| Govt Investigation Dismisses Allegations of Rohingya Killings Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:19 AM PDT  A Rohingya man searches the charred remains of burned down homes in Duu Chee Yar Tan village in mid-February. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Burmese government on Tuesday released its final report on the alleged killings of dozens of Rohingya Muslims in Duu Chee Yar Tan village in northern Arakan State in January and it again strongly denied that any such violence took place. Much of the English-language 20 page summary of the report also focused on expressing the government's displeasure with the UN and Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) Holland, which have made statements indicating that violence did occur in the Rohingya village. Kyaw Yin Hlaing, secretary of the commission and an adviser to President Thein Sein, and Tha Hla Shwe of the Myanmar Red Cross Society and chairperson of the commission, told reporters during a press conference in Rangoon that they had found no evidence of killings of Muslim civilians. "There were allegations of deaths, but we don't see evidence of deaths," said Tha Hla Shwe. "Where are the bodies, where were the dead bodies buried, what happened to the bodies? Nobody could tell us." Kyaw Yin Hlaing said a conflict may have broken out between local residents and security forces following the disappearance of police sergeant Aung Kyaw Thein, who is now presumed to be dead, and added that the commission saw damaged homes during its visit. However, he said they did not find evidence that security forces had caused all the damage. In late January, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said she received "credible information" indicating that police and an Arakanese Buddhist mob killed about 40 civilians during a raid on Du Chee Yar Tan, a Rohingya village in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, during a Jan. 13 operation to find a police sergeant who had gone missing in the village. UN human rights rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana said on Feb. 20 that Arakan authorities had informed him that "100 policemen with live ammunition" had carried out the operation. He said he received "allegations of the brutal killing of men, women and children, sexual violence against women, and the looting and burning of properties" during the operation. However, the government has vehemently denied such claims and several investigations have backed up the government's position. The final report by the Investigation Commission for the Duu Chee Yar Tan Incident released Tuesday was no different. The investigation commission was established on Feb. 6 and conducted its field assessment from Feb. 15-21, with a mandate that focused on finding the "root cause" of the death of the policeman, according to state-run media. It was also tasked with investigating the cause of a fire in west Duu Chee Yar Tan following the alleged killings, and to suggest measures for preventing further sectarian conflict. The report recommended that the government begins citizenship assessment of residents in northern Arakan State in accordance with the 1982 Citizenship Law. It urged the government to build up trust between Muslim and Buddhist communities, while also suggesting that authorities "enhance security measures and border control" in the region. Most Rohingya are denied citizenship by the 1982 law and the government refers to them as "Bengalis" to suggest that they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh, although many have lived in the country for generations. International human rights groups say the Muslim minority in northern Arakan State suffers from a wide range of rights violations at the hands of the Burmese government and its security forces. The report also recommends that the government keeps a tight control on the Arakan State operations of international NGOs such as MSF and UN organizations, and it uses strong-worded language to condemn the organizations over their statements regarding the Duu Chee Yar Tan incident. "It is unfortunate that … [the incident] has become an issue that the international community views as a matter for discussion with the Government of Myanmar. The UN contributed in no small way to the conflation of this issue, by issuing reports without verifying the facts," the report said. "Instead of working together with the Myanmar Government to resolve misunderstandings and problems, the UN has focused on trying to prove the veracity of its report, thereby wasting its time," the commission wrote. "The actions of INGOs and the UN to date have been to enhance their reputation among their donors at the expense of inflating tensions in the host country," the commission claimed. It went on to recommend that "rules and operational procedures be set for such entities and that […] firm and effective action should be taken against those organizations that break the rules." Late last month, the government decided to suspend the operations of MSF Holland in Arakan State, where the medical charity provided vital health care services to tens of thousands of Rohingyas who are barred from accessing government clinics. The report also took aim at media organizations that published the statements made by the UN, MSF and human rights organizations researching the situation of the Rohingyas. Without going into details the commission recommended that "strong measures be taken to counter the false allegations made by media. This includes timely sharing of information with the public and establishing channels and mechanisms to counter the false allegations." Additional reporting by Paul Vrieze. The post Govt Investigation Dismisses Allegations of Rohingya Killings appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| New Bids Force Further Delay for Burma Airport Work: Official Posted: 11 Mar 2014 06:33 AM PDT  An Air KBZ plane refuels at Yangon International Airport. