The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Legal Team Finds ‘Strong Evidence’ of Rohingya Genocide in Arakan State
• Four Years On, Still No Justice for Sumlut Roi Ja
• Internet Freedom Stalls after Prosecutions, Govt Interference
• Burma Army Launches Midnight Attack on SSA-N Headquarters
• Woman Faces Additional Charge in Facebook Defamation Trial
• Student Leader Kyaw Ko Ko Arrested After Months in Hiding
• China Indicts Former Senior Provincial Official for Graft
• El Nino Drought Poses Poverty Challenge for Indonesia
• Cambodia’s PM Condemns Attacks on Lawmakers, Rails at Opposition

Legal Team Finds ‘Strong Evidence’ of Rohingya Genocide in Arakan State Posted: 29 Oct 2015 06:04 AM PDT Muhammad Ali, a 54-year-old Rohingya man suffering from tuberculosis for over a year, at a camp for internally displaced people in Sittwe, Arakan State, April 24, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — A legal analysis has found "strong evidence" that genocide is being committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority in western Burma's Arakan State, prompting a call for the United Nations to intervene. A 78-page report, published on Thursday by the Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic (LIHRC) at Yale Law School for the NGO Fortify Rights, concludes that actions and inactions by the government of Burma satisfy the criteria of genocide as defined by the 1948 Genocide Convention. The report, based on three years of research produced by Fortify Rights, is the first to apply international law to the situation in Arakan State, also known as Rakhine, where an estimated 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims are denied citizenship and subjected to widespread discrimination. Examining the government's treatment of the minority since Burma's independence from British colonial rule in 1948, the LIHRC found evidence of consistent rights abuses that have continued into the current reform period, which began when President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government took office in 2011. Titled "Persecution of the Rohingya Muslims: Is Genocide Occurring in Myanmar's Rakhine State? A Legal Analysis," the report presents historical context and new documentation of abuses committed against the minority before outlining the relevant legal criteria of genocide. While LIHRC does not conclude definitively that genocide has occurred in Arakan State, the report suggests that the state could be responsible for either committing or failing to prevent a genocide and recommended that the United Nations establish a commission of inquiry to investigate, determine whether the crime has occurred, identify perpetrators and suggest means of ensuring they are held accountable. "The acts committed against the Rohingya, individually and collectively, meet the criteria for finding acts enumerated in the Genocide Convention and have been perpetrated against a protected group," the report reads, referring to the convention's definition of "groups," "acts" and "intent" requisite to the crime. "Allegations of genocide should not be taken lightly," Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights, said in a press statement on Thursday. "Rohingya face existential threats, and their situation is worsening. Domestic remedies have failed. It's time for the international community to act." Burma's Rohingya population is not recognized by the government as an ethnic group, referred to instead as "Bengali" and viewed as illegal immigrants. While many have lived within Burma's borders for generations, they have long faced obstacles to acquiring legal documents and changes to citizenship criteria in 1982 have rendered them stateless. In 2012, riots that began in central Arakan and soon spread throughout the state disproportionately affected Rohingya communities, leaving more than 140,000 confined to camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Conditions in the camps and restrictions on movement applied to the Rohingya population at large contributed to tens of thousands of Rohingya fleeing the country by boat to seek asylum in neighboring countries. Those departures, as well as a growing number of migrants leaving Bangladesh in search of economic opportunity, ultimately led to a migration crisis that reached its zenith earlier this year when thousands of people were abandoned at sea amid a crackdown on human trafficking syndicates. "The plan of the government is to finish our people, to kill our people, but they cannot kill us all by the bullet," read the testimony of a Rohingya man interviewed by Fortify Rights. "But what they can do is deny food and medicine, and if the people don't die, they will leave the country. The government has used a different option to kill the people." The post Legal Team Finds 'Strong Evidence' of Rohingya Genocide in Arakan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Four Years On, Still No Justice for Sumlut Roi Ja Posted: 29 Oct 2015 04:21 AM PDT Dau Lum with his wife, Sumlut Roi Ja, a Kachin woman who was abducted on Oct. 28, 2011. (Photo: Dau Lum) On Oct. 28, 2011, Sumlut Roi Ja was harvesting corn on her family's land when she, her husband and her father-in-law were abducted by Burma Army soldiers. The two men managed to escape, dodging bullets and running through thick hillside vegetation, but Roi Ja was not so lucky. Four years later, Roi Ja