Friday, July 15, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine


YCDC Takes to the Streets to Sterilize Stray Dogs

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 07:30 AM PDT

The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of YCDC sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group. The move was part of a pilot project for

RANGOON — The Veterinary and Slaughterhouse Department of the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs in Sanchaung Township on Thursday, in cooperation with Blue Heart, a Rangoon-based animal welfare group.

According to YCDC, the move was part of a pilot project for "rabies free status" in three townships—Sanchaung, Lanmadaw and Mingalar Taung Nyunt. The project is primarily funded through donations raised by Min Lee, the wife of former US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell.

According to the YCDC's figures, about 180,000 stray dogs live on the streets of Burma's commercial capital, which has increased from over 70,000 in 2013. YCDC had used  "lethal methods,"—scattering poison-laced meat in the streets—to control Rangoon's stray dog population for decades.

Animal welfare activists have campaigned against poisoning stray dogs and suggested that the trap-neuter-return (TNR) method is the only sustainable solution for decreasing the population in the long run.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a person dies every 15 minutes from rabies globally. More than 95 percent of rabies-related human deaths occur in Asia and Africa, and within those areas, Burma is considered a "high rabies endemic country." The WHO states that Burma has the highest number of rabies-related deaths in Southeast Asia with some 1,000 deaths per year.

The post YCDC Takes to the Streets to Sterilize Stray Dogs appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Nationalist Provocateur Let Free in Defamation Case

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 06:19 AM PDT

Nay Myo Wai speaks at an event earlier this year protesting any change to Article 59(f), the clause that bars Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma's presidency for having close family members with foreign citizenship. (Photo: Nay Myo Wai / Facebook)

Nay Myo Wai speaks at an event earlier this year protesting any change to Article 59(f), the clause that bars Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma's presidency for having close family members with foreign citizenship. (Photo: Nay Myo Wai / Facebook)

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division — After being detained for over two months for allegedly defaming the country's top leaders on social media, ultra-nationalist provocateur Nay Myo Wai was discharged by a court in Irrawaddy Division on Friday.
Nay Myo Wai is a vocal supporter of the Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha and serves as chairman of the Peace and Diversity Party, which contested the November general election on a hardline anti-Muslim platform but failed to win a seat.

Nay Myo Wai has in recent years been a notorious propagator of anti-Muslim sentiment on Facebook, and has also taken part in public demonstrations alongside Ma Ba Tha and other hardline groups.

Wai Yan Aung, an executive member of the Burma Teachers' Federation, filed a lawsuit against Nay Myo Wait under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, accusing him of sharing posts on social media that defamed President Htin Kyaw, Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The offending posts featured doctored of images of Suu Kyi as a beggar and others portraying her in sexually suggestive positions. A photo of Min Aung Hlaing was overlaid with a speech bubble saying that he wouldn't stage a coup because he wished to have an affair with Suu Kyi.

Another post called Htin Kyaw the president of a government formed by the "prostitute" and "kalar" party, referring to the ruling National League for Democracy and using a word used pejoratively to describe Muslims and people of Indian descent in Burma.

Article 66(d) carries a punishment of up to three years' imprisonment for "using a telecommunications network to defame," and was used in several instances by the previous government to imprison those who mocked the president and military on social media.

Nay Myo Wai was arrested on May 4 just outside of Rangoon and has since been kept in a jail in Pathein, the Irrawaddy Division capital. On June 5, Ma Ba Tha publicly demanded his release, claiming the offending posts had been issued under fake Facebook accounts bearing his name.

The litigant Wai Yan Aung said that, during a trial hearing on Friday at a court in Irrawaddy Division's Kangyidaunt Township, Nay Myo Wai denied that he had personally shared the offending Facebook posts.

"The judge decided to discharge him saying there was not enough evidence to accuse him of personally sharing the posts," Wai Yan Aung said.

The judge made the decision "without properly questioning the witnesses," said Wai Yan Aung, who insisted that it was Nay Myo Wai who was behind the Facebook posts and photos that "instigated unrest and defamed leaders."

"I doubt the judiciary's uprightness," said Wai Yan Aung.

More than 60 of Nay Myo Wai's supporters showed up at the trial and cheered his name when the favorable verdict was handed down.

The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, the high clerical council appointed by the government to oversee Buddhist monastic discipline in Burma, declared on Tuesday that Ma Ba Tha was not a "lawful monks' association."

Minister of Culture and Religious Affairs Aung Ko has said that a Hate Speech law—which would criminalize verbal attacks on other religions—is being developed in consultation with "interfaith groups" comprising members of Burma's various religious communities.

The President's Office announced on Friday the formation of a high-level "Emergency Management Central Committee" tasked with preventing and mitigating interreligious violence in Burma.

