The Irrawaddy Magazine

---

• Heavy Fighting in Shan State Kills 17 Govt Soldiers, Rebels Claim
• Burmese Worker Admits to British Murders in Thailand: Police
• President Criticized After Saying Ceasefire Necessary for Successful Elections
• Chin State Govt Shutters Local Newspaper
• Court Reduces Unity Journalists’ Prison Sentence to 7 Years
• Thai Junta Says It Will Help Kick-Start Stalled Dawei SEZ Talks
• ‘I Don’t Want Women’s Participation Just for Show’
• The Rising Power of Burma’s Women’s Workforce
• China Tells Foreign Countries Not to Meddle in Hong Kong
• Hong Kong Leader Plays Waiting Game, Protesters Demand He Resigns
• India Set to Run Out of Critical Free Drug for HIV/AIDS Program
• Supreme Patriarch Sees Rangoon’s Armenian Church Granted Heritage Status

Heavy Fighting in Shan State Kills 17 Govt Soldiers, Rebels Claim Posted: 02 Oct 2014 05:52 AM PDT TNLA troops on the march in northern Shan State's Kyauk Mae Township. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Heavy clashes between the Burma Army and a combined force of Palaung, Kachin and Kokang ethnic rebels in northern Shan State's Kutkhai Township killed 17 government soldiers on Wednesday, a Palaung rebel source has claimed. Tar Ban Hla, a spokesperson of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), told The Irrawaddy that the Burma Army's Infantry Division 11 made an incursion into TNLA area, prompting a response by fighters of the TNLA, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a small Kokang militia. He said the rebels in northern Kutkai Township's Tarmoenye Sub-Township had then been surrounded by government forces and were forced to face the approaching soldiers at close range. "From our side, we do not have big artillery. This is why we always try to get as close as possible on site when we fight them. They used a lot of artillery," Tar Ban Hla said, adding that clashes began at 10 am and ended at nightfall. "We ended the attack when the rains began to pour down last night at 6 pm," he said. "According to our ground report, 17 of them were killed and 4 were wounded. We fought for long hours. They tried to block every movement of our troops. This is why we have to attack them," Tar Ban Hla said, adding that four rebels were wounded. Since early 2014, northern Shan State has been the scene of occasionally heavy fighting between the Burma Army and the TNLA, which has been joined by other rebels operating in the region. In recent weeks, it appeared fighting in the area had quieted down. Government forces have sharply increased their presence in Palaung areas in Kutkhai, Namkham and Namsam townships since 2013, and the TNLA has claimed that 2,000 soldiers are deployed in the area. The TNLA has said that it killed more than 200 soldiers during clashes this year. The TNLA and the KIA are the only two major ethnic armed groups that have yet to sign bilateral ceasefires with the central government. The post Heavy Fighting in Shan State Kills 17 Govt Soldiers, Rebels Claim appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burmese Worker Admits to British Murders in Thailand: Police Posted: 02 Oct 2014 05:47 AM PDT Pictures of killed British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge and a message of support is displayed during special prayers at Koh Tao island on Sept. 18, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Sitthipong Charoenjai) BANGKOK — A Burmese man has confessed to the murder of two British tourists in Thailand, police said on Thursday, after pressure to solve a case that the government fears will damage Thailand’s tourist industry. The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on Sept. 15 with severe head wounds near where they were staying on the southern island of Koh Tao, known for its coral reefs and diving. The island has a large community of migrant workers from neighboring Burma. "The investigation has advanced considerably," deputy national police chief Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda told Reuters. "Three Burmese workers were detained and we took their DNA for testing. During the investigation one of them admitted to killing the two foreigners," he said. Thai authorities have warned that the killings would scare off tourists and government leaders have been urging police to solve the case quickly. The tourist industry accounts for 10 percent of Thailand’s economy and it has yet to recover from a slump in visitors during months of sometimes bloody protests on the streets of Bangkok that preceded a military coup in May. Jaktip said the man who had confessed was being detained but had not been arrested. "We still have to wait for DNA tests results which we expect to have in 14 hours from now in order to confirm this," he said. The post Burmese Worker Admits to British Murders in Thailand: Police appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

President Criticized After Saying Ceasefire Necessary for Successful Elections Posted: 02 Oct 2014 05:34 AM PDT Burma President Thein during a televised address in March 2013. (Photo: President's Office website) RANGOON — President Thein Sein has said that the signing of a nationwide ceasefire accord is necessary for the success of the 2015 general elections and a smooth political transition in Burma. "This is the time that goodwill, patience and serious efforts of all the political forces are especially needed. Only when we can successfully implement a nationwide ceasefire accord, which is a very important step, can we start a political dialogue that can shape our country's political future," he said in his monthly address to the nation on Wednesday. "[Please] note that only when we can start [dialogue], can we ensure political stability in the transition period, successfully hold the 2015 general elections, and have a smooth political transition," Thein Sein said, according to a transcript of his remarks published in Burmese-language state media. His remarks were rejected by an opposition lawmaker and a political analyst, who said that holding successful elections does not directly depend on the ceasefire talks. The government and an alliance of 16 ethnic armed groups have been in talks over a nationwide ceasefire since mid-2013, but an agreement has proven elusive and last week the sixth round of high-level talks hit a deadlock. The 2015 elections are supposed to be the first free and fair elections in Burma after decades of military rule. Hantha Myint, a member of the National League of Democracy's Central Executive Committee member, said, "Whether there were ceasefire talks or not, elections were held in 1990, 2010 and 2012. I think it's groundless to say that holding a [successful] election is not certain if a nationwide ceasefire agreement is not achieved." "But we do believe that