Wednesday, February 1, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Election Commission Requests 10 Billion Kyats Budget

Posted: 01 Feb 2017 06:51 AM PST

New fiscal year budget proposal represents a 30% reduction compared to what the Union Election Commission spent during fiscal year 2016-17.

The post Election Commission Requests 10 Billion Kyats Budget appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD Draws First Budget, Defense Ministry Asks for Nearly 14 Percent Share

Posted: 01 Feb 2017 06:31 AM PST

Burma's govt has set a budget of nearly 21 trillion kyats for the 2017-18 fiscal year, of which the Defense Ministry asked around 2.9 trillion kyats.

The post NLD Draws First Budget, Defense Ministry Asks for Nearly 14 Percent Share appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

South Korea’s Envoy to Burma Summoned Home

Posted: 01 Feb 2017 06:19 AM PST

Ambassador questioned over alleged links with controversial confidante of impeached President Park Geun-hye.

The post South Korea's Envoy to Burma Summoned Home appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Journalists Weigh in on Front Page Omission of U Ko Ni’s Death in State Media

Posted: 01 Feb 2017 04:40 AM PST

Private news outlets ran stories of the lawyer's assassination on their front pages; a state-run paper placed the news in a page three banner.

The post Journalists Weigh in on Front Page Omission of U Ko Ni's Death in State Media appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myitsone Residents Protest World Bank’s Hydropower Assessment Workshop

Posted: 01 Feb 2017 01:58 AM PST

Demonstrators in Myitkyina, Kachin State say they fear a resumption of the Myitsone dam construction on the confluence of Irrawaddy River.

The post Myitsone Residents Protest World Bank's Hydropower Assessment Workshop appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Police Arrest Conspirator in U Ko Ni Assassination Plot

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:09 PM PST

A leaked police document says that Myint Swe approached Kyi Lin in Rangoon in December about killing the lawyer U Ko Ni in exchange for a car.

The post Police Arrest Conspirator in U Ko Ni Assassination Plot appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

District Courts Ordered to Try More Child Rape Cases

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 10:45 PM PST

'The district courts are supposed to impose a heavy penalty on criminals if they are found guilty,' says Supreme Court judge U Soe Nyunt.

The post District Courts Ordered to Try More Child Rape Cases appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Asia Targets Tourism Boost Following Trump Travel Ban

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 08:47 PM PST

Seeking to capitalize on Trump's new travel restrictions, companies in Asia say they will target tourism ties with Muslims worried about the curbs.

The post Asia Targets Tourism Boost Following Trump Travel Ban appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Long History of Burmese ‘Pussy Power’

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 05:54 PM PST

To explore gender and power in Burma, we must move past the idea that Burmese women's experiences parallel those of white women.

The post The Long History of Burmese 'Pussy Power' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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National News

National News

Slain taxi driver U Nay Win given a hero’s funeral

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:45 PM PST

Taxi driver U Nay Win was honoured as a national hero at his funeral yesterday, three days after he died while chasing down a gunman who assassinated a prominent ruling party lawyer just outside Yangon's airport.

Rakhine commission requests extension for final report

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:44 PM PST

The deadline for the presidentially appointed Maungdaw Investigation Commission to submit its concluding report has been extended, with the group saying more time is needed to examine recent claims.

Demonstrators protest IFC hydropower workshop in Kachin

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:42 PM PST

Around 60 people staged a demonstration in Myitkyina yesterday, voicing opposition against any resumption of hydropower projects in Kachin State.

Murderer tells police he shot lawyer in exchange for a car: report

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:42 PM PST

Police are searching for a second suspect who is believed to have masterminded the assassination of prominent ruling party lawyer U Ko Ni, leaked police documents have revealed.

Parks and recreation: Public space up for discussion

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:40 PM PST

One common gripe of Yangon city residents is a lack of public space, with the city's giddy, unprecedented construction boom appearing to have gone on relatively unhindered throughout the democratic transition period.

MP told to excise waste from draft Union budget law

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:40 PM PST

The next fiscal year budget, and the first one drawn up by the National League for Democracy administration, has prioritised electricity, education and health, Union Minister Minister of Planning and Finance U Kyaw Win said while submitting the financial agenda to parliament.

571 tonnes of illegal timber seized in three separate raids at Yangon port

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:38 PM PST

The Yangon Forest Department has seized 571 tonnes of illegally logged timber and nabbed the managing directors of two companies, department director U Thein Toe said yesterday.

