Thursday, May 31, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Chinese Whispers in Yangon as Myanmar Weighs Rohingya Deal With UN

Posted: 31 May 2018 05:51 AM PDT

The Myanmar government is in a bind. In order to stave off Western sanctions for its alleged mistreatment of the Rohingya minority, it is considering signing a memorandum with UN agencies that would set terms for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh. But China does not want Myanmar to sign it.

Chinese officials held two days of closed-door meetings with their Myanmar counterparts in Yangon on May 29 and 30, where the two sides shared views on how to establish peace in Kachin and northern Shan states and how to solve the Rohingya refugees crisis in Rakhine State, according to a source who took part in the talks.

China, which has economic interests in Rakhine, wants to build its sway over Myanmar, and does not want to see Western countries have influence in the country.

The result is a power struggle between China and the West over Myanmar.

Myanmar has signed one agreement with the UN to allow for the repatriation of 700,000 Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh after the Myanmar Army launched a military offensive in Maungdaw in Rakhine State in reprisal for attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in August last year.

Some government advisors were opposed to the signing of the agreement on the grounds that the country would have trouble meeting international standards on the repatriation. However, it was viewed as a positive initial step by the Aung San Suu Kyi government to show it wished to cooperate with the UN and the international community to solve the Rohingya crisis.

Myanmar is also close to signing an MOU with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), following months of tripartite talks that started on February, according to the same advisors.

On signing the MOU, the UN agencies would have high expectations of being able to make visits to Maungdaw to inspect conditions on the ground. They would also want to check to see if the returning refugees would be able to rebuild their old lives. The UN agencies do not want the repatriated refugees to be sent to camps and instead want them to be able to return to their homes.

If they are forced to stay in camps, the returning refugees face a fate similar to that of other Rohingya who have been stuck in camps in Sittwe for six years. But, the Myanmar government may not agree to such conditions.

While signing an MOU with the UNHCR and UNDP would help repair the image of the Aung San Suu Kyi government in the eyes of the international community, China does not want Myanmar to sign the agreement, according to a Chinese source.

China's approach to finding a solution to the Rohingya crisis is more low-key. China wants to have stability in Rakhine as it has many investments in the region, most notably a gas pipeline project in Kyauk Phyu.

China believes that if the UN agencies and international community have their way in Rakhine, ARSA may able to return to launch new attacks in the area.

But, ARSA has influence only in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships. The Arakan Army has a presence in many areas including Kyauk Phyu. ARSA thus should not be seen as a threat to China's business interests.

China is getting close to the Myanmar government as the international community prepares to take action against Myanmar Army and government officials for human rights abuses committed against the Rohingya. China may offer some diplomatic protection to Tatmadaw generals if they are referred to the International Criminal Court when the UNSC makes a decision on the matter. The United States, Britain, and other members of the international community are prepared to impose sanctions on the Myanmar Army and the government. The Myanmar government is wondering whether to listen to China or the West.

The post Chinese Whispers in Yangon as Myanmar Weighs Rohingya Deal With UN appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Last Group of Awng Lawt Villagers Rescued from Forest

Posted: 31 May 2018 03:30 AM PDT

YANGON — The last of more than 1,100 residents of Awng Lawt village in Kachin State's Tanai Township known by aid groups to have been trapped in the forest by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) were rescued this week, according to the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC).

Some of the villagers reported that additional IDPs remain in the forest, according to aid groups, but The Irrawaddy has been unable to confirm the reports. Aid workers said those people may have opted to travel to relatives' homes independently.

"All those [from Awng Lawt] trapped by fighting have come out of the forest. No one is left," said Hkali, a KBC official with responsibility for social affairs.

Between April 29 and this week, a total of 1,135 people were evacuated from the forest. They are taking shelter at churches in Myitkyina, Hpakant and Tanai, said Seng Nu, program director of Karuna Mission Social Solidarity, a civil society organization helping displaced persons in Kachin State.

Residents of Awng Lawt first fled en masse into the forest after artillery shells landed near their village on April 11. Among them were pregnant women, elderly and disabled persons, and young children.

They moved around the forest on foot for about three weeks before finally being taken to safety in groups starting in late April.

"Some of the displaced persons said that some people are still trapped in the forest. Some of these might have opted to go to the houses of relatives, rather than the camps. For the time being, our list only includes those taking shelter in the camps," Seng Nu said.

Naw Tawng, vice chairman of a Tanai-based Christian committee to help displaced persons, told The Irrawaddy that he could not independently confirm the reports that some displaced persons are still trapped in the forests.

Larger groups have reached camps, but smaller groups might have gone to the houses of their relatives, he suggested.

"We don't know about the latest developments. But no one is thinking of going back to their homes. They feel it is safer to stay at temporary shelters in churches," Naw Tawng said.

The clashes continued into the last week of April. At that time, the Tatmadaw distributed leaflets to displaced persons urging them to go back to their homes, and saying that it would provide food supplies for them. However, the IDPs dared not return for fear of being trapped in the forest again.

The Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) launched attacks in Tanai in June last year, targeting illegal gold and amber mines that are an important source of funds for the KIA.

Clashes in April displaced around 6,000 people in Tanai, Mogaung, Injangyang and Hpakant townships. More than 100,000 people have been displaced since the collapse of a ceasefire between the Tatmadaw and the KIA in 2011.

Though camps for internally displaced persons have been opened in other townships in Kachin State, Tanai authorities have refused to permit such camps, saying they negatively affect the image of the town. Displaced persons have therefore been forced to seek temporary shelter in church compounds.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Last Group of Awng Lawt Villagers Rescued from Forest appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

USDP Chairman Accuses NLD of Hypocrisy, Incompetence

Posted: 31 May 2018 02:58 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has accused the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) of spending public funds as if the money were its own since taking power two years ago.

USPD chairman U Than Htay also accused the NLD of distorting his party’s image, an apparent reference to the public perception that the USDP — created from the Union Solidarity and Development Association to contest the 2010 general elections — was a proxy of the military.

He said everyone from farmers and daily wage earners to top businesspeople were facing difficulties and uncertainty because the ruling party lacks clear policies.

"The public knows that [the NLD-dominated Parliament] has rejected questions by the people's representatives and that the [NLD] has infamous officials," he said in an opening address to a USDP youth conference in Naypyitaw on Tuesday.

USDP spokesman U Nanda Hla Myint said the party chairman was referring to former Planning and Finance Minister U Kyaw Win, who resigned last week amid a corruption scandal, former Magwe Region Minister U Nay Myo Kyaw, who reportedly resigned over an extramarital affair, and former Rakhine State Minister U Min Aung, who was impeached by state lawmakers.

"A Mon State minister resigned today. He was facing complaints over financial matters," the spokesman said on Tuesday.

The President's Office has accepted the resignation of Mon State’s minister for electricity, energy and industry, U Min Htin Aung Han.

"[The NLD] made the same accusations against the USDP in the past. In fact, it is only concerned with individuals. [The NLD] said its government won't embezzle at all and that all of its lawmakers are capable. But take a look at the reality. [The NLD] distorted the image of the USDP and said we embezzled and we weren’t capable," said U Nanda Hla Myint.

Monywa Aung Shin, a member of the NLD’s Central Executive Committee, said his party did not hide its skeletons in the closet and takes action against any law-breaking members.

"U Than Htay is always saying things like that. It will only contribute to his downfall and the downfall of his party. We never speak recklessly. We only talk with facts. We never talk without facts," he said.

"Our leader [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] allows no room for error. If somebody does something wrong to the people, she will summon and warn or punish him," he added. "Everyone knows how much public funds they [the USDP] have embezzled."

Monywa Aung Shin said the NLD government was not pursuing retroactive punishment of ministers who served during the USDP’s time in power, however, in the interest of national reconciliation.

The USDP says it is still deciding whether to contest by-elections scheduled for November because it has no trust in the Union Election Commission. The NLD says it will contest all seats up for grabs.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post USDP Chairman Accuses NLD of Hypocrisy, Incompetence appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rakhine Govt Undecided on How to Use Farmland Abandoned by Rohingya Refugees

Posted: 31 May 2018 02:56 AM PDT

SITTWE, Rakhine State — The Rakhine State government has not yet made a decision regarding some 70,000 acres of abandoned farmland in Maungdaw Township left behind by Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh last year.

"We're still waiting for the policy of the Union government. We'll do as it says. We don't have enough workers for 70,000 acres of farmland," the Rakhine State minister for agriculture, livestock, forestry and mining U Kyaw Lwin told The Irrawaddy.

Rice is grown twice a year in many parts of Myanmar, with rainwater in the monsoon season and irrigated water in the summer months. As monsoon season begins, farmers are preparing.

The Rakhine State government will allow Rohingya villagers who have not fled to continue working their original farms, said the minister.

Rakhine State lawmaker U Maung Ohn of Maungdaw Township said the abandoned farmlands should be leased out to local ethnic farmers and private rice-growing companies.

"It is not a good idea to leave those farmlands unattended. Local ethnic people and landless farmers should be allowed to farm there if they wish. It is also a good idea to lease it out to private companies that have agricultural machinery," said U Maung Ohn.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation previously planned to use some 10,000 acres of the 70,000 acres of farmland. But it aborted the plan, as it is difficult to find the labor and to watch over the paddy fields, head of the Rakhine State Agriculture Department U Toe Wai told The Irrawaddy.

Minister U Kyaw Lwin denied media reports that those farmlands have been leased to private companies.

The government previously harvested those 70,000 acres of paddy fields left behind by Rohingya Muslims who fled into Bangladesh after a terror attack on police outposts in Maungdaw in August last year.

There are a total of 11 million acres of paddy fields in Rakhine with over 74,000 acres in Maungdaw, over 77,000 in Buthidaung, and over 88,000 acres in Rathedaung Township, according to the state agriculture department.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Rakhine Govt Undecided on How to Use Farmland Abandoned by Rohingya Refugees appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Finance Minister Appointed After Corruption Scandal

Posted: 31 May 2018 12:18 AM PDT

YANGON — Myanmar's Parliament has approved U Soe Win as the country's new Planning and Finance Minister on Thursday after his presidential nomination earlier this week.

The bicameral assembly of the Lower and Upper houses unanimously approved the nomination of the new 80-year-old minister.

