The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Call Me, Maybe? Rangoon Becomes SIM City
• Govt Working With China on Border Dispute in Shan State
• K-Pop Girl Band ‘2NE1’ to Play Rangoon
• Thein Sein Urges People in Arakan State to ‘Look Forward’
• Shan Village Abandoned for Fear of Burma Army Reprisals 
• Photo of the Week (August 01, 2014)
• More Work to Be Done on Child Soldiers in Myanmar
• State-Run Newspaper Launches Ethnic Languages Supplement
• Burma Army Releases 91 More Child Soldiers
• Govt, Ethnic Alliance to Meet for Nationwide Ceasefire Talks
• Parliamentary Commission Formed to Review Burma’s Electoral System
• US Launches Charm Offensive Against Wary India
• Malaysian Prime Minister: Stop Fighting in Ukraine
• Thai Junta Appoints Army-dominated Legislature
• New Zealand Minister Sees Trade Potential With Burma
• Myanmar Medical Council Must Be Granted Autonomy

Call Me, Maybe? Rangoon Becomes SIM City Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:03 AM PDT A crowd gathers outside a mobile phone shop in Rangoon on Thursday. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The streets of downtown Rangoon were abuzz on Friday as consumers, who were for years deprived of affordable mobile telecommunications, queried scores of handset shops and queued up eagerly at those offering long-awaited SIM cards from the Qatari telecoms firm Ooredoo. Until last year, the state monopoly Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) had a stranglehold on the market, resulting in a supply-demand gap that meant exorbitant SIM card prices and, eventually, the implementation of a monthly lottery that still left Burmese citizens wanting. On Friday, consumers descended in droves on mobile shops carrying the Ooredoo advertisements that have plastered the commercial capital for months. Ooredoo, along with Norwegian firm Telenor, won a license to operate a mobile network in Burma in June 2013, and has spent the last 13 months erecting mobile towers and marketing its brand ahead of the launch of its services. This week may well mark the beginning of a telecommunications revolution in Burma, as Ooredoo became the first foreign firm to see its SIM cards on the streets of one of the world's most poorly connected nations. Telenor has said it hopes to put SIM cards into the market later this year. The official Ooredoo launch is expected to take place on Saturday, the date that most phone shops were told sales would begin, but an official announcement from Ooredoo has not yet been made. A trickle of SIM cards into the market began in central Burma earlier this week, with limited sales in Mandalay and Naypyidaw. On its official Facebook page,Ooredoo Myanmar on Wednesday posted: "We are excited about all of the activities in the market. As is standard practice, we are currently filling the retail channel with SIM cards as we prepare to sell SIM cards. We will be charging 1,500 Kyats [US$1.50] for a SIM card so make sure you do not pay anymore. We look forward to connecting you soon." Despite that stated price, some mobile shops on Friday had made arrangements to boost their handset sales, requiring consumers to buy a mobile phone in order to get an Ooredoo SIM card. Other shops were selling the cards at prices as high as 15,000 kyats. The Nilar Mobile Shop in downtown Rangoon said it would start selling Ooredoo SIM cards at 5 pm on Friday but that the card would not be usable until Saturday. Each person presenting a copy of his or her National Identity Card will be allowed to buy one SIM card. A man in his 50s outside the Nilar Mobile Shop said he had heard that the SIM cards would not be able to call numbers on the GSM and CDMA networks operated by MPT until Aug. 15, confining them to calls and SMS messaging only with other Ooredoo SIM owners. Despite the rumored restriction, he was still hoping to get an Ooredoo card of his own. Jonny mobile shop said it had sold out of more than 400 Ooredoo SIM cards on Thursday and Friday. More SIMs are on order and will be available on Saturday, a sales representative said. Disappointment was evident in conversations with people milling about the shop at the close of the work week. Another mobile shop, Similar Mobile, claimed their ration of Ooredoo SIM cards had been exhausted, but curiously, a promise was proffered to anyone buying a handset from their shop: one Ooredoo SIM card included. Handsets compatible with Ooredoo SIMs were starting from 80,000 kyats at Similar Mobile on Friday. The Pan Yoe Ma shop on Bo Sun Pat Street was selling Ooredoo SIM cards at more than three times the price stated on Ooredoo's Facebook page. The 5,000 kyats price tag did not stop eager consumers from lining up to purchase the chips. One young man said that although he already had an MPT SIM card, he was buying its Ooredoo counterpart because he had heard that the mobile Internet connection with the latter was much faster. The Pan Yoe Ma shop said Internet usage would be billed at 25 kyats for 1 MB of data, with Ooredoo providing 20 MB of Internet for free per day until Aug. 15. Users will only be able to use the free mobile credit provided until Aug. 15, after which they will be able to purchase top-up cards allowing for unfettered data usage. Amid the excitement of Friday's SIM sales, Ooredoo's unofficial foray into the market was not without its problems. A person who bought an Ooredoo SIM and handset for 60,000 kyats from the Lulay Mobile Shop complained that while the phone was in service when he bought it, it had since lost its connection to the network. A young girl who bought an Ooredoo SIM card for 1,500 kyats on Thursday in downtown Rangoon said she would mainly use her SIM to make calls, though she did not yet own a handset to do so. "Although MPT is sold for 1,500 kyats, the lucky draw has taken a long time. I've applied but never won." The SIM card supply shortage under the MPT monopoly had spawned a black market in Burma that saw its cards selling for as much as $200 until only recently. With rumors of Ooredoo's impending entrance into the market, however, the black market price in recent weeks put cards in callers' hands for as low as $28. "Even if MPT costs about 10,000 or 20,000 kyats because the price has dropped, this one [Ooredoo] costs only 1,500—that price gap is quite big," she said, explaining her preference for an Ooredoo SIM. Ooredoo will hold a press conference in Rangoon on Saturday "to provide information on happy and exciting developments with us," but more specific information on what the subject of the event will be has not been revealed. The post Call Me, Maybe? Rangoon Becomes SIM City appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Govt Working With China on Border Dispute in Shan State Posted: 01 Aug 2014 05:41 AM PDT A map showing the Burma-China border in Namkham and Muse townships in northern Shan State. (Image: Google Earth) Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin has told Parliament that the government is working with Chinese officials to