Wednesday, November 5, 2014

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Bullet Points: 5 November 2014
Forces of nature and farmers’ woes
Par Gyi tortured before death
Awareness campaign held for jailed Kachin refugees
NLD confirms Suu Kyi’s first visit to China
UEC begins revamping voter lists

Bullet Points: 5 November 2014

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 03:58 AM PST

On tonight's edition of Bullet Points:

Exhumed body of slain reporter shows signs of torture
Obama to meet Suu Kyi on 14 November
Suu Kyi to visit China in December
Kachin’s gather to call for release of Brang Yung, Lahpai Gam
Electricity ministry exploring wind power

You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

Forces of nature and farmers’ woes

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 03:36 AM PST

Heavy non- seasonal showers, which lasted for four to five days in the lower delta region of Irrawaddy, has destroyed paddy fields and left farmers pondering the fate of their livelihoods.

A local farmer, Thein Aung told DVB that the rains inundated paddy fields in the area.

The flooding comes just as harvest season is set to begin in Burma. On Monday, DVB reported that the Myanmar Farmers Association (MFA) pledged to fix a set price for the new harvest, due in early December, at 350,000 kyat (US$350) per 100 baskets of paddy.

"As the heavy rains took place during the harvest season, lots of paddy was destroyed," said Thein Aung.

He further pointed out that 2014 has been a rather unlucky year for rice farmers. "We suffered losses due to rat infestation," he said. "We tried to regrow the crops but heavy rains submerged the paddy fields and we lost the produce. Now, we almost reached harvest time and the grains are underwater again and destroyed."

Usually during November, the grains are harvested. However due to this unforeseen occurrence the farmers now have to sundry the grains in an effort to recover as much as they can. Industry observers say this process is bound to cost farmers a significant amount of money and manpower.

In a series of unfortunate events that have affected the agro industry in Burma, earlier this month rice prices and export experience a record price drop.

China, one of the major exporters of Burmese rice, has halted its rice export until legal trade agreements with Burma materialise. These setbacks in the agriculture sector are serious concerns for farmers like Thein Aung, whose livelihoods are at stake.

Heavy rainfall and flooding was also reported in Rangoon, leaving the streets waterlogged and daily life at a standstill. The weather department has announced that an atmospheric pressure area around the Bay of Bengal might result in further storms in Burma within two days.

Par Gyi tortured before death

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 02:13 AM PST

Journalist Par Gyi's body was exhumed from a shallow grave in a field in Kyaikmayaw Township in Mon State on Wednesday with evidence immediately pointing to torture.

According to eye-witness Nay Myo Zin, the corpse showed signs of a broken jaw, a caved-in skull and swelling on the torso indicating broken ribs.

"It is completely clear that Ko Par Gyi was tortured," he said.

His widow, Ma Thandar, who was present at the exhumation, confirmed that the body was that of her husband.

The corpse of the Burmese journalist was taken to Moulmein Hospital where it will undergo further forensic investigation.

Par Gyi was a political activist and a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's personal security team during the 1988 uprising. He was also one of the first National League for Democracy Youth members and acted as the group's Karen State coordinator.

After his involvement in the uprising, Par Gyi was forced into exile in Thailand and began working as a freelance journalist under the pseudonym "Aung Naing." His wife Ma Thandar spent several weeks looking for her lost husband after he went missing in late September until the military issued a report on 23 October which said the Burmese army killed him due, in part, to his involvement with the Klohtoobaw Karen Organization (KKO), the political wing of an armed group commonly known as the Democratic Karen Benevolent Association (DKBA). The military report also said Par Gyi was shot while attempting to escape from custody.

Par Gyi's family and colleagues deny he was involved with the Karen rebels.

Awareness campaign held for jailed Kachin refugees

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 01:33 AM PST

Two innocent Kachin villagers from Wine Maw Township in Kachin State were tortured, sexually abused, humiliated and thrown in jail for no reason by Burmese government soldiers in 2012, said family members and lawyers on Tuesday, speaking at a public event in at Myitkyina Kachin Baptist Church in front of 2,000 Kachin locals, refugees and activists.

Pastor Pawng Khun Naw told DVB that the town hall meeting had been called by Kachin legal rights groups to raise awareness of the case and protect local people from similar incidents happening in the future.

Lahpai Gam, 54, and Brang Yung, 26, from Om Paung village were arrested by troops from a Burmese infantry battalion in June 2012, said the Kachin pastor.

"The men were displaced war refugees who had been sheltering in our church," said Pawng Khun Naw. "They were not soldiers; they were farmers. While they were taking care of their cows in the Talawgyi area, the soldiers stopped them and arrested them, alleging they were KIA [Kachin Independence Army] rebels.

"Then they were tortured and abused and forced to have sex. They were mocked for being Christians. The soldiers made one of them spread his arms like he was on a cross while the other had to perform a [traditional Kachin] Manaw dance in front of him.

"They were accused of being rebel soldiers and of planning a bomb attack. We tried to offer ourselves as alibis and told the court that the men were at the refugee camp the whole time, but they were jailed anyway.”

A Myitkyina court handed down 21-year and 20 year-sentences respectively to Brang Yung and Lahpai Gam for associating with an illegal organisation and explosives offenses.

The pastor said the case is indicative of how many Kachin people are treated by the Burmese army. He told DVB that many similar incidents have happened but went unreported.

The arbitrary arrest, humiliation and jailing of the Kachin pair was the focus of a campaign by Burma Campaign UK.

In May 2014, the UN General Assembly's Human Rights Council Working group on Arbitrary Detention petitioned the Burmese government about the case.

NLD confirms Suu Kyi’s first visit to China

Posted: 04 Nov 2014 11:34 PM PST

A senior National League for Democracy (NLD) party official has confirmed that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will visit China for the first time in December.

Speaking to DVB by telephone on Wednesday, NLD Central Executive Committee member Win Htein said, “Aung San Suu Kyi will travel to China in December, that's all I can say, so far.”

The news of Suu Kyi's trip was initially revealed by Ai Ping, China's deputy foreign affairs minister and a member of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) powerful central committee.

Ai Ping visited NLD headquarters on 26 February for a meeting with two party leaders during which they agreed to enhance relations between the NLD and the CPC.

China's Ambassador to Burma, Yang Houlan, also mentioned during an interview with the Sunday Morning Post in January that China would officially invite Suu Kyi for a visit.

Although the NLD leader was an outspoken critic of the Myitsone dam project, China has put on a charm offensive for the NLD in the past couple of years. An official NLD delegation visited China in December 2013, but Suu Kyi did not join the group. She did, however, indicate a desire to visit China during a trip to South Korea last year.

Meanwhile, President Thein Sein's office announced on Wednesday that Thein Sein will visit Beijing next week to attend a "Dialogue on Strengthening Connectivity Partnership" and the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) CEO Summit.

UEC begins revamping voter lists

Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:53 PM PST

Burma's Union Election Commission (UEC) has begun compiling new voter lists for the 2015 general election, after this year's census uncovered a gaping discrepancy in the actual versus the predicted number of people in the country.

