AllSBNews: 03/25/16

Friday, March 25, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Chief Ministers to Be Announced on Monday
photo of the week (May 25, 2015)
UWSA to Host Ethnic Armed Groups at War With Govt
Mandalay to Begin Construction of Konbaung Museum
Despite Controversy, Cell Phone Tax to Be Enacted April 1
Some See Politics in Burmanization, Suffrage for Ethnic Chinese in N. Shan State
Fourth Telecoms Operator Approved
YSX Shares Trading Kicks Off With One Listing
Flyovers Not Effective Solution to Rangoon’s Traffic Woes
President-Elect Proposes New UEC Leadership
Suu Kyi Talks Chief Minister Post, Economic and Minority Affairs With ANP
Pressure Grows on Jakarta to Tackle Indigenous Rights Abuses
N. Korea Claims Rocket Engine Success; South on High Alert

Chief Ministers to Be Announced on Monday

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 08:10 AM PDT

Aung San Suu Kyi gives a speech as Phyo Min Thein acknowledges the crowd at a stadium in Rangoon's Hlegu Township on Feb. 15, 2012. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — Rangoon Division's incoming chief minister will be announced at the regional legislature on Monday, along with all other states and regions during their respective sessions on the same day, according to divisional lawmakers.

Lawmaker Sandar Min, from Rangoon's Seikgyikanaungto constituency, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that regional lawmakers were informed that President-elect Htin Kyaw's appointees for Burma's 14 chief minister posts would be announced during Monday's parliamentary session.

"It will take place in all regional parliaments across the country at the same time on March 28," she said.

National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker Phyo Min Thein from Rangoon's Hlegu constituency has been tipped to become the next Rangoon Division chief minister. The 46-year-old was elected to the Union Parliament's Lower House in Burma's 2012 by-election and went on to serve as a member of that chamber's banking and finance development committee. Last year, he trained his sights on regional governance, successfully contesting his Hlegu Township seat at the divisional level.

Sandar Min said she would have "no objection" if Phyo Min Thein is selected.

Rangoon-based political analyst Khin Zaw Win told The Irrawaddy that Rangoon needs a strong candidate for the position, as the nation's commercial hub and most populous city.

"It's a very important position among all the states and regions," he said. "He or she should be well experienced and a senior figure in the political field."

The Rangoon Division cabinet of the outgoing government has nine ministries, and lawmakers were unable to confirm whether a new ministerial configuration would be announced on Monday as well.

The post Chief Ministers to Be Announced on Monday appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

photo of the week (May 25, 2015)

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 06:14 AM PDT

A man carries water in jerrycans under a scorching sun in Sagaing Division, Upper Burma, on March 23 as the country experiences unusually high temperatures and water scarcity blamed in part on the El Niño weather phenomenon. (Photo: Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

The post photo of the week (May 25, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UWSA to Host Ethnic Armed Groups at War With Govt

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 05:52 AM PDT

RANGOON — The United Wa State Army (UWSA) has invited ethnic armed groups in ongoing conflict with the Burmese government in northern Shan State to a meeting on Saturday at its Panghsang headquarters in the Wa Special Region, the powerful group's latest engagement in a peace process that it has approached with am

Ethnic armed groups meeting in Panghsang, the capital of the Wa Special Region, in November 2015. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy)

bivalence.

"We will talk at the meeting about how to carry out future peace talks," Zhao Guoan, a spokesman for the UWSA, told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

"Then, we will talk about fighting between our ethnics," he added, referring to reported clashes this year between the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Shan State Army-South. "They should stop attacking each other. Our wish is for our ethnic groups to have unity and to bring them together in one place."

He added that participants would also discuss how best to resettle civilians displaced by recent conflict.

Multiple ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State have clashed with the Burma Army in recent months, forcing thousands to flee their homes, with Kyaukme and Kutkai townships particularly affected. Fighting flared as recently as Thursday, when the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and TNLA went up against government troops in Mong Baw and Kyaukme townships, respectively.

Nai Hong Sar, vice chairman of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) alliance of ethnic armed groups, confirmed that the UWSA would host a meeting, but added that only ethnic armed groups operating in northern Shan State had been invited.

