The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Burmese Domestic Workers in Thailand Demand Greater Protection
- Army Demands Three Ethnic Allies Disarm Before Joining Peace Process
- Mandalay’s Palace Gardens In Need Of a Green Thumb
- Financial Commission Moves to Reapportion Union Budget
- KBZ to Step Up Asean Presence
- Authorities Visit Disputed Coal Power Plant in Mon State
- Erasing the General
- Natural Resources Can Pay for Burma’s Needs
- Obama, Dalai Lama Anger China with White House Meeting
- Thai Police Prepare to Raid Scandal-Hit Temple, Arrest Abbot
| Burmese Domestic Workers in Thailand Demand Greater Protection Posted: 16 Jun 2016 06:33 AM PDT  Migrant domestic workers participate in a seminar in Chiang Mai, Thailand on International Domestic Workers' Day, June 16, 2016. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Burmese domestic workers in Thailand, who are not protected by existing domestic legislation and remain highly vulnerable to exploitation, have called on the Thai government to do more to ensure their basic labor rights. The Burmese migrants spoke at a seminar on Thursday marking the fifth International Domestic Workers' Day in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. They told The Irrawaddy that the strengthening of bilateral relations between Burma and Thailand had so far made little impact on the lives of Burmese migrant workers—particularly those employed as domestic workers. Kyal Sin, a Burmese migrant in her twenties, told The Irrawaddy that she also wanted to see more varied, and improved, work opportunities for migrant workers in Thailand. Kyal Sin had been working in Thailand for over six years and had recently quit her job as a housemaid, where she had had to work at least 14 hours a day while being paid for a conventional working day of 8 hours. She now works in a restaurant from late afternoon till 2 a.m. "Housekeeping is a tiresome job, where you are alone and are not able to gain useful knowledge from outside," Kyal Sin said. She was hoping "to gain more useful knowledge working outside the home as a waitress." Her income had gone down—200 Thai baht (less than US$6) per day at the restaurant—but the workload is lighter and the hours considerably shorter. Khin Phone Maw, another migrant worker who spoke with The Irrawaddy, said she is currently working as a housekeeper—although, unlike many domestic workers who lodge with their employers, she is able to commute from her own home every day. "This gives me more freedom," Khin Phone Maw said. She is working part time as a radio presenter on a program run by the MAP Foundation (Migrant Assistance Program), a Thailand-based NGO. However, the daily chores required of most domestic workers—cleaning, cooking, clothes-washing, dish-washing, car-washing, gardening, and taking care of pets—narrows the opportunities for gaining extra skills and experience. To raise public awareness about the hardships faced by foreign workers in Thailand, migrant rights activists, NGOs and labor associations—including the MAP Foundation and the Northern Labor Network—staged the Thursday seminar in Chiang Mai, whose official subject was "exploring opportunities for workers to claim their rights." The seminar highlighted low wages, long working hours, and a lack of social services and government recognition among the chief challenges faced by migrant workers, including in the domestic sector. Thai regional government officers from departments including land transport, social welfare, and labor protection attended to share their thoughts and experiences. Domestic workers across the world, numbering 67 million at some estimates, are frequently underpaid and undervalued. There are around 4,000 registered Burmese migrants in Chiang Mai—many of whom work in the domestic sector without proper legal protection and have their basic labor rights frequently violated—according to Pim, an ethnic Shan coordinator for MAP's Domestic Worker Program. "They should work within the standard eight hour work day, receive the minimum wage and days off, and have access to social security benefits and healthcare, as stated in ILO Convention 189," Pim said. Currently, migrants employed in Thailand as gardeners, housemaids, nannies, caregivers to the elderly, drivers, and as agricultural workers have to work long hours, often every day. Housemaids, for instance, frequently have to work from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily. However, domestic workers are exempted from the Thai Labor Protection Act and are covered by no other form of legal protection. "The new National League for Democracy government [in Burma] should urge the Thai government to guarantee labor rights for Burmese migrants," Pim told The Irrawaddy. Burma's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi is scheduled to visit Thailand next Thursday and will reportedly meet with Burmese migrants in Samut Prakan, a coastal province just south of the capital Bangkok. The post Burmese Domestic Workers in Thailand Demand Greater Protection appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Army Demands Three Ethnic Allies Disarm Before Joining Peace Process Posted: 16 Jun 2016 05:43 AM PDT  TNLA, MNDAA, and AA delegates met at the Law Khee Lar ethnic armed organizations' summit in Karen State in 2015. (Photo: Thaw Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — While preparations for State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi's proposed 21st Century Panglong Conference continue, critics doubt that the conference will be inclusive while the Burma Army insists on the disarmament of three ethnic armed groups. A government sub-committee tasked with preparing for the upcoming peace conference