited the exhibition. The post Australian Universities Court Burmese Students appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Authorities Relax Mandalay Curfew Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:31 AM PDT Riot police charge on 26th (B) Road of Mandalay in early July. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Mandalay Divisional Information Department announced that the curfew in the city will be shortened with one hour starting on Monday, and residents will be required to stay indoors from 10 pm to 3 am. Residents were previously ordered to stay inside from 9 pm to 3 am. During curfew hours, gatherings of five people or more are also prohibited. Burma's second-biggest city was hit by inter-communal violence early this month when Buddhists and Muslims clashed. A Buddhist man and a Muslim man were killed and 14 others were injured. Authorities deployed more than 1,000 armed policemen to restore calm in the city and on July 3, the third day of the violence, authorities declared a curfew a 9 pm to 5 am. The order has since been gradually relaxed. The post Authorities Relax Mandalay Curfew appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burmese Govt Reversed MSF Ban Because of ‘International Pressure’ Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:11 AM PDT A sign is seen outside a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic in a village in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, on June 6, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — A senior government official has reportedly told Arakanese community leaders that Burma's decision to allow Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to resume work in Arakan State was the result of significant pressure from the international community The government last week invited the medical NGO to return to the state in western Burma after it was forced to leave in February amid opposition to the group's presence from Arakanese Buddhist leaders, who believe MSF has shown bias in favor of Rohingya Muslims. Before it was expelled, the NGO was a major health care provider in Arakan State, where inter-communal violence since mid-2012 has killed dozens of people and displaced about 140,000, mostly from the stateless Rohingya minority. It is unclear on what terms MSF will return, but the move may spark opposition in the state, with a Twitter account linked to the President's Office claiming a statewide protest is being planned. President's Office Minister Soe Thein met with more than 100 local leaders in the state capital, Sittwe, on Sunday, allegedly admitting that international pressure had forced the government's hand. "He [Soe Thein] told us that in order to give favor to the international community, our government has to let MSF come back to Arakan," community leader Than Tun told The Irrawaddy. "They [the international community] put a lot of pressure on our government about this. This is why our government had to invite MSF back." Soe Thein told the community leaders he wanted to "apologize to the ethnic Arakanese people" for the government's decision, Than Tun said. Burma has been criticized for its handling of the situation in Arakan State by the UN and Western governments, which are providing significant development aid to the reformist government that took power in 2011. Prior to MSF's expulsion, the aid group said it had treated patients wounded in a massacre of Rohingya in Maungdaw Township's Du Chee Yar Tan village that the government said did not happen. Weeks later, riots broke out in Sittwe against other foreign aid organizations' offices and staff, and since then a panel involving Arakanese leaders, including Than Tun, has scrutinized applications to conduct humanitarian projects in Arakan State. Pe Than, a Lower House lawmaker for the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, said that the government should find a compromise with the ethnic Arakanese community before allowing MSF to return. "There will be no problem with our ethnic people if the government maintains that MSF must not act with bias when offering aid to refugees. Of course, our region needs help from MSF, but it's important that the government listens to the desires of our people," said Pe Than, adding that MSF, which has been accused of disproportionately hiring Muslims, must employ more Arakanese people. A delegation led by Soe Thein, which also included Immigration Minister Khin Yi and US Ambassador Derek Mitchell, met with Muslim leaders in Sittwe on Sunday. Aung Win, a Rohingya rights activist in Sittwe, said that discussions centered on an ongoing citizenship verification process, rather than the return of MSF to the state. When MSF left the region, the Ministry of Health said it would step up its delivery of medical services in Arakan State, but numerous reports suggest that many have been left without access to medical services. MSF issued a statement on Friday in which it welcomed the government's invitation to return to Arakan State. "MSF is cautiously optimistic about this development," said Marcel Langenbach, director of operations for MSF in Amsterdam in the statement. "Given that for many people in Rakhine access to medical services remains a major challenge, we hope that MSF can restart treating patients as soon as possible." The post Burmese Govt Reversed MSF Ban Because of 'International Pressure' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘Deeper Change Brings Deeper Resistance’ Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:00 AM PDT Tom Malinowski, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, recently made his first visit to Burma, leading a delegation of senior officials to Rangoon, Naypyidaw, and Mon and Karen states from June 22-28. Formerly the Washington director of the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), Malinowski has long concerned himself with the rights situation and democracy movement in Burma, and he visited the country several times before. The Irrawaddy's Editor-in-Chief Aung Zaw recently interviewed the assistant secretary of state via email and asked what he thinks of the democratic transition, the 2015 elections, human rights issues and the ongoing media clamp down, as well as US-Burma military-to-military engagement and the US sanctioning of "crony" businessmen. QUESTION: You were involved in Burma issues for many years and visited several times before working for HRW. Now you visited as a US official representing a government that is building its relations with Burma. How does it compare and what was your impression this time? ANSWER: My first trips to Burma were in 1986 and 1987; after the 88 uprising, I also made several visits to the border areas, meeting the students who had fled to the jungle after seeing their friends gunned down in Rangoon and Mandalay, and the rebel groups holding out against the army there. So I have some perspective. I know how Burma was under absolute military dictatorship, and how far it has traveled. I came to Burma to focus on the challenges of the present, and there are some very serious ones: The humanitarian crisis in [Arakan] State, the ongoing conflict in Kachin, the recent arrests of journalists, to name a few. But I also remember that virtually everyone I met who is now working for change—every activist, and journalist and parliamentarian—would have been considered a criminal just a few years ago. The freedom they have won is fragile and reversible, but it is real and must be fully secured. This progress is first and foremost the work of the people of Burma, who sacrificed a great deal to bring it about. But on every visit, I have always been struck by the special role the United States has played— and that