The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Burma’s Parliament Amends Protest Law
- Women Protest Sexual Violence by Soldiers in Chin State
- General Appointed Arakan Chief Minister, Govt Tells Local MPs
- Burmese Migrants Cite Safety Concerns Amid Crackdown by Thai Junta
- Strong Start for Burma’s 2014-15 FDI
- France Holds First Health Forum in Burma in 20 Years
- NLD Schedules First Youth Congress in Early July
- New Regulations, But No Evictions for Pyu Villagers: Ministry
- Western Firms React to Burmese Slave Labor Accusations in Thailand
- Big Tobacco Ignores Indonesia Health Warning Law
- US Says Thai Military Rule Likely to Last Longer than Expected
- China Confirms Attack on Militia in Tense Far West
- Words and Peace
| Burma’s Parliament Amends Protest Law Posted: 25 Jun 2014 06:44 AM PDT  Demonstrators protest against a government plan to increase electricity rates in Rangoon on Nov. 7, 2013. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Burma's Parliament has amended the Peaceful Assembly Act, a widely criticized law responsible for the imprisonment of many political activists, but lawyers say the amendments are largely cosmetic and will have little practical effect. Enacted in 2011, the Peaceful Assembly Act required people to receive permission from authorities before staging public demonstrations, with penalties of up to one year in prison for violators. Protesters could also be imprisoned for up to two years for causing unrest during their demonstration. State-run newspapers announced on Wednesday that Parliament had amended eight articles of the law, cutting in half the prison sentences for these offenses. But legal experts said other amendments were superficial—consisting of slight changes in wording to appease critics. For example, lawmakers removed language from the law that described how authorities can "deny" permission for a public protest. Instead, the amended version says authorities can decide not to "issue" permission if applications are not in accordance with the law. As with before, a protest will not be allowed if it might disturb pedestrians or if participants plan to "say things or behave in a way that could affect the country, union, race or religion, human dignity or moral principles." Chants must be approved prior to protests. The amended version also contains some changes that could make life more difficult for protesters. It says authorities no longer need to inform applicants in advance if they decide not to issue permission. Applicants also no longer have the right to submit an appeal. Aung Thein, a veteran Burmese lawyer, accused lawmakers of playing word games and said the government has retained the power to restrict free expression. "Since the law is in their hands, they can simply say the reasons for the protest are unlawful. It will be denied if they do not want to give permission," he told The Irrawaddy. Other lawyers and activists called on Parliament to abolish the law entirely. "There are some reduction in penalties, but we cannot call this positive change or say the situation is improving," said Robert San Aung, a prominent lawyer who has defended activists charged with violating the law, when asked about the amendments. "If the government really wants to practice democracy, a law like this, which limits freedom of expression, must be abolished." Since President Thein Sein's government enacted the Peaceful Assembly Act in December 2011, rights activists and protesters, especially those demonstrating against the confiscation of farmland, have been arrested and prosecuted under the act. Naw Ohn Hla, a famous rights activist, was sentenced to two years in prison under the act. "Every citizen must have the freedom of speech and the right to protest. Until now we have needed to request permission to protest. This is not genuine democracy," she said. "If the government truly wants change, they should abolish the law. But now they are just tricking the people by showing very small amendments." The post Burma's Parliament Amends Protest Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Women Protest Sexual Violence by Soldiers in Chin State Posted: 25 Jun 2014 06:13 AM PDT  A view of Matupi Town in Chin State. (Photo: Myat Su Mon / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — More than 130 ethnic Chin women participate in a protest against the Burmese military's alleged use of rape as a weapon of war in Matupi Township. Protest leaders said the demonstration on Tuesday aimed to draw attention to sexual violence perpetrated by soldiers against women and children in Matupi, as well as to enhance awareness of women's rights issues among local residents. Al Li, secretary of the Chin Women's Association, said six local women in Matupi had been raped by Tatamadaw soldiers, with the latest case on June 10. "The police arrested this rapist soldier, but we don't know yet what will happen next," the protest organizer said. Al Li said the Chin activists' initial request seeking permission for the protest march was rejected by local law enforcement, but was later allowed to proceed. "The police told us not to march to avoid traffic, but we marched as we said we would, to raise the issue of women being abused," she said. Many ethnic Chin women lack formal schooling and are poorly versed in women's rights issues, Al Li said, adding that greater efforts to educate the women were needed. The local women said increased Burmese Army troop deployments in Chin State since 2010 had left many locals fearing for their safety and reluctant to cultivate their farmlands due to the presence of soldiers in the area. Burma signed the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1997, but women's rights activists say the government has yet to take meaningful steps to ensure the protection of women's rights. In a January 2014 report, the Thailand-based Women's League of Burma accused members of the military of raping more than 100 women since 2010. The rape incidents' "widespread and systematic nature indicates a structural pattern: rape is still used as an instrument of war and oppression," the report said. In April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also called for the Burmese government to investigate the claims of rape by soldiers. The post Women Protest Sexual Violence by Soldiers in Chin State appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| General Appointed Arakan Chief Minister, Govt Tells Local MPs Posted: 25 Jun 2014 05:17 AM PDT  Deputy Border Affairs Minister Gen. Maung Maung Ohn (R), seen in this file photo from 2010. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — President Thein Sein has appointed Burma Army general and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Maung Maung Ohn as the new chief minister of Arakan State, a decision that was announced in the state's legislature on Wednesday, Arakanese lawmakers said. The Arakanese politicians said they would try to resist the appointment in the coming days as they object to the conflict-torn state being governed by the military. On Friday, the President's Office announced that Gen. Maung Maung Ohn was appointed member of the Arakan State parliament, a step that turned out to be part of the appointment procedure. An urgent legislative meeting was then called for Wednesday, when his appointment as chief minister was announced. "At parliament today, the chairman of parliament read a letter from the president, in which he proposed that Gen. Maung Maung Ohn becomes chief minister," Arakan National Party (ANP) lawmaker Saw Nyein said. "If there are objections [to the appointment] lawmakers need to notify [parliament] by June 27. Gen. Maung Maung Ohn will become the chief minister if there is no one disagreement." He added that Maung Maung Ohn was present in the state legislature during the four hour session. The government announced last week that Arakan State Chief Minister Hla Maung Tin was "allowed to resign." It remains unclear why the lawmaker of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) stepped down after four years in charge. As Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Maung Maung Ohn led the government commission that investigated the Sittwe riots in March, when Arakanese Buddhist mobs attacked international aid offices. The probe concluded that the state government had been slow to react to the unrest. Arakanese politicians, who have long been calling for greater political autonomy for their region, said they viewed the appointment of a general as chief minister as a throwback to the days of military rule in Burma. "To be frank, we feel the president wants to put our region under military control. By doing this, our people will not get any benefit from the democratic reforms," Saw Nyein said. "Our people are not happy; they say they want an educated person from our ethic group to be chief minister." He said Arakanese lawmakers, who hold 18 out of 34 state parliament seats, would formulate the grounds for objecting to the appointment, adding, "We need to be very sure and find out what Gen. Maung Maung Ohn has done wrong in the past if we want block him in parliament. We are still researching his background and we will raise our objections." Khin Maung Gyi, ANP central committee member, said, "We can’t agree to let a person who was not elected by the people run our region. We want the government to select those who were elected." The Arakanese conceded, however, that there was little they could do to oppose the appointment. Under the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, which centralizes executive powers over the divisions and ethnic states with the government in Naypyidaw, the president has the authority to appoint a region's chief minister. In 2012, Arakan State was plunged into a crisis after waves of deadly inter-communal violence broke out between Arakanese Buddhist majority and the Rohingya Muslims. The Rohingya, a stateless minority of around 1 million people, have since suffered gross human rights violations at the hands of security forces, government authorities and Arakanese nationalists. Rohingya leaders, who have no say whatsoever in the governance of Arakan State, said they hoped that the appointment of a Burma Army general might result in a more stable situation in northern Arakan, where tensions remain high and Muslims continue to experience daily rights abuses. "There are many things here that need to be done to restore law and order. We don't need people who just stand and watch when violence occurs. We need a person who can stop violence," said Aung Win, a Rohingya rights activist based in Sittwe. "I think that he has in mind what he wants to do to have peace and reconciliation here as soon as he can. It is appropriate to appoint someone who can restore law and order. We welcome him," he said. It remains to be seen whether the new appointment will make a difference. International human rights groups have accused the Burmese government of colluding with Arakanese nationalist groups during the attacks on the Rohingya, and of contributing to the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim group from communities in northern Arakan State. Some 140,000 displaced Rohingya live in crowded camps from where they cannot leave, while about 89,000 Rohingya fled by boats last year in a desperate attempt to reach Malaysia. The post General Appointed Arakan Chief Minister, Govt Tells Local MPs appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burmese Migrants Cite Safety Concerns Amid Crackdown by Thai Junta Posted: 25 Jun 2014 05:09 AM PDT  Migrant workers from Burma work on a fishing boat at the port of Mahachai, near Bangkok, on Sept. 24, 2011. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — As the Thai junta reforms its labor policy and cracks down on illegal migrant workers, Burmese migrants in the construction and fishing industries, including those with legal rights to work in the country, are reporting mistreatment by their employers and the police. Poe Thein, a Burmese construction worker in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, said he and 80 other migrants were arrested in early June and detained for several weeks before being deported back to the Burmese border town of Tachileik, across from the Thai town of Mae Sai. The construction worker said he and three of his Burmese coworkers possessed proper documentation to legally work in Thailand. "When the police raided our place, we told them we had documents. We gave them the documents," he said. "But when they called our employer, he refused to confirm our employment. He didn't do anything to help us, and the police said our passports were no longer valid so we were arrested and detained for weeks." He accused the Thai police of seizing the Burmese identity cards of some migrant workers when they were driven in trucks to Tachileik. More than 200,000 foreign migrant workers, mostly from Cambodia, have been deported from Thailand since a Thai military coup on May 22. The deportations are part of a crackdown on illegal migrant workers to combat corruption and human trafficking. Now, Thai labor authorities say deported migrant workers can return to the country and apply for permission to work again, according to Thai media reports. The junta is even setting up one-stop service centers near the Thai-Cambodia border to register migrant workers, the Bangkok Post newspaper reported. But returning to Thailand has not gone smoothly for some. "I tried to cross the border this morning with an official permit, but Thai authorities stopped me," Poe Thein said. "I don't know why I can't come to Thailand, even with a legal document." Kyaw Thaung, director of the Bangkok-based Myanmar Association in Thailand (MAT), a labor rights group that helps Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, said he doubted Burmese authorities were cooperating with Thai authorities to assist workers. He said a group of 14 Burmese migrant workers in the migrant-populated town of Mahachai recently attempted to return to Burma because they had not been paid well. But the migrants were forced to stay in Thailand because the employers refused to give back their passports. "The migrant workers went to seek help from the Burmese embassy in Bangkok to regain their passports, but the embassy did not take any effective responsibility," said Kyaw Thaung. "They [Burmese authorities] are good at talking. But, there is no effective action." Thailand's Labor Ministry has encouraged migrant workers to report poor treatment by employers, including unfair pay, according to the Bangkok Post. Ministry officials warned more than 200 job agencies that they would take legal action against anyone who paid unfair wages to migrant workers, the newspaper reported. There are 2.2 million registered migrant workers in Thailand, mostly Burmese migrants. Labor rights groups estimate that there are an additional 3 million undocumented Burmese migrant workers in the country. Many of them are exploited. The London-based Guardian newspaper recently released an investigative documentary that spotlighted the plight of Burmese male workers who were sold like slaves by human trafficking agents to work on Thai fishing boats against their will. The newspaper said supermarkets around the world buy seafood that comes from this "slavery-style" work. The Washington-based International Labor Rights Forum is calling on major Western food retailing companies to put pressure on businesses in Thailand after The Guardian linked a major Thai conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods, with trafficking and slave labor involving Burmese migrants. The post Burmese Migrants Cite Safety Concerns Amid Crackdown by Thai Junta appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Strong Start for Burma’s 2014-15 FDI Posted: 25 Jun 2014 05:03 AM PDT  Pepsi and Coca-Cola cans are stacked at a shop in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Though the United States extended its economic sanctions against Burma for another year in May, overall foreign direct investment continued to rise in the first two months of the fiscal beginning April 1, according to a senior official at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. Following last year's record-breaking foreign direct investment, which saw outside firms put US$3.5 billion into Burma, the first two months of the current 2014-15 fiscal year tallied more than $1.1 billion in FDI, the DICA official said. While Washington, like many other Western governments, has moved to allow new US trade and investment in Burma, the United States still forbids its nationals from investing in military-owned companies. Several dozen other Burmese corporate entities and individuals who are also suspected of ties to the former military junta, the narcotics trade or arms dealing with North Korea, are also off-limits under the terms of the sanctions. Despite the restrictions, money continues to flow into the country. US firms themselves have announced several investments since the renewed sanctions were announced. Burma's garment sector is serving as an attractive investment for foreign firms, according to Aung Naing Oo, secretary of the Myanmar Investment Commission. "The FDI flows have not declined, the flows continued to increase these past two months," he said, adding that among the investors was the US toothpaste manufacturer Colgate. Myat Thin Aung, chairman of Rangoon's Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone, said the garment sector constituted an increasingly large portion of the industrial zone's operations. Regional pressures elsewhere—from rising labor costs to the anti-Chinese riots that rocked industrial Vietnam last month—were leading firms to exit more established manufacturing bases, he said. "Here, labor costs are still cheap, garment factories are always looking for cheap labor regionally. Thailand and Cambodia's labor costs are increasing, that's why they're moving to Burma," he said. According to figures from the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone, there are more than 90 garment manufacturing operations among more than 500 factories in the zone. "In the past, garment factories numbered less than 60," said Myat Thin Aung, while adding that some long-standing deterrents to investment, such as the country's underdeveloped electricity grid, continued to hold back some. "We need foreign heavy industry to come to our country, and we want them to open electronics factories here, but electricity supply shortages in Burma are a major problem for them," he explained. This year, the manufacturing, telecommunications, and hotels and tourism sectors are expected to lead FDI ventures. In March, Aung Naing Oo said total investment for the 2014-15 fiscal year was projected at $4 billion to $5 billion. The post Strong Start for Burma's 2014-15 FDI appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| France Holds First Health Forum in Burma in 20 Years Posted: 25 Jun 2014 03:09 AM PDT  A representative of Legrand, one of six French companies that took part in the France-Myanmar Healthcare Forum on June 25, 2014, demonstrates how to use one of his company's products. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A forum to promote medical equipment manufactured by French firms was held in Rangoon on Wednesday for the first time in 20 years. The France-Myanmar Healthcare Forum, organized by the French Agency for International Business Development (UBIFRANCE), brought together around 150 businesspeople and healthcare professionals from both countries for a series of presentations and discussions. Claire Camdessus, UBIFRANCE's director for Burma, Thailand and Laos, said the one-day forum aimed to introduce French health-care technology to the Burmese market. "We know there's a lot of reform going on and a lot of opportunities in Myanmar, and we want our French companies to be a part of this development," she said. Six French companies—Tangram & Maes Architectes, Oxy Plus Technologies, Legrand, Amplitude, Spineway and IGNA-Institute Genetique Nantes Atlantique—participated in the event. Also represented were Burma's ministries of health, home affairs and defense and the Myanmar Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment Entrepreneurs Association. Around 90 Burmese entrepreneurs from 40 healthcare-related companies, including private hospitals, also took part. The French delegation is also expected to visit Rangoon General Hospital, Parami General Hospital and Victoria Hospital on Thursday. "Our companies' delegation will also visit hospitals in Yangon so they can choose how they can approach this market," said Camdessus. France restored trade relations with Burma early last year, after years of economic sanctions directed at the country's former military regime. The French embassy's trade commission hosted similar forums on water, electricity and livestock last year after France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened an office in Rangoon. The post France Holds First Health Forum in Burma in 20 Years appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| NLD Schedules First Youth Congress in Early July Posted: 24 Jun 2014 11:30 PM PDT  NLD supporters celebrate in Rangoon in April 2012. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — After several delays, the National League for Democracy (NLD) said it has finally set a firm date for its first nationwide youth congress, which will be held on July 5-6. Burma's biggest opposition party twice announced it would hold the conference, once in January and then in April, but then postponed the event, most recently because the NLD started its nationwide campaign calling for amendments to the Constitution's Article 436. "We had various reasons to reshuffle the date; the campaign for amending Article 436 was a priority for example. So now, the two-day Congress has been set with a firm date and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will attend during those two days," said Maung Maung Oo, the central commission chairman for the Youth Congress. He added the event will be held at the Royal Rose Restaurant in Rangoon. Maung Maung Oo said a total of some 200 youth leaders, who were selected based on their level of experience, are expected to attend the congress. Representatives, aged between 16 to 35 years, were chosen from the NLD's township, district, division and state commissions. They will represent the NLD youth members who number about 100,000 across the country. "We want to promote the youth's role in the party, and we will select 15 major youth leaders at this congress," to form the central working committee of the NLD youth wing, Maung Maung Oo said. He added that another 57 representatives will be selected to join the NLD youth wing's central leading committee. Maung Maung Oo said the congress would focus on regional development and the role of youth in Burma's development. He said there would be about 30 young women representing NLD township and district committees, and four women representing NLD committees from Kachin, Arakan and Mon states and Bago Division. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi has long aspired to hold a youth congress. The idea received more backing last year after the NLD held a national assembly of about 900 members in March—also a first for the party, which was outlawed before President Thein Sein's nominally civilian government came to power in 2011. Although the party is hugely popular, questions have been raised over its organizational capacity, ageing leadership and an overdependence on Suu Kyi's leadership, which has left little room for the development of other NLD leaders. The NLD wants to revitalize ahead of the elections and develop a younger generation of leaders, as many of its current central leaders are in their 70s and 80s. The post NLD Schedules First Youth Congress in Early July appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| New Regulations, But No Evictions for Pyu Villagers: Ministry Posted: 24 Jun 2014 10:31 PM PDT  A farmer tills earth in preparation to plant carrots beside a marker that indicates the site of the ancient city of Sri Ksetra. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's Ministry of Culture says it will issue new regulations for local people living in and around the ruins of three ancient cities recently listed as Unesco World Heritage Sites, but will not force any of them to relocate. Sandar Khin, a deputy minister from the Ministry of Culture, spoke at a press conference on Monday at Rangoon International Airport, with more than 100 civil servants welcoming her return from a meeting in Doha, Qatar, where Unesco conferred Burma's first World Heritage listing on the ancient Pyu cities of Sri Ksetra, Halin and Beikthano. "New regulations are necessary for cases of growing vegetables, building houses or setting up new buildings at the heritage site," Sandar Khin told reporters. "Our ministry will issue these." "We have provided a lot of education to the local people who are living on the site about not damaging the heritage. For the new regulations, we will not force them off the site. But, we will have new regulations for those who want to build new houses or buildings. We have to ensure that their building does not damage the protected sites," she said. During a visit by The Irrawaddy in September 2013, as the Burmese government prepared for a site visit from a Unesco delegation, some locals expressed concern that a World Heritage listing might see them forced from their homes or lands. The Sri Ksetra site in Pegu Division consists of 14 present-day villages, populated by more than 10,000 people. At Sri Ksetra, the ruins of what was once Southeast Asia's largest walled city cover an area of about 18 square miles, with the remains of a royal palace at the center. Halin in Sagaing Division and Beikthano in Magwe Division likewise include the ruins—enclosed by the remains of brick fortifications and featuring elaborate irrigation systems—of ancient Pyu city-states. "It is very important to get recognition from the international World Heritage body because we can maintain our heritage that remains if we have the money for it. Our people can learn of former architecture styles as well," Sandar Khin said. With the listing, which was announced by the Unesco World Heritage Committee on Sunday, the Pyu sites are eligible to receive financial assistance and expertise from the UN cultural body for preservation works. The World Heritage designation is also expected to boost tourist visitors to the sites. The now-extinct Pyu people are believed to have been the first to bring Theravada Buddhism to Burma. The kingdom of Pyu was dominant in Burma's central dry zone for more than 800 years from the first to ninth centuries AD. The post New Regulations, But No Evictions for Pyu Villagers: Ministry appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Western Firms React to Burmese Slave Labor Accusations in Thailand Posted: 24 Jun 2014 05:29 PM PDT  A Thai employer, left, monitors migrant workers from Burma working on his fishing boat at a port in the town of Mahachai near Bangkok on March 11, 2010. (Photo: Reuters / Damir Sagolj) A US human rights group is calling on major Western food retailing companies to put pressure on businesses in Thailand after a major Thai conglomerate was linked to allegations of trafficking and slave labor involving Burmese migrants. The call for action comes from the Washington-based International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) following an investigation into Thailand's fishing industry, which employs thousands of Burmese migrant workers. The investigation, by The Guardian newspaper of London, spotlighted the plight of "large numbers of men who have been bought and sold like animals and held against their will on fishing boats off Thailand" and who were part of the "production of prawns sold in leading supermarkets around the world." The newspaper identified CP Foods as being closely tied to supply chains that include Thai fishing boats using Burmese slave labor. Two Western supermarket chain companies, including France-based Carrefour, have already stopped buying supplies from CP Foods in the wake of The Guardian report. "Swift action is vital, and action from [prawn] buyers can significantly improve conditions for the workers along their supply chains," ILRF campaigns director Abby Mills told The Irrawaddy. "ILRF does not, however, advocate a cut and run approach." "Cutting relationships with suppliers without first trying to address the underlying problems can leave exploited workers in bad situations without options for redress. Western companies should work with their Thai counterparts to make real changes that increase supply chain transparency, improve mechanisms to identify labor law violations and empower workers to report and seek remedy," Mills said. "Companies have an important role to play in setting certain standards for their suppliers, and enforcing them all the way down the supply chain, that could dramatically improve livelihoods and working conditions for these workers." That kind of response begins to get at the root causes of why labor trafficking is so prevalent in the Thai seafood sector, Mills said. The call for action by the ILRF comes as Thailand is embarrassingly scolded by the United States for its failure to tackle migrant labor abuse in the country. The US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, released last week, downgraded Thailand's status to the lowest tier, placing it in the same category as North Korea, Syria and Saudi Arabia. US Secretary of State John Kerry said the aim of the report was to remind the world "of what happens in many dark places that need light." Previous US reports on human trafficking had urged Bangkok to deal with the problem, but this year marks the first time the State Department has downgraded Thailand. Bangkok-based CP Foods is part of the sprawling CP Group, which has business interests across Southeast Asia and China with an annual turnover of about US$33 billion—more than half the size of Burma's GDP in 2013. "The investigation found that the world's largest prawn farmer, the Thailand-based Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods, buys fishmeal, which it feeds to its farmed prawns, from some suppliers that own, operate or buy from fishing boats manned with slaves," said The Guardian. Among other things, it alleged that migrants pressganged onto fishing boats had been forced to work 20-hour days, beaten and tortured. Fifteen Burmese and Cambodians interviewed by the newspaper said they had paid brokers to help them find work in Thai factories or on building sites. "But they had been sold instead to boat captains, sometimes for as little as £250 [US$426]. Some were at sea for years; some were regularly offered methamphetamines to keep them going. Some had seen fellow slaves murdered in front of them," The Guardian reported. Shrimps sold by leading supermarkets around the world, including the top four global retailers Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Costco and Tesco, had come from CP Foods, it said. "At the heart of the problem is Thailand's treatment of its migrant workforce," said the ILRF's Mills. "At the end of 2013, there were an estimated 3-4 million