The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Chinese Firm in Burma Drops Kidnapping Charges Against Student Activist
- 4 Sent to Prison for Involvement in Killing of Mandalay Muslim
- World Bank OKs $100M for Maternal, Child Health in Burma
- Chin Farmers Who Alleged Army Torture Return to Village
- Offering Little Insight, Koh Tao ‘Witnesses’ Released: Lawyer
- Burma to Begin Rice Exports to NE India
- Army Orders 1,000 Villagers to Leave, As Tensions Rise Near Hpakant
- Burma State Airline to Offer Scenes From the Skies
- Burma’s Military Appoints Point Men for Media Relations
- ‘The More People Talk About HIV, the Less Discrimination We Will See’
- Protesters Demand Philippine Custody of US Marine
- Tensions Rise as HK Police Use Pepper Spray on Protesters, Arrest 45
- Record Bust in Cambodia Signals Thai Dollar Counterfeiting Boom
| Chinese Firm in Burma Drops Kidnapping Charges Against Student Activist Posted: 15 Oct 2014 06:06 AM PDT  Phyu Hnin Htwe joins her supporters in front of Mandalay's Yinmabin District Court on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014. (Photo: ABFSU Central Working Committee / Facebook) RANGOON — Chinese mining firm Wanbao has dropped charges against 20-year-old Phyu Hnin Htwe, an activist accused of involvement in the kidnapping of two contractors working on the company's Letpadaung copper mine site in late May. Phyu Hnin Htwe, a member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), was released from police custody in Monywa on Wednesday, where she had been in custody since Sept. 13. The company's project coordinator, Hla Sein, told the court that the charges were being dropped for the sake of maintaining good relations between Burma and China, according to ABFSU spokesperson Ye Yint Kyaw. The Yinmabin district-level court has not yet disclosed official documents detailing the reasons for acquittal. Many believe that Phyu Hnin Htwe was innocent, and that she had been targeted for her work as an activist and hit with egregious charges that could have landed her in jail for up to 10 years. Phyu Hnin Htwe faced charges under articles 364 and 368 of Burma's Penal Code, which include kidnapping with intent to murder. "She was charged with unjust articles," said Ye Yint Kyaw, "and now she has won in accordance with real Dhamma." Yinmabin is one of several townships where communities have been adversely affected by the Letpadaung copper mine project, a joint venture between China's Wanbao Mining Co. and Burma's Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL). Wanbao has been granted huge swathes of farmland by the government, but thousands of farmers claim they have either not been adequately compensated or have not given free, prior and informed consent for land transfer. The project has been unpopular among the wider Burmese public, with activists from across the country coming out in support of the affected communities, particularly after an anti-mine protest site was brutally dismantled by police in November 2012. On May 18, 2014, a group of local people from Yinmabin abducted two Chinese Wanbao contractors and their Burmese driver after they were seen surveying grazing lands used by farmers. Fearing that the company was planning to fence off and seize the land, the villagers captured the employees. The driver was soon released and the Chinese captives were taken to Hse Te village and held captive for more than 24 hours. They were released on May 19 and suffered no bodily harm. In late May, the company announced that it would press charges against seven individuals for their alleged involvement in the incident, including Phyu Hnin Htwe, who is a second-year student at Mandalay's Yadanabon University and sometimes volunteers as a teacher in villages near the controversial mining site. Five of the accused were arrested and later pardoned, while Phyu Hnin Htwe and local villager Win Kyaw refused to appear in court. Police apprehended Phyu Hnin Htwe at her home in Patheingyi, Mandalay Division, on Sept. 13. Win Kyaw remains at large. The arrest of the young activist immediately sparked protests, with dozens of her fellow ABFSU members rallying for her release. "She said she thanks civil society, political parties, local citizens, and her mother organization, the ABSFU," said Ye Yint Kyaw. "She said she will keep working for the people." The post Chinese Firm in Burma Drops Kidnapping Charges Against Student Activist appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| 4 Sent to Prison for Involvement in Killing of Mandalay Muslim Posted: 15 Oct 2014 05:57 AM PDT  Security forces in riot gear line up in Mandalay on July 5. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — A Mandalay District Court on Tuesday sentenced four men to 10 years' imprisonment with hard labor for being accomplices to the murder of a Muslim man during an outbreak of inter-communal violence in Burma's second biggest city in July. Nyan Htay, Kyaw Zin Htet, Zin Min Tun and Pho Zaw, all men in their 20s, were sentenced by the court as they were present while the murder took place and had encouraged it, said Thazin Swe, a lawyer for two of them men. "The court said these four were not found guilty for the murder, but said that they were guilty for being presenting at the crime scene. That's why the court believes they are abetted the murder and sentenced them to 10 years imprisonment with hard labor," he said. The four were convicted for the killing of Soe Min Htwe, a Muslim resident of Mandalay, who was making his way to a local mosque for morning prayers around 5 am on July 3, when a Buddhist mob set up on him and beat him to death. The defendants' lawyers and the family of the convicted men insist, however, that three of them were not present and are innocent. Thazin Swe said another convicted man, Nyan Htay, was in fact a police informer who had testified that the other three were not at the scene of the killing. "During the court hearings, Nyan Htay even named some people who were presented at the crime scene. The court heard that Kyaw Zin Htet and the other two were not present there. So we wonder why the court found them guilty and would sentence them like this," said Thazin Swe, who had helped defend Kyaw Zin Htet and Zin Min Tun. Lawyer Myint Oo provided counsel to Pho Zaw and Nyan Htay and said the court had made an inexplicable decision by sentencing the police informer, adding that he had been at the scene in order to do his work. "The presence of Nyan Htay [at the murder scene] is defensible because he is an informer gathering the information he may need to report to the police," Myint Oo said. "Deciding he is guilty as an accomplice based only on his present is a bit odd. It would be better if the real culprit would get arrested and punished." It is unclear if there are any