| NLD Denounces Fake Statement on Mandalay Riots Posted: 03 Jul 2014 05:27 AM PDT  A fake statement with the NLD logo and letterhead that was shared by an anonymous social media user on Facebook on Wednesday. (Photo: Facebook) The National League for Democracy (NLD) is calling for government action against an anonymous social media user who published a fake NLD statement with potentially inflammatory comments about religious unrest in Mandalay. The statement—which included the NLD party logo and letterhead—was widely viewed on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon, blaming Buddhist mobs and a poor government response for two nights of violence in the country's second-biggest city. "The NLD is fully backing the Muslims, and if Muslim properties are destroyed the NLD will help prosecute the Buddhist rioters," read the fake statement, which was shared by more than 300 Facebook users. "The Muslim kalar have become victims, thanks to the lack of rationalism among the Burmese," the statement added, using a derogatory word for Muslims. "The government cannot properly handle the situation, which has been somewhat ignored, so it is very evident that the government is behind the riot." "If Aung San Suu Kyi were president, this type of riot would not happen," it added, referring to the NLD chairwoman. It is the latest attempt to brand the NLD as pro-Muslim, perhaps in a bid to alienate the party from voters in the Buddhist-majority country that has seen rising anti-Muslim sentiment over the past year. Last month, a fake photo of Suu Kyi in an Islamic headscarf was also widely shared on Facebook. Nationalist Buddhist monk Wirathu, based in Mandalay, has also accused the NLD of being pro-Muslim. But while the fake photo of Suu Kyi had few ramifications, the fake NLD statement about the Mandalay riots has raised concerns among party leaders who fear the could lead to further outbursts of anger and violence. After two nights of rioting, at least two people have been killed, while 14 others were injured. Political observers, lawyers and NLD supporters said use of the party's logo or letterhead for the purpose of agitation was an infringement of law. "If we knew who did this, he or she could be brought to court for violating criminal laws as well as the Electronic Act," said NLD spokesman Nyan Win. "Faking our statement is fraud." He added, "We believe this is a new strategy to attack us like before. We are seeing more attacks because the NLD's political organizing has improved and become more effective." Earlier this week, the NLD announced that it had collected more than 3 million signatures for a campaign to end the military's veto over constitutional amendments. "The fake statement obviously shows that the NLD is being attacked politically, nationally and racially," political commentator Yan Myo Thein told The Irrawaddy. He called on the government to investigate the fraud. The fake statement was put out shortly after the NLD released a legitimate statement calling for caution to avoid further violence in Mandalay. The NLD said the rioting that began on Tuesday night was caused by rumors. The party said it "urged the public to be careful because it worried about the possibility of further riots." It called on the government to "take action immediately on those spreading riots in Mandalay, and to protect public security." Nyan Win, the NLD spokesman, said attacks against his party would not stop their momentum. "Instead, our people will work harder to achieve our goals," he told The Irrawaddy. The post NLD Denounces Fake Statement on Mandalay Riots appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Mandalay Authorities Impose City-Wide Curfew Posted: 03 Jul 2014 05:12 AM PDT  Tin Tin Kyaw (3rd R) cries near the body of her husband Soe Min, a 51-year-old man who was killed in a recent riot, at a mosque in Mandalay. (Photo: Reuters) MANDALAY — Mandalay District authorities have announced a night time curfew after two consecutive nights of inter-communal violence between Buddhist and Muslim residents rocked Burma's second biggest city and left two people dead and 14 injured. Mandalay residents have to remain inside from 9 pm to 5 am and the curfew will take effect on Thursday night, according to an official announcement disseminated in the city. During these hours, gatherings of five people or more are prohibited. "Anyone who fails to obey the order shall be detained through use of force and charged under existing laws," the announcement said. The curfew was imposed by the head of Mandalay District Administration and will cover all six townships in Mandalay. The announcement said the curfew would help ensure the public's safety and rule of law as there had been clashes in the two previous nights. Most shops in riot-affected Muslim areas remains closed and the situation remains tense. Authorities have deployed about 1,000 police on Tuesday to stem the unrest, but failed to prevent further clashes on Wednesday night. The post Mandalay Authorities Impose City-Wide Curfew appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| DVB Reporter Zaw Pe Due to Be Released Posted: 03 Jul 2014 04:39 AM PDT  Zaw Pe, a video reporter for the Democratic Voice of Burma, with his wife and child. (Photo: DVB) RANGOON — Imprisoned Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reporter Zaw Pe is due to be released on Friday after his prison sentence was reduced from one year to three months by Magwe Division Court during an appeal against his sentence, DVB said. "The district court rejected our appeal, but Magwe Division Court ruled for remission of the sentence in the case," Toe Zaw Latt, bureau chief of DVB said. "We assume that there is a positive intention to amend the sentencing." "We think there will be no condition put on his release, as the case is barely a civil case," he added. Zaw Pe, a video reporter for DVB, was sentenced to one year in prison on April 7 for trespassing at an education department office and disrupting the duties of a civil servant by a court in Magwe Division. He was attempting to conduct an interview for a video report about Japanese-funded scholarships for local students when local officials objected. A lawsuit was filed in 2012 by a Magwe township education officer as well as Win Myint Hlaing, the father of a student who brought the reporter to the department's compound. Toe Zaw Latt said Zaw Pe had given prior notification when he visited the department and was not guilty of trespassing. Under the former military regime, Zaw Pe spent two years in prison for filming a video report for DVB without a license. The DVB bureau chief criticized the fact that criminal charges were brought against a journalist doing his job, adding, "We would like media personnel to be punished only under media laws." "It's like a journalist is punished twice, under the existing [criminal] law and under media law. We don't want legal action [against journalists] under the Penal Code, there shouldn't be," he said. "According the media law, only after a case is negotiated by the Press Council, can a [journalist] be punished according to the law," he said. Zaw Pe's case is one of several criminal cases that authorities have brought against Burmese journalists in recent months, and concerns are growing that President Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government is seeking to curb media freedoms. Last week, Special Branch officers visited the offices of several media organizations, including The Irrawaddy, supposedly to investigate the administration and finances of the organizations. The post DVB Reporter Zaw Pe Due to Be Released appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| New Arakan Chief Minister Pledges ‘Zero Tolerance’ of Rohingya Smuggling Posted: 03 Jul 2014 04:30 AM PDT  Gen. Maung Maung Ohn, then Burma's deputy border affairs minister, is seen in this file photo from 2010. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON —Gen. Maung Maung Ohn, the newly appointed chief minister of Arakan State, vowed during his first speech to the state's legislature since assuming his new role that he would come down hard on anyone caught smuggling Rohingya Muslims into or out of the state. The pledge, made on Wednesday, came after reports that two people had been arrested in the state's Ann Township after police there discovered eight Rohingyas hidden inside their vehicle. The two suspected smugglers, who were identified as children of a former police chief, were traveling to Rangoon at the time. Under Burma's 1982 Citizenship Act, the Rohingya are not recognized as one of the country's 135 ethnic groups, rendering them effectively stateless. Among other restrictions placed on them, they are not allowed to leave Arakan State for other parts of the country. Speaking in the state capital Sittwe on Wednesday, Maung Maung Ohn called the accused smugglers "traitors of their national race" and vowed to punish them to the full extent of the law. Thet Tun Aung, a state legislator from the Arakan National Party, said the general promised to do his utmost to address the "Rakhine issue"—referring to the concerns of ethnic Arakanese Buddhists who say the Rohingya are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh—because it is an issue that affects the whole country. "He [Maung Maung Ohn] said he would have zero tolerance of anyone who violated the country's citizenship laws," said Thet Tun Aung. Wearing civilian dress despite being an active member of Burma's armed forces, Maung Maung Ohn greeted state lawmakers during his first day in the state assembly, where he was unanimously confirmed as the new state chief minister on Monday after being nominated for the position by the President's Office late last month. The appointment initially met with resistance from Arakanese nationalists who opposed the idea of having an ethnic Burman lead the state, but the general has moved quickly to reach out to the state's Arakanese majority. According to local sources, he will soon visit Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships in the state's north, where he will meet with farmers who say that their land was taken away from them by the Burmese military. "A lot of local people are hoping that he will be able to help them get their land back," said Thet Tun Aung. The post New Arakan Chief Minister Pledges 'Zero Tolerance' of Rohingya Smuggling appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Ex-Religious Minister Proclaims Innocence on Way to Court Posted: 03 Jul 2014 03:13 AM PDT  Ex-religious affair minister Hsan Hsint proclaimed his innocence to
assembled journalists as was he led to a court in Naypyidaw on
Thursday, shouting: “I haven’t embezzled a penny of state funds.”
(Photo: Citizen Journalist) RANGOON — Former religious affairs minister Hsan Hsint was taken to court in Naypyidaw on Thursday to face corruption charges, but he told assembled reporters outside the court room that he was not guilty. Amid tight security, he was brought for trial at Pubbha Thiri Township Court in the Burmese capital. A local journalist said Hsan Hsint loudly proclaimed his innocence as he was led into the building. "Though my stand was correct, they said they will punish me as I didn't follow the orders of the president. I didn't embezzle even a penny from the state budget. I swear. I haven't done anything wrong," he reportedly shouted. On June 19, Hsan Hsint was sacked by President Thein Sein for "not performing his duties efficiently." Subsequent local media reports claimed he had also been accused of misappropriating about 10 million kyats (US$10,000) from his ministry's budget for personal family interests. He is being charged under the Penal Code Article 409 for criminal breach of trust and Article 109 for abetting a crime. The religious minister's firing followed a controversial raid on a Rangoon monastery by the state-backed Buddhist clergy, which had been in an ownership dispute with a small group of monks who declined to leave the monastery. The raid led to the arrest of five monks. They have since been released on bail. Local media reported that the minister had a disagreement with other cabinet members over the plan to raid the monastery. The post Ex-Religious Minister Proclaims Innocence on Way to Court appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma Accepted for EITI Scheme, But NGOs Remain Concerned Posted: 03 Jul 2014 02:51 AM PDT  A map showing the winners of on and offshore oil and gas exploration blocks in Burma. (Image: Global Witness) RANGOON — The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global anti-corruption scheme, announced on Wednesday that Burma has been accepted as a candidate country. The decision means Burma has to comply with an international transparency standard for oil, gas and mining earnings in the coming years and marks an important step toward addressing corruption in the country. "[Burma]'s admission to the EITI comes at a critical time as the country is now opening up its vast natural resources for foreign investment. By implementing the EITI, the government has made a commitment to the people of [Burma]: that they will have the right see how these resources are managed," EITI chair Claire Short said in a statement. Zaw Oo, the government's national coordinator for EITI, said, "EITI gives us a useful tool to design our escape from the resource curse; and it is an important catalyst for ongoing reforms. We pledge to overcome many challenges facing the implementation of EITI standards." Burmese civil society groups warn, however, that they have serious doubts over the government's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for NGOs that are supposed to participate in the international scheme. EITI sets a global transparency standard for extractive industries to combat high-level corruption, and governments that want to join the international scheme are required to publish oil, gas and mining project payments in accordance with EITI stipulations. The scheme recommends disclosure of details of company ownership, contract terms, state-owned extractive industries, and allocation of resource revenues. The EITI statement said Burma has committed to implementing these recommendations and will also reveal the ultimate ownership of companies that won the 2013-2014 oil and gas bidding round. International NGO Global Witness criticized the oil and gas bidding last week and said it was marked by high levels of corporate secrecy, as only 13 of 47 companies responded to questions about ownership, with only two companies revealing who ultimately owned them. The UK-based transparency campaign group said such secrecy is often used to hide high-level corruption. Joining EITI has been a key reform measure by President Thein Sein's government as it seeks to attract foreign direct investment and shake off Burma's reputation for large-scale corruption and mismanagement in extractive industries under the former military regime. In March, Thein Sein said his government wanted to join EITI "to encourage responsible investments, [and] to ensure that investment related to extracting natural resources will not affect the environment and socio-economic