The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Thai Court Bars British Activist From Leaving Country
- Upper House Debates Presidential Protection, Immunity Bill
- Thai Court Accepts Murder Case Against Burmese Migrants in Ranong
- SECM Warns Against Illegal Trade as Stock Exchange Readies for Business
- Ailing and Hospitalized, Letpadan Duo Again Denied Bail
- Fifth Hpakant Landslide in One-Month Span Kills Three
- Rangoon Police on Manhunt After Alleged Rape Incident
- NLD Gets Prepped for Extreme Weather
- Rise in Missing Minors Stirs Fear Among Internet Savvy Parents
- Burmese Team to Thailand Amid Preparations for Koh Tao Appeal
- In Return to Burma, Kachin Cage Fighter Brings Soft Heart and a Hard Right
- Brick Uptick in Burma’s Mon State
- Suu Kyi’s Surprise Attendance Seen as Boost for Burma Peace Talks
- India Urged to Ban Female Genital Mutilation
- Bangladesh Seeks Death Penalty for Islamist Convicted of War Crimes
- China Formally Arrests Secretly Held Rights Lawyers for Subversion
| Thai Court Bars British Activist From Leaving Country Posted: 13 Jan 2016 04:59 AM PST  British rights activist Andy Hall arrives at a court to surrender himself into custody, as he faces criminal defamation and computer crimes charges, in Bangkok on Jan. 13, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — A Thai court has seized the passport of a prominent British activist vocal about migrant rights in Thailand and is barring him from leaving the country. Andy Hall is currently facing a lawsuit brought against him by Natural Fruit Company Ltd. in a case of criminal defamation and computer crimes. Charges were brought against Hall after he published a report with Helsinki-based NGO Finnwatch that allegedly exposed labor rights violations at the company's pineapple processing plant, where workers are overwhelming from Burma, in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, southern Thailand. In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Hall said: "The court has seized my UK passport and ordered an immigration block on my leaving Thailand without court permission pending a final decision of the court in my guilt or innocence." He was released on a 300,000 baht (US$8,280) bail on Wednesday after surrendering himself into court custody. "I'm not a flight risk based on my past behaviour in respecting the court and justice system of Thailand and researching migrant worker conditions in Thailand is not a crime. So why restrict my freedom pending a criminal trial when any guilt on my behalf has not been proven?" Hall posted on his Facebook page. Sonja Vartiala, executive director of Finnwatch, said in a statement from the organization that Hall should not be treated as a flight risk since he has followed the procedures of the Thai justice system and has acted in accordance with national law. "Andy Hall has shown nothing but respect towards the rule of law and the judiciary in Thailand, alongside his willingness to respond to allegations against him in a court of law. For this reason, there seems to be no reason to treat him as a flight risk, confiscate his passport and prevent him from traveling in and out of Thailand," she said. Hall is currently prohibited from traveling outside Thailand before a ruling has been issued in his case or unless special permission is granted. He could face a maximum of seven years in prison if he is found guilty at his trial at the Bangkok South Criminal Court on Jan. 18. The activist also indicated on Wednesday that he intends to seek help from the British Embassy in Thailand to retrieve his seized passport. "I shall now petition the UK embassy to Thailand requesting diplomatic officials to request the return of my confiscated passport from Bangkok South Criminal Court, given that the passport is the property of the UK government," he wrote on Facebook. Hall's report for Finnwatch is said to have prompted several Finnish supermarket retailers to stop purchasing pineapple concentrate from Natural Fruit after the company refused to let independent auditors assess working conditions at the plant. The post Thai Court Bars British Activist From Leaving Country appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Upper House Debates Presidential Protection, Immunity Bill Posted: 13 Jan 2016 04:52 AM PST  Burma's President Thein Sein in Irrawaddy Division, 2012. (Photo: Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A bill that would offer physical security and legal immunity to presidents after they leave office was debated by Burma's Upper House on Wednesday. The Former Presidents Security Bill raised eyebrows when it was introduced in mid-December, as it appeared to have been designed for the benefit of outgoing President Thein Sein, whose term will expire in March. The draft was approved by the Lower House on Dec. 31 with only minor amendments to a draft previously published in state media, drawing sharp criticism over provisions that appeared to offer blanket immunity to former heads of state. The bill also provides a personal bodyguard to be selected by the Home Affairs Ministry. The original draft granted the power of appointment to either the Defense Ministry or Home Affairs Ministry, mandating that whichever made the appointment would incur all costs related to the former president's security. The Lower House amended the clause, limiting the charge to Home Affairs, but Upper House military lawmakers argued on Wednesday to reverse the amendment. Lt-Col Myint Win, a lawmaker representing the military, said the clause gives the outgoing president more control over his personal security, as he or she would have the right to decide which ministry would ultimately select the bodyguard. "We will always respect and value our ex-presidents," Myint Win said. "To be able to live peacefully with his family and to choose his bodyguard, the law should be changed back to the original so he can appoint as he wishes either the defense or home affairs ministry." While the bill drew criticism outside of Parliament, it moved through the Lower House with relative ease. Only one lawmaker resisted approval of the expedited draft, hinging on the issue of immunity. The bill would ensure that a former president be "immune from any prosecution for his actions during his term." Lower House lawmaker Pe Than, a member of the Arakan National Party who was reelected in November, proposed striking the provision but the suggested was voted down. Home Affairs Minister Ko Ko countered with a suggestion to add the proviso "in accordance with the law," which was accepted. Pe Than denounced the modification as "unnecessary," reasoning that if a president's actions are in accordance with the law, there would be no reason to prosecute him, hence the clause ought to be removed altogether. "If he has weaknesses or is corrupt, he shouldn't be free," Pe Than told The Irrawaddy. "This law should have one purpose—the protecting the president from danger." The bill is expected to come to a vote during the current session of Parliament, which will close on Jan. 31. The new legislature, which will convene the following day, will be dominated by the National League for Democracy (NLD) after its landslide win against the current military-backed assembly.