defendants being held in the case on accusations of carrying out the murder. The four convicts are currently held at Mandalay's Oh Bo Prison. Their families are preparing to submit an appeal to Mandalay Divisional Court. Zin Mar Aye, mother of Kyaw Zin Htet, who reportedly broke down after hearing the court verdict, said he had been with her at home during the time of the murder. "Such a heavy sentence for our son is unfair. My son was with me on that day. He was sleeping and I even scolded him for not helping me as I was preparing meals early around 4 am," she said. "I want justice. I will submit an appeal for the release of my son. Since he was not there and has not committed the crime, I believe, justice will be done." During the unrest in early July, Mandalay was rocked by anti-Muslim violence that left one Muslim man and a Buddhist man named Tun Tun dead, while 14 people were injured. Since 2012, inter-communal violence between Buddhists and the country's Muslim minority has recurrently erupted across Burma. The trial of the murder of Tun Tun is still ongoing at the Mandalay District Court and 11 defendants are being held in relation to his killing. The post 4 Sent to Prison for Involvement in Killing of Mandalay Muslim appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| World Bank OKs $100M for Maternal, Child Health in Burma Posted: 15 Oct 2014 05:18 AM PDT  Maternity patients wait in the outpatient wing of the Muslim Free Hospital, a charity hospital that offers free health services in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The World Bank on Tuesday approved a US$100 million line of credit for Burma, to go toward efforts to improve the health care services provided to mothers, infants and children in the impoverished country. The proposed World Bank-financed project aims to increase access to essential health services, with a focus on bettering the lives of Burma's mothers and children, the Ministry of Health stated in August. It said the project would strengthen the ministry's efforts to achieve universal health coverage in Burma, a country that spends less per capita on health care than any other nation in the world. "Specifically, project funds will help cover a wide range of expenses critical to the function of health facilities, such as medical supplies, facility maintenance and repairs, patient transfers, and community engagement," read a World Bank statement on Tuesday. Kyaw Soe Lynn, communications officer of the World Bank in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy that the funds represented the first time money from the global lender has gone toward health initiatives in Burma. "It will be used under the project named Myanmar Essential Health Services Access Project, which aims to support in MOH's universal health coverage goals," he said, adding that the first phase of the project would be implemented over four years. "It is expected to benefit about 4 million pregnant women and young children across all of Burma's 330 townships," the World Bank said in its press release. The World Bank's $100 million credit line is a long-term, no interest loan, with repayment deferred for the first 10 years and the value of the loan to be repaid over 40 years, according to Kyaw Soe Lynn. Abdoulaye Seck, country manager of the World Bank in Burma, said the lender "is pleased to support a people-centered approach to development in Burma by providing more funding to frontline health facilities to deliver better health services for people across the country." The health initiative amounts to about 5 percent of the $2 billion that the World Bank has pledged in loans, aid and investment for Burma's health and energy sectors. Headquartered in Washington, the World Bank returned to Burma last year after more than a quarter century in which it did not lend to the country. The post World Bank OKs $100M for Maternal, Child Health in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Chin Farmers Who Alleged Army Torture Return to Village Posted: 15 Oct 2014 04:47 AM PDT  Chin activists and a farmer speak during a press conference in Rangoon on Sept. 18, during which they accused the Burma Army of torturing six Chin farmers. (Photo: Yen Snaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Six ethnic Chin farmers who fled after having been arrested and allegedly tortured by the Burma Army returned to their village in Chin State's Palatwa Township last week, a local community leader said, adding that the villagers were now demanding that an army commander be replaced. Sein Aung, of the Palatwa Ceasefire Monitoring Group, said five farmers came back on Oct. 7 and a sixth on Oct. 11, after having fled the village of Kone Pyin on Sept. 21. Sein Aung said the villagers returned after the Ceasefire Monitoring Group met with Tactical Commander Col. Kyaw Kyaw Win, who oversees Light Infantry Unit 344 and several other units in Chin State, to get guarantees that the men would be safe from retribution by the army. "The villagers only want to Light Infantry Unit 344 to be moved away from their township. And if so, their concerns will be gone," he added. The Palatwa Ceasefire Monitoring Group comprises local community leaders and NGO representatives and is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire between the CNF and the government. It follows troop movements and other conflict-related events in the area. Chin human rights groups and one of the farmers from Palatwa have told the media that Light Infantry Unit 344 headed by Maj. Tin Htut Oo had detained six farmers for nine days in August, during which they were interrogated and severely beaten. The men had been detained after the soldiers found out that they had offered armed Chin National Front (CNF) fighters a meal during a harvest festival in the village of Kone Pyin in August. Shortly after they made the allegations in mid-September, five farmers were rearrested. They were held for two days and forced to sign a statement under duress stating that the beatings never happened. After their release on Sept. 21, they fled to the Burma-India border. Tluang Ceu, general secretary of the Chin Ceasefire Monitoring Team, said he discussed the torture allegations with Col. Kyaw Kyaw Win on Oct. 10 and had demanded that Maj. Tin Htut Oo be punished. "The colonel is preparing to take action against Maj. Tin Htut Oo but because of nature of the military [command chain], it's difficult to transfer him from the region immediately," Tluang Ceu told The Irrawaddy. Sein Aung said, however, that the ceasefire monitoring had concluded that the CNF fighters had contributed to the situation by coming into Kone Pyin village in uniform and carrying arms, an act that had violated conditions of the bilateral ceasefire agreement between the CNF and the government that was