Such moves could indicate a new willingness from the government to confront Buddhist ultra-nationalism and anti-Muslim hate speech, which have grown in Burma recent years—thanks partly to rocketing social media usage and increased freedom of expression. Its growth was abetted by what critics have variously called a timid, indulgent or even collusive approach from the previous administration of President Thein Sein.

The post Nationalist Provocateur Let Free in Defamation Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Traders Call on Govt to Support Jade Market

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 06:08 AM PDT

A buyer checks a jade stone near a mine dump at a Hpakant jade mine in Kachin State, Burma on November 29, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

A buyer checks a jade stone near a mine dump at a Hpakant jade mine in Kachin State, Burma on November 29, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — Jade traders in Mandalay have collected signatures to accompany a proposal requesting government support for a better jade market, they told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

As Burma's jade market began to decline last year, traders called on the country's leadership to address the market situation.

On July 12, traders in Mandalay initiated a signature campaign to collect and send their ideas on how to improve the market to government representatives ranging from State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to Union and regional ministers.

"We're expecting to get more than 100,000 signatures to send our suggestions to seven parties, as we have seriously suffered the worse jade market situation [in years]," said Aung Win Oo, owner of the Diamond Gold Star jade trading company in Mandalay.

Mandalay jade traders aim to submit signatures and accompanying proposals to government members and political parties before end of July and to coincide with the start of the next session of Parliament.

Jade traders in both Mandalay and Rangoon have attributed the cooling of the jade market to uncertainty linked to the transition of political power from a military-backed to a civilian-led government in Burma earlier this year, as well as shifts in China's economic policy under President Xi Jinping; merchants from Mainland China are some of the primary purchasers of Burmese jade.

"Many jade lots are going to China via the border area, so the market is bigger on the Chinese side, rather than here," said Aung Win Oo. "[Here] there are many jade lots piling up and prices are going down—it's no longer worth it for traders," he said, adding that some figures indicate that they have a backup of 100,000 jade lots on the local market, which could be displayed and sold over the next three years.

"During that period, the government can take time to review the Gems Law, which could harm the local industry, and reconsider the limiting of jade operations," Aung Win Oo said.

Kyaw Kyaw Oo, central executive committee member of the Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association said he agreed that the jade market in Burma needs urgent support from the government.

"The main problem is that many jade lots are brought to the Chinese side [of the border] illegally, this is what the government should see and take action on," Kyaw Kyaw Oo said, adding that the local market in Mandalay remains oversaturated with jade that will not sell.

Another concern among traders is that the government is now attempting to limit jade mining operations in Hpakant, Kachin State, reducing the amount of raw jade entering the market. The restrictions come after hasty jade extraction—aided by heavy machinery—caused multiple deadly landslides in the region, reportedly killing more than 150 people in total last year.

While civil society has urged increased regulation of the industry, traders are critical of the restrictive measures.

"If the government places limitations on the jade mines, less quantities of raw jade will be in the local market. How can we survive in this situation?" Aung Win Oo said.

One significant example of the changes taking place is the annual reduction in displays of raw jade lots at the annual Gems Emporium in Naypyidaw by the Myanmar Gems Enterprise. Six thousand lots of raw jade were laid out for purchase in the latest emporium—significantly lower than the 9,000 lots displayed in the previous emporium in December, according to an official at the event.

Some government figures indicate that the rate of jade sales has fallen significantly each year. The Myanmar Gems Enterprise reported that it earned around 600 million euros (US$668.3 million) in the latest emporium, less than December's event, where sales generated around 900 million euros (more than $1 billion).

The post Traders Call on Govt to Support Jade Market appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Human-Elephant Conflict Threatens Wild Elephant Population

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 05:22 AM PDT

A group of six wild elephants seen in central Burma's Natmauk Township, August, 2015. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

A group of six wild elephants seen in central Burma's Natmauk Township, August, 2015. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — She was born in a small ravine in Burma's Southern Arakan mountain range bordering the Irrawaddy Division. The heavy raindrops of monsoon season were her first shower.

Deep forests in the Arakan mountain range would have been her home if her mother hadn't left her in the ravine when bamboo harvesters shooed her away without knowing they were together. The bamboo harvesters brought the wild, newborn elephant to Dr. Myo Min Aung, veterinarian and head of the Myanmar Timber Enterprise's (MTE) Emergency Elephant Response Unit in Irrawaddy Division.

He named her "Mi Kaunt Ya"— which translates to "adopted girl". She survived for 23 days and died from diarrhea on July 3 at the Thayet-san elephant camp in Irrawaddy's Hinthada district.

"Her case is one of many consequences of human-elephant conflicts," Myo Min Aung told The Irrawaddy, explaining how his team tried to care for the days-old Mi Kaunt Ya.

