The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Opposition to Pioneering Coal Power Plant in Mon State Persists
- Among the Impoverished Kayan, an Activist Puts Teachers in Schools
- Burma Joins Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict
- Burma Should Prioritize Agricultural Reforms, Says Retired Official
- Influential Burmese Artist Kin Maung Yin Dead at 76
- Groups Opposing ‘Protection’ Bills to Meet Suu Kyi’s Law Committee
- ‘Access to Mobile Services Is Almost Like a Human Right’
- Rights Group Sounds Alarm on Missing IDPs, Alleges Military Involvement
- US to Train Engineers Repairing Burma’s ‘Death Highway’
- ‘New Reform’ Paintings Exhibition Showcases Old and New Artists
- Concern Over US Enforcement of Burma Investment Rules
- Thai Beauty Queen Resigns Under Social Media Fire
- Thai Junta to Explain Itself to International Rights Groups
- Jokowi Scores Points But No Knockout in Indonesia’s First Presidential Debate
- Private US Report Accuses Another Chinese Military Unit of Hacking
- Diplomatic Dealing
- A Thai Junta Vs a Burmese Junta—Spot the Differences
| Opposition to Pioneering Coal Power Plant in Mon State Persists Posted: 10 Jun 2014 05:47 AM PDT  A view from the beach at Inn Din village in Mon State's Ye Township. (Photo: Mon Kyae) RANGOON — Plans for Mon State's first coal-fired power plant are facing an uphill battle amid local opposition, despite compensation offers that have proved tempting for some affected residents, none of whom currently benefits from electricity sourced from the national grid. The Thailand-based Toyo-Thai Corporation held its first consultation with local communities in April to explain plans to build a 1,280-megawatt power plant in Inn Din village, 20 kilometers northwest of Ye Township, at a cost of US$2.7 billion. The company did not get approval from the villagers and the local abbot at that initial meeting, which was also attended by an MP from Ye Township and a state electricity minister, who was brought in to help explain the project. Villagers have since held several meetings at the local monastery to discuss whether or not to allow the project to move forward. Despite the absence of local residents' consent, Toyo-Thai has proceeded in carrying out a feasibility study on a prospective location for coal-laden ships to dock. Over 100 members from the Ye Social Service, a community organization in Ye Township, last week undertook a "no coal" campaign, distributing brochures on the negative social and environmental impacts of the coal-fired power plant to the villages near the project site. Aung Naing Oo, a parliamentarian from Chaung Sone Township, Mon State, visited the village and held a meeting on Sunday with the community, township officials and senior monks from nearby villages. "The villagers do not know that coal-fired power plants are dangerous. When NGOs and EITI [Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative] groups started an educational program on the effects of it, people got scared," he told The Irrawaddy, referring to an international initiative promoting accountability in the extraction of natural resources. Aung Naing Oo said that although some people were receptive to selling their farmlands surrounding the project, most were unwilling to accept the Thai company's compensation offer, which the lawmaker described as a "good price." "Ye Township has precious land that can yield seasonal fruits with balanced weather. Though people are not rich, they are not poor either," he said. Among 216 villagers who attended the meeting on Sunday, "206 voted against the power plant, four agreed [to allow it] and six have remained undecided," said Seik Sorn, a resident of Inn Din village. "Our village doesn't want this as it is too dangerous," added Seik Sorn, who is also a member of the Mon State EITI group. "Ye Township would not be able to use up all the electricity from the 1,280 MW power plant. The waste disposal and smoke from the plant will also harm our environment and give us diseases. Population density will also increase and social conflict could occur too," she told The Irrawaddy. Ye Township is not linked to the national power grid, with most residents accessing electricity from private generators at a cost of about 500 kyats to 1,000 kyats ($0.50 to $1) per unit. "The senior monks say the villagers used to live peacefully but the project has brought discord to the community," Aung Naing Oo said. "About 90 percent of them reject the project." "We found from our field trip that the [state] government's actions have lacked transparency." Aung Naing Oo said he would submit a report urging that the project be halted in light of the local opposition, sending copies to the Union government, Mon State legislature, Toyo-Thai and other relevant stakeholders. If the plan proceeds, Toyo-Thai will sell electricity from the coal-fired plant to the Burmese government. The plant would be built on 500 acres of land and would be operational by 2017. Coal to fuel the plant would be shipped from Australia, South Africa and Indonesia. Toyo-Thai Corporation Public Company Limited (TTCL) was incorporated in 1985 by a joint venture of Italian-Thai Development, one of the biggest contractors in Thailand, and Toyo Engineering Corporation, an international engineering company in Japan. TTCL signed a memorandum of understanding with Burma's Ministry of Electric Power in 2012 and opened a joint-venture gas-fired power plant in Rangoon the following year. The $170 million gas-fired power plant became partly operational in April 2013, producing 80 MW of its expected full capacity, 120 MW. The Export-Import Bank of Thailand has provided a $100 million loan to Toyo-Thai for remaining construction costs and running expenses, with full operational capacity expected later this year. The post Opposition to Pioneering Coal Power Plant in Mon State Persists appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Among the Impoverished Kayan, an Activist Puts Teachers in Schools Posted: 10 Jun 2014 05:43 AM PDT  Former political prison Pedu, 30, is the chairman of the Kayan New Generation Youth, which is training hundreds of primary school teachers. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy) LOIKAW — The Kayan people, who live in southern Shan State and Karenni State, are one of Burma's smallest ethnic minorities and one of its poorest. Their villages in the isolated, hilly interior of eastern Burma are affected by decades of conflict and often lack basic education facilities. But Kayan activist Pedu is determined to change that. "We found that almost half of the 470 villages [in Karenni State] need volunteer teachers. Based on the local needs, we offer teachers," he said during an interview in Loikaw last week. Pedu, 30, is the chairman of the Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY) based in the Karenni State capital Loikaw. From here he oversees an ambitious program that aims to bring primary education to understaffed schools in remote villages. KNGY plans to provide 250 primary schools in Kayan communities in Karenni and southern Shan states this year with teachers from its training program, according to Pedu, adding that the program costs about US$100,000 annually, roughly half of which is provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program accepts applicants—mostly young men and women—with 10 years of education and puts them through a three month teachers training course, said Pedu, who goes by only one name. "Those who were trained are placed at the government schools where it is needed," he said, adding that state schools often lack a sufficient number of teachers to properly educate pupils, while some 50 unofficial villages in Karenni State lack a primary school. "The government is often only able to provide one teacher although there are many children at the schools. Some teachers could not share their time with each child, and some children could not study full-time," he said. "The unofficial villages have a very small population; the government could not provide a teacher there." Since 2013, KNGY has trained about 200 teachers, each