Wednesday, January 10, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Govt Hides Rohingya Landmine Incidents on Intl Stage, but Devices Continue to Be Used at Home 

Posted: 10 Jan 2018 07:09 AM PST

YANGON—Despite the Myanmar government's assurances to the international community that the country's military is forbidden to use landmines, a number of Rohingya people have been killed by mines produced by the Army in northern Rakhine State in recent months, according to a new report.

On Wednesday, Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, Myanmar Research Coordinator for Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, launched the group's 19th report at the Royal Rose restaurant in Yangon. The anti-personnel landmine watchdog compiled casualty figures from medical assistance groups and non-governmental organizations, as well as information obtained by its own local researcher during visits to refugee camps on the Bangladesh border.

A military crackdown against the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in Maungdaw district in August 2017 caused around 660,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Some of them walked into minefields while attempting to cross the border, according to the report.

Moser-Puangsuwan played video footage during his presentation showing what he said were Rohingya refugees using a shovel and bamboo sticks to unearth an M-14 landmine. This anti-personnel weapon is produced by the Army at the Kapasa factory, a state-owned enterprise based in Ngyaung Chay Dauk in western Bago Division. He was unable to provide a precise estimate of Rohingya casualties.

"You can see that one person is taking away the mine with a shovel, and eventually a person picks it up by the outside [edges of the device].  These mines were found on the Myanmar side of the border," he said.

He disclosed that Myanmar had abstained from voting in the UN General Assembly's December 2016 resolution in support of its existing global landmine ban, despite senior Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw) officials having told the watchdog that it and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were "seriously reviewing landmine policy".

The watchdog coordinator added that the commander-in-chief of the Defense Services last month sent a letter to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, an international anti-mine lobbying group, stating that "any use of landmines is forbidden." The same month, the government delivered the same message to the president of a meeting of state parties to the mine ban treaty.

Since December 2017, 162 countries — over 80 percent of all governments — have ratified the Mine Ban Treaty. Myanmar has refrained from doing so, however. According to the report, the group has also discovered aerial bombs in Kachin State and Abandoned Explosive Ordinance (AXO) in some ethnic regions.

The group estimates total landmine casualties in Myanmar from 1999 to 2016 at 4,000, including 488 fatalities, 3,385 injuries and 118 unknown outcomes. He said that 1,080 people had been affected by landmine incidents in the six years since peace talks began. The group says that the actual number of casualties is likely higher than the figures in its report indicate.

"Do we believe [that these figures represent a full accounting]? No. We get most of the information from medical assistance groups. Guess what. They don't give medical assistance to dead people," Moser-Puangsuwan said.

According to the report, 71 townships from 10 states and regions of Myanmar are affected by antipersonnel mines. Shan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Mon and Rakhine states are the worst affected. It said both the government and ethnic armed groups plant landmines in the areas under their control, adding that the issue of mine clearance had not been seriously addressed at peace negotiations.

"We believe this is a humanitarian issue, not just a military one. And the landmines still in the ground today—even if you get a peace agreement tomorrow—will continue to produce war victims for many years," Moser-Puangsuwan said.

The timeline for mine clearance is still vague, as the signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement are as yet still unwilling to give up what they see as a key defensive weapon.

In terms of mine incidents in Maungdaw region, mine expert Moser-Puangsuwan explained that all of the devices confiscated by the Army are technically defined as remote-controlled bombs, which can be detonated by radio, among other means.

A total of nine landmine monitoring organizations have applied to conduct mine-risk education activities in Myanmar, but only three of these have been granted permission to begin surveying in high-danger mine areas in 2018. They are prohibited from putting up fences or signs in areas deemed to contain mines.

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Security Officials, Villagers Executed 10 ARSA-Linked Rohingya: Army

Posted: 10 Jan 2018 06:44 AM PST

YANGON—A Myanmar Army investigation panel has determined that villagers and security forces killed 10 Rohingya allegedly affiliated with Muslim militants who launched a series of attacks on security outposts in northern Maungdaw last year.

The Army investigation followed the discovery of 10 bodies near a graveyard in Inn Din village in southern Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State in December.

According to a press release issued by the panel on Wednesday afternoon, a five-member team led by Lieutenant-General Aye Win visited Inn Din village between Dec. 20 and Jan. 2 and interviewed 21 Army witnesses, three Border Police officers, 13 members of No. 8 Security Unit, six Inn Din villagers and six civil servants.