met with members of the ethnic alliance United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) who were non-signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) earlier this month in Chiang Mai, Thailand. But the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and Arakan Army (AA), which are engaged in ongoing fighting with the Burma Army, did not send delegates to the meeting. When asked by The Irrawaddy about their absence, TNLA Brig-Gen Tarr Jode Jar replied that they were not invited. AA chief Tun Myat Naing spoke of transportation difficulties, and said they were only informally invited. Hla Maung Shwe, a member of the conference preparatory sub-committee and former advisor to the Myanmar Peace Center, said although the government invited the three groups to the conference and is set to meet with them, he would seek to negotiate in line with the military's demands for disarmament. "We are not asking them to surrender, but to give up arms. The conference is not shut to them if they want to find ways and means," said Hla Maung Shwe, adding that he had no comment on the military's disarmament policy, but that he would work toward the best possible outcome. Lt-Gen Mya Tun Oo at a press conference in Naypyidaw on May 13 said the military would not negotiate peace with the MNDAA, TNLA and AA—which had rejected the previous government's invitation to join peace talks. "They have no choice but to disarm," said the lieutenant general. The MNDAA, TNLA and AA said they would not disarm. "The military's demand for disarmament is a real barrier to peace. That is totally impossible," said AA chief Tun Myat Naing. He said the three allies would like to discuss equality, power and resource sharing, and constitutional and political changes, but not disarmament. The groups expect to cooperate with Suu Kyi's government, but still dare not trust in the peace process because they do not see the National League for Democracy (NLD) government exerting significant influence over the military, he added. "I dare not say if the peace will be successful. And I don't have much trust," said the AA chief. Although the three allies want to hold peace talks with the government, they are also simultaneously strengthening their forces in case military tensions arise between them and the Burma Army, Tun Myat Naing told The Irrawaddy. TNLA Brig-Gen Tarr Jode Jar said, "I don't think disarmament will help. The Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) gave up their arms in 2005. Then they were bullied." The Palaung State Liberation Organization (PSLO) signed a cease-fire with the government in 1991. Later, when relations soured, the Palaung (Ta'ang) people took up arms again and formed the TNLA. The TNLA has ongoing clashes with the Burma Army and will discuss a ceasefire and peace, but will not accept disarmament, said TNLA officials. The Irrawaddy could not reach the MNDAA, but the stances of the three allies are the same, said AA officials. The government's peace conference sub-committee is set to meet the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) next week. After that meeting, the preparatory committee is scheduled to meet the three groups. Maung Maung Soe, a political analyst based in Rangoon said:" The military sticks to the disarmament policy, but this is still not a negative sign because President Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi have not yet shared their views." Ethnic armed groups in northern Burma are connected politically, geographically and militarily, and other groups might not leave those three groups behind, said Maung Maung Soe. "If those groups are left out, other allies might not attend the conference. We'll have to wait and see how Aung San Suu Kyi will negotiate with the army and overcome this," he added. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Army Demands Three Ethnic Allies Disarm Before Joining Peace Process appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Mandalay’s Palace Gardens In Need Of a Green Thumb Posted: 16 Jun 2016 05:20 AM PDT              MANDALAY – Visitors are still restricted from touring the Mandalay Palace compound, and the gardens of Mya Nan San Kyaw Royal Palace, the home of the last king of Burma Thibaw, have been reclaimed by nature. The Mandalay Palace was built in 1857 by King Mindon of the Konbaung Dynasty, a line of kings that ruled from Burma 1752 to 1885. Their reign ended when the British colonial forces dethroned and exiled King Thibaw, heir of King Mindon, and sent him to India in the 19th century. The palace compound sports gardens, a royal lake and the tombs of King Mindon and his three wives. It was largely destroyed by aerial bombardment during World War II, leaving only the moat and the palace walls remaining. In late 1980s, the palace and royal buildings were reconstructed and named "Mya Nan San Kyaw," or the "Golden Palace." After the reconstruction, in order to attract visitors, the military government ran a small cruise along the moat and displayed a small aircraft, a military tank and an old steam engine. But the plane and tank are rusting, and the moat tours only lasted a few months. Since the military made an army base inside the palace compound and restricted the free movement of the visitors to the palace and its gardens, locals were reluctant to go, although it was a popular spot for the few foreign tourists that came to the region. As the number of visitors interests declined, the maintenance to royal gardens was neglected and the gardens were eventually abandoned. "Before, people brought their children to visit the palace to learn history and to the gardens to have fun. But since there has been no maintenance, the gardens are in bad shape and no one wants to visit them," said Hsu Nget, a Mandalay historian. "It would be good to repair the gardens because Mandalay has very few recreation area for families and friends to hang out, and it is important to get people to visit the palace for the next generation to learn history," he added. The post Mandalay's Palace Gardens In Need Of a Green Thumb appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Financial Commission Moves to Reapportion Union Budget Posted: 16 Jun 2016 05:18 AM PDT  The first day of school in Rangoon, June 1, 2016. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Financial Commission hopes to reapportion the 2016-17 Union Budget, looking to allocate more funds to the education, health and social welfare sectors. The 21-member commission, which was formed in early April, held its first meeting in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. It is chaired by President Htin Kyaw and includes Vice Presidents Myint Swe and Henry Van Thio as vice chairpersons and State Counselor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi as a member. The commission discussed decreasing government expenditure and amending the budget approved by the previous government, because the number of ministries has been consolidated from 36 to 22. Zaw Htay, President's Office spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Vice President Myint Swe manages the budgets of Union-level ministries and agencies, while Vice President Henry Van Thio oversees the budgets of state and division governments. Myint Swe was a former Army commander, and regime hardliner, nominated to his current position by the military, exercising its right under the 2008 constitution to select one of Burma's two vice presidents. As Rangoon's Chief Minister prior to 2016, he was embroiled in corruption allegations. The now-ruling National League for Democracy nominated Henry Van Thio, an ethnic Chin Christian with a military background. According to state media, President Htin Kyaw told commission members on Wednesday that, in order to develop human resources in Burma, they will increase spending on education, health and social welfare and that they will focus attention on policies for rural development, electrification, poverty alleviation and infrastructural development. "The budget should be supervised systematically….and how much of the budget is allocated to what, and why, should be transparent," President Htin Kyaw was reported as saying. "We've spent the 5-percent tax collected from cellphone users in April [and May] on the education sector," Zaw Htay said, referring to the commercial tax on cellphone users that had been postponed under President Thein Sein's administration due to widespread unpopularity. Vice President Myint Swe said that he has drafted a budget for the ministries that reduces the salaries of ministers, their deputies and related expenses because 10 of the previous ministries have been merged into five and 10 other ministries have been removed, state media reported. He added that expenditures for the two new ministries formed by the present government since April—the Ministry of Ethnic Affairs and the Ministry of the State Counselor's Office—have also been added to the Union budget. The Financial Commission must next submit the revised budget to Parliament for approval. The post Financial Commission Moves to Reapportion Union Budget appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 16 Jun 2016 05:12 AM PDT  A Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank branch is pictured in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burmese conglomerate Kanbawza Bank (KBZ) Ltd, part of the KBZ Group of Companies, has unveiled plans to expand its banking business in the Asean region, after it was granted a license earlier this week to open a representative office in Singapore. This is the second country into which KBZ is expanding, following its first representative office which opened its doors in Thailand in May. The KBZ Group released a statement Thursday saying that deputy managing director of KBZ bank, Zaw Lin Aung, will be the office's Chief Representative Officer. The statement also said that this move marks the next step towards KBZ's goal of becoming Burma's foremost commercial banking presence in the Southeast Asian region and internationally. "The flow of investment [into Burma] from Singapore now exceeds that of China, and much of the investment from other regions in the world pass indirectly through Singapore," Zaw Lin Aung said in the statement. "Having a KBZ team on the ground assisting these businesses with market entry ensures that capital passes through KBZ Bank and supports its position as Burma's leading financial institution." Through the new representative office, KBZ will offer services including market research, liaising between the two countries' private sectors and serving as a source of information on issues like regulatory requirements for doing business in Burma and Singapore. Aye Aye Maw, a Burmese software engineer living in Singapore, was interested in knowing whether KBZ will offer remittance services for Burmese citizens. "Here we have to use informal channels to send money to our family, but we always feel that we can be cheated by those money transfer services," she said. "So if KBZ can provide this service, we can save money here and our family can withdraw it easily, which will be good for those of us working abroad." Zaw Lin Aung said KBZ is currently in the process of applying for the license that would permit it to transact remittances. "We expect to be able to do that some time this year," he said. Since late 2015, KBZ has been working alongside the Monetary Authority of Singapore