signed in 2012. Salai Isaac Khen, a Chin activist and executive director of Gender and Development Initiative, said the incident had occurred because the ceasefire agreement failed to set out conditions that would help protect civilians living in the conflict zone. "This case is happened because in the ceasefire agreement there have no clear requirements for taking action when local people are affected by the Burmese military and the CNF," he said. With the help of Chin NGOs, one of the farmers sent a letter of complaint to Burma Army Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing and the Chin State Chief Minister. The post Chin Farmers Who Alleged Army Torture Return to Village appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Offering Little Insight, Koh Tao ‘Witnesses’ Released: Lawyer Posted: 15 Oct 2014 04:12 AM PDT  Police measure footprints on Sept. 19, 2014, as data is collected from people who work near the spot where bodies of two killed British tourists were found on the island of Koh Tao. (Photo: Reuters / Chaiwat Subprasom) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Three Burmese witnesses in the double murder case on Thailand's Koh Tao island have been released by authorities after giving testimony before a judge at a provincial court in Koh Samui on Tuesday. Police investigators have been gathering evidence against Burmese suspects Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, who are accused of murdering two British tourists on the island on Sept. 15, but their lawyer on Wednesday said the witnesses' testimony had not done anything to strengthen the case against the men. "All three do not know about the crime scene," said Aung Myo Thant, a Burmese lawyer on a team formed by the Burmese Embassy, migrants' rights groups, and Burmese and Thai lawyers from the Lawyers Council of Thailand. Aung Myo Thant said the three witnesses would be placed under the care of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok. They had been under a kind of house arrest at accommodation near the police station, according to the Burmese lawyer, who said the men were under the watch of police and were not allowed to leave the premises unaccompanied. Maung Maung, a primary witness who is a close friend of the accused, told The Irrawaddy that he did not know anything about the crime. He is from a village in Arakan State's Rathedaung Township and worked at the bar where the murder victims were last seen alive on Koh Tao, a popular diving island in southern Thailand's Surat Thani province. "I have only wanted to go back home since the day I was arrested," said Maung Maung. "I know they [the accused] are not involved in the murder case." The investigation into the murders has come under international scrutiny in recent weeks amid allegations that Thai police had beaten some of the Burmese migrant workers who they called in for questioning, including the two men ultimately accused of the crime. The lawyer said the two accused were also present for the pre-trial testimony at the provincial court. "They seemed in good health, except for pain in their chests [allegedly from their interrogation]," added Aung Myo Thant. Meanwhile, Thailand agreed to allow British and Burmese observers of the judicial process after senior Thai officials met with British Ambassador to Thailand Mark Kent and his Burmese counterpart Win Maung on Tuesday, according to the Bangkok Post. Win Maung confirmed to The Irrawaddy that the Thai police chief had agreed to allow the foreign observers, saying their presence would bolster the credibility of the investigation and judicial process. The Burmese Embassy team has been providing onsite support to the accused and the witnesses on Koh Samui. "We have our team on Koh Samui and will assist in their case until it is closed," Win Maung said. The two defendants have been accused of rape, murder, looting and illegally entering Thailand. The Bangkok Post reported that "investigators have laid an additional charge against the two suspects … murder with intent to conceal the crime and avoid prosecution." "The police said they would bring the charges before court within a month," said Aung Myo Thant, adding that the judge had given his assurance that the case would be a top priority on the court's docket once it is filed with prosecutors. Additional reporting by Yan Pai. The post Offering Little Insight, Koh Tao 'Witnesses' Released: Lawyer appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma to Begin Rice Exports to NE India Posted: 15 Oct 2014 04:05 AM PDT  A farmer plants rice seedlings in a paddy field on the outskirts of Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Burma and India are putting the finishing touches on a major rice export deal, set to begin this month, which will facilitate the sale of about 20,000 metric tons of Burmese rice into Northeast India every month for the coming year. The Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF), Burma's main independent rice industry oversight body, recently met with Indian diplomats to discuss details of the arrangement. "The Indian Embassy [in Rangoon] announced the tender for rice imports last week, but they only received two tenders and they were very expensive. That's why they came to us for further discussion," said Chit Khine, chairman of MRF. India recently opened bidding for a rice sales contract to supply parts of Mizoram and Manipur, two remote northeastern states that border Burma. According to MRF, two Burmese companies asking for US$800 per ton were the only bidders. The Indian government then approached the MRF to negotiate a counter offer at half the price. Chit Khine said that MRF has agreed to a sale price of $400 per ton, but that sellers will only transport the commodity to the border station, from which Indian buyers will have to arrange pick-up and transport to their local warehouses. Burmese sellers said that their initial prices were high because of difficult and expensive transport conditions, as well as an uncertain political atmosphere in Northeast India. The area has long struggled with minority insurgencies and political upheaval that often takes the form of bandhs, a popular form of protest whereby huge territories are immediately cut off by blockading one of the region's few main roads. "We told them that we could only bring rice to the border stations at Tamu [in Sagaing Division] or Rihkhawdar [in Chin State], because we don't know what the situation is inside India," Chit Khine said. India has agreed to provide local transport once the products cross the border, and the two sides are still discussing tax rates, quality control procedures and other logistical hurdles. Chit Khine said that once those details are agreed upon, the Indian government will reopen the tender process and the Burmese