The president nominated U Soe Win to replace the outgoing minister U Kyaw Win after his resignation last week following an investigation for corruption.

The government's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) began investigating U Kyaw Win days after receiving a complaint against him on May 3. The commission announced over the weekend that the findings had been reported to the president.

Before the probe was eventually confirmed, news reports had been circulating for weeks that the minister and his son were being investigated for corruption by both the ACC and the Home Affairs Ministry's Bureau of Special Investigation.

U Soe Win is currently the country managing director of Deloitte Touche Myanmar Vigour Advisory Ltd. He has more than 30 years of professional experience in international banking with the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and has been an adviser to Myanmar's taxation, investment law and banking sectors.

He is also a senior member of the NLD's Central Economic Committee.  According to the independent Renaissance Institute Myanmar, U Soe Win joined the Foreign Exchange Department of the MFTB as deputy manager in 1961.

He was sent to the UK for training with the National Westminster Bank and the Bank of England in 1976. He was appointed deputy controller of foreign exchange at the MFTB in 1990 and general manager in 1993.

He left the MFTB to join Price Waterhouse Associates Ltd in 1996. In 2003, he founded Myanmar Vigour Co., Ltd, which became a member firm of Deloitte in June 2015.

U Soe Win is also a member of the Bar Council in Yangon. He was involved extensively in drafting banking laws, regulations and fiscal policies during his tenure with the state bank.

The post New Finance Minister Appointed After Corruption Scandal appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand is New Dumping Ground for World’s High-tech Trash, Police Say

Posted: 30 May 2018 10:21 PM PDT

BANGKOK — Thailand is a new dumping ground for scrap electronics from around the world, say police and environmentalists, the latest country to feel the impact of China’s crackdown on imports of high-tech trash.

Police at Laem Chabang port, south of Bangkok, showed on Tuesday seven shipping containers each packed with about 22 tons of discarded electronics, including crushed game consoles, computer boards and bags of scrap materials.

Electronic refuse, or e-waste, is turning up from Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, police said, some of it imported by companies without the required permits.

“This … shows that electronic waste from every corner of the world is flowing into Thailand,” Deputy Police Chief Wirachai Songmetta said as he showed the containers to the media.

While “e-waste” — defined as any device with an electric cord or battery — can be “mined” for valuable metals such as gold, silver and copper, it can include hazardous material such as lead, mercury and cadmium.

Police said they filed charges against three recycling and waste processing companies in Thailand. Anyone found guilty could be jailed for up to 10 years.

“The companies that we have filed charges against don’t have a quota to import even a single ton of electronic waste,” Wirachai said.

China imposed a ban on overseas trash last year, telling the World Trade Organization that it would stop accepting imports of 24 types of foreign waste, leading some to fear that the waste could end up in neighboring countries.

The ban has upended the world’s waste handling supply chain and caused massive pile-ups of trash from Asia to Europe, as exporters struggled to find new buyers for the garbage.

According to estimates in China’s state media last year, more than 70 percent of the world’s 500 million tons of electronic waste entered China in 2016.

Environmentalists say waste once destined for China is being rerouted to Southeast Asia, and new laws are needed or existing laws better enforced to prevent illegal imports.

“Especially after China’s ban, Thailand could become one of the biggest dumping grounds for e-waste,” said Penchom Saetang, director of Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand.

Thailand ratified in 1997 the Basel Convention, which aims to control trans-boundary movements of hazardous waste. But the convention does not completely prohibit these exports from more developed to less developed countries.

“The Basel Convention cannot prevent what is happening in Thailand because it has its limitations,” Penchon said in calling for an amendment that would ban these shipments.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha vowed this week to step up nationwide inspections as part of a plan to combat illegal electronic waste. But environmentalists say they have not seen the details of how it will work.

“It isn’t clear how he will do this,” said Penchom.

The post Thailand is New Dumping Ground for World’s High-tech Trash, Police Say appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Philippine Congress Passes Autonomy Bill for Volatile Muslim Region

Posted: 30 May 2018 09:57 PM PDT

MANILA — The Philippines moved a step closer on Wednesday to ending decades of conflict on its resource-rich island of Mindanao, after lawmakers approved a bill that will eventually allow self-rule for the country’s Muslim minority.

Lower house lawmakers voted 227 to 11, with two abstentions, to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law, seen as key to forging lasting peace with separatist rebels and thwarting the rise of Islamist extremism in the nation’s poorest and most dangerous region.

The bill is the result of a 2014 peace deal between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government to end nearly 50 years of conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people and displaced 2 million.

It outlines the process to set up a self-administered territory in an area sometimes referred to as Bangsamoro (nation of Moros), encompassing mountains, islands and jungles that are home to at least 4 million people, mostly Muslim.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who was the mayor of a city on the southern island for 22 years, has stressed the importance of getting the legislation passed and certified it as an urgent bill on Tuesday to get it approved before a house recess on June 2.

The 22-member Senate has committed to Duterte to pass its counterpart version soon, before a panel of both houses combines both drafts in a version for the president’s final approval.

The previous administration met numerous hurdles and failed to pass the bill, fuelling resentment and mistrust among many minority Muslims.

Duterte has warned that another failure could be disastrous and play into the hands of extremist groups like Islamic State, which inspired a militant alliance to seize Marawi City last year for five months.

The battle for Marawi was the biggest the Philippines has seen since World War Two and stoked wider concerns that Islamic State had ambitions to turn Mindanao into a base for its operations in Southeast Asia.

Hundreds of people were killed in Marawi, more than 350,000 were displaced and half the city was left in ruins. Martial law is still in force across Mindanao.

Though some militants who fought in Marawi were former MILF members, the group has denounced radical Islam and has a good relationship with Duterte.

Mindanao, an island the size of South Korea, is the Philippines’ most underdeveloped region, but is home to most of its nickel mines and biggest fruit farms, besides vast tracts of land the government wants to convert into palm oil plantations.

But its notorious clan wars, lawlessness and conflicts with Muslim and communist rebel groups have kept investors at bay.

Once signed into law, Bangsamoro will have its own executive, legislature and fiscal powers, but the central government will continue to oversee defense, security, foreign affairs, and monetary policy.

The post Philippine Congress Passes Autonomy Bill for Volatile Muslim Region appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Indonesia, India Plan to Develop Strategic Indian Ocean Port

Posted: 30 May 2018 09:56 PM PDT

JAKARTA — Indonesia and India pledged on Wednesday to step up defense and maritime cooperation, with plans to develop a strategic Indonesian naval port in the Indian Ocean, the leaders of the two countries said after meeting in Jakarta.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss, among other issues, developing infrastructure and an economic zone at Sabang, on the tip of Sumatra Island and at the mouth of the Malacca Strait, one of the busiest shipping channels for global trade.

“India is a strategic defense partner…and we will continue to advance our cooperation in developing infrastructure, including at Sabang Island and the Andaman Islands,” Widodo told a news conference after the meeting at the presidential palace.

Analysts say the move comes amid concerns over China’s rising maritime influence in the region, and is part of Modi’s “Act East” policy of developing stronger ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“The India-ASEAN partnership can be a force to guarantee peace and progress in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” Modi said in a statement read in Hindi.

Modi this year invited the leaders of all ten ASEAN nations to attend New Delhi’s Republic Day parade, the biggest such gathering of foreign leaders at the annual event.

There has been tension in Southeast Asia over the disputed South China Sea, a busy waterway claimed in most part by China.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have conflicting claims in the area, through which about $3 trillion worth of sea-borne goods passes every year.

While not a claimant, Indonesia has clashed with Beijing over fishing rights around the Natuna Islands and expanded its military presence there. It has also renamed the northern reaches of its exclusive economic zone, to reassert its sovereignty.

Modi, who is making his first trip to Indonesia, is also set to visit the Istiqlal mosque in the capital of the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country.

The Indian leader flies to Malaysia on Thursday to meet recently elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad before heading to neighboring Singapore to address a regional security forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Last week, Indonesia’s chief maritime affairs minister, Luhut Pandjaitan, said the existing port at Sabang, which is 40 meters (131 ft.) deep, could be developed to accommodate both commercial vessels and submarines, according to media.

Indonesia’s transport minister told reporters on Wednesday that Sabang would get a transshipment port that could be developed over two years.

Asked about Indian investment in Sabang, Indian foreign ministry official Preeti Saran said New Delhi was interested in helping build infrastructure across Southeast Asia.

“There have been discussions about building infrastructure, it’s not just seaports, but airports,” she said. “There would be a lot of interest among Indian companies.”

Widodo and Modi also signed pacts on cooperation in the pharmaceuticals and technology industries.

The post Indonesia, India Plan to Develop Strategic Indian Ocean Port appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Anti-war Protesters Call on Suu Kyi to Act Against ‘Violent’ Police

Posted: 30 May 2018 09:38 PM PDT

YANGON — Anti-war protesters in Myanmar on Wednesday urged government leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to take action against police who this month broke up a peace rally and arrested them, and raised new concern about freedom of speech.

Riot police in the main city of Yangon used batons on May 12 to break up a rally called to show support for victims of fighting in northern Myanmar, arresting 17 organizers for disturbing the public and holding a protest without permission.

The scuffles between baton-wielding police and protesters have sparked an outcry among activists and lawmakers over what they see as risks to free expression under the government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a letter sent to top government officials including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint, eight of the rally organizers said action should be taken against the police, which come under the control of Myanmar’s powerful military.

“Police came, arrested us and beat us for no reason, and that’s why we are demanding action to be taken against police who violently handled the peaceful protest,” the eight organizers said in their letter.

“The lawless action by the authorities should be investigated for our loss of citizens’ rights,” they said.

Government spokesman U Zaw Htay was not immediately available for comment. Police spokesman U Myo Thu Soe said he was not aware of the letter and declined to comment.

A movement of mostly young anti-war activists has in recent months spread to various parts of the country, exposing frustration with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s struggle to fulfill a promise to end decades of war by autonomy-seeking ethnic minority guerrillas.

The military, which ruled the country for decades, oversees internal security even though a civilian-led government has been in power since 2016, after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s party swept an election.

More than 6,000 people have fled their homes in recent weeks since the army launched a new offensive against the Kachin Independence Army insurgent group in Myanmar’s north.