the people of Burma expect us to play—in supporting change. As I see it, America's current strong ties with the nation of Burma were forged years ago, in the days of military dictatorship, when we stood with what was then a popular but powerless democracy movement, even though our short term interests might have argued for an accommodation with those who had power. Now, fortunately, we are able to forge closer ties with the government of Burma as well, because the government is increasingly representative of the people. Q: In 2013, while at HRW, you said that Burma "becoming a democracy" is very different from saying that it "has become" one. In recent months, there has been growing concern over backsliding on reforms as inter-communal tensions continue, while activists are still being jailed and the government began a media clampdown. Are you concerned that the "becoming a democracy" phase is looking more difficult than expected? A: The transition from absolute dictatorship to democracy has not proven more difficult than I personally expected. I expected it to be very hard. Burma has to transform its political and economic system, create a completely new mindset of governance, and build and support institutions, like an independent judiciary and free press, that haven't existed for decades. It is doing this as part of an evolutionary, not revolutionary, process, which means that the old power structures coexist with the new ones. Naturally, there have been and will continue to be forces that resist this change. US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski. (Photo: www.state.gov) I never thought that the release of political prisoners or holding of parliamentary elections made Burma an instant success story; by the same token, I don't view the current setbacks as a sign that reform has failed. As I see it, the easiest work has mostly been done, and now the country is beginning to confront deeper challenges: how to change the Constitution and redefine the role of the military; how to end decades of conflict between the Burmese military and ethnic armed groups; how to guarantee in law the human rights that have been promised in name, whether to journalists or activists or farmers on their land. Deeper change brings deeper resistance, and the outcome is not foreordained. Q: The US began cooperation with the Burma Army in 2013, and pledged to limit training to human rights, law of conflict and natural disaster training. But the military is still fighting with some ethnic armed groups and has a fragile ceasefire with others. These groups worry that US training will strengthen the military's hand in conflict areas. What is your response to those concerns? A: I met with representatives of the ethnic nationalities during my trip, and before that in Washington, and some are indeed wary about the US taking further steps to engage with the military, especially while fighting and human rights violations continue. I assured them that none of the engagement we have carried out, and none we might contemplate in the current circumstances, involves teaching skills that could be applied in combat situations. Our engagements and exchanges are designed exclusively to encourage respect for human rights and the rule of law and a full transition to civilian control of the military. Pursuant to our law and policy, we vet any potential training recipient, and would not train any military units for whom we have credible information of involvement in gross human rights violations in the past, unless the government is taking effective steps to bring those responsible to justice or has taken all necessary corrective steps. Meanwhile, our message is that militaries are stronger and more respected in their societies when they take on fewer responsibilities, focusing on national defense, not on politics or the economy. Q: Do you believe this cooperation will contribute to a better, more respectable and professional Burmese military in the near future? Or is this just wishful thinking? A: Our goals and expectations are modest. In 2013 and 2014, our Department of Defense conducted three introductory exchanges with Burmese military officials, judge advocate officers, and professional development staff. Those exchanges focused on human rights law and the law of armed conflict.  We have also offered short exchanges with a Department of Defense academic institute that offers workshops on issues such as rule of law and international law norms. A much deeper military to military relationship is possible—in fact I would very much like to see it—but only if the conflict and serious human rights abuses end, and we see a demonstrated commitment to reform within a democratic system. Until then, we have sought dialogue to get to know each other better. The goal of these limited engagements is also to introduce new ideas into the Burmese military about the qualities of a professional military from an American perspective. We believe that soldier-to-soldier conversations like this can have some impact on the thinking of the younger officers who will become the leaders of the military five or ten years from now, and thus promote future change.… But the key determinant of the future of Burma's military will be the decisions its own leadership makes over the next few years. Q: Since 2012, inter-communal violence has been growing in Burma, with a rise in extremist Buddhists targeting Muslims. Many people believe that the attacks are organized and connected to domestic politics. While in Burma, how often did you raise this issue with the stakeholders, monks, ordinary people and activists that you met? A: I raised this issue in virtually every meeting I had—with leaders from the Buddhist, Muslim and Christian communities in [Moulmein], with activists in Rangoon who have received death threats for speaking out against restrictions on women's rights and religious freedoms, and with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and senior government and military officials in Naypyidaw. The exploitation of religious and racial differences for political ends is dangerous for democracy and, as we have repeatedly seen, threatens lives. Whoever is behind the hate speech and violence, the effect—and possible intent—could be to turn the 2015 election into a referendum on religious and racial identity rather than democracy. President Thein Sein spoke out strongly against these self-interested calls to violence. He called the events in Mandalay "the deliberate acts of a group or organization" and pledged to take "swift legal action against those participating in and promoting violence." Burma's friends, who want the country and its transition to succeed, hope that its people and political leaders will rally around this message and act on it. This will require rejecting divisive legislation that restricts the ability to convert to another religion. It will also require implementing the government's [Arakan] State Action plan, facilitating unimpeded humanitarian access, fully restoring humanitarian services, especially health services to all those in need in the state as the government has now promised, and reintegrating displaced Rohingya and other Muslims back into their communities. Q: What was your overall impression of government officials who you met on this visit, are they willing to reform? A: In all my meetings with government and military officials we were able to discuss every issue, no matter how sensitive, openly and honestly. Even where we disagreed I felt that our conversations were constructive. Q: What was the key message you received from activists and ethnic groups and women's groups when you met them? Do you feel that the country has hope because these people and