Thursday, April 5, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy’s Guide to Yangon Nightspots

Posted: 05 Apr 2018 08:00 AM PDT

It has only been in the last five or six years that Yangon has had many decent places to go after 10 p.m. But the nightlife scene in Myanmar's commercial capital has grown rapidly in recent years; nowadays, there are a variety of options available and new bars and clubs seem to open daily.

Pubs, bars, clubs, and karaoke businesses are proliferating in Yangon and owners are trying hard to establish their own identity. To help readers navigate this crowded scene, The Irrawaddy has compiled a list of recommended new and trendy bars and restaurants.

Below you can find information on some of our favorite nightspots in Yangon.

NYX Rooftop Bar is busy with customers on its opening night./ NYX

NYX Rooftop Bar and Club

NYX is named after a Greek goddess, which serves as its logo. This rooftop bar and nightclub on the top floor of The One Entertainment building is found in Yangon's Shwegondine neighborhood.

Opened last December, NYX is a popular EDM venue, with well-known regional and international DJs spinning tracks at its weekly and monthly events. The club offers trance, trap, and deep house grooves.

Its rooftop bar is an open space with a cool atmosphere. The view takes in Shwedagon Pagoda and other features of Yangon's nightscape.

The bar's extensive menu includes draft beer, classic cocktails, Western food and snacks.

Drinks start at 2,000 kyats and food starts at around 4,000 kyats a dish.

Neither the bar nor the club charges an entrance fee; you can walk in and order what you want, but if you want a table in the club you need to open a bottle (starting from 80,000 kyats).

Open 5pm to 4am.

A bartender prepares a 'Red Eye' at After 8./ After 8

After 8: Your Guilty Pleasure

After 8 Shot and Cocktail Bar opened last November and has quickly become popular with celebrities and Yangon's youth thanks to its fashionable, fabulous cocktails and shots.

This open-air bar is located on the 4th Floor of Myanmar Plaza.

The cocktails and shots at After 8 are designed by "Cocktail Professor" Jarl de Vries from Amsterdam.

The bar's creative drinks menu runs to 48 shots, cocktails and other guilty pleasures. A shot will set you back 3,000 or 4,000 kyats; cocktails run 7,000 to 8,000 kyats.

The food menu includes snacks, salads, soups, mains and desserts at prices from 3,500 to 30,000 kyats.

Open 5 p.m.-2 a.m.

The entrace to Blow Hookah Lounge and Grill/ Blow

Blow Bar and Grill

Yangon's first luxury shisha lounge, Blow Bar and Grill, opened last January next door to After 8 on the 4th Floor of Myanmar Plaza.

The bar has styles of hookah offered at various prices; there is also an open-air bar.

High-end hookahs cost 45,000-50,000 kyats each for one-and-a-half hours.

Small hookahs are offered at prices ranging from 25,000 kyats to 30,000 kyats.

This is a shisha specialist bar, but they also serve classic cocktails, wine and beer.

The impressive food menu includes grilled king prawn, grilled whole fish, steak and Thai food. Prices start at 5,000 kyats.

Open 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The view from upstairs at Jazz in Time Music Bar/ Mayco Naing

Jazz in Time Music Bar

Jazz in Time Music Bar is Yangon's oldest jazz bar, having opened its doors back in August 2018.

You'll find it at the Bo Myat Tun Tower on Bo Myat Tun Street in Botahtaung Township.

This two-story venue presents Jazz Night every Wednesday and Thursday; the band plays blues every Friday and Saturday night with a free welcome drink.

Beer, wine, gin and cocktails are available at reasonable prices; Happy Hour is 5 p.m.-8 p.m. (all drinks 50 percent off).

International, Asian and Western food served.

Open 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The post The Irrawaddy's Guide to Yangon Nightspots appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Planning New Attacks, KIA Warns Illegal Miners to Get Out of Hukawng Valley

Posted: 05 Apr 2018 07:13 AM PDT

The Kachin Independence Army on Thursday warned illegal mine workers in the Hukawng Valley, including gold and amber miners, to leave as the group plans to launch guerrilla attacks against the Myanmar Army and plant landmines in the area starting April 10.

"You have all been warned to leave the mining areas. If you do not, you will be responsible for your fate," a statement issued by the KIA's Battalion 14 reads.

"Anyone with relatives working in mining areas needs to inform them," it reads.

The statement listed gold and amber mining areas including Shaduzup, Nam Byu, Nam Kawn, Tungmani, Dagum and Daba.

KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy today that the Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw) continues to maintain bases in gold and amber mining areas that he said belonged to the KIA. The Tatmadaw seized the areas in their recent military offensive from January to March.

"Fighting will break out again soon when our KIA launches troop movements in the areas. Therefore, we issued a warning to illegal miners in the area to leave as our military operation will start soon," he said.

Battalion 14 had to abandon its headquarters in the second week of March in the Hukawng area after the Tatmadaw launched a major offensive. The KIA withdrew from their bases in the face of overwhelming force from the Tatmadaw.

The KIA has no more permanent bases in Hukawng, but continues to patrol in the area. It said that it also planned to use guerrilla attacks and land mines to fight the Tatmadaw.

The Tatmadaw launched a military offensive in the Hukawng Valley's Tanai area in its initial offensive in January. Later it seized areas that had been under KIA control including gold and amber mining areas. The Tatmadaw started its second offensive in the first week of March and the KIA was forced to abandon Battalion 14's base.

"There is a lot of tension between us and the Myanmar Army because we are based close to each other in the areas we control," Col Naw Bu said.

The Tatmadaw accuses the KIA of mining illegally in Hukawng, and claims this is one of the reasons it attacked the KIA. Once they had taken over the areas, however, they brought mine workers back and let them mine again, just as the KIA did.

"These were our areas. Therefore, we will launch an offensive to get them back," Col Naw Bu said.

The Tatmadaw had only brought in about 100 mine workers so far, but plans to bring in more, according to the KIA.

Peace talks between the Myanmar Army and the KIA have been held several times in recent years. However, they have been halted since February after the KIA issued a statement listing conditions for their peace talks with the Tatmadaw.

Similarly, the Tatmadaw asked the KIA to withdraw at least three battalions, including Battalion 14, which was in the Tanai area, and Battalion 12 and Battalion 27 in the Mansi Township area. However, the KIA refused to withdraw, leading to sporadic clashes in these areas. It eventually withdrew from the Battalion 14 base.

The Tatmadaw also attacked KIA Battalion 3 in Bamaw near Mansi Township on March 30 and 31, and tensions remain high there, according to local sources.

More than 100,000 people remain displaced from their homes after a 17-year ceasefire between the central government and the KIA collapsed in 2011.

The post Planning New Attacks, KIA Warns Illegal Miners to Get Out of Hukawng Valley appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lawmakers in Mandalay Reject Call to Crack Down on Illegal Clinics

Posted: 05 Apr 2018 06:06 AM PDT

MANDALAY — The Mandalay Region Parliament on Tuesday rejected a proposal to urge the government on taking legal action against illegal clinics and medical practitioners.

The proposal from lawmaker U Nyi Min Han received only 26 votes in favor from the 61 legislators present for the session.

"The chief minister said he recognized my proposal. However, Parliament decided to take a vote and it received only 26 votes," U Nyi Min Han said.

The lawmaker said an increasing number of life threatening incidents in Mandalay Region pushed him to raise the issue in Parliament.

"There were people who were not medical specialists giving patients the wrong treatment. Those patients arrived at government hospitals very late with very complicated conditions," he said.

In a case that came to light last month in Singu Township, about 32 km north of Mandalay City, a man with no medical background had been illegally operating on men and women who came to him with any disease. Patients developed life threatening infections as a result.

In another case also uncovered in March, more than 300 people had been infected with Hepatitis C at the illegal clinic of an unlicensed medical practitioner in a remote part of Myinchan District.

Mandalay also has a number of illegal clinics offering traditional Chinese medicine and giving its patients faulty treatment. In February, at least five cancer patients were admitted to government hospitals with complications as a result.

"There are illegal and unauthorized clinics which claim to be traditional medical practitioners that can cure cancer with their medicine. In reality their treatments create complications and life threatening side effects, and the patients have paid a great deal of money for the treatments," U Nyi Min Han said.

"Although there are already laws that can be used to take legal action, a lack of rule of law in this sector is creating the opportunity for such fake medical practitioners and illegal and unauthorized clinics to survive," he added.

According to the Medical Council Law, a person who is not a medical practitioner or does not have a general medical practitioner’s license may not provide medical treatment. Those who break the law may be fined and face up to five years in prison.

"Although Parliament’s rejection saddens me, it has attracted public attention that I believe will make the government or the authorities of the Medical Council turn their heads and strictly impose the rules to take care of this issue," U Nyi Min Han said.

