| Burmese Bards to Boycott Literary Festival Posted: 14 Jan 2014 04:14 AM PST  Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the 2013 Irrawaddy Literary Festival 2013 in Rangoon. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — More than 50 Burmese poets are planning to boycott an international literary festival in Mandalay next month, apparently objecting to the inclusion of government-linked artists in the event. The poets, who released a statement Sunday declaring their plan, are joined by about 30 cartoonists, who similarly say they will steer clear of the high-profile Irrawaddy Literary Festival 2014. Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is the patron of the festival, which runs from Feb 14-16 and will feature world-renowned authors including Louis de Bernières (author of "Captain Corelli's Mandolin") and Jung Chang (author of "Wild Swans"). The planned boycotts appear to be related to a longstanding divide between those in the literary community who have worked with Burma's military dominated governments, and those who have insisted upon independence from the country's rulers. In their statement, the group of Mandalay-based poets said they were not happy about "manipulation" in the organization of the event, without giving specific details about the allegation. "We have publicly announced that we Mandalay poets feel we don't need to join the festival, so we won't read poetry during the festival or participate in any part of the festival," said Ko Htet (Ye Oo), one of the boycotting poets. Cartoonist Aung Maw told The Irrawaddy that he and about 30 fellow cartoonists in Mandalay had also decided not to join the festival after they learned that several prominent writers who they respect left the festival's organizing committee amid disputes over fundraising and the selection of participants. Aung Maw said the organizers had originally agreed donations would not be solicited from the public to fund the festival, but later decided to collect funds for "entertainment" during the event. "We learned that they were asking for donations. We can't accept it," he said. Thike Tun Thet, a prominent writer in Mandalay, told The Irrawaddy that he quit the organizing committee because he disagrees with what the committee is doing. "I think we can't work together wholeheartedly for the festival," he said, without being specific. He added that other prominent writers Kyaw Yin Myint, Dr Aung Gyi and Hus Nget had also left the committee. Ma Ma Naing, a leading organizer of the festival, told The Irrawaddy that the writers were not pleased with her because she had invited writers from government-linked writers' associations to appear at the festival. "I did it because [the festival's] organizer and director, Jane Heyn, told me that she wants as many writers as possible as she welcomes every Burmese writer who would like to take part," she explained.
"They [the disgruntled Mandalay writers] have never had a healthy relationship with writers from writers' associations." According to a Mandalay-based writer, who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the issue, many writers in Mandalay are not impressed with those from writers' associations as they write for government-related publications and produce work considered propaganda. When the late dictator Ne Win was in power, he founded a literary association known as "Literary Workers" for propaganda work. His successor military government inherited the association, but with a different name—the "Literary and Periodicals Association." Now, President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government has its own equivalent, the "Myanmar Writers' Association." "It has happened since long time ago," the writer said. "We have two different types of artists: ones who stand up for the oppressed and ones who are for the oppressors. "To sum up what is happening now in Mandalay: the ones who have been standing up for the oppressed are not happy to stand with the ones who are for the oppressors." Despite the ongoing hiccups, Ma Ma Niang, who is herself a Writers' Association member, believes the festival will be a huge success. "Even though there are some people who won't join the festival, we still have enough artists to make it happen," she said. "Make no mistake, people who won't join the festival will surely be left behind as it is the first ever international festival in Mandalay." The post Burmese Bards to Boycott Literary Festival appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Military Chief Blames Ethnic Groups for Conflict, Says Army ‘Afraid of No One’ Posted: 14 Jan 2014 03:53 AM PST  Burma's Commander-in-Chief Gen Min Aung Hlaing appears at the Armed Forces Day celebration in Naypyidaw in March 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing has said that Burma's powerful military has only ever acted defensively in the country's internal conflicts and cast blame for any violence on ethnic armed groups. He also warned that the military is "afraid of no one." Leaders of ethnic armed groups on Tuesday objected to the remarks and said they could hinder nationwide ceasefire negotiations with the government. In a strong-worded speech, Min Aung Hlaing addressed the government's ongoing ceasefire talks and the conflict in northern Burma, where the government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) have failed to come to a ceasefire agreement despite several rounds of talks last year. Fighting in Kachin broke out in 2011 and intensified in late 2012, when the army successfully encircled the KIA headquarters in Laiza through the use of heavy firepower, including fighter jets, to pound the lightly-armed guerrillas. Min Aung Hlaing issued a blanket defense of the military's operations, saying any operation was necessitated by the actions of ethnic insurgents. "Our troops will never attack first. But, they cannot destroy the peace of the country or the administration of the government. We cannot tolerate it if people are hurt. And also, we cannot remain tolerant if they destroy roads and transportation important to security. This is unacceptable," he said. His statements were published on Tuesday by Burmese-language government newspaper The Mirror and were made in the Operation Meeting Room of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief in Naypyidaw on Nov. 29, when Min Aung Hlaing addressed a group of officers who had completed a training course. The paper did not explain why it only published the remarks now. Speaking about the 14 ceasefire agreements that Thein Sein's government has signed with armed groups since 2012, Min Aung Hlaing said, "We made peace agreements, but that doesn't mean we are afraid to fight. We are afraid of no one. There is no insurgent group we cannot fight or dare not to fight." "We want to have a successful peace process. A successful peace agreement could not be reached in the past because there was a military government at that time," Min Aung Hlaing said, without elaborating. In recent months, government negotiators and military commanders have convened with all major ethnic armed groups for talks on a nationwide ceasefire agreement, but the negotiations have produced no accord yet. Both sides have tentatively planned to hold another round of talks in the Karen State capital Hpa-an later this month. Leaders of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of Burma's 12 largest ethnic armed groups, said they were dismayed by Min Aung Hlaing's remarks. "I read his speech and I feel he has threatened our ethnic armed forces and even challenged us, while we are working to have nationwide peace with them [the government]," said Nai Hong Sar, chairman of the New Mon State Party and a leading UNFC member. "It is sad to still see such of mindset of the military leader and this warns us we need to be careful," he said in an interview on the sidelines of a UNFC workshop in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. KIA deputy chief Gun Maw said he wondered why a strong-worded speech by Min Aung Hlaing from November was released now, a few weeks before the start of another round of nationwide ceasefire talks. "He gave an internal speech for the military, but we have to seriously consider why his speech was made public. We need to analyze why they intended to let the public and the ethnic armed groups know this [speech]," he said. In his November speech, Min Aung Hlaing also vowed to continue retired strongman Than Shwe's policy for the development of the military. "I will forever follow the policy laid down by Snr-Gen Than Shwe. The four points of this policy are mainly to build up our armed forces," said Min Aung Hlaing. "The first point is military training, the second is military command. Third is social welfare for [members of] the army. Four, the military should have a strong spirit," he said. From the early 1990s until 2011, Than Shwe headed the military government until he retired and appointed President Thein Sein to lead a quasi-civilian government. During his reign, the government brutally suppressed calls for democracy, but Than Shwe is said to have planned current democratic reforms as part of a roadmap that includes free and fair elections in 2015. Despite such changes, the military retains much political power and directly controls a quarter of all parliamentary seats. Min Aung Hlaing said the military deserved praise for the democratic reforms. "These reforms were not made because of pressure from the international community. The army created the first road to democracy," he said, adding that the poor state of Burma's economy after decades of military rule was the fault of ethnic armed insurgents. "Burma remains behind in development in the world because of internal insurgents who caused conflict in the country. Different governments tried to end the fighting, but could not find a solution," he said. The post Military Chief Blames Ethnic Groups for Conflict, Says Army 'Afraid of No One' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma Still Owes $5 Billion in Foreign Debt Posted: 14 Jan 2014 03:39 AM PST  Piles of Burmese kyat currency are counted in Rangoon. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) Burma owes over US$5 billion in foreign debt, compared to nearly $11 billion when President Thein Sein took office, according to an economic adviser to the president. When Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government came to power in 2011, the country owed $11 billion to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Paris Club member countries. "We still need to return US$4 billion to the Paris Club countries. We also owe Japan, because we borrowed money from it to pay off our debt to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. So there will be over US$5 billion in total," Dr. Zaw Oo, an economic adviser on the National Economic and Social Advisory Council, told The Irrawaddy. He said the interest rate for the Japanese loan was not even 1 percent, and that the remaining $4 billion in debt to the Paris Club countries would likely be reduced. "I think we will find out about it very soon, maybe next week," said the economic advisor. "Debt reduction can take different forms. Norway just forgave our debt, and that was the best kind. Other Paris Club members may follow Norway's example." He said two Paris Club countries planned to reduce Burma's debts but added that he could not confirm which countries. The Paris Club is an informal group of official creditors from 19 countries: England, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Australia, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Russia and the United States. Dr. Zaw Oo added that Burma could not currently take out any more loans from Paris Club countries due to regulations, and would instead plan to borrow from the World Bank. "Proper discussions about loans from the WB will begin at the end of this month," he said. "The WB has already agreed to lend money to Burma with a cheap interest rate." Meanwhile, Burmese economist Dr. Aung Ko Ko has recommended that foreign loans be used in programs that will benefit the general public. "The government needs to think about spending those loans on programs beneficial to its citizens, such as health and education or infrastructure for economic development," he said. "It also needs to calculate how much it will spend on each program, and pros and cons as well. Otherwise money borrowed by the government will become debt for the people." The post Burma Still Owes $5 Billion in Foreign Debt appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Educators Translate Popular Video Tutorials Into Burmese Language Posted: 14 Jan 2014 02:57 AM PST  High school students in northern Burma's Kachin State sit in class. Students around the country can now access a limited number of popular video tutorials from Khan Academy in Burmese language. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A popular website that offers educational video tutorials to millions of students around the world is coming to Burma. Educators in the Southeast Asian nation are now producing Burmese-language translations of the videos from Khan Academy, a nonprofit website created in 2006 by a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Business School in the United States. The website—which has produced more than 4,000 short instructional videos that cover subjects ranging from finance to mathematics, health care and biology—has gained particular recognition at US universities but is also expanding internationally, with the goal of providing a "free world-class education for anyone, anywhere." Over the past eight years, the videos, which are also available on a YouTube channel, have been translated into more than 30 languages. They have been accessed free of charge by about 60 million users worldwide. Khan Academy recently appointed Nyunt Than, leader of the California-based Burmese American Democratic Alliance, as an advocate to help spread the videos to more students in Burma, as the country attempts to overhaul its long-neglected education system during the transition from decades of military rule. "Our country and children need help receiving a world-class education. This platform will change how people are educated in the future," says Nyunt Than, who last year founded the Khan Academy Burmese Translation Project (KABT), an initiative with over 100 team members in Burma, the United States and a few other countries. On Sunday Nyunt Than discussed the project in Burma's commercial capital with representatives from various public and private Burmese institutions, including educators from the Rangoon Institute of Marine Technology and the University of Computer Studies, Rangoon, during a luncheon event. He said he hoped the interactive videos, which can be viewed unlimited times by a single user, would allow students to learn at their own pace. One initial challenge, however, was Internet connectivity. Although Burma is taking steps to improve its networks, the country's Internet penetration rate is estimated to be as low as 1 percent, making it difficult for the average student to load a video on YouTube. To solve this problem, Khan Academy has developed a small offline server system that allows students to view the content without a connection. Translation problems are also a major concern. "We are an independent community of volunteers who are translating videos," Nyunt Than said. "Many of us have no experience. So we use literal translation, which leads to content that does not make sense in Burmese. A Burmese teacher would never say, 'I hope I didn't confuse you,' because the phrase in Burmese is too long. We need a review process to spot and correct these literal translations." So far, KABT has translated 100 videos into Burmese, and more than 50 videos have been reviewed and released. The organization is currently searching for more translators, reviewers, typing volunteers, advocates, sponsors and donors. "Anyone who wants to contribute can contribute," Nyunt Than said. Students also attended the luncheon on Sunday to learn more about KABT. Among them was Khine Mya Shwe Yee, a young English student from Kamase, a small village in Pegu Division where Nyunt Than also grew up. "I think this system could be very helpful," she told The Irrawaddy in broken English. "I believe it is a good idea." The post Educators Translate Popular Video Tutorials Into Burmese Language appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Four Islands Marked for Development in Burma’s Mergui Archipelago Posted: 14 Jan 2014 02:47 AM PST  The Mergui Archipelago consists of more than 800 islands of varying sizes. (Photo: Jacques Maudy) RANGOON — Four new tourism projects in the largely untouched Mergui Archipelago in Burma's far south could begin this year, according to an official at the public company behind the plans. The archipelago has more than 800 islands, covering an area of 10,000 square miles, which are rich in rare wildlife and pristine beaches. It is also home to a small community of so-called sea gypsies, who practice ancient fishing and boat building techniques and live almost entirely cut off from the outside world. While currently difficult and expensive to visit, the area, also known as the Myeik Archipelago, is tipped to become a major tourist destination as Burma welcomes more foreign sun seekers. The Myeik Public Corporation—formed in 2012 by local business people in southern Burma with a start-up capital of 50 billion kyats (more than US$50 million)—has ambitious plans for the islands. Administration manager Kyaw Myo Paing said the company had earmarked more than $10 million for an initial investment in four tourism projects to be completed over the next four years. The plans will see hotels, houses, golf courses and shops built on the deserted Khuntee (or Gabuza) Island, Eastern Sula Island, Langan Island and Tanintharyi Island by 2018, he said. Kyaw Myo Paing said the Tennasserim Division government and local officials still had to approve the plans. "Last week, Myeik district authorities and other government officials visited the islands to see whether those islands can be allowed for us [to develop] or not," he said. "According to our information on the ground, the islands are suitable to be leisure islands for visitors. We will start construct as soon as we get the green light from the government," he added. The manager insisted that the development would not jeopardize the natural beauty and environment of the islands. "We will not construct it all at the same time, it will be step by step," he said, emphasizing that the area's coral reefs, as one of the main attractions for visitors, would be protected. The Myeik Public Corporation is confident that it will get permission from authorities, he said. It also aims to sell shares to the public to raise additional funds for the projects, he added. At present, there are only two resorts in the vast archipelago—the Andaman Club, a casino owned by a Thai businessman catering mostly to Thais, and the Burmese-owned Myanmar Andaman Resort. Burmese tycoon Tay Za is also expected to construct a hotel and leisure zone in the archipelago, according to tourism industry sources, although the precise location of this zone is not known. Aung Myat Kyaw, the chairman of Union of Myanmar Travel Association and an adviser to Burma's Tourism Marketing Committee, said that infrastructure development is essential to open up the Mergui Archipelago to visitors. At present, he said, most visitors are specialist divers spending large sums of money to visit the untouched reefs. Some of the islands and dive sites can only be reached after many hours on a boat. "No tourists come for leisure to this area because they need to spend a lot of money to be there. It takes time and is tiring [to reach the islands], but visitors can get new experiences—especially divers, who like these places a lot," Aung Myat Kyaw said. "There are not many tourists arriving at the Mergui Archipelago, but most who do visit come from Thailand through Ranong and Kawthaung [the Burmese border town]. Many of them come from Thailand's Phuket beach." The post Four Islands Marked for Development in Burma's Mergui Archipelago appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Arakanese Political Parties Merge to Form ANP Posted: 14 Jan 2014 01:10 AM PST  Members of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) and the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) hold a press conference on June 17, 2013 in Rangoon, announcing a decision to merge the two parties. (Photo: Zarni Mann / The Irrawaddy) The merger of Burma's two largest ethnic Arakanese political parties has been given the green light by the Union Election Commission, which granted approval for registration of the Arakan National Party (ANP) on Monday. The ANP joins the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), which holds 32 seats in Parliament, and the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), a political party once outlawed by Burma's former military regime. The merger is more than eight months in the making, with initial discussions between the two sides begun in late May 2013. "The Election Commission has allowed the merger of the two parties," said Aye Maung, the current chairman of the RNDP and a lawmaker in Parliament's Upper House. "The combining of the political parties is to work strongly for unity among Arakanese both inside and outside of the country," he said, adding that an ANP conference to be held later this year would invite all Arakanese's participation. The new party aims to work for sustainable peace, equality and autonomy in line with ethnic minority groups' demands, Aye Maung said. A party conference later this year will select the new ANP leadership, with the current chairmen of the respective parties to lead the new party's transition in the interim. Aye Tha Aung, the chairman of the ALD, and Aye Maung will guide the transition. Thirty Arakanese leaders, 15 from each party, will be appointed to the ANP's central executive committee. "We plan to take at least seven months for the transition period," said Aye Maung. During that time, the ANP will launch party activities in Arakan State's 17 townships as well as other constituencies where significant Arakanese populations reside, including in Rangoon and Irrawaddy divisions and Hpakant in Kachin State. With recognition of the new party, the RNDP and ALD are officially dissolved as political entities. The post Arakanese Political Parties Merge to Form ANP appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| After North Korea, Emotional Rodman Urges No Politics for a Day Posted: 13 Jan 2014 10:48 PM PST  Former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman speaks to the media upon his arrival from North Korea's Pyongyang, at Beijing Capital International Airport on Jan. 13, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Jason Lee) BEIJING — US basketball star Dennis Rodman appealed on Monday for the world to set aside politics, if only for a day, as he arrived in China from North Korea where he sparked an outcry with comments over an American imprisoned there. The 52-year-old angered many people in the United States with an interview last week in which he implied that Kenneth Bae, a US missionary imprisoned by North Korea, was to blame for his incarceration rather than authorities there. Rodman, who calls himself a friend of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, apologized for the comments made during his visit to North Korea with a group of fellow US basketball players. Rodman was met by a throng of media as he made his way, flanked by burly bodyguards, through the airport terminal to a waiting car. "I want to tell people that no matter what's going on in the world, for one day, just one day, not politics, not all this stuff," he said. "I'm not the president, I'm not an ambassador, I'm Dennis Rodman, just an individual, just showing the world a fact that we can actually get along and be happy for one day." He then appeared to be overcome with emotion and seemed to start crying as he moved away from the media, repeating "I'm sorry." Rodman expressed regret over the interview on Thursday in which he implied Bae was to blame for his imprisonment, saying he had been feeling emotional after drinking. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for state subversion in North Korea, where he was detained in 2012 while leading a tour group. North Korea's Supreme Court said he used his tourism business to form groups aimed at overthrowing the government. On Monday, Rodman expressed his thanks to "the Marshal," which is Kim's official title, for enabling his visit. "It's amazing that I had the opportunity just to go to North Korea, and for the Marshal to give me an opportunity just to be in his presence in the city," he said. "This is not a bad deal." Rodman had staged a basketball match in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, to commemorate Kim's birthday, drawing the ire of human rights activists. He also visited a ski resort in the isolated state. Rodman led a chorus of North Koreans in a rendition of "Happy Birthday" to Kim. The fading basketball star's trips had previously been financed by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, although it has now withdrawn its funding. Additional reporting by Joseph Campbell and Michael Martina. The post After North Korea, Emotional Rodman Urges No Politics for a Day appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Thailand’s Political Crisis ‘Puts Burma Developments at Risk’ Posted: 13 Jan 2014 10:28 PM PST  A sign near Dawei in southern Burma shows the road leading to Thailand. (Photo: Reuters) The political crisis gripping Thailand is jeopardizing key economic infrastructure developments and other potential investment in Burma, reports warn. The crisis has all but paralyzed Bangkok government and civil service activity, freezing planned major investments in international railway and road links and petrochemical projects, industry analysts said. It has also effectively put on hold plans to promote the Thailand-Burma joint venture Dawei port on Burma's southeast coast, the analysts said. Among projects now hobbled are Thai plans to produce chemicals and polymers—used in making a range of plastics, such as polystyrene—for export to China and countries of the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean). Road and train links out of Thailand into Burma offered a chance to promote the development of a Burmese plastics industry. "If the [transport infrastructure] work is carried out, chemicals and polymers from Thailand would flow more easily into the less-developed Chinese provinces which border this portion of Southeast Asia, such as Yunnan and Guangxi," said analyst John Richardson, writing in a report for ICIS, the international petrochemicals industry analysis company. "Or [the polymers] might first move to, say, Myanmar where labour costs for plastic processing are lower than in Thailand. Finished and semi-finished plastics goods could then be transported to China, back to Thailand or to elsewhere in ASEAN," he wrote. But the Thai government's plans for a new network of high-speed railways linking the country with Laos, China, Burma and Malaysia