The post Upper House Debates Presidential Protection, Immunity Bill appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Thai Court Accepts Murder Case Against Burmese Migrants in Ranong Posted: 13 Jan 2016 04:46 AM PST  The family of Burmese migrants detained on murder suspicions in Thailand allege police mistreatment of their sons while in Thai police custody, and took their complaint to authorities in Bangkok on Tuesday. (Photo: Facebook / Min Oo) A court in Thailand has accepted charges against four Burmese migrants accused of killing a Thai student last year, as family members of the suspects this week traveled to Bangkok to allege police mistreatment of their sons while in custody in Ranong, the southern Thai city where the murder took place. The four Burmese fisheries workers—two of them just 15 years old—have been in detention since their arrest in October 2015, in connection with the stabbing death of a 19-year-old Thai woman the previous month. Min Oo, a migrant rights advocate for the Foundation for Education Development, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that he had heard from lawyers of the accused that the court in Ranong had decided this week to accept the case against the four Burmese nationals. The provincial court had been given until Monday of next week to decide whether or not to take the case, with legal proceedings for months delayed by police's failure to compile a compelling body of evidence to support murder charges. The Burmese family members on Tuesday went to the Thai Royal Police's Crime Suppression and Anti-Corruption divisions in Bangkok to complain about alleged torture that they say their sons were subjected to by police during detention. "We brought the issue to the Bangkok police as we want justice," said Ei Ei Moe, the mother of suspect Moe Zin Aung, one of the minors in detention. "The Thai police interviewed me and I told them what happened on the day after my sons were arrested." "They were tortured to confess during interrogation," she claimed. "I saw the injuries on their necks when I went to meet them for the first time, which was eight days later [in October]." Moe Zin Aung and his older brother Kyaw Ye, who was later released, were arrested on Oct. 20 and the three others, Kyaw Soe Win, Wai Lin and Sein Kadon, were apprehended four days later. "The police came to my home on the night of October 21, and they brought my son Moe Zin Aung and told him to give them the knife," Ei Ei Moe recalled of Thai police's handling of the investigation. "I said we only have three kitchen knives, which we use to peel onions and fruits. They looked at the knives and said it is not [the murder weapon they were seeking]. And then they went outside but they came back inside the house and took two knives. "The next day, the police made a search of the sewer canal near my home, also near the shrimp-processing factory, and said they found the knives; but the two of them were taken from my home a night earlier." Ei Ei Moe also said her sons' employer had CCTV footage that proved the two boys were at work when the murder was perpetrated. "They are innocent teenagers, who love to play with kids," said the mother of four, who also has two younger daughters. Her two sons were the household breadwinners and had been working on fishing trawlers for four years at the time of their arrest, typically spending three weeks at sea each month. Returning to shore for four to six days, she said the boys would work as daily wage earners at a shrimp-processing factory—where they were detained in October—to earn extra income. Ei Ei Moe claimed her eldest son Kyaw Ye, 16, was also tortured during an interrogation before being released. "We could not ask him anything for two days when he came back, he was so afraid to talk. We didn't know what the police did to him," she said. "Later he said the police beat him; six or seven police surrounded and restrained him. One police officer kneeled down on his chest and the other strangled his throat. His head was hooded with a plastic bag and he fell back; as a result, his pinky finger was twisted, but it has recovered." Htoo Chit, director of the Foundation for Education Development, told The Irrawaddy that the families also brought their concerns to the Thailand Human Rights Commission, and the commission's representatives are travelling on Wednesday to Ranong to intervene in the case. The Foundation for Education Development is assisting the accused in the case, providing legal and counseling support together with Thai human rights lawyers, while Burmese tycoon Zaw Zaw's Ayeyarwady Foundation is supporting them financially. Acceptance of the murder case by the Ranong provincial court this week comes less than a month after a court farther southeast in Thailand's Koh Samui found two Burmese migrants guilty of a high-profile double murder. The Dec. 24 verdict and attendant death sentence for the two accused sparked days of protests in Rangoon amid doubts about the integrity of the investigation and court proceedings. The post Thai Court Accepts Murder Case Against Burmese Migrants in Ranong appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| SECM Warns Against Illegal Trade as Stock Exchange Readies for Business Posted: 13 Jan 2016 02:53 AM PST  Government officials gather during the opening ceremony of the Yangon Stock Exchange center in Rangoon, December 9, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — The Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar (SECM) issued a warning on Wednesday against illegal trading through unofficial channels. An announcement published in state-run daily The Global New Light of Myanmar cautioned that action will be taken against those caught selling stocks through illegal or "non-transparent means," including