Monday, October 30, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Govt Suggests Possible Daily Repatriation of 300 Rohingya Refugees 

Posted: 30 Oct 2017 07:34 AM PDT

YANGON — The government has estimated it can take back about 300 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh per day and said there is a need to scrutinize the refugees under the four main principles of a 1993 agreement between the two countries.

"We can only process about 150 [refugees] in a checkpoint per day as we have to scrutinize and check their information," said U Myint Kyaing, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population.

The government has said it would accept the refugees at two checkpoints points in Taungpyo Letwe and Nga Khu Ya villages before resettling them in Dar Gyi Zar village in Maungdaw Township.

There have been suggestions from the Bangladesh government to amend parts of the 1993 agreement that allows the return of Rohingya who can prove residence in Myanmar but the four main principles of the agreement won't change, said the permanent secretary.

The four main principles state returnees need evidence of their residence in Myanmar, repatriation must be voluntary, the parents of children born in camps must have lived in Myanmar, and refugees separated from their families need confirmation of this from a Bangladeshi court.

But under the agreement, additional measures in the repatriation process may be needed, said the permanent secretary, adding that these measurements would include taking legal action against any "terrorists" among the returnees on the spot.

He added that the governments of the two countries are still negotiating to sign an MOU for the repatriation of the refugees.

A delegation led by Simon Henshaw, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, will also meet with government officials and humanitarian agencies to discuss efforts to improve conditions for the significant influx of refugees into Bangladesh, according to the State Department.

Some 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have now fled across the border to Bangladesh from Myanmar Army clearance operations in a campaign the UN calls ethnic cleansing. The refugees say security forces were killing civilians, burning homes, and raping Rohingya women.

The army launched its operations in the wake of deadly attacks on police outposts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Aug. 25, which was declared a terrorist group by the government.

There is a huge gap regarding the numbers of people who fled to Bangladesh between the ground survey of Rakhine State government and UN statistics, according to the President's Office.

"We have nothing to argue on the number [of refugees]. Whatever the number they are saying, we won't accept if they don't have evidence of their residence here," U Myint Kyaing said.

The post Govt Suggests Possible Daily Repatriation of 300 Rohingya Refugees  appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Political Outfit Appeals for Unified Shan State Party

Posted: 30 Oct 2017 05:52 AM PDT

The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) has proposed to merge with its rival the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) in order to secure more votes in the 2020 general elections.

On Saturday the SNDP sought advice on the best way to approach the elections from the Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU)—a coalition of the SNDP, SNLD, Shan ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), civil society groups and women and youth organizations.

The CSSU is currently chaired by Gen. Yawd Serk of the Restoration Council of Shan State, an EAO signatory to the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA).

"We have presented our consensus to the CSSU as it is a uniquely respectable coalition," said SNDP vice-chairman Sai Hla Kyaw, referring to a letter sent from the SNDP to the CSUU on Saturday.

Sai Hla Kyaw told The Irrawaddy his party would wait for a response and consider ways of moving forward. The SNDP wants to either become a newly merged party or split constituencies to contest in 2020 in order to compete with national parties.

SNLD spokesperson Sai Nyunt Lwin said they have not discussed merging because they have not received any formal letter on the subject.

"The immediate merger might cause some difficulties, but we all share similar principles of upholding the interests of our nationalities, so that should not be problem. The year 2020 is not very far from now, and if we could work together, both sides would have mutually benefited," added Sai Hla Kyaw.

The SNDP has made offers of a merger with the SNLD since 2012, with both parties meeting to discuss a union for the first time in May 2014, in Shan State capital Taunggyi.

The parties are yet to hold more meetings on a merger. In March 2016, following the SNDP's fifth congress, the SNDP released a statement saying it would not dissolve the party or merge with any other party.

The SNLD is the more prominent of the parties and enjoys more public support. Before the 2015 elections, 17 SNDP members switched to the SNLD to contest the elections.

The SNLD holds 46 seats in all three parliaments – state, Lower House, and Union – winning 40 in the 2015 elections and six in the 2017 by-election. The SNDP has one state parliament seat overall, won in 2015.

Sai Hla Kyaw said the idea of a merger was driven by the desires of the Shan public, who have long urged for the two parties to be unified.

The SNDP was formed in late 2010 by former SNLD members and contested in the 2010 and 2015 elections. The SNLD was formed in October 1988 and became the second biggest winner countrywide in the 1990 elections, the results of which were ignored by the junta.

The party then shunned the 2010 elections and re-registered in 2012 after its leaders, including chairman Hkun Tun Oo and Sai Nyunt Lwin, were released from long-term imprisonments.