have been shelved. "The [Thai] government has seen its flagship 2 trillion baht [US$60.6 billion] infrastructure investment bill hobbled by the political crisis," said the London Financial Times. "While many across the political spectrum agree Thailand urgently needs better roads, railways and ports if it is to realize its vision of becoming a hub for Southeast Asian regional trade with China, the opposition Democrat party says the plan is ill-directed, lacks sufficient parliamentary oversight and risks fueling corruption," the paper reported. ICIS said the new infrastructure is needed "so that there can be a more seamless flow of goods and services between China, Thailand, [Burma], Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia." The Thai crisis has not only crippled government spending programs, it has driven down the value of the baht currency and reduced both 2013 and 2014 economic growth forecasts. "The Thai protests have deepened investor worries about a nation that is the region's second-largest economy and has ambitions to be the bridge between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)," the Financial Times said. "Investors long used to riding Thailand's turbulent politics are showing increasing signs of becoming unsettled as the expanding protests add to concerns about worsening economic indicators." Thailand and Burma only recently reached a new agreement to jointly develop the Dawei port and industrial zone in a bid to attract major Japanese investment. "In reality [Dawei] is dependent on the Thai side developing infrastructure that will link Dawei to the rest of Southeast Asia by road and railway," Bangkok independent energy industries consultant Collin Reynolds told The Irrawaddy on January 13. "Both countries need a third partner, ideally Japan, to make this project work. The [state-owned] Japan External Trade Organization has made clear that it wants to see some infrastructure connecting Dawei with the outside world before it makes any commitments on investment," he said. "The Yingluck Shinawatra government in Bangkok cannot take anything forward since it resigned over the street protests and took on a caretaker only role until elections are held. "The courts have effectively blocked most funds to the caretaker government and it is hard to see any election going ahead as planned on February 2." The Dawei project is planned to include an oil transshipment port, a refinery, steel mills, petrochemical plants and a major electricity generating station. The development includes road, railway and oil pipeline routes running from Dawei into Thailand to link up with north-south transport infrastructure. However, there is one business sector where Burma might benefit from the economic paralysis in Thailand: oil and gas. Plans to invite international bids for 22 new oil and gas blocks in Thailand this year look like being shelved. The blocks, both offshore and onshore, have a combined estimated reserve of 3 to 5 trillion cubic feet (85 billion cubic meters to 141.6 billion cubic meters) of gas and between 5 and 10 million barrels of oil, said the Bangkok Department of Mineral Fuels which is responsible for handling licenses. The opening up of the blocks has already been delayed because of public opposition following an oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand in the middle of last year that polluted holiday beaches. If there is further postponement due to the political chaos, said Reynolds, it would likely drive international oil company investment away—and perhaps across the border to Burma where more blocks are expected to be on offer this year. The post Thailand's Political Crisis 'Puts Burma Developments at Risk' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| India Scrambles to Save Tigers From Deadly Virus Posted: 13 Jan 2014 10:23 PM PST  India's tigers are under threat from a virus common among dogs but deadly to other carnivores. (Photo: Reuters) NEW DELHI — India is scrambling to protect its beleaguered tiger population after several big cats tested positive for a virus common among dogs but deadly to other carnivores, experts said. In the last year, canine distemper virus has killed at least four tigers and several other animals across northern and eastern India, according to Rajesh Gopal of the government's National Tiger Conservation Authority. The revelation is bad news for wild tigers—already endangered by rampant poaching and shrinking habitat as India undergoes breakneck development to accommodate the staggering growth of its 1.2 billion people. That same economic development and population growth means more people—and more dogs—are coming even closer to wildlife. India will now test every tiger carcass it finds for the virus, Gopal said, while authorities also consider a massive campaign to vaccinate dogs against canine distemper. "We cannot vaccinate every dog, of course. But even 50 percent of dogs in the zones around sanctuaries would help," Gopal said. He did not give details of the plans being considered. There is no vaccine for big cats. The cases being found across such a huge swath of India, however, suggests the disease could already be running in the wild, experts said, though they agree much more research is needed. "These are very disturbing finds," said Dr. A.K. Sharma, head scientist at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, which performed the canine distemper lab tests. "The cases were quite distant from each other, and the latest was an area where there are no dogs. So it appears the virus is spreading." Since two cubs tested positive in a zoo in the Bihar state capital of Patna a year ago, Sharma and his colleagues have found at least four more cases—a red panda in the northeast state of Manipur, a wild tiger in West Bengal, a zoo lion in Darjeeling and last month a wild tiger in the Dudhwa Tiger reserve in Uttar Pradesh. "In the last case, forest guards said they saw the animal in a confused state before it died," he said. Experts said there are likely more undetected cases, since testing for canine distemper has not been routine and few animals that die in the wild are ever found. Canine distemper virus, a close relative of measles, is associated mostly with domestic dogs though it has infected—and ravaged—other carnivore populations. It brought the US black-footed ferret to the brink of extinction in the late 1970s. In Tanzania in 1994, an epidemic likely introduced by tourists' dogs wiped out at least a third of the 3,000-strong African lion population in Serengeti National Park. The possibility of a disease like canine distemper hitting the world's last population of wild Asiatic lions was a major consideration in last year's Indian Supreme Court's decision ordering Gujarat state to safeguard the species by transferring some lions to a second, faraway sanctuary. While dogs can often recover from the disease, other animals including tigers, lions and leopards suffer fever, seizures and delirium before they die. There is no known cure. Some experts said it was pointless to try to limit the disease, given how closely millions of Indians live alongside wildlife. Instead, the country should focus on other, proven threats like poaching, prey loss to hunting and human encroachment into forests. "Thinking we can control this is totally unrealistic. We have to live with it now, and assess whether it's really serious yet," said Ullas Karanth, the Bangalore-based Asian science director of Wildlife Conservation Society. "What South Africa has done, quarantining huge areas and creating disease-free spaces in the wild, is not feasible here." India is home to more than half of the world's estimated 3,200 tigers. An ongoing tiger census should give an updated count in a year. Despite dozens of tiger reserves in place, their numbers have sunk from an estimated 5,000-7,000 in the 1990s, when their habitat was more than twice as large. Illegal poaching remains a stubborn and serious danger, with tiger parts fetching high black market prices due to demand driven by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Deforestation and urban growth, meanwhile, bring the cats ever closer to human settlements—and into conflict with villagers who will hunt any wild animals near their communities or livestock. That tigers may now face another threat from disease is alarming, said Thopsie Gopal, an Indian expert in animal emerging infectious diseases who was not involved in the test cases. "This is a serious situation," said Thopsie Gopal, who has no relation to Rajesh Gopal. "Maybe tigers are eating infected dogs, or maybe it is spreading in the wild." He suggested India could resume its policy of vaccinating cattle against rinderpest, another virus similar to canine distemper. Increasing antibodies against rinderpest in the environment could help boost defenses against canine distemper, he said. "It might be too late, but might be worth trying," he said. Indian experts also want to search living tigers for natural antibodies that could be used in creating a vaccine. But there are obvious challenges in capturing the reclusive and dangerous nighttime predators for blood tests. "It would take a lot of funding and a lot of manpower," Sharma said. "We'll see if the government agrees." The post India Scrambles to Save Tigers From Deadly Virus appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Thai Government Backs-Up Amid Bangkok Shutdown Posted: 13 Jan 2014 09:12 PM PST  Thai anti-government demonstrators ride through crowds in Bangkok on Monday, as an attempted "shutdown" of the Thai capital began. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) BANGKOK— The Thai Foreign Ministry once occupied a neoclassical palace built for a revered 19th-century king. To find the ministry today, you must search the corridors of a half-deserted Bangkok convention center for a modest room where top officials relocated on Monday to avoid citywide protests—one of many back-up arrangements for a government struggling to fend off protesters besieging the capital. "We roam around," said Sek Wannamethee, director-general of the ministry's information department, with a mirthless laugh. "Tomorrow we might have to find another place." That's because the convention center sits next door to Thailand's stock exchange, which protesters have threatened to target next as part of their two-month-old campaign to topple caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government. Tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets for Monday's so-called Bangkok Shutdown in a bid to paralyze the city and render Thailand ungovernable. But as every computer user knows, the best way to cope with unwanted shutdowns is to back-up. This explains why copies of various government ministries and departments are cropping up in often unlikely places across Bangkok and nearby provinces. The Finance Ministry, which was stormed and occupied by protesters for several weeks last year, is now shut and its staff working from home or satellite offices. Its Comptroller General's Department, which manages government expenditure, has moved to premises owned by the Royal Thai Air Force. The Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), which oversees government bond auctions and debt servicing, has moved to a nearby office block. The Commerce Ministry is operating from an arts and crafts center in neighboring Ayuthaya province. The Bank of Thailand said it had closed its main office and moved operations to a back-up facility, but declined to say where. Reporters covering the central bank believed it was in Nakhon Pathom province, west of Bangkok. One department that handles debt securities for retail investors had moved to a branch of Krung Thai Bank Pcl, it said in the statement. The central bank said 44 commercial bank branches did not open on Monday and 79 closed earlier than usual. Other agencies might soon be casting around for new homes. Staff were evacuated from the Labor Ministry on Monday and the gates padlocked by protesters. "Business as Usual" Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck occupies a temporary office in northern Bangkok belonging to the Permanent Secretary for Defense, where on Monday she convened a security meeting with ministers and other officials. Her office could not confirm if the cabinet's weekly Tuesday meeting would take place. As part of the "shutdown," demonstrators threatened to cut off power and water to the homes of senior officials. Protesters vowed to "give me a lesson," Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul told reporters on Friday. "That's why I already packed my stuff and moved out of my house already." His ministry's main building, now housed in a modern office complex and briefly occupied by protesters in November, is also deserted. So is its consular department, in a sprawling government complex in northern Bangkok partially besieged by protesters. The ministry's temporary home at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center is also eerily unpeopled due to the postponement or cancelation of many conferences. "We're still functioning as usual," says information officer Sek. "Working from a temporary site over a short period doesn't really have much of an impact." But he said a "sustained" protest could cause real problems, with all meetings with other government agencies already postponed due to shutdown chaos. The temporary ministry's main task now is overseeing advance voting for the Feb. 2 general election, which started on Monday at Thai embassies and consulates in cities worldwide. The protesters reject the election, saying Thailand's corrupt political system must first be reformed to expunge the influence of Yingluck and her brother, Thaksin, who was deposed as prime minister by a 2006 military coup. The opposition Democrat Party is boycotting the election. About 150,000 Thais living overseas had registered to vote in advance, roughly the same number as for the last election in 2011, said Sek. "There is a lot of eagerness on the part of Thai communities to exercise their voting rights," he said. The post Thai Government Backs-Up Amid Bangkok Shutdown appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Rohingya University Students’ Education on Hold in Arakan State Posted: 13 Jan 2014 05:32 AM PST  Young Rohingya girls stay at a primary school several kilometers outside of Sittwe, where hundreds of Rohingyas took shelter from a storm in May. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Hundreds of Rohingya university students in Arakan State have been prevented from continuing higher education pursuits, with authorities saying their safety cannot be guaranteed more than a year after communal violence tore through the region. Universities in several Arakan townships were shuttered to all students in the immediate aftermath of the 2012 violence, but while Rohingya Muslims say their education has been put on indefinite hold, their Buddhist counterparts have since been allowed to continue their studies and some have gone on to graduate. Rohingya students from Sittwe and Buthidaung townships told The Irrawaddy on Monday that state authorities claimed that they could not provide security to Rohingya seeking to re-enroll at Sittwe University, which closed after the first outbreak of violence between local Arakanese Buddhists and the minority Muslims in June 2012, but has since allowed non-Rohingya students to return to campus. Aung Win, a Rohingya activist, said there were at least 1,000 Rohingya university students from 15 of Arakan State's 17 townships who were being denied the opportunity to continue their studies. "The government does not allow them [students] to study. They have been waiting for almost two years to study and they do not have anything to do," Aung Win said. Win Myaing, an Arakan State government spokesman, disputed the activist's claim, saying authorities had enlisted Muslim university graduates to teach students at camps for the internally displaced persons (IDPs). The state government had also arranged for students to sit exams at the universities, he claimed. "I completely reject the accusations," Win Myaing said. "We have arranged the examinations since last year, so why are they complaining now?" The spokesman said only about one in 10 university students in the state were Muslims. Students say they have asked the government to allow them to continue their studies in Arakan State or transfer to universities in other states and divisions, but the government continues to ignore their requests. The students' families and community leaders have suggested that Muslims be allowed to study at an old, unused campus in Sittwe, according to Aung Win, who acknowledged that security arrangements would likely be necessary, with the current campus located nearby in the Aung Mingalar quarter of Sittwe. Aung Than Naing from Buthidaung, a township near the border with Bangladesh, studied physics at Sittwe University but was only able to finish his first semester when his studies were interrupted by the university's closing in June 2012. He said that he and other students asked the state government twice last year to let them transfer to other universities if they could not study in Sittwe, but had received no response to either request. "I've had a dream to get a degree since I joined university and my parents encouraged me a lot to study. I will have a good job after I get a degree. This is what I deserve for my parents' effort, their money for my studies. Buthidaung has a poor economy, but my parents worked for me to study," said Aung Than Naing. He urged the government to allow students to transfer to universities elsewhere if authorities were concerned for the safety of Rohingya enrollees. Aung Than Naing said he could no longer travel to Sittwe after the violence between local Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. The former university enrollee said some of his former Arakanese classmates had already graduated. Than Htay Oo, 24, was a second-semester botany student when he was forced to put his education on hold. "One time my classmates called me by phone and told me about how they had graduated. Words can't express how sad I felt over this." Given remaining tensions in Sittwe, Than Htay Oo said he did not want to return to university even if authorities would allow it, citing concerns that fresh violence might break out. Than Htay Oo, who has spent his time since the university's closure teaching children at a camp for IDPs in western Sittwe, still holds out hope that he will complete his education. "I want to have at least two degrees. After that, I will find a career job," he said. Meanwhile, township authorities have told the students that they have the option of enrolling in a distance education program to prepare for examinations. The Burmese government heavily restricts Rohingyas' ability to travel to other parts of the country, and some have been imprisoned for traveling without authorities' permission. Aung Win said he did not think that the state government would issue the required travel documents to Rohingya, effectively leaving them at an educational dead-end for the time being. "They have provided security for Arakanese students. If they provide security forces for our Muslim students, we could study at the former campus. I found that they do not want our race to be educated," Aung Win said. During two outbreaks of religious violence in 2012, nearly 200 people were killed and about 140,000 others were displaced, most of them Muslims. About half of the displaced were Muslim residents who were chased out of Sittwe by local Buddhists. Most of the displaced continue to reside in squalid, crowded camps. Than Htay Oo, the botany student, said trust between area Muslims and Arakanese had only diminished since the two communities were separated by authorities in the aftermath of the violence. "We wanted to stay as one community, but they [Arakanese] do not want this," Than Htay Oo said. "We do not want to stay separated, which has brought discrimination against us." The post Rohingya University Students' Education on Hold in Arakan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| The Ladies Posted: 13 Jan 2014 04:43 AM PST  Women laborers cross over the banks of the Irrawaddy river while loading buckets of pebbles onto a transport ship in Mandalay on July 31, 2009. (Photo: Reuters) YANGON — The Myanmar military may need to invest in a batch of new, smaller uniforms. In October, the government announced that women would be invited for the first time in over half a century to join the army—so long as they were single university graduates between the ages of 25 and 30, at least 1.6 meters tall, and no heavier than 59 kilograms. For those who fit the qualifications, the invitation could open doors in a country where power has long rested with the military. Even today, with a quasi-civilian government headed by a former general, the current Constitution makes military experience a requirement for the presidency and reserves 25 percent of seats in the legislature for military-appointed representatives. Two years ago the government said women could be drafted for military service during times of emergency, but generally speaking, women previously could only become army nurses. Under military regimes that ruled for decades, this near complete exclusion from the military effectively barred women from politics. The country's most prominent female politician, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was held under house arrest for about 15 years. Women were among the most affected by human rights abuses by the former government, as their communities were torn apart by long civil wars that left them vulnerable to forced labor and sexual assault. But today, nearly three years into President U Thein Sein's quasi-civilian administration, they remain largely excluded from the peace process, even as experts say their involvement is necessary for national reconciliation. "We wanted a culture of democracy, we are trying to build a culture of democracy, and that starts with equality," Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said last month, speaking at the country's first international women's forum in Yangon. "In politics, our women have suffered as greatly as men during the struggle for democracy. … But equally suffering does not always mean we benefit equally." Many women fought alongside men against the former dictatorship, facing punishments such as lengthy prison sentences for their activism. In a new era with more freedom to organize and speak out, they are now pushing for greater political representation, but it remains to be seen how much space they can secure in a system that, despite reforms, continues to move at the whims of military men. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others are devising strategies to fight gender bias, but not without disagreement, raising questions over the best path to the halls of power. Traces of matriarchy An old saying in Myanmar offers advice to mothers: "Treat your son like a lord and your husband like a god." While that saying is not universally accepted, traditionally women in Myanmar have been expected to focus on caring for their children and their family, taking a back seat to their husbands at social gatherings and in public life. Buddhism, the country's main religion, has also placed women in a subordinate position to men, who are seen as further along the path of reincarnation toward enlightenment. But if women lack opportunities in Myanmar, it is not for lack of ability. Although girls frequently drop out of school to care for their siblings or help with chores at home, women outnumber men at the university level and are more likely to graduate with master's degrees. They preserve their independence in other ways, too, keeping their own names after marriage, in contrast to the Western tradition of adopting the husband's surname. And despite a glass ceiling and unequal pay, women play a key role in the national economy, operating their own shops and roadside stalls on the streets of Yangon, or working in rural areas to plant new crops for harvest. On the flip side, some women argue that such economic participation amounts to little in a country whose economy was crippled by an era of socialism. The real power has long been tied to the military, which controlled the truly lucrative ventures during the former regime and continues to dominate politics today. Although a patriarchal system has existed in this country at least since the days when it was ruled by kings, who held power for centuries before British colonialism, researchers suggest that a matriarchal system may have flourished at one time. Queens also held power during the days of monarchy, and women were appointed to high offices, according to historian Daw Mya Sein, who was also one of the country's most prominent women's activists in the early 20th century. "The inheritance of certain oil wells, for instance, belonged exclusively to women; in some cases, the inheritance to the headmanship of a village was through the female line," she wrote for The Atlantic magazine in 1958, a decade after the country won its independence from the British. She said it was the British Empire's Constitution that posed challenges. "In 1927, therefore, we did have a little bit of a feminist movement to abolish the clause which provided that women could not stand for election to the legislative council. … In 1929 a woman was elected for the first time to the legislature. Since then, we have had no trouble, and at the present moment we have six women members in Parliament." Before military rule was imposed through a coup in 1962, a number of women earned high-ranking spots in the newly independent government. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's mother, Daw Khin Kyi, became a member of Parliament and was later appointed as the country's first female ambassador, while a prominent female politician, Daw Sein Pu, joined the central committee for the first prime minister's party. But after the coup, the people found little room for representation, leaving ethnic and religious minorities as well as women especially marginalized. Nine women were elected to the 449-member People's Assembly in 1974, making up about 2 percent of lawmakers, and 13 women were elected in 1978. Women won about 3 percent of seats in Parliament during the 1990 election, whose results were nullified by a new military regime. No women were appointed as regional commanders or government ministers, and none were part of the ruling junta. 