The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Renewed Fighting Not Linked to Census-Taking: Burmese Minister
- Ambush on Burma Army Convoy Kills 3, TNLA Claims
- Kachin Fighting Worrisome, KNU Tells Govt
- KIO, Govt to Meet for Peace Talks Next Week
- Farmers Injured in Clash With Police After Court Decision
- 88 Activists Urge Govt, Rebels to Increase Ceasefire Talk Efforts
- Court Forces Out Thai Leader, Part of Her Cabinet
- Nargis: A Cash Cow for the Regime?
- China’s Alibaba Group Aiming to Raise $1B in IPO
- In China’s Xinjiang, Economic Divide Seen Fuelling Ethnic Unrest
- Embattled Thai PM Testifies in Abuse of Power Case
- South Korea Warns North Korea over New Nuke Test
| Renewed Fighting Not Linked to Census-Taking: Burmese Minister Posted: 07 May 2014 05:50 AM PDT  Burmese government Minister Khin Yi gives a press conference at the Rangoon Division Parliament building on Wednesday. (Photo: May Kha / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Burmese minister of immigration and population has denied that a recent outbreak of fighting Kachin State and northern Shan State is connected to efforts to collect census data in conflict areas. In recent weeks thousands of people been added to the tens of thousands displaced by violence in northern Burma, with many linking the renewed clashes with an increase of security personnel in parts of the country where ethnic armed groups refused to cooperate with the census. Khin Yi, the minister responsible for the United Nations-backed national census, held a press conference at the Rangoon Division Parliament on Wednesday, in which he attempted to explain the government's efforts to collect data in conflict areas, as well as in Arakan State, where Muslims have been declined the right to self identify their ethnicity in the census. "What is happening in Kachin is not because of census data collection," said Khin Yi, when asked to comment on a news report that quoted President's Office Minister Aung Min, the government's chief peace negotiator, linking the fighting to the census-taking process. "What Aung Min said might be misunderstood. We collect data only when we have permission for collection. We will continue to negotiate to collect in Kachin without giving up," Khin Yi said. The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) refused to allow government census enumerators to collect data in areas it controls, as did the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, based in northern Shan State. Both groups, as well as the Shan State Army-North, have clashed with the Burma Army since government attacks on villages were reported over Burmese New Year in April. Khin Yi also denied that enumerators had been accompanied by security forces while conducting the census in areas of disputed control, despite government-run media reporting that this was the case. "We don't collect census with security forces," he said. Khin Yi said the census was successfully conducted in almost all areas where ethnic armed groups are still active, with the exception of about 25 village tracts, consisting of 97 villages, in Kachin State. The KIO controls a section of the Burmese-Chinese border, and its territory includes camps for thousands of internally displaced persons. The minister said he would continue making efforts to have the census fully completed in Kachin State, as well as in Arakan State, where many people were also not counted during the initial 12 days of data collection, which ended on April 10. He noted that under census rules, data can still be collected for six to eight weeks after the initial collection. Despite saying ahead of the census that Muslims in Arakan State who call themselves Rohingya would be able to do so in the census, the government at the last minute declared that the term would not be allowed in the census. The government does not recognize Rohingya as an ethnic group and Muslims in Arakan State have been passed over by enumerators unless they agree to complete the census under the government's preferred term, Bengali. Khin Yi said there were in total about 1.33 million "Bengalis" in Burma and an estimated 300,000 people had been counted as such in the census. In Arakan State, he said, only 20,000 of the estimated 1.05 million "Bengali" population in the state had been included in the census. "I will go to Arakan State on Friday and will discuss with stakeholders to recollect the census. I will try till the end of May," Khin Yi said. He said he would seek guarantees from the community that continued data collection will not cause conflicts, but said the government would still not allow people to call themselves Rohingya in the census. Preliminary findings from manually counting the census forms will be released in August and include at least population data and gender data at a division and township level. Finalized population data is not set to be announced until May next year. The post Renewed Fighting Not Linked to Census-Taking: Burmese Minister appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Ambush on Burma Army Convoy Kills 3, TNLA Claims Posted: 07 May 2014 05:36 AM PDT  TNLA soldiers march in the forest in northern Shan State. (Photo: Facebook / Our Taarng Land) RANGOON — An ethnic Palaung rebel group claimed to have ambushed a Burma Army convoy in northern Shan State's Kunlong Township on Wednesday, killing at least three soldiers and destroying two trucks. "We fired seven RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades]. Two trucks were destroyed and burned. I only could see three bodies of soldiers fell out of the trucks. We do not know the exact number of deaths and injured," said Mai Aie Kyaw, a spokesperson for the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). He said a convoy of around 40 army trucks were travelling through Kunlong Township, located about 100 km northeast of Lashio, in order to bring reinforcements and supplies to Burma Army units in areas under control of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). "We got a tip that their trucks were heading there. Our troops were waiting to shoot them," Mai Aie Kyaw said, adding that each truck carried around 20 soldiers. The TNLA and the KIA are the only two major ethnic armed groups in the country that do not currently have bilateral ceasefire deals with the Burmese government. Fighting has escalated in eastern Kachin state and northern Shan State in recent months after the Burma Army increased operations against rebel forces. Deadly clashes have regularly been reported in the areas and 3,000 civilians, mostly ethnic Kachin, were forced to flee their homes. The newly displaced people join about 120,000 others who have fled due to the conflict since 2011, when a 17-year-old ceasefire between the KIA and the government broke down. Khon Jha, a Kachin peace activist based in Rangoon, said reports from the ground indicated that the army might be launching large operations in Kachin and northern Shan states soon, as heavy army convoys were spotted in the region. "The government never tells the people that they are going to have another offensive in Kachin. It's time for our civil society to think about how we can stop this," she said, adding that she feared the new operations would displace more civilians. The TNLA has said that they believe there are 2,000 Burma Army soldiers in Namkham Township alone. The KIA has requested a ceasefire meeting with the