Wednesday, November 8, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

‘It Will Not Be a Good Situation if We Are Forced to Sign the NCA’: NMSP Vice Chairman

Posted: 08 Nov 2017 03:59 AM PST

The New Mon State Party (NMSP) has an isolated armed group in the southern part on the country in Mon State. The group has not signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) despite Myanmar Army pressure. The military seized at least four army bases from the NMSP in previous months, according to party leaders. The Irrawaddy's Lawi Weng interviewed Nai Hong Sar, the NMSP vice chairman and former chairman of the ethnic alliance the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).

What is the latest update on the peace process? When will you sign the NCA?

We need to talk a bit more with the National Reconciliation and Peace Center. Our Delegation for Political Negotiation will meet with them on Wednesday. When we agree upon the eight points to implementing the NCA, then we will sign it. We know we need to solve our armed conflict; we will not avoid signing the NCA.

So, you can't say exactly when you will sign?

Right. I cannot say when for sure.

You met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. What did you discuss with her?

A: We mainly discussed how the Myanmar Army seized out bases and restricted our movement. It shouldn't do so and we lost trust while we were negotiating signing the NCA because of its actions. Trust is needed to build peace. She said she understood and that there should not me oppression when building peace but that she couldn't control the military based on the 2008 Constitution.

She was frustrated with the lack of improvement with the peace process, despite her National League for Democracy (NLD) working hard for it. I said there were various points to a successful peace agreement.

First, all people and groups should be able to participate in political dialogue. When South Africa built peace, they let all parties participate. We cannot make peace during conflict. We all need to participate to halt conflict.

We also need a completed political framework in order to have dialogue. We cannot skip this step and prior to one Panglong peace conference, ethnic armed groups in Rakhine and Shan states could not have national-level meeting with people in their townships.

We were unable to attend the peace conference, not having signed the NCA. What if we disagreed with things that were discussed in a previous conference? It would be difficult to amend them later for new attendees. It is better to go step-by-step. She did not respond to my suggestions.

Why do you think the Myanmar Army seized bases from your armed group?

To force us to sign the NCA.

Why did they block your troops from training or even marching on Mon Revolution Day?

We asked military officials this. They said they didn't want us to show military strength while making peace with the government. We said we wouldn't cause trouble.

You have participated in peace negotiations under former President Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. How do they differ?

U Thein Sein and the military had the same form. But, the NLD government and the military are different. It was easy to deal with during U Thein Sein's government in the case of peace agreements. It became difficult under Daw aung San Suu Kyi's government.

What is your view on how Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is running the government?

She is trying to approach national reconciliation with the military. But many ethnic leaders have a different viewpoint regarding her actions and trust her less because of it.

What is the relationship between the UNFC and the Northern Alliance armed groups?

We still communicate with them. We negotiated with them [in reference to the NCA]. We also used to work with the Arakan Army, Kokang and Palaung before. But they have a different stance than us now.

Did you discuss the Northern Alliance with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?

No.

If the Myanmar Army forced your armed group to sign NCA what would you do?

It will not be a good situation if we are forced to sign the NCA. But we have reached many agreement toward signing and if they agree to our proposed points, we will sign. It took a long time to even reach this level of trust. We don't want fighting. It causes a lot of civilian suffering.

How are you preparing in the case that they force you to sign the NCA?

If our people can't accept the military actions and we cannot get our rights through political means, there will be another armed struggle.

What do you think about how Daw Aung San Suu Kyi dealt with the crisis in Rakhine State?

I don't know enough to say but I do know she needs to be careful in solving this conflict. If there isn't justice, it will be a problem later.

The post 'It Will Not Be a Good Situation if We Are Forced to Sign the NCA': NMSP Vice Chairman appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Religious Affairs Ministry Targets Alleged Sex Predator for Defaming Buddhism

Posted: 08 Nov 2017 03:26 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture plans to sue Khun Tan, also known as Zat Lite, who reportedly postured as the next Buddha in order to seduce young girls.

"Though the aggrieved parties have not complained, legal action should be taken considering the crime," religious affairs minister Thura U Aung Ko told reporters at Upper House on Wednesday.

The minister was "coordinating to take action" against Khun Tan under Article 295 (A) of the Penal Code which covers malicious acts "intended to outrage religious feelings" and carries a maximum of two years' imprisonment.

