Wednesday, April 25, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Kachin Relative of Slain IDPs Flees After Tatmadaw Opens Case Against Her

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 07:23 AM PDT

A Kachin woman has gone into hiding after accusing the Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw) of killing two of her family members, apparently fearing detention by the military, according to local sources in Kachin State.

Kaw Awng, 45, is already the subject of legal action by the Tatmadaw. She has been charged by the Army with violating section 17 (1) of the law against unlawful association for allegedly concealing information that the slain IDPs were members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The charge was brought by Military Operation Command 21 based in Bamaw Township.

According to an IDP camp leader based in Mai Khaung, Mansi Township, who asked to be identified as "David", Myanmar Army personnel have made several trips to Kaw Awng's home intending to arrest her. It was Kachin IDP camp leaders who urged her to hide at a different location, David said. He requested the use of a pseudonym out of fear for his security, as there is a Myanmar military base near his IDP camp.

"Every time they come back to her home [in the camp] they ask us when she will be returning. The police have also come two times," David said.

The two IDPs, Hpaugan Yaw, 65, and Nhkum Naw San, 35, from Mai Khaung camp disappeared in January. After their bodies were found in March, the victims' family accused the Tatmadaw of killing the two men.

Not knowing which Army unit is responsible for the killings, the family asked police to investigate. According to David, the family claims the police investigation has been dropped now that the Army is taking action against it, however.

Police Major Myo Thant told The Irrawaddy that the police were no longer investigating the IDPs' deaths, adding that in fact the police wanted to speak with Kaw Awng to conduct their own investigation into whether she violated the unlawful association law as alleged by the Army.

According to David, the Army told the victims' family during a meeting at the township authority office in Mansi that it killed the two men, but claimed the killings were justified as they were KIA members, in the Army's view.

David Baulk, a Myanmar specialist for the rights group Fortify Rights, which has been following the case, told The Irrawaddy, "The families of Hpaugan Yaw and Nhkum Naw San are demanding justice for their killings, and the Myanmar military is targeting them as a result. … The reality is that in Myanmar today demanding accountability for crimes involving the military will likely result in a prison stretch."

David said that "Getting authorities to investigate and take action is difficult; they made up the story, but those two IDP were really civilians. They were not members of the KIA. We are still considering how to proceed."

The doctor who conducted the autopsies on the two men has refused to provide the family with a report, despite repeated requests by the family and IDP camp leaders. The doctor told the family that he could only release the information in a court proceeding.

Three other IDPs from Mansi camp were killed by the Tatmadaw in a separate case last year. In that case, however, camp leaders received cooperation from and were shown evidence by medical and police officials.

In January this year, six Army personnel were sentenced to prison terms for the killings.

"They may not want more Army personnel to go to prison. Therefore, we believe that they are playing games and preventing the family of the victims from taking action against them," David said.

The post Kachin Relative of Slain IDPs Flees After Tatmadaw Opens Case Against Her appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Yangon Dumpsite Blaze Continues to Fill Local Hospital, Clinics

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 05:54 AM PDT

YANGON — Sixteen people have been admitted at the Hlaing Tharyar General Hospital for smoke inhalation as of Tuesday after breathing in noxious smoke and fumes from a fire at Yangon's largest dumpsite, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports.

The fire, in Hlaing Tharyar Township, on Yangon’s western outskirts, has been burning since Saturday and affected several townships across the city. The foul-smelling smoke reached downtown Yangon on Tuesday.

A hospital superintendent on Tuesday said three of the 16 admitted patients have been released. State media meanwhile reported that more than 60 people who live near the dump have also been treated at temporary clinics.

Ko Myat Min Thu, a Yangon Region lawmaker representing Hlaing Tharyar, said Ward 20 has been the worst affected and that the regional health department began taking air pollution readings on Tuesday.

Volunteer rescue teams have reported via Facebook that firemen battling the blaze have also been treated for respiratory problems and minor injuries.

The dump was established 17 years ago and has become the largest trash disposal site in Yangon. The Myanmar Fire Services Department said 100 acres of it were now burning and that more than 100 firemen were trying to contain the flames.