former political prisoners are still active? A: Absolutely—I agree that Burma has hope exactly because it is now benefiting from the talent and energy of people who were silenced, imprisoned or exiled in the past. The specific topics they raised varied depending on the group—from the need for legal reforms, to the peace process, to the dangers of damming Burma's rivers. Land confiscations came up in almost every meeting—unless the government begins to tackle this problem, I fear it will drive social unrest as Burma opens its economy. Overall, groups expressed a combination of cautious hope and healthy skepticism, and asked the United States to keep supporting them and encouraging their government further along the path of reform. Q: You also met the Chairman of the Union Election Commission Tin Aye (a former junta general). His commission is trying to impose strict rules and regulations ahead of the 2015 election, and there are concerns it may try to prevent the opposition party (NLD) and ethnic parties from winning a majority. What was your message to him on this issue? A: I told the UEC Chairman that next year's vote will be the most watched event in the country's modern history. I also expressed concern about regulations that restrict campaigning, and continued arrests of journalists and peaceful demonstrators. The United States will support a transparent, inclusive and credible electoral process that reflects the will of Burma's people. Our interest in that process starts now, and will run not just until election day, but as votes are tabulated, results finalized and a new government takes over in March 2016. Q: What will the US do if the government decides to postpone the election, or when it is not free and fair? What tools does US government have to prevent that from happening, would it reinstate sanctions? A: As we've made clear, the US relationship with Burma can move forward, as we hope, or backward, depending on what happens in the country. But the expectations of the Burmese people are the best guarantee that the elections proceed next year in a credible, transparent way. Q:  You spent a day in Rangoon meeting with several US blacklisted Burmese businessmen. The meetings laid out guidelines that could lead to their removal from the Specially Designated Nationals list. What sort of changes do they need implement to be removed from the list? A: We offered meetings with all members of the Burmese business community currently on the U.S. Specially Designated National (SDN) List – the so-called "cronies"—and many of them accepted. We explained that removal from the SDN list is an administrative—not a political—process managed by the United States Treasury Department in which petitioners must submit proof of fundamental behavior change. We want SDNs to change their behavior and not stand in the way of Burma's transition. We will look to see SDNs sever business ties with the military, respect human rights, including by avoiding involvement in land seizures, and respect civilian rule. One good way to demonstrate these things would be to conduct a credible, independent audit of all business holdings, plus a credible, independent social and environmental impact assessment of their operations. We also made clear that donations to charity, while welcome, would not be taken into consideration—for this purpose, what's important is not how they spend their money but how they make their money. Q: In recent months, the government has increased threats and arrests of journalists, and the president has spoken out strongly against the media. Are you concerned about a rolling back on media freedom? A: Yes, we are very concerned about the recent prosecutions of journalists. Burma has made huge progress in building respect for a free media, and it would be a great setback for the country if that progress were reversed. We also recognize that there is a lot of irresponsible journalism in Burma, which is not surprising in such a new media environment. But democracies don't address that problem by arresting journalists; they do so by establishing a code and culture of journalistic ethics. We hope that the government will resolve these recent cases as it has others when people were arrested for non-violent expression, and that the laws under which journalists have been prosecuted will be reformed. Q: There are some international analysts who have argued that the oppressed Burmese people need to patient, and that managing people's expectations is one of the most important things during the democratic transition. What do you think of this position? A: The proponents of democracy in Burma didn't risk their lives, or spend 20 years in prison or exile, only to be told to lower their standards—to settle for 'good enough.' My own expectations are tempered by a sense of how far Burma has had to travel just to get to this point, and how hard it is for any country to build a democratic, rule of law state. But that must and will remain the goal of Burma's friends in the international community. We should see the high expectations of the people of Burma as an asset, a motivator, and driver of change—not the problem. The post 'Deeper Change Brings Deeper Resistance' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma Pipeline Carries 1.87bln cm of Gas to China in First Year Posted: 28 Jul 2014 01:50 AM PDT The Chinese-backed Shwe gas pipeline is seen in Arakan State. (Photo: Ko Soe / The Irrawaddy) BEIJING — China imported 1.87 billion cubic meters of gas through the China-Burma gas pipeline in its first year of operation, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said on Monday, as the pipeline slowly ramps up to full capacity. The multibillion-dollar gas pipeline stretches over 2,400 km (1,500 miles) from the Indian Ocean through Burma to the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, allowing China to bypass the Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The pipeline should be able to carry up to 12 billion cubic meters of gas a year at full capacity, while a parallel oil pipeline due to come online later this year will carry up to 440,000 barrels of oil a day. The gas pipeline brings gas to China from the Shwe fields off the coast of Burma's western Arakan State. CNPC, which owns the pipelines, said in a statement posted on its website that the gas pipeline also supplied 60 million cubic meters of gas to Burma. Burmese officials have said previously that it would take about a year to fill the pipeline to full capacity. In June, Burma announced revenues of $3.3 billion from gas exports in the last fiscal year, down from the previous two years, due to increased domestic needs. Revenues are expected to grow as exports to China through the pipeline increase. The post Burma Pipeline Carries 1.87bln cm of Gas to China in First Year appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Three Escapees Shot Dead in Failed Kyauk Mae Jailbreak Posted: 28 Jul 2014 12:31 AM PDT Three people were shot dead in a failed jailbreak in northern Shan State. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Three people were shot dead and at least five police were injured on Saturday when detainees at a police station in Kyauk Mae, northern Shan State, attempted to escape, according to a local source. A person who lives close to Kyuak Mae police station told The Irrawaddy that detainees faked a fight in the detention room, and then attacked police officers who came to break up the altercation. "It was at about 7pm. They attacked the police and the police first fired warning shots," said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They tried to escape and three detainees were shot dead. Later, seven detainees who tried to escape were apprehended, and the police charged them with hurting the police officers and trying to escape from detention." According to the source, the chief of the police station was seriously injured and receiving treatment at Mandalay General Hospital. Among those detained were about 10 people who were apprehended in recent weeks for drug offences, the source said. The post Three Escapees Shot Dead in Failed Kyauk Mae Jailbreak appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