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Work on the US$1.1 billion Hanthawaddy International Airport in Burma faces additional delays because the four short-listed competitors for the job will have to submit new bids because of "a major change in project policy," a senior Transport Ministry official told Reuters. "Our government has agreed to seek ODA [official development assistance] for implementing the project," the senior official told Reuters, asking not to be identified since he was talking to the media without authorization. "So, to make the competition fair … we decided to invite the four short-listed bidders to send in their tenders again. The deadline is on April 22," he added. "Originally, the project was targeted to finish by 2018, but it would now take some more time." In August a consortium led by South Korea's Incheon International Airport Corp was named as the preferred bidder to build Hanthawaddy International Airport, but those discussions were said to have broken down. Other bidders include a consortium made of up Singapore's Changi Airport Planners, Yongnam Holdings and Japan's JGC Corp and a consortium made up of Vinci Airport of France and Taisei Corp of Japan. The official said both Inchon and Yongnam had come up with suggestions on partially financing the project with development assistance and the government took that into consideration. Located near Bago Town, the Hanthawaddy International Airport is about 60 miles (96 km) away from the International Airport in the commercial capital of Rangoon. Only three of about three dozen airports operating in Burma are considered international airports. Yangon International Airport is being upgraded and expanded and Mandalay International Airport is awaiting upgrades. Spurred by political and economic reforms in the past few years, tourist arrivals to the country have almost exceeded the capacity of existing facilities in Rangoon, Mandalay and the capital of Naypyidaw. The post New Bids Force Further Delay for Burma Airport Work: Official appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Singapore-Listed Yoma Expands Into Coffee in Burma Posted: 11 Mar 2014 06:20 AM PDT  A man holds up coffee beans above a basket for roasting at a coffee shop in Hanoi. (Photo: Reuters) SINGAPORE — Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd plans to set up what it says could become the biggest coffee plantation in Burma, hoping the frontier economy has the potential to develop a strong coffee industry. The Burma-focused property conglomerate, led by chairman Serge Pun, said on Tuesday it has signed a deal to set up a joint venture to establish a coffee business with ED&F Man, a global agricultural trader. Yoma will hold an 85 percent stake in the venture, which is expected to require up to US$20 million of investment over four years. Its target will be to plant 3,700 acres of coffee. "We think this will probably become the biggest coffee plantation in the country, and could start a new trend of coffee from Myanmar," Andrew Rickards, Yoma's chief executive officer said at a briefing in Singapore with analysts and reporters. "The main thrust of this is likely to be exports." Burma is geographically well situated to become a coffee producer, though its coffee industry is in its early days and fragmented, with a number of small plantations. In 2012, it produced about 8,000 tons of coffee beans on 12,000 hectares (29,652 acres) of land, according to estimates of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In 2011, the country exported under 100 tons of coffee. By comparison, Vietnam, the world's top producer of the strong-flavored robusta beans, churned out nearly 1.3 million tons of coffee in 2012, exporting most of that. Rickards declined to give details on the plantation's production target, but said a yield of one ton per acre per year would be a reference for early years of the plantation. The plan is part of Yoma's efforts to become a more diversified company. It also announced it had signed an agreement with the Burma government to set up a dairy plant to supply milk to schoolchildren, as well as a cold storage and logistics business with Japan's Kokubu & Co Ltd. Yoma garnered over 90 percent of its income from property business in Burma in 2013, and would like to see the contribution from non-property businesses to rise to at least 50 percent, company chairman Pun said. In addition to property, it also owns a car service business, Burma's first department store and a hot air balloon tour operator. Yoma shares rose more than 1 percent to a five-week high of S$0.72 on Tuesday. The post Singapore-Listed Yoma Expands Into Coffee in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Parliament Increases Power to Amend Tax Laws Posted: 11 Mar 2014 06:04 AM PDT  A session in Burma's Union Parliament in Naypyidaw in 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Burma's Parliament on Monday passed the Union Taxation Law, which allows lawmakers to amend the government's annual tax plans. A proposal by an opposition lawmaker to sharply increase duties on alcohol, tobacco and cigarettes was dropped from the new law. Lower House MP Thein Nyunt said the Ministry of Finance drafted the 2014 Union Taxation Law two weeks ago and on Monday it was adopted by Parliament after numerous amendments were made to the original draft. Thein Nyunt, of the opposition New National Democratic Party, said the new law would allow Parliament to make changes to government tax plans. He added that the new law for the first time allows MPs to make changes to annual union-level tax policies, while it also compels the government to inform lawmakers about the details of its annual tax laws. A proposal to include a raise of commercial tax rates for cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol to 200 percent was dropped from the new law. The proposal had come from Khin San Hlaing, a Lower House lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). Commercial tax rates will remain at 100 percent for cigarettes and 50 percent for both tobacco and alcohol. Ba Shein, an Arakan National Party Lower House lawmaker and a member of the Bill Committee, said he had opposed the tax hike as comprehensive reforms of tax system were more important than the rates. "What matters is that the [tax collection] civil servants actually need to do their jobs," he said. "We want the taxation to be done correctly; this is the task of the government staff." International economists and international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, have repeatedly pointed out that Burma's current tax system is in need of sweeping reforms. Burma's rich natural resources, such as jade, gems and timber, have mostly flowed out of the country unregulated and lightly taxed during past decades of military rule, generating little in the way of government revenues. The post Parliament Increases Power to Amend Tax Laws appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| UV Radiation Levels Rise in Burma Posted: 11 Mar 2014 05:47 AM PDT  Pedestrians cross a street in downtown Rangoon. Meteorologists are recommending that people shade themselves from the sun during the summer months, as the UV index rises. