The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Parliament Should Consider 5Millions in Favor of Constitutional Reform: 88 Generation Leader
• NLD Disavows Political Parties’ Ceasefire Statement
• Local Companies Invest US$ 45 Million in Luxury Napyidaw Hotel
• Burma’s ‘Transformation’ Shows Asia’s Promise: Kerry
• Floods Recede, Thousands Return Home in Pegu Division, Mon State
• Villagers in Central Burma Surround Police Sheltering in School After Shootings
• Asean Paralysis Gives China Free Hand in South China Sea
• On the Border, a Lifeline for Burma Migrants With HIV
• Pope Sends Good Will Message to China; Arrives in South Korea
• Kerry Eyes US-China Partnership Despite Tensions
• New Focus on Arms Industry Expansion in Southeast Asia

Parliament Should Consider 5Millions in Favor of Constitutional Reform: 88 Generation Leader Posted: 14 Aug 2014 06:08 AM PDT NLD spokesperson Nyan Win and 88-Generation leader Ko Ko Gyi jointly signed a letter informing Parliament about the petition on Wednesday. (Photo: National League for Democracy/Facebook) The National League for Democracy (NLD) and the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society on Wednesday presented Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann with a petition calling for constitutional reform that was signed by nearly 5 million people across Burma. 88 Generation leader Ko Ko Gyi urged Parliament, which is dominated by former junta members and military officers, to seriously consider the political implications of the call of millions of citizens for reforms to the undemocratic 2008 charter. "We want the public's demands to be heard," he said. "We follow [parliamentary] procedure; it is the House Speaker who has to now inform lawmakers [about the petition]. "When they cast their vote [on constitutional amendments], lawmakers must respect and value the public demands. They must respect it. If their decision goes against the public's demands then they should have explanations about their objections to [amending] Article 436," Ko Ko Gyi said. However, a senior ruling party member was dismissive about the opposition's petition on Thursday and questioned the public's knowledge of the Constitution. Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) lawmaker Tin Maung Oo said the petition would "to some extent" have political implications, but he went on to claim that, "There are few people who actually read the Constitution and are aware of the benefits and disadvantages of it." "I talked to a Canadian diplomat in Naypyidaw and I told him I believe that only 10 percent of the population understands the issues involved with the Constitution," he said, adding that he also doubted the authenticity of some of the collected signatures. "I had an experience with a taxi driver in Yangon who I recently talked to. He admitted that he signed the petition for amendments to Article 436 at about 10 different places," said Tin Maung Oo, who is on a USDP-dominated Lower House committee that is studying constitutional reforms. Ko Ko Gyi took issue with the USPD lawmaker's claims, saying, "We have tried to get an accurate number of [supporting] signatures by meeting with the public and informing them about the advantages and disadvantages." He said the public felt strongly about the 2008 Constitution and a large number of signatures had been collected in relative short period despite efforts by some local authorities to hinder the campaign. Shwe Mann told reporters on Tuesday, ahead of the handing over of the petition, that it could have an impact on Parliament's considerations of constitutional reforms, saying, "This is relevant to constitutional change. Parliament listens to the people, and that could have significance when it comes to constitutional reform." The USDP chairman and a Parliament Speaker, who reportedly has good relations with Suu Kyi but also eyes the presidency, has occasionally spoken out about reforms to the charter, but appears to have no fixed position on the changes. In July, he told the media that the petition would have no bearing on the reforms as this was under the authority of the Parliamentary Constitutional Amendment Implementation Committee. Ba Shein, a Lower House Arakan National Party MP, said it was now up to Shwe Mann to decide how the petition is brought for consideration in Parliament. "The House Speaker can either pass this petition to the parliamentary commission [on constitutional reform] or inform Parliament directly, he has the power to do something with this," he said, before adding that he had little hope that the USDP and military MPs would make significant changes to the charter. In recent months, NLD chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi and the 88 Generation activists addressed public rallies and collected 4,953,093 signatures from 301 townships across the nation in support of amendments to Article 436, a clause that stipulates that constitutional reform requires more than 75 percent of parliamentary votes, giving an effective veto to the military MPs. The Constitution is widely viewed as undemocratic as it grants the army direct control over a quarter of Parliament seats and blocks Suu Kyi from any future presidency because her sons are British nationals. The party and the activists joined forces in February to begin a nationwide public campaign to call for amendments to the military-drafted charter, after months of talks between Suu Kyi and the USDP, a party filled with former junta members, had yielded no results. The parliamentary committee has said it would discuss amending Article 436 and a number of other articles, but decided on June 12 that it was unwilling to amend Article 59 (f), landing a blow to Suu Kyi's hopes of holding presidential office. The post Parliament Should Consider 5Millions in Favor of Constitutional Reform: 88 Generation Leader appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

