Monday, August 27, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

State Counselor Offers Reassurances Amid Economic Woes

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 07:21 AM PDT

YANGON—Myanmar's State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi offered words of reassurance to the business community regarding the current economic slowdown saying that her government is working to deal with some major complaints, though the progress will take time.

At a meeting with members of the business community in Naypyitaw on Monday, Myanmar's State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said, "We are working on the process of implementing advice from the business community, especially about the dollar exchange rate. Some work can be done during a short period. But some need to be worked on over a long-term period. We are working on it."

"We have discussed the advice [from the business community] in detail," she said.

The State Counselor said that the government's National Economic Coordination Committee (NECC) has been discussing issues such as the dollar exchange rate volatility, export-import policies and banking sector reforms as well as the relaxation of rules in the government tender process.

The meeting comes after the business community complained of chronic losses due to the instability of the exchange rate which made inflation rates rise at the fastest pace in recent years. This affected imports and also raised fuel and transportation costs and overall consumer costs in the country. A government report said that year-on-year inflation accelerated to a record 7.56 percent between May and July this year compared to 5.90 percent for the same period of 2017.

A recent survey by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) said the overall economy has declined since 2016. The survey revealed, this year has been the worst across all sectors and that the most significant reasons are higher taxations and tariffs, restrictive rules in financing and banking, depreciation of the kyat, increasing costs and inflation, unstable rules and regulations and competition from foreign companies.

In 2016, Myanmar's State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met business executives and development partners six months after the NLD government took office in Naypyitaw. She promised transparency and accountability in the country's economic system.

However, at Monday's meeting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi made another promise that her government is completing the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan which involves not only policies but also action plans for future economic reforms in Myanmar.

She said, the biggest deterrent for economic growth is weaknesses in collaborative relationships among the Union, regional governments and the business community. She also called for more unity among them.

In her opening speech, which lasted about 35 minutes, she asked the businesses people repeatedly to assist the government's reforms for economic growth.

"Some don't want to see our government achieve—don't act like that. If you make the government fail, you also make the country fail. Together, help this country to achieve [reform]," she stressed.

She emphasized that the NLD government needs the support of the business community in the ongoing peace and national reconciliation processes.

The government is trying to simplify the tender process which was the subject of many complaints especially over delays in the process, she said. She also added that business people need to report officials who they had to bribe for a speedy tender process.

"It is important to clear corruption in the business sector. If we clear corruption, international [businesses] will respect us, so they will want to invest in our country. For that reason, you all need to collaborate to fight corruption in the business community," she said.

She asked the attendees to collaborate on NECC activities for long-term economic growth and also to frankly give advice on the reform process.

Economic reforms are a key goal for Aung San Suu Kyi's government in order to complete Myanmar's democratic transition after almost six decades of isolation under military dictatorship. NLD lawmakers approved the Myanmar Companies Law in November 2017, which has been one of the major legislative achievements of the government. It took effect on August 1 this year, replacing the outdated Myanmar Companies Act of 1914. The law aims to favor foreign investment and make business regulations more efficient and effective, allowing local companies to accept foreign capital and expertise via joint-ventures.

The government also unveiled a 12-point policy plan in 2016 and enacted the Myanmar Investment Law to create more opportunities for foreign investment and to ensure transparency and a level playing field for all businesses.

However, according to the World Bank's 2018 report titled "Ease of Doing Business", Myanmar declined one place compared to 2017, ranking 171st of 190 countries while Cambodia ranked 141st, Laos 125th and Vietnam 68th.

Moreover, Chairman of Myanmar Investment Commission, U Thaung Tun said on Friday that foreign investments in Myanmar dropped by nearly $900 million during the 2017-2018 fiscal year compared to 2016-2017.

At the meeting, three people from the business sector advised the government to rein in the exchange rate instability, to implement some financial rules on trade, to relax taxation and import substitution which, they said, would advocate replacing foreign imports with domestic production.

The state counselor said, she could not promise to implement all the suggestions but that the government would work on the most important and practical reforms for the long-term economic growth of the country.