"It was actually a misunderstanding between the bamboo harvesters and the mother elephant," he said. "The mother elephant wasn't there to harm anyone but was giving birth to her child."

He added that similar human-elephant conflicts happen in Irrawaddy Division frequently, as the region has a remarkable concentration of wild elephants.

Burma is home to 4,000-5,000 wild Asian elephants and has the world's largest captive elephant population with nearly 5,000, according to the UK-based EleAid Asian Elephant Conservation. The country's wild elephant population has been in dramatic decline throughout the past few decades, due to loss of habitat and illegal poaching and trading of elephant body parts, EleAid said.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Myanmar) facilitated a workshop in Naypyidaw last week to address human-elephant conflict and conservation of the country's wild elephant population.

Human-elephant conflicts happen when wild elephants come close to villages where there could be paddy fields, in search of food because of the loss of their original habitat, Ye Min Thwin, WWF-Myanmar communication officer, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

"When wild elephants come close to humans, people shoo them away or capture them," he said. "Our plan is to find ways that could minimize harm for both parties, in areas where the possibility of frequent conflict between the two sides exists."

He explained that the conflict will not cease completely. But when working toward conservation efforts, people who live in communities near elephant habitats need to be educated in order to adapt their behaviors during such conflicts, he added.

Conserving elephant habitats—the most effective way to reduce these conflicts—is not only advantageous to humans and elephants, but also benefits other wild animals, forestry conservation and climate, Ye Min Thwin of WWF-Myanmar said.

Burma started designing the Myanmar Elephant Conservation Action Plan (MECAP) last year in coordination with international environmental conservation groups and the draft is almost complete, according to WWF-Myanmar.

A group of six wild elephants seen in central Burma's Natmauk Township, August, 2015. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

A group of six wild elephants seen in central Burma's Natmauk Township, August, 2015. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

Last August, a group of six wild elephants got lost in central Burma and wandered around, destroying paddy fields and scaring local villagers. Officials from the forestry department had to get them back to the forest. Unfortunately, one baby elephant was separated from the group and had to be kept under the forestry department's control.

During the workshop in Naypyidaw last week, the minister of natural resources and environmental conservation highlighted the increase of land utilization and illegal hunting, which contribute to frequent incidents of human-elephant conflict.

Recognizing the decline of the elephant population in the country, minister Ohn Win said, "It is important to address weak policies and recommend suitable ones that are in accordance with the current times in order to manage human-elephant conflict mitigation successfully."

Myo Min, director of the ministry's forestry department, told The Irrawaddy that the workshop came up with seven main recommendations including conducting surveys on human-elephant conflicts and elephant occupancy across the country, drawing standard land use maps, and forming elephant emergency response units in areas where there are frequent incidents.

It is necessary to implement effective control of illegal hunting and limit access to forests in order to reduce conflicts, said Khin Maung Win, chairman of Save Elephant Foundation-Myanmar. Under Burma's wildlife and natural area protection laws, violators can face imprisonment from three to seven years. But Khin Maung Win urged wildlife laws specifically covering elephants be enacted as well.

"To control poachers, there needs to be specific laws just for elephants … not covering all wild animals, because then it's quite generic and vague when taking legal action," Khin Maung Win told The Irrawaddy.

At the same time, it is also important that humans be aware that elephants are also afraid of them, and won't come to villages without reason, he explained.

"Humans can scare elephants and conflict can happen when elephants try to protect themselves or their companies and babies," he said. "But it's natural that people don't like elephants eating their paddy fields."

"That's why we need to educate people who live close to elephant habitats and train them on how to manage such incidents," he added.

For Dr. Myo Min Aung, the case of Mi Kaunt Ya was a life lesson. He confessed that he did not have experience in dealing with wild elephant calves and could not give her the veterinary care required to save her life.

"I wish an incident like this doesn't happen again or, that I am able to give proper care if it does happen again in future," he said.

The post Human-Elephant Conflict Threatens Wild Elephant Population appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Aung Kyi to Head Govt-Linked Peace Think Tank

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 04:47 AM PDT

Aung Kyi, a former army officer who served as information minister under the previous government of President Thein Sein. (Photo: J Paing/The Irrawaddy)

Aung Kyi, a former army officer who served as information minister under the previous government of President Thein Sein. (Photo: J Paing/The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Aung Kyi, an information minister under the previous Thein Sein government, has been appointed head of a new three-member "think tank" adjoined to the government's re-branded peace secretariat, which includes various peace process veterans from the previous government.

The new "think tank" is an adjunct to a six-member "peace commission" created on July 11 under the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), a peace secretariat—now chaired by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi—known under the previous government as the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), which facilitated peace talks with Burma's various non-state ethnic armed groups.

