The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Parliament OKs New Legal Affairs Commission Members
- Myitsone Not on Agenda as Suu Kyi, Chinese FM Meet
- NLD Govt Forms Financial Commission
- Central Bank Looks to Mobile Banking to Ramp Up Financial Inclusion
- New Religion Minister Visits Firebrand Monk Wirathu
- Advocates Demand More ‘Humane’ Drug Policy Ahead of UN Summit
- Burma’s Former President Thein Sein Joins Monkhood
- Businessmen Want $250,000 Back for Tollgate Bids
- Ten Things To Do In Rangoon This Week
- New Government Urged to Act on Landmines in Burma
- China Limits Coverage, Denounces Panama Papers’ Tax Haven Revelations
- They Flee North Korea, Only to Be Adrift in the South
- Rush Before Power Transfer Pushes Burma FDI to Record $9b
| Parliament OKs New Legal Affairs Commission Members Posted: 05 Apr 2016 07:47 AM PDT  Shwe Mann and Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw on Feb. 2, 2016. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Union Parliament appointed four new members to its Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission, which is led by the former Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) chairman, Shwe Mann. The new appointees to the powerful legislative commission include National League for Democracy (NLD) senior member Win Htein; NLD Upper House lawmaker from Mandalay Division Dr. Than Win, who was appointed vice chairman of the commission; retired civil servant Nyi Tun; and retired director general of the Ministry of Information Bo Win. Upper House Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than announced the new members during a parliamentary session on Tuesday, and the MPs approved them. The new members replaced Dr. Win Myat Aye [vice chairman], Dr. Myint Htwe, Aung Myint, and Soe Yal, who resigned from the commission after they were assigned other Union-level positions. Commission members support lawmakers, liaise between legislative committees and make recommendations directly to Parliament. Shwe Mann, the former general who is viewed as an ally of Aung San Suu Kyi, presented the commission's first assessment to the newly sworn in NLD government on March 31. In a review of existing legislation on the books in Burma, the commission recommended that 142 laws be scrapped, amended or rewritten. The assessment focused on the state budget, taxation, tendering, farmers' rights and government office expenditures. The post Parliament OKs New Legal Affairs Commission Members appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Myitsone Not on Agenda as Suu Kyi, Chinese FM Meet Posted: 05 Apr 2016 05:23 AM PDT  Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, right, holds a press conference with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Naypyidaw on Tuesday. (Photo: Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy) NAYPYIDAW — Those hoping for clarity on the fate of the Chinese-funded Myitsone dam were left disappointed on Tuesday, as the first meeting between Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi and her Chinese counterpart did not address the controversy. Suu Kyi told reporters at a press conference following the meeting that she didn't discuss any controversial investments, including the mega-dam in Kachin State, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday. "The Chinese foreign minister here today was just about congratulating the new Burmese government and trying to build greater friendship between the two countries. We didn't discuss anything else in detail," Suu Kyi told the media in Naypyidaw. Asked when the NLD government would publicly disclose the contentious Myitsone dam contract between China and Burma, inked by the former military regime, Suu Kyi replied: "I haven't read it yet, so it's difficult to disclose to the public right now." Wang is in Burma on a two-day visit that will wrap up on Wednesday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei was quoted by Chinese media as saying Wang's visit came at the invitation of Burma's new minister of foreign affairs, Suu Kyi, who was sworn into her cabinet position last week. Wang became the first foreign minister received by Suu Kyi following her appointment. The fate of Myitsone is likely to loom large over the bilateral relationship in the months to come. Suu Kyi has repeatedly said she could not take a position on whether or not it should go ahead as planned until she was made aware of the details of the contract. Former President Thein Sein suspended the multi-billion dollar project in 2011 amid widespread public opposition to it. Among other unpopular provisions of the deal, some 90 percent of the hydropower generated by the dam was to be sent across the border to China. The post Myitsone Not on Agenda as Suu Kyi, Chinese FM Meet appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| NLD Govt Forms Financial Commission Posted: 05 Apr 2016 05:12 AM PDT  President Htin Kyaw, center, is sworn into office along with his two vice presidents at the Union Parliament in Naypyidaw on March 30, 2016. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's newly sworn-in National League for Democracy (NLD) government formed a new 21-member Financial Commission on Tuesday. The announcement was released by the President's Office and signed by President Htin Kyaw. The commission includes the president as chairman, vice presidents Myint Swe and Henry Van Thio as vice chairpersons. Other members are the attorney-general of the Union, auditor-general of the Union, chief ministers of the states and regions, Naypyidaw council chairperson, and the national planning and finance minister. According to the Constitution, President Htin Kyaw will assign one vice president to manage the budgets of the Union ministers and Union-level organizations, while the other vice president will manage the budgets of the regions and states. Both vice presidents will submit their respective estimated budgets to the commission for review. The Financial Commission will submit recommendations for the Union budget to the Parliament; bills pertaining to the budget