A statement from the Health Ministry on Wednesday said smoke from the fire has reached at least seven townships in the east, west and north of Yangon and was causing health problems.

The ministry said the symptoms of inhaling smoke and carbon monoxide include coughing, eye irritation, headaches, confusion, breathing difficulty, vomiting and chest pain and in extreme cases could cause death. It said people with heart, respiratory and lung diseases were more vulnerable, along with children, pregnant women and the elderly.

The post Yangon Dumpsite Blaze Continues to Fill Local Hospital, Clinics appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Court to Decide on ‘Hostile Witness’ Status in Reuters Case

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 05:24 AM PDT

MANDALAY — A Yangon court will decide next week whether to label Police Captain Moe Yan Naing a "hostile witness" in the ongoing trial of two Reuters reporters.

As a prosecution witness, Moe Yan Naing admitted to the court on April 20 that Police Brigadier-General Tin Ko Ko ordered police officers to entrap the reporters – Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo – by handing them confidential government documents and then arresting them.

Following the court hearing last week, the plaintiff's lawyer submitted a motion to label the police captain as a hostile witness.

The court will make a decision at next week's hearing on May 2.

According to the lawyers, the plaintiff lawyer's motion to the court included that Cpt. Moe Yan Naing might be fed up after more than 120 days in detention and that he might have a grudge against Brig-Gen Tin Ko Ko based on his previous testimony.

Reporter Ko Wa Lone said he believed the court would make a fair ruling for the police captain and that he felt sorry for Moe Yan Naing's family, who has been unable to visit him throughout his detention.

Moe Yan Naing was one of two police officers arrested in December last year for allegedly giving documents to reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo.

The journalists were invited to meet police officers at a restaurant in Yangon and arrested shortly after when the documents were found in a "random" search.

The day after Police Cpt. Moe Yan Naing's testimony regarding the set up, his family was forced to move out of police housing.

He is facing a minimum one-year imprisonment and dismissal from his position.

Reuters reporters Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested on Dec. 12. They were accused of possessing confidential government papers and have been charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act. They are facing a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison for the alleged crime.

 The Irrawaddy reporter Tun Tun contributed to this story.

The post Court to Decide on 'Hostile Witness' Status in Reuters Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chief Minister Nowhere in Sight While Yangon Suffers from Smoke

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 05:16 AM PDT

Has anybody seen Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein? I repeat, has anybody seen U Phyo Min Thein?

For five days, a fire has been raging at a landfill in Yangon's Hlaing Thaya Township, one of the outermost towns to the city's west across the Hlaing River, spreading noxious smoke across the city. Since Saturday, firefighters have been trying to put out the fire but in vain. On Tuesday night, even residents in the downtown area suffered from the smoke produced by the fire smoldering in the 17-year-old garbage dump site, raising public health concerns.

Since Monday, the landfill fire attracted a wide range of media coverage. Local newspapers' front pages were splashed with pictures of firemen struggling to control the fire on the 100-acre dump site with smoldering garbage and headlines about residents being rushed to the hospital after inhaling the smoke. When the smoke hit downtown Yangon last night, the Ministry of Health and Sports, 200 miles away in Naypyitaw, announced a health warning and precautionary measures against the smoke. But the Yangon regional government was still silent. People wondered: "Where was U Phyo Min Thein, the head of the Yangon government? What was he doing?"

Well, for those questions, the answer in short was— the chief minister was busy! On Tuesday afternoon when 16 people had been admitted to Hlaing Thaya General Hospital after inhaling smoke, U Phyo Min Thein was leading a ceremony, accompanied by 4,500 monks, to bring back the sacred hair relic of Buddha from the Shwedagon Pagoda to its original place in Botahtaung Pagoda. When the panic-stricken downtown residents wondered how to cope with the smoke that night, the chief minister – who recently claimed that he would be the household leader if Yangon was considered a household – was peacefully attending Dhamma talks as a celebration of the success of the ceremony. It is noticeable that the chief minister put much of his energy and time as well as the government's resources into the relic-related event since early this month.

