Monday, July 24, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Four Border Police Missing in Rakhine State Boating Accident

Posted: 24 Jul 2017 08:49 AM PDT

RANGOON – A border police major from northern Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township confirmed to The Irrawaddy under the condition of anonymity that four policemen went missing after a schooner capsized in a local river early Sunday evening. The officers were returning from clearance operations in the Tin May village tract of neighboring Buthidaung Township.

"Security forces have discovered the vessel but have not found the bodies yet," he said.

According to the police major, the missing policemen were from Taungbazar border police station. The Irrawaddy obtained a police report on the incident on Monday, stating that a police major named Ye Zaw Htut had led one dozen policemen to the Kyaung Taung border police station as reinforcements. Another 19-man team led by another police major, Nay Lin Htet had joined Maj Ye Zaw Htut as they received a tip-off concerning militant activities near the Tin May region on Sunday.

The Maj Ye Zaw Htut-led security team traveled along local waterways to return to the Kyaung Taung border police station on three schooners after "clearing territory" in Tin May village. But the vessel which carried Maj Ye Zaw Htut and six officers unexpectedly overturned when it encountered a strong current.

Maj Ye Zaw Htut, Cpl Khin Maung Than, LCpl Ko Ko Aung and Tun Lin Htike were still missing as of Monday evening. According to local media reports, three other policemen and the schooner driver, identified simply as a man named Mustafa, had survived the incident.

The police report stated that police discovered the empty vessel near the shore of Kyaun Pauk. In it were two assault rifles and four magazines with two hundred rounds of bullets, but no one remained on board. The border police called in reinforcements to search for the passengers.

The report did not elaborate on whether the vessel had life jackets on board, or if the boat was owned privately or by the government.

Rakhine State's transportation system is dominated by ferries, speedboats, and shipping routes but operators are notorious for not applying safety measures, including provisions of life vests, and a number of people have killed in the region in tragic boating accidents.

On March 13, 2015, the government-owned Aung Ta Kon (3) ship, running between Sittwe and Kyaukphyu, sank near the Naungdawgyi Sea in Myebon Township. The boat was overloaded with various goods and around 300 passengers. According to local publications, at least 160 people died; only 72 dead bodies were discovered.

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Satirist Feels ‘Restraint’ After Recent Arrest

Posted: 24 Jul 2017 07:00 AM PDT

YANGON — Until last month, columnist Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing—also known by his pen name "British Ko Ko Maung"—enjoyed press freedom to some extent in his satirical writings.

His articles questioned the Parliament, Union-level organizations' performance and criticized the policies of regional governments, and he spoke out on the suffering caused by the country's long civil wars.

But on June 2, the writer was arrested and charged under the controversial Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law—which concerns online defamation—after a Myanmar Army official complained that one of his satirical pieces harmed the military's dignity.

The piece titled "Kyi Htaung Su Thitsar" in Burmese, meaning "Oath Made in a Nation of Bullets" questioned the country's armed struggle and peace process. It was published on March 26, coinciding with the army-produced film "Union Oath," which commemorated the country's 72nd Armed Forces Day.

U Kyaw Min Swe, the chief editor of the newspaper The Voice Daily—which published the article—was also arrested and charged with Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing, and remains in detention.

Despite being acquitted on the charges under Article 66(d) after two weeks of detention, the military brought another lawsuit against both Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing and U Kyaw Min Swe, resulting in the pair being charged under Article 25(b) of the Media Law.

Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing said he was still reeling from the first arrest, particularly in seeing his family suffer as a result.

In this recent interview with The Irrawaddy, he spoke about his feelings following his release, and the impact that the experience has had on his writing.

You have been arrested and charged over a satirical article. What you would like to say, concerning this?

I wrote in line with the technique of satire. It did not name specific institutions, groups, or the army, but generically satirized the situation of country's long civil wars. But the military complained, saying that it harmed their dignity.  I don't want to comment on the charge under the Media Law, but using the undemocratic Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law against the media is unacceptable. We have the enacted the Media Law and if anyone has a complaint against an article published in the media, the charges should be brought forward with the Media Law.

I was arrested for 14 days even before the court accepted the case. I was released later, with the court's ruling, after the Ministry for Transport and Communications remarked that the online defamation charge was not fit to prosecute me with, as I wrote for a newspaper. But I lost my child. My wife who was two months pregnant, miscarried because of the anxiety she went through for me… running to the prison, the police station and the court. Who will compensate for that?

Did you expect the arrest and lawsuit over your article?

Indeed, we satirists are writing at the risk of imprisonment. In the past, we satirized very indirectly, but in these days, our satire is not as indirect, so as to be more understandable to the readers, but not crossing the line.

For the article "Kyi Htuang Su Thitsar," I read it three times after I finished it. I did not care to accuse or defame anyone or any group. It only included the feelings of pain, hurt and loss caused by the civil wars. I have a clear conscience about the article. That's why I was surprised when I was arrested over it.

When did you start writing satire?