will be submitted to the president. The group will also serve in an advisory role on other financial matters. The post NLD Govt Forms Financial Commission appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Central Bank Looks to Mobile Banking to Ramp Up Financial Inclusion Posted: 05 Apr 2016 05:01 AM PDT  A street vendor selling mobile phones in Rangoon, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) revealed on its website on Monday the official rules and regulations for mobile financial service providers (MFSPs), seen by observers as a way to reach more rural customers throughout Burma. The regulations detail the application requirements, such as how to acquire a registration certificate and pay relevant fees and charges. They also outline MFSP duties, including permitted mobile financial transactions and measures to ensure customer protection. Proponents of mobile banking trumpet it as a way to dramatically expand financial services in Burma by assisting mobile operators—partnered with banks—to reach those in rural areas with limited access to physical bank branches and who might have irregular income, which not uncommon in a country relying heavily on agriculture. This could also spur Burma's burgeoning telecommunications industry. "It's good that telecoms companies will now be able to do mobile financial work legally," Zaw Lin Htut, chief executive officer of the Myanmar Payment Union, told the Irrawaddy. "It's also good for financial inclusion. However, they [MFSPs and banks] will need interoperability," he said, referring to the capacity of one organization or system to work simultaneously and efficiently with another. This could involve "determining that telecoms providers can provide mobile money, remittance and payment services but not other bank services," he added. According to the CBM announcement, MFSPs can permit customers to open and maintain mobile accounts, deposit money into and withdraw from mobile accounts, and also transfer between their own mobile accounts. People-to-people, people-to-government, people-to-business and business-to-business money giving—among other services occasionally allowed by the CBM—will also be permitted under the regulations. The CBM said that mobile financial service applicants will know whether they have been approved for a registration certificate within 90 days of the receipt of their application. Soe Thein, executive director of the Asian Green Development Bank, sees the announcement as an auspicious sign for financial growth in Burma. "The mobile money sector in this country will develop very rapidly because almost all private banks are attempting to expand their mobile banking services as much as possible. I hope this will help Burma's development in the year ahead," Soe Thein said. Zaw Lin Htut echoed these sentiments, saying that "there will be more competition between bank and non-bank services soon," leading to swift changes in the sector. Recently, 22 private lenders were awarded bank licenses. Four telecoms operators currently run in Burma: Norway's Telenor, Qatar's Ooredoo, the state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and three shareholders in a joint venture among local and foreign firms. The post Central Bank Looks to Mobile Banking to Ramp Up Financial Inclusion appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| New Religion Minister Visits Firebrand Monk Wirathu Posted: 05 Apr 2016 04:45 AM PDT  Religious Affairs Minister Aung Ko, right, meets with U Wirathu at a monastery in Rangoon on Monday. (Photo: Ma Ba Tha / Facebook) RANGOON — Aung Ko, Burma's new religious affairs minister, has twice in less than a week stirred controversy, with the latest involving his visit to nationalist Buddhist monks from the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion on Monday in Rangoon, including the firebrand U Wirathu. Ashin Nya Neinda, a spokesperson from the organization better known by its acronym Ma Ba Tha, told The Irrawaddy that Aung Ko met eight senior monks from the Buddhist nationalist group on Monday before later meeting Wirathu. The spokesman did not provide details on what was discussed at the meetings. "Our country's majority are Buddhists. Eighty-five percent of the population in the country is Buddhist. Therefore, he came to visit our senior monks," said Ashin Nya Neinda. "Our senior monks told him to work for justice, and better treatment of other religions as our country has other religions," he said. A Facebook account linked to Ma Ba Tha posted photos from Aung Ko's visit to a monastery in Rangoon's Insein Township, where he appeared to offer a cash donation to the monks. One photo posted to the Ma Ba Tha Facebook shows Aung Ko bowing before the monk Wirathu in a traditional gesture of deference. Some Facebook users criticized the minister's visit to members of Ma Ba Tha, a group that was blacklisted in a 2015 US budget bill. The spending legislation states that US funding to Burma "may not be made available to any organization or individual the Secretary of State determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees advocates violence against ethnic or religious groups and individuals in Burma, including such organizations as Ma Ba Tha." Tun Nyunt, who is a director of the Religious Affairs and Culture Ministry and joined the minister on his trip, said the visit was routine. "[It was] just to pay a visit to them, and there was nothing special about the visit. He became a new minister, and he went for introductions," said Tun Nyunt. Aung Ko was a member of Burma's junta regime and later served as a senior member of the formerly ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). He was one of two USDP members appointed to the National League for Democracy (NLD) government's cabinet. Aung Ko's visit to the Ma Ba Tha monks came just two days after he suggested that Muslims in the country were not full Burmese citizens, drawing criticism from Islamic organizations both overseas and within Burma. The former USDP government was accused by local rights groups and the international community of suppressing