situation." For decades, Burma's rich resources, which comprise an estimated 2.5 trillion cubic meters of gas and 3.2 trillion barrels of oil reserves, abundant mineral wealth, jade and gemstones, large-scale hydropower potential and vast forests, were plundered by the military regime and its business cronies. Resource revenues were pumped into the military, or siphoned off and pocketed by senior officials, while education and health care spending was kept at a minimal level. Oil, gas, mining, agro-industry and dam projects have also been tied to ethnic conflict and militarization, as much of Burma's resources are located in ethnic areas, while the projects often also have heavy social and environment impacts on local communities. EITI, however, focuses on revenue transparency and does not include requirements on addressing such project impacts, or the need for authorities to seek prior consent from communities. In recent months, the government has worked with oil, gas and mining firms active in Burma as well as local civil society groups to prepare the country's application for EITI candidacy. Burma has now joined a group of 44 countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines, that are EITI candidates, and it could become a "compliant" EITI member by 2017. Currently, there are 29 full EITI member countries. EITI, based in Norway, is supported by international governments, and candidate states can receive donor support for implementation of EITI requirements and the creation of laws, regulations and rules that promote revenue transparency. About 80 of the world's largest oil, gas and mining companies also take part in the scheme. Civil Society Concerns, Scope of Transparency Now that it has been accepted as a candidate, Burma is bound by a timetable to implement EITI requirements. It has to complete its first report within 18 months and will be reviewed for full compliance by Jan. 2, 2017. Civil society involvement is central to EITI, and the government, private sector and NGOs are required to cooperate in a multi-stakeholder group that implements the EITI process. The multi-stakeholder group will have to agree on the exact scope of EITI transparency standards and whether it wants to apply these to other sectors beyond oil, gas and mining. "We have to do a lot of work, but nobody is ready," Tayar Maung, national coordinator at The MyanmarAllianceforTransparencyandAccountability (MATA), told The Irrawaddy. "We are not yet decided on what scope we are going to work with—the multi-stakeholder group will have more discussions. CSOs for the moment want to include oil, gas, hydropower and forests. The government seems ready to accept inclusion of oil, gas and some mining sectors, such as jade and gems." Juman Kubba, of Global Witness' oil, gas and mining team, said, "Whether the scheme actually makes a difference depends on whether Burma is willing to go beyond bare minimum EITI." "In the coming months, Burma has the chance to show it is serious about transparency by committing to an EITI which generates the information citizens need to hold government officials and companies to account," she said. "If that doesn't happen, there is a risk that EITI will be treated as a tick-box exercise which offers a veneer of reform behind which looting proceeds unchecked." A key point of concern for Burmese NGOs is whether the government is committed to implementing EITI standards regarding civil society. The scheme requires governments to guarantee "an enabling environment" for NGO participation in EITI, respect NGO representatives' rights, and ensure open public debate on the scheme. In the weeks leading up to the review of Burma's EITI application, Parliament eased restrictions on NGOs in the country. Lawmakers passed the Association Registration Law, which requires NGOs to register with the government but carries no punishments if they fail to do so. Parliament also amended the Peaceful Assembly Law, reducing prison sentences for unauthorized protests from six to three months. MATA warned EITI's International Board in a letter earlier this week, however, that EITI conditions regarding civil society freedoms are not being met. "CSOs feel that there is no security for local-level CSOs activities in the whole country, especially in Shan and Karen States. Local CSOs receive constant threats and [are under] surveillance" by local authorities, the letter said. MATA, an umbrella organization for 470 national and community-based NGOs, stopped short of asking the board to delay Burma's EITI application, but said the government had failed to guarantee necessary civil society freedoms. The national government's commitment to improve an "enabling environment for CSOs is very weak in its implementation," the letter said, adding that a cabinet order stating that the government would work with NGOs on EITI was not sent to regional authorities, nor publicly released. "We are requesting the government to fully implement [EITI conditions] and inform the public and authorities," said Tayar Maung, of MATA."They said yes, but they never apply it. That's why we are wondering, are they playing a game with us?" MATA urged EITI to "put more pressure on the government to make happen the real EITI [process] and to create a real enabling environment for Myanmar CSOs." Shwe Gas Movement director Wong Aung said NGOs are concerned that the government wants to become an EITI candidate to brandish Burma's international reputation, while dragging its feet on improving civil society freedoms, reigning in local authorities and addressing rights abuses and social impacts caused by extractive industries. "We have tried to raise a series of issues related with extractive industries… but the government has not taken any steps to address these concerns in a meaningful time frame," said Wong Aung, who is a member of Burma's EITI multi-stakeholder group. "I do not think they have the political will to handle these problems in the short term. They are just trying to get a good international image to attract foreign direct investment through the EITI process. The government is very smart." "The improvement of the resources sector is going to be a very long path," he added. Multi-stakeholder group chairman Maung Maung Thein and government spokesman Ye Htut did not respond to emailed queries by The Irrawaddy about the NGOs' concerns. The post Burma Accepted for EITI Scheme, But NGOs Remain Concerned appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| 2 Dead as Religious Rioting Continues in Mandalay Posted: 02 Jul 2014 11:18 PM PDT  Two motorcycle riders, including one carrying a stick, in downtown Mandalay amid clashes between Buddhists and Muslims. About 20 armed motorcycle riders drove along 35th and 84th streets on Wednesday night, smashing shop windows and attacking vehicles believed to be owned by Muslims. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Rioting continued in Burma's second-biggest city on Wednesday night, leaving at least two people dead, a senior official said Thursday morning. One Buddhist man and one Muslim man were killed on the second night of religious violence in Mandalay, according to Border Affairs and Security Minister Aung Kyaw Moe, who said at least 14 people have been injured since the clashes between Buddhists and Muslims first began Tuesday night. Speaking at the Mandalay Division Police office, the minister told reporters that rioting broke out again in the city's downtown area at 11 pm on Wednesday night. A mob gathered near Zegyo market in Chan Aye Thazan Township, while motorcycle drivers carrying knives and sticks drove along 35th and 84th streets, smashing shop windows and attacking vehicles they believed were owned by Muslims. More than 1,000 security officials were deployed to stabilize the situation, the minister said. Buddhist Tun Tun was found beaten and wounded at about midnight after being stabbed with a knife, and he died on the way to the hospital, the minister said. Muslim Soe Min, 49, was beaten to death at about 4 am by a mob at the corner of 83rd and 31st streets, according to a witness. He was reportedly attacked by the mob on his way to a mosque for morning prayers. The minister said four people had been arrested for their alleged role in the rioting, and that the government did not currently have plans to impose a curfew in the city. He added that the violence was initially sparked by an inflammatory post on social media, and he urged the public to be careful about what they write online. Clashes between Buddhists and Muslims first broke out on Tuesday night, after a blogger claimed that a Buddhist woman was raped by her Muslim employers. The blog post, which had not been verified with the police, was shared online by more than 2,000 people, including nationalist Buddhist monk U Wirathu, who leads an anti-Muslim movement known as 969. A lawsuit has been filed for the alleged rape, according to state-run media. President Thein Sein did not directly comment on the rioting during his monthly radio address on Wednesday morning, nor did he lay out plans for the government's response. He did, however, urge the Burmese public to avoid incitement of unrest for the sake of the country's political and economic reforms. "As our country is a multi-racial and –religious nation, the current reform process will be successful only when stability is maintained through cooperation of all citizens by living harmoniously with one another," he said. "For the reform to be successful, I would like to urge all to avoid instigation and behavior that incites hatred among our fellow citizens." Mandalay Division Chief Minister Ye Myint called on religious leaders to collaborate with the government to settle the situation in the city, during a press conference at the divisional government office on Thursday morning. Bouts of religious violence have broken out in several cities across Burma over the past year, but this is the first time rioting has hit Mandalay. In March 2013, anti-Muslim violence in the central Burma town of Meikhtila, near Mandalay, left about 40 people dead. The post 2 Dead as Religious Rioting Continues in Mandalay appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Thai Military Government Looks to Neighbors for Support Posted: 02 Jul 2014 09:26 PM PDT  Veera Somkwamkid, left, a Thai ultra-nationalist who was jailed in Cambodia for espionage and trespassing, arrives at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport on July 2, 2014, accompanied by acting Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow. (Photo: Reuters / Athit Perawongmetha) BANGKOK — Thailand's military government is shoring up diplomatic ties with Asian neighbors to provide a counterweight to criticism from the West about its seizure of power in May and its reluctance to set an early date for a return to civilian rule. In the latest move, acting Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow reassured Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday that Cambodian workers who had fled home after the coup, fearing a crackdown on immigrants, would be welcomed back. He returned from Cambodia on Wednesday, bringing with him Thai activist Veera Somkwamkid, an ultra-nationalist jailed there on charges of espionage and illegal entry for pressing Thailand's claim to a disputed ancient temple on the border. The May 22 military takeover drew swift international condemnation and both the United States and European Union have downgraded diplomatic ties. The military's National Council for Peace and Order has played down these moves, focusing instead on strengthening its relationship with China and others in Asia. Last month, a Thai army delegation visited China and Malaysia's defense minister came to Thailand, the first visit by a foreign minister since the coup. Burma's army chief is due in Bangkok on Friday. The military authorities also claim support from Vietnam. Veera received a hero's welcome at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday from supporters shouting "Veera! Fight! Fight!" as he made his way through a media scrum. Cambodia's pardon for the Thai activist suggests a thaw in relations between old foes and a 180-degree change in stance by veteran Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Hun Sen rattled Thailand in 2009 when he appointed former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser and refused to extradite him. Thaksin was ousted by the military in 2006 and fled Thailand to escape a graft conviction in 2008. "This is a gentleman's agreement between Cambodia and Thailand's military government not to interfere in each other's politics," said Kan Yuenyong of the Siam Intelligence Unit think tank. "Cambodia has no reason to interfere in Thailand right now but in the past Hun Sen used politics to manipulate the land dispute issue." Thailand and Cambodia have been locked for decades in a dispute over land surrounding the Preah Vihear temple. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2013 that Cambodia had sovereignty over the immediate area around the temple. "Regional neighbors in Asia know that it is of economic benefit to them to take a soft approach to the Thai military," analyst Kan added. Dissent Stifled Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinwatra, won a landslide election victory in 2011 but, after months of street demonstrations aimed at toppling her, she was forced to step down on May 7 when a court found her guilty of abuse of power. Attempts by her government to secure Veera's release had proved unsuccessful despite cordial relations between Yingluck's government and the authoritarian Hun Sen, in power since 1985. The junta has cracked down hard on dissent, briefly detaining hundreds of activists, journalists and politicians critical of the regime, a disproportionate number of them members of the pro-Thaksin "Red Shirt" movement. On Tuesday, police released Sombat Boonngamanong, a Red Shirt activist who spearheaded an online campaign promoting flash mob protests against the military, after charges of lèse-majesté were brought against him. Sombat has also been charged with instigating unrest and violating cyber laws and faces up to 14 years in jail if found guilty by a military court. Thailand has some of the toughest lèse-majesté laws in the world forbidding criticism of the monarchy. Coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha, a staunch royalist, has made it clear that anti-royalist opinions will not be tolerated. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 86, the world's longest serving monarch, commands great respect and has semi-divine status. The monarchy is considered one of the three main pillars of the country along with Buddhism and the concept of nation. The post Thai Military Government Looks to Neighbors for Support appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| China Bans Ramadan Fast in Muslim Northwest Posted: 02 Jul 2014 09:17 PM PDT  Security forces stand guard along a street in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on July 4, 2010, the day before the first anniversary of ethnic rioting that killed around 200 people. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — Students and civil servants in China's Muslim northwest, where Beijing is enforcing a security crackdown following deadly unrest, have been ordered to avoid taking part in traditional fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Statements posted Wednesday on websites of schools, government agencies and local party organizations in the Xinjiang region said the ban was aimed at protecting students' wellbeing and preventing use of schools and government offices to promote religion. Statements on the websites of local party organizations said members of the officially atheist ruling party also should avoid fasting. "No teacher can participate in religious activities, instill religious thoughts in students or coerce students into religious activities," said a statement on the website of the No. 3 Grade School in Ruoqiang County in Xinjiang. Similar bans have been imposed in the past on fasting for Ramadan, which began at sundown Saturday. But this year is unusually sensitive because Xinjiang is under tight security following attacks that the government blames on Muslim extremists with foreign terrorist ties. Violence has escalated in recent years in Xinjiang. The ruling party blames violent extremists that it says want independence, while members of the region's Uighur ethnic group complain that discrimination and restrictions on religion, such as a ban on taking children to mosques, are fueling anger at the ethnic Han Chinese majority. An attack on May 22 in the regional capital of Urumqi by four people who threw bombs in a vegetable market killed 43 people. On June 22, police in Kashgar in the far west said they killed 13 assailants who drove into a police building and set off explosives, injuring three officers. Authorities have blamed two other attacks at train stations in Urumqi and in China's southwest on Muslim extremists. The government responded with a crackdown that resulted in more than 380 arrests in one month and public rallies to announce sentences. The ruling party is wary of religious activities it worries might serve as a rallying point for opposition to one-party rule. Controls on worship are especially sensitive in Xinjiang and in neighboring Tibet, where religious faith plays a large role in local cultures. On Tuesday, authorities in some communities in Xinjiang held celebrations of the anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party and served food to test whether Muslim guests were fasting, according to Dilxat Raxit, spokesman in Germany for the rights group World Uyghur Congress. "This will lead to more conflicts if China uses coercive measures to rule and to challenge Uighur beliefs," said Dilxat Raxit in an email. The ruling party says religion and education should be kept separate and students should not be subject to religious influences. That rule is rarely enforced for children of Han Chinese, who, if they have a religion, are mostly Buddhist, Daoist or Christian. "Students shall not participate in religious activities; they shall not study scripts or read poems at script and choir classes; they shall not wear any religious emblems; and no parent or others can force students to have religious beliefs or partake in religious activities," said the statement on the website of the grade school in Ruoqiang County. A news portal run by the government of Yili in the northern reaches of Xinjiang said fasting is detrimental to the physical wellbeing of young students, who should eat regularly. In the city of Bole, retired teachers from the Wutubulage Middle School were called in to stand guard at mosques and prevent students from entering, according to a statement on the municipal party committee website. Also in Bole, the Bozhou University of Radio and Television said on its website it held a meeting with working and retired minority teachers on the first day of the Ramadan to remind them of the fasting ban. The forestry bureau in Xinjiang's Zhaosu county held an event the day before Ramadan at which party cadres signed a pledge they and their relatives would "firmly resist fasting," according to a statement on the website of the local party committee. The Moyu Weather Bureau in the Hotan area said on its website that Muslim employees, both active and retired, were required to sign a letter promising not to fast. The commercial bureau for Turpan, an oasis town in the Taklamakan Desert, said in a statement that civil servants are "strictly forbidden" to fast or perform the Salat prayer ritual in a mosque. The post China Bans Ramadan Fast in Muslim Northwest appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Gene from Extinct Human Species Fortifies High-altitude Tibetans Posted: 02 Jul 2014 09:08 PM PDT  With an average elevation exceeding 15,000 feet (4,500 meters), the Tibetan plateau is one of the least habitable places on earth. (Photo: Wikimedia) WASHINGTON — How do Tibetans thrive in high-altitude, low-oxygen conditions that would make others wither? Well, they may have received some help from an unexpected source. Scientists said on Wednesday many Tibetans possess a rare variant of a gene involved in carrying oxygen in the blood that they likely inherited from an enigmatic group of extinct humans who interbred with our species tens of thousands of years ago. It enables Tibetans to function well in low oxygen levels at elevations upwards of 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) like the vast high plateau of southwestern China. People without this variant would be apt to develop thick blood, leading to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, low-birth-weight babies and higher infant mortality. This version of the EPAS1 gene is nearly identical to one found in Denisovans, a lineage related to Neanderthals—but is very different from other people today. Denisovans are known from a single finger bone and two teeth found in a Siberian cave. DNA testing on the 41,000-year-old bone indicated Denisovans were distinct from our species and Neanderthals. "Our finding may suggest that the exchange of genes through mating with extinct species may be more important in human evolution than previously thought," said Rasmus Nielsen, a computational biology professor at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Copenhagen, whose study appears in the journal Nature. Our genome contains residual genetic fragments from other organisms like viruses as well as species like Neanderthals with which early modern humans interbred. The researchers called their study the first to show that a gene from an archaic human species has helped modern humans adjust to different living conditions. "Such exchange of genes with other species may in fact have helped humans adapt to new environments encountered as they spread out of Africa and into the rest of the world," said Nielsen. Asan Ciren, a researcher with China's BGI genomics center, added, "The genetic relationship or blood relationship between modern humans and archaic hominins is a hot topic of the current paleoanthropology." The researchers said early modern humans trekking out of Africa interbred with Denisovans in Eurasia en route to China. Their descendants harbor a tiny percentage of Denisovan DNA. Genetic studies show nearly 90 percent of Tibetans have the high-altitude gene variant, along with a small percentage of Han Chinese, who share a common ancestor with Tibetans. It is seen in no other people. The researchers conducted genetic studies on 40 Tibetans and 40 Han Chinese and performed a statistical analysis showing that the gene variant almost certainly was inherited from the Denisovans. The gene regulates production of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. It is turned on when blood oxygen levels drop, stimulating more hemoglobin production. At elevations above 13,000 feet (4,000 meters), the common form of the gene boosts hemoglobin and red blood cell production, causing dangerous side effects. The Tibetans' variant increases hemoglobin and red blood cell levels only modestly, sparing them these effects. The post Gene from Extinct Human Species Fortifies High-altitude Tibetans appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Hillary Clinton’s Take on ‘The Lady and the Generals’ Posted: 02 Jul 2014 06:00 PM PDT  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, listens to Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they meet at Suu Kyi's house in Rangoon on Dec. 2, 2011. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) RANGOON — In her latest memoir, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton describes her cherished personal relationship with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Washington's evolving ties with Burma, calling the United States' re-engagement with the former pariah state an example of "America at our best." In "Hard Choices," a 656-page tome in which Clinton recalls her visits to countries around the world, an entire chapter is devoted to Burma, the only Asia-Pacific nation other than China to be afforded such prominence. Clinton charts a path in the chapter from nearly nonexistent diplomatic ties with Burma under the former military regime to US President Barack Obama's historic visit to Rangoon in 2012, and up through this April's controversial national census. Clinton, who shepherded one of the 21st century's most dramatic and rapid reversals in bilateral relations as the United States' chief diplomat from 2009-2013, describes Burma's political reform process in largely positive terms, but notes that many reforms remain incomplete. "It is sometimes hard to resist getting breathless about Burma," she writes. "But we have to remain clear-eyed and levelheaded about the challenges and difficulties that lie ahead." A reappraisal of US foreign policy toward Burma came shortly after Obama took office in 2009, well before the installation of Burma's nominally civilian government in 2011 and less than two years after the former ruling junta cracked down lethally on Buddhist monk-led protests in Rangoon. "I came into office convinced that we needed to rethink our Burma policy," Clinton writes, reflecting on more than 20 years of economic sanctions imposed by the United States. Clinton's tentative steps toward normalizing relations in 2009 included visits to Burma by a US lawmaker and a senior State Department envoy, discussions with other Asian leaders, and ultimately the announcement of a new US orientation on the world's biggest diplomatic stage, the United Nations headquarters in New York. "We had concluded that 'engagement versus sanctions is a false choice.' So going forward, we would use both tools to pursue our goals and reach out directly to senior Burmese officials," she writes. Those goals included the release of political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, then under house arrest, and an end to ties with North Korea, as well as efforts at reconciliation with opposition groups. By November 2011—despite many of these conditions not yet having been met—Clinton was on a plane to Naypyidaw to meet with Burmese President Thein Sein and ruling party lawmakers. She describes taking a stroll days later with Suu Kyi, released from house arrest one year earlier, at the opposition leader's lakeside home in Rangoon. Less than one year after that, Obama too paid a visit to Thein Sein and Suu Kyi, and gave a speech at Rangoon University that stressed the importance of democratic governance and respect for human rights. Today, with US businesses setting up operations in Burma and Obama expected to pay a visit later this year to Naypyidaw, a capital said to have been built in central Burma to protect against a US invasion by sea, the transformation from pariah to partner appears complete. 'Carrots and Sticks' The decision by the Obama administration to re-engage with Burma has been accompanied by heated debate among human rights advocates, geopolitical analysts and entrepreneurs keen to tap the long forbidden market. "I wanted the United States to play a constructive role in encouraging the better instincts of the new Burmese government, without rushing to embrace them prematurely or losing the leverage our strong sanctions provided," Clinton writes. "There was a risk that the Burmese generals were playing us," she adds, a nod to the concerns of many who have cautioned against US re-engagement as too much, too soon. That is a view shared by the US Campaign for Burma, a Washington-based advocacy group that has frequently criticized US policy toward Burma. "We're now seeing where Clinton's wholehearted endorsement of an incomplete reform process has landed the US—forced to reconcile and stand beside an oppressive government conducting ethnic cleansing in one corner of the country and a full-blown war complete with torture and human rights abuses in the other," Dan McDevitt, communications coordinator at the US Campaign for Burma, told The Irrawaddy. McDevitt said Washington had too eagerly given up leverage, such as economic sanctions, that could have been maintained to prod further reforms. "With the arguable exception of the 2012 by-elections … no other condition on that list has been met yet," he said, referring to benchmarks of progress set by the United States. "Political prisoners remain behind bars, journalists continue to be imprisoned, the government's treatment of the ethnic minority Rohingya has significantly worsened, ties with North Korea remain unclear, and the conflict in Kachin State has recently intensified." Differing from McDevitt's stance are those, including Clinton, who argue that deepening US engagement has been a catalyst for Burma's move toward democracy. Murray Hiebert, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank, offered a less critical assessment of Clinton's Burma narrative. "It's a pretty good, albeit somewhat rosy summary of developments in Myanmar [Burma], the reasons the junta launched the reforms, and the thinking in Washington as the US launched its rapprochement with the country," he told The Irrawaddy, while noting that attacks against Rohingya Muslims in 2012 occurred as the United States was ramping up engagement with the Burmese government. "This is not to take away from the very important role the US under Obama and Clinton played in helping create space for key leaders in Myanmar to launch their reforms," Hiebert added. "Many of the biggest challenges the so-called reformers face in completing the process have come into much sharper relief since Clinton left office in early 2013 and completed her book." The former secretary of state acknowledges that the changing US policy toward Burma was motivated by multiple factors, including the high-minded notion that "its millions of people deserved a chance to enjoy the blessings of freedom and prosperity" and the more pragmatic "outsized strategic implications." "Burma was situated at the heart of Southeast Asia, a region where the United States and China were both working to increase influence," she writes, noting Burma's role in Washington's so-called "pivot" to Asia, a policy of deepening engagement in the Asia Pacific that has been a hallmark of the Obama administration's foreign