Since 2012, under the pen name "British Ko Ko Maung" and sending [articles] regularly to The Voice, Myanmar Post and many other publications.

Are you still writing satire since your release?

Yes.

Are publications to which you regularly sent your articles still accepting them in the way they did before?

They ask me for articles. But some publications have requested that I not criticize China or the military. But as a satirist, it is not all right to write under [such] controls. If it is not okay with me, I don't send to them. That's it.

How about satirizing the peace process or the military?

I satirize not only the military but also the current issues. I write as if I am viewing the issues. But now, it feels like, "rein it in…bring it to a halt" [laughing]. But if the issue comes up to write about, I will do it.

Let's ask frankly: knowingly or unknowingly, are you self-censoring in your writing?

I have to think about the consequences. I can't just simply do what I believe. My wife has suffered from this incident. And also Ko Kyaw Min Swe [the chief editor of The Voice Daily] is still detained even though I was released. His family has suffered from this too. It has not just hurt me but also the people around me, directly or indirectly.

That thought has become a restraint to me. And that's what I was afraid of—that it would also restrain other writers and media workers. It is not good for either press freedom or the country's democracy.

The post Satirist Feels 'Restraint' After Recent Arrest appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

H1N1 Flu Outbreak in Myanmar Linked to One Death

Posted: 24 Jul 2017 05:29 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Thirteen people have contracted A (H1N1) influenza in Yangon and Chin State's Matupi Township, with one thought to have succumbed to the virus, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports.

In Chin State, one of the 10 people diagnosed with H1N1 since early July has died. Two patients are receiving treatment for H1N1—often referred to as swine flu—in the intensive care unit of Yangon General Hospital.

Another patient is receiving treatment for the disease at New Yangon Hospital, according to the deputy director-general of the Public Health Department, Dr. Than Htun Aung.

"It is not swine flu or avian flu. It is a strong seasonal flu that affects humans. It can be cured with prevention and early treatment, but it is strong. Children and elderly persons will be vulnerable to this type of flu," Than Htun Aung told reporters in Naypyitaw.

Health minister Dr. Myint Htwe and other ministry officials discussed short- and long-term plans to prevent the disease on Monday morning.

"We'll inform hospitals how to carry out prevention work, and educate people through State media about the disease," said a health officer who attended the meeting.

The ministry confirmed the outbreak as H1N1, saying that Myanmar saw 16 infections in 2009, 232 in 2010, 29 in 2012, 169 in 2013, three in 2015, and nine in 2016. No cases of infection were reported in 2011, said the ministry.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared H1N1 a pandemic in 2009 as it was spreading fast around the world.

"This disease is called world human flu. It broke out as a pandemic in 2009, and it still persists in Myanmar. Now there are continuous rains, the weather is damp, and the disease easily spreads in populous areas. Though it is strong, fatality rates for the disease are low," said Than Htun Aung, who is also in charge of the pandemic and disaster resilience division under the ministry.

The flu vaccine invented in the aftermath of the 2009 outbreak is unsafe, according to the ministry, which has not used it but instead focused on prevention.

"People would go to private clinics in the case of infection, meaning there is a need for private clinics to report to us. If necessary, we have to do X-ray, blood, and saliva tests and administer medicines depending on the severity of the virus," said Than Htun Aung.

H1N1 has broken out annually since 2009, he explained, but awareness and in turn fear of the disease has grown recently. The three patients in Yangon are recovering, he said, and urged people to exercise caution but not panic.

H1N1 flu symptoms are the same as seasonal flu, including cough, fever, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, body ache, headache, chills and fatigue.

The health ministry has encouraged people to wear masks and wash their hands frequently, cover mouths when coughing and sneezing, and avoid crowded places.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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‘The NLD Can’t Restrict Me Now’

Posted: 24 Jul 2017 05:01 AM PDT

U Sein Win, the National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker of Irrawaddy Region's Maubin Township, resigned from the party last week.

The agriculturalist-turned-lawmaker had represented the township for the NLD since the 2012 by-election. Under the previous government, he served as the head of the Union Parliament's Committee for Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands for the Irrawaddy Region.

Under the current government, he was appointed as the chairman of the Farmers and Labor Affairs Committee of the Lower House, but was removed from the position last December for his alleged failure to follow NLD guidance.

He recently talked to The Irrawaddy about the reasons behind his resignation, his removal from the parliamentary committee, and his future plans.

Why did you resign from the NLD?

I am restricted by the party's rules and regulations to go and meet farmers outside the township [Maubin]. Farmers have invited me, but I was not able to meet them. I want to meet and disseminate agricultural knowledge to farmers in any township independently without restraints.

As you won the seat in the 2012 by-election, weren't you restricted in your communications with people outside your constituency around that time?

Yes, I was. I was not allowed to give talks outside my constituency for almost six years. I don't know why they [restrict], but it disadvantages farmers as I am an agriculturalist.

How did you submit your resignation? And what was the party's reply? Did they request that you stay?