to establish its presence in the prosperous city-state. That process required KBZ to provide proof of strong financial information and creditworthiness, and entailed many meetings with the Monetary Authority to demonstrate transparency, professionalism and capability, KBZ said. KBZ expects that as the economic relationship between Singapore and Burma grows closer, the banking and financial sector role will play an important role in building ties between the two countries. Singapore topped the ranks of foreign investors in Burma with US$4.3 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), according to data from the Myanmar Investment Commission, accounting for more than half of the $8.1 billion total FDI. The sectors that were the major recipients of investment were oil and gas, manufacturing, telecommunications, real estate and hospitality. Earlier this month, Burma and Singapore announced that a visa-free service will be available for travel between the countries starting on Dec. 1. Coupled with Singapore's significant flow of investment into Burma, this may serve to further facilitate trade and business conducted between the two nations. A major site of cooperation has been Rangoon's Thilawa Special Economic Zone, where Singapore has put in nearly $300 million, making it the leading investor in the project among 14 countries. One of the largest private commercial banks in Burma, KBZ Bank was established in 1994 in the Shan State capital, Taunggyi. Its parent company, KBZ Group of Companies, is also engaged in aviation, running its own domestic airline, Air KBZ, and holding a majority stake in Myanmar Airways International. The post KBZ to Step Up Asean Presence appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Authorities Visit Disputed Coal Power Plant in Mon State Posted: 16 Jun 2016 05:06 AM PDT  A cement factory compound in Mon State where a coal power plant was built without informing locals or authorities. (Photo: Min Min Pethan / Facebook) Authorities in Mon State for the first time visited a Thai cement factory where a coal power plant was built without informing locals or authorities, said local sources. Members of the Mon State local government visited the compound of Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL) factory in Kyaikmayaw Township—where the power plant was constructed—and spoke with factory officers during the first week in June. "We told them that people were worried for their safety. The factory has a duty to meet locals and explain the dangers to them," said Min Kyi Win, minister of natural resources and environmental conservation. The factory officers told authorities that they had built the power plant based on an agreement they had with the previous government. Min Kyi Win said this visit was intended to collect information to send to the Union government about the condition of the plant, adding that it was in a testing phase and not in operation yet. The factory officers said that they intended to use coal power if the government could not provide adequate electric power for the cement factory, adding that their prior agreement gave them the option to use electric, gas or coal as a power supply. Min Kyi Win said that it is standard for the local government to perform environmental safety checks on coal power plants every three months. "If we find environmental dangers, we need to take action against the factory," he added. "The important thing is to raise awareness about the effects of the plant on the local people." The minister added that gas from Burma is sold largely to neighboring countries, and that he did not think the government would be able to supply sufficient electric or gas power to the plant. This prompted the cement factory to build their own plant without regard for the risks to local people. The cement factory is a subsidiary of the Siam Cement Group (SCG), and is situated near the Ataran River—an important water source for at least five villages in the area. Locals have spoken out against the use of the coal plant after being informed of the associated risks. The cement factory was planned to be fully functional by March, and would boast a production capacity of 1.8 million tons of cement per year. According to an SCG report, the company—one of Thailand's largest cement manufacturers—invested around US$7 billion in expansion over the next five years. Fifty percent of the investment is designated toward the construction of more factories in ASEAN countries, including Burma. The post Authorities Visit Disputed Coal Power Plant in Mon State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 16 Jun 2016 01:00 AM PDT  People pay their respect to Gen Aung San and his colleagues at the mausoleum on July 19, 2015. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Just after North Korean operatives remotely detonated bombs they had hidden in the ceiling of the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Rangoon, Sun Oo received a long-distance phone call. "Are they safe?" asked the caller in a worrisome tone before telling Sun Oo, who was in Mandalay at the time, about the bloody blast of 1983. The "safety" in question had nothing to do with people but rather was referring to architectural survey drawings of the site drafted months before. "My professor was calling because he was worried that the drawings had been leaked to the North Koreans. So I told him they were safe at our department in the Rangoon Institute of Technology," Sun Oo, an architect, recalled 33 years after the bombing.  Sun Oo, the chief architect of the Special Task Group, which created the design of the current Martyrs' Mausoleum, at his office in Rangoon. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) The Oct. 9 blast at the mausoleum where Burmese national independence hero Aung San and his eight colleagues are interred was an attempt to assassinate South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan who was on an official visit to Burma. He was scheduled for a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument on that day. The president narrowly escaped the bombing but 17 other people in his delegation, including four high-ranking ministers, were killed. Thanks to the explosion, the building that housed the tombs was badly damaged, and needed to be rebuilt for the annual Martyrs Day commemoration which falls on July 19 to mark the 1947 assassination of Gen Aung San, the father of Burma's State Counselor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and his colleagues. For many Burmese, paying respect to the leaders at the mausoleum has been a ritual repeated for nearly seven decades.  People gathered at the mausoleum on July 19, 2015 to pay respect to Gen Aung San and his colleagues. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) In mid-1984, then-dictator Ne Win's government formed a 12-member "Special Task Group" led by Sun Oo to work on a new mausoleum design. The reconstruction was completed the following year. The massive red mausoleum, adorned with a large white star on the upper left hand side, should have been the crowning achievement of his career. But for the last 32 years, Sun Oo, now president of the Association for Myanmar Architects, has felt little pride in the large red mausoleum.  Aung San Suu Kyi pays respect to her father, national hero Gen Aung San, and his colleagues at the mausoleum on July 19, 2015. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) "It's nothing more than a structure. It lacks the core spirit it should have conveyed," said the veteran architect. "What they should have there, for example, are inscriptions of extracts from Aung San's famous quotes. When Martyrs' Day comes, his speeches should be played on a PA system while people are paying respect," the 61-year-old said. "What lies inside is of huge sentimental value to the people," he added. "But you can't see anything related to the leaders there now." Sun Oo is not exaggerating. Until recently, the names of the nine interred were nowhere to be seen on the red mausoleum, which is located near the Shwedagon Pagoda. There are no pictures of the martyrs on the main platform, large enough to hold 600 people. Even the entrance gate lacks a sign which could educate visitors on the significance of the site. "Anything related to Gen Aung San and the other leaders has been intentionally wiped out," said Sun Oo. Hiding the History After the conceptual design for the new mausoleum was approved by the cabinet in April 1984, Sun Oo received an order to meet with the government's chief architect. During the meeting, the official asked him to jot down what he dictated: "Firstly, the new design of the mausoleum may not be a dedication to Gen Aung San and his colleagues. Second, if possible, it has to be a memorial site for 'every martyr.'" "It was the first time in my life I had ever heard they were trying to wipe out the identity of Gen Aung San and his colleagues," Sun Oo recalled. "I had never thought that they could be that ruthless especially to Gen Aung San, who was the founder of the Burmese Army. But on that day I heard it with my own ears." Maw Lin, the current Vice Chairman of Association for Myanmar Architects, was a member of a Special Task Group that worked on the new design of the mausoleum. He said Ne Win's regime wanted to remove Aung San and the other leaders from history, even in 1984. "They rebuilt it, because they had to, but they tried their best to hide the significant roles of the leaders," he said. Their attempt to erase the martyrs, especially Aung San, from people's memories intensified after the rise of Aung San's daughter as a leader of the Burmese pro-democracy movement following the 1988 students' uprising. Everything related to Aung San was pushed from view by the then-military dictatorship.  An honor guard pays respect to Gen Aung San and his colleagues at the mausoleum on July 19, 2015. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) His portrait at government schools and offices was later replaced with former junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe. On Burmese banknotes, Aung San's image was replaced with the lion, the insignia of the military regime. The Martyrs' Day ceremony was not an exception. Public access to the mausoleum on July 19 was restricted until 2010 because the military government was afraid of the public gathering there. Senior military leaders were rarely seen attending the event. In 2008, Rangoon's City Development Council, a municipal body, managed the Martyrs' Day ceremony, and until 2011, the mayor was the most senior person to attend. Even under the previous government, Thein Sein, a former general-turned-president, never attended. Yan Myo Thein, a Rangoon-based political commentator, said Ne Win and successive military regimes wanted to remove Aung San from public memory because of his overwhelming political legacy. "Even though he was assassinated in 1947, Gen Aung San still is influential and earned respect from the people. U Ne Win may have been jealous of that," he explained. "The military regime at the time might have felt worried because what they were doing was contrary to what Gen. Aung San planned as the founder of the army," he added, referring to the army's repressive rule over the civilians and wars on ethnic groups in the border areas. The general believed the army should protect the people, not bully them. Pushing the Envelope Despite the orders to take out the identities of the martyrs, Sun Oo and his colleagues skillfully concealed additional spaces in their design for museum, inscriptions and plaques for their biographies and speeches "to add the spirit" to the mausoleum in the future. The authorities who reviewed the design were not aware of these details and approved it. "We added them with a faint expectation that they could be used someday," said Sun Oo. With the new civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, he is hopeful that his expectations will be met. While State Counselor Suu Kyi goes every year, people are excited at the prospect of the country's President Htin Kyaw attending this year's commemoration on July 19 at the mausoleum. If he does, he will be the first Burmese head of state to celebrate Martyrs' Day publicly in many decades.  