In Mon State's Thaton Township, Khun Tan convinced local Pa-O people he was the reincarnation of influential and respected Pa-O monk Alantaya Sayadaw Ashin Sakka, according to reports.

Khun Tan arrived when he was seven in Thaton's Alantaya neighborhood—the area surrounding the monastery of Alantaya Sayadaw—where Pa-O custom advises that a bride thought to be born ill fated can be rebalanced by nominally marrying a man who has good astrological influence.

With many parents in the area being led into believing that their daughters nominally marrying Khun Tan would be a blessing, the 25-year-old man is said to have seduced many girls between 2014 and 2016.

"Besides taking actions against him, [the government] should investigate and conduct educational programs in Alantaya. Punishing Khun Tan is not enough. He has fled and we are not sure if we could arrest him. The important thing is to educate and raise the awareness of local people and get rid of those [overly religious] attitudes," said Daw Khaing Khaing Lei, the chairperson of the Mon State Parliament Women and Child Rights Protection Committee.

Khun Tan reportedly fled to his native Hopong in Shan State's Taunggyi District some two months ago after Mon State government arrested some trustees of Alantaya Pagoda for renovating the pagoda without official permission.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Religious Affairs Ministry Targets Alleged Sex Predator for Defaming Buddhism appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Government ‘Wronged’ by UN Statement

Posted: 08 Nov 2017 03:21 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — The Myanmar government feels "wronged" over a UN Security Council statement on the Rohingya refugee crisis that reflected international media's perceived bias of the issue, said presidential spokesperson U Zaw Htay.

"We feel wronged that UN Security Council members have echoed those allegations. What I would like to tell the international community on behalf of the Myanmar government is that we are trying to find a long-term solution for the Rakhine issue," said U Zaw Htay.

The Myanmar government will continue doing what it takes to solve the problem, he said, but would not try to counter the (UN) Presidential Statement because it has already asked the international community to present evidence of the alleged human rights violations and abuses.

The UN statement released on Nov. 6 expressed concern over reports of human rights violations and abuses by Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State against Rohingya, saying that abuses involved systematic use of force and intimidation, killing of men, women, and children, sexual violence as well as destruction and burning of homes and property.

International groups such as Human Rights Watch have also documented killings and rape of Rohingya and satellite imagery showing razed villages, while access to northern Rakhine is heavily restricted.

The statement also called on the Myanmar government to end the excessive military force and intercommunal violence that had displaced more than 600,000 people, the vast majority Rohingya in Rakhine State.

"We don't necessarily have to do as the statement asks. But we have to pay heed to it as it the Presidential Statement of the UN Security Council. We can't ignore it," said U Zaw Htay.

The statement also urged the Myanmar government to work with the Bangladeshi government and the UN in order to allow the voluntary return of all refugees to their homes in Myanmar with safety and dignity.

In response, the State Counselor Office issued a statement on Nov. 7, saying that it regretted a Presidential Statement was issued with regard to a situation that is in the process of being resolved amicably between two neighboring countries.

The United Nations is turning a blind eye to measures being taken by the Myanmar government, said MP U Yi Mon of Pobbathiri Township in Naypyitaw, adding that the public should stand by the government on the Rakhine issue.

"What Myanmar should do is to steadily do what it takes. The truth will be uncovered one day," said U Yi Mon.

"When we approach a problem, we need to approach it from various perspectives," said U Zaw Htay. He added that voices represented by international media are louder than other less represented voices on the Rakhine crisis.

While it is solving the crisis, the government also has to handle racial and religious instigation intended to trouble the government, he said. Public trust is a necessary condition for the government to make the country's democratization a success and solve its pressing economic and social problems, he added.

The Myanmar government has invited Bangladeshi foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali to Myanmar from to Nov. 16-18 to discuss the repatriation of refugees, said U Zaw Htay.

"We expect to sign a bilateral agreement when he comes and Myanmar and Bangladesh will continue to cooperate on that," said U Zaw Htay, adding that the Bangladeshi government has not confirmed the date of the visit.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Myanmar Government 'Wronged' by UN Statement appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

American Tourist Dies After Falling From Bagan Pagoda

Posted: 08 Nov 2017 02:12 AM PST

A foreign tourist died after falling from the top of a pagoda in the ancient city of Bagan on Tuesday evening, confirmed the Nyaung-U police station.

The US citizen injured her head and died while being transferred from Nyaung-U hospital to Mandalay Hospital, said U Aung Aung Kyaw, director of the Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library (Bagan Branch).