I submitted the resignation dated July 14 to the party headquarters, and the Union Election Commission (UEC) told me by phone on July 20 that they had received the [NLD's] letter informing them of my resignation. So, I confirmed my resignation. They didn't ask me not to resign. I presented all the reasons—about the difficulties I faced since the previous term—in my resignation letter, so they knew that they had nothing to say.

Last year you sued four people including two NLD members in Maubin, according to local media, under fraud and defamation charges for allegedly distributing leaflets relating to farmers' affairs that bore your signature. Did the lawsuits impact your decision to resign?

That time, I filed a complaint under criminal charges against the four at the police station, and the party asked me not to file the complaint. But I refused, saying that police and the judicial sector would decide whether it is an offense or not, but the party should not use its power to restrict it. Then the party removed me from the chairman position [of the farmers affairs committee], saying I didn't obey their guidance. I stepped down willingly.

But if they are to remove a parliamentary committee chairman, there should be an internal investigation in Parliament to prove the chairman is not dutiful. I was appointed with the approval of all the MPs, but only the parliamentary speaker dismissed me. As the parliamentary speaker did this according to the instruction of the party, this means the Parliament is under the influence of the party.

Now you are an independent lawmaker, what are your future plans?

I can engage in the issues of farmers and laborers widely. They can't restrict me now. I am able to give talks [to farmers] beyond my constituency. It is suffice to say that the resignation has given me the opportunity to help and fulfill their wishes to the best of my ability.

Some candidates contested the 2015 election using the image and strength of the party. Will you have full confidence contesting the 2020 election as an independent candidate?

I'll engage in serving the interests of farmers as an independent candidate. I'll do what I should depending on their wishes and support. I mean, they will decide for me whether or not to contest the next election.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Flood Victims Rise to More Than 1,000 in Irrawaddy Region

Posted: 24 Jul 2017 02:29 AM PDT

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — Heavy rains and floods have forced more than 1,000 people from their homes to relief camps in Danubyu, Myanaung, and Ingapu townships in Irrawaddy Region.

"We have so far opened four relief camps, and victims mainly need food. We are prioritizing emergency food supplies in each township," said director of the Irrawaddy Region Relief and Resettlement Department U Than Soe.

More than 60 households are taking shelter at a relief camp in Myanaung; more than 120 households are at two relief camps in Danubyu; and more than 100 households are at a relief camp in Ingapu Township. More than 60 schools have been closed across the region because of the floods.

"There are 470 flood victims at the relief camps in Danubyu, mostly from villages and wards outside of the dike," regional lawmaker U San Htwe of Danubyu told The Irrawaddy.

"The social welfare department has provided rice, and we've distributed it. The situation is not serious and the [township] flood rescue committee has prepared sand bags," he said.

The water level of the Irrawaddy River is two feet above its danger level in Hinthada and Zalun townships, three feet above in Danubyu, and 2.6 feet above in Nyaungdon, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

The Irrawaddy Delta saw devastating flooding last year that affected more than 500,000 people in Maubin, Hinthada, Pathein, Pyapon and Myaungmya districts, and inundated more than 200,000 acres of paddy fields, according to statistics from the Irrawaddy regional government.

Since July 18, nearly 5,000 people from four townships in Mon State have also been affected by flooding, according to the regional relief and resettlement department.

In Rakhine State, roads and residential areas in Ann and Taungup townships were inundated with water up to five feet in some places as of Sunday. In Thandwe, three monasteries gave shelter to 360 people displaced by floods, while four quarters and a village nearby were inundated on Friday.

Meteorologist U Tun Lwin has warned of possible upcoming torrential rains in Myanmar due to  a strong monsoon in the Bay of Bengal. Rakhine State, Irrawaddy Region, Magwe, Yangon and Bago Regions are prone to flooding.

Additional reporting by Hintharnee from Mon State and Moe Myint from Yangon.

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Top Mon Politician Resigns as Merger Hopes Stumble

Posted: 24 Jul 2017 01:53 AM PDT

MOULMEIN — Dr. Aung Naing Oo, the deputy speaker of Mon State parliament, has resigned from the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMDP) amid calls for a new regional organization.

Aung Naing Oo announced that he had submitted his resignation letter to his party at a gathering of ethnic Mon parties in Mon State on Saturday, but declined to disclose the reason behind his leaving.

"I have no plan to form a new political party with those who are expelled by the Mon parties. The two parties are just giving lip service about the merger, but nothing is happening in reality," he said at the meeting, referring to the proposed merger of his party and the Mon National Party (MNP).

AMDP Joint Secretary 1 Nai San Tin said the party received and accepted his resignation in the second week of July.

"We have nothing to say about it as he did it of his own volition," said Nai San Tin.

Aung Naing Oo, who was serving as the secretary of Chaungzon Township AMDP chapter, contested and won the bid to represent Chaungzon in the 2010 and 2015 general elections.

He supports the idea of merging the AMDP and MNP, and, as a member of a group of independent Mon politicians, polls the public on their thoughts regarding a new Mon political party. The group also explains Mon State's current political developments to locals.