NLD Disavows Political Parties’ Ceasefire Statement Posted: 14 Aug 2014 05:21 AM PDT About 150 representatives from 66 political parties attended the meeting with President's Office Minister Aung Min and other members of the government's peace negotiating team at the Myanmar Peace Center on Monday. (Photo: Myanmar Peace Center / Facebook) RANGOON — Next time, maybe the National League for Democracy will stick around until the end of the meeting. Burma's largest opposition party distanced itself this week from a statement by dozens of political parties that called for the signing of a nationwide ceasefire between the government and ethnic armed groups "as soon as possible," while an NLD leader insisted the party supports the general principle of the document released on Monday. "The National League for Democracy, ethnic parties and other parties were not involved in the statement released on August 11, 2014, by political parties that attended the meeting on peace process discussions," read a statement from the party on Wednesday. Representatives from the NLD apparently left the gathering of 66 of Burma's 67 registered political parties before the meeting had adjourned, missing a voice vote on whether there were any objections to the resolution and later finding its name listed as a signatory to the document. "Some political parties got together to urge for peace process implementation during a coffee break. The NLD felt that [the statement] was not concerned with the topic of the meeting so the NLD was not involved in the discussion," the party said in the statement. A senior NLD official declined to identify the "ethnic parties and other parties" that were not among the actual signatories to Monday's statement, saying only that "there are some parties we know." "The NLD does not oppose a ceasefire," Hantha Myint, an NLD central executive committee member, told The Irrawaddy. "We are not saying we don't want to be involved [in ceasefire negotiations]. We are just saying we were not involved in releasing that statement." "We are not saying not to implement a ceasefire. Nor are we saying that we are not satisfied with the [political parties'] call [for ceasefire]. We just want to say that what they did was not in line with the meeting agenda," Hantha Myint added. About 150 representatives from 66 political parties attended the meeting with President's Office Minister Aung Min and other members of the government's Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC) at the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) in Rangoon on Monday to discuss a framework for political dialogue and ongoing peace negotiations with ethnic armed groups. "We urge all concerned parties to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement as soon as possible for the sake of long and sustained peacebuilding in [Burma]. From that, without fail there should be a framework for political dialogue and the [start of] political dialogue, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement," the parties were purported to have said jointly. However, a copy of the document seen by The Irrawaddy concludes with: "This statement is released by the free wish of the following political parties," and below is signed simply, "Political Parties." Aye Min, who attended the meeting as a representative from the Dawei Nationalities Party, said the document was later amended to include the names of all 66 political parties that sent representatives to the meeting. A Shan Nationalities Democratic Party representative proposed the statement and received support from three other parties, according to Thu Wai, chairman of the Democratic Party (Myanmar). "Nyan Win from the NLD left after a coffee break so they didn't know. This statement is out with the agreement of all parties [present] at the end," he said. Meanwhile, the Federal Democracy Alliance, which is made up of 11 political parties but does not include the NLD, released a statement on Thursday reaffirming its support for the resolution issued Monday. The confusion comes as members of the 16 ethnic armed rebel groups that comprise the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordinating Team (NCCT) prepare to meet with government peace negotiators on Friday to attempt to iron out differences between the two sides' draft ceasefire proposals. The post NLD Disavows Political Parties' Ceasefire Statement appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Local Companies Invest US$ 45 Million in Luxury Napyidaw Hotel Posted: 14 Aug 2014 04:20 AM PDT The pool area of the new Kempinski hotel in Naypyidaw. (Photo: Kyaw Hsu Mon / The Irrawaddy) NAYPYIDAW — Though Burma's new capital Naypyidaw has developed a reputation as being somewhat of a ghost town, international hotel group Kempinski is confident about its prospects as it prepares to open a new luxury five-star hotel there in November. Local conglomerate Kanbawza (KBZ) Group and Jewellery Luck Company have invested US$45 million total, taking 50 percent shares each, in what will be the city's most expensive luxury hotel, Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw, managed by Europe-based Kempinski. The hotel will be the second hotel in Naypyidaw to be managed by an international chain. It will be built in Hotel Zone 1, where the most expensive local and international hotels are located, near the summit venue for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Kempinski acquired a 50 acre compound for the 141-room hotel in late 2012, according to the hotel group's general manager, Franck Droin. He said renovations began in March this year on three main buildings, and that construction would be finished before the Asean Summit in November. He added that 180 staff would work at the hotel and had already started training. "We have renovated over the past eight months. The hotel is designed with the flair of Myanmar, with traditional handicrafts," said Lewis Ho, the principal of Aye Lwin & Associates, which is responsible for the interior design. Room prices will be the most expensive in the city, ranging from US$220 to $4,000. Droin said he expected major clients to include state delegations visiting Burma for the Asean Summit, as well as NGO and business delegations. Burma is chairing Asean for the first time in 17 years. Summits of the regional grouping began earlier this year in Naypyidaw, with many state delegations staying in Hotel Zone 1. Since President