resolve Shan communities' complaints over the demarcation of the Burma-China border. In May, Shan lawmakers raised the issue in Parliament, asking the central government to address the border dispute and explain its actions to MPs. Some 470 Shan villagers from Namkham and Muse townships have complained in recent months that Chinese authorities put up temporary border posts that would supposedly place about 130 acres of their farmland in China. Shane State authorities had reportedly ordered the removal of the posts last month. The border follows the Ruili River and runs just north of it. Sai Pho Aung, a Shan Nationalities Development Party lawmaker told The Irrawaddy on Friday, that, "The minister's answers relieve our concerns to some extent," but added that the government needs to find a way to return 46 acres of land near Namkham and Muse towns, and 3.5 acres in a Muse Township village, to Burma. "The Foreign Affair Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said borders officials of both countries are working together on this, but he did not give us a detailed explanation," said Pe Than, an Arakan National Party lawmaker. "He only said that the dispute over border is due to the Ruili riverbank sliding and the changing course of the river." Lawmakers said border demarcation in the area was based on a 1995 agreement between Burma and China. The post Govt Working With China on Border Dispute in Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

K-Pop Girl Band ‘2NE1’ to Play Rangoon Posted: 01 Aug 2014 05:25 AM PDT South Korean girl band 2NE1 arrived are set to play their first concert in Burma on Saturday. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON— Burmese K-Pop fans will get their first-ever chance to see South Korea's 2NE1 on Saturday, as the girl group is set to perform at Rangoon's Myanmar Event Park. The four-member all-girl group arrived at Rangoon International Airport on Thursday night and held a press conference on Friday. "We are very excited to meet you guys. We wouldn't be here without you guys," said CL, who sings in the group alongside bandmates Dara, Minzy and Bom. "So, I thank all from the bottom of our heart and we love you all." The concert will start at 7pm. Tickets start at 25, 000 kyat ($25), but the best seats in the house will go for 900, 000 kyat ($900), with a chance to have dinner with 2NE1's members included for those willing to pay the hefty price. The event, titled "2NE1 in Myanmar Galaxy Stage," is organized by Samsung Myanmar in collaboration with Living Sound Entertainment and YG Entertainment from Korea. "Burmese fans welcomed us warmly at the airport last night. I expect during tomorrow's concert fans will welcome us warmly too," Dara told reporters. Tickets to see the group are available at City Mart supermarkets, Ocean supermarkets, and Taw Win Center in Rangoon, Diamond Plaza in Mandalay, or by calling 1876. The post K-Pop Girl Band '2NE1' to Play Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thein Sein Urges People in Arakan State to ‘Look Forward’ Posted: 01 Aug 2014 05:07 AM PDT Burmese President Thein Sein during a televised address in March 2013. (Photo: President's Office website) RANGOON — President Thein Sein has urged people in western Burma's troubled Arakan State to accept and cooperate with a central government plan for peace and development in the region. In his monthly radio address to the nation—first broadcast on Friday—Thein Sein said that his administration had consulted with civil society groups and the local government in Arakan State to come up with the plan. Violence between local Arakanese Buddhists and Muslims has hit the state sporadically since mid-2012, and about 140,000 people, mostly from the Rohingya Muslim minority, are still living in makeshift camps. "We plan to implement the project systematically and if we can do that, we believe that the Arakan people's lives will improve," Thein Sein said, without giving details of the plan. While the government was doing its best to improve the situation in the state, he said, the state's people, civil society and international aid organizations must "look forward to development and cooperate open-mindedly." Arakanese Buddhist leaders have said they do not agree with the government's decision, announced last week, to allow Médecins Sans Frontières to return to Arakan State after it was expelled in February for alleged bias in favor of the Rohingya. Other international NGOs have also had access to the state restricted since Arakanese Buddhists rioted in the state capital of Sittwe in March, ransacking their offices and residences. During his speech, the president also warned that anyone threatening the peace and stability of the country would be severely punished. He gave the example of inter-communal clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in Mandalay early last month, which were triggered by an allegation of rape against two Muslims that was spread on social media but later turned out to have been entirely fabricated. "We are finding out and penalizing the people responsible for instigating the religious conflicts in Mandalay using concocted accusations," Thein Sein said. Giving the example of martyrs in the past who sacrificed for the country's welfare, the president encouraged Burmese to strive for peace and democracy in cooperation, instead of being divided on lines of race and religion. He also acknowledged that the political reforms that he initiated when his nominally civilian government took power in 2011 were facing numerous challenges. However, he said, "the taking root of democracy through the continued survival of the political process would be the common standpoint among the political entities of differing views." The post Thein Sein Urges People in Arakan State to 'Look Forward' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Shan Village Abandoned for Fear of Burma Army Reprisals  Posted: 01 Aug 2014 04:39 AM PDT Authorities and villagers gather at the scene of the murder of two Burma Army officers earlier this week. (Photo: Lachid Kachin/Facebook) RANGOON — Residents of a Shan village in Namkham Township, northern Shan State, have fled their homes after the Burma Army harshly interrogated several villagers about the recent assassination of two military officers on a nearby road, local sources said on Friday. Sai Aom Mong, a Namkham resident, told The Irrawaddy that he had heard that Noung Madar village was abandoned on Thursday. "The village has about 120 houses and about 400 people fled from the village," he said. "They told me that they have to flee from their village as security forces threatened their lives. Almost all people in the village fled, including five community leaders who were detained briefly for interrogation and beaten by the army." He said soldiers from 16th Battalion, Infantry Division 88 entered the village to question residents about the murder of two officers on a quiet road near Noung Madar, a village located about 2 km north of