The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- As Fighting Rages in Northeast Burma, Govt Claims Territorial Gains
- Kengtung: An Eclectic Enclave in Shan State
- Architects Group Plans Forum to Air Shwedagon Concerns
- Burmese Kyat Weakens in Light of Trade Deficit, Shortfall of USD
- ‘The Changes so Far Are Superficial, Designed to Ease Pressure’
- ‘Secret Garden’ in Wa Special Region Leaves Much to the Imagination
- Submarines on the Shopping List
- Gold Demand ‘Remains High’
- British MP-Elect ‘Proud’ of Burma Heritage
- Malaysia to Push Back Rohingya Unless Boats Are Sinking
- Third Blogger Hacked to Death in Bangladesh
- North Korea Executes Defense Chief with an Anti-Aircraft Gun: South Korea Agency
| As Fighting Rages in Northeast Burma, Govt Claims Territorial Gains Posted: 13 May 2015 05:05 AM PDT
 A photo in state media purports to show Burma Army troops posing with a haul of arms seized from Kokang rebels this week. (Photo: The Global New Light of Myanmar) RANGOON — State-run media have reported that seven Kokang rebel soldiers were killed and 12 guns were seized from the ethnic armed group this week when Burma Army soldiers took control of three "important hill posts" in the Kokang Special Region. Government mouthpiece The Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Wednesday that "some [Burma Army] soldiers were killed and some senior military officers were injured" in the battles for the outposts, without providing specific casualty figures. Describing one of the hilltop seizures in the Shin Khut Htang area, a Ministry of Information radio broadcast on Tuesday night said: "Our Tatmadaw did not hesitate to pay with their lives, used knives [in hand-to-hand combat], climbed to the mountain post and finally successfully seized the post." Shin Khut Htang is about seven miles northeast of the town of Laukkai near the Sino-Burmese border. The battles for the hill posts broke out on Monday and Tuesday, according to The Global New Light of Myanmar, a timeline corroborated by Htun Myat Lin, spokesman for the Kokang rebels of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). Htun Myat Lin said the rebel group had lost only one mountain outpost, however, and described losing the base as a strategic withdrawal. "They got a small mountain post from us, but we changed military strategy and let them take it," he said, adding that the Burma Army used tanks, air power and ground troops in the attack. "They think they can destroy us. We will defend as much as we can," he said. Elsewhere, hostilities between the Burma Army and an ethnic armed alliance also reportedly broke out on Tuesday southwest of Laukkai in the Konegyan area, where a spokesman for a member of the alliance battling government troops said fighting lasted more than eight hours. "They came to attack our troops from 5 am, then ended at 1 pm. We do not yet know about how many casualties," said Mai Aike Kyaw of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The TNLA spokesman said that on Sunday clashes in Hsenwi Township, about 30 miles north of Lashio, resulted in several Burma Army casualties when TNLA soldiers ambushed a convoy of military vehicles. The 60 Burma Army trucks were heading from Hsenwi to Kunlong, he said, and four army trucks were destroyed during the ambush by roadside bombs planted by the TNLA. "Our troops ambushed them on the highway road from Theinni [Hsenwi] to Kunlong. … No one was killed from our side," said Mai Aike Kyaw. The post As Fighting Rages in Northeast Burma, Govt Claims Territorial Gains appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Kengtung: An Eclectic Enclave in Shan State Posted: 13 May 2015 04:00 AM PDT Click to view slideshow. KENGTUNG, Shan State — Kengtung is a diverse town in eastern Shan State, home to a number of Burma's ethnic minorities. While the majority of the population is ethnically Shan, smaller ethnic groups—including Palaung, Lisu, and Akha—also reside in the lively mountain town. Most of the area's ethnic minority villagers live on the hillsides, which are difficult to reach during the rainy season. Some Akha villages take more than two hours to reach by car or motorbike during harsh weather. Kengtung is generally a quiet town, but it's always busy in the mornings, when villagers travel into town to sell vegetables or kitchen wares at the central market. There are many types of Shan foods on offer, and traditional garments specific to different ethnic groups. Though the town is quite remote, it features an airport and serves as a hub for domestic travel. Many visitors are en route to nearby Mong La or, as we were, Wa Special Region. It is also a common stop for travelers to and from Thailand via the border town of Tachilek. The post Kengtung: An Eclectic Enclave in Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Architects Group Plans Forum to Air Shwedagon Concerns Posted: 13 May 2015 03:36 AM PDT  The crowd at Shwedagon Pagoda on the Full Moon Day of Tabaung on Mar. 4. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A forum to discuss the preservation of Shwedagon Pagoda will be held on the weekend, in response to concerns that nearby construction projects will affect the structural integrity of the sacred site. Maw Lin, one of the organizers and the vice president of the Association of Myanmar Architects (AMA), said that the forum would feature architects, geologists, civil engineers, and water and soil experts. "The aim of the meeting will be to generate ideas to prolong the existence of the pagoda, and to present suggestions to the government about what kind of development projects should be allowed in its vicinity," he told The Irrawaddy. In January the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) halted work on five construction projects over 71 acres in the vicinity of Shwedagon Pagoda, pending a review from the Myanmar Engineers Society and the municipal High-Rise Inspection Committee. The four-week suspension was extended on Mar. 7 and appears to remain in force. At 22 acres, Dagon City 1 is the second largest of the five developments. The mixed-use residential and commercial project, a 70-30 joint venture between the international Marga Landmark syndicate and local partner Thu Kha Yadanar, has been a particular target for community concern. Around 10,000 people have joined a "Saving Shwedagon Pagoda Campaign" Facebook page since it was created on Monday. Moderators of the page, who have been promoting the forum, have also made calls for a petition campaign to begin next month. Though there has been no definitive, expert opinion made public which argues that any of the five developments would impact the pagoda or its surroundings, many of the page's subscribers have claimed that the excavations planned for Dagon City 1 pose a risk to Shwedagon. "We don't care if Marga invests in 100-storey buildings far away from Shwedagon, and we have no intention of ruining Marga's