| KIA to Release 2 Civil Servants Posted: 06 May 2014 05:41 AM PDT  KIA troops marching through the jungle of northernmost Burma in 2012. (Photo: my.tianya.cn) Two Kachin State civil servants who were detained by Kachin rebels on Saturday will be released today as they were "mistakenly arrested" during an operation to find defectors, a Myitkyina-based group said, adding that seven villagers were reportedly also apprehended by the rebels. Government mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar ran an article about the incident on Tuesday, saying that two staffers of the Kachin State General Administration Department and a civilian were "abducted by the Kachin Independence Army on Saturday morning." The men were reportedly arrested near the state capital Myitkyina while driving with a group of friends towards Myitsone, a village near the confluence of tributaries of the Irrawaddy River that is a popular tourist spot. "Lower Division Clerk U Phyo Phyo and driver U Mon Kham Naw were riding ahead of others when they were stopped by six KIA [Kachin Independence Army] members in plainclothes," the paper said, without mentioning the identity of the supposed third man who was apprehended. The paper added that the men were taken to Inkhaibum Mountain. La Mai Gun Ja, a leader of the Myitkyina-based Kachin Peace Creation Group (PCG), which acts as a go-between for the KIA and state government, said the two civil servants would be released on Tuesday, as they were "mistakenly arrested" during a KIA operation to find deserters from its Battalion No. 4's Brigade 1. "They will be released today as it was a wrong detention," said La Mai Gun Ja, adding that he spoke to local authorities and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) headquarters about the incident. "As soon as the KIO headquarters learnt about it, they told their troop to release those two staff," he said. It remains unclear whether the third man reported detained was indeed arrested Saturday, or whether he would be released. La Mai Gun Ja said he heard from local police that KIA members in plain clothes had been searching for defectors and also apprehended seven local civilians at Don Gun and Lon Gazwun Villages near Myitkyina, the same area where the officials were arrested. "The KIO said if they are innocent they will soon be released," he added. Gen. Gun Maw, KIA deputy commander-in-chief, told The Irrawaddy by phone that he was unaware of the recent arrests of civilians by his troops. "There must be a reason for the arrests, but I don't know the exact reason as I am away from the headquarters," he said. "I am sure that they were not arrested because they were government staff." On Saturday, in Kachin State's Mansi Township, some 150 km further south, the Burma Army entered Lagat Yang camp for internally displaced Kachin civilians near Man Win Gyi town on the suspicion that seven KIA soldiers were hiding in the camp Soldiers arrested 14 people in the camp, releasing all but one man the next morning. The post KIA to Release 2 Civil Servants appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Corruption the Biggest Concern for Burma Businesses: Survey Posted: 06 May 2014 05:08 AM PDT  Piles of Burmese kyat are counted in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Corruption is the top concern for businesses in Burma, which is undergoing liberal reforms after the end of military rule, according to a UN-led survey released on Tuesday. Five decades of military rule left Burma mired in poverty and plagued by corruption, but a quasi-civilian government that took power in 2011 has enacted sweeping political and economic reforms aimed at attracting foreign investment and cleaning up the economy. However, the survey suggests the reforms have thus far had only a limited impact on corruption. About 20 percent of the more than 3,000 firms questioned identified corruption as a "very severe obstacle" to their operations, according to the survey from the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI). Access to skilled labor and technology were identified as the second and third biggest obstacles. Sixty percent of the firms surveyed said they had to pay bribes for registration, licenses or permits. About half the firms said they paid $500 in extra fees while about a dozen said extra fees exceeded $10,000. "For the bulk of Myanmar businesses, the business environment has not changed," said Kim Ninh, country representative of the Washington-based Asia Foundation, speaking at the survey's launch. She said she was surprised by the finding that the average company was 15 years old and few new ones had emerged during the reform period. "Curiously, not many in recent years and the increase hasn't been as strong as you'd think with the opening of Myanmar," Kim Ninh said. Burma's Parliament passed anti-corruption laws last year and appointed an anti-graft commission in February. Win Aung, president of the UMFCCI, said he was optimistic about the government's efforts to fight corruption but that success would depend on whether the authorities really acted on the new legislation. "There should be action against those who breach the law," he said in an interview on the sidelines of the event. "Only in that way can the elimination of corruption be effective." Despite Burma's ongoing reforms, the World Bank ranked it 182 out of 189 countries in its annual report on the business environment last October. The country's low score was due to corruption, Charles Schneider, a World Bank