Fighting has also intensified in other ethnic minority areas.

A freedom of speech monitoring group, Athan, has said more than 42 activists across the country have been charged in May for participating in rallies protesting against the conflict.

The 17 organizers of the May 12 rally, who were detained but later released, face a month in prison and fines.

The post Myanmar Anti-war Protesters Call on Suu Kyi to Act Against 'Violent' Police appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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Wednesday, May 30, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Survivors Mark 15th Anniversary of Depayin Massacre

Posted: 30 May 2018 05:00 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Survivors marked the 15th anniversary of the Depayin Massacre on Wednesday with a ceremony in Sagaing Division's Depayin Township to remember the scores of National League for Democracy members and supporters killed in the deadly ambush.

About 100 locals and survivors gathered at the monastery in Kyi village, where they offered donations to Buddhist monks and laid wreaths at the site of the 2003 massacre.

On May 30, 2003, a convoy transporting a group National League for Democracy officials and supporters, including party leader and current State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was attacked by a group of thugs who killed at least 70 people.

Many more NLD members and supporters were seriously injured during the attack, with some later being jailed for many years, their families threatened and their businesses forced to close.

"We hold this ceremony to ensure that the past is not forgotten and the people who died and were hurt during the massacre are remembered," said U Ko Lay, a vice president of Mandalay District NLD office and an organizer of the ceremony.

During the commemoration ceremony on Wednesday, survivors recalled their memories of the bloodbath.

"We remind the public of how we were attacked. But we do not recall these vicious memories in order to seek vengeance," said Ma Thandar Soe, a member of the youth wing from Mandalay District which was responsible for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's security on the day.

Ma Thandar Soe was among the injured during the Depayin massacre, but managed to escape from the scene.

The military regime of the time and the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA)—the military-backed organization that later transformed into the Union Solidary and Development Party (USDP)—has often been implicated in the massacre, though no legal action has been taken so far.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly said that for the sake of stability and national reconciliation, she will not seek vengeance for the incident, of which she was the main target.

"We believe in our leader and will follow her example; we will not seek vengeance either," Ma Thandar Soe said.

"However, we are the ones whose lives were destroyed, so we want the perpetrators to face justice if the opportunity arises," she said.

While many politicians have accepted Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's view, there are many others who believe the truth about the incident must be revealed.

"There is one step that is necessary before we can forgive and forget. It is to reveal the truth. In the case of the Depayin massacre, the victims can forgive the culprits, but they will not be able to forget how they've suffered," said lawyer U Thein Than Oo, who was a political prisoner under the military regime.

The lawyer said that when it came to acts of violence in Myanmar, finding the truth and delivering justice often take a back seat, as perpetrators take advantage of the moral goodness of the Burmese people and their forgiving and sympathetic nature.

"If avoiding vengeance really is good for the reconciliation and stability of the country, then we will follow her [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] example. But if not, then legal action must be taken against the culprits," he said.

"It would be wonderful if the perpetrators confessed; if we had a truth commission which could both uncover the truth and hold the perpetrators accountable, not only for the Depayin massacre but for all brutal incidents in the past. This would be great for everyone and there would be no need to take vengeance," he said.

The post Survivors Mark 15th Anniversary of Depayin Massacre appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘To Kill and Mutilate Was Their Purpose’: A Survivor of the Depayin Massacre

Posted: 30 May 2018 04:10 AM PDT

Wednesday marks the 15th anniversary of the notorious Depayin Massacre. On May 30, 2003, at least 70 people were killed after a mob directed by elements of Myanmar's former military regime attacked a National League for Democracy (NLD) convoy, which included pro-democracy leader and current State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, traveling through Sagaing Region in northwest Myanmar.

No action has been taken against the perpetrators to date. The Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA)—the military-backed mass organization that would later transform into the Union Solidary and Development Party (USDP)—is said to have been implicated in the massacre.

In this interview published June 13, 2003, Zaw Zaw Aung—a survivor of the massacre who was head of the NLD's youth wing for Mandalay Region at the time, and was part of the NLD convoy—describes the incident.

How many people greeted the NLD motorcade at Kyi village? Did you hear any opposition voices in the crowd that came to welcome you?

I estimate about 3,000. It could have been 4,000 or 5,000. People were on the road, and we spoke to them. I did not hear any opposition voices.

So Daw Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the people, for how long?

About 10 minutes.

Where did you go after Kyi village?

We did not go very far. About 200 feet from the villagers. The cars behind had not caught up with us yet. We could see the villagers and they had not dispersed. Then, two monks and three laymen stood in front of Dqw Aung San Suu Kyi's car, stopping it from proceeding. They asked her to speak to the people.

They were not where the other people had assembled?

They could have joined them if they wanted. Instead, they stood and waited at a distance.

Stood and waited, then asked for a speech?

Yes, they asked her to step out and speak. It was late. We had to go on to Depayin also. So, the NLD member who was in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's car said, "Honorable monk, it is very late and there is no time. Please excuse your disciples." But the monks did not leave.

They were looking back and said that the people in our gang were useless. We got out of the car and stood around to protect Daw aung San Suu Kyi. Then the monk said, "My people will be following up. Listen to a monk's words. Try your best to preach to them." We requested them to let us pass but they insisted that we stay. Then, the place was lit up by car headlights and we saw about seven cars.

What sort of cars?

All sorts. Trucks that carry goods and earth, Dina cars. People descended from those cars and without saying anything they beat up the villagers. Because the headlights were on we could see all that was happening. There were a lot of monks who did the beating up. A lot of [lay] men too.

So monks came out of those cars?

When people were being beaten up some of the villagers screamed and fled. They were chased by some of the monks. Others came around to our side, surrounded us and without saying anything just thrashed at us. We noticed that these monks had pieces of white cloth tied around their right hands.

Can we accept them as genuine monks?

How can that be? When they beat up the villagers and our party who were acting peacefully? We heard and we saw for ourselves how they continued thrashing even those who were dead on the ground. Innocent people were beaten to death. Genuine monks will not do that.

So, they beat up the villagers first, then went between the villagers and the NLD party and proceeded to beat them up?

Yes, they beat up NLD members. The villagers fled and some could have fallen in with the NLD members. Our numbers were small. But whether our numbers were small or large, no one had any weapons. Our leaders gave strict instructions that even if attacked we were not to respond with violence.

So they continued to brutally beat up all the NLD members who were in the motorcade?

To kill and mutilate was their purpose. So much so that if they saw a body moving they went for it saying, 'There is still sign of life—beat, beat.' Not with just one stick. They went through the crowd with two or three sticks in hand and thrashed at fallen bodies.

They responded to groans or pleas for mercy with more severe thrashings. At that time we were very afraid for our lives. So we lay very still and did not move. At that time these were the words they uttered: "We have built roads, we have built bridges. You do not talk about these things. What has your Aung San Suu Kyi done for the country? You want to be under the authority of the Kala's [foreigner's] wife."

What about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's car?

Very soon after all this started, five cars—including hers and U Tin Oo's vehicle—drove off to the front. The Youth Wing security car and our Mandalay Region car did too.

So they escaped from Kyi village and you were left behind? And the beatings took place for how long after they had driven off?

More than two hours.

We have heard that women also accompanied Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. What happened to them?

Yes, the women wore pinni [home spun material associated with Burma's independence struggle and later the NLD]. The men also wore pinni. They [the thugs] announced that they did not want to see any pinni and ordered all to remove their pinni clothing. They snatched and pulled off the pinni clothing from the fallen bodies and those within their reach.

The girls asked not to have their clothes pulled off but they forced them and grabbed and tugged and removed their clothes. Some of them had their gold chains snatched. I saw this with my own eyes. Not satisfied with this, they grabbed and took away their handbags also.

So Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's car got away. Then again at Depayin the same thing happened?

Yes. The young people from Depayin fled and I met them. They were beaten up with spears, wooden, bamboo and iron rods. They saw students with hands tied being led away and having their cycles confiscated.

Our information is that gunshots were heard at Depayin.

Yes. We heard the gunshots. It was between midnight and 1 a.m. We were deeply worried for our Aunty Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Uncle U Tin Oo. Without any shooting here [in Kyi village] about 20 or so died and sustained injuries. With shooting it could have been worse. More could have died.

How did you escape? After you escaped what did the USDA do?

I was lucky. I escaped without any injury. I fled and crossed the paddy fields to Monywa. Though I was not hurt, I was shaken and very distressed. It was about 10:30 p.m. [when I returned]. I saw a person on a cycle. Looked like he came to see the spectacle.

He stood and looked at the dead and after some time he departed. Then about 12:45 a.m., three Hino buses arrived without any passengers. They saw the injured and fallen, some dead and the line of cars. They turned back and left.

So those injured and the dead were left lying there?

Yes, I saw some being taken away in cars.

In the end what happened?

We were not steady on our feet. I looked on. At about 12:45 a.m.—I had my watch on so I knew the time—members of the police force, the fire brigade, and local authorities put the injured and dead bodies into motor vehicles.

Then what astonished me most was that our car, which was heading west for Depayin, was pushed so that it appeared to be heading south and shoved down the ditch. Another car was pushed into the ditch. This was a deliberate act to fabricate a different scenario. I witnessed this with my own eyes.

To make it look like two cars collided? These were the cars in which NLD members traveled?

Yes, to appear that way. I couldn't believe my eyes. I remember this very clearly. Then some of the cars with injured people drove off towards Depayin. Some cars went in the other direction. About 30 people remained. I cannot say definitely if they were the police or the USDA members because they all were in the same uniform.

The post 'To Kill and Mutilate Was Their Purpose': A Survivor of the Depayin Massacre appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Armed Group Leader Blames Panglong Delay on Military’s Demands

Posted: 30 May 2018 04:02 AM PDT

YANGON — A precise date for the third session of the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference still has yet to be fixed due to persistent disagreements between Myanmar’s military and ethnic armed groups, according to a leader of one group.

The third session was tentatively scheduled for May after multiple delays.

Nai Hong Sar, vice chairman of the New Mon State Party, said the military wants the armed groups to promise in advance not to secede, but the armed groups see no need to make such a pledge if the military agrees to a federal system.

