Wednesday, January 25, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine


USDP and Allies Call on Security Council to Intervene

Posted: 25 Jan 2017 05:33 AM PST

Burma's main opposition party calls on the National Defense and Security Council to intervene in security and rule of law issues facing the country.

The post USDP and Allies Call on Security Council to Intervene appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Visa and KBZ Ready to Issue Two Types of Credit Cards

Posted: 25 Jan 2017 05:25 AM PST

US financial services company Visa and local Burmese bank KBZ will issue 'classic' and 'platinum' credit cards starting from Jan. 25.

The post Visa and KBZ Ready to Issue Two Types of Credit Cards appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Army Places Two Kachin Pastors in Police Custody

Posted: 25 Jan 2017 04:14 AM PST

KBC members visit the two pastors at the police station in Muse town, where the pair remains jailed and awaits formal charges.

The post Burma Army Places Two Kachin Pastors in Police Custody appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UNFC Won’t Attend Peace Conference as ‘Observers’

Posted: 25 Jan 2017 04:08 AM PST

The ethnic bloc's negotiation team plans to meet government peace negotiators for further talks as soon as possible.

The post UNFC Won't Attend Peace Conference as 'Observers' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

High Schools Ignore Women Role Models, Impacting Female Students

Posted: 25 Jan 2017 03:17 AM PST

The exclusion of female leaders and thinkers from school curricula leads many girls to believe they are second-class citizens, says a new NGO report.

The post High Schools Ignore Women Role Models, Impacting Female Students appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Minister Orders Rangoon Buses to Stay on the Road Until 10pm

Posted: 25 Jan 2017 12:15 AM PST

Rangoon divisional government expands the Yangon Bus Service operating time to 5am to 10pm amid teething problems with the network.

The post Minister Orders Rangoon Buses to Stay on the Road Until 10pm appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to Attend Union Day Celebrations in Panglong

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 11:28 PM PST

Burma's State Counselor is scheduled to visit the place where her father Gen. Aung San signed agreements with ethnic leaders 70 years ago.

The post Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to Attend Union Day Celebrations in Panglong appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Father, Son and Granddaughter Art Exhibition

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 06:45 PM PST

A family with three generations of artists hosts a show featuring around 200 acrylic and watercolor paintings.

The post Father, Son and Granddaughter Art Exhibition appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

National News

National News


State counsellor in favour of axing Bagan temple climbing

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 11:30 PM PST

Iconic sunset viewings atop ancient Bagan pagodas may be a thing of the past after the state counsellor yesterday spoke out against them.

Outcome of Magwe embezzlement investigation to be kept a secret

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 11:25 PM PST

The government has no plans to publicly release the outcome of an investigation into a K2.8 billion embezzlement scandal that targets high-ranking members of the previous administration, a spokesperson said yesterday.

Impatient for NCA implementation, ceasefire groups get pushy

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 11:20 PM PST

The nationwide ceasefire groups are showing increasing anxiety and impatience over the brass tacks of the peace process.   

After hostage incident, Thailand warns tourists from Kayin border pass

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 11:15 PM PST

Thailand has advised people not to cross the border with Myanmar at the Three Pagodas Pass after a reported hostage-taking incident last weekend.

Helicopter among proposals for earthquake-proofing Myanmar

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 11:14 PM PST

The Union government is looking into purchasing one or more rescue helicopters to use in the event of severe earthquakes, it was announced yesterday.

Insured workers have received K10 billion in benefits

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 11:05 PM PST

A total of 310,655 insured workers have received more than K10 billion in benefits under the social security law which came into effect in April 2014, according to a labour ministry official.  

Amid extinction fears, survey to count Irrawaddy dolphins

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 11:00 PM PST

Officials from the Department of Fisheries in Mandalay, Sagaing, and Kachin will survey the Irrawaddy dolphin population in the first week of February, a regional fisheries officer told The Myanmar Times.

New task force will help advise on sustainable mining

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 10:50 PM PST

The mines department has announced plans to establish a new committee to oversee gemstone extraction. The details are so far vague, with no confirmed launch date and a nebulous mandate related to environmental conservation and promoting corporate social responsibility, but members are set to include both civil servants and non-governmental representatives.

Diversity Forum tackles social ills and racial polarisation

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 10:45 PM PST

Religious leaders, teachers and students sat down to discuss ways to overcome social ills and racial polarisation in Myanmar in the first Diversity Forum held over the weekend at the Phaung Daw Oo Monastic School in Mandalay.

More oral health awareness needed, say experts

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 10:40 PM PST

The increase in the number of mouth cancer cases has health authorities scrambling to organise more awareness programs on oral health, particularly on the dangers of betel chewing.

Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News


SSPP/SSA clash with Burmese army in Mong Hsu

Posted: 25 Jan 2017 01:00 AM PST

Burmese government forces have clashed with the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) in Mong Hsu Township, central Shan State, allegedly while Burmese soldiers were clearing a poppy field.


According to a report in state-run newspaper Myanma Alin on January 23, the Burmese military accused the SSPP/SSA of attacking its troops with artillery fire while they were in the process of destroying a field of opium poppies in SSPP/SSA-controlled territory.

But a spokesperson for the SSPP/SSA, sometimes referred to as the Shan State Army-North, rejected the accusation, and responded by saying that the Burmese unit had opened fire on them first.

"The civilians [in this region] know very well who initiated the hostilities," said Col. Sai Phong Han, the Shan army spokesman. "Troops from the Tatmadaw [Burmese armed forces] Light Infantry Battalion 379 attacked us. They say our soldiers ambushed them while they were destroying a poppy field in Mong Hsu Township. But the way they are telling it is simply to make themselves look good, and make us look bad."

Clashes between the Tatmadaw and the SSPP/SSA have been reported regularly in the central Shan townships of Lashio, Namkham, Hsipaw, Kehsi, Kyaukmae, Tang Yang and Mong Hsu.
Mong Hsu is famed for its ruby mines.
On January 20, Shan Herald reportedthat the SSPP/SSA was ordered by the Burmese military to withdraw from its base in Mong Hsu, because the Tatmadaw planned to bring in reinforcements to help on a road construction project.
The SSPP/SSA is a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of 12 ethnic armed groups that declined to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the Burmese government in October 2015. Around the same time, the Tatmadaw launched heavy offensives against the SSPP/SSA, including an assault on the rebels' Wan Hai headquarters in Kehsi Township.
Khuensai Jaiyen, the managing director of the Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue, said that the Burmese military is creating conflict because it does not want the ethnic armed groups to agree to a ceasefire.

"The Tatmadaw is now initiating clashes because it does not want these ethnic armed groups to sign the NCA," he said.

Since the signing of the ceasefire accord in October 2015, clashes have been reported in ethnic regions across the country, between the Tatmadaw and both NCA signatories and non-signatories.

The Burmese army has also been involved in hostilities against the Restoration Council of Shan State/ Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), also known as the Shan State Army-South, despite the latter being one of the eight groups to sign the NCA.

On January 19, the Burmese army Battalion 429 attacked RCSS/SSA troops near Nongle village in southern Shan State's Mong Pawn Township.

And on November 20 last year, hostilities broke out between Burma's armed forces and the newly formed Northern Alliance, a coalition of four ethnic armed groups: the Arakan Army (AA), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). Fighting caused thousands of civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter elsewhere, many of whom have still not returned to their villages.

By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)