On July 13-15, the MNP held a central executive committee (CEC) meeting which saw the expulsion of two CEC members and four central committee members including Dr. Min Soe Lin, who won the seat for Ye Township in the 2015 general election.

Joint secretary 1 Nai Soe Myint of the party told The Irrawaddy that Min Soe Lin was dismissed because of his lengthy absence from party meetings, although Min Soe Lin believes his dismissal was because of the potential merger.

"I was expelled because I actively support the merging of the two parties," he told The Irrawaddy.

The two parties confirmed to The Irrawaddy that they had chosen representatives to hold discussions on the merger—an idea that was first presented around 2013, but has been continuously stalled by struggles to find common ground on the terms of a coalition.

In the 2015 election, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won the majority of votes in the state, which many Mon blamed on votes being split between the two Mon parties.

In January, about 300 Mon youth in Lamine sub-township in Ye protested against the leaders of the AMDP and MNP after they refused to combine their parties. Growing calls to form a new Mon political party followed the protest.

Citing local opinion polls, former member of the New Mon State Party committee Nai Ta La Nyi said about 60 percent of Mon locals support the idea of a fresh political outfit.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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US Presses Myanmar to Cease Military Ties With North Korea

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 11:06 PM PDT

WASHINGTON — Myanmar's military has maintained ties with North Korea, even though the civilian-led government denies any cooperation, and the Trump administration is pressing for a complete break-off of remaining links, current and former US officials said.

Washington made its case to Myanmar's de facto leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing during a visit to the country this week by the US special envoy for North Korea.

US Ambassador Joseph Yun's trip to Myanmar underlined continuing US worries over North Korean links that date back to Myanmar's decades of military rule, according to a senior State Department official on Friday.

"It was an opportunity to message that any engagement with North Korea, particularly military engagement, is counterproductive to trying to end this threat that North Korea poses to the region and to the globe," the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He declined to specify what kind of military cooperation had continued between North Korea and Myanmar.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Myanmar's embassy in Washington.

The official said US sanctions leveled this year against the Myanmar Army's procurement body were meant to "reflect long-standing concerns" about the military's dealings with Pyongyang.

Myanmar insists that arms deals and other military relations with North Korea stopped before Myanmar's transition to a nominally civilian government in 2011.

Myanmar's military was believed in the past to have imported North Korean-made weapons and North Korean personnel also worked in Myanmar, two former US officials said.

Any residual ties may be unfinished business between the two armies dating back to Myanmar's previous military-led government, one of the former officials said, adding there was no indication of a "nuclear component to the relationship."

Relying on Diplomacy

The State Department official did not rule out the possibility of imposing further North Korea-related measures on Myanmar, saying, "If a situation becomes so egregious and serious for our national security interests, there are a variety of tools, including sanctions."

For now, though, Washington was relying mostly on diplomacy with Myanmar, a resource-rich and strategically placed country that Washington wants to keep out of China's orbit.

He stressed, however, that it would be difficult to proceed toward full normalization of US relations with Myanmar until Washington was convinced of a halt to ties with North Korea.

Yun's trip followed North Korea's test on July 4 of an intercontinental ballistic missile that Pyongyang says can carry a large nuclear warhead, and which experts believe can reach Alaska.

As Yun arrived in Yangon for talks on Monday, Kyaw Zeya, permanent secretary at Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, insisted Myanmar no longer had military ties with Pyongyang and was complying with UN resolutions banning such links.

"It's normal relations between the two countries," he told reporters. "As I understand, there's no such relations between military to military. Definitely not."

The State Department official told Reuters that Myanmar authorities did not explicitly deny that some vestiges of the previous North Korea relationship remained but said "those ties are not what they were in the past."

Myanmar's former ruling junta, which, like North Korea, was widely shunned by the outside world over its suppression of human rights, was known to have ties to Pyongyang. This included sending missile experts and material for arms production to Myanmar.

Myanmar's Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI) was sanctioned in March under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act.

The DDI was previously sanctioned in 2012 and accused of materially assisting North Korea but had fallen off the sanctions list in October after the Obama administration dropped most measures against Myanmar in recognition of a successful political transition.

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Two Hearts of Myanmar: A Landscape Artist’s Perspective

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 10:30 PM PDT

YANGON — Pantanaw is a small rice-growing township in Irrawaddy Division, but it is significant in Myanmar's history for turning out two prominent figures worldwide.

U Thant (1909-1974), the third Secretary General of United Nations, and the only person from Myanmar to hold this position thus far, was born in this town.

It was also the hometown of artist U Ba Nyan (1897-1945)—the first art student from Myanmar during the colonial era to learn in the Royal College of Art in London and the Yellow Door Fine Arts School. He played a key role in introducing Western techniques to Myanmar artists and is seen as an influential figure in the country's art history.

Aung Htet Lwin's fourth solo show, "Two Hearts of Myanmar," runs at Cloud 31 Art Gallery in Yangon. (Photo: Supplied)

Born in 1991 in the same township, Aung Htet Lwin grew up listening to the life stories of these two great men, and was deeply inspired by them. But later, it became clear that it was U Ba Nyan who had inspired him most.