He said armed groups met with military and government representatives in Naypyitaw on May 18 for preliminary talks. "They told us at the meeting that we cannot secede from the Union," said Nai Hong Sar, who attended the talks.

He said the armed groups came away from the meeting with the impression that the military was still determined to defeat them in battle and had no interest in accommodating them in a federal system.

"If our ethnic groups get real federalism, with self-determination and equal rights, none of us would talk about seceding from the Union," Nai Hong Sar said.

Otherwise, he said, the armed groups believe they need to retain the option to secede in case the military continues to attack them and abuse their people.

But if the armed groups did not agree to give up the option, he added, “the military said at the meeting that it would not accept self-determination for ethnic groups in their regions or a state Constitution for each state.”

Nai Hong Sar said the military also brought up the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of armed groups and security sector reform at the May 17 talks.

"This is just their wish. But the ethnic groups cannot trust the current military because it is not based on democratic standards," he said.

Myanmar’s military does not take orders from a civilian government and in addition to the Defense Ministry runs the Ministry of Border Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs, which controls the police.

"Our ethnic groups do not have equal rights yet. Our ethnic rights have not been granted yet. So we cannot destroy our armies," Nai Hong Sar said.

The armed groups met among themselves in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Sunday and Monday and decided to seek more preliminary talks with the military and government to try to resolve the impasse.

The Union Peace Conference is supposed to be held once every six months, but the last session was in May 2017.

At a press conference in Naypyitaw on Tuesday, Defense Ministry Permanent Secretary Brigadier-General Aung Kyaw Hoe blamed the delay of the third session on the armed groups.

The post Armed Group Leader Blames Panglong Delay on Military’s Demands appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Heavy Winds Whip Yangon, Damaging Hundreds of Homes

Posted: 29 May 2018 11:52 PM PDT

YANGON — Nearly 400 houses were damaged in Yangon's Shwepyithar Township by storm winds during the early hours of Tuesday.

"This is just an estimate; we will make a list," Shwepyithar lawmaker U Yan Aung Min told The Irrawaddy, adding that a team of department officials and lawmakers has been formed to compile the list of damaged houses.

"Those whose houses were completely damaged are staying at monasteries. And a relief camp has been opened in the religious hall in Ward 20, but nobody has come yet," the lawmaker said.

There were no deaths, but a 57-year-old man suffered a broken leg when a tree fell on his house and sent to Insein Hospital for treatment. A 53-year-old woman was also slightly injured when a wooden beam inside her house fell on her head.

The strong winds swept through six wards, damaging houses, trees and lamp posts. Residents of Ward 20 said they were hit hardest.

One resident, Ma Myat Noe Thu, said 53 houses collapsed and another 175 houses had their roofs partly blown away.

U Yan Aung Min said the Yangon municipality, Yangon City Electricity Supply Corporation, Red Cross Society and firefighters all helped to clear away debris.

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology announced on Tuesday evening that a depression in the Bay of Bengal had made landfall in Myanmar and that isolated heavy rains and strong winds, bringing with them landslides and flash floods, were expected in many areas across the country until Thursday.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Tatmadaw Will Cease Operations in Kachin on Govt’s Order: Defense Secretary

Posted: 29 May 2018 11:28 PM PDT

NAYPYITAW — The Tatmadaw is ready to obey if President U Win Myint orders a stop to military operations in Kachin State in line with the law, said permanent secretary of the Defense Ministry Brigadier-General Aung Kyaw Hoe.

The Brig-Gen said so in response to The Irrawaddy's question during a press conference of the Defense Ministry on Tuesday in Naypyitaw.

The Irrawaddy said the Tatmadaw, or Myanmar Army, stopped military operations in Kachin State under President U Thein Sein's order and asked if it would do the same if the current President U Win Myint ordered it to do so.

"The Tatmadaw is under the leadership of the state. The President is the head of the country. If he gives an executive order, we are ready to obey. There is no reason we won't obey it," said the Brig-Gen.

He blamed ethnic armed organizations for the ongoing clashes, saying that fighting continues because those groups attack Tatmadaw commands and headquarters.

"They extort money on the Union Highway. They commit killings and attacks, and conduct mine attacks and other destructive acts. These activities pose great danger to the administrative mechanism of the government and we, therefore, have to respond," said Brig-Gen Aung Kyaw Hoe.

The Irrawaddy phoned the spokesperson of the President's Office for comment but was told he was busy and was unable to respond.

U Lin Lin Oo, a Lower House lawmaker representing Kachin State's Tanai Township where clashes are ongoing, said that it takes two to stop the armed clashes. As the government has to take responsibility for the consequences of the clashes, it will be difficult for it to continue dialogue with ethnic armed groups if the fighting does not cease.

"It is not a good idea to solve problems with military means. The government should mediate in clashes. Otherwise, there will be serious problems such as internally displaced persons, which will fall on the government," said U Lin Lin Oo, a National League for Democracy lawmaker.

Anti-war protests in Yangon in the second week of May ended with a crackdown on protesters, some of who were detained under the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law.

The country is now led by a democratic government and has a Parliament, and ethnic armed groups can now make their demands democratically without bearing arms, said Brig-Gen Aung Kyaw Hoe.

"They don't want to relinquish the power that they have gained from bearing arms. Peace will never be achieved if they cling to arms. I would say that peace can be achieved only through the path of the NCA [Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement]," he added.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Rural Poor Squeezed by Land Concessions in Mekong Region: Report

Posted: 29 May 2018 09:36 PM PDT

BANGKOK — Companies acquired concessions amounting to the size of a small European country, while rural residents of Southeast Asia’s Mekong region saw their landholdings shrink or disappear over the past two decades, according to researchers.

More than 5.1 million hectares of land — an area larger than Slovakia — were granted for mining and agricultural concessions in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, according to a report by the non-profit Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG).

At the same time, forest areas have declined, said the report, released on Monday by MRLG, which is based in Laos’ capital, Vientiane, and promotes better land use policies.

“While agricultural output and exports are growing in the Mekong as a result of the concessions, the benefits have not reached smallholders and indigenous people,” said Micah Ingalls at the Center for Development and Environment in Vientiane.

“They are being undermined by policies that fail to ensure their rights or enable them to benefit,” said Ingalls, an author of the report.

Across the five countries that host the Mekong River watershed, governments have lured large-scale investments in land thought to be under-utilized to generate jobs and incomes.

The concessions have changed traditional cropping, with 80 percent of all agricultural land now given over to six export-focused crops: rice, cassava, maize, sugarcane, rubber and oil palm.

Meanwhile, the average landholding per rural household has declined over the last 10 years, while some have been pushed from their land entirely, according to the report.

Revenues generated by the concessions have been less than anticipated, and the social and environmental costs have largely been borne by the rural poor, Ingalls said.

While governments have formulated policies for land titles and land-use certificates, “there is a gap between policy and practice,” he said.

Ingalls explained that such policies often fail to provide ownership rights to people who have been using land, and they ignore groups who have traditionally lived in areas granted as concessions.

“Indigenous people, forest dwellers and other ethnic minorities have very little protection,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Land concessions in Cambodia have displaced more than 770,000 people since 2000, human rights lawyers say.

Following protests and pressure from rights groups, Cambodia and Laos both announced moratoriums on new land concessions in 2012.

Other governments have improved environmental and social impact assessments, but rural communities are largely excluded from the processes, said Jean-Christophe Diepart, a co-author of the report.

“The Mekong is in the midst of substantial, far-reaching transformations with regard to land. Robust, inclusive and accountable decision-making are urgently needed,” he said.

The post Rural Poor Squeezed by Land Concessions in Mekong Region: Report appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Lawyer Says Evidence from Reuters Reporters’ Phones May Be ‘Tainted’

Posted: 29 May 2018 09:28 PM PDT

YANGON — Evidence Myanmar police say they obtained from the mobile phones of two Reuters reporters accused of possessing secret documents might be "tainted," a defense lawyer said on Tuesday, because at least one phone was used after it was confiscated.

A WhatsApp message was sent from the mobile phone of journalist Wa Lone after he and Reuters colleague Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested on Dec. 12 and held incommunicado on suspicion of violating the Official Secrets Act, the defense told the court.

Prosecution witness Police Major Aung Kyaw San, who said he and other police had examined the phones, told the court he was not aware of the exchange on WhatsApp and did not know who else used the phones before their delivery to investigators on Dec 14.

In what has become a landmark press freedom case, the court in Yangon has been holding hearings since January to decide whether Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, will be charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Defense lawyer Than Zaw Aung said the one-word text message – “OK” – was sent via WhatsApp in reply to a question from Reuters’ bureau chief in Myanmar at about 10 p.m., after Wa Lone’s phone was taken from him by police shortly after the two reporters were arrested around 9:10 p.m.

“That means anyone could have access to the phones, so anything could happen to the phones,” a second defense lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, told Reuters after Tuesday’s proceedings. “All those messages they said were found in the phones may not be genuine or the phones may be tainted.”

Lead prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung declined to comment.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay was not immediately available for comment. Previously, he has declined to discuss details of the proceedings or the police investigation, saying Myanmar’s courts were independent and the case would be conducted according to the law.

Judge Ye Lwin last week accepted as evidence printed copies of documents that Major Aung Kyaw San, a police IT expert, said were found on the reporters’ phones. The documents included alleged confidential government letters and plans for the development of an island off Myanmar’s west coast for tourism.

Some of the documents came from the Facebook Messenger app, the defense has said. Defense lawyers say this means the documents could have been sent by anyone and it was not clear the reporters themselves had even looked at them.

At the time of their arrest, the reporters had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in a village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

The killings took place during a military crackdown that United Nations agencies say sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

The reporters have told relatives they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some rolled up papers at a restaurant in northern Yangon by two policemen they had not met before, having been invited to meet the officers for dinner.

Last month, Police Captain Moe Yan Naing, who Myanmar’s information ministry said was arrested at the same time as the journalists in connection with the case, testified that a senior officer had ordered his subordinates to plant secret documents on Wa Lone to “trap” the reporter.

At a news conference on May 15, Police Director General Aung Win Oo dismissed the testimony as untruthful.

After his court appearance, Moe Yan Naing was sentenced to a year in jail for violating police discipline and his family was evicted from police housing. Police have said the eviction and his sentencing were not related to his testimony.