economist based in Rangoon, said at the time, though he added the country was improving transparency. The post Corruption the Biggest Concern for Burma Businesses: Survey appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Rights Groups Say Interfaith Marriage Bill Is an Unnecessary Distraction Posted: 06 May 2014 05:03 AM PDT  Buddhist monk Wirathu speaks to the public about the interfaith marriage bill in Sagaing Division on Monday. (Photo: Wirathu / Facebook) RANGOON — More than 90 NGOs in Burma have condemned the drafting of a bill to restrict interfaith marriage, saying the bill is an attempt to distract the public from critical issues ahead of the next general election. If passed, the bill, which the country's highest court will finish drafting this month, would require Buddhist women to seek permission from authorities before marrying outside their faith. It has been promoted as a way to deter conversion to Islam in the Buddhist majority country. "We believe that current faith-based political activities, including the arguments against interfaith marriage currently taking place in the country, are not in accordance with the objectives of the peaceful coexistence of all faiths and the prevention of extreme violence and conflict, but are instead events and ideas designed to distract the public before the 2015 election," the 97 NGOs, including prominent women's rights groups and ethnic peace groups, said in a statement on Monday. "We view these events as delaying the momentum of transition to democracy, and as a hindrance to national peace processes and the Constitutional amendments desired by [Burma's] people." They said an interfaith marriage law would place restrictions on women by preventing them from freely making decisions about a matter that affects their daily lives. "We do not see this as a law that will protect women's rights," Thin Thing Aung, a member of the Women's League of Burma, told The Irrawaddy. "Our women need a law that is not based on religion and which says they can marry whomever they want." Aung Myo Min, director of Equality Myanmar, said it would be better to educate women, to ensure they are well informed when presented with the option of religious conversion. "Men should not be writing laws that toy with women's lives," he said. He added that if the bill was passed it could fuel religious conflict in a country that has seen several outbreaks of religious violence over the past year between Buddhists and Muslims. He accused the government of allowing and even perpetuating religious conflict as a method of turning attention away from democracy building. "We have doubts about their motives," he told The Irrawaddy. The High Court started drafting the interfaith marriage bill at the recommendation of nationalist Buddhist monks. It is part of a package of four bills: the other three would ban polygamy, enact population control measures and restrict religious conversion. The monks collected more than 1 million signatures to back the proposed laws. Proponents have said a population control law is necessary to prevent the Muslim population from growing. Wirathu, a leader of this monk-led movement, said the bills would not detract from democracy efforts and should be enacted to prevent religious violence. "The government should work on all things at once that are needed for the country," he told The Irrawaddy. "I do not think the government is hindering the peace process or constitutional amendments by drafting religious laws. The government has formed different committees that are working on different issues. "There will be no problem if women desire to convert to another religion. We are drafting this law to protect women against being forced to convert. We will help them." The drafting of all four bills is expected to be completed this month. The Ministry of Religious Affairs, which is drafting the religious conversion bill, will invite the public to offer feedback, according to Maung Maung Htay, the deputy minister of religious affairs. Rather than drafting the interfaith marriage bill, the NGOs called on the government to draft a law that would require people to be older than a certain age before marrying. They also urged the legislature to pass a law to prevent violence against women. "Only when women are able to make decisions on their own that enable them to lead strong, healthy and successful lives, will the country realize genuine development," the groups said in the statement. The post Rights Groups Say Interfaith Marriage Bill Is an Unnecessary Distraction appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Offerings, Recitations to Quell Rising Toll on Burma’s ‘Death Highway’ Posted: 06 May 2014 04:03 AM PDT  The aftermath of an accident on the highway between Rangoon and Naypyidaw that killed 12 people on April 12. (Photo: Myanma Alinn Daily) RANGOON — For many Burmese, it is beyond question that spirits haunt the country's most infamous highway. Rumor has it that ghostly figures walking the Rangoon-Mandalay road at night—spirits of previous car crash victims, or even the fallen from long-ago wars—cause cars and buses to swerve and crash. In 2005, Burma's military junta ordered a new road rapidly built to connect Rangoon with the new capital, Naypyidaw, and Mandalay. The northern stretch of the 366-mile road was only completed in 2011, but already the highway has been the site of at least 432 crashes, resulting in 216 deaths. It has been nicknamed: the "death highway." The latest records from the highway's