The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Microsoft Appoints Country Manager to Burma
- MNHRC Claims to Have ‘Acted Accordingly’ in Child Labor Case
- New Investment Law Expected to be Approved Soon
- ‘Illegal’ Mosques to be Demolished in Arakan State
- Burma Army Officers Pressure Karen State IDPs to Return Home Amid Fighting
- Lawmaker Calls For Action Against Illegal Logging in Kachin State
- Lower House Approves Bill to Protect Against State Surveillance
- Navy Chief Joins International Seapower Symposium in US
- Burma: The Next Great Land Tenure Reform Story?
- Three Arrested in Rangoon Tailor Abuse Case
| Microsoft Appoints Country Manager to Burma Posted: 21 Sep 2016 08:14 AM PDT  A Microsoft press conference in Rangoon on Tuesday. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — US-based technology giant Microsoft appointed a country manager to Burma this week, the company announced on Tuesday. Microsoft is expanding its presence in the country with the appointment of Sy Wann as the first country manager of Microsoft Burma. The company released a statement that said it aims to contribute to the transformation and growth of the local information and communications technology ecosystem by empowering businesses to increase productivity and accelerate growth, working with country's conglomerate Shwe Taung as well as the Kanbawza (KBZ) Group of Companies. The new country manager Sy Wann joins Microsoft after spending three years establishing Cisco Systems in Burma. He was responsible for government and CSR (corporate social responsibility) engagement, sales and technical engagement, and partner enablement. He previously worked for Travelocity and Capital One in the United States, where he held various roles in IT, mainly focusing on data management. Sy Wann will be at the helm of Microsoft's product, service and support offerings in Burma. "I am very excited to be joining Microsoft in Myanmar when the country is undergoing rapid growth and modernization across all sectors. I look forward to this opportunity to lead Microsoft in Myanmar and continue supporting the successes and growth of our customers and partners here," Wann said in the statement. He added that the company's top priorities in Burma include supporting youth and education in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields; enabling economic empowerment, inclusive national development and civic engagement; developing donor-related partnerships and Microsoft Philanthropies programs; and job creation through building a robust partner ecosystem in Burma. Microsoft began launching its products in Burma in 2013. The post Microsoft Appoints Country Manager to Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| MNHRC Claims to Have ‘Acted Accordingly’ in Child Labor Case Posted: 21 Sep 2016 08:08 AM PDT  members attend a press conference on Wednesday concerning their handling of a case of abuse against two girls forced to work in domestic servitude for a tailoring family in Rangoon. (Photo: J Paing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON – Representatives from the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) have defended their response to what has become a high-profile case of abuse against two under-aged domestic workers in Rangoon. The girls, aged 16 and 17, described being beaten, cut, and forced to work for five years with little or no pay for the family who owns the Ava tailoring enterprise in Kyauktada Township. Once the girls were rescued, the MNHRC reportedly pressured the families of the victims to accept a cash settlement rather than push for legal action. During a meeting with members of the press on Wednesday, the MNHRC maintained that agreeing to monetary compensation—totalling US$4,000—was the most appropriate response in the case. The case of San Kay Khaing and Ma Tha Zin, from Rangoon's Kawhmu Township, drew extensive media attention this week, with the human rights commission receiving harsh criticism for what was perceived as taking advantage of the victims' and their families' lack of legal knowledge and options. In the press conference, the MNHRC described their role as that of a mediator, engaging in five hours negotiations on Sept. 15 between the San Kay Khaing's mother, Tha Zin's aunt, and members of the family accused of the abuse. During this time, the MNHRC detailed previous "success stories" to the individuals of the commission's past interventions.  A protester writes a message outside of the MNHRC's building on Wednesday afternoon, to express dissatisfaction with the commission's handling of the case of child labor and abuse. (Photo: J Paing / The Irrawaddy) "We left them alone for 15 minutes to talk on their own and we respected their decisions, either to take compensation or to take legal action," said Zaw Win of the MNHRC. Daw Mya Mya, another MNHRC member present at the press conference, told The Irrawaddy that their intervention had been carried out "in accordance with the Commission mandate" to protect and advocate for human rights. The commission had, she said, "respected the concerned persons' decision to take the monetary compensation for the crime." Yet it has since been revealed that the MNHRC failed to speak directly to the victims, breaching Clause 22 of the commission law which states that they must investigate human rights complaints after they are received. Zaw Win said this occurred "because the victims' family members, the ward administrator, local police and women's affairs representatives were present at the negotiation." Also on Wednesday afternoon, a group of rights activists