Global advocates for press freedom, human rights activists, as well the United Nations and several Western countries, have called for the release of the Reuters journalists.

On Tuesday, diplomats from Denmark and the European Union – as well as others – observed the proceedings.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday.

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Tuesday, May 29, 2018

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Transforming Urban Wasteland into Gardens, One Alley at a Time

Posted: 29 May 2018 07:48 AM PDT

29 May 2018

YANGON — Doh Eain, a social enterprise organization, is transforming alleyways into gardens and children's playgrounds, demonstrating the potential of under-utilized urban spaces to be repurposed to facilitate recreation and social cohesion.

"In a world of rapid urbanization, we want to make sure cities are beautiful, livable, inclusive and sustainable. Doh Eain specializes in restoring heritage buildings, creating good quality public space, and organizing city events and experiences," said Kyaw Sithu, project and communications officer at Doe Eain.

He added that, "We do this through bespoke combinations of our five core capabilities: community mapping, design, finance, building and space management, and programming."

Its first Alley Garden project in Yangon was completed on 27th Street in July 2016. Since then the team has completed another four such projects downtown: 39th Street (Seikkanthar Street) in June 2017; between 31st and 32nd streets in July 2017; between 31st and Bosunpat streets in April 2018; and between 29th and Shwebonthar streets at the beginning of May 2018.

Discussing the original idea for the project, Kyaw Sithu said, "Yangon has many kilometers of back alleys, but at present these are solely used as rubbish dumps, attracting pests. We aim to demonstrate how Yangon's many alleyways could be used as clean and healthy recreational spaces featuring gardens, street art and children's playgrounds, incorporating recycling and composting techniques."

Their vision is to upgrade Myanmar's cities in terms of beauty, livability, inclusiveness and sustainability, so that they are enjoyed by residents who actively take part in developing the cities' rich and diverse legacies.

Each alley garden has its own theme, such as a photo gallery, street-art theme, or skate park.

Children walk past a mural at the 29th Street Alley Garden.(Photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

The group plans to launch two new Alley Gardens by mid-June, one in the upper block of 35th-Mahabandoola Park Street and the other between 41st and 42nd streets.

So far, Doh Eain has only worked with communities in downtown areas, but it has plans to expand its projects to other areas in Yangon, possibly after this rainy season, Kyaw Sithu said.

Residents and people in nearby neighborhoods, particularly children, enjoy the spaces, which give kids somewhere to play and adults a place to socialize, relax or read.

"For them, it is a massive transformation, as these alleyways in the past were not even enterable, filled with garbage, rats, flies and bad smells," Kyaw Sithu said.

Transforming these areas into Alley Gardens had seen a reduction in the practice of people dumping garbage in the street, but some residents of upstairs apartments continue to do so, throwing trash and pouring dirty water into the Alley Gardens, he said.

"Downtown is a very diverse area in terms of its population; there are residents, tenants, shops, restaurants, businesses, hostels and religious buildings. We want the garbage-throwing problem to be eliminated 100% but it is important to note that it is quite a long process requiring the involvement of key stakeholders such as the YCDC, local government and communities," Kyaw Sithu said.

A man walks through the 29th Street Alley Garden.(Photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

He added that "It is important that communities take more responsibility and ownership in maintaining their environment regularly. We hope the neighborhood communities will help us."

According to Kyaw Sithu, building community involvement is a public policy issue requiring intervention by the city authorities with well-defined and effective goals. Local residents get involved in cleaning up the Alley Gardens at least once and sometimes twice a week he said.

The first Alley Garden, on 27th Street, had temporarily closed, Kyaw Sithu said. "That Alley Garden area was too small; it was behind our old office. Now, we have moved our office and haven't been able to check up on that street. So we have closed it for a while but we will make a new plan after this rainy season."

U Hla Moe, a resident of 31st Street, said, "I really appreciate the idea and this Alley Garden is really useful for kids. In the downtown area, there are no skate parks or other places for skating, but kids can skate in the Alley Garden."

"As you know, people don't all think the same way. Some still throw garbage into the garden; maybe sometimes it's accidental. On the other hand, some take care of their rubbish and maintain the garden," U Hla Moe said.

A mural is seen at Yangon's 29th Street Alley Garden. (Photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

Doh Eain plans to conduct an evaluation in June in cooperation with municipal, parliamentary, local ward and community authorities.

"We intend to upgrade a minimum of 30 properties or spaces per year following four principles: locally led and user-centered; asset-based and creative; environmentally friendly and sustainable; and market driven," Kyaw Sithu said.

"In addition to heritage restoration and Alley Garden projects, we will focus on upgrading streets, playgrounds and public spaces; creating safe and empowering spaces for girls and women; and organizing cultural events and festivals," he said.

With collaboration from local governments, municipalities and communities, Doh Eain believes it can make cities beautiful, livable, inclusive and sustainable, promoting citizen participation, and preserving their rich and diverse legacies.

Doh Eain is a multi-discipline urban design firm based in Yangon. It is registered as a company and as a non-profit. It relies on and applies a diversified set of financing methods, working with clients, loans and grants for revenue generating and non-revenue generating activities.

The post Transforming Urban Wasteland into Gardens, One Alley at a Time appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Parliament Probes Hefty Door Polishing Bill

Posted: 29 May 2018 07:36 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — The Union Parliament has investigated this year’s expense for polishing the parliamentary buildings’ teak doors following a lawmaker’s surprise at the substantial sum but has yet to release its findings.

A total of 470 million kyats ($347,000) was spent on polishing the teak doors as part of the annual maintenance of the parliamentary buildings for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, said lawmaker U Aung Thaik, a member of Parliament’s Joint Administrative Committee.

An investigative body was formed after the chairman of the Joint Administrative Committee and deputy speaker of the Lower House, U Aye Tha Aung, questioned the expense during a meeting of the committee in April, said U Aung Thaik.

Lawmaker Daw Yin Min Hlaing, who represents Magwe Region’s Gangaw Township and led the investigation, declined to comment on the results of the probe, saying the findings had been reported to Parliament and that the speakers would decide on the next step.

The Construction Ministry’s Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development is responsible for certain maintenance work, including the polishing of the teak doors, said U Ko Ko Naing, information officer for the Lower House.

"There is a team that is responsible for the maintenance of the presidential residence and Parliament. It is led by a deputy director-general of the Human Settlement and Housing Development Department. They are responsible for explaining [the costs]. And it is not directly concerned with Parliament," he told The Irrawaddy.

According to parliamentary procedures, construction and maintenance work expected to cost more than 10 million kyats has to be put out to tender to the private sector.

But the Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development circumvented the rules and divided the polishing work into several smaller projects costing 10 million kyats each so that it would not have to put the work out to tender.

Parliament’s Rights Committee, which is responsible for Parliament’s overall management and financial expenditures, says it has to pay above-market prices for maintenance work.

The previous administration, under U Thein Sein, offered high base prices to private service providers, so the Rights Committee has had to assume the added responsibility of bargaining over prices for maintenance work, said a member of the committee who did not want to be named.

"The maintenance costs are very high. We have to check if the stated costs of the equipment are correct. For example, the prices for sound boxes, speakers and microphones used in Parliament are high and we have had to check the details. We need more time for this," he told The Irrawaddy.

As for the next fiscal year, the committee will require the budgets for all maintenance work to be submitted for approval, he added.

For the time being, private businesses are invited for bid for nine services including elevators, bottled water and sanitation. The Rights Committee has been able to reduce elevator maintenance costs from 5 million kyats last year to 1.9 million this year, the committee member said.

When Parliament convened in 2016, after the National League for Democracy won the previous year’s election, it was revealed that the electricity bill for air conditioning was 60 million kyats a day, said U Aung Thaik.

"With that money, a decent basic education high school can be built in central Myanmar. So we have had unnecessary air conditioners switched off," he said.

"You can check the polished doors at the Upper House. You can see that they are badly polished," he added.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Low-Interest Loan Project for Female Farmers is Raising Hopes

Posted: 29 May 2018 06:56 AM PDT

YANGON — With the chance to store her harvest and wait for higher prices, Ma Zin Mar Khaing is hoping her family will earn more money this year than in years past.

Before, she could not wait for higher market prices and had to sell her crops to traders and brokers right after harvest in order to repay the loans her family owed.

Like many other families in Hlae Chaung Pauk village, in Magwe Region’s Pakokku Township, Ma Zin Mar Khaing’s family had to take out loans from local money lenders with interest rates of up to 100 percent to run its farm, which grows chilies, peanuts, beans and corn.

In late 2017, however, she was one of 124 female farmers from five villages in Pakokku who received a total of 80 million kyats ($59,000) in loans with annual terms courtesy of a pilot project being run by KBZ Bank and ActionAid.

The project provides loans of up to 1 million kyats per person, the exact amount determined by the size of the farm.

Ma Zin Mar Khaing received a 500,000 kyats loan with an annual interest rate of 13 percent in December.

The project aims to improve access to finance for female farmers.

Women tend a field in Magwe Region. / Supplied

Because of constraints including a lack of bargaining power within the family and collateral such as land titles often registered in a man’s name, women have a harder time than men in accessing formal financial services.

Ko Aung Min Naing, who manages ActionAid’s projects in Myanmar’s dry zone, told The Irrawaddy that access to affordable finance was not only key to reducing poverty but could also improve female empowerment in rural areas by unlocking women’s entrepreneurial potential and helping them provide for their families.

Five months after the loans went out, Ma Zin Mar Khaing said women in her village were more active at community meetings and playing a bigger role their families’ finances.

"In the past, women didn't understand that they also had the right to join the meetings and discuss community welfare," she said.

Ma May Zin Oo, however, from East Nangat village, said the 300,000 kyats loan she received from the project did not cover her expenses and that she still had to borrow from local money lenders.

"It would be good if they could provide more next year," she said.

But Ma Zin Mar Khaing said the local lenders have at least brought down their own interest rates a bit since the pilot project began.

U Soe Tin Maung Zaw, senior general manager of KBZ’s loans department, said the project would be expanded based on the results of the first 12 months.

He said a portion of the bank’s returns from the loans will be re-invested into the communities and that the bank will help borrowers access markets for what they produce with the help of its regional and national networks.