firms will reapply. Dr. Soe Tun, secretary of MRF, told The Irrawaddy that the Indian government has committed to purchasing at least 200,000 tons of rice from Burma over the next year. State media reported earlier this year, however, that India had previously vowed to buy well over twice that amount. MRF estimated that Burma is capable of exporting just over one million tons of rice per year while still meeting domestic demand. Once the agreement is signed, Burma will begin legal rice exports to India for the first time. China currently takes the bulk of Burma's outbound rice, but cross-border rice sales between the two are still technically illegal. Chinese officials are working with MRF to establish quality control facilities and regulations, and MRF anticipates that China will soon become a long-term trade partner once they secure a legal contract. The World Bank has estimated that up to 70 percent of Burma's population relies on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood. Burma is expected to be the fifth-largest rice producer in Asean during the 2014-15 financial year—behind Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Only two of those countries, Vietnam and Thailand, are exporters. The post Burma to Begin Rice Exports to NE India appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Army Orders 1,000 Villagers to Leave, As Tensions Rise Near Hpakant Posted: 15 Oct 2014 02:59 AM PDT  KIA soldiers move up to re-enforce frontline troops on Hkaya Bum outpost during fighting with government troops in January 2013. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Burma Army has ordered more than 1,000 Kachin villagers to leave three villages near the jade mining town of Hpakant, Kachin State, warning civilians that there be could fighting between the army and Kachin rebels soon, local sources said on Wednesday. Residents of the villages of Kanzihall, Aung Bar Lay and Tang Kaw, located about 16 km (about 10 miles) from Hpakant, were told by Light Infantry Division 66 to leave their homes by Tuesday 6 pm, according to Hla San, a National League for Democracy (NLD) member based in Hpakant town. "They told villagers to leave by 6 pm. They are worried that the villagers will be hurt if there is fighting. That is why," said Hla San, adding that some villagers had moved to nearby towns and villages, where they would be safe from an outbreak of violence. He said the three villages are located in an area under control of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and that a local army commander had ordered the KIA units to leave the area. "We heard that the KIA will defend their area of control, that they will fight this war. The villagers who are staying on their [KIA] side, we heard that they [KIA] are preparing to resettle them for their safety," Hla San said. KIA spokesman La Nan confirmed that the group had received a verbal order by a local army commander to vacate their base in the area. "Col. Kyaw Zay Ya from Light Infantry Battalion 11 [which falls under Division 66] told us to withdraw from our base, but we did not get any written order from them, it was just a verbal instruction," he told The Irrawaddy. La Nan said the KIA would try to meet with Burma Army officers in the Conflict Negotiation Committee to defuse the tensions. The committee, which comprises officers from both sides, was formed last year during ceasefire talks between the KIA and the government and army in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina. Fighting erupted in mid-2011 in the region in northern Burma after a 17-year-old ceasefire between the KIA and government broke down. In early 2013, fighting quieted down and there have been several rounds of ceasefire talks since, but the sides have failed to come to an agreement. Conditions in Hpakant town were reportedly normal on Wednesday morning, although residents were scared to leave the town, said Hla San, of the NLD. The army deployed soldiers along the road from Hpakant to Myitkyina, while KIA fighters had taken up position on the other side of the Uru River, he said, adding that the sides are reportedly several hundreds of meters apart and able to see each other. Hpakant is situated amidst a mountainous landscape rich in jade and most of the world's high-quality is mined in the region. Around the town there are four camps that are home to some 2,000 internally displaced Kachin civilians. Licensed jade mining operations were suspended in 2012 after fighting escalated. During the suspension, thousands of small-scale miners and hand-pickers moved in illegally to try their luck. The government recently announced that small- and large-scale mining operations would resume per Sept. 1 after the rebels reached an agreement with the government to allow 10 companies back in. According to some sources in Hpakant, the recent rise in tensions was related to complaints by companies over KIA demands for bigger payments for access to mining areas. "The KIA asked higher taxes from mining companies. Some companies went to complaint about this to the government troops. This is why tensions have grown," said a local mine worker, who declined to be identified. La Nan, the KIA spokesman, said only the large companies were asked to make payment to the KIA. "Our troops only asked companies that have 30 to 40 mining blocks mining. We did not ask taxes from normal people who just come to collect some jade stone. But, based on their jade finds, if they found a large raw jade stone, we take tax from them too," he said. In early August, there was also a clash between the Burma Army and the KIA at a ruby mining town not far from Hpakant and some 200 villagers were displaced at the time. The post Army Orders 1,000 Villagers to Leave, As Tensions Rise Near Hpakant appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma State Airline to Offer Scenes From the Skies Posted: 15 Oct 2014 01:26 AM PDT  A man prepares to fuel an aging Myanma Airways plane in the city of Myitkyina, Kachin State. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — State-owned flag carrier Myanma Airways will begin offering new sightseeing routes over some of Burma's most scenic and historic sites, the company announced on Sunday. Five routes have already been designed for tourists wishing to get an aerial glimpse of Mandalay and Irrawaddy divisions, and are expected to take off later this week. Aung Min Swe, manager of the airline's Mandalay branch, told The Irrawaddy that the company initiated the new tours in response to customer demand for the service, which is not yet offered by any other carrier in Burma. "The scenes around Mandalay Division are very beautiful," he said, "and through these sightseeing tours, passengers can experience them from a new perspective, including sunset views." The tours are limited to 10 passengers at a time in newly acquired Grand Caravan aircrafts, which are spacious with plenty of window visibility so that travelers can get a good view and snap photos. Tourists can choose from three routes in Mandalay Division: Chanmyathazi-Bagan-Chanmyathazi; Chanmyathazi-Bagan-Monywa-Chanmyathazi; and Chanmyathazi-Pyin Oo Lwin-Gotiek Bridge-Chanmyathazin. Flights will take off every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and flight times will vary depending on the destination. Tickets will cost between US$50-75 depending on the route, though groups will have the option of booking a private flight for $750, which will depart at the passengers' discretion. Flight time is estimated between 1-1.5 hours. "We arranged these routes where there are many beautiful scenes to see," Aung Min Swe explained. "Passengers can experience the bird's eye view of Swe Daw Lay Su, Bodhi Tahtaung pagoda, the Irrawaddy River, the Goteik viaduct—which was built before World War I near Pyin Oo Lwin—and even get a sunset view of Bagan." Swe Daw Lay Su is a group of sites near Bagan where Anawrahta Minsaw, founder of the Pagan Empire, built stupas marking four sacred places. As legend has it, a white elephant carrying a replica of Buddha's tooth knelt at each of the four places while seeking an auspicious location to enshrine the relic, which was a gift from Kinh Dgatusena of Sri Lanka. The original replica is in Lawka Nanda Pagoda, four others are enshrined in the other stupas that make up Swe Daw Lay Su. Many Burmese Buddhists believe that visiting all four stupas in the same day will bring them good fortune. Myanma Airways new flights, however, will not actually land at any of the sacred structures. At least two other routes are already slated for lesser-known destinations, those being the ones that will hover over the Irrawaddy Delta. Flights traveling the Pathein-Ngwehsaung-Chaungtha-Pathein and Pathein-Ngwehsaung-Mawtinson-Pathein routes are set to begin on Oct. 18, according to an announcement in state media. Myanma Airways was established in 1948 as the Union of Burma Airways. The airline serves all major domestic airports in Burma and began offering regional international flights through its joint venture, Myanma Airways International, in 1993. The post Burma State Airline to Offer Scenes From the Skies appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma’s Military Appoints Point Men for Media Relations Posted: 14 Oct 2014 10:56 PM PDT  Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing holds a meeting with members of Burma's Interim Press Council in Naypyidaw on Tuesday. (Photo: Interim Press Council) RANGOON — Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has assigned three generals the task of communicating with the media, following a meeting between the commander-in-chief and members of the press. Seven members of the military led by Min Aung Hlaing met a seven-person delegation from Burma's Interim Press Council in the capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, during which the commander-in-chief announced the assignment. Thiha Saw, spokesman for the Interim Press Council, said: "Maj-Gen Aung Thaw, Maj-Gen Soe Naing Oo, and Maj-Gen Aung Ye Win from the Defense Ministry will be assigned the role of contact persons for the media. "The result of the meeting was very positive. They [the military] said that they now have a less negative view of the media," he added. The commander-in-chief reportedly promised to hold regular press conferences to better communicate with the media. The meeting comes at a tense time for relations between the government and media, typified by a crackdown on the Unity weekly journal that has been condemned by press freedom advocates. Five journalists from Unity were sentenced in July to 10 years in prison—later reduced to seven years—for reporting on an alleged chemical weapons factory, a claim that the government has said is false. The senior general made no mention of the Unity journalists during the meeting, according to the Interim Press Council. "[Min Aung Hlaing] said nothing specifically about the Unity journal issue, but he implied that measures would be taken to make sure similar cases do not happen again," said Thiha Saw. "Bothe sides talked about their own weak points. They [the military] have their own difficulties. We talked about building trust and establishing communication channels," he added. The senior general is tipped as a potential presidential candidate, after a general election next year that will bring to Parliament the lawmakers responsible for choosing the president. Ahead of Tuesday's meeting, Press Council members told The Irrawaddy that they would seek to win a pledge from the military to make accessing military personnel easier for journalists. Min Aung Hlaing's media debut was a rocky one. In March, the senior general held his first press conference, at which journalists from several publications were barred entry despite having registered in advance of the event. State media was also reportedly accorded a privileged position, with its journalists being the only media allowed to ask Min Aung Hlaing questions. The post Burma's Military Appoints Point Men for Media Relations appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| ‘The More People Talk About HIV, the Less Discrimination We Will See’ Posted: 14 Oct 2014 05:00 PM PDT  MPG chairman Myo Thant Aung gives the opening speech at the eighth annual conference for people living with HIV. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) Burma has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Asia; UNAIDS estimated that about 190,000 people in Burma were living with HIV in 2013, and that about 11,000 died that year from the incurable illness. The country's overloaded and under-resourced health system—Burma spends less per capita on health care than any other nation in the world—offers minimal assistance for HIV-positive patients, who also suffer from severe social stigma. The country's main provider of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), Médecins Sans Frontières, told The Irrawaddy last year that only 40 percent of patients who needed the treatment were able to access it as of late 2012. Newly pledged assistance from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, however, was earmarked for providing ART through MSF programs. Myanmar Positive Group (MPG) is a non-governmental organization founded in 2005 as a resource network for HIV-related community workers. The group connects organizations across the country, and currently has 159 member organizations whose work ranges from prevention to patient support and treatment. MPG coordinates an annual forum about HIV/AIDS awareness and solutions for the shortage of available care and support