interests," one user wrote. "We are just protecting Shwedagon as a national cause from something bad happening." A statement from Marga Landmark on May 9 said that the MIC had appointed a taskforce to review the project's master plan, approved by the MIC in Mar. 2014, based on recommendations from the Engineering Society. Marga said the review is understood to be focused on water drainage and road systems. According to documents provided to The Irrawaddy, the MIC assigned responsibility for the review to the Yangon City Development Committee, and the taskforce's terms of reference include a study of whether the developments could affect the foundation of Singuttara Hill, where Shwedagon and two other pagodas are situated. Dagon City 2, a project solely developed by Thu Kha Yadanar, agreed in February to set back two blocks which encroached upon Alan Pya Pagoda (also known as Signal Pagoda). Final approval of the five developments will rest with the Myanmar Investment Commission. Comment on Sunday's forum was sought from Marga Landmark. The Irrawaddy did not receive a response before publication time. In its May 9 statement, Marga said that it understood from the MIC chairman that the review was being conducted with a view to Dagon City 1 continuing. "Marga Landmark [has] reassured the authorities that Dagon City One will be carried out with the utmost care and due diligence without affecting the foundations of Singuttra Hill and the underground water," the statement read. Marga's assurances have not placated those opposed to the five developments. Sun Oo, the president of the AMA who will moderate Sunday's forum, told The Irrawaddy that an open letter calling for the preservation of the country's most prominent religious monument will be sent to President Thein Sein. "We will let him know that the pagoda is now under threat, and suggest that…any projects near it should be considered after a thorough consultation with experts," he said. The post Architects Group Plans Forum to Air Shwedagon Concerns appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Burmese Kyat Weakens in Light of Trade Deficit, Shortfall of USD Posted: 13 May 2015 02:53 AM PDT
 A shortfall of US currency and a growing trade deficit has once again weakened the Burmese kyat. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A shortfall of US currency and a growing trade deficit has weakened the Burmese kyat, bankers and businesspeople said, warning that demand for the dollar has pushed the country's limited foreign currency into the hands of black market traders. Burma's Central Bank has set the country's exchange rate at 1,082 kyats to the dollar, though prices on informal markets reached 1,135 kyats on Wednesday, the highest rate yet since the kyat was floated in 2012. Bankers said the Central Bank is unable to meet local demand for US currency, resulting in trade manipulation that could lead to severe inflation. Foreign currency bought from private banks is being flipped on the black market and sold to businesspeople desperate for dollars at an increase of up to five percent. Pe Myint, managing director of the Corporate Bank, told The Irrawaddy that Burma's Central Bank recently summoned the nation's private bankers to discuss a solution, warning them that selling dollars at an increased rate risked further inflation. Bankers demanding more dollars were told that the risk of inflation was preventing the Central Bank from releasing more funds. "The Central Bank told us not to sell at a rate higher than 1,080 kyats per dollar and to follow the rules, but we know that the market rate is higher than what the banks are allowed to sell at," he said. "Demand is very high but the supply can't follow because some people are trying to raise the price and play the market." The Burmese kyat was floated in 2012, prior to which the government set the rate at a laughably inaccurate 6.4 kyats to the US dollar. Before the float, kyat was sold in the informal market for as much as 1,400 to the dollar, much closer to the 818 kyat value set at the time it was floated. In the years since, the kyat has depreciated by about 32 percent, and it continues to drop. "The rate was only 988 kyats in October of last year, then it increased to 1,040 in December," Khin Maung, a currency trader in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. "It was stable for about three months, then it increased again, and last week it was significantly up. We're selling normally right now, but in the black market the demand is getting higher." Bankers and businesspeople said the growing trade deficit is largely to blame. Following rapid political and economic changes since 2011, total trade volume has markedly increased, as has the trade deficit. Burma imported more than $16 billion of goods during the 2014-15 fiscal year, while exports totaled only $11 billion, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce, leaving the total trade deficit at about $4.9 billion Dr. Maung Maung Lay, vice chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the government needs to find a way to tackle inflation without holding up finance or spending it on excessive government projects. "The demand and supply are not balanced, and if the Central Bank can't control it, the rate will go up and down," Dr. Maung Maung Lay said. "There are many things factoring into the rising rates—among them the high import volume, the trade deficit—the government should also stop importing items for unnecessary projects around the country." If the kyat continues to fall against the dollar, consumers of imported goods could soon begin to see their purchasing power shrink. However, purveyors of Burma's major exports—such as rice and garments—could benefit from the weakened kyat on global markets. The post Burmese Kyat Weakens in Light of Trade Deficit, Shortfall of USD appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘The Changes so Far Are Superficial, Designed to Ease Pressure’ Posted: 13 May 2015 02:17 AM PDT  Zoya Phan, campaign manager for Burma Campaign UK, during an interview at her office in London on May 5, 2015. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) It's been more than a decade since Zoya Phan, fleeing persecution by the Burma Army, sought and gained asylum in Britain, but the activist says her fight for human rights and democracy in the Southeast Asian nation continues from afar. The London-based campaign manager of Burma Campaign UK, Zoya Phan joined the organization after attending university in the United Kingdom. Her studies followed years as a refugee along the Thai-Burma border. The author of "Little Daughter," a memoir of her childhood experiences and struggles, became a British citizen last year and exercised her right to vote for the first time on May 7 in the UK general election. Zoya Phan also leads the Phan Foundation, established in memory of her late father Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, an ethnic Karen National Union (KNU) leader who was assassinated in 2008. In this interview, the rights campaigner shares with The Irrawaddy her experience casting a ballot for the first time, thoughts on Burma's reform process and hopes for the future. Could you share what Burma Campaign UK is doing currently in relation to your country of birth? Some of our current campaign activities are for a stronger British policy on Burma, the release of all political prisoners, aid to Burma, the crises in Arakan, Kachin and Shan states, and to end the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war by the Burma Army. We expose human rights abuses by the Burmese government. We lobby the British Parliament and governments all over the world to do more to promote human rights in Burma. We generate worldwide media coverage, ensuring the world does not ignore the crisis in Burma and our campaigns have ensured life-saving aid has reached those in ethnic areas after attacks by the Burma Army. The current UK government has supported the Burmese government despite campaign group like yours urging a more critical approach, given ongoing human rights abuses in Burma. Do you expect a continuation of this policy after the ruling Conservative Party triumphed again this month? It is disappointing that the British government prioritizes trade and business more than the promotion of human rights and democracy. My organization Burma Campaign UK will continue to highlight the ongoing human rights situation in Burma, and to seek support from parliamentarians across party lines to press for a stronger Burma policy from the British government. Tell me about your experience as a first-time voter in the recent UK parliamentary elections. I was thrilled to be able to vote in the UK general election. The UK provides me with the rights that any other citizens have, including the right to vote, and I am grateful for that. Being able to vote means so much to me as it provides me with a new experience in a free and democratic society. However, deep down in my heart, I want to go home and it is in my homeland in Burma that I want to be able to vote and choose the government that I want. Being an activist in exile and campaigning for human rights for my homeland makes it impossible for me to vote in Burma, because the country is still under authoritarian rule. Under Burma's undemocratic Constitution, even those who can vote can't genuinely choose the government that they want. What is your opinion of the current changes in Burma and peace talks between ethnic armed groups—the Karen National Union being one of the biggest—and the government? In my view, the changes in Burma so far are superficial, which were designed by the military to ease domestic and international pressure, to be able to legalize their rule with a civilian guise. The Thein Sein government is not interested in solving the conflicts in ethnic areas. His ultimate goal is for ethnic political groups to surrender under the military Constitution and he uses ceasefire as a public relation exercise. Having a ceasefire alone, without a genuine political solution, is like pressing a pause button, not a stop button, to the conflict. Ethnic people want real peace and a federal democratic system that guarantees freedom and equality. Not a Constitution that implements a death sentence for ethnic diversity. With you having visited the refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border, what do the changes in Burma mean for these people? People in refugee and IDP camps are still unable to go home because Burma Army soldiers remain in their villages, which was the reason they first had to flee. They told me, for their safe return, there needs to be the withdrawal of the Burmese military, landmine clearance and social security, such as health and education infrastructure. Most of all, people want to go back to their homes and rebuild their community. They don't want to return to Burma in a special economic zone as cheap labor. Burma's is still a military-backed government. The undemocratic Constitution and repressive laws remain in place, the number of political prisoners has increased, human rights violations by the state have increased in many ethnic areas, including murder, rape and sexual violence against women, torture and detention of innocent farmers, the obstruction of aid for IDPs [internally displaced persons], the ongoing military offensive and many more. What role do you see yourself playing in future, as an ethnic minority from Burma but also as the daughter of a revered Karen leader? My dream of Burma is where everyone is treated equally with human rights and dignity, regardless of our race, ethnicity, gender, religion and social background. This is what both my parents were fighting for: freedom for the Karen and for all in Burma. I would like to continue being involved in this struggle and try my best to work toward this goal in whatever role I can play. Could you tell us about the Phan Foundation and its mission? Following the assassination of my father Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan in 2008, my brothers, sister and I set up the Phan Foundation in his memory and in memory of our mother Nant Kyin Swe. I am a director of the group. The Phan Foundation aims to support the Karen people in alleviating poverty, providing education, promoting human rights and protecting Karen culture. We continue our parents' dedicated work in the community by providing financial support for grassroots organizations in their social activities. We also give the Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award to an outstanding young Karen leader every year with a grant of $2,000 to provide practical support for the winner. If you are allowed to return to Burma, what would you like to do and where would you like to go? I would like to go back to my home village in Manerplaw, eastern Burma. But sadly, all those villages in that area are all gone now after being bombed by the Burma Army. I would also like to go to the Irrawaddy [Delta], where both my parents were from, and set up libraries and education centers in memory of my parents, as they were both very keen on education for young people. The post 'The Changes so Far Are Superficial, Designed to Ease Pressure' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘Secret Garden’ in Wa Special Region Leaves Much to the Imagination Posted: 13 May 2015 12:10 AM PDT  Facebook user Yex Nang Song Nyi Nyi offers a glimpse into a mysterious park in Wa Special Region, where children can play on the remnants of old aircraft. (Photo: Yex Nang Song Nyi Nyi / Facebook) RANGOON — Time may or may not tell whether the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma's largest and most enigmatic ethnic armed group, actually acquired five heavily armed helicopters from China in early 2013, as was reported by the military journal Jane's Defence Weekly in April of that year. The UWSA, as well as Beijing, have been steadfast in their denials of the transaction, which, according to Jane's, included "several Mil Mi-17 'Hip' medium- transport helicopters armed with TY-90 air-to-air missiles." A UWSA spokesman, Aung Myint, lashed out at foreign media, challenging journalists "to make sure what we have" before reporting on it. Earlier this month, The Irrawaddy made a rare visit to the secretive Wa headquarters in Panghsang. While our reporters were unable to "make sure" of exactly what was in the Wa arsenal, we did make one interesting discovery. Late last year, while denying that the UWSA had purchased Chinese FN-6 Manportable Air Defense missiles (MANPADS), Aung Myint told The Irrawaddy that foreign media had once again exaggerated. "Of course, we bought aircraft," he said, "and two submarines. But there are no engines inside them. We put those machines beside the road to grow gardens in them."  