Wednesday, January 31, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine


KNU Leader Warns Fellow Karen of ‘Dangers’ of Political Negotiations

Posted: 31 Jan 2018 06:14 AM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand – Karen National Union (KNU) chairman General Saw Mutu Say Poe warned his ethnic compatriots to be careful when participating in political negotiations, saying dialogue was not only more effective but also more dangerous than armed conflict.

The Karen leader made the comments in a written statement distributed to commemorate the 69th anniversary of the Karen National Revolutionary Resistance.

He reminded his community that the resistance movement emerged in 1949 after the Karen people and their political activities "were oppressed and violated by force of arms" under the AFPFL (Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League). He recalled that the Karen leaders' efforts at peaceful political struggle were not recognized and destroyed by repressive means. Thus, he said, the resistance had been necessary in order for the Karen people "to thrive as a nationality like the others, with equality and freedom and equal development."

Karen National Revolutionary Resistance Day is observed every Jan. 31. On Wednesday, the KNU's brigades each held commemorations involving their soldiers and residents of the areas under their control. The biggest of these events was held in the area controlled by KNU Brigade No. 5 in Karen State's Phapon Township, according to KNU general secretary Padoh Saw Tadoh Moo.

"All the Karen people indeed must remember, respect and honor the anniversary of the Karen National Revolutionary Resistance like this always in the annals of history of the Karen people," the KNU chairman's statement reads.

After more than six decades of civil war and fighting with the Myanmar Army, the KNU joined ceasefire talks in 2012. That same year it agreed to bilateral ceasefires with the state and then the Union governments, before becoming a signatory to the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

The KNU chairman said the organization had signed the NCA as there is "absolutely no requirement for laying down arms" and it allows the stakeholders to work "for establishing long-lasting and durable peace."

He added that the NCA represented "the establishment of a new political culture" in which political conflicts are resolved through negotiations and by peaceful means through consultations with every stakeholder.

The KNU remains committed to the resolution of political problems by political means, and negotiating under the NCA "is the most appropriate way" to reach the goal of building a democratic federal union, Padoh Saw Tadoh Moo told The Irrawaddy.

He said, "We may use different approaches to reach our goals as we now are in this ceasefire period and [engaged in the] peace process. It is a long-term process, and we must move forward to achieve it, as we have carried on our struggle for generations."

The general secretary said the NCA was "a strong and appropriate approach" and a necessary step on the path toward political dialogue, despite public anxiety over its implementation.

He reiterated the need to build mutual trust between stakeholders and extend areas of compromise and negotiation.

"We understand that it may not be easy to reach a common understanding, as we have different perspectives on ideology, federalism and democracy. But we will only achieve it through trust and commitment to negotiation. Success is never achieved easily, especially in political talks," Padoh Saw Tadoh Moo said.

The KNU has held limited consultations with its people to hear their views. During the KNU's Central Standing Committee meeting last week (Jan. 23-27), the KNU discussed recent developments involving the NCA's implementation, of which public consultations, national level dialogues, the Joint Monitoring Committee and interim period issues are all components. It also discussed the upcoming Third Session of the 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference.

Public consultations prior to the next session of the 21st-Century Panglong conference have yet to be officially conducted in Karen areas, however, after the Tatmadaw blocked similar consultations prior to the Shan national dialogue.

The post KNU Leader Warns Fellow Karen of 'Dangers' of Political Negotiations appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Gene Sharp: Why Burmese Resistance Has Failed So Far

Posted: 31 Jan 2018 05:39 AM PST

Gene Sharp, a lifelong advocate of nonviolent resistance whose influence has been cited in social upheavals around the world, died on Sunday. He was 90. His book "From Dictatorship to Democracy" is renowned as a handbook for strategic non-violent protest. It originated in his work with the Burmese opposition and ethnic groups in the early 1990s, and was intended as a blueprint for the liberation of the country from military rule. To mark his passing, The Irrawaddy revisits an interview Gene Sharp gave in March 2011 in which he spoke about why resistance in Burma had failed to dislodge the country's military rulers.

He has been called the man who toppled Mubarak, a description he says demeans what he sees as a wholly Egyptian uprising against authoritarian rule. Before that, he was the victim of a whispering campaign in which his work was alleged to be a US front for regime change in the guise of citizen uprisings. He calls those allegations "a joke" and reminds that he went to prison in the US for civil disobedience there.

From Dictatorship to Democracy is perhaps his best-known and most-influential work. Renowned as a handbook for strategic non-violent protest around the world, it originated in Dr Sharp’s work with Burmese opposition and ethnic groups in the early 1990s, and was intended as a blueprint for the liberation of the country from military rule.

With the army in control since 1962, and seemingly entrenched behind a parliamentary makeover, the challenges facing activists and opposition groups in Burma are among the most daunting anywhere. Now 83 years old, and with a CV that dates back to working with Norwegian opponents of Nazi/Quisling rule during World War II, Dr Gene Sharp shared his thoughts on the recent events in North Africa and the Middle East with Simon Roughneen, as well as outlining why he believes that resistance in Burma has failed to dislodge the military rulers of that country.

Dr. Sharp, your interest in Burma and the pro-democracy movement there goes back a long way. Can you tell The Irrawaddy readers about the history of your engagement with Burma?

I was brought to Burma by Robert Helvey, a former US military attache in Rangoon, who became sympathetic to the groups opposing the regime, particularly the Karen. I was asked to write some articles for Khit Pyaing, a Burmese and English journal based in Bangkok, and run by the late U Tin Maung Win, and those eventually became part of the publication known as "From Dictatorship to Democracy." I also visited Manerplaw a few times and met with Burmese exiles in Thailand.

Why in your view has non-violent resistance failed, so far, to undermine military rule in Burma? What are the factors differentiating Burma from recent changes in Egypt and Tunisia, as well as older examples such as the Color Revolutions in the former Soviet bloc, Serbia in 2000 and the Philippines in 1986?

I think there are a few explanations for that. For a start, many of the opposition groups, the various nationality groups such as the Karen, Mon and others, they all had their armies and mini-armies, and they thought they would be weakened by departing from those and going over to non-violence, or "political defiance" as it was known in Burma. Other groups, such as the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), had their mini-army, and people in the camps, though temporarily agreeing to switch over to just political defiance, reversed that after a couple of years. All the various armed groups thought they could defeat the Army, but I think that was a foolish judgment on their part, as the Army was bigger and stronger and had more weapons.

The so-called National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, which isn’t really a coalition government at all, with headquarters in Washington DC—not very close to Burma—they had their own ways, they thought, to get independence and defeat the government, but they didn’t show much signs of learning something new.

And, Aung San Suu Kyi, for all her wonderful qualities, and her heroism and inspiration for those who believe in democratic rights and the rights of Burmese people—she is not a strategist, she is a moral leader. That is not sufficient to plan a strategy.

Although "From Dictatorship to Democracy" was written for Burmese, there were no Burmese groups who really took that analysis seriously or used at as a strategy for the liberation of Burma. People got arrested and sent to prison for carrying it, in Burmese and other languages, they could organize very powerful and brave demonstrations in Rangoon and elsewhere, but they did not plan a grand struggle. If you don’t plan, if you don’t have a bigger strategy, you’re not going to win.

Do you see any change in Burma since the elections last November and the convening of Parliament on Jan 31? Is there now a viable outlet for non-violent opposition to express itself in Burma, without having to take to the streets, without having recourse to some of the methods you have outlined over the years? 

I am not sufficiently up to date on the details of the situation to comment, I am sorry.

Moving away from Burma, what do you say to conspiracy theorists who allege that your ideas are a convenient intellectual front for US or Western interference or intervention in the internal affairs of sovereign states, a sort of power projection masquerading as locally motivated non-violent resistance?

It is a big joke. We have had no support from the US government or military or from intelligence agencies. Our office is very small. We have very little money to operate. Someone is trying to discredit the analysis we have offered, and that is all there is to it. Such charges are false.

Some of the critiques of your work, by seeing an external or meddling hand in what might be local or nationally focused events, are themselves guilty of a sort of colonialism of the mind, implying that Burmese or Egyptians or whoever the case may be are incapable of taking action autonomously, or reacting themselves to the conditions in their own country, without a guiding hand from outside.

I think that is a good point, and a key thing to remember when people try to discredit the analysis I offer, which is based on work over decades in many countries, and contact with freedom-loving people in many parts of the world.

Often it is people who believe in violence who attack us, because they want to weaken peoples adherence to non-violence, and to the practical usefulness of a strategy of non-violence. Look at those people and ask what do they offer? Genuine criticism is always welcome, but proffering false charges is ridiculous.

For those who want to make such allegations, to say that I am a tool of the United States government, they should remember that I spent over 9 months of a two-year prison sentence for civil disobedience and for criticizing the policies of the US government.

Your work has come back into public focus due to events in North Africa and the Middle East. One newspaper headline went as follows: "Gene Sharp, the 83 year old who toppled Egypt." What is your take on that?