There are about 18 political parties in Shan State and about two thirds of them are trying to collaborate under the League for Shan State Ethnic Political Parties (LSSEP) for the 2020 elections, Sai Hla Kyaw explained.

In order to beat the majority Burman-dominated national political parties such as the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) and the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), many ethnicities have urged the leaders of their own ethnic political parties leaders to merge.

But not all attempts across the country have proved fruitful, with conflicting policies preventing mergers.

In Rakhine State, the Arakan National Party in 2013 from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party and the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) in order to compete in the 2015 elections. The party split earlier this year, however, and the ALD re-registered with the Union Election Commission in July.

In each of the Mon, Chin and Kachin states, the respective ethnic political parties are attempting a unified party, but efforts have so far been unsuccessful.

The post Political Outfit Appeals for Unified Shan State Party appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Family Members Are Denied Visit With Detained Journalist in Naypyitaw

Posted: 30 Oct 2017 05:35 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Police refused to let family members meet with local reporter Ko Aung Naing Soe, who was among those detained for flying a drone near Myanmar's Parliament in Naypyitaw on Oct. 26.

Police on patrol detained two foreign reporters, Lau Hon Meng from Singapore and Mok Choy Lin from Malaysia—who were working for Turkish state broadcast TRT World, their interpreter and fixer Ko Aung Naing Soe and driver U Hla Tin, after they found them preparing to take aerial photos of Parliament with a drone.

Police charged them under the 2012 Export and Import Law for illegally bringing the drone into the country and said the two foreign journalists and two Myanmar nationals were being detained separately at No. 1 Police Station in Naypyitaw and at Pyinmana Prison respectively, according to Ko Ye Htoo, who is a close friend of Ko Aung Naing Soe and speaking on behalf of his family.

"[Aung Naing Soe's] parents tried to meet him at Pyinmana Prison, but they were told that the interrogation was ongoing and they wouldn't, therefore, be allowed to see him. But [the police] said we would be allowed to see him a couple of days later," Ko Ye Htoo told The Irrawaddy.

Family members of Ko Aung Naing Soe were not informed about his detention immediately and only found out on Oct. 27 when police searched his house in Yangon. The accused were remanded in custody on Oct. 28 for 14 days, Ko Ye Htoo told The Irrawaddy.

"This case has caused considerable controversy both on social media and off. It is strange that authorities have said nothing about it," said Ko Ye Htoo.

The Export and Import Law states that "no person shall export or import restricted, prohibited and banned goods" and that "without obtaining license, no person shall export or import the specified goods which is to obtain permission."

It states that anyone who violates the regulation "shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or with fine or with both."

U Nay Tuu, a Pyinmana resident and lawyer who is representing Ko Aung Naing Soe, said detainees can get bail for charges under the Export and Import Law.

Training director U Sein Win of the Myanmar Journalism Institute who went to see Ko Aung Naing Soe told The Irrawaddy that he was not able to meet the detainees at the Naypyitaw police station or Pyinmana prison.

"Police said that detainees were held in custody separately," U Sein Win said.

Drones are also used by ordinary people, not only journalists and photographers, in Myanmar and it is not clear if there is an official ban on shooting photos of parliamentary buildings with drones, U Sein Win stressed.

"If such a ban is not in force, it is difficult to say that those reporters violated the law," he said.

In June, three local reporters— The Irrawaddy's Lawi Weng, also known as U Thein Zaw, and U Aye Naing and Ko Pyae Phone Aung from the DVB were arrested and charged under the Article 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act for going into a region controlled by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) to cover a drug-burning ceremony. They were released in September after the plaintiff – the military – dropped charges against the accused.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Family Members Are Denied Visit With Detained Journalist in Naypyitaw appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

ICG Warns on Myanmar Sanctions

Posted: 30 Oct 2017 05:30 AM PDT

YANGON — The International Crisis Group warned policy makers in Europe that re-imposing sanctions may not be helpful to address Myanmar's Rohingya crisis as it could risk constraining future policy options as well as sending unintended signals to investors, impacting the economy to the detriment the country's people.

"A return to previous forms of bilateral and EU sanctions on Myanmar in the form of travel bans and asset freezes may not be helpful in achieving concrete progress," warned the ICG on Friday.

The warning by the Brussels-based NGO—that monitors democratic transition worldwide—came nearly two weeks after the European Union and its member states' announcement that they will suspend invitations to the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar armed forces and other senior military officers and review all practical defense cooperation due to the disproportionate use of force against Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State.

The statement highlighted current restrictive measures from the EU including an embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression in Myanmar. It continued that the EU may consider additional measures if the situation does not improve but didn't mention what those measures may be.

The international community has condemned Myanmar's armed forces for arbitrarily killing, raping, and destroying the property of minority Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State amid clearance operations in the area since late August.

