Tuesday, January 17, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

KIA General Gun Maw: ‘To Talk and Live as Equals, That is Genuine Peace’

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 07:17 AM PST

'We are not terrorists or insurgents as long as our ethnic Kachin people and all the local people do not consider us as terrorists.'

The post KIA General Gun Maw: 'To Talk and Live as Equals, That is Genuine Peace' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Amid Religious Tensions, Interfaith Advocates Work for Harmony

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 06:30 AM PST

Burmese interfaith advocates stress the importance of building friendship, mutual understanding and trust between different religious communities.

The post Amid Religious Tensions, Interfaith Advocates Work for Harmony appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rangoon Chief Minister Urges Patience During Public Transit Reform

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 05:07 AM PST

Rangoon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein urges commuters to be patient and calls for greater cooperation from individual bus owners.

The post Rangoon Chief Minister Urges Patience During Public Transit Reform appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UN Rapporteur ‘Satisfied’ with Arakan Tour

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 04:41 AM PST

Yanghee Lee says she visited most places she had wanted to, including a village where online footage of police brutality sparked disciplinary action.

The post UN Rapporteur 'Satisfied' with Arakan Tour appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Amendments to Myanmar Companies Act up for Parliamentary Discussion

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 03:41 AM PST

In a new draft, the National Planning and Finance Ministry modifies information considered out-of-date and adds relevant details for investors.

The post Amendments to Myanmar Companies Act up for Parliamentary Discussion appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Schools Shut, Families Flee Amid Namhsan Clashes

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 02:05 AM PST

After schools close due to clashes between the TNLA and Burma Army, parents bring their children to Mandalay to continue their education.

The post Schools Shut, Families Flee Amid Namhsan Clashes appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Elephant Poaching on the Rise in Burma

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 12:37 AM PST

'Locals are afraid of elephant poachers, they are afraid that their lives will be threatened if they give us information,' says forestry official.

The post Elephant Poaching on the Rise in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Human Rights Activist Denied Bail Again in Arakan State

Posted: 16 Jan 2017 10:36 PM PST

Khine Myo Htun has been detained since July on charges of sedition and incitement for accusing the Burma Army of war crimes.

The post Human Rights Activist Denied Bail Again in Arakan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to do in Rangoon This Week

Posted: 16 Jan 2017 06:50 PM PST

Art exhibitions, a job fair, a zoo celebration, a wellness conference, and a literary festival will keep your schedule packed this week.

The post Ten Things to do in Rangoon This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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National News

National News

Rakhine trip was productive, says UN special rapporteur

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 12:15 AM PST

Despite some bumps in the road, rebuffed meeting requests, and denial of access to some areas, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar told reporters in Sittwe yesterday that she believes her three-day visit to Rakhine State was productive.

Two suspects in murder case released

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 12:13 AM PST

Two suspects under investigation for the murder of a Monywa-based journalist were released from police custody yesterday.

Namhsan IDPs in dire need of supplies

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 12:12 AM PST

Scores of internally displaced persons (IDP) from the ethnic Palaung community are in dire need of food and medical supplies after they fled Namhsan amid fierce fighting between the military and armed ethnic groups.

Amnesty Intl starts petition over missing church leaders

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 12:11 AM PST

Amnesty International yesterday called on the government to launch an immediate investigation into the whereabouts of two Kachin Baptist Church leaders who disappeared on December 24. The two men were last seen near a military outpost in Shan State's Mong Koe township.

Mayor slams suspended parkland projects

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 12:10 AM PST

The Yangon mayor has taken a shot at developers pressing the city to urgently address suspended projects on prime real estate alongside Inya Lake.

SSPP to allow by-elections only if govt security forces stay away

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 12:08 AM PST

Thirteen months after guns fell silent around the Shan State Army-North's headquarters, the township is engulfed in a different kind of chaos – election fever.

'Fishing industry needs capital, technology and market access': Rakhine fisheries officer

Posted: 16 Jan 2017 11:45 PM PST

In Rakhine State fishing is an important source of livelihood and business, while it also provides food for many subsistence fishers. A 2014 Oxfam report estimated that 43 percent of the population was to some degree dependent on fishing or aquaculture. U Myint Thein, a Fisheries Department officer in Rakhine's Thandwe District, an area with thousands of fishermen, discussed these challenges in a recent interview at his office.

Indawgyi bird count reveals winter population

Posted: 16 Jan 2017 11:40 PM PST

Scientists conducting a water bird census at Indawgyi Lake wildlife sanctuary this month noted more migratory bird species wintering at the wetlands this year compared to last.

Garment factory workers strike again

Posted: 16 Jan 2017 10:58 PM PST

Some 130 workers at the troubled Hallmark factory rolled out the picket line once again yesterday, this time complaining that their wages were cut while they were striking earlier this month.
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Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

Thai passport agency cheated us, say 40 Shan workers

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 01:59 AM PST

Some 40 Shan migrant workers in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai province say they have been cheated by the Thai Isara Construction Company when applying through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) passport process, according to a representative from the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF).

Shan migrant workers submit a petition to Chiang Mai's Labour Protection and Welfare Department on January 16.
HRDF's Mwe Oo Nanta, who is also assistant advisor to the Migrant Workers Federation (MWF), said that her migrant rights organization is assisting the Shan workers on this case after receiving their complaint on January 10. She said that the migrants had collectively paid the Thai Isara Construction Company last month to administer their MoUs, but have been given the runaround and received no documentation.