"We heard that they will have a meeting. But, we were not invited to join it," said Nai Hong Sar, speaking of the New Mon State Party ethnic armed group, for which he also serves as vice chairman.

Leaders of ethnic armed groups with a presence in northern Shan State began arriving in Panghsang, the capital of the Wa autonomous zone, on Friday to attend the weekend meeting, according to Tar Bong Kyaw, general secretary of the TNLA.

"Many of the leaders have arrived already, but still more are coming," he said.

The UWSA, Burma's largest ethnic armed group, previously hosted a similar gathering in Panghsang, where in November it invited non-signatories to a so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government.

The ethnic armed groups decided at the meeting that they would await a transfer of power to the incoming National League for Democracy (NLD) government before engaging with the peace process further.

Based in northeastern Shan State, the UWSA is among about a dozen ethnic armed groups that have not signed the nationwide ceasefire accord. Its leadership has not participated in the multilateral negotiations between ethnic armed groups and Naypyidaw that have played out over the last few years, saying UWSA participation was unnecessary given a bilateral ceasefire that it reached with the government in 1989.

Early this year, a UWSA spokesman called a political dialogue between the government and signatories to the nationwide ceasefire "meaningless" as long as it continued to exclude certain ethnic armed groups from the process.

The government and Burma Army refused to allow the TNLA, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Arakan Army to sign the accord, which eight ethnic armed groups inked in October.

Zhao Guoan told The Irrawaddy that all three non-signatories, as well as the KIA, National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), and Shan State Army-North, would attend Saturday's talks.

The post UWSA to Host Ethnic Armed Groups at War With Govt appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mandalay to Begin Construction of Konbaung Museum

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 05:13 AM PDT

King Thibaw and Queen Suphayalat, the last monarchs in Burma's Konbaung Dynasty. (Photo: Public Domain)

A groundbreaking ceremony for a Mandalay museum dedicated to Burma’s Konbaung Dynasty was held on Friday.

The Konbaung Dynasty was also Burma’s last monarchy, and reigned from 1752 until 1885 from their kingdom’s capital in Mandalay. Estimated to cost two billion kyats (over US$1.6 million), the museum will showcase historic records of buildings and businesses in Mandalay during this period, as well as documentary photos, and both gems– including rubies and jade– and tools used in mining. Also present will be historic artifacts from Bagan’s Archaeological Zone.

“Such a museum will be the first of its kind in Mandalay. We want it to become the landmark of Mandalay Division. We will build the museum to make the visitors feel they can see the entire Mandalay Division there," said Thet Naing Tun, joint secretary of Mandalay City Development Committee.

Hsuu Ngat, a renowned historian and writer in Mandalay said: "If the museum is to be named Konbaung, it should represent the entire Konbaung Dynasty. But if it mainly exhibits jade and gems, it will just become a jade promotion."

The museum will be built on land owned by Mandalay City Development Committee on 73^rd Street in Chanmyathazi Township. It will be funded by Chan Hein Construction Co. and is scheduled to be completed in three years.

The post Mandalay to Begin Construction of Konbaung Museum appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Despite Controversy, Cell Phone Tax to Be Enacted April 1

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 05:05 AM PDT

A man uses his cell phone on the side of a street in Rangoon in March 2013. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — A five percent tax on cell phone users, previously postponed after being met with intense backlash from the public, is set to go into effect on April 1.

"Starting April 1, all mobile phone usage amounts will include a commercial tax of 5 percent as per Union tax law," Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), one of Burma's three telecommunications providers, told its customers via text message on Friday.

In May 2015, outgoing President Thein Sein's administration announced the plan to levy a tax on MPT, Ooredoo and Telenor subscribers starting June 1. But public criticism convinced the government to delay the tax until after the current fiscal year, which ends March 31.

In December, Win Shein, incumbent Minister of Finance, reintroduced the bill to Parliament, contending that, annually, Burma could generate a tax revenue of some 84 billion kyats (approximately US$69.5 million). Parliament approved the bill that same month.

Thidar Myint, from the Ministry of Finance's Internal Revenue Department, told The Irrawaddy that the tax will be levied for phone calls, text message, and internet usage; from April 1 on, cell phone users' credit balance will reflect this new tax.

