Thursday, February 12, 2015

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Govt Revokes Voting Rights for ‘White Card’ Holders

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 06:58 AM PST

White Card

Protestors in Rangoon on Wednesday demonstrate against a government decision to allow people without full citizenship, including Rohingya Muslims, to vote in an upcoming constitutional referendum. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

Just over a week since Burma's Union Parliament passed a law granting temporary identity card holders the right to vote in a constitutional referendum slated for later this year, the president's office issued a statement revoking those rights on Wednesday.

According to the statement, temporary identity cards, popularly known as white cards, will expire on March 31. White card holders must return the expired documents no later than May 31, the statement read.

President's Office Director Zaw Htay said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that "according to the announcement, the white cards holders' right to vote in the constitutional [referendum] is automatically revoked."

The move came only hours after hundreds of people, including Buddhist monks, gathered in Rangoon to protest the passage of a law on Feb. 2 that would have allowed all citizens, foreign registration card holders and white card holders over the age of 18, to vote in the national referendum.

The majority of white card holders are Rohingya Muslims, residing in Burma's Arakan State, who were mostly stripped of citizenship after the passage of a 1982 law. Many were awarded white cards more than two decades ago.

Abu Tahay, a Rohingya leader and chair of the Union Nationals Development Party—a political organization not recognized by Naypyidaw—criticized the government's U-turn.

"It is clear that the announcement was made due to some kind of pressure," he told The Irrawaddy. Any termination of the cards must be executed in accordance with a bylaw of the Residents of Burma Registration Act [1951], he added.

Ba Shein, a lower house MP from the Arakan National Party who voted against the parliament's Feb. 2 decision, said the order from the president's office was insufficient, as it could only be implemented through new or amended legislation.

"It seems the order was rushed in order to halt the current protests," he told The Irrawaddy.

The president's office statement appeared to acknowledge public opposition and pledged to form a commission, comprised of "experts and appropriate persons, to review those [relevant] laws, bylaws and related issues and give their suggestions."

Prominent lawyer Robert San Aung described the plan as "just a waste of taxpayer's money." He said that MPs were forced to approve the law granting voting rights to white card holders, knowing that it was against the Constitution.

In December, President Thein Sein sent the constitutional referendum bill back to Parliament, recommending that white card holders should be granted the right to vote due to the fact that they were allowed to do so during the referendum to approve the Constitution in May 2008.

"Now the white cards have been revoked, these card-holders become stateless persons again, as there is only a plan to form a review committee," Robert San Aung said.

The post Govt Revokes Voting Rights for 'White Card' Holders appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Non-Ceasefire Groups Absent From Union Day Events

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 03:58 AM PST

Burma Union Day

KNU chairperson Mutu Say Poe (standing) during a meeting with government representatives and other ethnic leaders in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. (Photo: Facebook / Nyo Ohn Myint)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — While representatives from several ethnic armed groups gathered in Naypyidaw to mark Union Day on Thursday, non-ceasefire groups, including Kachin rebels involved in ongoing conflict with the Burma Army, were conspicuously absent.

No representatives from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) or the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) were present at the celebrations. Another ethnic armed group, the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), also failed to attend.

The Burmese government has reached bilateral ceasefire agreements with more than a dozen armed groups since 2011, with the notable exception of the TNLA, the KIO and the MNDAA.

Htun Myat Lin, general-secretary of the MNDAA, a Kokang rebel group that has been engaged in heavy fighting with the Burma Army in recent days, said no MNDAA representatives were invited to attend the event in the nation's capital.

"Over 60 years ago, ethnic minority groups happily signed the Panglong Agreement with the government to exist in harmony," he said. "But these days, it is like the agreement has been forgotten."

The Panglong Agreement, signed by Gen. Aung San and ethnic representatives on Feb. 12, 1947, is seen by ethnic groups as embodying ideals of equality, decentralization and self-determination that were never fully implemented. The date is celebrated annually as Union Day.

"We don't like war," Htun Myat Lin added. "But we can't avoid it as we have been attacked by the Burma Army since 2009."

Fighting between the Burma Army and the MNDAA erupted in Laukkai Township, northern Shan State, earlier this week, forcing several thousand residents to flee into neighboring China's Yunnan Province. The government army launched numerous airstrikes on rebel positions in the township.