The "think tank" also includes Min Zaw Oo, formerly the director of ceasefire negotiation and implementation under the MPC, and Hla Maung Shwe, another MPC veteran who is currently secretary of the "21st Century Panglong" peace conference. It is charged with advising the "peace commission" in furthering Burma's peace process, and aiding in the design of NRPC policy.

The "peace commission" is chaired by Tin Myo Win, with Thein Zaw as his deputy, who was vice-chair of the Union Peace-Making Work Committee, the key peace negotiation body under the previous government. Ex Army Lt-Gen Khin Zaw Oo is the secretary of the commission. Professor Aung Tun Thet, an economic advisor to the Thein Sein government, Naing Ngan Linn, Rangoon Division social affairs minister, and Lower House lawmaker Aung Soe are also members.

Aung Kyi has served in the military and government administration for more than 50 years. He graduated among the 40th intake at the Officers Training School, and rose to the rank of major general in the Burma Army before being transferred to the Ministry of Immigration and Population, where he served as deputy minister from May 2006 under the military junta.

He was appointed as deputy labor minister in November 2006, during a time of increased pressure from the International Labor Organization, and was made labor minister the following year.

In October 2007, Aung Kyi was charged with conducting negotiations with pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while she was under house arrest. He was the highest-ranking official in 19 years to have been given this brief, and met with Suu Kyi nine times up until January 2010.

Under the reformist Thein Sein administration, Aung Kyi concurrently served as minister of labor and of social welfare, before he was appointed information minister in 2012. He was replaced by his deputy Ye Htut in July 2014; according to a statement from the government, Aung Kyi was "allowed to resign of his own volition"—a phrase commonly used by the former military regime on sacking high-ranking officials.

Aung Kyi has published books on state building, politics and conflict resolution under the penname "Min Ba Htoo."

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

The post Aung Kyi to Head Govt-Linked Peace Think Tank appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Govt Forms Committee to Prevent Interreligious Violence

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 02:14 AM PDT

A Muslim girl carries a box of instant noodles on May 1, 2013, through the debris of a house burnt down during an anti-Muslim attack in Kyawe Pone Lay village, Okkan Township, about 100 km north of Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

A Muslim girl carries a box of instant noodles on May 1, 2013, through the debris of a house burnt down during an anti-Muslim attack in Kyawe Pone Lay village, Okkan Township, about 100 km north of Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The government has formed a high-level "Emergency Management Central Committee" tasked with preventing and mitigating interreligious violence in Burma, according to a statement from the President's Office.

According to the statement, prepared on Tuesday but released on Friday morning, the committee includes Vice President (2) Henry Van Thio, ministers of defense and other Union ministries, the attorney general, ministers from state and divisional administrations, and police commanders.

The committee will work to prevent "other religious problems in the country," and clamp down on "instigations of violence," the statement read.

The committee will work directly with state, divisional and also local-level authorities, including branches of the police. It will also work, if required, with civil society on strategies to preempt violence locally, and will make use of media to spread "awareness" and combat any harmful instigations coming from within the media.

More detailed plans will be worked on in consultation with state and divisional governments, and training will be provided to the latter on how to manage incidents and conflagrations.

Burma has seen bouts of anti-Muslim religious violence across the country in recent years, most recently in Pegu Division, where the government refused to take action against those responsible, and Kachin State, where some arrests have been made.

The ultra-nationalist Buddhist monks association Ma Ba Tha, which has been accused of fomenting anti-Muslim violence through hate campaigns, was declared illegitimate by the State Sangha Maya Nayaka Committee, the highest clerical authority in Burma, on Tuesday evening.

On Thursday, Culture and Religious Affairs Minister Aung Ko said that, if Ma Ba Tha kept "making problems with other religions," disturbing the peace and flouting Buddhist "discipline," the government would "take action against them according to the existing laws."

The post Govt Forms Committee to Prevent Interreligious Violence appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

National News

National News


Taung Yoe survey aims to boost lobby for ethnic affairs minister

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 01:59 AM PDT

A survey to count the ethnic Taung Yoe population in Shan State was launched last month, with its organisers seeking to tally enough of their own to qualify the group for an ethnic affairs minister post in state government, according to Taung Yoe Literature and Culture Association patron U Kyaw Htwe from Pindaya township.

MCDC to get 11 new members

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 01:57 AM PDT

Five new members will be appointed to the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC) within the next two weeks, according to the committee's joint secretary U Thet Naing Tun.

Rakhine’s divided minorities

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 01:26 AM PDT

The mainly stateless Muslim people who identify as Rohingya have been called the most persecuted people in the world – but in the IDP camps and surrounding villages in Rakhine State, where an estimated 140,000 are interred, members of another, often-overlooked Muslim minority: the Kaman, who say they are ignored by the international community and facing abuse and discrimination at the hands of the Rohingya.