government and both sides will meet in the Kachin capital Myitkyina on May 13-14. After these talks an alliance of 12 ethnic groups is expected to meet with the government for further nationwide ceasefire talks. The post Ambush on Burma Army Convoy Kills 3, TNLA Claims appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Kachin Fighting Worrisome, KNU Tells Govt Posted: 07 May 2014 04:27 AM PDT  KNU vice chairperson Zipporah Sein speaks during a meeting with Minister Aung Min and members of the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) in Rangoon on Tuesday. (Photo: Susanna Hla Hla Soe / Facebook) RANGOON — The Karen National Union (KNU) has raised concerns with Minister Aung Min, the government's lead peace negotiator, about fighting in northern Burma. Zipporah Sein, vice chairperson of the Karen rebel group, is leading a delegation this week to meet with the government's peace negotiation team. According to a member of the delegation, the KNU vice chairperson told Aung Min on Monday that clashes between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in northern Burma could hamper efforts to achieve a nationwide ceasefire accord. "She said at the meeting that she was very worried about fighting in the north. It's not good to use force while trying to have a nationwide peace agreement," delegation member Susanna Hla Hla Soe, director of the Karen Women's Action Group (KWAG), told The Irrawaddy. Susanna Hla Hla Soe added that Aung Min responded by saying the government had ordered its infantry division troops to withdraw from Kachin State. Some troops have already done so, he reportedly said. "The fighting greatly disturbs the peace process in our country. Ethnic groups have tried to trust them and make peace, even though we never trusted them in the past," Susanna Hla Hla Soe said, referring to the government. The KNU is a major ethnic armed group that signed a ceasefire with the government in 2012. The Karen rebel group has played an important role in talks working toward a nationwide ceasefire. Its chairman, Mutu Say Poe, has met several times in the past with President Thein Sein as well as Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the government army. However, the chairman did not join the KNU delegation in Rangoon this week, nor did the group's general secretary. Both men are described as "pragmatic" leaders who have been known to compromise with the government on a number of issues during peace negotiations. Zipporah Sein, the group's vice chairperson, is known as more of a "hard-liner," who has approached the peace process cautiously and continues to express doubts about the government's intentions. Since taking her position in 2012, she has been absent from many of the peace talks. Her participation in the delegation this week has been seen by some observers as indicative of a power struggle between the "pragmatic" and "hard-liner" factions of the KNU. Some analysts suggest that she is attempting to gain more support from the Karen community. During her meeting with Aung Min on Monday, she called for more participation in the peace process by civil society groups, according to Hla Maung Shwe, a member of the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), which was represented at the meeting. "She said the peace process should be more concrete and that political dialogue should be discussed," Hla Maung Shwe told The Irrawaddy. "She highlighted the role of civil society because she herself came from a civil society background." Before becoming the KNU vice chairperson, Zipporah Sein served for several years as chairwoman of the Karen Women's Organization (KWO). Aung Min agreed that civil society should play an important role in peace negotiations but did not discuss particular ways of incorporating them into the discussion, according to Hla Maung Shwe. "The KNU alone is not enough. All concerned organizations should come to the table and get involved in political dialogue," the MPC member said. In addition to government officials, Zipporah Sein is meeting with Karen youths and organizations during her trip. After departing from KNU territory on the Thai-Burma border on April 30, she met with Karen communities in Pa-an, the capital of Karen State. In Rangoon and Pathein, a town in Irrawaddy Division, she will also meet with Karen youths and Karen organizations to discuss methods of rebuilding unity among the Karen people and preparing for a conference in 2015 that will include Karen political parties, armed groups and community-based organizations. In Rangoon, she also met with non-Karen civil society groups, including the Rangoon-based 88 Generation Peace and Open Society. "The role of civil society organizations is very important in building peace," she told reporters at the MPC office in Rangoon. "Leaders alone are not enough, all concerned civil society organizations should get involved. That's why I came to meet with and listen to civil society organizations." She will return to KNU territory on May 12. The Karen people make up about 7 percent of Burma's 60 million or so population. They live not only in Karen State, but also in Rangoon, Irrawaddy and Pegu divisions. When the KNU was founded in 1947, it established a base in Insein, Rangoon Division. The base was later moved to Taungoo, Pegu Division, and finally to Manerplaw, on the Thai-Burma border. Nang Seng Noom contributed to this report. The post Kachin Fighting Worrisome, KNU Tells Govt appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| KIO, Govt to Meet for Peace Talks Next Week Posted: 07 May 2014 04:21 AM PDT  Gen. Gun Maw, the KIA's deputy commander-in-chief, center right, smiles in a meeting with a government army commander at peace talks in October 2013. (Photo: May Kha / The Irrawaddy) The Burmese government's negotiation team will meet with a delegation from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) next Tuesday, after the Kachin rebel group last week requested bilateral talks. Meetings will be held in Myitkyina, the state capital of Kachin State, in a park known as Manau. The KIO delegation will be led by Sumlut Gam, while the government's team will be led by Minister Aung Min from the President's Office. High-ranking commanders will be in attendance. Hla Maung Shwe, a special adviser to the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), said the meetings would last for about two days, with participants picking up where they left off during previous talks in October last year. "There will be negotiations on the work of the ceasefire implementation," he said, adding that the current hostilities would also be part of the discussion. Over the past month, clashes have escalated in Kachin State and northern Shan State between the KIO's army and Burmese government troops. Fighting has displaced about 5,000 more civilians, in addition to the 100,000 or so people who have fled from their homes since 2011. The Kachin army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a Palaung force, are the only two ethnic armed groups that have not yet signed a ceasefire with the government. Other major armed groups have signed ceasefire deals with the nominally civilian government, which is now trying to consolidate those deals into a nationwide ceasefire before August. Gen. Gun Maw, deputy commander-in-chief of the Kachin army, confirmed that the meetings next week would pick up on issues that were under discussion in October, while