| As Drugs Blaze, Eradication Efforts Fail to Stem Trade: UN Posted: 26 Jun 2014 06:20 AM PDT  On Thursday, Burmese authorities organized a drug-burning ceremony in Rangoon’s Mawbe Township that destroyed a reported US$19 million worth of illicit drugs. (Photos: Hein Htet/ The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — To mark World Drug Day, Burmese authorities organized drug-burning ceremonies on Thursday that destroyed seized illegal drugs said to be worth a combined US$130 million. But as piles of opium, heroin and methamphetamine went up in smoke, UN officials warned that illicit drug production in Burma continued to rise in order to supply a growing Asian market. They noted too that there had been "relatively little" heroin seizures in the country, in remarks that raise questions about Burma's anti-narcotics efforts. Opium production in Burma was "in 2006, at the lowest point, representing roughly 7 percent of the global production, it is now 18 percent. So it has increased year on year," said Jeremy Douglas, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Southeast Asia representative. "The bulk of that is produced in Shan and Kachin states; southern Shan has the greatest problem." In the Southeast Asia and China "region we have seen a seven-fold increase in methamphetamine seizures in recent years… the highest levels ever recorded. We're looking at 240 million pills recorded and seized last year. The source of those pills is Shan State," he told a press conference held at Rangoon's Drug Elimination Museum to mark the launch of the annual UNODC World Drug Report. "For crystal methamphetamine, a more purified form, seizures have also been rising to record levels… It's now a mixed methamphetamine market," Douglas said, adding that the precursor chemicals used for meth production in Shan State were being supplied from India and China. Comparing the scale of heroin seizures in northern Burma with other opium-producing regions such as Afghanistan, Douglas said, "Oddly, with 18 percent of opium production taking place in the Golden Triangle, there have been relatively little [heroin] seizures… The explanation for that will have to come from the government." The remarks are in line with a drop in drug seizures by Burmese authorities that was reported by The Financial Times on Monday. It said new police figures showed that seizures of methamphetamine pills fell from 11.9 million in 2013 to 204,000 in the first five months of 2014, while heroin seizures fell from 238 kilo in 2013 to just 16 kilo in the year to May. From 2012 to 2013, the scale of drug seizures had also dropped. Along drug-trafficking routes in neighboring countries, however, authorities have made huge seizures. The paper cited an anonymous senior police officer as saying that drug traffickers were shifting tactics and smuggling out smaller shipments, while stepping up production in lawless conflict areas. On Thursday, to mark the occasion of World Drug Day, Burmese authorities put on a show with the results of their efforts, inviting reporters to join drug-burning ceremonies in Rangoon, Mandalay and Taunggyi to destroy drugs with a reported combined value of US$130 million Home Affairs Minister Ko Ko, senior police offers and US Drug Enforcement Agency officials and Chinese anti-narcotics officials attended the ceremony in Rangoon’s Mawbe Township, which set a light $19 million worth of drugs, including 48 kg of opium, 1.6 kilo of heroin, 3.4 kg of cannabis and 3.4 kg of methamphetamine. Authorities announced that in 2013, they seized 2,356 kilo of opium, 238 kilo of heroin, more than 10 million amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) pills, along with precursor chemicals caffeine, 13,482 kilo, and pseudoephedrine, 3,580 kilos. Police Maj. Khin Maung Thein acknowledged that authorities' efforts were doing little to stem the rampant drug trade in Burma, adding that ongoing tensions with various ethnic groups in northern Burma were the cause of the drug trade.
"We found that opium growing has increased year after year," he said "Our actions did not have effect as we have arguments with each other." "Our police seized a lot of drugs in Shan State. In this area there is poppy growing and opium production. It is close to the border areas and [that's why] it is hard to stop and crackdown on it," Khin Maung Thein said during a brief exchange with reporters. He added, "We need more education on drug awareness for our people because we found that their knowledge [of the dangers of drugs] is very weak. Methamphetamine is easily spread among young people, when they take it they think it's fun." For many years, northern Burma has been the hub for opium and methamphetamine production in Asia and the trade is directly tied to the country's decades-old ethnic conflict, which continues to fester in many parts of Shan and Kachin states. Between 2006 and 2013, the area under opium poppy in Burma rose from 24,000 hectares in 2006 to 58,000 hectares in 2013, the UNODC estimated late last year. Tens of thousands of poor ethnic farmers grow the opium. All parties involved in the ethnic conflict—rebel groups, the Burma Army and pro-government militias—are taxing the drug trade to fuel the war, while some militias and rebel groups are directly involved in drug production and trade, researchers have said. Drug production fell from 1998 to 2006, after some armed groups and the then-military regime came under growing international pressure to stem the flow of drugs, but the production resurged in southern Shan State. The Home Affairs Ministry acknowledged last week that a 15-year drug elimination program started in 1999 had failed, and it announced plans to extend the deadline for eliminating all drugs in Burma to 2019. Jason Eligh, UNODC Country Manager for Burma, told reporters that the deadline is "a nice political goal but it's not a realistic law enforcement goal. "It is possible though investment, increased capacity building of law enforcement, through attaining peace in a place like Shan State to begin the process of containing problem, but certainly five years is not enough to achieve a massive reduction in drug production." A joint drug-elimination program involving the UNODC, law enforcement authorities, the Burma Army and an armed ethnic group, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), has made little progress since it began in early 2012, showcasing the complexities of dealing with the drug trade in Shan State's remote, conflict-affected regions. "It's basically a trust-building exercise between the actors. It's important to find a point of trust, a beginning, where people can agree on something—that one thing is actually drugs," said Jason Eligh, UNODC country manager in Burma. "The RCSS recognizes that drugs are threat to the people to the people of Shan State, the government recognizes this as well of course." He noted, however, "We are moving much slower than expected … [and] are at a point where the only thing we are waiting for the implementation of the activities. "It's now waiting on approval from the Tatmadaw [Burma Army], to be honest, and that's proved a stickier point than we thought it would have been, but we are making progress nonetheless." The post As Drugs Blaze, Eradication Efforts Fail to Stem Trade: UN appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Out of Ideas Posted: 26 Jun 2014 05:29 AM PDT |