the elections will have a more profound meaning if a nationwide ceasefire agreement is successful" before the 2015 elections, he added. Yan Myo Thein, an independent political commentator, also criticized the president's remarks, saying, "I think it is groundless, the analysis that this [a lack of a ceasefire] could lead to uncertainly about holding the 2015 elections. "Because in what sort of situation were the 2010 elections held?" he said, referring to the rigged elections by the former military regime that gave the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) its current parliamentary majority. Yan Myo Thein questioned the reasons for the remarks. "What is behind this conclusion, do they want to postpone the 2015 elections? Or [does it mean] they are determined to hold the political dialogue before 2015? We can't know for sure." Yan Myo Thein speculated that Thein Sein's words also could be aimed at pressuring the ethnic armed forces into signing a nationwide ceasefire, adding that a ceasefire and a start to the political dialogue before the elections offered certain advantages to the government. He said the government was eager to show to the United States that it is making progress in ending Burma's decades-old ethnic conflict, while starting a dialogue before the elections would also allow the USDP to demand a greater role in the process—something that might be harder if the party suffers an electoral defeat in 2015. Yan Myo Thein added, however, that it is "unreasonable" for the government to demand that the complex nationwide ceasefire and political dialogue are resolved in haste. Additional reporting by Sanay Lin. The post President Criticized After Saying Ceasefire Necessary for Successful Elections appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Chin State Govt Shutters Local Newspaper Posted: 02 Oct 2014 05:21 AM PDT The Chin State government has ordered that the Lai-language biweekly Hakha Post, seen here, cease publication. (Photo courtesy of the Hakha Post) MANDALAY — The Chin State government has ordered a local unregistered newspaper to shut down, with its chief editor crying foul over what he says was a politically motivated decision. The editor-in-chief of the biweekly Hakha Post said the order was communicated to him by the Hakha district office on Monday. "The district called me and said that the order was coming from Chin State's chief minister [Hung Ngai]. The district administration officer gave no reason, but just said that the Hakha Post was not registered and would have to shut down," Lalawmpui, the editor-in-chief, told The Irrawaddy. According to the Hakha Post editor, there are more than 20 local newspapers circulating in Chin State, only a few of which are officially registered. "Only the Hakha Post has faced this, while many other newspapers have not received any notification or order to shut down. I've asked them about those newspapers but they have just pled ignorance. They even told me that we will be punished if we continue to publish without registration," he said. The Hakha Post, with a circulation of 2,500, has been distributed in Hakha and the surrounding area since 2012 in the local Lai language. The Irrawaddy contacted the Hakha district administration, but a duty officer said his office was not authorized to comment on the matter. Lalawmpui said that he believed the order to shut down the newspaper was given because his publication regularly produces news criticizing the poor administration of the state government. "Since the Union government said it would promote literature and media of the ethnic people, the order to shut down the Hakha Post shows there is no transparency yet in Chin State. If the chief minister wants to take action on the newspapers that do not have registrations, they should take equal action against all of them, not only us," Lalawmpui said. "We will try to register. During this, we have to suspend production. We will wait and see whether the registration will be approved or not. If we do not receive the registration, or the other unregistered newspapers are still publishing, the injustice of the state government will be clear to see," he added. The post Chin State Govt Shutters Local Newspaper appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Court Reduces Unity Journalists’ Prison Sentence to 7 Years Posted: 02 Oct 2014 04:18 AM PDT Unity journalist Lu Maw Naing (L) and the paper's CEO Tint San on their way to Pakkoku Township Court in July. (Photo: Citizen Journalist) RANGOON — Magwe Divisional Court on Thursday reduced the sentence of five journalists from the defunct Unity Journal from 10 to 7 years' imprisonment with hard labor following an appeal by the defendants, their lawyer said. "The court reduced the imprisonment for the journalists with three years this morning," lawyer Robert Sann Aung told The Irrawaddy. "We appealed for acquittal from the [previous] court verdict, but the court only reduced their jail term with three years. A reduction of only three years imprisonment is not special because the journalists still have to face seven years in jail," he said. Robert Sann Aung said the defendants will appeal for a full acquittal by the Supreme Court of the Union in the capital Naypyidaw within the next 15 days. "We will appeal step by step until the journalists get acquittal from the sentences," he added. The five journalists are currently being held at Pakokku Prison. On July 10, a Pakokku Township Court sentenced four journalists and the CEO of the Unity journal to 10 years imprisonment with hard labor under the colonial-era State Secrets Act for reporting allegations that a Burmese military facility in the Magwe Division township was being used to manufacture chemical weapons. The President's Office had filed a lawsuit against CEO Tint San, 52, and journalists Lu Maw Naing, 28, Sithu Soe, 22, The Yazar Oo, 28, and Aung Thura, 25, for publishing state secrets and trespassing. The sentence caused outrage among the Burmese media and rights activists, and gave rise to concerns over a worsening of media freedom under the President Thein Sein government, which has initiated a number of criminal cases against several media organizations in recent months and passed controversial media laws. In 2012, the government had begun to lift draconian media restrictions such as pre-publication censorship and a ban on daily newspapers that were enforced for decades under the previous military government. The post Court Reduces Unity Journalists' Prison Sentence to 7 Years appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai Junta Says It Will Help Kick-Start Stalled Dawei SEZ Talks Posted: 02 Oct 2014 04:14 AM PDT A dirt road at the Dawei SEZ, a planned regional hub that remains largely empty. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) BANGKOK — Thailand will revive talks with Japan and Burma aimed at kick-starting the floundering multi-billion dollar Dawei Special Economic Zone in Burma, a junta spokesman said on Thursday. The project is arguably Southeast Asia’s most ambitious industrial zone – a 250-sq-km (100-sq-mile) deep-sea port, petrochemical and heavy industry hub located along the slim Thai-Myanmar peninsula. Thailand’s ruling junta pledged to step up involvement in the project, which has seen years of delays, following talks in Bangkok on Thursday between Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and Minoru Kiuchi, Japan’s vice foreign minister. "The prime minister said we will push to develop the Dawei zone with Myanmar and Thailand and all sides are prepared to move forwards with trilateral talks so that the Dawei project can materialize as quickly as possible," Yongyuth Mayalarp, a junta spokesman, told Reuters. The project has seen years of delays that were largely blamed on Italian Thai Development Pcl, the project’s leader, which had failed to secure private investment and agree on a power source for the complex. Thailand and Burma seized control of the strategically located complex, billed as a gateway for trade in Southeast Asia, from ITD, Thailand’s largest construction firm, in Nov. 2013. Japan has expressed increasing interest in Dawei – the project could be a significant boost to swelling Japanese industrial interests in the region – though talks with Tokyo have stalled. "We would like to see the Dawei project advance in cooperation with Thailand and Myanmar after a long suspension," Kiuchi said, giving no further details. Located in southeastern Burma with highway links to Bangkok and Thailand’s eastern seaboard, Dawei is slated to be Southeast Asia’s largest industrial complex, if ever completed. The industrial zone would be a potential boon for firms relying on the transport of goods around the cumbersome Malacca Strait, the world’s busiest shipping lane. The post Thai Junta Says It Will Help Kick-Start Stalled Dawei SEZ Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘I Don’t Want Women’s Participation Just for Show’ Posted: 02 Oct 2014 04:10 AM PDT Mar Mar Cho serves as the coordination officer of the Women's Organization Network of Myanmar. (Photo: Nan Sai Nuam / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Mar Mar Cho is the coordination officer of the Women's Organization Network of Myanmar (WON), a network providing training on women and peace, gender equality and women in leadership. She recently shared with The Irrawaddy her views of the role of women in modern Burma, a country that she says still has a long way to go on the women's rights front. Question: What is WON working on at the moment? Answer: We are an advocacy group working on the advancement of women, including their role in the peace process and politics, gender equality, women's rights and justice. Q: What areas does WON focus on most in educating women? A: We mainly educate on the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women [CEDAW]. The Burmese government says there is no violence or discrimination against women in Burma. But it does exist until now, and women themselves do not know that it exists. We are also educating women to better enable them to participate in politics. Q: What difficulties does your organization face in providing leadership training to women? A: We have been calling for the participation of women in decision-making processes and 30 percent of seats reserved for women in Parliament, and providing related training and education. As a result, women now recognize their leadership abilities and the need to participate in decision-making. Women are now encouraged to take part in ward and village administration. Yet there remains discrimination. Since we are traditionally not the breadwinner, we are rejected from taking ward/village administrator posts. We are only allowed to take lower positions. Q: What benefits do you think leadership training for women can deliver? A: We ourselves have received training and have then shared what we learned with others. So, many women come to recognize that they have leadership skills and are ready to take leadership positions. I believe many women will be able to take part in administration, from ward/village level to the national level in 2015. We are also preparing to contest the 2015 elections. Q: Do you think a quota of 30 percent of Parliament's seats for women is achievable? A: To make it a reality, we have to speak in a single, united voice and bring it forward to the Parliament. There are lady lawmakers in Parliament now, but they are not the ones who we want to be there. What we want is women engaged in civil society, female staffers in government departments and women elected by the people. Q: What measures are you taking to win support for a reserved bloc for women in Parliament? A: We need to rally support for it. We are taking steps to advocate for it in Parliament and we need to do it through a campaign. Q: How many members are there in WON? A: We cover the entire nation. We have links with many networks. For example, WON in northern Shan State is composed of 23 networks. We are networking with most women's organizations. Q: Some female military representatives entered Parliament this year to replace their male counterparts. What do you think of that? A: They are women, but from the military. It shouldn't be that all female lawmakers are from the military. We are also providing capacity-building training for women so that women engaged in social welfare work can join the Parliament. Q: Do you think the women planning to contest the 2015 elections have the right leadership skills for it? A: They currently are taking charge of women's networks. Some of them are from Karen and Shan states and Dawei [in Tenasserim Division]. We are providing relevant training to them. If necessary, we have a plan to offer intensive training. Currently, there are around 10 women members of our network who will contest the 2015 elections. Q: What else do you want to say about women's participation in society? A: Apart from female staff in the government, I would like to call for the participation of women from civil society and women with leadership abilities in all decision-making processes. Women in government departments do not represent the entirety of womanhood. I also don't want women being allowed to participate just for show. I would like to stress that harmonious and collaborative efforts are necessary for national development. The post 'I Don't Want Women's Participation Just for Show' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

