The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Burma’s Population Likely Overestimated: Census Official
• 200 Kachin Civilians Flee Fighting Near Hpakant
• Burma Begins Trial Run for Online Tourism Visas
• Burma’s Tay Za ‘Rethinking’ Bank Sale to Ne Win’s Family
• Sagaing Division Farmers Stage Protest Against Trial, Land-Grabs
• Burma’s Peace Process Could Take ‘Several Generations’
• Laiza Under the Gun
• Trickle Town
• India’s Modi Accuses Pakistan of Waging Proxy War
• China Announces Birth of Rare Panda Triplets
• China TV Series on Deng Stirs Questions on Political Openness
• Asbestos Pushed in Asia as Product for the Poor

Burma’s Population Likely Overestimated: Census Official Posted: 13 Aug 2014 05:41 AM PDT A schoolteacher, serving as an enumerator, fills in a census questionnaire while residents provide household information at a home in Rangoon's Thaketa Township. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's total population is likely to be less than the widely accepted estimate of 60 million people, according to an official from the country's Central Census Commission. The preliminary results of the first census conducted in Burma in more than three decades are due to be announced at a press conference by the end of this month, said Myint Kyaing, secretary of the Central Census Commission. "There is a situation where the population will be less, based on the [data gathered in] enumeration areas," Myint Kyaing told The Irrawaddy. One reason for the overestimate could be the lack of a credible population tally in more than 30 years, he admitted. "Such cases can happen in any country where we have a population calculation based on estimation." The United Nations recommends that a census be undertaken every 10 years in order to have an accurate grasp on a national headcount. "As it approaches 30 years, the estimated population can be a little changed," said Myint Kyaing, who also serves as director general of the Department of Immigration and Population. A spokesperson for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which helped administer the census, declined to comment on whether Burma's census results would confirm Myint Kyaing's assertion, saying via email only that "The Provisional Results will include the population count." "The Government will announce a date for the release of the Provisional Results of the census soon," the spokesperson continued. Estimates on Burma's population vary widely. Myint Kyaing said his Department of Immigration and Population has estimated it to be 60 million people, as do most media reports on Burma. The CIA World Fact Book puts the figure at about 55.7 million as of July 2014, while others estimate the headcount to be as high as 70 million. This year's census was marred by controversy after provisions on its questionnaire asked respondents to identify their ethnicity and religion, exposing deep-seated tensions in the multi-ethnic nation. Many Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State were not counted——the number excluded unknown, but likely to be in the hundreds of thousands—because they refused to self-identify by the government's preferred term for the group, "Bengali." Separately in northern Kachin State, areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) were not counted after the government failed to secure an agreement with the ethnic rebel group to allow census enumerators access. "Populations/Areas that are uncounted during a census are typically announced when the total population is announced," the UNFPA said. Burma last census was conducted more than 30 years ago, in 1983. The 12-day nationwide census was conducted this year beginning on March 30. Preliminary findings from a manual count of the census forms will be released in August and will include at least population and gender data down to the divisional and township levels. The post Burma's Population Likely Overestimated: Census Official appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

200 Kachin Civilians Flee Fighting Near Hpakant Posted: 13 Aug 2014 05:15 AM PDT KIA soldiers fire from the trenches at Hkaya Bum outpost on Jan. 20, 2013, when rebels endured a heavy Burmese assault despite the government's ceasefire announcement the day before. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — About 200 Kachin civilians in Kachin State's Hpakant Township have been newly displaced by clashes between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in recent days, according to local leaders and Kachin rebel sources, who said that the fighting erupted after government forces entered a rebel-controlled ruby mining area. Hla San, a National League for Democracy (NLD) member based in Hpakant town, said he visited the civilians who fled Sai Para village and were provided refuge in two churches in another village located east of Hpakant. "They have been taking care of by our religious leaders. One church has about 80 people and another church has over 100 people. They ran away from their homes as they were afraid of the fighting," he said, adding that he and other Kachin leaders from Hpakant delivered food aid to the displaced villagers on Tuesday. Daung Khar, a member of the technical consultancy team of the Kachin Independence Organization, the political wing of the KIA, said the rebels had clashed with the Burma Army last Friday and Sunday at Sabaw Maw, a ruby mine controlled by the KIA. "According to the news we received, the government troops entered our area of control. This is why our troops shoot at them," he said, adding that he lacked further details of the fighting. The Kachin News Group reported that four Burmese soldiers were killed during the violence and that government troops seized a KIA base next to the ruby mine and burned it down. The KIA has been fighting an insurgency against the Burma Army since mid-2011 when a 17-year-old ceasefire broke down. Since then, some 120,000 civilians in Kachin and northern Shan states have been displaced. Hostilities quieted down in February 2013, but skirmishes have continued as a bilateral ceasefire between the sides has proven elusive. In recent months, fighting in northern Burma has intensified and several thousand local civilians have been newly displaced. Fighting has also spread to northern Shan State as government troops have increasingly fought with