over social media sites. The Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) launched in December with six listed companies, but shares are not yet for sale. Trading is expected to begin in March, pending settlement of outstanding issues with the bourse's underwriters. A number of unsanctioned trading outlets, particularly on the social media site Facebook, have cropped up in anticipation of the full opening, some presenting themselves as official channels linked to the exchange. "If the government does not take action and give a warning, illegal trading will interfere with the market and people will be harmed by that," said Thet Htun Oo, director of the Myanmar Securities Exchange Center, which is one of about 10 underwriting firms licensed by the government. "If people want to buy or sell shares, they will have to go directly to securities companies such as MSEC and KBZ," he said. When YSX officially begins trade in March, shares will become available for First Myanmar Investment (FMI); Myanmar Citizens Bank; Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings Public Limited; Myanmar Agribusiness Public Company Limited [Mapco]; First Private Bank; and Great Hor Kham, according to Maung Maung Thein, deputy finance minister. The stock exchange—developed by the state-owned and US-blacklisted Myanmar Economic Bank with two Japanese partners—is expected to be a major advancement in Burma's financial field, offering a greater degree of stability to what has long been a poorly regulated and volatile investment landscape. The post SECM Warns Against Illegal Trade as Stock Exchange Readies for Business appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Ailing and Hospitalized, Letpadan Duo Again Denied Bail Posted: 13 Jan 2016 02:43 AM PST  Patients are seen inside Rangoon General Hospital on Oct. 15, 2013. (Photo: Jared Ferrie / Reuters) RANGOON — The local court in Thayawady Township, Pegu Division, continues to deny two detained education activists bail, despite their deteriorating health since they were jailed for involvement in protests against Burma's controversial National Education Law in March 2015. This is the second time student protestor Htein Lin Aung and supporter Mya Gyi have seen their requests for bail denied by the court. They are among five detainees who have been receiving medical treatment at Rangoon General Hospital for ailments, and the five will continue to receive treatment as their conditions are described as at-risk. "Ko Htein Lin Aung was denied bail, and the court said that we need to submit the doctor's signature attesting to his need for further medical treatment. In fact, we've already submitted the medical records signed by the medical superintendent of Rangoon Hospital. We'll appeal to the district court," said Aye Aye Khaing, a relative of Htein Lin Aung. Htein Lin Aung is suffering from an intestinal infection for which he requires continued medication, while X-rays show that Mya Gyi sustained injuries to his skull and jaw, and is reportedly suffering from numbness. Min Thway Thit, another one of the five students receiving medical treatment in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy that the ailing quintet would all require continued hospitalization, and were being told by authorities that they would not be allowed re-admission to Rangoon General Hospital if they returned to their cells at Thayawady Prison only to see their health deteriorate further. Protests against the National Education Law were staged for months before police launched a crackdown on the main column of demonstrators at Letpadan in Pegu Division on March 10. Police arrested more than 100 student protestors and their supporters in the crackdown. Ten months on, there have been more than 30 hearings and about 50 demonstrators continue to stand trial. The next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 19. The post Ailing and Hospitalized, Letpadan Duo Again Denied Bail appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Fifth Hpakant Landslide in One-Month Span Kills Three Posted: 13 Jan 2016 02:03 AM PST  A miner stands as he searches for jade stones at a mine dump in a Hpakant jade mine in Kachin State on Nov. 25, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) A fifth landslide in the span of a month at the jade mines of Kachin State's Hpakant Township reportedly killed three people on Tuesday night. The landslide occurred at about 10 pm on Tuesday, when local "hand-pickers" scavenging in the dark for the precious stone were at work at a mining waste dump site near Seik Mu village, according to Shwe Thein, a Seik Mu villager. "There were two landslides, which claimed the lives of three. My colleagues are going to the sites and we don't know yet how many more were there," he told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. The soil dump collapse took place near the location of a devastating landslide in November, when at least 114 small-scale miners were killed. Since that disaster, three less deadly landslides have occurred over the last month, the latest on Jan. 7. The jade prospectors, whose scavenging in Hpakant is technically illegal, were warned off further hand-picking in the area by authorities in the aftermath of the November tragedy. On Wednesday morning, local relief activists were headed to the scene of the latest landslide, but said they were not optimistic about prospects for carrying out an extensive search for additional victims, as the instability of the terrain made digging risky. Law Raw, a local witness, said Tuesday's landslide was triggered as a dump truck was depositing mining waste at the site of the disaster. These "fresh" dumps attract crowds of hand-pickers eager to comb through the debris for jade missed by the large companies responsible for the mining waste. Both the current Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) government and its incoming National League for Democracy (NLD) successor have pledged to tighten regulation of the Hpakant's jade mines in an effort to reduce deadly incidents like the landslides that have occurred with some regularity in recent years. The post Fifth Hpakant Landslide in One-Month Span Kills Three appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rangoon Police on Manhunt After Alleged Rape Incident Posted: 13 Jan 2016 01:05 AM PST  Police in Rangoon are said to be searching for a man accused of assault and attempted rape in the commercial capital on Sunday. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — A man in Rangoon attacked his employer and members of his employer's family, the victims say, after he was confronted for allegedly attempting to rape an underage woman on Sunday. Police confirmed the incident on Tuesday but declined to provide any additional information on the dispute that erupted in Thuwana, a neighborhood in Rangoon. The alleged attacker, Ye Thu Win, was employed in the construction industry by Kyaw Swar Myint, who is also a columnist for the Rangoon-based journal Tomorrow Weekly. According to the victims, Ye Thu Win visited his employer's home on Sunday night and asked a 17-year-old relative of Kyaw Swar Myint's wife to help him carry packages from his car, at which point he is accused of having attempted to rape her inside the vehicle. Ye Thu Win allegedly tried to threaten the young woman into silence, but she told her family. On being asked about the incident, Ye Thu Win is said to have taken a dagger to Kyaw Swar Myint's family, severely wounding his wife, who was taken to San Pya Hospital for treatment. "I never expected him to respond like this," said Kyaw Swar Myint. Police are currently looking for Ye Thu Win, who fled after the alleged attack. Kyaw Swar Myint's family is seeking to charge him for assault and attempted rape under articles 326, 376 and 511 of the Burmese Penal Code. The post Rangoon Police on Manhunt After Alleged Rape Incident appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| NLD Gets Prepped for Extreme Weather Posted: 13 Jan 2016 12:57 AM PST  Southern Shan State's Inle Lake faced severe drought during the last dry season that left many of the area's waterways dried up. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The National League for Democracy (NLD) has urged its township-level committees to begin preparations for extreme weather and water shortages, according to a statement by the party's Environmental Conservation Committee. The statement, released on Tuesday and signed by the committee chairman, encouraged local measures to prepare for extreme scenarios that could be caused by climate change or the current El Niño weather pattern. The notice said that "experts" warned of severe impacts of the oscillation, advising that there "could be water shortages due to an unusually short monsoon, leading to "extreme dryness." The NLD, which will assume power next month after its landslide win in the November general election, plans to host a conference on environmental issues in Rangoon on Jan. 14. Saw Moe Myint, and NLD MP-elect from Karen State and an advisor on the environmental committee, told The Irrawaddy that the party has invited an array of experts to inform and advise the committee on environmental and conservation issues at the conference. Urgent concerns such as the effects of mining in Kachin State's jade-rich Hpakant will also be on the agenda, said Saw Moe Myint, who is also a mining expert. Soil erosion, clean air and water will also be discussed. The NLD is still formulating a more detailed environmental policy framed on the principles outlined in the party manifesto late last year, he said. The post NLD Gets Prepped for Extreme Weather appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rise in Missing Minors Stirs Fear Among Internet Savvy Parents Posted: 13 Jan 2016 12:41 AM PST  A girl looks on as supporters of National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi watch election results in Mandalay, November 8, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Mee Mee is a 30-year-old housewife, and the mother of twin girls, aged five. They live in Rangoon, where she takes them to primary school every day, and in the afternoon she waits for class to end so she can escort them safely home. Alarmed by rumors of human trafficking circulating on social media, she has begun keeping a closer eye on her daughters; the rate of missing persons under the age of 18 has reached new heights, and speculation about the causes has run rampant. "I feel very worried about my kids' security," Mee Mee told The Irrawaddy. "I don't let them go anywhere with anyone who is not a relative." Nearly 100 people below the age of 18 went missing in December of last year, according to police figures, a staggering percentage of the 251 total reported missing persons cases that month. A police official told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that out of 2,817 cases nationwide in 2015, a total of 911 had been located and returned safely to their homes. That amounts to about 32 percent; the remainder are still "under investigation." Rangoon, Burma's largest city and its former capital, had the highest number of cases at 1,618, followed by Mandalay with 277, according to the Myanmar Police Force. While the numbers are alarming, officials say that social media users are spreading panic online. Rumors about the frequency and causes of disappearance may have created a collective paranoia about human trafficking, one officer told The Irrawaddy. Rangoon Division's Deputy Police Commissioner Win Bo said that while the causes were complex