U Phyo Min Thein (left) during a ceremony to bring back the sacred hair relic of Buddha from the Shwedagon Pagoda to its original place in Botahtaung Pagoda on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo: Phyo Min Thein / Facebook)

In a nutshell, the chief minister is irresponsible. As the fire was getting serious earlier this week, his government failed to make any city-wide warning or alert regarding the smoke for the sake of public health, especially for the elderly and children. He didn't bother to let the people know how his government was tackling the problem or what still needed to be done. He failed to show up at the landfill to provide moral support to firefighters who have been extinguishing the fire day in and day out. In contrast, when crony Tay Za-owned Kandawgyi Palace hotel was on fire in October last year, U Phyo Min Thein personally visited the site even very early in the morning.

U Phyo Min Thein (far right) was on the scene when crony Tay Za-owned Kandawgyi Palace hotel was on fire in October last year (Photo: Phyo Min Thein / Facebook)

The Fire Services Department has earned popular praise for its hard work to extinguish the fire while the Yangon government attracted criticism for its inaction. People's hearts go out to the firemen who have been struggling to put out the fire under the intense heat for days. Well-wishers rushed in with food, electrolyte replacements and medicine for firefighters when the chief minister failed to appear. It's the latest example that in Myanmar if you care about people, they care about you too.

But on Tuesday night, U Phyo Min Thein couldn't turn a blind eye to the issue when State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi intervened, offering the assistance of the Union government. Alarmed, the chief minister called the first high-level meeting on the issue in the middle of the night, to brainstorm how to solve the problem. It showed clearly that the chief minister was not proactive. But he didn't forget to post the meeting pictures on his Facebook, letting people know 'Hey, I'm on it now!' But it was already too late.

In short, the landfill fire was a test for the chief minister's leadership in Yangon. Sadly, he failed.  Like it or not, U Phyo Min Thein, the self-acclaimed household leader of Yangon, has seriously disappointed millions of the city's residents.

The post Chief Minister Nowhere in Sight While Yangon Suffers from Smoke appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Launch of Report on Karen Crisis Blocked in Thailand under Pressure from Tatmadaw

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 05:06 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — At the request of the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw), Thai authorities on Wednesday shut down a launch event for a new report warning of a humanitarian crisis in Karen State and detailing ongoing human right abuses against local people there by the Tatmadaw.

The Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) had planned to launch its report, "The Nightmare Returns: Karen Hopes for Peace and Stability Dashed by Burma Army Actions," at an event in Chiang Mai. The event was to include a documentary film screening, photo exhibition and two panel discussions in order to raise support for more than 2,400 Karen who have been displaced by the resumption last month of operations by the Myanmar military in northern Mutraw (Papun) district of Karen State.

In March, the Tatmadaw deployed large numbers of troops in Luthaw Township to rebuild an old road linking the Kay Pu and Ler Mu Plaw areas. The deployment has sparked dozens of clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), since March 4. On April 5, a local indigenous Karen community leader was shot dead by Tatmadaw troops on suspicion of being a KNLA soldier. Both the KNU and the Tatmadaw are signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), under which both sides agreed not to deploy more troops.

The KPSN originally planned to hold the launch event for the report at Chiang Mai University (CMU)'s Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD) building. However, it was informed on Tuesday that the CMU had canceled its booking at the venue. The event was moved, but had to be canceled on Wednesday morning when police showed up at the second venue.

CMU was asked to reconsider hosting the event by the commander of Thailand's 3rd Army based in Phitsanulok, who received a letter from the Myanmar military attaché, Brigadier-General Khin Zaw, earlier this week, according to RCSD director Dr. Chayan Vaddhanaput.

Dr. Chayan told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the center agreed to the request, which was passed on by the head of the CMU. The RCSD and KPSN made plans for the event to be held at another venue, but that was eventually also blocked by the Thai police.

This is the first time an RCSD-hosted event has been blocked by officials, said Dr. Chayan, who described the move as an "intervention against academic freedom." He said the discussion was to center on the refugees' future, and military-related issues were not the focus.