Thein Sein's government took control in 2011, international hotel groups have shown an interest in investing in Burma, seen as a new frontier in tourism. The ParkRoyal hotel group became the first international hotel group to set up shop in Naypyidaw earlier this year, while the Hilton hotel group has also expressed an interest. The Kempinski hotel group was founded in 1897 in Europe, with hotels now in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. But some are questioning whether Naypyidaw—a city that seems mostly empty of people for much of the year—needs more hotels, when many rooms have remained empty during previous Asean meetings. "I don't think hotels in Naypyidaw can survive after the Asean Summit this year. Many international delegations come due to meetings, but in terms of regular guests, there won't be enough beyond the summit," said Kyaw Lin Oo, executive director of the Myanmar People Forum Working Group, which organize forums for the public in the capital. There are more than 50 local and international hotels in Naypyidaw, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. The post Local Companies Invest US$ 45 Million in Luxury Napyidaw Hotel appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma’s ‘Transformation’ Shows Asia’s Promise: Kerry Posted: 14 Aug 2014 03:44 AM PDT US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) shakes hands with Burmese President Thein Sein during their meeting at the Presidential hall, outside the venue of the 47th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Naypyidaw, August 9, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that "extraordinary transformations" of the kind that has taken place in Burma in recent years show the potential of Asia as a region. Kerry spoke at Hawaii's East-West Center on Wednesday following a trip that included a two-day stop in Burma last weekend, delivering a speech outlining the "US Vision for Asia-Pacific Engagement." According to a transcript of the speech, provided by the US State Department, Kerry highlighted Burma's recent move from military rule amid America's foreign policy "pivot" to Asia. "Such extraordinary transformations have actually become almost the norm in this [Asia-Pacific] region," he said. "I'll never forget, 15 years ago…I visited with Daw Aung Sung Sui Kyi in the very home in which she was imprisoned for nearly two decades. And this week, I had the privilege of again going back to the very same house—it hadn't changed, looked the same. She, by the way, 20 years later looks the same. And she is now free to speak her mind as a member of parliament. "It's remarkable. It doesn't mean all the [problems] are solved. But these transformations are just some of what makes Asia the most exciting and promising places on the planet." Kerry also met with Burmese government figures in Naypyidaw including President Thein Sein—the former general whose reformist government has been embraced by Washington. The US has suspended most of the sanctions it imposed against Burma's military junta, although an arms embargo and sanctions targeted against army officials and tycoons linked to the former regime are still in place. "In Burma last week, I saw firsthand the initial progress the people and the government have made. And I'm proud of the role—and you should be too—that the United States has played for a quarter of a century in encouraging that progress," he told the audience in Honolulu. "But Burma still has a long way to go, and those leading its democratic transformation are only now addressing the deepest challenges: Defining a new role for the military; reforming the constitution and supporting free and fair elections; ending a decades-long civil war; and guaranteeing in law the human rights that Burma's people have been promised in name." He said attracting investment, combating corruption and protecting forests and other natural resources were the "great tests of Burma's transition." Kerry also pointed to elections due at the end of next year as an important step. "The United States is going to do everything we can to help the reformers in Burma, especially by supporting nationwide elections next year," said Kerry. During his visit, Kerry also reportedly urged the Burmese government to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Arakan State, push back against hate speech and religious violence, implement constitutional reform, and protect freedom of assembly and expression. The post Burma's 'Transformation' Shows Asia's Promise: Kerry appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Floods Recede, Thousands Return Home in Pegu Division, Mon State Posted: 14 Aug 2014 12:33 AM PDT Last week, floods in Pegu town affected several thousand of its residents. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — More than 16,000 people who were displaced after severe flooding hit Pegu Division and Mon State last week have returned home, according to officials and community leaders, who said that those who went back to their villages are still in need of aid. Continuous heavy rains caused local flooding in the two regions since mid-July and last week the Pegu, Sitthaung and Thanlwin rivers broke their banks, inundating roads, towns and villages in large parts of Pegu Division and Mon State. A Pegu Division Relief Management Committee official said some 3,500 families, or 16,770 people, were displaced in his region and stayed in 18 relief centers for five to six days until floods receded and the Pegu River dropped below danger levels earlier this week. "All people at relief centers are returning to their homes. Around 90 people are left in a relief center and they will return soon," said the official, who declined to be named. Thaung Shwe, an official from Mon State's Disaster Relief Department, said several thousand people had been displaced by flooding in Kayikhto, Belin and Thaton townships. "There was flooding from Aug 5 to 7, but people have gone back to their homes and have been leaving the relief camps since Aug 8," he said, adding that the displaced had not suffered any serious problems as authorities had provided residents with food and health services. Mar Mar Khaing, chairperson