police station show that from January to April this year, 66 people died and 320 were injured on the road. Facing a lack of government action to repair the poorly constructed road, and as a seemingly endless death toll piles up, some Burmese are organizing a spiritual intervention. Volunteer Mandalay residents and Buddhist monks will this weekend hold a so-called merit-sharing ceremony on the road, in an attempt to prevent more crashes. Organizer Nay Lin Aung told The Irrawaddy that on Saturday night and Sunday morning, about 200 people would attend a ceremony at the highway's Milestone 116, between Rangoon and Naypyidaw. Performing a ceremony known as Akyoot Aloot, the supernatural road safety activists will give offerings of food and bestow merit on the spirits. "On the first day, May 10, we are going to feed them [the spirits] at Milestone 116. We chose this place because last month many people died when a Taungpyar Tan passenger bus and a private car crashed," Nay Lin Aung said, referring to an accident April 12 that left a dozen people dead. In line with traditional Burmese beliefs, which involve elements of ancient Brahmanism infused with Theravada Buddhism, it is hoped the sated spirits will cease meddling on the road, and may even be allowed to reincarnate to a better life. "We will feed them at midnight. Some people know how to feed them without doing them any harm at night, and monks will also be included," he said, adding that a recitation of the Mitta Sutta, a message of love and protection, would follow on Sunday morning. "As Buddhists, we believe in new life, and spirits." The highway runs through the Pegu Yoma mountain range, which was the site of intense fighting between Allied Forces and Japanese troops during World War II and later became a stronghold for Burma's communist insurgency. Construction involved felling swaths of forests and cutting through hills. Mountains and trees are thought to be inhabited by the spirits of those who die suddenly. "Long before this highway was constructed, there were many Japanese and also communists who died in these areas, so we need to share merit for them too," Nay Lin Aung said. Preparations are being made to do just that, with the local police station at Phyu informed of the planned ceremony. The offerings will include non-meat dishes, in case any of the spirits are vegetarians. "We will prepare for them banana and rice, as well as mutton for the rest," Nay Lin Aung said, adding that he hoped the ceremony would become an annual event on the highway. Ko Ko Zaw, a Rangoon resident who regularly drives his car along the road to Naypyidaw, said he had seen for himself the spirits haunting the road, but had stayed safe by reciting the Mitta Sutta when he drives at night. However, he said, there are also worldly causes for the high incidence of accidents on the road. "Unseen sprits are one thing that people believe makes the cars crash often, but another thing is drivers must check that their car is in good condition and need to know the highway conditions. Most car accidents are the driver's fault, or because of poor road construction," said Ko Ko Zaw. "Some drivers go more than 100 kilometers per hour without thinking about the road condition—it's a major problem." Nay Lin Aung also admitted that the road itself may contribute to crashes. "Actually we can't repair this highway—the government has to do that," he said. "We just do what we can." The post Offerings, Recitations to Quell Rising Toll on Burma's 'Death Highway' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| In Memory of Uncle Win Tin, My Neighbor Posted: 06 May 2014 03:10 AM PDT Many days after Win Tin's death, I am still emotional. Deep in my heart, there is a heavy sadness and a sense of great loss. I felt this when my father passed away in 2013, and I still miss my wise grandfather, who died in 1989. Now I feel this new grief after losing another male role model. Although Uncle Win Tin was not a blood relative, I knew him well because we were neighbors, and I had the pleasure of seeing him almost every day for the past year. When I moved back to Burma in early 2013, it was challenging to find an affordable, decent apartment. Like many dissidents who were able to return home due to the limited political freedoms guaranteed by President Thein Sein's government, I was dismayed by the rising housing and hotel costs. Over three weeks, my partner and I went from downtown to the suburban areas of Rangoon. The prices downtown were shocking. We found some cheap apartments, but their dirty and dark conditions made me feel sick. They were not adequate for the health of human beings. This is a common experience for many who are not originally from Rangoon. After three weeks of hunting, however, we finally found a place that felt like home. A few weeks later, a taxi driver asked where I lived and I told him Yankin, the township. "Oh, that's where the collection of people often began," he said. I had no idea what he was referring to, so I asked him to elaborate. Until recently, he said, the authorities had arrested dissidents from Yankin areas first, before continuing to detain those in other parts of the city. I started to question myself, wondering why I had instinctually gravitated toward a home there. Not long after that, a friend who was visiting me pointed at a nearby wooden home and said, "It's Uncle U Win Tin's house." I began to see the full picture of my conversation with the taxi driver. I realized that Win Tin, the veteran