the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ally of the KIA that also lacks a ceasefire with Naypyidaw. The post 200 Kachin Civilians Flee Fighting Near Hpakant appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma Begins Trial Run for Online Tourism Visas Posted: 13 Aug 2014 04:52 AM PDT Tourists arrive to a hotel located on Inle Lake, one of the main tourist attractions in Burma, on Sept. 25, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Minzayar) RANGOON — Burma's Ministry of Immigration and Population this week began a trial period for an online tourism visa application system that is due to be fully implemented next month. "The online application system for tourist visas will be officially launched on September 1. We are now running the trial process, starting from Sunday, to assure the best result," an official at the e-visa department under the Ministry of Immigration and Population told The Irrawaddy. He said the ministry would accept a limited number of applicants while testing for bugs in the online processing system in the coming weeks, as well as soliciting input from users. "We are asking for feedback from applicants during the trial period and will assess based on the feedback and international standards," he said, adding that input on the application process, fee and visa validity period would be welcomed. During the trial run, applicants are required to fill out an online visa form, verify that all the information entered is correct and make an online credit card payment. Applicants will receive a visa approval letter via email and are then eligible to have their passport stamped upon arrival by presenting a print-out of the electronic approval letter. Following submission of an application, the approval process will take up to five days and the online visa costs US$50 per applicant. From the date that the approval letter is received, applicants have up to 90 days to enter Burma, where they can stay for a maximum of 28 days. "The online visa applicants can apply from anywhere and would not need to visit the embassy to apply for a visa," the Ministry of Immigration and Population stated. Previously, travelers to Burma were required to apply in person at a Burmese Embassy abroad. The parameters of the online application process, including the visa fee, may be subject to change upon review of the trial period, the Ministry of Immigration and Population official said. The launch of the e-visa system comes tourist numbers to Burma continue to swell. Foreign arrivals through the first seven months of this year rose 43 percent compared with the same period in 2013, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism announced last week. January through July 2014 tallied 1,604,746 arrivals, compared with 1,121,795 over the first seven months of 2013. The post Burma Begins Trial Run for Online Tourism Visas appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma’s Tay Za ‘Rethinking’ Bank Sale to Ne Win’s Family Posted: 13 Aug 2014 03:40 AM PDT Tay Za talks to the media after President Thein Sein met with Burma's top tycoons earlier this year in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burmese tycoon Tay Za has said he is "reconsidering" an offer from the family of late dictator Gen. Ne Win to buy a majority stake in Asia Green Development (AGD) Bank. Last month a small share in the bank was transferred to one of Ne Win's grandsons, with another grandson claiming that the family's company had reached an agreement with Tay Za—the founder and majority shareholder—to buy 60 percent of AGD Bank's shares. Speaking to reporters at the annual meeting of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Rangoon on Tuesday, Htoo Group Chairman Tay Za said he was planning to divest from the bank he set up in 2010 because of the impact of US sanctions against him. "I am selling out 60 percent of AGD bank's shares, yet I'm reconsidering about it. I'm saying this openly since I don’t want anyone to suffer," said Tay Za, without specifying the reason for his reconsideration of the sale. Fifteen percent of the bank's shares were transferred to new shareholders in July, with 1.5 percent of the bank going to Kyaw Ne Win, one of Ne Win's grandsons. Tay Za said the Ne Win family had not yet paid for those shares already transferred. As a punishment for his alleged continuing links to Burma's former military regime and arms deals, the US Treasury Department includes Tay Za and his companies on its Specially Designated Nationals list, barring companies and individuals with interests in the United States from dealing with him. "The foreign banks are coming in. We even have to provide Master Card services later than the other banks because of US sanctions on me," Tay Za told reporters. "Everything I do is later than the others. They did not seem so warm towards us. The facts I have just mentioned are the reason why I want to sell my shares out." He also noted that a major company is backing the Ne Win family. The other Ne Win grandson, Aye Ne Win, told The Irrawaddy last month that the China National Corporation for Overseas Economic Corporation (CCOEC), which is part of a Chinese state-owned conglomerate, was using the family company, Omni, to invest US$4.9 billion in various sectors in Burma. "The company that they are working with is a big company which is giving financial support to 100 countries around the world," he said. Tay Za has complained in the past about the impact of sanctions on his businesses in the past, and may want to offload companies to avoid his sanctioned status disadvantaging them as Burma's economy becomes open to competition from Western firms. A article about Tay Za in Forbes Asia last month mentioned that the airline he founded, Air Bagan, had been losing money due to the sanctions. A note now appears on the online story saying that Air Bagan Chairman Htoo Thet Htwe wrote to Forbes Asia following publication to insist that Tay Za "is no longer involved with Air Bagan as a shareholder or a Board Member." The post Burma's Tay Za 'Rethinking' Bank Sale to Ne Win's Family appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Sagaing Division Farmers Stage Protest Against Trial, Land-Grabs Posted: 13 Aug 2014 03:33 AM PDT In May, farmers in Kantbalu Township plowed land they claim has been confiscated from them, but Burma Army units and