The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Burma’s Opposition Parties Welcome Cancelation of By-Elections
• Prison Fight
• ‘We Will Create an All-Inclusive Education System’
• Burmese Workers Get Lengthy Jail Terms for Pipeline Clash
• Burma Cancels Planned Parliamentary By-Elections
• With Sedition Dragnet, Malaysia Takes Step Back to Mahathir Era
• After Syria and Iraq, Islamic State Makes Inroads in South Asia

Burma’s Opposition Parties Welcome Cancelation of By-Elections Posted: 08 Sep 2014 05:33 AM PDT Votes are counted during Burma's 2012 by-elections. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON— Opposition political parties in Burma have welcomed the decision by the Union Election Commission (UEC) to cancel by-elections previously planned for later this year. UEC chairman Tin Aye told a meeting of political parties in Rangoon on Sunday that the UEC will not hold polls to fill the 35 parliamentary seats currently sitting empty. According to the New Light of Myanmar, Tin Aye explained that holding by-elections less than a year ahead of the highly anticipated national elections was unnecessary and would be burdensome for both the political parties and the election body itself, with important constitutional and electoral reforms currently in progress. Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy that the party welcomed the decision. "We accept the cancelation. We were hurrying to prepare to participate in the by-elections. Now we have more time to prepare for the 2015 general elections," he said. Nyan Win said the decision was the UEC's to make, but noted that the commission should not have repeatedly announced contradictory decisions. "[The decision] is under the UEC's authority," he said. "About the by-elections, they said earlier that they wouldn't hold them, then they said they would, and now again they said they won't. It shouldn't be like that although they have the authority to do so by law." Khin Maung Swe, chairman of the National Democratic Force (NDF), said that since only 35 seats would have been up for grabs, the results would not have been enough to alter events in Naypyidaw, where the Union Solidarity and Development Party holds a majority. "Small parties are not rich enough to be able to afford to run in both the by-elections and the general elections next year, which are very close," he said. Khin Maung Swe said the NDF had been planning to compete for 20 seats at the by-elections, which would cost the party 300,000 kyat (about US$300) to register and more than 3 million kyat (about $3,000) to campaign for each constituency. "The small parties are happy with [the cancelation] because if they didn't compete for at least three places in the by-elections, their parties' registration would have been withdrawn," he said, referring to a rule in Burma's election laws. Phaw Lar Kam Phang, general secretary from Unity and Democracy Party, said that the party—based in Kachin State, where four constituencies are currently without representation—had decided not to enter the by-elections anyway due to time and budgetary constraints. "It is a weakness of UEC because they told us again and again that they will hold the by-elections and now they cancel it when it is close to taking place," he said. "The representatives who won in the by-elections would have had only a little time before the next election. And so it would have been difficult for them to work in parliament." The post Burma's Opposition Parties Welcome Cancelation of By-Elections appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Prison Fight Posted: 08 Sep 2014 05:15 AM PDT In the notorious Klong Prem Prison outside Bangkok, inmates can win better conditions and time off their sentences if they defeat foreign opponents in jail-yard boxing matches. (Photo: Patrick Brown) BANGKOK — When you first hear the phrase "prison fight," Hollywood films come to mind. And to some degree, you are not wrong. This really is a case of "action" in "Amazing Thailand." "Prison Fight" is an organized series of Muay Thai boxing matches in which Thai inmates go up against experienced foreign boxers. Under the scheme started last year by Thailand's Department of Corrections, winning prisoners earn respect, better conditions and the chance to have their sentences reduced. The foreign boxers fight for personal ambition and a small purse. Thais say that the tradition of pardoning prisoner boxers dates back to an old legend from around 1774, when Thai boxer Nai Khanom Tom was imprisoned in Myanmar. In that year, King Hsinbyushin (known in Thailand as King Mangra) had organized a seven-day religious festival in Yangon. During the event he wanted to see how Muay Boran (the old name for Muay Thai) compared to the Myanmar boxing style, Lethwei. According to the story, prisoner Nai Khanom Tom routed a series of Myanmar opponents. The king's reward was to give him his freedom, and today Nai Khanom Tom is celebrated as the "father" of Muay Thai. That old legend seemed a long way away earlier this year, when I gained access to the gritty daily realities of Section 5 in the notorious Klong Prem Prison outside Bangkok. I was told that I was the first person in thirty years to be allowed into the section with a camera. Given that the maximum security jail holds more than 5,000 inmates, I was expecting to find wardens turning a blind eye to knife fights in the yard, the odd riot and worse. In fact, I found a mix of the mundane and orderly, and the surreal. I met the Iranian bomber who managed to blow his own legs off in downtown Bangkok in 2012. When a taxi driver refused to pick the man up on Sukhumvit 71, he threw his backpack, which was full of explosives, at the car. The bag bounced off the taxi, landed at the bomber's feet, and you can guess the rest. I spent around 11 hours with convicted murderers, hit men, drug dealers and drug users who had sentences ranging from 20 to 80 