non-Buddhist religions including Christians and Muslims, the latter group also being a target of Ma Ba Tha. Wirathu has been at the fore of anti-Islamic rhetoric in Burma in recent years and the Buddhist nationalist group last year all but endorsed the incumbent USDP over the NLD, viewing the latter as "weak" on the matter of protecting Burma's majority Buddhist character. Ma Ba Tha was a leading sponsor of legislation passed last year that was widely viewed as discriminating against Burma's Muslims, including legislative measures to reduce the reproductive rights of the religious minority and restrict interfaith marriage. Ma Ba Tha members have also been vocal critics of the international media's coverage of the Rohingya crisis in western Arakan State, rallying demonstrators to protest against the United Nations and international news networks, which they accused of mischaracterizing inter-communal violence and discrimination. Ma Ba Tha, like the former USDP government, denies that Rohingya Muslims constitute a legitimate ethnic group. Asked if the new minister on Monday discussed interreligious dynamics in Burma, Ashin Nya Neinda said they had not, but might bring up the issue at a later date. The post New Religion Minister Visits Firebrand Monk Wirathu appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Advocates Demand More ‘Humane’ Drug Policy Ahead of UN Summit Posted: 05 Apr 2016 04:36 AM PDT  A panel on Drugs, Development, Health and Rights held in Rangoon on April 4, 2016. Pictured from left to right are Dr. Hla Htay, senior technical manager of the Burnet Institute; Kyaw Thu and Lun Khwang of the National Drug User Network of Myanmar; and Min Thein of the Myanmar Opium Farmers Forum. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON – Ahead of a United Nations summit on global drug issues, Burma's Drug Policy Advocacy Group (DPAG) has highlighted the need to develop humane drug policies at home. The Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS) is scheduled to be held in New York from April 19-21. Burma remains one of the world's major producers of opium, heroin and amphetamines. During a public event in Rangoon on Monday, members of the Drug Policy Advocacy Group (DPAG) spoke on a panel about the country's drug-related legal framework, as well as health and social consequences of drug use. Dr. Nang Pann Ei Kham, coordinator of the DPAG, said that it was hoped the event would engage key stakeholders on the importance of developing more compassionate drug policies in Burma. The network, formed in 2014 by "likeminded" organizations and individuals, supports a global campaign to rehabilitate and reintegrate drug users into society under the theme "Support, Don't Punish." She explained that DPAG aims to develop an advocacy platform for "non-punitive, evidence-based drug policy changes" in the country. Its members include both domestic and international groups, such as the National Drug Users Network Myanmar (NDNM), Myanmar Opium Farmers Forum (MOFF), Myanmar Anti-Narcotics Association (MANA), Medicins du Monde (MdM), Save the Children, Transnational Institute (TNI), HIV/AIDS Alliance and the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission. The key recommendations raised by advocates included the decriminalization of drug use and possession for personal use, voluntary treatment for drug addiction, a removal of the compulsory registration requirement for rehabilitation, and the assurance that drug-related laws and policies would demonstrate respect for human rights. Lun Khwang, a member of NDNM since 2011, is now advocating for health check-ups amongst his peers in Myitkyina, Kachin State who happen to be drug users. "We don't want to be marginalized when we want to stop using," he said. As a former small-scale gold miner in northern Kachin State, Lun Khwang said that taking heroin helped him to perform hard labor. "We need our jobs to live," he explained. He recalled how it took him four years to successfully stop using opiates once he started methadone treatment in 2007. NDNM members said there was a need to develop national methadone treatment guidelines and to review the compulsory registration required for drug-users to get help. Access to healthcare and the right to rehabilitation would be more beneficial than punishment, they argue. Lun Khwang added that NDNM supports the efforts of the Kachin group Pat Ja San, which has been carrying out drug eradication efforts by destroying fields of opium poppies. Yet he adds that such groups should not physically punish drug users—there are rumors of them being beaten. "It is not the right action," said Lun Khwang. "A further crackdown on the drug users would quickly increase the risk of spreading HIV and other diseases, from the shared use of needles." Police Lt. Kyaw Kyaw Min, the head of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control in Lower Burma said that despite the efforts of civil society to draft a bill to address treatment for drug addiction, "there is no infrastructure yet for drug users' rehabilitation, either in compulsory or voluntary centers." Regarding the establishment of rehabilitation facilities, Kyaw Kyaw Min suggested more direct collaboration at the township or community level between the local social welfare department and the drug users themselves. During the panel, opium farmers from Shan and Karenni states explained how ongoing armed conflict has impacted their livelihoods. They stressed the fact that they grow opium to support their families, and that many such farmers cultivate poppies in an effort to escape poverty. Min Thein, an opium grower and a representative of the MOFF said that Burma's civil war, combined with a shrinking market for other crops, had pushed people like him to grow opium. "We were in hiding all the time during past decades," said Min Thein, a resident of Karenni State's Demoso Township. "And so we started growing opium, where an easy market has been available." He said that with his income from opium crops, he has been able to support his family and pay for the education of his children, who