During periods of tension in Myanmar between signatories of the NCA, the Myanmar military tends to demand that the activities of Thailand-based Myanmar rights groups be suppressed. In July last year a Shan coalition, the Committee for Shan State Unity, was forced to call off a meeting in Chiang Mai by Thai authorities, apparently at the request of the Myanmar military.

KPSN spokesman Saw Soe Doh said the group's aim was "to raise public awareness about the IDPs' [internally displaced persons'] suffering" as a result of the Myanmar Army entering the areas in Luthaw Township without a prior agreement with the KNU.

KPSN has documented cases of 2,417 people from 12 villages who were forced to flee the latest military clashes. Another 400 or so from another four villages are preparing to flee, it said. The displacement experienced by villagers in Mutraw (Papun) is not a new phenomenon, according to the KPSN. This is the fourth time this group of people alone has faced forced relocation. (In addition to March of this year, previous exoduses occurred in 1992-93, 1995-97 and 2005-08).

In a field interview conducted by KPSN included in the report, an elderly woman named Naw Pwe says, "We don't want the Burmese soldiers to come here and build this military road… We just want them to let us live in peace."

Another IDP, Saw Pyo Say from Htee Bway Kee village, is quoted as saying in the report: "We don't want our children to face the nightmare, and the situation that we have faced. We want a better life for them, whichever life they choose, we want them to have a better life than we have. Whether they get an education or stay here on the farm, we want them to able to live in peace and not have to flee like we have."

The KPSN accuses the Myanmar Army of violating the NCA, to which both the Tatmadaw and the KNU are signatories, by crossing a boundary set by the KNU and deemed off-limits to both armed groups. According to the KPSN, the Tatmadaw has deployed eight battalions in areas controlled by the KNLA's Brigade 5.

"As the [Tatmadaw] is showing no sign of withdrawing from their offensive positions, these Karen IDPs are now facing the specter of protracted displacement, and severe food and physical insecurity," the KPSN said in a statement released Wednesday.

The post Launch of Report on Karen Crisis Blocked in Thailand under Pressure from Tatmadaw appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Analysis: China’s Shadow Over Myanmar

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 03:18 AM PDT

Only weeks after lawmakers elected Myanmar’s new president last month, China has promptly dispatched a high-level delegation to meet him.

Song Tao, minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, met with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw today and became the first high-ranking foreign official to meet the new president, U Win Myint.

On Sunday in Beijing, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with former President U Thein Sein, vowing to promote the development of the China-Myanmar economic corridor, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

Wang Yi said the comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries had seen substantial progress, adding that China was willing to work with Myanmar to push forward construction of the China-Myanmar economic corridor and help stimulate Myanmar’s economic development. During U Thein Sein’s time in power, he suspended China’s work on the controversial Myitsone project in Myanmar. U Thein Sein's decision received both domestic support and rare praise from the West.

The decision angered China and relations between the two nations soured. But Beijing is now back on track, having rekindled warm relations with Myanmar after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide election in the 2015 general elections. China sent several high-level delegations, including a previous visit by Song Tao to restore friendly relations.

China backed Myanmar at the UN after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled Rakhine State late last year and its military was accused of ethnic cleansing. When Myanmar recently agreed to let UN Security Council members visit the country later this month, including Rakhine, China was believed to have influenced its decision.

China's influence in Myanmar is enormous. It has invested in a deep-sea port at Kyaukpyu in southern Rakhine from which it has run oil and gas pipelines across the country to southern Yunnan Province. It had planned to build a high-speed rail line as well, but the project has stalled. Chinese companies are also behind several mining projects in central Myanmar.

In November, Minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar and proposed an economic corridor linking the neighbors as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The economic corridor will run from Yunnan to the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar. From there it will stretch south to Yangon and west to the Kyaukpyu special economic zone in Rakhine. Myanmar is in fact central to China's geopolitical strategic game plan in terms of trade links, energy security and its ambitious Silk Road project, and stability in Rakhine is critical to its success. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the corridor proposal, though few details have been shared.

