The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Muslims Charged in Rangoon for Alleged Citizenship Violations
- Ethnic Armed Alliance Joins Political Framework Review Meeting
- Central Bank to Appoint New Member
- Burma Army Soldiers Confess at Court Martial to Killing Civilians
- The UWSA and the Peace Process
- Will Rangoon’s Secretariat be Returned to the Public?
| Muslims Charged in Rangoon for Alleged Citizenship Violations Posted: 10 Aug 2016 06:19 AM PDT  The government compound in Rangoon's Thingangyun Township, seen on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Immigration authorities have charged six Muslim residents of Rangoon's Thingangyun Township under the 1982 Citizenship Law for allegedly traveling from other regions without government approval and failing to return their "white cards" last year, according to their defense lawyer. The six were among 23 residents of Ward-3 in the township who were held at local government offices on Monday after members of the Myanmar Patriotic Monks Union—a hardline Buddhist nationalist activist group—threatened local Muslims and pressured township authorities to scrutinize whether they were officially registered as living in the area. Nay Phone Latt, who represents the township for the National League for Democracy in the Rangoon Division Parliament, told The Irrawaddy that he was aware of local Muslims, some holding "white cards," who had failed to present adequate citizenship documentation to local authorities. He said that some might have come from Lashio in northern Shan State. "White cards" are documents denoting "temporary citizenship" that were canceled by former President Thein Sein in February 2015, with bearers obliged to return them to local officials. According to a report by Voice of America, the Patriotic Monks Union began its campaign against the resident Muslims after a local quarrel between a Buddhist young man and a Muslim young man fatally escalated. The mother of the Buddhist young man reportedly tried to intervene but was stabbed. She died on August 4 after contracting a lung disease, pneumoconiosis, at the hospital. Police are still searching for the assailant. This incensed the Patriotic Monks Union, who decided on retribution against the local Muslim community at large. On Tuesday, out of the 23 people held at local government offices—purportedly for their own safety after receiving violent threats from the Patriotic Monks Union—seven were unconditionally released, 10 were fined and six were charged with being in violation of Articles 62 and 63 of Burma's 1982 Citizenship Law, according to the Muslim defense lawyer, who asked not to be named out of fear for his safety. The lawyer told The Irrawaddy, "Everybody knows who is behind the scene. A group is interfering in the government's work." "The hands of Ma Ba Tha members are behind the curtain," he said, referring to Burma's most prominent Buddhist nationalist association, which is not formally linked to the Patriotic Monks Union. Articles 62 and 63 of the citizenship law contains provisions against holding "cancelled" documents for "naturalized citizenship"—a category distinct from "temporary citizenship" as formerly denoted by white cards, which is not mentioned in the 1982 law. Penalties include prison sentences of 10-15 years, and fines of up to 50,000 kyats (US$42). The Irrawaddy visited the offices of the Thingangyun Township administration, but immigration officers and those from other departments would not confirm the charges. The township police commander, Thet Naing Htun, merely answered, "Everything is fine and we released all of them." Outside the township court on Monday, around 100 members of the local Muslim community gathered to publicly present a variety of documents purporting to prove the legal residence of those being scrutinized in the township. About 20 police were positioned outside government offices, bearing rifles. Photographs of the scene were circulated on social media, accompanied by inflammatory statements to the effect that the assembled Muslims were "insulting local authorities" and "disobeying court regulations."