journalist and famous Burmese democracy activist, was my neighbor, and I felt good because I knew I could ask him for wise advice one day. I waited too long for that day, and now I am too late to ask him questions about the future of our country. Last month, Win Tin died of organ failure at the age of 84, after checking into a hospital in Rangoon several weeks earlier. Even if I never asked for advice, I took strength from his nearby presence before he died. It was pleasant to see him receiving visitors in the morning at his home. In the late afternoon, I often observed him reclining on a chair, watching BBC or a football match on television, and I told myself, "He is alive," and that gave me comfort. He did not know me, but I knew him from a distance. Whenever I looked at his home and saw him, I whispered a prayer that he would live long. I like older people because I can sense their vast wisdom and irreplaceable life experiences. I particularly like to have conversations with older men because it reminds me of talking with my late grandfather, who taught me about politics. He was a village headman who resisted when authorities imposed arbitrary and unfair taxes on the villagers, and he carefully dealt with military intelligent officers who showed up in our village without notice to ask for information about the people's movement. On the day my grandfather died, he attended a village track council meeting. He forced himself to go, despite his deteriorating health, because the military government was preparing to cut social services for poor families, including rations of rice, cooling oil, salt and other basic subsidies that had been provided under Gen. Ne Win's socialist program. There are so many questions that I wish I had asked my grandfather. I wish I had asked about his dreams for the future of our country, about our true ethnic Chin history, and about life under Ne Win's regime. But I was too young. Still, I have fond memories of him. I remember his smile, the way he spoke with young people and children, and his calm yet steadfast determination to stand up for his fellow citizens. The memories of these two wise men, my grandfather and Win Tin, have left me with my own sense of determination, as well as frustration. I am determined to work even harder to achieve the change that the old men fought for, although it won't be easy. This country has been ruled by imprudent people for so long, and these rulers have not resolved the economic, social and political problems that affect the everyday lives of the people. So far, Thein Sein's government has smoothed international relations by releasing political prisoners, starting ceasefire negotiations with ethnic armed groups, and tolerating some degree of political activities and freedom. Yet nothing substantial has changed. In conflict areas, lives are still at risk, and the futures of tens of thousands of people remain uncertain. Even in places where there is no conflict, communities are forced to deal with other problems, including the rising prices of commodities, poor health and education services, unemployment, low wages, a lack of market for farm products, land-grabbing, child labor, trafficking, arbitrary taxation and a dysfunctional judiciary system. Adding to these concerns is the increasing gap of wealth between ordinary people and the well-connected handful of lawmakers dominating Parliament. During the four-year reform process, the government has been unwilling or unable to resolve these problems. I am frustrated because these two wise men who meant so much to me will not see the changes they fought for and dreamed of. But their spirits will be with us in this journey. Cheery Zahau is a human rights activist from Chin State. The post In Memory of Uncle Win Tin, My Neighbor appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| ‘We Want Them to Keep a Watchful Eye on our Peace Process’ Posted: 06 May 2014 02:44 AM PDT  KIA leader Gun Maw during an interview with The Irrawaddy in Chiang Mai in Tuesday. (Photo: Nyein Zaw / The Irrawaddy) On April 29, the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), representing an alliance of 12 ethnic armed forces, met in Chiang Mai, Thailand. After the meeting, Gen. Gun Maw, deputy commander-in-chief of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), had an interview with The Irrawaddy. He talks about his recent official trip to the US, his expectations about US and UN involvement in the peace process in Kachin State, and the prospects of achieving a nationwide cease fire between the NCCT and the central government. Question: To what extent was your recent trip to the US a success? Answer: I would prefer to talk about what I did there, rather than about what I achieved. I met with senior officials from the State Department and others departments. I have to say I am pleased with the trip. Q: Did US officials make any promises about US support in the Kachin peace process? A: There were no promises, but I learned about their wishes for the Kachin peace process. They are really interested in the whole peace process. I can assume that they want to be involved in it. I understand that whether they can get involved or not depends on their negotiations with the Burmese government. I reminded them that we have invited UN, US, UK and Chinese involvement in the peace process since 2013. As the KIO [Kachin Independence Organization] as well as an ethnic group, we want them to get involved. So I told them that even if they are not invited by the government