| Press Body Urges Burma’s Special Branch Police to Drop Media Probe Posted: 26 Jun 2014 05:22 AM PDT  Senior editors from The Irrawaddy, left, sit down with Special Branch police officers in Rangoon on Thursday. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's Interim Press Council has called for the Ministry of Home Affairs' Special Branch police to drop their investigation into the financial records of private local print publications. The Interim Press Council has also urged the Special Branch (SB) to conduct any future probes of a similar nature in accordance with official investigative procedures, and to work with the Press Council in doing so. At least seven private weekly journals, including The Irrawaddy, have been questioned by the Special Branch since last week, with officers seeking information on how the publications are surviving amid reports of financial difficulties for Burma's print media. Several major daily newspapers, including The Voice and Democracy Today, have also faced questions. "They asked to meet on the 22nd [Sunday] at the SB office to ask how we are surviving; who is supporting us," Aung Tun Win, an administrative officer at the Unity weekly journal, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. The Interim Press Council said in a statement on Wednesday that "The council assumes that it is not an appropriate act to summon [publications] without official order, instruction or procedure, as the news media currently publishing in Myanmar are reputable media that have their own standards and goals, and are publishing with official permissions from the concerned [government authorities]." Officers from the Rangoon Division SB office also summoned editors "to help solve the problems between government agencies and the media," a senior Irrawaddy editor quoted an SB officer as saying. The Special Branch, under the auspices of the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been asking the private weeklies and dailies to report their income, circulation numbers and payroll data, among other things. Ma Thida, chairwoman of the writers' advocacy group PEN Myanmar, said the investigation was outside of the SB police's jurisdiction. "It's absolutely not the job of SB to do this," she told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. "Even if they want to investigate money laundering, there is Burma's Special Investigation Bureau [for that purpose]. Even if they want, there is the Press Council and the Myanmar Journalists Network; they should discuss the situation with them. "The reason for their investigation is not solid either. If they want to investigate money laundering, rather than investigating the media, there are also other sectors they could investigate. It's just not normal." Two senior editors from The Irrawaddy met with Police Maj. Kyaw Soe on Thursday at the SB office in Rangoon, after a pair of officers from the branch first visited The Irrawaddy's Rangoon newsroom. Kyaw Soe said the sit-down was not related to any ongoing investigation, instead describing it as a "friendly meeting" that would later be reported to more senior SB officials. Editors had a right to decline to answer, and would not be coerced into responding, he said. Like other news organizations over the past week, The Irrawaddy was questioned on a range of operational matters, including its newsroom structure, the number of staff employed, circulation figures for The Irrawaddy's two print publications, and expenditures and income. Kyaw Soe also asked for details on The Irrawaddy's editorial policy and political stance, noting that coverage on the same events in Burma tended to vary widely in local media accounts. The Irrawaddy declined to answer business-related questions, on the principle that financial matters are the concern of Burma's Internal Revenue Department. The post Press Body Urges Burma's Special Branch Police to Drop Media Probe appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Less Raw Jade for Sale at Burma Gems Emporium Amid Push for Value-Added Products Posted: 26 Jun 2014 05:09 AM PDT  A merchant inspects the quality of a jade stone at the emporium in Naypyidaw this week. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's government expects to earn 2 billion euros ($US 2.7 billion) in jade sales at a major gems emporium that began in Naypyidaw this week, although a smaller supply of the precious stone is available compared with previous years, an official from the Ministry of Mines says. At the 2014 Gems Emporium, a 10-day event that kicked off on Tuesday, buyers can peruse 7,160 jade lots, owned by the government and private miners, compared with 10,000 jade lots last year and 15,000 in 2012. They can also choose from about 400 lots of other gemstones and 200 pearl lots. More than 4,000 traders from mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan are attending the emporium, according to the ministry, and sales begin on Saturday. "The jade lot sales rate last year were at 2 billion euros, so we expect to reach the same amount this year, though we have fewer lots this time," Min Thu, assistant director of the ministry's Myanmar Gems Enterprise, told The Irrawaddy. He said the government wanted to reduce sales of raw jadestones to promote value-added products, which would be more profitable. "The government told traders to reduce raw jade sales and to improve technology for value-added gems and jade. Now the Gems Entrepreneurs Association is working with Chinese technicians to raise the value of jade and gems, to have a better price in the future," he added. Win Maung, a gems merchant from Mandalay, said in the past raw jade was sold to Chinese traders who processed the stones in China. "Chinese is better at adding value to the jade materials," he said, noting that Burma lacked the sophisticated technology required to process gemstones. The Burmese government last year said it planned to establish a jade and gemstone center in Naypyidaw, where it hoped traders and investors would open stores and processing industries. At this year's emporium, the highest valued raw jade lots belong to a Mandalay-based company, Tharyar Kyinue Phwe. The US$60 million lots weigh up to 233 kilograms. Burma produces the vast majority of the world's jade. Most is sourced from Hpakant, 350 kilometers north of Mandalay, in the conflict-torn mountains of Kachin State. Trade in the precious stones is highly controversial. Competing claims over the jade mines have helped fuel a war between the government's army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Historically, gem sales have been a major source of revenue for Burma's ruling elite as well as the Kachin rebels. The government and the KIA controlled the jade mining industry in