I may or may not have provided some analysis that fed into the actions taken by the people there, I have no confirmation of that, but the Egyptian people deserve the credit for toppling the Mubarak regime, not me.

Since Tunisia and Egypt, the protests in the region have changed. Libya’s uprising has become an armed revolt. Do you feel that—even with UN Security Council and Arab League support—it is right to intervene in Libya at this juncture?

It is not the course of action I would have chosen. I think the Libyan democrats did not do their homework in advance like the Egyptians did—in Egypt, they appeared to have a plan and studied quite some time in advance to develop a program of non-violence without fear, which brought them victory quite quickly. In Libya, this appears not to have been the case. The Libyans have gotten in over their heads, and should have expected the type of repression that Gaddafi is capable of.

People who are realistic about the power of political defiance know that if it is a threat, the regime will see it that way and will fight back. The regime will jail and beat and kill, and that is a sign that what you are doing is threatening the regime.

Dictators can beat you with violence, if you fight on those terms, and of course the rebels cannot defeat the Gaddafi regime on the level of armed force. So they are left to call in help from outside, which cannot give them the empowerment or victory they seek.

Do you think that when legitimate peaceful protest—such as in Burma—is met with state violence, the protesters then have the right to self-defense? To fight back? To seek alliances with sympathizers in the country’s police and army? To appeal for international military support, as the Libyan rebels have done?

I think it is an unfortunate choice that people make. It is predictable that your opponent will have the means of violence, the means of oppression. If you get someone else to come and help you, they will come with their interests, and potentially turn your country into a battlefield. Even if they help defeat the oppressor, it will not result in empowerment. People will not be ready to fight the next oppressor who tries to take over the country. In contrast, if the Egyptian military tries again to take control, the people know how to counter this, they have the sense of empowerment, of their own power.

Ultimately, in any non-violent resistance, you have to plan, you have to study. You have to know what the hell you are doing.

You have been credited with influencing the actions of thinkers and doers around the world. But who has influenced you?

I have learned from the many people I have met around the world over the decades, but have no single guiding light. I learned from Gandhi, that is, Gandhi as a shrewd political strategist. I learned from the Norwegian resistance against the Quisling fascist government during World War II. I learned from the non-violent resistance undertaken by Baltic countries—Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—whose governments also read some of my work. I don’t have any political doctrine, no political messiah, just my own thinking and learning, for the most part.

The post Gene Sharp: Why Burmese Resistance Has Failed So Far appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Jailed Members of Outlawed Mon Group Freed After NCA Deal

Posted: 31 Jan 2018 05:25 AM PST

YANGON — The government released five members of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) from the state's Kyaikmaraw Prison on Wednesday morning, following the group's recent decision to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

The five were arrested in 2017 for unlawful weapons possession and under Article 17 (1) of the Unlawful Association Act.

"I don't know if they were released with a presidential pardon or something else. But this release contributes to trust-building while we are working to sign the NCA. As we are signing the NCA, Article 17 (1) of the Unlawful Association Act won't apply to us any longer," said Nai Aung Mangne, an NMSP central executive committee member.

According to Nai Aung Mangne, three of the five NMSP members were arrested for unlawful weapons possession and the other two for unlawful association.

"The three who were arrested for unlawful weapons possession were sentenced to six months in prison, and the two others to two years and three months. We view their release as trust building, which is the top priority for us and the government," he said.

The Facebook pages of several government bodies, including the President's Office, State Counselor's Office and Home Affairs Ministry did not announce their release until Wednesday evening.

When contacted by The Irrawaddy, U Aung Soe, a member of the government's Peace Commission, said he was away from the office and could not comment.

The NMSP agreed to sign the NCA after a delegation led by party chairman Nai Htaw Mon held separate meetings with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Jan. 23.

The previous administration of President U Thein Sein removed the original eight signatories to the NCA from the government's list of unlawful associations three days before they ratified the agreement in October 2015.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Jailed Members of Outlawed Mon Group Freed After NCA Deal appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

For Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Politics is a Vocation

Posted: 31 Jan 2018 04:17 AM PST

In an interview early in 2017 with the BBC, Fergal Keane asked State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi  whether she thought that people in the West had misjudged or mischaracterized her, "expecting you to be this sort of amalgam of Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, for example, and actually maybe you’re closer in your determination and steeliness to someone like [former British Prime Minister] Margaret Thatcher?"

"Well, no," she answered. "I am just a politician. I am not quite like Margaret Thatcher, no. But on the other hand, I am no Mother Teresa, either. I have never said that I was. Mahatma Gandhi was a very astute politician."

Aung San Suu Kyi left Myanmar when she was 15. She studied philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford. She only came back to Myanmar to look after her ill mother in 1988. Later she took part in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising as a daughter of General Aung San. She had never experienced political struggle in her life before then. That was the beginning of her life as a politician.

From 1990 to 2010 she was, in German sociologist Max Weber's term, "a voluntary politician" — she spent 15 years under house arrest, "economically independent from the earnings that the work as a politician may produce." She enjoyed the "naked" possession of power. She stood as an opposition leader until she became a member of parliament in the 2012 by-elections.

Weber, in his essay "Politics as Vocation," published in 1919, said that "the ethics of moral conviction is an absolute ethics." Weber was right. The luxury of the activist is that he or she can preach this absolute ethics. However, absolute ethics is not concerned with practical consequences. The activist does not share with the politician the ethics of responsibility.

Not long ago, in 2012, after her release from house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi was finally able to deliver her Nobel lecture at Oslo City Hall, in Norway. She explained why she was fighting for human rights and democracy, first quoting from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

…it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law…

If I am asked why I am fighting for human rights in Burma, the above passages will provide the answer. If I am asked why I am fighting for democracy in Burma, it is because I believe that democratic institutions and practices are necessary for the guarantee of human rights.

Such beautiful sentiments are those of an activist before accepting the responsibilities of an "absolute politician." As an activist, she practiced the "duty to truthfulness," which is indispensable to "absolute ethics." However, she did not have to take responsibility for what she said. Whatever she says today has consequences because she has to take full responsibility for the country as a minister of foreign affairs and as state counselor.

Politics has become Aung San Suu Kyi's "professional vocation" only since she became minister and state counselor. Although the majority of voters chose her party in the 2015 election, the country is burdened with a constitutional provision that gives the military absolute power over the ministries that control the use of coercive force in Myanmar — namely Border Affairs, Home Affairs and Defense. That is why former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan referred to "the duality in the leadership" in Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi has a responsibility as a stateswoman for the violent actions of the military and police force, but she does not have any power to control these forces.

The problem is that Aung San Suu Kyi needs to carefully handle the military for the use of violence while avoiding anarchy or a coup. Every step she takes as a politician comes with the risk of pushing the country back to military rule.

In the recent Rohingya crisis, Aung San Suu Kyi is being "accused of betraying the ideals for which the world once lionized her. Her long struggle for freedom has given her unchallenged moral authority. This power, too, she has conspicuously failed to use," Washington Post editor Christian Caryl wrote in a December opinion piece, "In 2017, no one has fallen further than Aung San Suu Kyi."

Aung San Suu Kyi's efforts to balance passion and political objectivity have always created conflict with her sense of proportion.

Aung San Suu Kyi's silence on the Rohingya and other issues is confusing.  Is it a sign of "nonviolent reconciliation" with the military? Or is it true that she is the demon she is portrayed as internationally? The dominance of the military creates a conundrum for a crusading non-violence activist like Aung San Suu Kyi. On the other hand, she is dealing with conflicts with several ethnic groups besides the Rohingya whose demands for autonomy may not be consistent with national interests. Meanwhile, internationalists focus on abstract principles of human rights.

Aung San Suu Kyi is undertaking the (nearly) impossible, as Alan Clements, a biographer of hers, wrote a few months ago on his social media page, by "making peace with everyone in her country, the oppressed and oppressors alike. This is unprecedented emotional and psychological territory, and not easy for the ‘us and them’ dynamic that dominates mainstream politics."  Nor, for the matter, for the absolute ethics of "The Sermon on the Mount" that many activists ascribe to and expect the politician Aung San Suu Kyi to follow.

Myanmar has never been a "liberal democracy," so what options does this leave a politician?

For Aung San Suu Kyi, "politics was to do with ethics, it was to do with responsibility, it was to do with service." However, as a stateswoman, "politics" means dealing with physical force — the unavoidable ethical paradox of being a politician.

Potential Threats

The International Crisis Group (ICG) recently listed the Rohingya crisis as one of the top 10 conflicts in the world to watch in 2018. Myanmar's young democracy is now facing threats that could tip the country into becoming a failed state. Aung San Suu Kyi plays a significant role in resisting those threats.

There are two main threats that the country might face. The first is targeted sanctions from the UN Security Council and the international community.

The Security Council and Western governments are moving toward targeted sanctions. Unfortunately, these sanctions are unlikely to have a significant positive impact on Myanmar's policies. As the ICG said, "Myanmar's Rohingya crisis has entered a dangerous new phase, threatening Myanmar's hard-won democratic transition, its stability, and that of Bangladesh and the region as a whole."