Laws hard to enforce on unfinished Yangon-Mandalay road

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 01:11 AM PDT

The Ministry of Construction is trying to speed up completion of the notoriously dangerous Yangon-Mandalay highway, and upgrade its safety standards amid the annual rise in accidents.

Traffic officials seek to battle alarming rise in road deaths

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 01:00 AM PDT

Drunk drivers, people who drive while using their phones and don't buckle their seatbelts, and motorcyclists who ride without helmets are all contributing to a fourfold rise in the number of road accidents over the past few years, says the government. Now the transport ministry has set up a new body to reduce the carnage on the nation's roads.

Minister rebukes Ma Ba Tha

Posted: 14 Jul 2016 10:53 PM PDT

Adding to the backlash against hardline nationalist group Ma Ba Tha, the Union religious affairs minister yesterday warned the group to stay away from hate speech, or face legal retribution.

New Thanlyin-Thaketa bridge planned to reduce traffic congestion

Posted: 14 Jul 2016 02:30 PM PDT

Yangon's regional government plans to resolve traffic problems on the longest bridge in the region by building a new one, which will connect Thanlyin and Thaketa townships over the Bago River. Repairs are also planned for the old bridge.

Rakhine committee establishes 142-point agenda

Posted: 14 Jul 2016 02:30 PM PDT

After only its second meeting, the new committee formed to address issues in Rakhine State has identified 142 priority areas.

Cash-strapped Mandalay daily shuttered

Posted: 14 Jul 2016 02:30 PM PDT

Mandalay Alinn Daily News printed its last edition yesterday. Messenger Media, which distributes Mandalay Alinn, the only private daily newspaper in the region, stopped production yesterday due to budget difficulties, said editor-in-chief U Thant Zin Oo.

Rakhine State residents petition for local control of resources

Posted: 14 Jul 2016 02:30 PM PDT

Residents from all 17 Rakhine State townships are signing on to a petition demanding that they be given local control over their natural resources, the most notable of which is oil, said U Kyaw Khaing, director of Arakan Oil Watch.

Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News


Reading Suu Kyi's mindset on the eve of Mai Ja Yang ethnic leadership summit

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 06:42 AM PDT

As the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) leadership prepares to leave for Mai Ja Yang, making stopovers in Rangoon and Naypyitaw to meet National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, it becomes apparent that it must have done quite a lot of research and mind-reading on the government leader, so that appropriate answers and counter proposals could be formulated.

First, let us look at Suu Kyi's mindset, particularly on what she might be striving at to achieve success in her initiative of 21 Century Panglong Conference or Convention (21CPC), which her predecessor started out as Union Peace Conference (UPC) last February.

According to the meeting between Suu Kyi and the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) which represented  the 8 Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) that signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) late last year, she elaborated issues that were important to the peace process as follows:

·         No hidden agenda in trying to establish a real federal democracy for all the people
·         Real political will and cooperation of all the ethnic people
·         To overcome angst through trust anchored in success and achievement of peace
·         All precious things are not easy to achieve
·         70 years of war is far too long
·         There would be no development without peace, peace must be sought through unity in diversity, and the need to protect political legacy for the next generation
·         Participants' ability and bravery needed to do the duty
·         Different generations – young and old - should have responsibility and a sense of duty
·         To nurture the mentality of "give" (rather than "take"), to the country
·         Her intention to listen more than to make policy clarification
·         Harmony could create peace
·         In order to be successful, all-inclusiveness and principled participation in the convention are necessary
·         All should discuss if it should be called UPC, 21CPC, 2nd or 3rd Panglong
·         Panglong Spirit more important than Agreement, as speedy, common independence from the British was achieved through "unity in diversity" of Panglong Spirit
·         Panglong Agreement stated equality accepted without question, but secession issue must be addressed although she is not for secession, and whether it is needed to be included in the cornerstone of union-building
·         Federalism is integration and not disintegration, according to the academics and good for all the people and ethnic groups
·         In good functioning federal union, there is no secession
·         Accepts equality but ethnic rights of self-determination needs to be discussed in details;
·         To build strong federal union through Panglong Spirit
·         Wants to hear the ethnic nationalities' aim and object rather than clarification of her own policy and not sticking dogmatically to it
·         Constitutional amendment would be through the parliament.

Of all the details mentioned, the most important is the very concept of the country's genesis, emergence or formation, which is differently interpreted by the Bamar political class, including Bamar military, and the ethnic nationalities.