and varied, many minors were found to have left home of their own volition—either to escape abuse or seek work. Others appear to have simply gotten lost on city streets. "As per our investigations," Win Bo said, "the common reasons were that they no longer desired to stay at their homes, or they wanted to go out and work." In cases where the missing person was aged between 15 and 20, he said, the reasons for disappearance included domestic violence and a desire to work. Some were found to have been victims of human trafficking, while some ran away with their partners. According to the local anti-human trafficking police task force, of 640 reported trafficking victims last year, 157 of them were found to be minors—roughly 25 percent. An official from the task force, Khin Maung Hla, said that many social media users are exaggerating the prevalence of trafficking as the cause of child disappearances. "In some scenarios, relationships between the children and parents became problematic and children ended up running away from home," he said, explaining that while concern about child trafficking is within reason, the threat may not be as dire as people perceive it to be. A rise in children leaving home voluntarily to seek work does leave many vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking, he said, warning of the possibility of children "becoming trafficking victims without realizing it." The official admitted that some minors seeking employment "could become forced laborers or sex workers." Such tragedies do occur, and anti-trafficking authorities said they are working with NGOs to suppress the problem. As recently as Monday, the anti-trafficking task force teamed up with Save the Children to apprehend a 40-year-old woman accused of keeping four underage girls captive as sex workers. She will face charges under Burma's Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law, Khin Maung Hla said. The official further stressed the importance of continued fact-based awareness efforts, geared toward informing the public of trafficking patterns without causing undue alarm. Local and international NGOs, the Burmese government and UN agencies are coordinating toward this end, he said. The post Rise in Missing Minors Stirs Fear Among Internet Savvy Parents appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Burmese Team to Thailand Amid Preparations for Koh Tao Appeal Posted: 12 Jan 2016 10:41 PM PST  Burmese migrant worker Wai Phyo, right, leaves after hearing the verdict at the Koh Samui provincial court in Koh Samui, Thailand, on Dec. 24, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — The Burmese government has sent a special investigative team consisting of legal and forensics experts to Thailand, where lawyers for two Burmese migrant workers convicted of a high-profile double murder last month are preparing to appeal. The special team was sent after a discussion between Burma's ambassador to Thailand, the Thai government and the respective foreign affairs ministries of the two countries, according to a Facebook post by President's Office director Zaw Htay, who goes by the name Hmuu Zaw on the social networking site. A meeting between the Burmese team and the Lawyer's Council of Thailand was held on Monday to discuss preparations for appealing the guilty verdict handed down by a Thai court on Dec. 24, which prompted several days of protests outside the Thai Embassy in Rangoon. The team has scheduled a Wednesday visit to Thailand's Nakhon Si Thammarat Prison, where Burmese nationals Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo are behind bars following their conviction in the murder of two British tourists on the Thai island of Koh Tao in 2014. The team is also seeking to extend by one month the deadline by which the defense must file its appeal, currently set for Jan. 24. The Lawyer's Council of Thailand has requested that the Burmese government also cooperate with it on other Burmese migrant issues. The post Burmese Team to Thailand Amid Preparations for Koh Tao Appeal appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| In Return to Burma, Kachin Cage Fighter Brings Soft Heart and a Hard Right Posted: 12 Jan 2016 10:36 PM PST  Aung La N Sang, top, versus Casey Manrique in 2011. (Photo: aunglansang.com) His family had pegged him for a future as a religious leader, such was his "softhearted" character. You can imagine their surprise, then, as Aung La N Sang has ascended the ranks of mixed martial arts (MMA), a rising star in arguably one of the world's most violent sports. "He is the most humble and softhearted person in the family. During childhood, we thought he would one day be a Christian preacher because he is very good with people and loves animals," recalled N Sang Gum San, the older brother of the well-known American-Kachin cage fighter, who has notched a record of 17 wins and nine losses. Aung La N Sang, perhaps better known as "The Burmese Python" in the United States, visited Burma last week to attend a press conference held by Asia's largest sports promotion, ONE Championship, in Rangoon. The event was held to promote an upcoming MMA event hosted by Burma in March, when Aung La will be on the card, fighting for the first time in his home country. Originally from Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, Aung La's family lived in Rangoon for several years before moving to the United States over a period from 1997 to 2002. Gum San describes his younger brother as enjoying a reserved and rural lifestyle, choosing to work on a dairy farm milking cows during college, and later taking a job on a bee farm as his first out of college. His life's dream used to be returning to Kachin State to start a dairy farm of his own, an aspiration that, at least for the time being, has been