also focusing on the upsurge in fighting last month. In October, both sides agreed to de-escalate hostilities, to form a joint monitoring committee to oversee implementation of a ceasefire agreement; to work on four pilot villages for the resettlement of displaced civilians; to reopen roads for public transportation; and to meet again for further talks. The post KIO, Govt to Meet for Peace Talks Next Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Farmers Injured in Clash With Police After Court Decision Posted: 07 May 2014 03:22 AM PDT  Farmer and activist Pauk Sa is led by police in Pegu Division's Paungtae Township. (Kaung Myat Min / The Irrawaddy) Two farmers were hospitalized Tuesday in Paungtae Township, Pegu Division, when police violently clashed with supporters of an activist denied bail in a case relating to a long-running land protest, according to demonstrators. Five farmers and activists from Thaekone Township, who have been leading a protest camp since Feb. 11, were summoned to the township court in Paungtae on Tuesday on charges of disturbing "public tranquility," according to Kaung Htet Kyaw, an activist assisting the farmers in their protest campaign. The five are Pauk Sa, Daw Nyo, Daw Win, Thant Zin Htet and Kyaw Thu Aung, he said. Farmers from Thaekone Township set up a protest camp nearly three months ago to call for the return of their land, which they say has been handed to a well-connected local businessman. They have written to Parliament's land dispute commission, claiming that more than 1,000 acres of farmland in Thaekone and nearby villages was confiscated in 1999 and given to businessman U Htein three years later. Kaung Htet Kyaw said Tuesday's altercation occurred after Pauk Sa and two women activists attended their first hearing at the Paungtae court, where they are charged with Article 505(b) of Burma's Penal Code over a protest they held against U Htein in April. The article makes it a crime to act "with intent to cause, or in a manner that is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or any section of the public, whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against public tranquility." The judge did not grant bail for Pauk Sa, although the two women were allowed bail at 500,000 kyat (more than US$500), said Kaung Htet Kyaw. As police tried to take Pauk Sa to the jail in Paungtae, a handful of farmers, outraged at the decision to keep him incarcerated, attempted to block their progress. "But the police managed to put him in the truck. Then we followed to the Paungtae prison," Kaung Htet Kyaw said. "When we arrived at the prison, the women told the police that if they take brother Pauk Sa to the prison, they would also go in. "Then the police started beating them." Paungtae resident Saw Naing told The Irrawaddy that Daw Nyo and Daw Win were admitted to hospital on Tuesday evening after police struck them and pushed them over. Daw Win was wounded on her head and Daw Nyo on her chest, Saw Naing said. "Daw Win's head was severely hit and she lost consciousness [temporarily]," said Zin Mar Win, another farmer activist. As police clashed with the farmers, Mar Naw, a freelance journalist was also injured, according to locals. "The judge acted unfairly [by granting bail to two of three defendants] and the police abused the farmers, who were very few compared to their security forces," said Kaung Htet Kyaw, explaining that only a handful of those involved in protests over the land grab were able to travel to Paungtae to support Pauk Sa. The next court hearing for the accused farmers is set for May 20. Last month, the protesters demonstrated by burning fake coffins to represent government troops based in nearby Innma town, the local cooperative association and the parliamentary land dispute commission. Pauk Sa told The Irrawaddy at the time that President Thein Sein and the Burmese army's commander-in-chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, must act on the issue of land seized by former military governments and the army. "They should act without any delay, although they have been talking about the return of our lands." He said in April, warning that farmers needed to access their land soon. "Now, the time has arrived for plowing, but we don't yet receive any response." Additional reporting by Kaung Myat Min. The post Farmers Injured in Clash With Police After Court Decision appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| 88 Activists Urge Govt, Rebels to Increase Ceasefire Talk Efforts Posted: 07 May 2014 03:01 AM PDT  Minister Aung Min and his team (L) met with the 88 Generation activists at the Myanmar Peace Center on Tuesday. (Photo: Facebook / 88 Generation Peace and Open Society) RANGOON — The 88 Generation Peace and Open Society said it sent a letter to President Thein Sein and the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) on Tuesday expressing their concern over the recent escalation in fighting in northern Burma and the lack of progress in the nationwide ceasefire talks. The activists discussed Burma's ethnic conflict with the government chief peace negotiator Minister Aung Min on Tuesday at the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), an institute in Rangoon that advises the government on reaching a nationwide ceasefire. "We heard about uncertainties regarding the peace talks and we don't want those talks to stop. Meanwhile, the fighting is escalating so we are concerned," Mya Aye, ethnic affairs Officer of the 88 Generation activist, told The Irrawaddy by phone. He said 88 leader Min Ko Naing sent a letter to Thein Sein and the UNFC, an alliance of 12 ethnic armed groups, urging both sides to reduce the fighting and make progress at the negotiating table. Mya Aye added that the letter's content would not be made public at this stage. "During the meeting the MPC explained the difficulties they face. They also promised that they will keep pushing for peace talks and a nationwide ceasefire and asked for our help," he said. "It is important to negotiate and bridge different points of view. A ceasefire agreement should be a fair arrangement for both sides, it's important we find a way to achieve this," Mya Aye said. "It could lead to political dialogue and we will try our best to talk to both sides." The group said it wants to get involved in the peace process. "We don't want harm the peace process the government has been carrying out, while we also want to see the demands of the ethnic people are fulfilled. We understand that as long as they (ethnic people) don't have what they want, there will be no peace," Mya Aye said during a press conference. "We are here today to officially ask the MPC how we could be involved in nationwide cease fire process," he said. Hla Maung Shwe, a representative of the MPC, said the center had agreed to hold a monthly meeting with the 88 Generation group to inform them of the peace process and seek their input. Aung Min said during a press conference that, "The 88 Generation students have been working on their own for peace. So, we think it'd be better for both of us to meet, discuss and share each other what we know. I'm pleased with the meeting." Mya Aye stressed that a reduction in fighting in Kachin State and northern Shan State was a prerequisite for success in the nationwide ceasefire talks between the government, Burma Army and the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), which represents