The Bamar rightly or wrongly believed that they have the right to inherit the British colonial master's mantle, when Burma way granted the independence, for the non-Bamar territories were owned by the Bamar ancient kings, while the non-Bamar ethnic nationalities are of the opinion that the Union of Burma is a newly formed political entity, due to the virtue of 1947 Panglong Agreement between them and the Bamar State, then known as Burma Proper or Ministerial Burma.

The vocabulary of "Panglong Agreement, Promises and Spirit"

If we talk about Panglong Spirit, it is adamant that we need to discuss the emergence of its agreement and its pledges, which comes with it. Let us go briefly on what these are all about.

The Panglong Agreement, as we all know, is the 9 point treaty signed between Burma, the Federated Shan States (which later became the Shan State), the Chin Hills (which became the Chin State) and the Kachin Hills (which became the Kachin State), a pact between 4 equal partners.

The gist of it was full autonomy in internal affairs, financial autonomy, human rights and democracy for the ethnic nationalities.

Panglong Promises include the right to secede if and when the signatories choose, equal status and
joint responsibility for common subjects such as foreign affairs, defence and coinage and currency.
It happened during the 4-day negotiations in Panglong, 8-11 February 1947, the said demands were made by the Joint Chin-Kachin-Shan Committee, officially dubbed Supreme Council of the United Hill Peoples (SCOUHP).

Gen Aung San, representative of the then interim Burmese government, reportedly had accepted all in principle but requested that they be included in the Union constitution to be a drafted by the upcoming Constituent Assembly instead. His solemn word of honour thus became known as the promises of Panglong.

The Panglong Spirit, however seems to mean, judging by what the Burmese leaders have repeatedly said, the much-vaunted Three National Causes (Non-disintegration of the Union, Non-disintegration of National Solidarity, and the Perpetuation of National Sovereignty) to be their interpretation. To the non-Burmans, this summing-up means the ethnic nationalities have to live under Burmese domination as second class citizens whether they like it or not. Their own interpretation is equal status, sense of joint ownership and sense of joint responsibility, which has never been realized, let alone agreed upon. (Source: SHAN 12 February 2016)

Panglong Spirit more important

According to Suu Kyi, Panglong Spirit is more important than agreement, which implies that Panglong Agreement is to be regarded as only instrumental to achieve independence, but in no way taken as the valuable, foundation treaty between the Bamar and non-Bamar states.

She went on to explain that the diversified "unity in diversity" had achieved a common good "independence" from the British in 1948, that could be regarded as Panglong Spirit.
This belittling and interpretation of the Panglong Agreement as not being a national treaty which the Bamar State was a part and still is angered the ethnic leadership.

The analogy is like dismantling the scaffolding when the building of a "Chedi"-  a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics, typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns, and used as a place of meditation - is finished, in which the ethnic groups are just seen as supporting structure and not part of the permanently built Chedi.

Her interpretation could be likened to the Burmese saying of "Payar Pyee Yin Nyan Phyet", which literally means "When the building of Buddha statue (or Chedi) is finished, demolish the scaffolding".

The issue of "Secession"

The reason why secession was mentioned in the 1947 Union of Burma Constitution is to soothe the ethnic groups' angst that the Bamar would overwhelm the numerically less populated ethnic states only seemed to be her explanation. This contradicts with her father, Aung San's good will intention.

She questioned why the secession clause should be needed if we were to build a federal union.
She also openly said that she didn't like secession and don't want it to be a cornerstone in the formation of a federal union.

Of course, the ethnic nationalities point of view is quite different from her.

Ethnic rights of self-determination

She is not transparent on the matter and would like the ethnic groups to spell it out for themselves. In a way, she is not saying exactly that the Panglong Agreement-based federalism would be the way to go, implying that she might be inclined to find a new path, which at this stage is still all open.

Vision on federalism

Federalism is integration and not disintegration and in a successful federalism there is no secession.

Some federal system of governance have secession rights and some not. But there were secession in countries that didn't have secession rights included in their constitution, while there were countries with secession rights that didn't see secession being made use of.

Common political position important

She urged, as the government side, perhaps meaning the Bamar as a whole, is trying to find a common basis (fundamentally the NLD and the military), the ethnic nationalities should also try to find one common position together.

Other than that she said streamlining the process, parallel undertaking of the all-inclusiveness while the process is rolling, targeting late August as a start of the UPC or 21CPC and spelling out what she meant by all-inclusiveness.

She said all-inclusiveness doesn't mean everyone must sign but mainly the inclusion of people who ought to be participated, which means all elected political parties and legal political parties.

Mai Ja Yang ethnic leadership summit

On 13 July, the convening committee for Mai Ja Yang meeting at the second largest town controlled by Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/KIA) made a resolution to include 4 topics of discussion at the summit. Accordingly, the meeting will discuss 4 topics: Principles of a federal democracy (need to have a federal constitution and state constitutions); Principles of union armed forces and the need for having state defence forces; review and amendment of Framework for Political Dialogue, and endorsement of the Panglong Handbook.