"Users will not be charged when they top up. Instead, the tax will only be applied to their total usage amount, and each month operators will give the tax to the Internal Revenue Department, according to their data on [cell phone] users," Thidar Myint explained.

The enactment of this tax on April 1 will coincide with the transfer of power from Burma’s military-backed government to a civilian-led National League for Democracy administration on the same day.

The post Despite Controversy, Cell Phone Tax to Be Enacted April 1 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Some See Politics in Burmanization, Suffrage for Ethnic Chinese in N. Shan State

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 04:28 AM PDT

A pink-colored national identity card, designating full Burmese citizenship. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — An 11th hour decision by the outgoing Burmese government to grant citizenship to tens of thousands of ethnic Chinese living in northern Shan State's Tarmoenye sub-township has raised eyebrows, with some questioning whether the move was politically motivated.

A statement from Burma's Immigration Department, dated March 11 but only posted online this week, announced that immigration authorities had granted full citizenship to members of the "Mong Wong" ethnic Chinese group in Tarmoenye, part of Kutkai Township, enabling them to vote and enjoy other rights previously withheld.

Why and how these people were afforded full citizenship are questions that will no doubt be of interest to an untold number of ethnic Chinese across Burma who have been afforded no such privilege and remain holders of second-tier citizenship or none at all. Others including Palaung, one of the region's predominant ethnic groups, say the move by the outgoing administration was a cynical attempt to secure future votes for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), of which President Thein Sein is chairman.

Under Burma's 1982 Citizenship Law, the group will be re-categorized as "Mong Wong Burman" and granted the pink-colored ID cards that confer full citizenship, after previously being identified as "Mong Wong Chinese" on temporary identity documents commonly known as white cards.

Ruled by the military for five decades, Burma through the years has denied full citizenship to those of Chinese ancestry and other ethnic or religious groups, including Hindus and Muslims, who were born in, and in many cases have never left, the country.

But the move to enfranchise what the Immigration Department statement said amounted to some 60,000 people in Tarmoenye is being called into question by some.

"There is nothing about them related to our ethnicity. They are Chinese, how did they become ethnic Burman?" said Aik Moon, a Ta'ang National Party state lawmaker from Tarmoenye.

"They have a different way of living, and some even only speak Chinese. How can they be a Burmese ethnicity? But we do not have power to do anything," he added.

Myint Kyaing, who is head of the Immigration Department, told the 7Day daily newspaper that the president had the right, as enshrined in the 1982 Citizenship Law, to grant citizenship in cases deemed beneficial to the country.

Sai Maung Tin, a former Upper House lawmaker representing northern Shan State for the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), said the government had erred in not consulting other ethnic groups in the area before deciding to offer citizenship to the Mong Wong.

"They used to stay under our Shan saopha," he said, referring to Shan chieftains of the past, who ruled over fiefdoms in Burma's east and northeast. "They were Chinese, but one type of ethnic [presence] within our Shan [fiefdom]. For me, I feel that they should have the right to citizenship. However, it would have been better for the government to talk to our Shan before making this decision."

"The government has made this case more controversial now," Sai Maung Tin added.

Thein Sein's government, which will leave office at the end of this month, is not the first to show favor toward the Mong Wong. According to the Immigration Department statement, "the heads of State of successive periods recognized the cooperation of [Mong Wong] Bamar ethnic for national security," and in 1998 former junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe ordered that the group be recognized as a subgroup under the ethnic Burman majority.

Two "widescale" referendums were held later that year in which the new categorization was "heartily accepted," the statement claims.

It goes on to state that through an apparent combination of administrative mismanagement and poor communication, the group was never properly granted full citizenship, resulting in only 620 out of "some 60,000 eligible Tar Moe Nye region [Mong Wong] Bamar voters having suffrage in the 2015 election."

It was that vote in Kutkai Township that saw USDP lawmaker Myint Lwin re-elected to the Shan State legislature. Also known as Wang Guoda, Myint Lwin is said to have had close ties to Than Shwe and former spy chief Gen. Khin Nyunt dating back to the 1980s, when he reportedly helped the junta in its fight against the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) along the Sino-Burmese border.