The March census tallied 51.4 million people within Burma, as opposed to 60 million, an officially held figure that had been cobbled together by projected birth rates and disparate demographic studies.

On Monday, the UEC set about calculating how many people are now eligible to vote. The commission believes it will take eight months for it to construct a new list, set to be very different from the one used as recently as the 2012 by-elections.

"Household lists will be collected from all villages and quarters, and population lists will be gathered from local administration offices, said Thaung Hlaing, a spokesperson for the UEC.

"We will then use this information to compile a list of all people over the age of 18. Thereafter, we will remove voters who are not eligible to vote under election laws."

Religious figures, including monks, are counted out from voting in Burma, as are prisoners and those who remain on bankruptcy lists.

The UEC reckoned there to be a 22 million strong turnout for the previous general election, held in 2010. According to government records, 29 million people were eligible for that vote, which was boycotted by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).

Legal expert Ko Ni believes that the 2010 election was irreconcilably flawed by spurious voter listings.

"In the last election there were many errors; for instance, the voter lists included some dead people,” he said.

Ko Ni believes that 2010's listing problems were repeated in the 2012 by-election. That poll saw the NLD elevated into both houses of Burma's parliament.

"The 2010 election lists were very ugly. The same lists were used again in the 2012 bi-elections and we discovered that they contained many errors. There were many weaknesses in the commission's methodology of compiling voter lists at the local level, but nobody took responsibility,” said Ko Ni.

The commission has stated that next year's vote will take place in late October or early November.

The Irrawaddy Magazine

US ‘Too Optimistic’ About Burma Reform: Suu Kyi
Slain Journalist Exhumed From Grave, Cause of Death Unclear
Parents Seek Separate Inquiry Into Koh Tao Murders
Rangoon Police Ban Student Meeting on Controversial Education Law
Run on Bank Owned by Son of Blacklisted MP
US President to Meet Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon Next Week
Washington Takes Hands-off Stance on Future of Burma’s Suu Kyi
US Defense Chief Hagel Postpones Visits to Vietnam, Burma
Pirate Bay Co-Founder Arrested at Thai-Lao Border
Thai King Undergoing Treatment in Bangkok Hospital
‘Obama Should Express Concern About How the Reform Process Has Stalled’

US ‘Too Optimistic’ About Burma Reform: Suu Kyi

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 07:35 AM PST

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, flanked by NLD patron Tin Tun Oo, addresses the media during a press conference at the NLD's Rangoon headquarters on Wednesday. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday reiterated her position that democratic reforms in Burma have stalled since early 2013 and she called on the United States government to "seriously think" about the lack of democratic progress in the country.

"We do think that there have been times when the US government has been too optimistic about the reform process started by the present government, but if they really studied the situation in this country they will know that this reform process started stalling early last year," the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader said during an hour-long press conference in Rangoon.

"In fact, I'd like to challenge those who talk so much about the reform process, and want ask what significant reform steps have been taken in the last 24 months?" she said, adding, "That is something the US should think about seriously as a country."

The remarks by the highly popular leader come ahead of next week's visit by President Obama to Burma, where he will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and East Asia summits, as well as meet with President Thein Sein and Suu Kyi.

A news report by Reuters on Wednesday quoted senior US government officials as saying that Obama would not urge the Burmese government to amend a constitutional article that blocks Suu Kyi from the presidency.

Obama made a historic visit to Burma in November 2012, when he called Suu Kyi an "icon of democracy" and met with Thein Sein, who pledged to implement a range of measures to deepen democracy and protect human rights.

Since then, the actions by Thein Sein's reformist government have offered mixed results. Suu Kyi's push for changes to the military-drafted Constitution this year has run into opposition from the government and the military. The charter prevents anyone with a foreign spouse or children from becoming president, effectively blocking Suu Kyi from the post—even if her party wins next year's elections—because she has two sons who are British nationals.

The Constitution also gives political powers to the Burma Army, such as direct control over a quarter of Parliament.

Since 2012, Thein Sein's administration has done little to solve the Arakan State crisis, while the Kachin conflict continues to fester. The past year has also saw significant backsliding on media freedom and human rights.

Last week, the government suddenly called a high-level roundtable meeting in Naypyidaw with the president, Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann, the Burma Amy Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing and senior Union Solidarity and Development Party members, as well opposition ethnic MPs.

In the months before, Suu Kyi's pleas for a meeting with Thein Sein, Shwe Mann and Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing to discuss constitutional reforms were ignored.

On Wednesday, the NLD leader said last week's meeting had yielded no concrete agreements whatsoever, but she still welcomed it as a possible first step to more discussions on reforms and political agreement.

"Having a meeting is better than not having any. If the meeting could lead to the four-party meeting we have been asking for since early 2013, then I have to welcome it," she said.

Suu Kyi became a lawmaker following by-elections in April 2012 that granted her party 40 seats. This provided her with a small foothold in the USDP-dominated Parliament, but gave her little influence over government actions and lawmaking. Several parliamentary committees were formed to study constitutional reform, but no significant progress has been made on key articles.

Asked by The Irrawaddy if she was being used by government leaders to give legitimacy to the reform process without her party affecting real change, Suu Kyi said, "No, I don't think so. I just do what I want to do," she said.

"We have been able to make collaborations in Parliament," she said, before adding, "But make no mistake: A democratic reform would not be successful alone with the Parliament. We need collaboration from the government as well—and the army should join, especially in this country."

The NLD leader also briefly touched upon other issues. She said that she had plans to make an official visit to China as it had been reported, but said the plan was still awaiting confirmation.

When asked about the high-profile murder of local journalist Aung Kyaw Naing, also known as Par Gyi, by the Burma Army last month, Suu Kyi only referred to the National Human Rights Commission, which has been ordered to investigate his death.

"It's a legal matter and it's related to a fair judiciary system," she said. "Like other countries, our [rights] committee is looking into it."

The post US 'Too Optimistic' About Burma Reform: Suu Kyi appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Slain Journalist Exhumed From Grave, Cause of Death Unclear

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 04:54 AM PST

The body of Aung Kyaw Naing, a journalist allegedly killed by the Burma Army, was exhumed from the grave on Nov. 5, 2014. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The body of Aung Kyaw Naing, a journalist who was allegedly killed and buried by the Burma Army in early October, was exhumed from the grave on Wednesday by a team of police and medical professionals.

The corpse showed severe head injuries but the exact cause of death is still unknown. A recovery team has transferred the body to a hospital in Mon State capital Moulmein for a medical examination.

Witnesses of the exhumation told The Irrawaddy that damage to the head was extreme and could indicate being hit with a blunt object.

Wednesday's event is believed to be the first time that the Burma Army has ever fulfilled a request to produce the body of a civilian casualty.

Aung Kyaw Naing, also known as Par Gyi, went missing in late September in southeastern Burma's Mon State. The Burma Army informed the nation's Interim Press Council three weeks later that he had been shot on Oct. 4 after attempting to flee military custody.