of whom is paid about US$40 per month. One female training participant said she would be sent to teach in her native village in an area east of Loikaw, near the Lawpita hydropower dam. "After the training, I will serve as a volunteer teacher there. But I do not want to serve in another area where there is no mobile phone network," she said, in a comment that highlights why remote schools often struggle to retain teachers. "I have busy days now, but I am very happy because of what I do for the community," said Pedu, adding that the Karenni State Education Department is supportive of the project, even though the KNGY teachers are not officially qualified to teach in state schools. Government rules state that primary schools teachers should have completed higher education, but few prospective teachers in Karenni State meet this requirement. Athanasio, a KNGY trainer in the program, said, "It is very difficult to find educated people in our area; if someone studied at university and graduated, he is the greatest person in the village.” "They [authorities] understand the situation, the local needs, and agreed with us whenever we asked them to place our volunteer teachers at their schools," Pedu said. His relations with the government were not always this good, however. As a Kayan activist, he was persecuted by the former military government and in 2008 he was sentenced to 34 years in prison for organizing a campaign against the military-drafted Constitution, which centralizes political powers in the ethnic regions in the hands of the Burma Army. After spending four years of his sentence, he was released in 2012 under an amnesty signed by President Thein Sein, who has initiated dramatic political reforms since taking office in 2011 and signed bilateral ceasefire with over a dozen ethnic armed groups, including the main Kayan rebel group. After his release, the former political prisoner quickly resumed his activism, opened the KNGY office in Loikaw and began providing training to promote democracy, human rights and education in his region. "We are not a group that only criticizes the government, but also we provide help to fill the gaps in government [services]," he said, adding that KNGY was also prepared to stand up to the government to protect the rights of the Kayan people. "This is just a project based on the needs of the community—we prepared it for them," he said. The post Among the Impoverished Kayan, an Activist Puts Teachers in Schools appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Burma Joins Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict Posted: 10 Jun 2014 05:38 AM PDT  British Ambassador to Burma Andrew Patrick releases red balloons into the air to symbolically mark the many victims of sexual violence, during an event at the ambassador's residence in Rangoon on Tuesday to coincide with the launch of a global summit in London. (Photo: Samantha Michaels / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma has sent an official delegation to London this week to join the first global summit to end sexual violence in conflict, co-hosted by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie and British Foreign Secretary William Hague. Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Thant Kyaw is joining government ministers, military officials, aid workers and civil society leaders from more than 100 countries at the four-day summit that began on Tuesday. He leads an official delegation that has traveled to the British capital along with Burmese civil society organizations. The decision to attend the summit came after Burma became the 150th country to endorse the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, launched last September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. "Myanmar [Burma] signed up to the declaration last week," British Ambassador to Burma Andrew Patrick said at an event in Rangoon on Tuesday to mark the start of the summit. "The deputy foreign minister is currently in London attending the conference, and we're very pleased that that's the case." The declaration contains a set of practical and political commitments to end the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war. Burma's government faced sharp criticism last year for failing to endorse it, as the country's military continued to face allegations of sexually assaulting ethnic women in conflict zones. At the summit in London, Hague and Jolie, the special envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, will launch an international protocol to strengthen prosecutions for rape in conflict on Wednesday. According to Patrick, the protocol will help investigators preserve evidence in the aftermath of an attack, improve the chances of someone being successfully prosecuted later, and protect victims and survivors from further trauma. On Thursday, a ministerial meeting in London chaired by the British foreign minister will focus on the security situation in northern Nigeria, following the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by a militant group. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry will be among speakers during a closing plenary session on Friday. In Rangoon, the British Embassy is hosting events locally to support the global summit. At the ceremony at the British ambassador's residence on Tuesday, Patrick joined civil society leaders in releasing red balloons into the air to symbolically recognize victims of sexual violence. In a video statement, Jolie said she hoped governments would be encouraged after this week to assist the adults and children of both sexes who have suffered from sexual violence in conflict. "My hope is that this summit will be the moment the world takes practical steps to end impunity and enable survivors to receive better support," she said. Bertrand Bainvel, the Unicef representative in Burma, said poor documentation of sexual violence currently hindered efforts to help victims. "It's an issue which is widespread and at the same time an issue for which it's very difficult to get any data or systematic reporting, so it makes it more difficult to act upon," he said. Burmese women's rights groups accuse the military of systematically using rape and sexual assault as strategies of war against ethnic armed groups around the country. In March, Ban Ki-moon called on the Burmese government to conduct full investigations into these allegations. "We welcome the Burmese government signing the UN sexual violence declaration, but signing alone is meaningless without an immediate action plan for implementation," Zoya Phan, campaigns manager at Burma Campaign UK, said in a statement on Friday. "Just because Burma signed the international declaration on sexual violence, it doesn't mean they will do anything about it. There should be a six-month deadline for seeing implementation of the declaration in Burma." The post Burma Joins Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Burma Should Prioritize Agricultural Reforms, Says Retired Official Posted: 10 Jun 2014 04:08 AM PDT  Thein Swe, a retired director of the foreign economic relations department at Burma's Ministry of Planning and Finance who now works with the Asian Development Bank. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Thein Swe is a retired director of the foreign economic relations department at Burma's Ministry of Planning and Finance who once served as an associate executive director at the World Bank. He also lectured at Payap University in Thailand in international studies, and currently works as a consultant and technical assistance coordinator for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In an interview with The Irrawaddy's economics reporter Thit Nay Moe, he said he thinks the agricultural sector should be prioritized in Burma's ongoing economic reforms. Question: The current Burmese government has been instituting reforms, but changes in the agricultural sector appear to be few, would you agree? Answer: That's right. Despite a lot of talk about small and medium-sized enterprises, the reform process can only really benefit the general public if it includes agriculture. The economy should be upgraded focusing on reforms in the agricultural sector, which employs 70 percent of the whole population. As long as we don't address this sector, the reforms will not succeed. Q: Burma is no longer a top rice-exporting country, while the extractives sector has risen. What's your opinion on this? A: According to the statistics of the World Bank, the percentage of GDP from agricultural products decreased from 57.3 percent to 30.4 percent between 1990 and 2010. In the industrial sector, 7.9 percent has increased to 20.3 percent in the same period, and in the services sector, the share has gone from 7.2 percent to 19.5 percent. So, the waning of the agricultural sector compared to the industrial sector seems to be true. Theoretically, the decrease of the agricultural sector and the rise of mechanized farming will bring farmers into factories in urban areas. But, here in Burma, there is also the rise in the extraction of natural resources like petroleum and natural gas at the same time as the fall in the value of agricultural products. Selling off resources may lead to failure because, in the long term, these natural resources are not renewable and may one day run out. In most countries, a reform process is done systematically, step by step: agriculture, then industrialization and then service provision. In this process, basic agricultural production must rise in both quality and quantity before it leads to industrialization. But here, the agricultural sector has decreased, and while our rice is still top quality, we are not exporting as much as we used to. Monetary institutions like the World Band and the ADB have come to Burma, but they have not provided effective assistance to the agricultural sector, while just focusing on sectors that are less difficult. Most of the assistance is focused on energy or electricity. They are also important sectors, but the possession of land for farmers, production and distribution of good quality crops and the free growth of a market for crops are more critical. The government needs to prioritize this. It is critical to create job opportunities for our citizens, without only making jobs in urban areas or having people go abroad. In the reform process, laws proving for the possession of land should be accurate and justifiable. If good and fair management cannot be implemented or if good reforms in the agricultural sector are not done, undesirable results will follow. Q: What reforms does Burma need make in order to compete in with other countries in the region? A: From the start, agriculture is the first step to take prior to industrialization. Gradually, the quality of products will rise and a surplus workforce will move to urban areas. One worrisome issue is the "Middle Income Trap," which threatens mid-developed countries. Currently in Thailand, workers' incomes have increased but the quality of the products has not, leading to less buying in the market. Income and the quality of products should be counterbalanced. Singapore, on the other hand, is enjoying the fruit of producing electronic devices. Thailand and Vietnam cannot compare with Singapore in such businesses, producing mostly rice and rubber. This situation is not good enough, they have to go forward to industrialization and Burma should also take this into consideration. Q: In which sectors should Burma use international assistance? A: The World Bank and the ADB have provided loans for projects like electricity and road construction, which make sense and can be completed quickly. But to eliminate poverty, the World Bank should provide techniques and supervision on how to make quality tea leafs and how to get high-quality fertilizers to tea leaf farmers, but instead, with the involvement of cronies, road and school construction has been implemented, benefiting cement and tar dealers. Locals are still poor and it is ineffective. The post Burma Should Prioritize Agricultural Reforms, Says Retired Official appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Influential Burmese Artist Kin Maung Yin Dead at 76 Posted: 10 Jun 2014 03:41 AM PDT  Burmese artist Kin Maung Yin paints on the floor at his home in north Rangoon in August 2013. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Kin Maung Yin, one of Burma's leading contemporary artists, lost a battle with throat cancer on Tuesday and passed away at the age of 76. Recognized as a leader in the first generation of Burma's modern art movement along with Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet, Kin Maung Yin is a legend in Burmese contemporary art today. "All I know about art is that simplicity is perfection," he once said, and indeed, many of his paintings are almost childlike in their simplicity. Still, his art features unexpected colors, unique styles and timeless flourishes that have become an inspiration to younger artists. A "self-taught painter," Kin Maung Yin began painting in the 1960s but trained earlier as an architect, gaining an appreciation for form and color that would later influence his art. Among his works, probably the most well-known are those from a portrait series of the Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, featuring mask-like faces and elongated forms inspired by the Italian modernist Amedeo Modigliani. Kin Maung Yin was known not just for his paintings but also for his monk-like devotion to art alone and a proclivity for a hermetic life of solitude. He lived alone in a one-room wooden house in northern Rangoon, and is survived by no immediate family members. During an interview with The Irrawaddy last year, he said hoped to live for another five years: "That's enough, as I have been through so many years," he said. Sadly, with his death at age 76 on Tuesday at Rangoon's Pinlon Hospital, it would seem his wish will go unfulfilled. The post Influential Burmese Artist Kin Maung Yin Dead at 76 appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Groups Opposing ‘Protection’ Bills to Meet Suu Kyi’s Law Committee Posted: 10 Jun 2014 02:19 AM PDT  Aung San Suu Kyi, second left, walks up the steps to Burma's Parliament with fellow National League for Democracy MPs on Jan. 16, 2013. (Photo: Yeni / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Representatives from human rights groups that are against quartet of proposed laws aimed at "protecting race and religion" are due to meet with members of Burma's Rule of Law Committee, a parliamentary body chaired by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The meeting on Wednesday in Naypyidaw will include 10 members of the rights groups that have spearheaded a campaign in opposition to the bills. Suu Kyi is likely to be present at the meeting, according to Zin Mar Aung of the Rainfall Gender Study Group, who will be among the representatives to meet with the committee. Late last month, the Burmese government published a religious conversion bill in state-run newspapers and solicited public feedback. It is one of four bills that the government has drafted at the instigation of radical Buddhist monks who have been campaigning for the protection of race and religion. Leaders of the campaign circulated a petition in support of the proposals that has gathered 1.3 million signatures. The other three bills contemplate restricting interfaith marriage, birth rates and polygamy. The bills have been opposed by more than 100 human rights groups that see the legislation as restrictive, undemocratic and in violation of women's rights. Women speaking up in opposition to the proposed legislation have received anonymous death threats. "We will discuss the reasons behind the conversion bill, the threats we received and raise our concerns about those bills from a human rights point of view," Zin Mar Aung told The Irrawaddy. The 15-member committee was founded two years ago by Parliament and it is the first government body to engage with the rights groups on the issue. Since the bills were put forward last year, more than 100 human rights groups have demanded meetings with senior government officials including Burma's President Thein Sein and Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann to lodge their concerns, but their overtures so far appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Thein Sein's government has taken the initiative in drafting the bills, and Shwe Mann has said little publicly on the matter. The post Groups Opposing 'Protection' Bills to Meet Suu Kyi's Law Committee appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| ‘Access to Mobile Services Is Almost Like a Human Right’ Posted: 10 Jun 2014 01:31 AM PDT  Petter Furberg, chief executive officer-designate of Telenor Myanmar, speaks to The Irrawaddy in Rangoon this week. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) Norway's Telenor was one of two international companies named in June as winners of an open tender to operate mobile phones in Burma. It is hoped an injection of competition and international expertise will rectify the country's position at the bottom of most rankings for mobile phone and Internet access. The company has promised to have SIM cards available to the public for just 1,500 kyat, about US$1.50, eight months after it receives a license to operate. Telenor Myanmar's Chief Executive Officer-Designate Petter Furburg spoke to The Irrawaddy's Simon Lewis this week to discuss the challenges and opportunities of bringing telecommunications to the people of Burma. Question: Telenor has promised to provide mobile phone coverage to 80 percent of the country within five years. How difficult will this be? Answer: It's a challenge. It's not an easy country to operate in, it's not an easy country to build infrastructure in, so we're very humbled by the task. We know it's not going to be easy. And it's also important that people have realistic expectations to the fact that it does take time to build infrastructure like this. Q: There are still some parts of Burma where government forces are fighting armed rebel groups and many parts of Burma are very remote. Are there places where it may not be possible for Telenor to reach in the first five years? A: We are extremely aware of all the challenges we are going to meet in Myanmar. The normal type of challenges in many ways are bigger here just by lack of infrastructure. So roads are poor and not available. You have [a lack of] electricity availability. All of these things you also find in other markets are here. And then, of course, you also have the other dimension here which is the potential difficulties in certain areas due to conflict, due to land mines. We are aware of the challenges. Have we found solutions to all of them? No. Do we think it will be possible to find solutions? I hope so, because this is about giving access to something which is good. Whether you are living in Yangon or in the north of Kachin. To get access to mobile services I think is almost like a human right. At Telenor, if you look at how we are operating in the five markets we now have in Asia—in Pakistan , India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia—our philosophy has always been about going mass. It's about giving everyone the right to these services. So when we talk about Myanmar, a lot of our bid was related to this—making it affordable and making it available. So building the network is challenge number one. Getting the distribution to reach everyone is challenge number two. And then of course, bringing the prices to such a level that they actually can afford. Because you can be fooled by walking around the streets of Yangon—the affordability level in this country outside the cities is totally different. Q: How will you distribute SIM cards? A: There won't be limited supply…. Making it available, that's important. It's not just about building the network, you have reach people where they are living. So they shouldn't have to commute to buy a SIM card. SIM cards will be available at 70,000 points of sale. And those points of sale, they are not mobile phone shops, these are the mom-and-pop stores that might have a tiny section of the shop where they sell SIM cards, and maybe they can afford stock up three phones. They can start selling phones too. This is about creating a business where it's not like we are going to do everything. Our philosophy is that what we are good at is to do the big heavy lifting. All the others will start to create business around us. When you change from having 7 million people in a country going to buy a refill to, say, 50 million people, there's business for a lot of mom-and-pop stores across the country. Q: What services beyond phone and Internet are you going to offer? A: It's early, but we have in our bid said we are interested in developing services. What we've also done in other markets is farmers' information services, which is about giving access to market price, giving access to markets etc. With health, you don't even have to leave Yangon to see that health services is a huge area [needing] improvement. It's an enormous distance from Yangon—and the most advanced health services of course—to the remote areas. So to be able to use telecommunications to give people in the most remote areas access to information and also potentially [medical] consultations is going to be quite important. And that's probably only through our type of services that you can do that. And then financial services: At Telenor we have tested different models for financial services. The most advanced one we have is in Pakistan. It's called Easypaisa. Mobile financial services is actually not about the phone, in my view. It is about the fact that we have the distribution. So we have access to, for mobile top-up, 165,000 points of sale. Not all of them would qualify for handling financial services, but what they are used to is to take cash in. And to take cash in, that agent has actually already paid us. To be able to sell you top up of 1,000 kyat he had already paid us 1,000 kyat. So he has on his account points that he can sell to you. So you come to him and you get that money. It's a very closed system that allows money transfer because of the agent network. Not because of the mobile phone itself. So I think our strength relies in the fact that mobile distribution will reach the most remote villages and that power gives us the opportunity to also handle money transfer. This is not really big business for the mobile operators, the main reason we do it I think is because it's an added benefit and it ties the customer closer to us. Q: Have you had any discussion with government about the upcoming Telecommunications Law and its contents? A: We've had the dialogue in terms of the process following, in terms of getting things sorted out for our license, but not, in any way, related to the telecom law as such. We don't know what's in the telecom law and we are just simply waiting. Q: Foreign companies have been warned that there's a risk of corruption when dealing with the Burma government and local companies. What measures are you taking to deal with these risks? A: When it comes to corruption, our philosophy is very simple and we're operating in many markets in the world, so this is a challenge that we are faced with in all our markets, and our philosophy is simple: We have zero tolerance for corruption and we just have to work on that basis. Q: Human Rights Watch has warned foreign telecoms companies working in Burma about the risks of being involved in country with a reputation for government rights abuses, including surveillance and censorship. Is this something you're concerned about? A: It's right that we have received a letter from Human Rights Watch to Telenor some months back where they pointed to this issue, and it's been answered and we'll be able to answer more when the law comes out. Right now, we don't know what the law actually says, particularly regarding legal intercept [the authorities requesting access to communications data]. I think we have to wait until the law is out to comment on that. But Myanmar is not the only country in the world where there is a regulation which allows for legal intercept and there will be international practices in this, and we are also following our internal procedures with regards to how this access can be given. Of course in general we have to follow the law and therefore we have to wait until the law is out to get clarity on how this will be practiced. The post 'Access to Mobile Services Is Almost Like a Human Right' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Rights Group Sounds Alarm on Missing IDPs, Alleges Military Involvement Posted: 09 Jun 2014 10:28 PM PDT  Displaced people from Kachin State cook meals at a temporary camp near the Burma-China border in 2012. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Two brothers are still missing after disappearing over one and a half years ago from a camp for displaced people in Kachin State, and were allegedly taken by troops in the government army, a rights groups says, three years into the conflict in Burma's far north. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) says the brothers traveled from an IDP camp where they were staying to Palaung Dain Sar village, Mansi Township, to look after their crops on December 12, 2012. They did not return after a few days, prompting a small search party from the camp to look for them. "They found their belongings such as clothes and the food they carried on Bwan Kyaw Mountain, four miles from the village. According to evidence on the ground, including prints left by boots and other features, they appear to have been taken into custody by government troops based in the area," the rights groups said in a statement on Monday, the third anniversary of fighting since a 17-year ceasefire broke down between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the government army in June 2011. The brothers were Swan Kha Gan Phan and Swan Kha Naw Gyar, 45, who had a family with three children. After their disappearance, a major in the government army, Kyaw Thu Win, told the search party that two battalions had just gone to the frontlines and had likely taken the brothers with them as guides, the rights groups said. The search party followed up later with the major but were told the battalions had not returned yet. "The family members tried to go to the places where they assumed the military might have arrested the two men but until now they could not get any information at all," the rights group added. The AHRC urged the government to investigate the case of the missing brothers, determine their whereabouts and secure their release as soon as possible. The rights groups accused troops from Light Infantry Battalion 15 or Light Infantry Battalion 113 of making the arrests. Government troops are frequently accused of detaining civilians from IDP camps to serve as guides or under suspicion that the civilians are connected to the KIA. The post Rights Group Sounds Alarm on Missing IDPs, Alleges Military Involvement appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| US to Train Engineers Repairing Burma’s ‘Death Highway’ Posted: 09 Jun 2014 10:00 PM PDT  With its undulating road surface, poor signage and unpaved shoulders, the Rangoon-Naypyidaw-Mandalay highway is regarded as a death trap by many motorists. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has agreed to help the Burmese government improve safety standards on the Rangoon-Mandalay highway, which has seen several fatal traffic accidents recently, the US Embassy in Rangoon announced Monday. In a letter of agreement with the Ministry of Construction, USAID has pledged to offer training in international highway safety standards to Burmese ministry engineers and technicians constructing safety enhancements along a 10-kilometer section of the 590-kilometer road with funding from the US government. The "death highway," as it is known locally, runs from Rangoon to Naypyidaw to Mandalay. It was completed in 2009 after being hastily ordered by the former military regime. The current quasi-civilian government has called for urgent repairs after 14 people were killed and 30 others were injured in a bus crash on the road last month. So far this year, accidents on the road have killed 80 people and injured 350. The repairs to the 10-kilometer section of road will serve as a model for ongoing improvements implemented by the Ministry of Construction along the full length of the highway, the US Embassy said in a statement. "The United States is committed to supporting continued reform and broad-based economic development. As the economy grows, transportation infrastructure will have to accommodate more trade and traffic," US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell said in the statement. In his monthly radio address this month, President Thein Sein apologized to family members who have lost loved ones in car accidents on the road. Kyi Zaw Myint, the chief engineer of the highway's construction management committee, expects the upgrades to cost more than 1 billion kyats, or US$1 million, although an exact cost has not yet been calculated. Forty-four of the 76 bridges on the highway between Rangoon and Mandalay will be upgraded in the first stage of the work, according to the Ministry of Construction. The US Embassy said the agreement formalizes a partnership that began with a preliminary safety survey in May 2013. "At the request of the Union Government, USAID engineers assessed the design, traffic volume, vehicle speed, and existing safety measures along the entirety of the highway," the embassy said. "The assessment concluded that the most effective means to achieve scalable road safety improvements is through technical assistance and training on safety standards, bringing experience and best practices from the United States to help improve the safety and security of the country's roads." The post US to Train Engineers Repairing Burma's 'Death Highway' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| ‘New Reform’ Paintings Exhibition Showcases Old and New Artists Posted: 09 Jun 2014 05:30 PM PDT  Still Life by Kyaw Lay RANGOON — Though it is an exhibition of 25 Burmese artists, 'New Reform' is not a merely paintings exhibit. It connects people. The exhibition at Rangoon's Lokanat Gallery showcases the paintings of late great Burmese painters as well as today's young artists. From June 9-14, art fans would have a chance to see the art works of late artists like Ba Kyi, Maung Nge Htoon or Kyaw Lay, while they can also view paintings by today's painters like Ko Ko Naing, Kaung Htet or Zarni Ye Myint. The price tags of the paintings range from US$4,000 to $200 depending on the reputation of the artist. The post 'New Reform' Paintings Exhibition Showcases Old and New Artists appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Concern Over US Enforcement of Burma Investment Rules Posted: 09 Jun 2014 05:00 PM PDT  People gather at a promotional event for Coca-Cola in Rangoon last year. A report from the US Campaign for Burma deemed the soft drinks giant a responsible investor in Burma, but other US companies were criticized for failing to disclose information. (Photo: Reuters) A campaign group has said it is concerned that the US government is not adequately checking American companies' investments in Burma under the terms of Washington's own legal rules. When the United States suspended some sanctions against Burma in 2012, it imposed conditions on US-owned companies investing in the country to ensure transparency. These include reporting to the US State Department on any investments valued above US$500,000. "We are concerned about the extent to which the US Administration is tracking US companies' investments in Burma in order to ensure reporting when they reach the $500,000 threshold," US Campaign for Burma policy director Rachel Wagley told The Irrawaddy. "The US Administration should make clear how or if it has an established mechanism to monitor US investment in Burma and to require investors to submit reports." Wagley was commenting after her NGO published its first "report card" last week on how well US investors were cooperating with Washington's rules. Of six companies named in the campaign's report, only Coca Cola received a green tick for being a responsible investor; three were labeled "irresponsible investors" and two "questionable investors." The NGO acknowledged that all US firms liable to report to the State Department have until July to comply, but said it was concerned that some businesses might be "flying under the radar" of monitoring. US investors, whether an individual or a company, are supposed report on a "range of policies and procedures, including payments made to the government, human rights assurances, labor rights, community consultations and stakeholder engagement, environmental stewardship, anti-corruption, arrangements with security service providers and any contact with military or non-state armed groups," the Wall Street Journal reported when the State Department rules were first announced. In its report card, the US Campaign for Burma named Capital Group Companies, Crowley Marine Services, and Hercules Offshore as "irresponsible" due to their failure to disclose if they took action to limit risks associated with their investments and to disclose key information like the identities of their Burmese partners. Western Union and Clipper Holdings Limited were "questionable" due to missing or incomplete disclosures. Coca-Cola, however, was praised for the "relative thoroughness" of its reporting. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is supposed to handle enforcement actions related to the Reporting Requirements and can fine companies that do not comply, said Wagley. "So far, we haven’t seen OFAC take significant steps toward enforcing the reporting requirements. We expect that come July 1, a number of additional reports will come in. But there are companies like General Electric that have not reported presumably because they are interpreting their investments to not fall under the definition of 'new investment,'" Wagley told The Irrawaddy. "Regardless of whether companies meet the requirements, voluntarily reporting shows a commitment to due diligence and responsible investment that we encourage every company to demonstrate." The US campaign said all American companies are legally required to report their activities within 180 days of reaching $500,000 of investment and every year afterward on July 1. The NGO said it had not yet received any reaction to its report card from the US State Department. It is already working on a second report of US business activity in Burma and hopes to publish this after July. Wagley said there were a number of unanswered questions to which it was seeking answers from the US authorities. "Has the State Department received all the reports it expected to receive to date, and how will OFAC proceed if it suspects that a report has been unlawfully withheld? Which companies are flying under the radar? How will the reporting requirements be enforced consistently? These are questions the US Administration needs to take seriously," Wagley said. The NGO's revelations coincided with a visit to Burma on June 6 by US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker to open a new trade office in the country. She was accompanied by a business delegation. "Responsible investment can facilitate broad-based economic growth and economic prosperity for your people," Pritzker said during a ceremony at the US Embassy in Rangoon. The post Concern Over US Enforcement of Burma Investment Rules appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Thai Beauty Queen Resigns Under Social Media Fire Posted: 09 Jun 2014 10:20 PM PDT  Weluree Ditsayabut (center) announced her resignation as Miss Universe Thailand on Monday. (Photo: Miss Universe Thailand) BANGKOK — Miss Universe Thailand has resigned less than a month into her reign after being harshly criticized on social media over her political comments and looks. Weluree Ditsayabut, 22, tearfully announced she was giving up the title that would have allowed her to compete in the international Miss Universe pageant. The actress and former talk show host said Monday she was initially pleased to have won the title, but that the hail of brutal comments on social media blasting her outspoken political views and calling her fat had hurt her family. Weluree was criticized for comments she posted on Facebook attacking the "Red Shirt" supporters of the former government, whom she accused of opposing Thailand's monarchy, and calling for the execution of their leaders. "You Red Shirts, you get out of here," she wrote in mid-November, before winning her title. "Thailand's soil is dirty because of anti-monarchy people like you." Weluree said that because of the criticism, "the happiness we used to have disappeared totally." "When I saw my mom not being able to sleep at night, I couldn't either," she told a news conference. She didn't specify which remarks she found most hurtful. Weluree's comments struck at the heart of Thailand's long-running political crisis, expressing the attitude of the country's educated elite and royalists toward the government of then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Yingluck, who was backed by many in Thailand's rural north and northeast, was forced to step down last month, and the military soon afterward staged a coup against the elected civilian government. Thai society has been sharply polarized since 2006, when Yingluck's brother, then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a coup and subsequently fled into exile to avoid a corruption conviction. Since then until the recent coup, Thaksin's opponents and the Red Shirts staged competing protests in an ongoing battle for political power. The post Thai Beauty Queen Resigns Under Social Media Fire appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Thai Junta to Explain Itself to International Rights Groups Posted: 09 Jun 2014 09:49 PM PDT  Thai Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, center, arrives to give a news conference at the Army Club in Bangkok on May 20, 2014. (Photo: Reutre) BANGKOK — Thailand’s junta said on Monday it had ordered the Thai ambassadors to the United States and Britain to meet human rights groups in an effort to "create understanding" about last month’s seizure of power. Several Western governments have spoken out against the May 22 coup, calling for a speedy return to democracy. Rights groups have urged the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to curb its powers to detain and prosecute civilians. "The NCPO has ordered Thailand’s ambassadors in New York and London to meet representatives from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to create understanding," Yongyuth Mayalarp, a spokesman for the NCPO, told reporters. Representatives at Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch confirmed they had been invited to meet the ambassadors. "We intend to listen to what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representatives have to say and, of course, we will also reiterate our serious concerns about the military’s actions since May 22," John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, told Reuters in an e-mail, adding that a meeting date had not yet been set. Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha said he took power to restore order after nearly seven months of political turmoil in the polarized country. He has launched a reconciliation campaign aimed at healing divisions. Prayuth is due to meet foreign diplomats on Wednesday to brief them on the military’s plans. The NCPO ordered political parties on Monday to suspend activities. When the military scrapped the constitution after the coup it was unclear whether parties would continue to exist. The coup was the latest chapter in a power struggle between the Bangkok-based royalist establishment and supporters of ousted former populist premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose stronghold is in the rural north and northeast. Thaksin’s removal in a 2006 coup did nothing to heal the divide and the military now appears intent on finishing what it started then, shuffling senior civil servants and military personnel to blunt the power of Thaksin loyalists. The ousted government was headed by Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, until she was ordered to step down on May 7 after a court found her guilty of abuse of power. Economic Stimulus The NCPO has moved swiftly to revive an economy battered by months of chaos. On Saturday, Prayuth declared himself head of the Board of Investment, a position typically held by the prime minister. He has said that this week the junta would begin approving projects to stimulate the economy. It is reviewing a contentious 350 billion baht ($10.8 billion) water management plan and 2 trillion baht in infrastructure projects initiated by the former government. The water management plan was suspended in 2013 and a court ordered Yingluck to hold more public hearings. The Constitutional Court ruled against the infrastructure plan in March, saying the funding methods were illegal. Yingluck’s government had hoped to boost growth through projects including high-speed railways and highways. While the junta steamrolls ahead with plans for reform and stimulus, it has launched campaigns to "bring back happiness", including free concerts and food stalls. It has imposed a ban on political gatherings of more than five people and a nationwide curfew, now running from midnight to 4 a.m. However, over the past week, it has lifted the curfew in 10 holiday spots to help stimulate tourism, which accounts for more than 10 percent of the economy. Still, many have found creative ways to show disapproval of the coup, including handing out "democracy sandwiches" in parks and at university campuses. Thousands of police and troops were deployed over the weekend to counter anti-coup protesters flashing a three-fingered salute that has become a symbol of defiance, although the number of people challenging the military appears to have dwindled. Protesters face up to two years in jail. The military has detained more than 300 people since taking over, although most were released after a few days. The post Thai Junta to Explain Itself to International Rights Groups appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Jokowi Scores Points But No Knockout in Indonesia’s First Presidential Debate Posted: 09 Jun 2014 09:37 PM PDT  Indonesia's presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, second left, greets his running mate Joko Widodo, center, before their presidential debate in Jakarta on June 9, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Supri) JAKARTA — A month before Indonesia's presidential election, the two candidates traded barbs in their first televised debate on Monday, with Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo seen faring better than former special forces general Prabowo Subianto. The two candidates are close in opinion polls ahead of the July 9 election, although Jokowi holds the edge. Up to 40 percent of the voters are undecided, one survey has said. The winner will lead the world's fourth-most populous nation, which has more Muslims than any other country, for the next five years. Both have promised market-friendly policies to revive growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy, which fell to the lowest in four years in the first quarter. Jokowi appeared to have scored more points in the debate, but no killer blows, analysts said after the two-hour long discussion, in which the two candidates were accompanied by their vice presidential running mates. Prabowo appeared to be on the defensive about his human rights record, they said. "I don't think there were any knockout blows," said Paul Rowland, a Jakarta-based political analyst. "I think Jokowi did what he needed to do and that was to perform confidently in a very public venue." Prabowo, who was formerly married to a daughter of authoritarian leader Suharto, relies on his strongman and nationalistic image to appeal to voters weary of what is perceived to be indecisive leadership under current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is due to leave office in October. "We want to be a nation that is independent, that is productive. We don't want to just be a market for others," said Prabowo, wearing a white dress shirt and a traditional Indonesian cap. "We want to stand on our own feet." Although relatively cordial, the debate turned tense when Jusuf Kalla, Jokowi's vice presidential candidate, asked Prabowo to address human rights in Indonesia, which the ex-general took as a stab at him personally. "We had to do what was necessary to ensure the safety of the larger Indonesian society," Prabowo said, raising his voice. "Mr. Kalla, I am responsible and my conscience is clear. I am the strongest defender of human rights in this republic. I have no doubts." Prabowo was discharged from service by a military council for misinterpreting orders in the abduction of anti-Suharto activists, and has been accused of instigating riots that killed hundreds of people just before Suharto's downfall in 1998. He denies any wrongdoing and has never been charged. In an editorial on Tuesday, the Jakarta Globe welcomed the debate on Prabowo's human rights record, saying such a step "can hopefully encourage the nation to face the unpleasant truths of the past instead of running away from it, preventing Indonesia from moving on." Jokowi, wearing a dark suit and red tie, looked to stress his man of the people image and reputation for good governance. "Democracy for us is listening to the voice of the people and carrying it out," he said. "That's why every day we go to villages, markets, riverbanks, farms and fish auctions. Because we want to listen to the voice of the people." Jokowi represents a clean break from the elite and often corrupt old guard that has ruled Indonesia for decades. His rags-to-riches story and common man approach have made him popular and he is seen as having a clean, can-do approach that has catapulted him from small-town mayor to governor of the capital and presidential favorite within two years. Analysts believed he and Kalla carried the day despite Jokowi's inexperience on the national stage. "It was a display of quiet confidence from the frontrunner, whose unobtrusive Javanese mannerisms will suit the majority of voters who want forthright answers but are reluctant to witness backbiting," Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, the editor-in-chief of the Jakarta Post, wrote in an editorial on Tuesday. Both candidates said they would strengthen the country's popular anti-graft agency, the Corruption Eradication Commission, which has exposed high-level corruption and arrested cabinet ministers, company executives and political leaders despite limited resources. "They were both successful in framing themselves in the way they want to be portrayed in this election," said Tobias Basuki, a political analyst at think tank CSIS. "But hands down, Jokowi and Kalla won the debate." The next presidential debate, set for Sunday, will focus on economic development and social welfare. Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy and Dennys Kapa. The post Jokowi Scores Points But No Knockout in Indonesia's First Presidential Debate appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Private US Report Accuses Another Chinese Military Unit of Hacking Posted: 09 Jun 2014 09:29 PM PDT  The website of the China Military Online. China's People's Liberation Army has been accused of launching cyber attacks on Western governments and defense contractors. (Photo: Reuters) SAN FRANCISCO — A private US cyber security company on Monday accused a unit of China's military of conducting far-reaching hacking operations to advance the country's satellite and aerospace programs. Security company CrowdStrike said Shanghai-based unit 61486 of the People's Liberation Army 12th bureau has attacked networks of Western government agencies and defense contractors since 2007. CrowdStrike said the hacking targeted the US space, aerospace and communications sectors. The cyber spying targeted "popular productivity applications such as Adobe Reader and Microsoft Office to deploy custom malware through targeted email attacks," CrowdStrike said. Less than three weeks ago the US Justice Department took the unprecedented step of unsealing indictments against five members of another People's Liberation Army unit that allege