President’s Claim That Media Instigated Religious Violence Draws Ire Posted: 27 Jul 2014 11:35 PM PDT A crowd gathers at the corner of 27th and 82nd roads in Mandalay during a clash between Buddhist and Muslim communities in early July. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Members of the Burmese media have rejected a message from President Thein Sein to Parliament on Friday, in which he claimed that local and international journalists share blame for outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence that have marred Burma's democratic transition. Last week, Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann asked the president questions about concerns over a deterioration of Burma's media climate, and urged him to defuse growing tensions between the government and local media. The tensions follow an increase in threats and arrests of journalists by authorities in recent months. At least seven journalists at the now-defunct Bi Mon Te Nay journal were arrested in the past weeks, while four journalists and the CEO of the closed down Unity journal were sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment with hard labor for a report on an alleged chemical weapons factory. Special Branch Police have also launched vaguely defined investigations into the finances of numerous media outlets and questioned many editors. In his reply to the speaker, Thein Sein questioned the role of media in Burma and said it had contributed to inter-communal violence that has recurrently erupted across the country in the past two years. During the most recent outbreak in early July, Burma's second biggest city Mandalay was rocked anti-Muslim violence that left two people dead and 14 injured. "Improper, wedge-driving, unethical and instigating reports by some local and foreign media have resulted in mutual violence, killing and arson between two communities, and have tarnished the image [of Burma] on an international stage," the president said. "People want their press free but at the same time they want responsible, accountable and dignified reporting from the media, too," he added. Thein Sein maintained the government had nothing to do with the trial against the Unity journal reporters. A lawyer of the convicted men has said that it was the President's Office that brought forth a complaint that led to their sentencing over trespassing and violating the State Secrets Act. Violence erupted in Mandalay after unconfirmed allegations were circulated on social media claiming that a Muslim tea shop owner had raped a Buddhist maid, a type of allegation that has often appeared ahead of an outbreak of anti-Muslim violence. Local authorities said at the time that they were holding two suspects in the rape case, but three weeks after violence had abated they announced that the accusations were false. The Irrawaddy contacted Zaw Htay, director of the President's Office asking for further explanation of Thein Sein's remarks about the media, but he was unable to add any comments. "You can just read the message. For the time being, that's all I can say," he said. Members of the Burmese media said Thein Sein's opinion on the media was misguided and that he should recognize its constructive role. "I don't want [the government to say] things like the media are instigating unrest and being irresponsible," said Thiha Saw, member of the interim Myanmar Press Council. "The government needs to see things differently; it is journalists who are providing the public with information. I want the government to see that we, journalists, are serving the people." He said the government seemingly fails to distinguish between mainstream objective news reporting and social media networks, such as Facebook which have become widely popular in Burma. "Which [media] does the government refer to when it says some local and foreign media [are to blame]? Just name them exactly," said Kyaw Min Swe, secretary of the interim Myanmar Press Council, while speaking at a media forum in Rangoon on the weekend. "The president's words that conflict and violence are caused by media are simply provocative," he added. Phoe Thuakkyar, vice-chairman of the council, told the forum that the government was actively shrinking the space for independent media after a two year period of relative freedom, which followed the lifting of military regime-era media restrictions under Thein Sein's nominally civilian government. Last week, Shwe Mann said some Burmese media were eager to aggressively report after media restrictions were lifted, but were inexperienced and had sometimes made mistakes. He said Parliament and government should exercise patience and maintain good relations with the media in order to aid the reform process. The post President's Claim That Media Instigated Religious Violence Draws Ire appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘Global New Light of Myanmar’ to Launch in September Posted: 27 Jul 2014 10:15 PM PDT The New Light of Myanmar's English and Burmese-language editions. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's state-run English-language daily newspaper will from September be renamed and relaunched as a joint venture with a private company, the newspaper reported Sunday. Little-known Burmese firm Global Direct Link won a 2013 tender to take a 49 percent stake in the New Light of Myanmar—alongside the majority owner, the Ministry of Information's News and Periodicals Enterprise—and transform it from government mouthpiece to a semi-independent media outlet. Staff from Japan's Kyodo news agency have been brought in to train employees at the paper, which will be renamed the Global New Light of Myanmar from Sept. 1, the report said. The newspaper reported that an opening ceremony on Saturday for a new printing press in Rangoon was overseen by Information Minister Aung Kyi and Rangoon Division's chief minister, Myint Swe. "Converting the state-run newspaper into a daily run by a joint-venture is the first such experience for the government and can be considered as a profound change in essence during the period of transition to democracy," Aung Kyi was quoted saying. "The move is aimed at transforming the state-run English-language paper into a free and public-centered media as part of efforts to reform the media landscape." The new printing press is worth US$3.45 million and can print 70,000 copies per hour of a 48-page tabloid or a 24-page broadsheet, the report said. Previous announcements said the new-look New Light of Myanmar would be enlarged from tabloid to broadsheet. The post 'Global New Light of Myanmar' to Launch in September appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘Time for an Energy Boost’ Posted: 27 Jul 2014 06:00 PM PDT The government should encourage local players in the booming energy sector, says U Ken Tun of Parami. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) The Parami Energy Group of Companies is a leading local provider of services to oil and gas companies operating in Myanmar; but, as CEO U Pyae Wa Tun (who is also known as U Ken Tun) is quick to point out, local firms account for a mere 5 percent of investment in the country's crucial energy sector. This needs to change, he says, because it is costing the government much-needed tax revenue. As he tells The Irrawaddy's Kyaw Hsu Mon, Myanmar needs to implement policies that will make it less dependent on foreign companies and put development of its energy sector on a more sustainable course. Question: What are the major operations of the Parami Energy Group of Companies? Answer: We provide services to foreign oil and gas exploration companies such as Daewoo, PTTEP, Petronas and Total, which in recent years have invested a total of at least US$300 million a year in Myanmar. Q: How many local firms are working in the energy sector? A: There are around 20 registered companies, [but only 10 are really active]. What I've seen, however, is that most only provide transportation and catering services. This really bothers me, because Myanmar has been in this business for a very long time. This country has the oldest continuously producing oilfield in the world [Yenangyaung in Magway Region], which has been in operation since the 18th century. I always mention this long history to our foreign partners, because they think Myanmar is technically deficient and has many restrictions for foreigners. In fact, compared to many other countries, it is relatively easy for foreign companies to work here. As long as they abide by the rules of their partnership with the [state-run] Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise [MOGE], they are free to take their profits out of the country if they discover oil or gas. As you may know, MOGE discovered the Yadana offshore field, but handed over operations to Total because it didn't have the money to develop the field itself. This [lack of capital] is why foreign companies control 95 percent of Myanmar's energy sector. Q: Why can't local companies get a larger share of the sector? A: We could if we worked together more closely with the foreign companies. They could share their technology and we could provide our local knowledge. That's how we [Parami] have survived in this sector. In 2012, foreign energy companies spent $1 billion in Myanmar, and as more enter the country, that is expected to rise to $5-6 billion a year in the near future. Myanmar's GDP is around $60 billion, so that means 10 percent of GDP will be from foreign investment in the energy sector alone. Q: Are you saying that foreign companies exert an inordinate influence over the economy? A: Yes, because local firms are so weak. It's the same in the telecoms sector, where two big foreign telecoms companies have been given licenses to operate in Myanmar. In the energy sector, foreign companies are not just doing exploration and production, but also providing services. There should be a policy to prevent foreign companies from harming local companies that provide services in this sector. That is the government's responsibility. In Malaysia, for example, the government told foreign companies that they have to work with local firms and share their knowledge and technology with them. The government needs to have a sustainable energy policy, and must ensure that there is more of a win-win situation for local and foreign investors. Q: Should the government favor local companies? A: It has to be win-win. The policies have to benefit both the local companies and the foreign companies—and the local society, too. If only local companies benefit, they will be accused of being cronies; if only the foreign companies benefit, it will be hard for local companies to provide jobs to local people. Q: Who are your major foreign competitors? A: There are four big companies in the oilfield services sector—Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Schlumberger and Weatherford. Then there are also regional players. Drilling an oil well typically involves the services of about 40 companies, providing everything from catering and lodging to equipment and ship rentals. Q: Have you tried to produce oil or gas yourself, together with the MOGE? A: We're working on some onshore blocks in Hinthada Township [in Ayeyarwady Region] with an Indian company now. The Indian company has a 77.5 percent share, and we're investing the other 22.5 percent. They're the main operator, and we're working with them. Q: Do you think local energy firms will be able to survive if, as you say, their share of investment in the sector is just 5 percent? A: I don't think it will hurt local companies if they don't get a larger share. Even now, they can make $50 million a year, at 5 percent of $1 billion. If that increases to $5 billion, they'll get $250 million. But if their share doesn't increase, the biggest loser will be the country. The more we [local companies] make, the more we pay in taxes. If we could eventually get 30-40 percent of the market, the government would earn a lot more in taxes. That's why the government should promote more local involvement in the energy sector through better policies. This article first appeared in the July 2014 print edition of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post 'Time for an Energy Boost' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Evicted Posted: 27 Jul 2014 05:30 PM PDT Children going to school at the Aung Theikhti Monastery. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) KYAUK KHET, Myawaddy Township and THAMEEGALAY, Hlegu Township — Surrounded by green fertile highlands and with a clear flowing river running through it, Kyauk Khet is a quiet village of two parts. In the older section one recent morning, I found a placid scene. Children were playing on the pathway as mothers cooked breakfast. There were a few small grocery shops and a small clinic for basic medicines. Carpenters were gathering tools to start a day's work on new school buildings. It feels quiet and remote here on the eastern border, but if you walk across the Moei River—which you can do, if you don't mind getting wet to your thighs—you will find yourself in Mae Ku, Thailand, a small town with electricity, better shopping options, and a decent road that can take you to the bustling border trading hub of Mae Sot in around two hours. But on the day I visited, it was the new section of Kyauk Khet that I wanted to see. Perched on a hill, it consisted of a scattering of freshly built houses made of bamboo, wood and woven leaves. In one of these homes, I found Ma Yamin Aye, a slight woman of 34, in the company of a few monks and elders, and keen to talk. Recently widowed, Ma Yamin Aye was commemorating the death of her husband with a small donation ceremony. She told me that when the former soldier in Myanmar's armed forces died nine months earlier, she thought her life couldn't get any worse. But she soon learned that there were other misfortunes in store for her—events that would push the mother of four young children from the center of the country to this strange and remote place in the borderlands, far from anything she has known. Day of Destruction Fate came knocking at 4 am on Feb. 4, when voices over loudspeakers boomed out in the darkness, ordering the sleepy villagers of Thameegalay to evacuate their homes. Thameegalay was one of a cluster of targeted villages built near a small dam in Hlegu Township, Yangon Region, about 60 miles from the commercial capital and less than 30 miles from Bago. It was a simple village, a few decades old, with houses scattered on flatlands on the edge of the Bago Yoma mountain range. But times were getting better. There was daily work harvesting seasonal crops such as watermelon and planting and weeding in nearby rubber plantations. An improved local road between Hlegu and Taikkyi Township to the north had brought more business and trade. Thameegalay was starting to become a fairly decent place to live. Shaken out of her sleep by the loudspeakers, Ma Yamin Aye had barely enough time