The military's statement said that Aung Kyaw Naing was arrested on suspicion of association with an ethnic armed group, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA).

Aung Kyaw Naing is widely known to be a freelance reporter and photographer, a fact omitted in the military's statement.

On Oct. 31, President Thein Sein ordered Burma's National Human Rights Commission to fully investigate the case after immense public outrage and calls from foreign entities. News emerged on Monday that Aung Kyaw Naing's body would be exhumed.

A team of about 300 people including the victim's widow, police and military personnel traveled to the remote location about one mile south of Shwe War Chaung village on Wednesday to retrieve the body.

The team has transported Aung Kyaw Naing's body to Moulmein, the Mon State capital. His wife has indicated that she would like to see him receive a Buddhist funeral.

The post Slain Journalist Exhumed From Grave, Cause of Death Unclear appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Parents Seek Separate Inquiry Into Koh Tao Murders

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 04:00 AM PST

Tun Tun Htike, father of the accused Win Zaw Htun, speaks to reporters at Rangoon International Airport on Tuesday evening. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The parents of two Burmese murder suspects arrived back in Burma on Tuesday after submitting a petition to Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI), demanding a separate investigation into the killing of two British tourists on the southern Thai island of Koh Tao.

The parents of the accused were greeted by a throng of supporters at Rangoon International Airport, where they told journalists that they would not be returning soon to their hometown in Arakan State, and would instead stay in Rangoon to follow developments in the case. Their sons, Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, are being detained on Koh Samui island in Thailand's Surat Thani province.

Tun Tun Htike, the father of Win Zaw Htun, told media at Rangoon Airport that he had a chance to meet and talk to his son on Koh Samui. The parents of the accused also thanked those who have offered their support.

Along with Thai lawyers, officials from the Burmese Embassy, and human and labor rights activists, the parents went to the office of the DSI, a department of Thailand's Ministry of Justice, in Bangkok on Monday.

The petition documents, demanding an independent inquiry into the double murder, were received by officials at the DSI office.

It was not immediately clear if jurisdiction would be transferred to the DSI, which operates independently of the Royal Thai Police, if the department took on the case.

Aung Myo Thant, a Burmese lawyer assigned by the Burmese Embassy to help the accused, told The Irrawaddy that allegations by the accused of physical abuse and threats during interrogation had prompted their parents to call on the DSI.

"It is becoming obvious that the accused were abused. Led by the Lawyers Council of Thailand, we went to the DSI office and asked for another investigation as abuses on the two migrants have become more obvious," said Aung Myo Thant.

Previously, Thai Royal Police investigators said the two Burmese migrant workers had confessed to the killing of two British tourists, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, whose bodies were founded on a Koh Tao beach on Sept. 15. Doubts have been growing, however, over the current investigation, which is being conducted solely by the Thai Royal Police.

Concerns have also mounted that the two Burmese migrants might be "scapegoats," a claim that Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has denied.

Prayuth on Oct. 29 said the two accused men would be allowed to fight the case, and indicated that they would be also given the opportunity to retake a DNA test.

The accused's parents last week submitted a petition to the Thai Human Rights Commission, in which they asked the commission to look into allegations that the two young men were forced into their confessions.

Surapong Kongchantuk of the Lawyers Council of Thailand, who accompanied the parents to the DSI office, told reporters that the DSI was the only force that the accused men could rely on to conduct a credible investigation.

On Monday, Thailand's Human Rights Commission said Thai police had failed to respond to requests for their participation in an inquiry underway into law enforcement's handling of the murders.

Dr. Nirun Pitakwatchara, chairman of the commission, told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok that police had failed to show up for the second time in less than a week after being invited by the commission to take questions before the accused's parents.

Additional reporting by Kyaw Kha from Bangkok.

The post Parents Seek Separate Inquiry Into Koh Tao Murders appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Rangoon Police Ban Student Meeting on Controversial Education Law

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 03:22 AM PST

Students wearing graduation gowns protest against the National Education Bill on the campus of Dagon University in Rangoon in early September. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Police in Rangoon's Mayangone Township have ordered student unions to postpone a large meeting during which students had planned to discuss how to demand changes to the controversial Education Law, a union representative said on Wednesday.

The Nationwide Students' Emergency Meeting had been called by the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABSFU) and the Confederation of University Student Unions (CUSU), and was scheduled to take place in the meeting hall of the Myanmar Christian Fellowship of the Blind in Mayangone Township on Nov. 12-13.

Ye Yint Kyaw, a spokesperson for the event, told The Irrawaddy that Mayangone Police Station had informed the unions that the meeting was not allowed and would have to be postponed, ostensibly because it coincides with the Association of Southeast Asian (Asean) and East Asia summits held in Naypyidaw. US President Obama will attend the latter regional meeting and is also expected to visit Rangoon.

"Mayangone local authorities came to the [Myanmar Christian Fellowship of the Blind] office and said that they cannot allow the meeting there as planned," Ye Yint Kyaw said.

"If the meeting is to be held, permission must be requested," he said. "If a permission request is submitted, it can only be allowed at the end of the month, not on 12 and 13 [November] because there is an Asean meeting."

Ye Yint Kyaw said the student unions had now decided to hold the meeting at a different venue in order not to cause problems for the Myanmar Christian Fellowship of the Blind.

"We will announce the new location in the morning on November 10. Otherwise, they [police] might come to exert pressure at the new place. Then we might have to think about finding another location and no work could get done," he said.

Phyo Phyo Aung, general secretary of the ABSFU Central Executive Committee, said it was common for police and authorities to pressure student unions whenever they organize meetings and other public events, even though by law organizers of an indoors gathering are not required to obtain prior government permission.

The decision of the Mayangone police, she said, "is not a surprise as we have faced it so many times. Whatever pressure there is, we will successfully complete what we have to do.

"They are just pressuring with the intention to stop students' meetings—I think it has nothing to do with the Asean summit," she said. "We are still facing a situation where the current government tries to disturb or ban students' gatherings or movements."

The ABSFU and CUSU are expecting between 300 and 500 participants at the Nationwide Students' Emergency Meeting and have invited education experts and members of their unions from across Burma, while all students are also welcome to attend.

The meeting will focus on amending the Education Law, which was passed by Parliament in late September despite widespread criticism. Further "sectoral laws" are due to be drafted to stipulate specific reforms for higher education, basic education and vocational teaching.

Ye Yint Kyaw said education experts of the National Network for Education Reform (NNER) would speak on the first day of the meeting to outline their concerns over the Education Law and on the second day the students would come up with a list of demanded amendments. A committee will be set up to determine how best to pressure the government over these demands.

Students' and teachers' organizations have previously vowed to continue opposing the law and have said they are considering large-scale protests.

In recent months, the teachers' and students' organizations and the NNER, backed by a coalition of 200 civil society groups, have fiercely opposed the Education Law. NNER includes the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, the Thinking Classroom Foundation, Buddhists monks, ethnic education groups and Christian churches.