The Martyrs' Mausoleum under renovation on June 15, 2016. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy) Currently, renovations are underway at the mausoleum in preparation for this year's, 69th Anniversary of Martyrs' Day. Sun Oo and the other architects who designed the monument had several meetings with authorities to put the spirit and legacy of Aung San and his colleagues back into the mausoleum. They are now waiting on the final approval from general's daughter. "If she wants us to make it happen, it will not be difficult for us because we have already prepared for it many years ago," he said. The post Erasing the General appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Natural Resources Can Pay for Burma’s Needs Posted: 15 Jun 2016 11:52 PM PDT  A view of oil wells in the Burmese village of Chauk, in Magwe Division, in April 2012. (Photo: Reuters) This is an important year for Burma. With expectations so high, the new government is under enormous pressure to prove that it can transform the more than 20 trillion kyats (US$17 billion) budgeted into tangible benefits for the people of Burma. This will not be easy, yet significant reforms are already underway to help achieve this objective. For one, the government has adopted a new way of budgeting. It can now allocate money more rationally between ministries and set ministry spending limits based on available resources, thanks in part to three years of revenue projections. The result has been an increase in education, health and social service spending, albeit from very low starting levels, and more money for the state and regional governments. Increased income and commercial taxes have paid for this reform. So have cuts to general public service spending, including government hiring. However, defense spending has also increased substantially since 2009; social spending might have increased much more had military spending not been such a priority. While these changes are positive signs of progress, overlooking the specificity of natural resource revenues—mainly from oil, natural gas, minerals and gemstones—hinders public finance reforms in at least three ways. First, the majority of payments the government collects from the natural resource sector never get spent on social services or infrastructure. Rather, state-owned economic enterprises such as the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and the Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE) retain significant amounts of natural resource revenue in "Other Accounts." While some Other Accounts are simply payment mechanisms for subcontractors or international donors, others are enormous funds kept at the Myanma Economic Bank, only reviewed by a select few inside the Ministry of Planning and Finance and the Auditor General's office. Burma's citizens are unable to monitor how the money is being used or whom it is benefiting. In absence of official information, based on our projections, MOGE's Other Accounts could hold as much as 4.6 trillion kyats ($3.9 billion). In addition to a lack of transparency in Other Accounts, there is a question as to whether MOGE, MGE and other state-owned economic enterprises should retain such large amounts of money. In 2013-14, MOGE transferred more than 1.3 trillion kyats ($1.1 billion) into Other Accounts—or 60 percent of all its oil and natural gas revenues—more than either public health or education spending for the entire country. Yet, MOGE does not serve as the "operator" in charge of managing most of Burma's petroleum fields, meaning it does not need to invest significant amounts of cash in unpredictable exploration activity and does not need particularly large levels of cash on hand for sophisticated capital planning. Currently, the Union Parliament and public interest groups do not have enough information to make informed recommendations on the amount these powerful organizations should retain for reinvestment purposes, or, alternatively, whether the system should change to give the Union Parliament greater power to approve their budgets. However, the information we do have—including indications that the company is being allowed to hold onto significantly more money than it is spending—suggests that MOGE retains too much given its limited mandate. The people of Burma may be better served if a large portion of this money were spent on social services or infrastructure, or to help cover the budget deficit. Second, the government's rule currently limiting the budget deficit to 5 percent of GDP is inappropriate for a resource-rich country with low public debt levels, like Burma. While the government is rightly concerned about not overspending, the current rule is what economists call "pro-cyclical," meaning that the government can spend more when GDP rises and must cut spending when GDP drops. Not only does this go counter to the fundamentals of macroeconomic management, it is