local authorities intervened. About 300 farmers have been since been charged for trespassing. (Photo: FNI) MANDALAY — About 1,000 farmers in Sagaing Division's Kantbalu Township staged a protest on Wednesday to demand back confiscated lands and ask for the release of dozens of villagers who were recently imprisoned, local sources said. The farmers had expected to gather in the thousands in order to pressure Kantbalu authorities over their harsh treatment of local communities in recent months, but due to the heavy rains only about 1,000 farmers showed up, according to local reporters who attended the demonstration. The protesters, who had gained prior authorization for the gathering, shouted slogans and held up banners and placards urging authorities to end the prosecution of some 300 farmers and return about 3,500 acres of land that was confiscated from eight villages by Burma Army units in the 1990s. The demonstrators marched from Kantbalu town's sport field to the township administration compound. Aung Khaing, a protester who is also facing charges, said farmers were protesting in order to step up pressure on local authorities and demand that the Sagaing Division Court overturns the conviction of imprisoned farmers. "We complained to the district court, but the court didn’t listen to us. We just want justice, our lands back and the release of our friends," he said. "We’ve sent appeals to the divisional court and divisional authorities but we received no answers so far," said Tin Tun, another protestor. The farmers face charges of trespassing and mischief causing damage because they had plowed land that is being used by a sugar cane company in May. About 65 farmers have since been sent to prison by Kantbalu Township Court, which handed down sentences that ranged from 3 months to several years' imprisonment. Roughly 240 other farmers are awaiting their verdicts in the trial in coming weeks and many could face imprisonment. Some 3,500 acres in Kantbula Township were forcibly confiscated by a local army unit in 1997 and later leased to local businessmen, who have since been planting it with sugar cane. The farmers have been trying to reclaim the land for several years and filed complaints with authorities. In 2013, the Ministry of Defense announced it would return confiscated lands to farm communities across Burma, and in Kantbalu about 100 farmers were told by local authorities that they would receive several acres of land each. However, the company who leased the lands has reportedly refused to vacate the sugar plantation and only a few farmers received back some land. This intransigence on the part of the company sparked tensions that led to the May protest and plowing of land. Aung Khaing said even the few who received letters saying they could access their land had been prosecuted for trespassing after they began cultivating it. "Only four farmers got back their land, but they are now in the prison," he said. Officials at Kantbalu Township and Sagaing Division offices declined to comment on the protest, saying they were too busy to talk to reporters. The post Sagaing Division Farmers Stage Protest Against Trial, Land-Grabs appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma’s Peace Process Could Take ‘Several Generations’ Posted: 13 Aug 2014 02:46 AM PDT Ashley South is an independent consultant and senior adviser for the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI), a Norwegian-led group formed at the request of Burma's government last year to build confidence in the ceasefire and peace processes. (Photo courtesy of Ashley South) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The peace process undertaken by Burma's government and the country's ethnic armed groups could take several generations to complete, according to an analyst watching the negotiations closely. The government of President Thein Sein is looking to sign a nationwide ceasefire with ethnic rebel leaders, which would be followed by political dialogue to address the groups' decades-old demands for some kind of autonomy. But negotiations have dragged on many months now, and long-time Burma watcher Ashley South said the fate of peace process would be uncertain in the hands of a different president. South recently returned from the Philippines to study peace negotiations between the government and ethnic rebels in the south of the country. He said the Philippines had been negotiating with various ethnic Moro armed groups since 1979, and a comprehensive agreement has yet to be achieved. "A lasting settlement to decades of ethnic conflict in Myanmar will take several years to achieve—and perhaps several generations," said South, who serves as an independent consultant to the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI), a Norway-backed international initiative to support the ceasefire talks. In a review of its work over the past two years, published in April, MPSI said that parliamentary elections set to be held late next year could act as an interruption to the peace process, which could go on until perhaps 2020. South said it was difficult to see how those involved in the peace talks can agree to a framework for political dialogue, conduct substantial talks and reach agreement on key issues, and have this ratified in a way which will be credible post-election—all before "election fever" takes hold in Burma. He believes a better approach would be for the government and ethnic leaders to accelerate achieving a political agreement of substance now, but wait until after the polls to begin broader national political dialogue. "Furthermore, it's not obvious that the future government of Myanmar—particularly if led by a different president—will want to own and continue the current government's peace process," said South. The MPSI report said that the ceasefire and ongoing peace process in Burma had helped to transform the livelihood of civilians affected by decades of armed conflict. Internally displace persons (IDPs) have started to return home in some conflict-affected areas, rebuilding their lives. These changes are appreciated in those areas, the report said, although it raised concerns about whether ceasefires can be maintained. MPSI-associated projects have been undertaken across five ethnic states— Chin, Shan, Mon, Karen and Karenni—and in Pegu and Tenasserim divisions. "I think the overwhelming