The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Rethinking State-Building in Myanmar
• Sino-Burmese Border Sees Majority of Human Trafficking Rescues
• Kerry Visits as Burma Backslides—What Will He Do?
• Anti-PR Activists Charged Despite Change to Burma Protest Law
• Two Burmese Shorts to Screen at Malaysian Film Festival
• Recent Unrest Fails to Dampen Spirit of Mandalay Nat Festival
• Burma Marks 26th Anniversary of 1988 Uprising
• The Day a New Burma was Born
• Burmese Among Victims of Massive Jade Scam in China
• Thai Case Casts Spotlight on Business of Surrogacy
• Malaysia Plans Overhaul of National Airline 
• China Under Pressure as US Pushes Plan to Ease South China Sea Tensions

Rethinking State-Building in Myanmar Posted: 08 Aug 2014 05:51 AM PDT Military appointees sit in the Union Parliament in Naypyidaw. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Twenty-six years ago, mass protests took place in almost every major city and town in Myanmar. The people were calling for democracy and human rights. The main reasons for staging the protests were mismanagement of the economy by the ruling Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) and a lack of fundamental freedoms. Just before the protests, Myanmar was designated one of the world's least developed countries, an LDC. Demonetization of major bank notes in 1987 and repressive measures taken to quell student riots helped spark those nationwide protests. But instead of giving freedoms and democracy to the people, the military staged a coup on Sept. 18, 1988, and went on to kill thousands of unarmed demonstrators in the streets. It ruled the country with an iron fist until 2011, but even three years after Thein Sein took the reins as Myanmar's nominally civilian president, military rule prevails. In the country's post-independence history, the military has staged two coups on the ostensible justification of a need to maintain stability. Fifty-two years ago, Gen. Ne Win and his Revolutionary Council came to power claiming the coup was necessary to prevent the disintegration of the union. The same reason was given 26 years later by coup leader Gen. Saw Maung and the junta that he headed, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Many people remember him as the commander in chief who dubiously proclaimed, "I saved Burma." The military has embarked on a task of state-building to provide stability for the people since 1962, but to this day the generals have not achieved their goal. If one looks at all their manifestoes, statements and the 2008 Constitution, one would get the impression that the military must take a leading role in politics in order to maintain stability. For them, the only way to maintain stability is to maintain a military state. However, they would do well to review whether they have been able to perform the essential functions of the state and maintain genuine stability over the last half century. Taking into account the World Bank's governance indicators, such as political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and prevalence of corruption, both Myanmar's first and second coup leaders and the generations of military leaders that have been called on since 1962 have failed to establish that stable state and deliver public services to the people. From widespread corruption and state inefficiency to the impunity of warlords, an ongoing civil war that includes child soldiers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) numbering in the hundreds of thousands, it is clear that Myanmar has no shortage of characteristics indicative of political instability. Compounding these problems are deteriorating socioeconomic conditions like high poverty, the spread of contagious diseases, drug addiction, limited access to safe drinking water, and the list goes on. Myanmar ranked 150th out of 187 countries on the UNDP's most recent human development index. Likewise, it ranked 157th out of 177 countries on Transparency International's 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index. It was 26th out of 178 countries on a 2013 Failed States Index, putting it just three places ahead of North Korea. By these accounts, Myanmar's military has not been up to the task of establishing a strong state that is able to perform essential functions and deliver basic services to its people. Two areas in which it has performed well? In capturing state institutions to serve its own private interests, and holding on to power. There are some misconceptions among aid donors and Myanmar observers, who consider the military to be the only institution capable of maintaining stability. It's true that the military alone can ensure security and rule of law for the country. But stability can mean different things to different segments of society. In state building, the military is part of the bureaucracy and as such must be professional. It is mainly responsible for protecting the people and country from both external and internal threats. It is the guarantor of rule of law, but must not get involved in politics. Although it may be difficult for military leaders to withdraw from politics—a sphere they have been involved in for more than five decades—these men needs to reconsider their role if Myanmar is to one day see peace, prosperity and welfare among its people. In other words, a rethink on the generals' conception of state building is needed, and in fact, is more than 50 years overdue. Khine Win is director of the Sandhi Governance Institute, which focuses on promoting good governance in Myanmar. The post Rethinking State-Building in Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Sino-Burmese Border Sees Majority of Human Trafficking Rescues Posted: 08 Aug 2014 05:45 AM PDT A signboard at the opening ceremony of the temporary shelter for trafficking victims in Kawt Thaung town, Tenasserim Division. (Photo: Foundation for Education and Development) RANGOON — Burma's anti-human trafficking police made most of their rescues along the Sino-Burmese border in the first seven months of the year, helping 42 Burmese women there to escape forced marriages, labor exploitation and other human rights abuses. "We rescued 42 women [on the border] from January to July, but there were 18 cases where could not make the rescue," Ohn Mar, the deputy police chief of the national anti-human trafficking unit in Naypyidaw, told The Irrawaddy on Friday. Police from the unit rescued 60 women nationwide through July. The majority of rescues, 22 women, were made in Shan State. Burmese women living often impoverished existences in border