have now graduated from high school. Lashila, who spoke on behalf of opium farmers from northern Shan State's Lashio, said that they want their voices heard when legislative reform is discussed, a process which they have tried to initiate in recent years. Unless there is an alternative approach put forward for development, Lashila maintains that the number of farmers in Burma who cultivate opium poppies will not decrease. The post Advocates Demand More 'Humane' Drug Policy Ahead of UN Summit appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Burma’s Former President Thein Sein Joins Monkhood Posted: 05 Apr 2016 03:25 AM PDT  Thein Sein, right, is seen standing near a fellow monk at a monastery in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Division. (Photo: Maung Maung Aung / Facebook) RANGOON — Burma's former President Thein Sein has shed his formal attire and his hair to join the Buddhist monkhood. Thein Sein's ordination as a monk took place Monday, officials said, four days after he presided over a historic transition of power to the former opposition party headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. Photographs circulating on social media show the former president, with his head shaved and dressed in a saffron robe, beside a fellow monk. The Ministry of Information released a statement on its Facebook page Monday saying Thein Sein will spend five days at the Dhamma Dipati Monastery outside Pyin Oo Lwin, a scenic hill town near Mandalay in central Burma. A temporary stint at a monastery is common in the predominantly Buddhist country, where boys are expected to ordain as novice monks at some point in their childhood and then return later in adulthood. Thein Sein himself has not spoken publicly about his choice to temporarily become a monk but the official statement indicated he has been considering it at least since January when he attended a Buddhist conference in Myanmar. "Recently, the country's most respected monk, Sitagu, urged ex-President Thein Sein to enter into the Buddhist monkhood when he attended the World Buddhist Conference," the statement from the Ministry of Information said. "Thein Sein told Sitagu that he was busy with the duties of a president and promised that he would be ordained as soon as he finished his term as president." Thein Sein, a former general, was installed as president for a five-year term in 2011 to head a nominally civilian government after the military ended a half century of military rule. In November, the country held its first free election in decades, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide. Thein Sein presided over the transfer of power to new President Htin Kyaw, who was handpicked by Suu Kyi, in a ceremony last Thursday. The post Burma's Former President Thein Sein Joins Monkhood appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Businessmen Want $250,000 Back for Tollgate Bids Posted: 05 Apr 2016 03:02 AM PDT  Bidders of tollgates hold a press conference in Pathein, Irrawaddy Division, on April 4, 2016. (Photo: Salai Thant Zin / The Irrawaddy) PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division — Irrawaddy Division businessmen have asked for the return of more than US$250,000, which they paid to bid for tollgate operating licenses, after the Ministry of Construction closed 22 tollgates in the division earlier this month. The Construction Ministry closed 161 of its 302 official tollgates across Burma as of April 1. "We welcome the government's plan not to charge tolls anymore, as it saves people money," said Win Lin Htet, who won a government tender to operate one of these recently closed tollgates. "But, we want the money back that we paid to bid for toll collection." In the past, the Ministry of Construction set a base price for tollgates and then let private businessmen bid for the tender. Later, as this attracted large numbers of businessmen, the ministry changed its system, issuing the one-year tollgate licenses through a lottery system. To enter the lottery, applicants had to pay 10 percent of the base price of the tollgate as a deposit, plus about $80 for tollgates that had base prices below $25,000; $160 for those with base prices between $25,000-50,000; and $240 for those with base prices above $50,000; as an expression of interest. There were 22 tollgates in the Irrawaddy Division with base prices below US$25,000, and five tollgates with base prices above that amount. Businessmen hired dozens of people to enter the lottery on their behalf, to increase their chances of winning. Each tollgate had between 150-300 bidders. All 22 tollgates with base prices below US$25,000 in the Irrawaddy Division were closed on April 1. Almost 3,000 people bid for these tollgates, and paid over US$270,000 to the government through the Construction and Housing Development Bank. "We spent [almost US$30,000] to win the tender for three bridges," said businessman Soe Soe from Myaungmya. But with those tolls now closed, he said he wants that money to be returned. Irrawaddy Division Ministry of Construction officer Aung Myo Htut said 75 percent of the payments had been put into the division's development fund, and the remaining 25 percent went into the Union-level budget. He added that the Union-level construction minister would decide whether to return the money or not. Construction Minister Win Khaing was scheduled to meet the recently appointed state and divisional construction ministers in Naypyidaw on Tuesday. The post Businessmen Want $250,000 Back for Tollgate Bids appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Ten Things To Do In Rangoon This Week Posted: 05 Apr 2016 02:03 AM PDT
The Irrawaddy picks 10 interesting events happening in Rangoon this week. Music
Sai Sai Kham Leng, one of the most popular hip-hop artists in Burma, will stage his annual birthday show on April 10. The ticket prices are 7,000 kyats for standing room only, and 20,000 kyats for seats. Where: Shwe Htut Tin Compound, beside Sky Star Hotel, East Horse Racing Course Road, Tamwe Tsp. Tel: 09-451010789; 09-965010789 When: Sunday, April 10. Starts at 6:00 p.m.