policy. Presidential Aspirants Notably, Clinton makes no mention of Suu Kyi's inability to become president under the Burma's current Constitution, despite the former secretary of state's apparent fondness for the opposition leader. Suu Kyi's hopes of one day serving as president took a hit last month, when a parliamentary committee charged with reviewing the Constitution voted against recommending amendments to a provision that bars anyone whose spouse or children are foreign nationals from assuming the office. Suu Kyi's late husband and her two sons are British. At least one US official has come out unequivocally in favor of changing that clause, Article 59. US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell early this year called the provision "a relic of the past," and less explicitly, the State Department said last month that it "believe[s] constitutional reform should pave the way for the Burmese to freely choose their president in a free and fair 2015 election." McDevitt called Clinton's failure to reference Article 59 a "glaring omission." The Office of Hillary Clinton did not respond to attempts for clarification on whether the former secretary of state considers Suu Kyi's presidential ineligibility to be a concern ahead of Burma's elections next year. Clinton is seen as a likely frontrunner in the United States' own presidential election in 2016, though she has not revealed whether she will run for the post. Her memoir has been widely described by reviewers as a legacy-building exercise from a woman who is at least not ruling out the possibility of a presidential run. Given that her time as secretary of state included the tumult of the Arab Spring and little progress on the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict or a bellicose North Korea, Burma is seen by some as one of few potential foreign policy victories that she might claim. McDevitt says that as a result, Clinton's analysis in the chapter, titled "Burma: The Lady and the Generals," amounts to "policy salvaging." "If things go badly in Myanmar over the period before the US elections in 2016, Clinton may well be blamed," said David Steinberg, a Burma specialist and professor at Georgetown University in Washington, adding that he found her Burma appraisal "disappointing." "There are no real discussions in this chapter of any nuance of US relations or Burmese history. … If people quote this as an understanding of Myanmar or current issues or relations, they are doing the country a disservice," he said. The post Hillary Clinton's Take on 'The Lady and the Generals' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Myanmar Needs Independent Media, Not ‘Public Service’ Propaganda Posted: 02 Jul 2014 05:30 PM PDT  A woman sells newspapers in Rangoon. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) Recently, I sat down with a small group of people, including some journalist friends, to talk about Myanmar's media landscape. One of the questions that came up was whether independent journalism had any future in this country. Perhaps because we all wanted to have something helpful and constructive to say, we generally agreed that yes, independent journalism does stand a chance of surviving in Myanmar. As a matter of fact, however, the reality on the ground doesn't really support this sanguine view. Looking back, we can see that in the half century after the late dictator Gen. Ne Win seized power in 1962 and nationalized the country's newspapers, independent journalism was all but nonexistent here. Under military rule, state-run media disseminated a relentless stream of pro-junta propaganda, and private media—which returned after 1988—was heavily censored. During that dark era, journalists who dared to report on the ruling regime's many misdeeds were routinely locked up. Press freedom was dead, and journalism could no longer be regarded as a real profession. But even when the situation inside the country was at its most dire, the desire for reliable news and information never died. To meet this need, exiled media groups mushroomed outside the country, and broadcasters like the BBC, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia provided Myanmar-language services that helped to counter the lies of the official media. Until the nominally civilian government of President U TheinSein started introducing media reforms in 2012, Myanmar journalists working abroad were barred from entering the country, and those already inside were effectively silenced. Then everything changed. The country's draconian censorship board was abolished, and in 2013, some private media groups were given permission to publish daily newspapers. Exiled media groups such as The Irrawaddy were also allowed to set up offices inside the country for the first time in decades. As significant as these developments were, however, they offered no guarantee that the government was ready to see independent journalism take root again in Myanmar. And, indeed, what we have seen since strongly suggests that the Ministry of Information (MOI)—which once wielded the censorship board like a club to beat the media into submission—remains as committed as ever to controlling the non-state media sector. This is why it comes as a surprise to many journalists struggling to survive in the "space" created by Myanmar's government that some Western-based media-freedom organizations have so heartily endorsed the country's still narrow reforms, and have even begun bolstering the capacity of the state's propaganda apparatus. Spearheaded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), these efforts—being carried out in the name of turning The New Light of Myanmar, MRTV and other former junta mouthpieces into "public service media"—will serve only to make Myanmar's government more effective at manipulating the public. Meanwhile, other voices will continue to be drowned out.  Kyaw Zwa Moe is editor (English Edition) of
the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at kyawzwa@irrawaddy.org. In theory, Myanmar could certainly do with a public service media that is genuinely committed to keeping the country's people informed. The problem is that almost all of the individuals now being trained by the BBC, the Associated Press, Kyodo News and other respected international news agencies have spent most of their careers fighting on the frontlines of the former junta's endless psychological warfare campaigns. Simply enabling them to do a better job of pushing the government's official line is the last thing the country needs. If Unesco and the other partners in this enterprise of turning former military officials into "professional" journalists really want to help, they will have to do more than teach them how to perform a few superficial tricks that give the impression of greater openness. Some observers have noticed that the English-language newspaper The New Light of Myanmar is no longer as crudely one-sided as it once was, and sometimes even reports on issues such as human rights abuses and land grabs (without going too deeply into why both are still endemic in this country). At the same time, however, the Myanmar-language state media continues to shy away from any subject that could easily lead to criticism of the government or the military. Evidently, what's good for the growing number of foreigners entering the country is not good for Myanmar's masses. In 2012, when I met high-ranking officials from the MOI for the first time, I suggested to them that if they really wanted to create a genuine public service media, they shouldn't waste their time trying to transform