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| Ethnic Armed Alliance Joins Political Framework Review Meeting Posted: 10 Aug 2016 06:00 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) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) will join the two-day political dialogue framework review meeting in Rangoon beginning on Friday, just ahead of the Union Peace Conference scheduled for the end of this month. Three weeks prior to the peace conference, stakeholders—from both the government and ethnic armed groups—are holding preparatory meetings with their respective groups in hopes of achieving all-inclusion in the peace process. On Tuesday and Wednesday, representatives of the ethnic armed groups—both signatories and non-signatories of last year's nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the former government—met to find a common stance on the framework for political dialogue. Khu Oo Reh, the secretary of the UNFC, confirmed to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the group would attend the review meeting. "We will review [the framework] and we will participate," he said. But two of the UNFC member groups—the Ta'ang Nationalities Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—had been excluded from the process thus far, after they requested to leave the alliance earlier this year. They did not join previous meetings with UNFC groups or with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi in July, and they have since actively engaged in conflict with the Burma Army in northeastern Burma, along with the Arakan Army (AA). The TNLA, MNDAA and AA reportedly plan to form a new alliance with the country's largest ethnic armed group, the United Wa State Army. "The government is holding separate talks with these groups, and they will follow through on any agreement they reach," said Khu Oo Reh, referring to talks on Tuesday in Shan State's Mongla between a government delegation from the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) and the three groups to sort out their participation in the peace process. Tar Bone Kyaw, secretary of the TNLA, told The Irrawaddy that the government's delegates—former lawmaker Thein Zaw, former Lt-Gen Khin Zaw Oo and former information minister Aung Kyi—discussed the groups' participation in the peace process, the nationwide ceasefire agreement and the framework review. The Burma Army had previously demanded that the three groups disarm before joining the peace process. Tar Bone Kyaw said the negotiation "was unsuccesful" regarding disarmament, "due to slight wording problems." He said, "We can’t make a statement pledging that we will abandon the armed struggle but Khin Zaw Oo [the former Lt-Gen] told us that we will be unable to participate in the peace process if we don't." The Irrawaddy was unable to reach Khin Zaw Oo for comment despite multiple attempts. Meanwhile, Upper House parliamentarians have questioned the inclusion of ethnic minorities in the Union Peace Conference. Kyaw Tint Swe, the Minister of the State Counselor's Office, who is also the vice-chair of both the NRPC and the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC), responded that decisions would be made at the UPDJC meeting next week. Some ethnic armed groups have said that the State Counselor's plan to commence the peace conference on August 31 seems rushed, but Pado Kwe Htoo Win, a vice-chair of the UPDJC—which represents eight ethnic armed organizations—said the date allows for enough time to negotiate both in formal and informal meetings. "We have to begin national level talks," said Pado Kwe Htoo Win. "This conference shows that peace talks are really happening under the new government." Nang Lwin Hnin Pwint contributed to this report. The post Ethnic Armed Alliance Joins Political Framework Review Meeting appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Central Bank to Appoint New Member Posted: 10 Aug 2016 04:35 AM PDT  The governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar met with the president of Mongolia in June. (Photo: Global New Light of Myanmar) Rangoon — A member of the National League for Democracy's (NLD) economic committee has been put forward for the board of directors of the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM). Committee member Bo Bo Nge's nomination came in a letter sent from President Htin Kyaw to Parliament on Tuesday. Upper House Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than welcomed discussion of the proposal. Bo Bo Nge, 48, is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Financial and Management Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He recently joined the NLD's economic committee as a banking expert and is head of research and risk management at KBZ Bank. Khin San Hlaing, Lower House lawmaker and secretary of Parliament's Banks and Monetary Affairs Development Committee, said that parliamentarians would discuss Bo Bo Nge's eligibility on Friday. "I'd welcome him to the board of the Central Bank because it seems like it could use energetic new members to drive change," she said. "The Central Bank is an independent body under the law, but as I see it, they can't work independently on some issues at this point," she said, adding that the involvement of fresh, young experts was a good sign for the future. Nine members serve on the board of directors: one governor, three deputy governors, and five banking experts who are nominated by the government. Kyaw Kyaw Maung, 75, has served as governor of the CBM since 2013, and will serve a five year term. The other board members serve four year terms. Bo Bo Nge would fill the post left by Maw Than, who was appointed auditor-general when the NLD government