There have been a range of complaints about the law, chief among them criticism that it fails to guarantee independence for higher education institutions and would perpetuate military regime-style controls on universities and colleges through the formation of a "National Education Commission" and a "Higher Education Coordinating Committee."

Under previous decades of military rule, Burma's education suffered due to a lack of funding and strict junta controls, leading to a demise of the education system, once considered among the best in Asia.

The post Rangoon Police Ban Student Meeting on Controversial Education Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Run on Bank Owned by Son of Blacklisted MP

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 12:33 AM PST

The United Amara Bank head office on Kaba Aye Pagoda Road in Rangoon (Photo: cityguide.com.mm)

RANGOON — The US blacklisting of senior ruling party member Aung Thaung has caused concerns among clients of United Amara Bank, which is owned by his son Nay Aung, and on Tuesday an unusually large amount of money was withdrawn, a bank representative said.

The bank's CEO Than Win Swe said that after the US Treasury Department announced on Friday that Aung Thaung's personal assets were being targeted for sanctions, a rumor began to spread that United Amara Bank (UAB) would also be affected.

On Monday, bank transactions still followed a normal pattern, with the bank receiving 44 billion kyats (about US$44 million) in deposits while some 41 billion kyats ($41 million) was withdrawn by clients, he said.

"But today [Tuesday], following a rumor, we received 16 billion kyats [$16 million] and 26 billion kyats [$26 million] was withdrawn," Than Win Swe said at a press conference.

"We guarantee that we can give back all savings. For the moment, people are withdrawing money from us because they are over-concerned," he said, adding that, "The Central Bank of Myanmar has prepared to help us."

Than Win Swe said clients should not be worried as Aung Thaung has no relation with the bank, neither as a shareholder nor as a board of directors' member. On Wednesday afternoon, the bank’s CEO said money was still being withdrawn by clients, although on a smaller scale than the day before.

The Central Bank said it would not issue a specific statement about the case, but would protect United Amara Bank in line with Central Bank laws and rules and regulations.

Central Bank Acting Managing Director Win Thaw said, "If there is something wrong with that bank we will announce it. We will not issue a particular statement about it, but we'll assist them in line with the laws for solving problems resulting from rumors.

"UAB has money deposited in the Central Bank and in case the deposits and withdrawals are not balanced at UAB, we have already prepared to provide money immediately in Rangoon, Mandalay and Naypyidaw [UAB branches]."

The Central Bank also confirmed that Aung Thaung has no involvement withUnited Amara Bank.

UAB is not on a US sanctions list and neither is Aung Thaung's son Nay Aung, who owns 90 percent of shares in UAB.

Currently, the bank has deposits of over 440 billion kyats ($440 million) and loaned over 230 billion kyats ($230 million). Over the four years since the bank was established, the deposits at the bank have increased. At present, the bank is conducting transactions with 71 international banks in 23 countries, including European countries, according to an UAB press release.

UAB got a banking license in 2010 and was permitted to conduct transactions with foreign banks in 2011.

Dozens of Burmese companies, including a number of banks, owned by tycoons linked to the drug trade or who have been categorized as 'cronies' for supporting the previous military regime remain on a US Treasury blacklist.

Unlike Japanese banks, US and European banks have been reluctant to do business with Burma's financial sector, out of fear of running afoul of sanctions.

Aung Thaung was minister of industry in the previous junta and together with his son, Pyi Aung and Nay Aung, he has used his connections to former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe to amass wealth and build a business empire through a series of interconnected firms that includes United Amara Bank and IGE Co Ltd.

Aung Thaung, a senior Union Solidarity and Development Party MP, is seen as a hardliner and as possibly obstructing the reform process by supporting elements fostering anti-Muslim violence in Burma in recent years. The US Embassy recommended in 2008 that he and his sons be listed for sanctions targeting their companies, assets and travel options, but these recommendations were not implemented.

The post Run on Bank Owned by Son of Blacklisted MP appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

US President to Meet Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon Next Week

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 12:26 AM PST

US President Barack Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi during a meeting at the opposition leader's home in 2012. President Obama will again meet the Burmese opposition leader in Rangoon after traveling to Naypyidaw next week. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun/ Reuters)

RANGOON —US President Barack Obama will meet with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon on November 14 during his second visit to Burma, following his audience with President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw during the Asean Summit.

The White House announced on Tuesday that President Obama will be in Burma from November 12-14 between official visits to China and Australia. While in Naypyidaw, the president will attend the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the US-Asean Summit, and hold a bilateral meeting with President Thein Sein.

On November 14, the President will travel to Rangoon to participate in a town hall event with members of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative before meeting with Suu Kyi.

Executive members of the National League for Democracy have yet to be informed about the details of President Obama's plans to meet party leader Suu Kyi next week, according to Win Htein, a member of the party's Central Executive Committee.

"I don't know about his [Obama's] meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," Win Htein told The Irrawaddy. "That's why I can't say who from our party will also be included in the meeting, and I can't say what issues will be raised in this meeting either."

This will be Suu Kyi's third meeting with Obama since her release from house arrest in 2010, following the opposition leader's trip to the United States in September 2012 and the President's first visit to Burma two months later.

According to the White House statement, before trip to Burma, Obama will visit to China from November 10-12 to attend the APEC Leaders Meeting and APEC CEO Summit. Upon conclusion of his APEC commitments, the president will participate in a state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

After leaving Burma, the president will participate in the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane, Australia and deliver a speech on US leadership in the Asia-Pacific. Details on additional meetings and events will be forthcoming.

The post US President to Meet Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon Next Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Washington Takes Hands-off Stance on Future of Burma’s Suu Kyi

Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:04 PM PST

US President Barack Obama and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi exit her residence for a news conference at their meeting in Rangoon on Nov. 19, 2012. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

WASHINGTON/RANGOON — Despite hailing Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as "an icon of democracy," US President Barack Obama is quietly acquiescing to the government's decision to bar her from running for the presidency in next year's election, US officials say.

Obama, who visits Burma next week, appears to be balancing his push for democratic reforms with a desire to maintain influence with a government that remains deeply suspicious of Suu Kyi and is led by some of the same former generals who kept her under house arrest for 15 years.

The United States' reluctance to press for assurances that the Nobel Peace Prize winner can contest next year's general election is sure to disappoint her supporters, some of whom spent years in prison until the Southeast Asian country ended 49 years of direct military rule in 2011 and launched reforms.

Whether or not Suu Kyi is allowed to run is "not the standard we're setting" to judge whether the 2015 electoral outcome is credible, a senior US official told Reuters.

Clarification of Washington's hands-off stance on Suu Kyi's political future comes at a time when Burma's leaders have been widely accused of backsliding in the transition process.

"What's important is that the people of Burma debate what the future of their democracy is," the senior official said in Washington.

"We can't prejudice the outcome, nor would we as a modern democracy. We're not going to weigh in and say a certain person should run in the election."