"We've put notices in more than 20 places not to climb on pagodas. I heard that she fell while she was taking pictures. That pagoda was prohibited for climbing," U Aung Aung Kyaw told The Irrawaddy.

The victim, whose age is not yet known, was lodging at Thiripyitsaya Hotel, and a small stupa near the pagoda was damaged as she fell.

Since last month, climbing has been prohibited on Shwesandaw Pagoda, one of the most popular sunset-viewing pagodas in Bagan after lower terraces collapsed due to rains.

Previously, five temples were open to visitors to view the sunset in Bagan, but after hundreds of pagodas were damaged by a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake in August last year, authorities have banned climbing at most of the sites for safety reasons.

Following the earthquake, the government constructed three sunset-viewing decks in order to discourage visitors from climbing the pagodas, said U Aung Aung Kyaw.

The post American Tourist Dies After Falling From Bagan Pagoda appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Traffickers Prey on Lost Rohingya Children in Bangladesh Camps

Posted: 08 Nov 2017 12:10 AM PST

UKHIA, Bangladesh — The end of the cyclone season comes as a relief to most Rohingya in Bangladesh's Kutupalong refugee camp. But not Noor Alom, who had been searching for his six-year-old daughter for two days.

Fatima left their home, which sits near three putrid latrines, to play on a nearby hillside—and never came back.

"Nobody has any news about her," Alom told the Thomson Reuters Foundation after another exasperating search in the blistering heat, his wife rocking on the floor beside him.

"I am so worried that someone has sold her and taken her to another place," he said. "People told me that it occurs here."

His fears are not misplaced.

The United Nations (UN) says trafficking networks already exist in southern Bangladesh's sprawling camps, which have been overwhelmed by the arrival of more than 600,000 Rohingya fleeing Myanmar over the last two months.

It says killings, arson and rape of Rohingya Muslims by troops and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist mobs since Aug. 25, in response to coordinated Rohingya insurgent attacks on security posts, amount to a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Six out of ten of the new arrivals in the Bangladesh camps are children, providing a fertile hunting ground for traffickers looking for young girls to recruit as maids.

Thousands of children have, at some point, been separated from their families amid the chaos.

"It is a major, major risk," said Jean Lieby, head of child protection at the UN children's agency (UNICEF) in Bangladesh.

"Young girls might enter into this type of trafficking and then end up in one of the big cities."

Kidnappers

Nazir Ahmed, a Rohingya refugee in the camp, set up an information centre two months ago, which he said has already reunited some 1,800 lost children with their parents.

Despite its important title, the center's only equipment is a wooden table and a megaphone. But, from the moment the sun rises, it is inundated with people looking for their loved ones.

"For the Rohingya who have just come here, this place is new," said Ahmed.

"If they go far from their house, they can easily get lost."

On the morning the Thomson Reuters Foundation visited, two toddlers sat beside Ahmed, staring with terror at the wall of bodies in front of them.

"We are telling all brothers of the Rohingya, two children have been found and now they are with us," Ahmed announced over the megaphone, to the amusement of one child.

"If these children are yours, you can take them," he said, describing their red and yellow T-shirts, and how one had no pants on while the other had a toy in his hand.

"If they belong to your relative, you can inform them that they are here."

Ahmed does not disclose the children's names to protect them from potential traffickers. To claim a child, a parent must correctly recite their name and the child must confirm that the adult is their mother or father.

Ahmed is only too aware of the threat of human trafficking in Kutupalong. Only a day earlier, an unfamiliar man tried to snatch a child sitting on a footpath. He was swiftly attacked by the child's relative who was buying food from a nearby shop.

"We are telling all the people that there are kidnappers here, so be careful with your children," Ahmed said.

A few hours after the first announcement was made, only the child in the red T-shirt remained, clutching some tattered bank notes donated by a sympathetic member of the audience.

As Ahmed hung up his microphone, a woman forced her way behind the table. The child stretched his slight arms towards her and, for the first time that day, cried uncontrollably.

"I lost my child after he followed his father out of the house this morning," his mother, Diloara Begum, said after an emotional reunion.

"Some people told me the child will have died, others told me the child will have been kidnapped … When I heard he was at this place, I felt so happy I touched the sky with my hand."

Bonded Labor

Trafficking is not the only form of exploitation that young Rohingya face in Bangladesh.