Hpakant between a ceasefire deal in 1994 and 2011. After fighting resume in 2011, the government suspended large-scale mining operations in the area. Small-scale miners and hand-pickers moved in illegally to try their luck. At the emporium, many merchants who are no longer exploring jade in northern Burma are showing off old jade lots that have remained in their possession. "I still can't say when the government will allow them back to explore jade in Burma. I heard a better gems policy needs to be approved—explorers and merchants are waiting for this law to be approved," Min Thu said. In February this year, during a meeting with President Thein Sein, Burmese tycoon Tay Za called for a better gems policy. Tay Za, who chairs the Myanmar Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneurs Association, urged the government to investigate the mining situation in Kachin State, where he has extensive business interests. He told the president that Burmese citizens of Chinese ancestry were heavily involved in the mining industry and were exporting gems over the border to China. As a result, he said, value-added industries had developed in China but not in Burma. The former military government started selling gems and jades at three emporiums per year in the early 1990s. The Ministry of Mines says more than 526 million euros worth of jade and gems were sold at 49th Gems Expo in 2012, compared with more than 2 billion euros in 2013. Gem sales have slowed, however, after the Chinese government doubled import taxes on Burmese jade. The raw stones are often smuggled over the border to China through unregulated trade, without ever being taxed. The post Less Raw Jade for Sale at Burma Gems Emporium Amid Push for Value-Added Products appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Four Killed as Fighting Flares in Northern Burma: Kachin Rebels Posted: 26 Jun 2014 03:06 AM PDT  Kachin Independence Army soldiers stationed at a frontline base nearby La Jar Yang village in Kachin State on the way to KIA headquarters in Laiza in November 2013. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy) Intense fighting between the Burmese military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has reportedly killed at least four government soldiers this week, Kachin rebel sources say, with hostilities flaring on Tuesday and Wednesday. The fighting has been on and off this week in northern Shan State, where the KIA's Brigade 4 is based. KIA Battalion 36, which is under the Brigade 4 command, claimed there were no causalities on the Kachin side, but that the battalion had recovered the bodies of four government soldiers on Tuesday. James Lum Dau, the deputy chief of foreign affairs for the KIA's political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that fighting in northern Shan State had intensified in recent days, not only between government troops and the KIA, but also with other ethnic armed groups such as the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and a Kokang group known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). "The fighting intensified these days and it breaks out almost every day," Lum Dau said. "Sometimes they [government troops] fight with only one group [the KIA], but sometimes many groups get involved. "The KIA, TNLA and Kokang are colleagues. We are like brothers. Sometimes, we fight together," he added. Lum Dau warned that there would be no nationwide ceasefire agreement so long as the government failed to show a genuine desire for peace on the frontlines of the conflict in Burma's north, where the Burmese Army has attacked ethnic minorities while simultaneously negotiating peace proposals in Rangoon, Naypyidaw and elsewhere. "Peace will come for sure only when the government is really committed to a peacemaking program," he said. "So long as the government is insincere in the peace process, there will be no peace." Mai Aie Kyaw, a spokesperson for the TNLA, confirmed this week's fighting in northern Shan State. In mid-June, hundreds of ethnic Palaung, who are also known as Ta'ang, fled their homes in Kutkai Township, Shan State, after Burmese government troops shelled their village amid ongoing clashes between the military and TNLA troops. Despite peace talks since 2011, held both inside and outside Burma between the government and many of the country's ethnic armed groups, war between the government and the KIA entered its fourth year this month. More than 100,000 Kachin civilians have been forced to flee their homes as a result. Lum Dau said the KIA is expanding its military ties with other northern Shan State-based ethnic armed groups, such as the TNLA, MNDAA and Shan State Army-North, whom the
Kachin often find themselves fighting with side by side against the Burmese Army. Meanwhile, government peace negotiators have indicated that they would like to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement with Burma's ethnic armed groups by August of this year, though the ambitious timetable is seen by observers and ethnic leaders as increasingly unlikely. President Thein Sein's administration introduced its peace program in late 2011, and only two ethnic armed groups, the KIA and the TNLA, have yet to sign bilateral ceasefire agreements with the government. The KIA is the second largest ethnic armed group in Burma, after the United Wa State Army (UWSA). The post Four Killed as Fighting Flares in Northern Burma: Kachin Rebels appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Thein Sein Set for First Bilateral Talks With Chinese President Posted: 26 Jun 2014 12:33 AM PDT  China’s President Xi Jinping, right, and Burmese President Thein Sein attend an official welcoming ceremony as Thein Sein arrives for the Boao Forum, in Sanya, Hainan province, on April 5, 2013. (Photo: Retuers) HONG KONG — China is eager to reaffirm its traditional political and military ties with Burma amid escalating conflicts in the South China Sea, experts say, as the Burmese president prepares for his first official bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. President Thein Sein will join Xi as well as India's vice president in the Chinese capital on Saturday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, a set of principles that governs relations between the three countries. Thein Sein, who will arrive on Friday, is making his third state visit to China—and his second state visit since Xi was sworn into office last year. The two presidents, who met during a multilateral forum in China in April last year, will hold their first official bilateral talks during the four-day visit, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which said Thein Sein would also meet with China's prime minister and top legislator, in addition to visiting the ancient