The second threat to Myanmar is another military coup or "state of emergency," which would lead to the dismissal of Parliament and a clampdown on newly won freedoms.  Such a state of emergency is defined in the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, which assigns the military to safeguard the country in any crisis situation.

Balancing Pressure, Balancing Power

Today, Myanmar is infamously known as a country that has committed crimes against humanity by violently uprooting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya and creating a major refugee crisis. As a consequence, Aung San Suu Kyi has been made responsible for the crime.

Ironically, the violent acts of the Myanmar military against civilians and various ethnic minority groups were never brought up at the UN Security Council until UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein labelled the military's behaviour "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

If Myanmar returns to military rule, what might happen? This is what the responsible politician must contemplate.  Under military rule, would there be a million refugees? What would the Bangladesh government do? Would Aung San Suu Kyi herself be placed under house arrest again? Will the violent actions against ethnic minority groups and the Rohingya resume?

Both the UN and Aung San Suu Kyi are trying to avoid pushing Myanmar toward military rule and failed-state status. Sooner or later Myanmar's ongoing civil war will produce even more refugees and potentially spread problems ever further across the region. Burdens will increase.

A real politician, in Weber's sense, will want to avoid dangerous situations and manage the military generals who are responsible for violent actions against civilians rather than focus on the civilian government. The burden of balancing international pressure should be placed on a civilian government elected by the people and on the military institutions with the absolute power over armed force. UN resolutions should encourage military reform in Myanmar too.

If the UN Security Council wants to help balance power in Myanmar's dual leadership system, it should be supportive to Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government as it strives for a peaceful democratic transition in a violent country that has never tasted the fruits of a liberal democracy.

In concluding his 1919 essay, Max Weber said, "Only the person who is sure that he will not despair when the world, from his standpoint of view, is too simpleminded and wicked to accept what he has to offer, and only the person [who] is able to say 'In spite of it all!' has a calling for the profession of politics!"

Being in no despair of all the harsh criticisms of her, Aung San Suu Kyi, in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review in September, said: “Actually, nothing is surprising, because opinions change and world opinions change like any other opinion."

So apparently she does have a calling for the profession of politics, even if she came to it late in her career.

This article uses Tony and Dagmar Waters’ book "Weber’s Rationalism and Modern Society" as a reference.

Mon Mon Myat is a freelance journalist and a graduate student in the PhD program in Peacebuilding at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The post For Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Politics is a Vocation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Yangon Transport Authority to Revoke Licenses of Unregistered Cabs This Week

Posted: 31 Jan 2018 04:08 AM PST

YANGON — In response to a recent rape and murder case by a taxi driver that alarmed the city, the Yangon Region Transport Authority (YRTA) announced that it would revoke the licenses of those who failed to register and renew as city taxis starting Thursday—a move aimed to enforce existing regulations and tighten security.

Ma Shwe Yi Win, a deputy supervisor at the Health Ministry's Food and Drug Administration Department, was raped and killed on Jan. 20 by taxi driver Myo Zaw Oo, who later confessed to the crime, on her way home.

An official from the YRTA told state media that the taxi that the victim took had an expired registration.

He added that after taxis are registered, data on the vehicle's owners and drivers—the latter to be shown visibly on the taxis for security reasons—would be collected.

The YRTA announced in November 2017 that all taxis plying the city's streets must register between Nov. 14 and the end of the year. The deadline was then extended to Jan. 31, 2018.

"The registration period was short for the number of taxis in Yangon. Since [YRTA] made the announcement, taxis line up daily to get registered. I think it might take a year to register all the taxis," taxi driver Ko Hsan Min told The Irrawaddy.

Yet, Ko Hsan Min hopes that registration will ensure greater safety for passengers and also help prevent drivers from operating without a license.

"If taxis are registered, passengers can know the name of the driver and the license plate number at a glance. It is safer for them," said Ko Hsan Min.

In January last year after the introduction of the Yangon Bus Service (YBS), the Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said the regional government planned to allow only a certain number of taxis proportional to the city's commuter population.

He said the regional government would reduce the surplus from those operating under limited licenses and turn those taxis back into private vehicles.

Currently, the number of taxis in Yangon Region is estimated to be more than 68,000, and more than 40,000 registered by last week, according to the YRTA.

It also announced that taxis must remove window shades, stickers and advertising that could obscure the view inside by Feb. 1.

The post Yangon Transport Authority to Revoke Licenses of Unregistered Cabs This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Former Mrauk-U Administrator Stabbed to Death on Sittwe-Yangon Highway

Posted: 31 Jan 2018 02:08 AM PST

YANGON – Bo Bo Min Theik, the recently promoted assistant director of the Rakhine State government, was found dead with multiple stab wounds to the chest near the Sittwe-Yangon Highway in Ponnagyun Township on Tuesday evening, sources confirmed to The Irrawaddy.

The victim was formerly an administrative official in Mrauk-U Township.

Rakhine State Parliament speaker U San Kyaw Hla said he had received confirmation of the official's death from Ponnagyun authorities yesterday. He said Bo Bo Min Theik was killed in his constituency between Tha Yet Cho and Yoe Ngu villages, about 11 kilometers from downtown Ponnagyun.

The apparent murder is the highest-profile slaying of an official in Rakhine State in at least a decade. Bo Bo Min Theik was one of the officials responsible for ordering a deadly police crackdown on Mrauk-U rioters that left 7 people dead and severely wounded 12 others on Jan. 16.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a brief statement at 3:25 p.m. on Wednesday saying local police were aware of the incident and had ascertained that the victim was stabbed to death and had also sustained about a dozen injection wounds on his forearms. Police confirmed that the victim was a government administrative director (GAD) based on documents retrieved from his car, which had been set alight at the scene. The ministry said police took the victim to Ponnagyun Hospital around 7 p.m. and his body was later transferred to Sittwe Hospital.

Police have opened a case under homicide article 302, section 144 for abettors of the offense, and 440 for causing grievous harm.

According to witnesses quoted by local media, three people traveling with Bo Bo Min Theik in his private car, a Honda CRV, were later seen fleeing the scene of the attack. The victim's car was also seen being torched by a group of people. It's still unclear whether the three suspects were travelling with the official, whether the GAD was driving himself, and whether they were heading to or from Ponnagyun.

According to the Mrauk-U GAD office, Bo Bo Min Theik left the town to return to Sittwe, the state capital, on Tuesday, accompanied by several other people. The department could not clarify whether those people were civil servants or ordinary residents of Mrauk-U.

A woman on the staff of Sittwe General Hospital confirmed that the victim's body arrived there Tuesday night. At the time she spoke to The Irrawaddy, at around 12 a.m. on Wednesday, doctors were preparing to conduct an autopsy. Neither Ponnagyun police nor Rakhine State police chief Colonel Aung Myat Moe answered The Irrawaddy's phone calls.

Rakhine State Government Office secretary Tin Maung Swe could not be reached on Wednesday morning.

As of 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the information committee, which normally releases real-time information about Rakhine matters, had not issued a statement.

Public anger at the GAD official over the crackdown prompted the Rakhine government to abruptly transfer Bo Bo Min Theik to Sittwe from Mrauk-U on Jan. 19. However, it's uncertain whether the official was travelling on official business or making a personal trip at the time of his death.

In response to the Mrauk-U crackdown, the Arakan Army (AA), an Arakanese ethnic armed group based in Kachin and Rakhine, threatened "serious retaliatory measures against the culprits" including Rakhine State government officials and members of the security forces involved in the killings.

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US Sanctions Laos-based ‘Criminal Organization’

Posted: 31 Jan 2018 12:45 AM PST

The US Treasury Department early Wednesday announced sanctions against four men and a group of companies allegedly linked to drug and human trafficking throughout the region.

A press release by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctions revolved around a group based in Hong Kong and Chiang Saen district of Chiang Rai, the Kings Romans Company, a casino operator.

The company operates a well-known casino in Laos and has operations in Hong Kong, Laos, Myanmar and China, as well as Thailand, according to the sanctions list.

The Kings Romans Casino is a hotel and gambling site in Laos, clearly visible from the Thailand side of the Mekong River at the Golden Triangle.

Owned by Hong Kong-based Kings Romans Group, the casino claims to cater mostly to Chinese tourists.

Previous press reports have claimed that the casino operates in a "lawless playground."

The four people and the companies may have knowledge of in international criminal activities including drug and human trafficking, the US press release alleged.

The four sanctioned people, who are barred from doing business in the US, or with US companies or citizens are

  • Abbas “Basu” Eberahim, 29, an Australian whose residences are listed as Kooringal in Australia, Chiang Saen in Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in southern Laos.
  • Thai national Nat Rungtawankhiri aka Rungtawankeeree, aged 41, a resident of Mae Fah Luang district, Chiang Rai.
  • Guiqin Su aka Zhao Su or Madame Su, 69, a Hong Kong resident with Chinese nationality. She is the wife of
  • Zhao Wei aka Chio Wei aka Thanchai Saechou, 66, a dual Chinese-Macau national.