they should find a way to be part of it. Q: Kachin State in northern Burma shares a border with China. Don't you think China would be annoyed if the US became involved in the peace process in the area? A: China may be worried about US involvement, but if we could clearly state our procedures and goals it would be OK. Q: How important is UN, US and international participation for achieving peace in Kachin State? A: They are important, of course. We have had civil war in our area for six decades. So the KIO believes that the issue is beyond what both parties [KIO and Burmese government] can handle. It's impossible to leave out China from our peace process as it's our neighbor. At the same time, the US is one of the superpowers seriously starting an engagement policy with Burma. So, the KIO believes that peace in Kachin would be achieved only when superpowers get involved. Q: Some say the internal peace process should be carried out by people inside the country and not involve outsiders. The Burmese government does not seem pleased with the idea of foreign involvement. What would say to that? A: Few governments would be pleased with international involvement in their internal affairs, I think. But when it comes to peace issues like ours, international assistance always brings a proper solution in the end. We understand that our leaders should take charge in solving internal problems, but we need the international community as a witness. We don't invite them to be involved in our peace process in any way they wish. We just welcome them to keep a watchful eye on our peace process and keep it on the right track. Q: The President's Office spokesman, Ye Htut, has told media that US involvement is not necessarily helpful, saying that the US track record of achieving peace in Iraq and Afghanistan is "not impressive". What do you think of his comments? A: As a spokesperson of the Burmese president, his comments maybe reflections of what the government thinks. Whatever it is, we [the Kachin rebels] are the best evidence of their [the Burmese government's] failure to solve internal problems. I just want to repeat that international involvement is important as the civil war has been raging on in our area for 60 years. Q: Your trip to the US was an official KIO state visit recognized by the UN and the international community. Did they ask you about the KIO's political goals and if you want independence? A: Yes, they asked me about it. I explained them about our message, which I delivered to the Kachin people at a public forum in Myitkyina in 2013. At that time, I said the KIO defines 'independence' as 'freedom and liberty'. I said openly to [the government] that we have fought with them as we want independence. We want it and we will get it. But what we are discussing now is peaceful co-existence in Burma and equality for our people–this is what our predecessors have also discussed. Just give us a political situation that we, Kachin people, could accept. [When making statements about independence] we are just making a point about how we should exist together without seceding from the union, rather than signing an agreement that says we never secede from the country. Q: How long will it take until the fighting ends in Kachin State? A: We have to take time to reach a ceasefire agreement as we don't want to spend much time on discussing a political dialogue that would follow a ceasefire agreement. Some people say political dialogue is still impossible because we haven't got agreement on cease fire yet. To my understanding, if there is a guarantee for correct political discussions, a cease fire could happen overnight. By that time, there will be no more gun fires and battles in Kachin State. The post 'We Want Them to Keep a Watchful Eye on our Peace Process' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| “Charity Begins At Home – My Home!” Posted: 06 May 2014 02:30 AM PDT 
On Friday, 2 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis made landfall in The Irrawaddy Delta, killing at least 138,000 people. When humanitarian aid was finally allowed into Burma to hep survivors of the cyclone, the junta stole aid packages, distributed them primarily to friends and family, and stole them at marketplaces. On the sixth anniversary of Burma's worst-ever natural disaster, The Irrawaddy is republishing a cartoon from 2008 that portrays the reaction of the Burmese junta toward its people in the wake of the storm.
The post “Charity Begins At Home – My Home!” appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Did Nargis Shake Fear into Burma’s Leaders? Posted: 05 May 2014 11:26 PM PDT  A woman sifts through the debris of her home destroyed by Cyclone Nargis near Kunyangon May 9, 2008. (Photo: Reuters) On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis made landfall in The Irrawaddy Delta. It is now six years since at least 138,000 people were killed by the cyclone and the government's response, which denying aid to storm-hit areas. This article, first published by The Irrawaddy on May 12, 2008, discusses the impact the event had on Burma's military rulers, coming just before the country voted to approve the 2008 military-drafted Constitution. Whenever Burma faces a political or humanitarian crisis, Burmese and foreign observers monitor the reclusive military leaders from a distance, trying to gauge their reactions, guessing what shapes their decisions and where possible conflicts within the leadership lie. The question Burma watchers are quietly asking