the ethnic armed groups. "The army's deployment [of troops] is important because it is not good to have intense fighting while discussing peace. Talks must not end because of fighting," he said. After a year of relative calm, fighting has escalated in Kachin and northern Shan states in recent months and in April the Burma Army launched an offensive that led to numerous clashes with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Shan State Army-North, while displacing about 3,000 villagers. The KIA, which does not yet have a bilateral ceasefire with Naypyidaw, is scheduled to meet with Minister Aung Min in the Kachin capital Myitkyina on May 13-14. After these talks the NCCT is expected to meet with the government for further nationwide ceasefire talks. Talks between the NCCT, Minister Aung Min and Burma Army commanders entered a new phase in March when both sides announced they would try to jointly draft a single text for a nationwide ceasefire. The new approach, some participants believed, could lead to a breakthrough, but soon after talks began the Burma Army insisted on including a statement in the single text that called on ethnic armed forces to respect the military-drafted Constitution and come under central army command. The post 88 Activists Urge Govt, Rebels to Increase Ceasefire Talk Efforts appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Court Forces Out Thai Leader, Part of Her Cabinet Posted: 07 May 2014 02:00 AM PDT  Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is seen smiling as she arrived at the Constitutional Court in Bangkok on Tuesday. The court ordered Yingluck to step down Wednesday after she was found guilty of abuse of power. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Thailand's prime minister was ordered to step down Wednesday along with part of her Cabinet after the Constitutional Court found her guilty in an abuse of power case, pushing the country deeper into political turmoil. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was charged with abusing her authority by transferring a senior civil servant in 2011 to another position. The court ruled that the transfer was carried out to benefit her politically powerful family and, therefore, violated the constitution—an accusation she has denied. "Transferring government officials must be done in accordance with moral principle," the court said in its ruling, read aloud on live television for almost 90 minutes. "Transferring with a hidden agenda is not acceptable." "The Constitutional Court has ruled unanimously that [Yingluck] has used her status as the prime minister to intervene for her own and others' benefits to [transfer] a government official," which violated Article 268 of the Constitution, and ended her rule as prime minister, the court said in its verdict. It was not immediately clear who would become the new acting prime minister. The ruling also forced out nine Cabinet members who the court said were complicit in the transfer of National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri. The judgment marks the latest dramatic twist in Thailand's long-running political crisis. It was a victory for Yingluck's opponents, mostly from the urban elite and those in the south, who for the past six months have been engaged in vociferous and sometimes violent street protests demanding she step down to make way for an interim unelected leader. But it does little to resolve Thailand's political crisis as it leaves the country in limbo and primed for more violence. The ruling casts doubt on whether new elections planned for July will take place, which would anger Yingluck's mostly rural supporters who have called for a major rally Saturday in Bangkok. Her ouster will doubtless swell those numbers, and some fear it could lead to more violence. Since November, more than 20 have been killed and hundreds injured in sporadic gun-battles, drive-by shootings and grenade attacks. It also remains far from clear whether her opponents will be able to achieve other key demands, including creating a reform council overseen by a leader of their choice that will carry out various steps to rid the country of corruption and what they claim is money politics, including alleged vote-buying. Yingluck, Thailand's first female prime minister, and her Pheu Thai party swept to power in mid-2011 elections—and remain very popular among the country's poor majority, particularly in the north and northeast. But she is despised by Bangkok's middle and upper class. The campaign against Yingluck, 46, has been the latest chapter in Thailand's political upheaval that began when her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a polarizing figure who was ousted by a 2006 military coup after protests accusing him of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for constitutional monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Since then, Thaksin's supporters and opponents have engaged in a power struggle that has occasionally turned bloody. Thaksin's supporters say the Thai establishment opposes him because their position of privilege has been threatened by his electoral popularity, cemented by populist programs that benefited the less well-off in the vote-strong countryside. Thailand's courts, like its military, are seen as bastions of anti-Thaksin conservatism, and have a record of hostile rulings toward the Shinawatra political machine, which is fueled by a fortune Thaksin made in the telecommunications sector. Thaksin's opponents, including those who have rioted and attacked police, destroyed public property and occupied government offices, have usually been treated leniently by the courts. The Constitutional Court has historically been unsympathetic to Thaksin's allies. In 2007, the court made a landmark ruling dissolving Thaksin's original Thai Rak Thai party for fraud in a 2006 election, and banned its executives from politics for five years. Thaksin went into self-imposed exile in 2008 to escape a two-year jail sentence for conflict of interest while prime minister. Thaksin's allies in late 2007 handily won the first post-coup election, but the Constitutional Court in 2008 kicked out two successive pro-Thaksin prime ministers. A coalition government then cobbled together by the opposition Democrat Party had to use the army to put down pro-Thaksin demonstrations in 2010 that left more than 90 people dead in street battles, but Yingluck and her Pheu Thai party won a sweeping majority in a mid-2011 general election. Yingluck's fortunes plunged when her party's lawmakers late last year used shady legislative tactics to try to ram through a law that would have given an amnesty to political offenders of the previous eight years, including Thaksin. The move reignited mass demonstrations against Thaksin and his political machine and eventual street fighting by anti-government toughs. Seeking to ease the pressure, Yingluck in December dissolved the lower House and called elections for Feb. 2. But her opponents on the street disrupted the polls, which in turn were invalidated by the courts. More than 20 people have died in the latest political violence. Yingluck's foes also have been seeking to topple her in the courts, in what her supporters describe as an attempt at a "judicial coup." It was anti-government senators who lodged the case over the transfer of National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri, a move previously ruled unlawful