Youk $hi Thingyan Hip-Hop Music Festival Mya Yeik Nyo Hotel will host a music festival and a funfair to mark Burma's New Year water festival, known as Thingyan. Famous hip-hop musicians and groups such as Myo Kyawt Myaing, Acid, Theory and Sandy Myint Lwin are scheduled to perform at the festival. Tickets are 7,000 kyats. Where: Mya Yeik Nyo Hotel, No. 20, Pale Road, Bahan Tsp. Hotline: 09-420211961; 09-785156769 When: Saturday, April 9 (fun fair starts at 1 pm and show at 5 pm)
Where: Hummingbird Bar, No. 76, Phone Gyi Road, Lanmadaw Tsp. When: Friday, April 8, from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Reggae musician Saw Poe Khwar will sing songs for peace and reconciliation in Burma. Various artists including Ko Ye Lwin (Pan Ye Lan) will join him for the free show. Where: People’s Square When: Thursday, April 7 (starts at 6:00 p.m.)
The Voice of Angels concert series in Rangoon is a high-end buffet dinner show featuring world-class recording artists. Ticket prices range from US$95 for general admission, $200 for VIP seats, or a $360 VIP Package. Where: Chatrium Hotel at No. 40, Natmauk Road, Tamwe Tsp. Hotline: 09-260702700 or 09-260702800 When: Friday, April 8, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Visual Arts
Soe Naing will exhibit his solo exhibition 'Are they called paintings?' at Nawady Tharlar Art Gallery. There will be a total of 40 paintings—acrylic on paper—sold at the same price at 50,000 kyat per each. Where: Nawady Tharlar Art Gallery, Room 304, Building 20B, 3rd Floor, Yaw Myin Gyi Road, Dagon Tsp. Tel: 0943097918 When: Friday, April 1 to Thursday, April 7
A group art exhibition titled 'Mudra Spectrum' will feature around 90 works by over 20 female artists in different mediums, including watercolor, oil on canvas, acrylic, impressionist photography and batik. Where: Lokanat Galleries, at No. 62, 1st Floor, Pansodan St, Kyauktada Tsp. Tel: 09-51382269 When: Wednesday, April 6 to Sunday, April 10 Sports
The Yangon Hash House Harriers (YH3) meet every Saturday afternoon for a "fun run" followed by a few beers. The runs are non-competitive, and no special equipment is needed other than running shoes. The cost is to participate is 4,000 kyats. Where: Meeting point at the entrance of Rangoon University When: Saturday, April 9 (every Saturday, the run starts at 2:45 pm)
Sponsored by the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Development Cooperation Agency, a photo contest was held in March on the theme of "Rangoon Cultural Heritage: Looking Back at the Past to Develop a Sustainable Future." The winning photos will be on display at Myanmar Dietta Gallery. Where: Myanmar Dietta Gallery, 3rd Floor, No. 49, 44th Street. Tel: 09-31736154 When: Tuesday, April 5 to Saturday, April 9 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) Miscellaneous
If you are thinking of passing the long water festival holidays with books, Sar Pay Law Ka II is organizing a book sale with 10 percent discounts. Where: SarPayLawKa II, at No. 173, 33rd Street, Kyauktada Tsp. Tel: 09 51388169, 09-51374391 When: Saturday, April 1 to Sunday, April 10 Compiled by Wei Yan Aung. The post Ten Things To Do In Rangoon This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| New Government Urged to Act on Landmines in Burma Posted: 05 Apr 2016 01:05 AM PDT  Oo Taung, 50, who lost his leg in a land mine blast in 1994, stands after taking a bath in Zawti village in Kyaukki Township on Jan. 24, 2013. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — A representative of Unicef in Burma urged the National League for Democracy (NLD) government to sign off on the international Mine Ban Treaty and halt landmine use in conflict zones on Monday, the fourth in-country commemoration of International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. The deputy representative of the UN's children agency, Shalini Bahuguna, pointed out that 162 countries have acceded to the anti-mine treaty globally, but Burma is not among them. After Afghanistan and Colombia, Burma ranks as the country third most-plagued by landmines in the world. Over the first three months of 2016, 21 landmine causalities were documented in Shan State. According to Unicef and its partners in compiling the data, 59 landmine incidents occurred in 2015, and among them 34 of the victims were children. Seventeen of the incidents were fatal, while 42 people were severely injured. Unicef child protection specialist Emmanuelle Compingt said 65 percent of respondents reported accidents that occurred during the collection of bamboo shoots or other forest products. Many people lack mine risk education and three out of four children had never received any information about the dangers, he said of the data collected, suggesting that mine risk education be incorporated into school curricula. A landmine survivor, Ma Chit Thet Wai of Nyaung Pin Tha village in Pegu Division's Kyaukkyi Township, participated in Monday's commemoration in Rangoon. She lost her left leg when she stepped on a landmine in 2007, in territory under contested control by both the Karen National Union (KNU) and Burma Army. She described feelings of shame and difficulties in finding job opportunities in the years that followed. Data from the International Coalition to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the UN's Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), covering 50 townships in Burma's 14 states and divisions, found that more than 400 civilians had been killed and 3,300 people were wounded by