'I want to be a general' The situation today is not significantly better, but with the transition to a quasi-civilian administration women have benefited from greater freedom to organize. In September Myanmar women in exile came back to co-host a women's forum with local activists in Yangon, pushing for constitutional amendments to reduce gender discrimination. In December, Myanmar also hosted its first international women's forum, organized partly by the French Embassy with more than 600 people from 27 countries attending, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In an opening speech, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate focused on the importance of raising children who valued gender equality. "Our women have to understand what their role is in building up a new culture. To me, one of the most important things that the women of this country can do … is to change our own attitudes," she said. While acknowledging the need to alter mindsets in the home, other women at the forum called for greater representation in the halls of power. "I don't want to be the wife of a soldier, I want to be a general," Ma Shwe Shwe Sein Latt, director of Phan Tee Eain, a local NGO that empowers women and youth, said during a panel discussion. Myanmar has only one female minister in government, Daw Myat Myat Ohn Khin, who leads the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Appointed in 2012, she is the country's first female cabinet minister in 60 years. In Parliament, less than 5 percent of seats are held by women, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was elected in 2012. Activists say there are no women serving as chief ministers of the country's states or regions, or as heads of any of its districts or townships, while very few are running villages. Perhaps part of the problem lies in schooling. "In textbooks, if you look at lessons on ambition and what one should become, a girl can become a nurse but a boy can be a pilot, or jobs that are considered much more lucrative and higher in position," Daw Su Su Lwin, a lawmaker who works on education issues for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said at the forum. Women are among the country's top students, graduating in greater numbers from basic education schools and universities to such an extent that medical schools, law schools and other institutions require them to score higher marks than men for admission. "I've often said we discriminate against men," said Daw Khin Mar Yee, head of the law department at Yangon University, joking about the shortage of male students and teachers. But once women graduate, they struggle to secure jobs that match their qualifications not only in government, but also in business, education and the health sector. "When it comes to opportunities for work, for lucrative jobs, more men are chosen. It's not a written law, it's not a regulation, but if you look at the number of men and women in responsible positions, in decision-making positions, there are more men," said Daw Su Su Lwin. The government says it is making progress. In October the Ministry of Social Welfare launched a national plan to empower women, while an advertisement in state-run media announced that women could apply for a military cadet training program. But activists say the program at the Defense Services Academy retains elements of discrimination. "Boys who finish 10th standard [in high school] can join the training program, but women can only enter after graduating university," said Ma Htar Htar, a Yangon-based rights activist who runs a women's empowerment network and organized a campaign to raise awareness about sexual harassment. "And while boys can leave the program to become captains, women only become second lieutenants." The question of quotas In a bid to help more women reach positions of power, some activists are calling for a quota system that would require a certain percentage of women in Parliament and the government. The Constitution already mandates a 25 percent quota of military representatives in the legislature, they say, so why not a quota for women? "To remove structural barriers, we need to think about some possible affirmative action," said Ma May Sabe Phyu, a senior coordinator for the Gender Equality Network, which includes more than 90 organizations advocating for women's rights. While recognizing the danger of unqualified "token" women filling positions, she said a temporary quota system in the legislature, the government and the corporate world could help women reach a critical mass to raise their voices. Internationally, quotas are seen as a key tool for increasing women's representation in politics and have been used in some form or another in a majority of countries around the world. Daw Nyo Nyo Thin, a lawmaker in the Yangon Region Parliament, recommended a 30 percent quota initially. "We should set those seats aside," she said. Their hopes could lose steam, however, without support from Myanmar's best known lady. "It's not as simple as all that," Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said at the women's forum, warning that a quota system could lead to the appointment of women leaders without the proper qualifications. "I want to be able to be proud of our women parliamentarians because they are able and because they are able to represent their constituencies. I don't want to be proud of them simply because they're women sitting in Parliament." Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has expressed ambitions to be the country's next president, but to reach that goal she would need to amend the Constitution, which currently makes her ineligible. In parliamentary by-elections in 2012, she said the NLD discriminated positively in favor of women with the right abilities but did not set quotas. "I said ideally I would like half of my candidates to be women. As it turned out, we didn't get one-third—more than two-thirds were men," she said. "But the women we got into Parliament are good, and I'm proud of them." Others at the forum disagreed with her take. "I hope you don't mind me shifting a little into quotas, but that's something that I feel strongly about," Christine Lagarde, the first female managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said during a speech shortly after hearing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's position. Looking back on her own career, Ms. Lagarde noted a low percentage of women in leadership positions and the tendency for mothers to drop out of the workforce as reasons for creating a "target" system, similar to a quota system, for women at the IMF. "I'm strongly in favor of that. I don't want to quarrel with anybody, I just base it on my own life experience," she said. The different viewpoints at the forum echoed similar debates internationally, including in the European Union, where a proposal for quotas to boost women's leadership in the corporate world has received mixed reactions from leaders over the past year. Myanmar women are also pushing for more representation as the government and armed rebel groups negotiate ceasefires. "In the peace process, women never start wars and conflicts, but those who suffer most are women, and they have low participation in the peace process," said Daw Soe Htet Win, a businesswoman who leads the Myanmar Women's Professional Network and advocates on behalf of women in ceasefire negotiations and development in Kayin State. In November hundreds of women activists gathered in Yangon to discuss their role in peace-building and ongoing reforms. The international community is also encouraging their involvement. "It's essential that women be part of the process," US Ambassador to Myanmar Derek Mitchell told The Irrawaddy. "If there's a peace process that does not include women, it is not a true comprehensive process and will not lead to true national reconciliation in my view." In addition to leading the Gender Equality Network, Ma May Sabe Phyu is a prominent activist promoting peace in Kachin State, where clashes continue to break out between the government and rebel groups. "Myanmar people rely very much on heroism. We are always expecting somebody to come and take care of all the difficulties we are facing now. But this is not the time to expect somebody to help you out," she said. "The reality is that we cannot have another person like Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in our lifetime or in our history. We cannot clone her, we cannot have 10 Daw Aung San Suu Kyis. "Whenever we are talking about leadership for women, the requirements for eligibility are quite long. We need to make it short, that list, because we can have thousands of women leaders from our communities." This article first appeared as the cover story of the January 2014 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post The Ladies appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Protesters Begin Bangkok ‘Shutdown’ Calling for Yingluck to Step Down Posted: 13 Jan 2014 03:49 AM PST  Suthep Thaugsuban is hugged by an emotional supporters on Monday outside Pathumwan Temple, where six "red shirt" protesters were killed by sniper fire on the 19th May 19, 2010, during a crackdown on protesters. Suthep is currently facing murder charges relating to his authorization of lethal force as deputy prime minister at the time of the crackdown. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) BANGKOK — Hundreds of thousands of protesters seeking an unelected council to run Southeast Asia's second biggest economy took to the streets of Bangkok on Monday, blocking off several major roads and intersections in an attempt to "shut down" the city and force interim Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down. "We want a government that doesn't have corruption," said protester Sukira Komuang, sitting under a banner reading "Restart Thailand," and awaiting the arrival of protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban to the same intersection that four years ago was the epicenter of a violent army crackdown on supporters of the current government. The latest round of Thailand's now eight-year-old cycle of street protests started after the Yingluck-led government sought to push a wide-ranging amnesty bill into law, a move interpreted by opponents as a gambit to allow her elder brother Thaksin return to Thailand without having to face jail. Over the years, the on-off protests have involved groups both supporting and opposed to the current administration, "This government is for one family, not for the people," Sukira Komuang said, referring to the Shinawatra clan. Thaksin Shinawatra, himself a former Prime Minister, fled Thailand after being hit with corruption charges in 2008. However, Suthep, a former Deputy Prime Minister, has himself faced corruption allegations in the past, while the movement he now leads stands accused of wanting to undermine Thailand's electoral democracy. From Monday morning, Suthep marched through Bangkok's jam-packed streets accepting both the adulation of supporters and fistfuls of Thai baht, donation from supporters lining the streets as he stopped-off at several of the intersections where demonstrators gathered, some since Sunday night. Akanat Promphan, spokesman for the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PRDC), the name for the protest movement, accompanied Suthep on his march around the city on Monday. "Today millions of people have come out in Bangkok to support this movement and to demand Yingluck and her cabinet resign from their caretaking duties," he told The Irrawaddy. There was little sign of police near the demonstrations, despite a pledge by the government to deploy up to 20,000 security personnel in advance of the protests. Police headquarters, situated near two of Bangkok's biggest shopping malls, have been regularly surrounded in recent weeks by protestors who see the police as aligned with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, himself a former policeman. In December, a policeman was killed in clashes with protesters in Bangkok. The renewed demonstrations have prompted another round of coup rumors in a country where there have been 18 military takeovers—successful or attempted—since the changeover from absolute to constitutional monarchy in 1932. The most recent coup came in 2006, ousting Thaksin. Thaksin's populism—particularly social spending in heavily-populated northeastern areas—was seen by many southern and Bangkok-based Thais as a challenge to established social and economic hierarchies. And in a change he has long denied but one that has typically galvanized opponents, Thaksin's loyalty to Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej was deemed suspect. The current King is the world's longest-reigning monarch and is screened from criticism by the world's strictest lèse-majesté laws. Concerns about Thailand's future, once royal succession takes place, are thought to feed into the latest round of protests. One anti-Government protestor, giving his name only as Sammy, said that "we don't want to say anything about the future, but the change is coming, and we don't want the bad king in the future." Thaksin-backed parties have won a string of consecutive elections in Thailand and would likely triumph again should the planned Feb. 2 elections proceed. Fears of losing another election are another reason why the "shutdown" protesters want an unelected council to run Thailand for an undefined period, prior to the next elections taking place, with the slogan "Reform before elections" seen on hundreds of banners across Bangkok on Monday. The main opposition party, the Democrat Party, supports the shutdown protests and will not take part in the upcoming election, if it goes ahead. The Democrat Party has not won an election in over two decades—though it governed from late 2008, after courts ousted a Thaksin-backed party, until mid 2011, when Yingluck Shinawatra's Puea Thai won a comfortable victory in Thailand's last election. Yingluck had faced opposition over a controversial rice subsidy scheme and over multibillion baht infrastructure projects, which opponents say have been tarnished by corruption and patronage. However, despite the mismanagement claims, earlier anti-Shinawatra protests had failed to gather critical mass—prior to the attempted amnesty and an attempt to change Thailand's Upper House from a part-elected to fully-elected body, the latter move blocked by the courts. And Yingluck supporters are staging rival rallies in many of Thailand's provinces, except for Bangkok and southern areas where support for Suthep's demonstrators is strong, amid concerns that there could be a repeat of the deadly violence that occurred in November 2013 when redshirts held a rally at a Bangkok football stadium, close to an anti-government demonstration at a nearby university. On Saturday, seven anti-government protesters were injured when unknown gunmen opened fire on their camp near one of Bangkok's main tourist haunts at Khao San road. Speaking by telephone from Ayutthaya, an old Siamese capital an hour north of Bangkok, where pro-government demonstrators gathered, redshirt leader Thida Thavornseth said that "we want to show that we are many people opposed to the PDRC and opposed to the military coup." The post Protesters Begin Bangkok 'Shutdown' Calling for Yingluck to Step Down appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Six Burma Army Troops Killed in ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident Posted: 13 Jan 2014 02:25 AM PST  A small-scale jade miner works in Hpakant Township, Kachin State. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy) Six Burma Army soldiers were killed by their own forces in an incident early Saturday morning in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, according to local sources. The shooting took place at a base in Nam Yah village—about 20 miles east of Hpakant town—an area where the government troops are stationed in close proximity to forces of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). According to locals, artillery shells were fired when Burma Army soldiers moving near the encampment at night were mistaken for KIA troops. Four men died on the spot and two died later from their injuries, according to reports. Two others were seriously injured, locals said, reporting that the sound of shelling followed by gunfire was heard at about 4 am Saturday. "One artillery shell exploded about a mile away from the government soldiers, while the other exploded within their camp and caused six to die," said Tin Soe, the township vice chairman of the National League for Democracy in Hpakant. "It happened in the center of Nam Yah village where the government troops are deployed in a monastery, but luckily the villagers did not get hurt." After the incident, the army troops apparently reported to their commanders that they had engaged with the KIA, but ethnic sources said the incident was purely "friendly fire." La Mai Gum Ja, spokesman for the Kachin Peace Creation Group, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the KIA's Battalion No. 6 was posted about 4 miles away from where the deaths took place, but was not involved in the incident. La Mai Gum Ja said following the incident he was contacted by the general staff of the Burma Army's Northern Command, and relayed the message from a local KIA commander that no fire was exchanged. "The KIA central headquarters [in Laiza] has ordered not to engage in any battle while its leaders are in talks with the government for peace in the region. The local troops follow the order as they would be punished to death if they don't," said La Mai Gum Ja. There are thought to be about 10 battalions of government troops in Hpakant Township, but it is unclear which was involved in the friendly fire incident. Northern Command officials could not be reached to confirm the report. Locals say there has been no fighting in the area since peace talks between the KIA and the government resumed last year, although continued clashes have been reported elsewhere in Kachin State. La Mai Gum Ja said the government and KIA troops posted in Hpakant had not shown signs of fighting again recently. "They stay opposite to each other, just separated by the Uru stream, without gunfire," he said. Hpakant is famous for producing jade, and locals suspect that the Burma Army presence in the area is related to the exploitation of the priceless mineral. The post Six Burma Army Troops Killed in 'Friendly Fire' Incident appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Hardline Monks Rally Sri Lanka as Buddhist Front Posted: 12 Jan 2014 10:12 PM PST  Buddhist devotees pray at a temple during New Year celebrations in Colombo on Jan. 1, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Dinuka Liyanawatte) COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — With a bloody civil war over and a cautious peace at hand, a group of hardline Buddhist monks is rallying Sri Lankans against what they say is a pernicious threat: Muslims. In just over a year, the saffron-swathed monks of Bodu Bala Sena—or Buddhist Power Force—have amassed a huge following, drawing thousands of fist-pumping followers who rail against the country's Muslim minority. Buddhists have attacked dozens of mosques and called for boycotts on Muslim-owned businesses and bans on headscarves and halal foods. At boisterous rallies, monks claim Muslims are out to recruit children, marry Buddhist women and divide the country. "This is a Buddhist nation, so why are they trying to call it a multicultural society?" said Galagoda Atte Gnanasara, the 37-year-old pulpit-pounding monk who co-founded the group in 2012. "Not everyone can live under the umbrella of a Buddhist culture." There have been few if any physical attacks on people, unlike in Burma, where Buddhist monks helped incite communal violence in 2012 and 2013 and even stood watch as Buddhist mobs slaughtered Rohingya Muslims. But many Sri Lankans and human rights workers are alarmed, saying the monks are creating communal divisions and giving Buddhism a bad name. Nearly all of the dozen critics of Bodu Bala Sena interviewed for this story declined to speak on the record, fearing reprisals. The Sri Lankan government only rarely steps in to defend or protect Muslims, who make up roughly 10 percent of the 20 million people on this Indian Ocean island. Many see the silence as tacit approval, but Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said it's intended to encourage community members to work out their own problems. He said the anti-Muslim rumblings are "minor agitations that are normal in any multicultural society." "If things get more serious, we will take action," he said. "These kinds of things can ruin a nation, we are aware of that." In September 2011, Buddhists reportedly smashed a 300-year-old Islamic Sufi shrine to rubble in the ancient city of Anuradhapura, a Unesco world heritage site. Police have denied that the incident happened, but photographs taken by locals show at least a dozen officers watching as young men hammer the shrine to pieces while a monk holds a burning green Islamic flag. In April 2012, a 2,000-strong Sinhalese mob including monks ransacked Jumma Mosque in the north-central city of Dambulla as police looked on. The government later ordered the removal of the decades-old mosque, saying its location within a sacred Buddhist area was an affront. In March last year, police watched as red-robed monks led a hollering crowd in trashing a Muslim-owned clothing store. The US Embassy spoke out after a stone-hurling mob attacked a suburban Colombo mosque in August, calling it "particularly troubling in light of a number of recent attacks against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka." Muslims say they are also the targets of ludicrous conspiracy theories, including rumors that they spit three times in any dish before serving it to a non-Muslim, or that Muslim shops sell women's undergarments tainted with chemicals that cause infertility. Many Muslims feel they are being victimized because of their visibility in the economy—a role they have played for more than 1,000 years since Arab traders brought Islam to Sri Lanka and allied with the Sinhalese against Spanish and Dutch colonial forces. Today, they control at least half of small businesses and hold near-monopolies in the textile and gem trades. Because most speak Tamil, and not Sinhala, they were key players in military intelligence during the civil war against ethnic Tamil rebels. "We never thought the government would turn on us," said Mujibur Rahman, a Muslim member of Colombo's provincial council. He and other critics contend that the 2009 civil war victory left a triumphant Buddhist Sinhalese majority searching for a new target. "The president needs to create a new security problem to avoid actually having to govern," Rahman said. "He has built an image for himself as a Sinhalese Buddhist hero and savior. He needs a new enemy to keep that up." The government dismisses the idea as absurd, and Bodu Bala Sena denies any role in organizing attacks. But even some Sinhalese have their suspicions. "The BBS is trying to push the country toward racial and religious conflict," said a Sinhalese business owner who would only give his first name, Susantha. "Sometimes I suspect they are carrying out a contract for the government to turn attention away from issues such as the economy, health care and education." Gnanasara and Kirama Wimalajothi started Bodu Bala Sena after splitting from a group they said was not militant enough in protecting Buddhist interests in Sri Lanka. The brawny, bespectacled Gnanasara said that, with about 70 percent of the population practicing Buddhism, the tropical nation has a duty to uphold the religion's traditions, preserve its heritage sites and police against conversion to other religions. "The secret to my popularity is that I speak the truth," he said in an interview held within the Bodu Bala Sena headquarters, in a Buddhist cultural center set among twisted tree trunks and a lush jungle canopy near Colombo, the capital. Gnanasara said there are "extremist forces trying to create divisions, buy our lands, marry our wives and recruit our children. The same thing happened in Malaysia, the Maldives and Bangladesh—all now Muslim countries. The same thing may happen in Sri Lanka if we're not careful." At a rally in August, Gnanasara urged Sri Lankans: "Don't vote for any politician who does not admit this is a Sinhalese Buddhist country." The aggressive tones have clashed with the country's pledge to pursue postwar reconciliation, a pledge still largely unfulfilled as the government flouts international calls for an independent war crimes probe. Analysts say radical Buddhism is just one sign of human rights being sidelined in Sri Lanka. With the nation reveling in postwar relief, lawmakers loyal to President Mahinda Rajapaksa passed a constitutional amendment in 2010 extending his term limits and revoking guarantees of independent police, judiciary and electoral commissions. "We're seeing a pattern of really severe human rights violations right across the board," Amnesty International director Steve Crawshaw said. "The government can't stand any forms of protest or criticism, and yet it appears to actively turn away from violence and lawlessness against other ethnic minorities and religions." The justice minister and Colombo's mayor are both Muslim, but neither has made any public moves to address tensions. Islam is not the only religion Buddhists have targeted. In September, a radical Buddhist monk led a group in attacking a Protestant church during a prayer service. The country's Tamils, who are mostly Hindu and account for about 11 percent of the population, have remained largely quiet and cowed since the army routed the Tamil Tiger rebels. But many Tamils today are frustrated, too, as they await postwar reconciliation measures including the return of all seized property and land. Bodu Bala Sena monks make many accusations about other religions—Christian pastors making suicide bomb kits, Islamists taking children away to train in Pakistan—without offering supporting evidence. "We are worried about our children. We are struggling with the government to stop these cons," Wimalajothi, the group's leader, said as Gnanasara nodded by his side. "We need the government on our side. And the government is doing its best job possible to handle this." Associated Press writer Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report. The post Hardline Monks Rally Sri Lanka as Buddhist Front appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| State-Owned Telecom MPT Likely to Take Japanese Partner Posted: 12 Jan 2014 09:57 PM PST  A staff member talks on the phone at the reception desk at the Yatanarpon Teleport (YTP) office in Rangoon on Sept. 17, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Japan's KDDI Corp and Sumitomo Corp are likely to partner with Burma's state-backed telecommunications operator to expand services in one of the world's least-connected countries, a Sumitomo official said. Sumitomo's deputy general manager in Burma, Soe Kyu, told Reuters the companies were jointly invited into "exclusive" talks about becoming the international partner of Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT), sharing its existing license. No further details on the likely partnership were revealed. MPT is currently the country's sole telecoms operator as well as the industry's regulator. The government plans to create a new regulator by 2015 and will divest a part of MPT but will retain a majority stake. That company, with a new name, will be one of four licensed operators. State-backed Yatanarpon, primarily an Internet service provider until now, also holds a license as do Norway's Telenor and Qatar's Ooredoo, which won the hotly contested bidding for two new licenses in June but have not yet rolled out their networks. Soe Kyu noted that a partnership between Sumitomo and KDDI had been shortlisted