this time is—did the cyclone shake fear into Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his hard-core military cronies? Are they trembling or are they hanging firm? It is easy to imagine the pampered generals running from the storm, boarding themselves into their collective bunker and curling up in terror as the cyclone whipped through the southwest of the country. In the wake of the storm, the ordinary people of Burma braved the elements and started putting their lives back together. Meanwhile, the cowering junta was oblivious to the calls to help the survivors and allow aid into the affected areas. Despite the junta's long history of perfidy and brutality, many observers were taken aback by the regime's refusal to allow international aid and foreign aid workers to tend to the cyclone victims in and around the Irrawaddy Delta. Then, over the last week, cracks of dissent within the leadership were detected. Than Shwe and his deputy, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, reportedly have been at loggerheads since troops opened fire on Buddhist monks and activists on the streets last September. Now rumors have surfaced that Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein has drawn the ire of the top general for showing a soft side after witnessing the tragedy firsthand while overseeing the delivery of aid to cyclone victims from a helicopter. Apparently distressed by what he saw, Thein Sein urged his boss to permit international aid into the area as quickly as possible. Reportedly, Thein Sein filed a situation report and was immediately stonewalled. At an emergency meeting in Naypyidaw, Than Shwe is said to have told council members that the country's armed forces could handle the humanitarian crisis and that he would rather concentrate on the referendum. Thein Sein backed off and returned quietly to Rangoon to oversee the relief effort, which was already falling apart—ill-prepared, ill-equipped and mismanaged. To his and everyone else's frustration the doors to large-scale international aid remained closed. The prime minister reportedly began suffering from stress and told his subordinates that he was looking forward to retiring soon. This time round, sources in Rangoon say Than Shwe and Maung Aye are hanging tight together. They both were seen on TV at polling stations casting their votes on Saturday. With Than Shwe determined to focus on the national referendum, calls from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to postpone the referendum, and pleas from the international community to allow aid into the delta fell on deaf ears. Then, a rumor started circulating among dissidents in exile that Gen Thura Shwe Mann, who is being groomed to take over the armed forces, supports the line of Thein Sein. Sources say Shwe Mann wanted aid flown in immediately. However, he was apparently unwilling to confront the commander in chief, Than Shwe. Shwe Mann may be acting out of personal concerns. Two of his sons run Ayer Shwe Wah Company, selling fertilizer to farmers in the Irrawaddy Delta. They also own a rice mill. One of the Burmese businesses on the United States' sanctions list, the Ayer Shwe Wah Company has approximately 30,000 acres of rice fields in the Irrawaddy Delta and is a leading exporter of rice. Reports from Naypyidaw suggest that Than Shwe doesn't want to hear about the death toll and missing persons in the delta. Some senior officials in the capital have let it leak that Than Shwe's subordinates are afraid to brief him on the horrific figures. It's a sad irony that it took a disaster of such proportions to unmask the true depth of the inhumanity and darkness that lives inside of Than Shwe. Perhaps the military leaders closest to him will look into his heart of darkness and see the truth for themselves. The post Did Nargis Shake Fear into Burma's Leaders? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Quake Cracks Roads in North Thailand, 1 Killed Posted: 05 May 2014 11:14 PM PDT  A Buddha statue is seen damaged after an earthquake in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand on Monday. (Photo: Xinhua) BANGKOK — Officials said Tuesday that one person was killed and several dozen were hurt in an earthquake that struck northern Thailand and Burma a day earlier, smashing windows, cracking walls and roads and damaging Buddhist temples. The airport in Chiang Rai, a northern Thai city near the epicenter of the shallow magnitude 6.3 temblor, evacuated people from its terminal, where display signs and pieces of the ceiling fell. There was no damage to the runway or flight disruptions, airport General Manager Damrong Klongakara said. A well-known temple near the city, the all-white Wat Rongkhun, was closed due to safety concerns after the earthquake. "The spire of the main building came off and the tiles on the roof fell off," Chalermchai Kositpiphat, the artist who designed the temple, told Nation TV. "I still don’t know how we can sleep tonight. … It was shaking the whole time and then aftershocks followed four to five times." Anusorn Kaewkangwan, the deputy director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department told The Associated Press on Tuesday that an 83-year-old woman in Chiang Rai’s Mae Lao district was killed when the brick walls of her house collapsed onto her during the quake. Anusorn said about 25 people were slightly injured, mostly from fallen ceilings or items in their houses. Thailand’s Meteorological Department said the quake was magnitude 6.3. The US Geological