Friday, March 10, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Thingyan Holiday Cut Short

Posted: 10 Mar 2017 04:24 AM PST

The public holiday for Burmese New Year is cut in half, irritating employees who traditionally travel home over the long break.

The post Thingyan Holiday Cut Short appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Is U Wirathu Above the Law?

Posted: 10 Mar 2017 03:26 AM PST

If the government cannot contain U Wirathu and protect Ko Swe Win, the public will question whether the nationalist monk is above the law.

The post Is U Wirathu Above the Law? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thousands Flee Laukkai Clashes

Posted: 10 Mar 2017 01:59 AM PST

More than 20,000 have reportedly fled to China while at least another 2,000 have arrived in Mandalay, say volunteers.

The post Thousands Flee Laukkai Clashes appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Economist U Hla Myint Dies at 97

Posted: 10 Mar 2017 01:45 AM PST

One of Burma's few internationally renowned scholars and pioneering welfare theorist U Hla Myint passes away at the age of 97 in Bangkok.

The post Economist U Hla Myint Dies at 97 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Business Community: Govt Must Clarify Laws to Secure Investment

Posted: 10 Mar 2017 12:26 AM PST

Lack of clarity in Burma's laws and poor infrastructure are affecting investors' confidence, say local and international business leaders.

The post Business Community: Govt Must Clarify Laws to Secure Investment appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Karate and Wooden Guns: Arakan State’s Insurgent Group

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 09:08 PM PST

Group claiming responsibility for October attacks in Arakan State linked to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, has been recruiting since early last year.

The post Karate and Wooden Guns: Arakan State's Insurgent Group appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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National News

National News

Pedestrian-only zone at Mandalay Thingyan

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:42 PM PST

The 26th Street to the south of the Mandalay palace moat will be closed to vehicular traffic during the Thingyan festival next month and turned into pedestrian-only zone to avoid traffic congestion, said U Ye Mon, deputy mayor of Mandalay Region.

Mandalay cuts Thingyan budget by half

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:37 PM PST

Mandalay is slashing its Thingyan budget by half this year, compared to the amount set aside for last year's event, city officials said.

Workers demand rights

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:30 PM PST

More than 400 workers from the Good Morning Bakery factory owned by Myanmar Mayson Co Ltd, located in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone (4), have mounted a strike because 184 of them were retrenched by the management, allegedly without valid reasons on March 8.

ICRC’s 3rd largest rehab centre to open in Shan State

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:26 PM PST

A spanking new physical rehabilitation centre, built at a cost of K1.86 billion by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), will be operational in Shan State in May.

Implementation is key: ADB Vice President

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:24 PM PST

Myanmar has tremendous potential for development and the government is on the right track. These are the comments of Stephen Groff, Asian Development Bank's vice president for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. In an exclusive interview at Yangon office on March 7, he discusses importance of implementation, infrastructure investment and meetings with top government officials with The Myanmar Times Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Myo Lwin.

Fair and flash mob to end Women’s Week celebrations

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:12 PM PST

Civil society working groups and networks will celebrate the closing ceremony of Women's Week at the People's Park in Yangon on March 12 with a Women's Fair and day-long flash mob.

Mobile lab to conduct spot-checks at markets

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:10 PM PST

Spot-Checks will be conducted at markets in the Mandalay Region using mobile laboratory vehicles in an effort to ensure the safety, cleanliness and freshness of foods, according to the Mandalay branch of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Department.

Yangon CM doing well after heart surgery

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:07 PM PST

Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein, who underwent a heart operation on March 5, is doing well, the Mayor of Yangon said.

Thousands of migrants displaced in Kokang

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 10:59 PM PST

Over 2000 migrant workers have fled the border town of Laukkai as fighting continued between Tatmadaw and armed ethnic militia in the Kokang self-administered zone in northeastern Shan State, according to civil society groups' estimates.