Suu Kyi is ineligible for the presidency because Burma's military-drafted constitution bars candidates with a foreign child or spouse. Her late husband was British, as are her two sons. The military's significant presence in parliament gives it veto power on any attempt to change the constitution.

The official said, however, that Obama would press for an election that is "free, fair, open and credible" and seek unspecified constitutional changes. Obama will also press Burma's leaders to end persecution of religious minorities including Rohingya Muslims in western Arakan State, the official said.

"They've made a number of meaningful steps in the reform direction but we're very clear-eyed about the fact that the progress has been uneven and we have significant concerns," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

After decades of ostracism and economic decline, Burma's military leaders moved to shed the country's pariah status in 2011 by lifting restrictions on political opponents, freeing political prisoners and relaxing other rules.

The shift, after years of sanctions and other US pressure, was seen as a rare foreign policy achievement for Obama. But he is now trying to deal pragmatically with the quasi-civilian government amid signs that reforms have stalled and it is failing to curb tensions between majority Buddhists and Muslims.

Those trends, which have taken hold since Obama's 2012 visit, have raised the stakes for his return on Nov. 12-14, when he will attend a regional summit and meet with Burma's leaders and 69-year-old democracy champion Suu Kyi.

A backdrop to Washington's decision not to press too hard on behalf of Suu Kyi is China, Burma's giant northern neighbor. During its long isolation, Burma relied on Beijing as its closest ally, but concern has deepened over China's growing influence over Burma's economy, partly prompting the shift to improve ties with Washington.

The risk for US policymakers is that pushing reforms too aggressively could backfire and lead Burma back into Beijing's embrace.

No Rewards yet

US officials insist Obama will not go easy on President Thein Sein, a former general he once lauded for leading the country's transition. There will be no announcements of further easing of sanctions, no removal of names from the US blacklist and no new military-to-military cooperation, according to Obama aides, reflecting the view that now is not the time for rewards.

The military, whose unelected delegates occupy a quarter of the seats in parliament, has been accused of torture and rape, mainly in areas where ethnic groups have fought for autonomy.

Obama spoke by phone with Thein Sein on Oct. 30, pressing him on constitutional reforms and on the need to do more to end ethnic conflict and address the situation in Arakan State, where Rohingya Muslims live under apartheid-like conditions.

"What we're looking for is clear steps toward devolution of political power from the military, steps toward civilian control," said Colin Willett, Obama's Southeast Asia adviser.

Next year's general election will be the first that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) will contest since it won by a landslide a 1990 vote that followed massive, bloody protests. The result was ignored by the military.

Although some of her popularity has weakened since her release from house arrest in 2010, Suu Kyi would probably win a presidential race if she were allowed to run. Her party spokesman has said Obama should pressure the government to amend the constitution to ensure Suu Kyi can stand in the race.

Senior party members told Reuters in September that if Suu Kyi were barred, the party would enter the polls without a presidential candidate and might even back a former general from the ruling party, which could further divide the opposition.

Suu Kyi continues to have widespread grassroots support as well as international appeal, but cracks have formed in her image at home, with some former supporters saying she has isolated herself from capable advisers.

Obama's challenge will be to lock in existing reforms while prodding the government to do more if it wants normalization of ties with Washington and the full lifting of sanctions which are now just suspended.

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US Defense Chief Hagel Postpones Visits to Vietnam, Burma

Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:00 PM PST

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel participates in the Washington Ideas Forum, in Washington October 29, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has postponed a visit to Burma and Vietnam this month due to scheduling issues, including upcoming congressional hearings, a Pentagon official said on Tuesday.

Hagel had been expected to visit the Southeast Asian countries in the middle to the month.

He had been expected to attend a meeting of defense ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Burma, while the Vietnam leg was a bilateral visit following a U.S. decision to relax a long-standing US arms embargo on Hanoi.

"The decision to postpone the trip was driven by new and significant demands being placed on the Secretary’s schedule, to include upcoming congressional hearings," a Pentagon official said.

"It would be pure fallacy to derive any other meaning from this postponement," the official said, adding that Hagel looked forward to rescheduling the trip.

Hagel’s visit to Asia would have followed on from trips to the region by President Barack Obama to attend the Asia Pacific Cooperation forum and East Asia summits, and by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The United States has been working hard to boost defense ties with Asean countries in the face of a rising China, which has been increasingly assertive in its territorial claims in the region.

Last month, nearly 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War, the United States partially lifted a ban on lethal weapon sales to Vietnam, which has been sharply at odds with China over rival claims in the South China Sea.

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Pirate Bay Co-Founder Arrested at Thai-Lao Border

Posted: 04 Nov 2014 08:55 PM PST

Pirate Bay co-founders Fredrik Neij, left, Gottfrid Svartholm, center, and Peter Sunde leave the city court after the last day of argument in their copyright trial in Stockholm on March 3, 2009. (Photo: Reuters)

BANGKOK — One of the founders of popular file-sharing website The Pirate Bay has been arrested under an Interpol warrant as he was crossing into Thailand from Laos, police said Tuesday.

Hans Fredrik Lennart Neij, who uses the alias TiAMO, was detained Monday by Thai immigration police at a checkpoint in Thailand's Nong Khai province, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok.

Neij, along with other Pirate Bay co-founders, was convicted of aiding copyright infringement by a court in Sweden in 2009. He fled the country after being released on bail.

Regional Immigration Police Commissioner Maj. Gen. Chartchai Eimsaeng said a US-based movie association had hired a Thai lawyer to search for Neij, and his photo had been given to immigration police in Nong Khai.

The US movie and music industries have for years pursued strong legal action against sites such as The Pirate Bay, which they say aid the illegal distribution of copyrighted material, depriving its makers of profits due them.

"It might have been a coincidence, but he was wearing the same gray T-shirt that was in the photo. The immigration police officer who spotted him in the car recognized him, so he pulled his car over," Chartchai told The Associated Press by phone.

Chartchai said the 36-year-old Swede had lived in Laos since 2012 and traveled nearly 30 times to Thailand, where he has a house on the resort island of Phuket and 5 million baht (US$153,000) in a savings account. Neij's wife was in the car with him. He was being sent to Bangkok later Tuesday and was expected to be returned to Sweden, the police officer said.

Jonas Nilsson, Neij's lawyer in Sweden, said his client had called him Monday and told him Thai authorities had said "he would be transported to Sweden." However, Nilsson said no decision had been made about a possible extradition.

Neij is the second Pirate Bay founder to be arrested in Southeast Asia after a Swedish court in 2009 gave him and three Pirate Bay associates one-year sentences for copyright violation. They also were ordered to pay 46 million kronor ($6.5 million) in damages to the entertainment industry. Their appeals were denied by Sweden's high court.

Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, who used the alias "Anakata" on the Internet, was arrested in Cambodia in 2012 and sent back to Sweden after an international arrest warrant was issued against him.