The 10 Rohingya were involved in attacks organized by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)—a Muslim militant group denounced by the government as a "terrorist organization" after a series of attacks last year—and arrested on Sept. 1 during a clearance operation in Inn Din village.

"While they should have been handed over to the police station, the security forces at the time were too busy implementing security measures in the surrounding areas to do so. So it was decided that the Rohingya would be executed at the village graveyard," the statement reads.

The executions occurred on Sept. 2. They were carried out by three villagers using knives and four security force personnel armed with guns, according to the press release. Two of the villagers involved were taking revenge for the killing of their father at the hands of Rohingya militants, according to the statement.

"As the villagers and security troops confessed to the killings, they will be prosecuted according to the law," it reads.

The team determined that security officials involved in the incident did not report it to their superiors. Those officials found to be responsible will be punished and their actions made public, according to the statement.

Since the ARSA attacks in August last year, northern Rakhine State has been ravaged by clearance operations by Myanmar security forces, causing an exodus of more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to nearby Bangladesh. Some of the refugees have reported witnessing or being subjected to arbitrary killings, rapes and the torching of property by the security forces and local vigilantes.

The post Security Officials, Villagers Executed 10 ARSA-Linked Rohingya: Army appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Detained Reuters Reporters Ask for Bail on “Trumped Up” Charge

Posted: 10 Jan 2018 05:26 AM PST

YANGON — "We were arrested on a trumped up charge so as to prevent [journalists] from reporting true news," said Ko Wa Lone, one of two detained Reuters reporters, during his appearance at the Yangon North District Court on Wednesday.

Ko Wa Lone and his colleague Ko Kyaw Soe Oo have been detained by police since Dec. 12 and are charged under Section 3 of the colonial-era Official Secrets Act for allegedly acquiring information from police officers about the violence in northern Rakhine State illegally.

Defense lawyer U Than Zaw Aung said the defense team asked for the reporters' release on bail and added that the next hearing was scheduled for Jan. 23.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Yu Naing, the plaintiff, did not show up on Wednesday. But 25 witnesses, including the two police officers who reportedly gave the reporters the documents, were presented to the court.

The Home Affairs Ministry has said it would take action against the two police officers —Captain Moe Yan Naing and Lance Corporal Khin Maung Linn — but has not yet made public whether it actually has.

The Information Ministry reported that the two reporters unlawfully obtained important documents related to the violence in Rakhine State with the intention of sharing them with foreign news agencies. But the families of the reporters claim they were arrested before even reading the records they were handed.

When the pair was escorted back to the prison van after the court hearing under a heavy police escort, Ko Kyaw Soe Oo’s cousin said in tears that she never expected to see her baby brother in handcuffs.

“Please support him and Wa Lone. Please set them free,” she said.

Ko Wa Lone’s wife, Ma Pan Ei Mon, said her husband was diagnosed with a hernia and back pain and that she submitted the doctor’s prescription to the police.

“I don’t know if he will get the treatment he needs,” she told The Irrawaddy.

Local and foreign media have called the Reuters reporters' arrest a threat to press freedom, and Western countries including the US, UK and Canada have urged the Myanmar government to release them.

"We are disappointed by today's decision to pursue charges against Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under the Official Secrets Act. For democracy to succeed and flourish, journalists must be able to do their jobs. We call for their immediate release," the US Embassy said in a statement it released Wednesday.

"This charge is nothing to do with us," said Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, urging his fellow journalists to take care of their own security while uncovering the truth.

"I'd like to urge people to protect journalists. We will continue to uncover the truth," he added.

The Protection Committee for Myanmar Journalists campaigned for their release at Wednesday's hearing.

Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were questioned at the Aung Tha Pyay police interrogation center in Yangon Region's Mayangone Township for 15 days before appearing at the Mingalardon Township Court for the first time on Dec. 27.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Named ‘World’s Biggest Backslider in Press Freedom’: CPJ

Posted: 10 Jan 2018 04:10 AM PST

YANGON — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) named Myanmar's State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to the "press oppressor awards" along with other world leaders including US President Donald Trump, Turkish President Erdogan and Xi Jinping of China.

CPJ said in a statement that in response to President Trump's announcement via twitter of his planned "The Most Dishonest & Corrupt Media Awards of the Year," it is recognizing world leaders who have gone out of their way to attack the press and undermine the norms that support freedom of the media.

The New York-based advocacy group announced the winners and runners-up in five categories: Most Thin-skinned, Most Outrageous Use of Terror Laws against the Press, Tightest Grip on Media, Biggest Backslider in Press Freedom and Overall Achievement in Undermining Global Press Freedom.