To this day, Myint Lwin commands a Mong Wong militia known as Mung Nye or Ta Moe Nye, and reportedly has significant business interests in Shan State.

"He often asked General Than Shwe to recognize his Chinese people for Burmese citizenship. He asked my father-in-law for advice on how to write letters to be sent to General Than Shwe [requesting citizenship]," said Aik Moon, who explained that his father-in-low used to work at a company owned by Myint Lwin.

Over the years, Mong Wong Chinese have proven a reliable ally to the central government in an unstable region—northern Shan State but extending also to Kachin State and the Kokang Special Region—beset by ethnic conflict, guns and drugs.

Myint Lwin's pro-government militia is estimated to be about 100-men strong.

Mai Aike Kyaw, a spokesman for the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), said offering full citizenship could be interpreted as an attempt to ensure allegiance in the volatile region.

"There are different ethnic groups active in the region. Our armed group [TNLA] is active in the area. They [the Burma Army] have to work with militias on the ground. They have army bases in Tarmoenye and Kutkai through working together with those militia," said Mai Aike Kyaw, whose TNLA is involved in ongoing conflict with the Burma Army.

The post Some See Politics in Burmanization, Suffrage for Ethnic Chinese in N. Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Fourth Telecoms Operator Approved

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 03:49 AM PDT

Mobile phones are seen in a shop window in Rangoon (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — After months of delay, a fourth telecoms operator has been approved for a license, said Win Than, Deputy Minister of Communication and Information Technology, in Naypyidaw on Friday.

The telecoms license was awarded to three shareholders: Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public Ltd., formed from 11 private companies; Viettel, a Vietnam-based telecoms operator; and Star High Public Co. Ltd., proposed by the Defense Ministry, Win Than said.

Prospective local companies had to possess at least three billion kyats (US$2.3 million) or have enough capital reserve to create a new public telecoms company. According to an announcement from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, seven foreign firms showed interest in the partnership.

Norway's Telenor, Qatar's Ooredoo, and the state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) hold the country's other three telecoms licenses.

The government established a Joint Venture Formation and Tender Selection Work Committee to promote a more transparent process for awarding the license.

Burma's fourth operator will run as a joint venture with at least 51 percent owned by the local firm, and the remaining share going to the foreign firm.

The post Fourth Telecoms Operator Approved appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

YSX Shares Trading Kicks Off With One Listing

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 03:43 AM PDT

Serve Pun, chairman of First Myanmar Investment, rings a bell to signal the start of trading at the Yangon Stock Exchange on Friday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Following earlier delays, shares trading at the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) kicked off on Friday, debuting one week before a new government comes to power in Burma.

The YSX officially "launched" in December, but shares since then had only been traded internally through dry-run testing. According to YSX officials, this delay was to ensure smooth operation of the new capital market.

Six firms are due to be listed on the YSX initially: 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.

On Friday, however, five of these firms were not yet ready for shares trading when FMI chairman Serge Pun joined Maung Maung Thein, head of the Myanmar Securities and Exchange Commission (SECM), to ring a golden bell signaling the long-awaited start to trading.

"Today, only shares for FMI [were] available," said Thet Tun Oo, senior executive director of the YSX, adding that shares trading for the other five listed companies would be available at an as yet unknown future date.

The floor price for FMI shares began at 26,000 kyats (US$22) and shares traded at 31,000 kyats by the time trading ended Friday afternoon, with the stock having reached the upper limit of a daily 5,000 kyats floor and ceiling on stock price fluctuation that is in place to prevent volatility on the bourse.

Six securities companies—including Kanbawza (KBZ) Group of Companies, CB Securities, AYA Securities and the Myanmar Securities Exchange Center—have been selected as underwriters and will work with the YSX as liaisons between the listed companies and buyers and sellers.

The YSX is Burma's first modern stock exchange. Its backers hope the new capital market will help spur growth in Burma's once-moribund economy.

The post YSX Shares Trading Kicks Off With One Listing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Flyovers Not Effective Solution to Rangoon’s Traffic Woes

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 03:13 AM PDT

The recently opened 8 Mile junction flyover in Mayangone Township. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The construction of flyovers has not been an effective solution to ever-worsening traffic woes in Rangoon, said lawmakers at the first regular session of the Rangoon Division parliament on Thursday.

