Tuesday, June 26, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Analysis: Sacking of Senior Army Officers Unlikely to Reduce International Pressure over Rakhine

Posted: 26 Jun 2018 08:50 AM PDT

YANGON — Despite the Myanmar Army's announcement of the expulsion of a couple of high-ranking officers on Monday over their mishandling of the northern Rakhine issue, which caused nearly 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh in late 2017, many political analysts and politicians predict that international pressure on Myanmar will continue to grow ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The European Union (EU) released a list of targeted sanctions on Monday against seven military and border guard police officers directly involved the clearance operations in 2017. On the same day, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief announced its punishment of the officers. The targeted sanctions were not new; in February 2018, the EU condemned widely alleged human rights violations by Myanmar security forces and it has been preparing targeted restrictive measures on the responsible officers since then.

The EU statement targets the following officers for sanctions: Lieutenant General Aung Kyaw Zaw, the commander of Bureau of Special Operations No. 3 at the military's Western Command from 2015 to 2017; Major General Maung Maung Soe, chief of the Western Command of the Myanmar Armed Forces from 2016 to 2017; Brigadier General Than Oo, commander of the 99th Light Infantry Division; Brigadier General Aung Aung, commander of the 33rd Light Infantry Division; Major General Khin Maung Soe of the 15th Light Infantry Division (a branch of Infantry Battalion No. 564); Brigadier General Thura San Lwin, head of the Border Guard Police; and Commander Thant Zin Oo of the 8th Security Police Battalion in northern Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township, who assisted Brig-Gen Aung Aung during the operations.

A statement subsequently released by the military reiterated the Army's March 6 suspension of Maj-Gen Maung Maung Soe from his position and his official removal on June 25 as the Western Command chief for failing to carry out the necessary actions against members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) despite having received prior information about the group's attacks on civil servants and members of the security forces, as well as his mismanagement of military operations on the ground.

Additionally, Lt-Gen Aung Kyaw Zaw, who was assigned to closely supervise operations in Rakhine State, voluntarily resigned on May 22 and Brig-Gen Thura San Lwin was removed from his position in the same month. The Office of the Commander-in-Chief did not mention whether action would be taken against the three other Army officers and one Border Guard officer.

The Irrawaddy phoned Police Commander Thant Zin Oo on Tuesday but he declined to answer questions, saying, "I am too busy with security matters and meetings with my superiors."

The Burmese-language Army statement used the phrase "violent Bengalis". "Bengali", the term used by most people in Myanmar to refer to Rohingya, implies they are immigrants from Bangladesh brought in by British colonial administrators to fill a labor shortage in northern Rakhine.

Some political analysts and politicians concluded that the Army announcement was prompted by international pressure, while others saw it as a normal development.

Yangon-based political analyst Dr. Yan Myo Thein welcomed the Army's move as an initial step, saying it represented a break with the past. He interpreted it as diplomatic gesture expressing a willingness to maintain a positive relationship with the international community. Dr. Yan Myo Thein pointed out that the support of the EU, the US and other Western countries was crucial to Myanmar's democratic transition. If international pressure is mounting, Myanmar should strategically tighten its relationship with the international community, he said.

The analyst urged the military to apply the law equally to every single military officer by closely monitoring them to ensure they follow the laws, rules and regulations of the Army (or Tatmadaw), as well as social norms. When officers overstep their legitimate authority, the Army should investigate the alleged abuses and reveal its findings to the public, he said, adding that it is standard practice around the world for militaries to monitor the behavior of its soldiers and carry out inspections.

"I think the Tatmadaw will do this more in the future," Dr. Yan Myo Thein said.

He believed that increasing engagement with the UN could reduce the challenges, dilemmas and international pressure on Myanmar, as the country is itself a member of the world body, though he acknowledged that there would be advantages and disadvantages to this approach.

Ethnic affairs expert Maung Maung Soe, who spent time in northern Rakhine before the armed conflict, agreed that the recent move by the Army to kick out four senior officers would do little to reduce international pressure on Myanmar.