Other desperate families are selling their children into bonded labor, most commonly in the fish drying industry that dominates the nearest city, Cox's Bazar, UNICEF said.

Families receive 18,000 taka (US$217) while their children work to pay off the debt during the nine-month fishing season.

To encourage parents to keep their children in school, UNICEF has given more than 400 poor families who arrived in 2016 the same sum in cash, plus grants to start small businesses.

The agency would like to offer cash grants to the latest arrivals as well, but funding is tight as millions of dollars are also needed for essentials like water and medical care.

With the specter of child trafficking looming large over the Rohingya camps, Alom was fortunate. After a three-day search, he found Fatima crying on one of Kutupalong's dusty streets.

"My heart and mind were broken, no one knew anything about her," he said. "Once I saw her I was so very happy, I don't care what happened or where she went, I am just so happy."

The post Traffickers Prey on Lost Rohingya Children in Bangladesh Camps appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Man in the Middle

Posted: 07 Nov 2017 10:24 PM PST

On the second anniversary of Myanmar's 2015 landmark election, The Irrawaddy revisits this shortened interview with the then chairman of the Union Election Commission U Tin Aye with Kyaw Zwa Moe published in the August 2015 magazine issue. Video of the full interview split into two parts is embedded in the text.

Mr. Chairman, it is fair to say that two of three elections since 1988 were not a success. The results of the 1990 vote were not recognized. The 2010 election was deemed flawed. But the 2012 by-election, which you organized, was given a certain degree of credit. What will you do to make sure the 2015 election receives the same kind of recognition?

Myanmar has very limited knowledge and experience of elections. There had been only four [full, multiparty] elections—in 1952, 1956, 1960 and 1990—before the 2010 election.

Judging the previous elections against my personal norms for an ideal election, they are not ones that elected outstanding and morally good people to represent the people.

The first three polls took place during periods of anarchy. In the 1990 election, people cast their votes for a party because they did not like the other option. In the 2010 election, there was essentially only one party, which was backed by the previous government and therefore had lots of handicaps.

You asked me how I, as the chairman, better organized the 2012 by-election. To answer your question, I reviewed the mistakes—there were both right and wrong things. I will continue to

correct the mistakes and keep doing more to ensure the right things are better and more relevant.

Do you hope the forthcoming election will be as credible or even more so than the 2012 by-election?

Sure, it must be. Where the 2012 by-election was different from the 2010 election was in the matter of widespread advance voting [in 2010]. I have records in my hands about how many individuals from which parties won the election with how many advance votes.

How will you prevent such things in 2015?

I have prevented them since the 2012 by-election. Speaking of advance votes, I should really thank my seniors. They were far-sighted, because advance voting ensures that voters do not lose their rights.

There are two kinds of advance votes. One is for constituents in a constituency. It can be given by those who will be traveling on voting day and the elderly and ill persons who cannot go to polling stations to cast votes. The ward-level chapters of the UEC go to their places, even if they are behind bars or in hospitals, and take their ballots in envelopes. This is how advance votes are cast in constituencies.

When we get those advance votes in our hands, we have to make a list of those who cast the votes. We have a form to record them. Then we have to hand over the boxes of advance ballots before 6 am, when polling stations are opened. Advance votes that are handed in after 6 am are invalid. I have instructed that when the polling stations are closed in the evening, the advance votes must be counted first and the list must be hung on the wall of the polling station, because I fear that there will be voting irregularities to do with taking advantage of advance votes. For example, if there are 100 advance votes and the list of which votes have gone to whom is hung on the wall, there can't be cheating.

You mean the Union Solidarity and Development Party [USDP] manipulated advance voting previously.

Mostly.

Mr. Chairman, you were elected to Parliament for the USDP. Is the party happy with your performance at this time?

It is a matter for them. Allow me to blow my own trumpet a little bit. If those in power complain to me about such cases [regarding advance voting], I will call them and discuss it in line with the truth and the law. I won't make any compromises with anyone over anything that could discourage a free and fair election. I will dare to criticize anyone for anything that is against the law. If I do something wrong, I will not hesitate to apologize and I will not hesitate to be punished. If I do something wrong, just box my ears. I don't mind. So they [the USDP] don't like me. They do want me to favor them.