As parliament debated the Rangoon Division's planning draft law for the 2016-17 fiscal year, MP Yan Shin, from Rangoon's Mayangone Township, said that he still sees long queues of cars at the existing flyovers.

"Building flyovers is costly, and can't fully solve the traffic problem," Yan Shin told the regional parliament.

Assessment reports of planning and budget draft laws for the upcoming fiscal year, submitted by the Finance, Planning and Economics committee, called for reconsideration of a plan to build two additional flyovers: one at the junction of Kaba Aye Pagoda and Parami roads, and the other in North Okkalapa Township.

Lawmaker Sandar Min, the chairwoman of the Finance, Planning and Economics committee, said the Japan International Cooperation Agency's (JICA) Greater Yangon Strategic Urban Development Plan would not mesh with the existing flyovers. The long-term joint initiative between JICA and the Burmese government aims to develop infrastructure needed to make Rangoon more livable by 2040.

"Our reports point out why the new government shouldn't build more flyovers. Building flyovers may be a short-term solution for traffic congestion, but looking into the more distant future, it will mean the government has to incur double the costs," said Sandar Min, referring to flyovers that may later be demolished if they can't exist in tandem with the proposed infrastructure improvements in the Greater Yangon Strategic Urban Development Plan.

Lawmaker Yan Aung, representing Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township, has also stressed the need to spend public funds appropriately.

"If flyovers were to be demolished because of multilevel road and bridge construction in the Greater Yangon project, those public funds need to be spent systematically. Those flyovers were built with people's hard-earned money," he said.

According to the Rangoon Division government, a total of seven flyovers, including the recently opened 8 Mile junction and one currently under construction at Tamwe junction, were constructed at a cost of over $130 billion kyat (over US$100 million) during outgoing President Thein Sein's five-year term, which began in 2011.

This article was translated by Thet Ko Ko.

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President-Elect Proposes New UEC Leadership

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 03:09 AM PDT

An election monitor holds up a vote for the National League for Democracy (NLD) as the counting of advance votes take place at a polling station during the general election in Mandalay on Nov. 8, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Burma's President-elect Htin Kyaw has nominated the chairman and members of the Union Election Commission (UEC), choosing five men to oversee the country's 2020 general election and expected by-elections to fill vacant legislative seats ahead of that.

Union Parliament Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than presented the proposed list of new UEC members to lawmakers during a joint parliamentary session on Friday, naming a former election subcommissioner to head the Naypyidaw-based polling body.

Five members—Hla Thein, Aung Myint, Soe Reh, Tun Khin and Hla Tint—were nominated, with Hla Thein proposed as chairman. Most nominees are lawyers from the Attorney General's Office, and no members of the current, 15-member UEC are on the list.

A member of the outgoing UEC told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the proposed new chairman was head of the election subcommission for Meikhtila District in Mandalay Division. Meikhtila Township is one place where the National League for Democracy (NLD) saw defeat to the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in a general election last year that the party of Aung San Suu Kyi otherwise dominated.

According to a biography distributed to parliamentarians, Hla Thein, 67, is a retired professor who formerly taught at Meikhtila University. He worked in the geology department at Mandalay and Magwe universities and as a rector at three colleges.

The powerful UEC holds broad authority to arrange, postpone or cancel elections, monitor and decide the fate of political parties and candidates, and judge election-related disputes, among other related responsibilities.

The current UEC is chaired by ex-general Tin Aye, who was also a USDP lawmaker before taking up the post in 2011. The commission he led was comprised of 15 members, including eight ethnic minority members who were added in 2015.
Tin Aye, who was largely praised for his handling of the Nov. 8 election and its aftermath, had previously indicated that he would not be interested in a second term as UEC chairman.

Parliament will vote on Htin Kyaw's proposal on Monday, with high likelihood of approval given the strong majorities that his party, the NLD, holds in both chambers.

It was not immediately clear whether the five-member UEC proposed would mean a permanent downsizing of the commission, perhaps as part of the NLD's pursuit of "lean," more efficient government.