they stole trade secrets. CrowdStrike said it was publicizing a report previously sent to clients to show that the issue was broader than many realize. "After the Chinese response, where they basically said this is all fabricated, we said why don't we unleash something that's undeniable," said CrowdStrike co-founder Dmitri Alperovitch. He said the company had briefed US intelligence agencies before publishing its report. CrowdStrike said an individual named Chen Ping registered website domain names used in some of the intrusions. Chen's personal blog appears to put his age as 35, and he identified himself as a soldier, the report said. Chen's email is tied to profiles, blogs and forum postings, CrowdStrike said. Among material on those sites was a photo album titled "office" that includes a building CrowdStrike identified as the Shanghai headquarters of the military unit in question. Spokesmen for the Chinese Embassy in Washington and Chen could not immediately be reached for comment. CrowdStrike was founded by former senior executives at big antivirus company McAfee, now part of Intel. It has contracts and other ties to the US government. The new report is likely to add to the escalating tensions over cyber security issues between the world's two largest economies. Chinese officials have already responded sharply to last month's indictments, pulling out of talks on hacking issues and accusing the United States of plundering Chinese political and military secrets. The post Private US Report Accuses Another Chinese Military Unit of Hacking appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Posted: 09 Jun 2014 08:00 PM PDT
The post Diplomatic Dealing appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| A Thai Junta Vs a Burmese Junta—Spot the Differences Posted: 09 Jun 2014 05:45 PM PDT When the Thai military staged a coup and replaced a democratically elected government last month, ordinary people in Burma and Burmese working in Thailand reacted with a sense of bemusement. The neighbors had traded places: the former military-run pariah state is being embraced by the West for its democratic transition, while a long-standing United States ally had come under the boot of the Thai army, which has come in for strong international criticism. Soon, a sense of irony took over among the Burmese, leading to jokes on social media. When the Thai junta named itself the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)—conjuring up memories of Burma's former State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)—and it began an Orwellian-style "happiness campaign" with free dance shows, meals and haircuts, the Burmese were struck with a mix of hilarity and disbelief. Thailand was a stable nation and one of the strongest democratic and free countries in Southeast Asia. The kingdom has relatively free press, influential civil society groups and is actively engaged with Western nations and its Asian neighbors. And of course, it is Asia's most popular international tourist destination. After the initial reactions among the Burmese wore off, however, concerns over the Thai coup grew. No one wants to see Thailand's democracy fail, while the country's sinks into political and economic stagnation. Until recently, Burmese politicians and activist fleeing repression in their country sought refuge in Thailand and enjoyed its democratic space and respect for human rights; from Thailand they staged media and political campaign against military rule in Burma. Ethnic armies were based along the Thai-Burma border and set up offices and businesses there, while buying arms from the black market in Thailand to fight their insurgency against Burma's military-run government. Some recent Thai media suggested that Thailand's populist, deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra might set up a democratic movement in exile in neighboring Cambodia.  Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at aungzaw@irrawaddy.org. Some Burmese colleagues of mine, who spent many years in exile in Thailand for their democratic activism, could not help joking and said the movement would need to find some generous sponsors, preferably Western powers. In jest, they said the Thai opposition now needs leaders who, like Aung San Suu Kyi or U Win Tin, would be able to put up with many years of detention, house arrest or torture. There is great unease, nonetheless, among Burmese democracy and human rights activists over the Thai coup: when Thailand, after all its past democratic success, can regress to military rule, how long will Burma's road to genuine democracy be? Jimmy, a leader of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society who spent many years behind bars as a political prisoner said, "Thailand is a leading country in Southeast Asia. I don't want a coup in Thailand as it is a model for other Asean countries. "[The coup] shows how important national reconciliation is. If this does not succeed, the army will always be involved in Thai politics," he said, underlining the need for reconciliation in Burma. Jimmy added that President Thein Sein, who has publicly pledged to lead Burma through a transition to democracy, should respond. "Thein Sein is trumpeting Burma as heading towards democracy—he can't remain silent." The latter is, however, exactly what Burma's reformist government appears to have done. In another ironic twist, the first visit by Thai junta foreign affairs officials was to Burma, of all places, to explain the coup to the former military men that still run the country. Thai officials asked Burma, in its role as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), to help tell the outside world "the truth" about the Thai coup. In keeping with Asean's long-standing policy of non-interference in domestic affairs (and not embarrassing) of its members, Burma's government refrained from making critical comments about the Thai coup. Surprisingly, Hla Swe, a former junta colonel and now a lawmaker from Burma's ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, was more critical and said, "A coup is not good." The Burmese are also keenly aware of the differences between military rule in Thailand and the former military regime and current government in their country. The Thai army has carried out more than a dozen coups in past decades, but always relinquished power to a civilian government after a number of years. The Thai military also retains respect among large swathes of the Thai people. Nan Khin Htwe Myint, a politician with the National League for Democracy (NLD), said, "In Thailand, once the country's situation returns to normal, the army gives power back to the people. In Burma, it's been different." The Burma Army staged two coups, one in 1962 and one in 1988, and ruled the country for more than half a century. The military is hated and mocked by most people in Burma after the generals brutally suppressed dissent and ran the economy of the resource-rich country into the ground. Today, many Burmese still feel that the country is under control of military men and ex-generals in the government and Parliament—in spite of the "sweeping reforms" celebrated by Western governments. The despised military-drafted Constitution gives the army direct control over a quarter of Parliament and other controls over government. The Burmese continue to loathe the retired and active generals, and their cronies, who control most assets in Burma and have positioned themselves to reap the benefits of the economic boom that was kick-started by the democratic transition. We are now stuck with the Burma Army's "disciplined democracy"—the generals simply decided to take off their uniforms in order to continue to run the country, while mass murderers and former coup makers enjoy impunity and live in lavish compounds. Let's hope that the Thai army will soon return to its barracks, and that Burma's military will pick up on the idea and leave Burmese politics once and for all. The post A Thai Junta Vs a Burmese Junta—Spot the Differences appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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