by another court. The post Court Forces Out Thai Leader, Part of Her Cabinet appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Nargis: A Cash Cow for the Regime? Posted: 06 May 2014 09:13 PM PDT  In this file photo taken on April 25, 2010, villagers line up to fetch water from a lake in Dedaye in Cyclone Nargis-hit delta region. (Photo: AP) On Friday, 2 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis made landfall in The Irrawaddy Delta, sending a storm surge 40 kilometers into the densely populated agricultural area. On the sixth anniversary of Burma's worst-ever natural disaster, which killed at least 138,000 people, The Irrawaddy is republishing a comment from May 28, 2008, that investigates whether the then ruling junta found ways to profit from international humanitarian aid sent to help victims. Many villages in cyclone affected areas in the Irrawaddy delta are still waiting for food, shelters and supplies, according to Burmese aid workers who visited villages in the Kyungyangone, Nyaungdone and Dedaye areas. "People who were begging there are now being forcibly removed form the roadside," said a Burmese aid worker who returned from Dedaye. "It's really a depressing situation there." The aid worker said access to the hardest-hit areas is still a major issue. Most small villages close to the sea haven’t received any assistance yet. "People are just dying," she said. Almost four weeks after Nargis slammed into Burma, the conditions for refugees have improved only in small, incremental steps. The majority of survivors have yet to see aid of any kind. After the international donors and high-ranking officials who attended the donor conference in Rangoon on Sunday left, a senior diplomat based in Rangoon shared his pessimism. "Even if they get aid in cash, they (military leaders) will build roads and bridges—it won’t reach down to people," he said. The aid worker who returned from Dedaye said aid is reaching there but starvation in nearby towns is visible. "We have seen many traumatized people," she said. "Some people received some onions and potatoes and two nails for each family (to rebuild houses)," she said. She said many villages where fishermen and their families live close to the sea have no shelter or food, let alone aid workers. The UN estimated that 1 million out of 2.5 million in the affected area has received any aid assistance so far. The UN has been tentatively testing the commitment of Burmese officials following the agreement with the junta's top leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, to allow "all aid workers" to go in and save lives. This was regarded as a breakthrough by international observers and UN officials, who remained cautious however. Kathleen Cravero of the United Nations Development Programme said that six visas were issued to UN staff on Tuesday. However, there are still many obstacles on the ground. The regime recently issued an order saying that anyone who wishes to visit the Irrawaddy delta must obtain official permission from the army (kakakyee). Some Burmese aid workers and activists maintain the junta has not made any concessions, but the UN has made concessions to the regime. "Now people are putting the blame on the UN and the regime," one NGO worker told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity. "Nargis is now a cash cow for the regime and UN agencies (to raise money)," she said. Burmese officials said US $11 billion is needed to rebuild communities in the affected area. The figure was met with strong skepticism. At the donor pledging conference in Rangoon on Saturday, donor countries pledged around $50 million, far short of the $200 million requested by the UN. Some Western donors said there is a will to provide more money, but the regime must allow access as well as transparency and accountability. One NGO worker said she believed the junta is appearing to cooperate in order to get more countries to pledge funds. "There are many people ready to come and donate if allowed," she said. "Buy is the aid reaching the people? We have meeting after meeting at the Traders Hotel (in Rangoon) but nothing happens." She said all aid workers should be welcomed no matter if Western or Asian. "We shouldn’t think that Westerners can do more and have more understanding." "We now have some emergency cowboys who went to the delta region, but they have no clue how to help people and just keep praising their projects and asking for more money," she said, referring to some Western UN staff members. A Burmese man in his early 40s who has worked for an international NGO in Rangoon for the past week said they should be given more access to the delta, and they should work more closely with local groups. International NGOs that have operated in Burma for many years have established networks, better understanding and good relationships with local civil society groups, he said, but he claimed, "The UN doesn’t engage with locals." There is also a fear among some Burmese that UN officials in Burma may work with the regime’s business cronies, who have been placed under economic sanctions by the US and some EU countries. The regime is said to have recently offered contracts to Tay Za, the CEO of Htoo Trading Company, Tun Myint Naing, a.k.a Steven Law, the director of Asia World, Zaw Zaw, the CEO of Max Myanmar and others to reconstruct schools, hospitals and government buildings in the affected area. Debbie Storhard of Alternative-Asean said the UN should not work with the regime’s cronies and apologists. "We know that the regime has no transparency," she said. "We know that the world wants to help. However, lowering the bar of accountability and ethics will be confirming to the regime that ill treating people is good for business. Upon returning from the delta, one aid worker said, "This has become a man-made disaster. Nargis is a cash cow, and Than Shwe has won again. He and his cronies are going to be richer. I think the UN fell into the regime's trap." After watching Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Naypyidaw, some Burma observers in Rangoon said the UN chief had been manipulated by the regime, in a manner similar to that of UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari. The post Nargis: A Cash Cow for the Regime? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| China’s Alibaba Group Aiming to Raise $1B in IPO Posted: 07 May 2014 12:19 AM PDT  A woman walks past an Alibaba advertisement on a wall in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province September 26, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) SAN FRANCISCO — Alibaba Group, China's leading e-commerce company, is dangling a deal that could turn into one of the biggest IPOs in US history. In a long-awaited move made Tuesday, Alibaba filed papers for an initial public offering of stock seeking to raise at least US$1 billion. The documents set the stage for the technology industry's biggest IPO public offering since Twitter and its early investors collected $1.8 billion in the online short messaging service's market debut last fall. Depending on investor demand for its stock, Alibaba could try to raise more money and even surpass the $16 billion that Facebook and its early investors raised in the social networking leader's IPO two years ago. "This is going to be the granddaddy of all IPOs," predicted PrivCo CEO Sam Hamadeh, who has closely followed the market for years. One of the