assumed power in April. Other members of the CBM who were appointed under the former administration will finish their terms unless the Central Bank of Myanmar Law is amended to allow for reshuffling. "Until the law is amended, the governor and deputy governors will continue to serve out their terms, even if the government doesn't like their performace," said an economist, who asked to remain anonymous. The banking industry has welcomed Bo Bo Nge's nomination, stating that because he is younger than the other members of the board, he can help the industry develop well into the future. Zaw Lin Htut, chief executive officer of Myanmar Payment Union, said that it was good for the government to attempt to shake up the banking industry. "Getting younger generations—who know more about technology and modern banking services—involved in the board of directors is a good move," he said. The post Central Bank to Appoint New Member appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Burma Army Soldiers Confess at Court Martial to Killing Civilians Posted: 10 Aug 2016 03:59 AM PDT  A funeral was held in early July for five civilians killed by Burma Army soldiers near Mong Yaw Village, Lashio Township, northern Shan State. (Photo: Sai Kaung Loi Pha / Facebook) Seven Burma Army soldiers, including four commissioned officers, accused of murdering five civilians in Mong Yaw Village of Lashio Township in late June were brought before a court martial at North Eastern Command headquarters in Lashio, northern Shan state on Tuesday. At the court session, the first in this high-profile case, the four commissioned officers admitted giving the orders to kill the villagers, while the lower-ranking soldiers admitted to carrying them out, according to a translator employed at the hearing. Uncharacteristically for military tribunals in Burma, where even verdicts are generally not shared with the public, the session was open for family members of the murdered villagers to observe. It is also rare to see commissioned officers brought before tribunals for abuses against civilians. Sai Lao Pha, who translated into Shan for the family members in attendance, told The Irrawaddy that the three lower-ranking soldiers "told the court that, while dressed in army camouflage fatigues, they used knives to kill the five local men." These three soldiers—two sergeants, Sein Win Maung and Maung Ohn, and one corporal, Maung Maung Htwe—stated that they had been acting under orders from superior officers. Sgt. Sein Win Maung alone protested that this made him not guilty of murder. The four commissioned officers—one colonel, Myo Aung, two majors, Tin Myo Zaw and Aung Nay Myo, and one captain from Military Intelligence, Lin Naing Soe—confessed to being guilty. Twelve people from among the murdered villagers' families attended the session, where they were not asked to speak. The session lasted between 10 am and 6 pm. Although the trial will continue, no dates for future sessions have been set. After the bodies of the five villagers were discovered by local residents buried near their village of Mong Yaw in Lashio Township, blame quickly fell on soldiers from the Burma Army's Light Infantry Battalion 362, who were seen leading the villagers away for questioning on June 25. The soldiers were in the vicinity due to reports than an ethnic rebel army was recruiting locals. In an unprecedented admission, Lt-Gen Mya Tun Oo of the Burma Army confirmed at a press conference in Rangoon on July 20 that the army was responsible for the five civilian deaths, and said that "action" would be taken against the soldiers involved. On July 3, the deputy commander of the Burma Army's North Eastern Command compensated the families of the five victims to the amount of 300,000 kyats (US$250) each. The Burma Army also stands accused by locals of shooting dead two young men riding motorbikes not far from the village on the same day. The Burma Army have countered that they had died in the crossfire between the Burma Army and an unspecified ethnic rebel group. Earlier this week, authorities in Lashio Township exhumed all seven bodies in Mong Yaw Village. Township police claimed to have opened their own murder case. The post Burma Army Soldiers Confess at Court Martial to Killing Civilians appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| The UWSA and the Peace Process Posted: 10 Aug 2016 12:51 AM PDT  A checkpoint at the entrance of the UWSA headquarters of Panghsang in the Wa Self-Administered Division of northern Shan State. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) It is looking increasingly likely that the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army—or "Mongla Group"—will participate in and support the 21st Century Panglong peace conference scheduled for late August. Recently, senior delegations from the UWSA and the Mongla Group, both based in Shan State, visited Naypyidaw to meet with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, thereby raising expectations. As the strongest ethnic armed group in the country, the participation of the UWSA—headquartered in Panghsang in the Wa Self-Administered Division—is an inescapable issue in Burma's peace process. Without the UWSA, any peace agreement the government could achieve would be incomplete and unsustainable. Compared to other ethnic armed groups, such as the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the UWSA's position is less known to the outside world. This is not only because of its isolated nature but also because of its notoriety for drug-trafficking, which has made it the target of US sanctions.  