capital of Luoyang in central China's Henan Province. Compared with previous Chinese leaders, Xi is widely seen as more aggressively pushing China's agenda abroad. Under his presidency, tensions with Japan and other neighboring nations have escalated to record highs amid heated territorial disputes. Xi, who has launched China's biggest anti-graft campaign in decades, is also cracking down on Internet speech, raising doubts about his commitment to political reforms. When it comes to Burma, experts say the Chinese president, who was sworn into office last year, is attempting to maintain the two countries' traditional "paukphaw," or fraternal, relationship. However, Burma, China and India are facing new challenges in adhering to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, an agreement in 1954 to observe mutual respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. Bryan Pak-nung Wong, a Hong Kong-based academic focused on international politics, said he believes China wants to make Burma a go-between with India, to ensure that the Indian Ocean sea lanes, the Kyaupyu-Kunming oil pipelines, and the economic and energy corridor across Burma are not disturbed. "Instead of dealing with India by itself, China has chosen to delegate Myanmar [Burma] as a go-between to warm up the relationship with India, especially now that the whole world is watching how the newly elected Indian President Modi will deal with India's relatively sensitive relationships with China and other South Asian small states," Wong said. "Leaving Myanmar to deal with the Sino-India relationship would serve as a cushioned go-between in case any unexpected problems emerge." He said Chinese leaders may also seek to address persistent concerns about drug-trafficking, ethnic conflicts and illicit businesses in northern Burma's Kachin State, which have created problems for China as well as India, including an influx of refugees over the borders and threats to the security of energy projects. Despite these problems, experts believe China-Burma ties are stronger than either country's relations with India. "[China's] relationship with Pakistan is still more important [than its relations with India], making it impossible for China and India to build political trust," said Tao Duanfang, a prominent Canadian commenter on international affairs. Thein Sein also has reasons to build closer ties with its biggest neighbor to the north. Last month, the United States extended its limited economic sanctions on Burma, despite some progress on reforms. "The political opening remains nascent, and concerns persist regarding ongoing conflict and human rights abuses in ethnic minority areas, particularly in Rakhine [Arakan] State, and the continued role of the military in the country’s political and economic activities," US President Barack Obama said in a letter to leaders of Congress. Zhu Lvmin, a Chinese academic focused on China and Southeast Asia, believes Burma needs to "catch the eye of the US" by exploring closer military and political ties with China, in a "balance of power strategy." "Thein Sein may be testing the US to see how the partnership between the United States and Myanmar goes, and sending a warning by coming a bit closer to China," said Zhu, "The government also wants to seek support from China's side, as Myanmar's national election, scheduled for next year, is just around the corner." Although the former Burmese junta benefited from China's military and political support, Wong said Burma has seen the short end of the stick economically in the bilateral relationship. "It is therefore reasonable for Thein Sein to visit China to ensure Myanmar's political and military ties with China, while also building economic and trade ties with the West and other major investor countries, including Japan and India." The post Thein Sein Set for First Bilateral Talks With Chinese President appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| ‘We, Animators, Are a Small Group’ Posted: 25 Jun 2014 05:28 PM PDT  Animator Zaw Bo Bo Hein, who won an award at the human rights film festival in Rangoon. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) Burmese animator Zaw Bo Bo Hein, 30, made "The Seller," a computer animated film which won an award for best animation at the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival in Rangoon last week. The festival is the biggest human rights–themed film festival in Southeast Asia and featured 32 Burmese films, nine Southeast Asia films and 26 international films, which were judged by a panel of 19 national and international jurists. The screened movies including four computer animated films. "The Seller" is a five-minute computer animated film about a lazy man living on an island who gradually sells off all his resources and possessions to passing ships until he loses all his ways to gain income and has to leave the island. In 2012, Zaw Bo Bo Hein also received the best animation award at 'The Art of Freedom Film Festival' in Rangoon with the animated film 'Unity and Freedom'. He spoke with The Irrawaddy about the difficulties that Burmese animators face in producing films and public interest in computer animation in Burma. Question: What was the idea that inspired you to make "The Seller"? Answer: Our country has been selling timber, jade, oil and gas and other natural resources to foreign countries and if it keeps selling resources like that, it will run out in one day. And since the government moved all government offices to Naypyidaw, all the old-heritage buildings in Rangoon that were used as government offices are gradually being substituted with big hotels. I thought about that and so I got the idea for "The Seller" and made the film together with my friends. Q: Where did you learn about creating animation films? A: I attended an animation course in 2010 at Vertex Animation Studio in Rangoon. After that, I learned other techniques through self-study. One year later, I started making my first animation. And now I have made 10 animations. Q: Why are you interested in creating animation? A: I studied to become a doctor. But I really want to do art which I was interested in since I was young. I was interested in drawing and writing poetry, creating a short stories and song. So I decided to become an animator because I like to watch animated films and want to make them. I can think of a story, write the script, design the cartoon characters, publish the story book, and add the music in animation. So, all my hobbies are coinciding in animation. Q: What do you think about documentary films? A: I don't them like much, but they are important in their own way. I prefer to create new, imaginary characters… I like to use my imagination. Q: Are there any difficulties facing Burmese animators? A: Yes, there are few jobs in animation. So continuing to work as an animator in the long term is not easy. Animators who work for TV channels to design programs and visualization for advertisements and movies can get jobs. But I am more interested in creating cartoon-like characters and making short films. There isn't much demand for this in the market. Most animators here can't work full time in animation. They just do it in their own time after returning from their day jobs, because they don't have enough support to do animation. In foreign countries, they support and provide funding to create new ideas and