"It's very important that both the government and Army should broadly engage with the EU and the international community. And facilitating the opening of a new EU office in Naypyitaw is one of the significant steps that Myanmar intends to take," Dr. Yan Myo Thein said.

National League for Democracy Lower House lawmaker Daw Pyone Kathy Naing, who is also a member of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine, said the EU sanctions were widely expected, adding that the Army's latest step demonstrated that it is willing to take legal action against officers who abuse their authority. However, she said simply blaming all security members would be unfair, as several key actors like the armed rebel group the Arakan Army (AA), as well as ARSA militants and narcotics gangs, were also moving around the region. Community hostility in the villages involved in the attacks also contributed to the explosive situation, she said.

"Army officers should find evidence to prove the other groups' abuses, rather than simply making verbal arguments at this time," she said.

She urged the international community to understand that Myanmar experienced terrorist attacks in late 2017 for the first time ever, and that the country might have some weaknesses when it comes to implementing counter-terrorism operations.

"It's really good for us to take lessons from past experiences," Daw Pyone Kathy Naing said.

While some politicians welcomed the Army's move, Arakan National Party (ANP) Lower House lawmaker U Pe Than had a different stance. He said punishment was unnecessary to ease the international pressure on Myanmar, as other countries had similarly mishandled conflicts. He argued that the situation on the ground made it extremely tough for members of the security forces to determine who was a terrorist, because by the time the clearance operation began every village involved in the serial attacks in August 2017 was either directly or indirectly linked in some way to ARSA. This was a result of poor law enforcement in the region for years, which had allowed ARSA militants to gain a foothold, he said.

"Today's situation, in which we see continued referrals [of Myanmar military leaders] to the ICC, is the result of the international community's lack of information regarding what is happening on the ground. Whenever they talk about the northern Rakhine conflict, they focus solely on human rights and the mass exodus," U Pe Than said.

While their views on the EU sanctions and Myanmar's short-term future may differ, local analysts and politicians generally agree that the international pressure will likely rise again in the run-up to the UN General Assembly, which is scheduled to be held in September, as Rohingya sympathizers and lobbyist groups' ultimate goals are to bring Myanmar military officers before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and to secure a citizenship guarantee for the Rohingya.

 

 

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Exhibit Exploring Sexuality Aims for Ambiguity

Posted: 26 Jun 2018 07:51 AM PDT

YANGON — A new exhibition in Yangon featuring the works of artists Richie Htet and Calum Minuti titled “I’m Not Trying to Seduce You” may leave visitors with the opposite impression.

The exhibition is about the sensuality and sexuality of Myanmar women and an exploration of the idea of the Myanmar femme fatale, said Richie Htet.

"Just as the title suggests, the work in the exhibition remains ambiguous when it comes to seduction," he said.

An illustration by Richie Htet. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

The show opened on Saturday and will run until July 3 at the Myanmar Art gallery, located on Bogalay Zay Street. Opened hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The exhibition combines fashion with drawings, paintings and photography, setting it apart from other art exhibitions currently showing in Yangon.

A painting of model Valerie by Richie Htet.

"I think that is special and different about our exhibition. We think of fashion, art [paintings and drawings] and photography as one and the same," said Richie Htet.

The exhibition showcases Richie Htet’s paintings on fashion and Calum Minuti's nude illustrations. Both studied fashion illustration at the London College of Fashion.

A painting of model M Seng Lu by Richie Htet.

"We wanted to liberate the women in our work, free from the confines of social acceptability. To portray the women nude is to free them and give them the ownership of their own bodies and sexuality," said Calum Minuti.

The two began by coming up with the theme and title for the exhibition and working around that. As they explained, the show’s title borrows a line from the American movie “The Graduate.”

Photographs by Zicky Le.

"We were also inspired by the fashion and idea of the modern girl during the ’30s and ’40s in Burma," Richie Htet said, "a new liberated and empowered female with her sheer blouse, makeup and high heels."