has yet to return, and her family believes she never will. The then-28-year-old ethnic Kachin mother is largely believed to have been raped and murdered, as witnesses had informed the family about one year after her disappearance. Roi Ja and her family were believed to have been abducted by a number of troops belonging to Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion 321 near the town of Loi Jel in northern Burma's Kachin State. The incident occurred just months after the breakdown of a 17-year ceasefire agreement between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Burmese government, and has become an oft-cited example of the tragic fallout that civil war and military impunity has had on ethnic communities. Dau Lum, Roi Ja's husband, sought justice for his young wife at every level of Burma's judiciary, ultimately bringing her case—Dau Lum vs. Lt-Col Zaw Myo Htut, commander of LIB 321—to the Supreme Court. The suit was dismissed due to lack of evidence in March 2012, and her family has lost all hope of reprisal. Later that year, various civil society groups began to take up the cause. The Kachin Women Association of Thailand (KWAT) sent a letter to President Thein Sein pleading with him directly to re-open the case, but no action followed. Roi Ja's family has appealed to the Kachin State chief minister, the district governor, the commander of LIB 321 himself, all to no avail. The case struck a deep and resonant chord among many of Burma's ethnic minority communities, particularly Kachin people affected by war. Roi Ja is, sadly, among a long list of women who suffered abuse by the Burma Army, which typically enjoys impunity in conflict areas. Burma Army troops have been repeatedly implicated in sexual violence; KWAT has documented no less than 74 cases of sexual assault allegedly committed by Burmese soldiers since 2011, during the so-called reformist era led by Thein Sein. KWAT secretary Seng Zin told The Irrawaddy that most of those cases were resolved in military courts, beyond the reach of public scrutiny. One such case, which caught the attention of the international media and drew criticism from all angles, was the alleged rape and murder and two young Kachin teachers in northern Shan State in January of this year, also widely believed to be the work of Burma Army troops. The government promised an investigation into the horrendous incident, but no one has yet been held responsible. "There are many cases that are far worse than that of Sumlut Roi Ja," lawyer Mar Khar, who represented Dau Lum, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday, "but only with the help of her family were we able to bring her case to the highest court." One of the major obstacles to justice in conflict-affected areas is fear of retribution; many villagers who have suffered abuse or losses are afraid to speak out because they believe their families will be subjected to further abuse. Roi Ja's courageous family is not alone in their suffering, nor are they alone in their futile search for fairness. No one has yet been held accountable for the death of freelance journalist Aung Kyaw Naing, also known as Par Gyi, who was killed in the custody of the Burma Army late last year. Likewise, the abduction and death of Kachin villager Ung Sau Tu Ja earlier this year is also unresolved. As another year goes by and Roi Ja's daughter grows up without her, her family refuses to stand down. Roi Ja, while lost, remains an immortal reminder of the human cost of Burma's civil war and its people's hunger for justice. The post Four Years On, Still No Justice for Sumlut Roi Ja appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Internet Freedom Stalls after Prosecutions, Govt Interference Posted: 29 Oct 2015 04:12 AM PDT Buddhist monks sit at an internet cafe in Rangoon. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — Four years since the beginning of political reforms, a nascent move towards internet freedom in Burma has stalled in the wake of military and political pressure on users, according to a new report from Freedom House. The US-based human rights watchdog's annual 'Freedom of the Net' report, released on Wednesday, said that authorities had taken a heavy-handed approach to the publishing of online material during protests, clashes between the military and ethnic armed groups, and in the lead-up to the Nov. 8 general election. "Myanmar's failure to remove restrictive punishments for online content occurred in the context of a deliberate government campaign to marginalize balanced and dissenting voices," the report stated. "Tactics included economic pressure on independent media, manipulative political commentary, and tacit encouragement of nationalistic hate speech against the Muslim minority." Covering the period between June 2014 and May of this year, Freedom House noted that despite recent liberalization of the sector, a number of military and government-linked figures retained significant financial stakes in telecommunications companies. In the months following the report period, the country has seen a number of high profile arrests under the country's telecommunications laws. Chaw Sandi Tun, 25, is before the courts in Irrawaddy Division over a post which implied that military personnel had refashioned their uniforms to match the clothes worn by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while 43-year-old Kachin peace activist