Workers petition for benefits through collective bargaining

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:20 PM PST

Over 2000 Myanmar labourers at a major Thai tuna export company have taken collective action to improve their working conditions and secure social welfare benefits. Their petition is a rare move in a country that bars foreign workers from assembling unions and in an industry that has been mired in labour abuse scandals.
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Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

Drug smuggler killed during night clash on border

Posted: 01 Feb 2017 12:32 AM PST

CHIANG RAI - A drug smuggler was shot dead in a fight with soldiers in Mae Sai district near the Myanmar border on Thursday night and 290,000 speed pills later seized.

The smuggler's body was found on Friday when a team of soldiers, police and local officials, led by Col Kidakorn Chanthara, commander of the Phamuang task force, inspected the scene of the overnight clash in tambon Wiang Pangkham.
The unidentified man was lying dead with a green rucksack on his back containing methamphetamine pills. About 20 metres away from the body was another bag containing drugs. The two bags held a total of 290,000 speed pills
A team from the Phamuang military task force spotted 6-7 armed men, all carrying rucksacks, crossing the border into Thailand in Mae Sai district while on patrol on Thursday night. When signalled to stop for a search the smugglers opened fire on the soldiers.
The two sides exchanged shots for about  5 minutes, then the smugglers melted away into the night forest.
Police believed the men belong to an ethnic group in Myanmar known to be involved in the drug trade.

The Whig interpretation of the Myitsone dam dilemma

Posted: 01 Feb 2017 12:20 AM PST

In his short but influential book, The Whig Interpretation of History, British historian Herbert Butterfield coined the term "Whig history", which denounced a long held English view of the past as a steady march to greater liberty, enlightenment and progress.
"This immediate juxtaposition of past and present, though it makes everything easy and makes some inferences perilously obvious, is bound to lead to an oversimplification of the relations between events and misapprehension of the relations between past and present," Butterfield wrote.
Today, when pundits regularly invoke Myanmar's remarkable democratic transition, and consequent impacts on relations with Beijing, they get a little Whiggish and quite wet – diving into a dam dilemma as proof of the Southeast Asian nation's recent and rapid progress.
Many a pundit, analyst and observer have implicitly taken the suspension of the controversial and China-backed Myitsone dam in 2011, which also saw the inauguration of the quasi-civil USDP government, as their starting point for Myanmar's sprint towards democracy and reconfigured global connections.
The unexpected interruption of the hydroelectric power project has been assigned such great importance only because it suits the narrative of Whiggish, evolutionary progress in both domestic politics and international relations. Adding fuel to the fire, is the fact that two months after the project's suspension US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid a landmark visit to Myanmar.
As one analyst claims:
Myanmar's reversal on the Myitsone dam became a watershed moment for the country's democratic transition. It helped to bring an end to Myanmar's international isolation, and an easing of the long-standing Western sanctions that made Myanmar so dependent on China in the first place.
This argument is based on an illusion that history is divided into (pardon the pun) 'watershed' moments. Worse, it has come full circle with some seeing the Myitsone dam suspension as being driven by the country's decision to move towards democracy.
Such narrow historiography makes it hard for anyone to properly envision or deeply understand the Myitsone dam dilemma in all its complexity – an issue that is further complicated by considerable challenges like Kachin localism, Burmese nationalism, and cultural symbolism. In light of this complex situation, I have previously proposed that any decision on the Myitsone dam should not be judged as an indication of Myanmar's flirtation with the West. Nor should it be simply seen as an example of the special 'Paukphaw' friendship shared with China.
The belief that the Myitsone dam suspension paved the way for democratic reform relies largely on an unjustified idea that by targeting the megaproject President Thein Sein's government was willing to cast off the view of Myanmar as a Chinese client state. Yet, the key considerations of the USDP government could be reliably and just as easily attributed to mounting domestic pressures, including widespread public opposition, and Aung San Suu Kyi's campaign against the dam, as well as the armed conflicts that had erupted in Kachin State.
Beijing's thoughts and motivations also need to be taken in to account. When Myanmar foreign minister, U Wunna Maung Lwin, visited China in October 2011, he met with then-Vice President Xi Jinping. The meeting notes indicated that Xi did not call for reactivation of the Myitsone project. Arguably, a mutual understanding still exists between the two countries to maintain the so-called "China-Myanmar comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership." Clearly then, the dam's suspension has not damned the two countries' long-term relationship.
Unfortunately, the Whig interpretation of the Myitsone dam's suspension has been well-accepted in both ideology and practice. Consequently, what was supposed to be a technical and administrative issue has turned out to be a grand narrative further restricting the decision-making flexibility of leaders in both Myanmar and China? Both countries need to go through a hard bargaining process in order to solve this bilateral issue since the leaders have become trapped by this issue.
It is crucial to clear the dark clouds of misunderstanding hanging over the Myitsone dam. We must consider what are the real advantages and disadvantages of the Myitsone dam, for both the people of China and Myanmar. We must also consider whether hydropower offers the best resource for economic and social development in both countries. And we must also consider whether the people of Myanmar want the dam at all.
This will help dispel the Whiggish myth surrounding this complex issue, and focus our thinking on the essential and technical elements of this problem in order to find the best possible solution. Now that would be progress.
Liu Yun is an independent analyst based in China. He regularly writes on Myanmar, and can be reached at: liuyun5398@hotmail.com

UNIONIZATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WORKERS’ RIGHTS

Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:50 PM PST

Over 20 garment workers lost their jobs this week when the Chinese-owned Unitedtex Overseas Co factory dismissed them for trying to unionize. The garment industry in Myanmar is growing exponentially as more and more buyers seek investment in low cost factories. Yet, despite an increase in jobs, this incident is the latest in several recent labor related disputes signaling that Myanmar still has a long way to go in the protection and promotion of labor rights standards.

Hlaingtharyar Township in Yangon has many factories known to be in violation of labor laws. The workers from the Unitedtex Overseas Co factory say those suspected of attempting to form a union were forced to sign a resignation notice following their dismissal. Those who refused were allegedly threatened and would not be released until they agreed to end their employment, whereas workers who accepted termination were immediately paid reparations. Ko Tun Naing Oo, one of the workers leading the protest to start the union stated: "We aren't looking for compensation. We want our jobs back."
In a related case, garment workers from the Hallmark factory also located in Hlaingtharyar Township, went on strike twice this month when thier wages were withheld without an explanation. After bringing their wage complaint to the municipal level, an agreement was reached for the company to reimburse the workers no later than 12 January, 2016. However, the workers rallied together a second time after management compensated the wages of those who went on strike at a reduced amount – citing claims that production on those days were impacted. "Factory officials told us they will cut our wages for the days we have been striking. But this strike only happened because they failed to pay our wages on time," said Ko Tin Win Ko, a protester who has been employed in the factory's ironing section for four years.
Even more recently, nearly 1,500 workers from a nickel factory participated in a strike in Sagaing Region following a perceived loss of job opportunities and alleged disagreements between the way foreign and local staff are treated. The workers argued that the factory is taking away hundreds of jobs that should be given to local workers. The factory employs 1,600 Myanmar workers and 400 Chinese migrant workers. A worker's representative from the Taguang Taung Nickel Factory, Ko Tin Myo Tun, claimed the company is violating the Myanmar Investment Law, which states that only citizens can be appointed to positions not requiring certain skills. The protest follows a rally from mid December when hundreds of workers gathered to demand better working conditions and benefits that were purportedly only offered to their Chinese colleagues.
In all three of these instances the workers sought legal support, but were ultimately disappointed by a lack of action and accountability from labor legislation that is not strong enough to protect them. A report released by Progressive Voice in December 2016 revealed that workers in the garment industry continue to be frequently exposed to unfair working conditions including being forced to work overtime, reduced break times and threat of unlawful dismissal and continuous verbal abuse. As labor organizations and trade unions struggle to fight for workers' rights, the incentive for factory management to take advantage of workers is evident. Furthermore, factory owners fail to take labor legislation and workers' rights seriously is exacerbated by the fact that the penalties for not adhering to decisions made by the arbitration bodies and the Arbitration Council are not punitive enough to enforce compliance. Pressures from the global markets suggest that Myanmar is at a serious risk of further violating labor rights in order to keep up with the competition needed to thrive economically.
Domestic legislation is not sufficient enough to protect workers. Myanmar has a unique opportunity to take advantage of the global shift towards increasing social compliance. However, the lack of progress in labor sector reforms made by the government and corresponding factories clearly indicates that profit is still prioritized over people. External factors such as weaknesses in enforcing the Arbitration Council and arbitration body decisions, as well as intimidation of unions and their members make awareness of labor rights more difficult. International buyers have a responsibility to invest in due diligence when they source from Myanmar's factories. Business operations must take seriously the call to comply with relevant international human rights and labor standards including the ILO Conventions, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Myanmar Government is obligated to protect workers and must make regular efforts to engage with independent, grassroots labor organizations and trade unions to learn about the realities faced in factories. Workers must also have the space to unionize so they can advance their fundamental rights.
Despite the structural pressures that Myanmar faces, it is imperative that the voices of workers and labor activists be heard and acknowledged in amending labor legislation and forming policy that goes further to reinforce the protection of workers.
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