the TV channels buy the animation films and show them on their channels. But here TV channels don't support us. If we get support, we can produce more quality animations and enter international film festivals to get recognition that Burmese animations are good. And there is no school or workshop to learn about animation, even though there are many schools and workshops for documentary-making. So, most of us are studying by ourselves and because of that we can't make very high-quality animations. Q: Why is there a lack of support? Is there a lack of interest in computer animation in Burma? A: It is because we, the animators, are a small group and it takes a long time to complete a project. To make a three-minute animated film with three or four people takes about one month. But right now, all Burmese people in the country believe that animations created by Burmese are not good and they are not interested in it. Although we can't make high-quality animations like international films, we are able to make ASEAN quality animations. Q: Have you witnessed any development of animation production here in Burma since you started learning about it in 2010? A: People have begun to learn about the use of animation and are applying it in their businesses, advertisements and movies, and Burmese people are starting to use animation like in other countries. So we can say that it's starting to become better. The post 'We, Animators, Are a Small Group' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Envoy Celebrates July 4, Affirms US-Burma Ties in Mandalay Posted: 25 Jun 2014 11:10 PM PDT  US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell cuts a cake to mark the United States' independence day at an event on Saturday in Mandalay. (Photo: Facebook / US Embassy in Rangoon) US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell hosted an event celebrating his nation's independence in Mandalay for the first time in nearly 30 years, according to a press release from the US Embassy. "I'm honored to be the first U.S. ambassador to host an Independence Day event at our Jefferson Center in Mandalay," Mitchell said. "The Center, once the U.S. consulate, remains a symbol of our ties with the people of Upper Myanmar. More broadly, the event tonight is also a testament to the United States' historic friendship with this country." Coming about two weeks ahead of the official US Independence Day celebration on July 4, the event was attended by nearly 200 people, including Mandalay government officials, civil society and political party leaders, and youth activists, according to the US Embassy's Facebook page. In remarks to attendees, Mitchell drew on the US Declaration of Independence to highlight two themes, democracy and equality. "The Declaration proclaims, Everyone is born with and deserves equal rights to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, but to make sure those rights are protected in reality, you need democracy, the people to rule," he said. "That's the Declaration of Independence. And that's what we celebrate today." US-Burma ties have seen a steady warming since the nominally civilian government of Burma President Thein Sein took power in 2011. The two nations' diplomatic relations have ranged from frosty to nearly nonexistent for more than two decades, with Washington keeping the Southeast Asian nation at arms' length in the face of a litany of human rights abuses perpetrated by Burma's former military regime. The United States appointed Mitchell to the post in June 2012, making him the first US ambassador to Burma in 22 years. The post Envoy Celebrates July 4, Affirms US-Burma Ties in Mandalay appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Southeast Asia Fears Militant Fallout as Mideast Conflict Widens Posted: 25 Jun 2014 10:28 PM PDT  The homepage of al-mustaqbal.net, an Indonesian militant website, shows support for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. (Image: al-mustaqbal.net) KUALA LUMPUR / BANGKOK — Four gun-wielding rebel fighters sit relaxing on a wall, their faces concealed by scarves and ski masks. All are Indonesians who came to Syria to join the Islamist insurgency, the cameraman says, speaking Indonesian peppered with Arabic phrases. He pans around and introduces them as a former soldier, a businessman, and a college student, before settling on a boy in his early teens leaning on his AK-47 assault rifle. "Brothers in Indonesia, don't be afraid, because fear is a temptation from Satan," says one of the fighters in the YouTube video, which has since been removed from the Islamist website. As Sunni Islamist rebels surge from Syria into Iraq, security officials in Southeast Asia and Australia worry the conflict is radicalizing a new generation of militants, who are being influenced to an unprecedented degree by social media. In the 1990s, several hundred Indonesian, Malaysian and Philippine Muslims trained with al Qaeda in Afghanistan and brought their skills and ideology home, inspiring attacks such as the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing that killed 202 people. At least 30 Malaysians and 56 Indonesians are estimated by security officials to have gone to fight in Syria, although security analysts say the true number is likely higher. Australia's government estimates around 150 Australians have gone to the Middle East to join the fighting in Syria and Iraq, with some taking leadership roles. Many, including those in the video, are believed to have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS, whose hardline Islamist rebels have led a Sunni Muslim charge across western and northern Iraq, including the capture of border crossings and the key city of Mosul. "It's a growing concern," Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told Reuters. "Some Malaysians who may have been in contact with some of these people get motivated to participate. We have been arresting a lot of militants within the country." Malaysian police have arrested at least 16 suspected militants since April who they said were believed to have ties to ISIL and some of whom trained in jungle areas in northern Malaysia. Malaysian media, citing an ISIL website, reported that a Malaysian named Ahmad Tarmimi carried out a suicide bombing in Iraq in May, although Reuters was unable to verify the incident. Malaysia is investigating a report by Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations that 15 Malaysians fighting for ISIL had been killed, its Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said this week she had cancelled a "substantial number" of passports on security grounds in recent months and was considering further measures. "There is a real danger that these extremists will come back home as trained terrorists and pose a threat to our security," Bishop told the Australian Parliament on Monday. Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Morocco and Russia are by far the largest contributors of the estimated 11,000 foreign fighters in Syria, according to strategic security firm The Soufan Group. Official estimates of 236 militants from Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia would account for nearly 9 percent of the foreign fighters from countries excluding those four. 