Svartholm Warg served his sentence for copyright infringement before he was extradited to neighboring Denmark, where he faced prosecution for hacking. On Friday, a Danish court sentenced him to 3½ years in prison after he was found guilty of hacking into a private company handling sensitive information for Danish authorities.

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Thai King Undergoing Treatment in Bangkok Hospital

Posted: 04 Nov 2014 08:51 PM PST

A well-wisher takes a picture of Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Bangkok's Siriraj hospital last month as the monarch recovered from surgery to remove his gallbladder. (Photo: Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters)

BANGKOK — Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, has been treated for a swollen intestine and remains in hospital after surgery to remove his gall bladder in October, the palace said on Tuesday.

The health of the king, 86, is a subject of keen public concern as he is revered by many Thais as a pillar of national unity and morality especially in times of crisis. His portrait hangs in every government building and in many shops and homes.

Doctors found the swelling in a scan after the king suffered stomach pain, a fever and his breathing quickened, the palace said in a statement. The king received antibiotics and his fever has come down, it said.

The king, who was admitted to Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok on Oct. 3, may continue to experience occasional swelling, the statement added. He was first diagnosed with the condition that causes the swelling in 1999, it said, and has had several recurrences since then.

Gallbladder removal is a common surgical procedure, usually carried out to relieve painful gallstones, and does not cause complications for most patients.

The king’s health has formed part of the backdrop to a complex crisis driven by Thailand’s rival business and political elites. He is widely seen as a moral arbiter among Thais.

Bhumibol, a constitutional monarch, made several interventions in the 1970s and 1990s to call for calm during political upheaval. He was silent during the latest crisis, which began in November and culminated in a coup in May.

The king was discharged from hospital in September after nearly five weeks of treatment for stomach inflammation.

He left the same hospital in 2013 after spending nearly four years there in a special suite after being admitted in 2009 for a lung infection.

The post Thai King Undergoing Treatment in Bangkok Hospital appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘Obama Should Express Concern About How the Reform Process Has Stalled’

Posted: 04 Nov 2014 04:00 PM PST

John Sifton, Human Rights Watch's Asia Division Advocacy Director. (Photo: HRW)

John Sifton is the Asia Division Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), based in Washington DC. He has covered South and South East Asia for HRW since 2001, and conducts advocacy with the White House, State Department, Congress and the Pentagon.

Sifton visited Burma recently. Ahead of President Obama's visit to Burma, he spoke with The Irrawaddy about his findings related to the reform process, displacement and conflict in Kachin State and the crisis in Arakan State, where Rohingya Muslims suffer from persecution.

Question: What are your impressions of Burma’s reform process from your visit?

Answer: The main impression one gets from talking to Burmese NGOs, diplomats, journalists and community leaders is that the so-called transition process is in crisis, and in many key areas reforms have started to reverse. This impression is already perceived in Washington among government and media, although these concerns need to be understood better in the wider world.

One event I was lucky enough to attend was a briefing on October 17 by Burmese civil society groups, reviewing civil society groups' views of the transition – 650 representatives from 257 organizations throughout Burma met together and produced a report outlining concerns over reversals of key reform indicators: more arrests and sentencing of political prisoners, farmers involved in land disputes, and human rights activists still being harassed, deep concern over the lack of constitutional reforms, the omnipresent Burmese military, the moribund National Human Rights Commission, the rise of ultra-nationalist voices, and the squeeze on civil society groups. It was, quite frankly, a damning indictment of Burma's transition.

Those groups' concerns are what I will take back to Washington—they reflect real concerns by ordinary Burmese of all types, who feel they are missing out, in many respects being actively sidelined from, the supposed transition. This is a powerful message to relay to decisions makers in Washington, especially on the eve of this important trip to Burma by President Obama.

Q: Many world leaders including President Barak Obama are coming to Naypyidaw soon for the East Asia Summit. What role can they play in influencing the reforms here?

A: President Obama, if he chooses to do so, could do a great deal to encourage the government to get the reforms back on track. We are calling on him to act and speak clearly about the consequences for the Burmese leadership if they insist on clinging to power and blocking key changes, like Constitution amendments to remove the military's stranglehold over government.

But Obama shouldn’t be alone in this endeavor. Indonesia’s new President is coming, Japan’s leader Shinzo Abe is attending. Many key regional leaders whose countries have invested in the transition will be in Napyidaw and they should be deeply concerned over its faltering pace. There was a general message I heard, from almost every person and group I spoke with: people think Obama should use his visit to express concern about how the reform process has stalled or regressed, and that he should communicate clearly to President Thein Sein (and to the military, who really wield power in Burma) that an improving relationship between Burma and the international community will be at risk if the leadership doesn’t get processes back on track.

First, the government of Burma has to commit to constitutional reform, in particular a change in the methodology of amending the constitution, removing or lessening the military quota, and removing the Article 59(f) provision that bars Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency. Some people are resigned to the constitution not being changed, but it’s fundamental to the reform process, and the international community can’t settle for a status quo: it’s crucial to changing the country.

Second, honoring the unmet pledge made during Obama’s visit in November 2012 to facilitate an agreement between Burma and the UN Office for the High Commission of Human Rights to allow the opening of an office with a full mandate, including for monitoring and public reporting on ongoing human rights violations. Burma needs credible independent observers who can report on the human rights situation for what it is, and provide technical assistance to civil society and the government to nurture Burma's own human rights mechanisms.

Third, Honoring the unmet pledge from November 2012 to work constructively with ethnic parties to reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement and press forward with political negotiations. But importantly from Human Rights Watch’s perspective, these ceasefires must include serious human rights provisions because abuses, land grabs and displacement continue and could spark renewed conflict.

Fourth, pushing for a better plan in Arakan State—one that includes reform of the 1982 Citizenship Law. Again, this is not the time for comprise: the current versions of the Action Plan for Arakan State should be scrapped, a new plan has to be drafted with more input from international actors and in full accord with international humanitarian standards.

Finally, committing to do more to rein in or blunt the effect of groups engaging in hate speech or other divisive behavior, particularly by the Ma Ba Tha and 969 movement.

Q: But what can they really achieve given the situation?

A: I heard from several people that prominent world leaders visiting Burma can't be seen as some moment of deliverance. The messages to be delivered should have a more long-term utility. This is quite correct: it won't help if world leaders just fly in, admonish the government, call for more reforms, and then fly out and forget about Burma. Instead, the idea is that they voice clear messages of concern and pledges of international support to help reform get back on track. The big problem, however, is that leaders are worried, and possibly even depressed to the point of hopelessness, because they feel that warnings like those above are relatively toothless. Most of the major outcomes that the military wanted when they allowed transformations to begin in 2011, they have already got—in particular the bans on business activities and banking—and no one is naïve enough to think the US will threaten reversing those actions. "The US already gave all its cards away," as one civil society leader put it to me.

But that's inaccurate—the US still has some cards to play. Obama can tell Burma's leaders that he won't be able to lift remaining sanctions without progress on rights issues, nor improve military-to-military relationships. He can point out that US companies will remain reluctant to invest in a country where widespread rights violations and war crimes continue to occur. He can mention that Congress may demand that the US vote against World Bank and other international bank lending to Burma.