Patrick Kum Jaa Lee has been detained for sharing a picture of a man stepping on a portrait of Burma Armed Forces chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing. Critics of the prosecutions pointed to the government's failure to take action over social media posts that incited religious hatred, along with arguably defamatory posts authored by figures connected to the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. Burma ranks on par with Thailand on the report's annual scale of internet freedom. Following that country's May 2014 coup, Freedom House noted an increase in the number and severity of sentences handed down for insulting the Thai monarchy, while access to some foreign media outlets and the websites of political activists and human rights NGOs has been blocked. Vietnam, the worst performing regional country on Freedom House's index, had 29 online activists imprisoned by the end of May, with a further eight arrested or charged for "abusing democratic freedom to infringe on state interests." Globally, Freedom House said that internet freedom had waned for the fifth year running, with 14 of the 65 countries surveyed enacting new internet surveillance laws and a number of governments using arrest, detention, intimidation and torture to coerce users to delete content. The post Internet Freedom Stalls after Prosecutions, Govt Interference appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Army Launches Midnight Attack on SSA-N Headquarters Posted: 29 Oct 2015 04:05 AM PDT Damage to a Wan Hai village home after an overnight mortar attack on Thursday. (Photo: Nang Seng Nom / The Irrawaddy) WAN HAI VILLAGE, Shan State — The military barraged the Wan Hai village headquarters of the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) shortly after midnight on Thursday, with more locals fleeing the area overnight. No casualties were reported, but a house and car were damaged during the mortar bombardment, according to SSA-N spokesman Lt-Col Sai La. "Yesterday, we managed to reclaim an important stronghold," he told The Irrawaddy, referring to SSA-N efforts on Wednesday to capture the nearby Kong Lin hill. "Perhaps because (the military) are angry with that, they attacked us at midnight with mortar fire. They fired eight shells and a house in the village center was hit, while the rest fell into farms." Sai La said his forces had sent a letter to Dr Sai Mauk Kham, chairman of the government's Union Peacemaking Working Committee, asking him to intervene to end the conflict. The SSA-N has yet to receive a response, and Sai La said he was concerned that clashes that began at the beginning of October would escalate further. Most villagers in Wan Hai have fled to nearby Pan Lauk village after the attack. Nan Kham, a Wan Hai local, said the SSA-N had asked villagers to leave their homes in anticipation of further attacks. Renewed clashes broke out between the Shan State Army-North and government troops on Oct. 6, after the ethnic armed group rejected a request to vacate their strategic port base in Tar San Pu village. More than 3,000 people are believed to have fled their homes in Kyethi and Mong Hsu townships in the following weeks. The Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), the political wing of the SSA-N, signed a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government in February 2012. In the years since, there have been hundreds of minor skirmishes between the military and the insurgent group. The two sides have clashes 15 times in October and the SSA-N have surrendered at least 10 strongholds over the course of the current military offensive. The post Burma Army Launches Midnight Attack on SSA-N Headquarters appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Woman Faces Additional Charge in Facebook Defamation Trial Posted: 29 Oct 2015 03:46 AM PDT Chaw Sandi Tun at Maubin Township Court in Irrawaddy Division on Tuesday. (Photo: Aung Aung Kyaw / Facebook) A young woman brought to trial in Irrawaddy Division after sharing a satirical post online deemed insulting to the military faces an additional defamation charge, the woman's mother told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. Chaw Sandi Tun appeared in Maubin Township Court on Tuesday where she was notified of an additional charge being brought against her under Article 500 of the Penal Code, a defamation clause, in addition to an existing charge under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law. Prosecutors have reportedly dropped the original charge filed under Article 34(d) of Burma's Electronic Transactions Law. Twenty-five-year-old Chaw Sandi Tun, also known as Chit Thami, is charged in relation to a photo collage shared online of Aung San Suu Kyi wearing a green traditional htamein, a female longyi, alongside Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and other military service personnel in newly redesigned uniforms. The post compared the new military garb to the apparel of the renowned opposition leader, who chairs the National League for Democracy (NLD) and once served nearly two decades of house arrest under the former military junta. "Today, she was charged under Article 500 of [Burma's Penal Code] for defamation against the commander-in-chief," Daw Ei San, the mother of the accused, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. "Initially, they filed a suit against my daughter under Article 