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The ultraviolet index is approaching dangerously high levels as Burma begins the summer season, according to meteorologist Tun Lwin. The UV index is an international standard measurement of the strength of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun at a particular place and time. Tun Lwin, a former director-general of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, said the index had reached 12 in some locations in Burma in recent days. Public health organizations recommend that people protect themselves—including by applying sunscreen to the skin—when the UV index is 3 or higher. "It's a dangerous level. It's better not to go outside during the day, and be careful by wearing clothes that fully cover the body," said the meteorologist, who is currently chief executive of the Myanmar Climate Change Watch. He added that it was likely the index would reach 14 in the coming months, before the country transitions to rainy season in June. "Last year it surpassed 14, at the highest level that we have ever seen since we started measuring the UV index three years ago," he said. In small amounts, UV radiation can be beneficial for people. It is essential for the production of Vitamin D, and under medical supervision can be used to treat a number of diseases, including rickets, psoriasis, eczema and jaundice, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). At high levels, however, UV radiation can damage the skin and eyes over time. Worldwide, some 12 to 15 million people become blind annually from cataracts, of which up to 20 percent may be caused or enhanced by sun exposure, according to the WHO. "The summertime is March to May, so now is only the beginning. There is still more time left, and I expect it to become even hotter," Tun Lwin said of conditions in Burma, adding that temperatures were rising due to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia. The UV index is split into five levels, beginning with 0, when there is no sunlight, according to Than Htut, an environmental health specialist. The "green level," from 1 to 3, indicates the minimum amount of UV radiation that can affect a person. Next comes the "yellow level" (4 to 6), the "orange level" (7 to 9) and the "red level" (9 to 11), which is dangerous for health. When the index hits 11 or higher, conditions are labeled as extreme. Indices greater than 11 are common in summer months in areas of low latitudes, or in areas with above average ozone layer depletion. Than Htut said UV radiation had been rising in Tenasserim Division since February, and recently began rising in other parts of southern Burma as well as central Burma. "Most people think the UV index relates to temperature, but it's not the same. You cannot see ultraviolet rays with your eyes, but extreme UV can affect people directly," he added. According to the Myanmar Climate Change Watch, in past years the heat index has reached dangerous levels in Burma. The heat index is a measure of air temperatures and relative humidity that shows the human-perceived equivalent temperature. It reached 56 degrees Celsius in April 2012, and 62 degrees Celsius in May that year, with deaths reported as a result of the weather. "The recent weather is becoming like that period now," Tun Lwin said. "Do not go outside without any cover, because this can directly affect your body." The post UV Radiation Levels Rise in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| ‘Thein Sein Violated the Official Contract’ Posted: 11 Mar 2014 05:34 AM PDT  The suspended Myitsone hydropower project in northern Burma's Kachin State. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's President Thein Sein in 2011 suspended the Myitsone hydropower dam in northern Kachin State amid widespread opposition to the project among Burmese people concerned its social and environmental impacts. The project, which would send most its power to China, remains highly controversial, but Chinese investors want it to resume as soon as possible. The Ministry of Electric Power granted permission to local firm Asia World and China's state-owned China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) to construct the dam. Beijing has said it will respect the will of Burmese public and the decision of their government, but hopes the Myitsone dam will resume after Burma's 2015 election. In a recent interview with The Irrawaddy's senior reporter May Sit Paing, Jiang Lizhe, CPI's director of public affairs, talked about why China wants to resume the dam project and responded to criticisms about his company's involvement in this project. Question: Do you think the Myitsone dam project can resume under the administration of a new government in Burma? Answer: It will be up to the government's decision. We have always respected the choice of the current one, which decided to suspend the project on Sept. 30, 2011. We implemented the dam construction exactly following the government's rules and regulations, and in accordance with procedures and laws. We also signed an agreement contract. Parties that have signed such a contract, which follows international standards and laws, have a responsibility to fulfill it. Therefore, we are hoping that issues related to the Myitsone dam project will be settled by the appropriate means. Q: Why do you think local people living around the Myitsone area and many political and social activists have called for an end to this project? A: There was no activity against the project until just before its suspension. We had a very good relationship with local people. We distributed water and electricity to them free of charge to make their lives easier. We also donated to them 1,188 tons of rice. Besides, to help improve the education and health situation in the area, we gave out more than 50 scholarships and donations to hospitals. Many locals have told us that the suspension of the project has caused real hardships for them and that they want it to be continued. Q: How do you respond to the accusation that the dam project would destroy the Irrawaddy River? A: We systematically studied the impact of Myitsone dam hydropower project on areas located in the lower part of the Irrawaddy River. Our study included changes of current, use of water resources, control of flumes, settlement of sediment, flooding, the level of sea water coming into the river, and social and economic development. After the completion of the project there will be only a small change in the flow of current in rainy season and in summer, and the amount of water flowing annually will not decrease. Also, sea water will not come into areas located in the lower part of the river because of the project construction on the upper part. Instead, those areas will receive positive impacts such as better flood control and improvement of transportation using waterways. Q: Some activists have criticized CPI's Environmental Impact Assessment for the Myitsone dam project, saying that it contains insufficient environmental data and other weaknesses. Do you have any comment on that? A: In 2008-2009, some 100 Chinese and Burmese environmental experts conducted a field survey and thorough studies. The outcomes of their studies and surveys are already on our website. We should respect their brilliant participation and efforts on environmental protection and conservation. We welcome any environmental expert who is willing to cooperate with us effectively and we pay serious