The US claims the four are members of "the Zhao Wei translational criminal organization" (TCO).

"Based in Laos within the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), the Zhao Wei TCO exploits this region by engaging in drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, bribery, and wildlife trafficking," the US announcement alleged.

"All assets of those designated that are under US jurisdiction are frozen, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them," it said.

The US alleged that the group's front is the Kings Romans Casino in Laos, which it uses as a headquarters and money laundering aid.

"Operating largely through the Kings Roman Casino, the Zhao Wei TCO facilitates the storage and distribution of heroin, methamphetamine, and other narcotics for illicit networks, including the United Wa State Army, operating in neighboring Burma," said the sanctions announcement.

"Since 2014, Thai, Lao, and Chinese authorities have seized large narcotics shipments that have been traced to the Kings Romans Casino."

The post US Sanctions Laos-based 'Criminal Organization' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Irrawaddy Locals to Name Island in Honor of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 10:50 PM PST

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — Local residents in Irrawaddy Region's Shwe Thaung Yan town are planning to name an island after State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Locals of Jate Lat have chosen to name Pontamau Island–also known as Pan Ta Pwint meaning 'one flower'–in her honor.

"Even Norway has a park named after Daw Aung Suu Suu Kyi, but our country still doesn't have a significant monument to our leader," U Yan Naing, administrator of Jate Lat village in Shwe Thaung Yan town, told The Irrawaddy.

"So, we'll name this island after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to honor a leader who is establishing a good system for the country," he added.

The island is situated near Jate Lat village in Shwe Thaung Yan town in the northwest of Pathein, the capital of Irrawaddy Region. It covers more than 46 acres and is fringed with coral reefs. The wooded island is home to birds, deer, sambur, monkeys and reptiles, and locals have conserved the island and imposed a ban on cutting wood, hunting and fishing, and the extraction of gravel and sand.

The island is also a natural barrier for coastal villages against storms and tidal waves, and serves as a shelter for vessels during stormy weather, locals said.

"This island is invaluable for locals. It serves as a shield against storms and tides. We've therefore conserved this island and agreed to name it after Mother Suu, who we admire," said U Myint Lwin, a community elder of Jate Lat village.

Locals and civil society organizations have formed a committee to name 'The Lady Island' and will seek the approval of concerned regional authorities.

"Locals want to name the island after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The committee currently is focused on promoting tourism to the island while conserving its ecosystem," said U Tin Lin Aung of the Pathein-based Green Peasant Institute (GPI), who serves on the committee.

If approved by the Union government, the committee plans to place a statue of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the peak of the island, and a signboard detailing her life.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been very dutiful to Myanmar, but western countries have withdrawn the awards that they have given to her. So we thought that if we name an island in our region to honor her, no one can strip her of it," said local U Tun Tun Naing.

Legend has it that there were a brother and a sister on the island, and when the brother went fishing in the sea, the sister always wore a flower and waited for her brother at the peak of the island.

Looking from afar, locals say the island looks like a sleeping woman.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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UK PM May Says She Wants Free Trade Deal with China

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 09:29 PM PST

WUHAN, China — Britain is seeking a free trade agreement with China, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday as she flew to the country for talks with Chinese leaders, adding that more should be done immediately to open up market access for British firms.

The ambitious long-term goal of securing a free trade deal with the world's second-largest economy comes as May begins a three-day visit to China accompanied by businesses from sectors where Britain feels it can capitalize on China's growing middle class consumers and rapidly expanding services sector.

"China is a country that we want to do a trade deal with," May told reporters aboard her Royal Air Force jet on the way to Wuhan – a university city where she will announce half a billion pounds worth of education deals.

"But, I think that there is more we can be doing in the interim…in terms of looking at potential barriers to trade and the opening up of markets to ensure…British businesses able to do good trade into China."

China accounts for just a small proportion of British exports, 3.1 percent in 2016, compared with 43 percent for the European Union.

While diplomatic sources say China has expressed willingness to talk about a future free trade deal with Britain, formal talks cannot begin until Britain officially leaves the EU next year. Free trade talks typically take many years to conclude.

Britain has also pushed a strong message to Chinese companies that it is fully open for business.

Notable Chinese investments in Britain include the Hinkley C nuclear power station which is being built by China General Nuclear Power Corp and the British arm of France’s EDF while British firms such as Rolls Royce have won large deals from Chinese firms to supply items like plane engines.

Both May and senior Chinese officials have restated their commitment to a "golden era" in ties but a row over May's decision to delay approval for the Chinese-funded Hinkley nuclear plant in late 2016 chilled relations.

However, Britain was the first Western country to sign up to the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Britain sent Finance Minister Philip Hammond to a Beijing summit last year about President Xi Jinping's flagship 'Belt and Road Initiative' – a trillion-dollar infrastructure-led push to build a modern Silk Road.

May said the Belt and Road had huge potential, but cautioned that the project had to be carried out in the proper way.

"What I would like to see is ensuring that we have transparency and international standards being adhered to, and I will be discussing that with my Chinese interlocutors," she said.

May also said she would raise the future of Hong Kong in her meetings with Xi, underlining Britain's commitment to the 'one country, two systems' rule in the former British colony.

Britain's last governor in Hong Kong before it was handed back to the Chinese, Chris Patten, had written to May on Monday urging her to raise concerns over the "increasing threats to the basic freedoms, human rights and autonomy" in the territory.

Hong Kong was rocked by pro-democracy protests in 2014 in the largest show of defiance against Beijing rule since 1997. The government has since cracked down on activists, including last week banning one from running in a by-election in March.

"We believe that the future of Hong Kong, that one country, two systems future is important. We are committed to that," May said.

"I've raised this in the past with President Xi, and he's shown commitment to that but I will continue to raise it with him."

The post UK PM May Says She Wants Free Trade Deal with China appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thai PM Calls for More Time In Office to Prepare for Vote

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 09:07 PM PST

BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday he needed a little more time in office to prepare the country for a general election, just days after his deputy said a vote planned for this year could be delayed.

Prayuth, installed as prime minister in August 2014 after leading a coup that ousted a civilian government, has delayed the date of a general election several times. Most recently, he said an election would take place in November.

But last week Thailand’s parliamentary body voted to postpone enforcement of a new election law by 90 days, dragging out the timeframe. At the time, the deputy prime minister said parliament’s decision could delay the election until 2019.

"Please give me some time to lay the foundation for the country, that’s all," Prayuth told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday. "The length of this time depends on the law," he said, referring to last week's parliamentary decision. Prayuth did not give further details.

He is under pressure at home and abroad to return to civilian governance.

On Saturday, activists demanding an election this year gathered at a pedestrian bridge in central Bangkok in a rare show of dissent.

On Tuesday deputy police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said the ruling junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order, had filed a complaint with police against seven leaders of Saturday's protest.

The activists will be charged with crimes including sedition and violating a junta order that bans public gatherings of more than five people, local media reported.

Government critics say the junta is deliberately delaying the vote in order to tighten its grip on power in the Southeast Asian country by ensuring that its allies win the vote.

Some critics say Prayuth would like to stay in power after a general election. Thailand's new Constitution, which took effect last year, allows for an appointed prime minister.

Others have warned the junta needs to return Thailand to civilian rule within its promised timeframe or risk fanning flames of discontent.

Prayuth addressed questions about waning public support. "This is normal. Any government in their third year all encounter this," he said on Tuesday.

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Spread of Fake News Aims to Silence Dissent, Says Chief of Embattled Philippine Site

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 08:45 PM PST

MANILA — The head of a Philippine online news site battling revocation of its license on Tuesday said some governments have sought to "silence dissent" through the proliferation of fake news, flooding social media with hate messages.

There is now state-sponsored "patriotic trolling" designed to harass and intimidate, Maria Ressa, the chief executive of the news site, Rappler, told senators holding an inquiry into the spread of fake news in the Philippines.

"Social media provided cheap armies to potential authoritarian and dictators to control and manipulate public opinion," Ressa said, citing a study in which Rappler participated that is set to be released in the next few months.

She did not provide details of the study, but said it mirrored the findings of a survey of 65 countries released last November by a US-based group, Freedom House, that showed China and Russia were flooding social media with lies and disinformation, rather than seeking to control them.

Ressa also demonstrated for the senators how fake news was manufactured by false accounts and spread in Facebook, the top social media platform in the Philippines, with nearly 70 million users.

Governments have "weaponized the internet" to push propaganda, she said, but joined other journalists, bloggers and even the government’s communications office, to resist senators’ plans for measures to rein in social media.

In Southeast Asia, the media fear authoritarian leaders will use new laws to target legitimate news outlets critical of them, rather than focus on false stories published on social media, as they tighten clampdowns.

"There are existing laws," she said. "I don’t believe that we should have more legislation but I think we should impose existing laws on this and demand accountability."

The courts can deal with false information maligning people, said Roby Alampay, editor in chief of the BusinessWorld daily, asking lawmakers not to legislate controls on free speech, expression and the press.

"The important thing is to use our rights, to use your laws and to fight back," Alampay added.