'The Final Battle' Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has long been the epicenter of Islamist militancy in east Asia, breeding groups such as Jemaah Islamiah (JI) that carried out the 2002 Bali bombing and other attacks on Western targets. The Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) said in a report in January the Syrian crisis had inspired Indonesian extremists to an unprecedented extent, partly due to teachings that "the final battle" would take place in the greater Syrian region. "We can see that ISIS is getting better, it's growing and it's widening its reach and influence over cities in Iraq—Mosul, Tikrit and then Ramadi. Soon, God willing, even Baghdad will fall," said M. Fachry, the chief editor of al-mustaqbal.net, an Indonesian militant website. Abu Bakar Bashir, the spiritual father of JI who has since split with the group, and Aman Abdurrahman, an influential extremist scholar, have urged their followers to support ISIL in recent months. Several pro-ISIL rallies have drawn large crowds in Indonesia, where support and recruitment for foreign militant groups remains legal. The concern among security officials is that fighters in Syria and Iraq could breathe new life into the radical movement in Indonesia, where militant groups have been dispersed and weakened in recent years by security crackdowns. "That's why we're focusing on it. Because it will be a massive problem when they come back to Indonesia, everyone agrees on that," said an Indonesian security official, who is briefed on anti-terrorism efforts but declined to be identified. Unlike in the 1990s, social media now plays an influential role, with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter widely used by militants to transmit their message and lionize "martyrs." "It's the development of social media that has caused ISIS's popularity to rise. ISIS has been using social media, especially Twitter, to massively increase their growth," said al-mustaqbal.net's M. Fachry. Mohd Lotfi Ariffin, a Malaysian who says he is fighting in Syria, regularly posts pictures and videos of himself and other militants to his nearly 19,000 Facebook followers. One of those followers, 21-year-old Malaysian Mohammad Fadhlan Shahidi, was inspired to join him in Syria, according to a video posted on his Facebook page on May 15 showing him side-by-side with Lotfi and another Malaysian fighter. "At the beginning, I got in touch with Ustaz [teacher] Lutfi," Fadhlan says. "The Ustaz told me how much I would need for the trip." Police in Malaysia and Indonesia face a struggle to keep track of militant activity and secure convictions, analysts say, because of the threat's more diffuse nature and due to political changes in both countries that have undermined their reach. The governments of both countries have been accused of sometimes fanning Islamist extremism for political gain. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was reported as telling members of his ruling party on Monday that they should be inspired by ISIL's bravery and against-the-odds victories. Indonesia's security establishment no longer has the tight control over society that prevailed under late President Suharto up to the 1990s, said Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer at the Indonesian National Defence University. "The problem we have is the chain of command of the government. The military is no longer the all-powerful entity it was when it was able to get the names of everybody," he said. Malaysian officials say they have been hobbled by the government's repeal in 2012 of the Internal Security Act, which allowed indefinite detention of suspects. "The police especially think we are powerless to handle it like we did it before," said Malaysia's Wan Junaidi. Additional reporting by Aubrey Belford in Bangkok, Trinna Leong and Hawa Semasaba in Kuala Lumpur, Kanupriya Kapoor in Jakarta and Lincoln Feast in Sydney. The post Southeast Asia Fears Militant Fallout as Mideast Conflict Widens appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Chinese Tycoon Treats New York’s Homeless to Lunch Posted: 25 Jun 2014 10:22 PM PDT  Chinese millionaire Chen Guangbiao sings "We Are the World" during a lunch he sponsored for hundreds of needy New Yorkers at Loeb Boathouse in New York's Central Park on June 25, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Lucas Jackson) NEW YORK — A Chinese tycoon's effort to treat hundreds of homeless New Yorkers to a fancy lunch in Central Park fell apart Wednesday, with people booing, yelling and cursing when they found out he wasn't giving them cash. Recycling magnate Chen Guangbiao, known for his eccentric gestures, selected a menu of sesame-seed-encrusted tuna, beef filet and berries with crème fraiche for the residents of the oldest homeless shelter in the country. He regaled his 250 guests by singing "We are the World" and performed magic tricks at the event. About three dozen volunteer waiters wore uniforms similar to those once worn by soldiers in China's People’s Liberation Army, bearing the words "Serve the People." "I’m looking forward to a good time and a good meal," said Antone Hills, a shelter resident. "I think he's a good guy and he’s helping our country." Wads of cash, clipped together, filled wire baskets at the restaurant, and Chen waved some of the money in front of his guests. But when the attendees discovered that they would not be given the cash, an uproar ensued, with some yelling, "We want it now!" Officials from the New York City Rescue Mission urged Chen not to hand out cash because many of the guests are being treated for addictions and the money could be better used for their programs. Others waiting outside, unable to get in because they were not registered, booed and cursed Chen, yelling "liar" and "con man." "Our thought was if someone wants to treat them to an amazing event—something they would never experience on their own, maybe even a kernel of hope that life could be different again, we're in for that reason. That's our motive," said the shelter's executive director, Craig Mayes. Chen said he wants to disprove the cliché image of rich Chinese spending money mostly on luxuries. His English language business card reads: "MOST CHARASMATIC PHILANTHROPIST OF CHINA." "I was not born into a rich family or a family of government officials. When I was 4 years old, my brother and sister died of hunger, so I achieved my success through confidence, self-motivation and my hard work," Chen said in Chinese in an interview on CBS. His worth is estimated $750 million. Chen's American ambitions go beyond philanthropy. Earlier this year, the 46-year-old businessman wanted to buy The New York Times. Times chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., said the newspaper was not for sale. Wednesday's luncheon wasn't the first of his theatrical antics. To protest air pollution in Beijing, he stood on a