areas are lured by promises of a better life and well paid work on the other side of the border. "They easily trust brokers and they want to work. But instead they find that they are trafficked by the brokers. Some people were trafficked twice," Ohn Mar said. She said that in many cases, Chinese men bought women from brokers in Burma and took them over the border to marry them. Other women are forced to work and face other forms of labor exploitation. In China, the ratio of men to women is skewed toward the former, owing to the country's one-child policy, with the gender disparity leading Chinese men to seek brides overseas. On the Burmese side, poverty leads to victims' vulnerability. "The people do not have jobs, and they went to find a job in China. This is how human trafficking happens," Ohn Mar said. Last year, the anti-human trafficking unit rescued 102 women in total, according to Ohn Mar. In 2012, the figure was 120. Burma cooperates with China in anti-human trafficking efforts, including jointly operated liaison offices along the border. But Ohn Mar said police still struggled to combat trafficking, owing to the sheer magnitude of the task, which includes policing illegal crossings along the two countries' 2,200-km shared border. "There are many illegal border crossings. We cannot deploy our police to all points," she said. The post Sino-Burmese Border Sees Majority of Human Trafficking Rescues appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Kerry Visits as Burma Backslides—What Will He Do? Posted: 08 Aug 2014 05:40 AM PDT US Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive in Burma for the Asean Regional Forum this weekend amid continuing negative media reports about the country's backsliding on political reforms and a worsening of the human rights situation. The concerns could give Kerry a bit if a headache as one of the Obama administration's major foreign policy successes has lost its shine, and could even unravel. President Thein Sein and his officials will insist in their meetings with the secretary that reforms are still on track, but many observers have grown skeptical of this government's intentions. Kerry will have to walk a fine line between admonishing the Burmese government and further strengthening relations between Washington and its new friends in Naypyidaw. The last time a top US official visited was in November 2012, when President Barack Obama spoke at Rangoon University to endorse Thein Sein's reformist government. "Reforms launched from the top of society must meet the aspirations of citizens who form its foundation. The flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished—they must be strengthened," he said, shortly after the US suspended economic sanctions against the country. The US president is due to visit again in November to attend the East Asia Summit and Burma remains a top priority as an apparent foreign policy successes of his Asian pivot, and as a strategically important country amid a growing US-China rivalry in Asia. China remains Burma's biggest trading partner but ever since Naypyidaw cancelled the Myitsone Dam, a Chinese-funded mega project, in 2011 Burma's government has moved closer to the US. Washington will be eager to bring Asean chair Burma on board as it seeks to unify opposition among Southeast Asian nations against rising power China and stem regional tensions brewing in the South China Sea. However, the White House is struggling to present a positive story on its expanding ties with Burma as the reform process stalls. Meanwhile, criticism is growing at home and abroad over its decision to quickly lift economic sanctions and begin military-to-military cooperation with Burma. Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at aungzaw@irrawaddy.org. Recurrent outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence (which many believe is being organized), the treatment of the Rohingya and ongoing ethnic conflict are some of the concerns. Scores of land rights activists battling a sharp rise in land-grabbing cases have been imprisoned, and recently authorities initiated a media clamp down that led to the detention of about a dozen journalists. A lack of will to follow through on political reforms has become increasingly obvious. Aung San Suu Kyi's efforts to amend the undemocratic 2008 Constitution are going nowhere and she has publicly questioned the intentions of the ruling party and the military. US lawmakers and international and local rights groups have urged Kerry to press Burmese officials on the stalling reform process during his visit this weekend, when he will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum and several other regional meetings, which Burma is hosting as this year's Asean chair. Last week, more than 70 US lawmakers asked the White House to take a tougher line and "undertake a significant recalibration of US policy" towards the Thein Sein government because "conditions in Burma have taken a sharp turn for the worst." Some Congressmen have initiated laws to restrict further US military cooperation with Burma. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said this week that it wrote to Obama in July to highlight growing concerns that human rights reforms "have stalled or are backsliding." "During the past year the number of political prisoners has risen with increased arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters and prosecutions of journalists," the New York-based group said. "Efforts to reform the justice system and enforce the rule of law have achieved little progress." "Kerry should use his visit to deliver a clear and public message of deep concern about serious human rights problems, including continued persecution of the Rohingya, continued military abuses against ethnic groups, and the need for constitutional reform," HRW Asia director Brad Adams said. In Burma, optimism about the reforms has faded and doubt and disappointment are on the rise among activists, ethnic groups, the media, businessmen and the wider public. Critics say that Thein Sein is part of the former regime and his ultimate aim is to serve the interest of the old political elite, to placate the West in order to lift sanctions and to defend the interests of the military and its business empire. In the country, many are now closely watching Washington's engagement with Naypyidaw to see whether it will pressure Burma for more reforms, or if expanding economic and military ties will take priority. The White House's decision in 2013 to begin limited military training for the Burma Army is viewed with particular