The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- UN Secretary General Receives Mixed Messages in Stakeholder Meetings
- Kofi Annan to Visit Arakan State Next Week
- Ma Ba Tha Denies Responsibility for ‘Coffee Annan’ Gaffe
- UWSA Walks Out of Panglong, Decrying Inequality
- Election Commission Rejects Appeal by Kachin Warlord
- To Thant Myint-U: Undermining the Root Cause of Ethnic Nationalities’ Armed Struggle Will Not Help Achieve Genuine Peace in Burma
| UN Secretary General Receives Mixed Messages in Stakeholder Meetings Posted: 01 Sep 2016 08:31 AM PDT  United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon meets with interfaith leaders on Wednesday in Naypyidaw. (Photo: United Nations Information Center) NAYPYIDAW — United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon met with an interfaith panel and civil society representatives at two different events with two contrasting messages in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. During the meeting with the interfaith group, well-known Buddhist monk Ashin Nyanisara, also known as Sitagu Sayadaw, attributed a "lack of understanding of the essence of one's own faith" to "one of the causes of conflict" in Burma. Only through understanding this "essence," the monk explained, can mutual understanding and friendship be fostered. Government schools, Ashin Nyanisara added, should develop a religious education syllabus "to help students understand every religion in the country." 'Focus on Poverty' His comments came at a time when Burma has been struggling with interfaith relations, particularly between the Buddhist majority and Muslim minority. Since 2012, the country has been coping with ongoing violence and tension—mostly instigated by Buddhist nationalists—between the two communities. The latest documented incidents of anti-Muslim violence occurred in June, when a mosque was destroyed by a Buddhist mob in Pegu Division and on July 1, when a Muslim prayer hall was burned down in a similar manner in Kachin State. In August, Burma's government announced that they would form an advisory commission led by former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan to tackle ongoing abuses in Arakan State affecting the region's Buddhist Arakanese and Muslim Rohingya. Political parties like the Arakan National Party and the Union Solidarity and Development party have objected to the presence of international members on the Arakan State commission, describing it as foreign meddling in domestic affairs. Ashin Nyanisara compared the ethnoreligious violence in western Burma to "fighting between a husband and wife," also emphasizing that it was an internal affair. "If a fight between husband and wife breaks out, it doesn't make sense to call for outside help. That's a problem they have to solve between themselves," he said. Yet, the monk offered a different stance referring to conflict-torn countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, pointing out that only "powerful" outside countries are able to intervene and halt the atrocities occurring there. "Mr. Ban Ki-moon just folded his arms and watched what was happening, as he can do nothing," said Ashin Nyanisara. The self-identifying Rohingya have been disproportionately affected by the violence in Arakan State and are often referred to as "Bengali" migrants—implying that the have come from neighboring Bangladesh—by the Burmese public, government and locals; this is an assertion that the Rohingya deny, insisting that the Arakan region is their ancestral home. Referring to "Bengali" immigrants, Ashin Nyanisara said that Arakan State had experienced an increase in migration due to poverty in Bangladesh, and asked Ban Ki-moon to consider this when examining conflict in Arakan State. "My request to the UN general secretary and others today is to focus on poverty when you tackle the problem," he said. A Lack of Security for Women UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon also met 13 civil society representatives on the same day in Naypyidaw's Kempinski Hotel. Nang Phyu Phyu Lin, chair of the Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process said her organization highlighted for Ban Ki-moon how ongoing violence against women, particularly in conflict zones, remains a threat not only to security in those regions but also nationally. She also reflected on the lack of legal protection for women outside of conflict areas, and the need for more effective interventions to stop violence against women in all contexts. "We still have a lack of security for women, whether they are in conflict zones or not. Because the policies protecting women from violence are very weak; perpetrators are not taken into custody and are still at large," she explained. "We urged the UN general secretary to pressure the government, the army and the ethnic armed groups to abide by and implement the UNSC resolution," Nang Phyu Phyu Lin said, referring to the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which recognizes the gendered effects of conflict and provides a framework for furthering the participation of women in peace processes and security efforts. Lway Cheery, secretary of the Ta'ang Women's Organization, told The Irrawaddy that she raised issues concerning human rights abuses in northern Shan State, where many ethnic Ta'ang [Palaung] live. "He seems well-informed about the refugees and IDPs [internally displaced people] and the peace process [in Burma]," Lway Cheery said of Ban Ki-moon. "He said he would raise these concerns with the government when he meets the leaders." "He pledged," she