to grab her children, her ID documents, and her husband's army badges before the demolition began. She tried to use what she thought of as her connections to save the house she had just finished building 20 days before with 1,700,000 kyat from her husband's pension, of which 380,000 kyat she had paid for the land alone. After all, hers was an army family. "We were living in soldiers' quarters when my husband was alive," she said, adding that she used to serve the wives of some of the commanders. "I got down and held the knees of the men coming to destroy the house. I begged them. I asked them why they were doing this and gave them my husband's name and the phone number of an army chief to call. They just said, 'Don't question us. You don't have the right to ask us to do anything,'" she recalled. "They had no sympathy. They just told me to get out." Outside, the sound of machines tearing down homes and buildings was becoming overwhelming. In all, about 2,000 men came in cars, trucks, buses and bulldozers to raze Thameegalay and five neighboring villages that day. They included hundreds of uniformed soldiers, police and hired hands wielding sticks. "We were told to sit down and not ask any questions or we'd go to prison for three months. If we took up a weapon, we'd get three years," said another evicted villager now living in Kyauk Khet. It took just a few hours for the group to destroy every house, big or small, in the six communities. Villagers had to grab what they could and scatter as their homes, belongings and even animals were destroyed. Suddenly 500 people were homeless. Ma Yamin Aye was in shock. Sickened, she realized she had been tricked. When she bought the land for the house, the dealer told her she should build it as soon as possible. At the time she hadn't asked why, but now she knew. He must have known what was coming. Later, it came to light that a series of eviction letters had been sent to the local authorities. A sign had gone up in at least one of the six villages, stating it was on military-owned land. But villagers insisted they had never been told of any eviction plan. Confusion In the confusion, people did not know what to do or where to go. They scattered, some running to hide in nearby bamboo forests, others walking to nearby villages, and some heading further away. Ma Nilar Win, 30, was in a group that tried to hide in a bamboo forest. "But in the afternoon, those who destroyed our village came our way and we had to move again." Around 90 households decided to seek sanctuary in nearby Aung Theikhti Monastery, about half an hour's walk from Thameegalay. Sayadaw U Agga Dhamma, 34, has been a strong supporter of education for the area's children since he moved to the monastery eight years ago. In 2006, he and other monks began teaching local children with the permission of Bago's leading monastic school and support from civil society groups. The monastery is modest, made of wood and rough-surfaced concrete and nestled among cashew, padauk and rubber trees in a pleasant spot beside the small Alaini dam. The school classrooms are made of concrete, with open doors and windows. On the day the villages were destroyed, the abbot ended up taking some children back to the monastery. When families also started coming to seek sanctuary, he found himself in a difficult position with 200 people to help. "I had just 7,000 kyat and a standard bag of rice, not nearly enough. But I could let them make a temporary shelter here," he said. As the news spread, donations came in from Yangon and other places. Nearby villages helped to provide the displaced with food. But right away, the authorities started pressuring Sayadaw U Agga Dhamma to stop sheltering the villagers. On Feb. 5, a letter came from the Bago Region Irrigation Department telling him he couldn't allow the villagers to stay. After some negotiation, it was agreed that the families would move after their children's exams were over in early March. Offers of Help Despite this temporary reprieve, the villagers were still under pressure to find a new place to live. By this time, however, their plight was getting some attention, including from the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a border-based ethnic Kayin armed group that said the villagers could resettle in their territory. DKBA leader Col. San Aung insisted that his offer was a "humanitarian act" to help the homeless. "Without a home, a person cannot live. I could not ignore their suffering, which is why I'm trying to help as much as I can," he said. As desperate as they were, however, most of the villagers were reluctant to consider moving to such a remote and potentially unstable area. Then, nearly two weeks after their eviction, another offer of help suddenly came from a very different quarter: Hlegu Township MP U Hla Than, from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, told them there was free land available for them in Wayagone, a village some 12 miles (19 km) away. Many decided to accept. But when they arrived in the village on March 24, they found there was no land for farming, no access to clean water, and a demand to sign a document full of rules they would have to follow. It wasn't what they had been promised. "We couldn't accept it. We went back to the monastery the next day," said Ma Nilar Win. Now more at a loss than ever, the villagers decided to ask Sayadaw U Agga Dhamma to contact DKBA leader Col. San Aung to accept his earlier offer. After he had gone to the armed group's territory to see if the proposed site was suitable and decided that it was, the monk agreed. "I could no longer assist them here," said the monk, who on April 1 had received a mysterious letter—claiming to be from the Bago District government, but lacking an official seal—warning him that his monastery would have to be closed because it was too close to the Alaini dam. Absurd Odyssey After nearly two months of uncertainty, suddenly it was settled. They were going to the unknown on Myanmar's border with Thailand. On April 2, around 200 people from 87 households set out on trucks with the DKBA. Some left their children behind to board at the monastery school, but about 50 children made the journey. Most families had just a few belongings they had managed to save, like clothes and blankets. Soon there was a hitch, when the authorities stopped the ragtag group near Thaton town, at a bridge on the Donthami River, which separates Mon and Kayin states. After failing to get permission to cross, they decided to spend the night in Kyaikmaraw, a town in Mon State. The next day there were negotiations. The press was there, and it was starting to look like a farce. Even the villagers were starting to see the lighter side of their plight. "We thought we would have to go back again. We were amused, entertaining ourselves with the hopes that maybe the government would arrange someplace for us," said Ma Nilar Win, laughing. In the end, the group managed to reach its destination—but not before doing an end run around the authorities that involved splitting into two groups, with one acting as decoys, visiting temples in Mon and Kayin states, while the other, larger group made a dash for DKBA-controlled Kawkareik, in Myawaddy Township. Three days after their journey began, the two groups reunited at their new home: Kyauk Khet. New Home, New Hope The hill territory wasn't as wild or strange as some had feared. And the DKBA delivered on all of its promises: Each family was given a plot of land measuring 40 feet by 60 feet, initial food assistance, and building materials for new houses. To their relief, the new residents of Kyauk Khet also learned that that they would have no trouble making a living. There were plenty of jobs