landmines over the last 17 years, with their report saying the actual number of casualties was likely higher than their findings indicated. "The time is right now, we have the national ceasefire agreement and we have new government and mine action should be a key instrument to support reconciliation in the current political transition, and the ongoing peace-building efforts in Myanmar," said Bahuguna. On Monday, the UN sought US$5.8 million toward mine risk education, victims' assistance and related aid, but said only 26 percent of that total had been secured to date. NLD patron Tin Oo promised attendees to Monday's event that demining would be a priority for the party over its five-year term. "It's a very sorrowful situation, innocent children and women are being killed because both sides [ethnic armed groups and the Burma Army] are using landmines to fight their enemies and protect their territory. It's quite bad," he said. A former general who served in the 1960s and '70s, Tin Oo acknowledged that landmine factories existed during his time in the Burma Army—and were still producing ordnance today. Than Zin, a representative from a local demining organization, suggested the new government follow through on plans from the Myanmar Peace Center to form a Myanmar Mine Action Center (MMAC), described by the MPC as "the focal point for all humanitarian mine action activities within the country." The post New Government Urged to Act on Landmines in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| China Limits Coverage, Denounces Panama Papers’ Tax Haven Revelations Posted: 05 Apr 2016 12:30 AM PDT  Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during his meeting with US President Barack Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 31, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — China has moved to limit coverage of the massive leak of documents from a Panamanian law firm that may have exposed financial wrongdoing by some of the world's rich and powerful, blocking some search terms and removing certain stories online. The "Panama Papers" revealed financial arrangements of politicians and public figures including friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, relatives of the prime ministers of Britain, Iceland and Pakistan, and the president of Ukraine. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which has published some of the information from the documents, said the files also revealed offshore companies linked to the families of Chinese President Xi Jinping and other powerful current and former Chinese leaders. While holding money in offshore companies is not illegal, journalists who received the leaked documents said they could provide evidence of wealth hidden for tax evasion, money laundering, sanctions busting, drug deals or other crimes. While the Chinese government has yet to respond publicly to the allegations—the Cabinet's news office did not immediately answer a request for comment—state media have largely avoided any reporting of the "Panama Papers." Searches for the word "Panama" on Chinese search engines bring up stories in Chinese media on the topic, but many of the links have been disabled or only open onto stories about allegations directed at sports stars. Searches for "Panama Papers" in Chinese bring up a warning that the results "may not accord with relevant laws and rules so can't be shown." China's Internet regulator did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, suggested in an editorial on Tuesday that Western media backed by Washington used such leaks to attack political targets in non-Western countries. "The Western media has taken control of the interpretation each time there has been such a document dump, and Washington has demonstrated particular influence in it," the paper said. "Information that is negative to the US can always be minimized, while exposure of non-Western leaders, such as Putin, can get extra spin," it added. The editorial, in both its English and Chinese editions, made no mention of the China connections in the Panama Papers. China is in the midst of a massive crackdown on corruption overseen by Xi, but the government has repeatedly had to swat away criticism the move is more about an internal power play than actually tackling graft. Calls to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party's graft watchdog leading the crackdown, went unanswered. Last week, a top party magazine lashed out at critics of the anti-corruption campaign, saying foreign media and individuals from home and abroad were intentionally trying to discredit the effort as a political "power struggle." The post China Limits Coverage, Denounces Panama Papers' Tax Haven Revelations appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| They Flee North Korea, Only to Be Adrift in the South Posted: 04 Apr 2016 11:19 PM PDT  A woman walks in Myeongdong shopping district in Seoul, South Korea, on March 31, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) SEOUL — A middle-aged man is walking through a quiet Seoul neighborhood when he suddenly stops. He lights a cigarette, cupping his hands to shield the flame from the winter wind, and takes a deep draw, remembering how things used to be. He's a former policeman, a broad-shouldered man with a growling voice and a crushing handshake. Back where he came from, he says, he was someone who mattered. "In North Korea, people were afraid of me," he says. He says it wistfully, almost sadly, like a boy talking about a dog he once had. "They