attention to scientific studies. However, when we looked at the criticism against us, we found that the people who criticized us did not know about the real situation. Q: Critics have said that Chinese investors have only recently engaged in philanthropic and social activities, and been in touch with political parties and organizations in order to improve their relations with Burmese people. Is this correct? A: Let's say if you have a good friend who is very kind and contributes to others' benefit very much but never tells anyone about him- or herself. One day, a bad person puts blame on your friend in the international arena and makes them believe that he/she is not a good person. Do you think such action is fair for your friend? Over the previous decades, Chinese people provided the Burmese with a lot of help. We also supported them when their country was under economic sanctions. We, however, never said a word about what we did. That's why most of those who have criticized us do not know what has really happened and still believe we are bad. We should have informed the world long ago what we had done for Burma's social and economic development. Q: Why does CPI want to continue the hydropower project in spite of the challenges and public opposition? A: Local people are, in fact, not against this project. They just misunderstand it because they don't know the reality, and because of rumors and wrong information. If they [both the Burmese government and the general public] know about the true color of the project, we believe they will make the right choice. The Myitsone hydropower project is a Burmese project. It is important for Burma's development and will also build up people's living conditions. President Thein Sein violated the official contract and suspended the project. We hope his government will be able to give us answers with regard to the suspension. The Myitsone project came into existence because the Burmese government invited CPI to help solve project-related difficulties and requirements such as funding, technology, the consumer market [for its power], etc. Only 25 percent of people in Burma now have access to electricity. Such a huge hydropower project is needed to solve the electricity shortage in the country. This project will be beneficial to the Burmese government, local businesses and people. Thus, every concerned individual and party should work together to make it successful. Q: I understand that the CPI has greatly invested in this project. How much has it invested so far? A: We have estimated that a total of about US$25 billion will be invested for [multiple] hydropower projects in the upper part of the Irrawaddy River. We had already invested $1.2 billion before the Myitsone project was suspended. Q: How much money have you given to the Burmese Government? A: According to our agreement, the investor has to provide technology and funding, and help look for an electricity consumer market for Burma. On the Burmese government side, it has to invest natural resources as its share in the project. For that, it will gain 10 percent of the electricity free of charge as well as a 15 percent share and a lot of revenues. The benefit Burma gets from the project construction and operation will be much more than CPI does. Q: Do you think the suspension of the Myitsone project had an impact on foreign investment in Burma? A: Yes. It had an impact on credibility. A lot of foreign investors, who were watching this project for a long time, were surprised when it was suspended. Then, they had to recalculate the amount of risk they would have to consider if they planned to invest in Burma. It was unexpected, but everybody knows that the amount of investment in Burma dropped significantly after it had suspended the Myitsone project. The post 'Thein Sein Violated the Official Contract' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Foreign Press Visa Curbs Not Tied to Rohingya Reporting: Ye Htut Posted: 11 Mar 2014 05:13 AM PDT  A worker arranges pages of the International Herald Tribune, which was printed for the first time in Burma, in Rangoon on Sept. 23, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) RANGOON — Burma is retightening its stranglehold on journalists to rein in negative coverage, but new restrictions on foreign journalists traveling to the country for reporting have "nothing to do" with international news stories about violence against Muslims and stateless Rohingya Muslims in western Arakan State, the presidential spokesman said on Monday. Unlike during the decades of military rule when most foreign journalists were forbidden entry, the government over the past few years has granted journalists carrying foreign passports visas that would allow them to enter the country several times over the span of three to six months to report. However, more recently it has issued journalists visas allowing only a single entry and a one-month stay, while denying entry altogether to a Time magazine reporter who wrote a cover story about a radical Buddhist monk linked to violence against Muslims. Ye Htut, who regularly uses his Facebook page to announce government decisions, on Sunday wrote on Facebook that Time reporter Hannah Beech was denied a visa to attend a conference this week organized by the Hawaii-based East-West Center as her presence could lead to "unwanted consequences". He did not elaborate. While speaking on Monday at the opening of the East-West Center's International Media Conference in Rangoon, Ye Htut said the change in visa rules came about after authorities learned that some 100 journalists had been working inside Burma for a year without informing the Ministry of Information, joining the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Myanmar or being employed by a news bureau. "Our visa revisions have nothing to do with international news agencies reporting on the Du Chi Yar Tan violence," Ye Htut said, referring to the alleged killing of at least 40 stateless Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State, which was first reported by foreign media despite official denials. "We know we cannot control media in the digital age." Since June 2012, the religious conflict across Burma has killed at least 240 people and displaced more than 140,000—most of them Rohingya in Arakan. The government expelled Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from Arakan over accusations it is biased toward the Rohingya, and gave the green light to draft controversial laws that critics say are discriminatory. After rights group Fortify Rights released a report last month that used leaked government documents to show systematic discrimination against the Rohingya, Ye Htut retorted that he refused to "comment on baseless accusations from a Bengali lobby group." Burma has come a long way since the days of the military dictatorship when every song, book, cartoon, news story