particularly detrimental in a resource-rich country reliant on volatile oil, gas or mineral revenues. The drop in oil and gas prices led to an approximate 600 billion kyat-drop (US$500 million) in government revenue in 2014-15. However, the rule did not allow for temporary increased borrowing to compensate for this drop. The current rule is also inappropriate for a country where public spending on infrastructure and social services can generate significant economic growth. According to the World Bank, in 2014 Burma spent approximately US$20 per person on healthcare, compared to $61 in Cambodia, $142 in Vietnam and $360 in Thailand. Instead of focusing on the risks of over-borrowing, the government could focus on smoothing year-to-year spending volatility to prevent boom-bust cycles and increasing spending in areas that will reduce poverty and generate economic growth. Third, the government does not collect what it should from the resource sector. There are many reasons for this, but one is that the Ministry of Planning and Finance's Internal Revenue Department (IRD) is under-resourced and lacks capacity to properly audit petroleum and mining companies. Relative to agencies with similar functions in other countries, the IRD has less than one-eighth of the budget it needs to do its job. According to experts, properly funding the IRD could generate a more than 1,000 percent return on investment for the government. Furthermore, the IRD has no real way of closely controlling tax rates and tax exemptions, which are decided by MOGE and the Ministry of Mines (now the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation), since contracts are neither transparent to the public nor to many other government ministries. The IRD has also very little sway over the Myanmar Investment Commission, which plays an important role in investment incentives and is subject to political control. Discretionary tax exemptions seem to cost the government billions of kyat annually. Thus it is unclear whether the government is receiving a fair share of profits generated from the resource sector. Additionally, smuggling and the underreporting of mineral production—particularly in the lucrative gems market—means that the reported value is sometimes less than 10 percent of the true value of mineral and gem extraction. Even if the small proportion that is declared is taxed at appropriate rates, illegal activities represent a loss of trillions of kyat per year for the government. Undeclared jade production alone could account for more than 17.5 trillion kyats ($15 billion) in tax revenue a year. Accurate reporting could generate trillions of kyat in tax revenue per year, enough to cover the entire healthcare and education budgets. The government's reforms are on the right track and spending on social programs under the National League for Democracy government is expected to increase. However, given the vast amounts of money at stake, the government should pay particular attention to the specificities of the natural resource sector. With respect to macroeconomic management, the government could implement a rule smoothing volatile year-to-year spending, thereby preventing boom-bust cycles. Other Accounts at MOGE and MGE could be made more transparent. The government could reevaluate whether MOGE and MGE are retaining too much revenue rather than sending more to the budget to finance health, education and infrastructure. Tax collection could be improved by providing the IRD with more resources to audit accounts. Finally, gem production monitoring could be improved and incentives provided to incorporate illegal mining activities into the formal system, thereby generating much-needed revenue. Together, these policies could improve the quality of public spending decisions and increase the share of natural resource revenues that make their way into the budget, helping pay for what the country needs most. Andrew Bauer is a Senior Economic Analyst and Matthieu Salomon is the Myanmar Manager with the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI). NRGI conducts international research and advocacy, and provides technical advice, to members of government and civil society on how to promote accountable and effective governance in the extractive industries. The post Natural Resources Can Pay for Burma's Needs appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Obama, Dalai Lama Anger China with White House Meeting Posted: 15 Jun 2016 10:47 PM PDT  The Dalai Lama speaks at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, June 13, 2016. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters) WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama thanked the Dalai Lama on Wednesday for offering condolences after 49 people were killed in the worst mass shooting in modern US history, as the pair once again angered China by meeting at the White House. It was Obama's fourth White House meeting with Tibetan spiritual leader, whom Beijing accuses of leading a campaign to split the region off from the rest of China. The Dalai Lama says he simply wants a higher degree of autonomy under Chinese rule. China condemned the meeting after the White House listed it on Obama's public schedule. The meeting was closed to news media coverage, but the White House released on its Flickr account a photo by the president's official photographer of the two men greeting each other. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Obama has "warm personal feelings" toward the 80-year-old Dalai Lama and fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Obama also appreciates his teachings and believes in preserving Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic traditions, Earnest said. The Dalai Lama led a minute of silent prayer for the shooting victims during a visit at the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Monday, the day after a gunman opened fire at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub, killing 49 people and wounding dozens more. "The president thanked the Dalai Lama for his expression of condolences about the terrorist attack in Orlando over the weekend," Earnest said. China strongly disapproved of the meeting. Its Foreign Ministry said it had made "solemn representations" to the US Embassy in Beijing and expressed its "firm opposition." "We need to emphasize that the Tibetan issue is China's internal affairs and other countries do not have any right to interfere with this," spokesman Lu Kang told a daily media briefing. "The 14th Dalai Lama is not simply a religious figure but a political figure in exile who has been conducting secessionist activities internationally under the pretext of religion," the statement said. "If President Obama meets with Dalai Lama, it will send the wrong signal to Tibetan separatist forces, and it will undermine the mutual trust and cooperation between China and the US." Lu urged Washington to "stick by its promise of recognizing Tibet as part of China, and not support Tibetan independence or any separatist activities." Earnest reiterated Wednesday that US policy toward Tibet remained unchanged. "Tibet, per US policy, is considered part of the People's Republic of China, and the United States has not articulated our support for Tibetan independence," he said. "Both the Dalai Lama and President Obama value the importance of a constructive and productive relationship between the United States and China. All of those were policy positions of the United States before the meeting occurred. Our policy hasn't changed after the meeting." China also blames the Dalai Lama and others for inciting a wave of self-immolations among Tibetans in recent years. Dozens have set themselves on fire while calling for the return of the Dalai Lama or for Tibetan independence. Obama held the meeting in the Map Room, instead of the Oval Office, because the Dalai Lama is not a head of state. The president had been scheduled to travel to Wisconsin on Wednesday for his first campaign appearance with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton following his formal endorsement of her last week. But the event was postponed after the Orlando shooting, creating room on Obama's schedule to meet with the Dalai Lama, who was already visiting Washington. Obama planned to visit Orlando on Thursday to pay tribute to the victims and meet with their loved ones. The post Obama, Dalai Lama Anger China with White House Meeting appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Thai Police Prepare to Raid Scandal-Hit Temple, Arrest Abbot Posted: 15 Jun 2016 10:42 PM PDT  Abbot Phra Dhammachayo (C) arrives for a ceremony at the Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok, on Makha Bucha Day, March 4, 2015. (Photo: Damir Sagolj / Reuters) BANGKOK — Thai police prepared to raid a Buddhist temple north of Bangkok on Thursday and apprehend its influential abbot, a justice ministry unit said, the latest twist in a series of scandals that has shaken Thailand's dominant faith. The wealthy and influential Dhammakaya temple is at the center of religious tensions and its 72-year-old abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, is accused of conspiring to launder money by accepting stolen cash from a credit union. His followers deny the allegations and claim the charges are politically motivated. Thursday's planned raid is the latest development in a stand-off between investigators and the Buddhist sect after Dhammachayo, citing ill health, failed to appear at a police station to answer graft charges last month. The controversy feeds into more than a decade of political divisions in Thailand, which have permeated all aspects of life, including religion. By early morning, the large southern gate to the sprawling Dhammakaya temple complex was shut, although it was not blocked by backhoes as it had been during previous confrontations. On the other side, hundreds of Dhammakaya followers dressed mainly in white sat in a warm drizzle in front of sect's UFO-shaped central stupa, which holds precious relics. There were no obvious signs of soldiers in the vicinity. However, scores of Thai riot police waited at a nearby government office. They were equipped with shields and helmets but were otherwise unarmed, Reuters witnesses said. Some question whether Thursday's attempt by police to enter the temple with a warrant will achieve anything and whether it was simply political theater. Thailand's ruling junta, which took power in a bloodless coup in May 2014, has not commented on the raid and has been reluctant to weigh in on the graft allegations in the past. "We have made it clear that the execution of this task must be done in an orderly manner and without any injuries," deputy chief Police Major Suriya Singhakamol of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) told reporters at the temple. The DSI, which operates independently of the police, is a justice ministry department that deals with the investigation of cases involving high-ranking officials. Prachim Samahasapan, 59, a housewife and Dhammakaya follower, came to give the abbot moral support but said there wasn't much they could do to stop the police. "All we can do is sit and meditate," she said. "Arresting him is uncalled for. It's not like he killed someone," she said. The post Thai Police Prepare to Raid Scandal-Hit Temple, Arrest Abbot appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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