Survey measured it at 6.0 and said the epicenter was 9 km (6 miles) south of Mae Lao and 27 km (17 miles) southwest of Chiang Rai. Its depth was a relatively shallow 7.4 km (4.6 miles). Shallow quakes often cause more damage. Southeast Asia is seismically active and quakes are often felt in surrounding nations. Thailand has several faults, though in recent times quakes centered in the country have been less severe than those in other Southeast Asian nations, such as Burma and Indonesia. A 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered an Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 8,000 people in Thailand’s coastal areas, among its overall death toll of 240,000. The last earthquake in Thailand approaching the size of Monday’s quake registered magnitude 5.1 on Dec. 13, 2006, in Chiang Mai Province. The post Quake Cracks Roads in North Thailand, 1 Killed appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| US, Filipino Troops Begin Large Military Drill Posted: 05 May 2014 11:10 PM PDT  US and Filipino military officers salute during the opening ceremony of the Balikatan 2014 Joint Exercise inside the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon city, Manila on May 5, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) MANILA — More than 5,000 US and Filipino troops began two weeks of military exercises on Monday to prepare to jointly deal with any potential crisis in the Philippines, which is prone to natural disasters and has been locked in a dangerous territorial standoff with China. US and Philippine military officials said at an opening ceremony that 3,000 Filipino soldiers and 2,500 American military personnel would take part in the annual "Balikatan," or shoulder to shoulder, exercises, the largest of several military drills the allies stage each year. American and Philippine officials said the maneuvers would focus on maritime security and disaster response, but avoided linking the war games with their concern over China, which they have criticized for its increasingly assertive behavior in disputed South China Sea territories. The Philippines, the oldest of Washington’s five defense treaty allies in Asia, has turned to the US to modernize its ill-equipped military amid the increasingly tense territorial rifts with China. Dozens of left-wing activists protested outside the main military camp in the Philippine capital, Manila, where the opening ceremony was held. They said the drills and a recently signed agreement that allows a larger US military presence in the country would violate the Philippine Constitution, which prohibits foreign troops except when their presence is covered by a treaty. Australia deployed 65 army soldiers and air force personnel to participate in live-fire maneuvers and charity activities. It also deployed a P3 Orion aircraft for a surveillance exercise with US and Philippine military counterparts, Royal Australian Air Force Wing Commander Nicholas Pratt said. Australia has signed an agreement with the Philippines that allows its forces to hold military exercises with Filipino troops in the country, the only other such pact Manila has signed aside from the United States. Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the exercises would strengthen the countries’ capability to deal with increasing tensions "due to excessive and expansive maritime and territorial claims" and "aggressive patterns of behavior" that threaten regional peace and stability. The exercises will be held in military camps in the northern and western Philippines, including in Zambales and Palawan provinces on the edge of the South China Sea. The maneuvers will include maritime surveillance exercises, live-fire drills, training on handling bombs and "mass casualty response," a Philippine military statement said. China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have overlapping claims in potentially oil- and gas-rich areas in the busy South China Sea, with Beijing laying claim to virtually the entire body of water. The territorial spats between Beijing and Manila have worsened after Chinese government ships effectively gained control of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in 2012 then blockaded the Second Thomas Shoal, where Philippine marines have been based on a grounded navy ship since 1999. Chinese coast guard ships have twice attempted to block Philippine ships bringing in food and fresh batches of marines to Second Thomas Shoal, increasing tensions. A Philippine military plane dropped food supplies and letters from Filipino supporters to the marines marooned at the Second Thomas Shoal over the weekend. The post US, Filipino Troops Begin Large Military Drill appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Bollywood Actress Jaitly Fights for LGBT Rights Posted: 05 May 2014 11:03 PM PDT  Gay rights activists hold placards during a protest in New Delhi on Feb. 11, 2014, demanding the review of a ruling by Indian Supreme Court that banned gay sex in India. UNITED NATIONS — Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly said on Monday she will not stop fighting for equal rights for lesbians, gays, transgender people and bisexuals despite years of character assassination and threats to her life and the lives of her 2-year-old twins. The 32-year-old former Miss India came to UN headquarters to promote the UN’s Free and Equal campaign championing equality for LGBT people and an end to homophobic violence and discrimination with a Bollywood-style video called "The