put on hold. None of his family members thought that 30-year-old Aung La would one day become a prominent cage fighter, and Gum San said his mother is not particularly pleased with his brother's MMA foray, with its inherent link to violence. "Unlike conventional boxing or wrestling, MMA is an extremely brutal sport, where one has a high chance of exiting the cage with broken bones or cuts on the face," said Gum San. "There were many instances of Aung La coming home with broken bones or torn muscles from his gym practices. It is hard to see one's own child getting beaten up or knocked down in a cage," he added. Living in Elkridge, Maryland, Aung La began MMA training in 2004. He studied agricultural science at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Thousands of miles away, at a press conference at the swank Kandawgyi Palace Hotel in Rangoon last week, Aung La found himself, perhaps inevitably, drawn into Burma's fraught political arena. He told reporters that he was not happy with ongoing fighting in Kachin State, which last year uprooted hundreds of villagers, on top of a population numbering more than 100,000 of civilians who have been displaced since 2011. "I'm very sad. I came here not for political reasons, but I'm not happy. I will try my best to help [those affected by the conflict]," Aung La N Sang told reporters at the event. On his personal website, Aung La wrote that he hopes to open a school in his hometown, Myitkyina, one day. "My goals, in my MMA career is to be the ONE Championship's champion, and one day open a school back home in Myitkyina, Myanmar," he wrote. Gum San said he hoped Aung La's popularity both in United States and Burma would bring positive changes for the people of the latter country, and especially the ethnic minorities who have lived with decades of civil war and repression. The resulting mistrust that long-running conflict has sown is one issue that his brother hopes Aung La can help break down. Gum San said national reconciliation, a sense of national pride, and greater unity among the country's people were all areas where his brother could be an asset. "Aung La's life represents the aspiration of millions of young people of our nation. I hope his popularity will shed light on the continued suffering of Kachin people due to civil war in Kachin State and northern Shan State," said Gum San. "I hope Aung La's career will pave way for enhanced inter-ethnic relations for citizens of the Union and energize people to rebuild the Union," he added. Fighting between the Burma Army and ethnic Kachin rebels of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of the country's largest ethnic armed groups, was renewed in June 2011, after a 17-year ceasefire between the two sides broke down. On-and-off fighting continues in Kachin State, including occasional airstrikes by the government army. "We are fighting a war because authority chooses military means to resolve political issues," said Gum San. For the downtrodden in Burma, Gum San said his brother could serve as an inspiration. "I feel proud that we ethnic people and the Burmese people, in general, have the capacity to succeed and contribute to the global community, if granted equal opportunity," he said, commenting on brother's success. "On the same note, I am sad that many talented people and countless people with potential continue to be deprived of the right to pursue their life's passion." The post In Return to Burma, Kachin Cage Fighter Brings Soft Heart and a Hard Right appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Brick Uptick in Burma’s Mon State Posted: 12 Jan 2016 10:17 PM PST Click to view slideshow. INDU VILLAGE, Mon State — A construction boom in the state capital Moulmein has fueled a commensurate uptick in small-scale brickmaking ventures in Mon State. During a recent visit by The Irrawaddy to Indu village, along the border of Mon and Karen states, piles of freshly baked bricks were laid out on a once fertile plot of farmland where a cluster of kilns are now scattered. Mostly manned by migrant workers, who along with their families typically have traveled from upcountry, these kilns are operational only during Burma's dry season, from November to March. A 25-by-25-foot kiln at Indu village can produce more than 30,000 bricks in a week. The post Brick Uptick in Burma's Mon State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Suu Kyi’s Surprise Attendance Seen as Boost for Burma Peace Talks Posted: 12 Jan 2016 10:00 PM PST  Aung San Suu Kyi arrives to give a speech at the Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw, January 12, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Aung San Suu Kyi's last-minute decision to join Burma peace talks she had previously criticized took some attendees by surprise, and could boost the chances of progress with rebel groups who have so far resisted joining the process. The democracy champion, who led her party to a landslide election victory in November, shared the stage in the capital Naypyidaw with members of the former military junta, which kept her under house arrest for years and persecuted her allies. Suu Kyi has already shown she is willing to do business with former foes, and, despite a constitutional ban on her becoming president, has also made clear that she intends to lead the country. Her appearance at peace talks this week attended by the military, members of parliament and some of the armed guerrilla groups waging local insurgencies across Burma underlined that sense of pragmatism, experts said. Until now, Suu Kyi had dismissed the ceasefire agreed last year as a pre-election stunt by outgoing President Thein Sein to win votes in ethnic areas. "Today's conference shows how the talks over the political transition and change of government in [Burma] are progressing unexpectedly quickly and smoothly as the parties learn to trust one another," said Yohei Sasakawa, a peace envoy for Japan who has been involved in the talks for the last three years. By appearing to endorse Thein Sein's efforts, Suu Kyi is also signaling to rebel groups to trust her and return to the negotiating table, Sasakawa added. "I think this has sent a very powerful message toward the groups that have thus far withheld their support for the ceasefire," he told Reuters. Thein Sein was on stage with Suu Kyi on Tuesday for the talks, as was army chief Min Aung Hlaing and other leading members of the former junta that ruled the country for 49 years until a semi-civilian government came to power in 2011. Test of Military's Intentions In October, Thein Sein's government signed what it called a nationwide ceasefire agreement, but seven of 15 rebel groups invited to participate declined to sign, including some of the most powerful. Other groups were not invited to take part or showed little interest in the process. This week's five-day meeting attended by hundreds of representatives of guerrilla groups was arranged to advance the peace process. While ostensibly a conciliatory step towards former enemies, Suu Kyi's move also carries considerable risks, Western diplomats and political analysts said, because it means she has associated herself with a process she cannot fully control. Since October, the army has been engaged in an offensive against ethnic rebel groups in the north and the east of the country, displacing thousands of people. Suu Kyi's involvement in peace talks will also test how far the military, which maintains considerable influence over Burmese politics, is willing to submit to civilian control. Experts and some participants at the talks said Suu Kyi's appearance is likely to be only the start of her formal engagement, and major breakthroughs in peace talks are unlikely until her government is formed. Clinching a lasting ceasefire would be a historic feat for Suu Kyi and could help tens of thousands of people displaced by fighting, as well as open up areas of the country where conflict has prevented development since as long ago as World War II. It would also bring a more integrated state with a fuller representation of its ethnic nationalities, delegates said. "In our country, we have many things to negotiate, as there are many key players, such as the army, the government and ethnic groups. So the discussions will take a long time," said Sui Khar, a leader of the Chin National Front whose armed wing has fought the government for nearly 30 years. "But I believe it will happen, one step at a time." The post Suu Kyi's Surprise Attendance Seen as Boost for Burma Peace Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| India Urged to Ban Female Genital Mutilation Posted: 12 Jan 2016 09:23 PM PST  Dawoodi Bohra Muslims join their hands as they take blessings from their new spiritual leader Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin in Mumbai on Feb. 19, 2014. (Photo: Danish Siddiqui / Reuters) LONDON — A group of Indian women who were subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) as children are calling on the government to ban the ancient ritual, describing it as child abuse. FGM, which can cause serious physical and psychological problems, is more commonly linked to African countries, which have led international efforts to end the practice. Little is known about FGM in India, where the ritual is carried out in great secrecy by the close-knit Dawoodi Bohra community, a Shia Muslim sect thought to number more than 1 million. The campaign is led by Masooma Ranalvi, a 49-year-old publisher who has launched an online petition in which she describes how she was cut as a 7-year-old in Mumbai. "The shock and trauma of that day are still with me. All of us feel scarred by it. It is there in our psyche," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from New Delhi. "What makes me really angry is that this continues today. What happened to me is history, but why are we doing this to young girls even now? Someone has to speak up and we have to stop this." Campaigners said the Dawoodi Bohras are the only Muslim community in India to practice FGM. The ritual—called Khatna in India—involves removing part of the clitoris. Although it is not mentioned in the Koran, the Bohras consider Khatna a religious obligation. Debate on the subject has long been taboo, campaigners say. "There is a lot of fear in the community that if you do not obey you will be excommunicated," Ranalvi said. "It has taken a lot of courage to speak out. Today, a lot of women support us but they are not willing to come out openly because of this fear." India is not included on UN lists of countries affected by FGM, but Ranalvi estimated up to three quarters of Bohra girls are still cut. Psychological Trauma The petition, initiated by 17 Bohra women, calls for a law banning FGM in India. Campaigners plan to present it to the Bohra high priest and the government in the coming weeks. Government officials were not immediately available to comment. Campaigners say a previous anonymous petition to the Bohra high priest was ignored. One of the 17 women, Aarefa Johari, said FGM was rooted in the patriarchal belief that a woman's sexual desire must be curbed. "Even where the physical injury is no longer severe, the psychological trauma is really long-lasting," said Johari, co-founder of Sahiyo, a group campaigning to end FGM in the Bohra community. "We've heard from a lot of women who experience and remember the trauma as a form of sexual abuse," she added. Worldwide, up to 140 million girls and women have undergone FGM, which is carried out in a swathe of Africa and pockets of the Middle East and Asia. The practice