concern of most conflict-affected communities is that fighting does not break out again. In many areas, IDPs have benefited greatly from the peace process—with a reduction in human rights abuses and fear, greater freedom of travel and association, and in some cases improving livelihoods," said South. However, he said, many communities remain concerned about issues such as widespread land grabbing, and whether the peace process is sustainable without a political settlement, especially as armed conflict is an ongoing in Kachin State and northern Shan State. A villager from Kyaukgyi village tract in Pegu Division told the MPSI, "It [a ceasefire] should be the genuine one. We will be very happy if it is the case. But, if the ceasefire breaks down again, conditions will be worse. And it is meaningless to me to live on." The MPSI report said that international donors and diplomats need to better reflect their understanding of historical and present complexities in Burma in their strategies for support to Burma and the peace process. Those working in conflict-affected areas need to understand and better respond to local political cultures and local perceptions and the dynamics of peace and conflict at the sites of their work, said the report. Backed by the Norwegian government, the MPSI has spent US$5 million in supporting peace-related activities in Burma. Community-based organizations and critics have criticized the MPSI for a lack of transparency and local involvement in its work. "International donors and aid agencies mostly like to position themselves as neutral, in relation to conflict in Myanmar. However, the underlying causes of armed and state-society conflict in Myanmar are highly political," South said. "If outside interventions do not engage with these inevitably political realities, the likelihood is that they will support the status quo, which tends to favor the government's political, social and economic agendas—and those of the aid agencies, rather than their ethnic counterparts." The post Burma's Peace Process Could Take 'Several Generations' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Laiza Under the Gun Posted: 12 Aug 2014 05:31 PM PDT In Laiza, the headquarters of the rebel Kachin Independence Army, a war-weary town and its residents have seen better days. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) LAIZA, Kachin State — Generally, a trip to this border town is not easy. Though Laiza is situated in Kachin State, visitors are not normally able to get here directly as the road is blocked by the Burmese military thanks to recent fighting with the rebel Kachin Independent Army, which calls the town its headquarters. Instead, travelers must take a roundabout trip to the Chinese side before crossing over and entering Laiza from Burma's northern neighbor. But last month, when ethnic rebel leaders held a summit to discuss ceasefire negotiations with the government, the Burmese Army opened up the road for the meeting. From Bhamo, a government-controlled town in Kachin State, it only took a few hours by car to get to Laiza. Though it was my first visit to the town, I was not unfamiliar with Laiza. According to colleagues who have been here previously, the rebel stronghold used to be a prosperous town that benefitted from a lively border trade. Casinos and hotels still dot the cityscape. But since early last year, when the government attacked the town and sent residents fleeing, Laiza today seems a shadow of its former glory. The main roads, which used to hum with the business of commerce, are somewhat deserted, except for regular patrols by KIA soldiers. "I used to earn around 80,000 kyats a day in the past," a betel-quid seller recounted. During the four-day conference, security was tightened across the town, offering a chance to talk to some rebel soldiers and take their photos. One soldier who I spoke with said he had joined the KIA when he was just 14 years old. I asked the now 19-year-old what he thinks about the peace process. "I don't know very much. If there is no fighting here, it'll be good for all of us. But it might be boring if there is no more gunfire!" The post Laiza Under the Gun appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Trickle Town Posted: 12 Aug 2014 05:00 PM PDT In Myanmar, there are concerns about how international aid money is being spent, and whether enough of it is helping those who need it. (Illustration: Harn Lay) YANGON — Back in the early 1980s, whenever fellow students told me that they lived in Yangon's Golden Valley, I knew at once that they were from elite families. In those days, we called this high-end neighborhood "Bogyoke Ywa," or "Generals' Village," because it was home to many high-ranking members of Myanmar's military ruling class. Now, three decades later, the area is still home to Yangon's privileged few. These days, however, residents are more likely to be foreign officials sent by UN agencies or international aid organizations to help get Myanmar back on its feet after half a century of military misrule. Needless to say, their landlords are the same generals who grew rich even as the country descended into economic ruin. In every country where the aid industry takes root, there is controversy about how it spends its money. A common complaint is that international staff and consultants receive the lion's share of funding, leaving only a fraction of the total for those most in need. In Myanmar, another major source of concern for those who worry about how aid money is used is the fact that the country's economy is still very much in the hands of military men (both serving and retired) and their families and cronies. For instance, fully 60 percent of the property in Yangon is believed to be owned by a handful of individuals who owe their wealth to an oppressive regime that denied citizens their basic rights for decades. One consequence of this is that rents for properties in Yangon are outrageously high. As The Irrawaddy revealed in May, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) pays more than US$1 million a year for a Golden Valley property owned by Gen. Nyunt Tin, a former minister for agriculture and irrigation under the regime that ruled until 2011. Although he was sacked in September 2004, allegedly for his involvement in a foreign exchange and import license scam worth more than $10 