Namkham. On Tuesday, a commanding officer and a warrant officer were gunned down by unknown assailants on their way back from Namkham market to their base. Village leaders were warned during interrogation that "the life of one officer is worth the lives of 100 villagers," Sai Aom Mong said. He added that some villagers had fled across the nearby border into China, while others went to stay with their relatives or in Buddhist monasteries. Sai Kyaw Ohn, a Shan Nationalities Democratic Party parliamentarian from Namkham Township, said, "I heard the people fled from their village, but I do not know yet how many families." He added that he felt sympathy for the villagers who were forced to abandon their homes and farms in the middle of the busy rice-growing season. No one has claimed responsibility for the assassination with the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) saying that the area of the attack is under control of the Shan State Army-North (SSA-North). Namkham was reportedly the scene of another murder on July 23, when a young man was shot in the head in the town in the evening. In recent months, northern Shan State has been the scene of frequent, deadly clashes between the TNLA, the SSA-North and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), as the ethnic conflict spills over from neighboring Kachin State. Since April, fighting had been escalating in southern Kachin State, which borders Namkham Township, and several thousand civilians were displaced. Last week, some 800 Palaung minority villagers were newly displaced by fresh fighting in Namkham Township. The post Shan Village Abandoned for Fear of Burma Army Reprisals  appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Photo of the Week (August 01, 2014) Posted: 01 Aug 2014 04:23 AM PDT The post Photo of the Week (August 01, 2014) appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

More Work to Be Done on Child Soldiers in Myanmar Posted: 01 Aug 2014 04:07 AM PDT Friday's release of 91 children and young people by the Myanmar military, all of whom had served as underage soldiers, is a welcome step: It demonstrates the Myanmar military's commitment to release child soldiers present in its ranks. But at the same time, it shows that the problem of child recruitment remains ongoing and persistent. Children continue to be unlawfully recruited into the ranks of the Tatmadaw Kyi (Myanmar Army), with 340 cases of underage recruitment reported to the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2013 and 2014. Of these, 48 cases were actually recruited in 2013 and 2014. Two years back, the Myanmar government made a commitment to the international community and its own citizens. Through a Joint Action Plan signed with the United Nations, it pledged to end the recruitment and use of children into its armed forces and the Border Guard Forces (BGFs). It also promised to take steps to ensure that children would be protected from recruitment in the future. Since then, there have been some positive changes on the ground. Access by the UN Country Task Force to military sites has improved; release of some children from the army, though slow and still a small number, has taken place; a massive awareness raising campaign has been initiated; and some measures are being taken to improve recruitment practices. However, there is no process yet to verify and release children from the BGFs, which are under the remit of the Joint Action Plan; children who escape from the Tatmadaw Kyi continue to be detained and treated as adult deserters; and accountability measures have so far failed to deter ongoing underage recruitment despite the fact that it is against the law. Particularly concerning is the fact that the reasons which drove underage recruitment in the past have not been addressed: Continued pressure on the Myanmar military to increase troop numbers within an informal, incentive-based quota system drives demand for fresh recruitment. Battalion commanders, particularly in infantry battalions, are under constant pressure to recruit and failure to meet recruitment targets invites censure and penalties against battalion commanders. Recruitment processes lack effective monitoring and oversight, allowing underage recruits to "slip through the net" despite military directives to end this practice. All this puts children at grave risk of unlawful recruitment. A majority of the cases of underage recruitment in 2014 have been coerced, with children being tricked or lured into the army through false promises. The practice of falsification of age documents, including Citizenship Scrutiny Cards (CSC) and household lists, by recruiters and civilian "brokers" continues unchecked and no measures have been adopted to establish accountability for this illegal practice. Charu Lata Hogg is the Asia program manager for Child Soldiers International. Friday's releases, which bring the total number of children released by the military under the Joint Action Plan to 364, are to be commended. But there is also a need for a renewed and demonstrable commitment to end and prevent child soldiers in Myanmar. For instance, ensuring that all children are registered at birth and all children possess an identity document that lays out clearly their ages, is a tangible way of providing protection to children against unlawful recruitment. Similarly, support by the international community to the Myanmar authorities to ensure that it strengthens recruitment procedures—implementing effective age verification measures that are monitored and hold violators accountable—is yet another way to bring in long-term prevention. The responsibility to protect children from grave violations in conflict lies not just with the Myanmar military. Armed opposition groups active in various regions of Myanmar have also been known to recruit children and use them in hostilities, a practice which has seen them "listed" for several years in the UN secretary-general's annual reports on children and armed conflict. Current peace efforts in Myanmar offer a remarkable opportunity to prioritize the protection of children. The Myanmar government and all parties negotiating the nationwide ceasefire agreement need to ensure that child soldiers issues are not only fully incorporated in the peace process, but that mechanisms are established to verify and release children. The recruitment and use of children must be considered a violation of ceasefire agreements. All these steps are essential to fulfil the Myanmar government's commitment to fully protecting children. Charu Lata Hogg is the Asia program manager for Child Soldiers International, an NGO working to end underage recruitment across the globe. The post More Work to Be Done on Child Soldiers in Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