A 2009 Burma Amy offensive against the MNDAA also sent tens of thousands of civilians fleeing into China.

At the invitation of the Burmese government, representatives from 12 ethnic armed groups and the All Burma Students' Democratic Front attended Union Day events on Thursday.

The groups met with government representatives where they were presented with an agreement pledging that signatories would work to conclude a nationwide ceasefire without delay; prevent further armed clashes; and solve grievances through dialogue.

The agreement also stated that signatories would draft a framework for political dialogue after concluding a nationwide ceasefire at a date prior to the 2015 general elections.

It is not yet known how many groups signed the document.

Longtime Burma expert Bertil Lintner described the commitment as merely a "face-saving gesture" designed to please the international community.

"The so-called 'peace process' has failed," he said. "Just look at the north of the country. As this agreement was signed there's heavy fighting in Kokang, northern Shan State, and in parts of Kachin State."

Tar Parn La, of the TNLA's foreign affairs department, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that their leaders couldn't attend the Union Day ceremony in the face of major attacks by the Burma Army.

"Fighting is intense in our areas this month [and] we have learned that the Burma Army is preparing for another major attack in the near future. That's why our officials could not attend this event," he said.

Tar Parn La accused Naypyidaw of using the same old "divide and rule" tactics of previous military governments—making peace with some ethnic armed groups while attacking others.

"They call themselves, or are called, a 'civilian government,' but they are the same people, [with the] same policies [using] the same methods," he said. "Fighting is escalating and now they are even using air strikes to bombard us."

The post Non-Ceasefire Groups Absent From Union Day Events appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Govt, Students Reach Agreement on Education Reform

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 01:19 AM PST

Govt, Students Reach Agreement on Education Reform

Protestors in Rangoon in February show solidarity with student demonstrators. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Government representatives agreed in principle to the demands of students and education advocates protesting the controversial National Education Law during a meeting in Rangoon on Wednesday.

Agreement was reached on all 11 of the students' demands, according to a joint-statement released by educational and political stakeholders following the meeting. However, any proposed amendments to the education law would still have to be approved by parliament.

The apparent breakthrough comes after months of protests against the National Education Law that gained traction after the legislation was passed by parliament in September 2014. Critics of the law contend that it centralizes authority, restricts the formation of student and teacher unions and curbs curricular freedoms.

Following Wednesday's talks, Zeyar Lwin, a member of the Action Committee for Democratic Education (ACDE) said during a press conference that MPs pledged to consider amendments to the law in the parliament.

"We reached an agreement to have the bill sent to parliament on Feb. 16," Zeyar Lwin said. The next round of quadripartite talks is scheduled for Feb. 14, where the students' 11 demands will be discussed in more detail.

Among the students' demands are that the government reintegrate students who left school for political reasons, increase educational spending to 20 percent of the national budget, and amend the law to decentralize curricular control and allow the formation of student and teachers unions.

The students also called for multilingual education that respects students' mother tongues in ethnic states and inclusive education for disabled children.

According to Wednesday's joint statement, the 20 percent target would be reached gradually, within the next five years.

On Jan. 20, hundreds of students set out on a march from Mandalay to Rangoon to protest the law, with the government eventually acceding to their demands for quadripartite dialogue involving student leaders, advocates, ministers and lawmakers.

However, after a generally positive meeting in Rangoon on Feb. 1, the government reneged on a pledge to resume talks on Feb. 3 in Naypyidaw. Burma's Home Affairs Minister Lt-Gen Ko Ko subsequently claimed that protesting students were threatening the country's stability.

President's Office Minister Hla Tun, who represented the government in the dialogue, said on Wednesday, "Representatives should explain today's meeting results to the protesting students so as to reduce the worry of parents and the pressure of protest groups."

However, Min Thwe Thit of the ACDE said all demonstrators around the country would continue marching and that a decision on whether to halt demonstrations would depend on the desire of students.

While the core group of hundreds of demonstrators set off from Mandalay on the 400-mile march to Rangoon, several separate protest groups also plan to converge in Burma's former capital, including groups from Dawei in Tenasserim Division, Pathein in Irrawaddy Division and Pakokku in Magwe Division.

Additional Reporting by Sanay Lin.

The post Govt, Students Reach Agreement on Education Reform appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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