While he was working at a media company, Aung Htet Lwin took leave to exhibit his first solo art exhibition in Thailand in a rush in 2015. At that time, he was just 24. After this exhibition, his dream had become clearer, and then he quit his job to become a full-time artist.

He has made his name as a landscape artist, immensely captivated by the scenes of the towns he saw across the country as he accompanied his civil-servant legal officer mother as she was transferred from place to place.

Later, he found his artistic inspiration in the urban cityscapes of Yangon, leading to his second solo show, "Yangon Essay," at Lokanat Art Gallery in the historic capital in 2016.

"As I went around Yangon, I was fascinated by its landscapes and gradually fell in love with them," said Aung Htet Lwin, who is now 26 years old. His third solo exhibition, "Illumination 31," showcased in Yangon earlier this year.

He graduated from the National University of Arts and Culture, and the painting he created for graduation depicted the High Court in Yangon. He presented a thesis analyzing paintings by urban artists in order to get his post-graduate art diploma from the same university.

For his fourth solo show, Aung Htet Lwin drew outdoors in Yangon, and also stayed in Mandalay for one month to do the same. Entitled "Two Hearts of Myanmar," the exhibition will take place at Cloud 31 Art Gallery on 31st Street in Yangon's Pabedan Township from July 23-27.

The exhibition will feature 29 watercolor paintings depicting the landscapes, ancient buildings, and pagodas of Yangon and Mandalay, and are priced between US$100 and $300.

There will also be landscape paintings of Sagaing and Mingun at the exhibition, he said.

"I'm more than satisfied with drawing Mya Thein Tan Pagoda," said Aung Htet Lwin, referring to a famous Sagaing structure built in 1816 by King Bagyidaw.

"I almost forgot everything else as the pagoda engrossed me," he said.

Aung Htet Lwin attributed his career thus far to two things: his admiration for U Ba Nyan, and the first prize award that his work won at his graduation from the National University of Arts and Culture.

"I began to know about Saya U Ba Nyan through school textbooks when I was a fifth-grade student, and I learned more about him as I studied the history of art at the university," he said. "He was already famous at the age of 25 in places like England. If I can't do as well as him, I paint with the attitude that I have to work as hard as him."

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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National News

National News

Take it easy on migrants: groups

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 01:54 PM PDT

Labour rights advocates want the government to adopt a lenient approach when it starts registering about 1.5 million illegal migrant workers Monday, warning that strict registration conditions will scare them off.

Cache of assault rifles seized in Thazi

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 01:50 PM PDT

Police seized a cache of 22 assault rifles near Kywe Tet Stone toll gate in Thazi township in Mandalay during an inspection of vehicles, Thazi's police chief said.

Tourism boost for Manaung Island

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 01:46 PM PDT

The government was set to conduct a study to explore the tourism potential of Manaung Island in Rakhine State, said Union Minister for Hotels and Tourism U Ohn Maung.

Exhibition to promote awareness of fake drugs

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 01:44 PM PDT

The Food and Drug Administration Department (FDA) will organise a medical products exhibition to promote public awareness about fake drugs in the market.

EU invited as guest to East Asia Summit

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 01:38 PM PDT

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has invited Donald Tusk, president of the European Union, to attend the 12th East Asia Summit (EAS) as a guest of the ASEAN chair.

Govt, UN Rapporteur ‘disappointed’ in each other

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 01:34 PM PDT

The Ministry of the Office of the State Counsellor has expressed disappointment about the statements of UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee who did not hide her disappointment about the alleged failure of Yangon to address human rights abuses.

e-Mandalay web portal launched

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 01:24 PM PDT

Mandalay launched last week its e-Mandalay Web Portal, which covers public services for 74 departments, said the chair of the e-Government implementation committee.

MP U Sein Win quits ruling NLD, citing lack of freedom

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 01:08 PM PDT

For the first time since the National League for Democracy was elected to parliament in the 2012 by-election, an NLD lawmaker has resigned from the party, citing a lack of freedom.

Two die, over 100,000 displaced in July floods

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 01:02 PM PDT

Two people died and over 110,000 were displaced in floods in several parts of the country from July 1 to July 22, the Department of Relief and Resettlement said.

Protesting golf caddies to set up camp at Shwe Man Taung

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 12:57 PM PDT

A camp will be set up by golf caddies at Shwe Man Taung golf course in Oo-pote-taw ward, Aung Myay Tharzan township, Mandalay, who lost their jobs in spite of a decision by a national arbitration council to reinstate them, according to caddies.
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Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

BURMA ARMY DISRUPTION OF SHAN CONFERENCE: Intentionally creating distrustful atmosphere?

Posted: 24 Jul 2017 03:10 AM PDT

When the Shan's Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU) has to withhold its meeting that was planned to take place from 20 to 22 July by the Burmese military attaché Brigadier General Khin Zaw, through the Thai military, it was said to be because of the planned meeting would involve the illegal organizations and also it would be infringing the country's election law that could disrupt the peace process, many were at a loss what he really meant to say by such kind of accusations.