Planning and Finance Ministry to take over MADB

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 10:56 PM PST

Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank (MADB) will be taken over by the Ministry of Planning and Finance in April, due to difficulties faced by the bank in issuing loans expediently to farmers as well as collection of loan repayments, Deputy Minister U Hla Kyaw from Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation said at the Pyithu Hluttaw.
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Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

To Hopeland and Back: 27th trip

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:56 PM PST

Day Three. Tuesday, 14 February 2017

Breakfast is served by Sai Hserh En (Small Tiger) who also works as a tourist guide. He says he's seen both Sao Harn and myself quite often in video clips.

At 09:30, we are on our way again. About an hour later, we come to a Kachin village (called Kadu in Kachin and Tongbikwan in Chinese), where we have an early lunch.

Visiting on IDP camp in Laiza, 14 February 2017.
(Photo: PI)
At 13:00, we are across the border and installed at the Laiza Hotel. We are then informed that no meetings have been planned for today. Reasons:

§  Chairman Zawng Hra is away on medical leave
§  Military chief Gen Gam Shawng is also on an inspection trip along the border and is not expected to be back until after the meeting in Pangkham, planned 22-24 February
§  Generals N'Ban La and Gun Maw are also on their way to Laiza, and meetings with the KIO CEC and SMJH should wait for them

The rest of the day is spent visiting two IDP camps: Je Yang and Hpun Lum Yam (Hot Springs).

Out of more than 100,000 displaced by the fighting, some 40,000 are said to be staying inside KIO/KIA controlled areas and the rest inside Myanmar Army controlled area.

The list of donors include Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), Metta, Health Unlimited, UNHCR and WFP (24 July 2015-end of 2016).

"The WFP wants us to move into government controlled areas so it can continue to help," one of the IDP camp administrators says. "But there is too much distrust of the government among the IDPs that persuading them to move there is out of the question."

At 17:00, we have dinner with Gen N'Ban La and SMJH members. The meeting with SMJH will be tomorrow at 13:30.


(To be continued)

To Hopeland and Back: 27th trip

Posted: 09 Mar 2017 11:19 PM PST

Day Two. Monday, 13 February 2017

Sun Guoxiang meets KNU delegation,
 Kunming, 13 February 2017. (Photo: PI)
The meeting with Mr Sun Guoxiang is at the World Trade Center (WTC). "I hope no airplane hits the building while we're talking," somebody quips as we enter it.

The meeting lasts 3 hours. Here's the gist of what he says about China's policy on Burma:

§  Fighting does not benefit anyone. That's what I've been telling both the Northern Alliance and the government
§  At the same time, we respect Burma's sovereignty. We will never be the judge deciding who's right and who's wrong 
§  We want every EAO in the peace process
§  We want everyone to sign the NCA
§  However we shall not force our will on anyone (to sign the NCA)
§  At the same time, it should not be forgotten that China was one of the witness signatories to the NCA (on 15 October 2015)
§  If the EAOs wish to hold meetings in China, we shall be happy to host them with prior approval from Naypyitaw

We also learn from Saw Tamula, Gen Mutu's assistant, that the UWSA has replied it is pretty much preoccupied to spare time to meet us.

We then pack our bags to fly to Mangshi and then by road to Laiza. But there is a flight delay again. (Gen N'Ban La explains to us later that Chinese fighters have been busy patrolling along the border since fighting broke out between the Burma Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) again late January. As a result, civilian planes have been warned to take extra caution to make sure the sky is clear before flying.)

We are received by KIO officer Shan Long who treats us to a sumptuous dinner at a Shan restaurant. He tells us it'll be too late for us to cross the border and we will have to put up at Yinjiang, two hours drive away, for the night.

We get into Yinjiang, known to Shans as Mongna Zanta, one of the 16 extinct Shan principalities in China. The hotel we stay, Bianchui, is also owned by a Shan.


One of our friends, Sai Kham Htoon, who now lives in Bangkok, hails from here.
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