34(d) of the Electronic Transactions Law, that then changed to Article 66(d) [of the Telecommunications Law]." At least three other people are currently facing defamation charges under Article 66(d) for content shared to social media site Facebook. Patrick Khum Jaa Lee, the husband of renowned Kachin peace activist May Sabe Phyu, was arrested earlier this month over a Facebook post deemed to defame the Burma Army. He remains in custody after his second court hearing was deferred on Tuesday. Another incident involves a member of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) accused of defaming opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A third case was filed against a 23-year-old activist who shared a poem that suggested he had a tattoo of the president on his penis. The post Woman Faces Additional Charge in Facebook Defamation Trial appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Student Leader Kyaw Ko Ko Arrested After Months in Hiding Posted: 29 Oct 2015 02:42 AM PDT Kyaw Ko Ko, president of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU). (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A leader of Burma's student movement that was that brutally crushed earlier this year was apprehended by police in Rangoon on Thursday after spending more than seven months in hiding. The All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) announced in the early afternoon that the group's president, 34-year-old Kyaw Ko Ko, had been arrested near San Pya market in Thingangkun Township. Speaking to The Irrawaddy by phone on Thursday, ABFSU spokesperson Aung Nay Paing said the fugitive was found, arrested and taken away police, but the group did not know his current whereabouts. "He was detained by plainclothes police near San Pya Market at noon when he went out alone," Aung Nay Paing said, explaining that Kyaw Ko Ko was allowed to borrow an officer's cell phone to inform his peers of the arrest. Kyaw Ko Ko was a central figure in a stuent protest movement that began late last year against a new National Education law. The movement gained traction in early 2015, and culminated in a brutal police crackdown on March 10, when officers were seen surrounding and indiscriminately beating students, supporters and journalists outside a monastery in Letpadan, Pegu Division. More than 100 people were arrested during the crackdown, and about 60 are still in custody awaiting trial for various offenses including rioting, incitement and causing harm to a public servant. Kyaw Ko Ko, who was not present at Letpadan, led a similar peaceful demonstration in Rangoon on the same day, fleeing the scene as police arrived to break up the march. The sudden arrest came a day after the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) called for the release of all political prisoners—including all students and their supporters still awaiting a verdict—ahead a Nov. 8 general election. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) issued a similar request last week, calling on the government to immediately release all political prisoners and put an end to the arrest of opposition party supporters. According to AAPP, more than 560 people are either serving prison sentences or facing trial for charges deemed to be politically motivated. The post Student Leader Kyaw Ko Ko Arrested After Months in Hiding appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China Indicts Former Senior Provincial Official for Graft Posted: 28 Oct 2015 10:32 PM PDT Communist Party Secretary of Hebei province Zhou Benshun speaks at a session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing on Mar. 7. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — China has indicted the former Communist Party boss of the northern province of Hebei on suspicion of bribery, the state prosecutor said on Thursday. The official, Zhou Benshun, previously had worked with China's disgraced one-time domestic security chief, who was jailed for life in June after a secret trial in China's most sensational graft scandal in 70 years. As the party boss in Hebei, Zhou was the top official in the province surrounding Beijing and China's most important steel producer. The prosecutor said Zhou was subject to "coercive measures," a term which normally refers to detention. He was sacked in July and accused of "serious breaches of discipline and the law," a euphemism for corruption. The prosecutor provided no further details and it was not possible to reach him for comment. It is also unclear if Zhou has a lawyer. The party's corruption watchdog handed his case over to legal authorities earlier this month. The Hebei city of Zhangjiakou this year won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics along with Beijing. Zhou had attended meetings of the bid committee. Zhou became party chief in Hebei in 2013. He had worked for five years in the Central Politics and Law Commission as its secretary general, under Zhou Yongkang, the domestic security chief jailed in June. The two are not related despite sharing a family name. President Xi Jinping, who doubles as party and military chief, has pursued a relentless campaign against deep-rooted corruption since assuming power three years ago, vowing to go after powerful "tigers" as well as lowly "flies." The post China Indicts Former Senior Provincial Official for Graft appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