The operations were sparked by Muslim militant group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks on 30 outposts in the area on Aug 25. The government denounced the group as
"terrorist" and operations have seen more than 600,000 Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh as of late October.

The EU has imposed sanctions on Myanmar since 1991, in the form of an arms embargo and visa ban on senior members of the then military regime State Law and Order Restoration Council and senior members of the military and the security forces and their families.

It froze the assets of nearly 1,000 companies and institutions in Myanmar and banned almost 500 people from entering the EU. It also prohibited military-related technical help and banned investment in the mining, timber and precious metals sectors.

All sanctions, except for an arms embargo, were suspended in 2013 to welcome and encourage the reform process. The EU renewed its arms embargo against Myanmar until Apr. 30, 2018.

In tackling the Rohingya issue, the ICG recommends the EU and its member states to continue to support strong Security Council action and push for multilateral and bilateral engagement with Myanmar's civilian and military leaders.

The four-point recommendation also encourages Myanmar's leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to speak to the nation and make full use of her position to shift the national narrative in a more constructive direction.

The State Counselor's undisputed position as the greatest moral and political authority "gives her the power to sway public opinion, and considerable ability to influence the security forces," the ICG said.

Apart from the EU, the United States also took action against the Myanmar military leadership last week by ending travel waivers and barring units and officers in northern Rakhine State from US assistance, adding that the US was considering imposing economic measures against those responsible for atrocities against the Rohingya.

After the actions, the army withdrew dozens of soldiers from conflict-torn northern Rakhine State's Maungdaw district on Wednesday and the government allowed the UN's World Food Program to resume humanitarian assistance in the area.

The post ICG Warns on Myanmar Sanctions appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rakhine State Govt to Close Hindu, Ethnic Arakanese Displaced Person Camps

Posted: 30 Oct 2017 12:20 AM PDT

SITTWE, Rakhine State — The Rakhine State government will close camps for displaced persons who have fled violence in northern Rakhine State by Nov. 2, said the Rakhine State minister for electricity, industry and transportation U Aung Kyaw Zan.

According to the minister, camps in Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, and Minbya townships will be closed as the situation has returned to normal in those areas and many have already left the camps and returned home.

"We are not forcibly evicting them. We are closing [the camps] because there are only a few people left in camps," the minister told The Irrawaddy.

While some 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25 militant attacks prompted a brutal Myanmar Army response in Maungdaw district, thousands of local ethnic people including Arakanese, Mro, and Daingnet as well as Hindus also fled to Sittwe and other townships, though many have now returned home.

According to the government, more than 6,000 people were taking shelter at camps in Sittwe directly after the militant attacks. Currently only five camps—two ethnic Arakanese camps, one Maramagyi camp and two Hindu camps—are operating in Sittwe as many have returned.

More than 600 people are still taking shelter at a Hindu camp in Danyawaddy sports ground and more than 300 at Maramagyi camp. Some 400 Hindus are sheltering at Kyaung Tet Lan ward.

About 1,400 Hindu people who were taking shelter at Danyawaddy sports ground and two Hindu temples in Kyaung Tet Lan and Kyaung Gyi Lan wards of Sittwe who have recently returned to their villages are having trouble with accommodation and food, said vice-chairman U Maung Hla of the Rakhine State Hindu Religion Foundation (Sittwe Branch).

"Those who have gone back phoned me and said that camps in their home areas will not accept them. They said they have no place to live and are also having trouble finding sufficient food," he said.

They have to stay at their relatives' houses and monasteries, he said, adding that Hindu spiritual leaders in Sittwe have provided some rice for them.

"We still want to stay [in the camp] though we're concerned that the government might not like it if we stay. We are concerned about our safety if we go back. Unless the government has a resettlement plan, we'd like to stay here," said U Ni Mal, a Hindu community leader taking shelter at Danyawaddy sportsground.

U Ni Mal hopes that the government would resettle Hindus together at a place close to the main road and the Buddhist community.

Minister U Aung Kyaw Zan said that Hindu and Maramagyi people may continue to stay at the camp if they wish.

"We won't force them to leave. We will let them stay here if they want," said the minister.

The state government informed camp organizers about planned closure of the camps on Oct. 27, saying that camps are to be closed by Nov. 2 and the government would stop food and cash supplies for the camps on that day.

The post Rakhine State Govt to Close Hindu, Ethnic Arakanese Displaced Person Camps appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Technicolour Thailand is Back After a Black-clad Mourning Year for Late King

Posted: 29 Oct 2017 11:36 PM PDT

BANGKOK — Thailand officially ended a year of mourning for its late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Monday, marking a return to colors for some after a monotone year during which many wore black from head-to-toe out of respect for their revered monarch.