of the National League for Democracy in Thaton Township, said, however, that the problems for the displaced residents were not over as their homes and belongings had been damaged, adding that poor families would struggle to replace student textbooks, clothes and other lost items. "People from relief centers have returned back their homes, but most flood victims are urgently in need if support. If not, they will not be OK," she said, adding that a lack of clean water was a particular concern because nearly 1,200 wells used by 600 families were contaminated with floodwater in three villages in Thaton Township. "There were distributions of water purification tablets but these could not cover the whole area," Mar Mar Khaing said. Khin Win Maw, an official at the Department of Meteorology, said she expected that the amount of rainfall would gradually decline as the rainy season winds down, adding that only the central region would see more downpours. "The rains will continue this week in the whole country, but the rain will be concentrated in the central region," she said, adding that authorities would broadcast regular weather forecast so the public can monitor the situation. The post Floods Recede, Thousands Return Home in Pegu Division, Mon State appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Villagers in Central Burma Surround Police Sheltering in School After Shootings Posted: 14 Aug 2014 12:26 AM PDT In a 2013 protest against the Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Division, demonstrators face off with riot police. (Photo: Han Win Aung / Facebook) MANDALAY — Dozens of police officers are currently holed up in a village school in Mandalay Division, surrounded by angry local residents, after three people were shot on Thursday as police opened fire on farmers attempting to reclaim lands confiscated by Burma's military. Local residents said about 50 police officers forcibly entered the village of Nyaung Wun in Sint Gu Township on Thursday morning, where they were then confronted by a crowd of villagers at the local sporting grounds who demanded to know why they were there. Three people were shot, with one woman seriously wounded and the other two sustaining only minor injuries, while another man was temporarily detained. "The police gave no answer but then opened fire and Daw San Kyin Nu was injured on her leg. U Myint Kyi was arrested. Then the farmers and villagers got angry and clashed with the police," said U Pannita, a monk who witnessed the incident. "The police took refuge at a village school located close to the sports grounds. Villagers have surrounded the school and asked police for the release of the villager, to explain what's going on and bring justice for the shooting," local resident Khin Maung Tint explained. Some police officers have since fled to safety, while most remain trapped in the schoolhouse, local residents told The Irrawaddy. According to the villagers, the woman who was seriously wounded was transported to the city of Mandalay for treatment, while the detained villager was released. "She was bleeding a lot as the bullet went through her leg. The hospital in Sint Gu said they could not handle her because of the heavy bleeding. Some villagers are accompanying her to Mandalay," said a villager. Since June, farmers from Nyaung Wun village have begun the process of plowing lands confiscated by the military in what has become an increasing common protest against land grabs in Burma. Nearly 7,000 acres of land around Nyaung Wun village was confiscated by the Burmese Army in the 1980s. The land was later leased to a company called Great World, which has since converted some of it into a sugar plantation. About 2,000 acres of the confiscated lands were being plowed by the villagers, who are asking that all the seized farmland be returned to them. "We heard the army would give up the confiscated lands and we submitted several appeals to get back our lands," said Tin Maung, a villager. "But neither the army nor the company has replied, that's why we are trying every means to win back our lands, and we want justice for what the police did to us today." This is a developing story. The post Villagers in Central Burma Surround Police Sheltering in School After Shootings appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Asean Paralysis Gives China Free Hand in South China Sea Posted: 13 Aug 2014 06:00 PM PDT Foreign dignitaries hold hands as they pose for a photo before the 4th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Naypyidaw on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters) The US call for a "freeze" on "provocative acts" in the South China Sea got a cool response at the August regional meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, also attended by many dialog partners in Burma's capital, Naypyidaw. US Secretary of State John Kerry had expected more from the meeting with the 10-nation bloc, also attended by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and diplomats from a host of other regional players, including Japan and South Korea. Kerry should not have been surprised as ASEAN functions on two cardinal principles: consensus and non-interference in member states' internal affairs. In effect, ASEAN finds it impossible to take any unified stand in regional conflicts—or address bilateral issues between its various members. This failure might leave China with a free hand to deal with South China Sea and its troublesome Southeast Asian neighbors. The Philippines and Vietnam, whose maritime claims in the South China Sea overlap with China's, would have been sympathetic to any follow-up on Kerry's suggestion. But Malaysia and Brunei, which also claim part of the area, seem reluctant to antagonize Asia's rising superpower. Thailand, Cambodia and Laos are much closer to China while Indonesia, ASEAN's most populous nation, takes a more neutral stand. Singapore goes its own way, and then there is Burma, with a long and troubled relationship with China. In essence, it was far too optimistic of Kerry to expect ASEAN to reach consensus on China's increasingly assertive policies towards its southern neighbors. Significantly, the meeting