El Nino Drought Poses Poverty Challenge for Indonesia Posted: 28 Oct 2015 10:24 PM PDT Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks at the US Chamber of Commerce dinner in Washington on Oct. 26. (Photo: Yuri Gripas / Reuters) KARANG JATI, Indonesia — On a dry and dusty sports field in central Java, Indonesian men dressed as traditional warriors take turns to battle with wooden staves, while village women crowd around, chanting: "All farmers let us pray that rain comes and washes our sorrow away." As in many parts of Java, Indonesia's main rice-growing island, seasonal rains are late coming to Karang Jati. A drought caused by the El Nino weather pattern, which scientists say could be the worst on record, means fields are fallow weeks after they would normally be sown. So the villagers have turned to a rainmaking ritual to hasten the planting season. Crop failures caused by an El Nino drought presage more pain for Southeast Asia's largest economy, which is already growing at its slowest pace in six years, by squeezing incomes, fanning inflation and pushing more people into poverty. All this piles pressure on Joko Widodo, Indonesia's first president from humble origins, who made poverty reduction a priority but has seen it swell across this archipelago of 250 million people since he took office a year ago. The number of people officially classed as poor actually rose in the first six months of his presidency to 28.6 million in March from 27.7 million in September 2014. Twenty of Indonesia's 34 provinces are currently stricken by severe drought, according to the meteorology agency. The World Bank says that if there is a severe El Nino this year, rice production will fall by 2.1 million tons, or 2.9 percent, and rice prices will rise by 10.2 percent. That price rise will hit the poor hardest because they spend more of their income on food than the well off. "Reduced agricultural incomes and higher prices could be devastating for poor households," the Bank said in a report, adding that rice imports may be needed if El Nino intensifies. 'No Rain, No Money' Widodo has provided more funds for cash transfers and social schemes, but so far has refused to sanction rice imports, keen that Indonesia should be self-sufficient in food. "We are not talking about imports," Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro told Reuters in a recent interview. "We are trying to make sure the domestic stocks are available and accessible." Other countries at risk of an El Nino drought, such as the Philippines, have taken advantage of low global rice prices to boost stocks with foreign imports. Such measures at least cap inflation if crops fail, though they mostly benefit people in towns who consume rice, rather than the farmers who produce it—all they can do is pray for the weather to change. "Our paddy fields depend on rainwater, so if there is no rain we suffer," said Darijan, a 60-year-old farmer in central Java who has started selling his soil to brick-makers to make ends meet. Agriculture accounts for nearly 14 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product, the highest among Southeast Asia's five main economies. One-third of the labor force works in farming, and more than half of poor households live off the land. "What is very important…to the poverty numbers is rice production and rice prices," Steven Tabor, the Asian Development Bank's head in Indonesia, told a recent conference. "And the beginnings of El Nino seem to suggest that we may be in for rising poverty toward the end of the year." As the drought drags on, Karang Jati's farmers such as 70-year-old Rohadi Rustam are anxious. "If there's no rain, we have no money," he said, sitting by his sun-cracked fields. "That's how we farmers live." The post El Nino Drought Poses Poverty Challenge for Indonesia appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Cambodia’s PM Condemns Attacks on Lawmakers, Rails at Opposition Posted: 28 Oct 2015 10:07 PM PDT Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen is seen on a television in a Phnom Penh restaurant as he delivers a speech on Wednesday evening. (Photo: Samrang Pring / Reuters) PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s prime minister on Wednesday condemned a violent assault on two opposition parliamentarians as “cheap” and unforgivable and took aim at political rivals for stirring tensions with street protests that hurt the country’s image. In a rare televised address, Hun Sen called for calm and said those who dragged the lawmakers out of their cars and kicked them on the ground following a rally on Monday would be brought to justice. “We can’t tolerate and forgive those who committed this,” he said. “Regardless of who they are—whether they are supporters of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), the royal government, the opposition party—whoever committed this cheap act must be punished.” The two Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmakers were attacked after a demonstration by supporters of the ruling CPP outside the national assembly. The address follows the collapse in July of a fragile truce between the two main parties, in which the CPP agreed to a series of concessions in return for the CNRP ending its yearlong parliamentary boycott. Hun Sen has been central to a war of words with the CNRP and criticized the party for staging protests during his recent visits to Paris and the United Nations in New York, which he said lacked “honor and dignity”. The CNRP’s rallies, he said, may have influenced the demonstration at parliament by his own supporters, noting that they had dispersed long before the lawmakers were beaten. “They (the attackers) were not the crowd of protesters, where are they from?” he said. “Whatever. I order today, no matter wherever they are from, they must be arrested and prosecuted.” The CNRP accuses Hun Sen of ceding sovereign territory to historic foe Vietnam, the latest attempt to portray him as a stooge of Hanoi, which riles him. Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for three decades and has recently engaged in some sabre-rattling of his own, warning a CNRP victory in a 2018 election would see a return to civil war. Hun Sen’s address on Wednesday was uncharacteristically short at 11 minutes. His speeches are unpredictable and can go on for longer than five hours. He has typically used events like university graduation ceremonies and the launching of infrastructure projects to talk politics and lambast his critics, including the United Nations. The post Cambodia’s PM Condemns Attacks on Lawmakers, Rails at Opposition appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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National News