The post President-Elect Proposes New UEC Leadership appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi Talks Chief Minister Post, Economic and Minority Affairs With ANP

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 03:08 AM PDT

Aung San Suu Kyi and National League for Democracy (NLD) representatives meet with an Arakan National Party (ANP) delegation in Naypyidaw on Thursday evening. (Photo: NLD Chairperson / Facebook)

RANGOON – National League for Democracy (NLD) chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi urged Arakan National Party (ANP) lawmakers to collaborate with her NLD-led cabinet in Arakan State on Thursday, while also reportedly taking the opportunity to hold a discussion on the economic sector and relations with the region's Rohingya minority.

Lower House ANP MP Pe Than told The Irrawaddy that NLD spokesman Win Htein invited 22 ANP lawmakers to Naypyidaw for an initial meeting with Suu Kyi at the capital's municipal guest house on Thursday evening.

The ANP has selected three representatives, including Pe Than, to engage in a further dialogue with Suu Kyi. One of the most divisive issues between the two parties has been the appointment of the Arakan State Chief Minister. The ANP wants a party member in the role, while the NLD—as the national winner of the election—can select one of their own people for each state minister post, according to the country's 2008 Constitution.

Yet Suu Kyi has said that the NLD pick for the Arakan State Chief Minister remains NLD central executive committee member, Nyi Pu. Pe Than said the appointment will be discussed further in the talks.

In January, the ANP stated that unless they were granted the chief minister position in their state, they would work in opposition to the NLD. Suu Kyi reportedly told the Arakanese legislators that in an NLD-led government they would be offered some positions, as would some outside "technocrats."

The ANP has demanded that the NLD meet with the Arakanese party's authorities to discuss the issue further, including Dr. Aye Maung, Aye Tha Aung and Tun Aung Kyaw. The goal is to hold a political dialogue, but according to ANP MP Ba Shein, such an undertaking is likely to fail; Aye Tha Aung, known to be close with Suu Kyi, was unexpectedly dismissed from the delegation and replaced by Tha Tun Hla, another party insider.

"Suu Kyi is considering building trust between ANP and NLD," said ANP Lower House MP Khin Saw Wai. "[The meeting] went well enough," she added, pointing out that both sides engaged in a "very transparent debate and shared feelings from their own hearts."

Khin Saw Wai told The Irrawaddy that Suu Kyi had expressed concern that protests in Arakan State's capital of Sittwe on Wednesday—against an NLD-appointed chief minister—could interfere with the process of state building and democratization. More protests are planned in Maungdaw Township on Sunday.

Tensions run high for many reasons in Arakan State, which has witnessed much conflict in recent years, particularly between the Buddhist Arakanese majority and the Muslim Rohingya minority, who are often dismissed as 'Bengali' by both locals and the government. The Rohingya are denied citizenship by both the Burmese government and the Arakanese state authorities, which has attracted the attention and concern of the international community.

The ANP and NLD reportedly talked about the region's history of ethno-religious conflict during the meeting. While additional details are not known at this time, Suu Kyi told the ANP's MPs that they would search for a solution together and, in full collaboration, march toward a better situation for the country, according to another ANP representative, Ba Shein.

They also discussed the controversial Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone, a Chinese investment project located in Kyaukphyu Township, which has been criticized for its potential to displace locals and cause damage to the surrounding environment.

Khin Saw Wai said that Suu Kyi has promised to meet with ANP authorities again within a matter of weeks. The NLD will reportedly put forward some candidates for the talks, but a location has not yet been decided.

The Irrawaddy contacted NLD spokesmen Win Htein and Zaw Myint Maung by phone on Friday morning, but they could not be reached for comment.

The post Suu Kyi Talks Chief Minister Post, Economic and Minority Affairs With ANP appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Pressure Grows on Jakarta to Tackle Indigenous Rights Abuses

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 03:00 AM PDT

Trucks carry tree trunks amidst the haze in Pelalawan, Indonesia's Riau province, on Oct. 7, 2006. (Photo: Beawiharta / Reuters)

JAKARTA — Indonesia's government is under pressure to boost protection for indigenous peoples' rights, after a state-led inquiry identified 40 cases in which they were violated, prompting calls for the president to set up a task force to deal with the problem.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) launched the inquiry in April 2014 after mounting reports of human rights abuses related to land in forest areas.