Myanmar's de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was named the winner of the "Biggest Backslider in Press Freedom" category. President Andrzej Duda of Poland was named the runner-up of the same category.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was barred from becoming president under the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, has come under strong international censure for failing to criticize the military's actions against the Rohingya and address accusations of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State.

CPJ said as the Myanmar government granted a presidential pardon soon after it took power to five journalists who had been serving lengthy sentences, hopes for media freedom were high, but most of the legal structure that has long restricted the press remains in place and journalists continue to be imprisoned.

"Security officials obstruct and harass journalists trying to cover what the UN has termed 'a textbook example of ethnic cleansing' by authorities in the country's northern Rakhine state," CPJ said, citing the recent arrest of two Reuters journalists covering the crisis—Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo.

Including the two Reuters journalists, at least 12 journalists including two foreigners were brought to court last year in Myanmar under various repressive laws, with most cases filed by the country's military.

Despite a civilian government assuming power in Myanmar, the military retains a powerful influence under the Constitution. The army chief appoints three key ministers: Defense, Border Affairs and Home Affairs—which oversees the country's police and prisons.

Among the 12 journalists who were brought to the court, five were sued by the military, one by a nationalist, one by the chief minister of Tanintharyi region, and the remaining five others by the police.

President Trump won the "Overall Achievement in Undermining Global Press Freedom" award and was also named the runner-up for "Most Thin-skinned" in response to his regular attacks of outlets and individual journalists on Twitter and in speeches.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won two categories, "Most Thin-skinned" and "Most Outrageous Use of Terror Laws against the Press" with 46,193 cases of insulting the president or insulting the country, parliament, government or institutions of the judiciary over the course of 2016 against journalists, news outlets and social media users.

China's President Xi Jinping won the "Tightest Grip on Media," as China was the second worst jailer of the press globally in 2017, with at least 41 journalists in prison and the use of a combination of traditional censorship and Internet controls to keep the news media in line, CPJ said.

The post Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Named 'World's Biggest Backslider in Press Freedom': CPJ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Irrawaddy Regional Parliament to Appoint New Chief Minister

Posted: 10 Jan 2018 02:48 AM PST

PATHEIN — The Irrawaddy Regional Parliament will convene an emergency meeting on Jan. 15 to appoint a new chief minister following the resignation of Mahn Johnny from the post.

In separate announcements dated Jan. 9, the President's Office approved the resignations of Irrawaddy Region Chief Minister Mahn Johnny and Agriculture, Livestock, Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Minister U Ba Hein.

"We have arranged an emergency meeting on Jan. 15 in accordance with parliamentary by-law Section 32," U San Min Aung, the regional parliament's deputy speaker, told The Irrawaddy.

At the meeting, regional lawmakers will be asked to approve a candidate for chief minister nominated by the president.

Mahn Johnny will continue to serve as a lawmaker representing Kyonepyaw Township in the regional parliament.

"He is 77 years old. Everyone knows he is not very fit because of his age. I was told that he submitted his resignation on grounds of ill health, and that the President's Office approved it," U San Min Aung said.

Mahn Johnny, a former political prisoner and long-serving member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), was elected in the 1990 election, the results of which were rejected by the military.

He contested the 2012 by-election and was elected as a lawmaker representing Irrawaddy Region's Myaungmya Township in the Lower House of the Union Parliament during U Thein Sein's administration. He served as chief minister of Irrawaddy Region from April 1, 2016 to Jan. 8 of this year.

Under parliamentary law, President U Htin Kyaw must nominate a lawmaker serving in the Irrawaddy Regional Parliament to take over the chief minister's post.

The post Irrawaddy Regional Parliament to Appoint New Chief Minister appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Journalists Barred from Court in High-profile Firearms Case

Posted: 10 Jan 2018 01:43 AM PST

YANGON — Journalists were restricted from covering the trial of U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San, who has been detained for illegal possession of firearms since October, at Thaketa Township Court in Yangon.

Four suspects in the case including U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San, the chairman of ACE Co and son of the sports minister during U Thein Sein's administration, reportedly appeared at the court on Tuesday.

The handbook for media access to the courts published by the Supreme Court acknowledges that the Media Law provides journalists with access to courts in line with existing laws.

However, in the case of U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San, journalists were shut out of the court compound though they had registered to cover the trial and were given admission cards.

Police did not even confirm the trial until 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

In other high-profile cases like the abuse of housemaids by the Ava tailoring factory owners, the detention of The Irrawaddy and Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reporters and the latest one, the detention of two Reuters reporters, media access to the courts was granted.