Yun Sun is a senior associate at the Henry L. Stimson Center, a global security think tank based in Washington DC. Nevertheless, an accurate understanding of the UWSA's positions and aspirations is indispensable for the success of the upcoming "Panglong" conference and peace process. The most striking feature of the UWSA's relations with Burma is that the armed group never has and does not currently seek independence. In meetings with government officials and in private policy discussions, the UWSA always sees itself as part of the nation and hopes to remain so. This presents a fundamental difference from some other groups' long-standing aspirations for independence. The other side of the same coin, however, is that the level of autonomy that the UWSA seeks from the central government is exceedingly high. In the UWSA's view, unlike in Kachin State, Burma's central government has never exercised effective control of the Wa region throughout the past four decades and the region has always administered itself politically, economically and militarily. The UWSA boasts better economic and infrastructural development in their region than in the rest of the country—a status that the UWSA has no intention of relinquishing to the government. The UWSA seeks statehood—an upgrade from its current status as a Self-Administered Division to that of an ethnic state—a designation believed to carry greater political legitimacy, autonomy and economic rights. It would also be a symbol of the central government's recognition of the unique status of the UWSA and of a much coveted "leadership" position among other ethnic armed groups. However, from the UWSA's perspective, "statehood" is desirable but not indispensable. It would like to have the issue up for negotiation but it is unlikely to be the deal-breaker. For the Wa, however, statehood is closely linked to the actual deal-breaker: territory. The UWSA currently holds two pieces of territory. One is centered on its capital Panghsang, its traditional northern base adjacent to China. The second is its 171 Military Region bordering Thailand, which the UWSA has only occupied since the mid-1990s after it defeated the Shan-Chinese drug kingpin Khun Sa in cooperation with the Burma Army. The military-drafted 2008 Constitution stipulates that the Wa Self-Administered Division consists of only of six townships in the north, leaving the status of the 171 Military Region open to question. The UWSA views its southern base as compensation by the military government for the bloodshed and hard-fought battles against Khun Sa, although such an arrangement does not explicitly exist in writing and has been challenged by the Burmese military in recent years. From the UWSA's perspective, one possibility is that the southern base could become the special region of a new Wa State. Unless the government generously compensates the UWSA with a new chunk of territory in the north, it will not willingly give up the southern base. The UWSA did not sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) under the government of former President Thein Sein in 2015. Despite rampant suspicion about its intentions, the UWSA's logic is in fact quite simple: there has been no conflict between the government and the UWSA since 1989—so, in the absence of any "fire", why would they need a "ceasefire"? The UWSA believes the term "ceasefire agreement" gravely mischaracterizes their relationship with the government; they would feel more comfortable with the term "peace". The UWSA's lack of enthusiasm over the NCA is also due to a perception of fickleness and inconsistency on the part of Burma's government. The UWSA emphasizes the three-level peace agreement it had been negotiating with the previous government before the NCA was proposed. Since it had completed the first two levels of peace agreements—state and union—the UWSA believes that joining a ceasefire dialogue represents a regression. For the hardliners within the UWSA, because the government quietly abandoned the three-level peace framework without tying up loose ends or offering a proper explanation, the government could also discard any future agreement. Whether or not Suu Kyi adopts the same terminology of "nationwide ceasefire" would greatly affect UWSA's participation in the Panglong conference. Needless to say, the UWSA acknowledges that accession to power of Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy represent a victory for democracy and a greater hope that the government will be just, fair and equal toward ethnic minorities. However, whether the military will fully cooperate with her on the issue of peace remains to be seen, especially given its likely impact on the military's political capital and legitimacy. The UWSA, however, is also not alone in harboring doubts about Suu Kyi's fairness toward ethnic minorities, as she herself is an ethnic Burman. The UWSA enjoys a tacit leadership status among ethnic armed groups in northern Burma. It has maintained a traditional, de facto alliance with the Mongla Group based on geographical proximity and historical affinity. The two closely coordinate their positions on many issues, including the peace process. Both groups have supported the armed groups that were excluded from signing the NCA with the previous administration: the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army. By hosting two summits in Panghsang in 2015, the UWSA rallied some support and consolidated its authority among the ethnic groups. The KIA is perhaps the only group that sees the UWSA as a peer. Although neither acknowledges it publicly, they do see each other as both partners and competitors. While the UWSA sometimes criticizes certain factions wihtin the KIA as too compromising, some in the KIA regard the UWSA as too content with the status quo and lacking a strategic vision