Facebook user Yex Nang Song Nyi Nyi offers a glimpse into a mysterious park in Wa Special Region, where children can play on the remnants of old aircraft. (Photo: Yex Nang Song Nyi Nyi / Facebook) On the road from Panghsang to Mong La, we found the secret garden. In the distance we could make out one helicopter, one airplane and one watercraft, draped in wild weeds and ferns. After a bit of online digging, we found photos floating around on social media offering a closer glimpse of the park. Facebook user Yex Nang Song Nyi Nyi, an ethnic Wa woman, shared the above three images, revealing that what was described as a submarine was actually just a commuter ferry. "People said the Wa [military] has airplanes," she told The Irrawaddy. "This is not true; it has broken planes to build a museum." The run-down relics, located near a zoo in the Mong Pawk Valley, have become a popular destination for families out on a weekend trip with their children. Wa leadership maintains that the UWSA has not upgraded its arsenal with Chinese anti-aircraft hardware, and that its recent purchases were made with the innocent purpose of providing a public park where Wa children can play and learn. "Some foreign media reported that the Wa had helicopters and a submarine," San Khun, a spokesman for the UWSA's foreign affairs department, told The Irrawaddy late last month, "but this isn't true. We bought old broken helicopters and a ship so we could build a museum to show to our Wa kids." Pressed further on the issue, San Khun said only that journalists were free to ask him about development, or the forthcoming anniversary of peace in the semi-autonomous region, but all other issues were beyond his domain. Wa Special Region occupies two territories in eastern Burma's Shan State, one on the border with China, the other touching Thailand. The region's army, a splinter group formed amid the dissolution of the Communist Party of Burma, is the country's largest ethnic armed group with an estimated 20,000 soldiers.  Facebook user Yex Nang Song Nyi Nyi offers a glimpse into a mysterious park in Wa Special Region, where children can play on the remnants of old aircraft. (Photo: Yex Nang Song Nyi Nyi / Facebook) The remote and secretive region has been the subject of much speculation regarding its military capabilities. Experts and members of other ethnic armed groups have long claimed that the UWSA had amassed a powerful arsenal equipped with air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles as well as armored vehicles and tanks. Adding to the UWSA's notoriety is its reputation as a narcotics trafficking organization. While the group claims to have eradicated opium production within its borders as of 2005, it is still listed as a trafficker by the US Drug Enforcement Agency, and is widely believed to be involved in the movement of both opium and methamphetamines. Eastern Burma is home to one of the biggest drug production and trafficking operations globally, and is still the world's second largest source of opiates after Afghanistan. The UWSA reached a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government in 1989—which has held for the past 26 years—but the government never granted Wa the autonomy it sought from peace, regarding it rather as a region within Shan State. Throughout the ceasefire period, the UWSA has maintained its military strength and its close ties with China, which some experts believe to be safeguards against a possible offensive by the Burma Army. Whether the dilapidated military hardware merely serves as Mong Pawk Valley garden ornaments or is indicative of more militant intentions, one thing remains clear: The Wa Special Region will remain fertile ground for all manner of speculation and rumor. The post 'Secret Garden' in Wa Special Region Leaves Much to the Imagination appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Submarines on the Shopping List Posted: 12 May 2015 10:44 PM PDT  Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, commander in chief of the Burma Armed Forces, at Museum of Yugoslav History on Sunday. (Photo: Supplied) While the military continues its attacks on ethnic rebels in Burma's north, the country's Commander-in-Chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, has been out of the country in recent days. After meeting with his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad, he toured the offices of Heavy Industries Taxila, a major regional defense contractor. In Serbia, he sat down for discussions with Yugoimport SDPR, a state-owned weapons exporter. Both businesses specialize in the sale of tanks, armored personnel carriers and heavy artillery. When Burma's generals consider strategy, they always have one eye on internal opponents and another on their regional neighbors. While the size of Burma's standing army dwarfs those of both Bangladesh and Thailand, a ban on arms sales from the European Union and United States has severely impeded the combat capabilities of the country's armed forces. Indeed, Min Aung Hlaing has been outspoken about the need to modernize, to the point of deflecting questions about his political ambitions by insisting he was fully devoted to bringing the military into the 21st century. This modernization is always foremost in the minds Burma's military leaders when they take their shopping lists abroad, and the top brass has shown a particular interest in improving the country's moribund naval fleet. The discovery of lucrative oil and gas fields in the Bay of Bengal has no doubt served as a wakeup call to Burma's military leadership for the need to deploy a credible deterrent over the country's 2,000-kilometer coastline. A maritime boundary dispute, eventually resolved in a 2012 judgement by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, led to a confrontation between Bengladeshi and Burmese naval ships after Burma began offshore oil exploration in the contested area. In the years since, four new frigates and several fast