in Burma. The Irrawaddy spoke with MPG Chairman Myo Thant Aung about Burma's capacity to treat HIV and the challenges faced by both health workers and patients. Answer: MPG represents people living with HIV [by liaising with government health officials and coordinating support among community-based groups]. We occupy four seats on Burma's Health Sector Coordination Committee—a Union-level government agency under the Ministry of Health—which is authorized to make decisions about national health services. We are also present on Burma's Civil Society and Lawmakers Joint Committee—a union-level institution that brings together the Health Promotion Committee and community-based networks. As members of this committee, we work on policies to protect the rights of HIV-positive patients. Q: When did MPG first begin hosting public forums to address these issues? A: To understand how this came about, we need to talk about the political landscape. HIV was once considered a taboo subject in Burma. The government did not provide any information about HIV, and wouldn't grant permission [to conduct awareness campaigns] at all. For many years, because of Burma's prohibitive assembly laws, civil society was effectively deterred from participating in anti-HIV campaigns. People living with HIV used to be ashamed to admit that they were infected. We began holding these conferences to show that it is OK to speak out about the illness, regardless of pride or the opinions of others. The more people talk about it, the less discrimination we will see. We want to deliver a message to people living with HIV that they don't need to worry, they should be free to speak up. Q: MPG's forum is now in its eighth year. What kind of progress have you seen over that time? A: In the past, people would come but they wouldn't speak up because of the fear that is entrenched in our society. They wouldn't ask any questions. When things started opening up around 2010, participants started to speak out. It has only been four years since then, and already we are seeing people actively participating, having discussions and making suggestions. Q: Has MPG made progress toward combatting discrimination and stigmatization? A: We have two primary goals: increasing access to medicine and ending discrimination. There are three main reasons that HIV-positive people suffer so much from discrimination: They are ashamed, they are scared, and they are uninformed. With more awareness, they know that they can live a normal life, they will not die immediately as long as they have proper treatment. When the fear goes away, they are more willing to speak out. Regarding information, when patients know more about their illness, they are better prepared to live among other people. All of these things help to reduce discrimination. Q: What can the government do to improve its efforts to fight HIV/AIDS? A: The health system needs to be strengthened, and that will require better health infrastructure and adequate human resources. Burma receives some aid from the Global Fund [to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria], which is meant to meet those needs. But the most important thing is for the Ministry of Health to work together with the people. The ministry can improve the system and the community-based organizations [CBOs] can improve the community. Right now, the two are not effectively working together, but measures are underway to improve collaboration. Q: Can MPG and its member groups work more freely now, under the new government, or is the situation still the same? A: The government initially did not want help from the Global Fund primarily because it didn't want to take responsibility for the CBOs that were involved. We drew up detailed plans and budgets with personnel from the Global Fund and we presented it to the government. They found no reason to refuse and they had to accept it. We now plan to open 20 offices in various places. Right now we have only nine offices in five areas, and we mainly help AIDS patients that are in hospitals. Q: Are Burma's treatment facilities and equipment adequate for treating HIV, and are those facilities available nationwide? A: Things have improved. We have asked the international community to help us by providing medicine. We have also asked for CD4 machines [diagnostic equipment used repeatedly throughout treatment]. The government bought 74 of these machines, from the state budget, but we do not yet have national coverage. We still need to ask the government for more equipment. Handling health services for people living with HIV is an endless task. The post 'The More People Talk About HIV, the Less Discrimination We Will See' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Protesters Demand Philippine Custody of US Marine Posted: 14 Oct 2014 09:55 PM PDT  Students burn a mock US flag during a protest rally against the killing of 26-year-old Filipino transgender Jeffrey (Jennifer) Laude, outside the U.S. embassy in Manila October 14, 2014. (Photo: Erik De Castro / Reuters) MANILA, Philippines — Dozens of activists burned a mock US flag as they protested at the US Embassy in Manila on Tuesday, demanding that Washington hand over to the Philippines a US Marine suspected in the killing of a transgender Filipino that the demonstrators labeled a hate crime. Jeffrey Laude, 26, was found dead, apparently strangled and drowned, beside a toilet bowl in a motel room in Olongapo city, northwest of Manila, shortly after he checked in late Saturday, allegedly with a Marine. Police said they have identified the Marine suspect with the help of a key witness. Authorities will file a murder complaint against him with prosecutors on Wednesday, national police spokesman Wilben Mayor said. US Marine spokesman Col. Brad Bartelt said a Marine was being held on board the USS Peleliu in the Subic Bay free port, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Manila, in connection with a joint US Navy and Philippine police investigation into Laude's death. About 3,000 US Marines and Navy sailors concluded two weeks of military exercises with Filipino counterparts last Friday and were to leave the Philippines this week. US Pacific commander Adm. Samuel Locklear, who was in Manila for annual security talks with Philippine defense officials, initially ordered the Peleliu and other Navy ships to stay in the Philippines pending an investigation into the killing. All the ships except the Peleliu were later cleared to leave the country as the investigation progressed, according to Philippine officials. "We will continue to cooperate fully with the Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington. The thorny issue emerged amid a blossoming of security ties between the United States and the Philippines, which have both been vocal critics of