The post Lawmakers in Mandalay Reject Call to Crack Down on Illegal Clinics appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Senior Police Officers From Rakhine State Transferred

Posted: 05 Apr 2018 05:38 AM PDT

Sixteen senior police officers from townships in Rakhine State have been ordered to transfer to other regions and states.

The police officers were ethnic Arakanese who were fulfilling duties as township police officers and heads of police stations. The order was dated March 21.

"All the police officers ordered to transfer were ethnic Arakanese. No Arakanese police officer is left in Rakhine State. The order did not provide reasons for doing so. As you know, this suggests that they do not trust us. They must have arranged for other police officers to replace us. Township police officers and heads of police stations are important posts that cannot be left vacant," said an anonymous police officer.

Rakhine State Police Chief Police Colonel Aung Myat Moe said the police officers were transferred in accordance with the rules and regulations of the police force, as some of them had been in their posts for a long time.

"Police headquarters releases transfer orders twice a year, one in December and another after matriculation examinations in March. The process takes place according to the transfer calendar. Most police officers in Rakhine State are members of Arakanese ethnic groups. It is just a coincidence, as no other ethnic groups work as police in Rakhine State. It has nothing to do with their ethnic origin,” said Pol-Col Aung Myat Moe.

Critics claimed that Arakanese police officers were transferred because high-ranking police officials had lost trust in them due to recent riots in Rakhine State.

The police officers were township police officers and heads of police stations from Sittwe, Minbya, Myebon, Pauktaw, Ponnagyun and Ramree townships in Rakhine State and were transferred to various posts in other states and regions as well as in other police departments.

 Translated from Burmese by Myint Win Thein.

The post Senior Police Officers From Rakhine State Transferred appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ministry Blames Fatal Bridge Collapse On Outdated Design

Posted: 05 Apr 2018 05:03 AM PDT

YANGON — The collapse of the Myaungmya Bridge in Irrawaddy Region on Sunday was the result of an outdated design, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Construction on Wednesday.

U Aung Myat Oo, a deputy director-general for the ministry’s bridge department in charge of maintenance, told The Irrawaddy that it had been difficult to inspect the bridge because of its outdated design.

“The bridge was outdated because it was built decades ago. The last section of steel cable was laid in concrete and this caused difficulties in inspecting it. The cable loosened and it collapsed into the river. It was its outdated design that caused the problem,” he said.

"Suspension cables are not laid in concrete in bridges that were built later. They are attached to the tower with nuts and bolts and can be seen easily. They can be checked easily," he added

The bridge collapsed because the cable in the concrete of the bridge tower became rusted and eventually broke, the ministry statement said.

The bridge had to be repaired immediately after it was built because one of its towers, which weighed 8,500 tons, sank into the ground and tilted 7 inches toward the river instead of 11 inches toward the bank as it should have, the statement added

It said the bridge had been checked regularly and that monthly inspections were carried out since it turned 20 years old in 2016.

The bridge collapsed on Sunday morning while a 16-ton truck was passing over it. The two people in the vehicle died at the scene.

Bridges in Myanmar are examined twice a year for maintenance and measures have been taken by the Ministry of Construction to prevent the collapse of any other suspension bridges in Myanmar, the statement said.

The Myaungmya Bridge was built in 1994 and inaugurated in 1996. It had stayed in use for 22 consecutive years.

The ministry told the public not to worry about the other 29 suspension bridges around the country because it has carried out maintenance work on them regularly.

Translated from Burmese by Myint Win Thein.

The post Ministry Blames Fatal Bridge Collapse On Outdated Design appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Analysis: A House Divided

Posted: 05 Apr 2018 12:21 AM PDT

Since independence in 1948, Myanmar’s ethnic groups have been fighting for equality and self-determination through armed struggle. The result is that Myanmar is witnessing one of the world's longest-running civil wars.

The quasi-civilian government of ex-General U Thein Sein, who took office in 2010, adopted a different approach with a peace process and the concept of a federal union. He managed to convince eight of 21 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

Two more EAOs signed the agreement with the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government in February. But other groups have different views on the NCA and have opted not to sign.

This indicates a lack of unity among EAOs, which makes it difficult for them to gain bargaining power in political dialogue with the government, and more importantly with the Myanmar army, or Tatmadaw.

EAOs can be broadly divided into two groups: NCA signatories and non-signatories. Of the non-signatories, seven groups based along the China-Myanmar border have formed the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC) and demanded an alternative to the NCA.

Led by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the FPNCC also includes the Arakan Army (AA), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA).

The eight EAOs that signed the NCA with former President U Thein Sein’s government are the Karen National Union (KNU), the Chin National Front (CNF), the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC), the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), and the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO).