was held in Burma, a country that over the past few years has opened up to the West in order to lessen its previous heavy dependence on China for trade, investment, international diplomacy and military cooperation. Starting in the 1980s, while the West shunned Burma for its abysmal human-rights record and bloody suppression of any sign of dissent against its then-military regime, China had stepped in with favorable loans and investment in mining and hydroelectric power. China also flooded Burma's markets with cheap consumer goods and, in the early1990s, became the country's main supplier of military hardware. China also thwarted any attempts by the West to get the UN Security Council to take affirmative action against the ruling Burmese military. The turning point came in September 2011 when Burma's new President Thein Sein suspended a Chinese-backed, US$3.6 billion hydroelectric dam-project in the north of the country. More than 700 square kilometers of forestland would have been inundated with 90 percent of the electricity going to China. Later that year, then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a highly publicized visit to China, followed in November 2012 by President Barack Obama himself. In May this year, Obama stated that "if Burma succeeds, we will have gained a new partner without having fired a shot." By success, he was referring to "national reconciliation" and the country's reform process, but with his "Asian pivot" in mind, it is not farfetched to assume that Burma's drift away from China's embrace was an equally, if not more, important factor and another reason why the United States is likely to get frustrated with ASEAN's lack of ability to act as a bloc. The issue causes a serious dilemma for the United States. On the one hand, the US wants Burma on its side against China, which to a great extent has happened since 2011. On the other, the US cannot ignore the Burmese government's slide back into its old, authoritarian ways, which have become noticeable over the past year with the imprisonment of journalists and continued attacks on ethnic groups in the border areas. In a meeting with Thein Sein in Naypyidaw, Kerry felt compelled to warn him that any further improvement in relations between the two countries would require respect for basic human rights and significant speedup of the country's pledge to become more democratic. Naypyidaw, on its part, needs Washington's support, moral or otherwise, as China is trying to regain some of its lost influence with carrots and sticks—both causing unease in Burma. At the same time as China is wooing local civil society groups and launching a public relations campaign to promote its interests in Burma, Chinese manufacturers are also selling sophisticated weaponry to the United Wa State Army, or UWSA, the country's most powerful ethnic armed group challenging the Burmese government. The UWSA is estimated to have 30,000 men in regular armed units and reserves. According to Anthony Davis, a military analyst with IHS/Jane's, they are equipped with brand-new Chinese Type 81 assault rifles, Type 69 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft cannons, recoilless rifles, and mortars of up to 120 mm as well as Chinese-made HN-5 series Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems, or MANPADS. According to Davis, UWSA has also procured two types of armored vehicles from China and light transport helicopters. No other armed ethnic group in the country has such an arsenal of military hardware. The UWSA may have a ceasefire agreement with Burma's central government, but China's readiness to supply it with modern weaponry is unprecedented. Not even the now-defunct Communist Party of Burma, which China had supported in the 1960s and 1970s, received as much weaponry and other military equipment as the UWSA has at its disposal today. More worrying, on October 30 last year, the local intelligence office in the Burmese garrison town of Tang-yan sent a message to the regional command headquarters in Lashio saying that the UWSA was constructing a "radar and missile base" in its area—built in partnership with a Chinese company called Liao Lian, with equipment brought from China, Taiwan and Pakistan, the report asserts. The type of missile being considered is unclear, but given the fact that radars will be installed at the base, it is plausible to assume that it would be something more powerful than what the UWSA has in its current arsenal. The Burmese-language report uses the term taweipyetonggyi, or "long-distance missile." Not surprisingly, Burmese government officials are furious and, according to private discussions with Western diplomats, becoming increasingly so. If Burma's military were to take action against the UWSA, the United States would no doubt be pleased. The group is not only a proxy of China, but in 2005 eight senior leaders were also indicted in a US court on charges of trafficking in narcotics. With tensions high over South China Sea, the US could do little more than express gratitude in private to Burma's leaders. The meeting in Naypyidaw is over, and the US failed to muster ASEAN support for its attempts to counter Beijing's designs for the region. And convincing ASEAN to agree on a policy to thwart Chinese influence in Burma, which no doubt would be seen as "interference" in the "internal affairs" of a member state, will prove more difficult than getting the bloc to formulate a common policy for the South China Sea. As long as Thein Sein and his government in Naypyidaw are not moving in the political direction desired by Washington, Burma may have to tackle the UWSA and its backers in China alone. With all the parties constrained for one reason or the other, Beijing may well end up gaining the upper hand in the South China Sea as well as in Burma. This article first appeared on Yale Global on Aug 12, 2014.   Bertil Lintner is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review and author of several books on Burma. He is currently a writer with Asia Pacific Media Services. The post Asean Paralysis Gives China Free Hand in South China Sea appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