migrant workers in Thailand. The majority of these workers, 80 percent, came from Burma to work in the most dangerous, dirty jobs, including manufacturing, seafood harvesting and processing, and domestic work," Mills said. "Complex, expensive immigration policies and labor laws that bind migrant workers to their employer also leave them vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation by unscrupulous employers. Endemic police corruption, including the direct involvement in and facilitation of human trafficking by law enforcement officials, perpetuates the problem," according to the 2013 Trafficking in Persons report from the US Department of State. CP Group was in the spotlight in 2013 over the treatment of Burmese workers at one of its seafood processing factories south of Bangkok. The firm fired 160 Burmese without notice or proper compensation at its Mahachai coastal factory in a process that involved dubious sub-contractors. The firm agreed to re-instate the workers following the intervention of NGOs and the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok. CP Group, which employs 280,000 people worldwide and operates the world's third-largest 7-Eleven convenience store franchise, has expressed interest in investing in rice and maize farms, milling plants and meat processing factories in Burma. CP Foods in Bangkok declined to comment to The Irrawaddy on the allegations in The Guardian, which quoted a company spokesman in Britain, Bob Miller, saying slavery was indefensible. "We know there's issues with regard to the [raw] material that comes in [to port], but to what extent that is, we just don't have visibility," Miller told the paper. The revelations about slave labor come as the military coup leaders in Thailand have ordered a targeting of migrant labor in general in the country. There have been numerous reports of soldiers and police raiding businesses employing Burmese and Cambodians. Tens of thousands of Cambodians and an unknown number of Burmese, mostly undocumented workers, have been sent back across their borders. Reports have said that even legally documented Burmese are being harassed by the authorities since the Army took over the country. The post Western Firms React to Burmese Slave Labor Accusations in Thailand appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Big Tobacco Ignores Indonesia Health Warning Law Posted: 24 Jun 2014 10:13 PM PDT  A vendor of locally grown tobacco smokes a cigarette in a market in Banda Aceh on June 24, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Junaidi Hanafiah) JAKARTA — Tobacco companies on Tuesday largely ignored an Indonesian deadline to put graphic health warnings on all cigarette packs, another setback for anti-smoking efforts in a country that's home to the world's highest rate of male smokers and a wild, wild west of advertising. Despite having a year and a half to prepare warning photos that are to cover 40 percent of cigarette packs, most tobacco companies failed to meet Tuesday's deadline, according to the National Commission for Child Protection. It found little sign of change in brands being sold in Jakarta and 11 other cities across the sprawling archipelago. "This clearly indicates that the cigarette industry has defied Indonesian law," said commission chair Arist Merdeka Sirait. "The government has been defeated by the cigarette industry." Only 409 of the more than 3,300 brands owned by 672 companies nationwide had registered the photos they plan to use on their products as of Monday, according to the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency. They were given a choice of five images last June. Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said companies that missed the deadline will be issued warnings, and those that fail to comply could eventually be fined up to US$42,000 and face five years in prison. Indonesia's biggest cigarette producer, Philip Morris-owned Sampoerna, said it began distributing products with the new warnings on Monday, but needed more time to clear out existing stock. But the law states that the labels must be displayed on shelves by Tuesday. "We believe the government will implement the regulation consistently and fairly, so as to realize a climate of healthy competition among cigarette manufacturers, as well as providing clear information about the impact of smoking on health," Sampoerna spokesman Tommy Hersyaputera said. Indonesia has a long history of delaying tobacco regulations—the graphic warnings are part of health regulations that passed five years ago—and it is one of the few countries that has not joined a World Health Organization tobacco treaty. The order has taken years to reach President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's desk, and he still has not signed it. He will leave office in October after elections next month. Tobacco control is particularly contentious in Indonesia, the world's fifth-largest cigarette producer and a growth market for the industry. Farmers hold rowdy protests when restrictions are proposed, and lobbyists maintain tight connections with politicians in a government rife with graft. Many forms of tobacco advertising long banned in the West remain ubiquitous here. Towering billboards and LED screens scream messages such as, "Marlboro Ice Blast … crush it, unleash it." At the main international airport, a bright blue advertisement for Clas mild cigarettes urges, "Act Now! Talk less do more." Tobacco commercials are still on television, and companies continue to sponsor sports and entertainment events. Tobacco-related illnesses kill at least 200,000 each year in the country, which has a population of around 240 million. A national survey in 2012 found that 67 percent of all males over age 15 smoke—the world's highest rate—while 35 percent of the total population lights up, surpassed only by Russia. Most Indonesian men buy strong and pungent kreteks, filled with a mix of tobacco and cloves. But so-called white cigarettes, such as US-based Philip Morris International's Marlboro, have become more popular in recent years. All brands are cheap, selling for about $1 a pack, making it easy for children to take up the habit. The post Big Tobacco Ignores Indonesia Health Warning Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| US