The Irrawaddy Magazine |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:00 PM PDT  A brand new Ferrari sits atop a truck in Myawaddy before it is taken further inside the country. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy) MYAWADDY, Kayin State — With its bumpy roads and deep poverty, Myanmar is one of the last places you expect to come across a flashy new Ferrari sports car. But in late May, that is what I saw sitting on the back of a truck in the border town of Myawaddy. Actually, as the main hub for border trade between Myanmar and Thailand, Myawaddy is the kind of place where you wouldn't be surprised to see almost anything. It's a town built on contraband: For decades, everything from vegetables and consumer goods to high-end electronics and second-hand cars has crossed the border into Myanmar here—sometimes legally over the Friendship Bridge, but more often undeclared through 20 or so checkpoints controlled by various armed groups. Local traders say that at least US$3 million worth of goods enter the country this way every day. But it is only since last year that luxury vehicles have begun to make an appearance on the border, according to Yangon-based car traders. Until then, they say, there was probably only one Ferrari in the entire country—the one owned by U Tay Za, a US-blacklisted crony who had his flown in to add to a fleet that also included Myanmar's only Lamborghini. Now, they claim, there are at least 10 Ferraris, 10 Lamborghinis and 40 Rolls-Royces in the country, all of them imported through Myawaddy. So what's driving this sudden influx of luxury vehicles? Although growing demand—Myanmar has a tiny elite with a pent-up desire for the finer things in life, largely denied them during the era of international isolation—undoubtedly plays a role, the real impetus appears to be more political than economic. Since assuming power as head of a quasi-civilian government in 2011, President U Thein Sein has made efforts to end decades of ethnic conflict a centerpiece of his agenda. Although military objections to federalism—a key ethnic demand—have stood in the way of reaching a comprehensive settlement, the push for peace has had some notable successes, particularly in Kayin State. It's here that the Karen National Union (KNU), Myanmar's longest-running insurgent army, has made unprecedented moves towards détente with the central government, a development that has earned the government international praise.  A Rolls-Royce is parked outside a hotel in Yangon. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) Critics say, however, that much of this progress has been based on economic inducements, rather than real compromise. They note that U Aung Min, the president's chief peace negotiator, has handed out hundreds of car registration permits to armed groups as "peace gifts" that many see as little more than a form of bribery. Sources close to the peace process have confirmed that the number of permits handed out so far has been significant. According to U Hla Maung Shwe, a special adviser to the government-backed Myanmar Peace Council (MPC), permission had been granted to register 800 cars in total—270 of them completely tax free. He said only three out of the 17 ethnic armed groups remaining in the country have yet to be given any registration permits. U Aung Min has denied, however, that the permits—many of them handed out with his signature on them on Feb. 12, 2013, during a ceremony to mark Union Day—are of any economic value. "They are not permits, as others are saying. It is just allowing their [ethnic groups'] unlicensed vehicles to be registered as they have vehicles without licenses," he told The Irrawaddy, adding: "The decision did not come from me or the president. It was the decision of the relevant government meeting."  Than Shwe Grandson: In Oct. 2013 Nay Shwe Thway Aung, the grandson of former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe, was famously seen with a canary-yellow Lamborghini as the freshly crowned Miss Universe Myanmar, Ma Moe Set Wine, stepped out at a football stadium. (Photo: Facebook / The University Champions League) But whatever their professed purpose, it's clear that the armed groups see the permits as a source of income. Saw Kwe Htoo Win, the KNU's general secretary, confirmed that his group had received some 120 car permits, most of which had been sold to convert the government gift into cash for organizational needs. (Other large groups, including the United Wa State Army and the New Mon State Party, have reportedly received the same number of permits, while smaller outfits such as the All Burma Students' Democratic Front have been given 60 permits, sources said.) According to one car dealer, the value of the permits depends on the type of permit (some, for instance, are only valid in the state where the armed group is active) and the value of the vehicle. With most cars now much cheaper since the government relaxed import restrictions in 2011, dealers use the permits to buy the most expensive cars possible, paying up to US$50,000 for one that can be used to buy a Rolls-Royce. For the dealers, who would normally have to pay as much as $600,000 in taxes for a vehicle of this value (which can sell for $800,000 in Myanmar), the "peace permits" are a bargain. So far, however, there has been limited peace dividends for civilians living in areas where conflict has been suspended but not ended, and standoffs between government and ethnic army troops still result in fresh clashes. Irrawaddy reporter Lin Thant and Myanmar-language editor Yeni contributed to this report. This story first appeared in the August 2014 edition of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Peace Drive appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (August 2, 2014) Posted: 01 Aug 2014 05:30 PM PDT Thai Airports Management Firm in Cooperation Scheme With Burma The state-owned Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) is seeking to "gain a foothold in [Burma's] emerging airport business," a