No laws will be passed to suppress freedom of the media and expression, said Grace Poe, head of the senate panel on public information, adding that senators were only interested on how to regulate the spread of false information on social media.

Rappler has invoked freedom of the press in its appeal to the Court of Appeals in the Philippines, challenging a decision of the Securities and Exchange Commission to revoke its license for violations of foreign equity curbs on domestic media.

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Tuesday, January 30, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine


Moscow Stands by Military Deal with Tatmadaw After US Criticism

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 07:08 AM PST

Russia will abide by a deal to sell military aircraft and provide technical cooperation to Myanmar's military, Moscow said after the agreement drew criticism from the U.S.

The Kremlin on Friday reaffirmed its commitment to the deal, which was signed on Jan. 20 during Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu's visit to the country and will see Moscow sell six SU-30 fighter planes to the Tatmadaw. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert earlier urged Moscow to reconsider the agreement. In its response, Moscow said the sale of military equipment to Myanmar was aimed at helping the country boost its defense capability.

Last Friday, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency that "Russia has invariably observed the norms, rules and principles of international law [in the field of military-technical cooperation] and it will continue doing so in the future. It goes without saying that for this reason we cannot pay attention to such accusations [by the United States over supplies of fighter jets to Myanmar]."

In a statement dated Jan. 26 and shared on the Russian Embassy's Facebook page, Russia's Information and Press Department said, "At the same time, we believe that military-technical cooperation is a legitimate component of interstate relations, unless it contradicts the decisions of the UN Security Council. Deliveries of Russian military products to Myanmar aim to boost the country's defense capability. Only a very vivid imagination of our State Department colleagues can perceive a link between this task and the threat of even greater sufferings of civilians."

The statement adds that Russia continues to be active within the international community's efforts to facilitate the normalization of the situation in Myanmar, especially in Rakhine state, while respecting the country's sovereignty and pledging non-interference in its domestic affairs, as well as providing humanitarian aid when requested.

The statement makes the claim that despite the fact that the U.S.'s own military equipment sales to the Southeast Asia region had resulted in destruction and causalities during recent conflicts, "This does not prevent Washington from selling lethal weapons to Southeast Asian countries and building up its military presence in direct proximity to this region."

Political analysts predicted that with Moscow determined to foster collaboration between militaries, Russia-Myanmar military ties would only continue to deepen.

Ko Ye Myo Hein, the executive director of the Yangon-based Tagaung Institute of Political Studies, said that as Myanmar has been faced with international pressure over the Rakhine State crisis, Russia-Myanmar relations, which have already improved in recent years, would only "strengthen further".

Russia and Myanmar have enjoyed good relations since the Russian military began selling military equipment to the country in the 2000s. Russia has also invited Myanmar soldiers to study in the country and provided the Tatmadaw with military technology.

"The Myanmar Army has been seeking better military equipment in order to strengthen and modernize, and has found that Russia's military hardware serves its purposes, as the quality of Chinese military products is not as good as it seemed, although the Tatmadaw relied on China for decades during the period of Western sanctions," Ko Ye Myo Hein said.

U Ye Tun, a political analyst and former lawmaker from Shan State's Hsipaw Township, expressed a similar view, saying Myanmar-Russia military ties were likely to deepen in the long term.

The Tatmadaw's plan to obtain fighter jets has also raised concerns within Myanmar, given its demonstrated willingness to use aerial bombing, most recently in Kachin State. Aerial bombing and mortar shelling killed at least four people and displaced and trapped over 3,000 local residents in Tanai and Sumprabum townships earlier this week.

U Ye Tun said the Tatmadaw's current round of procurement for its Air Forces was more related to the crisis in Rakhine State, as the Army needs to build its capacity, rather than for deployment against other ethnic armed groups.

"The approaches taken by Russia, China and India toward Myanmar in regard to the Rakhine State crisis is different from the West, because they understand Myanmar. Their interventions are more directly aimed at reducing tensions. But we see a totally different approach from the US," he said.

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Deputy Minister Says Tatmadaw Arming, Training up to 30 Militias in Maungdaw

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 05:49 AM PST

YANGON – Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Major-General Aung Soe told a regular session of the Upper House on Tuesday that the military had established at least 30 militia groups and armed three of them in northern Rakhine State's conflict-torn Maungdaw district.

He was responding to a question from Arakan National Party (ANP) lawmaker Kyaw Kyaw Win about whether the government planned to establish and train militias in Maungdaw and Rathaedaung regions, especially in areas where the government could not permanently deploy security forces.

Maj-Gen Aung Soe said the Army was providing firearms training to groups in Bandhula, Tat Chaung and Wai Lar Taung villages. The groups had received tactical shooting training up to an advanced level in February and March last year, and further instruction was scheduled for this summer season, he said. Thus, there was no need to establish more militia groups, he said.

Maj-Gen Aung Soe did not elaborate on whether the Army was providing its own firearms to the militias or simply allowing them to use locally produced handmade, single-load rifles.

On Aug. 25, about six months after the militia training began, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) — formerly known as Harakah al-Yaqin (Faith Movement) — staged serial attacks against nearly 30 border outposts and one military base in Maungdaw district, killing at least 10 policemen and one soldier, and making off with several dozen firearms.

The Myanmar Army declared the region a military operation zone and locked down the border. Its subsequent clearance operation drove more than 650,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh's Teknaf district. The UN described the devastation that followed as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

Lower House lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe of Maungdaw constituency said that in Bandhula, Tat Chaung and Wai Lar Taung villages, located in northern Maungdaw, two Arakanese sub-ethnic groups, the Mro and Khamme, rely on the resources of the Mayu mountain range to survive. He was critical of the government's efforts at militia training, saying it had been discussing it since the Ma Sa La era, adding that it was only occasionally used in the previous Thein Sein administration.

He pointed out that the military had never equipped local villagers with its Ka Pa Sa arms, and merely allowed local handmade hunting rifles, which are not tactical assault rifles. Lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe said small ethnic groups armed themselves with single-shot rifles while fleeing heavy clashes between ARSA and government security forces.

"We have consistently urged [militia training] in Parliament, but it has never happened in this government's term. They [the Army] are just talking about it. As far as I know, there has been no effective militia training or arming on the ground," he said.

Upper House lawmaker U Kyaw Kyaw Win, who initially proposed the plan, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday afternoon.

Maj-Gen Aung Soe claimed that the Army had established 596 militia groups under its Western Command, located in Ann Township of Rakhine State, in order to implement regional stability and development projects. He added that the Army is trying to recruit new police officers for Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships and is collaborating with the Supreme Court and the Office of the Attorney General of Myanmar to enact the Border Police Force law.

The government had officially opened 12 new local police stations and expects to open another four soon, Maj-Gen Aung Soe said.

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Latest Rape, Murder in Yangon Heightens Security Fears

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 05:36 AM PST

YANGON — The recent rape and murder of a 26-year-old woman in Yangon has raised security concerns among the city's female population.

Police arrested a taxi driver, Myo Zaw Oo, who confessed to the brutal crime, on Jan. 24, three days after the body was found.

Ma Shwe Yi Win, a deputy supervisor at the Health Ministry's Food and Drug Administration Department, went missing at about 7:30 on the night of Jan. 20 on her way home to Dagon Township after doing some shopping at the Hleden Center in downtown Yangon.

The journey should take less than 30 minutes. But when Ma Shwe Yi Win failed to make it home later that night, her family reported her missing. The next morning police found her half-naked body lying near a sports field beside Nga Moe Yeik creek in North Dagon Township.

The police statement says the young woman had gotten into Myo Zaw Oo's taxi. It says the two began to argue when the driver asked for a higher fare and that Myo Zaw Oo then choked his passenger and stabbed her in the throat with a screwdriver.

When Ma Shwe Yi Win lost consciousness, the statement says, Myo Zaw Oo drove her to North Dagon, where he raped her near the sports field. He then took her belongings, including a platinum necklace, earrings and a phone, and left her body.

Police arrested Myo Zaw Oo three days later at a mobile phone shop in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township, where he had gone to install new software on the stolen phone.

News of the rape and murder has heightened fears that the city's streets are not safe.

"I couldn't even sleep when I heard about that," said Ma Thuzar, 30.

She takes a taxi to work and back every day, preferring that to the public buses, on which sexual assault is a common occurrence.

"Now I don't feel safe in a taxi either," she said.

Myo Zaw Oo. / Yangon Police / Facebook

While cases of sexual harassment and abuse, from persistent catcalls and unwanted touching to assault, are nothing new in the country's most populous city, reports of rape are on the rise. They were also the most common major crime recorded in Yangon in 2016 and 2017.

Rape cases accounted for 229 of 469 major crimes recorded in 2016, and for 270 of 478 major crimes in 2017.

"Before, I wasn't afraid to work until late and go home around 9 or 9:30 p.m. But now I try to go home early," said pharmacist Ma Zin Hline, 31.

Many women, who make up a growing share of the commercial capital's workforce, are sharing their feelings of insecurity, including walking down the street in the evening and taking a bus or taxi at night.