and piece of art required approval by censors working for a board known as the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division. This direct media censorship was abolished in August 2012, but challenges such as pervasive self-censorship remain. Ye Htut insisted that Burma's much-lauded reforms, including media reforms that are being increasingly questioned, are "irreversible," and that foreign reporters hired to work in Burma for news agencies with bureaus in the country could still receive six-month visas. "So it doesn't mean a rollback of the reform process but something like an adjustment," he told the audience of journalists. "There is no turning back. The only way is moving forward. … Yes, during the last year we made mistakes. We're not perfect," he said. "But we have a clear vision of the new Myanmar. We have reform strategy and most importantly we have the political will to implement it." Still, concerned national and international media point to the arrest of journalists for disclosing "state secrets," the selective barring of media from press events, alleged interference with reporting and the visa restrictions. "They are currently writing many laws including publication laws and broadcast laws," Thiha Saw, a veteran journalist who edits the English-language Myanma Freedom Daily, told Thomson Reuters Foundation. "More laws mean more control." The post Foreign Press Visa Curbs Not Tied to Rohingya Reporting: Ye Htut appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| ‘Killing Fields’ Producer Turned Trade Rep Backs Hun Sen Posted: 11 Mar 2014 01:46 AM PDT  Skulls of Khmer Rouge victims rest in a Buddhist stupa at Choeung Ek, a killing fields memorial site near the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. (Photo: Wikicommons) David Puttnam, the once-brilliant film-maker who is best known for producing the amazing movie of Khmer Rouge terror, "The Killing Fields" has stunned journalists, diplomats and others, by praising the current Cambodian government and its leader Hun Sen, for "its commitment to ending corruption." The current member of Britain's House of Lords, speaking in one of the world's most egregious kleptocratic states, then lectured the media "as just another arm of the opposition." He called on journalists to "develop a more constructive role as the government works to develop Cambodia." "I don't think I've ever been anywhere where I have received such an absolute answer from government on the issues of stopping and stamping out corruption," Puttnam said of this state run by former Khmer Rouge luminaries that is infamous for indulging corruption, violent suppression of democracy and land seizures that benefit the Phnom Penh elite allied with the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP). "I find the commitment and determination here to confine it [corruption] and root it out is very real," he said. "Now, in five years' time I might be found to be a complete fool, but I don't think I will be; I really don't think I will be." Puttnam, who was recently appointed as the British Prime Minister's trade envoy for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, was speaking at the British Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia on Thursday after attending a showing of "The Killing Fields" in front of Cambodian students, diplomats and a few reporters. He told the journalists that "the challenge for the media is that you have to decide what your role is: is it to inflame or inform?"
Prime Minister Hun Sen had cancelled a scheduled meeting with Puttnam, but it was the film-maker who was contrite. "I received a very, very, very profound apology from Mr. Hun Sen, and I don't feel remotely offended or put out," he said, leaving some in the audience to wonder how he came to be an apologist for the regime, which has now been in power for almost 30 years. What Lord Puttnam doesn't understand is that Hun Sen, who defected from the Khmer Rouge to join the Vietnamese side in 1977, abhors any publicity for the Khmer Rouge at all, fearing that it would lead ordinary Cambodians once again to demand to know why they are still being ruled by some of the old murderous crowd. It was only reluctantly that Hun Sen agreed to a war crimes tribunal to look at Khmer Rouge atrocities which continues to drag on. Continuing his lecture of the media, Puttnam, who said he was born during the Blitz on London in WWII, added, "It really does come down to how responsible the media is prepared to be, or does the media just become another arm of the opposition?" Resident correspondents here know that Cambodia is regularly in the ranks of the worst human rights violators among members of the United Nations. Under Hun Sen's harsh rule, attacks and assassinations have taken place, besides Hun Sen conducting a coup against the legitimate government of Prince Norodom Ranariddh in 1997, undermining the work the United Nations did to establish democracy. In the most recent election last year, the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party managed to gain 55 seats, not far short of the 68 seats for the CPP, which is just clinging on to power. Just last month, Gareth Evans, the former Australian foreign minister, who played a key role in the political settlement that ended Cambodia's civil war, called for sanctions against the CPP government, saying that it had been "getting away with murder." He mentioned five garment workers killed last month for protesting against slave wages in textile factories. Evans, who maintained a close friendship with Hun Sen's government since the peace process of the 1980s and early 1990s, said he had lost hope that the CPP is interested in protecting human rights or liberal democracy in the country. He talked of a "pattern of strategic violence used by the government with international impunity." While preserving a democratic façade, Hun Sen has ruled, for all practical purposes, as an autocrat, showing scant regard for the right of free expression and association, and resorting to violence and repression whenever he has deemed it necessary to preserve his and his party's position, Evans said. Evans described as "plausible," an accusation that more than 20 of Hun Sen's closest associates have "each amassed more than US$1 billion each through misappropriation of state assets." During a meeting on Wednesday night with Cambodian film makers and others, Puttnam seemed to damn with faint praise Rithy Panh's Oscar nominated "The Missing Picture," which, though it didn't take the recent Oscar for best film in a foreign language, nevertheless raised the prestige of Cambodian movies by being a finalist. Puttnam, who made other brilliant films besides "The Killing Fields," was much admired by me and many others in the past, but he has shown himself to be more than a little out of touch. In making the original movie he relied on the advice of such