continued, "that the UN is ready to provide more support toward achieving peace in Myanmar." Additional reporting by Kyaw Phyo Tha from Rangoon. The post UN Secretary General Receives Mixed Messages in Stakeholder Meetings appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Kofi Annan to Visit Arakan State Next Week Posted: 01 Sep 2016 06:01 AM PDT  Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan will arrive in Burma on Sunday and visit Arakan State on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, to introduce his role as chair of the new Arakan State Advisory Commission to local Buddhist and Muslim stakeholders, according to Arakan State government secretary U Tin Maung Swe. Kofi Annan is expected to meet the Arakan National Party (ANP), the largest party in Arakan State, which represents the interests of the Buddhist majority and has taken a hard line against the largely stateless Rohingya Muslim community, which suffered from anti-Muslim violence in 2012 and 2013 and remains largely segregated from Buddhist communities in the state, with restrictions placed on their movement. However, ANP general-secretary U Tun Aung Kyaw, who is currently attending the Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw, told The Irrawaddy over the phone that the party had not yet received a formal request for a meeting with the new commission. Muslim commission member Al Haj Aye Lwin, founder of interfaith group Religions for Peace, said he knew Kofi Annan would be arriving in Burma early next week, but claimed not to know any further details. The State Counselor's Office under Daw Aung San Suu Kyi earlier announced that a memorandum of understanding would be signed with the Kofi Annan Foundation within one month, paving the way for the participation of the global statesman in efforts to resolve the communal conflict in Arakan State. Al Haj Aye Lwin commented to the intention of the new advisory committee to consult closely with local stakeholders: "Without meeting with locals, it won't work." U Zaw Zaw, a resident of Aung Mingalar ward—a restricted Muslim enclave within the state capitalof Sittwe—who identifies as Rohingya, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that local community heads had been verbally informed on Tuesday by authorities about Kofi Annan's visit. Local Muslim residents are now preparing to meet with him. He said they would explain to Kofi Annan they are not illegal migrants from Bangladesh, or "Bengalis"—as they are called by Arakanese Buddhists, sections of the government, and much of the Burmese public—and how they are denied citizenship, freedom of movement and unrestricted access to healthcare and education. However, U Zaw Zaw said that doubts had begun to circulate within the local Muslim community over the ability of Kofi Annan and the commission to solve the problems they face. "Residents are talking like nothing will change here. They are without hope,'' he said. He said that Kofi Annan follows in the footsteps of many global celebrities, foreign ambassadors and human rights groups who have visited them over the past four years—to no effect. He mentioned that the previous government had also formed a commission on Arakan State, which had led to no improvements, as a further cause for doubt. "We have been living for four years in the same condition. Nothing has changed, even though many ambassadors have visited," U Zaw Zaw said. "It is hard to say whether we trust or distrust the commission." Since the Arakan State Advisory Commission was announced on Aug. 24, several political parties, including the ANP and the Union Solidarity and Development Party, have called for its cancellation or the removal of the international members, on the grounds that they could not be expected to understand the local context in Arakan State, or that their involvement amounted to interference in Burma's "internal affairs." The ANP have said the commission would harm the rights of the "indigenous" people of Arakan State, referring to the Buddhist Arakanese majority. On Tuesday, ANP Lower House lawmaker U Aung Kyaw San submitted an urgent parliamentary proposal calling for the three foreign members to be replaced with local academics. The other international members of the commission are Ghassan Salamé, a scholar from Lebanon and former advisor to Kofi Annan, and Laetitia van den Assum, a diplomat from the Netherlands and a former advisor to UNAIDS. The other six members are from Burma, with two Buddhist Arakanese members, two Muslim members (from Rangoon rather than Arakan State) and two government representatives. The post Kofi Annan to Visit Arakan State Next Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Ma Ba Tha Denies Responsibility for ‘Coffee Annan’ Gaffe Posted: 01 Sep 2016 05:52 AM PDT  The photo that went viral after being posted by a Facebook page falsely identifying itself as belonging to nationalist organization Ma Ba Tha's Mandalay group. (Photo: Ma Ba Tha-Mandalay-Tine / Facebook) RANGOON — Burma's hardline nationalist group has claimed that it was "not responsible" for a photo condemning the appointment of former United Nations chief Kofi Annan to lead an advisory panel on conflict-torn Arakan State. Wire news service the Associated Press (AP) reported on the incident two days earlier, pointing out that a photo of Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman had been used in place of Kofi Annan—whose name was misspelled as "Coffee" in a statement reading [sic], "We no need Coffee Annan" and "He go away." The post of the "Kofi-Morgan" went viral among Burmese netizens, amassing