Welcome." It tells the story of a young man who brings his boyfriend home for the first time and wins acceptance from his family. Jaitly, who was named a UN Equality Champion by UN rights chief Navi Pillay last year in recognition of her support for LGBT rights, made her musical debut in the 2-1/2-minute video. She said it has been seen by more than 145,000 people around the world, from India to Mexico and Japan, since its launch in Mumbai last Wednesday. Jaitly told a news conference the video uses the universal language of music to try to reach as many people as possible with the message that fighting discrimination doesn’t just mean changing laws and policies, "you also need to make a change of hearts and minds." The Free and Equal campaign is a year-long global campaign which was launched in South Africa last July. At home in India, Jaitly said she is campaigning and hoping that the Supreme Court will reconsider and reverse its recent decision to reinstate a British colonial-era law banning gay sex. Jaitly said she became an LGBT activist 10 years ago because "the very people who made me what I am today" came from that community, including a transgender makeup artist who, without her knowledge, filled out the form to enter her in the Miss India contest. "Today, I am here, I think, thanks to him," she said. "After he passed away, I just believed that something had to be done, and I just could not keep sitting there in my cocoon of my perfect world," she said. "I had to do something which would make a difference in people whose lives I was seeing were a constant imprisonment right around me. And that’s why I stood up for this." Jaitly said the past decade has been a struggle. "It’s been a very, very long journey for me, both personally, professionally. Also I suffered a lot sometimes because there were people who would not want to work with me because I was supporting gay rights," she said. But Jaitly said she remains undaunted and committed to speaking out for the rights of millions of LGBT people around the world who can’t speak for themselves 'despite threats from many opposing parties, threats to my children, threats to myself, character assassination." "I do not want … my children to grow up in an environment where people are judged based on their sexual orientation," she said. "I want my sons to grow up in a world where people are judged on the content of their character." The post Bollywood Actress Jaitly Fights for LGBT Rights appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Vietnam Says Chinese Offshore Rig Is Illegal; China Disagrees Posted: 05 May 2014 10:55 PM PDT  A photo of CNOOC's Haiyang Shiyou 981 rig in the South China Sea, taken on May 9, 2012. (Photo: Xinhua) Vietnam has condemned as illegal the operation of a Chinese deep-water drilling rig in what Vietnam says is its territorial water in the South China Sea and told China’s state-run oil company to remove it. China said the rig was operating completely within its waters. China claims almost the entire oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, rejecting rival claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. The rival claims have raised fears of conflict. The Maritime Safety Administration of China (MSAC) announced on its website on Saturday that all vessels should keep one mile (1.6 km) away from the rig, called the Haiyang Shiyou 981. The $1 billion rig is owned by China’s state-run CNOOC oil company and it had been drilling south of Hong Kong. On Sunday, Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokesman objected to the Chinese announcement, saying the coordinates of the oil rig put it in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and on its continental shelf, about 120 nautical miles off its coast. The spokesman, Le Hai Binh, said in a statement Vietnam "resolutely opposed" the Chinese company’s drilling. "All activities of foreign countries in Vietnam’s waters without Vietnam’s permission are illegal and worthless," Binh said. Vietnam’s state energy company PetroVietnam sent a letter to CNOOC on Sunday saying it strongly objected to China’s action and "insisted CNOOC stop immediately the illegal activities and pull Haiyang Shiyou 981 out of Vietnam’s waters." But despite Vietnam’s objections, MSAC on Monday expanded the prohibited area around the rig to a three-mile (4.8 km) radius. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked about Vietnam’s protest, said the rig was operating "completely within the waters of China’s Paracel Islands." She declined to elaborate. The Paracel Islands are a frequent source of tension between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea. Vietnam has accused China of using aggressive means to intimidate its fishermen near the islands. CNOOC, China’s top offshore oil producer, in 2012 invited foreign companies to jointly develop nine blocks in the western part of the South China Sea, which Vietnam said was illegal because the blocks overlap its territorial waters. China and the 10 countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations are trying to negotiate a code of conduct to ease tension in the South China Sea. The South China Sea holds about 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in proven and probable reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration. It is also rich in fish and crossed by important shipping lanes. The post Vietnam Says Chinese Offshore Rig Is Illegal; China Disagrees appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