Q: You have said President Thein Sein doesn’t hold all the power over reforms, but that the Burmese military does. Can you expand on that?

A: I worry that many outside actors have fundamentally misjudged the transition process. They believe that a quasi-democratic government has taken power from the vestiges of a military authoritarian government and are now navigating a reform process that will end with a democratic government with control over the military, and not the other way around.

That's entirely inaccurate. The fact is, the Burmese military continues to retain overarching political control in this country, in terms of the Constitution, economic power, and their ability to repress most of the population through force, especially people living in ethnic areas. This will continue to be the case until the military is compelled, by one method or another, to relinquish its powers. Of course it isn't easy for an autocratic junta to give away its powers, but that is why it is so important that they continue to feel outside pressure when the process stalls.

Q: So why does the US government think that engagement with the Burma Army will work? Will Obama discuss this during his visit?

A: He may indeed, but then US military engagement, what is called MIL-MIL, is constrained by Congressional oversight, and the US Congress isn’t entirely convinced that military engagement will improve the deplorable human rights record of the Burmese army—after all, that institution hasn’t demonstrated any genuine commitment to reversing decades of abuse against the population. Human Rights Watch supports very limited dialogue with the Burmese military from the US military, about international humanitarian law standards, but anything going beyond that risks endorsing a military that has shown little sincerity in reforming its decades of abusive practice.

Q: You visited Myitkyina in Kachin State, what are your findings from there?

A: It is deeply unfortunate that the dire situation in Kachin State has slipped from international attention: the human rights situation there is actually deteriorating. There have been no returns for over 100,000 people displaced by the conflict that flared up in 2011, and although the camps I visited are being supported by Kachin civil society and aid groups, international support is diminishing. The world can’t turn its attention from Kachin State or the conditions are ripe for a return to conflict.

As I was visiting there was a lot of tension in the mining town of Hpakant with the Burmese army pressuring the Kachin Independence Army to withdraw from the area. There are still Kachin IDPs being arrested, brutally interrogated and charged under colonial-era laws under suspicion of working for the insurgents, showing the ongoing impunity of the Burmese security services. This is why there is so little trust in the government and military. Many serious cases of abduction and rape of Kachin women by the army, and torture of Kachin men are still not being investigated properly by the authorities.

Q: HRW has been outspoken in its criticism of the government’s proposed Action Plan in Arakan State, is that plan any closer to being finalized and released?

A: No-one could provide me with a straight or accurate answer about what is going on with this supposed plan. It is frustrating that the government has been so secretive of a plan that depends so heavily on support from the UN and international donors. I heard the new plan was improved on the draft HRW has seen, but it’s hard to trust these predictions without actually seeing the document and I have heard divergent claims about its release date and whether it would made public in its final form or as a draft to invite international input and advice.

Either way, the plan cannot be endorsed if nationality verification is conducted though the 1982 Citizenship Law. Nor can it be endorsed if it includes proposals for relocation camps, detention camps for people who can’t prove citizenship. This would solidify the ethnic cleansing of 2012 with long-term segregation—such a plan would be ethnic cleansing by bureaucracy.
The plan should include pledges to repeal the 1982 law and replace it with a citizenship law that is in compliance with international law. If the plan does not include an acknowledgment that the 1982 law must be changed, it is a deeply flawed plan.

Q: But the government, the UN, and many diplomats would say that a solution has to be found for Arakan State crisis. Why dismiss a plan that could have the possibility of improving the situation?

There is absolutely no doubt the horrific status quo in Arakan has to be improved, and we stand in support of colleagues in humanitarian agencies doing difficult work on the ground there under tight operating restrictions and having to contend with hostility from some members of the Buddhist Rakhine [Arakanese] community. At the same time, humanitarians have told me that they are anguished over the potential that their agencies will be, in the long term, complicit in segregation.

There needs to be a better plan that doesn’t pander to extremists. Things are so bad for the Rohingya that even some UN and embassies are refusing to even use the word itself—Rohingya—in describing the people they’re helping, to avoid upsetting officials. The United Nations especially has to clarify its policy on using this term: full commitment to the right of self-identification for the Rohingya, using the term in all high level speeches, documents and meetings with officials, while granting latitude to aid workers on the ground for their own security and avoiding inflaming tensions there.

There is no way that President Obama could avoid using the term in public when he visits soon. He did so in his Rangoon University speech in 2012, and will again. This should set the standard for all people working on Arakan, or risk betraying a people already repressed and disenfranchised.

Q: If the situation looks as bleak as you describe, what can President Obama really achieve then?

A: Obama can still give a sobering warning. He could say to Thein Sein that the government's lack of actions could "put everything in danger." He could say: If the Constitution isn’t changed before the November 2015 elections, if you go ahead with this Rakhine [Arakan] Action Plan and put Muslims in camps that they can't leave, if you don't pull back these voices of hatred towards Muslims and other religious minorities, if you keep using old laws to jail voices of dissent—if you let things continue as they’ve been—then the relationship between Burma and us is going to sour. The United States won't be able to formally lift restrictions. We won't be able to improve our military-to-military relationship. We won't be able to move people off the SDN list. US companies will be reluctant to invest. And Congress will force us to vote against lending to Burma by international financial institutions like the World Bank and ADB [Asian Development Bank]. But most of all, the lack of progress will frustrate your own people and lead toward instability—the one outcome that no one wants.

The post 'Obama Should Express Concern About How the Reform Process Has Stalled' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Shan Herald Agency for News

BURMA PEACE PROCESS: Can the regime accept adversaries as equal negotiation partners?

Posted: 05 Nov 2014 02:47 AM PST

As SHAN report on National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) hits the headline, The Irrawaddy interview with John Sifton, who is the Asia Division Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), based in Washington DC, is also publicized, on the same date of 5th November.

The question posed by The Irrawaddy to John Siffon, if he could expand on what he said that President Thein Sein didn't hold all the power over reforms, but that the Burmese military did, he said:
"I worry that many outside actors have fundamentally misjudged the transition process. They believe that a quasi-democratic government has taken power from the vestiges of a military authoritarian government and are now navigating a reform process that will end with a democratic government with control over the military, and not the other way around."

"That's entirely inaccurate. The fact is, the Burmese military continues to retain overarching political control in this country, in terms of the Constitution, economic power, and their ability to repress most of the population through force, especially people living in ethnic areas. This will continue to be the case until the military is compelled, by one method or another, to relinquish its powers. Of course it isn't easy for an autocratic junta to give away its powers, but that is why it is so important that they continue to feel outside pressure when the process stalls."

In the SHAN report of points that need to be discussed, regarding NCA, part has confirmed the Burmese military position of clinging to absolute power monopoly, at least in four instances, supporting John Siffon's statement.
The first point writes:
• The Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC) says the present Tatmadaw (armed forces), being made up of multi-ethnic nationalities, is already a Union Armed Forces (or even a Federal Union Armed Forces though the military is against using the word "Federal"). Somehow this doesn't sound right to the Nationwide Ceasefire Negotiation Team (NCCT).