Beijing also promised to persuade ethnic armed groups in northern Myanmar to talk with the central government. As a peace broker, Sun Guoxiang, Beijing’s special envoy for Asian affairs, made several visits to Yunnan and Naypyitaw to bring armed groups to the negotiating table at the last national peace conference in 2017. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has asked China to assist in the peace process.

The post Analysis: China's Shadow Over Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Handmade Myanmar Bags with a Bohemian Style

Posted: 25 Apr 2018 03:09 AM PDT

Nowadays, people pay close attention to their fashion choices. Some choose flashy brand names, while others focus on unique handmade items.

Handmade goods are often produced in limited quantities, making them even more special.

Many local brands have popped up that produce shoes, bags and clothing, among other things. One such brand called Zoey has become a hit with youth as well as celebrities.

A handmade Zoey bag. / Supplied

Zoey is a collection of handmade bags with a bohemian influence created by local designer Ma Pont.

"Actually, 'Zoey' was my oldest daughter's idea and I began this brand as a gift for her fourteenth birthday," said Ma Pont, adding that she named the brand after her daughter.

Zoey, 14, is also interested in making her own styles and creations and is particularly interested in bags as well.

One day, she told her mom that all of her brand name bags were too heavy and difficult to carry.

The hope to create a lightweight bag was the spark that led to Zoey designs.

A girl sports a small Zoey backpack. / Supplied

Her mom started tinkering and was drawn to the bohemian style, which allowed her to experiment with color. She used traditional Burmese textile patterns but mixed them creatively.

The mother-daughter pair discussed the designs at the beginning.

"At first, this wasn't going to be a business; I was just going to give the bags to my daughter's friends," Ma Pont said.

Some of Ma Pont's friends are popular actresses and the Zoey brand received a lot of attention after they carried her bags. Then, the items got noticed on social media and grew in popularity.

Ma Pont used the feedback she received on the initial bags, which was overwhelmingly positive, and went ahead to design and produce more styles.

Zoey by designer Ma Pont in Paris. / Supplied

'Zoey' was started in October 2017 and all of the bags are still sewn by hand. The brand is a mix of quality traditional textiles and colorful bohemian themes.

Ma Pont also has her own design brand called 'My Favorite Collection,' mostly creating wedding dresses and other dresses for local celebrities.

Zoey doesn't maintain a large inventory. Only a small quantity of bags are produced to maintain quality," Ma Pont said.

Customers can make suggestions as to designs, colors and materials that they'd like, and Zoey will either create something or match them with something that fits the customers' wants.

Zoey has many types of bags available including totes, slings, backpacks and clutches. The styles are versatile and women, men, and children are seen wearing them.

The prices range from 35,000-50,000 kyats or more for custom orders.

Zoey does not yet have a brick and mortar location but designs and information can be found on the Facebook page Zoey by designermapont.

The post Handmade Myanmar Bags with a Bohemian Style appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

After Suu Kyi Intervention, Yangon Govt Works to Solve Landfill Fire

Posted: 24 Apr 2018 10:53 PM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein held a hasty meeting late last night after Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi offered assistance to his government as a huge landfill fire in Yangon's Hlaing Thayar Township worsened, threatening public health.

It was the first high-level meeting held by the Yangon government on the issue since the fire broke out several days ago.

The State Counselor's intervention came on Tuesday night when many townships—including the downtown area—across the city suffered from noxious smoke produced by the fire raging at the landfill since Saturday.

President's Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay told The Irrawaddy that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi informed the office about the Union government's proposed assistance to tackle the problem.

"We relayed her message to the regional government. They held a meeting last night. They are now preparing to let the people know what has been done and what will be done," he said.

The Yangon government will issue a press release, as the meeting finished late Tuesday night, he added.

Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein posted on his Facebook page at 11:45 p.m. about the meeting, saying that he discussed expanded measures to extinguish the fire quickly, as well as extended measures with relevant authorities.

Long before the chief minister's late night meeting on Tuesday, Major General That Pone of the Yangon Military Command made a visit to the landfill personally and deployed troops to help put the fire out.

As of Tuesday, Hlaing Thayar General Hospital admitted 14 patients for illnesses related to smoke inhalation.