for the future. Does the UWSA have a vision for the future? It does, although the vision hinges more on the status quo. More than anything, the UWSA aims to maintain what it currently enjoys: a high degree of autonomy. It wishes to obtain statehood, but will not go to war if that wish is denied. However, any expectation that the UWSA would give up its current territory or authority without a fight is delusional. The UWSA's economic future appears limited: its territory does not produce jade or much timber. Plummeting international commodity prices has discouraged the relatively nascent mining industry. Most of the group's economic ties are with neighboring China and Thailand. There are plenty of illicit economic activities going on, including drug-trafficking and casinos, which locals tolerate in order to sustain precarious livelihoods, despite moral censure from the outside. UWSA leaders are seeking ways to develop and diversify their economy, although significant compromise with the government on the peace process does not appear to be a likely choice. Much of the group's economic development and trade relations are fueled by China. Among the ethnic armed groups in Burma, the UWSA appears to enjoy the closest ties and most sympathy from China. Some of the UWSA's leaders were young intellectuals from China who joined the Burmese Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution and fought the war to establish a Wa state. The Chinese border port of Meng'a—across the river from Panghsang—remains a highly active trading center between China's Yunnan Province and the Wa region. Chinese crop substitution programs are also rather prevalent in UWSA-controlled territories. China does not wish to see a conflict between the UWSA and the government, and will put pressure on both sides to refrain from such a disastrous scenario. However, the historical, emotional and substantive ties between China and the UWSA will form the foundation of any assessment about the UWSA's positions and strategies. China will not push the UWSA against the peace process, but China will not push it to embrace any settlement it is unwilling to accept either. In the views of both China and UWSA, such a settlement would be fragile, unsustainable and plant the seeds for future instability. Yun Sun is a senior associate at the Henry L. Stimson Center, a global security think tank based in Washington DC, and a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution. She has been working on Myanmar since 2008.
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| Will Rangoon’s Secretariat be Returned to the Public? Posted: 09 Aug 2016 06:48 PM PDT  The Secretariat building as seen before the 2016 Martyrs' Day. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — As a child in the 1950s, Tin Tun played football on the grounds of Rangoon's Secretariat complex, just across from his home on Bo Aung Kyaw Road, formerly Sparks Road. "At that time, people were allowed to enter and explore the old colonial buildings. As neighborhood children, we played there in our free time," the 71-year old said. "I want to see the building returned to the public," he said, sat at his residence some ten paces distant from the edge of the Secretariat compound. The redbrick colonial structure, more than 120 years old and now ringed with scaffolding, is visible beyond a fence rising from the adjoining pavement.  A building inside the compound as seen on July 19, 2015. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) The Secretariat, sprawling for 16 acres across an entire city block in Rangoon's Botahtaung Township, is closed for renovation, having being neglected for decades by the state—despite its historical significance as the former seat of the British colonial administration, and of successive governments in independent Burma. It was the site of the assassination of Burma's national hero Gen Aung San—the man who negotiated independence from the British—along with eight of his colleagues by a political rival in one of the second-floor rooms on July 19, 1947, a date marked annually as Martyrs' Day.  The room where General Aung San and his eight colleagues were gunned down in 1947, photographed in 2015. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Its grounds also hosted the ceremony ushering in Burma's independence, held—in line with the dictates of astrologers—at 4:20 am on January 4, 1948. Burma's first parliament was located there. Following the military coup in 1962, public access was severely restricted and the structure was re-branded the Ministers' Office. It was used to house government offices up until the military junta announced the founding of a new capital, Naypyidaw, in 2005—after which it was abandoned.  One of the stairways of the Secretariat building as captured on July 19, 2015. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) In 2010, the government undertook some limited renovation efforts and in 2011 announced plans to privatize the site along with other state-owned colonial heritage buildings in Rangoon. In 2012, the Anawmar Art Group—a company owned by family members of a former junta general, Tun Kyi—was declared the winner of a government tender for the site.  Inside Burma's first Parliament building located in the compound of the Secretariat. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) Now, after the installation of the country's first democratically elected government in more than five decades, there are high hopes that the iconic building will be returned to the public in some form. "I hope the elected National League for Democracy [NLD] government will consider returning the building to the public," said Maw Lin, vice president of the Association of Myanmar Architects. "This is a place of urban heritage, cultural heritage and historical heritage. Such buildings should be handled by the government and open to the public," he said.  