The post State Counselor Offers Reassurances Amid Economic Woes appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bangladesh: UN Helping Assess Island Relocation Plan for Rohingya Refugees

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 06:26 AM PDT

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — The UN is helping Bangladesh assess the viability of a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal for the relocation of some of the 1 million Rohingya refugees currently sheltering in Cox’s Bazar, according to a government official.

A recent survey says most of the refugees don’t want to go.

The Prime Minister’s Office formed a 10-member committee earlier this year headed by Muhammad Mohsin, an additional secretary at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, to decide if Bhasan Char island was suitable for relocation. The committee, comprised of five members each from the Bangladesh government and the UN, held its first meeting in June.

"The joint committee will inspect the island and will report to the government on whether it is habitable," Muhammad Habibul Kabir Chowdhury, head of refugee affairs at the Disaster Management Ministry, told The Irrawaddy last week.

He said the full committee has not yet held a second meeting because the chairman was abroad.

However, some Bangladeshi officials held a separate meeting with Nojibur Rahman, principal secretary to the prime minister, on Aug. 8 to review progress.

Habibul Kabir, who attended the meeting with Najibur, said refugees, journalists and others would be taken to visit the island before any relocations begin to show off the preparations being made to fortify the camp against cyclones.

The local UN office could not be reached for comment.

In November, the Bangladesh Navy floated tenders for the construction of a "rehabilitation center" on Bhasan Char for Rohingya refugees.

A senior official with the Cox’s Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission said the new camp had not yet been tested in a real storm, so "we have to see how habitable it will be during and after it is hit by any cyclone."

"Rohingya leaders will be taken to the island to see whether or not it is habitable," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

In late June, the Special Branch of the Bangladesh police force prepared a report for the Prime Minister’s Office on the results of a survey on whether Rohingya refugees were willing to relocate to Bhasan Char.

"Out 100 Rohingya, hardly 13 percent are willing to be relocated to Bhasan Char, while the remaining 87 [percent] are willing to stay in Ukhiya and Tekhnaf in Cox's Bazar District," the report says.

The report, seen by The Irrawaddy, gives 10 reasons why the refugees do not want to move to the island. They include the site’s isolation, which they fear will limit their access to medicine and other relief supplies and separate them from relatives.

"Many Rohingya earn their living by catching fish and collecting crabs. They believe they will not have similar opportunities when they are relocated to the island," the report says.

It adds that many of the refugees in Ukhiya and Tekhnaf also have jobs through various UN agencies that won’t be available on Bhasan Char.

"There will be a cyclone center for them with every facility,” Habibul Kabir said. “They will be given better livelihoods there. In particular, they will be given access to the justice system."

Muhammad Ali, however, the head of one of the refugee camps in Ukhiya, said most of the refugees were opposed to the move.

"Most of us do not want to go to the island, considering the cyclones and other vulnerabilities," he said. "We prefer to go back to our country with dignity and citizenship rights."

Foreign Affairs Ministry officials say they are prioritizing repatriation over relocation or resettlement in third countries.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal visited the island with senior security officials on Sept. 28 to see “how the island looks.”

On Sept. 10, Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said his ministry was still considering relocating refugees to Bhasan Char until they can be repatriated to Myanmar.

Authorities first proposed resettling Rohingya refugees on the island in 2015 to cope with a recent influx of arrivals at Cox’s Bazar.

With the arrival of another 700,000 Rohingya driven out of Myanmar by a military crackdown in northern Rakhine State since August 2017, bringing the total refugee population in Cox’z Bazar to about 1 million, Bangladesh has asked the UN to help fund the relocation plan.

Bhasan Char, located in the estuary of the Meghna River, is a one-hour boat ride from Sandwip, the nearest inhabited island, and two hours from Hatiya, one of Bangladesh’s largest islands.

"We are not allowing anyone to visit the camp right at this moment, but we will have official visits once it is ready for Rohingya," said Habibul Kabir.

The post Bangladesh: UN Helping Assess Island Relocation Plan for Rohingya Refugees appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Karen National Union Recommits to Peace Process at Meeting

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 05:04 AM PDT

Mon State — The Karen Nation Union (KNU) has decided to continue working toward a peace deal with the government after a three-week meeting to review the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), which it signed along with several other of the country’s ethnic armed groups in 2015.