million, Gen. Nyunt Tin was apparently allowed to retain his ill-gotten gains, including the compound now rented by Unicef, which is currently valued by realtors at $27 million. The irony of this is that Unicef last year issued a report urging Myanmar's government to increase its spending on health and education, which it estimated to be less than 2 percent of the country's GDP, despite increases since the current quasi-civilian government assumed power. "While Unicef strongly supports the current Myanmar reform process, the time for enhanced spending on children is now," the agency's country director Bertrand Bainvel said at the time. While Unicef is certainly correct in its assessment of the government's misplaced priorities, it appears that its own spending in Myanmar is not immune to the influence of an economy warped and distorted by the greed of generals and their cronies. And Unicef is not alone. When asked by The Irrawaddy how much it was paying for its offices on Pyay Road in Mayangone Township, the World Health Organization (WHO) admitted that its rent for the property was $79,000 a month—a figure that represents more than a tenth of the agency's annual budget in Myanmar of $9 million. In a press release, the WHO said that the property "belongs to a landlady [named] Daw Khin Nwe Mar Tun." But whoever holds the deed to the property, the real owner is likely to be someone with ties to the former regime. Dividing the Spoils Last year, one of Myanmar's wealthiest businessmen told me that before the military junta stepped down from power, Deputy Snr.-Gen. Maung Aye, the regime's number two, invited a group of tycoons close to him to divide Yangon among themselves. Sitting with a map of the city open before them, the powerful general told them to take their pick of prime real estate. They wasted no time in snapping up properties that are now worth millions of dollars. What makes this story even more galling is the fact that virtually none of the money from these transactions or subsequent rental revenues ever makes it into the national coffers. In June, an official with the Department of Internal Revenue admitted that "more than 80 percent" of property owners have been evading tax on income earned from rent for many years. What this means is that Myanmar—a resource-rich country that is attracting massive amounts of foreign direct investment—could remain dependent on foreign aid for years to come. As a nation that prides itself on its independence, this is a depressing thought, indeed. But for some of our "development partners," it may be music to their ears. The aid business is an extremely lucrative one for some companies. Take, for instance, Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), a Washington, D.C.-based private development company that in 2010 received more than $380 million in contract funding from USAID (the US federal government agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid) to deliver "development services" to countries around the world. DAI's office in Yangon is located at 70(P) Golden Valley Avenue, an address owned by relatives of Gen. Khin Nyunt, Myanmar's former spymaster, whose role in imprisoning and torturing dissidents earned him the epithet "the prince of evil." Writing in a commentary for The Irrawaddy, independent human rights consultant Mr. Jonathan Hulland asks a question that has been on the lips of many outraged by the way money intended for the victims of the former junta keeps ending up in the wrong pockets: "But rather than enriching these tyrants, doesn't the international aid industry have an obligation to help Myanmar break from its dictatorship past?" Tainted Trade It isn't just the aid industry that is raising troubling questions about who is benefiting most from Myanmar's much-applauded opening up: The rush to invest in one of Asia's most promising frontier markets is also rife with ethical problems that many seem happy to sweep under the rug. This was highlighted in early June, when the Canadian government made the embarrassing mistake of allowing Steven Law, scion of a business empire founded on profits from one of Southeast Asia's largest heroin-trafficking operations, to enter Canada as part of an official trade mission. Rather than addressing how this could have happened, officials played down the significance of the error, which said much about how poorly many foreign governments understand who they're dealing with in Myanmar. In an article titled "Myanmar: The 'next economic frontier' for Canadians," Bryon Wilfert, Myanmar's honorary consul to Canada, wrote that The Irrawaddy's revelations that Mr. Law, son of notorious Kokang Chinese warlord Lo Hsing Han, had joined the Myanmar delegation under his Chinese name, Lo Ping Zhong, should not be a cause for concern. "Certainly this was not something Canadian authorities were aware of prior to the visit and anyone who met him during his time here did not break Canadian rules if they did business with him," Mr. Wilfert wrote on a Canadian diplomatic news website. Indeed, if you're serious about doing business in Myanmar, you had better get used to shaking hands with some shady characters. Even the European Union, which regularly touts its commitment to "responsible investment" to allay concerns about the impact of a growing European corporate presence in Myanmar, has found it impossible to avoid unsavory connections. To accommodate its expanding mission in the country, the European Commission has rented office space at the Hledan Center in Yangon. The owner of the center is Asia World, a huge conglomerate run by none other than Steven Law and his Singaporean wife, Cecilia Ng. Neighbors What could be more questionable than signing a lease with a US-blacklisted businessman with known connections to the illegal drug trade? In Myanmar, the only thing more likely to provoke the anger of ordinary citizens would be to establish ties to one of the country's former dictators. And that is precisely what the EU has managed to do with its choice of location for the new EU ambassador's residence. Located on May Kha (formerly Ady) Road, the new residence was upgraded to international standards last year in preparation for the arrival of newly appointed ambassador Roland Kobia, a Belgian whose last posting was in Azerbaijan. Next door is the former home of Gen. Ne Win, the late dictator who