reasons Alibaba may set a new IPO fundraising standard is because one of its major shareholders, Yahoo Inc., is supposed to sell about 208 million shares, too. For now, Alibaba isn't specifying how much stock will be sold in the IPO, or setting a price range or saying which US exchange its stock will trade on. Those details will emerge as the IPO progresses. The process is likely to take three to four months to complete before Alibaba's shares begin trading. The rise of e-commerce in China has given millions of households wider access to clothes, books and consumer electronics in a society that in the 1980s still required ration tickets for some supermarket items. Shopping online has become even popular as smartphones gave more Chinese consumers easy access to a computer and Alibaba's launch of an online payment system, Alipay, which filled the gap for the shoppers who lacked credit cards. Still growing at an explosive rate, online shopping is forecast by consulting firm McKinsey to triple from 2011 levels to $400 billion a year by 2015. Although it's not well-known in the United States, Alibaba is an e-commerce powerhouse that makes more money than Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc. combined. What's more, the company is still growing at a rapid clip as its network of online services, including Taobao, Tmall and Alipay, mine a Chinese Internet market that already has 618 million Web surfers, roughly twice the size of the US population. Taobao is an online shopping bazaar similar to eBay while Tmall serves as an online outlet for major brands sold by major retailers. Alipay is an electronic payment service similar to eBay's PayPal. Last year, 231 million customers bought a total of $248 billion in merchandise on Alibaba's e-commerce sites, according to the IPO documents. About $37 billion, or 15 percent, of that volume came through mobile devices. Most of Alibaba is currently owned by four shareholders: Japan's SoftBank Corp., which holds a 34 percent stake and also controls wireless carriers Sprint Corp. in the US; Yahoo, with a 23 percent stake; former CEO and co-founder Jack Ma with an 8.9 percent stake; and vice chairman and co-founder Joseph Tsai with a 3.6 percent stake. Alibaba didn't choose an optimal time to go public. Several Internet company stocks that soared last year amid high hopes have plummeted this year as investors reassess their prospects. Twitter Inc. has been among the hardest hit. Since hitting a peak of $74.73 late last year, the company's shares have lost more than half their value. They closed Tuesday at $31.85, just slightly above their $26 IPO price. Despite the skittish conditions for Internet stocks, most analysts expect Alibaba's IPO to bring in at least $10 billion. Hamadeh predicts the IPO will be priced at the level that gives Alibaba a market value of $195 billion. That would eclipse Facebook's current market value of $150 billion. It's not unusual for highly scrutinized companies to list an artificially low fundraising target when they first file IPO papers. Facebook Inc., for instance, originally said it would raise $5 billion in its IPO before eventually bringing in more than three times that amount. That deal remains the technology industry's largest IPO. Credit and debit card processor Visa Inc. holds the record for the richest IPO in the US at nearly $18 billion. The IPO will cast a spotlight on Alibaba's improbable rise. Alibaba started in 1999 with just $60,000 in the apartment of Jack Ma, a former English school teacher with no previous experience in business or technology. The company has since blossomed into a testament to China's economic might, with earnings of $2.9 billion on revenue of nearly $6.5 billion through the first nine months of its last fiscal year ending in March. That topped the combined earnings of $2.4 billion posted during the same April-December stretch by eBay and Amazon last year. Those two companies collectively had revenue of $71 billion during that period. With Ma at the helm, Alibaba Group rebuffed a competitive threat after eBay entered into China's market in 2002 and lined up a Yahoo investment that fortified the company's position. Ebay abandoned the Chinese market in 2006 in a tacit admission of defeat. Ma, 49, stepped down as Alibaba's CEO a year ago when he was succeeded by Jonathan Lu. But Ma remains Alibaba's executive chairman and still shapes the company's strategy and entertains customers with songs and jokes when he takes the stage at the company's annual "Alifest." He is also a multibillionaire, based on his stake in the company. Alibaba's success has provided a financial crutch for Yahoo Inc., whose stake in the Chinese company is the main reason its own stock price has more than doubled in the past two years. Yahoo is required to sell 208 million shares, or 40 percent of its Alibaba holdings, in the IPO as part of an agreement reached last year. The divestiture is expected to generate a windfall of more than $10 billion that will help define Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's legacy at the Sunnyvale, California company. Yahoo paid $1 billion for its original stake in a 2005 deal engineered by two of Mayer's frequently maligned predecessors, co-founder Jerry Yang and Terry Semel. Mayer could distribute most of the Alibaba proceeds to Yahoo's stockholders by paying dividends or buying back millions of the company's shares. She primarily bought back Yahoo stock after the company reaped more than $7 billion from a 2012 sale of Alibaba stock. Alternatively, Mayer could set aside some of the Alibaba money to finance an acquisition that would increase Yahoo's audience and digital advertising sales. Mayer might be tempted to do something bold because she has been unable to boost Yahoo's revenue during her nearly two-year reign. The post China's Alibaba Group Aiming to Raise $1B in IPO appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| In China’s Xinjiang, Economic Divide Seen Fuelling Ethnic Unrest Posted: 07 May 2014 12:15 AM PDT  A Uighur man (front) walks past armed policemen in downtown Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, on May 1, 2014, a day after a bomb and knife attack at the city's South Railway Station left three people dead and 79 wounded. (Photo: Reuters / Petar Kujundzic) URUMQI, China — Hundreds of migrant workers from distant corners of China pour daily into the Urumqi South railway station, their first waypoint on a journey carrying them to lucrative work in other parts of the far western Xinjiang region. Like the columns of police toting rifles and metal riot spears that weave between migrants resting on their luggage, the workers are a fixture at the station, which last week was targeted by a bomb and knife attack the government has blamed on religious extremists. "We come this far because the wages are good," Shi Hongjiang, 26, from the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, told Reuters outside the station. "Also, the Uighur population is small. There aren’t enough of them to do the work." Shi’s is a common refrain from migrant workers, whose experience finding low-skilled work is very different to that of the Muslim Uighur minority. Employment discrimination, experts say, along with a demographic shift that many Uighurs feel is diluting their culture, is fuelling resentment that spills over into violent attacks directed at Han Chinese, China’s majority ethnic group. The