On the Border, a Lifeline for Burma Migrants With HIV Posted: 13 Aug 2014 05:30 PM PDT Ma Yin Nu sews a computer bag at a shelter for people with HIV in Mae Sot. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) MAE SOT, Thailand — Ma Yin Nu often thinks of returning to her homeland in Burma, but a lack of medicine there stops her from leaving the Thailand-Burma border, where she currently receives support for HIV. "I am worried that if we go back, my daughter and I might face a shortage of ART [antiretroviral therapy]. Also, I cannot make up my mind whenever I look at those children," the 42-year-old says, referring to about a dozen orphans at a shelter who depend on her care, each of whom are also infected with HIV. The "health care house," as the shelter is known, is run by a community-based group in Mae Sot, a border town of Thailand. It cares not only for the orphans, but also for vulnerable women with the disease, while also offering vocational skills training. Ma Yin Nu moved to Thailand 15 years ago. Before that, she lived in a remote village near Kawkareik town in Karen State. It was there where she believes she contracted HIV, from a blood transfusion she received while giving birth to her first daughter at a local hospital in 1996. "It took two days to get her out and I lost too much blood," she says. At that time, she had never heard of HIV, and she did not know that breast-feeding could pass along the virus to her child. "I had no idea what the deadly disease was," she says. "My daughter was always sick since she was about 3 months old." It was not until she moved to Thailand that Ma Yin Nu learned about her illness. During her second pregnancy in 2000, doctors explained that she was infected with HIV and would need to take medicine to protect her second daughter, who was born healthy. Ma Yin Nu initially joined the shelter in Mae Sot as a patient, but seven years ago she assumed more of a leadership position. Today she is in charge of the shelter. She prepares meals, helps others take their medicine on time, and runs a self-help income-generating program. In particular, she offers training in sewing and handicrafts. Over the past decade, more than 100 Burmese people with HIV have sought care at the shelter, which was founded by the Social Action for Women (SAW) group. "At first we hesitated to open the shelter because there were challenges," says Ma Aye Mar, director of SAW, referring to the need to find funding, security and caretakers. "But we went ahead because these women and children needed somewhere to live." Last month, the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)'s reported that the number of new cases of HIV in Burma decreased between 2000 and 2013. But today there are still about 189,000 people living with HIV in the country, and health experts believe many more are likely infected but have not been counted. At the end of 2012, only about 40 percent of those who required ART were receiving it, due to a lack of health funding. Ma Yin Nu suspects there are many infected people in Burma who remain unaware of the disease, especially because reproductive health is a taboo subject in much of the country. Communities tend to stigmatize people with HIV and incorrectly assume that the disease can spread simply by talking with or touching an infected person. "My parents in Burma do not know, and I never told them about our health," Ma Yin Nu says. "It is hard to explain to them what I have been through, because I myself do not understand well." But in Mae Sot, she says she is surrounded by a well-informed and supportive community. Many residents in the shelter leave after a temporary stay, as soon as they are well enough to find jobs or remarry. "I am not leaving because I am happy here, and as a social worker I can contribute to the organization and to the children." "I could not leave them, even though some of them are now 10 to 17 years old," she says, adding that she has cared for some of them since they were a few months old. The post On the Border, a Lifeline for Burma Migrants With HIV appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Pope Sends Good Will Message to China; Arrives in South Korea Posted: 13 Aug 2014 10:11 PM PDT Pope Francis waves upon his arrival at Seoul Air Base as South Korean President Park Geun-hye (partly hidden L) looks on in Seongnam August 14, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) SEOUL — Pope Francis arrived in the South Korean capital Seoul on Thursday after sending an unprecedented message of good will to China as he flew over the country that does not allow its Catholics to recognize his authority. Francis will spend five days in South Korea, meeting some of the country's five million Catholics on the first trip by a pontiff to Asia since 1999. "Upon entering Chinese air space, I extend best wishes to your Excellency and your fellow citizens and I invoke the divine blessing of peace and well-being upon the nation," he said in a radio message to President Xi Jinping. It was the first time a pope had been allowed to fly over China on Asian tours. His predecessor John Paul II had to avoid Chinese airspace because of the fraught relations between Beijing and the Vatican. The Vatican has had no formal relations with China since shortly after the Communist Party took power in 1949. The Catholic Church in China is divided into two communities: an "official" Church known as the "Patriotic Association" answerable to the Party, and an underground Church that swears allegiance only to the pope in Rome. Francis did not mention China or the divided Korean peninsula in his brief chat with reporters on the plane but instead insisted on the media's role in promoting peace in a divided and violent world. "May your words help unite…. I ask you to always give a message of peace, always seek a message of peace because what is happening [in the world] now is ugly," he said. After being told about the death of a television cameraman in Gaza, Francis led journalists aboard the plane in a minute of silent prayer in his memory. The pope was greeted at an air base in southern Seoul by South Korean President Park Geun-hye with a delegation of South Korean Catholics