For the photos, the artists dressed their models in classic Myanmar attire because they thought it the best way to represent the sexual liberation of Myanmar women.

Nude drawings by Calum Minuti.

"As the idea of the show is to question the sensuality and the sexual liberation of the Burmese woman, what better way to represent them than in their traditional Burmese garb?" said Richie Htet.

The exhibition also showcases the fashion photography of Zicky Le, working off Richie Htut and Calum Minuti’s directions.

"Then we got a makeup artist, Kareng Ahla, and a few of our close friends, May Grace, M Seng Lu and Valerie, to model for us," added Richie Htut.

Nude drawings by Calum Minuti.

Zicky Le said most of his photos were used as the basis for the paintings.

“It’s inspiring to see my photos being interpreted into paintings. It makes me want to create more photos, and we share similar tastes as well," he said.

As artists, Richie Htet and Calum Minuti have an inherent desire and drive to portray beauty and progress. They want their work to be seen as something beautiful but also to promote forward-thinking feminist ideals.

"We do what we do because we love the creative process; we get great pleasure from producing aesthetically pleasing images," Richie Htet said.

Richie Htet is a Myanmar illustrator and fashion image-maker based in Myanmar. His work places heavy emphasis on the human form and deals with erotic and sexual themes based on aestheticism.

Calum Minuti is a British visual artist and fashion image-maker currently based in Myanmar. He focuses on the human form and on human experiences, whether through the exploration of personal identity, gender politics or simple life drawings.

The work featured in the exhibition is on sale and ranges in price from $100 to $800.

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Health Minister Sounds Alarm over Tobacco Use

Posted: 26 Jun 2018 06:11 AM PDT

YANGON — The Union Health Minister has warned that tobacco use is at a dangerous level in Myanmar and stressed the need for effective measures to control its consumption.

The warning came in the minister's opening remarks to the two-day Myanmar National Conference on Tobacco Control and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which began Monday. Citing a 2014 study, Minister of Health and Sports U Myint Htwe said 44 percent of men in Myanmar smoke tobacco, and 62 percent of men consumed quid with tobacco.

"This is an alarming level," the minister said.

According to the local results of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey which was conducted among school students in 2016, 13.6 percent of young adolescents in Myanmar, aged 13 to 15 years, smoke or use smokeless tobacco products, while 33.2 percent are exposed to tobacco smoke at home and 28.4 percent are exposed inside enclosed public places.

According to the WHO, tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year. Some 6 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while around 890,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.

U Myint Htwe said the ministry is conducting "tobacco-free" campaigns at universities and schools.

Saying that the work of preventing NCDs and tobacco control can't be done solely by the ministry, he called for greater cooperation between concerned ministries, especially the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Planning and Finance, along with civil society organizations on the ground and regional governments.

"The NCDs caused by tobacco consumption are long-term illnesses, so they are costly both psychologically and financially for the patients and their families, and place an additional burden on the government's funds," he said.

"Treatments for these illnesses are being provided free at public hospitals. If we do not prioritize tackling these illnesses, the state's health expenditures will rise sharply in the coming 10 to 15 years, affecting the economy," he added.

Myanmar ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004 and enacted the Control of Smoking and Consumption of Tobacco Product Law in 2006.

The law bans smoking and chewing betel nut in tobacco-free places such as schools, hospitals and sports facilities.

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Four Eights People’s Party to Change Name After Renewed Public Outcry

Posted: 26 Jun 2018 04:29 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Following public criticism and an order from the Union Election Commission (UEC), the Four Eights People's Party will announce a new name in early July.

"We will publicly announce the new name after the party's conference on July 8 in Mandalay," U Ye Naing Aung, a party founder and spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

The UEC reportedly ordered the party to change its name, logo and flag after more than 200 people sent objections to the name following the registration process in May.

The name refers to the nationwide pro-democracy uprising against the Ne Win dictatorship that began, led by students, in Yangon on Aug. 8, 1988. The protests came to an end the following month in a bloody military crackdown. The nation's current de facto leader, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, first came to national prominence during the uprising.