travel industry report said. AoT has signed a cooperation agreement with Burma's Pioneer Aerodrome Services (PAS), a subsidiary of the Burmese conglomerate Asia World that manages Rangoon and Naypyidaw airports, said Bangkok-based TTR Weekly. "AoT is probably hoping that a cooperation agreement could lead to partnerships and possibly the management of airports in [Burma] in the long-run," TTR Weekly said. "But the press statement skirts around business considerations focusing instead on vague subjects such as assisting in each other in 'activities' and hosting 'meetings.'" AoT manages six airports within Thailand, including Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang in Bangkok, and Chiang Mai. The Thai business was partially privatized in 2002, but 70 percent of shares are held by the government's Ministry of Finance, which holds controlling stakes in a number of major Thai businesses, including oil and gas giant PTT. Final development agreements have been signed between several oil firms, including Eni of Italy, for four onshore blocks after 10 months of negotiations over terms. The four blocks were among 13 awarded by the Ministry of Energy after a bidding process in 2013 with the winning bidders named last October. However, conditions and terms on exploration, production and profit sharing have been subject to negotiation ever since with Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE), said a Myanmar Times report. Negotiations on the other blocks continue. "State-owned MOGE finally inked four of the much-delayed agreements on July 30," the Myanmar Times said. "Two of the agreements were improved petroleum recovery contracts with British Virgin Islands-registered MPRL E&P and Myanmar Petroleum Exploration and Production, which are both part-owned by prominent Burmese oil and gas businessman Moe Myint. The two other signed agreements are production sharing agreements with Italian firm Eni." MOGE and other state agencies and ministries are also continuing to negotiate with a number of local and major international firms over 20 offshore blocks awarded in March. Several large foreign companies have registered interest in bidding for a joint venture contract to modernize and expand a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Burma. The contract is for the Nyaungdone plant in the Irrawaddy Division, said Burma's Ministry of Energy. Interested foreign firms include PTT of Thailand, Mitsui of Japan, CNPC of China and NK of South Korea, said the ministry. Burma currently has three LPG plants, all of which are in need of redevelopment like the country's three dilapidated oil refineries. LPG has a range of uses, including fueling cooking appliances and vehicles. Several foreign firms, including PTT, have previously shown interest in Burma's refineries but no firm financial commitments have yet been made. Meanwhile, the state-run Myanma Petroleum Products Enterprise (MPPE) is reportedly planning to invite foreign companies within the next three months to bid for a joint venture to sell petrol and diesel. Outside management and logistical expertise is needed to improve retailing services, MPPE director Myin Zaw was quoted by Myanmar Times saying. Thailand's PTT has previously announced plans for up to 50 roadside fuel retail stations in Burma, but in April said it was suspending plans "because investment rules were unclear," said industry magazine Asia Oil Monitor. Other roadside distribution is operated by the military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, and the Max Myanmar Group. Foreign investment in Burma in the first three months of the current financial year totaled almost $500 million, the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) said. The April-June period saw $492.6 million inward investment, although more than half of it was for the telecommunications sector. The next largest segment, $141 million went into manufacturing industries, a DICA official told Myanmar Business Daily. The first quarter investment tally compared with US$1.2 billion for the whole of the previous financial year, suggesting that investors are raising their stakes, DICA director Lin Tun was quoted saying. Total investment for the 2014-15 year could reach $4 billion, said Lin Tun without giving any details to back up this forecast. More than half of the quarter's investment came from Asian countries, Lin Tun said. The value of exports of Burmese jade in the last three years is more than $1.3 billion, a report said. The quantity of jade shipped out of the country has risen dramatically over that time, said the Ministry of Economic Development, as quoted by Eleven Media. No volume figures are available but values have risen considerably over the three years—from $34.2 million in the 2011-2012 financial year to $1 billion in the 2013-2014 year, said Eleven Media. The chief buying countries over this period have been China and India, plus merchants from the Chinese Hong Kong enclave. Much of the jade is mined in Kachin State and official export figures do not take into account smuggling from untaxed mining, the report said. The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (August 2, 2014) appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2014 05:00 PM PDT  People hold weapons as they come back from the funeral ceremony of U Tun Tun, a 36-year-old funeral bus driver killed in a riot, in Mandalay on July 4, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) In 2012, during my second trip to Myanmar after spending 24 years in exile, I made a point of visiting Mandalay. For me, traveling to the country's second-largest city was a bit like going on a pilgrimage: It was here, after all, that King Mindon established the Yadanabon newspaper (known in English as The Mandalay Gazette), one of Southeast Asia's first newspapers. King Mindon, Myanmar's penultimate monarch, was an enlightened leader who understood that the best way to withstand Western influence was by embracing some of the same institutions that made the West