years. Most of the men were covered with amazing tattoos. They create these at night when locked in their cells, using ballpoint pens, ink and a pin. Each cell holds between three and four prisoners. There are no chairs or beds. The inmates sleep side by side, on the floor, in cells measuring approximately 1.5 meters by 3.5 meters. This includes a small and very basic bathroom area at the back. They spend 13 hours a day in this claustrophobic and confined space. Boxing training gives purpose to prisoners' lives. While inside Section 5, I documented the lives of prisoners who train for six hours a day, seven days a week. For good fighters, the rewards are compelling. Immediate benefits can include better food, a TV in their cell, and the respect of others. Eventually, like Nai Khanom Tom under King Hsinbyushin, they may even win their freedom. Text and photos by Patrick Brown of Panos Pictures. This article first appeared in the August 2014 print edition of The Irrawaddy Magazine. The post Prison Fight appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘We Will Create an All-Inclusive Education System’ Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:39 AM PDT San San Yi, director of the Ministry of Education's No. 3 Basic Education Department. (Photo: Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy) In late July, the Union Parliament approved the National Education Bill and the legislation, which is still awaiting approval by the president, is meant to overhaul Burma's derelict education system. Under previous military governments, the system suffered from neglect, underfunding and outdated teaching methods. The new bill includes a range of reforms for all education levels, but has come in for criticism from independent organizations, who said it continues unnecessary central government controls on education. In the basic education sector, the bill strives to ensure enrollment of every school-age child, provision of free schooling and the use of student-centered teaching methods. San San Yi, director of the Ministry of Education's No. 3 Basic Education Department, spoke with The Irrawaddy about how the new legislation would change basic education in Burma. Question: What changes do you think the National Education Bill will bring to the basic education sector? Answer: The bill will provide equal opportunities to all school-age children to pursue basic education and it paves the way for free, compulsory basic education and [free education at] higher levels. As it is intended to provide each and every school-age child with schooling, we will create an all-inclusive education system so that children with disabilities can also pursue education. We will try with all our means to bring about quality education. We are also planning to introduce ethnic minority languages into curriculums and will allow local governments the powers to arrange the teaching of local ethnic languages in their respective areas. Q: How will you ensure that every school-age child gets access to education? A: The last week of May is designated as school-enrollment week to make sure each and every school-age child has access to schooling. During that week, teachers of the education department have to work together with ward, village and township authorities and NGOs to make sure that every school-age child is enrolled for schooling. But no matter how hard we try, ensuring that every school-age child in the country goes to school will remain a difficult thing. Even now in the Yangon Region, not 100 percent of all school-age children go to school. We will provide free informal education to children who can't afford to go to school. But as informal education is supported for children starting from the age of 9, children aged between 5 and 9 would be left out. Meanwhile, some children receive education from volunteers and at monastic schools. Some children with disabilities have difficulty in pursuing education in spite of their quest for knowledge. We are also trying to provide them with informal education. However, informal education still can't cover the entire nation. Even in Yangon Region, informal education still can't be provided in all 43 townships. Currently, it is provided in only 13 townships. Q: Will the Education Ministry provide free education at middle and high school levels as it does at primary level? A: The ministry's policy is to expand the scope [of support for students] level by level. It is likely that free education will be provided first at basic education, then at middle and high school levels. Q: What are the difficulties in undertaking reforms in basic education sector? For example, is the budget sufficient? Some critics have said that the education budget is too small. A: The education budget has increased significantly in the time of the current government so that many a school has been given a facelift. Unlike the past, study stipends and scholarships are awarded now because of the increased budget. Q: Will the changes include revisions of curriculums? A: We'll only update the current curriculums and won't completely change them. We'll just add certain things to improve them. Q: What is the student-teacher ratio in Rangoon Region? What plans are being carried out to balance the ratio? A: In Yangon Region, the student-teacher ratio is 30 to 1 at primary schools, 32 to 1 at middle schools, and 29 to 1 at high schools, according to a recent survey. A ratio of 1 teacher to around 30 students is not too bad. Teachers have also been trained to teach with a student-centered approach, not only in Rangoon but in the entire country. Q: Is there international donor support for implementing the education system reforms? UNICEF has been the largest contributor to Myanmar's education sector. The World Bank and Australia have also started providing assistance to Myanmar. The post 'We Will Create an All-Inclusive Education System' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burmese Workers Get Lengthy Jail Terms for Pipeline Clash Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:19 AM PDT The natural gas pipeline that runs parallel to an oil pipeline across Burma under construction by the China National Petroleum Company. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A court in Arakan State sentenced 17 Burmese workers to between six and 10 years each in prison on Sunday for destroying property and attacking Chinese workers on a cross-Burma oil pipeline project. Fighting broke out in January between ethnic Chin workers and Chinese nationals working on the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) project in Ann Township, close to where the pipeline meets the Bay of Bengal. The workers' lawyer, Aye Kyaw Than, told The Irrawaddy that the 17 were convicted under Penal Code articles 425, 436 and 114, for trespassing, arson and damaging property, and assault. Charges were brought at the Ann Township Court after a complaint by the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, the Burmese government company in a joint venture with CNPC—a Chinese state-owned enterprise. "Three of them were sentenced to 10 years and the other 14 were sentenced six years in prison each," said Aye Kyaw Than, who added that he will appeal to try to have the sentences reduced. In the Jan. 26 incident, ethnic Chin workers got into a dispute with their Chinese colleagues who lived in the upstairs part of shared living quarters. About 150 Chin and 80 Chinese were working on the project at the site in Taung Sauk village The Chin workers reportedly claimed that liquid, possibly urine, was poured on them from above. In the riot that followed, a CNPC building and an oil container on the site were set on fire A police officer in Ann Township said that the Chinese workers involved were not charged because they did not take part in the destruction of property. "The conflict first started between Burmese workers and Chinese workers. But the Chinese workers did not react, while the Burmese workers tried to destroy offices and buildings," said the police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I don't mean we did not take action against the Chinese workers. The company sent those workers back to their country already." While the oil pipeline is still under construction, CNPC has already completed and begun operating a parallel natural gas pipeline from Kyaukphyu, Arakan State, to China's Yunnan Province. Khin Oo Thar contributed reporting. The post Burmese Workers Get Lengthy Jail Terms for Pipeline Clash appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma Cancels Planned Parliamentary By-Elections Posted: 07 Sep 2014 10:36 PM PDT Tin Aye, chairman of the Union Election Commission, was formerly a general and member of the central committee of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's Union Election Commission said Sunday that it was canceling by-elections planned for later this year to fill 35 empty parliamentary seats. Commission Chairman Tin Aye made the surprise announcement at a media briefing in Rangoon. Reasons he gave included preparations for the 2015 general election, Burma's duties hosting the summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations in November, and an election law that says political parties must field at least three candidates or cease to exist, a requirement he described as burdensome for the country's 67 political parties. Tin Aye also said that next year's elections would most likely take place in November, the most specific time mentioned so far. The commission had announced in March that by-elections would be held later this year to fill more than 30 seats vacated for various reasons. One lower house member, Khaing Maung Yi, said that he had not heard anything about the decision, and that the reasons given were just excuses. "They should hold the elections since they have already announced them," he said. Nyan Win, a spokesman for democracy icon Aung Sang Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, said that while it wasn't good that the commission had decided to cancel the by-elections, the NLD supports the decision because it was not enthusiastic about them. Burma's legislature has 224 members in the upper house and 440 in the lower house. Twenty-five percent of each house is occupied by military appointees. The post Burma Cancels Planned Parliamentary By-Elections appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

With Sedition Dragnet, Malaysia Takes Step Back to Mahathir Era Posted: 07 Sep 2014 10:30 PM PDT A police officer and a member of the Malaysian People's Volunteer Corps (RELA) try to remove a microphone from university student leader Fahmi Moktar as he calls for the repeal of the sedition act outside the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs building in Putrajaya September 5, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian authorities are carrying out the broadest crackdown on the political opposition and social activists since the era of strongman leader Mahathir Mohamad, as traditionalists in the long-ruling ethnic Malay party appear to gain the upper hand. The setback for civil liberties in the multi-ethnic former British colony, which had appeared set on a path of greater openness just two years ago, comes as democracy retreats across mainland Southeast Asia following a military coup in Thailand and fading reform hopes in Burma and Cambodia. Susan Loone, a reporter at online news site Malaysiakini, which is critical of the government, was the latest to be detained by police on Thursday under the colonial-era Sedition Act, days after a law professor was charged over comments in an online news article on a 2009 political crisis. Prosecutors have charged four people with sedition in the past two weeks, including the professor, with new police investigations against opposition figures or activists being announced frequently. This year, seven opposition politicians, six of them members of parliament, have been charged with crimes, including sedition, for things they have said. Another has been convicted. The opposition's de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim, was convicted and sentenced to jail in March on a sodomy charge that rights groups say was politically motivated. The three-party opposition, which has eroded the ruling coalition's majority in two straight elections, says the 1948 Sedition Act is being employed selectively against its members, allies and social activists to undermine the alliance. The sedition law criminalizes speech with an undefined "seditious tendency." Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director of Human Rights Watch, said the prosecutions were reminiscent of so-called Operation Lalang in 1987 under Mahathir, when more than 100 opposition politicians and activists were arrested under an old Internal Security Act (ISA) which allowed detention without trial. "The parameters are basically the same—you are using an antiquated draconian law to go after the opposition," he said. The reason for the crackdown is unclear, but pressure has been building on Prime Minister Najib Razak from conservatives in his ruling United Malays National Party (UMNO) to take a tougher line against opponents. The charismatic Mahathir, who led Malaysia for 22 years until 2003 and remains an influential conservative force, announced two weeks ago he was withdrawing support for Najib. In a savagely critical blog post, he said Najib's policies had "destroyed interracial ties" and led to an increase in crime in general. "Mahathir accused Najib of being weak. I think this is a very strong signal Najib is trying to send to say that 'I am not weak,'" said Ong Kian Ming, an opposition member of parliament. Mahathir, a defender of majority ethnic Malay rights over minority ethnic Chinese and Indians, used tough security laws to stifle dissent and has lamented Najib's repeal of the Internal Security Act. Najib, a self-described moderate whose reformist plans were dealt a setback by a weak election performance last year, pledged in 2012 to repeal the Sedition Act and says he intends to replace it with a new law by the end of next year. Reformist? But many senior UMNO leaders are opposed to that and also want him to restore the ISA. The Prime Minister's Office did not respond to requests for comment on the prosecutions or on comparisons to the Mahathir era. In a statement on Aug. 30, a government spokesman said sedition cases had to be tried under existing laws until new legislation was ready, and were a "matter for the courts." Sources close to Najib say he retains his reformist drive, but is fighting a rearguard action against the conservatives. Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, was quoted by media on Friday as saying the government had only pledged to review the Sedition Act, not abolish it. Najib has said he is committed to repealing it. "Not everyone around the PM is on the same page with him," said Saifuddin Abdullah, an UMNO moderate and former deputy minister. "I hope this is not a move to fail the prime minister in many of the things he is trying to do." Supporters of the sedition law say it is needed to clamp down on inflammatory actions that could stir up ethnic or religious tension in the diverse nation of 29 million. But although some people aligned with UMNO or Malay rights groups have been charged under the law, it is used far more often against anti-government activists or the opposition. N. Surendran, a lawyer and opposition member of parliament, was charged with sedition last month for saying that the verdict in Anwar's trial was "flawed, defensive, and insupportable," a view shared by various international human rights groups. Loone, the journalist, was arrested and later released on bail after Malay rights groups lodged a police report about an article she wrote quoting an arrested opposition politician saying he was treated like "a criminal" in police custody. The opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition says electoral calculations may be behind the arrests, which would result in by-elections if the legislators who are suspects are found guilty. "What we are seeing is thus a blatant and shameless attempt by Najib to hijack democracy by having duly elected lawmakers from Pakatan to be stripped of their democratic entitlements and disqualified from contesting in the subsequent by-elections," Anwar, who is free pending an appeal, said in a statement. The post With Sedition Dragnet, Malaysia Takes Step Back to Mahathir Era appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

After Syria and Iraq, Islamic State Makes Inroads in South Asia Posted: 07 Sep 2014 10:12 PM PDT A Shi'ite Muslim girl takes part in a candlelight protest against the ongoing conflict in Iraq, in New Delhi, on July 3, 2014, after dozens of Indian nurses were taken against their will from a hospital in the militant-controlled city of Tikrit in Iraq. (Photo: Reuters) PESHAWAR/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan— Islamic State pamphlets and flags have appeared in parts of Pakistan and India, alongside signs that the ultra-radical group is inspiring militants even in the strongholds of the Taliban and al Qaeda. A splinter group of Pakistan's Taliban insurgents, Jamat-ul Ahrar, has already declared its support for the well-funded and ruthless Islamic State fighters, who have captured large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in a drive to set up a self-declared caliphate. "IS [Islamic State] is an Islamic Jihadi organization working for the implementation of the Islamic system and creation of the Caliphate," Jamat-ul Ahrar's leader and a prominent Taliban figure, Ehsanullah Ehsan, told Reuters by telephone. "We respect them. If they ask us for help, we