for the two international licenses awarded in June. He added that barring any unforeseen circumstances, the consortium would instead agree a partnership with MPT within a couple of months. "This time we are confident," he said. Telecommunications were tightly controlled under decades of military dictatorship in Burma, with the government monopolizing the sector and selling SIM cards for thousands of dollars when they were introduced a decade-and-a-half ago. As a result, Burma had the lowest mobile penetration rate in the world, with Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson saying in 2012 that less than 4 percent of the country's 60 million people were connected. Since 2011, a quasi-civilian government has implemented sweeping political and economic reforms and has made telecommunications a key part of its plan to jump-start the economy. The government has released more SIM cards into the market in recent months, although not nearly enough to satisfy demand and they still sell for about US$160. Mobile phone penetration has jumped to 9 percent, according to government figures. Ooredoo's Burma CEO, Ross Cormac, told Reuters on Oct. 31 his company could roll out a network and provide mobile phone and data services in Burma's four biggest cities within six months of getting final approval. Ooredoo would reach 97 percent of the population within five years, he said. The operators will have their work cut out for them in a country with little infrastructure in rural areas, several ethnic armed groups controlling large swathes of territory, and where land ownership is a complicated and volatile issue. Law firm VDB Loi, which represents Ooredoo, has urged the government to simplify the process of acquiring land to build towers necessary to extend service across the country. Cormac told Reuters that Ooredoo plans to share the building and use of infrastructure with Telenor and MPT, or one of the two. He said subcontractors would negotiate with ethnic armed groups to extend the network into territory under their control. The post State-Owned Telecom MPT Likely to Take Japanese Partner appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| India Says No US Standoff as Diplomat Returns Home Posted: 12 Jan 2014 09:39 PM PST  Supporters of Rashtrawadi Shiv Sena, a Hindu hardline group, shout anti-US slogans during a protest near the US Embassy in New Delhi on Dec. 18, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Ahmad Masood) NEW DELHI — India's government said Saturday that there was no standoff with the United States over the arrest and strip search of an Indian diplomat in New York, as both countries appear eager to defuse the monthlong dispute. After meeting with the diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, following her return to New Delhi, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid downplayed tensions with the United States, saying the two countries would sort out their issues. Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York, was indicted by a US federal grand jury on accusations that she exploited her Indian-born housekeeper and nanny, allegedly having her work more than 100 hours a week for low pay and lying about it on a visa form. She denies the charge. She was allowed to return home in an apparent compromise with India, and arrived in New Delhi on Friday night. "There is no reason now to feel any immediate concern about any outcome that might be adverse or particularly disturbing in nature," Khurshid told reporters Saturday. "In due course, we will take up all issues one by one and sort them out." After the United States requested that Khobragade leave the country, India asked Washington on Friday to withdraw a diplomat from the US Embassy in New Delhi. The State Department said it would comply, although with "deep regret." "We expect and hope that this will now come to closure, and the Indians will now take significant steps with us to improve our relationship and return it to a more constructive place," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington. Much of India's outrage stems from the circumstances of Khobragade's arrest, which were seen as unnecessarily humiliating. Khobragade was picked up Dec. 13 and then strip-searched while in custody, which the U.S. Marshals say is common practice. India also unleashed a steady stream of retaliatory measures against US diplomats. Some of the measures, such as preventing the American Center in New Delhi from screening movies, were seen by some observers as petty. But others raised alarm, including removing concrete traffic barriers around the US Embassy and revoking diplomats' ID cards. Asked about restoring the privileges of US diplomats in New Delhi, Khurshid said they would be treated the same as diplomats from other countries. "I don't think we should be seen as showing more favor to one and less favor to others," he said Saturday in an interview with CNN-IBN, an Indian television news channel, refuting criticism that US diplomats enjoyed greater privileges in New Delhi than their counterparts from other countries. He also said a visit to India by US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz would be rescheduled soon. The visit was canceled by Washington as the controversy over Khobragade's treatment raged in New Delhi. Ties with the United States have chilled in recent years over several serious policy issues, including India's delays in enacting more business-friendly reforms and the US National Security Agency's alleged spying on New Delhi and other foreign governments. The US charges against Khobragade will remain pending until she can be brought to court, either through a waiver of immunity or her return to the US without immunity status, according to the office of US Attorney Preet Bharara. US prosecutors say Khobragade claimed to pay Richard $4,500 per month in order to obtain a visa for her. But they say Khobragade actually paid Richard $573 per month and often forced her to work more than 100 hours a week without a single full day off. The long hours meant Richard was earning $1.42 or less per hour, the indictment says. After about six months of working for Khobragade, Richard fled and sought help from a nonprofit group that works with human trafficking victims because Khobragade refused to hand over her passport and allow her to return home, according to the indictment. It also alleges that after the housekeeper fled, Khobragade and a relative tried to intimidate Richard's family in India by demanding they reveal Richard's whereabouts. Khobragade also launched a legal complaint against Richard in India. The issue of immunity has been a key aspect of the case. Federal officials initially argued that Khobragade's immunity was limited to acts performed in the exercise of consular functions. But on Thursday, the US accepted India's request to accredit her to the United Nations, which confers broader immunity. It would have been almost unprecedented for the US to deny such a request unless she posed a national security risk. The United States then asked India to waive the newly granted immunity so it could prosecute Khobragade, but the Indians refused. As a result, the US asked her to leave the country. Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister in New York and Matthew Pennington and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. The post India Says No US Standoff as Diplomat Returns Home appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Thai Protesters Move to Shut Down Bangkok to Force Out PM Posted: 12 Jan 2014 09:24 PM PST  An anti-government protester joins others blocking the road at one of major intersections in central Bangkok Jan. 13, 2014. Thailand braced for a "shutdown" of its capital on Monday by protesters who want to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and install an unelected government, as fears grew that the southeast Asian country could be heading for civil war. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Thailand braced for a "shutdown" of its capital on Monday by protesters who want to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and install an unelected government, as fears grew that the southeast Asian country could be heading for civil war. Protesters led by former opposition politician Suthep Thaugsuban started blocking major intersections late on Sunday, aiming to create traffic chaos in a city of an estimated 12 million people where roads are clogged at the best of times. The upheaval is the latest chapter in an eight-year conflict pitting Bangkok's middle class and royalist establishment against the mostly poorer, rural supporters of Yingluck and her self-exiled brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin was ousted by the military in 2006 and sentenced to jail in absentia for abuse of power in 2008, but he still looms large over Thai politics and is the dominant force behind his sister's administration from his home in Dubai. Eight people, including two police officers, have been killed and scores wounded in violence between protesters, police and government supporters in recent weeks, although there has been no sustained fighting between rival groups. Red-shirted supporters of Thaksin started rallies in several regions on Sunday but steered clear of Bangkok. One person was killed in a shooting overnight near a planned protest site in northern Bangkok. "An unidentified gunman shot a man near a roadblock set up by anti-government protesters. It is unclear at this point if the man was a protester or not," police spokesman Piya Utayo said. Yingluck has called a snap election for Feb. 2, which protest leader Suthep has rejected. "The people cannot negotiate … there is no win-win situation, there is only win," he said in a speech to demonstrators at Bangkok's Democracy Monument on Sunday. Earlier, however, he said he would stand down his movement if, as some fear, violence escalates into a civil war. "If it becomes a civil war, I will give up. People's life is precious for me," he said, according to the Sunday Nation newspaper. Suthep's stated goal is to eradicate the influence of the Shinawatra family on Thai politics. "Suthep is only a proxy for arch-royalist interests. His role has always been to bring out crowds to create popular legitimacy which might facilitate any judicial or military intervention," said Paul Chambers, director of research at the Institute of South East Asian Affairs in Chiang Mai. Last week, Thailand's anti-corruption body pressed charges against 308 politicians, mostly from Yingluck's Puea Thai Party, for trying to change the Constitution by making the Senate a fully elected body. The charges could lead to them being kicked out of Parliament if they retake their seats in February. Botched Amnesty Although rumors of a coup are rife, the military, which has staged or attempted 18 coups in 81 years of on-off democracy, has tried to stay neutral this time and army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has publicly refused to take sides. But some fear extremists or agents provocateurs could instigate violence to provoke military intervention, leading to a repeat of 2010 when more than 90 people, many of them Thaksin supporters, were killed in an army operation to put down a rally that had closed parts of central Bangkok for weeks. "The government will let Suthep play the hero tomorrow … It will be his show," Labour Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said at a government briefing on Sunday. "There won't be a repeat of 2010 because the government will not use that strategy. There are no plans to use force." The latest protests took off in November, when the government tried to force through a political amnesty that would have let Thaksin return without serving jail time for corruption. The bill was ultimately withdrawn but the protests gathered pace. Yingluck's party would probably win the February poll thanks to support from voters in the north and northeast. But a smooth election looks increasingly unlikely, with the protesters determined to install an appointed "people's council" to change the electoral system and push through other reforms to weaken Thaksin's sway. The unrest has hurt tourism and further delayed huge infrastructure projects that had been expected to support the economy this year at a time when exports remain weak. Consumer confidence is at a two-year low. City officials have told 140 schools to close on Monday and universities near the protest sites have suspended classes. Protest leaders want to stop ministries functioning but say they will not shut down public transport or the city's airports. Anti-Thaksin protesters shut the airports for several days in late 2008, causing chaos for tourists and exporters. The government will deploy 10,000 police to maintain law and order, along with 8,000 soldiers at government offices. "We don't want confrontation with the protesters … In some places we will let them into government buildings," Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul told the briefing. The government did the same thing in early December, ordering police to step aside and let demonstrators into the grounds of the prime minister's office, defusing a violent confrontation without halting the protest movement. The post Thai Protesters Move to Shut Down Bangkok to Force Out PM appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Toward a Federal Tatmadaw Posted: 10 Jan 2014 09:27 PM PST  Maj-Gen Gun Maw is deputy chief of the Kachin Independence Army. (Photo: Steve Tickner/ The Irrawaddy) Over the past two and a half years, Myanmar has made unprecedented progress toward ending its long history of civil