Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Govt Team Investigates Cause of Conflict in Shan State

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 07:47 AM PDT

The Joint Monitoring Committee begins field visits to investigate fighting in Shan State between the Burma Army and the Restoration Council of Shan State.

The post Govt Team Investigates Cause of Conflict in Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

After Burma’s Supply Spike, Tin Looks for a Brighter Future

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 07:40 AM PDT

Burma's tin production has surged at a time when output from other major producers has slipped, writes Clyde Russell for Reuters.

The post After Burma's Supply Spike, Tin Looks for a Brighter Future appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

State Counselor Meets Burmese Exiles in Japan

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 05:35 AM PDT

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi meets over one thousand Burmese expatriates, many of whom desire to return to their homeland but face passport difficulties.

The post State Counselor Meets Burmese Exiles in Japan appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

State Counselor Calls For Corruption Complaints

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 05:28 AM PDT

The State Counselor's Office calls for the public to submit complaints against corrupt government officials and ensures confidentiality.

The post State Counselor Calls For Corruption Complaints appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Swiss Govt to Launch Vocational Trainings in Burma

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 05:18 AM PDT

The Swiss Embassy announces a plan to promote vocational training as a 'business opportunity.'

The post Swiss Govt to Launch Vocational Trainings in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Pyin Oo Lwin Township Administrator Arrested for Abuse of Power

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 04:04 AM PDT

U Tin Naing Soe and his staff are accused of extorting 40 million kyats from the township's residents to register a village after they were relocated.

The post Pyin Oo Lwin Township Administrator Arrested for Abuse of Power appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Life in a New Jungle: Burmese Refugees in an American City

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 12:09 AM PDT

Burmese refugees in the American city of Buffalo struggle mightily with language and culture disparities.

The post Life in a New Jungle: Burmese Refugees in an American City appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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National News

National News

Refugees rue return amid housing woes

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 12:01 AM PDT

Myanmar refugees repatriated from Thailand last week say they already have regrets about their return following a disagreement with the government over the cost of their living quarters.

NLD convenes plenary with sights on by-election success

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 12:00 AM PDT

Leaders of the ruling National League for Democracy gathered yesterday seeking to forge a "stronger relationship" among its members as the party prepares to contest all 19 seats up for a vote in the upcoming by-election on April 1.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi arrives in Japan

Posted: 01 Nov 2016 11:58 PM PDT

Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Tokyo yesterday for talks with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This visit is her first trip to Japan since becoming her country's de facto leader earlier this year.

Peace process discussed as Tatmadaw chief visits China

Posted: 01 Nov 2016 11:55 PM PDT

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmar's Defence Services, discussed the country's current peace process at a meeting with the Chinese foreign ministry's special envoy on Asian affairs, Sun Guo Xiang, yesterday in Beijing.

Legal team hopeful in Koh Tao murder appeal

Posted: 01 Nov 2016 11:53 PM PDT

Lawyers for two Myanmar nationals sentenced to death in Thailand are optimistic about a favourable appeal following a recent announcement from the presiding Thai court.

Four migrants found dead in Malaysia

Posted: 01 Nov 2016 11:50 PM PDT

Four Myanmar citizens working at a construction site in northern Malaysia were killed by a group of masked attackers on October 25, according to an official at the Myanmar embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Developer, Sagaing govt agree to nix hydropower project

Posted: 01 Nov 2016 11:49 PM PDT

A hydropower project that had been under construction in Sa­gaing Region's Homalin township was scrapped after the regional government and the dam's developer, International Power Generation (IPG), came to an agreement on October 28.

Thai oil firm ordered to rehire dismissed Myanmar workers

Posted: 01 Nov 2016 11:46 PM PDT

The Yangon Region Arbitration Council (YARC) has ordered Thai firm PTT Exploration and Production to rehire 18 Myanmar workers who were found to have been dismissed without cause.

Mandalay gets tough on poor parking

Posted: 01 Nov 2016 11:45 PM PDT

Armed with wheel clamps and fixed-penalty notices, Mandalay tax officials are trying to rid the city's streets of illegally parked vehicles.

Magwe residents allege abandoned mine still polluting

Posted: 01 Nov 2016 11:44 PM PDT

Slag and coal dust from an abandoned mine is fouling rivers and blighting fields, say farmers in Magwe Region. They say the environmental damage caused by the mine continues to wreak havoc even after it was closed.
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Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

‘Ethnic people will not be cheated again’: SSPP/SSA patron

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 05:04 AM PDT

Ethnic people will not tolerate being cheated again, and they must see the signs of a true federal union before the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) is signed.


That's according to Gen. Sao Hso Ten, the patron of the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), speaking during a meeting of the Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU) held in Yangon on Sunday.

"The ethnic people [of Burma] have faced so many issues in the past," he said. "We have learned bitter lessons, both in politics and in war.

"We [SSPP/SSA] signed a ceasefire in 1989 and were offered special [self-administered] zone. We also joined the national conference in 1993. But these were all fake. We have been cheated for a long time. In order for us not to be cheated again, we have to protect ourselves. We have to work on the peace process first. We have to have an ownership in this peace process and decide by ourselves whether to sign the agreement or not. If we cannot decide this by ourselves, we should not sign the agreement."

"If we do not have ownership of the peace process, we will be bullied again," he added. "If we do not want to be bullied, we have to own it."

On October 28, Burma's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi said at the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC), a bloc which includes representatives from the government, military and ethnic armed groups, that she wanted all ethnic armed groups to sign the NCA before the next Panglong Conference which is slated for February 2017.

Shan leader Gen. Sao Hso Ten also said that after the signing the NCA, two further conferences were held, but which contained no political talks, just a revision of notes.
He said that the SSPP/SSA and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) are members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an organization comprising 12 armed groups that refused to sign the NCA with the Thein Sein government in October 2015. He noted the bloc had joined the national conference as well as participating in peace dialogue during the era of the military junta. He insisted that, in order to avoid repeating past mistakes, they had drafted a 'Federal Union Constitution.'

"At the Mai Ja Yang meeting [conference including both NCA and non-NCA signatory groups], we have drafted an 8-point plan of principles in a draft of a Federal Union Constitution," he said. "If they [the government] agreed with these eight points, the UNFC members would sign the NCA."

The eight points were related to: sovereignty; equality; rights of self-determination; genuine federalism; protecting the rights of minorities; democratic rights; universal human rights and gender equality, and establishing a multi-party system-based secular form of governance.

Sao Hso Ten concluded on Sunday that in order to solve the civil war and build peace in the country, the 2008 constitution must be amended and steps must be taken to establish a federal union.


The CSSU comprises the Shan State Joint Action Committee (SSJAC), which represents the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the the Seng Kiao's People Militia, the New Generation Group (Shan State), Shan Youth Association, Shan Nationality Organization-Thailand, the Shan community-based organizations, and a team of legal consultants.
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