Visitors bow in silence to honor Gen Aung San and his fallen colleagues on July 19, 2015. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing/ The Irrawaddy) However, beyond its aesthetic qualities, architectural significance and history as a former seat of power, it figures chiefly in the minds of the Burmese public as the site of a national tragedy—the gunning down of Gen Aung San and his comrades in 1947. The building was opened to the public for the first time on Martyrs' Day in 2014, remaining closed for the rest of the year. On Martyrs' Day this year—for the third time in a row—the public was allowed in for the day. Queues stretched around the block. For the first time, the Rangoon Division government put on a commemorative ceremony at the site.  Yangon Heritage Trust founder Thant Myint-U accompanies US President Barack Obama through the central courtyard of the Secretariat on November 14, 2014. (Photo: Kyaw Phyo Tha / The Irrawaddy) On Wednesday last week, Rangoon Division Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein met with representatives of the Anawmar Art Group and the Yangon Heritage Trust, an organization that lobbies for the preservation of Rangoon's architectural heritage, to discuss the renovation work at the complex. Soe Thwin Tun, Anawmar Art Group director and grandson of former Lt-Gen Tun Kyi, told The Irrawaddy that, although Anawmar won the tender in 2012, renovation could only get underway after they had finished drawing up a Conservation Management Plan—in collaboration with the Yangon Heritage Trust—in October of last year. He said they now plan to house a historical museum in the room where Gen Aung San was assassinated and in the chamber of the first parliament, to be opened to the public in time for next year's Martyrs' Day. Thereafter, the museum would be open three to four days a week. "As arts and crafts collectors, we plan to open a museum. But it is not easy to cover the costs of renovating and maintaining the building with only a museum. So, from the outset, we told the [previous] government that we needed to include some commercial ventures on the site, to preserve it for the long term," Soe Thwin Tun said. He said US$50 million had been put toward its renovation. Alongside the museum, the company plans to open a library, to rent out parts of the structure for offices and restaurants, and to use other parts for the performance and exhibition of Burma's traditional arts.  The Secretariat building undergoing conservation work, photographed in July 2016. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) "Whether it is nationalized or privatized, our intention is to open the place to the public. We are not developing a hotel or shopping mall. We want for anyone who is interested to be able to come and visit," Soe Thwin Tun added. Last year, the Anawmar Art Group faced a public backlash after the grounds of the Secretariat were used to host the birthday party of Tun Kyi's daughter, Thi Thi Tun. The organizers later claimed that the private event had been staged in order to raise funds for the renovation.  Visitors seen touring the Secretariat building on this year's Martyrs' Day. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) "I was really happy to see thousands of people enter the building on Martyrs' Day. The place is part of our heritage. It shouldn't be privatized, but should belong to the public," said Aung Htoo, a National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker in the Rangoon Division parliament representing Botahtaung Township, which abuts the Secretariat. The lawmaker said he would submit a proposal for the return of the Secretariat to the public during the upcoming parliamentary session. Nay Phone Latt, an NLD lawmaker representing Rangoon's Thingangyun Township in the divisional parliament, said that the government should review the contract made between the previous government and the Anawmar Art Group.  A pillar in the courtyard of Rangoon's Secretariat commemorates the 1947 assassination of Gen Aung San and his colleagues. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) "The more significant the building is, the more safeguards are required to preserve it," said Moe Moe Lwin, director and vice-chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust. "The Secretariat is of high significance not only because of its history but also its location. It sits at the heart of Rangoon. Its border of trees and greenery act like a lung for the city," she said. The Yangon Heritage Trust had lobbied for a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) before partnering with the Anawmar Art Group to develop one. "However, we don't have a system to monitor whether the company actually follows the CMP. The government should develop one," Moe Moe Lwin said. She said, that according to the CMP, Anawmar must consult with both the Yangon Heritage Trust and the government if they wish to make structural changes to the Secretariat. Moe Moe Lwin, who is an architect by training, said they had first encouraged the government to manage the project, with the involvement of experts, the family members of the "fallen heroes" [those killed on July 19, 1947], businessmen, parliamentarians and civil society. However, she said they would be satisfied so long as the private leaseholder prioritized heritage conservation and accessibility to the public—but income-generating ventures to ensure long-term sustainability must be "appropriate."
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