concern in Burma. State Department officials have stressed that the training focuses on human rights law and the law of armed conflict, and that it will promote a rights-respecting Burma Army under civilian control. "Voices from across Burmese society—including civil society, ethnic minority representatives, and members of the government and political opposition—are urging us to engage with the Burmese military and civilian police force to teach new models of conduct," Judith Cefkin, State Department senior advisor for Burma and likely successor to US Ambassador Derek Mitchell, told a House of Representatives committee in December 2013. In fact, ethnic communities and activists feel that it is far too early to lend such credibility to the government and military. This weekend, Kerry will have to convey a message of concern to the Burmese leaders about the stalling reform process in the country and he is likely to do so without risking US relations with Naypyidaw. But it is safe to say that the 'flickers of progress' are fading fast in Burma, and it is time for the US to stop rewarding Burmese leaders and talk to them in straightforward manner to first demand further genuine reforms. The post Kerry Visits as Burma Backslides—What Will He Do? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Anti-PR Activists Charged Despite Change to Burma Protest Law Posted: 08 Aug 2014 03:49 AM PDT Nearly 100 people took part in a demonstration against the proportional representation (PR) electoral system in Prome, Pegu Division, on Monday. (Photo: Kaung Myat Min / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Police in Pegu Division have charged five activists for demonstrating without permission against a plan to change Burma's electoral system, despite an amendment recently signed off by President Thein Sein to soften the law restricting the right to protest. Nearly 100 protesters marched around the town of Prome on Monday to show their opposition to a change from the first-past-the-post system to proportional representation (PR) ahead of the vital parliamentary elections expected in late 2015. The change is backed by the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, but opposed by the main opposition National League for Democracy and ethnic minority parties, and is currently under discussion by a parliamentary commission. Kyaw Swe, one of the leaders of Monday's protest from activist group Supporting Network for People, said that the organizers requested permission for the protest four days before the date. "The authorities said we need to ask for permission five days ahead," he said. The protest went ahead without official approval, and the five people who signed the application to demonstrate were on Tuesday charged by the No.(2) Police Station in Prome with Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, which outlaws any public gatherings without permission. Robert San Aung, the activists' advocate, said the charges were against the law since President Thein Sein signed into force amendments to the Peaceful Assemble Law on July 24, including a measure that obliges authorities to approve demonstrations as long as the organizers apply in advance. "The authorities can't refuse permission anymore. My clients are not guilty since they asked for permission in accordance with the law," he said. Kyaw San, from the Prome District branch of the Former Political Prisoners Association and one of the five activists, said that, in a different case, authorities had granted approval for a protest against the jailing of journalists at the Unity journal, even though permission was sought only two days ahead of the protest. "But they refused us, saying we need to ask for permission at least five days ahead of the protest. It is not appropriate," he said. "I believe we acted fairly, right and did not violate the law. So we decided that if the court sentences us to fines or imprisonment, we will choose prison sentences." In Rangoon, more than 100 people also protested against the PR proposal on Tuesday. The protest leaders said that the authorities also refused them to give the permission for protest, but they have not been charged. The post Anti-PR Activists Charged Despite Change to Burma Protest Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Two Burmese Shorts to Screen at Malaysian Film Festival Posted: 08 Aug 2014 02:45 AM PDT Kaung Sint is pictured at the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival in Rangoon on June 19, 2014. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) Two Burmese short films that won awards at the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival in Rangoon this year have been selected to screen at Malaysia's KOMAS Freedom Film Festival next month. Filmmaker Kaung Sint said the two short films, "Article 18" and his own creation "Enter," would be screened at the Malaysian festival in Kuala Lumpur, to be held from Sept. 6-13. The Freedom Film Festival, which touts itself as "Malaysia's most established annual human rights film festival," began in 2003. Filmmakers can summit their films to contest in four different categories: Best SEA (Southeast Asia) Human Rights Film, Best Malaysian Film, The Freedom Award and Best Short Film. "Enter," a 15-minute short film, and "Article 18," a 20-minute documentary, were both among eight award winners at Burma's HRHDIFF in June. Kaung Sint directed "Enter," which focuses on the life of an imprisoned political activist. A trio of film students directed "Article 18," the story of political activists who have faced charges and been imprisoned under Article 18 of Burma's Peaceful Assembly Law over the last two years. The law has frequently come in for criticism in the human rights community as a deterrent to freedom of expression in Burma. Kaung Sint told The Irrawaddy that the message of his film was simple: "No one," he said, "can control one's soul, even if one is physically controlled." The 20-year-old talent was also a film student at Rangoon's Human Dignity Film Institute last year, attending a seven-week workshop for human rights documentary filmmaking. Dreaming of one day becoming a director, Kaung Sint began learning film editing techniques at age 15. He has created about eight short films since his teenage years. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, the director and founder of the Human Dignity Film Institute, called Kaung Sint's award-winning submission "an authentic film of the highest artistic creation." He said the two entries to the Malaysian festival would mark the first time that short films from Burma were screened at an international film festival. While Burma's mainstream film industry has been criticized for its low-quality productions, independent documentary filmmaking has flourished since the draconian censorship regime of the country's former military regime was lifted. The "Art of Freedom" film festival held in 2012 was the first festival in the country to screen films that had not been approved by Burma's censorship board. "We have trained young, talented filmmakers and Kaung Sint will continue making the best for the independent [documentary] film industry," Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi said. He added that more work needed to be done to foster the documentary industry's development. "Documentary filmmakers should create artistic work with broader content," he said, explaining that this would mean not limiting subject matter to lifestyle and cultural features, but to also explore political and rights-based films. The post Two Burmese Shorts to Screen at Malaysian Film Festival appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Recent Unrest Fails to Dampen Spirit of Mandalay Nat Festival Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:12 AM PDT Minutes before the opening ceremony at the Taung Pyone brothers' shrine. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) TAUNG PYONE, Mandalay Division — Located nearly 10 miles north of Mandalay, Taung Pyone is a small village with a big-time shrine dedicated to a pair of the Burmese spirits known as nats. For most of the year, the building sees only occasional visitors, giving off a somewhat deserted vibe. But every year beginning in late July, the area near the shrine is transformed into a party grounds buzzing with cultural dances, music, magic shows, fortunetellers and tattoo shops, as spiritual revelers prepare for the most famous nat festival in Burma. Named after the village where the shrine is situated, the Taung Pyone Nat Festival is held in honor of two brothers, Min Gyi and Min Lay, who would eventually achieve nat status. Tens of thousands of believers across the country flock to the shrine each year to pay homage to the fraternal duo. Visitors offer them food, flowers, cash and alcohol—the brothers were famous for drinking—and many take to gambling while asking for the brothers to bless them with good health and prosperity. People commune with the spiritual realm to try to glean their future prospects, while traditional dances accompany nat-inspired songs late into the night. Legend has it that the two brothers were executed by the famed King Anawrahta, who once ruled over the region, but that a change of heart later saw the monarch deify them as guardian spirits of the area. They are the most popular of the 37 nats deified by the Burmese. The five-day festival officially began on Tuesday with a ceremony paying respect to the brothers. In the lead up to this year's festival, some had feared that the event would draw fewer visitors due to communal rioting that took place about one month ago in neighboring Mandalay, which saw two people killed. But with tens of thousands of people visiting the shrine this year, the riots seem to have had little impact on the festival. As an added bonus for attendees, the festival is exempt from a nighttime curfew that has been imposed in Mandalay since the violence. The post Recent Unrest Fails to Dampen Spirit of Mandalay Nat Festival appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma Marks 26th Anniversary of 1988 Uprising Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:35 PM PDT About 200 people marked the 26th anniversary of Burma's Aug. 8, 1988, uprising in Rangoon on Friday, holding aloft pictures of independence hero Gen. Aung San and holding wreaths bearing the Burmese numbers "8888." (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A ceremony in the former capital on Friday commemorated Burma's 8-8-88 uprising and those killed the bloody crackdown that followed exactly 26 years ago. Burmese came out onto the streets of towns and cities across the country on the auspicious date of Aug. 8, 1988, to protest against the one-party rule of the late Gen. Ne Win. Many were killed when soldiers opened fire on civilians in the streets of Rangoon and elsewhere, and many more were later locked up as dissent was crushed. About 200 people—including politicians, pro-democracy activists and students—gathered on Friday morning in the area by Sule Pagoda and Rangoon's City Hall, the epicenter of the 1988 protests. Participants marched around Maha Bandoola Gardens, observed a minute of silence and said prayers. They painted an 8-feet-by-8-feet square in red on the street at the corner of the park, and flowers were laid there—the spot where a number of people were gunned down. "Today is the 26th anniversary, but the desires of those who died in '88 are still not fulfilled. We want to honor our comrades who sacrificed their lives on this day," said organizer Bo Bo. "The Burmese people are still living under a sense of fear and injustice." The student-led demonstrations in 1988 successfully unseated Ne Win, but a military junta later seized power. Any public ceremony marking the anniversary of Aug. 8 was banned in the country until 2012, after a nominally civilian government had begun a program of political and economic reforms. The current government is still dominated by former military officials, however, and no one has ever been held to account for the suppression of the 1988 uprising. "There is no change. We still have dictatorship and no democracy. The dictators are still oppressing us by using their power," said Phyu Ei Thein, a participant in Friday's event in Rangoon. "We can commemorate the '88 uprising on the streets, which was not allowed in past. But we can't say that we now have freedom. It is just a start." The US Ambassador to Burma issued a statement on the anniversary calling Aug. 8, 1988, "a day of bloodshed and sacrifice for those who marched for change." "Last year, members of the current government joined those who marched, and families who lost their loved ones that day, in a remarkable ceremony dedicated to healing, to honoring, and to remembering," Ambassador Derek Mitchell said in the statement. "Even as the tragedy of this day should never be forgotten, so should it also serve as a reminder of the dangers of division, and the important work that remains here to realize the goal of building a peaceful democracy dedicated to human rights, equal justice and dignity for all." The post Burma Marks 26th Anniversary of 1988 Uprising appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