"We will make sure that our party name and logo include no signs or hints of the 1988 uprising," said U Ye Naing Aung.

The new name of the party will be announced on July 8 after the party's conference.

When U Ko Ko Gyi and other prominent former student activists introduced the party to the public in December last year, the Four Eights Party was criticized for its perceived appropriation of a national legacy.

Critics said that as a signifier of the date on which the protests began, "8888" should not be used by a particular political party, for it represents a historical moment in the nation's history of resistance to dictatorship.

In March, amid the criticism and challenges, the party announced a change in its name from "Four Eights" to the "Four Eights People's Party"; it began the registration process under that name at the UEC on May 2.

The UEC announced the party's new name in a state-run newspaper in early June, but renewed public objections forced the party to change the name again.

The party has announced that U Ko Ko Gyi will be its chairman and U Ye Naing Aung the vice chairman. However, it has yet to produce a list of central committee members.

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Ousted Female Village Chief Reinstated by Mon State Govt

Posted: 26 Jun 2018 04:20 AM PDT

MON STATE — Mon State’s only female village chief was officially reinstated last week after being forced to resign for letting a non-citizen stay in the village without informing authorities. But she may not want the job back.

Mi Jalon Htaw, the chief of Tarana village in Kyaikmayaw Township, ran into trouble in April when the former village chief complained to township officials that she was allowing an ethnic Mon with Canadian citizenship but no locally issued identification documents stay in the village without informing authorities.

Despite strong local support for Mi Jalon Htaw, a former member of the Mon Women’s Organization, the township authorities soon pressured her to resign. When it reviewed the case on June 6, the state government rebuked Mi Jalon Htaw for not informing authorities about the Canadian citizen but decided to give her back her job.

"We are giving you a strong warning, but we are dismissing the first order from the Kyaikmayaw Township authorities," the state government said in a letter.

The township made the reversal official with a letter on Friday.

According to the township’s April 26 letter urging Mi Jalon Htaw to resign, the former village chief, Nai Hla Maung, filed his complaint after she sued him for allegedly grabbing a plot of undeveloped land belonging to the state in a move that had angered some locals.

In his complaint to township authorities, Nai Hla Maung claimed that the Canadian citizen tore down a fence he had built around the plot of land. He accused Mi Jalon Htaw of ignoring his complaints about the incident and of not informing authorities of the Canadian’s arrival.

Mi Jalon Htaw responded that the Canadian had a valid visa authorizing his stay and that it was her understanding that she did not have to inform local authorities about him. At a press conference on April 30, she told reporters that the township was wrong to have forced her out.

"Because I am a woman, I feel that they [authorities] did not want me to have this position. But if they suppress me, it is like they are suppressing other women too," she said at the press conference.

On Facebook, some of her supporters welcomed Friday’s letter from the township reversing the resignation.

On Monday, however, the Mon News Agency reported that Mi Jalon Htaw was inclined to turn down the job but would consider her supporters’ wishes before making a final decision.

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Yangon Amends Municipal Law, Creates Vice Mayor Position

Posted: 26 Jun 2018 03:26 AM PDT

YANGON — The Yangon regional Parliament has approved amendments to the municipal law that will see a vice mayor elected in a secret ballot.

The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC)'s executive board initially consisted of nine members: the mayor, four appointed members and four elected individuals, but it was later expanded to add two elected positions in order to give better service to the public. Now, the executive board has 11 members.

U Tint Lwin, chairman of the regional parliamentary public accounts committee, said that one of the six elected members will be elected to the post of vice mayor.

"He or she will be elected by the 11 executive members including the mayor through a secret ballot," he told the Parliament on Monday.

The city municipality will have to cope with broader duties as Yangon's population increases in the future, he said.

"So, the post is necessary to share the responsibilities with the mayor," said U Tint Lwin. "The role is to assist the mayor and act his behalf when he is away, as well as perform the duties assigned by the mayor.

The vice mayor will also become the deputy to the YCDC chairman—a post concurrently held by the mayor.