nearly 5,000 shares and hundreds of thousands of likes. AP claimed that the viral photo had been published by a "prominent anti-Muslim group of Buddhist nationalists." The group in question was the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion-Central—best known by its Burmese acronym Ma Ba Tha—which issued a statement on Thursday declaring that the photo was fabricated by a "fake" Ma Ba Tha page in an attempt to defame the group. Ma Ba Tha added that the news organization The Washington Post, which republished AP's original story, had "failed to fact-check as per journalism ethic." "Such misleading news analysis published on August 30 resulted the whole world feeling contempt for the Ma Ba Tha group," the statement said. Ma Ba Tha, it added, "has not released any comment or statement regarding the advisory commission which will be chaired by Kofi Annan." Ashin Sopaka, one of the leading monks within Ma Ba Tha-Central, said that members of the organization were upset that an international news organization had mistakenly reported on an "unsubstantiated" photo created by a fake account. "I hope such a mistake won't happen again," he told The Irrawaddy. Ma Ba Tha also cited an old statement by its Mandalay-based group, released on July 16, which stated that the Facebook page belonging to "Ma Ba Tha-Mandalay Tine"—which means "Ma Ba Tha-Mandalay Division" in Burmese—was "fake," and provided names for Ma Ba Tha's two active official accounts. The first activity on the reportedly fake Facebook page occurred on June 5. AP, on Thursday, published a correction to its original story of and said it had "reported erroneously." On the same day, Wirathu, one of the most prominent monks representing Ma Ba Tha, also said on his Facebook page that the photo was created by a fake Facebook page going by the name of the association's Mandalay group, claiming that international media had failed to confirm the credibility of the photo. The Irrawaddy, on Wednesday, had found a total of seven versions of the post on the Ma Ba Tha—Mandalay Tine page's edited history from Aug. 29-31. In three of the seven versions, there were texts written in English saying, "Wtf! This prank was dedicated to our stupid nationalists but it accidentally revealed the fact that Western Media has always failed to dig up the truth deep inside regarding the conflict in Arakan." The page has also changed its cover photo on Wednesday, revealing a text stating, "You just got pranked AP. Lol." Several political parties, including the Arakan National Party and the Union Solidarity and Development Party, have denounced the appointment of the former UN General-Secretary Kofi Annan as chair of the Arakan State Advisory Commission, a committee which intends to make recommendations for addressing ongoing ethnoreligious tension and abuses in the region. Ma Ba Tha's statement on Thursday also decried the commission's lack of regional specialists—such as historians, researchers and anthropologists specialized in Arakan affairs. The nine-member panel formed by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is made up of three international representatives, two Arakanese Buddhists, two Muslim delegates, and two members chosen to represent the government. The post Ma Ba Tha Denies Responsibility for 'Coffee Annan' Gaffe appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| UWSA Walks Out of Panglong, Decrying Inequality Posted: 01 Sep 2016 03:59 AM PDT  Second day of the Panglong Conference. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) NAYPYIDAW — The United Wa State Army (UWSA) delegation walked out of the ongoing 21st Century Panglong Conference, decrying inequality in discussions, while conference organizers admitted mismanagement. The UWSA's southern liaison officer led his four delegates and their staff out of the conference, despite early hopes that the leaders would take part. Tah Nyi Lu, a delegate of the Wa National Organization, which is a member of the UNFC, said he heard that the Wa informed a staff member of the conference organizing committee and left the conference. The UWSA and WNO are two distinct Wa organizations. Tah Nyi Lu told The Irrawaddy, "the UWSA reported to its central executive committee that the conference had no equality. The group left the conference, saying that they were tired of it." After news of the Wa delegation's departure broke, Khin Zaw Oo, a government peace negotiator, told reporters that it was a "misunderstanding" and his committee would negotiate with the UWSA to bring them back to the conference. "We'll go to the hotel [where the UWSA delegates are staying] and hold talks with them," Khin Zaw Oo said. He added that the Wa delegation had not officially contacted government officials since they arrived in Naypyidaw and that conference organizers had to manage to communicate with about 1,600 people. "It is a misunderstanding. The UWSA are not observers. We have given them observer [ID] cards as a temporary measure so they can enter the conference. I heard they have not gone back yet. We'll talk to them," Chin ethnic leader Salai Lian Hmong Sakhong told the media. Khin Zaw Oo and Salai Lian Hmong Sakhong went to the hotel, but the group had reportedly already left. The problem stemmed from mismanagement and miscommunication between the conference organizers. There were many different categories for conference accreditation: ethnic armed organization (EAO) stakeholders, political parties, government, ethnic representatives and observers, among others. Seventeen EAOs, both signatories and non-signatories of last year's nationwide