U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San was detained along with his two ACE employees after police found them with pistols, bullets and illicit drugs at the Naypyitaw Airport on Oct. 15.

Around 30 firearms, bullets and drugs were then discovered at the ACE hotel, company property, and U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San's houses in Naypyitaw and Yangon.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has since taken over the case and has charged 15 suspects including U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San for illegal possession of firearms and illicit drugs as well as under the Telecommunications Law for keeping walkie-talkies, the Export/Import Law for keeping drones and the State Secrets Act for the unauthorized use of the National Security Council (NSC) logo.

A suspect identified as Kyaw Chan Nyein is still at large. "We're seeking him as a fugitive," said a police officer of Thaketa Township Police Station.

According to the police, the next trial is scheduled for Jan. 12.

U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San and seven accomplices were brought to trial on Jan. 3 for the first time in a Naypyitaw court since their detention.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Five Civilians Injured in Shan State Landmine Blasts

Posted: 09 Jan 2018 11:30 PM PST

YANGON — Five men were seriously injured after two of them stepped on landmines on Monday morning while collecting firewood in northern Shan State, according to a local priest.

The victims include four ethnic Kachin and a Chinese man, all in their 50s. They are receiving treatment at a local hospital in the border town of Mansi, said Zau Ra, a priest with the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) in the town of Mong Ko, in Muse District.

Two of the victims stepped on two separate landmines while collecting firewood near a village about two miles from Mong Ko.

"They went to the old Man Jub village to chop firewood. The village was empty, but government troops are deployed there. The soldiers told them not to go beyond the village. But they thought it would be fine, and unfortunately the mines exploded," Zau Ra told The Irrawaddy.

Three of the five men were injured in the first blast. The other two were injured by the second mine while going to their aid.

Wayawng Zau Kaung, one of the Kachin victims, had both of his legs amputated at the knees. The other four were injured in their legs and abdomens.

All five of the victims had been staying with relatives after their houses were destroyed during armed clashes in 2016. The KBC is covering their medical expenses.

"Most of the locals still can't go back to their houses because of landmines. Man Jub is a big village. But nobody dares to live there since the clashes. Villagers lost their livelihoods, so they went to the town," said Zau Ra.

Mong Ko was hit hard when fighting broke out in northern Shan State in November 2016 between the Myanmar Army and an alliance of ethnic armed groups including the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Arakan Army, Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Kachin Independence Army.

The Myanmar Army claims that more than 100 police, soldiers and allied militia members were killed during the fighting in Mong Ko in November and December of 2016.

Local sources say more than 40 civilians also died in the fighting and that thousands have fled to China.

"We want to go back home, but we dare not because of mines. I have children and I'm really afraid of mines," said Nang Kham Lao, who fled Mong Ko for another part of Muse after the clashes in 2016.

The government and Myanmar Army reportedly resettled local residents after the fighting subsided in December that year, but locals say it is safe to live in town only because of the persistent danger of landmines and that houses have not yet been rebuilt in surrounding villages.

According to Mong Ko authorities, the town had more than 8,000 residents before the fighting in 2016. Its current population is not known.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Japanese Astronaut Apologizes for ‘Fake News’ of Height Increase

Posted: 09 Jan 2018 08:46 PM PST

TOKYO — Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai, on a mission to the International Space Station, apologized on Wednesday for saying he had grown 9 cm (3.5 inches) while in space and expressing concern about whether he'd be safe on his return to Earth.

Most astronauts "grow" during protracted space missions because their spines extend in the absence of gravity, but the gains are usually limited to a couple of centimeters maximum and disappear once they are back on the ground.

The 41-year-old Kanai, who went to space last month for a nearly six-month mission, posted on Twitter on Monday that he had "a big announcement."

"My height's been measured here in space and somehow, somehow, I've grown 9 cm! In only three weeks I've really shot up, something I haven't seen since high school," he tweeted.

"This makes me a little worried that I might not be able to fit in the Soyuz seats for our return."

But a bit over a day later — and in the wake of a flurry of news stories — he apologized, saying that he'd measured himself after his captain raised questions about the apparent growth and he had stretched only 2 cm from his Earth-bound height.

"This mismeasurement appears to have become a big deal, so I must apologize for this terrible fake news," he tweeted, without explaining how the original miscalculation had occurred.

"It appears I can fit on the Soyuz, so I’m relieved."