including two North Korean defectors, as well as relatives of victims of the Sewol ferry that capsized in April, killing about 300 passengers, most of them school children. "The disaster is heart-breaking, I have not forgotten the victims," South Korea's Yonhap news reported Pope Francis as saying to members of the welcome delegation. "Peace on the Korean peninsula has always had place in my heart," he said. The pope was scheduled to attend a formal welcoming ceremony later in the day, in order to allow the 77-year-old pontiff several hours for rest after the long flight. Pope Francis has on previous foreign visits opted to ditch his bulletproof 'Popemobile' car in favor of more modest modes of transportation. In Seoul, he was picked up at the end of the red carpet in a dark grey Kia Soul hatchback. The visit, the main purpose of which is for the pope to preside at a gathering of Asian Catholic youth, is the third international trip by Francis since his election in March 2013. The post Pope Sends Good Will Message to China; Arrives in South Korea appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Kerry Eyes US-China Partnership Despite Tensions Posted: 13 Aug 2014 10:06 PM PDT US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and China's Vice Premier Wang Yang attend a news conference after the 6th round of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing on July 10, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Jason Lee) HONOLULU — Improving US cooperation with China is critical to maintaining stability and security in the Asia-Pacific as well as combating the effects climate change, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday. Wrapping up an eight-day, around-the-world diplomatic trip and his sixth visit to Asia as America's top diplomat, Kerry outlined renewed priorities for much of the Obama administration's much-touted "pivot to Asia" during its final two-and-a-half years, including a focus on strengthening US-Chinese partnership in areas of agreement and bridging gaps in areas of contention. "One thing I know will contribute to maintaining regional peace and stability is a constructive relationship between the United States and China," Kerry said in an address to the East-West Center think tank in Honolulu. "The United States welcomes the rise of a peaceful, prosperous and stable China: one that plays a responsible role in Asia and the world and supports rules and norms on economic and security issues." "We are committed to avoiding the trap of strategic rivalry and intent on forging a relationship in which we broaden our cooperation on common interests and constructively manage our differences and disagreements," he said. Kerry arrived in Hawaii after stops in Afghanistan, Burma, Australia and the Solomon Islands, during which tensions between China and its smaller neighbors over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea were a major subject of discussion. At a Southeast Asia regional security forum in Burma over the weekend, Kerry formally unveiled a US proposal for a voluntary freeze on provocative actions by all claimants, including the Chinese. The United States says that it has no position on the competing claims but does regard stability in the South China Sea as a national security issue, given the region's role as one of the world's busiest maritime shipping zones. "We do care about how those questions are resolved, we care about behavior," Kerry said. "We firmly oppose the use of intimidation, coercion or force to assert a territorial or maritime claim by anyone. And we firmly oppose any suggestion that freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea and airspace are privileges granted by big states to small ones. All claimants must work together to solve the claims through peaceful means. These principles bind all nations equally, and all nations have a responsibility to uphold them." While welcomed in general by the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), China took a dim view of Kerry's proposal and suggested it would not agree. In an apparent nod to such disagreements, Kerry said that building better ties with Beijing will not be easy or inevitable. "Make no mistake: This constructive relationship, this 'new model,' is not going to happen simply by talking about it," he said. "It's not going to happen by engaging in slogans or pursuing spheres of influence. It will be defined by more and better cooperation on shared challenges. It will be defined by a mutual embrace of the rules, norms and institutions that have served both our nations and the region so well." Kerry said he was pleased at some areas of current US-China cooperation, including multination talks on Iran's nuclear program, a shared interest in denuclearizing North Korea and promoting calm in South Sudan. In addition, on climate change, which he regularly describes as the biggest threat facing Earth, Kerry hailed US-Chinese initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation as well as working on sustainable, clean energy options. At the same time, he noted that the United States and China, along with other Asian nations, routinely disagree on human rights. Kerry pointed out backsliding in rights protection and democratic principles in Burma and Thailand and repression in North Korea but said the United States would not relent in its drive to improve conditions. "We will continue to promote human rights and democracy in Asia, without arrogance but also without apology," he said. The post Kerry Eyes US-China Partnership Despite Tensions appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