so strong. Famously, he declared that the press was to have free rein when it came to reporting on affairs of state. "If I do wrong, write about me," he said. "If the queens do wrong, write about them. If my sons and my daughters do wrong, write about them. If the judges and mayors do wrong, write about them. No one shall take action against the journals for writing the truth. They shall go in and out of the palace freely." But it wasn't just the press that benefitted under King Mindon's rule. Although he took his traditional role as the protector of Buddhism seriously, he also respected other religions. Under his reign, Christians and Muslims were allowed to build places of worship and practice their faiths freely. Muslims and Portuguese served in the royal army and custom's department, and were allowed to marry Myanmar women. Many Muslims were royal bodyguards, couriers, interpreters and advisers in the royal court. It is said that the king, who hosted the Fifth Great Buddhist Synod in 1872, even helped to build a hostel in Mecca for Muslim pilgrims from his country. Thais descended from prisoners of war after the sacking of Ayutthaya also lived on peacefully in Mandalay. And to impress the British who occupied lower Myanmar, Mindon sent some of his sons to study in an Anglican missionary school. In more recent times, Mandalay residents owed gratitude to U Razak, a minister for planning and education who died along with independence hero Aung San. A former headmaster of Mandalay National High School who helped build Mandalay College (now Mandalay University), U Razak, respected Muslim and a scholar of Pali and Buddhism, was a true national hero. Mandalay also has an important place in more recent history. In 1988, it was a major center of the pro-democracy uprising that sought to overthrow the military dictatorship. The city produced many well-known activists, but Buddhist monks played an especially prominent role in opposing the country's rulers. When the generals refused to respect the results of elections held two years later, the monks earned the admiration of the entire nation by rejecting alms from military families—a powerful gesture that showed the ruling regime lacked all legitimacy. For their defiance, many monks were arrested in raids on monasteries and tortured in prison. All of this makes it especially depressing to realize that Mandalay is now better known as a hotbed of religious intolerance, thanks to the acts of a few extremists intent on stirring up trouble as a way of undermining Myanmar's efforts to restore democracy.  Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at aungzaw@irrawaddy.org. U Wirathu, the monk who calls himself the "Burmese bin Laden," is no heir to Mandalay's noble past. Although he is the abbot of one of the city's largest monasteries, he does not spread the Buddha's message of peace, but propagates a gospel of fear and hatred directed at Myanmar's Muslim minority. But it comes as no surprise that his hateful incitement has gone unchecked: Photographs on social media sites have shown him receiving alms from hard-line leaders of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and others who unashamedly proclaim him a true defender of Buddhism. The violence that shook Mandalay in early July followed a pattern that we have seen many times in the past two years, and which we will no doubt see many more times between now and next year's crucial elections. Two Muslim men were accused on social media of raping their Buddhist maid, and after a period of growing tension between the city's Buddhists and Muslims, all hell broke loose. Although there was relatively little loss of life or damage to property in this latest incident, reporters on the ground in Mandalay say they feel there may be worse to come. Indeed, many observers of Myanmar's dirty and often deadly politics are growing increasingly wary of the direction the country seems to be taking as it heads toward elections that will decide its fate for years to come. As one ethnic leader told me, the current government—which came to power through a rigged vote in 2010—"doesn't have the courage" to hold free and fair elections in 2015. The fear is that instability will be used as an excuse to spare the military-backed USDP another resounding electoral defeat like the one it suffered at the hands of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in by-elections held in 2012. (The NLD boycotted the 2010 election.) If that happens, Myanmar's reforms could rapidly unravel, and the country would return to a political impasse that would only benefit hard-liners from the former regime who preferred the pre-2011 order. It seems that the leaders of the old regime had calculated that five years of relatively relaxed rule would be enough to win their party another lease on life. Now that their time seems to be running out, however, they are getting more desperate and more willing to resort to their tried-and-true tactics of violence and divide and rule to perpetuate their hold on power. After a brief period of hope, when the administration of President U Thein Sein made all the right moves—releasing political prisoners, lifting media censorship and suspending the unpopular Myitsone hydropower project, among others—it is easy to despair as the country appears to be sliding back into the repressive habits of the past. With activists and journalists being locked up again, the sense of déjà vu is almost oppressive. But at such times as this, it is important to remember that Myanmar's history has not been entirely one of woeful misrule. Mandalay's proud past, for instance, points to other possibilities. If Myanmar once had leaders who valued press freedom and religious tolerance, there's no reason it can't have them again. This article first appeared in the August 2014 print edition of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post On the Road Back to Mandalay appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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