knew I could just drag them away." That fear meant respect, and bribes, in the North Korean town where he lived, a place where the electricity rarely worked and the Internet was only a rumor. It meant he could buy a TV, and that he had food even as those around him went hungry. It meant that when he grew exhausted by the relentless poverty and oppression around him, and when relatives abroad offered to advance him the money to escape, he had connections to a good smuggler. Just over a year ago, that smuggler showed him where to slip across a river and into China, on his way to South Korea. His new home is one of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations in the world. It has a thriving democracy and a per-capita income at least 12 times larger than the North's. Seoul is a city of infinite shopping choices, glass-fronted office towers and armies of exquisitely dressed businesspeople. He used to dream of the easy life he'd have here. And what does he think now? "Sometimes, when my work is too hard, I think about my job as a policeman," says the man, who spoke on condition his name not be used, fearing for the safety of relatives who still live in the North. "I didn't have problems with money back then. I ate what I wanted to eat." He pauses, thinking about his decision to leave: "There are times when I regret it a lot." Every year, thousands of North Koreans risk imprisonment, or worse, to leave their homeland, many hoping to eventually reach the South. Instead, they often find themselves lost in a nation where they thought they'd feel at home, struggling with depression, discrimination, joblessness and their own lingering pride in the repressive nation they left behind. Surveys have shown that up to one-third would return home if they could. Take the former policeman, an increasingly bitter day laborer who now supports his family hauling bags of cement through the sprawling apartment blocks constantly under construction around Seoul. His hands are rougher than sandpaper now. His fingernails are warped. He sleeps most nights in a dormitory near his latest construction site, just outside the city, only occasionally visiting his wife and the rest of his family, who live in a middle-class Seoul neighborhood. "I knew that South Korea was a capitalist country, that it was very rich. I thought that if I can just get there, I can work less but earn a lot of money," he says. He grimaces when he thinks of his naiveté. More than 27,000 North Koreans exiles live in the South, most arriving since a brutal famine tore at the country in the mid-1990s. Government control foundered amid widespread starvation, and security loosened along the border with China. While security has again tightened, nearly 1,300 refugees reached South Korea last year, according to statistics compiled by the Seoul government. For most, the journey required bribing border guards, life underground in China for months or years, and weeks of travel through still more countries. They left behind one of the most isolated nations in the world, where the ruling family has been worshipped now for three generations, and only a minuscule elite are allowed to make international phone calls. It has no free press or political opposition. While the famine is over, the country remains very poor, with hunger and malnutrition serious problems. It's a country where jobs are assigned by the government, but where most families now survive by selling everything from rice to car parts in an ever-growing network of markets. Most North Korean refugees come from collective farms or hardscrabble towns near the Chinese border. Few have more than a high school education. Tens of thousands of North Koreans are believed to live underground in China. Some stay permanently, while others slip back into the North after earning extra money. For many, though, the lure of a wealthy, Korean-speaking nation is strong, even if refugees' expectations of the South are often shaped less by reality and more by the bootlegged southern soap operas that are wildly popular in the North. Those who go find themselves living in one of the most brutally competitive countries in the world, where education is worshipped, toddlers are offered exam-prep classes and a drive for perfection has produced one of the world's highest rates of plastic surgery. "Life in South Korea is competitive," Hong Yong-pyo, South Korea's minister of unification, said in a recent speech to a group of defectors. "For you to succeed in this competition, you need to push yourself on your own." But that can be very difficult. Despite government programs that include an immersive three-month program, along with assistance in getting apartments and jobs, the exiles are immediately marked by their accents and their confusion over everything from checking accounts to job applications. Many are noticeably shorter than southerners because of malnutrition, a serious issue in a country that sees height as a measure of attractiveness and success. When it comes to finding work, they have none of the school or hometown connections that are often key here to getting hired, and many South Koreans dismiss them as lazy and difficult. When they do get jobs, seemingly simple things—such as knowing they need to arrive at work on time—can leave them flummoxed, their pride badly battered. "It has happened so many times: They show up for work for one or two days, then get into a fight with their colleagues and quit," says Ahn Kyung-su, a Seoul-based researcher who has spent