Ma Wint Thu, who trains women on leadership in Yangon, said she worries that the fear of being a victim might limit the mobility and education of women.

"More parents will be concerned about their daughters' safety as the reports of rape are on the rise," she said.
Making cities safe

Ma Wint Thu said she feels unsafe walking home from the bus stop in South Dagon Township because there are no streetlights. She urged authorities to add more lights and relocate some bus stops that are currently far from residential areas.

Ma Hla Hla Yee, co-founder and director of Legal Clinic Myanmar, which provides free legal aid to mostly women and children, said the recent rape and murder highlighted the need to make cities safer for women.

She said Yangon's shortage of streetlights and many dark patches give perpetrators an opportunity to commit their crimes, especially now that more and more women are working and heading home at night.

While police patrols and CCTV cameras are important, she said, taxis should also have to display the driver's information more visibly.

The Yangon Region Transport Authority said it would enforce existing regulations on taxis plying the city's streets and, starting next month, will conduct spot checks in collaboration with the police.

The authority also announced plans to remove window shades, stickers and advertising on taxies that can obscure the view inside by Feb. 1.

But the two women's rights advocates stressed that imposing the rule of law was most important. And like many others, Ma Hla Hla Yee is calling for the death penalty for rapists.

"There can be only the death sentence for such a cruel crime," she said.

The post Latest Rape, Murder in Yangon Heightens Security Fears appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Off to a Shaky Start

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 04:02 AM PST

The year has begun – surprise, surprise – in a blur of bad news. What's really worrying is that the country seems to be sliding deeper into chaos, instability and confusion. People are openly discussing how much longer the government will be able to wield power and keep the country together.

Two weeks ago, authorities arrested prominent Arakanese politician U Aye Maung and author Wai Han Aung for remarks they made at a public lecture expressing support for the ethnic armed group the Arakan Army. The resulting protest ended in violence as police shot seven people dead and wounded 12. Authorities' handling of the protest hasn't done anything to improve the government's already battered image.

Meanwhile, students in Mandalay are doing their bit to contribute to the government's headaches. A number of them were briefly detained and escorted back to their homes by security officials after demanding an increase in education spending. Undeterred, they vowed to continue the protest, and several students were expelled from their schools.

But the most prominent story of the month was, of course, the spectacular falling out between two old friends, veteran US mediator Bill Richardson and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Richardson, a former diplomat, abruptly resigned from the Advisory Board on Rakhine State after engaging in, by his account, a most undiplomatic exchange of words with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a blunt recollection, the former governor told US media, "She was upset when I said there should be an investigation of the mass-graves issue; that they had to increase their international support for the treatment of the Rohingyas, the terrible refugee crisis. She exploded. She was very unhappy, and it shows that she didn't want to hear frank advice."

In 1994, Richardson became the first non-relative allowed to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during her house arrest. Sure, he may have been speaking the truth, some say, but that hasn't endeared him to members of the ruling National League for Democracy.

But Richardson didn't stop there: For good measure, he added that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was "furious" when he brought up the case of the two Reuters reporters arrested on Dec. 12 on suspicion of violating the Official Secrets Act. They are still in detention. As a familiar climate of fear returns to Myanmar, journalists are getting nervous about possible further arrests and a broader crackdown.

"She was very angry with me when I raised [the question of] releasing the journalists, giving them a fair trial," Richardson added.

All of the other advisory board members remained committed to their task, despite initial rumors that some planned to resign along with Richardson, who accused the panel of being a cheerleading operation for the Myanmar government. Insiders said that a dinner meeting was even more intense, as "the Lady", now playing the role of "Iron Lady," firmly stood her ground. That night, an angry Richardson – known for successfully negotiating the release of detained Americans with no less an adversary than North Korea – packed his bags and left, not even bothering to join the board on its visit to Rakhine State.

In his subsequent comments, he did make one concession, however, acknowledging that before any thoughts of new sanctions on Myanmar, it was important for Western governments, the United Nations and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to enter into a new dialogue "to try to help each other, not to keep fighting each other."

"What we don't want is to have Aung San Suu Kyi just listen to ASEAN countries, China or Russia. They need engagement with the West. We're all former friends. She needs to change, and perhaps the West needs to give her another chance and not impose sanctions," he said.

It seems hard to believe that it has been just a few short years since then-US President Barack Obama visited Myanmar in 2015 and, praising the country's "reform," lifted sanctions – in a decision some in Myanmar thought premature. Two years later the U.S. is thinking about imposing new sanctions.

Richardson touched on the military, which remains a powerful institution in the country.

"I think the Myanmar military is to blame a lot and the only person that can turn them around, I believe, is Aung San Suu Kyi, and she should start doing that," Richardson said.

We haven't had a response from the military on Richardson's thoughts so far, but the generals were more vocal about a recent pro-peace performance in Yangon, making their thoughts known in a strongly worded statement.

The military strongly criticized the use of generic military uniforms at a performance held to support peace-building activities in Yangon. At the event, former student leader U Min Ko Naing gave a speech in which he called on all military groups, including the Tatmadaw (Myanmar's armed forces) and the ethnic armed organizations to ramp up their efforts to make peace.

But even as the performance was underway, a thousand kilometers to the north, heavy fighting raged between the Tatmadaw and rebels in Kachin and Shan states (remember them?).

Kachin internally displaced persons in Shait Yang village in Laiza District, an area controlled by the Kachin Independence Army, in January 2017. ( Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy)

It seems almost everyone has forgotten about Myanmar's long ethnic struggle as the Rohingya (the term Myanmar people refuse to accept, preferring the name "Bengali") crisis has overshadowed all else. Among these serious but sadly almost forgotten issues are refugees, internally displaced people and ethnic struggles along the Thai and Chinese borders. The much-touted 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference is in serious doubt, despite a glimmer of good news last week when Mon rebel leaders promised to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch in New Mexico, Richardson hasn't given up his struggle to keep advising "the Lady" and those around her.

While insisting that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remains Myanmar's best hope for change, he said she had developed a "siege mentality" in her position as State Counselor, the country's de facto civilian leader, but counseled that Western governments should continue to engage with her.

A disappointed Richardson grumbled of his former friend: "She seems isolated. She doesn't travel much into the country. I think she's developed a classic bubble." Before flying out he also took a parting shot at Advisory Board chairman Surakiart Sathirathai, claiming the former Thai deputy prime minister had "parroted the dangerous and untrue notion that international NGOs employ radicals and that the humanitarian agencies are providing material support to ARSA" (a reference to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a militant group that launched attacks on Myanmar security outposts last summer).

Surakiart swiftly rejected the allegation, saying he had never made such a statement. On the contrary, he countered, the board welcomed more participation from the United Nations and the international community and had recommended that press freedoms be safeguarded.

(This might be a good time to point out that, actually, along the Thai-Myanmar border and elsewhere in decades past, ethnic groups and Myanmar citizens have seen a parade of INGOS and humanitarian missions come and go, often supporting rebels’ causes in a variety of different ways. So, Richardson and Surakiart, it looks like you two might just have to agree to disagree.)

The Mae Tao Clinic in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Run by Dr. Cynthia Maung, the clinic has been providing medical care mostly to Karen, Shan and other internally displaced persons along the Thai-Myanmar border. ( Photo: The Irrawaddy)

It was hard to ignore a certain irony when Richardson later remarked that, "The relationship with the West, with human rights groups, with the United Nations, with the international media, is terrible." Some observers in this country were quick to quip: "Is he talking about Myanmar or Trump?"

So, who's leaving next? Watching this fiasco unfold, some observers have wondered why the State Counselor bothered to invite these foreign wise men into the country in the first place? Indeed, some diplomats, generally stifling a chuckle, have been heard to mutter something along the lines of: "Appointing famous politicians with large egos, Suu Kyi doesn't even know how to manage them. These guys never stop talking!"

The economy is in bad shape and the country's banks look decidedly shaky. Tycoons are worried about the future, despite the World Bank's rather disingenuous conclusion last year that "Myanmar is one of the fastest growing economies in East Asia." Tourism is down, as foreign TV screens fill with images of refugees fleeing to Bangladesh reporting human rights abuses and a brutal crackdown.

With the country apparently going backwards, if not sinking into an abyss, the former military leaders who left the country's ruling council in 2010 and 2011 have reportedly been holding informal meetings to assess the situation. This points to either political intervention or a compromise in the near future, but who knows how or when.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is copping a lot of flak these days and Richardson is certainly correct about her "siege mentality." But recently, a flicker of light appeared in the darkness for Myanmar's de facto leader, who, having been accused of "lacking moral courage" by some in the international community, received some free advice from an unexpected quarter.

While attending a business forum in New Delhi last week, the State Counselor found herself face to face with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (a man who has never been accused of an excess of moral leadership).

He helpfully advised the Nobel Peace Laureate – who some have taken to saying should be stripped of the prize — that she should not bother about rights activists, as they are "just a noisy bunch."

"We were talking about our country, the interests of our country… and I said 'Do not mind the human rights [activists]. They are just a noisy bunch, actually," Duterte said.