They don't like me as I'm not biased. You would ask me what I would do if somebody in power put pressure on returning officers. I have issued an instruction. I have told them that advance votes that arrive at polling stations later than 6 am are invalid and I would imprison them if they accept the advance votes that arrive after 6 am.

I will conduct training soon and there I will carefully teach them about the must-knows, dos and don'ts. I will tell them what they must do, what they have to do, and if they don't, they will be imprisoned.

But people still remain doubtful that the election will be free and fair. Frankly speaking, you are an ex-army man. And there are errors on voter lists. There are doubts as to whether the election will be held in unstable ethnic regions. What guarantee would you like to give to dispel people's doubts?

People may doubt the credibility of the coming election because I am an ex-army man. I don't want to say they should or should not doubt me. The winner will say the election is fair and the loser will say it is not. So, taking this into consideration, I have invited civil society organizations, thinking that it will be better if there are witnesses.

CSOs understand election laws as they have given voter education. I have asked them to check whether or not my proceedings are in line with the law. I also invited international observers. There are two types of observers. Short-term observers come three or four days before voting day and go back two or three days after voting day. Long-term observers come on the announcement of the date for voting day.

The Carter Center has been here […] and done a survey. It will send its team of observers who will monitor different areas. They will monitor the nomination of candidates, their validity, the election campaign, what our commissions do, how we count votes, how we will investigate allegations of fraud and how candidates enter the Parliament.

I am allowing them to stay in the country from the day they arrive in the country until the elected candidates are sworn in and become parliamentarians. I assure you I will do my best. Everyone is keeping an eye on me. How can I cheat?

Video [Part 1]

Mr. Chairman, last year, you said that the military may seize power if there was instability in the country. Perhaps you said it because you were worried. But some viewed it as a threat. As UEC chairman, don't you think such words could damage the credibility of the institution?

I don't blame those who criticize me. I did not mean to threaten; I said so because I do not wish it to happen.

I joined the military in 1963 and passed the time under the socialism of the Revolutionary Council, and then the State Law and Order Restoration Council and State Peace and Development Council, and the country has lagged behind in development.

You know that previously Bangladesh, Laos and Cambodia lagged behind us. But now they are developed. How have they become developed? With the help of grants, aid and loans.

I am full of bitter experiences in my mind and in my heart. This makes me afraid that the military might need to seize power again. The military intervenes when there is disorder and instability.

The military never seizes power when the country is peaceful. You may point out the 1962 coup. That was because of the weakness of the 1947 constitution. The military seized power, giving the excuse that [ethnic regions] could secede from the country [according to the constitution]. History will decide whether their reasons were right or wrong.

I did not mean to threaten. We were blamed for the 1988 coup. There was no rule of law then, there were cases of beheadings, the administrative mechanisms had fallen apart, and there were fights at border posts and the US naval fleets [entered Myanmar's territorial waters]. Under such circumstances, what would have happened had the military not seized power and just stood by?

Think about it. It was not that the military seized power because it wanted to, but because it was inevitable. But then, as a result, the country suffered.

We see now that the military, government and election commission are working in harmony. I think the military must have given a guarantee about this election.

As the military has provided a guarantee, so has the government, I think. This is my personal view. I don't know if they are craftily playing tricks. But I believe we are in the same boat. If they do so, there will be a big impact. The country will be in trouble. I dare to persuade them and I would urge them [to not stage a coup] and to listen to my decision. What I want is—today, the Union Solidarity and Development Party is the ruling party, and it must be the best opposition party if it loses the election.

Critics would point to the 1990 election [the results of which were nullified]…

No. No. I want to deny that comparison. The national convention was convened for 1992, 1993. The National League for Democracy [NLD] should have acted shrewdly and attended the convention and gone along with the Constitution, no matter what was written in it. In fact, the Constitution was a step for the transfer of power.

If the government at the time said the election would be held only after the Constitution was drafted, so it should have been. The NLD could have contested again. No other party would have been able to win that election. If they said they would change the Constitution again after it won that election, no one would have been able to stop it. It was not clever.

Video [Part 2]

What legal action will the UEC take regarding unlawful campaigning or encouraging people to vote for a particular party? Recently, some religious organizations spoke indirectly of doing so.

That case is very delicate. I don't want to talk about it. It is a complicated issue. I asked them not to do it. I will take action if anything is against the law. But it is best if they don't do it.

I hear that you will retire when your current term expires. What legacy would you like to leave for the commission?