"Four have been released. Necessary medics, including a chest specialist, have now come," said Dr. Thida Hla, the deputy director general from the Department of Medical Services under the Ministry of Health and Sports. The Ministry issue health warnings regarding the smoke last night.

The post After Suu Kyi Intervention, Yangon Govt Works to Solve Landfill Fire appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

India Death Penalty For Child Rape Unlikely to Deter Traffickers, Says Campaigner

Posted: 24 Apr 2018 10:10 PM PDT

MUMBAI — People selling children into India’s sex trade are unlikely to be deterred by a new order approving the death penalty for child rape because laws are rarely applied in trafficking cases, said a leading campaigner.

India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act — which allows lifetime prison sentences for people who sexually assault children — is being amended to introduce the death penalty for the rape of children below age 12.

But authorities have consistently failed to use the law to prosecute child sex trafficking, said Sunitha Krishnan, who was named today as a finalist for the prestigious Aurora Humanitarian Prize.

“The death penalty can be a deterrent only if POCSO is applied in trafficking cases, and if there is speedy trial and justice,” said Krishnan. “But POCSO is applied in very few trafficking cases.”

India’s cabinet approved the amendment on April 21 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an emergency meeting in response to nationwide outrage in the wake of a series of child rape cases.

However, an increase in the sex trafficking of children and infants has failed to spark a similar national outcry, according to campaigners.

Reports of human trafficking rose by almost 20 percent in 2016 against the previous year to more than 8,000. More than 60 percent of nearly 24,000 victims rescued were children, according to government data.

Krishnan, who petitioned the Supreme Court to take action against the circulation of rape videos on social media, said the internet has driven up demand for child sex videos while allowing traffickers to hide their identities.

“Sexual assault of children and babies is now being recorded and uploaded on porn websites or circulated on social media,” said Krishnan, who is a co-founder of the anti-trafficking charity Prajwala.

Krishnan, a gang rape survivor whose Hyderabad-based charity has rescued and rehabilitated scores of trafficking victims over the last two decades, said authorities are becoming more aware of the crime — but that has not translated into action.

“There is a big gap between the rate with which this problem is expanding and our response to it,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

While authorities do use existing laws to prosecute pimps, brothel managers and traffickers, customers who assault children trafficked into sexual slavery are rarely arrested, Krishnan said.

“By the time we get our act together and do something, so many lives will be sacrificed,” said Krishnan, who is also a recipient of one of India’s highest civilian awards, the Padma Shri.

Her fellow Aurora finalists are Kyaw Hla Aung, a lawyer and leader of Myanmar’s beleaguered Rohingya community, and Héctor Tomás González Castillo, a Franciscan friar in Mexico who provides shelter for migrants headed to the United States.

The annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity was founded by Armenia-based 100 LIVES, a global initiative that commemorates a 1915 massacre in which up to 1.5 million Christian Armenians were killed by Ottoman Muslims.

The post India Death Penalty For Child Rape Unlikely to Deter Traffickers, Says Campaigner appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

ASEAN Summit to focus on Myanmar, S. China Sea but Little Progress Expected

Posted: 24 Apr 2018 10:05 PM PDT

SINGAPORE — Southeast Asian leaders will focus on trade wars, the crisis in Myanmar and security tensions in the disputed South China Sea at a summit this weekend, but it’s highly unlikely there will be any headline-grabbing progress on the issues.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), formed more than half a century ago, has historically struggled with challenges facing the region because it works only by consensus and is reluctant to get involved in any matter deemed to be internal to any of its members.

The summit is being hosted by Singapore, an island state of 5.6 million people that is the smallest in the 10-member bloc, but the wealthiest and most westernized. The group also includes developing countries like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, as well as nations like the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam.

Asked why ASEAN took so long to take action on regional challenges, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said: “We can only do something if we get consensus. We need to do that because no other regional grouping has such diversity.

“But when ASEAN does decide and it does get moving, because there is consensus, I think we can do so effectively,” he said in an interview.

Singapore’s largest-selling newspaper, the Straits Times, said last year that even ASEAN’s five founding members took distinct approaches to issues facing the grouping.