apparent suicide attack on the station, which killed one bystander, was the latest violence to hit Xinjiang, despite a pledge from China’s President Xi Jinping to rain "crushing blows against violent terrorist forces." Many of the nearly 80 people wounded in the incident were likely to have been brought to Xinjiang, where Uighurs once formed the majority, by Han-controlled businesses to be construction workers or cotton-pickers. That made the Xinjiang capital’s southern station a "powerful symbol," said Nicholas Bequelin, a senior researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch. "In any colonial setting you have people amongst the colonized who are ready to use violence against the colonizer," he said. Resource Powerhouse Resource-rich and strategically located on the borders of central Asia, Xinjiang is key to China’s growing energy needs. Estimates put Xinjiang’s coal reserves at about 38 percent of the national total, while it already produces 13 percent of China’s crude oil output and 30 percent of the country’s natural gas. But despite the vast mineral wealth and billions of dollars of investment, analysts say much of the proceeds have flowed to Han Chinese, stoking resentment amongst many Uighurs. Han Chinese make up about 88 percent of the settlement controlled by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a state-run, semi-military organization that dominates cotton production and is involved in a raft of other industries in the region ranging from tomato growing to mining and construction. In oil and gas investment, led by China National Petroleum Corp, many job opportunities also remain closed to Uighurs. "Over the decades of oil development in Xinjiang, many workers have been brought in from all over China," said Barry Sautman, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. "The number of Uighurs who have enough engineering skills is very restricted, so the majority of positions are still being filled by the Han Chinese." 'Lots of Outsiders' Ali, a Uighur father of three who runs a stall selling trinkets close to the train station, said sentiment towards the incoming workers ranges from resignation to bitter resentment. "There are a lot of outsiders here," said the 37-year-old, who did not want to give his full name to a foreign reporter. "They are here to work, but there are few jobs for the locals." The region has for years been beset by violence blamed by the Chinese government on Islamist militants and Uighur separatists who they say want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan. More than 100 people have been killed in unrest in the past year, prompting a security crackdown in the region. On Tuesday, a knife-wielding assailant wounded six people at a railway station in the southern city of Guangzhou. Police gave no reason for the attack, but for many it had echoes of the March stabbing to death of 29 people at another station in Kunming, in the southwest, which was blamed by the government on militants from Xinjiang. A Xinjiang-based academic who declined to be named for fear of putting ongoing research at risk, said navigating ethnic tensions is more palatable to authorities than dealing with anger directed at the government’s westward expansion policy. "China would like this to be an issue of separatism," the scholar said. "You can roll a tank in to solve a separatist issue. How do you ask the Chinese government to solve this kind of policy grievance without fundamentally reforming itself? It can’t happen." That policy of encouraging economic development in the far west explains the allure of the region to migrant workers. Xinjiang enjoys the fourth highest minimum wage among the country’s provinces, regions and municipalities at 1,520 yuan (US$240) per month, on a par with eastern industrial hubs such as Shandong and Guangdong provinces, and well above Beijing. Many of the migrants work in construction. Others head south to Aksu, an agricultural hub between the country’s western border with Kyrgyzstan and the Taklamakan Desert on the east. Aksu was the home of one of the two bombers killed in the Urumqi blast, according to police. 'Uighurs Don't Come Here' The vision of China’s urban planners is on display in Toutunhe, a northern district of Urumqi, where high-rise apartments, massive government buildings and office parks are rising above the rugged Xinjiang landscape. Plans for the development zone include software centers and wind-power factories. On a recent trip to the area by Reuters, there were few signs of Uighur workers. "Actually, the Uighurs don’t come up here. I don’t know why, they just don’t," said Zhao Fuping, a 20-year-old construction worker. Zhao, who graduated from middle school in Gansu Province, earns a seasonal wage as high as 200 yuan ($32) a day. "It’s very simple. The wages are better here," he said. Others in the area, from migrant workers to a college educated grocery store owner, had similar views of Urumqi’s ethnic boundaries. "This place is not for Uighurs. We don’t like it. We just come to deliver products," said a lone Uighur man, hurrying to board a bus to Erdaoqiao, the heart of the city’s remaining predominantly Uighur neighborhood. 'Must Speak Mandarin, No Halal Food' China vehemently denies that Uighurs are unfairly marginalized, and says it is addressing underdevelopment and lack of jobs in heavily Uighur areas such as southern Xinjiang. In February, the government said it would pump an extra 61.66 billion yuan ($10.17 billion) into the region this year to improve housing and employment. The latest plan is to add 800,000 textile industry jobs in a region that grows more than half of the country’s cotton. But that may do little to address Uighur resentment if many of the jobs are filled by imported Han labor. Overt discrimination in job advertisements has become rarer in recent years, but activists say it persists. Where some ads might once have openly discouraged Uighurs from applying, now it is not uncommon for them to make more subtle demands for native Chinese language skills, or to remind applicants that onsite lunch options do not include halal fare. One Uighur from Urumqi, who asked not to be identified, said he had been rejected for a marketing position by an electronics company that cited the extra administrative burden of hiring Uighurs, which he said included special registration procedures and filing monthly reports to the public security bureau. "They said if they wanted to hire me they would have a lot of extra work and they were worried about the hassle," the 24-year-old man with fluent Chinese told Reuters. "It’s not like this thing has only happened once or twice. It’s happened to me before and my girlfriend has had this problem before." At a recent auto show at Urumqi’s new exhibition center, few Uighurs came to inspect the new Audis, Volkswagens, Fords and Nissans. Visitors had to pass through two rounds of bag searches and metal detectors while armed police patrolled the grounds. An Long, a Han university student working part-time as a car salesman, was frank about the gap between Han and Uighur. "Why are there so few Uighurs here?" he said. "Because they can’t afford to buy the cars." The post In China’s Xinjiang, Economic Divide Seen Fuelling Ethnic Unrest appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Embattled Thai PM Testifies in Abuse of Power Case Posted: 06 May 2014 11:58 PM PDT  Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra gestures to supporters during an election campaign in 2011. (Photo: Getty Images) BANGKOK — A Thai court will issue a ruling on Wednesday that could remove Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office, raising the possibility that the legal system could accomplish what protesters have been trying to do for six months through street demonstrations. Yingluck defended herself on Tuesday against abuse of power allegations in a key case that is one of several legal challenges that could force her from her job. She is accused of abusing her authority by transferring her National Security Council chief in 2011 to another position. A group of anti-government senators, who lodged the case, say the transfer was to benefit Yingluck’s ruling party and violated the constitution. "I would like to deny all allegations I am accused of," Yingluck said calmly, seated beside her legal team. "As the prime minister, I am entitled to carry out responsibilities I have toward the people … and for the utmost benefit of the general public." Judge Charoon Intachan said after her testimony that the court would rule on Wednesday. Members of her Cabinet who were in office at the time of the transfer could also be found liable. Yingluck’s testimony at the Constitutional Court marked the latest twist in Thailand’s ongoing political crisis. Supporters accuse the courts of trying to topple Yingluck through unfair use of the legal system after six months of anti-government protests failed to unseat her. Her supporters say the courts are biased against her and her political allies. In February, another court ruled that the official, Thawil Pliensri, must be restored to his job. That ruling by the Administrative Court found that while it was within Yingluck’s right to reshuffle civil servants, she had failed to address the reasons for the transfer. If Yingluck is found guilty of interfering in state affairs for her personal benefit or that of her political party, she would have to step down as prime minister. Thailand has been gripped by political conflict since 2006, when then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s billionaire brother, was ousted in a military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin’s supporters and opponents have each taken to the streets for extended periods in a power struggle that is currently focused on removing Yingluck, who took office in 2011. Opponents say she is a proxy for her brother, who is living overseas in self-imposed exile. More than 20 people have been killed in protest-related violence since November. Currently, Yingluck is a caretaker prime minister, having called early elections in February as a way of affirming her mandate after the protests against her began. However, the Feb. 2 polls were subsequently annulled by the Constitutional Court and new polls have been scheduled for July. The post Embattled Thai PM Testifies in Abuse of Power Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| South Korea Warns North Korea over New Nuke Test Posted: 06 May 2014 11:37 PM PDT  South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 27, 2013. (Photo: United Nations News Center) NEW YORK — South Korea’s foreign minister warned North Korea on Tuesday that the cost of keeping and testing nuclear weapons will be so high that it could threaten the survival of Kim Jong Un’s regime. Yun Byung-se told a standing-room audience of diplomats, UN officials and Korea-watchers at the International Peace Institute that the North will pay "the heaviest price" in new sanctions if it defies the international community and goes ahead with a new nuclear test. Many experts—and the South Korean government—had suspected the North would conduct its fourth nuclear test during President Barack Obama’s recent visit to Seoul. North Korea has said it still may go ahead and test a new kind of nuclear device following Obama’s visit. "Our assessment is that North Korea is ready to undertake a test whenever they make the necessary political decision," Yun said. A call to North Korea’s UN Mission seeking comment was not answered. He explained that a new test "will make a great impact on the strategic landscape in our part of the world" and could undermine the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of global nuclear disarmament efforts. North Korea has pulled out of the treaty. Faced with this challenge, Yun said South Korea has been making intensive diplomatic efforts to deter the North from carrying out a new test with the other parties to the stalled six-party nuclear talks aimed at reining in the North’s nuclear program, Security Council members, the European Union and Asian nations. In the event of a new test, he said, the UN Security Council must fill all loopholes in the four rounds of sanctions it has already imposed on the North over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs—and individual countries must take similar tough measures. As long as North Korea relies on nuclear weapons to make threats, Yun warned, "then we, South Korea, together with our partners in the Security Council, will make the cost of having these nuclear weapons very, very high, very, very heavy, so that could backfire to the regime—the survival of the regime." At the same time, Yun stressed that South Korean is seeking to build a peaceful and "new Korean peninsula." He reiterated President Park Geun-hye’s proposals last month to reunify Korea, which has been divided along the world’s most heavily fortified border since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. "It takes two to tango," he said. "We hope North Korea will respond positively to our genuine proposals." Yun said South Korea "recognizes that our journey for reunification will be long and bumpy" but he said a nuclear-free and unified Korea would alleviate security threats in northeast Asia and stabilize the region. "The geopolitical plate of the region is going through what I would call tectonic shifts," he said. "We are witnessing a rising China, a resurgent Japan, an assertive Russia and an anachronistic North Korea which is simultaneously pursuing nuclear weapons and economic development." Yun said conflicts over history, territory and maritime security, among others, are raising concerns "that even a military confrontation owing to miscalculations may become a reality." At the heart of these conflicts, he said, is "a trust deficit." Yun said that’s why South Korea is seeking to unify the two Koreas and build a new Asia and a new world. Yun said he is "rather optimistic about this unification" because there are changes inside North Korea and many changes outside including China and Russia now saying publicly for the first time that they are in favor of peaceful reunification of the Koreas. "We have to be prepared for that possibility, or any scenario that will be unfolding in the coming months and years," he said. He recalled the day 23 years ago when East Germany and West Germany replaced their two nameplates at the United Nations with a single nameplate that said Germany. "Likewise, I do believe the day is approaching, perhaps much faster than we may all realize, for the two Koreas to replace their respective nameplates with one single nameplate that simply says Korea," Yun said. The post South Korea Warns North Korea over New Nuke Test appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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