journalists as the late Neil Davis, now he criticizes journalists, mainly young and struggling to report from here. James Pringle worked as a correspondent in the Vietnam and Cambodia wars, and in Maoist China, for Reuters, Newsweek and the Times of London. The post 'Killing Fields' Producer Turned Trade Rep Backs Hun Sen appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Stigma Hinders Efforts to Combat Leprosy in India Posted: 11 Mar 2014 01:24 AM PDT  A woman affected by leprosy begs for alms at a traffic junction in Mumbai. (Photo: Reuters) TAHIRPUR, India — At first, Ashok Yadav ignored the patches of pink skin on his arm. But when pale sores erupted on his body and he lost sensation in his fingertips, a doctor issued the devastating diagnosis: Yadav had leprosy. "What followed was like a nightmare," said Yadav, who has lived in Kasturba Gram, a leper colony outside New Delhi, since his diagnosis 30 years ago. "I lost my job. My parents felt I would spoil my sisters' chances of getting married. My family felt it would be better if I left home." The stigma of leprosy endures in India, even though the country has made great strides against the disease, which is neither highly contagious nor fatal. Now the number of new annual cases has risen slightly after years of steady decline, and medical experts say the enormous fear surrounding leprosy is hindering efforts to finally eliminate it. People continue to hide their diagnoses from families and loved ones out of fear they will be ostracized. Employers regularly turn away people who have had the disease, even if they've been treated and cured. Many struggle to get driver's licenses and other routine documents. Even the disease-free children of leprosy patients are shunned. "We face a thousand indignities every day," said Neelawati Devi, a longtime resident of Kasturba Gram. Some 10,000 people live there, including the children of leprosy patients. "Our children face taunts and slights when they go to school," said Devi, holding out her hands, the stubs of her fingers wrapped in gauze bandages. "But we want them to get an education and get jobs. Their future should not be ruined." Public health centers across the country have launched campaigns describing leprosy as the world's "least contagious communicable disease." Health workers are trying to spread the word that leprosy is not hereditary and does not spread through normal contact. But the deformities that are the hallmark of leprosy contribute to the fear surrounding the disease, a chronic bacterial infection that often lies dormant for years before attacking the body's nerves and slowly causing numbness. Hands and feet eventually claw inward and serious injuries often go unnoticed because no pain is felt. Often fingers and toes are lost due to injuries and sores. Scientists believe it is spread through droplets from coughing or sneezing during prolonged contact with someone infected, but they are still not completely sure. Also called Hansen's disease, leprosy has been curable since the 1940s thanks to antibiotics, and the worst physical deformities can be avoided if it is caught in time. About 95 percent of people have a natural immunity. Worldwide, the number of new leprosy patients dropped from around 10 million in 1991 to around 230,000 last year as countries intensified efforts to fight the disease. In India, hospitals and clinics began treating patients with a combination of drugs that effectively kills mycobacterium leprae, the germ that causes leprosy. In 2005, India declared victory, with health authorities reporting less than one case for every 10,000 people. But pockets of the country continue to have problems with leprosy, including in the central state of Chattisgarh, Maharashtra in western India and Bihar and West Bengal in the east. According to the health ministry, during 2012-2013 India detected 134,752 new cases of leprosy, slightly more than the 127,295 cases reported a year earlier. India accounts for 58 percent of newly diagnosed leprosy cases in the world, according to the World Health Organization. The disease also remains a problem in Brazil, China, Indonesia and East Timor. C.M. Agarwal, the health ministry official in charge of the country's leprosy campaign, says the rise in cases is the result of an intensified campaign against leprosy, meaning health workers are reporting cases that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. But some activists disagree. They say that after India's 2005 declaration, the leprosy program was merged with the country's public health scheme and scarce resources were reassigned for other urgent causes. They also say the problem might be worse than anyone realizes because of leprosy's long gestation period. "The incubation period can stretch from five years to 15 before the first signs become detectable. And by then, many others could become infected," said P.K. Gopal of the National Forum of Persons Affected by Leprosy, a nongovernmental organization working with leprosy patients. The government is stepping up its fight against the disease, assigning additional health workers to 209 districts seen as high endemic areas in 16 states. But that won't end the pain and stigma that leprosy brings to patients and their families. "Our children shouldn't have the shadow of leprosy hanging over their lives," said G. Venugopal, one of the elders at Kasturba Gram, as he sat outside his home under Delhi's weak winter sun. "They often face taunts in school. People are cruel. They will say: 'Oh, this is the son of a leper.' Then the children say they don't want to go to school and we have to push them," he said. Gopal, who has worked with leprosy patients for more than 40 years, said the stigma persists "because it's very difficult to change people's attitude over a short period of time." "As things are, the fear of leprosy is so great that people refuse to come forward for treatment. This has had an adverse effect on the success of the leprosy program," he said. Venugopal has been working with non-governmental agencies to lobby the government to expand the disability allowances that some leprosy survivors get. "They pay us a monthly allowance of 1,800 rupees ($29), which is a pittance," he said. The money does not even pay for the bandages that leprosy patients use every day on their sores, said Uttam Kumar, another resident. Like many others in Kasturba Gram, Kumar was thrown out of his home because neighbors objected to having a leprosy patient in their midst. Kumar, whose bandaged feet are the only sign of his ailment, spent months on the road before finding a refuge in the warren of one-room tenements in Kasturba Gram. "Here we are all anonymous yet we are all fellow sufferers," Kumar said. "Everyone has their own sorrows, but our pain is the same." The post Stigma Hinders Efforts to Combat Leprosy in India appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Hoping to Isolate Russia, US Woos China on Ukraine Posted: 11 Mar 2014 12:15 AM PDT  Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk (L) greets U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) as Ukraine’s acting President Oleksander Turchinov looks in Kiev on March 4. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is stepping up its attempts to court China’s support for isolating Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine. With official comments from China appearing studiously neutral since the Ukraine crisis began, President Barack Obama spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping late Sunday in a bid to get Beijing off the fence. The call was their first known conversation since Russian forces took control of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow Crimea region. It came amid signals that Russian President Vladimir Putin was hardening his position on Crimea, which is due to vote on joining Russia this weekend in a referendum the U.S. and its allies have vowed not to recognize. In making his case, Obama appealed to China’s well-known and vehement opposition to outside intervention in other nations’ domestic affairs, according to a White House statement. However, it remained unclear whether China would side with the U.S. and Europe or with Moscow, which has accused the West of sparking the crisis in Ukraine with inappropriate "meddling" in the internal affairs of the former Soviet republic. China is a frequent ally of Russia in the U.N. Security Council, where both wield veto power. In his conversation with Xi, Obama "noted his overriding objective of restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and ensuring the Ukrainian people are able to determine their own future without foreign interference," the White House said. It said the two leaders "agreed on the importance of upholding principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, both in the context of Ukraine and also for the broader functioning of the international system." They also affirmed their interest in finding a peaceful resolution to the dispute. Obama’s call to Xi follows a conversation last week between his national security adviser, Susan Rice, and Chinese state counselor Yang Jiechi. Seeking as broad a coalition as possible, Obama also spoke by phone Monday with the leaders of Spain and Kazakhstan, echoing familiar themes about respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty. The White House said Obama and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy praised Ukraine’s new government for showing restraint, while Obama encouraged President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan — one of the largest ex-Soviet republics — to play an active role in finding a peaceful outcome. In wooing China’s support, the U.S. is seeking to capitalize on Beijing’s policy of non-intervention, which Beijing has used as a rationale for limiting its involvement in North Korea and elsewhere around the world. U.S. officials believe China may be viewing the situation in Crimea through the prism of its own ethnic minorities in border regions. The officials say they were buoyed by comments last week from China’s ambassador to the United Nations, who emphasized Beijing’s support for non-interference while not directly taking a side in the dispute. That and other previous statements from Chinese officials have stressed Beijing’s determination to hold to its longstanding policy of opposing threats to any country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. But, perhaps tellingly, they have also referred obliquely to "reasons" that the Ukraine situation has evolved as it has, suggesting sympathy with Russia’s complaints of Western meddling. Ken Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said China appears to be "sitting on the fencepost" when it comes to Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. "What we’re seeing in China’s statements very much reflects the major — and in this instance, conflicting — interests the Chinese leadership has," said Lieberthal, a former Asia adviser under President Bill Clinton. Even if China were to publicly oppose Russia’s military maneuvers in Crimea, it would likely be a symbolic gesture, and there’s no expectation China would levy economic penalties against Russia or take other punitive action. U.S. officials say China may be acting more out of self-interest than anything else as it watches Crimea and its majority ethnic Russian population prepare to vote on breaking away from Ukraine. China is grappling with its own ethnic minority groups in border regions that may feel stronger ties to neighboring countries. White House spokesman Jay Carney wouldn’t say whether Obama asked Xi for any specific actions, including support at the U.N., regarding the dispute between Russia and Ukraine. "China obviously plays a very important role in the Security Council and does have an important relationship with Russia," he said. Obama’s call to Xi was part of a broader effort by the president to rally world leaders around the notion that Russia’s incursion into Crimea violates international law. The Kremlin has so far shown little sign of backing down, and a referendum on whether to join Russia is scheduled in Crimea on Sunday. Ahead of that vote, Obama will host Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the White House on Wednesday. The U.S. has promised Ukraine’s new government $1 billion in loan guarantees, which would supplement a $15 billion aid pledge from the European Union. European leaders have joined Obama in condemning Russia’s push into Crimea, where 60 percent of the population is ethnic Russian. Russia moved into Crimea after Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych fled the capital of Kiev. Yanukovych had faced three months of political protests after he scrapped plans to strengthen ties with Europe, a move Russia opposed. The post Hoping to Isolate Russia, US Woos China on Ukraine appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Malaysia Air Probe Finds Scant Evidence of Attack: Sources Posted: 10 Mar 2014 11:35 PM PDT  International school students light candles to pray for passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, in Zhuji, Zhejiang Province, on March 10, 2014. The placards held by children read "Pray for life." KUALA LUMPUR / WASHINGTON — Investigators in Malaysia are voicing skepticism that the airliner that disappeared early Saturday with 239 people on board was the target of an attack, US and European government sources close to the probe said. The fate of the Malaysian airliner that vanished about an hour into a flight to Beijing remained a mystery, as a massive air and sea search, now in its third day, failed to turn up any trace of the Boeing 777 plane. Neither Malaysia’s Special Branch, the agency leading the investigation