attack craft have entered service. Maung Aung Myoe, the Burmese defense analyst and author of "Building the Tatmadaw", says that the Navy is plans to expand its fleet with up to a dozen more frigates and other offshore vessels in the near future. This expansion appears to extend to the acquisition of submarines, a possible response to Bangladesh's plans to purchase two from China. Discussions with North Korea in 2003—which apparently canvassed the purchase two small vessels—ultimately came to nothing, but reports suggest that the Navy still considers submarines an essential component of its force projection goals. During a visit to Russia in 2013, Min Aung Hlaing expressed an interest in purchasing two Kilo-class submarines, relics of the last years of the Soviet era which have since mostly been sold off and exported. While no acquisitions have been confirmed as yet, the same year reports surfaced that 20 Burmese naval officers had received submarine training in Pakistan. Burma's Navy is presently equipped only to deal with coastal engagements, and is incapable of more sophisticated territorial defense and sea denial operations. According to Maung Aung Myoe, this will remain the case for the near future. As more offshore projects come online, however, the military is likely to consider fleet expansion an increasing matter of urgency. Back in April, the commander-in-chief was seen at naval exercises off the coast of Arakan State. Codenamed Sea Shield, the combined fleet exercise practiced maneuvers near Manaung Island with the participation of 22 ships and nearly 1200 soldiers. Min Aung Hlaing would have undoubtedly felt cause to be proud of the Navy's rapid expansion, but it's reasonable to assume he returned to Naypyidaw with one question on his mind: what's next on the shopping list? The post Submarines on the Shopping List appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 12 May 2015 10:43 PM PDT  Kyaw Win, secretary of the Myanmar Gold Entrepreneurs Association. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) Purchasing gold has long been a way for Myanmar people to accrue secure savings, particularly in the absence of an efficient banking system. Today the gold market remains steady in a country with still-limited access to financial services. U Kyaw Win is the secretary of the Myanmar Gold Entrepreneurs Association, senior vice president of the Myanmar Gold Development Public Company and the owner of the U Htone gold shop. In this interview, he offers his assessment of the local gold market. When did you start your business and what were the main early challenges? My father [U Htone] started working in the goldsmithing industry more than 80 years ago, when he was aged 17. Gold has been our family business ever since. In 1994, I opened the first U Htone gold shop, and I opened another in 2000. As far as I recall, when I was a high school student, the price for one tical [16.33 grams] of gold was only 200 to 300 kyat [US$0.20 to $0.30]. At that time, selling gold ornaments was the only money-maker for us. But five to 10 years later, gold prices reached 3,000-4,000 kyat per tical. Under the Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP), there were continuous rumors about the demonetization of the kyat, and gold prices were extremely volatile. People purchased a lot of gold when they heard those rumors, especially around 1985 to 86. At one stage, the gold market was so strongly affected that I stopped all sales in Yangon. The government demonetized the 100, 75, 35 and 25 kyat notes in that period. People then thought they should purchase gold. Even when the military government announced it would print new 1,000 and 5,000 kyat notes in 1995 and [2009], gold prices stayed high. Also when the government raised civil servant salaries, gold prices still increased. When the civilian government took power, they fixed the exchange rate and gold prices stabilized. People now know how and when to invest in gold because of information in the media. When did Myanmar people begin accruing gold for future investment? Since the time of the royal dynasties, Myanmar people have saved gold. People have long loved to wear gold at events, as well as to save it for long-term benefit. After the Second World War, people were even more interested in gold. Although the banking system has recently become more active, the custom of saving gold will not disappear as people still love it. It is a [savings] method that can always reap benefits. When were gold prices at their peak? The peak time was around the first Iraq war in the early 1990s; world oil prices increased as well as gold prices. The price of gold increased from around $33 to $1,900 per ounce in 2010. After 2010, gold prices declined again and are now at about $1,100 per ounce. I don't think prices will fall soon. Gold on the Myanmar market increased to 800,000 kyat per tical when the world price was about $1,900 per ounce. It has declined to about 680,000 kyat per tical now. But the price in Myanmar hasn't declined as significantly as the world price, due to inflation here. How does inflation affect the gold price? I think it's because of the weak banking system here. In other countries, when they sell or buy property, they don't need cash. But here, [physical] cash is essential for everything. With more economic growth, the cash requirements are greater and inflation is also rising. We need a lot of [physical] money while we're buying or selling gold. We also have different installment practices for buying property, so we need more cash flow in the market. When the government prints more money to meet requirements, inflation increases. How is the gold production rate in Myanmar at present? It's possible that gold production will decline soon as current production levels are massive. It's amazing that gold can be found in all 14 states and regions, although the production rates are different. Myanmar gold production could be among the highest in Asean. However, natural resources will run out sooner or later. The production of rubies, jade and gems is decreasing in Mogok and Hpakant right now. But gold production is still quite good as there are new gold plots around the country and demand remains high. How is the gold market performing in relation to people's spending power? The gold market is still stable. Businessmen usually obtain gold for their savings before they start their business. For example, some usually buy gold before export season begins, then later sell this gold and spend the money on their business. But [this alone] doesn't increase demand significantly. Normally supply and demand balances. And we are surrounded by markets in countries like India, China and Bangladesh who like gold. So the market remains active, even when sales are not legal. This means that even when the domestic market is slow, the border trade can be energetic. Do you think demand for gold will rise after