State-Run Newspaper Launches Ethnic Languages Supplement Posted: 01 Aug 2014 03:25 AM PDT State-run newspaper Myanma Allin will begin publishing Mon, Pa-O and Karen languages supplements. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) MOULMEIN, Mon State — State-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar will begin publishing a weekly news supplement in Mon, Pa-O and Karen languages this month, local officials said on Thursday. The initiative by the Ministry of Information is being viewed with suspicion by local ethnic media, however. Min Nwe Soe, Mon State Planning and Economics Minister, told The Irrawaddy that Myanma Alinn, the Burmese version of the state-run newspaper, will appear with a weekly one-page supplement in local languages in Mon and Karen states per Aug 1. "The newly-established Moulmein branch is working to publish those [ethnic] languages weeklies during a trial period, and there are plans to publish daily articles in the future," he said. Myanma Alinn announced on Thursday that it would publish the local language supplements in order to "preserve ethnic languages, literature, culture, traditions and customs, develop social network media, and provide reliable news for human resources development of local people." Myo Min Oo, a Moulmein journalist working on the Mon language supplement, said, "We want to present many news stories, but the space is limited." "To feature many news stories, we need more manpower. Now, the supplement can just fit one page of news. We have to summarize the news and give priority to news that our ethnic nationalities should know." The new supplements of Myanma Alinn, which is published by the Ministry of Information, rely on part-time work by local ethnic minority reporters who translate the news into local languages. However, mistrust of the Burman majority-dominated government remains strong among minorities, following decades of conflict and repression of political and cultural rights of minorities under the previous military regime. The Information Ministry claims that it is reforming the state-run newspapers and broadcast media, but the outlets have a long history as propaganda tools of the Burmese government. As a result, the Myanma Aillin branch in Moulmein is reportedly struggling to attract enough ethnic reporters to carry out translation work. "Ethnics have not trusted the government their whole life and are concerned that they might become stooges of the government newspapers. Therefore, there is a lack of cooperation," said Myo Min Oo. Ethnic journalists are also reluctant to accept editorial instructions from local information and public relations department that could amount to control or censorship of ethnic language news. Myo Min Oo added that ethnic reporters carrying out translation work feel that, "Some news stories that come from the information and public relations department may not be important." Independent ethnic media were long published in exile but have been allowed to print in country in recent years following the introduction of political reforms. The outlets said they worried that the launch of local language state media was aimed at undercutting the fledgling ethnic media. "The state-run newspaper already gained upper hand over us in terms of prices," said Ko Min Min Nwe, executive director of Than Lwin Times Journal, one of three independent ethnic media published in Mon and Karen States. "Depending on the freshness of the news [in Myanma Allin], it may impact local journals," he said. "But for now it is just a one-page supplement and unless it features unbiased news it won't be a rival to local journals." Moulmein newspaper and journal sales agent Ko Aye Htoo said, "It is likely that demand for Myanma Alinn may increase in Hpa-an [Karen State]. A number of people have just ordered the newspaper for tomorrow. "Now, it is difficult to say how high the demand will be since the ethnic-language page is featured only once a week. If it is featured daily, there can be increased demand." In Mon and Karen states, there are two biweekly Mon and Burmese language publications, The Than Lwin Times and Tha Naung Times (Guiding Star), while Karen News is a monthly publication in Burmese and Karen languages. The post State-Run Newspaper Launches Ethnic Languages Supplement appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma Army Releases 91 More Child Soldiers Posted: 01 Aug 2014 12:25 AM PDT A billboard promoting a "No Child Soldiers" campaign in Rangoon. (Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Burma Army released another 91 children and young people from service on Friday, bringing the total number of minors allowed to leave the military in the past two years to 364, according to a United Nations agency. The UN still lists Burma as one of seven countries worldwide whose national militaries recruit children, but the nominally civilian government that took power in 2011 has begun discharging child soldiers from duty. Seven ethnic armed groups active in Burma are also considered "persistence perpetrators" for recruiting child soldiers by the UN. "The 91 children and young people arrived in Yangon earlier this week where, for many of them, they met their families for the first time after several years of separation," the UN Children's Fund (Unicef), in a statement Friday. It said the 91 people were all under the age of 18 and serving for the army in June 2012, when Burma signed an action plan to end the use of minors in the military. The Burma Army, the government and the UN's Country Taskforce on Monitoring and Reporting on grave violations against children collaborated on the release, the statement said. "[T]he children and young people were provided with new civil documentation, health checks and one-to-one psycho-social debriefing sessions with trained social workers to identify their immediate and longer-term needs," it said. Unicef's deputy representative to Burma, Shalini Bahuguna, said in the statement that the release was a "an important step in ending the recruitment and use of children in Myanmar Armed Forces." "As of today, a total of 364 children and young people have been released since June 2012," Bahuguna said. The post Burma Army Releases 91 More Child Soldiers appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Govt, Ethnic Alliance to Meet for Nationwide Ceasefire Talks Posted: 01 Aug 2014 12:17 AM PDT A group of TNLA troop at a frontline base in Shan State. (Photo: Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy) LAIZA, Kachin State — Leaders of an alliance of ethnic armed groups are scheduled to meet with government peace negotiator Aung Min in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina this weekend to discuss a nationwide ceasefire accord, ethnic representatives said on Thursday. The National Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), comprising representatives of 16 ethnic groups, met in the Kachin rebel-held border town of Laiza in recent days to develop a common position for further talks with the government on a nationwide ceasefire text. The NCCT, government and Burma Army have jointly created a second draft of a nationwide ceasefire text in recent months, but talks had stalled over the ethnics' demands