The Day a New Burma was Born Posted: 07 Aug 2014 05:30 PM PDT Protesters gather near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon during the nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988. Exactly 26 years ago, on Aug 8, 1988, a popular democratic uprising took off in Rangoon that would sweep the country but end with a bloody crackdown by the Burma Army. In this article, which first appeared on Aug 8, 2012, participants in the uprising recall the heady days of revolt and its tragic ending. RANGOON — When he woke up early on a drizzling Monday morning in August 24 years ago, Sanny, then 21 years old, probably had no idea that the day would end in tragedy. He was in high spirits when he left home at 7:30 to attend a downtown demonstration. He wasn't worried about a thing—just very excited. It was August 8, 1988, or "8-8-88" as it's widely known, when hundreds of thousands of Burmese from all walks of life joined a popular protest in the former capital Rangoon to topple the dictator Ne Win's single party rule that had oppressed them for 26 years. "Even today I have no regrets about joining the demonstration at that time. I was doing something I felt I had to do," said the then third-year physics student at Rangoon University, who later received a long prison sentence for his participation. Twenty-four years later, the day still stands as an important milestone in modern Burmese history—a day that marked the emergence of a full-fledged democracy movement that managed to topple Ne Win's regime, only to see a new junta seize power and spend the ensuing decades relentlessly suppressing its leaders, including Burma's newfound democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi. It was a day of hope, bullets, blood and tears. Whenever he thinks about that day, the first thing that comes to Sanny's mind is the huge column of demonstrators shouting anti-Ne Win slogans and the people on both sides of the road who expressed their full support for the protesters. "The road was packed with people as far as the eye could see. There were countless people lining the sides of the roads, giving us food, drinking water and cigarettes. They said 'May your cause succeed,'" he recalled. "It made me cry, and what I learned on that day was that people are always ready to be with you when you stand on their side. With that much popular support, I was convinced that we would easily win," he added. But the military crackdown on thousands of protesters at Rangoon City Hall that night proved he was wrong. Pyone Cho, a leading member of the 88 Generation Students group, was among the demonstrators near the City Hall a few minutes before the army opened fire.  He was 22 years old at that time, doing his masters degree in geology at Rangoon University. "Around 11 pm, someone informed us that we were surrounded. The army gave us three warnings to disperse. Then came a sudden blackout and the bullets started to fly in. I was lucky to narrowly escape," he recounted. Pandavunsa, 55, has a vivid memory of how bloody the crackdown was. "When they began shooting, I was in total shock. Then two guys near me fell down. So I grabbed them and started to run for my life," remembered the Buddhist monk, who took part in the protest as a member of the Rangoon Young Monk's Organization and was later a leading figure in the monk-led Saffron Revolution in 2007. "A few minutes later I stopped to find out that the head of the man I carried away was open. His brains were like smashed tofu. The other one, a monk, had been shot in the stomach. I could see his intestines. He was already dead, too," he said. The next morning, an eerie silence descended on the whole of Rangoon and there was no trace of the previous night's mass killing in front of the City Hall. The number of casualties still remains unknown. Dr Tin Myo Win, the family doctor of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was a surgeon at that time at Rangoon General Hospital, where he treated many wounded protesters. Although he also has vivid memories of that day and its aftermath, he said he is reluctant to recount them, lest he reignite public resentment over the crackdown and cause any obstacle to the national reconciliation process that Suu Kyi is now working on. He acknowledges, however, that the 8-8-88 uprising has had an indelible impact on the country. "Nobody can deny that it brought out leaders and players for today's Burmese politics. The uprising opened our eyes to the need for national reconciliation and unity, which are the essential forces to complete our mission that originated 24 years ago," he said. Pyone Cho said the 88 movement was the mother of all subsequent uprisings, all of which have had only one strong message that still echoes today: People want democratic changes. "After our repeated demands for change, the government is now doing some reforms. But I have to say, there's a long road to the change we want. Take the Constitution, for example. If we all take part in the reform process, as we did in 1988, we will win," said the 46-year-old ex-political prisoner who has spent nearly 20 years behind bars. For Pandavunsa, Burmese democracy begins with the 88 movement. "It was the very first time we Burmese collectively fought against the dictatorship. It was the first time we talked about democracy. Anyone in their right mind knows today's changes are the long awaited results of the 88 uprising," the monk commented. Tin Myo Win said it was the "88 spirit"—working for the people's interests and having comradeship among protesters—that toppled single party rule 24 years ago. "If we were able to work together even at that time when the doors to change were closed, why can't we reapply that spirit now, when changes are visible and our goal is in sight?" he said, adding that "the goal is a long way to go." Meanwhile, the 24th anniversary of the 8-8-88 uprising has revived Pandavunsa's memories of that fateful day. "I still remember the faces of people on that night. Even in their death, I felt hope for change was written on their faces," said the monk. "We have sacrificed a lot. I saw comrades die young. I pray for no repetition of that day." The post The Day a New Burma was Born appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burmese Among Victims of Massive Jade Scam in China Posted: 07 Aug 2014 05:00 PM PDT An attendee at the 2014 Gems Emporium examines a piece of raw jade in Naypyidaw. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) HONG KONG — Hundreds of people, including Burmese jade dealers, have seen their fortunes vanish in a scam described as the biggest jade fraud case in the history of the People's Republic of China, police in the country's southwest have revealed. Up to 1 billion yuan (US$160 million) worth of jade treasures were taken by a 33-year-old Chinese conman named Zhong Xiong over the past few months, according to Chinese police's preliminary investigation. "Overall, what he did was to find a hole in the cross border trade and present himself as a rich man to approach potential dealers who were desperate to sell their products," according to one jade dealer surnamed Xie, who said he was approached by Zhong. Every year, a large number of raw jade stones are shipped to Yunnan province from neighboring Burma. Burmese jade is considered to be the world's highest quality, and the jade trade between the two countries—much of it illicit—was estimated at $8 billion in 2011 by the Harvard Ash Center. After being crafted by artisans, a variety of valuable jade pieces stream into the Chinese market. In the jewelry industry, it is common to lend or exchange inventory on an informal basis, giving customers more choice and products more exposure to potential buyers. Zhong is said to have told victims that he knew wealthy clients in Shanghai and Beijing who wanted artifacts made from the highest quality jade. But after collecting the jade items, Zhong disappeared without paying for them, the Oriental Morning Post reported. According to police, Zhong presented himself as a man of immense wealth, living an extravagant lifestyle and driving flashy cars. By wining and dining other gems dealers, he quickly befriended local merchants. Revelations of the scam come at a time when China's jade market has shrunk sharply. Police believe jewelry traders and individual lenders facing a business downturn were lured by the promise of a huge backlog of jade to be sold. The scam has damaged the trust between Burmese and Chinese jade traders—relations built over decades of doing business together. "In this industry, dealers are relying on their own personal credit. They have to deal with some middlemen to sell the product," said Xie. "Zhong presented himself as a generous man, so nobody suspected he might be a fraud. "It must have been planned for a long time. For a scam of such scale, it needed to be well prepared for years, gaining trust step by step." Sixty-seven victims had reported the scam to police by April. Zhong was arrested in May and is currently being held by authorities, awaiting trial. The swindled come from major jade trading centers in Yunnan such as Kunming, Tengchong and Ruili, as well as other Chinese provinces and even across the border in Burma, according to Chinese reports. But the total victims could number in the hundreds, as most dealers borrow and lend jade items to others, including business partners in Burma. Yang Yuan, who lost 27.32 million yuan, said he could no longer return home as most of the items came from business partners from Ruili and Burma. "They have been looking for me, and I have no money to pay them back," Yang told The Paper, a Mandarin-language daily. Police have not yet disclosed a specific total value for the stolen goods, saying only that the amount is "huge." Reports have said the number could be north of 1 billion yuan. It is also unclear how many dealers from Burma were roped into the scam. Xie said jade dealers would most certainly be more cautious in the future, but the trader remained optimistic about the jade market's future prospects. "As the wealthy people in China gradually increase, the good days are just beginning," he said. "Twenty years ago, only people who lived in affluent areas like Hong Kong, Taiwan or Guangdong bought jade, but now there are buyers from every part of China." The post Burmese Among Victims of Massive Jade Scam in China appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai Case Casts Spotlight on Business of Surrogacy Posted: 07 Aug 2014 10:36 PM PDT Gammy, a baby born with Down syndrome, is kissed by his surrogate mother Pattaramon Janbua at a hospital in Thailand's Chonburi province August 3, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — For thousands of well-off childless couples, the dream of having a baby is often realized in places like Thailand and India. Ready to help them are young women who become paid surrogates, their wombs offered up as vessels that can safely carry the babies until they are born. Most of the time, it's a bargain that suits both parties—unless something goes wrong. The case of an Australian couple accused of abandoning their baby with his Thai surrogate mother after discovering the child had Down syndrome—and taking home his healthy twin—has cast unfavorable light on the largely unregulated business of commercial surrogacy. The suggestion that the Australian biological parents wanted to raise only the healthy child and left behind her blond, brown-eyed brother, who also has a congenital heart condition, sparked outrage worldwide. Couples seek surrogacy away from home mainly for legal and financial reasons. Some nations tightly restrict surrogacy, or ban it outright. Others have no surrogacy laws, though national medical boards often deal with it in their codes of ethics. Laws vary widely, and there is no guarantee that a contract—or the child resulting from the arrangement—will be recognized in another country. In the US, some states forbid commercial transactions and stipulate that any contract for a surrogate birth is unenforceable. Other states, including California and Illinois, are receptive to commercial surrogacy and have regulations to help enforce agreements. In Thailand, wealthy couples from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia—where commercial surrogacy is banned—are major customers, said Nandana Indananda, a Bangkok-based lawyer who headed a project to draft a Thai surrogacy law which was submitted Thursday to the country's military junta for consideration. Contributing to Thailand's popularity is the large number of impoverished women who will carry babies for a price, and the availability of doctors with good reproductive medical skills, Nandana said. India has also emerged as a major center for low-cost surrogacy thanks to its skilled doctors, medical infrastructure and vast population of poor women willing to act as surrogates. A full-term surrogate pregnancy normally costs US$18,000 to $30,000 in India, doctors say, with about $5,000 to $7,000 going to the surrogate. India legalized commercial surrogacy in 2001, but has just