Of the 55 members of the KNU’s central executive committee, 46 attended the meeting in Karen State from Aug. 6 to 24.

Committee member Padoh Saw Th’mein Tun told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the KNU decided to continue striving for a lasting peace with the government.

"Time will make a decision for the KNU. As long as the NCA exists, the KNU will continue to work on it," he said.

Padoh Saw Th’mein Tun said the KNU would engage with the government, as it has been doing, primarily through the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee and the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee.

The KNU, he added, would also encourage other ethnic armed groups — especially the seven members of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee — to sign the NCA, which it considers the best way for ethnic minorities to work toward their political ambitions.

"We do not yet know what our efforts will achieve. When we reach the final chapters, we would know," Padoh Saw Th’mein Tun said.

He noted, however, that the KNU’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), would continue to defend the territory it currently holds and resist any attempt by the military to take it.

The KNLA fought with the military earlier this year when the military attempted to rehabilitate a road on land the KNLA claims without securing approval in advance. The military stopped working on the road after a meeting between KNU Chairman Padoh Saw Mutu Sae Poe and Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in May, but it has not withdrawn its troops from the area.

After its three-week meeting this month, the KNU also released a statement announcing that it would be holding a public forum to gather feedback on the peace process from ethnic Karen, though it did not say where or when.

Before signed the NCA, the KNU struck a ceasefire deal with the government in 2012, after international aid groups started cutting off support to camps for people displaced by Myanmar’s civil war along the country’s border with Thailand.

The KNU said displaced people still sheltering along the border should not be pressured to return to their communities until they feel ready to do so safely and that it would be asking aid agencies to resume supporting them.

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John McCain Was an Outspoken Champion of Democracy in Myanmar

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 04:56 AM PDT

YANGON — US Senator John McCain, who died on Saturday, was no stranger to Myanmar. The 81-year-old was a consistent supporter of democratic change in the country and actively lobbied to impose sanctions against its former military rulers.

He first visited in 1996 and met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the then opposition leader. He was subsequently banned by the military government for 15 years, not visiting Myanmar again until 2011.

"I acknowledge that this new government represents some change from the past, and one illustration of this change was their willingness to allow me to return to this country after 15 years' worth of attempts to do so on my part were rejected," he said during his second visit.

When Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was detained by the military regime following clashes between her supporters and pro-government demonstrators in northern Myanmar in 2003, the US lawmaker was furious. He took to the Senate floor to call on the US administration to take further steps to isolate the military government, calling on Congress to consider legislation banning Myanmar imports to the US and urging European parliaments to do likewise.

"The junta cannot oversee the reform and opening of Burma, for it remains the biggest obstacle to the freedom and prosperity of the Burmese people," he stressed. "Burma cannot change as long as the junta rules, without restraint or remorse."

Fast-forward to 2011, when, allowed back in the country, he held a series of meetings with officials of the then military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party-led government as well as with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

After the meetings, he told the media that the new government wanted a better relationship with the US, adding that the US would respond positively if Myanmar made progress through "tangible actions."

"But as I told the government leaders … any improvement in relations will need to be built not on warm words, but on concrete actions," he said.

Since then, Myanmar has begun a democratic transition that led to the 2015 general election, which paved the way for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy to become the country's ruling party. In 2016, the US ended its sanctions against Myanmar.

But when Myanmar security forces launched operations against the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in late 2017, triggering the exodus of nearly 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, McCain, speaking as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he would strip language from a bill authorizing defense spending that would have expanded US military cooperation with Myanmar.

He and a group of his colleagues introduced a resolution calling on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, now Myanmar's de facto leader, to intervene in the Rohingya issue.

"But there has been no action to date," McCain said in September last year.

More than a month before his death, he called for the release of two Reuters journalists arrested in Myanmar on suspicion of violating the Official Secrets Act. He described the charges against them as "outrageous and politically motivated."

"The bogus charges should be dropped, and these journalists should be released immediately," McCain said in a post on Twitter.

The verdict in the journalists' case was supposed to be delivered on Monday, but was postponed to next week as the judge was not well, according to a court announcement.