will look into it and decide." Islamist militants of various hues already hold sway across restive and impoverished areas of South Asia, but Islamic State, with its rapid capture of territory, beheadings and mass executions, is starting to draw a measure of support among younger fighters in the region. Al Qaeda's aging leaders, mostly holed up in the lawless region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, are increasingly seen as stale, tired and ineffectual on hardcore jihadi social media forums and Twitter accounts that incubate potential militant recruits. Security experts say Islamic State's increasing lure may have prompted al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri to announce the establishment of an Indian franchise to raise the flag of jihad across South Asia, home to more than 400 million Muslims. Pamphlets, Car Stickers Seeking to boost its influence in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, a local cell with allegiance to Islamic State has been distributing pamphlets in the Pakistani city of Peshawar and eastern Afghanistan in the past few weeks, residents said. The 12-page booklet called "Fatah" (Victory), published in the Pashto and Dari languages of Afghanistan, was being mainly distributed in Afghan refugee camps on the outskirts of Peshawar. The pamphlet's logo features an AK-47 assault rifle and calls on local residents to support the militant group. Cars with IS stickers have also been spotted around Peshawar. Sameeulah Hanifi, a prayer leader in a Peshawar neighborhood populated mainly by Afghans, said the pamphlets were being distributed by a little-known local group called Islami Khalifat, an outspoken Islamic State supporter. "I know some people who received copies of this material either from friends or were given at mosques by unidentified IS workers," he told Reuters. A Pakistani security official said the pamphlets came from Afghanistan's neighboring Kunar province where a group of Taliban fighters was spotted distributing them. "We came across them 22 days ago and we are aware of their presence here," said the official. "Pakistani security agencies are working on the Pakistan-Afghan border and have arrested a number of Taliban fighters and recovered CDs, maps, literature in Persian, Pashto and Dari." "We will not permit them to work in our country and anyone who is involved in this will be crushed by the government." Recruitment in India Signs of Islamic State's influence are also being seen in Kashmir, the region claimed by both India and Pakistan and the scene of a decades-long battle by militants against Indian rule. Security officials in Indian-held Kashmir say they have been trying to find out the level of support for the Arab group after IS flags and banners appeared in the summer. Intelligence and police sources in New Delhi and Kashmir said the flags were first seen on June 27 in a part of the state capital Srinagar, and then in July when India's only Muslim-majority region was marking Islam's most holy day, Eid al-Fitr. Some IS graffiti also appeared on walls of buildings in Srinagar. A police officer said youngsters carrying Islamic State flags at anti-India rallies had been identified but no arrests had been made. Another officer who questions people detained in protests against Indian rule, many of them teenagers, said most were only focused on winning independence from India. "The majority of them have no religious bent of mind," he said. "Some of them, less than 1 percent, of course are religious and radicalized and end up joining militant ranks. They are influenced by al Qaeda, Taliban, Islamic State." Islamic State is also trying to lure Muslims in mainland India, who make up the world's third-biggest Islamic population but who have largely stayed away from foreign battlefields despite repeated calls from al Qaeda. In mid-July, an IS recruitment video surfaced online with subtitles in the Indian languages of Hindi, Tamil and Urdu in which a self-declared Canadian fighter, dressed in war fatigues and flanked by a gun and a black flag, urged Muslims to enlist in global jihad. That came out just weeks after four families in a Mumbai suburb reported to the police that their sons had gone missing, with one leaving behind a note about fighting to defend Islam. It soon turned out that the men had joined a pilgrimage to Baghdad. They later broke off from the tour group and never returned. Indian intelligence believe the men ended up in Mosul, the Iraqi city captured by Islamic State in June, and that one of them may have died in a bomb blast. Last week, the Times of India newspaper said four young men, including two engineering college students, were arrested in the eastern city of Calcutta as they tried to make their way to neighboring Bangladesh to join a recruiter for Islamic State based there. "It's not just these four, but our investigations have found that there could be more youngsters who are in touch with IS handlers and this is a bit of a scary proportion," the newspaper quoted a senior officer as saying. A top official at India's Intelligence Bureau in New Delhi told Reuters: "The problem is we know so little about this network or who is acting on their behalf here. "We know roughly where the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Indian Mujahideen [organizations backed by Pakistan] support groups are, where they make contacts. But this is a different challenge. Youth getting radicalized in their homes on the Internet, in chatrooms and through Facebook are not easy to track." Reporting by Asim Tanveer, Hameed Ullah, Saud Mehsud and Maria Golovnina; additional reporting by Fayaz Bukhari in SRINAGAR, Writing and additional reporting by Sanjeev Miglani in KABUL and NEW DELHI. The post After Syria and Iraq, Islamic State Makes Inroads in South Asia appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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