The bill amending the 2013 Yangon municipal law was put forward to the regional Parliament on Feb. 2.

One of the key amendments approved on Monday is that anyone who is at least 18 years old will be allowed to vote in the municipal poll now. Previously, only one person in a household, usually the breadwinner, was allowed to cast a vote.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Hate Speech Trial of Ultranationalist Writer Begins in Sagaing

Posted: 26 Jun 2018 12:54 AM PDT

YANGON — A township administrator in Sagaing Region testified Monday at the first hearing in the trial of ultranationalist writer Maung Thway Chun for hate speech.

Maung Thway Chun is being sued under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code for religious hate speech during a Dhamma talk in March that was allegedly critical of the government and ruling National League for Democracy.

He was sued by U Naing Naing Zaw, a deputy administrator of Mingin Township, who testified at Monday’s hearing at the Mingin Township Court.

In a video clip from the March talk that went viral on social media, Maung Thway Chun said that although it had been 70 years since Myanmar gained independence, the country would soon be subjugated again and this time lose its race, religion and territory.

"There won't be Buddhism in the country, and mosques and churches will replace pagodas and temples," said the writer, a staunch supporter of the ultranationalist Ma Ba Tha association.

He added that the speakers in both houses of the Union Parliament were Christians and warned that laws on race and religion endorsed by Ma Ba Tha — which largely target certain Muslim religious and cultural practices — may soon be scrapped.

In March, Maung Thway Chun told The Irrawaddy that what he said during the talk was not as harsh as things he had written in Ma Ba Tha publications. He said he only spoke about the realities of preventing the dangers posed by “Bengalis,” a term used by nationalists to refer to Rohingya Muslims implying that they are interlopers from Bangladesh.

Maung Thway Chun attempted to form a political party after the government-appointed State Sangha Committee banned Ma Ba Tha in May 2017. But the Union Election Commission rejected the proposed party’s application, citing its religious background.

The Penal Code’s Section 505 (b) states that whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumor or report, with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offense against the state or against the public tranquility shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or with a fine, or both.

The next hearing in the trial was scheduled for July 3.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Tatmadaw Occupies NMSP Outpost

Posted: 26 Jun 2018 12:24 AM PDT

YANGON — The Myanmar Army and its subdivision Border Guard Force (BGF) have occupied a New Mon State Party (NMSP) outpost situated in the village of Kanalou in Mon State's Kyaikmayaw.

Joint forces of the Kyaikmayaw-based Battalion No. 208 of the Myanmar Army and the Kada village-based BGF totaling more than 50 troops took control of the NMSP outpost on Saturday.

"Myanmar Army troops said that the NMSP outpost should not be there and that it must be stationed in the forest. The Tatmadaw troops searched the outpost and found a few NMSP military uniforms and a pack of bullets," said a local villager on the condition of anonymity.

An NMSP official who also asked for anonymity confirmed that the outpost was occupied by the Tatmadaw, or Myanmar Army.

The Irrawaddy was unable to reach NMSP leaders for comment.

"As far as I know, the Tatmadaw and the BGF have told them to move from there. There was no clash. The NMSP left the outpost to avoid a clash. The NMSP has not yet filed a complaint. So, we have done nothing in response," Dr. Shwe Khar, Secretary-1 of the Union-level Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee, told The Irrawaddy.

According to locals, NMSP troops left their outpost when they saw joint forces of the Tatmadaw and BGF approaching, avoiding a conflict. NMSP troops took down their flag and handed it over to the village administrator.

Locals said that the NMSP established its outpost in Kanalou village more than three years ago, though it was supposed to open it in Mt. Pein Ne, which is more than 10 miles from the village, according to a state-level ceasefire agreement signed between the NMSP and the government back in 2012.

The Tatmadaw and BGF forces have so far kept the outpost intact, said villagers.

The village has more than 420 households with a population of more than 1,900 people. The NMSP signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the Union government on Feb. 13, 2018.