street corner handing out containers marked "Fresh Air." He also rushed to the scene of a massive earthquake in Sichuan and handed out cash to victims. On Tuesday in New York City, he was on the street handing out $100 bills to anyone who looked like they needed money. The post Chinese Tycoon Treats New York's Homeless to Lunch appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Inspection Tensions Add to Bangladesh Garment Industry’s Woes Posted: 25 Jun 2014 10:10 PM PDT  A worker works in a factory run by Ananta Garments Ltd in Savar, Bangladesh, on June 10, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Andrew Biraj) DHAKA — It took Western safety inspectors only about an hour to tour a factory the size of three football fields before ordering a partial shutdown of Sonia & Sweaters Ltd, a Bangladesh clothing supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Debenhams. Two weeks later, the group that the inspectors represented changed its mind and allowed the factory to stay open, even though none of the repairs they suggested had been carried out. Such erratic decision-making poses a new set of problems for Bangladesh's US$22 billion garments industry, whose safety record has been under the microscope since the collapse of a factory near Dhaka that killed more than 1,100 workers last year. More than a year after the public outcry that spurred Western retailers into demanding better standards from the factories that make their clothes, it also highlights the practical complexities of improving the conditions of millions of poor workers while also safeguarding their jobs. Export growth in the sector has slowed as buyers turn to Burma, India, Vietnam and Cambodia because of concerns over workshop safety, higher wages and political instability. Now factory owners say they are concerned about arbitrary shutdowns and meeting the cost of demands for remedial work, while workers worry about who will pay their wages if their workplace is temporarily closed. "We went through inexplicable harassment during this whole process, and I am sure they don't care about that," said Sonia & Sweaters Director Mahabubur Rahman, of his experience of the inspection. "But with their trigger-happy attitude, I am left wondering if they at least care about the workers, who they are meant to protect, because nobody has to explain to them what the implication of one factory shutdown is." The garment industry accounts for 80 percent of Bangladesh's exports, and turmoil in the sector has put at risk the livelihoods of nearly 4 million garment workers, mostly women. Factory Inspections The collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza building in April 2013 brutally exposed the inadequacy of the safety regime in Bangladesh, where 5,600 garment factories are inspected by different local agencies that often lack sufficient technical equipment and the required expertise. The disaster led to the creation of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, an inspection group led by European retailers, and the North American brands-led Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which together are scrutinizing around 2,100 factories. The groups, which have a mandate to recommend the closure of dangerous factories and demand repairs, are now embroiled in a debate over the inspection process and the question of who pays for upgrades and wages while factories stand idle. Making the situation worse, almost all global retail brands have opted to stay out of the arguments between inspection agencies and suppliers, according to industry officials. When the inspection groups were set up, retailers did not commit to pay for improvements they demanded—some Bangladesh factory owners are very wealthy and politically connected—but agreed to discuss assistance with wages and improvements if owners could not afford them. Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner said, as a founding member of the Alliance, the company's contributions have made funds available to help factory owners make necessary repairs and to support workers who may be temporarily displaced. This includes an initial worker safety fund of nearly $50 million and growing, and more than $100 million in access to low-cost capital funding to improve fire and structural safety. Debenhams declined to comment. Safety Shutdowns Reuters obtained copies of two inspection reports on Sonia & Sweaters which showed the factory's civil engineer tried to warn Accord inspectors that their assessment that insufficient steel had been used in the building columns was inaccurate. The steel was later found to be adequate for operations to continue. Company managers told Reuters that documents on the building's load-bearing capacity sent to the inspectors after their assessment were overlooked. That oversight was only acknowledged after the factory's senior management physically carried the documents to the Accord's Dhaka office. The Accord assessed the number of steel bars in each column as 14-20, the lower range of which would be considered unsafe, whereas company officials said it was 32-35. "We advised them to close down the top floor immediately and go for a detailed engineering analysis," Brad Loewen, chief safety inspector of the Accord, said. Loewen said the owners returned and challenged the numbers with their own documents. The Accord stuck with its findings, but decided to consider the steel strength of each column was 20 bars, at the top of its range, rather than 14, which meant operations could continue, he said. Sonia & Sweaters had cleared a safety inspection by Wal-Mart in 2013, according to a report published by the US retailer in November last year. The Western inspection groups, between them, have so far shut 14 factories and asked five factories to partially close, according to government data. Senior advisor to the Alliance Ian Spaulding said the group has been careful with the issue of factory shutdowns and has been working closely with the government on the issue. Five factories have been shut down as a result of their recommendations, he said. Foreign vs. Local The legal authority to shut factories rests with the Bangladesh government, and decisions to do so, are reviewed by a government-appointed panel that includes one member each from the Accord and Alliance and two civil engineers from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). That process has led to friction between local and foreign members. Four Wings Ltd, a factory that supplies clothes to Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), was closed down on the recommendation of Accord inspectors who feared the load-bearing capacity of the building was inadequate. The two BUET engineers on the review panel opposed an immediate closure, but were stopped from making recommendations and asked instead for an opinion with either a "yes" or a "no," according to a senior official at Four Wings and a professor from BUET who had direct knowledge of events. Both spoke on condition of anonymity. "Everybody appreciates the fact that they are working hard to make