locally, nor spy agencies in the United States and Europe have ruled out the possibility that militants may have been involved in downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. But Malaysian authorities have indicated that the evidence so far does not strongly back an attack as a cause for the aircraft’s disappearance, and that mechanical or pilot problems could have led to the apparent crash, the US sources said. "There is no evidence to suggest an act of terror," said a European security source, who added that there was also "no explanation what’s happened to it or where it is." Meanwhile, dozens of ships and aircraft from 10 countries were still scouring the seas around Malaysia and south of Vietnam as questions mounted over possible security lapses that could have led to a downing of the Boeing 777-200ER after it climbed to an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,670 meters). Interpol confirmed on Sunday at least two passengers used stolen passports and said it was checking whether others aboard had used false identity documents. Even so, one US source said Malaysian authorities were leaning away from the theory that the plane was attacked. Their view was mostly based on electronic evidence that indicates the flight may have turned back toward the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur before disappearing. Even that information has not been clearly confirmed, and investigators and intelligence sources say the fate of the Flight MH370 is still shrouded in mystery. One reason was that the aircraft had failed to make automatic contact with a flight data-monitoring system after vanishing from radar screens, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Such contact could have helped investigators determine what happened. The aircraft was equipped with a maintenance computer capable of talking to the ground automatically through short messages known as ACARS. "There were no signals from ACARS from the time the aircraft disappeared," a source involved in the investigations said. Also raising doubts about the possibility of an attack, the United States extensively reviewed imagery taken by spy satellites for evidence of a mid-air explosion, but saw none, a US government source said. The source described US satellite coverage of the region as thorough. With no success so far, authorities were planning to widen the search from Tuesday, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of Malaysia’s Civil Aviation Authority, told reporters on Monday. "Unfortunately we have not found anything that appears to be objects from the aircraft, let alone the aircraft," he said. "As far as we are concerned, we have to find the aircraft. We have to find a piece of the aircraft if possible." Azharuddin said a hijacking attempt could not be ruled out as investigators explore all theories. A senior police official told Reuters that people armed with explosives and carrying false identity papers had tried to fly out of Kuala Lumpur in the past, and that current investigations were focused on two passengers who were on the missing plane with stolen passports. "We have stopped men with false or stolen passports and carrying explosives, who have tried to get past KLIA (airport) security and get on to a plane," he said. "There have been two or three incidents, but I will not divulge the details." Azharuddin also said the two men with stolen passports did not look like Asians, but he did not elaborate. Airport CCTV footage showed they completed all security procedures, he said. "We are looking at the possibility of a stolen passport syndicate," he said. About two-thirds of the 227 passengers and 12 crew now presumed to have died aboard the plane were Chinese. The airline said other nationalities included 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French and three Americans. A senior source involved in preliminary investigations in Malaysia said the failure to find any debris indicated the plane may have broken up mid-flight, which could disperse wreckage over a very wide area. "The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," said the source. Asked about the possibility of an explosion, the source said there was no evidence of foul play and that the aircraft could have broken up due to mechanical causes. Still, the source said the closest parallels were the bomb explosions on board an Air India jetliner in 1985 when it was over the Atlantic Ocean and a Pan Am aircraft over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. Both planes were cruising at around 31,000 feet at the time. Underlining the lack of hard information about the Malaysian plane’s fate, a US Navy P-3 aircraft capable of covering 3,900 square km (1,500 square miles) every hour was sweeping the northern part of the Strait of Malacca, on the other side of the Malaysian peninsula from where the last contact with MH370 was made. No distress signal was sent from the lost plane, which experts said suggested a sudden catastrophic failure or explosion, but Malaysia’s air force chief said radar tracking showed it may have turned back from its scheduled route before it disappeared. Superior Safety Record The Boeing 777 has one of the best safety records of any commercial aircraft in service. Its only previous fatal crash came on July 6 last year when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 struck a seawall on landing in San Francisco, killing three people. US planemaker Boeing declined to comment. The passenger manifest issued by the airline included the names of two Europeans who were not on the plane. Their passports had been stolen in Thailand during the past two years. An Interpol spokeswoman said a check of all documents used to board the plane had revealed more "suspect passports," which were being investigated. "Whilst it is too soon to speculate about any connection between these stolen passports and the missing plane, it is clearly of great concern that any passenger was able to board an international flight using a stolen passport listed in Interpol’s databases," Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said. A Thai travel agent who arranged the tickets for the two passengers using the stolen passports said she had booked them on the flight via Beijing because they were the cheapest tickets, the Financial Times reported. The travel agent in the resort of Pattaya said an Iranian business contact she knew only as "Mr. Ali" had asked her to book tickets for the two men on March 1. She had initially booked them on other airlines but those reservations expired and on March 6, Mr. Ali had asked her to book them again. She told the newspaper she did not think Mr. Ali, who paid her in cash and booked tickets with her regularly, was linked to terrorism. The post Malaysia Air Probe Finds Scant Evidence of Attack: Sources appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