For 27-year-old Ma Zin Mar Khaing, who has been overseeing the family’s four-acre farm since she was a teenager, the stress of so many years of high-interest loans has added up.

"I don't want to owe other people any more. If you ask me what I want the most, it is to live with no debt," she said.

The post Low-Interest Loan Project for Female Farmers is Raising Hopes appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Storm Kills Man, Injures Wife in Rakhine State

Posted: 29 May 2018 05:57 AM PDT

SITTWE — A man was killed and his wife was injured in a storm in Rakhine State, according to the local Fire Service Department.

U Pyae Tun, 78, was killed and his wife, Daw Saw Mra Oo, was injured when a tree fell on their house in the village of Hmaw Daw Oo in Manaung Township on Tuesday morning.

The wife was still being treated at a local hospital in the township for minor injuries, said the head of the state’s Fire Service Department, U Thaw Dar.

"I heard that the storm has subsided after moving across Manaung," U Thaw Dar told The Irrawaddy.

The Fires Service Department has prepared teams of 35 in each of Rakhine’s 17 townships for emergency rescue work. It was still raining heavily from the storm in Sittwe, the state capital, through Tuesday evening.

Many people in a camp for displaced Hindu families in Maungdaw Township were also without adequate shelter, said camp supervisor U Ni Mal.

"Of the 16 buildings in the camp, six have no roof. We have to bear the weather, rain or shine. We have reported to the authorities, but they did nothing," U Ni Mal told The Irrawaddy.

The Irrawaddy was not able to contact the Rakhine State government to ask about the measures it was taking to cope with the storm.

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology announced Tuesday morning that the storm in the Bay of Bengal would cross the Rakhine coast within 12 hours and has issued a level red storm warning.

It said the maximum wind speed could reach 50 miles per hour when the storm crosses the Rakhine coast between Sittwe and Kyaukphyu and that tidal waves could reach seven feet in height along the coasts of Manaung, Kyaukphyu and Sittwe and three feet in height along the coast of Irrawaddy Region.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Storm Kills Man, Injures Wife in Rakhine State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Police Arrest 8 for Elephant Poaching in Separate Raids

Posted: 29 May 2018 05:02 AM PDT

YANGON — At least eight people were detained in separate incidents in Irrawaddy Region, Bago Region and Magwe Region's Mindon Township on suspicion of involvement in poaching wild elephants and illegally trafficking their parts, according to local sources.

U Myo Tun, a police officer from Mindon Township, told The Irrawaddy that two people had been detained there on May 27 on suspicion of killing a wild elephant.

"We are conducting an investigation into the pair, and cannot provide any more details," U Myo Tun said, adding that discussing the case at this point could put the investigation in jeopardy.

"We plan to make more arrests; therefore, we cannot provide detailed information," he said.

Police in Bago Region's Daik-U Township, meanwhile, said they had detained three fugitives in relation to a separate killing of a wild elephant last year.

According to a police report, the poachers planned to sell 40 viss of elephant hide to a client in Rangoon at a price of 30,000 kyats (US$22) per viss. A viss is a traditional Burmese unit of measurement equivalent to 1.6 kg or 3.6 lb.

Elephant are killed on a near monthly basis in Bago and Irrawaddy regions despite stepped up efforts to crack down on poachers. Hunters skin the elephants and abandon the carcasses. In most cases they elude capture.

U Kyaw Myint Tun, a police officer from Ngapudaw Township in Irrawaddy Region said it was difficult to catch the poachers.

"They use homemade guns made from small pipes. They bring gunpowder with them, along with chemicals and poison. They mix it all together when they are in the jungle. The shoot the elephants using the homemade guns [and poison]," he said.

He said that the poachers are well networked, with many traveling from different township to hunt wild elephant in Ngapudaw.

Most hunters hide their guns, and it is difficult to distinguish the poachers from other hunters, he said. They pretend to pretend to be local people when police confront them in the jungle, he said.

To transport the illegal parts, hunters use motorbikes instead of cars to avoid police, he said.

Myanmar adopted a new law this month to protect wildlife. Wildlife groups in the country are hopeful that the law will improve the situation facing wildlife in the country, especially elephants. The old law did not recognize elephants used for logging as wildlife. However, the new law protects all types of elephants.

Rakhine State and Bago and Irrawaddy regions are all home to wild elephant habitats. Many people clear forests to farm, encroaching on wild elephants' habitats. Poachers export the parts of poached elephants mainly to China.

Police in Ngwe Saung Township, Irrawaddy Region, reported on May 28 that they had detained six other men accused of killing a wild elephant.

The post Police Arrest 8 for Elephant Poaching in Separate Raids appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

In its Final Leg, Naga Peace Accord Comes with More Questions than Answers

Posted: 29 May 2018 04:57 AM PDT

In what appears to be the final countdown to the signing of the Naga peace accord, in all likelihood before the monsoon session of the Indian Parliament, there are hopes all around that the finalization of the accord will bring an end to the longest-running insurgency in India's eastern frontier. However, the hope also comes with skepticism, as the fundamental issue – that of sovereignty – continues to be blanketed in mystery. Equally unclear are the answers, mostly speculative thus far, to the question of integration of Naga inhabited areas and the inclusion of all parties in the conflict, especially the armed groups that are based in the Naga hills in Myanmar, which is commonly referred to as Eastern Nagaland.

On the issue of absolute sovereignty, the Nagas have always felt that it is their inalienable birthright that was "illegally" taken away from them when the Naga hills were divided following the Anglo-Burmese Yandabo agreement in 1826 and later in 1953 under the Indo-Burmese demarcation in Kohima on the Naga territory by Jawaharlal Nehru and U Nu, the then Prime Ministers of the two countries.

The Initiation of the Naga Armed Movement

The Naga conflict started in 1952 when the government of India sent the army to crush an insurgency that started with the formation of the underground Naga Federal Government (NFG) and the Naga Federal Army (NFA). In 1958, India enacted the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and used it to fight the Naga insurgents. The NFG is an offshoot of the Naga National Council (NNC). which was formed under the leadership of Angami Zapu Phizo, that declared Nagaland an independent state on August 14, 1947. The Naga hills were annexed by the British in 1881 and the first signs of Naga resistance began in 1918 with the formation of the Naga club. India included Nagaland (which was known as the Naga hills) as part of Assam in 1947.

The first attempt at settlement was made as early as November 11, 1975, when the Indian government succeeded in signing a peace accord in Shillong (called the Shillong Accord) with a section of the NNC and NFG agreeing to give up arms. However, not everyone agreed to the accord and about 140 members led by Thuingaleng Muivah and with support from Isak Chisi Suu and S S Khaplang formed the national Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in 1980. With the NSCN becoming the new chapter in the Naga insurgency, the NNC faded away with the death of its leader Phizo in London in 1991. However, in 1988 the NSCN had split into two, the NSCN-IM led by Isak and Muivah and the NSCN-K led by Khaplang after violent clashes between supporters of the two groups.

For the record, the Indian government and the NSCN-IM entered into peace negotiations on July 25, 1997, with the signing of a ceasefire agreement. The peace negotiations have over the years had their share of ups and downs and since then, there have been more than 80 rounds of talks paving the way for a "framework agreement" that was signed in August last year. The framework agreement was signed between the Indian government and the NSCN-IM on August 3, 2015.

The Peace Formula: Framework Agreement

The framework agreement, which pledges to restore the "pride and prestige" of the Nagas, is based on the concept of "shared sovereignty" between the Nagas and the Indian government. While the contents of the framework agreement have been kept closely guarded and have not been revealed to the media, what is clear is that the NSCN–IM, which is at the forefront of the peace talks with the Indian government, is keen on finding a "final settlement" to the vexed Naga insurgency that has witnessed extreme forms of violence and human rights abuses by both the Indian armed forces and also cadres belonging to different Naga armed groups.

It remains to be seen how the concept of "shared sovereignty" plays out in reality. Simply put, shared sovereignty is a policy of give and take between two entities (in this case the government of India and the NSCN-IM) which would attempt to deliberate on what is possible for New Delhi to accede to and what is not. The few things that India would not do are: go against constitutional norms that prevent it from declaring any state or people full sovereignty; redraw any state boundary to accommodate the integration of the Naga inhabited areas (Naga homeland), or demand or allow a separate defense (military) to be formed from within the ranks of former armed combatants.

On the surface, this approach to peace may seem acceptable, especially given that the conflict has taken its toll on Naga society and everyone wants a solution as was mentioned by the apex Naga tribal body Naga Ho Ho President P Chuba Ozukum during a recent tete-a-tete with this writer in Kohima. Other local Naga leaders echoed similar sentiments: "People are fed up and are looking for a solution, as the younger generation is a bit detached and it does not know about Naga history. Many youths who have gone outside don't want to come back. How can I see my children suffer? I at least want to give my children a future." But when we look at the bigger picture, it certainly appears that the core issue that led to conflict in the first place has yet to be clearly addressed. The talk of "shared sovereignty" certainly does not come close to addressing it.

However, when viewed from a conflict transformation perspective it would suffice to say that the ceasefire is only temporarily holding and it has helped to curb the violence. That's about it. Given this viewpoint (and from what appears in the news media) it must be said that a general understanding or a comfort zone has been created among a certain group of people that gives a sense of "some kind of agreement." But the moot question of whether the agreement will provide a solution needs to be asked. And it is not that this question is not being asked. Most Naga groups like the Naga Ho Ho have categorically stated that integration is "non-negotiable." Naga civil society from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Myanmar have also articulated their desire to remain united as one family. This desire was clearly expressed by most of them at the last Naga Independence day celebration on August 14 at Hebron near Dimapur in Nagaland. The Naga Tribes Council (NTC), an umbrella of 15 Naga tribes, has also been quoted in local media in Nagaland as saying that "any efforts to integrate the Nagas emotionally or administratively without territorial integration cannot be considered a workable solution."

The core issue of sovereignty is not just the trigger to the Naga conflict but it has also paved the way for the conflict theater in the Naga hills to become extremely complex. Thus, the coming together of the principal actors, and this means the NSCN-K and the NNC among others, and deliberating on a common understanding of sovereignty is crucial. This is more so because the core issue is integral to the issues of integration of Naga areas.