"The migrant workers said that they were deceived by the company about their MoU process," she told Shan Herald. "For an MoU passport, the migrants were asked to pay 16,000 baht per person for the entire process. On December 5, each migrant paid them between 6,000 and 7,500 baht, and the following day they were taken to a passport processing office in Kengtung Township, eastern Shan State."

Mwe Oo Nanta said that the migrants claim they paid the remainder of the fees to the company on January 1. They say that the Thai Isara staff transported all the migrants to the city of Pa-an in Karen State to sign the MoU, after which time they returned to Chiang Mai to wait for the next step in the process. However, on January 7, they were told by a colleague that some migrants who went through the same process with this company in Yangon had been cheated out of their money. They were apparently left in Yangon to fend by themselves.

"Some migrants had to stay at a Buddhist temple because they had no money left," Mwe Oo Nanta said. "Some of those who still had some money left came back to Thailand; others were compelled to go back to Shan State to seek help from their families."

After the 40 migrants realized they had been deceived, they tried to contact the Thai Isara agency but found that its office was closed.

"The migrants didn't know what else to do, so they came to us," Mwe Oo Nanta said. "However, only 18 of them were present to register their complaint. We took them to Chiang Mai's Labour Protection and Welfare Department on January 16 and requested help from the government."

The Burmese migrant rights defender said that a representative of the Labour Protection and Welfare Department named Mr. Chakri Hunpho had promised the migrants that the department would try to help, and that it would investigate the agency in question.  

On January 27, 2016, Shan Heraldreported that 121 migrant workers were laid off by the Perfetto Ltd Partnership Company. Those workers submitted a petition to both the Chiang Mai governor and the Chiang Mai-based Consulate-General of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, claiming compensation of some 3.5 million baht (US$97,700) in back pay.  


However, there has been no progress to date on this case, said Mwe Oo Nanta. 

By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)

To Hopeland and Back, the 25th trip

Posted: 16 Jan 2017 11:43 PM PST

Day Two. Tuesday, 9 January 2017

How does the sea become the king of all streams?
Because it lies lower than they!
Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 66
John C.H.Wu translation

Today, our friends go over what they had learned yesterday. And here are some of their comments:
§  The Tatmadaw wants unity and we want unity. But what they want and what we want are different like oil and water.
 What the Tatmadaw wants is Unity in Uniformity, the kind some scholars liken to a melting pot, and what the Abhidhamma calls Sampayutta Paccaya (Supporting each other by merger).
What we want, on the other hand, is Unity in Diversity, the kind some scholars liken to a salad bowl, and what the Abhidhamma calls Vippayutta Paccaya (Supporting each other while maintaining each's identity, like matter and spirit)
§  But, we, the EAOs, lack consistency. With others, we want Unity in Diversity. But among ourselves, we want Unity in Uniformity.

Challenges facing EAOs

1.       Top-down practice in the peace process, eg. The Union Peace and Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) that organizes political dialogues and the UPC 21 CP. As a result, the first two conferences had been more of being theaters than being serous dialogues for peace.
2.       The government's new negotiating team is still learning its trade by doing it the hard way. The result:

While, with the unpopular USDP government, it was easier to negotiate, it has become a real challenge negotiating with the popular NLD government, although it has been outwardly singing the same tune with the EAOs: constitutional change to fit in with the aim for establishing a democratic federal union.

§  The more the non-signatories refuse to sign the NCA, the more they are dancing to the Tatmadaw's tune
Dr Sai Oo
§  Both the Tatmadaw and the NLD will never accept the Wa's "One country, two systems"  position
§  With the Tatmadaw, it doesn't trust any EAOs, not even the KNU. But instead of scheming to weaken them, it should meet more often with them, talk to them about its concern and ask questions. Then they have a chance to reach understanding and agreement

In the afternoon, I have another meeting with the Pyidaungsu Institute Yangon (PIY), led by Dr Sai Oo whom I have known for more than 20 years as Sai Lao Leng.

Though it has only 5 permanent members (one of whom deals with the dreary but essential administrative details), 1 part timer and 1 intern, it has done quite a lot last year: research, strategic studies, publication, capacity building trainings, and providing technical assistance to the EAOs' JICM, JMC and UPDJC.

This year, with the PI Chiangmai having been downsized, the PIY will be hunting for more researchers, they tell me.

On the publication side, a few booklets are expected to come out in a few months: Federal Glossary, Comparisons of 3 Constitutions (1947, 1974 and 2008) and 3 Draft Constitutions (AFPFL, NCUB and FCDCC), and Compilation of Bilateral Ceasefire Agreements, to name a few. "We are also working on the local government systems that we hope will answer the current calls for new statehoods," says Sai Oo.

We have dinner with him and his newlywed wife in the evening.

I haven't much to say for Day Three, except that I make a call at the office of one of the brightest young scholars who used to work with The Irrawaddy in Chiangmai. He is hoping to pick my brains, but the day ends up with me doing that to him.

Day Four is also good. The traffic in the city has become wonderfully less congested during the 4 days I'm there. I ask the driver what's causing it.

"It's the Japanese," he says. "They've been helping the city fathers with a better traffic light system. Thanks to them, you'll be at the terminal in a few minutes."

And so I am.
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