The Rising Power of Burma’s Women’s Workforce Posted: 02 Oct 2014 01:37 AM PDT After a two month strike against their former Korean employer, workers at the Master Sport Shoe factory read an arbitration order on 18 Aug, awarding them compensation and severance pay. (Photo: Spike Johnson) RANGOON — Some 700 young Burmese women waited outside the gates of the Master Sport Shoe Factory in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone in northern Rangoon in late August. For two months they had been watching the same metal warehouse behind the locked gates of their former workplace. Some crouched on the dirt beneath bamboo and tarpaulin structures to shelter from monsoon rains or intermittent sun, others haggled over bunches of vegetables and herbs with opportunistic market sellers who saw the striking workers' encampment as a fresh business opportunity. Some still sat on the split vinyl benches of the parked, rusty Chinese buses that used to transport them from home to work, and back again. The women said they would strike as long as they need to. Since President Thein Sein's reformist government lifted a draconian, junta-era ban on labor unions two years ago, thousands of women in Burma's predominantly female industrial workforce have begun to organize themselves; walking out of workplaces, striking, and demanding changes to their working conditions. According to Ministry of Labor, 959 Basic Labor Organizations have been set up since unions were legalized, and the Department of Labor Records has recorded 447 garment worker strikes between 2012 and 2014. In a country with a patriarchal culture historically weighted in favor of men, the newly emerging labor movement seems to have placed socio-economic power in the hands of a growing number of female laborers. According to Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, women account for 90 percent of the workforce in Burma's garment industry, a sector that is expected to expand through foreign investment by international garment manufacturers in the coming years. The sector already makes up 44 percent of Rangoon's total industrial output, according to Myanmar's Department of Labor Records. The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association estimates that around 200,000 people work in garment factories. The typical garment worker is female and on average 24 years old, works six days a week and 13 hours per day, and earns about US$80 per month, according to a report by the Labour Rights Clinic. Factory owners blame activists groups like the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society and Burma's largest opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), for mobilizing strikes and organizing unions, and they worry that labor unrest will increase in frequency as the 2015 election approaches. According to the Myanmar Investment Commission, foreign investment is five times greater every year since 2010 when Burma began to slowly open up. Garment factory owners from South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan in search of cheap labor are expected to increase investment in the country. But Western garment brands, such US retail brand GAP, which these manufacturers supply are sensitive to the labor conditions under which their brand clothes are produced. Enforcing and improving Burma's new labor laws will be an important factor in attracting garment sector investment. Learning to Fight for Labor Rights On the evening of the 26th of June the owner of Master Sports Shoe Factory waited for his workers to leave for the night, locked up the heavy grey factory gates, and flew home to his native South Korea. He left without notice, without paying his workers or discussing severance pay. Immediately, the 717 female workers demanded what was owed. They staged strikes outside of the factory, the Korean Embassy, the Ministry of Labor in Naypyidaw, and appealed to the Myanmar government. Two months on, near Junction Zawana in Rangoon, two young factory workers sit at a plain wooden desk in the corner of the concrete office of the 88 Generation, Burma's most important activist group. Zar Zar Theint, 23, and Phyu Phyu Soe, 25, were the leaders of the strike against Master Sport; now they’ve turned to 88 Generation for lessons in trade and employment law. Guarding over them is the hulking metal "88" sculpture that watches the entrance, and between them stands Daw Mar Mar Oo. She’s small between her two students; dressed in a conservative white blouse, with a Burma-shaped broach high by her neck and short black hair that reaches her ears. People are easy in her presence, and she has an open expression and hazel eyes—but something about her manner lets slip that she’s been pushing for labor condition changes for a very long time. "The labor organizations are not very effective yet," said Mar Mar Oo. "They have difficulties because the workers are not familiar with the law and their rights." Mar Mar Oo would like to see workers liaising with factory owners, lawyers and parliamentarians representing their constituencies to create a labor environment that’s fair and productive for all. Currently, the workers are disadvantaged because they don’t know the law, so they’re being exploited by the owners, according to Mar Mar Oo. "At the moment we can’t solve working conditions, just general problems as they occur," she said. The 88 Generation are trying to create a labor organization for the whole country, setting up many small labor organizations and linking them into a social network. They’ve connected with the International Labor Organization, and are offering labor rights training to female garment workers across Burma. An hour north of Rangoon, in the dusty industrial zone of Shwe Pyi Thar, hidden down single track roads flanked by slimy ditches and the hulks of crippled eighteen wheelers, stands the garment factory of Myitta Yait. From the road it’s almost invisible, hidden behind fences covered with blooming flowers. Inside, a group of women sing a hypnotizing chorus while they work. Myitta Yait, meaning "under loving kindness", was founded by Myo Myo Aye in July 2014, as an active arm of the 2,000-strong National Unity Party, a small political party. "I want to train the girls to create a new market, not only to work like a worker but also to run their factory like an owner," said Myo Myo Aye. When she speaks she stands square, holding unblinking eye contact. Her hair is tied up, and wire-framed glasses rest on her nose. She moves through the factory calmly, scooping her children onto her lap, and treating her workers like extended family. The aim of Myitta Yait is to employ female garment workers who’ve been fired and are employed after participating in failed strikes, and help workers organize into effective labor unions. Currently, it employs 15 women from various parts of Burma who make garments for international