protested against the MNHRC, in front of their building, for the commission's inaction in the case. Following criticisms by media and on social media for what was widely deemed insufficient action taken against the perpetrators, Lt-Col Myo Thein, of the police force's anti-human trafficking unit, filed a case accusing the tailoring family of torture. Rangoon police apprehended three members of the family on Wednesday afternoon: Daw Tin Thu Zar, aged 57, Ko Tin Min Latt, 37, and Ma Su Mon Latt, 27. Rangoon's Western District Police are investigating the police from Kyauktada Township who initially looked into the case, to uncover whether law enforcement acted in accordance with police procedures. Police Major Khin Maung Htwe, who is heading the investigative committee, told The Irrawaddy that "action would be taken" if there is evidence that the police failed to perform their duties, but declined to comment further on the ongoing investigation. Additional reporting by Thuzar. The post MNHRC Claims to Have 'Acted Accordingly' in Child Labor Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| New Investment Law Expected to be Approved Soon Posted: 21 Sep 2016 07:59 AM PDT  Burmese and Japanese officials cut ribbons during the opening ceremony of the Thilawa special economic zone in Thanlyin Township outside Rangoon in Sept 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — The new Myanmar Investment Law has been submitted to Parliament and is expected to be approved by October, following discussion by lawmakers and before the current parliamentary session ends. Ministry of National Planning and Finance Deputy Minister U Maung Maung Win put forward the investment draft bill to the Lower House on Tuesday, following an announcement by the US government that economic sanctions against Burma would soon be lifted. The bill has been through various drafts, beginning under the previous government. There was a push to submit it to Parliament following State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to the United States and call for increased US investment in Burma. The new draft bill combines the Burma Citizens Investment law—enacted in July 2013 and governing local investment—and the Foreign Investment law—enacted in November 2012 and governing foreign investment—into one law. "Combining these two laws will help create a better investment environment," said U Maung Maung Win. The draft law reduces the mandate of the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) and provides a more tailored approach to tax exemptions, according to the deputy minister. U Than Aung Kyaw, deputy director general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) told The Irrawaddy that the law had been changed significantly from former versions and that it is expected to be passed before the end of the current parliamentary session, which concludes in early October. "We are trying to approve it soon, as a result of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to the United States," he said. Under the existing investment law, every investment must have the approval of the MIC. Under the draft law, there will be different guidelines needed for MIC approval. The government will directly handle the investment proposals that are deemed strategically important, require a substantial amount of capital, or could potentially have social and environmental impacts, according to the planning and finance ministry. The parliamentary session was scheduled to end Sept. 23 but that has been postponed until Oct 7 so that Parliament can debate and pass the investment law. The new bill includes more strategic tax incentives. If the government chooses to promote a certain business or sector, related investors will receive tax incentives, U Than Aung Kyaw said. The bill also incentivizes investment in less developed areas. Lower House lawmaker and businessman Dr. Thet Thet Khine told The Irrawaddy that the country also needed adequate electricity, clear laws and good transportation in order to attract international investment. He said the country should invite investments that would improve infrastructure. U Nay Myo Htun, a Lower House lawmaker from Htantabin Township said the new law will boost investor confidence. The Lower House Bill Committee agreed and called the draft law an impetus for technological and industrial development in line with international norms. "There were some problems having two separate laws in the past. Foreign investors sometimes thought they were being discriminated against, which impeded the country's growth," Bill Committee Chairman U Tun Tun Hein told The Irrawaddy. The draft law has been approved by the State Counselor's Office. Drafted with the help of the International Finance Corporation, it has 23 chapters and 104 clauses, and the definition of terms in the draft law is in line with other international laws. The post New Investment Law Expected to be Approved Soon appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘Illegal’ Mosques to be Demolished in Arakan State Posted: 21 Sep 2016 07:02 AM PDT  A mosque in Arakan State's Maungdaw Township located near quarter five. (Photo: Maungdaw Community / Facebook) RANGOON – Arakan State's Security and Border Affairs Minister Col. Htein Lin has ordered the demolition of "illegally constructed" mosques, schools, houses and other buildings in Maungdaw Township in a meeting at the local administrative office on Sunday, according to a report in the Rakhine Gazette, a local paper. The local immigration office stated that 12 mosques, 35 Arabic language teaching schools, 2,543 