this industry safe, but everybody they are working with will agree they are extremely arrogant and have a high-handed attitude," said the BUET professor. Ananta Garments Ltd's Mirpur factory, which employs 1,600 workers, was also shut down by the Accord on concerns over the buildings load-bearing capacity. "They found problems, they shut it down and we realized the repairs they have suggested will take eight months," said Inamul Haque Khan, managing director of Ananta Garments. "Nobody had an answer to what happens to the workers, who pays their salaries." He said he would pay workers' salaries for one more month before laying them off as he could not afford to pay more. Several garment factory owners said they were already absorbing most of a 79-percent increase in the minimum monthly wage to $68 that was imposed by the government last December, because global brands are baulking at paying higher prices. Who Pays? The Alliance has decided to share wage costs for two months and is currently holding discussions to extend it to four months. It is in the final stages of making available low-cost loans for repairs at five to seven factories, Spaulding said. The Accord requires factory owners to pay for repairs and wages for six months. They are expected to discuss with their brands, who will ensure resources are available, Loewen said. But about a dozen garment factory owners Reuters spoke to said the Western brands they supplied had not got involved in talks over paying the bills. This was despite several rounds of discussions involving factory owners, government officials, unions and Accord and Alliance members. H&M, the first signatory to the Accord, said it was actively participating in remediation processes involving its suppliers. Spokeswoman Andrea Roos said H&M discussed resource availability with all involved parties on a case-by-case basis. Two of H&M's supplier factories have undergone minor construction work as a result of inspections, she said. French retailer Auchan, which also sources garments in Bangladesh, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Softex Cotton, which supplies Auchan, was shut down by the Accord due to doubts over the factory’s load-carrying capacity, but later allowed to resume partial operations, even though no repairs had been made. Softex is now suing the Accord, challenging its legal right to close factories and demanding $100 million in damages to business and reputation, according to a copy of a lawsuit filed in a Dhaka court seen by Reuters. Softex's factory was vandalized by workers after the sudden closure notice was issued and the company says it has been forced to take a loan to keep paying workers' salaries. "When there is a problem we are being notified, sometimes not even in a proper way, and then being left to our own devices, which is just not right," said Rezwan Selim, managing director of Softex Cotton. Additional reporting by Clare Baldwin in Hong Kong, James Davey in London, Dominique Vidalon in Paris and Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm The post Inspection Tensions Add to Bangladesh Garment Industry's Woes appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Deeds and Peace Posted: 25 Jun 2014 05:00 PM PDT  Burmese soldiers take part in a military parade marking the country’s Armed Forces Day at a parade ground in the new capital Naypyidaw in 2008. (Photo: AP) In his famous essay, "Politics and the English Language," the British writer George Orwell lamented that political language, at times, "is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." In fact, Orwell seems to have believed that the language used was intentionally vague, and at times meaningless, as it was deliberately designed to hide the truth rather than express it. So, in the long-term interest of the country, one should, perhaps, focus more on deeds than words in the Myanmar peace process. Almost all the meetings or talks on a nationwide ceasefire in the current peace process are conducted in Burmese language, the only official language of the multi-ethnic country. But, for most ethnic leaders, Burmese is their second language. If words or the use of language should impact the direction or success of the peace process in a way that favors those who can cleverly exercise the use of words, it will not be difficult to predict the outcome of these talks. The majority of ethnic people, therefore, are looking for deeds, not mere words. In fact, they want to the government and its military, known as the Tatmadaw, take actions that positively contribute to building a lasting peace in the country. When they see that promises made in unofficial meetings between the commander-in-chief and the Karen National Union (KNU) leaders ring hollow, it is understandable that they remain doubtful about the prospect for real peace.  Saw Kapi is a cofounder and director of the Salween Institute for Public Policy. To date, despite repeated requests by the KNU delegation, the Tatmadaw has not withdrawn any of its frontline positions in the Karen areas, especially the military outposts that are next to Karen villages. Even more troubling is the repeated appearances in the Myawaddy news agency, a military mouthpiece, of the six principles of peace of the commander-in-chief, even amid ongoing military offensives in Kachin and northern Shan states. What's more, the Tatmadaw recently shot to death a Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) soldier in Tanintharyi Region, while Tatmadaw soldiers are increasingly accused of raping women in Kachin, Shan and Chin states. These military actions are the deeds by which the Tatmadaw is being judged. The question now is whether the peace process can continue without meaningful actions taken by the Tatmadaw. This depends on the kind of peace the military wants. If the kind of peace that the Tatmadaw wants requires the defeat of all ethnic armed forces without relinquishing any power, political or otherwise, on their part, the end result is quite clear. Myanmar still has a long way to go. Since President Thein Sein came to power, his official rhetoric on national reconciliation, often through his controversial proxy, the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), has been marked with sentiments of "goodwill" and a willingness to engage on amicable terms with ethnic armed resistance groups. Friendliness between the president, the commander-in-chief and the KNU leaders is more like a façade than a serious political outcome. If words are all we can get from the government's negotiators, the prospect for a genuine peace in Myanmar will still be a distant dream. Good deeds, not mere words, on the part of the government are essential to achieve a lasting peace in the country. Saw Kapi is a cofounder and director of the Salween Institute for Public Policy. He can be reached at sawkapi@gmail.com. This article was written in response to "Words and Peace," an article published earlier this week by an official with the Myanmar Peace Center. The post Deeds and Peace appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