China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea. The longtime military allies signed a new accord in April that allows greater US military access to Philippine military camps across the country. Military chief of staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said the incident destroyed the positive image of the just-concluded military exercise, in which the suspect in the killing took part, but added that "this will not affect our relationship with the United States." "We're alarmed and hurt because the victim was a fellow Filipino," Catapang told a news conference. "We have to give justice for his untimely death." Police said Laude's attacker may have been angered when he discovered in the motel room that Laude was a transgender individual or because of an argument sparked by other reasons. On Tuesday, about 40 young activists waved red flags and yelled "US troops out now" in a protest that ended with the burning of a mock American flag at the heavily secured US Embassy. Riot police stopped them from getting close to the seaside compound. Two protest leaders tearfully demanded that the U.S. military hand over the Marine to the Philippine government, saying he should be detained in a local jail. "This is just so abominable. It's one of the worst hate crimes I've seen," said Corky Hope Maranan, a leader of a group of transgender and lesbian Filipinos. "If he remains in US custody, certainly he can escape from our justice system again. We don't want another Daniel Smith," Maranan said. Smith was a Marine who was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison on charges of raping a Filipino woman after a night of drinking in 2005, also at the Subic free port. A Philippine appeals court overturned Smith's conviction in 2009, allowing him to leave the country. The post Protesters Demand Philippine Custody of US Marine appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Tensions Rise as HK Police Use Pepper Spray on Protesters, Arrest 45 Posted: 14 Oct 2014 09:50 PM PDT  A pro-democracy protester stands between bricks inside a vehicle tunnel to block traffic leading to the financial Central district in Hong Kong early on Oct. 15, 2014. (Photo: Tyrone Siu / Reuters) HONG KONG — Hong Kong police arrested 45 pro-democracy protesters in the early hours of Wednesday, using pepper spray on those who resisted, as they cleared a major road in the Asian financial center that had been barricaded with concrete slabs. The police operation was the toughest against largely student protesters in more than a week, and came after demonstrators swarmed into a tunnel on a key four-lane thoroughfare late on Tuesday, halting traffic and chanting for universal suffrage in the Chinese-controlled city. Hundreds of police forced the crowds back, using pepper spray on those who refused to move. Several protesters were wrestled to the ground and taken away. Scores of other officers then entered the tunnel in the Admiralty district near government headquarters and cleared away makeshift walls formed from concrete slabs, reopening the tunnel to traffic. Local media said 45 people had been arrested overnight. Footage aired by Hong Kong television broadcaster TVB showed police kicking and beating one protester for several minutes. Police could not immediately be reached for comment. "There were so many police. They punched people … We are peaceful," Danny Chiu, a student in his 20s, told Reuters, breaking down in tears. By mid-morning on Wednesday, police had largely left the area. Protesters have been demanding full democracy for the former British colony in the wake of restrictions placed by China on the city's next elections in 2017. They are also calling for Hong Kong's embattled leader, Leung Chun-ying, to step down. But their campaign, now into its third week, has caused traffic chaos and drained public support for their actions. China rules Hong Kong under a "one country, two systems" formula that accords the city a degree of autonomy and freedom not enjoyed in mainland China, with universal suffrage an eventual goal. Beijing said on Aug. 31 that only candidates that get majority backing from a nominating committee stacked with Beijing loyalists would be able to contest a full city-wide vote to choose Hong Kong's next leader. China's ruling Communist Party believes it has offered enough concessions to Hong Kong in the past, and would give no ground to the protesters because it wants to avoid setting a precedent for reform on the mainland, sources told Reuters. The position was arrived at during a meeting of the new National Security Commission chaired by President Xi Jinping in the first week of October, the sources said. Main Protest Camp Remains On Tuesday, police used chainsaws and sledge-hammers to clear blockades on another major road in Admiralty. But hundreds of protesters then stormed into the nearby tunnel, catching authorities by surprise. The tunnel on Lung Wo Road, an important east-west artery near the offices of the government and legislature, had been intentionally left open by demonstrators to traffic. Despite the reopening of the two major roads to ease what police said was traffic congestion, there was no immediate sign the core protest zone outside government headquarters, where hundreds of tents remain pitched on an eight-lane highway, would be cleared. Protesters are also loosely scattered around other parts of the Admiralty district. Protesters had earlier erected a gravestone in the middle of Lung Wo Road for Leung. "Even hell won't welcome you" read an epitaph on the makeshift headstone. The pro-Beijing leader said this week there was "zero chance" China's leaders would give in to protesters' demands and change the August decision limiting democracy. The Hong Kong and Beijing governments have called the protests illegal. Some of the city's most powerful tycoons had earlier warned that occupying the heart of the city to press for democracy could undermine stability. They have remained largely silent since the protests began. Police, criticized for using tear gas and batons in the first 24 hours of the protests, have adopted a more patient approach, counting on protesters to come under public pressure to clear main arteries. In recent days, police have selectively removed some barriers on the fringes of protest sites. The police action in the early hours of Wednesday, however, suggests official patience may be wearing thin. The number of protesters has fallen off sharply from a peak of about 100,000, but a hardcore group of perhaps several thousand remain. "I don't think the protesters, having suffered tear gas, endured the attacks by the anti-occupy people, I don't think they will just surrender unconditionally and leave," said Joseph Wong, political analyst at the University of Hong Kong. The post Tensions Rise