houses, 604 shops and 132 other buildings had been constructed without official permission from the local authorities, though it is not yet known how many of these are earmarked for demolition. The Rakhine Gazette reported that Htein Lin summoned Muslim religious leaders and quarter administrators to attend the Sunday meeting, and informed the attendees that they would issue official instructions as soon as possible. The Muslim representatives encouraged the border affairs minister to consider the wellbeing of the impoverished families living there. Most of the more than 1 million Muslims in Arakan State, also known as Rakhine State, that identify as Rohingya—around a third of the state's population—are denied any form of citizenship. Buddhist Arakanese insist that they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh, and refer to them as "Bengali." Former lawyer U Kyaw Hla Aung told The Irrawaddy that Muslims from the Maungdaw Township have been living there for several decades but have not been allowed to construct or renovate buildings without a permit from local authorities. It is unclear whether the buildings listed to be demolished received a permit or not. "They have lived here more than 20 years without permission to build or repair, how can they live? Should they live on ground?" U Kyaw Hla Aung said. The Rakhine Gazette report quoted Htein Lin's speech during the meeting: "We will take action against those who disobey instructions. How can we handle [illegal structures] if the number is increasing year by year? We can't ignore those unlawful things." The Irrawaddy contacted Arakan State ministers, the Chief Minister's spokesperson, and township administrators who attended Htein Lin's meeting on Sunday, but no one was available for comment. A regional legislator of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, U Htun Hla Sein, confirmed that each quarter has at least one mosque or place of worship in his constituency, but could not verify whether these religious buildings had been constructed with the authorities' permission. An Arakan National Party lawmaker representing Buthidaung Township, Htun Aung Thein, said that the actual number of such buildings is higher than government statistics, and that in his constituency, at least 400 "illegal" religious buildings have been built over several years. The Irrawaddy talked to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs Aung San Win on Tuesday to clarify what kind of religious buildings are designated as being illegal and if any other religious buildings (including Christian and Buddhist buildings) fit this criteria. He declined to discuss the process and suggested talking to the state and divisional governments. "Such matters are handled by regional governments. We handed authority to them in 2012," he said. In early August, the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs announced an investigation into what was described as an "illegal mosque" in Kachin State's Hpakant Township that was burned down by a mob. A ministry statement in a state run newspaper at the time said that, in early 2014, the government had demolished 24 "illegal" Buddhist monasteries in the Naypyidaw area. Additionally, legal proceedings against 173 monasteries in Rangoon Division and 86 in other states and divisions had been launched at the recommendation of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, the government-appointed council that oversees monastic discipline in Burma. Although the ministry statement cited a total of 283 monasteries that had been previously been charged as being "illegal," it did not mention any figures for places of worship related to other religions, such as Christianity or Islam. The post 'Illegal' Mosques to be Demolished in Arakan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Burma Army Officers Pressure Karen State IDPs to Return Home Amid Fighting Posted: 21 Sep 2016 05:49 AM PDT        Burma Army officers tried to convince displaced ethnic Karen on Thursday to return to their villages, despite continuous daily fighting in Karen State's Mae Tha Waw area, The Irrawaddy has learned. One officer, commander of Infantry Division 22, and another, the tactical commander of Infantry Division 44, met hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs) seeking refuge within the compound of a Buddhist monastery in Myaing Gyi Ngu, Hlaing Baw Township. They told the IDPs that the areas they had fled were, in fact, stable, and encouraged them to return to their homes. In total, more than 3,800 people have been uprooted since Sept. 9 by fighting between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Burma Army, who are aided by the allied Border Guard Force (BGF). Among the crowd were 30 additional families who had just arrived that day after escaping fighting in the area of Ba Thraw village. The Irrawaddy overheard a conversation between a displaced Karen village head and the Tatmadaw officer from the 44th Division. "They are enjoying their food here, so they don't want to go home, right?" the tactical commander said. The village head replied that this was not the case—that the people in his community were "too afraid" to return to their land. Nay Lin Htet, who is managing the makeshift camp inside the monastery, told The Irrawaddy that any decision to go back to their homes should be made by the displaced people themselves, rather than due to pressure from above. "They are saying the areas are stable, but we do not know whether it's true or not," he said of the army representatives, pointing out that villagers "would rather stay in