Therefore, while all the talks of what the framework agreement can provide would possibly help to propel the peace process forward, it still it does not answer the big question. From what has been reported in different national and local media, it appears that under the current agreement what India can deliver on is autonomous Naga territorial councils for Arunachal and Manipur; a common cultural body for Nagas across states; specific institutions for state's development, integration and rehabilitation of non-state Naga militia and the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

A traditional Angami Naga tribe welcome gate on the way to Kohima/Bidhayak Das

The Issue of Sovereignty and the Involvement of the NSCN-K

What iterates loudly is the central argument that if the core issue remains out of bounds there will always be a question mark. It would not be wrong to say that many scholars of peace and conflict studies who have observed the developments are spot on when they say that the current developments "have limited the peace process to the negotiating table." Not only is it not inclusive but also a peace process should surely be seen in its entire form. One Naga scholar compared the peace process to the wheel of a bicycle, the outer rim of which seems to be connected to the center without all of the spokes. "With many spokes damaged and many missing the entire structure is fragile," he said adding, "The spokes are transparency, trust-building, and confidence-building measures. Some mechanism has to be there. You can name the spokes and it's not that they are abstract."

Recent interviews with a cross section of Naga local groups, civil society and those that are part of the peace negotiations seem to reflect one major concern—the involvement or the absence of the NSCN-K in the peace process. Surely any talks in which the NSCK-K are not involved are incomplete. The outfit, which predominantly operates out of Lahe, Lay Shi and Nanyun in Sagaing Region of Myanmar, abrogated the bilateral truce with India (the truce was signed in 2001) in 2015 and has since been involved in offensives with the Indian security forces. It attended the 21st Century Panglong peace process in Myanmar but has not signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

Indian media The Times of India in a report published on March 23 this year quoted the NTC secretary Theja Therieh as saying, "We have also sent feelers to the NSCN-K and it has been conveyed to us that they are not averse to peace talks. Last November, the government of India had told us that if they (the NSCN-K) are willing, it too is willing to invite them for talks. The government said that if there were no takers for its peace talk invitations, it would be an uncomfortable situation." The NTC has been successful in bringing six other Naga outfits to be part of the peace talks besides the NSCN-IM.

Many others spoken to by this writer during a recent trip across five districts of Nagaland echoed similar apprehensions that "leaving a key player out directly implies that one is not interested in addressing the core issue." The Naga issue is unique in the sense that the various ethnicities that make up the tribe have been divided into different administrative and political entities without their consent.

The Peace Package and the Challenges for New Delhi

There isn't any doubt that both New Delhi and the NSCN-IM have had extensive deliberations on what is permissible under the Indian Constitution for the Indian government to accede to, which surely conveys limitations of the latter to give anyone any right to declare any state of India or people full sovereignty. And this is perhaps reflected in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's messages in one of his many meetings with Naga delegations where he said that "independence lies with the people." Modi's message also echoes what the Indian government has been saying on the NSCN-IM demand for sovereignty – that India accepts the uniqueness of Naga history and culture and Nagas are partners in India’s nation-building process and have as much claim and right over India as India has over Nagaland.

But as the process moves forward questions will be asked, perhaps posing more challenges than solutions to New Delhi, the NSCN-IM and the six other groups that have sat at the negotiating table. Some issues are symbolic like that of a separate flag for the state, a separate passport and a joint defense force. These issues are, however, very tricky and would also add to the tests for Indian government appointed peace interlocutor R N Ravi going forward. There have been other equally tricky issues that have been voiced by many other Naga groups like an independent Constitution, creation of a local police and judicial system, the right to use Naga currency, and a permanent UN representative. Whether these issues will eventually define the question of Naga sovereignty or the peace accord will hold in its current form and be accepted by all Naga groups and civil society is the million-dollar question.

What perhaps assumes great significance are questions raised by many scholars and thinkers who have been observing the peace process such as "can the NSCN(-IM) speak on behalf of more than three million people? Even if they do, the question is, would the framework agreement be acceptable to all Nagas including our brothers and sisters from the other side?

The author is a former senior journalist who has worked for national and international news media in India and elsewhere. Currently he is a contributing editor for The Irrawaddy.

The post In its Final Leg, Naga Peace Accord Comes with More Questions than Answers appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Analysis: Myanmar Planning and Finance Minister’s Case a Test of Govt Seriousness on Corruption

Posted: 29 May 2018 03:29 AM PDT

In March, when he declared in his inauguration speech that fighting corruption was one of the top priorities on his to-do list, President U Win Myint was heartily applauded by his fellow citizens, who have long been disgusted by corrupt officials at nearly every level of government.

Two months later, it emerged that Planning and Finance Minister U Kyaw Win was under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission after it received complaints against him. While an embarrassment for Myanmar's de facto leader, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who boasted last year that her cabinet was corruption free, the development pleased the public, which praised the president as a man of his word. They followed the progress of the case closely, as it was the first time the National League for Democracy-led government had taken action against one of its own ministers.

But to the people's dismay, the President's Office announced on Friday that the corruption-tainted minister had been "allowed to resign" from his post. Some wondered aloud: "That's all?" There is a strong desire to see a corrupt minister face serious punishment. Simply "letting him go" virtually encourages birds of the same feather to take bribes and leave their positions.

So far, the Anti-Corruption Commission has been silent about its findings. A statement released over the weekend said simply that it had submitted an investigation report to the president, adding that "except for classified matters, the commission will reveal the results of its investigation in U Kyaw Win's case at an appropriate time." There was no mention of whether the minister was guilty of the crime. If charged under the Anti-Corruption Law, he would face 15 years' imprisonment.

Yangon-based political analyst Yan Myo Thein said the commission should make its findings public as soon as possible, given the high-profile nature of the case.

"If they don't reveal the findings, the rumor mill will continue. That would have a negative impact on the government's image," he said.

"It's time for the government to let the people know that it takes the anti-corruption effort very seriously," he added.

U Ye Lin Myint, country coordinator of Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA), agreed that allowing the minister to resign was not the answer.

"The government should not stop at simply seeing that he leaves the position," he said.

To complicate matters, the accused minister is an elected Lower House lawmaker, having won a seat in the 2015 election.

Commission spokesperson U Han Nyunt acknowledged that the agency's hands were tied in many cases involving elected officials, but added that it was better that lawmakers are disciplined according to parliamentary procedure.

"We can take certain legal actions. But frankly speaking, lawmakers should be disciplined by the Parliament," he said.

U Nay Myo Tun, a lawmaker representing Htantabin Township in the Lower House, said no law existed allowing action to be taken against lawmakers. "Though the Anti-Corruption Law says action can be taken against anyone, it is not the case for lawmakers, even if they do commit an offense. Relevant organizations have to be informed first," he said.

"It is easy to take action against officials at the director-general and lower levels. But it is quite difficult to take action against political office holders," U Nay Myo Tun said.

The most likely scenario in this case is that, given the political status of the accused, the commission referred the case to the president for a decision, as Union ministers are appointed by the president. Time will tell how the Parliament will respond to the case, as commission chairman U Aung Kyi told the media last week that the findings would be submitted to the House Speakers.

U Ye Lin Myint of MATA said that all those accused of a crime must be treated equally under the law, from the president on down.

"The people are interested to see to what extent the government follows the existing laws without taking sides," he said.

NLD lawmaker Daw Khin San Hlaing said U Kyaw Win will be a test case for whether the party keeps its promises, referring to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's 2016 warning to new cabinet members, including U Kyaw Win, not to take bribes or engage in corruption. "If you do so," she said at the time, "you will go to jail. I will visit those party members in prison."

"So, if something goes wrong, you have to take responsibility for your actions," Daw Khin San Hlaing said.

The post Analysis: Myanmar Planning and Finance Minister's Case a Test of Govt Seriousness on Corruption appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Once-powerful General Maung Aye Now Confined to Wheelchair

Posted: 29 May 2018 12:35 AM PDT

Vice Senior-General Maung Aye was known to be a tough army soldier who enjoyed the loyalty of senior commanders. In his good old days from 1993 to his retirement in 2011, the now 80-year-old was the second most powerful person after Senior-General Than Shwe in Myanmar's military junta.  Since then, the vice senior-general has faded away from the public eye.

But pictures recently went viral on social media showing a stark difference from the former general's days as a rugged soldier. Sitting limply in a wheelchair, far from his former glory, pictures showing the former vice senior-general and stroke victim receiving blessings from the famed Buddhist monk Mei Phone Sayadaw from southern Shan State shocked many people.

The monk is thought to have psychic powers and he often spends months at a time in caves in Shan State meditating. He has been approached by numerous business tycoons and generals for blessings.

Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye graduated from the Defense Services Academy (Intake 1) in Pyin Oo Lwin in 1959, later serving as the commander of Division 77 based in Bago in the 1970s. In 1988, he became a regional commander in the Eastern Region of Shan State.

In 1992 and 1993, people saw his sudden rise as he was summoned to Yangon to become the deputy commander-in-chief [of Defense Services]. The move appeared to counter General Khin Nyunt, a powerful military intelligence chief. Khin Nyunt wanted to become number two in the ruling council known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council or SLORC.

Regional commanders who were also members of SLORC did not support Khin Nyunt but rallied behind Maung Aye who was named deputy chairman of the SLORC in 1994.

Maung Aye saw himself as a soldier, not a politician. He was, thus, an unthreatening choice as Than Shwe's deputy.

The vice senior-general is known for his heavy drinking, love of golf and extremely bad manners. He was once drunk and stepped over the flag of the Karen National Union (KNU) at a ceremony at which Lt-Col Thamuhe, the commander of KNU Battalion 16, and his soldiers surrendered their arms to the Burmese government.

Sitting at the top of the ruling council was Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who enjoyed support among the generals and benefitted from the rivalry between Khin Nyunt and Maung Aye.

Maung Aye and Than Shwe resigned in 2011 after holding a sham election, which saw the regime install its own political party known as the Union Solidarity Development Party.

Maung Aye retired quietly and rumors suggest that during his farewell reception he told senior staff that he would not "make the same mistake as others" by clinging to power. At the time, Than Shwe was considering forming a supreme council, which he would chair.