Outlook

The UNFC would definitely need clear answers on the rights of decision-making process when participating in the UPC or 21CPC, without signing the NCA. And again, signing the NCA would depend on if the all-inclusiveness issue – meaning: the inclusion or exclusion of the 3 EAOs, Kokang or Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Palaung or Ta'ang national Liberation Army (TNLA) and Arakan Army (AA) – is resolved.  Ideally, it would be the government taking all the EAOs into the peace process fold, without reservation. Whether this could be ironed out between the military and the NLD remains to be seen.

Another crucial point to be cleared out is the very concept of how the emergence of country we now know as Burma or Myanmar. The Bamar seems to be convinced that all the territories have been ruled by the ancient kings and thus must be viewed as a continuation of the Bamar rule, after the British left in 1948, while the non-Bamar viewed that this is a newly minted political entity, through the virtue of voluntary Panglong Agreement (1947) and Union of Burma Constitution (1947). This conception would also need to be tuned and cleared.

Closely connected to it would be on how to handle the notion of "secession". The ethnic nationalities see this as an inalienable rights, underlining their independence prior to the signing of Panglong Agreement in 1947, even though they have forsaken to secede, no one is entitled to take it away their birthright secession privilege from them.

The ethnic nationalities could even questioned Suu Kyi on what kind of guarantee she could give by forsaking the secession clause, when their experience after joining the union with Bamar only brought them steadfast human rights violations, militarization, oppression and stripping off all their political rights, starting from 1962 until today.

Other than that, the sharing of political powers, resources and security sector reform would be the pressing core issues that have to be negotiated.

It will all depend on how much give-and-take could be made by all stakeholders of the country, if this decades-old ethnic conflict is to come to an end. Hopefully, all will aim at the "win-win" solution than the "win-lose" outcome, so that we will be able to live in normalcy under the governance of a federal democratic system.


Shan MPs debate hydropower policy in parliament

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 04:21 AM PDT

Following the suspension of the Nongpha Dam last week by Burma's Ministry of Finance and Planning, several Shan politicians and activists have voiced concerns about other hydropower projects being carried out on the Salween River.

Blueprints were originally laid down for six dams to be built on the Salween River in Burma.

In addition to the 1,200 megawatt hydro-dam in Nongpha, proposals have been set for three other hydropower dams in Shan State: a 1,400MW project on the Upper Kunlong; a 2,000 MW dam in Man Tong; and a 7,100 MW dam in Mongton. Plans are also afoot for a 4,500MW project in Ywar Tit, Karenni State; and the 1,360 Hatgyi Dam in Karen State.

Financing for the hydro-electric projects comes from three main sources: China's Three Gorges Corporation; the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand; and Burma's Ministry of Electric Power.

According to a Myanmar Times' report on July 8, the Ministry of Finance and Planning announced that it was suspending the Nongpha hydropower project, which is slated for construction in northern Shan State's Tangyan Township.

Ministry representative Soe Nyunt Lwin said that the government would have to look into the costs and benefits of such projects, and the impact they will have on people and the nation.

According to Sai Hor Hseng, a spokesperson for the Shan Human Rights Foundation, all the dam projects should be suspended, particularly the Mongton Dam due to its enormous size and impact.

"Villagers' properties and roads were already damaged by the construction work," he said. "But victims have never been compensated.

"The construction company told local residents that there is construction everywhere, so they cannot pay out compensation."

Speaking before the Shan State government on July 13, Sai Kham Aung, an MP from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) who represents Hsipaw Township, the public must be made aware of who is responsible for their security and any damage caused by dam construction.

"Will local villagers receive any benefits from the hydropower project?" asked Sai Kham Aung. "In Kyaukme Township, there is the Yeywa Dam. If the construction continues, who will take responsibility?" Does the government share the concerns on these issues?"

In August last year, Shan Herald reported that more than 23,000 people in Shan State voiced concerns over dam construction on the Salween River, also known as the Thanlwin.

"There simply are no policies concerning electricity in Burma," said Sai Wan Leng Kham, an Upper House MP from SNLD who attended a two-day energy policy workshop in Taunggyi last week. "We must try to find methods from the workshop to submit policies and laws in parliament related to electricity."



The peace process: Shwe Ohn’s 6 Ifs

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 04:12 AM PDT

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it
And-what is more-you'll be a Man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

U Shwe Ohn
(Photo: moemaka.com)
In December 1992, a month before the National Convention (NC) set up by the military rulers of the country ostensibly to lay down principles for its third constitution, Shan politician U Shwe Ohn (1923-2010) was detained and sentenced to a year's imprisonment.