Says Thai Military Rule Likely to Last Longer than Expected Posted: 24 Jun 2014 10:07 PM PDT  Thai Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha speaks during a meeting with Thai ambassadors at the Royal Thai Army Headquarters in Bangkok on June 11, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Chanat Katanyu) WASHINGTON — Military rule in Thailand is likely to last longer than expected and has been more repressive than after the country's last coup in 2006, a senior US official said on Tuesday. The official told a congressional hearing Washington was still looking at whether the big regional Cobra Gold military exercise held annually in Thailand could go ahead there next year given the military takeover in May. "Initially, we held out hope that—as happened with the 2006 coup—the military would move relatively quickly to transfer power to a civilian government and move towards free and fair elections," said Scot Marciel, the US principal deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia. "However, recent events have shown that the current military coup is both more repressive and likely to last longer than the last one," he added. Marciel said in testimony to the Asia-Pacific subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the coup had put the United States in a difficult position, given that Thailand is a key US ally in Asia. "The challenge facing the United States is to make clear our support for a rapid return to democracy and fundamental freedoms, while also working to ensure we are able to maintain and strengthen this important friendship and our security alliance over the long term," he said. Marciel said Washington hoped that strong international criticism of the military takeover would lead to an easing of repression and an early return to democracy. He said the United States would continue to urge for the martial law to be lifted and elections to be held sooner than a vague 15-month timeline laid out by the military government. However, he added: "To be honest, it’s very hard to predict how long they are going to stay in power." Until there is a return to elected government, "we will not be able to do business as usual," Marciel said. As required by US law, Washington has frozen US$4.7 million of security-related assistance since the coup and canceled high-level engagements, some military exercises and training programs for the military and police. Marciel said Washington had yet to make a decision on the Cobra Gold exercises planned for early next year in Thailand, which he called "hugely important … not only for Thailand and the United States, but for the region." "It’s something we’re looking at. We have a little bit of time to work with." Steve Chabot, chairman of the subcommittee at which Marciel spoke, suggested that Cobra Gold could be moved to another country, such as Australia, and added: "It could clearly send the wrong message if we allowed [Thailand] to participate." Washington has also yet to decide whether Thailand would receive a presidential waiver on sanctions—including withdrawal of US support at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank—that could be imposed for its failure to deal with human trafficking, Marciel said. The post US Says Thai Military Rule Likely to Last Longer than Expected appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| China Confirms Attack on Militia in Tense Far West Posted: 24 Jun 2014 09:57 PM PDT  Chinese soldiers are shown on state television taking up position in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, following a deadly attack in the city on May 22, 2014. (Photo: CCTV / Youtube) BEIJING — Chinese authorities on Tuesday reported an attack on security personnel at a checkpoint in the restive far western region of Xinjiang, confirming a days-old report by a US-backed radio service that said five people were killed. The belated and sketchy report contrasts with the extensive coverage given by China to an anti-terrorism crackdown in the region following a May 22 attack at a vegetable market in Urumqi that left 43 dead, and could raise questions about the campaign's effectiveness. Violence has risen in recent years in Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur minority. China's government blames it on religious extremists who have ties to overseas Islamic terror groups, while Uighurs complain of repressive cultural and religious policies by the Han Chinese majority and economic disenfranchisement in their resource-rich homeland. The official confirmation of the Friday attack was indirect. It appeared in an article by the local government about public study sessions against terrorism, apparently set up in response to the checkpoint attack. In a Sunday report, Radio Free Asia said assailants stabbed two police officers guarding a security checkpoint in a village in Qaraqash county and set fire to a room in which three other officers were sleeping, killing all five. Village chief Atawulla Qasim told RFA that the attackers locked the door from outside and poured gas into the room through a chimney before setting fire to it. The local government article said militia members manning a checkpoint were killed but did not provide any more details. A man who answered the telephone at the local police station said he had no knowledge of the incident. Confirmation of such attacks can be difficult because authorities often want to play down attacks targeting symbols of power. Earlier last week, state media reported in detail how local residents helped thwart an attack by three men in a game room in the Hotan area. On Saturday, state media reported that police fatally shot 13 assailants who rammed a truck into a police building and set off explosives in Kashgar. Both incidents were presented as proof that Beijing’s measures were working to curb violence. On Monday, authorities said they broke up 32 terrorist groups and arrested more than 380 suspects in Xinjiang in the first month of the crackdown. They said they were able to discover and crush more than 96 percent of terror acts in the planning stage, although critics warned the crackdown might exacerbate tensions. The post China Confirms Attack on Militia in Tense Far West appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Posted: 