There are now only two of the 11-member United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) left — the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Arakan National Council (ANC)— after most of them dropped out to sign the NCA or join the FPNCC.

The New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) became the latest groups to leave the UNFC and sign the NCA in February.

"It is true that there is no unity among EAOs. The UNFC is split into two, the NCA signatory group and the non-signatory group. And another group is the FPNCC, led by the UWSA. This is the result of [the Tatmadaw's] restrictions on signing the NCA," said political analyst U Than Soe Naing.

This gives the government and Tatmadaw the upper hand in political dialogue with EAOs and weakens the EAOs’ demands for a federal union, self-determination and equal rights.

"EAOs have different interests based on their geographical positions. They have formed united fronts to resolve this again and again, and those united fronts collapsed every time. They didn't work," said U Aung Thu Nyein, director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy.

"This makes the government and Tatmadaw think of holding separate talks with them, even if they don't intend to create divisions between them. Complete cohesion is impossible. But it would be best if they could find common ground to move forward," he added.

Due to the lack of unity, EAOs fail to press for a single federal demand in negotiations with the government and Tatmadaw, he said.

Meanwhile, the 10 NCA signatories appear to be failing to consolidate their positions, said U Aung Thu Nyein. He pointed out that those with less political experience from smaller EAOs have replaced veteran leaders with strong political backgrounds in the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC).

The fact that those with less political experience have replaced PNLO leader Colonel Khun Okkar and KNU Vice Chairman Padoh Kwel Htoo Win of the UPDJC has made it difficult for EAOs to press their demands with the Tatmadaw and the government, he said.

"It started with the KNU. It is the result of a younger generation trying to build influence in the KNU and beyond," said Col. Khun Okkar.

The colonel said he joined the UPDJC to advise Padoh Kwel Htoo Win and therefore resigned when he left the joint committee.

"Small players are playing prominent roles in the peace process. Only three to four of the NCA signatories are big groups and the rest are relatively small. But the leaders of the smaller signatories have taken senior positions [in the UPDJC]," said U Aung Thu Nyein.

"I've warned them. You want positions, but the other side doesn't treat you as equals. At the previous JICM [Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting on the NCA], both [State Counselor] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the deputy army chief expressed disappointment that those who should have attended the meeting were absent," said Khun Okkar.

EAOs should avoid making negative statements and remarks, said Khun Okkar, because they can damage their relations with the government and the Tatmadaw and even halt the talks.

In January, the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) of the eight original NCA signatories held an emergency meeting and issued a statement with four agreements, including not to attend the next 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference until political dialogue procedures had been implemented.

"The statement was like a challenge and implied blame or coercion. So the government and the Tatmadaw were disappointed and didn't hold talks for nearly three months. They should learn a lesson from this," said Khun Okkar.

The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, held a meeting of its commanders in early January. They said they did not accept the Tatmadaw's demands for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and would not attend the third session of the 21st Century Panglong unless it was postponed.

Since then, the Tatmadaw and KNU have hardly met despite the fact that they had good relations during U Thein Sein’s government. Then fighting broke out in early March when the Tatmadaw moved into an area controlled by the KNU to rebuild an old road. Some 2,000 ethnic Karen have fled the fighting.

"Ethnic groups should be prudent in negotiations. They should be aware that there will not be good results if they focus only on their requirements and rights," said U Hla Maung of the government's Peace Commission.

Meanwhile, uncertainty remains about the future of the FPNCC. The seven-member alliance has said that it would talk with the government as a group, but the government has insisted that separate talks be held with each member.

"Therefore, unity is very important for the EAOs," said Sai Ngin, third secretary of the RCSS.

The government said the second session of the 21st Century Panglong in May 2017 saw agreement on 37 points, though the RCSS said it did not agree with all of them.

While the third session of the Panglong is scheduled for early May, the RCSS and the NMSP are still unable to hold national-level political dialogues because the Tatmadaw is blocking public consultations in their areas.

"EAOs understand that we must be united. We don't want to suffer from the consequences of disunity. We've learned a lot of lessons," Sai Ngin said.

Unless and until there is unity among EAOs, self-determination and a federal union will remain a thousand-mile journey.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Analysis: A House Divided appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China Envoy Says Prefers to Resolve Trade Dispute by Negotiation

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 10:58 PM PDT

WASHINGTON — The United States and China should avoid a trade war, China’s Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said on Wednesday, stressing that Beijing’s preference was to resolve the dispute through negotiations.