first imposed military rule on Myanmar, and whose family still owns several other properties in this once secluded area, including the one that is now home to the EU ambassador. The EU has declined to say how much it is paying for the residence, and members of the Ne Win clan say that they are not at liberty to disclose the rental fee. In an article I wrote for the online version of The Irrawaddy, I cited a source who said it was in the same ballpark as the Unicef office—about US$1 million a year. Rather than challenge this figure, the EU has chosen to remain silent, hoping the issue will go away. Clearly, nothing is going to stand in the way of the quest to turn Myanmar's resources into riches. Even a proposal to establish a European Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar with €2.7 million ($3.7 million) in EU funding—despite the fact that there is already a similar body that serves the same function—looks like little more than an effort to exploit the "Myanmar mania" that has taken hold in the EU. Hand in hand with the push for more trade will come more and more projects that ostensibly aim to alleviate Myanmar's profound poverty and other deficits. While the country's people certainly need all the help they can get after decades of neglect, the danger is that some of such efforts will only enrich those who have kept the country down for so long, and who are now undeservedly reaping the rewards of "reform." This article was first published as the cover story of the August 2014 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Trickle Town appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

India’s Modi Accuses Pakistan of Waging Proxy War Posted: 12 Aug 2014 10:34 PM PDT Indian Army soldiers carry a flag-draped coffin containing the body of a colleague killed in a cross-border firing along India's border with Pakistan on July 23, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Mukesh Gupta) SRINAGAR, India — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused Pakistan on Tuesday of waging "proxy war" by sending militants to attack India and used a trip to the disputed Kashmir region to stress that reconciliation between the nuclear-armed neighbors needs peace. Making his second visit since his election triumph in May to the northern region—whose territory has been divided since a war between India and Pakistan that followed their independence in 1947—Modi vowed to strengthen India's armed forces. "The neighboring country has lost the strength to fight a conventional war but continues to engage in the proxy war of terrorism," Modi told officers and men from the army and air force in the Himalayan region of Leh. The Hindu nationalist politician was elected by a landslide on promises to restore India's economic and military prowess and meet the security challenge posed by a rising China and long-running tension with Pakistan. Yet he surprised many observers by inviting South Asian leaders—including Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif—to his inauguration in a bid to bolster neglected regional ties. There are regular clashes on the Line of Control that divides Indian- and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, however, and Modi has made clear that bilateral dialogue depends on the guns falling silent. Modi, whose speech to troops in Leh was televised, gave no details of Pakistan's "proxy war," but India has for years complained that Pakistan backs separatist militants who slip in from Pakistani-controlled Kashmir to stage attacks. Both Pakistan's foreign ministry and its military declined to make any immediate comment on Modi's speeches. Pakistan has said in the past it gives only political support to the Muslim people of Kashmir who it says face human rights abuses at the hands of Indian troops. India denies this. India also wants faster prosecution of Pakistan-based militants accused of plotting the 2008 attacks on its financial capital, Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed. Pakistan says it is doing all it can to bring to book those against whom there is evidence. In a second speaking stop, Modi went to Kargil, the scene of an undeclared war in 1999 when Pakistani troops infiltrated Indian-controlled Kashmir without the knowledge of Sharif, who was prime minister at the time. "The patriotism of the people of Kargil inspires the people of India. I bow to this land and to the people," Modi said, paying homage to his political mentor Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was premier during the Kargil conflict. In his government's maiden budget last month, Modi boosted defense spending by 12 percent in 2014-15 over the previous year, when it was held at 2.04 trillion rupees (US$33.4 billion). Sharif has made improving relations with India a cornerstone of his policy, yet Pakistan's powerful military and security establishment is less keen to do so, also seeking to assert its primacy in external affairs. Sharif also faces a challenge from dissident cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, who aims to topple his government and has announced a major demonstration to be staged by his followers in Islamabad on Thursday. Another anti-government protest will be led in Pakistan on the same day by opposition leader Imran Khan, who is demanding electoral reforms and an investigation into last year's polls, which Sharif won in a landslide victory. The post India's Modi Accuses Pakistan of Waging Proxy War appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