While by mentioning illegal organizations he might have Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) in mind as it hasn't signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) yet but in the process of negotiation with the government's Peace Commission (PC), under the banner of United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), and also has state-level and union-level ceasefire agreements in place since 2012. Besides, the SSPP even have several liaison offices to coordinate in military matters with the Burma Army, also known as the Military or Tatmadaw, in government's control towns in Shan State.

Thus, the argument that SSPP is an illegal organization holds no water and is not convincing.
"I have my doubts [about the Tatmadaw's sincerity] when they accuse us of endangering the peace process," General Yawd Serk who heads the CSSU said on July 21 at a press conference in the northern Thai capital. "If this is the case, they should contact our office," according to the recent report in Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN).

"The military attaché says that the meeting was to include a non-NCA signatory group. This group is the SSPP. However, it should be noted that the SSPP regularly attends meetings within the UNFC [United Nationalities Federal Council, a coalition of ethnic armed groups who declined to sign the NCA with the government in October 2015].

"So how can this be hindering the peace process if the UNFC regularly meets with the Tatmadaw and the government?"

Regarding the statement of Khin Zaw that the CSSU meeting would be against the election law no one really has a clue by what he means. But if he meant it is against the NCA then he is totally wrong, as the meeting is held in accordance with the NCA guidelines. CSSU was scheduled to discuss about the five topics of Political Affairs, Security Matters, Economic Affairs, Social Issues, and Land and Natural Resources Management, to achieve a common goal and later table it in a wider representative audience within Shan State. And as all know, earlier the Tatmadaw has rejected the venue of Taunggyi or Panglong proposed by the CSSU by saying that the planned gathering should be held in a remote region of Shan State, where the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) – a signatory of the NCA – is in control but not suitable, as there are no facilities to hold such a massive gathering estimated to be more than 600 participants.

Following the cancellation of the meeting the CSSU in Chiang Mai a seven-point statement in Burmese was issued, which pointed out that although the Burmese military attaché argument holds no water that the CSSU meeting would disrupt the peace process, for the benefit of the two countries relationship it has opted not to hold the meeting. Furthermore, the statement said that it would inform and coordinate with the government's National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) and PC in the peace process. It also urges the government bases its actions with broad-mindedness and careful consideration and that if there are any doubts, clarification should be requested.

Background on Military-Shan interaction

Now let us look at on how it has come to this by going back a little into the past to determine why the Tatmadaw's mindset has been so obsessed with anti-Shan, anti-federalism tendencies, in addition to be so scared that the Shan would achieve unity.

·        The 1962 military coup that has its roots in the Shan spearheaded Federal Proposal to amend the 1948 Union of Burma Constitution was and still is seen by the Bamar military class as clipping the wings of the Bamar political supremacy and monopoly, while the non-Bamar ethnic nationalities are convinced that it is designed to make Burma Proper a Bamar State so that a level playing field of political arrangement, within the mold of ethnic-territorial-based federal union could be achieved.
·        It should be noted that the Panglong Agreement of 1947, the Union of Burma Constitution 1947, and Federal Amendment Proposal of the ethnic nationalities agreed in 1961 are the basis of achieving a justified and equal federal union from the view point of the ethnic nationalities.
·        The Bamar military following the anti-federalism advocacy of the then Bamar political elite headed by Ba Swe and Kyaw Nyein tried to whitewash all the historical treaties and legacies to rewrite the history to its advantage, which in turn led to the full blown ethnic resistance countrywide.
·        In February 2005, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) chairman Hkun Htun Oo and seven other Shan leaders, including Sao Hsur Ten, leader of the SSPP/SSA, were arrested, convicted of high treason and sentenced to jail terms ranging from 79 to 106 years. On February 7 they were discussing to work out common positions among the Shan people on how to go about with the the then ongoing National Convention tasked with drawing a new constitution, under the military government,  in Nyaung Nabin and were arrested with the accusation of endangering the existence of union.
·        In March 2016, the CSSU meeting in Rangoon was also disrupted by local authorities possibly on the orders of the Tatmadaw.
·        Repeated requests of the CSSU to allow Shan National dialogue to be conducted either in Taunggyi or Panglong towns, prior to the second 21st Century Panglong Conference held from May 24 to 29, was rejected by the Tatmadaw until today.
·        On 2017 July 19, CSSU planned meeting in Chiang Mai from July 20 to 22 has to be cancelled, due to the disruption of the Burmese military attaché  to the Thai government.

Possible reasons and way out of distrustful atmosphere

While there could be many reasons to hinder the Shan National Dialogue by the Tatmadaw,  speculations like the Military not really believing in federalism and giving only lip service; having Military and Bamar supremacy aim as its strategic goals; Seeing the Shan as a main culprit in ethnonationalism and separatism; and suppressing and getting the Shan checkmated would ensure Bamar political edge and also control the other restless non-Bamar ethnic nationalities are rife, if impossible to verify.