their own houses," and would do so if it were possible. Until then, Nay Lin Htet added, he would do his best to make sure they are taken care of. "If they keep staying here […] we will continue to help them," Nay Lin Htet said, pointing out that the Karen State government had donated food to support the displaced; since it is a monastery, all meals are vegetarian. A nurse, who is treating injured and sick IDPs in the Myaing Gyi Ngu monastery, found the officers' pressure disingenuous. "They were the people who created the problem," she said of the Burma Army. "It is not true what they said." Maj. Naing Maung Zaw from the Karen BGF argued that it was riskier to stay in the monastery. "Their property will destroyed if they abandon their homes and villages for a long time," he said, insisting that the area had been secured. The Irrawaddy observed some people leaving the monastery by car and motorbike, as well as in army trucks, but learned that they were relocating in order to stay with relatives in other, safer areas, rather than returning home. When the military transport discovered that the IDPs were not going back to their own homes, they asked them to disembark. Infantry Division 22 has set up an outpost on the nearby Salween River. A further two hours away, fighting continues in Mae Tha Waw. The road out of Myaing Gyi Ngu used to reach Myawaddy, on the Thai border, but the road is now blocked as skirmishes continue to break out along it, making it difficult to leave the country. The post Burma Army Officers Pressure Karen State IDPs to Return Home Amid Fighting appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Lawmaker Calls For Action Against Illegal Logging in Kachin State Posted: 21 Sep 2016 05:33 AM PDT  Forestry security police raiding an illegal logging site. (Photo: Forestry Department) A lawmaker from Kachin State urged the Upper House to look into illegal logging carried out by local militia groups in Kachin State's Kawnglangphu Township on the Sino-Burma border. Lawmaker U J Yaw Wu alleged that local militia groups worked hand in glove with Chinese companies to smuggle logs into China at mile post Nos. 30, 31, 35 and 41 in the east of Kwanglangphu and that the problem had gotten worse since 2014. "The Kachin State government and the Northern Command of the Burma Army have drawn up a plan to arrest them. The military will provide security for combined groups of departmental personnel to launch a crackdown," said Minister for Resources and Environmental Conservation U Ohn Win. The minister said that security and rule of law are limited in remote areas where local militia groups make their homes and unless the government, the military and the police force provide full security, it will be difficult to apprehend the smugglers. According to the minister, from the start of the 2016-17 fiscal year in April, a total of 1,940 tons of smuggled logs and 104 units of heavy machinery were seized, along with 117 smugglers arrested in Kachin State. Over the past five years, a total of 26,233 tons of smuggled logs and 1,598 units of machinery were seized, while 861 Burmese smugglers and 176 foreign smugglers were arrested. The seized machinery used in smuggling was not registered, but was brought into the country illegally over the border, said the minister. The government does not run the border gates in the area, so there is no inspection of vehicle entry and departure and no tax collected, added the minister. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Lawmaker Calls For Action Against Illegal Logging in Kachin State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Lower House Approves Bill to Protect Against State Surveillance Posted: 21 Sep 2016 05:03 AM PDT  A Special Branch officer records as student activist Nanda Sit Aung talks to the Reuters news agency during an interview at Tharrawaddy court, during a mass trial of student protesters in Pegu Division, August 25, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's Lower House of Parliament approved a bill to protect citizens from state surveillance and intrusion on Tuesday, while military lawmakers resisted some clauses. During the parliamentary session on Tuesday, the bill committee, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Lower House parliamentarians, and military lawmakers discussed the minor changes on the proposed legislation. The bill prohibits household arrests and inspections without a warrant as well as surveillance of individuals and their private communications in a manner that harms their privacy or dignity, barring the approval of the President or the cabinet. The bill has been welcomed as an aid to protect the rights of the individual. The draft law also states that no one can request or provide private communication logged by telecom operators, unseal private letters and parcels, intrude on an individual's private affairs and family life, or seize citizens' moveable or immoveable property. The bill prescribes a punishment to anyone who violates the law with prison terms of up to five years and a fine of 2,500,000 kyats (US$2,050). Lt¬-Col Moe Kyaw Oo submitted a proposal to alter the clause requiring approval from the President or cabinet to "the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs," reasoning that the home affairs ministry will be implementing the law. "It will not be possible to obtain permission from the President or Union government in advance in emergency cases," Moe Kyaw Oo said. But the amendment was voted down in parliament with the commission explaining that laws allowing for household searches and arrests