for political autonomy and a federal union, a demands made by the military. Ethnic groups said they agreed in Laiza on a 10-point list of suggestions for changes to the draft ceasefire text, which they will bring to their upcoming meeting with Minister Aung Min and his government advisors of the Myanmar Peace Center. Lian Hmong Sakhong, an NCCT member and a leader of the Chin National Front, said he believed the parties could make significant progress during their upcoming meeting in Myitkyina. "We think we can sign the nationwide ceasefire accord in September if things go smoothly, but it depends on our meeting," he said. President Thein Sein's reformist government has signed bilateral ceasefires with more than a dozen ethnic groups and began to actively pursue a nationwide ceasefire with an alliance of groups last year, but this has proven elusive. Government officials and some ethnic leaders have repeatedly stated that a nationwide ceasefire accord is only weeks away, only for negotiations to falter. The Burma Army wanted a nationwide ceasefire that includes its six-point statement. This document set out demands that the ethnic groups reject, such as that all ethnic parties disarm, demobilize and reintegrate with the Burma Army. Khun Okkar, an NCCT member, said it appeared the military is softening its stance on the six-point statement and is now willing to discuss it at a later stage. He added, however, that the ethnic groups would only want to begin discussions on disarmament and demobilization during the political dialogue. Such a dialogue is supposed to start after a nationwide ceasefire is signed and would be a process to find solutions for complex political issues that could take years to complete. Meanwhile, fighting continues in northern Burma, where the Kachin Independence Army and Ta'ang National Liberation Army are engaged in frequent clashes with the Burma Army. Both groups are NCCT members but don't have a bilateral ceasefire with Naypyidaw, while there are also powerful ethnic groups, such as the United Wa State Army, that are not part of the NCCT. Saw Yan Naing reported from Chiang Mai, Thailand. The post Govt, Ethnic Alliance to Meet for Nationwide Ceasefire Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Parliamentary Commission Formed to Review Burma’s Electoral System Posted: 31 Jul 2014 11:45 PM PDT The newly formed Lower House parliamentary commission to discuss Burma's electoral system met for first time on Thursday, July 31, 2014. (Photo: Hluttaw Channel / Facebook) Burma's Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann on Thursday formed a 24-member parliamentary commission to study a proposed change to the country's electoral system ahead of landmark elections in 2015. Chaired by the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party's (USDP) Tin Maung Oo, the commission is comprised of lawmakers from every party, including ethnic parties and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD)—who oppose a move from the first-past-the-post system to proportional representation (PR)—as well as a military representative. A senior NLD lawmaker said the party was taking part in the commission to study what is the appropriate electoral system for Burma, not to pave the way for a change to PR that was proposed by a minor party but has the support of the military-backed USDP. "The study will either focus on the [current] fast-past-the-post system or proportional representation or a mixed system," lawmaker Win Myint, a member of the NLD's executive committee, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. Shwe Mann set a deadline of 60 days—which may be extended if necessary—for the commission to report back to Parliament, and the lawmakers will now seek advice from experts on electoral systems. There would be more debate in the Lower House on the issue after the commission delivers its report, said Win Myint, who is not on the commission. The PR proposal has already been considered and approved by a committee of Upper House lawmakers, and was the subject of heated debate in the Lower House this week and last, before the speaker declared the formation of the new commission. "The Lower House's commission and the one in the Upper House are different in their focus," Win Myint said, explaining that Upper House lawmakers only considered the merits of the PR system. Doi Bu, an ethnic Kachin lawmaker from the Unity and Development Party of Kachin State, said the commission includes five USDP lawmakers, two from the NLD, a military representative and a lawmaker from each of the ethnic and smaller parties. It also includes four representatives from the Lower House's Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission, said Doi Bu, who is a member of the commission. The Shan Nationalities Development Party (SNDP), which boycotted discussions of the PR proposal in protest, will join the commission, according to SNDP lawmaker Ye Tun. SNDP lawmaker Sai Maung Tin will sit on the commission, Ye Tun said, adding that "we selected our Shan representative so that we could contribute suggestions for the appropriate electoral system." The members of the newly formed commission met for the first time on Thursday afternoon to discuss how they would conduct their work. The post Parliamentary Commission Formed to Review Burma's Electoral System appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

US Launches Charm Offensive Against Wary India Posted: 31 Jul 2014 10:09 PM PDT US Secretary of State John Kerry laughs as he answers a question while speaking to the media with Indian External Affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, (not pictures) following their meeting in New Delhi July 31, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) NEW DELHI — Given a rare opportunity to lunch with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Gaurav Dalmia was less interested Thursday in discussing the planned topics at hand, including climate change or even the trade dispute between India and the US. Instead, the Indian businessman was focused on Kerry himself—and whether he would be able to smooth over brittle relations between Washington and New Delhi for the sake of economic growth. "So there's a perception in India that Mr. Kerry is not very pro-India. I want to see what the reality is," said Dalmia, who runs a New Delhi commodities firm. He was among about 50 Indian politicians, scholars and businessmen who attended a private midday meeting with Kerry and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker as they pitched a fresh start in a strained partnership with India's government. Their mission will be neither easy nor immediate. Despite both nations' stated desire to move forward where their interests intersect—including on foreign investment, defense partnerships and developing science and technology—the US and India are still stalemated on a number of areas. The two countries have squared off over a major trade deal, regulation of chemical emissions into the environment, the limited number of US visas that are given to visiting Indians, and American surveillance of the ruling Indian political party. New Delhi is still nursing a grudge over the arrest last December of India's deputy consul general in New York who was deported after she was indicted on charges of visa fraud and under-paying her maid. And the Obama administration has been seeking since May to build trust with the US and newly elected India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was denied an American visa in 2005 after being accused of complicity in religious riots that killed more than 1,000 Muslims three years earlier in the country's western Gujarat state where he was serving as the top elected official. Modi will visit Washington in September, and this week's two-punch charm offensive by Kerry and Pritzker sought to soften any tensions between the US and India before his trip. Kerry will meet privately with Modi on Friday. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is planning to visit India next week. "The moment has never been more ripe to deliver on the incredible possibilities of the relationship between our two nations," Kerry told a news conference Thursday with India Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. He said both nations now have a good idea of where to begin repairing the partnership, adding: "We all acknowledge that there have been ups and downs in the relationship for some period of years." Swaraj described "the latent potential" in US-India diplomacy and noted a new foundation between the two nations "to treat issues where we diverge as an opportunity for further conversation and dialogue." Foreign investment is a key area where India and the US can find common ground for mutual benefit. Each country has exponentially increased its investments in the other over the last decade. In 2012, the year for which the latest data is available, the US invested about US$28 billion in businesses based in India. At the same time, India invested $9 billion in US firms—up from $300 million annually in 2000. As Kerry landed in New Delhi on Wednesday night, Amazon.com Inc. announced it will invest $2 billion to expand its India division, upping the ante for local competitor Flipkart that a day earlier said it had raised $1 billion to fund its own growth. In a statement, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos touted India's economic potential as a prime reason for the boost, saying, "We've never seen anything like it." India is Asia's third-largest economy and boasts the second most-populated city—New Delhi—in the world. Still, the nation of 1.2 billion people is struggling to grow while battling a rising cost of living. Hundreds of millions of people live without electricity, Kerry said, and hunger and poverty is widespread throughout the country. India gives broad government food subsidies to its farmers and poor consumers—a benefit that has allegedly undercut fair-market agriculture prices and is at the heart of a World Trade Organization dispute that has irked the US. The US visit this week was seen mostly as a symbolic trip and was not expected to accomplish many concrete goals. But frank discussions among diplomats at least aired years of grievances and pledges for a new path forward. "This is an effort by both sides to patch up and bring a new life to strained relations," said Lalit Mansingh, former Indian ambassador to the United States. The post US Launches Charm Offensive Against Wary India appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Malaysian Prime Minister: Stop Fighting in Ukraine Posted: 31 Jul 2014 10:05 PM PDT An armed pro-Russian separatist stands guard as a team of Malaysian air crash investigators inspect the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Donetsk region on July 22, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Maxim Zmeyev) AMSTERDAM — Malaysia's prime minister on Thursday called on Ukrainian and pro-Russian separatists to agree to a ceasefire in the area surrounding the site where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down. Two weeks after the plane's destruction on July 17, the remains and personal possessions of many of the victims haven't been recovered—to the anguish of their relatives and friends. "The conflict in eastern Ukraine may not be easily resolved, but the people on board that plane had no part in it," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said shortly before investigators succeeded in reaching the crash site. Razak, who was speaking in a joint news conference with Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in The Hague, is visiting the Netherlands to discuss repatriating Malaysian victims' remains and the security situation in Ukraine. "We ask there be an immediate cessation of hostilities in and around the crash site by both Ukrainian and separatist forces," Razak said. "We ask that all sides respect the lives lost and the integrity of the crash site so that the investigation may proceed." All 298 passengers and crew aboard Flight 17 were killed, including 43 Malaysians and 195 Dutch nationals. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said around 80 bodies have yet to be recovered from the wreckage, which had been inaccessible to investigators for days because of fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia separatists. The remains of more than 200 victims that have been recovered and brought to the Netherlands are being painstakingly identified at a military base in Hilversum, a process expected to take weeks or months. Razak signed a condolence register for victims and was to visit the Hilversum center later Thursday. Rutte said "the pain of the terrible accident is almost unbearable." The post Malaysian Prime Minister: Stop Fighting in Ukraine appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai Junta Appoints Army-dominated Legislature Posted: 31 Jul 2014 10:00 PM PDT A Thai soldier stands guard outside the Royal Thai Army Headquarters in Bangkok on June 18, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Chaiwat Subprasom) BANGKOK — Thailand's junta on Thursday appointed a military-dominated interim legislature in another step in the slow return of promised electoral democracy. King Bhumibol Adulyadej's official endorsement of the appointment was announced on all television stations. The junta, which took power on May 22, issued a timetable a month ago for the gradual return to nominally civilian rule, culminating in a general election late next year. The dominance of active and retired military officers in the legislative body reinforces the army's hold on power in the run-up to the 2015 polls. The junta, officially called the National Council for Peace and Order, has already granted itself what amounts to supreme power over political developments. Army commander Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has been serving as de facto prime minister, is widely expected to be named the interim prime