a handful of regulations governing the $1 billion-a-year industry. Among them is a 2012 mandate that prohibits some people—including gay couples, single men and women, unmarried couples and couples from countries where surrogacy is illegal — from hiring a commercial surrogate in India. Rights activists say the absence of regulations has led to widespread exploitation. "Women who miscarry are not paid anything at all in many cases," said Ranjana Kumari, director of the New Delhi-based Centre for Social Research. "Instead, the agents try to shift the blame to the woman and tell her it is her fault that she has miscarried." Manasi Mishra, author of two government-funded reports on surrogacy in India, said many women have been cheated by agents and clinic owners and received a fraction of what they were promised. "There is a dark side to this business," acknowledged a Thai employee of the agency that arranged the deal involving the Down Syndrome baby. Surrogate Pattaramon Chanbua, a 21-year-old food vendor with two young children of her own, says she has not been paid the full $9,300 fee she was promised. "But most of the time I have seen happiness," said the woman, who asked not to be identified because it might jeopardize her job. For many surrogates, the payments can mean a new house or better education for their children, with the money often more than they could save in a decade, Mishra said. After India stopped offering surrogacy services to single women and same-sex couples, Australians increasingly turned to Thailand, said Rachel Kunde, chief executive of the advocacy group Surrogacy Australia, and the mother of two children born to surrogates. Simple economics often dictate where babies are born, Kunde said. "If they want a lot of contact with an English-speaking surrogate, then they're going to go to America, but that's a very expensive process," she said. India and Thailand are cheaper and closer to Australia than the US. The cost for a baby by surrogate in Asia averages $60,000 to $70,000, including airfares and accommodation; in the US, it's around $150,000, Kunde said. In many cases, international surrogacy is a last resort. For 39-year-old Australian Kylie Young and her 40-year-old husband, Cameron, finding a Thai surrogate to carry their twins was a blessing at the end of an agonizing quest for a child. The couple began trying to conceive immediately after marrying in August 2002, but eight years of in-vitro fertilization and two attempts by a friend who'd offered to serve as their surrogate failed to produce a baby. After learning about overseas surrogacy online, the Youngs turned to an agent in Thailand to help shepherd them through the process, which cost around $60,000. The Youngs flew to Thailand for the birth, though Kylie wasn't allowed in the delivery room as her eggs weren't used to conceive the twins. When she finally saw Stella and Luke, she cried. All the effort, she says, was worth it. The couple spent six weeks in Thailand waiting for paperwork to clear, including applications for Australian citizenship for the babies. During a 10-minute interview at the Australian Embassy, their surrogate gave approval for the Youngs to bring the twins to Australia. Stella and Luke are now 14 months old, and Kylie has no regrets. "I couldn't fault anything," she says. "I was lucky. I was one of the mums that had a good experience." Chinese laws ban medical facilities and personnel from performing surrogacy services, but there is no clear law against private arrangements between couples and surrogate mothers. Such contracts would likely be ruled invalid by a court, however, on ethical grounds. Chinese authorities have occasionally cracked down on surrogate operations. Still, private surrogacy services are openly advertised on Chinese-language websites—several of them promoting surrogates in countries such as Thailand or the United States. Chinese couples using US surrogates consider it a bonus that their babies will be granted U.S. citizenship at birth. The underground market has led to problems, often when the surrogates bond with the babies and want to keep them, said Shanghai-based lawyer Wei Xin, whose firm has handled such cases, which are often resolved by the couple paying extra to the surrogate. The tangled web of international surrogacy regulations—or lack thereof—adds up to a legal and emotional minefield for would-be parents. Even Kylie and Cameron Young, who had a happy outcome from their Thai surrogacy experience, acknowledge it was far from simple. "I don't think people understand when you can't have a family, how hard it is to get children. We were 12 years in the making," Kylie says. "I think people think it's so easy to go through—but it's not." The post Thai Case Casts Spotlight on Business of Surrogacy appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Malaysia Plans Overhaul of National Airline  Posted: 07 Aug 2014 10:25 PM PDT Members of a group of international experts inspect wreckage at the site where the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on Aug 1. (Photo: Reuters) KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s state investment company said Friday it plans to make Malaysia Airlines fully government owned, removing it from the country’s stock exchange before carrying out a far-reaching overhaul of the carrier that is reeling from double disasters. Khazanah Nasional, which owns 69 percent of Malaysia Airlines, said it has proposed to the carrier’s board of directors that it buy out minority shareholders at 27 sen (8 cents) a share, a 29 percent premium to the airline’s average share price over the previous three months. The takeover would cost 1.38 billion ringgit ($429 million). Khazanah said the state takeover will represent the first stage of a "complete overhaul" of the loss-making airline, and that detailed plans will be announced by the end of this month. "The proposed restructuring will critically require all parties to work closely together to undertake what will be a complete overhaul of the national carrier," it said in a statement. "Nothing less will be required in order to revive our national airline to be profitable as a commercial entity and to serve its function as a critical national development entity." Malaysia Airlines has been hit by two major disasters this year, which added to its longstanding financial woes. In March, Flight 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared with 239 people on board after flying far of course. The plane has still not been found, with a search in the southern Indian Ocean underway. In