However, as the NMSP is not a member of the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee of Mon State, there is no platform for talks between it and the Myanmar Army in the case of engagement.

The NMSP has refused to join the committee because it was not allowed to join the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committees in Karen State and Tanintharyi Region where its troops are also based.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:55 PM PDT

MMA Fight

Hometown hero Aung La N Sang will defend his middleweight belt against the Japanese challenger Ken Hasegawa.

June 29, 6:30 p.m. Thuwunna Indoor Stadium. Tickets 10,000 to 200,000 kyats at 01-549297.

 

Unplugged Concert by Big Bag

Celebrated band Big Bag will perform.

July 1, 5 p.m. Myanmar Event Park. Tickets 10,000 kyats to 50,000 kyats here.

Anyeint

Artists will perform Anyeint and models will present clothing of Myanmar women from different periods in the country's history.

June 30, 6:30 p.m. National Theater. Tickets are on sale at the venue as of Monday.

 

Pop Night with Eint Chit

Eint Chit will sing pop songs.

July 1, 7 p.m. Hard Rock Café, 4th Floor, Myanma Plaza. Reservations at 09-458261390. Tickets 150,000 to 200,000 kyats.

 

FAB #72

This is a club night for lesbians, gays and friends.

June 30, 10 p.m. till late. PYRITE Club, Inya Lake Hotel Compound. Tickets 5,000 kyats.

 

Book Sale

NDSP Publishing House will offer 30 percent discounts on all of its books.

June 30-July 2, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Yangon Book Plaza, 5th Floor, Thanzay Market.

 

Clean Yangon, Green Yangon

Everyone can join this volunteer activity to clean Yangon.

June 30, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Yaw Min Gyi Street, Dagon Tsp. Gathering in front of Craft Café.

 

Rocker Night

All rock songs, all night long.

June 29, starts at 7 p.m. Hard Rock Café, 4th Floor, Myanmar Plaza. Reservations at 09-45826 1390. No entry fee.

 

Hot Eyes: Photo Exhibition

There will be 62 photos taken by 16 photographers at this showcase. All of the prints will be up for sale for 25,000 kyats each.

June 23-30. Pansuriya, No. 102, Bogalay Zay Street.

 

Moment of Peace

Kyaw Min Htike will showcase more than 30 of his most recent paintings.

June 27-July 1, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Gallery 65, No.65 Yaw Min Gyi Street, Dagon Tsp.

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

Thailand Signals Election Could be Delayed Until May

Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:31 PM PDT

BANGKOK — Thailand will hold a general election by May 5 next year, a deputy prime minister said on Monday, signaling the possibility of another delay of a vote that had tentatively been set for February.

The military has been running Thailand since a May 2014 coup, when it ousted the civilian government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, citing the need to end street protests, and banned political activity in the name of peace and order.

It has promised to hold a general election but has repeatedly pushed back the date, most recently suggesting polls would be held by February 2019.

But Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, citing a timeframe determined by constitutional stipulations and legislative steps, told reporters various dates were possible from Feb. 24, with the latest being May 5.

Wissanu also said the junta would ease a ban on political activity by parties between September and December this year, allowing them to undertake administrative tasks in preparation for the election.

But bans on public gatherings of more than five people and political campaigning would remain in place during that period, Wissanu said.

“What they can do is hold party meetings without permission. The meetings would enable them to decide on party regulations, find party members, discuss with the election commission the division of constituencies and determine party candidates,” he said.

Representatives of 73 political parties attended a meeting with military government officials on Monday and some said they were happy with the partial lifting of the ban on political activity.

But Watana Muangsook, a member of the Pheu Thai party, whose government was ousted in 2014, said the junta should lift the ban completely. The party did not send representatives to the meeting.

Despite the ban on political activity, several small protests to push for elections have taken place in recent months in different parts of the country.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said last week the general election would not take place before King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s coronation, for which no date has yet been set.

Pro-democracy activist Rangsiman Rome told Reuters he was not surprised by the junta’s signaling of another possible delay.

“It’s still not certain that it will really happen between Feb. 24 and May 5,” he said.