export. Their production is expanding fast and plans are afoot to create sister factories around the city. A peaceful atmosphere prevails and employees work in a clean building, with the windows open, the swaying branches of trees rustle on the window ledges as work rolls on, steady with their song. Everyone lives together at Myitta Yait in lodgings just next door. "I’m like everyone’s mother," Myo Myo Aye jokes. The staff of Myitta Yait were part of a female workers strike against a local wool factory. About 150 women went on strike for two months over a disagreement with the factory owner over daily productivity standards. But when a compromise couldn’t be met at the wool factory, the women were fired, and many went back to their homes in the countryside, some found employment at Myitta Yait. Myo Myo Aye said she has organized around 30 strikes, and was arrested once. She’s even organized a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Labor in an attempt to force a change to the labor laws. "I feel strong now that I have a union," she said referring to Myitta Yait. Under the previous military government, striking workers faced jail time and interrogation for speaking out against employers. As Burma's labor laws are slowly brought in line with international standards, the situation is improving and the new labor movement is having success in demanding better pay and labor conditions. Yet, even with reforms, many women are still fired for striking, or prospective employers find out about their activities and avoid hiring them. For Myo Myo Aye and Mar Mar Oo that means there is still a lot that needs to change; labor laws needs be further improved and the newly acquired labor standards need to be enforced. "Employees have no protection from negative consequences of striking," Myo Myo Aye said. "And if owners don’t follow through with promises, the law isn’t yet adept enough to support the workers." In order for a union to be legal, at least 10 percent of all workers in a factory must vote in support of it. After a vote is held on the creation of a union in a factory, the names of those who voted in favor of it are often noted down by the management. It’s then common for a factory owner to fire those who initiated the unionization in order to set an example and deter others, according to labor rights activists. Factory owners have also taken steps to set up their own labor organizations, sharing information, and informing each other on employees they may see as problematic. The names of workers involved in labor organization are registered with the government and circulated through the factory managers' organizations; these women are far less likely to find work in the future, labor rights activist said. Industry owners avoid hiring unionists and will try to force them out of the workplace. "The country doesn’t operate within the law because of corruption. Local businessmen take bribes, and are very untrustworthy," adds Mar Mar Oo. Penalties for owners and workers are unbalanced too. "If the owner does something illegal, the fine is 500,000 kyat (US$500)," said Myo Myo Aye, "whereas if a worker does something illegal, the fine is 30 percent of their annual wage." She wants legal reform of laws to set heavier punishments for factory owners, such as fines that are a percentage of their investment or prison terms in case of serious violations. Outside the Master Sport Shoe Factory a crowd was gathering to hear the announcement of a Rangoon Division Labor Tribunal order about their labor dispute. The striking workers climbed from their buses and appeared from under their plastic shelters. Umbrellas went up, to protect from the sun, and they formed a giant huddle in the street. The crowd is silent as the terms are read, it’s good news: The factory owner must pay the workers owed wages for June, severance pay, and compensation amounting to one month's salary for every three months employed at the factory. The owner will be contacted three times, but if he fails to comply payment will be delivered through seizure and liquidation of his assets. The bait is set. Burma’s desire for economic and industrial progress will certainly tempt its government to appease foreign investors by reforming its labor practices. This developing framework of labor laws will lead female workers and their new labor unions into the forefront of industrial decision-making. It will hand them greater control of their futures and improve the socio-economic conditions of tens of thousands women and their families across Burma. The post The Rising Power of Burma's Women's Workforce appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

China Tells Foreign Countries Not to Meddle in Hong Kong Posted: 02 Oct 2014 01:18 AM PDT U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) delivers remarks as China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) looks on, before their meeting at the State Department in Washington October 1, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded on Wednesday to comments by the United States and others on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, saying foreign countries should not meddle in China’s domestic affairs. Wang, the most senior Chinese official to speak publicly about the protests, said Beijing had "very formally and clearly stated its position: Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs. All countries should respect China’s sovereignty." He was speaking at the U.S. State Department before talks with Secretary of State John Kerry, who repeated U.S. calls for Chinese authorities to show restraint toward the mass protests challenging the communist government. Wang said no country, including the United States, would tolerate "illegal acts that violate public order." He added: "We believe that the Hong Kong special administrative region’s government has the capability to properly handle the current situation in accordance with the law." He met at the White House later with President Barack Obama, who told him the United States was closely watching the Hong Kong protests and urged a peaceful solution to the issue. Obama also affirmed he would be traveling to China later this year. Riot police in Hong Kong used tear gas, pepper spray and baton charges last weekend to try to quell unrest, but streets in the Asian financial hub were calm early on Thursday while police largely kept their distance from tens of thousands of mostly young people who have continued protests for nearly a week. Kerry said: "We have high hopes that Hong Kong authorities will exercise restraint and respect protesters’ right to express their views." The protesters are demanding full democracy and have called on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to step down from the top office of