But the historical backdrop and the indications that followed in chain have proven the Tatmadaw's anti-Shan and anti-federalism tendencies. Again, all these points to the lack of  Military's commitment and political will to really work for the political settlement through the formation of a federal union that is embedded in equality, rights of self-determination, universal human rights and democracy.

It is clear that distrust has to be eliminated and trust-building nurtured, if we are to move forward. But what exactly is the distrust between the Military and the Shan?

The Shan are distrustful that the Military won't be sincere to resolve the conflict through political dialogue and its commitment on a genuine federalism, while the Military never is convinced that the Shan would not opt for a total independence that would break up the union.

When the issue of non-secession was discussed and the Shan rejected the inclusion of the clause in the Union (Pyidaungsu) Accord during the second 21CPC, the SNLD made it clear that it is for the solution of a voluntary participation of the union, as agreed in Panglong Agreement of 1947 and nothing has changed.

On the government non-secession demand the SNLD made a press conference on June 1, 2017, at its headquarter, where Party spokesman Sai Nyunt Lwin said: "We never demand secession from the union. We are already there to cooperate," adding, "this is to clearly dispel accusation and rumors that we are not demanding secession."

All this come about as SNLD rejected the non-secession clause demanded by the government to be included in the Union Accord.

Sai Nyunt Lwin made his point by arguing that no such words that could hold back participation of the EAOs that are still negotiating and about to negotiate be used during this period, as this would discourage them from joining the peace conference.

"If we want to secede from the union, we only need to do one thing. We would disregard the treaty (Panglong Agreement) signed in 1947. Until we haven't done that, it is going to be normal as it used to be," he stressed as a matter of fact.

Now the Military would need to show that it also meant business by halting the ongoing offensives in Kachin and Shan States, while making assurance that it is really for the genuine federal union by withdrawing its commitment to protect the military-drafted constitution, which is neither democratic nor federal in any sense of the words.

In sum, it is the turn of the Military to agree and support the State-level Shan National Dialogue and not disrupting it, if it is really following the NCA guidelines. This would be the start in dismantling distrust from the point of the Shan organizations. After this all the other measures to build trust on the ground by halting offensives and cooperation in peace talks for the all agreeable political system could be worked out.


Thus, until the distrust elimination measures are first taken by the Military, there is no hope for trust-building to take place, as the saying "you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs"  hasn't been there for nothing.  

Did Aung San Lead at Panglong - or Follow?

Posted: 23 Jul 2017 08:34 PM PDT

LONDON -Visitors to Yangon, Myanmar will quickly find that one name carries more weight than any other: Aung San. Cutting west to east across the city is Aung San Road. Downtown, there's Aung San Market, a sprawling space with merchants hawking everything from fresh vegetables to jade trinkets. If you want to top your day off with a Myanmar National League soccer game, try Aung San Stadium.



Major General Aung San is revered by Myanmar's Bamar majority as the Bamar nationalist leader who guided the country from British colony to independent state after World War II. Some of that sentiment, like the affection Americans have for John F. Kennedy or the veneration that Israelis share for Yitzhak Rabin, are rooted in a life cut tragically short by an assassin's bullet. In fact, it was 70 years ago this week, as Aung San presided over a meeting of his Executive Council, that an armed gang led by a rival politician stormed into the building and killed Aung San, a bodyguard, and six government ministers.

The anniversary, which Myanmar commemorates as Martyrs' Day, signifies a dream deferred. If only Aung San had survived, many believe, the promise of a strong, unified nation would have been achieved, with lasting peace between the ethnic Bamar majority and the roughly 135 ethnic minorities that have been part of this land for more than a millennia - instead of the near-perpetual war that many of them have fought against the state since 1947. It's a story that suits the Bamar majority, but one many ethnic minorities - the very groups necessary to make Myanmar a truly unified nation - vigorously contest.

At the heart of this legend is Aung San's role in a 1947 conference between the Bamar majority and ethnic minorities, known as the Panglong Conference, which produced a blueprint for a unified Burma. Until three months ago, I had no reason to doubt Aung San's leadership role in Panglong. Now I'm not so sure. As Aung San's daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, leads Myanmar today, reportedly pursuing a new "21st Century Panglong, getting this history right is the key to understanding what's really at stake in Myanmar - and how to move forward.

For the Bamar, Aung San has long represented the highest aspirations of nationhood. And because the Bamar have dominated the state and represented the country to the world, it is their identity and their historical narratives that color Western understanding.

As I've written before, the present conflict goes back to 1886, and - like many modern conflicts rooted in decisions made during this period - starts with the British.  When Britain conquered the Burmese monarchy, British leaders feared empowering the majority of the population that were ethnic Bamar, choosing instead to put ethnic minorities in important colonial positions. During World War II, ethnic minorities fought with Britain while Aung San led the Bamar who sided with Japan, switching sides aft the last minute when the allied victory seemed assured. As I described in a column last April:

[F]or their loyalty, the hill tribes expected British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to make them independent territories. But when Clement Attlee and the Labor Party won the 1945 British general election instead, Attlee not only turned his back on ethnic minorities, but invited the leading Burmese general to meet with him in London - where he offered to give Burma, led by Burmans [the Bamar ethnic group], complete independence. That general's name was Aung San.