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Thailand Resumes Search for Soccer Team Trapped in Flooded Cave

Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:30 PM PDT

BANGKOK — A search for a missing teenage soccer team believed trapped in a cave complex in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai entered its third day on Tuesday as concern grew for the welfare of the boys and their coach.

Teams from the Royal Thai Navy had halted search efforts late on Monday, saying oxygen levels were low in some parts of the complex in the Tham Luang-Khun Nam Nang Noon forest park in the province.

The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach, were believed to have been trapped by rising waters inside the cave network when heavy rain hit.

“We must find the children today. We have hope that they are living somewhere in there,” provincial governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told Reuters, adding that each group drafted into the search would work its hardest to find the boys.

The boys’ bicycles and soccer boots were found at the mouth of the Tham Luang caves after they went missing late on Saturday.

A 17-member unit of the Royal Thai Navy has been deployed to find them and underwater drones have joined the search.

So far, the team has searched about 6 km (4 miles) of the 10-km (6-mile)-long cave, said forest park head Damrong Hanpakdeeniyom.

Visitors are usually only permitted to venture about 700 meters (2,300 ft) into the cave complex.

“Inside it is very dark … and if it rains between July and December then we close it,” Damrong added. “This group went in further than allowed.”

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Women Most at Risk from Traffickers in India, Libya, Myanmar: Poll

Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:23 PM PDT

LONDON — India, Libya and Myanmar are the world’s most dangerous countries for women exploited by human traffickers and forced to wed, work and sell sex, a global experts’ poll found on Tuesday.

Nigeria and Russia came joint fourth in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts in women’s issues on the worst countries for women when it comes to the trade in humans.

From detention centers in Libya and curses cast by priests in Nigeria, to porous borders in Myanmar and visa abuses around the World Cup in Russia, women and girls are increasingly being targeted and trapped by traffickers using a variety of tactics.

Women and girls account for seven in 10 victims of an industry estimated to affect 40 million people worldwide and generate illegal annual profits of $150 billion for traffickers, says the United Nations and rights group Walk Free Foundation.

“They are uniquely vulnerable because of their subordinate status economically, socially and culturally,” said Christa Hayden Sharpe from the charity International Justice Mission.

Women and girls in India face the biggest threat from traffickers because they are still widely considered to be sexual objects and second-class citizens, campaigners said.

About two-thirds of the 15,000 trafficking cases registered by India in 2016 involved female victims – nearly half were under 18 – with most sold into sex work or domestic servitude.

“Trafficking is a global issue, but of all the victims I have seen, I have found those from Southeast Asia, mainly India, the most vulnerable,” said Triveni Acharya of the Indian anti-trafficking charity Rescue Foundation.

“Girls continue to be seen as a burden on parents, inferior to boys,” she added, explaining how many rural girls are lured by traffickers who promise jobs or marriages in major cities.

“Really Dire"

In Libya, which is split between rival governments while ports are mainly controlled by armed groups who smuggle Africans onto boats heading for Europe, many migrants are detained and suffer forced labor, the United Nations and European Union say.

Reports persist of captured migrants being bought and sold in “slave markets”, according to the UN human rights office.

“The situation of migrant women and girls traveling through Libya is really dire,” said Hanan Salah, a senior researcher focusing on Libya for Human Rights Watch. “I would say that the majority of them face the risk of ill treatment and abuse.”

Women in Myanmar, in the spotlight after the exodus of 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last year, face a different threat from traffickers – being forced into marriages in China.

China is by far the most common destination country for trafficking victims from Myanmar – accounting for two thirds of the 307 cases investigated by the latter’s government in 2016.

A lack of jobs in Myanmar means poor girls and women fall prey to traffickers – many of them female – who take them to China under false pretenses as brides for men in a nation with a gender imbalance due to its one-child policy, campaigners say.

From Witchcraft to World Cup

Thousands of Nigerian women and girls are lured to Europe each year via Libya, made to perform black magic rituals known as ‘juju’ which bind them to their traffickers before they are forced into sex work in Italy, according to the United Nations.