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• NLD leader denied permit to hold rally next to Shwedagon pagoda
• Tatmadaw, ministries block polling stations
• USDP fire balloon flames out at festival
• Fire balloon blamed for Thadingyut blackout
• Parties accuse Pa-O militia of threats and intimidation
• Elections officially begin with early votes
• No clean sweep: Ethnic parties expected to deny unanimous opposition victory
• SNLD claims commission was misled on security
• Ministry recovers K4b in debts
• NLD claims voter list massively inflated in key battleground

NLD leader denied permit to hold rally next to Shwedagon pagoda Posted: 29 Oct 2015 09:02 AM PDT Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been denied permission to hold a campaign rally this Sunday at People's Park next to Yangon's Shwedagon pagoda, the site of her first mass address in August 1988 when she announced her arrival on the political scene to a crowd of hundreds of thousands.

Tatmadaw, ministries block polling stations Posted: 29 Oct 2015 09:00 AM PDT Despite the growth in Mandalay's population, election officials will set up nearly 700 fewer polling stations than expected – because military commanders and managers of state-owned factories refused to allow them on their premises.

USDP fire balloon flames out at festival Posted: 29 Oct 2015 08:52 AM PDT he vast balloon, emblazoned with the slogan of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, was supposed to rise proudly into the night sky in a stirring celebration of the Festival of Lights and a symbol of party ascendancy. It didn't.

Fire balloon blamed for Thadingyut blackout Posted: 29 Oct 2015 06:00 AM PDT The full moon of Thadingyut is often called the "festival of light", but many in Myanmar spent much of the night sweltering in darkness. An errant fire balloon has been blamed for a widespread blackout that affected most major cities, including Yangon and Mandalay.

Parties accuse Pa-O militia of threats and intimidation Posted: 28 Oct 2015 02:30 PM PDT Campaigners in Shan State say they fear it will not be possible to hold free and fair elections there because of collusion between the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party and local armed militia. They accuse the Pa-O National Organization and the closely linked ethnic Pa-O militia of intimidating supporters of other parties.

Elections officially begin with early votes Posted: 28 Oct 2015 02:30 PM PDT Voting in the November 8 elections formally begins today as advance voters are allowed to start casting their ballots, with officials anxious to play down fears of a repeat of the large-scale fraud that marked the 2010 polls.

No clean sweep: Ethnic parties expected to deny unanimous opposition victory Posted: 28 Oct 2015 02:30 PM PDT Ethnic parties are stepping up the heat in Shan State, where they say their candidacy should not be discounted by the country's two largest political parties.

SNLD claims commission was misled on security Posted: 28 Oct 2015 02:30 PM PDT The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy has hit out at the Union Election Commission's decision to cancel voting in two townships, accusing it of being misled by a rival party.

Ministry recovers K4b in debts Posted: 28 Oct 2015 02:30 PM PDT Relatives and cronies of the former regime still owe the government about K27 billion (US$21.1 billion) in unpaid loans, according to the latest announcement by the government.

NLD claims voter list massively inflated in key battleground Posted: 28 Oct 2015 02:30 PM PDT Nearly half the names on the voters' list of a Mandalay city township should not be there, the local National League for Democracy candidate claimed after a door-to-door survey of the constituency found 5248 voters fewer than the 13,973 names on the voters' list.

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Shan Herald Agency for News

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Sai Win Myint: “We started ESSDDP because the two Shan parties do not cooperate” Posted: 29 Oct 2015 02:41 AM PDT Sai Win Myint is a member of the three-month-old Eastern Shan State Development Democratic Party (ESSDDP) also known as the "Kongjai Party." He was competing for a People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) seat in Mong La Township, or Special Region No. 4, an area controlled by the Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA). However, candidates' ambitions were suppressed in early August, when it was announced that residents of Mong La would not be able to vote in November's election, due to "security concerns" and missing voter lists. sai win myint, a member of Eastern Shan State Development Democratic Party (ESSDDP) Before joining ESSDDP, the 66-year-old politician served as a former Central Executive Committee member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the opposition party which won by a landslide in the Burmese general election of 1990, but whose victory was not recognized by the military.   In a face-to-face interview with S.H.A.N, Sai Win Myint discussed his decision to resign from the NLD, his views on the Shan parties and his reaction to the cancelled election in his constituency. Q: Since you held a high position in the NLD, what made you decide to quit the party? A: It's the right time for the Shan to be united. When I was in the NLD, it was difficult to work for our people. I know well because I was in the party for 27 years. They have a good system and a good leader but not [a good] working team. For example, there are twelve seats for Amyotha Hluttaw (House of Nationalities) in Shan State so the [NLD] candidates should be ethnic people, but not many ethnic representatives were selected. Q: Why did you decide to join ESSDDP? A: It's time for all the Shan to join hands together. If we are still separated, it's difficult to be in the Parliament. In eastern Shan State, there are three Shan parties and the NLD. If I'm running for the NLD, then there will be four Shan people competing against each other. As a result, we all will lose. Q: There are three Shan parties now. Do you think that each party will get only some of the votes and then all the Shan parties will lose to others? A: It might be the case for the whole of Shan State. But I don't think it will happen in eastern Shan State. We [ESSDDP] believe we can win. The reason I say that is because the SNLD party has been set up for 27 years, but they cannot get support from the people. The SNDP is also the same. What's more, these two parties have never asked for cooperation with us [ESSDDP's members]. Q: You said that you want to help Shan people. Why didn't you join one of the two Shan parties, SNLD or SNDP? Why was a new party formed? A: The party is new, but the members are not. All of the members have been working in politics for many years. When SNLD started in 1988, we were leading in this area, but none of the eastern members were put into high positions at the headquarters. My opinion is that if they really want to cooperate, all of the members from three parts of Shan State should be included. The reason we set up a new party is not to compete with our Shan parties. We started [ESSDDP] because the two Shan parties do not cooperate. For us, we want all Shan to be united in all parts of Shan State as well as Tai Leng. [Editor's note: Tai Leng refers to the 'Red Shan,' who largely live in Kachin State] Q: How long will it take for the Shan to be united? A: I think it will take at least ten years, because many Shan people still do not understand politics. Only the leaders do not unite. Q: How is your party campaign going right now? A: The party has been set up for only about three months. In Kengtung, we have reached about 60 percent [of the township]. We get a lot support from the community because our party includes every nationality in eastern Shan State. Q: You were selected as a candidate in Mongla, but the election there was canceled. How do you feel about this? A: I don't think it is the point whether the election is held or not. Even though we are in the parliament, it's meaningless to be an MP (member of Parliament) if we cannot change the 2008 Constitution. It is very difficult to amend the Constitution, because 25 percent of parliament seats are reserved for the Burmese military. The key for change is the constitution. For us [ESSDDP], we will support any group that wishes to change the constitution. Q: What message do you want to give to the new generation? A: The most important thing is that our new generation has to focus on education. I encourage all youth to be united and work for our people, including all ethnic groups in Shan State. By SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N)