July, 298 people were killed when Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine. It was heading to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam and was shot out of the sky over an area of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Before the disasters, the carrier’s financial performance was among the worst in the industry, putting a question mark over its future even before its brand was tied to two almost unfathomable tragedies. Some analysts last month said the airline would not survive a year without a substantial cash injection from the Malaysian government. Khazanah’s offer to minority shareholders gives them more than what their shares were worth before each of the passenger jet disasters. Even so, the airline’s share price has been in a long-term decline due to several years of losses that partly stemmed from increased competition from discount carriers. The day before Flight 370 vanished, the airline’s share price was 25 sen. It was 23 sen the day before Flight 17 was downed. The post Malaysia Plans Overhaul of National Airline  appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

China Under Pressure as US Pushes Plan to Ease South China Sea Tensions Posted: 07 Aug 2014 10:21 PM PDT Chinese coastguard ships give chase to Vietnamese coastguard vessels (not pictured) after they came within 10 nautical miles of the Haiyang Shiyou 981, known in Vietnam as HD-981, oil rig in the South China Sea July 15, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) MANILA/WASHINGTON — China will come under the most concerted diplomatic pressure yet to rein in its assertive moves in the disputed South China Sea when the United States uses a regional security meeting in Burma this weekend to rally support for a freeze on provocative acts. The push by US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Asean Regional Forum marks a step up in Washington's involvement in the dispute, which has frayed regional ties as China acts more forcefully on its sweeping sovereignty claims. Kerry arrives in Burma's capital Naypyidaw on Saturday, joining top diplomats from China, Russia, Japan, India, Australia, the European Union and Southeast Asia among others in Asia's highest-profile gathering so far this year. Foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) begin talks on Friday. Beijing rejects US involvement in the dispute and has already dismissed proposals from Washington and Manila for a freeze on actions such as land reclamation and construction on disputed islands and reefs. "The secretary is not looking for a showdown. This is not a superpower battle," said a senior US State Department official, stressing that Kerry would call on all claimants to show restraint, not just China. Washington, however, has singled China out. Daniel Russel, the State Department's senior diplomat for the East Asia region, said in a speech on July 28 that public evidence indicated China's upgrading of outposts on small land features in the South China Sea was "far outpacing" similar work other claimants were doing. On Thursday, Chinese state media said China planned to build lighthouses on five islands in the South China Sea. At least two of the islands—Drummond Island and Pyramid Rock—are in the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. The unusually strong US stance will add pressure on Beijing to address growing regional concerns and could encourage some Asean nations to push for faster progress on a maritime code aimed at reducing tensions. China accuses the United States of emboldening claimants such as the Philippines and Vietnam with its military "pivot" back to Asia. "The Americans have decided that based, not on what China is saying, but what it is doing, they had to lift their game," said Ernest Bower, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The call for the freeze should be seen as a new level of engagement and diplomacy on this issue by the Americans." China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, which is believed to contain oil and gas deposits and has rich fishing grounds. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to parts of the sea, where about US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Asean Split Tensions spiked in May when China parked a giant oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam. Relations between China and US ally the Philippines have also cooled in recent years over the disputed sea territories. The rancor has split Asean, with several states including some of the claimants reluctant to antagonize Asia's economic giant. Asean's biggest economy, Indonesia, backs the proposals for a freeze and will ask others to specify which actions they would cease, its Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said. "What I will be seeking at the Asean meeting in Myanmar is for us to be able to spell out what we actually mean when we say self-restraint," he told reporters on Tuesday. A draft of the planned Asean foreign ministers' joint statement seen by Reuters includes a call for a freeze on "destabilizing actions" but that reference could be removed or watered down. Smaller nations such as Cambodia, Laos and host Burma have deep economic and political ties with Beijing, and may be receptive to Chinese complaints of external interference. Asean and China signed a trust-building agreement in 2002, committing to exercise "self-restraint" in activities that would escalate disputes, such as occupying islands and reefs or building on them. Most claimants have flouted those guidelines. The Philippines accused China in May of reclaiming land on the disputed Johnson South Reef and said it appeared to be building an airstrip. Taiwan is building a $100 million port next to an airstrip on the lone island it occupies in the disputed region. As well as Johnson South Reef, a senior Philippine navy official told Reuters that China was continuing land reclamation work on Gaven, Cuarteron and Eldad Reefs in the disputed Spratlys chain. He also said Manila had a four-year plan—currently shelved by budget constraints—to build helipads on two shoals, install radars and sensors in other areas and to build a port and extend an airstrip on Pag-asa island. The official declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the South China Sea issue. China said this week it can build whatever it wants on its islands in the waterway. The post China Under Pressure as US Pushes Plan to Ease South China Sea Tensions appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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