New Focus on Arms Industry Expansion in Southeast Asia Posted: 13 Aug 2014 05:00 PM PDT Malaysia's first submarine, "KD tunku abdul Rahman," docks in Port Klang outside Kuala Lumpur in September 2009. (Photo: Reuters) KUALA LUMPUR — Driven by tensions with China, Southeast Asian nations are building up their own military contractors to develop local expertise and reduce their dependence on big American and European arms suppliers. Although countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia will not do away with big-ticket imports from giants like the Airbus Group or Lockheed Martin, they are increasing the number of domestic companies to manufacture military hardware locally. With regional military spending forecast to rise to US$40 billion in 2016, 10 percent above last year's level, some countries are already developing their own exports. A domestic arms industry is a long-term economic and security goal for the 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) whose members want to spend more on modernizing equipment, partly to bring military balance to the region. The goal has been given urgency, security analysts say, by China's recent moves to press disputed claims in waters of the South China Sea, rich in oil and natural gas. Asean members have stopped short of explicitly citing Beijing as a reason for beefing up military capability. At a meeting in Burma last weekend, Asean foreign ministers appealed, as they have before, for "self-restraint" in the face of heightened tensions, with no mention of China in a formal statement. "This drive to ensure sovereignty is now at the foremost of all governments' minds in the region," said Jon Grevatt, the Asia-Pacific military industry analyst for IHS Jane's. "Obviously the activity of China has raised the issue of protecting, securing territory." China, whose military spending topped $145 billion last year, according to American estimates, claims about nine-tenths of the South China Sea. It has alarmed Southeast Asian diplomats this year with assertive moves like planting a giant, $1 billion oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam. A buildup in China's Coast Guard fleet has also allowed Beijing to expand its maritime presence without deploying warships. Some in the region have sought to counter that like-for-like: In a package that will take effect this month, Vietnam has set aside 11.5 trillion dong, or about $543 million, to be used to buy 32 Coast Guard and surveillance ships. Southeast Asia's military spending grew 5 percent, to $35.9 billion, in 2013, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed, and is expected to rise to $40 billion by 2016. The region's arms spending has more than doubled since 1992, according to the institute. Military procurement in Southeast Asia is still dominated by government purchases of big-ticket items like jets or submarines from Western suppliers like Lockheed Martin in the United States and Airbus and ThyssenKrupp in Europe. Now, though, whether for radar or submarines, governments are tilting purchases to help them develop their own military expertise. While breaking no records in size or scope, recent deals show a growing trend toward embedding local manufacturing in procurement contracts. In one example, Boustead Heavy Industries in Malaysia is working with the French state-controlled naval contractor DCNS on a 9 billion ringgit, or $2.8 billion, contract for six coastal combat ships for the Malaysian Navy. All will be built locally. "We expect to achieve well over 60 percent in terms of local content and value, and see considerable transfer of technology to ourselves as well as local vendors and suppliers who we work with and cultivate," said Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor, the executive deputy chairman and managing director of Boustead. "Importantly, we will already have I.P. rights for the first generation of offshore patrol vessels, and this can provide a platform to tap the international market," he added, referring to intellectual property rights. Known as defense offset deals, these partnerships can enable countries to build up domestic industries over time. Turkey, for example, has successfully used offsets to nurture its domestic industry, whose companies now produce half the country's military equipment. Indonesia, which has more than doubled its military spending in the past five years, this year awarded a $164 million air defense system contract to Thales in France. A condition of the deal is that Thales must transfer radar manufacturing skills and knowledge to the state-owned Indonesian electronics company PT LEN Industri. Similarly, Singapore said late last year it would buy two submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Germany, making the deal conditional on the involvement of local industry in developing combat systems. Singapore has by far the most advanced military industry in the region, as well as its being one of the world's biggest arms importers. The wealthy island state has sold military equipment to countries from Nigeria to Brazil since its first overseas arms sales to Malaysia in 1971. Singapore Technologies Engineering, the state's main arms maker, generated sales of $1.89 billion in 2012 alone, according to the Stockholm research institute. In a breakthrough, a unit of Singapore Technologies also won a contract for 330 million Singapore dollars, or $264 million at the current exchange rate, in 2008 to supply armored troop carriers to Britain—its first such sale to a major Western arms supplier—showing it could compete in the global arms arena. Singapore "will not be constrained by lots of regulations and unrealistic expectations," said Ron Matthews, a professor of military industry economics at Cranfield University in Britain. Still, for now, the rise of a Southeast Asia arms industry will not deter big global players, analysts said. The region's rising military spending makes it attractive for weapons makers at a time of tight military budgets in Europe and North America. The regional companies' lack of advanced capability also means they are not currently competing head-on with the big players for big-ticket orders. Instead, they can play a more complementary role, focusing on areas like ammunition, small marine vessels and maintenance. But that could change if Southeast Asian firms start to compete for orders on the global market. "This is a near-term opportunity for global defense firms and a longer-term challenge," said John Dowdy, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company. The post New Focus on Arms Industry Expansion in Southeast Asia appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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