the state-run media. It would be better, I said, to let media professionals create a new, independent public service media with the help of international media organizations. Needless to say, my arguments didn't have much of an impact on their thinking. I can't say I'm surprised. Why, after all, would they give up their stranglehold on the media sector—making room only for a few crony-owned media groups such as Skynet (owned by the Shwe Than Lwin Company) and MRTV-4 (owned by the Forever Group)—when all they had to do was drop some of their more egregious habits and go through the motions of reforming themselves? If you try to find independent media in Myanmar today, you'll soon see that there are only a handful of organizations that fit the description. And if you're concerned about the country's prospects of completing its transition to democracy, this should be a major worry. Without an independent media to monitor those in power, next year's election could prove to be as farcical as the one in 2010. Actually, it would be quite easy to reestablish independent media in Myanmar. The country has a small army of fledgling journalists eager to do their part to restore their profession to its rightful place as one of the pillars of a democratic society. All they need is freedom and the support of experienced domestic and international journalists. The government wouldn't have to do a thing. It certainly isn't the government's place to police the media and enforce its own "ethical standards" on a profession it has never really understood. If mistakes are made, they can be addressed through mechanisms established by experienced practitioners of the trade, not by bureaucrats. Myanmar has no shortage of reporters—both trained professionals and "citizen journalists"—capable of uncovering facts that some would like to keep hidden. During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, and in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis the following year, the ruling regime was unable to conceal its brutality and callous indifference to the loss of human life because of the courage of countless citizens who risked their lives and freedom to document the truth. With the right guidance—from qualified colleagues, not meddling officials—they could be an even more formidable force for good in the country's future. Independent-minded journalists are an enormous asset to any democratic society, and if the international community truly believes that democracy is what Myanmar deserves and needs, it should invest in those who would be its best guardians. Supporting apparatchiks with press cards is a waste of time we can no longer afford. Kyaw Zwa Moe is the editor of the English-language edition of The Irrawaddy. The article first appeared in the July print edition of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Myanmar Needs Independent Media, Not 'Public Service' Propaganda appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| ‘We Wanted to Convey Through This Film That Nobody Wants Conflict’ Posted: 02 Jul 2014 05:00 PM PDT  A poster for "The Open Sky," a documentary showing the human impact of the anti-Muslim violence that rocked Meikthila in 2013. (Image: Human Dignity Film Institute) Phyo Zayar Kyaw, 28, is one of the three filmmakers who made "The Open Sky," a 20-minute documentary shot in Meikthila, a town in central Burma that witnessed horrendous, deadly clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in March 2013. The film was supposed to be screened at the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival in Rangoon on June 15-19, but was cancelled after criticism on social media from Burmese Buddhists, who claimed that it was too sympathetic to the predicament of Muslims. It was one of five films produced by students of Rangoon's Human Dignity Film Institute. The film follows the life of a Muslim woman whose house was burned down during the anti-Muslim violence, but who refuses to leave Meikthila as she considers it her home. A Buddhist friend helps the woman during the conflict and the documentary shows their views of the conflict, and of each other. Phyo Zayar Kyaw spoke to The Irrawaddy about the film's cancellation, the idea behind the documentary and the challenges he faced during its production. Question: How do you feel about your film being cancelled at the human rights film festival? Answer: We received warnings before the film festival that the film might be cancelled due to surging online social media hate speech, in fact, as I've said before, my partners and I are fully aware that this is a controversial topic. The final decision to cancel this film was made due to the organizers' fears that because of the sensitive state that the country is currently in, the screening of this film may generate unwanted conflict during the film festival. The film festival is a great celebration of human rights, the first of its kind in Myanmar, which features 32 films produced by Burmese filmmakers and over 20 international films produced by different filmmakers from all over the world. There is so much hard work and labor involved in this film festival that it is unfair to everyone else involved if things go wrong just because of our film. Q: What message did you want to convey through this film? A: I think the main message we wanted to convey through this film is that nobody wants conflict. We wanted to portray and showcase the raw and human emotions of those who are inhabitants of conflict zones. It's ironic [that the film was cancelled] because we actually wanted to deter anger that people have towards each other and become more understanding of one another through this film. It was meticulously designed to help people sympathize with one another, to make people watch someone else cry and empathize with their emotions and realize that nobody wants conflict, nobody gets out of a conflict without losses and suffering. That was what our film was aimed to do but now due to the outburst of social media hate speech, the film hasn't been screened anywhere yet. I believe that if the film was screened as planned, it would generate responses opposite to what we've seen now. Q: What were some difficulties that you and other filmmakers faced in the production of the film? A: We knew from the start that the topic of this project, which is growing religious tensions in Myanmar, is a controversial one that can potentially spark conflict. When we went to do the filming of the documentary in Meikthila, there were many people who were suspicious. Or let's just say curious, about what we were filming and why. In the editing process of this film, we were extremely careful about including scenes that have the slightest potential of inciting anger in people and we ended up deleting many parts of the film that we actually liked. In our decision-making about various aspects of the film, we couldn't prioritize the quality of the storyline but, instead, had to place more emphasis on the balance and objectivity of our portrayal of the religious conflict. Q: There are many who have criticized the film through social media, what would you like to say to them? A: Frankly, I don't have much to say to them. From the time when the idea for this film was conceived we were very aware that the topic is extremely controversial, and thus we were very careful not to incite anger. To those who are criticizing this film without having even watched it, I really have nothing to say. The post 'We Wanted to Convey Through This Film That Nobody Wants Conflict' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