Of the thousands of cases reported to the commission, 40 were selected from seven regions—Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali-Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua—as test cases for investigation.

One was a long-running land conflict in Muara Tae village in East Kalimantan province's West Kutai district. Here the Dayak Benuaq indigenous people have struggled since the early 1970s to claim rights over their customary forests in the face of encroachment by logging and mining operations, and more recently oil palm plantations.

"Our ancestors have been protecting [our] customary forest for generations," said Masrani of the Dayak Benuaq, who came to Jakarta for the launch of the inquiry report in mid-March.

"We did all we could to protect the forests. We tried to seek help from local government but instead we were blamed, captured, criminalized for defending our own lands."

The expropriation of customary forest for timber concessions, mines, plantations and government-backed resettlement violated the Dayak Benuaq people's rights to a healthy and safe environment, property ownership, cultural activities, education, traditional knowledge and a life free of fear, the inquiry found.

Masrani testified to the inquiry that the loss of land had created tension between his community and neighboring villagers who had chosen to sell their territory to companies.

He also recalled intimidation from "men with guns" who had attacked the village in 1998-99, forcing him and his family to take refuge in the forest.

Legal Limbo

In the eastern province of Maluku, a tribe native to the Aru Islands was taken unawares by a plan to develop a sugarcane plantation in 2012.

Local people later discovered that the head of Aru district had granted permits in 2010 for companies to use customary forest without the tribe's knowledge or consent.

Of the district's 600,000 hectares, the permits covered nearly 500,000 hectares, and 90 out of 117 villages were located in concession areas.

"So where do you suppose we should live?" asked Mamado, an Aru traditional leader.

In 2014, after an intense social media campaign, Zulkifli Hasan, then forestry minister in the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, cancelled the plantation plan.

The inquiry report said the Aru tribe's rights to information and participation, and to be consulted under the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), had been violated.

Intimidation and abuse experienced by tribe members had also denied them the rights to feel safe, and to be free from fear, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, it added.

Despite this, in mid-2015 the current agriculture minister, Amran Sulaiman, announced the development of 500,000 hectares of sugarcane plantation in three locations: Aru, Merauke and South Sulawesi.

This and other developments have fueled skepticism over President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's election promise to protect the rights of indigenous peoples.

A draft bill to that end—which would recognize indigenous peoples' rights to their land and natural resources, and put their beliefs on an equal footing with those of other citizens—is in legal limbo, and has not been included in the national legislation program for 2015-19.

Women Suffer

Saur Tumiur Situmorang, one of the report's authors and a member of the National Commission against Violence on Women (Komnas Perempuan), said the inquiry also revealed violations of the rights of indigenous women.

When they cannot access their land, they must travel longer distances to collect food, she said.

In Papua, that left some women vulnerable to sexual and physical abuse while out on the road, as well as at home if they failed to find enough food, the inquiry found.

And as forests are converted to plantations, the herbs indigenous women use to stop bleeding during birth are becoming rarer, denying them the right to reproductive health.

Shrinking access to customary forest also restricts the farming and crafts activities of women, who are at greater risk of arrest for trespassing and encroachment without proper legal representation, Situmorang said.

Abdon Nababan, secretary general of AMAN (Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of the Archipelago), said indigenous peoples had waited "a rough two years" for the inquiry to be completed.

Nababan had supported the process because in 2014, AMAN was reporting cases of rights abuses almost once a week, he said.

In 2013, Komnas HAM recorded 1,123 complaints over land use, which more than doubled to 2,483 complaints in 2014.

That figure is likely to increase, as around 70 percent of Indonesia's nearly 32,000 villages are located in or near forest areas, experts say.

'Be Patient'

Nababan blamed violations of the rights of indigenous peoples on the 1999 Law on Forest, which excluded them from secure legal tenure over customary forests.

He urged the government to set up a task force to deal with indigenous peoples' grievances, while waiting for new legislation to be passed.

Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki said at the report launch that Jokowi was deeply committed to indigenous people, but his administration had been up and running for only two years.

"Please be patient. We are looking into the best way to find the right solution for the issue," said Masduki. "The past must be cleared so it will no longer be a burden for the future."

He noted demands that the cabinet should not become too large, and said the government wanted to avoid overlapping agencies that would swell the state budget.