the increase in government salaries in April? Government salaries will be affected from the end of April so I can't say right now what will happen. Some people say that the gold price will increase with increased salaries, but for me, yes, it will increase but only a very small amount. Because of the US exchange rate, the gold price has already increased even before the salary rise. If world gold prices increase, the local price will also go up, not so much because of higher demand in the local market. Do you think the gold market might be impacted by the introduction of Myanmar's first stock exchange later this year? Recently people were strongly interested in investing in property, rather than buying gold, as the world gold price decreased over the last two years. But I don't think people will be less interested in investing in gold due to the stock market. The gold market will also be an important part of the stock exchange, as the nature of the stock market is that it welcomes a variety of commodities. The items are different, so they will sell at different share prices. It will also take time for people to learn about the stock market, but they already know about the gold market and can even guess [future fluctuations]. That's why the gold market won't decline at that time. This interview originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Gold Demand 'Remains High' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| British MP-Elect ‘Proud’ of Burma Heritage Posted: 12 May 2015 10:42 PM PDT  Paul Scully will serve as a newly elected UK parliamentarian representing the Sutton constituency in the southwest of London. (Photo courtesy of Paul Scully) LONDON — One of the most heated debates in the run-up to parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom last week was the country's policies toward immigrants, with some voices calling for a less welcoming approach toward foreigners who want to make Britain their home. As wider Europe grapples with the issue, one man stands as testament to the continent's historical acceptance of immigrants and, with his recent election to parliament, an embodiment of political empowerment: Paul Scully, the UK-born Anglo-Indian-Burmese who will serve as a newly elected UK parliamentarian representing the Sutton constituency in southwest London. Scully, a member of the victorious Conservative Party, told The Irrawaddy just hours after he won his seat on Thursday that he would be joining hands with Conservative parliamentarians who are active on Burma issues. "I am really looking forward to getting involved myself, to be another Conservative that will push for this [active engagement on UK-Burma policy]," he said. Scully has never set foot in Burma, where his late father was born, but said he has always wanted to visit the Southeast Asian nation of his ancestors, and hoped to do so "very soon" as an elected parliamentarian. "I've always been very proud of my Burmese heritage, and it [Burma policy] is something that I would very much like to follow up and play a role with," he said. The descendant of an Anglo-Burmese father and grandfather who worked on the docks along Rangoon's Strand Road, Scully said all of his extended family migrated to the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s, after a military coup in Burma led by the late Gen. Ne Win. Seeking "better opportunities," his father first settled in Glasgow, Scotland, where he worked as an apprentice on the docks of the port city before becoming an engineer. Though his father passed away 25 years ago, Scully said his family is still influenced by Burmese culture, mostly through stories from his aunt and uncle of their time living in Burma. Another way in which that heritage endures is through Burmese food: "My wife makes a really good lattthoat [Burmese noodle and potato salad]," he said, adding, "I always love eating balachaung [fried dried shrimp and chili] and hinjo [soup]." Born and educated in the United Kingdom, Scully's first involvement in Burma issues was in 2007, when he joined a protest in front of the Burmese Embassy in London against human rights violations committed by the former military regime during the pro-democracy demonstrations known as the Saffron Revolution. That was one year after he first entered elected office, as a local town councilor, from 2006-2010. He expressed his gratitude to the Burmese and foreign activists from the London-based Burma Campaign UK, who helped him learn more about the country of his ancestors. Asked for his opinion on Burma's political reform process, he said he had "not seen enough to make an informed view, beyond the fact that I am aware that there are still a number of restrictions on the election, not least the fact that Aung San Suu Kyi cannot stand for president. "For free and fair elections, denying someone's ability to stand, that's obviously unfair," he added. "People must be able to make a true, free choice. They must not have undue influence; no risk of violence or corruption, and then let the debate and argument win the day, rather than force." And as for his personal view of the chairwoman of the National League for Democracy? "She [Aung San Suu Kyi] is very inspirational, dedicated to her country, in a country that often tears itself apart in many areas. She is a really good, calming influence," Scully said. "I was really fortunate when Aung San Suu Kyi came to the UK parliament [in June 2012]. I was able to go and see her speak. That was such a privilege for me. I was speaking to my family about that and it was very emotional for them." Scully appears well aware that calibrating Britain's policy toward Burma will continue to be a challenge. "The country is in an incredibly difficult situation still," he said, highlighting ethnic and religious unrest in Burma's border regions. Looking ahead to his upcoming term in office, Scully pledged to add his voice to the chorus of calls for democratic reforms to continue. "I would seek to continue to speak out and call for free and fair elections, and to speak out against human rights abuses, and make sure Burma can truly open up as the country, in the way it started doing a couple of years ago, but has not yet fulfilled its potential." The post British MP-Elect 'Proud' of Burma Heritage appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Malaysia to Push Back Rohingya Unless Boats Are Sinking Posted: 12 May 2015 10:06 PM PDT  Maritime police patrol the waters around Langkawi island in Malaysia's northern state of Kedah on May 12, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) LANGKAWI, Malaysia— Abandoned at sea, thousands of Bangladeshis and members of Burma's long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim-minority appeared Wednesday to have no place to go after two Southeast Asian nations refused to offer refuge to boatloads of hungry men, women and children. Smugglers have fled wooden trawlers in recent days