Memo to Governor Richardson: Please don't stop talking…

The post Off to a Shaky Start appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rights Groups Condemn Govt Publication of ‘Terrorist’ List

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 03:31 AM PST

MANDALAY — The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) expressed concern over a terrorist list published by the Myanmar government, stating that it defies rule of law principles and puts lives at risk.

The list published in state media showed names and photos of individuals that it claimed were members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).

The statement issued by ICJ on Jan. 25 said the authorities failed to explain how the people on the list were identified and the reason why they were on the list, appearing to have been accused outside of any formal judicial process.

"Given the lack of publicly available information as to the basis of ascribing membership of a prescribed terrorist organization to the persons in the photos, and the manner in which their information has been publicized, the ICJ is concerned that the stated accusations may be arbitrary," said the statement.

"The authorities have an obligation to administer justice through due process and fair trials, and not name calling and public shaming," said the statement. "Authorities should cease publishing such material and take effective protective measures to ensure the safety and security of the people named in these publications and their families."

The ICJ urged the government authorities to give legal protection to the accused if they were apprehended, brought to court and found innocent, while urging the presumption of innocence.

"Authorities must refrain from making public statements that are defamatory in nature, that violate fair trial rights by affirming or implying the guilt of persons accused of crimes, and that violate the principle of judicial independence and the separation of powers, all of which are recognized in national and international law," the ICJ's statement said.

While stating that the government should not violate the right to privacy, the ICJ also pressed for the safe return of refugees.

The lawyer activists from Myanmar also said they had concerns over the publication of the terrorist list because it included women and children who were family members of people with alleged ties to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army.

"I totally agree with the ICJ statement. We have so many questions on the list – how it was generated and by which measure these individuals were identified as terrorists?" said lawyer U Thein Than Oo, from the Myanmar Lawyers' Network.

"And since there's no clarification about whether these people were arrested or sentenced in court, publishing this list is illegal, unethical and abuses the international covenant on civil and political rights," he added.

The activists also said the authorities should respect human rights and the right to privacy.

"We have to question how concrete the list is. If it is not certain, it will become defamatory, which could affect their lives," said U Aung Myo Min, the executive director of Equality Myanmar. "Moreover, even if it is true, this could affect the judicial ruling for they have already been accused."

He added that for the women and children on the list, being related to someone accused of terrorism does not directly implicate them.

"Trying to arrest or take legal action against everyone related to the accused is an abuse of human rights and privacy," he added.

Starting from Jan. 17, the government published a list of more than 1,400 men, women and children, including names, photos and personal information, stating that they were members or associates of ARSA.

The list was also published by the President's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting the government of Bangladesh hand over those included.

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House Speaker Rebukes Ministry for Poor Oversight of Road Contracts

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 01:28 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — Lower House Speaker U Win Myint on Monday accused the Construction Ministry of failing to carefully monitor construction companies that have won tenders for state-funded road projects, saying that "public funds are being wasted" as a result.

The speaker made the remarks in response to lawmaker U Min Min, of Bago Region's Paungde Township, who complained that a tarred road in his constituency had become badly damaged before the service life guaranteed by the construction company had expired.

Deputy Construction Minister U Kyaw Linn replied that the road would be repaired depending on the 2018-19 fiscal year budget.

U Win Myint argued that blacklisting a construction company for poor service has no impact because the company can change its name and pass itself off as a new entity.

"But it costs public funds. If construction companies aren't handled properly, roads will get damaged frequently and we'll have to ask for funds time and again to repair the road. In the end, public funds are being wasted," he said.

"The ministry that grants contracts to construction companies is responsible for damaged roads," the speaker added, urging the Construction Ministry to take strong action against such companies in line with the law.

"Our ministry has issued rules and regulations since April. Those rules and regulations must be followed to the letter," said U Kyaw Linn.

According to the deputy construction minister, companies must provide compensation if a road is damaged within two to three years, depending on the type of road.

The company that built the road in Paungde, which became damaged after about 18 months, had provided a two-year guarantee. However, the company has refused to take responsibility because authorities only made a field inspection of the road after the two years were up, said Naypyitaw-based developer U Nay Tha.

"Authorities should be informed in time about road conditions. But they were informed only after the road was badly damaged. The company refused to take responsibility and government funds have to be spent again," he said.

The Construction Ministry received 20.4 percent of the total 2017-18 fiscal year budget.

On Monday the Lower House also approved discussion of a proposal from lawmaker Daw Nan Kham Aye, of Shan State's Namtu Township, that urges the union and regional governments to adopt tender procedures for government-funded projects.

The lawmaker claimed that there was nepotism and corruption in the tender selection process, hindering fair competition among bidders.

"Only those who are close to them [relevant government officials] know the lowest and highest base prices tendered, so there is corruption. Departments are manipulating the prices," Daw Nan Kham Aye told reporters.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Ongoing Fighting in Tanai Leaves Mine Workers Trapped

Posted: 30 Jan 2018 01:20 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — At least four civilians were killed and more than 3,000 workers at gold and amber mines in Tanai Township, Kachin State are trapped amid fighting between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) and local sources told The Irrawaddy.

Clashes have intensified in the region since December and the Tatmadaw, also known as the Myanmar Army, reportedly launched air strikes in the past three days that killed three mine workers on the spot, said U Lin Lin Oo, a lawmaker representing Tanai Township in the Lower House.

"I didn't see it, but I heard that three people were killed by air strikes and buried in the mine. But I can confirm that two injured men and three women were sent to Tanai Hospital, and one of the men died of serious injuries," said U Lin Lin Oo.

The area is under the control of Battalion 14 under KIA Brigade 2, and the Myanmar Army Commander-in-Chief's Office released a statement on Jan. 29 alleging that "KIA troops continue destructive acts and smuggling of precious natural resources including committing the mine attacks and shooting at security forces who are on duty of regional security and rule of law."

"Moreover, they attacked the headquarters of a local military unit in Shaduzup Village of Tanai Township with the use of heavy and small arms on 30 December 2017 and 22 January 2018," claimed the statement.

Of the 3,000 civilians trapped amid ongoing fighting, the Tatmadaw let some 800 children, women and elderly people go, but has barred the others from leaving the village of Nan Kun, U Sein Yone, an amber mine worker, told The Irrawaddy on Monday evening, adding that the workers were short on food.

"We will definitely be hurt if clashes continue. Our lives are in danger. We cried and begged them to let us go. But, they didn't and it seems that we have to wait to die. Please do something for us," U Sein Yone told The Irrawaddy.

Among the civilians trapped are Naga, Lisu, Arakanese and Bamar people, he said.

According to U Lin Lin Oo, he reported the case on Jan. 27 to the Kachin State chief minister who then informed the commander of Northern Command Maj-Gen Nyi Nyi Swe through the Kachin State security and border affairs minister.

"The chief minister told me the following day that the commander said he could not allow those trapped to leave the area, as regional clearance operations must be completed. I told the mine workers to try to stay in a safe location for the time being," said U Lin Lin Oo.

Myanmar Army helicopters dropped leaflets in the first week of June 2017, asking people in the mining areas to leave by June 15 or else be recognized as insurgents supporting the KIA. The drop was followed by military operations, which the army called regional clearance operations. The area was relatively stable under U Thein Sein's administration and more than 500,000 people were working at gold and amber mines in the area at that time, said U Lin Lin Oo, adding that some lawmakers have reported to Lower House Speaker U Win Myint about the clashes.

In the meantime, fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army in Sumprabum Township continues since January 19, causing IDPs to leave their shelters.

Locals and the UN agency UNOCHA said heavy aerial bombing and shelling occurred in Tanai, Sumprabum and Waingmaw townships since last week.

Artillery shells reportedly landed in the Woi Chyoi IDP camp in Waingmaw Township on Jan. 27, the third time since mid December 2017.

Father Vincent Shawng Lawn of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Sumprabum Catholic Church told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the Tatmadaw's offensives continued in Sumprabum, while the amber mines, some 14 miles west of Tanai still faced artillery firing on Tuesday.

"We don't know yet about the civilians casualties in Tanai, which happened this morning," he said.

Additional reporting by Nyein Nyein.

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Myanmar Advisory Panel Chief Says it Cannot Interfere in Court Case Against Reporters

Posted: 29 Jan 2018 09:28 PM PST

YANGON — Myanmar's panel of international advisers on Rohingya issues will not get involved in the case of two Reuters journalists charged with violating the Official Secrets Act, its chairman told a state newspaper in an interview published on Monday.

Reporters Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, who had worked on Reuters' coverage of the crisis in Myanmar's Rakhine State, will appear in a Yangon court on Thursday, when the prosecution is set to continue presenting evidence against them.

Panel chairman Surakiart Sathirathai, a former Thai foreign minister, said the case had progressed beyond the point where the board felt it could intervene. If it had been at the stage of arrests, "then maybe we can do something about it," he told the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

Since the prosecution is in the midst of presenting its case, "I think everyone has to respect the rule of law," he added.