years working with exiles. As a result, they remain far less educated than most South Koreans and have far higher rates of unemployment. Their most common profession is unskilled laborer. Even success doesn't make life easy. Gae-yoon Lee, who was raised on a collective farm, left North Korea in 2010 with only a high school diploma. Six years later, she's a published poet who often writes about her childhood and the famine, and is midway through a degree in Korean literature at one of Seoul's top universities. A quiet woman with a stylish purse and braces on her teeth, she finds herself intimidated by southerners' intense focus on success. "Even between friends, people are always competing here," says Lee, 30. "It can be really stressful to live here." With an accent that still gives her away as an outsider, she sometimes resorts to pretending she doesn't belong at all. "There are times when I'm too afraid to be tagged as a North Korean," she says. "So when I'm talking to South Koreans, sometimes I'll use a few English words that I remember so that people think that I'm a foreigner just learning to speak Korean. At that moment, I really want to be a foreigner." During the first few months after he got to the South, the former policeman thought he might become a cop again, or maybe join the army. But he's too old to be a police recruit, and he says the army turned him down. Since then, he's tumbled from one job to the next: He trained to be a welder but quit because he wasn't earning enough. He worked in a food-processing factory for a time but says his bosses refused to give him a raise. "It was because I'm from North Korea," he grumbles. Since then, there have been stints with at least two construction companies. The pay is bearable, about US$100 a day, more than he made in the North, but his expenses are dramatically higher. Rent, food, subways, clothing—all are far more expensive here. Plus, he's not just supporting his immediate family anymore. He's also channeling cash through underground brokers to relatives still across the border. "Money," he says at one point. "Money is the problem." He's hardened since he first reached Seoul. He looks at people suspiciously, goes silent around strangers and often wonders if he's being discriminated against. He insists, though, that pity is the last thing he wants. "Whatever you do, don't pray for me," he says. The post They Flee North Korea, Only to Be Adrift in the South appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rush Before Power Transfer Pushes Burma FDI to Record $9b Posted: 04 Apr 2016 09:48 PM PDT  Burmese and Japanese officials cut ribbons during the opening ceremony of the Thilawa special economic zone (SEZ) at Thanlyin Township outside Rangoon on Sept. 23, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Burma in the fiscal year ending in March grew to nearly US$9 billion, a government official said on Monday, after a rush of last-minute approvals before the handover of power to Aung San Suu Kyi's administration. The figure, a record high, rose by about $1 billion compared with the previous fiscal year, fueled by investment in the energy, manufacturing and telecoms sectors, San Myint, an official at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, told Reuters. The investment reflects growing, if still cautious, interest in one of Asia's last remaining untapped markets, which has offered tax breaks and export tariff perks to create urgently needed jobs for its 51.5 million people. San Myint said FDI rose sharply after a body approving projects signed off on several large deals before Suu Kyi's government took power in April, following an election win last year by her National League for Democracy. "[Projects] pending a long time in the process due to lack of necessary information were expedited before the end of the fiscal year," said San Myint. Burma received $4.1 billion in FDI in 2013-14 and that number doubled by the end of last fiscal year as foreign firms won oil and gas concessions and international hotel chains started moving in. Singapore tops the list of foreign investors, the official said, followed by China, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. He said a detailed breakdown was not available as it was still being calculated. The Asian Development Bank forecast last week Burma's economic growth would recover to 8.4 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2017, partly thanks to a pick-up in foreign investment. "Foreign direct investment is expected to get a lift from the successful political transition following national elections in November 2015, with investment flowing into newly established special economic zones and rapidly expanding transport, telecommunications, and energy sectors," the bank said. Growth in Burma's investment follows reforms launched in 2012 by former President Thein Sein, a former general who enlisted help from technocrats and global financial institutions to overhaul an economy that wilted under sanctions and inept policymaking during five decades of military rule. The lifting of most Western embargoes has allowed foreign access to sectors from banking, property and tourism to factories, infrastructure, airports and agribusiness. The $9 billion in FDI is some 27 times the $329.6 million received in 2009-10, the year before the military ceded power. The post Rush Before Power Transfer Pushes Burma FDI to Record $9b appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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