China Announces Birth of Rare Panda Triplets Posted: 12 Aug 2014 10:15 PM PDT Newborn giant panda triplets, which were born to giant panda Juxiao (not pictured), are seen inside an incubator at the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou, Guangdong province August 4, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — China announced Tuesday the birth of extremely rare panda triplets in a further success for the country's artificial breeding program. The three cubs were born July 29 in the southern city of Guangzhou, but breeders delayed an announcement until they were sure all three would survive, the official China News Service said. The mother, Ju Xiao, and the three as-yet-unnamed cubs are healthy, the news agency said. Photos showed the three sleeping and standing in their incubator, their bodies pink and mostly hairless. Ju Xiao was impregnated in March with sperm from a panda living at a Guangzhou zoo. Ju Xiao was under round-the-clock care for the final weeks of her pregnancy, according to the report. The triplets were born within four hours of each other and currently weigh between 230 grams (8 ounces) and 333 grams (12 ounces). The report said the triplets were only the fourth known to have been born in the world through artificial breeding programs, but it wasn't clear how many had survived from such births. China has devoted major resources to increasing the numbers of the country's unofficial national mascot and regularly announces the birth of pandas born at zoos and at the Wolong breeding center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, where most wild pandas are found. There are about 1,600 giant pandas in the wild, where they are critically endangered due to loss of habitat and low birth rates. More than 300 live in captivity, mostly in China's breeding programs. The post China Announces Birth of Rare Panda Triplets appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

China TV Series on Deng Stirs Questions on Political Openness Posted: 12 Aug 2014 10:07 PM PDT A man looks out from a window next to a portrait of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping wearing military uniform in a gallery at Dafen Oil Painting Village, in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong province, April 24, 2011. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — China's state television is airing a serial on late leader Deng Xiaoping, a rare portrayal of a top politician that state media have trumpeted as a sign the Communist Party is easing its grip on officials' sensitive legacies. The 48-part drama series chronicles a period between 1976 and 1984, when Deng began pushing China toward market reforms that ignited its transition into the world's second largest economy. "In recent years, China's restricted areas of speech have obviously decreased. This series marks significant progress," the Global Times, a tabloid owned by party mouthpiece the People's Daily, said in an editorial on Monday. But the show has prompted debate about how producers will approach sensitive internal conflicts that have more or less been air brushed out of official party accounts. More contentious than the show's central figure is the novel appearance of actors depicting several other controversial politicians, among them the late reformist Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang, who Deng ousted. Hu's death in April 1989 sparked student protests centered on Tiananmen Square, a movement that later turned into pro-democracy demonstrations that were crushed by the military on orders from Deng on June 3 and 4 that year. The timeframe of the series means it is likely to skirt Hu's 1987 ouster and the Tiananmen crackdown, and it is unclear how it will address, if at all, the 1981 downfall at Deng's hands of Hua Guofeng, Mao Zedong's anointed successor. The proof would be in the showing, said Zhang Ming, a political science professor at Renmin University in Beijing. "[The show] is perhaps a signal that events in this era are no longer as sensitive," Zhang added. "If it turns out that they reveal certain things, then it could have desensitizing benefits," he said, referring to party battles between leaders. In China, all broadcast media and films are pre-screened for approval and anything deemed politically sensitive is banned. China's government and the party have a track record of covering up bad or embarrassing information. Mention of events such as the Tiananmen protests remains taboo, and strict censorship limits the public's awareness. The myriad off-limit topics tend to funnel productions toward the drama of war, typically with programs that pit Communist armies beating back Japanese invaders. China's state administrator approved 69 anti-Japanese television series for production in 2012. Despite the popularity of those shows, a series about Deng's struggles is something of a fresh turn of events for prime-time viewers. Some marveled that screened episodes of the show deal with the downfall of the Gang of Four, led by Mao's widow, an event at the end of the disastrous Cultural Revolution that remains one of China's worst political scandals. "It appears it's the first time the Cultural Revolution Gang of Four has been mentioned in a television drama … China really was in its most calamitous moments at that time. Intense!" one viewer wrote on the Weibo microblog. 'Typical Propaganda' Without question, the series has propaganda value to the party now led by President Xi Jinping, who has pledged to embark on his own economic reforms to reduce dependence on exports and state investment. Produced by state broadcaster China Central Television in honor of Deng's 110th birthday in August, according to the official Xinhua news agency, the drama opens with a scene in which Deng draws water in the rain to swab his disabled son during the Cultural Revolution, when he was purged. It comes amid a broader wave of efforts by the party to highlight Deng, with state media publishing a string of articles on the leader and previously unreleased speeches. More than 10,000 copies of the US$19.4-million production were sent to government leaders, researchers and close connections of Deng "to seek their opinions," the official English-language China Daily said, citing director Wu Ziniu. Wu could not be reached for comment. Hao Jian, a film critic and professor at Beijing Film Academy, said he was skeptical how far the series would go in loosening the narratives around China's ruling elite. "I know many people are reading this as a political symbol, but I don't see it," said Hao, who was among a handful of activists detained by authorities for more than a month in May for attending a small meeting to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of the Tiananmen protests. "Often, they will change the facts of history to suit propaganda goals. It's typical propaganda," Hao said. The post China TV Series on Deng Stirs Questions on Political Openness appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Asbestos Pushed in Asia as Product for the Poor Posted: 12 Aug 2014 09:59 PM PDT Jars containing different mixes of chrysotile, or white asbestos, sit on exhibit in the administrative