Yet the recent order by a traditional ruler in Edo state revoking the voodoo rituals and warning priests who perform them is changing the nature of trafficking in Nigeria, officials say.

“The new dimension is they (the traffickers) are now telling the girls that they will get them jobs as nurses and househelp in Dubai … (with) travel documents … making it look legal,” said Julie Okah-Donli, head of anti-trafficking agency NAPTIP.

Russia is a major source and destination country for female victims, with local women being sex trafficked to Europe and the Middle East, and arrivals coming from nations such as Thailand, China and Nigeria, said Russian anti-slavery group Alternativa.

While Russia’s strict visa process has long made trafficking women into the nation a difficult endeavor, criminals have been plotting to exploit the World Cup which allows visitors to enter visa-free if they hold a ticket and football fan pass, it said.

“This is a real present for traffickers,” said Julia Siluyanova of Alternativa.

Rounding out the top 10 most dangerous countries for women at the hands of traffickers were the Philippines, Afghanistan, Thailand, Nepal, and Bangladesh and Pakistan in joint tenth.

The poll of 548 people was conducted online, by phone and in person between March 26 and May 4 spread across Europe, Africa, the Americas, South East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific.

The post Women Most at Risk from Traffickers in India, Libya, Myanmar: Poll appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

EU Sanctions Myanmar Generals Over Rohingya; Myanmar Says Two Are Fired

Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:23 PM PDT

LUXEMBOURG/YANGON — The European Union imposed sanctions on seven senior military officials from Myanmar on Monday, including the general in charge of an operation accused of driving more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.

Within hours of the EU announcement, the Myanmar military announced that one of the sanctioned generals had been fired on Monday and another had left the army last month after being removed from his post.

The seven face asset freezes and are banned from traveling to the EU, after the bloc extended an arms embargo and prohibited any training of, or cooperation with, Myanmar’s armed forces.

The sanctions, first reported by Reuters in April, also mark a shift in diplomacy by the EU, which suspended its restrictive measures on Myanmar in 2012 to support its partial shift to democratic governance in recent years.

The crackdown on the Rohingya in northwestern Rakhine State, which the United Nations denounced as “ethnic cleansing” by the military, has soured relations.

Myanmar rejects almost all accusations of wrongdoing and says it launched a legitimate counter-insurgency operation after coming under attack by Rohingya militants last August.

One of the officers sanctioned by the EU, Major General Maung Maung Soe, had already been sanctioned by the United States last December. He was transferred late last year from his post as the head of Western Command in Rakhine, where Myanmar’s military launched its ferocious counter-offensive.

“He is responsible for the atrocities and serious human rights violations committed against (the) Rohingya population in Rakhine State by the Western Command during that period,” the EU said in a statement.

Hours later, the Myanmar army said in a statement that Muang Maung Soe had been fired on Monday from the military for underperformance when responding to Rohingya militant attacks.

It also said that another sanctioned commander — Deputy Major General Aung Kyaw Zaw, whose Bureau of Special Operations No. 3 oversaw the Western Command — was “given permission to resign” in May. He had also been earlier moved from his original post. The army said it found “some flaws” in his performance.

It did not refer to the EU sanctions in its statement.

Thant Zin Oo, the commander of the Eighth Security Police Battalion, was also sanctioned. The EU accused him of “serious human rights violations (that) include unlawful killings and systematic burning of Rohingya houses and buildings.” Four other senior military staff were named, all generals.

Canada also sanctioned senior military officials in February, when Reuters reported on events in the village of Inn Din where 10 Rohingya men were killed by Rakhine Buddhists and security force members. Reuters named and detailed Thant Zin Oo’s role in Rakhine in that story for the first time.

Two Reuters journalists were jailed while reporting the story and remain in prison in Yangon, where they face up to 14 years behind bars for violating Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act.

The post EU Sanctions Myanmar Generals Over Rohingya; Myanmar Says Two Are Fired appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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