as fears grew of a massive regional crackdown on human trafficking syndicates, leaving migrants to fend for themselves. The United Nations pleaded for countries in the region to keep their borders open and help rescue those stranded, while a group of parliamentarians slammed the "not-in my-back-yard" attitude. "We won't let any foreign boats come in," Tan Kok Kwee, first admiral of Malaysia's maritime enforcement agency said Tuesday. Unless they're not seaworthy and sinking, he added, the navy will provide "provisions and send them away." Hours earlier, Indonesia pushed back a boat packed with hundreds of Rohingya and Bangladeshis, saying they were given food, water and directions to Malaysia—their original destination. Southeast Asia is in the grips of a spiraling humanitarian crisis, with around 1,600 migrants landing on the shores of the two Muslim-majority countries that over the years have shown the most sympathy for the Rohingyas' plight. With thousands more believed to be in the busy Malacca Strait and nearby waters—some stranded for more than two months—activists believe many more boats will try to make land in coming days and weeks. One boat begged Tuesday to be rescued off Malaysia's Langkawi Island, but it became clear by nightfall no help was on the way. An activist said she could hear the children crying when she got a call through to the boat. Labeled by the United Nations one of the world's most persecuted minorities, the Rohingya have for decades suffered from state-sanctioned discrimination in Buddhist-majority Burma. Denied citizenship by national law, the Muslims are effectively stateless. Access to education and adequate health care is limited and freedom of movement severely restricted. In the last three years, attacks on Rohingya have left 280 people dead and forced 140,000 others into crowded camps just outside Sittwe, the capital of Burma's Arakan State, where they live under abysmal, apartheid-like conditions, with little or no opportunity for work. That has sparked one of the biggest exoduses of boat people the region has seen since the Vietnam War, with an estimated 100,000 men, women and children boarding ships in search of better lives in other countries since June 2012, according to the UN refugee agency. The first stop, up until recently, was Thailand, where migrants were held in jungle camps until their families could raise hefty ransoms so they could continue onward, usually to Malaysia. Recent crackdowns, however, have forced the smugglers to change tactics—instead holding people on small and large ships parked offshore until they collected around US$2,000 per person. Struggling to put a positive face on its dismal human trafficking record, Thai authorities have discovered more than 70 former camps near the border with Malaysia, the biggest of which was found Tuesday. It appeared to be newly abandoned, well-constructed and able to house as many as 800 people, said Lt-Gen Prakarn Chonlayuth, the southern regional army commander. Dozens of graves also have been excavated, the victims believed to be Rohingya or Bangladeshi. Spooked, agents and brokers have all but stopped bringing their human cargo to shore altogether. And in the last three or four days, captains and smugglers have fled their ships, some jumping into speedboats, leaving migrants with no fuel, food or drinking water, survivors told The Associated Press. In some cases, the Rohingya or Bangladeshis have succeeded in commandeering boats, bringing them as close to land as possible and then swimming the rest of the way. On Tuesday, one such boat with hundreds of Rohingyas was stranded not far from Malaysia's Langkawi. It includes about 50 women, said Chris Lewa, director of the nonprofit Arakan Project, which has documented the plight of Rohingyas. They told her by phone their captain had fled days ago, and that they needed to be rescued. Soon after, Lewa said she heard cheers, and people on board spotted a white vessel with flashing lights. When they realized authorities weren't going to help them, women started to scream. "Oh! I could hear children crying," Lewa told AP. "It was terrible! I can hear them." A group of Southeast Asian parliamentarians, meanwhile, released a statement calling the refusal to accept the refugees "inhumane." "Towing migrants out to sea and declaring that they aren't your problem anymore is not a solution to the wider regional crisis," said Charles Santiago, a member of parliament in Malaysia. "Any solution must include securing binding commitments from Myanmar to end the persecution of Rohingya that is fueling their exodus." He said that many of the Rohingya were asylum seekers fleeing persecution and "disastrous conditions in Myanmar." "At the very least, they must be given access to a UN refugee screening process and dealt with accordingly," he said. Tan, of Malaysia's maritime enforcement agency, said the waters around Langkawi would be patrolled 24 hours a day by eight ships. More than 1,100 migrants have landed on the island since Sunday, the country's Home Ministry said. Of those, 486 were from Burma and 682 were Bangladeshis. They included 993 men, 104 women and 61 children. For now, survivors on the island were being held in two separate holding centers—women and children in the sports hall and the men in another facility. But they would soon be transferred to a detention center on the Malaysian mainland. Hasana, 15, was standing with another girl outside her temporary quarters. She said she was an orphan, having lost both her parents when she was young, and that she told her grandmother she didn't see a life for herself in Burma, where it was a struggle just to get enough food to eat. The teen said she had decided to join a group of friends who wanted to go to Malaysia. She paid $200 for what turned out to be a harrowing journey by boat, she said, describing how one man was savagely attacked just for asking for food. Looking around her at the chaos, she now worriedly asked: "Am I going to be sent back?" The post Malaysia to Push Back Rohingya Unless Boats Are Sinking appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Third Blogger Hacked to Death in Bangladesh Posted: 12 May 2015 10:01 PM PDT