Hundreds of thousands of people thronged Bangkok’s historic quarter to bid farewell last week to King Bhumibol, who died in October 2016. His US$90 million-dollar funeral, full of pomp and ancient ritual, took place over five days.

His remains were brought to their final resting place within Bangkok’s Grand Palace on Sunday. Portraits of the bespectacled late king, who became a father figure for many during a seven-decade reign, were hung across Thailand.

The black-and-white funeral bunting that had hung on the gates of Bangkok’s Government House for a year was taken down on Monday and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha made a televised announcement to mark the official end of the mourning period.

“The government would like to thank officials, both soldiers and civilians … and the more than 10 million Thais who came to pay respects to the royal body over the past year,” Prayuth said.

May Kanokwattana, 29, an office worker, wore bright yellow as she waited at the Siam BTS, a major Bangkok transport interchange.

"I wore black for one year. I needed to show my sorrow. Today is the first day I am wearing a different color," May told Reuters.

She also wore a pin with the Thai number nine out of respect for King Bhumibol, who was also known as the ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty.

Colors have a profound meaning for Thais. Astrological rules followed by many in the Southeast Asian nation assign a color to each day of the week.

King Bhumibol was born on a Monday, a day associated with the color yellow.

His only son, new King Maha Vajiralongkorn, was also born on a Monday.

Some people shared charts on social media showing which colors would be considered luckiest to wear.

"For confidence, health and power wear orange. For good support wear pale green," said one chart.

Pattinya Mankongwongcharoen, 49, an accountant wearing a peach-colored dress, said: "I won't continue wearing black because the mourning period is officially over and to do so would be disrespectful."

Others said they would continue to wear muted colors.

"I'm still grieving. I’ll wear black or grey for a few more weeks," said Pimsuda Chatree, 37, a shop owner.

The post Technicolour Thailand is Back After a Black-clad Mourning Year for Late King appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Philippines’ Duterte Says to Deal with Trump in ‘Most Righteous Way’

Posted: 29 Oct 2017 09:33 PM PDT

MANILA — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he would deal with US President Donald Trump "in the most righteous way" when they meet next month to discuss regional security and Manila's war on drugs.

Trump will travel to Asia on Nov. 3-14 amid rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

He will be in Manila on the last leg of his trip, which includes visits to Japan, South Korea, China, and Vietnam, to attend the Asean leaders' summit.

Trump will meet with Duterte but will skip the larger meeting in Manila with heads of states and governments from China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.

"It would be terrorism, cooperation between the two countries, the fight against drugs. I expect to be dealing with him around these topics," Duterte said in a media briefing before leaving for Japan to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"I would deal with President Trump in the most righteous way, welcome him as an important leader," he said. "I would have to also listen to him, what he has to say."

Duterte is known for his often profanity-laden tirades against the United States, chiding Washington for treating the Philippines "like a dog," despite the two nations' longstanding relationship.

The Philippines' leader announced his "separation" from the United States during a visit to Beijing a year ago, declaring he had realigned with China as the two agreed to resolve their South China Sea dispute through talks.

Duterte was infuriated by expressions of concern by members of former President Barack Obama’s administration about extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

But Trump, in a phone call to Duterte in May, praised the Philippine leader for doing an "unbelievable job on the drug problem" despite human rights groups' condemnation of Duterte's drug crackdown, in which thousands of people have been killed.

Human rights, rule of law and due process are among "important developments" the two leaders would likely discuss during their bilateral talks, Sung Kim, US ambassador to Manila, told foreign correspondents last week.

Duterte is accused by international human rights groups of supporting a campaign of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the Philippines, which his government denies.

He defended his 16-month-old campaign last week, telling Southeast Asian lawyers at a gathering in Manila that he had been "demonized" and denying allegations of state-sponsored killings of drug dealers and users.

Duterte, speaking in Davao City on Sunday night, said the situation in the Korean Peninsula would be the main agenda item in his talks with Trump.

"We are worried. If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong," he said. "A nuclear war is totally unacceptable to everybody."

Duterte said it would be good if the United States, Japan and South Korea would sit down and talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and “tell him that nobody’s threatening him, that there would be no war, and that if you can just tone down or stand down, stop the threats, and that would be the same for America.”

Duterte previously described Kim as a "fool" and "son of a bitch" for "playing with dangerous toys."

Duterte said the North Korea threats would also be discussed during his meeting with Abe, along with Tokyo’s assistance to rebuild the conflict-torn Marawi City in southern Philippines and for Manila’s infrastructure projects.

The post Philippines' Duterte Says to Deal with Trump in 'Most Righteous Way' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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