the former British colony that reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. On Aug. 31, Beijing decreed that it would vet candidates wishing to run for Hong Kong’s leadership in 2017. Protesters are demanding that Beijing refrain from vetting candidates. Greater Autonomy On Tuesday, U.S. officials said the legitimacy of Hong Kong’s chief executive would be enhanced if Hong Kong residents had a genuine choice of candidates. Kerry did not explicitly make that point on Wednesday in his public remarks, but said: "We believe an open society with the highest possible degree of autonomy, governed by the rule of law, is essential for Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity." Asked why Kerry did not repeat that language, his spokeswoman Jen Psaki said it remained the U.S. position and that the secretary of state had focused his remarks on China’s role. Wang met earlier with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. The State Department said he and Kerry would continue their talks later at a second, previously unscheduled meeting. More than a dozen protesters gathered under overcast skies outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington in support of Hong Kong’s democracy movement. Grace Ho, an attorney from Hong Kong, was in a taxi when she heard about the protest and decided to attend. "I believe in a post-democracy movement," Ho said. "I believe in one person, one vote. I am proud that China has done so well. But it means nothing without democracy." In Toronto, more than 600 people held a rally in support of demonstrators in Hong Kong, chanting: "One country, two systems. Hong Kong autonomy." Obama's 'Pivot' The Washington talks with Wang were arranged to prepare for Obama’s visit to China in November for an Asia-Pacific summit but were overshadowed by the Hong Kong events. Other issues affecting the two major powers were also on the agenda in the talks between Wang and Kerry, as Obama presses his "pivot" to refocus U.S. attention increasingly on Asia. The United States has been carefully calibrating its response to the demonstrations, voicing support for non-violent protests while signaling it has little interest in seeing them escalate and risk a harsher crackdown by Chinese authorities. Any U.S. response to the Hong Kong protests is a tricky balancing act, given Beijing’s transformation into a global economic powerhouse and how interdependent the U.S. and Chinese economies have become since the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989. Kerry said the United States welcomed China’s rise and reiterated Washington’s view that with its greater clout, Beijing should also bear more responsibility in world affairs. He referred to Chinese efforts to help tackle the spread of Ebola in West Africa. "We are appreciative for China’s willingness to put both equipment and personnel on the line in order to help deal with this," Kerry said. "We view that in very positive terms with respect to China’s important role in global leadership." The post China Tells Foreign Countries Not to Meddle in Hong Kong appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Hong Kong Leader Plays Waiting Game, Protesters Demand He Resigns Posted: 02 Oct 2014 01:15 AM PDT Joshua Wong, leader of the student movement, delivers a speech as protesters block the main street to the financial Central district, outside the government headquarters building in Hong Kong October 1, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s leader is willing to let pro-democracy demonstrations blocking large areas of the city go on for weeks if necessary, a source close to him said, while defiant protesters vowed they would not budge. The city’s streets were calm early on Thursday while police largely kept their distance from the thousands of mostly young people keeping up protests, now nearly a week old, in several areas of the global financial hub. The protesters want Hong Kong’s leader, Leung Chun-ying, to step down by the end of Thursday and have demanded China introduce full democracy so the city can freely choose its own leader. Leung, appointed by Beijing, has refused to stand down, leaving the two sides far apart in a dispute over how much political control China should have over to Hong Kong. The popular "Occupy Central" movement presents one of the biggest political challenges for Beijing since it violently crushed pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Leung, Hong Kong’s chief executive, is prepared to allow the protests to subside and will only intervene if there is looting or violence, said a government source with ties to Leung. "Unless there’s some chaotic situation, we won’t send in riot police … We hope this doesn’t happen," the source said. "We have to deal with it peacefully, even if it lasts weeks or months." Leung could not be reached for comment. Riot police used tear gas, pepper spray and baton charges last weekend to quell unrest, the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule of the former British colony in 1997. The protests have calmed considerably since then, and the numbers on the streets have fallen sharply from the tens of thousands seen at the weekend, although an air of tension remains and the demonstrations appear far from over. However, a crowd of about 100 protesters had blocked the main road leading to Leung’s office in the Central business district, some chanting, "Leung Chun-ying, Step Down!" U.S. President Barack Obama told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who earlier met Secretary of State John Kerry, that Washington was watching the protests closely and urged a peaceful solution. "The United States has consistently supported the open system that is essential to Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, universal suffrage, and the aspiration of the Hong Kong people," the White House said in a statement about the meeting, also attended by national security adviser Susan Rice. Universal suffrage is an eventual goal under the "one country, two systems" formula by which China rules Hong Kong. Under that formula, China accords Hong Kong some autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China. However, protesters calling for free elections reacted angrily when Beijing decreed on Aug. 31 that it would vet candidates wishing to run in Hong Kong’s 2017 election. Wang said before an earlier meeting with Kerry that countries should not meddle in China’s internal affairs. "The Chinese government has very formally and clearly stated its position. Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs. All countries should respect China’s sovereignty," Wang said. 