I will quit when my term expires after the election. … As to your question of a legacy, I want to talk about the essence of elections. Elections are crucially important. They need to turn out outstanding and virtuous people. Secondly, political parties are very important. They have to constantly improve their capacity. They have to serve the country when they come into power. The opposition party should not disturb but cooperate. I want to instill these concepts. And I want my commission to be a strong, firm institution.

Are you ready to take any bigger role after you retire?

I won't unless the situation requires it. Bogyoke Aung San said that he would stand by and laugh at his comrades' arguments, after the country gained its independence. I will copy Bogyoke Aung San's words because I like them. I will not laugh, but I will stand by and watch.  Unless the situation requires it, I will not take any role.

You were a member of the USDP. Do you wish the USDP to win in the election?

As a chairman, I am not supposed to have attachment to a party. It would not be wise. I do have an attachment, but I don't put it at the forefront of my mind.

Anyway, attachment is the origin of a patriotic spirit. If you say you don't love your organization, I would say you don't have patriotic spirit. I am speaking the truth. I love the country. I love my organization. I love the military. I am willing to sacrifice my life for them.

I love my organization. But I don't accept wrongdoing. I want the USDP to win, but to win fairly, not by cheating. They are my friends and colleagues who I have known for 20 or 30 years. I am willing to help them any time on personal matters. But if they ask me to help them to win the election, I will say 'sorry.'

The post Man in the Middle appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Analysis: Myanmar’s Ties to North Korea Prompt Questions

Posted: 07 Nov 2017 10:12 PM PST

YANGON — One of the key foreign policies of the Trump administration has involved a strategic rebalancing with Asia to deal with China's rising power, but Trump's focus so far has been on intensifying the pressure on nuclear-armed North Korea. Myanmar is not on his radar. Nevertheless, he is sending Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to meet Myanmar's top leaders to discuss the situation in Rakhine State.

Yet what about Myanmar's past shady connections with North Korea? Will Tillerson raise the issue with his Myanmar counterparts when he meets them later this month?

This is an area in which the United States can open a frank discussion as Myanmar's leaders in the past have maintained a close relationship with the North Korean regime that included arms sales, missile development and the construction of secretive underground defense facilities. Some Myanmar generals have even been placed on a sanctions list as a result of their military links to Pyongyang. Among them was Gen Thein Htay, who as head of the Directorate of Defense Industries was a key person in negotiating arms procurement with North Korea.
In July, US envoy Joseph Yun, the State Department's special North Korea representative, visited Myanmar where he met Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Yun was in Myanmar's capital to discuss Myanmar's ties with North Korea, prompting analysts to question Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's role and how much she knew about the military's secretive activities and past links to North Korea and the current nature of relations between the two countries, including defense activities.

In recent years, the United States has been pressuring Myanmar to sever its remaining links with Pyongyang as it transitions away from military rule. However, it is believed that some military officials and businessmen in Myanmar have continued to maintain interactions with Pyongyang.

In July, the Asia Times published an article citing anonymous intelligence sources suggesting that North Korean instructors based at the defense services' educational institutes in Pyin Oo Lwin northeast of Mandalay, have recently provided training on computerized fire control systems for battleships and assisted the Myanmar military in missile development at a top-secret defense industry complex near Minhla in the central Magwe Region and likely at other secret sites as well.

In his meeting with Yun, Min Aung Hlaing said that Myanmar only had "friend countries," not enemies, and desired to have relations with militaries across the world.

Myanmar's Foreign Ministry responded by saying that Naypyitaw maintains only "normal relations" with Pyongyang and "definitely not" military-to-military relations.

Under the previous regime, Gen Shwe Mann, who ranked No. 3 in the ruling junta, travelled to North Korea and signed a memorandum of understanding on military cooperation in November 2008. The Myanmar team, which was led by senior military leaders, visited defense facilities and studied an air defense system, weapons factories, and ships. The former house speaker is now considered to be close to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Early this year, the Myanmar government expelled a North Korean diplomat.

"The government took necessary action against Mr. Kim Chol-nam, a national of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea working as a second secretary at the embassy of the DPRK in Yangon, Myanmar, who reportedly belonged to the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation," a document dated Oct. 6 from the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations said.

The company is subject to both UN Security Council and US sanctions for alleged involvement in exporting equipment that can be used in the development of ballistic missiles and conventional weapons.

The post Analysis: Myanmar's Ties to North Korea Prompt Questions appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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