“Negotiation would still be our preference but it takes two to tango,” Cui told reporters after an hour-long meeting at the State Department with Acting US Secretary of State John Sullivan. “We will see what the US will do,” he added.

Cui said the meeting covered all aspects of the US-China relationship, which he described as “comprehensive and complex.”

“We discussed the overall relationship, including the trade aspects,” he said.

Cui and State Department officials said the meeting had been arranged before Washington announced proposed US tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese products, a move that provoked Chinese retaliation.

A US trade official said on Wednesday the United States may pursue negotiations to resolve deepening differences over trade, but he declined to say whether high-level meetings were planned.

One of the first opportunities for the United States and China to discuss the dispute will be on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting in Washington on April 20-22. A US official said no talks had been scheduled.

The State Department said afterward that both sides had discussed the need to restore “fairness and balance” in the economic relationship between the United States and China, the world’s largest economies.

Both sides agreed on the importance of pursuing a “constructive US-China relationship that produces meaningful results,” the department said in a statement.

The meeting also reaffirmed their commitment “to the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” – a reference to their cooperation in resolving a crisis over North Korea’s development of nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States.

China has traditionally been North Korea’s closest ally though ties have been frayed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles and Beijing’s backing of tough UN sanctions in response.

The post China Envoy Says Prefers to Resolve Trade Dispute by Negotiation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lawyers for Reuters Reporters Argue for Myanmar Court to Dismiss Case

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 10:22 PM PDT

YANGON — Lawyers for two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar asked a judge on Wednesday to dismiss the case against them, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support charges of obtaining secret government papers.

A court in Yangon has been holding preliminary hearings since January to decide whether Wa Lone, 31, 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 and prosecution lawyers made legal arguments in front of Judge Ye Lwin on Wednesday, after the defense filed a motion to have the case thrown out last week.

The reporters’ lawyers argued that the testimony from witnesses called by the prosecution was insufficient to charge the pair. They also pointed to what they said were inconsistencies in witness testimony and procedural mistakes made by the authorities during the arrest and subsequent searches.

“At this stage, after we’ve examined 17 witnesses, there’s nothing in the preliminary testimonies so they should be released now without being charged,” defense lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters after the hearing.

During previous hearings one of the police witnesses told the court he had burned his notes from the time of the arrests. A civilian witness had the location where police say the arrests was made – which emerged as a key point of contention during the proceedings – written on his hand.

Another witness said he had signed the search form recording the reporters’ arrests before the items seized from them had been filled in.

Lead prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung argued against the dismissal of the case, reiterating the prosecution’s position that the documents the reporters had in their possession were secret and that the court could assume they intended to harm the security of the country.

Kyaw Min Aung did not respond to a request for comment after the proceedings.

Myanmar’s government spokesman, Zaw Htay, told Reuters by telephone that under Myanmar’s constitution the courts were independent, "so the judge will decide whether to dismiss the case or not."

Judge Ye Lwin adjourned the proceedings until April 11, when he is expected to rule on the dismissal motion.

"We Are Not Traitors"

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been in custody since their arrests on Dec. 12.

The journalists had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in the village of Inn Din, in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State, during an army crackdown that has sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

They 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.

Police witnesses, however, have said the reporters were stopped and searched at a traffic checkpoint by officers who were unaware they were journalists, and found to be holding in their hands documents relating to security force deployments in Rakhine.

In its argument, the defense said the papers contained only publicly available information and could not be deemed secret.

Senior UN officials, Western nations and press freedom advocates have called for the release of the journalists and diplomats from France, Sweden, the United States and the United Nations were among those who attended Wednesday’s hearing.

“What the testimony heard so far has revealed…is a poorly prepared case, inconsistent statements by police witnesses, and what appears to be a blatant disregard for proper police procedures,” said the embassy of Denmark in a statement released before the hearing.

After the hearing Wa Lone told journalists that he was not "a traitor of the country."

“We only did our work as reporters. I want the people to understand that and want to tell them that I never betrayed the country,” said the reporter on the steps of the courthouse as he was being pushed inside a police truck.

Kyaw Soe Oo said the news media were important for Myanmar’s democracy.

“We followed the news and uncovered the Inn Din story. The reason why we did it is to give the vitally important information to the country,” he said.

Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, Hau Do Suan, said last month that the journalists were not arrested for reporting a story, but were accused of "illegally possessing confidential government documents."

The post Lawyers for Reuters Reporters Argue for Myanmar Court to Dismiss Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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