'What Else Can We Do?' National Day, a public holiday marking the Communist Party’s foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, passed on Wednesday without the police crackdown many in Hong Kong had feared, although some people booed while the national anthem was played at a ceremony. Protesters across the city have dug in, setting up supply stations with water bottles, fruit, disposable raincoats, towels, goggles, face masks and tents. Even so, some in the crowds wondered how long the status quo could last. "I don’t think we can stay like this for more than two weeks," said Moses Ng, a 26-year-old who works in sales and marketing, gesturing towards young people milling around barricaded streets in Causeway Bay, a major shopping district. "(If so) this action would have totally failed, so we are thinking about what else we can do." Others, like 17-year-old secondary school pupil Wong Chi Min, were more defiant. "People will keep coming back every day," he said. "We will wait for CY [Leung] to step down so we can choose our own leader. If he doesn’t, we will continue to wait here." The Hong Kong Federation of Students, one of the protest organisers, urged people to surround more government buildings from Friday unless the authorities accepted their demands. But Leung has said Beijing would not back down and that Hong Kong police would be able to maintain security without help from People’s Liberation Army troops from the mainland. Beijing's Dilemma China has dismissed the protests as illegal, but in a worrying sign for the Communist Party leadership in Beijing, the demonstrations have spread to neighboring Macau and Taiwan. China now faces a dilemma. Cracking down too hard on the movement could shake confidence in market-driven Hong Kong, which has a separate legal system from the rest of China. Not reacting firmly enough, however, could embolden dissidents on the mainland. An editorial in the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official organ, said the "Occupy Central" protests were confrontational and that some protesters wanted to make trouble. "[They] will eventually suffer the consequences of their actions," it said on Wednesday. Rights groups said a number of China-based activists supporting the Hong Kong protests had been detained or intimidated by police on the mainland. Around 5,000 people crowded into Taipei’s Liberty Square on Wednesday in a show of solidarity with Hong Kong. Events are being watched closely in Taiwan, which has full democracy but is considered by Beijing as a renegade province that must one day be reunited with the mainland. In the world’s largest gambling hub of Macau, a former Portuguese colony and like Hong Kong a Chinese "special administrative region", organizers said around 1,200 people gathered in Friendship Square to show their support. In London, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Chinese embassy, some carrying umbrellas that have become the symbol of the Hong Kong demonstrations. About 100 people also gathered in New York’s Times Square in support of the protest, many holding aloft open umbrellas. Turmoil in Hong Kong has begun to affect the economy. Hong Kong radio RTHK quoted Joseph Tung, executive director of the city’s Travel Industry Council, as saying China’s tourism authorities had suspended approval of tourist groups from the mainland to Hong Kong, citing safety issues. Some banks and other financial firms have begun moving staff to back-up premises on the outskirts of Hong Kong to prevent growing unrest in the financial hub from disrupting trading and other critical functions. The post Hong Kong Leader Plays Waiting Game, Protesters Demand He Resigns appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

India Set to Run Out of Critical Free Drug for HIV/AIDS Program Posted: 02 Oct 2014 01:11 AM PDT A man displays an anti-retroviral drug used to treat HIV/AIDS, inside his residence in New Delhi on May 16, 2012. (Photo: Reuters) NEW DELHI — India could run out of a critical medicine in its free HIV/AIDS drugs program in three weeks due to bureaucratic bungling, a senior government official said, leaving more than 150,000 sufferers without life-saving drugs for about a month. Missed dosages for long durations can increase patients' drug resistance and result in faster spread of the virus, while changes in medication regimens expose patients to side effects. The supply crunch will be an embarrassment for the four-month-old government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has promised to deliver more affordable and better health services. As drugs in the open market are expensive, the government provides more than one-third of India's 2.1 million HIV/AIDS patients with free antiretroviral drugs that are procured from pharmaceutical companies via a tender process. Delays in approving such tenders has left the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) scrambling to secure supplies of tenofovir/lamivudine tablets that are prescribed to thousands of patients during initial stages of treatment. "We are also fed up. What to do? There are so many bureaucratic hurdles. The file goes to so many tables, and so many comments," NACO Deputy Director General A.S. Rathore told Reuters. Several sources, company executives and documents seen by Reuters revealed that a tender for the medicine was approved last week, but supplies normally take at least 60 days to reach patients, which in this case would take it to late November. NACO had raised the demand in January, Rathore said. Patients and activists complained of shortages of several HIV drugs in September, forcing one group to send a legal notice to India's health secretary, Lov Verma. Verma directed NACO to take stock of the program and told Reuters on Sept. 4 that the situation was not as grave as activists described. However, Rathore said on Tuesday that the program had only 1.6 months of tenofovir/lamivudine tablets in stock on Sept. 4. That means, supplies will run out in about 20 days from now. As of Sept. 24, 10 Indian states had less than a month of stocks of such tablets, data available on NACO's website showed. NACO is now leaning on companies—including Aurobindo Pharma, one of the manufacturers that has been awarded the contract—to help avert a crisis. Asked about the consequences if supplies run out, Rathore said: "If they don't give medicines, we can't make medicines, we can't do anything. If stocks won't be there, they won't be there." India had the third-largest number of people living with HIV in the world at the end of 2013, according to the UN AIDS program, and it accounts for more than half of all AIDS-related deaths in the Asia-Pacific. In 2012, 140,000 people died in India because of AIDS. The government has been providing free antiretroviral drugs for HIV treatment since 2004, but only 50 percent of those eligible for the treatment were getting it in 2012, according to a report