24 Jun 2014 05:00 PM PDT  Representatives from the government and ethnic armed groups meet in Yangon on in May discuss the drafting of a nationwide ceasefire agreement. (Photo: Myanmar Peace Center) Words are crucial in peace talks. They take center stage in peace negotiations. Peace talks cannot live without words. Words have meanings. Some are clear and some are not. Some words are controversial, and definitions may not always have the same meaning but are dependent on the context. We use words to make points in negotiations. Sometimes words show us the way. Sometimes, they give us a headache. And sometimes, it is words that get us stuck along the way. Then we cannot move on. Then we have to take breaks from negotiation sessions to talk on the sidelines. Sometimes, we are able to find alternative words to the words that got us bogged down. Sometimes, we just have to leave troublesome words behind to move on with the process. They are to be revisited later; we cannot just ignore them. But the delegates to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) talks come prepared. Some of them are legal experts and experienced orators who have ways with words. But they all admit that the Myanmar language is rich and that Myanmar words can mean different things at different times and in different situations. So, like it or not, as an integral part of the peace process, we need to confront the words head on. We need to plough through them in order to get to where we want to go—the first-ever NCA for Myanmar. This is because in our current negotiations, words have kept us and an NCA apart. To get through words around the table, patience is absolutely necessary. I for one often get frustrated watching the negotiations unfold. It is a time-consuming exercise. Despite this, the delegates on both sides bargain collegially. I am often amazed at their patience and perseverance. This may not be easily understood or appreciated by those unfamiliar with the peace process or with peace talks. Sometimes we think we can get through some words in no time at all and without any difficulty. But we often are proven wrong, and we have needed to extend the negotiating time on a regular basis. One delegate to the NCA talks said words "are crushing us." Another delegate said, "We are being weighed down by words."  Aung Naing Oo, an analyst for the Myanmar Peace Center. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) In spite of this, both sides—the government of Myanmar and the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT)—in the last round of negotiation in May this year were able to secure a second single draft. With each negotiation, both parties steadily edge toward a historic NCA for Myanmar. Optimism is in the air. But the NCA document is over 20 pages long. All told, there are some 120 points slated to be included in the agreement. So far, about 75 percent of the contents have been agreed upon, and the remainder—about 30 points—will be tabled again in the next round of talks. In other words, approximately 25 percent of the NCA document remains to be negotiated. We use black color for agreed words, and blue and red for those that still need to be negotiated. And every time we are able to turn blue or red print into black, there is a round of applause around the table. And smiling faces too, often accompanied by a short break. In the last round of talks, both sides pledged that they would try their best so that there would not be a fourth draft, meaning that they could do everything in their in power to finish off the ceasefire negotiations in the next round. We shall see soon enough if this can be achieved. Currently, there are some 20 to 30 words and phrases that need to be defined or redefined because their definitions need to be absolutely clear. Such words include federalism, federal army, revolution, union, and existing—as in existing laws—just to name a few. Some words are outdated. Some words have been used in bilateral ceasefires with some groups, but now they face greater scrutiny in the all-inclusive NCA negotiations. Some words have been agreed in principle but still need revisiting. Almost anything—excepting secession—will be included in the upcoming political dialogue. For instance, power-sharing and resource-sharing talks will require constitutional change. However, some words in the proposed NCA go beyond the 2008 Constitution, which limits the government's negotiating mandate. These words need to be negotiated again to be compatible with the current Constitution for the NCA. All of these may sound ridiculous to outsiders. But no one around the table wants any trouble later should a dispute arise because the meanings of the words or phrases in the historic NCA were not clear. Ultimately, words can have an adverse effect on the peace process as a whole. Not so long ago, I went to a youth conference in Mawlamyine, Mon State. The youth came from all over the country. At the end of the gathering, they issued a statement. But some youth leaders told me that it took a good few hours for them to negotiate on the contents and choice of words of that statement. They complained that it was an incredibly difficult experience. I explained to them as follows: If the youth could not agree on a statement and/or the choice of words, at least they could go home and get on with their lives without having to worry too much more about that. However, if the groups with deadly weapons could not agree on a peace agreement because they could not agree on the choice of words, they could go back to war and fight. That is why it is so crucial that they argue over words and that their patience is absolutely necessary. Furthermore, even if the words in the NCA are agreed upon, the organizations that these delegates represent will need to also agree on the implementation of the NCA that they have so carefully negotiated. But fighting over words is a million times better than fighting with weapons. Aung Naing Oo is an associate director of the Peace Dialogue Program at the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). The views expressed here are his own and not those of the MPC. The post Words and Peace appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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