ceasefire agreement with the former government, received 200 seats for the conference and divided them among twelve conference attendees. For some reason, the Wa did not receive the proper seats upon arrival, and were temporarily issued observer cards. Aung Thu Nyein, a stakeholder attending the conference, told The Irrawaddy that it was due to a lack of management. "For some of the issues—especially in peace talks—trust is very important," he said. "Some organizations, including the Wa, should be treated more carefully," he added. There was prior criticism regarding the rushed nature of the conference. The National Reconciliation and Peace Center now reportedly has only about two dozen people working at a conference with about 1,600 attendees. Diplomats and participants have criticized the poor management of the conference, including accommodation and the seating plan for ethnic armed groups. The post UWSA Walks Out of Panglong, Decrying Inequality appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Election Commission Rejects Appeal by Kachin Warlord Posted: 01 Sep 2016 03:28 AM PDT  The Union Election Commission on Tuesday made a final ruling against longstanding Kachin warlord Zahkung Ting Ying. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) NAYPYIDAW — The Union Election Commission on Tuesday ruled against an appeal launched by veteran Kachin militia leader Zahkung Ting Ying, who will now forfeit his seat in the Upper House of Burma's Parliament. Zahkung was defending two cases involving intimidation, defamation and alleged violence during the campaign period for the general election last year, via Zahkung's private militia—the New Democratic Army-Kachin, which is firmly allied with the Burma Army and became a Border Guard Force in 2009. The cases were filed by rival independent candidate Yaw Nar and by a National League for Democracy candidate, San Wai Khaung Lwan, who competed in another constituency in the same area of eastern Kachin State. In June, a post-election tribunal in Naypyidaw, made up of three members of the election commission, pronounced Zahkung Ting Ying guilty of breaching Article 66 of the Upper House Election Law, which outlines electoral "malpractices" including "committing violence," "false accusations," "creating public unrest," and obstructing a party or person "for the purpose of electing a [parliamentary] candidate." As an independent candidate in the general election in November of last year, Zakhung won the Upper House seat of Kachin State-5, covering Chipwi, Tsawlaw and Injingyang townships, a sparsely populated area home to fewer than 20,000 people, according to the 2014 census. He was lawmaker also under the previous government, from 2011. Zahkung will be replaced in Parliament by independent candidate Yaw Nar, the runner-up in the November poll with around 3,000 votes to Zahkung's approximately 5,000. "I have no comment about the commission's decision. Since it is the final ruling, we can do nothing more," said Hla Han, the lawyer acting for Zahkung. Due to Zahkung Ting Ying's close allegiance with Burma's military and his clout as a local power broker in Kachin State, this tribunal case was a test of the fairness of the election commission's post-election dispute resolution process. After the election, the election commission received a total of 45 complaints, which were put to tribunals. However, rulings have only been made in 19 cases as of Aug. 30, and the process continues. The tribunal process lacks structural independence from the election commission. Tribunal judges in all cases have been senior members of the commission. Although they had the option to appoint independent legal experts as judges, they chose not to do so. Appeals against rulings go only to the commission, whose decision is final, without judicial or parliamentary oversight. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Election Commission Rejects Appeal by Kachin Warlord appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 31 Aug 2016 06:15 PM PDT  General Gun Maw Sumlut (R), vice chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization, greets journalists as he arrives at the 21st Century Panglong peace conference on Wednesday in Naypyidaw. (Photo: J Paing / The Irrawaddy) There is a discourse invented by those who label themselves as "Burma experts," of what ethnic armed struggle should look and sound like—regardless of the reasons cited by those within this struggle. This discourse is reinforced and extended by Thant Myint-U in his recent article, "Myanmar Beyond the Peace Process," published in the Nikkei Asian Review on August 28. His attempt to equate the aims of ethnic armed organizations to the activities of Chicago's criminal gangs in 1926 would ring truer if the aforementioned gangs had provided health services or run education programs for impoverished families, as the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of Kachin Independence Army (KIA), has done for those living in the areas under its control. This inaccurate comparison suggests that perhaps the author lacks a comprehensive understanding of what goes on in the areas administered by ethnic armed organizations. As a historian, Thant Myint-U knows the importance of recording events accurately, yet attempts to downplay the intensity of the armed clashes taking place as the highly anticipated 21st Century Panglong peace conference is underway: "confrontations are low-intensity," he wrote, "with dozens of small clashes each month, across an area of northeastern Myanmar, along the China border." In reality, the most recent