His offense: writing and distributing an essay which made suggestions to the NC about how the new constitution should look like.  The 101-page essay titled 'Toward the Third Union of Burma/Myanmar (When, Why, and How)', when it came out in a booklet form, published by SHAN, in 1998, was, along with 'The Village of the Generals' by TNT, one of the news agency's 'bestsellers'.

In it are 6 hypothetical suppositions, which are highly thought provoking.
Also despite the years, it is still very much relevant to what is taking place today under the leadership of U Thein Sein (2011-2016) and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. (2016 -   ).

Perhaps going through them may help today's leaders to reduce their pride and prejudice. So here they are:

1.       If there were no Aung San…..
Considering the non-Burmans' sentiments in 1947, it would be hard to imagine that they would have agreed to proposals by any Burman leaders for a union. The reason that they had agreed to was because Burma had a leader like Aung San who was clean, honest, genuinely patriotic, patient and had foresight.

2.       If there were no SSPFL…..
The Shan State People's Freedom League (SSPFL), set up by Shan youths in 1946, had steadfastly advocated joint independence with the Burmans. It was through its vigorous campaigning that the hesitating ruling princes of Shan States finally gave the go-ahead for the idea.

(Despite its tireless efforts at Shan-Burman friendship and solidarity, the SSPFL was destroyed by the AFPFL government following independence).

3.       If no agreement were not reached at Panglong……
There would be no Frontier Areas Committee of Enquiry (FACE) to sound out the non-Burmans' wishes. And there would have been no Union of Burma/Myanmar. Instead, Burma Proper, also known as Ministerial Burma, would become independent and the rest remain under British rule.

4.       If the Right of Secession were not provided in the 1947 Constitution……
On 16 June 1947, the Prince of Mongpawn Sao Sam Tun protested that Aung San's directives for the constitution did not include the non-Burmans' right of secession, as promised at Panglong. "We think there's only one thing left for us to do," he reportedly told U Nu, "and that is to pack our bags and go home."

The AFPFL leaders, in response, assured him since the principle had been accepted, there should be no lingering doubts. The result was the incorporation  of Chapter 10. Right of Secession in the constitution.
It is crystal clear that no Union of Burma/Myanmar would have emerged without it.

5.       If Part Scheduled Areas were not included in Kachin State…..
(Myitkyina and Bhamo districts at that time were designated as Part Scheduled Areas, where the Ministerial Burma government could advise but the final decision rested with the British Governmentauthor's note)

Without them, there would be no Kachin State and Kachin leadership would have objected. Plans for the formation of a Union would then be in jeopardy.

6.       If there were no Union of Burma/Myanmar……
As said in If #3, Burma and the Frontier Areas would have been separated, with the former becoming independent, and the latter still under British rule. But for how long would that be?

The Federated Malay States, on which the Federated Shan States had modeled itself in 1922, became an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth in 1957. And since 1963, it has become known as Federation of Malaysia.

Similarly, the Frontier Areas would, in all likelihood, become independent by that time. And afterward, probably  the Republic of Burma and the independent Frontier Areas will agree to form a Union on equal footing.

No doubt something to chew upon, though the mill never grinds on the water that is past. But it may help to avoid the same mistakes in the future.

Finally, U Shwe Ohn showers all the praises on Aung San, who said on 16 June 1947, with regards to the Panglong Agreement and the FACE recommendations, "We not only accept the letter of the agreement but also the spirit of the agreement."

He later declared, "I have heard that some ethnic leaders are worried whether we are going to deviate from the spirit of the agreement (in Burmese, he used the words,"  "original concept"). What I would like to say here is if they still harbor such doubts, they are insulting both our sense of honor and sense of pride."

If those words do not epitomize the Spirit of Panglong, what does?



The launch of a new research paper "Achieving Health Equity in Contested Areas of Southeast Myanmar"

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 12:12 AM PDT

Dear colleagues,

The Asia Foundation cordially invites you to attend the launch of a new research paper "Achieving Health Equity in Contested Areas of Southeast Myanmar" by Bill Davis and Kim Joliffe. The report gives an overview of the separate Ministry of Health (MoH) and EAO-linked health systems that exist in southeast Myanmar, and looks at how coordination and cooperation have increased since ceasefires were signed in 2011 and 2012. It provides guidance and actionable recommendations for government, ethnic organizations, and international aid actors on how to strengthen service delivery and improve levels of cooperation and coordination. Please join us on Wednesday, July 20th at the Novotel Yangon Max. The launch is from 15:30-17:00, and registration will be from 15:00-15:30. For further information please find attached to this email the invitation. Please feel free to circulate this among your network.

Sincerely,

The Asia Foundation