But it would not neglect the need to set up a task force on indigenous issues, he added, without saying when that might happen.

FACEBOOK: "Our ancestors have been protecting [our] customary forest for generations," said Masrani of the Dayak Benuaq, who came to Jakarta for the launch of the inquiry report in mid-March. "We did all we could to protect the forests. We tried to seek help from local government but instead we were blamed, captured, criminalized for defending our own lands."

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N. Korea Claims Rocket Engine Success; South on High Alert

Posted: 25 Mar 2016 02:56 AM PDT

A rocket is launched during a demonstration of a new large-caliber multiple rocket launching system in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 22, 2016. (Photo: KCNA / Reuters)

SEOUL — North Korea successfully tested a solid-fuel engine that boosted the power of its ballistic rockets, state media reported on Thursday, as South Korea's president ordered the military to be ready to respond to the North's "reckless provocation."

Pyongyang's claim indicates it is continuing to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a rapid pace in defiance of UN sanctions, and amid assessment by the South's officials that it could conduct a new nuclear test at any time.

The isolated state has in recent weeks stepped up bellicose rhetoric, threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Washington and Seoul, as well as making claims of advancement in its weapons technology.

The Rodong Sinmum, North Korea's ruling party newspaper, carried photos of leader Kim Jong-un on site as a rocket engine laid horizontally on the ground emitted a fiery blast. A two-page report detailed the testing of the engine's structure and thrust.

"He noted with great pleasure that the successful test … helped boost the power of ballistic rockets capable of mercilessly striking hostile forces," KCNA news agency said.

North Korea said last week it had conducted a successful simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile, and would soon test ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

On Wednesday, North Korea repeated a threat to attack the South's presidential office, saying its large-caliber multiple rocket launch systems are on alert to strike the Blue House and its special operations unit is ready to go into action.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye office said she had ordered a heightened state of alert and put the military on standby to "respond actively to reckless provocations by the North."

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner repeated a call on North Korea to "refrain from any actions and any rhetoric that raise tensions in the region and comply with its international obligations and commitments."

The current tension on the peninsula follows tough new UN sanctions against the North over its nuclear and missile programs and coincides with annual military drills by the South Korea and the United States.

The North calls the exercises "nuclear war moves" and has threatened to respond with an all-out offensive. It has conducted a series of rocket launches in recent days.

Solid Fuel Rocket Engine

Pyongyang has previously launched long-range rockets that used liquid fuel but it was seen to lack the capability to build solid-fuel long-range or intercontinental missiles.

Solid-fuel rockets have advantages in military use, although liquid fuel rockets are considered more sophisticated as their thrust can be controlled in flight.

The North has deployed short and medium-range missiles and test fired them, but never flight-tested the KN-08 ICBM it is believed to be developing.

Despite its boasts to be making progress, many experts believe the North is a decade or more away from building an ICBM capable of threatening the United States.

Michael Elleman, a US-based expert on solid rocket fuel with the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, said the engine North Korea tested appeared to have been for the upper stage of a larger rocket or missile.

He told a Washington seminar hosted by the Washington-based North Korean monitoring project 38 North that Pyongyang was at least 15 years away from being able to produce solid-fuel motor large enough to be able to power an ICBM.

He said it was unlikely North Korea was producing rocket engines itself and was probably instead relying on a stockpile from the Soviet era.

Elleman said he found it "shocking" that Kim Jong-un was photographed standing a few yards away from the rocket motor, apparently just before the test. He said there was a risk of an inadvertent explosion from "one, maybe one-and-a-half, possibly even two tons of propellant."

"Solid rocket propellant is essentially an explosive that burns at a slower rate," he said. "They were putting Kim Jong-un at risk by having him near such a volatile system."

North Korea's stepped-up rhetoric and weapons claims come ahead of its planned congress of the ruling Workers' Party, the first in more than 35 years.

Some Pyongyang-watchers say the North may look to claim a splashy achievement, such as a fifth nuclear test, in the run-up to the congress as young leader Kim Jong-un looks to bolster his domestic legitimacy.

North Korea is ready to conduct a fifth nuclear test "now, immediately," South Korea's unification ministry said on Monday.

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