 A crowd in Dhaka for the Bengali New Year in Apr. 2014. (Photo: Andrew Biraj / Reuters) DHAKA — A blogger was hacked to death by machete-wielding attackers in Bangladesh on Tuesday, the third killing of an online critic of religious extremism in the Muslim-majority nation in less than three months. Ananta Bijoy Das, a blogger who advocated secularism, was attacked by four masked assailants in the northeastern district of Sylhet on Tuesday morning, senior police official Mohammad Rahamatullah told Reuters. He said Das was a 33-year-old banker. Das was also editor of science magazine “Jukti,” which means “logic,” and on the advisory board of “Mukto Mona” (Free Mind), a website propagating rationalism and opposing fundamentalism that was founded by US-based blogger Avijit Roy. Roy himself was hacked to death in February while returning home with his wife from a Dhaka book fair. Roy’s widow, Rafida Bonya Ahmed, who was maimed in the attack and is in hiding in the United States, told Reuters Das’ case was similar to that of her husband. “We told him so many times you need to be careful, but he just thought that this was his passion, what he was supposed to do, and he had been doing it for a long time,” she said. She said Das had been a regional leader of an effort to bring alleged Muslim war criminals from the 1971 revolution to justice, a politically divisive issue. Ahmed said she would not be surprised if more bloggers were targeted. “Because the killers know they can get away with this, it will continue to happen,” she said. “This is serial killing.” According to monitoring service SITE Intelligence Group, Islamist militant group Ansar al-Islam Bangladesh said al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) had claimed responsibility for the attack. Imran Sarker, head of a network of activists and bloggers in Bangladesh, said if the government did not end “this culture of impunity…the fundamentalists will turn our secular country into another Pakistan or Afghanistan.” More than 120 people have died in violent anti-government protests this year and thousands of opposition activists have been arrested. Militants have targeted secularist writers in Bangladesh in recent years, while the government has tried to crack down on hardline Islamist groups seeking to make the South Asian nation of 160 million a sharia-based state. On Mar. 30, Washiqur Rahman, another secular blogger who aired his outrage over Roy’s death on social media, was killed in similar fashion in the capital, Dhaka. The post Third Blogger Hacked to Death in Bangladesh appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| North Korea Executes Defense Chief with an Anti-Aircraft Gun: South Korea Agency Posted: 12 May 2015 09:56 PM PDT  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves to the people at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang July 27, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) SEOUL — North Korea has executed its defense chief on treason charges by putting him in front of an anti-aircraft gun at a firing range, Seoul's National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers. Hyon Yong Chol, 66, who headed the isolated country's military, was purged late last month for disobeying Kim Jong Un and falling asleep during a meeting at which North Korea's young leader was present, according to South Korean lawmakers briefed in a closed-door meeting with the spy agency on Wednesday. His execution, the latest of a series of high-level purges since Kim took power in 2011, was watched by hundreds of people, they said. It was not clear how the NIS received the information and it is not possible to independently verify such reports from within secretive North Korea. Hyon, last known to have spoken publicly at a security conference in Moscow in April, was said to have shown disrespect to Kim by dozing off at a military event, the Seoul lawmakers said, citing the agency briefing. Hyon was believed to have voiced complaints against Kim Jong Un and had not followed his orders several times, according to the lawmakers. He was arrested late last month and executed three days later without legal proceedings, the NIS said. The reported execution comes after South Korea's spy agency said late last month that Kim ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year as punishment for challenging his authority. In all, around 70 officials have been executed since Kim took over after his father's death, Yonhap news agency cited the NIS as saying. "North Korean internal politics is very volatile these days. Internally, there does not seem to be any respect for Kim Jong Un within the core and middle levels of the North Korean leadership," said Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership and contributor to the 38 North think tank. "There is no clear or present danger to Kim Jong Un's leadership or stability in North Korea, but if this continues to happen into next year, then we would seriously have to start looking at a contingency plan for the Korean peninsula." The lawmakers said Hyon was executed at a firing range at the Kanggon Military Training Area, 22 km (14 miles) north of Pyongyang. The US-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea said last month that, according to satellite images, the range was likely used for an execution by ZPU-4 anti-aircraft guns in October. The target was just 30 meters (100 feet) away from the weapons, which have a range of 8,000 meters, it said. "The gut-wrenching viciousness of such an act would make 'cruel and unusual punishment' sound like a gross understatement," the group said on its web-site. "Given reports of past executions this is tragic, but unfortunately plausible in the twisted world of Kim Jong Un's North Korea." Insular, Opaque North Korea is one of the most insular countries in the world and its ruling power structure is highly opaque. The current leader is the third generation of the Kim family that has ruled with near-absolute power since the country was established in 1948. But the hierarchy around them has long been subject to infighting and factionalism which makes it impossible for outsiders to ascertain who makes decisions, and why. In 2013, Kim purged and executed his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, once considered the second most powerful man in Pyongyang's leadership circle, for corruption and committing crimes damaging to the economy, along with a group of officials close to him. Pyongyang's military leadership has been in a state of perpetual reshuffle since Kim Jong Un took power. Kim, who is in his early thirties, has changed his armed forces chief four times since coming to power. His father Kim Jong Il, who ruled over the isolated nuclear-capable country for almost two decades, replaced his chief just three times. Hyon, a little-known general, was promoted within the military at the same time as Kim Jong Un in 2010. He later became a vice marshal of the North Korean army in 2012. The South Korean spy agency told lawmakers that Ma Won Chun, known as North Korea's chief architect of new infrastructure under Kim, was also purged. Ma had also once served as vice director of the secretive Finance and Accounting Department in the ruling Workers' Party and, up until recently, was effectively the regime's money man. He had been regularly photographed alongside Kim Jong Un in state propaganda images, but had not made any reported appearances since November last year. The post North Korea Executes Defense Chief with an Anti-Aircraft Gun: South Korea Agency appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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