minister. Even if he does not take the post, he is seen as holding ultimate power in the interim regime. The interim legislature, formally known as the National Legislative Assembly, includes 105 people holding military ranks and 11 from the police. The 84 civilian members include academics, businesspeople, technocrats and former senators. The legislature is to convene Aug. 7 and will nominate the interim prime minister, who will then choose Cabinet members. An appointed reform council will also work with a constitution-drafting committee to create a permanent charter to take effect July 2015, according to the timetable. Neither body has been appointed yet. The army's bloodless seizure of power from a government that was elected by a majority of voters three years ago has been justified by Prayuth as necessary to restore order after half a year of anti-government protests and political turmoil that left at least 28 people dead and the government paralyzed. But since taking power, the army appears to be carrying on the fight of the anti-government protesters by mapping out a similar agenda to rewrite the constitution and institute extensive political reforms. It has quashed most dissent, threatening or arresting critics of the coup. Critics say the military is seeking to weaken the power of political parties. One idea being discussed is having a portion of future lawmakers be chosen by occupational groups and different social sectors. Thailand has been deeply divided since 2006, when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was toppled by a military coup after being accused of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for the king. Thaksin, a former telecommunications billionaire, remains highly popular among the poor in Thailand's north and northeast, and parties controlled by him have won every national election since 2001. The anti-government protesters, backed by the country's traditional elites, bitterly opposed him and sought to remove all traces of his influence from politics. The post Thai Junta Appoints Army-dominated Legislature appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

New Zealand Minister Sees Trade Potential With Burma Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:30 PM PDT New Zealand Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce speaks to The Irrawaddy at the country's Parliament in Wellington on Wednesday. (Photo: Kyaw Hsu Mon / The Irrawaddy) WELLINGTON — Bilateral trade with New Zealand is set to grow after Burma's 2015 election, the antipodean nation's minister for economic development has predicted. Steven Joyce told The Irrawaddy in the New Zealand capital of Wellington on Wednesday that his country's government was looking to improve trade relations with the fast-growing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region, which would also see the prospects for business between Burma and New Zealand improve. He said New Zealand's foreign minister, Murray McCully, was keen to connect the two countries' economies as Burma emerges from dictatorship under the quasi-civilian government that took power in 2011. "The foreign minister is a big fan of developing the trade relationship with Burma, he is putting significant effort in the space as part of a wider Asean agreement," Joyce said. Kiwi business people are active in other Southeast Asian countries and are watching Burma closely, he said. "I think you will see trade growth quite quickly soon," Joyce added. Current bilateral trade between the two countries is small, with Burma only New Zealand's 97th largest trading partner. Burma imported about US$17.5 million worth of goods from New Zealand last year—mostly dairy products—up from $15.2 million the previous year. New Zealand's imports from Burma were valued at about US$1 million last year, with wood products featuring prominently. New Zealand is interested in Burma as a growing market for its dairy products, which make up more than a fifth of the country's total exports, as well as for its potential for agribusiness, consultancy services and telecommunications, the minister said. "There will be range of reasons to increase trade with Burma as Burma is rapidly developing. We think it will continue to develop quickly, and it includes consumers that are interested in New Zealand products, but also technology partnerships as well, there are a lot of opportunities in Burma," Joyce said. Kyaw Hsu Mon is attending the Asia Foundation New Zealand's program for reporting on parliament and the 2014 election in New Zealand. The post New Zealand Minister Sees Trade Potential With Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Myanmar Medical Council Must Be Granted Autonomy Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:00 PM PDT In 2000, Burma's military government passed the Medical Council Law, replacing the previous Burma Medical Act of 1957 and setting up the Myanmar Medical Council, which represents medical practitioners. However, related by-laws are yet to be enacted more than 10 years later, drawing the criticism that medical council members are not free to act. Calls for an independent medical council have become louder as the country has entered "democratic transition." Now, the military-backed government has put a draft of the medical council by-law on the table. I'll discuss whether or not this by-law grants the medical council complete autonomy. On comparison, the old and new medical council laws are not very different. Section 4(a) of the medical council draft says, "Myanmar Medical Council is an independent organization." The phrase sounds great, but then Section 4(b) was inserted to limit the council's freedom. Section 4(b) says the medical council is responsible to the government through the Ministry of Health. How can an organization responsible to the government be independent? It has to dance to the government's tune. An association leading the medical world has to be accountable only to those engaged in medicine and patients. It does not need to be accountable to the government. In the past, the lack of the by-law was used as an excuse by the government to restrict the old council. Now, the council has been authorized to draft the by-law. But this is just on the surface. Section 61 reads: "The council may enact necessary by-laws and procedures with the government's approval." To report to the government means restriction, in other words it is saying: "You can't do it by yourself." If the government does not agree, the by-law may not come out. To form an independent medical council, Section 4(b) must be annulled and Section 61 must be amended. As long as the medical council is not free, universities of medicine will not have autonomy. What is worse in the new law is that the health minister takes one of the three patron positions in the Myanmar Medical Council, which even the old law did not provide. The three patrons will appoint medical council members, according to Section 6. It is clearly against democratic practice since council members