by the World Health Organization. Other than bureaucratic delays, Rathore said poor coordination between NACO and the state centers that dispense the medicines had made it difficult to collate data on the real supply-demand situation. Documents reviewed by Reuters showed government officials referring to the situation as a "crisis" several times in September and were seeking emergency donations to fill the gap. "In the long run it [the tender approval] is going to help, but in the immediate term it's already too late," said Loon Gangte of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, South Asia, who has been tracking the nation's HIV/AIDS drugs status. While NACO is confident it will be able to secure supplies before stocks go dry, companies are not committing. A senior executive at Aurobindo Pharma confirmed on Tuesday that his company had received the approval five days earlier, but said the manufacturing process—which usually takes a minimum of 60 days—would only begin on Wednesday or Thursday. "As per the books we can only supply by November-end, but we are trying to do something by which we can supply earlier to meet the urgent demand," the official, who had direct knowledge of the matter, said on condition of anonymity. "We are trying to work against time." A senior company executive at Hetero Drugs, another company that has been awarded the contract to supply tenofovir/lamivudine tablets under the latest tender, blamed NACO for a lack of planning and delaying the approval process. "I have all the respect for our ministries, but when you're looking at HIV patients, who can't be deprived even for a single day, this is not an effective way of handling the system," said the executive, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. Documents accessed by Reuters also showed that NACO in June raised a demand for another medicine, lopinavir/ritonavir syrup, which is manufactured by companies including Indian pharma giant Cipla and given to children infected with HIV. Another NACO official, who did not wish to be identified, said the tender for the syrup was pending approval. The program's current stock of the syrup will reach its drug expiration date by the end of this month, forcing the government to discard unused bottles, the official said. To meet the urgent need, the Clinton Health Access Initiative of the Clinton Foundation was diverting 1,200 bottles of the syrup from Nigeria and Cipla has been asked to supply 2,000 bottles under a corporate social responsibility program, the official said. The NACO official said Cipla was slow to submit tender documents, which led to a delay in approval. The company declined to comment on NACO's allegation. "Once the applications are checked, NACO will place orders," a Cipla spokeswoman said via email. "No orders have been placed by NACO so far. It is believed that this process will take two months." Additional reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai. The post India Set to Run Out of Critical Free Drug for HIV/AIDS Program appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Supreme Patriarch Sees Rangoon’s Armenian Church Granted Heritage Status Posted: 02 Oct 2014 01:41 AM PDT Catholicos Karekin II, the supreme patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, attends the unveiling of a blue plaque to honor the heritage status of the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. John the Baptist in Rangoon. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Catholicos Karekin II, the supreme patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, attended a ceremony in Rangoon on Wednesday that saw the city's historic Armenian Apostolic Church of St. John the Baptist fitted with a blue plaque to honor its status as a heritage site. The church, Rangoon's oldest Christian place of worship, is the third beneficiary of a larger project by the Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT) to highlight the city's expansive colonial architecture. Along with Karekin II, who made his first-ever visit to Burma this week, Rangoon Division Chief Minister Myint Swe, Rangoon Mayor Hla Myint and the British ambassador to Burma, Andrew Patrick, attended an event unveiling the plaque at the church, located on the corner of Merchant and Bo Aung Kyaw streets. The plaques serve to commemorate landmarks, or well-known events or people, in the city, YHT said. "It is a special day for us. Because today, at the entrance of the church, there is a plaque which has been established to indicate its heritage position," Karekin II told attendees via a translator. "We have come here to encourage Armenians and their children to preserve the tradition. We have come here not only to see the preservation of the church, but also to strengthen [Rangoon's] Armenian heritage," he said. Burma's dwindling population of Armenians arrived in the 17th century from Iran, where they had settled after fleeing the Ottoman Empire. In 1881, a census by the colonial administration revealed that there were 466 Armenians living in the country, and a decade later that number had grown to 1,295. But today the church is struggling to fill the pews, with only a small number of worshippers attending service each week. Of these, few trace roots back to the community that founded the building more than 150 years ago. Distinguished by its tropical architecture combined with Gothic features, the church is the oldest church surviving in Rangoon, according to a press release from YHT on Wednesday. Canadian Sharman Minus, who said her great-great-grandparents helped build the church, told The Irrawaddy that the Armenian delegation had been incredibly welcoming to her, inviting her to Wednesday's event and taking great interest in her personal family history. "I feel like I am in dream," she said of Wednesday's ceremony. "This event marks the third plaque to be installed in a historic building of Rangoon," said Moe Moe Lwin, director of YHT, at the unveiling ceremony. "We hope that this blue plaque will highlight our city's heritage, and serve as a gateway for Rangoon residents as well as visitors to celebrate its wonderful diversity and incredible history." Previously, plaques have been fitted on City Hall and the building that once housed the up-market department store Rowe & Co. Moe Moe Lwin said YHT is working to extend the existing list of heritage buildings in Rangoon. The blue plaque designation means the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. John the Baptist will be included in the extended list, help to ensure its long-term preservation. The post Supreme Patriarch Sees Rangoon's Armenian Church Granted Heritage Status appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Irrawaddy Magazine To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610