"We should all leave politics once and for all," Maung Aye was reported to have said to his staff officers.

Than Shwe learned of Maung Aye's opposition to his plan and suddenly aborted plans for the council, as he didn't want to be seen as a typically "power hungry general." Maung Aye has disappeared from the public eye ever since.

Like many generals, Maung Aye and his family are known to be among the wealthiest families in Myanmar.

But in 2012, news emerged that Maung Aye, then 74, suffered a stroke and flew to Singapore for medical treatment. There was no news about him afterward.

But it seems that Than Shwe has remained active in politics – he receives his subordinates, foreign businessmen, and politicians including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is known to have met with him several times in recent years to consult on political issues in the country. Than Shwe, who is in his 80s, remains relatively healthy, informed sources said.

The post Once-powerful General Maung Aye Now Confined to Wheelchair appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Vietnam’s Viettel, Partners to Launch 4G Network in Myanmar

Posted: 28 May 2018 09:48 PM PDT

HANOI — Vietnam’s military-run telecommunication company Viettel Group and its partners will launch a 4G mobile network in Myanmar next month to cash in on the Southeast Asian country’s fast-growing economy, the Vietnamese government said on Monday.

The Mytel network, jointly developed by Viettel, Myanmar National Holding Public Ltd and Star High Public Co Ltd, aims to have at least 2 million to 3 million subscribers by the end of the year, the government said in a statement.

Mytel, which is worth $1.5 billion, will be the fourth telecom operator in Myanmar and will be the first 4G mobile phone network with nationwide coverage at the time of launching there, the government said.

“With a newly opened and fast-growing economy, Myanmar offers great opportunities for telecommunication companies,” Viettel Deputy General Director Le Dang Dung was cited as saying in the statement.

Vietnam’s largest mobile carrier by subscription, Viettel, has already invested in 10 countries across Asia, Africa and America, and has 43 million subscribers overseas, as of the end of 2017.

Myanmar’s economic growth is expected to rebound to between 7 percent and 7.5 percent over the medium term, from lower-than-expected growth of 5.9 percent last year, supported by foreign direct investment and improvement in public investment, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The post Vietnam’s Viettel, Partners to Launch 4G Network in Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Malaysia’s New Deputy PM Aims to be a Role Model for Women

Posted: 28 May 2018 09:39 PM PDT

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s childhood ambition was to become a doctor and cure disease. Now that she is Malaysia’s most powerful female politician, she says her mission is to improve women’s rights.

The 65-year-old made history this month when she was named Malaysia’s deputy prime minister. She is the first woman to hold the post, and one of only a handful of female politicians in high public office in Southeast Asia.

Wan Azizah has vowed to push for greater women’s rights in a country where female representation in national legislatures is among the world’s lowest.

“People look up and say, ‘Yes we have hopes,'” Wan Azizah told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Monday, in her first interview since being sworn into office.

“Women now see that you can break barriers, it can happen – with a little bit of perseverance, commitment and belief that you can actually do it,” she said at her office in the administrative capital, Putrajaya.

Wan Azizah has also been tasked to head the Ministry of Women and Family Development.

Although it is Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy and women generally lead a modern life, Malaysia was ranked 104 out of 144 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Gender Gap Index after scoring poorly on political empowerment.

Trained as an eye surgeon, Wan Azizah was first thrust into politics after her husband, Anwar Ibrahim, was sacked as a deputy premier and jailed in 1998. She went on to lead an opposition front and mobilized support for his release.

Campaigning on a platform of reform, Wan Azizah and the opposition alliance swept into power in the historic May 9 poll, heralding the first change of government since Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957.

The soft-spoken politician said her priorities would include strengthening legislation to protect women from sexual harassment and abuse, especially in the wake of the global #MeToo campaign.

“There are some laws that you have to change, anti- harassment, anti-domestic violence, these are the things we have to go through,” she said.

The deputy premier said the government will also look into policies to help women in workplaces, especially mothers, by improving child care facilities.

Despite Wan Azizah’s pledges, activists said the new government has failed to fulfill a campaign promise to ensure at least 30 percent of ministers appointed to national and state governments are women.

“It’s not a quota. We have to fill the positions with people who are able to deliver,” Wan Azizah’s said, adding that the government is still committed to meeting the target.

Of the 14-member federal cabinet, three are women including Wan Azizah. Campaigners said women are also being sidelined from positions in states like Johor, where only one of 11 state cabinet ministers is female.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union ranks Malaysia 155 out of 188 nations in terms of women's representation in national legislatures, below less developed Southeast Asian nations such as East Timor, Vietnam and Laos.

Anwar, who is now free after receiving a pardon following the election, is expected to return to politics. Wan Azizah rejected theories she is a seat warmer for her husband.

She pledged to continue her work to break cultural barriers and improve gender equality.

“It’s a slow process,” she said. “It’s going to take some time, with (the help of) some legislation and education.”

The post Malaysia's New Deputy PM Aims to be a Role Model for Women appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Police Witness Says Searched Reuters Reporters’ Phones Without Warrant

Posted: 28 May 2018 09:28 PM PDT

YANGON — Police in Myanmar examined the mobile phones of two Reuters reporters accused of possessing secret documents without a search warrant after their arrests in December, an officer told a court on Monday, in what has become a landmark press freedom case.

Prosecution witness Major Aung Kyaw San said police did not have a warrant to search the phones because the reporters were accused under the Official Secrets Act, which gave officers the power to make arrests and begin an investigation without needing prior permission from a court.

That assertion was disputed by defense lawyer Khin Maung Zaw, who told Reuters after the hearing that only the arrests were allowed before seeking the approval of a judge. “This is not acceptable,” he said. “Regarding (obtaining) evidence, a warrant is needed.”

Lead prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung declined to comment.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay was not immediately available for comment. Previously, he has declined to discuss details of the proceedings or the police investigation, saying Myanmar’s courts were independent.

The court in Yangon has been holding hearings since January to decide whether Wa Lone, 32, and his Reuters colleague Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, will be charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Judge Ye Lwin last week accepted as evidence printed copies of documents that Major Aung Kyaw San, a police IT expert, said were found on the reporters’ phones. The documents included alleged confidential government letters and plans for the development of an island off Myanmar’s west coast for tourism.

Defense lawyers had argued the documents should not be admitted as evidence because it was unclear who had access to the phones after the reporters’ arrests on Dec. 12, and that the prosecution did not explain how the 21 documents were relevant to the case.

Some of the documents came from the Facebook Messenger app, the defense said, and it was not clear the reporters themselves had accessed them.

“We don’t know anything about the documents they said they found in our phones,” Wa Lone told reporters after Monday’s hearing. “The documents can be sent automatically to Messenger.”

At the time of their arrests, the reporters had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in a village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The killings took place during a military crackdown that United Nations agencies say sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

The reporters have told relatives they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some rolled up papers at a restaurant in northern Yangon by two policemen they had not met before, having been invited to meet the officers for dinner.

Last month, Police Captain Moe Yan Naing testified that a senior officer had ordered his subordinates to plant secret documents on Wa Lone to “trap” the reporter.

At a news conference on May 15, Police Director General Aung Win Oo dismissed the testimony as untruthful.

After his court appearance, Moe Yan Naing was sentenced to a year in jail for violating police discipline and his family was evicted from police housing. Police have said the eviction and his sentencing were not related to his testimony, but have declined to elaborate further.

Global advocates for press freedom, human rights activists, as well the United Nations and several Western countries, have called for the release of the Reuters journalists.

On Monday, diplomats from France, Denmark and the European Union – as well as others – observed the proceedings.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday.

The post Myanmar Police Witness Says Searched Reuters Reporters' Phones Without Warrant appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 28 May 2018 08:30 PM PDT

Rock Concert and EDM | June 2

Korean and Myanmar artists will perform.

June 2, 6 p.m. Thuwunna Stadium. Tickets start from 10,000 kyats at 09-445440898; 09-977009157

Reggae Night | June 1

Saw Phoe Kwar will perform along with One Love Band.

June 1, 7.30 pm to 11 pm. Vintage Luxury Yacht Hotel, Tel: 09-250846974, Free Admission.

Back to University | May 31

There will be debate, talks, an unplugged concert, book fair and art show for university students, organized by the University of Medicine 1 Students Union.

May 31, University of Medicine 1, Lanmadaw Tsp.

Back to '90s | June 1

A party to reminisce about the old good times.

June 1, 7 pm. The Penthouse, No. 271-273, Bar Ga Yar Street. Reservation at info@thepenthouse-yangon.com, Tel: 09-771239924

Summitteers' Talks | May 30

Intrepid young hikers who trained themselves by hiking up some of the highest mountains in Myanmar such as Mt. Victoria in Chin State and the glacier on Mt. Phonkanrazi in Kachin State, will tell all about the challenges they faced. Register with your name + NRC/passport number at raphaele.martin@fco.gov.uk

May 30, 6.30 pm to 8 pm. British Embassy Club, No. 46 Gyo Byu Road.

Book Fair 2018 | June 2

The library of the Institut Français de Birmanie will put up for sale 1500 books—novels, children's books, books of foreign literature—withdrawn from the shelves. Three books for 2000 kyats.

June 2, 2 pm to 6 pm. Institut Français de Birmanie, Pyay Road. ID required on entry.

Charity for Elderly persons | June 2

Artists will perform at this fund-raising charity event for the elderly.

June 2, 6 pm. National Theater, Tickets at 01-392931, 1876 , 09-793926812

First National Yoga Championship | June 2-3

This is the first ever yoga championship to be held in Myanmar.

Semifinals on June 2, 10.30 am to 1.30 pm at the Indian Embassy, and the Final on June 3, 3 pm to 5 pm at Melia Hotel. Free Entry.

Aung Myint: 16 A.M. | June 1-3

Aung Myint showcases his paintings.

June 1-3, Myanm/art, No. 98, 3rd Floor, Bogalay Zay St.

Unlocking the Potential | June 1-30

This is an unconventional dialogue between business and art; a convenience store that celebrates the artistic inspiration of Myanmar’s finest artists and art that touches the everyday lives of ordinary Myanmar people.

The whole month of June. De Mart, Upper Pansodan Street.

The post Ten Things to do in Yangon This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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