The Philippines, it said, “demands ‘a legal basis’ for everything, while Singapore tends to ask ‘What is in it for us?'”

“Malaysia refers everything back to its government, Thailand prefers rule by committee, and Indonesia wants everything in step with its Pancasila (five-principle) philosophy.”

The situation in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine, where hundreds of thousands of minority Rohingya Muslims have fled for neighboring Bangladesh after a military crackdown, is one of the biggest challenges facing the group. The United Nations has said there is growing evidence that genocide has been committed.

“What you’re witnessing now is a disaster, it's a human tragedy,” Balakrishnan said.

He said ASEAN’s focus had been on stopping the violence and delivering assistance but added: “The political responsibility and accountability have to be with the Myanmar government. They have to find a political solution.”

Buddhist-majority Myanmar denies accusations of widespread abuses and has asked for "clear evidence."

Work in Progress

ASEAN hopes that a code of conduct it is negotiating with China will ease the dispute in the South China Sea, one of the world’s most volatile hotspots and one of its busiest waterways.

Balakrishnan said substantial work had been done on the code in recent months, but it was still a work in progress.

“Frankly I was pleasantly surprised that we could actually put it all down in a single document, albeit with lots of square brackets and they are not necessarily reconcilable yet,” he said.

Singapore has previously said it would be “unrealistic” to expect an agreement on the code to be reached within a year, after talks began late last year. Critics have said the code, which is expected to be non-binding, would only be an incremental step since it would not force China to back-track on its moves.

Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines all claim some or all of the South China Sea. China says it owns most of the waterway and has been aggressively building and militarizing artificial islands.

Negotiations on the code of conduct have moved as well as they could under the difficult circumstances, Balakrishnan said. “Are the territorial issues resolved? No, of course not. Those will take years, if not generations,” he said.

ASEAN foreign and finance ministers will gather ahead of the summit and were likely to voice concern on trade tensions between the United States and China.

“From an ASEAN perspective, the ideal world is one in which America, Japan, China and Europe get along and work within agreed multilateral rules adjudicated by multilateral institutions … like the WTO,” Balakrishnan said.

“We think it’s a good idea,” he said, referring to the World Trade Organization, which US President Donald Trump has called “a catastrophe” and “a disaster” for the United States.

“We do not wish to see unilateral imposition of trade measures, no matter how they argue them. Take it to the WTO, accept multilateral institutions, multilateral rules,” Balakrishnan said.

The post ASEAN Summit to focus on Myanmar, S. China Sea but Little Progress Expected appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Leeds United to Visit Myanmar for Pre-Season Tour

Posted: 24 Apr 2018 09:50 PM PDT

English Championship soccer team Leeds United will visit Myanmar for their post-season tour next month despite an army crackdown and the British government’s advice against traveling to some areas in the country.

Former English champions Leeds are scheduled to play the Myanmar national team on May 9 and will take on the National League’s all-stars in a second friendly two days later.

The second-tier side will also conduct football clinics with Myanmar Football Federation academies in Yangon and Mandalay and visit cultural sites including Shwedagon Pagoda and the Maha Myat Muni Pagoda, the Yorkshire club said in a statement.

“Myanmar is one of the fastest-growing nations in Southeast Asia and is passionate about English football,” said Leeds managing director Angus Kinnear.

“They have ambitious goals for grassroots and elite football development that we’re delighted to be able to support. This tour gives us an opportunity to meet new fans who will hopefully support our journey back to the Premier League.”

The United Nations and rights groups say a Myanmar military operation in the country’s northwest in August has sent nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh.

Rohingya refugees have reported killings, rapes and arson on a large scale.

Britain’s opposition Labour Party’s Shadow Minister for Sport, Rosena Allin-Khan, said on her official Twitter account she had written to Leeds urging the club to cancel the planned tour.

“It is morally corrupt for a football team to partake in a post-season tour to promote a country which carries out state-sponsored mass murder,” she wrote in the letter.

Myanmar denies accusations its military crackdown constitutes ethnic cleansing.

The post Leeds United to Visit Myanmar for Pre-Season Tour appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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