as HK Police Use Pepper Spray on Protesters, Arrest 45 appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Record Bust in Cambodia Signals Thai Dollar Counterfeiting Boom Posted: 14 Oct 2014 09:46 PM PDT  Battambang police chief Brigadier General Sar Theth poses with notes from a seized haul of $7.16 million in counterfeit hundred-dollar bills, in Battambang on Sept 30. (Photo: Pring Samrang / Reuters) BATTAMBANG, Cambodia — Brigadier General Sar Theth is the police chief of Battambang, a languid riverside town in western Cambodia. You could also call him the seven million dollar man. On Sept 19, Sar Theth’s officers tracked three Thai men in a pick-up truck as it passed through a remote border checkpoint from Thailand. When the truck stopped in the Cambodian district of Phnom Proek, the police pounced. Inside, said Sar Theth, they found three cardboard boxes packed with $7.16 million in counterfeit hundred-dollar bills, the largest seizure of fake U.S. notes in Southeast Asia for about a decade and the biggest ever in Cambodia. "If I close my eyes and touch it, I wouldn’t know it was fake," he said, rubbing one of the seized notes between thumb and forefinger at Battambang police headquarters. According to the U.S. Secret Service, whose agents investigate financial crime worldwide alongside their better-known role as presidential bodyguards, the huge bust points to a well-oiled and growing counterfeit operation in neighboring Thailand, where identical notes had previously been seized. The alleged involvement of Thai military personnel—the three men arrested were serving or former officers of the Royal Thai Navy—could also embarrass Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. A former general, Prayuth seized power in a May 22 military coup and has vowed to crack down on organized crime. The men deny any wrongdoing, and the Thai navy said it was awaiting the conclusion of the investigation before deciding whether to take any action. There is more than $1 trillion cash in global circulation, three-quarters of it outside the United States, according to the Secret Service. Tackling counterfeiting is key to maintaining the dollar’s credibility as the de facto world currency. Less than a quarter of 1 percent of that $1 trillion—or about $2.5 billion—are fakes, said J. Kevin Traylor, a Secret Service agent based at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. "For the amount of currency out there, we have very little counterfeiting," he told Reuters. "That’s why the dollar is trusted." By comparison, global losses from credit, debit and prepaid card fraud in 2012 totaled about $11.3 billion, according to the Nilson Report, an industry newsletter. In South America, where narco-trafficking and counterfeiting often go hand in hand, big seizures of fake bills are not uncommon. In June, the Secret Service helped the Peruvian police arrest a suspected forger along with $4.5 million in fakes. But such seizures are rare in Southeast Asia. The Cambodian bust could suggest both an upsurge in counterfeiting and better cooperation between the Secret Service and local police. 'Talented People' For the Secret Service, seizing notes is secondary to finding the printing presses and shutting them down. The agency was created in 1865 as a branch of the U.S. Treasury to tackle rampant counterfeiting after the Civil War. It was another 36 years before its agents began protecting presidents, vice-presidents and other VIPs. Even today, most of its 3,200 special agents are busy investigating financial crime. Traylor, who visited Battambang to inspect the $7.16 million haul in early October, said $1 million of the same "better-than-average" fakes had already been seized in Thailand. One person has been arrested in the Thai investigation. "It is a note that is starting to be manufactured in larger quantities and our investigation points to Thailand as the origin," he said. "We will continue our efforts to locate the plant." The special inks and paper used by the U.S. Treasury to print dollar bills are tightly controlled. This has helped eradicate offset printing of fakes in the United States, where counterfeiters rely on methods such as inkjet printing or color photocopying. But offset printing—in which the inked image is "offset" from a plate to a rubber blanket and then onto the paper—is still commonly used outside the United States to produce convincing fakes in greater volume. The process requires expensive inks and presses, as well as skilled artists. "You need talented people to do this," said Special Agent Traylor. And time: he reckoned $7.16 million could take perhaps two months to make. In the Navy Royal Thai Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Kan Deeubol confirmed to Reuters that the three Thai men arrested on Sept 19 were serving or former naval officers. They were arrested after allegedly trying to change fake bills with a Cambodian contact who was actually a police informant, said Battambang police chief Sar Theth. One of them—Chamras Pongsart, 52, a navy captain—was released after two days. "He was not involved," said Sar Theth. The two suspects still in custody are: Pramote Raisiri, 48, described in Thai media reports as a navy sub-lieutenant; and Kittithamet Meethekulsawat, 47, who Rear Admiral Kan said had resigned from the navy before the incident. "They have not been suspended, because the investigation … is under way and we don’t know if they really committed wrongdoing," said Kan. The two Thai suspects have been charged with storing and transporting counterfeit currency, and face between five and 20 years in jail if found guilty. Their Cambodian lawyer, Chim Dara, told Reuters they denied any wrongdoing. The criminal group making the fakes in Thailand is well-organized and linked to other scams, said Traylor. Ongoing investigations disrupted their operations and forced them "to try Cambodia as a new market". The dollar is widely used in Cambodia, and preferred to the domestic riel currency for high-value transactions such as paying rents and salaries. Elsewhere in the world, criminals often use fake dollars to pay other criminals for narcotics, illegal timber or other contraband. But Sar Theth said it was "impossible" to shift so many bills on Cambodia’s fake-savvy black market. Even farmers might find the notes suspect, he said, never mind banks or owners of currency-exchange booths. Chi Kimcheav, 47, a money changer at Battambang market, said she relied on touch to detect fakes, which were often betrayed by poor quality paper. "I’ve been doing this job for many years," she said. "If someone gave me a fake, I’d know it." The post Record Bust in Cambodia Signals Thai Dollar Counterfeiting Boom appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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