The post John McCain Was an Outspoken Champion of Democracy in Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Generals Had ‘Genocidal Intent’ Against Rohingya, UN Says

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 04:50 AM PDT

GENEVA — Myanmar's military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Muslim Rohingya with "genocidal intent" and the commander-in-chief and five generals should be prosecuted for orchestrating the gravest crimes under law, UN investigators said on Monday.

The civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has allowed hate speech to thrive, destroyed documents and failed to protect minorities from crimes against humanity and war crimes by Myanmar's Army (or Tatmadaw) in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states, they said in a report.

In doing so, it "contributed to the commission of atrocity crimes," the report said.

A year ago, government troops led a brutal crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State in response to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on 30 Myanmar police posts and a military base.

Some 700,000 Rohingya fled the crackdown and most are now living in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh. The UN report said the military action, which included the torching of villages, was "grossly disproportionate to actual security threats."

The UN defines genocide as acts meant to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group in whole or in part. Such a designation is rare under international law, but has been used in countries including Bosnia and Sudan and in the Islamic State campaign against the Yazidi communities in Iraq and Syria.

"The crimes in Rakhine State, and the manner in which they were perpetrated, are similar in nature, gravity and scope to those that have allowed genocidal intent to be established in other contexts," said the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar.

In the final 20-page report, it said: "There is sufficient information to warrant the investigation and prosecution of senior officials in the Tatmadaw (Army) chain of command, so that a competent court can determine their liability for genocide in relation to the situation in Rakhine State."

The Myanmar government, which was sent an advance copy of the UN report in line with standard practice, has not commented. Contacted by phone, Myanmar military spokesman Major-General Tun Tun Nyi said he could not immediately comment.

The UN panel, led by former Indonesian Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, named the Myanmar Army's commander-in-chief, Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, and five other generals who should face justice.

They included Brigadier-General Aung Aung, commander of the 33rd Light Infantry Division, which oversaw operations in the coastal village of Inn Din where 10 Rohingya captive boys and men were killed.

Reuters was unable to contact Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing or Brig-Gen. Aung Aung on Monday.

The massacre was uncovered by two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, who were arrested as a result last December and are being tried on charges of violating the country's Official Secrets Act. The court had been due to deliver its verdict on Monday, but at a brief hearing earlier the proceedings were postponed until Sept. 3.

In April, seven soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor for participating in the massacre.

The report said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, "has not used her de facto position as head of government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events, or seek alternative avenues to meet a responsibility to protect the civilian population."

Suu Kyi's spokesman, Zaw Htay, could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.

The top UN human rights official, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, has called the crackdown against the Rohingya a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government has rejected most allegations of atrocities made against the security forces by refugees. It has built transit centers to receive Rohingya returnees to western Rakhine state, but UN aid agencies say that it is not yet safe for them to return.

The UN Security Council should ensure all perpetrators are held to account, preferably by referring Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or by creating an ad hoc tribunal, the investigators said.

The Security Council should "adopt targeted individual sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against those who appear most responsible for serious crimes under international law" and impose an arms embargo on Myanmar, they said.

The four other generals the UN panel said should be prosecuted were named as the army deputy commander-in-chief, Vice Senior-General Soe Win; the commander of the Bureau of Special Operations-3, Lieutenant-General Aung Kyaw Zaw; the commander of Western Regional Military Command, Major-General Maung Maung Soe; and the commander of 99th Light Infantry Division, Brigadier-General Than Oo.

Reuters was not able to contact those four generals on Monday.

The panel, set up last year, interviewed 875 victims and witnesses in Bangladesh and other countries, and analyzed documents, videos, photographs and satellite images.

Decades of state-sponsored stigmatization against Rohingya had resulted in "institutionalized oppression from birth to death," the report said.

The Rohingya, who regard themselves as native to Rakhine State, are widely considered as interlopers by Myanmar's Buddhist majority and are denied citizenship.

"The Tatmadaw acts with complete impunity and has never been held accountable. Its standard response is to deny, dismiss and obstruct," the UN report said.

The report also criticized Facebook's response to allegations, including by members of the same UN panel in March, that the social media giant had been used to incite violence and hatred against the Rohingyas.