The post Japanese Astronaut Apologizes for 'Fake News' of Height Increase appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Philippines to Protest to China Over Apparent Airbase on Manmade Island

Posted: 09 Jan 2018 08:40 PM PST

MANILA — The Philippines will make a diplomatic protest to China, which it described as reneging on a promise not to militarize artificial islands in the busy South China Sea waterway, the Southeast Asian nation's defense minister said on Monday.

The United States has criticized China's build-up of military facilities on the artificial islands and is concerned they could be used to restrict free movement through the key trade route.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana's comment followed a Dec. 30 broadcast of aerial footage by the official China Central Television (CCTV) showing Fiery Cross Reef, which appeared to have been transformed into an airbase.

"The Chinese government said some time ago that they were not going to militarize those reclaimed islands," Lorenzana told reporters, adding that the protest would be made through the foreign ministry.

"If it is true and we can prove that they have been putting soldiers and even weapons systems, that will be a violation of what they said."

There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials.

China and the Philippines have long sparred over the South China Sea, but relations have improved considerably under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been courting Beijing in hopes of winning business and investment.

China has assured the Philippines it will not occupy new features or territory in the South China Sea, under a new "status quo" brokered by Manila as both sides try to strengthen their relations.

Reports about China militarizing reclaimed islands were not new, presidential spokesman Harry Roque told a regular news briefing.

"We have always been against the militarization of the area," he added. "It is certainly not OK, because it constitutes a further threat to peace and security in area."

China is holding to a commitment not to reclaim more islands, Roque added, however.

"There is still no breach of the good faith obligation for as long as China has not embarked on new reclamation," he said, when asked about the situation on the reef.

China has denied US charges that it is militarizing the South China Sea, which also is claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The reef has a hospital with more than 50 doctors, high-speed mobile connections and an airport with a runway of 3,160 meters (3,456 yards) to serve what Beijing calls a "weather station" equipped with radar, Chinese state media say.

In the last 27 years, China's navy has sent more than 1,000 soldiers to guard the reef, state media have said.

The post Philippines to Protest to China Over Apparent Airbase on Manmade Island appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Feeding the Fashionistas: Gucci Turns to Fine Dining

Posted: 09 Jan 2018 08:34 PM PST

FLORENCE, Italy — It's all a matter of taste.

Luxury labels are accustomed to tempting fashionistas, and now they're stretching from haute couture to haute cuisine.
Gucci opened a 50-seat restaurant, Gucci Osteria, in Florence on Tuesday where three-Michelin-star chef Massimo Bottura will serve up high-end dishes.

The Italian fashion house, owned by Kering, is not the only luxury company to foray into food; LVMH announced late last year it would open a second branch of its gourmet grocer La Grande Epicerie in Paris, days before Tiffany's & Co opened its Blue Box Cafe in New York.

"The big brands are following where their high-spending clients' cash is going," said Fabrizio Pini, professor and joint director of the International Master in Luxury Management of Milan's MIP Politecnico business school.

Gucci and its rivals do not expect these investments to yield significant financial returns, for now, but they are seen as a way of enhancing their global brands. In some cases, eateries can also be a way to make the most out of large, city-center store sites as customers increasingly shop online.

The Gucci restaurant is sited behind the walls of the 14-century Palazzo della Mercanzia building, overlooking the city’s most famous square, Piazza della Signoria. Visitors can treat themselves to the likes of Parmigiano Reggiano tortellini, Peruvian-inspired tostadas, pork belly buns and mushroom risotto for 20–3 0 euros per dish.

Few strategies come without an element of risk, however.

Bernstein analyst Mario Ortelli said that if luxury companies did not provide a gastronomic experience that matched their other goods, it could dilute their brands. "The experience has to be luxurious and recognizable," he said.

While labels are looking to these investments for marketing rather than profits, a presence in food could offer some financial returns in the long run.

With a global luxury market estimated to be worth 1.2 trillion euros in 2017, sales of luxury wines and spirits and food, together worth just under 120 billions, last year grew 6 percent, more than personal luxury goods such as bags, shoes and clothing, according to Bain & Co's yearly report on the sector.

"Food is luxury as much as fashion," said Stefano Cantino, strategic marketing director at Prada, which owns exclusive Milan patisserie Marchesi.

"Barriers have been broken."

The Gucci Osteria restaurant is part of "Gucci Garden," which includes an exhibition area, a bazaar-like boutique and a cinema room. "Haute couture and haute cuisine are a recipe made in heaven," Bottura told reporters.

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