In the Bamar version of the story, upon returning home, Aung San wisely and benevolently recognized the interests of the ethnic minorities, leading him to convene the February 1947 Panglong Conference with Shan, Karen, Chin, Kachin, and Karenni ethnic minority leaders. There, he negotiated an agreement that would lead to the creation of the Union of Burma, which the ethnic groups could opt out of after 10 years if they felt mistreated. This paved the way for the creation of a true nation, but Aung San's untimely assassination as he prepared to take over from the British voided the promise of Panglong and led to the conflict with ethnic minorities that bedevils the country today.

It's a story line that I and many others have taken on faith and supported for many years. As I wrote in April:

Aung San brought several of the hill tribes together in the Shan town of Panglong in February, 1947, where he negotiated a power-sharing agreement. But it was not meant to be: Aung San was assassinated, derailing Panglong and leading most of the hill tribes to declare war against the Burman majority.

After that column ran, I received an email from my friend Harn Yawnghwe, the respected son of the revered Sao Shwe Thaik, the long-time Shan leader and first president of the Union of Burma, who ruled from 1948 through 1952. His short note startled me. "Aung San did not bring the hill tribes together at Panglong in 1947," he wrote. "After World War II, ethnic leaders were restive. They knew the British might abandon them, especially after the July 1945 elections. It was my father who organized an ethnic leaders conference in Panglong in February 1947 to see if they could work together to preserve their status."

In 1947, Attlee called Aung San to London for talks on the future of Burma - without inviting any of the ethnic minorities.  According to Harn Yawnghwe, his father, leading the Supreme Council of the United Hill Peoples, cabled Attlee in London to make clear that Aung San did not represent the minorities. His intervention led to the inclusion of an article in the January 27, 1947 agreement between Aung San and Attlee, stating the objective "to achieve the early unification of the Frontier Areas and Ministerial Burma with the free consent of the inhabitants of those areas." In other words, as Harn Yawnghwe's note to me made clear, Aung San had nothing to do with organizing the Panglong Conference - instead, he was forced to rush to the ethnic leaders' conference already occurring at Panglong to fulfill his vision for independence.

If true - and I have little reason to believe Yawnghwe isn't being truthful - it's the equivalent of learning that John F. Kennedy wasn't primarily responsible for saving the crew of PT-109 after it was sunk by a Japanese destroyer in 1943, as legend goes, but instead played a supporting role.

Why does this matter? One, because it dramatically changes our understanding of Aung San and his legacy. Two, because it shows how the lessons today's peacemakers have learned from Panglong may not be the right ones.

Two months ago, Aung San's daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, convened the second round of her "21st Century Panglong" peace talks with ethnic groups. Thus far, like Suu Kyi's leadership, the conference has seen more pomp than purpose. "It was organized as if the leaders of the groups were treated like lower segments," one attendee from a non-governmental organization told me, "and the NLD [Suu Kyi's party] and others got the red carpet while the ethnic groups didn't even know where they should sit."

Perhaps the real lesson of the 1947 Panglong Conference is this: make yourself heard or you'll be left out of the equation. Only when the ethnic groups made it clear to Attlee that Aung San didn't represent them did the U.K. change course, forcing Aung San to the negotiating table. Maybe it's time for the ethnic leaders of today to send a similar message to the United States and others: Aung San Suu Kyi does not represent us. And maybe it's time the United States insist more forcefully that Suu Kyi - and Myanmar's true source of power, the military - heed the interests of minority groups. Foreign investment from the United States and other Western powers matters to a military deeply entrenched in Myanmar's economy; that gives us leverage. Our investment and aid should come with conditions.

In Myanmar's Mon State, across the Thanlwin River, a steel bridge connects Mon State with Belugyun Island. In April, thousands of local people came out in protest. Why? Myanmar's Lower House had approved legislation from Suu Kyi's party naming the bridge after Aung San. "The protesters said they wanted their ethnic Mon culture and heritage to be respected in the naming of the bridge," one article explained, "and they meant no disrespect to General Aung San."

Today, as the Bamar celebrate the legacy and achievements of their fallen hero, it's worth remembering that there are many hundreds of other values, stories, and interests in this ancient land. Whether Myanmar can ever become a unified nation - and I'm not optimistic - will depend on whether the ethnic minorities have the same rights as the Bamar.

Only then will Myanmar build not just stadiums, markets, and roads in memory of a distant past, but real bridges to the future, ones that everyone is allowed to cross - as equal citizens.

Stanley A. Weiss, a global mining executive and founder of Washington-based Business Executives for National Security. His memoir, "Being Dead is Bad for Business," is available  online and a collection of his selected writings, titled "Where Have You Gone, Harry Truman?" will be published by Disruption Books on July 31.

By Stanley A. Weiss
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