will not be elected by medical practitioners. This section will allow directors-general of the Health Ministry and heads of region/state health departments will automatically become medical council members. So, it is clear that the medical council will be under the thumb of the government. Rectors of medical universities and all the other medical professors are government staff. (This is not strange because the old law provided the same. It is estimated that there will be at least 77 council members, according to the new law.) However, public health professors, pathologists and psychiatrists are not included in the council. Seasoned medical practitioners devoting themselves to public health care service delivery should be included in the council. The provision (in the new law) that "one representative each from respective region/state must be elected," was also in the old law. However, representatives were never elected. Since the new law includes the same provision, it is expected that the same thing will happen again. Though seven retired seasoned medical practitioners are included in the medical council, young medics are neglected. A young medic aged between 30 and 35 can't become a member in the medical council. I wish young, active medics were also included in the medical council, as well as the seasoned ones. Looking at the council's structure, it seems that only those that are willing to dance to the tune of the government and top-ranking officials will be appointed to the council. Since the retired medical practitioners who are used to doing what they are told by the military government are now in Parliament as representatives of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, I do not think the enactment of medical council law will bring significant changes to the medical world. The aim of the new health security law—to ensure each and every citizen residing in the country has access to quality, effective and safe health care services—sounds great. The new law enshrines the word "health security." But, there is no provision regarding patients' rights and protection of patients. With regards to the right to sue medical practitioners, Section 56 says: "If the patient suffers even though the medic treats him/her for the sake of him/her with honest intention, the medic cannot be sued either under civil or criminal laws." Here, "honest intention" and "for the sake of" must be defined clearly. There can be cases of medical research on patients and medical paternalism by abusing this section. Patients can be victimized by medics as medical guinea pigs. The potential to abuse this section needs to be taken into consideration. In fact, the law should enshrine provisions for patients to be able to report malpractice that results in suffering. One good thing, however, is that in the past, if a government staff medic refused to discharge their duty in remote places, the government terminated his or her medical practitioner license, but now, this provision is revoked. I welcome that. The major responsibility of the medical council is to issue medical practitioner licenses to those who graduate from government-recognized medical universities, as well as to revoke licenses. In fact, the number of those currently giving medical treatment without a medical practitioner license is greater than that of medical practitioners. Quacks, quack acupuncturists, quack traditional medicine practitioners, quack healers, those giving medical treatment after attending a three-month pharmacological course, and pharmacy owners selling over-the-counter medicine have no medical practitioner license. So there is a question—should legal actions be taken against them under this law? In fact, these cases must be punished severely. Only then can there be safe health care delivery. How can these cases be prevented? Shall the medical council take actions against them? I find no particular provision protecting patients in the entire law. Far from it; it seems to restrict licensed medical practitioners. Again, there is another case—the problem of fake medical degrees. The medical council is said to be responsible for scrutinizing and affirming international medical degrees. Between 2000 and 2014, I have not seen the medical council announcing which degrees it recognizes and which it does not. So, some physicians who have not gained Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) pay membership fees of US$200 and apply for FRCS membership. Then, they put FRCS after their names to mislead people into believing that they hold FRCS degrees. Whether action shall be taken against them under the new law is also a question. According to the new law, the Myanmar Medical Council is responsible to the government. Again, old council-member medical practitioners are likely to remain in the council under the new law and I therefore do not expect that the new law will totally change the medical world. Mainly, provisions regarding protection of patients and the entire medical world need to be enshrined in the new law. As "medicine" is defined as the "subject related to all health care services," there should not be a separate traditional medicine council, but it should be under the umbrella of Myanmar Medical Council. Other specialist boards should also be formed. We have to wait and see what announcements the new medical council will make. The current draft law is not much different from the old law. The autonomy granted to the council is a sham. If the medical council is to have autonomy, the Medical Council Law must be drafted under the leadership of medics, like journalists have taken the lead role in designing the new Media Law. The drafting process must also involve patients' representatives, lawyers, traditional medicine practitioners and specialists. The medical council, in order to set an example in practising medical professionalism, has to be responsible to all medics and patients. The council needs to take actions against or report practising medicine without medical practitioner license. The medical council is responsible for protecting the medical world and patients. Patients themselves need to know where they can report to if they suffer. There are consumer protection associations and the medical council needs to set up patient protection associations. As the draft law doesn't grant the Myanmar Medical Council complete autonomy, whether the council can really protect medical practitioners and patients and promote the medical world is in question. Dr Myint Oo (GP) is the author of "medical ethics," which won the Tun Foundation literary award. He has contributed more than 400 articles on health education. He currently works as an adjunct assistant professor at Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, United States, giving lectures on medical ethnics, health and human rights. The post Myanmar Medical Council Must Be Granted Autonomy appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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