conflict. During the same period, however, fighting has resumed between the government army, or Tatmadaw, and the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), demonstrating that a permanent peace is far from assured. Recently, The Irrawaddy's Lin Thant had a chance to speak to Maj-Gen Gun Maw, the deputy chief of the Kachin Independence Army and a key negotiator in talks with the government and Tatmadaw, about what the country's ethnic armed groups hope to achieve in the ongoing peace process—including their vision of a more inclusive federal armed forces, which many see as central to ending endemic armed conflict in Myanmar. Question: The KIO and other ethnic groups say they want to transform the Tatmadaw into a federal army. How do you propose to do that? Answer: We haven't reached the "how" stage yet. What we want is a Tatmadaw that includes all nationalities, because we all live in this country together. That's why we are calling for a Federal Union Army. But how to transform the current Tatmadaw is something that we have to discuss with everyone concerned. The role of the Tatmadaw is very important and we can't eradicate its history, which began with Myanmar's independence struggle. The structure of the future federal Tatmadaw will be different from that of the existing one, but that doesn't mean that we are going to destroy it and replace it with something new. The main thing is how we will transform and participate in it. Q: The government has called on the KIO to submit a list of all its members, as well as figures detailing how many weapons it has and how much ammunition. It also wants you to stop building new camps and recruiting new soldiers. What is your response to this? A: It depends on the code of conduct, which both the government and the ethnic armed groups have to adhere to. For example, if the government tells the ethnic armed groups not to recruit new soldiers, it also has to create conditions under which they will not need to do so. It will be impossible for us stop recruiting if fighting continues and we are still under repression. We have to prepare for coming battles. But if the government created conditions conducive to improving the situation, we are ready to do our part. Q: China has been very involved in the peace process, especially in matters related to ethnic armed groups based along the Myanmar-China border. What role does China play between the KIO and the Myanmar government? A: Kachin State and the Kachin people have always had strong ties with China, because there are Kachin people on both sides of the border, and this is something that can't be changed. There are also things that bring Myanmar and China together, including border trade, so they can't be separated either, since they are neighbors. However, Beijing's relationship with the KIO is very different from its ties to the Myanmar government. It doesn't communicate with or provide assistance to the KIO directly. Nor has it pressured the KIO, so far. Q: But didn't China push the KIO to engage in ceasefire talks with the Myanmar government? A: A ceasefire is important for China's interests because clashes between the KIO and government troops mainly take place in border areas adjacent to China. So whenever fighting breaks out on our side of the border, it causes problems on their side. Consequently, China asked the KIO not to engage in battles in these areas. But we have also heard that they made the same request to the government. So I don't think we can consider such acts as pressure. Q: What do you think of the peace process in Myanmar today? A: We see it in a positive light. Before, it was difficult for both parties to meet in person, but now we can meet often and build up greater understanding. The government and ethnic armed groups have been able to share their positions on each other, which is a good sign. Q: Many Kachin people have been critical of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. What is your opinion, or the KIO's opinion, of her? A: Kachin people started criticizing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after armed clashes erupted again in our land in June 2011. Before that, all Kachin people spoke of her in very positive terms. They also put a great deal of hope in her, so when, because of the political situation she was in, she didn't show as much sympathy for them as they had expected, they were very disappointed. The leaders of the KIO have always regarded Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as a capable and competent leader. When we get to the point that we start talking about issues related to the whole nation, she needs to be included. Other prominent individuals have to be there as well. Some people within the country and in the international community seem to think that she will be able to resolve all ethnic issues, but I would say that the ethnic nationalities won't entrust their fate to her. Instead, they will join hands with her in finding solutions. Q: What do you think about U Tay Za's economic role in Kachin State, where he is said to have acquired a large amount of land for businesses ranging from mining to resorts? A: I recently met him in Yangon, where I asked him to provide information about his business activities in Kachin State. He said he would. When we know more about how these activities will affect our people, we can discuss this with him. We welcome businesspeople who can contribute to the well-being of our people. But we have to speak out against anything that hurts their interests. As far as we know, Tay Za is currently engaged in mining, including gold excavation and small-scale copper mining, and logging in our land. We've heard that he has acquired a lot of land in the Putao area. When we asked him about this, he said he will focus on environmental conservation there. So we need to know if he will keep his word on this. Q: What is the KIO's position on the Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam project, which the government suspended in September 2011? A: We wrote an official letter to both Snr-Gen Than Shwe and the Chinese government rejecting the construction of the Myitsone Dam after the project was first reported. The Myitsone area is historically important for local people, and is also the lifeline of the whole country. That's why we opposed it. We still hold that position. Q: Some have accused President U Thein Sein and the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) of engaging not in a peace process but in a "peace business" that seeks to exploit ethnic groups. What are your thoughts on this? A: There may be problems with the way the process is being implemented, but we don't interpret these problems in the way that you described. There are several peace-making committees involved in this process, but to be frank, from the KIO's point of view, the MPC is the body that is really working. Q: You've noted that the Tatmadaw has played a central role in Myanmar since the days of the country's independence struggle. At the same time, it has been accused of committing countless human rights violations over the years. How can these two—the Tatmadaw as a central institution, and the Tatmadaw as a serial violator of human rights—be reconciled? A: From the time of the independence struggle until state power was seized by Gen Ne Win's Revolutionary Council, there were Kachin, Kayin, Kayah, Chin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan people in the Tatmadaw. So we can say that historically, the Tatmadaw was a product of the efforts of all ethnic nationalities. However, the role of non-Burman ethnic groups gradually declined after the Revolutionary Council took over. After this, members of ethnic minorities couldn't even reach the level of mid-ranking officers. In the future, the Tatmadaw shouldn't be like this. If it is reformed, its positive role can be restored. This story was first published in the January 2014 print edition of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Toward a Federal Tatmadaw appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Irrawaddy Delta Villagers Lose Land, Homes to Mining Waste Posted: 10 Jan 2014 08:18 PM PST  Three villages in the Irrawaddy Delta's Nga Pu Taw Township have lost and homes to waste water produced by local pebble mining. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) NGA PU TAW TOWNSHIP — Farmer Kan Aye appears despondent as he talks about the layer of red mud that has built up under his wooden stilt house as a result of the waste produced by nearby pebble mining firm. There was a time when he could keep cattle underneath his home in The Chaung village in the Irrawaddy Delta's Nga Pu Taw Township, but these days he can't even keep piglets there as the 2-meter-high space has almost completely been filled with mud. "When the muddy water from the pebble mining fields flows into the village it deposit sludge under the houses. The mud layer has become higher and higher," Kan Aye said. "Now it's slowly burying our homes." The villages of Chaung, Hmawbi and Gyan Kap all suffer from the heavy environmental impacts of the nearby operation of firms that are mining for pebbles, a valuable construction material. Dozens of families in the villages have seen their farmland disappear under the mud-filed waste water and now, even their homes are no longer safe. The firms use high-pressure jets of water to blast away the sand in order to expose the pebbles below, creating a constant flow of sludge that floods the villages and deposits mud along its way. "They buy the land first and mine for pebbles, causing sludge to flow into our areas. We have to raise our floors every year and now we are left with a very low ceiling," said a 50-year-old resident of Hmawbi village, while looking gloomily at her small wooden-thatched roof house. About 30 houses in The Chaung village and 15 houses in Hmawbi village are facing a similar fate. Pointing at her house, which is close to tumbling down amidst the encroaching layer of mud, Hmawbi resident Lae Lae Ye said, "Look at my house, only one room is left. I have nowhere else to go. Can't anybody help us?" Most of the residents can no longer bear the burden of constantly fixing their homes and have moved out into the open fields away from their villages. Wet Ma, a victim of such misery, said, "About 10 households, including ours, were forced to move out although we want to remain in the village." The constant sludge flow has permanently damaged surrounding paddy fields, disrupted the local ecosystem, caused landslides and filled up small waterways, which function as transport links through the Delta area. "Hmawbi River used to be big enough for motorized boats to travel on, but now it is no longer," said villager Htay Lwin. A 60-year-old resident woman told The Irrawaddy that her village used to have large trees providing ample shade before mining waste water began to flood the area. "The main street of our village used to have lines of mango trees and cashew nut trees. Now, they're all gone and we can't grow anything there anymore," she said. At the site of mining area, the environmental damage is even more extensive, as nothing will grow on the land that has been blasted clear of sand and pebbles. A 200-acre area near the villages has been turned into a permanent wasteland. "It is like a desert and during the rainy season there are mudslides," said Pyu Lay from Gyan Kap village. "Nothing like this ever happened before during the last 30 years when we mined pebbles manually," he said. "But when they began mining with machines and deposited the muddy water on a massive scale, we faced the overflow of sludge in the rainy season." An official with the Nga Pu Taw Township department of general administration said 13 mining firms received 1-year licenses to mine an area of around 100 acres in Karinwarchaung Village Tract, adding that the Forestry Department controls the area and granted permission for the mining operations. "The mining business was under the control of the army before and we changed the system to grant the mining license to the civilian entities," said the official, who declined to be named. The mining operations, he said, did not only have negative impacts, as dozens of laborers worked there, earning between US $1 to $5 per day. "The industry also brings job opportunities for the local population, so if we stop it I am afraid the livelihoods of the locals might be affected," he said. Myint Aung, of the Irrawaddy Division-based environmental NGO Beautiful Land, said the mining was permanently destroying farmlands and the ecosystem in the area, while leaving no long-term benefits. "For the short term, the locals can earn a living by working at the mines, but when the resources run out the whole area will be left in a desert-like condition where nothing can be grown," he said. "Then, the people will suffer the consequence of such a reckless action." He said the mining operations should be stopped, while authorities and the firms should address the compensation demands of local villagers "We have to raise our floors and roofs every year, we can't afford to build a whole new house as we are living hand-to-mouth and we still have to send our children to schools," said Thein Shwe from Hmawbi village. "So in this situation, we want the pebble mining companies to support us." Another farmer named Puy Lay said, "These pebble mining industries caused environmental degradation, they have to be banned. Only then, will there still be hope for the livelihoods of our future generations." The post Irrawaddy Delta Villagers Lose Land, Homes to Mining Waste appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