deadly attacks—coupled with indiscriminate shelling against the KIA—included the use of helicopter gunships, artillery and anti-tank rockets, resulting in more than 1,000 people being forced from their homes and communities. This new wave of displacement added to an existing IDP population of 120,000 in Kachin State, of whom two-thirds are currently seeking refuge in KIO-controlled areas. Describing episodes of fighting that take place far from Rangoon or Naypyidaw as "small clashes along the border" is an act of dismissal, as people continue to struggle daily to remain safe from atrocities committed with impunity by members of the Burma Army. Thant Myint-U concludes that, "Men with guns usually stay out of each other’s way, often do business together, sometimes try to expand their territory, and occasionally, fight." That would be true if the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an ethnic alliance now composed of seven armed organizations, was busy "expanding" the territories under their control by waging wars in government-controlled areas outside of their own respective lands in the ethnic states. Instead, what the UNFC has done, however disappointing it may be to Thant Myint-U, is to present policies based on federal principles, to be discussed, and hopefully adopted, in future political dialogue. During the process of policy development, representatives of community-based civil society groups from every ethnic state were invited to present their experiences and views on the process and the outcomes. The UNFC now has nine policy declarations on issues ranging from land and natural resource management to humanitarian assistance and agriculture. The KIO is known to have held many rounds of public discussion to provide updates about the political steps being taken in the country since the peace process began in Burma in late 2012. Furthermore, a diplomat from the European Union (EU) recently approached the leaders of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) to pressure the KIO into signing a new ceasefire agreement with the government—the ceasefire signed between the two entities in 1994 has, since 2011, been violated multiple times by the Burma Army. The response from the KBC was that Kachins would not sign any ceasefire agreement unless it would result in a genuine political dialogue. The KBC's response provided the EU representative with an understanding that the KIO's policies and decisions are based on the wishes of the Kachin public. With this in mind, perhaps Thant Myint-U will also be able to better understand the norms of interaction between the ethnic armed organizations and their respective communities, and that those interactions are inclusive, open and democratic—values that we are struggling to achieve on the national level. The initial comparison of the criminal activity of 1926 in Chicago with the struggle of Burma's ethnic peoples today is therefore absurd. The reality is that for more than half a century, the Burma Army has been guilty of arbitrary arrest, torture, rape and extrajudicial killings—largely perpetrated against ethnic nationalities. Numerous reports detailing these atrocities have been published by international human rights organizations as well as local women's groups. The international community and the Burmese political elite—of which Thant Myint-U is a member—has developed a narrative for what they imagine Burma's conflict is all about. When they hear stories that contradict their imaginative discourse, they simply dismiss them. Statements like the one most recently made by Thant Myint-U only widen the gap between ethnic nationalities' call for a genuine dialogue to solve political incompatibilities, and the already distorted views held by the international community. In order to achieve peace, it is imperative that we look at this disconnect between a genuine understanding of the root causes of the ongoing armed struggles—political inequality and ethnic discrimination—and what those outside the realm of the conflict believe: that Burma's war is a series of clashes between organized criminal gangs. General Gun Maw Sumlut, one of two vice chairmen of the KIO, posted on social media, "My Lord, we have embarked on our journey for the meeting in Rangoon [for the peace conference]. During this meeting, guide me to have the power of an analytical mind in order to find the truth, instead of feeling the anger caused by the sound of non-stop fighting back home." Despite the military pressure following ongoing attacks by government forces in Kachin and northern Shan states, ethnic armed organizations continue to willingly participate in peace meetings, in the hope that these events could lead to the start of the political dialogue that they seek. I am afraid that even having Aung San Suu Kyi as an interlocutor will not help us achieve peace unless there is a change of mindset on the part of the political elites, such as Thant Myint-U, and other analysts speaking from far outside of Burma's conflict. What we need are creative solutions to bring the decades-long war and the suffering of people in the conflict zones to an end, not grossly inaccurate accounts of armed struggle and its root causes. Stella Naw is an advocate for democratic federalism in Burma, with a special interest in reconciliation and the rights of ethnic and indigenous peoples. The post To Thant Myint-U: Undermining the Root Cause of Ethnic Nationalities' Armed Struggle Will Not Help Achieve Genuine Peace in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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