office of a Brazilian mining company. (Photo: Reuters) VAISHALI, India — The executives mingled over tea and sugar cookies, and the chatter was upbeat. Their industry, they said at a conference in the Indian capital, saves lives and brings roofs, walls and pipes to some of the world's poorest people. Their product? Asbestos. Outlawed in much of the developed world, it is still going strong in the developing one. In India alone, the world's biggest asbestos importer, it's a US$2 billion industry providing 300,000 jobs. The International Labor Organization, World Health Organization, medical researchers and more than 50 countries say the mineral should be banned; asbestos fibers lodge in the lungs and cause disease. The ILO estimates 100,000 people die from workplace exposure every year. But the industry executives at the asbestos conference, held in a luxury New Delhi hotel, said the risks are overblown. Instead, they described their business as a form of social welfare for hundreds of thousands of impoverished Indians still living in flimsy, mud-and-thatch huts. "We're here not only to run our businesses, but to also serve the nation," said Abhaya Shankar, a director of India's Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers Association. Yet there are some poor Indians trying to keep asbestos out of their communities. In the farming village of Vaishali, in the eastern state of Bihar, residents became outraged by the construction of an asbestos factory in their backyard. They had learned about the dangers of asbestos from a school boy's science textbooks, and worried asbestos fibers would blow into their tiny thatch homes. Their children, they said, could contract lung diseases most Indian doctors would never test for, let alone treat. They petitioned for the factory to be halted. But in December 2012, its permit was renewed, inciting thousands to rally on a main road for 11 hours. Amid the chaos, a few dozen villagers demolished the partially built factory. "It was a moment of desperation," a teacher said on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the company. "There was no other way for us to express our outrage." The company later filed lawsuits, still pending, accusing several villagers of vandalism and theft. Durable and heat-resistant, asbestos was long a favorite insulation material in the West. Medical experts say inhaling any form of asbestos can lead to deadly diseases 20-40 years later including lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis, or the scarring of the lungs. Dozens of countries including Japan, Argentina and all European Union nations have banned it entirely. Others like the United States have severely curtailed its use. The asbestos lobby says the mineral has been unfairly maligned by Western nations that used it irresponsibly. It also says one of the six forms of asbestos is safe: chrysotile, or white asbestos, which accounts for more than 95 percent of all asbestos used since 1900. Medical experts reject this. "All types of asbestos fiber are causally implicated in the development of various diseases and premature death," the Societies of Epidemiology said in a 2012 position statement. Russia now provides most asbestos on the world market. Meanwhile, rich nations are suffering health and economic consequences from past use. American businesses have paid out at least $1.3 billion in the largest collection of personal injury lawsuits in US legal history. Billions have been spent stripping asbestos from buildings in the West. Umesh Kumar, a roadside vendor in Bihar's capital, has long known there are health hazards to the 3-by-1 meter (10-by-3 foot) asbestos cement sheets he sells for 600 rupees ($10) each. But he doesn't guide customers to the 800 rupee tin or fiberglass alternatives. "This is a country of poor people, and for less money they can have a roof over their heads," he said. The two-day asbestos conference in December was billed as scientific, though organizers admitted they had no new research. One could say they've gone back in time to defend asbestos. The Indian lobby's website refers to 1998 WHO guidelines for controlled use of chrysotile, but skips updated WHO advice from 2007 suggesting all asbestos be banned. Its executive director, John Nicodemus, dismissed the WHO update as "scaremongering." Many of the speakers are regulars at asbestos conferences in the developing world. Toxicologist David Bernstein said that while chrysotile could cause disease if inhaled in large quantities or for prolonged periods, so could any tiny particle. Bernstein consulted for the Quebec-based Chrysotile Institute, which lost its Canadian government funding in 2012. He presented an animated video showing a type of white blood cell called a macrophage breaking down a chrysotile fiber and carrying it out of the lungs. "We have defense mechanisms. Our lungs are remarkable," Bernstein said. Other studies indicate, however, that chrysotile collects in the membrane lining the lungs, where the rare malignancy mesothelioma develops and chews through the chest wall, leading to excruciating death. Research such as Bernstein's frustrates retired US Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Richard Lemen, who first advocated a chrysotile ban in 1976. "His presentation is pretty slick, and when he puts it on animation mode, people think: Wow, he must know what he's talking about," Lemen said by telephone from Atlanta. In Vaishali, the permit for the asbestos plant was canceled by Bihar's chief minister last year. But Indian officials remain divided and confused about the risks. India placed a moratorium on new asbestos mining in 1986, but never banned use of the mineral despite two Supreme Court orders. The position of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new government is unclear. Meanwhile, Vaishali's resistance has sparked other protests, including in the nearby district of Bhojpur. "Many people are not aware of the effects, especially the illiterate," said Madan Prasad Gupta, a village leader in Bhojpur, sipping tea at the roadside tea shop he built decades ago when he had no idea what asbestos was. Over his head: a broken, crumbling asbestos cement roof. The post Asbestos Pushed in Asia as Product for the Poor appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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