among Indian Dawoodi Bohras hit headlines in November when a court in Australia found two members of the diaspora community guilty of cutting two girls. A Bohra religious leader was convicted of being an accessory. The UN General Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution three years ago in favor of the elimination of FGM. Most African countries where FGM is practiced have made it illegal. The post India Urged to Ban Female Genital Mutilation appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Bangladesh Seeks Death Penalty for Islamist Convicted of War Crimes Posted: 12 Jan 2016 09:06 PM PST  Delwar Hossain Sayedee, a central executive committee member of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, is seen in a car as police arrest him in Dhaka on June 29, 2010. (Photo: Shafiuddin Ahmed Bitu / Reuters) DHAKA — The Bangladesh government on Tuesday filed a review petition with the Supreme Court seeking the death penalty for a top Islamist leader convicted of war crimes during the country's independence war in 1971. A war crimes tribunal set up in 2010 has sparked violence and drawn criticism from opposition politicians, including leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, that it is victimizing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's political opponents. Four opposition politicians, including three leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, have been convicted by the tribunal and executed since late 2013. The Supreme Court in 2014 commuted to life imprisonment a death sentence handed down to top Jamaat-e-Islami member Delwar Hossain Sayedee, 76, for atrocities committed during the nine-month war to break away from Pakistan. State prosecutors are challenging that decision. "We have sought the highest punishment for him," Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told reporters, after his office filed the petition. Sayedee's initial conviction in 2013 on charges of genocide, rape, torture and the persecution of Hindus triggered protests in which about 60 people were killed. About 3 million people were killed, according to official figures, and thousands of women were raped, during the war in which some factions, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, opposed the breakaway from what was then called West Pakistan. But the party denies that its leaders committed any atrocities. Anger over the tribunal's convictions and the executions has come amid a surge in militant violence in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, with militant groups claiming the murder of two foreigners and four secular writers and a publisher last year. The government has blamed the increase in Islamist violence on the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is an important ally of the main opposition party, but it denies any link to the attacks. The post Bangladesh Seeks Death Penalty for Islamist Convicted of War Crimes appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| China Formally Arrests Secretly Held Rights Lawyers for Subversion Posted: 12 Jan 2016 08:59 PM PST  A pro-democracy protester during a demonstration outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong, China, on Dec. 15, 2015. (Photo: Tyrone Siu / Reuters) BEIJING — China formally arrested several Chinese human rights lawyers on suspicion of subverting state power after months of secret detention, one of their colleagues said Tuesday, the latest move by authorities to crack down on dissent. President Xi Jinping's administration has tightened control over almost every aspect of civil society since 2012, citing the need to buttress national security and stability. As many as 38 lawyers and activists associated with the Beijing Fengrui law firm have been swept up in the crackdown and held since July under a procedure which allows for six months of secret detention, Human Rights Watch has said. The firm has represented several high-profile clients, such as the ethnic Uighur dissident Ilham Tohti. State media has accused the firm and its associates of orchestrating protests outside courts and politicizing ordinary legal cases in order to attract international attention. Zhou Shifeng, the firm's director, was among those whose families were notified by police in the northern city of Tianjin on Tuesday of their Jan. 8 arrest, his colleague Liu Xiaoyuan said. The families of Wang Quanzhang and Li Shuyun, a lawyer and apprentice lawyer at the firm, were also notified of their arrests on the same charges, Liu said, which carry possible life sentences in severe cases. "For the crime to become as serious as state subversion, it's a completely political charge," Liu said. Several other people from separate firms, including Zhao Wei, an assistant for the prominent detained lawyer Li Heping, were also arrested for state subversion or inciting state subversion, Liu said. Calls to Tianjin police seeking comment went unanswered. From July through September, authorities detained or questioned about 300 human rights lawyers and activists, rights groups have said, in the government's most severe clampdown on dissent in two decades. China consistently rejects any criticism of its human rights record, saying it adheres to the rule of law. Nonetheless, the crackdown has alarmed Western governments. US Ambassador to China Max Baucus has called on China to recognize several detained rights lawyers as "partners, not enemies of the government." Chinese authorities have also detained a Swedish national who worked on legal aid and rule of law, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. The post China Formally Arrests Secretly Held Rights Lawyers for Subversion appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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