without a warrant in special circumstances already exist under the 1947 Public Order (Preservation) Act and for drug cases. Burma retains much of its surveillance and repressive security apparatus which remains under the control of the military. Plain-clothed "Special Branch" officers, a division of the police under the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs, can still freely intrude on people's privacy—taking pictures, videos and sound recordings of ordinary citizens, collecting material that can be used against them in legal suits—and keep a particularly close watch on political and civil society activists. The bill will now go to the Upper House for approval. When the law is enacted, it will allow citizens to file a complaint with the police if they suspect any state surveillance or intrusion. The post Lower House Approves Bill to Protect Against State Surveillance appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Navy Chief Joins International Seapower Symposium in US Posted: 21 Sep 2016 04:25 AM PDT  Burma Army officials sent off Admiral Tin Aung San at the Rangoon International Airport on Monday. (Photo: Office of the Military Commander-in-Chief) RANGOON — Burma's Navy Chief Admiral Tin Aung San left for the United States on Monday to attend an international naval meeting at the US Naval War College (NWC) in Rhode Island, becoming the country's first high-ranking military official to go to the US since sanctions were lifted against Burma last week. He was joined by another senior navy official for the three-day International Seapower Symposium (ISS) that began on Tuesday. According to an NWC announcement on its website, senior representatives from more than 110 countries, including many of their senior-most navy and coast guard officers, would attend the event. "ISS has become the largest gathering of maritime leaders in history and provides a forum for senior international leaders to create and solidify solutions to shared challenges and threats in ways that are in the interests of individual nations," said the announcement. Despite the United States pledging that it would soon drop economic sanctions against Burma, restrictions intended to block drug trafficking and bar military trade with North Korea still apply, as does a visa ban barring some former and current members of Burma's military from traveling to the US. But it is unclear who those visa restrictions apply to and exemptions can be granted in particular circumstances. When asked about the Navy chief's visit, US Ambassador to Burma Scot Marciel told the media on Tuesday that it is very difficult for senior military personnel and former senior military personnel to get visas to travel to the United States, but that there are waivers in particular cases. He added that ISS was a program that warranted a waiver. The United States has re-engaged military cooperation with Burma since 2013, focusing on humanitarian issues, officer professionalization and human rights, in an effort to encourage the Burma Army to transform into a professional security force with civilian oversight. After the National League of Democracy won a historic victory in the 2015 elections, international experts and scholars called on US policymakers to reestablish further cooperation between the US military and the Burma Army. (The Irrawaddy's reporter Moe Myint contributed to this report.) The post Navy Chief Joins International Seapower Symposium in US appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Burma: The Next Great Land Tenure Reform Story? Posted: 21 Sep 2016 01:20 AM PDT  Farmers walk in a bean field in Phyu Township, Pegu Region in 2013. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) Since World War II, there have been five great Asian development success stories founded upon land tenure reforms that allocated land ownership, or equivalent long-term land rights, into the hands of small farmers. A rare opportunity is knocking, to directly benefit as many as four million of the poorest families on earth, and beyond that to support broader economic growth and the crucial processes of peaceful democratization in a country of some 50 million. Last week, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counselor of Burma's new democratic government, embarked on her first state visit to the United States. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's meeting with President Obama reciprocated a visit he made in November 2012 when Burma was beginning its democratic transition and she was still in the political opposition. In his address at the University of Yangon, President Obama recalled Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Four Fundamental Freedoms": freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. President Obama proposed a partnership in which Burma's "progress towards democracy" would be coupled "with economic development", and then offered this ringing affirmation of the centrality of property rights: "It's not enough to trade a prison of powerlessness for the pain of an empty stomach. ''When ordinary people have a say in their own future, then your land can't just be taken away from you. And that's why reforms must ensure that the people of this nation can have that most fundamental of possessions—the right to own the title to the land on which you live and on which you work." At a town hall meeting on his second trip to Burma, two years later, President Obama spoke again of the land issue: "Now, because Myanmar is still very agricultural, I think issues of land reform and trying to increase productivity in the agricultural