To Hopeland and Back: The Signing of the NCA Posted: 29 Oct 2015 12:49 AM PDT Since I wrote my last To Hopeland and Backjournal, I've been in and out of Hopeland a couple of times, between Chiang Mai and Rangoon. Somehow I didn't have time to write about them. But then there came several questions about the ongoing peace process, which the mainstream media has done its best to answer but still a lot went unanswered. I hope this journal may be able to cover some of these questions, if not all. Monday, 12 October 2015 "One wrong can move a people, And a wronged people can move the world." From The Water Margin by David Weir My arrival in Rangoon, an hour's flight from Chiang Mai, coincides with the government announcement delisting—from the Unlawful Associations—three of the eight ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) that have agreed to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA): Karen National Union (KNU), Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), The Unlawful Associations Act (UAA) is a relic from the British colonialist days. No wonder there are people who say 'rulers that continue to employ colonialist laws are themselves colonialists.' On my way to the hotel, the taxi driver asks me where I came from. When I answer 'Thailand,' he asks again what the Thais think of Aung San Suu Kyi. I tell him many compare her to Thaksin Shinawatra, a popular political leader who was overthrown by the military in 2005. At the same time, there is some criticism that her government (if she wins November's election) will face a lot of trouble, even without the military's interference. Because unlike Thai parties such as Democrats, she doesn't have a shadow government, assigning likely members as shadow ministers for different portfolios—not only to follow what's happening in each ministry but also to plan for effective takeover if they get elected.  I'm a little fearful of how he might respond. But to my relief he is wonderfully big-hearted about it. "Still, I'm going to vote for her, because I don't like the military." I think he speaks for millions of voters in the country, particularly in the lowlands where Burmans are the dominant majority. But for those in the uplands, it's another story. As everyone, both representatives from EAOs and the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), has gone to Naypyitaw at this point, I spend a quiet day meeting my childhood friends, most of whom are Burmans, to reminisce about the good old days gone by. None of them, as I find out, are going to vote for the ruling party. Tuesday, 13 October 2015 "Time is not an enemy to fight against. Time is an ally to work with." From The Water Margin by David Weir My first thought of the day is whether I should wait for the bus caravan that is due to leave from the MPC at 9:00 tomorrow. But then I'm urged to fly to Naypyitaw today, as Gen. Yawdserk, leader of the RCSS/SSA, is due to arrive there from Tachileik this evening. I, as an advisor to him, will be needed. Fortunately, the hotel manages to obtain a ticket for the 14:30 flight. As Rangoon traffic is treacherously unpredictable, I decide to leave for the airport at 11:00. I'm lucky because the taxi driver manages to get me there a little after 12:00. I kill my time reading Stratfor founder George Friedman's The Next 100 Years. The plane is on time. So is its arrival an hour later in Naypyitaw. An hour later, Sao Yawdserk and his entourage show up. Together we are escorted to a lavish hotel, Shwe San Ein (Golden Mansion), owned by U Tay Za. After a brief update by Col. Sai La, who has been in Naypyitaw since October 11, we are shown to our rooms. Some of the Thai journalists are quite impressed with President Thein Sein. Like him or not, you cannot deny that he has an easy, smooth and calm voice from which words flow out quite effortlessly. I ask one of them how he compares with our Nayok (Prime Minister) back home. She replies without hesitation: "The President's better although I can't understand a word he says." I spend the rest of the day talking to Dr. Sai Kham Leik and his lifelong 'better half,' Dr. New Tin. Both of them are there at the invitation of U Aung Min, who is a great fan of Kham Leik's songs. One of the lines oft-quoted by him in relation to the prolonged NCA negotiations, which took almost two years to put signatures to, goes something like this: Why is that people like to do it the hard way When it is easy to do Kham Leik says he has just written a new song "for peace." He shows me the lyrics to read, and I fall in love with the title right away, which, roughly translated in English, means: "Draw Equals Win-Win." Coming back to my room later, it occurs to me that I had not asked him to sing it. Thursday, 15 October 2015 "A nation is good and strong, When it lets ever more people live together in peace. A nation is weak and wrong, When it needs an army to fight against itself." From The Water Margin by David Weir I don't have much to say today for the signing ceremony as well as the opening ceremony for the Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting (JICM) which follows later, except for two things: The first is to remark that some of the signatories on the government's side--there are eight on each side, not counting the President—are not really happy about the whole affair. (Until today, the EAOs have yet to receive their copies of the NCA. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the above-mentioned information I had received.) What isn't true is that the reason the SSPP/SSA being attacked has something to do with its refusal to sign the NCA. Because others like the Mons and Karennis that have also been against signing it—a long as the government refuses to include the Kokang group—are being left untouched. Later I was told by an EAO leader that the real reason for the Burma Army's attack, according to him, was to prevent the SSPP/SSA from signing the NCA. Had the SSPP/SSA agreed to sign, it would have thwarted the Burma Army's plan to seize all positions west of the Salween, which altogether constitute a gateway to the Wa territory in the east. The day is full with visits from diplomats. Many express their support for the RCSS/SSA decision to sign the NCA, despite the offensive from the Burma Army. "It takes great courage and long sightedness to do that," one of them is quoted as saying. They also say without the participation of the RCSS, the signing ceremony slated for tomorrow "could have been hollow." Wednesday, 14 October 2015 "Truth has a way of defending itself. Only lies and cruelty need force of arms" From The Water Margin by David Weir U Tay Za, of course, is known as a crony, which means he is a businessman working in the interests of those in power. A mutual friend tells me he was at first upset about being called a crony. "But now he likes to introduce himself as Crony Tay Za," she says. At 7:00, U Aung Min, the government's principal negotiator, comes to visit Sao Yawdserk. U Aung Min is bombarded with questions about why the Army has been attacking the RCSS/SSA'S brother movement, the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) since October 6. U Aung Min's reply is that the general elections security level has gone up to the top and that the SSPP/SSA'S alleged open support for a certain Shan party had not made the military authorities happy. Of course, I doubt anybody present is buying that. Because since 2011, the Burma Army has been attacking the SSA positions west of the Salween, one after another, even though the latter has already signed state and union level ceasefire agreements. Friday, 19 October 2015 "An Army should always be ready, but never be used." From The Art of War by Sun Tzu Today is the first meeting of the JICM, presided over by Vice President Sai Mawk Kham who opens with the following statement: "There may be unforeseeable difficulties lying ahead. Only by patience and forbearance can we overcome them." Not that the participants don't know it, but it was good of him to remind us. He should know what he's talking about, with him wearing longyis instead of Shan pants for over four years now. Even Sao Aung Myat, our President-appointed Shan State Chief Minister, wears the Shan costume on all public occasions. During lunch, he goes around shaking our hands one after another. I try to exchange banter with him when he shakes mine, saying: "How does it feel to be freed of all these punishments?" He is quick with his response: "Why don't you give it a try, if you want to know." Well, he should know I'm the last guy on earth to do it. It's enough that my wife had selected me as her lifelong companion. I don't entertain any burning ambitions further than that. I'm also happy being just an advisor for it carries no responsibilities too heavy for me. One of the RCSS officers tells me later, "When we met yesterday [at the signing ceremony], he said, 'let us all give it a try.'" The day's agenda is to nominate participants/members for the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) and Union Peace and Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) and to consider the Terms of Reference (TOR) for them, in accordance with the NCA, Chapter 3. It takes us some time and patience whether we should do the nominations first or the TORs first. I can understand it. The EAOs don't have their Nationwide Ceasefire Coordinating Team (NCCT) or its later outgrowth, the Special Delegation (SD) anymore. Each of them is coming to the meeting as an individual organization, a shortcoming with they will need to correct as soon as possible. One of the participants confides in me later, "Many a time, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown." A newcomer to the negotiations also remarks, "Now I know why it took so long to conclude the NCA." Clearly, making peace is quite different from making war. With the latter, you may need a lion's heart, but with the former, you need nerves of steel. The meeting ends at 17:00.

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