This is clearly the denial that the present Tatmadaw or Burma Army is dominated by the ethnic Burman majority from top to the bottom of the military hierarchy. But everyone knows that it is the suppression tool used by the successive military governments to subdue non-Burman ethnics' self-determination movements and as well, to quell any democratic opposition all along. A few cannon fodders from the rank of non-Burman ethnic nationalities don't make it a federal army.

The second point writes:
• Violations of NCA will be resolved peacefully by parties concerned instead of by Union Peacemaking Central Committee (UPCC) as proposed by UPWC.

The third point writes:
• The formation of Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee at different levels and Joint Union Peace Dialogue Committee (The UPWC only agrees to have a Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee but still undecided about setting it up at different levels. It is also for the UPCC to oversee the whole peace process)
Both the second and third points tabled by the UPWC demands that the UPCC oversees the whole peace process is like telling your adversary to accept your verdict on a dispute, which you are personally involved. It is like saying, when gambling that "Head I win, tail you lose". As SHAN rightly pointed out, the UPCC, to all intents and purposes, is another name for the National Defense and Security Council, the most powerful organ in the whole Union.

The fourth point writes:
• That the NCA should be submitted to the Union Assembly instead of should be ratified by the Union Assembly (The MPC says "submitting the NCA" is a proper technical wording because the executive cannot give orders to the legislature. However since the government party has 53% of seats and the military 25% of seats in the Union Assembly, that should be no problem.)

The argument here is not whether the NCA could sail through with the help of USDP-Military dominated Union Assembly, but how the Union Assembly is seen by the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAO). The EAO, including most ethnic political parties, see it as a military dominated Assembly and as such, is part and parcel of the ruling clique. Asking for the endorsement of the agreed NCA is only to buttress the accord made between the non-Burman ethnic nationalities and USDP-Military dominated government. In other words, the USDP-Military government suppose to be only acting on behalf of the Burman majority or for Burman State – which the Burmese military has divided into seven regions now - and not necessarily having the ruling mandate, which covers also the non-Burman ethnic nationalities and their territories.

And so, it seems, it is again difficult to imagine that the Burmese military will reform on its own free will to make way for meaningful, peaceful reconciliation and democratization, if this deeply rooted, pre-conceived, military mindset is not altered to accommodate the aspirations of the non-Burman ethnic nationalities.

To sum up, the progress to sign NCA will solely depend on how much the USDP-Military regime could change its mindset of domination and manipulation in all negotiations to accepting the adversaries as equal negotiation partners for a fair deal.

The contributor is ex-General Secretary of the dormant Shan Democratic Union (SDU) — Editor

The 4th NCA draft: Deadlock or last hurdle?

Posted: 04 Nov 2014 05:41 PM PST

For more than a month since the end or the 6^th Union Peacemaking Work Committee-Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (UPWC-NCCT) negotiations, no new formal meeting has been called. According to the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) that is currently visiting Chiangmai for an informal meeting with the NCCT, it will be coming only after 13 November, when the Asean Summit chaired by Naypyitaw drew to a close.

Looking through the 4^thdraft that was produced by the UPWC-NCCT meeting, 22-26 September, one may be able to make an informed guess whether we may or may not see a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) signed soon.

First, let us see what both sides have agreed so far:

§ The Three National Causes (Non-disintegration of the Union, Non-disintegration of the national sovereignty and Perpetuation of national sovereignty) as proposed by the UPWC

§ The Spirit of Panglong (but not the Promises of Panglong) as proposed by the NCCT

§ Military preparations either for defense of the country or defense against external dangers should be discussed and implemented by both sides in ceasefire zones (Questions may arise as to the difference between "defense of the country" and "defense against external dangers" and whether there should be "non-ceasefire zones")

§ Establishment of liasion offices in locations deemed necessary

§ Non-participation of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the planned political dialogue, as proposed by the NCCT (They have other roles to play, according to the NCCT)

§ Violations of NCA will be resolved peacefully by parties concerned instead of by Union Peacemaking Central Committee (UPCC) as proposed by UPWC (UPCC, to all intents and purposes, is another name for the National Defense and Security Council, the most powerful organ in the whole Union)

N.BThe NCCT had proposed a Joint Union Peace Dialogue Committee (JUPDC)

The following are points that need to be further discussed:

§ The UPWC says the present Tatmadaw (armed forces), being made up of multi-ethnic nationalities, is already a Union Armed Forces (or even a Federal Union Armed Forces though the military is against using the word "Federal"). Somehow this doesn't sound right to the NCCT

§ The NCA must be signed by all acceptable Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) as proposed by the NCCT which the UPWC doesn't agree

§ The formation of Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee at different levels and Joint Union Peace Dialogue Committee (The UPWC only agrees to have a Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee but still undecided about setting it up at different levels. It is also for the UPCC to oversee the whole peace process)

§ As mentioned earlier, the term "Ceasefire Zones" as proposed by the UPWC. The NCCT argues after the NCA is signed, all territories in the Union become ceasefire zones. "Does designation of specific ceasefire zones mean we will still fight outside them?" one NCCT member has remarked.

§ The removal of the chapter dealing with Interim Arrangements and Code of Conduct by the UPWC which counter proposes that a new team be formed to negotiate them

§ The UPWC proposal that the EAOs don't expand their forces and recruit new members (The NCCT has counter proposed that the EAOs will discuss and implement reduction of recruits instead)

§ On the NCCT side, it is considering UPWC proposal that there should be a joint management of local development, environmental conservation, promotion of literary and cultural activities and peacekeeping (Some NCCT members, notably the Shan State Progress Party, has proposed that local civilian representatives be included)

§ The NCCT proposal that apart from the UN Secretary General, representatives from other countries such as India, China, Japan, Asean, US and UK be witness signatories and that they are allowed to play significant roles such as being observers to the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee)

§ Further details on repositioning of troops

The two sides also need to discuss further on points that were agreed earlier but backed out from at the latest meeting:

§ That the NCA should be submitted to the Union Assembly instead of should be ratified by the Union Assembly (The MPC says "submitting the NCA" is a proper technical wording because the executive cannot give orders to the legislature. However since the government party has 53% of seats and the military 25% of seats in the Union Assembly, that should be no problem.)

§ Implementation of the DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-integration) before political dialogue begins instead of after political settlement has been reachedas agreed earlier (The MPC says the UPWC has once again agreed to keep it as it was in the third NCA draft)

§ The President and the Commander-in-Chief will be witnesses at the NCA signing ceremony instead of being signatories as agreed earlier (The MPC says the change was prompted by the growing military distrust of the NCCT following the Congress of the United Nationalities Federal Council which announced its takeover of the negotiation team on 2 September)

The question now is: Do the people have any chance for peace in our time?

AllSBNews

Wednesday, November 5, 2014