sector is also a very immediate and urgent problem." Five great Asian land reforms since 1945 have offered land property rights, and thereby laid the groundwork for success in broader economic development (and, while uneven in their linkages with democratization, those reforms have almost certainly supported a much greater degree of empowerment than would have existed without them). These were the land rights reforms in Japan and South Korea and on Taiwan, each now democratic, and in (now long-time decollectivized) Vietnam and mainland China. Twenty-first century land rights reform in Burma, however, need not be a duplicate of the five great reforms that have gone before, each of which focused primarily on transforming tenant farmers into owners of land previously owned by private landlords. While land rights reform in Burma will have some parallels to these prior successful reforms, it is likely that Burma's reforms will embody major additional elements reflecting both the specifics of rural poverty and landlessness in the country, and the recognition that the great twentieth century reforms nonetheless omitted some vital features. Prominent elements in Burma's reforms will need to include: • Strengthened land tenure security of current smallholders; Our work in Burma [disclosure: some of the support for that work comes from USAID, and the Omidyar Network] over the past three and a half years persuades us that the top leadership (not only the NLD, but including the previous government, which adopted a highly progressive National Land Use Policy before leaving office) understands the need for comprehensive land rights reform. Hopefully, the heads of state and others who meet and interact with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on her historic visit will seize the opportunity to encourage and support Asia's sixth great land tenure reform. Roy Prosterman is Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Landesa, a nonprofit group that has worked for 50 years to secure land rights for the world's poor; and Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Law. The post Burma: The Next Great Land Tenure Reform Story? appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Three Arrested in Rangoon Tailor Abuse Case Posted: 21 Sep 2016 01:07 AM PDT  A man walks past the Ava tailoring shop on 40th Street in Rangoon's Kyauktada Township (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Three members of a family accused of human trafficking and abuse at a downtown Rangoon tailoring shop have been arrested and detained by Yangon Police Force, according to the force's official Facebook page. The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit filed charges against grandmother Daw Tin Thuzar and one of her daughters, Ma Su Mon Latt of Ava Tailor Shop at Kyauktada Township's police department, Lt-Col Myo Thein of the unit told The Irrawaddy. Daw Tin Thuzar was detained Tuesday while Ma Su Mon Latt and Ko Tin Min Latt were arrested on Wednesday lunchtime. Ko Tin Min Latt is believed to be another family member. The two girls, San Kay Khaing aged 16 and and Tha Zin aged 17, suffered five years of abuse at the hands of owners of the six-floor tailor shop and factory on 40th Street in the heart of the former capital, according to the victims. Myo Thein said that the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit saw the case unfold on social media and filed charges against the offenders as per Burma's Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law. He filed both charges against the tailors on Tuesday afternoon and said that the police station had accepted the case. According to Article 24 of the law, anyone found guilty of trafficking in persons, especially women, children, and young persons, shall be punished with a minimum prison term of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Article 32 imposes the same punishment for anyone who "prepares, attempts, conspires, organizes, administers or abets" in any of the offences stated in the law. The case was initially filed at the Kyauktada Township police station three months ago by U Swe Win, chief correspondent of Myanmar Now news agency, after a member of the family notified him about the abuse of the girls and asked for help in rescuing them. When the police failed to take action, he said, he contacted the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC). U Swe Win said that the police and the MNHRC had recommended that the victims' families accept monetary compensation for the crime, since a legal fight would be lengthy and held no guarantee of justice. The families acted on the recommendation, and the family accused of the abuse paid 4 million kyats to San Kay Khaing (US$3,235) and 1 million ($809) to Tha Zin. The amount included three years' worth of salaries that had not been paid. Since escaping the tailoring shop on Sept. 5, the two girls have been recovering at their family's homes in Bawlonekwin village in Rangoon's Kawhmu Township. Myo Thein explained that the offenders also violated Article 3 of the law, which prohibits "debt-bondage"—whereby a debtor pledges personal labor or services to repay a debt that is not clearly defined or assessed. "The offenders exploited the girls by not paying their full salaries for about two years," he said. "There was also torture and physical abuse." Myo Thein said his unit will pursue the accused even if the families of the victims agreed to settle the case through monetary compensation. "Such a case should not be settled or dropped," he said.
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