available at local rubber and teak plantations and cornfields, providing daily wages of 130-300 baht (4,000-10,000 kyat) and around 20 days of work each month. But as happy as they seem to be with their new circumstances, many of the new settlers are still palpably angry at how they ended up here. "They cut my home to pieces with saws and knives. It took about 30 minutes to make my house disappear," Ko Htun Min Naing, 33, recalled bitterly. "They told me that if I tried to resist, they would send me to prison." Now that they are here, the villagers have differing ideas about the future. Ma Nilar Win, who first moved to Thameegalay at the age of 12 and later met her husband Ko Htun Min Maing there, said she still wanted to return to more familiar territory. "We're saving up to buy new land near where we used to live," she said, adding that she wants to save 1,000,000 kyat to buy a plot of land about the same size as the one she has in Kyauk Khet—enough to build a small house and grow some vegetables. But with a new primary school set to open this month, and plans to build a bigger clinic or hospital in the near future, the DKBA seems to be betting that most will stay. After all, most of the village's older inhabitants have been here since they were similarly displaced by conflict in Kayin State some 20 years ago. Some, at least, see no reason to leave, and every reason to stay. U Myo Min Htun, a father of two who lost his land in Inpatee village near Thameegalay and is now on the newly formed village management committee in Kyauk Khet, is one of them. "I have no plans to go back. We have suffered enough there." This story first appeared in the July 2014 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Evicted appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

India’s Modi Under Fire for Silence Over Religious Incidents Posted: 27 Jul 2014 10:07 PM PDT India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pictured at the 6th BRICS summit at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia ON July 16, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) NEW DELHI — India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing criticism for remaining silent about incidents deemed anti-Muslim in the past week, underscoring fears that his Hindu nationalist followers will upset religious relations in the multi-faith nation. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in May after an election campaign that mainly focused on promises to revive the economy but that also made reference to India's majority Hindu identity. Footage emerged last week of a radical Hindu party lawmaker trying to force food into the mouth of a Muslim caterer. Separately, a BJP politician questioned the national identity of an Indian Muslim tennis star, while an ally of the prime minister said India could become a Hindu nation under Modi. Several commentators said Modi's failure to speak out about the incidents risked encouraging aggressive behavior by fringe elements of his party and related organizations. "The prime minister needs to come out strongly against such comments in order to reassure the minorities that their apprehensions about the intent of his regime are misplaced … Silence on his part will only encourage such elements," The Times of India said in an editorial. India has a dark history of religious violence, especially between the Hindu majority and Muslims, who account for more than 150 million people, making India the world's third most populous Muslim nation. On Wednesday, footage was aired of a lawmaker from the Shiv Sena, a radical Hindu political party and ally of the BJP, trying to shove chapati, an Indian flatbread, into a Muslim caterer's mouth during the Ramadan period of fasting. The Shiv Sena lawmaker, Rajan Vichare, a high school dropout and suspect in 13 criminal cases, later said he did not know the caterer was Muslim and that he was fasting. He said he had been making a point about the bad quality of the food being served. The incident led to chaotic scenes in parliament, with one BJP member demanding that some opposition politicians be sent to Pakistan. He later apologized for his comments. On Thursday, BJP politician K. Laxman denounced a move to name Indian tennis star Sania Mirza the brand ambassador of newborn Telangana state, calling Mirza, who is married to a Pakistani cricketer, the "daughter-in-law" of India's rival nation. Mirza broke down during a television interview to a local news channel and said it was unfair that she had to keep asserting her "Indianness." "I am an Indian who will remain an Indian until the end of my life," she said on Thursday in a statement posted on micro-blogging site Twitter. The BJP distanced itself from Laxman's remarks. "Sania Mirza is the pride of India," cabinet minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters, but newspaper editorials highlighted Modi's silence. "He could say these are non-issues, he could say these are trivial misunderstandings being communalized by a hyperactive media. But he chooses to say absolutely nothing," said an editorial on the Firstpost news and opinion website. "Unfortunately his silence can get uncomfortably loud." The BJP itself burst into prominence in the late 1980s as it helped mobilize a movement leading to the destruction of a 16th-century mosque in the Uttar Pradesh town of Ayodhya that Hindus say was built on the birthplace of the god-king Ram. About 2,000 people were killed in riots across India in 1992 after the disputed mosque was torn down by Hindu mobs. Modi has long faced accusations of looking the other way when Hindu mobs went on a rampage of revenge against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, when he was that state's chief minister, after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was torched. Modi has denied the allegations and an inquiry ordered by the Supreme Court absolved him of responsibility. Also on Thursday, a local minister from Goa state allied to the BJP said India could become a Hindu nation under Modi's rule, drawing criticism from the opposition Congress party. "Please stop this—communalizing the country. This is our request to the ruling coalition," said P.C. Chacko, a Congress spokesman, according to a statement of his remarks. The post India's Modi Under Fire for Silence Over Religious Incidents appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers Arrive in Australia After Weeks Held at Sea Posted: 27 Jul 2014 09:51 PM PDT A woman reads a newspaper containing an advertisement publicizing the Australian government's policy on asylum seekers arriving by boat, in Sydney in August 2013. (Photo: Reuters) SYDNEY — A group of 157 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who were held at sea by Australian authorities for almost a month, sparking a legal challenge against their detention, have arrived at a detention camp on mainland Australia, government officials said on Monday. Indian consular officials are due to begin interviewing members of the group, whose boat was intercepted by the Australian navy several weeks ago after setting sail from India. The group was taken to the remote Curtin Detention Centre in outback Western Australia on Sunday and Monday. The interception and detention of the group has thrown a spotlight on Australia's controversial and secretive policies dealing with asylum seekers, under which the government has pledged to turn back boats carrying potential refugees. Such policies have faced growing international scrutiny and criticism from rights groups, The New York Times editorial board and the United Nations, as well as legal challenges in Australia's courts. The group of Sri Lankan men, women and children are the first asylum