Surakiart said he raised the issue "on a personal basis" with Myanmar's National Security Minister Thaung Tun.

"And he has assured us that the treatment of the Reuters reporters would be in accordance with the due process of law and proper criminal justice procedure," he added.

"We have no intention to pressure the government to release anyone or any intention to interfere in the court procedures," the paper quoted Surakiart as saying.

Surakiart did not respond to a request from Reuters seeking comment.

The two reporters have been jailed in Yangon's Insein prison since their arrests on Dec. 12.

The Advisory Board for the Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State was set up by Myanmar last year to advise on ways of adopting the findings of an earlier commission headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Argument with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Last week, in an interview with Reuters, advisory board member Bill Richardson said he quit the panel after getting into an argument with Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during a meeting on Monday with other board members, when he brought up the case of the two reporters.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's response was "furious," saying the case "was not part of the work of the advisory board," said Richardson, a former governor of the US state of New Mexico.

The argument continued at a dinner later that evening, when Richardson also brought up the issue of a mass grave where 10 Rohingya had been killed and buried.

"She was upset when I said there should be an investigation of the mass graves issue, that they had to increase their international support for the treatment of the Rohingyas, the terrible refugee crisis," Richardson said in a Reuters television interview.

"She exploded. She was very unhappy, and it shows that she didn't want to hear frank advice."

The military stated after its own investigation into the mass grave that security forces were involved in the killings.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's office said on Saturday it would not be commenting further on the exchange with Richardson.

"We already published a statement and also the advisory board published a statement," said Zaw Htay, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's spokesman.

"The judge will decide whether the journalists committed the crime or not. Even in America, they wouldn't involve themselves in a case while the case is ongoing in a court hearing."

Zaw Htay was not available for comment on Monday.

About 688,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Rakhine to neighboring Bangladesh after attacks on security posts in Rakhine on Aug. 25 triggered a fierce military response, which the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar says its troops are engaged in legitimate counter-insurgency operations.

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BBC Women Denounce Unequal Pay as Heat Rises for Broadcaster

Posted: 29 Jan 2018 08:58 PM PST

LONDON — Women working for the BBC have complained they were paid less than men in equivalent jobs and have accused managers of misleading them about their pay to hide widespread gender discrimination at the public broadcaster.

The complaints by BBC Women, a group of 170 staff, were sent to parliament's media committee, which is investigating BBC pay after the corporation was forced to disclose last July that two- thirds of on-air high earners were men and that some were paid far more than female peers.

The revelations caused a spate of bad headlines for the BBC and angered many female staff, who demanded equal pay for equal work. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has lodged a collective grievance to the BBC on behalf of 121 women.

"While individual BBC managers have been supportive, there is still a bunker mentality in some quarters and women have experienced veiled threats made against them when they raised the subject of equal pay," BBC Women said in written evidence to parliament's media committee.

The lawmakers are due to hear oral evidence on Wednesday from Carrie Gracie, the BBC's former China editor, who quit this month in protest over being paid less than her male peers.

Senior BBC managers, including Director-General Tony Hall, are due to appear before the committee just after Gracie.

Funded by a license fee levied on TV viewers and reaching 95 percent of British adults every week, the BBC is a pillar of the nation's life, but as such it is closely scrutinized and held to exacting standards by the public and by rival media.

The BBC said in response to the evidence submitted by BBC Women and the NUJ that it was committed to equal pay and did not accept the assertion that it had not been complying with equality laws.

In the wake of Gracie's resignation and the public debate it sparked, six of the BBC's best-known male presenters and journalists agreed to take pay cuts. That was widely welcomed, but campaigners for equal pay said it did not solve the underlying issues.

BBC Women said gender pay discrimination affected every part of the organization, not just high earners.

The group provided 14 individual examples of women in a range of roles as TV and radio presenters and reporters, all of whom described frustrating battles with managers after discovering they were paid less than their male counterparts.

"I have co-presented with a male colleague for many years … I estimate he's paid around double what I earn for doing the same job," said one of the unnamed women in a typical submission. "I raised the equal pay issue many times over the years, but nothing was done."

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Draft Proposals in Indonesian Parliament Aim to Ban Extramarital Sex

Posted: 29 Jan 2018 08:52 PM PST

JAKARTA — Indonesia's parliament is drafting proposed revisions to the national criminal code that could ban all consensual sex outside marriage, sparking alarm among activists who said it would breach basic rights and could be misused to target the LGBT community.

The parliamentary committee drawing up recommendations to change the Dutch colonial-era criminal code has still to finalize its proposals.

But a draft, seen by Reuters on Monday, included measures to criminalize extramarital sex, same-sex relations, and co-habitation, all of which were previously unregulated by law.

Adultery is already deemed a crime in Indonesia, the Southeast Asian country with the world's largest Muslim population.

Last month, the Constitutional Court narrowly voted to strike down a similar petition filed by the Family Love Alliance, one of the conservative groups behind the move to push legislation through parliament.

"The truth is the majority of religions in Indonesia hold the same values, so…[the revisions] are representative of the majority and of all cultures in Indonesia," said Euis Sunarti, a member of the Family Love Alliance, which likens itself to conservative evangelical Christian groups in the United States.

The parliamentary committee has been holding consultations with the public, taking the opinion of religious scholars, legal experts and rights groups over how to change the criminal code where it relates to extramarital sex.

Most political parties are reported to be for the changes, particularly those that outlaw gay sex.

Few Indonesian politicians have voiced support for LGBT rights for fear of alienating a largely conservative voter base ahead of legislative and presidential elections next year.

Parliament has debated revisions to the criminal code, including regulations on corruption, sex and alcohol, for many years. But after repeated delays it is expected to finalize proposals during coming weeks.

Rights activists say the proposals, if approved, would be difficult to police without violating privacy and could threaten social development.

"The draft law will create new discriminatory offenses that do not exist in the current criminal code. It will slow down Indonesia's efforts to develop their economy, society, knowledge, education etc….if law enforcement agencies are busy policing morality," said Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch.

"It's sounding like the Acehnese sharia code," he added, referring to the ultra-conservative province at the northern tip of Sumatra island, which is the only Indonesian region to implement Islamic law.

Activists are particularly worried the new law may be used to target the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, which has faced rising hostility in recent years.

A recent survey found that nearly 90 percent of Indonesians who understand the term LGBT feel "threatened" by the community and believe their religion forbids same-sex relations.

Junimart Girsang, a member of parliament from the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Stuggle (PDIP), said same-sex relations could not be accepted in the country.

"In legal terms, religious terms and ethical terms, we cannot have that in our country," he said.

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Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 29 Jan 2018 08:09 PM PST

Colourful Flowers | Jan. 30-Feb. 1
Works by women artists will be featured at this event.
Jan. 30-Feb.1, OK Art Gallery, Aung San Stadium (North Wing).

Faculty Recital | Feb. 2
Faculty members of Gitameit Music Institute will perform various types of music.
Feb. 2, 6 p.m. Hedda Hall, No. 219, Kaya Thukha Lane, Kanbe Station Street, Yankin Tsp. Free admission.

Yangon Runway Girls Collection | Feb. 2
IYAZ, Ah Moon, X Box, Billy Lamin Aye and Mary join top local fashion designers, stylists, models and actresses.
Feb. 2, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Royal Garden Hotel. Tickets 25,000 to 300,000 kyats at 09-977009157, 09-455573442.

7 Wave | Feb. 2
Vocalists Phyo Pyae Sone, Aung Htet, Saw Lah Htaw Wah, M Zaw Rain, David Lai, Nay Min Eain and Htun Naung Sint will perform at this event.
Feb. 2, 7 p.m. Thuwunnabhumi Event Park. Tickets 15,000 to 50,000 kyats at 01-392931, 01-240142.

The Power of 4 | Feb. 3
This event features Connie, She, Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein and Sone Thin Par.
Feb. 3, 7 p.m. Thuwunnabhumi Event Park. Tickets 10,000 to 35,000 kyats at 09-455573442.

World Cancer Day show | Feb. 4
Big Bag and other celebrities will perform at this event to mark World Cancer Day.
Feb. 4, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Maha Bandoola Park. Free admission.

Big British Day Out | Feb. 4
The Big British Day Out features sporting events, food stalls, games and lots of fun, free to all.
Feb. 4, 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. British Ambassador's Residence, No. 62, Alanpya Pagoda Road, Mingalar Taungnyunt Tsp. Free admission.

9 Days Special Book Sale | Jan. 28-Feb. 4
Translated works and original creations will be sold at a discount.
Jan. 28-Feb.4, 5th Floor, Thanzay Market, Lanmadaw.

Water & Oil | Feb. 3-7
This exhibition features the works of Thet Tun and Myo Min.
Feb.3-7, OK Art Gallery, Aung San Stadium (North Wing).

Certain Interactions | Feb. 3-11
This exhibition features the works of Ilona van de Braak and Pyay Way.
Feb. 3-11, Nawady Tharlar Art Gallery, Room No. 304, 20/B, Yaw Min Gyi Road, Dagon Tsp.

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