seekers traveling by boat to reach mainland Australia in seven months, an apparent setback for the government's policies. Conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government had boasted of its success in deterring asylum seekers from taking the perilous journey, often in unsafe boats after paying people smugglers in Indonesia, issuing updates on how long it has been since the last boat arrival in Australia. Australia normally uses offshore detention centers in Papua New Guinea and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru to process would-be refugees who arrive on boats. While the group of Sri Lankans will be processed at the Curtin camp, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has stressed they will not be resettled in Australia and has released little information about them. India has agreed to take back any of its nationals among the group but a lawyer asked to represent the Tamils said they should first be interviewed by Australian authorities to establish any claims for asylum. "Now these people are in Australia, the ordinary protections of Australian law must be afforded to these people," human rights lawyer David Manne told Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) radio. "On the information at hand so far, it's completely unclear what role India could properly play in this process," Manne said. "It's a fundamental principal of refugee law that no person should have to deal with the authorities of another country from which they may have fled." Morrison contends the group are economic refugees. "These people have come from a safe country of India. They haven't come from Sri Lanka," he told ABC radio. "If we can't take people back to India, what is next? New Zealand? India are a vibrant democracy, they are a good partner, they're working closely with us," Morrison said. Manne said a High Court hearing, due to take place next week, to discuss the fate of the refugees was now in question. "It's a very unclear situation, we're looking to see what aspects of the case will proceed," he said. The asylum seekers were brought ashore in the Cocos Keeling Islands at the weekend after being held for weeks on an Australian customs boat. They were transferred in smaller groups by plane to Curtin. The government made the decision to bring them to Australia after the intervention by the High Court. Their plight became known after a separate group of 37 Sinhalese and four Tamils on another boat were quietly intercepted and returned to Sri Lanka by Australian authorities. About 16,000 asylum seekers came on 220 boats to Australia in the first seven months of last year, but the government says there have been no illegal boat arrivals since December 2013. The post Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers Arrive in Australia After Weeks Held at Sea appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Battered and Broke, Vietnam Fishermen Bear Brunt of China Row Posted: 27 Jul 2014 09:43 PM PDT Fisherman Nguyen Hap, right, paddles a boat to transport Bui Van Minh and his son Bui Van Chau to Minh's damaged fishing boat at a quay of Ly Son port, in Vietnam's central Quang Ngai province on July 1, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Kham) LY SON ISLAND, Vietnam — Vietnamese fisherman Dang Van Hoanh sits on the deck of a creaky ferry, nursing a broken leg wrapped in grubby bandages and splinted with wood. Staring out to sea, he recounts how an unidentified vessel rammed and sank his boat one night in May in South China Sea waters claimed by both Vietnam and China. One of his six crew was killed and another is still missing. "I planned to marry after that fishing trip but we lost everything," Hoanh, 27, told Reuters as the ferry headed to Ly Son island off central Vietnam where he and many other fishermen live. "Now, I'm broke and in debt." Hoanh believes he got caught in the crossfire of a dispute between Hanoi and Beijing over China's recent deployment of a US$1 billion oil rig near the disputed Paracel islands off Vietnam. China moved the rig back toward its coast in mid-July, but for 10 weeks scores of coastguard and fishing vessels from both sides squared off around the platform in a daily routine in which the Vietnamese boats appeared to be no match for the larger Chinese vessels. Reuters reporters joined two Vietnamese coastguard patrols near the rig in May and July. On both occasions, faster and better equipped Chinese ships chased them off. Hoanh has no proof because it was dark, but he believes a bigger Chinese boat rammed his small wooden craft on May 25. At the time, Ly Son authorities said they also suspected it was Chinese. China did not comment on the incident but it had frequently accused Vietnamese boats of being aggressive around the rig and blamed them for any collisions. Hoanh said he had wanted no part in the drama and had sought to fish elsewhere, unlike some of his fellow fishermen who took part in the cat-and-mouse jostling around the drilling platform. "Since the rig was put there, we moved further north to avoid the Chinese. But they still rammed us and sank us," he said, adding Vietnamese fishermen weren't safe anywhere. Another Vietnamese fishing boat was sunk in an incident on May 26 near the rig. Its 10 crew were rescued. About 3,000 fishermen live on Ly Son, 15 nautical miles (28 km) off Vietnam's coast and which for centuries has been a base for fishermen to venture into the South China Sea. China claims 90 percent of the strategic waterway. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the ocean, which is potentially rich in oil and gas but also home to vital fishing grounds for the region. Tensions with China in disputed waters had already been costly to Vietnam's fishermen, but worsened after the oil rig was deployed on May 2. Fourteen of Ly Son's 426 boats were badly damaged in collisions with Chinese vessels while the platform was off Vietnam, said Pham Thi Huong of the local Ly Son government. The damage bill was $280,000, she said. That compared with 17 incidents across the South China Sea involving Chinese ships in 2013, Huong added. Bui Van Minh, 33, said he'd been harassed by Chinese vessels some 20 times this year, including getting blasted with water cannon from a Chinese coastguard ship near the rig last month. "We were angry, but we couldn't do anything," Minh said. Fishermen complained they were spending more on fuel to avoid risky waters while others said they had struck deals to sell their catch to buyers at lower prices in return for loans to repair their damaged boats. Some help might be on the way after the government in Hanoi approved a 16 trillion dong ($750 million) support package, to take effect next month. Of that, 11.5 trillion dong will be used to buy 32 coastguard and surveillance ships. Fishermen seeking new boats can apply for low-interest loans and the state will cover insurance costs for all vessels and crew under the package. But with an estimated 800,000 fishermen and 128,000 fishing boats in Vietnam, the money might not go far. Indeed, Vietnamese officials said they could not match the financial support Chinese authorities were giving their fishermen. "This policy is not a magic wand … We can't compare with investment in China's fishermen," said Le Ngoc Phuoc, vice chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Association, which represents all of the country's fishermen. "Their strategy is to occupy wherever they go, that's why they focus strongly on building huge boats with modern equipment." The post Battered and Broke, Vietnam Fishermen Bear Brunt of China Row appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Irrawaddy Magazine To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610