"Although improved in recent months, Facebook's response has been slow and ineffective. The extent to which Facebook posts and messages have led to real-world discrimination and violence must be independently and thoroughly examined," it said.

Facebook declined to comment in an emailed statement, saying it had not yet seen the report.

Facebook said in a statement issued 10 days ago following a Reuters investigative report into its failure to combat hate speech against the Rohingya and other Muslims that it had been "too slow" to address the problem in Myanmar and was acting to remedy the situation by hiring more Burmese speakers and investing in technology to identify problematic content.

International courts have a mixed record on prosecutions for genocide.

In 2008, a UN court sentenced former army colonel Theoneste Bagosora, accused of masterminding the slaughter of 800,000 people in Rwanda in 1994, to life in prison on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. His sentence was later cut to 35 years on appeal.

In 2016, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was convicted by UN judges of genocide for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. He is appealing the conviction.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Sudan President Omar al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010 over his alleged role in war crimes including genocide in Sudan's breakaway Darfur province in 2003. He remains in office.

The post Myanmar Generals Had 'Genocidal Intent' Against Rohingya, UN Says appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ex-Generals Apply to Form New Political Party

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 04:41 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Ex-ministers U Soe Maung and U Lun Maung have applied to the Union Election Commission to form a political party.

"They submitted the applications a couple of days ago. [According to election law], there must be at least 15 members [in a political party]. I don't remember other names. We are scrutinizing according to procedure," spokesperson of the UEC U Myint Naing told The Irrawaddy.

Their party is named the "National Political Party," he said.

Both of them are ex-generals. U Soe Maung served as the minister of the President's Office under former President U Thein Sein's government. He lost the general election in 2015.

U Lun Maung served as the auditor-general under the military regime and U Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government until he was allowed to take a rest from his duties in 2012. He has since run a restaurant in Mon State's Bilin Township.

Former chairman of the Union Civil Service Board U Kyaw Thu is also among the applicants, said ex-general U Ko Ko Naing.

"I also heard that the party is led by ex-President's Office minister U Soe Maung," he said.

U Soe Maung declined to comment on the policies of his party while the UEC has not yet made a decision regarding the proposal. "It is too early to talk about our party. We'll make arrangements," he told The Irrawaddy.

The Irrawaddy was unable to contact U Lun Maung.

U Kyaw Thu did not confirm or deny reports that he is a member of U Soe Maung's party.

"Some friends of mine who are planning to establish a political party have asked me to join them. I have personal ties to Ko Soe Maung. We have known each other for a long time. You will know when the time is appropriate," said U Kyaw Thu.

An official of the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), who does not want to be named, suggested that the party might be a preparation for ex-general U Shwe Mann to contest the 2020 general election. But it is quite unlikely if U Lun Maung is also included, he said.

U Shwe Mann was purged from the USDP in August 2015 in what was believed to be a power struggle between him and former President U Thein Sein. U Shwe Mann now serves as the chairman of the Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission of Myanmar's Parliament thanks to his close ties with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

U Ko Ko Naing, who is also a member of the U Shwe Mann's commission, dismissed the suggestion.

"It is not like that. The party may be led only by U Soe Maung. He may not partner with others except his close friends," said U Ko Ko Naing.

Many in the political circle believe that U Lun Maung was forced to retire under U Thein Sein's government because of U Shwe Mann, who was then the speaker of the Lower House.

According to the UEC, Myanmar now has 110 political parties including the latest, the People's Party, led by 1988 pro-democracy activist U Ko Ko Gyi.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Press Freedom Faces Serious Setbacks in Myanmar

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 04:16 AM PDT

The verdict in the case of two Reuters reporters accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act was on Monday postponed until Sept. 3 because the judge overseeing the case was sick, a court official said.

But we must be loud and clear in sending a message that truth and justice cannot be postponed. In searching for the truth, the two reporters, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, were just doing their job and did not commit any crime.

After the brief hearing, diplomats and journalists who had gathered at the court to hear the verdict were gratified when Ko Wa Lone told them: "We are not afraid or shaken. The truth is on our side. Whatever the situation is, we will not be shaken. They cannot make us weak."

He is right.

Many have been disappointed by the poor treatment of the press by the elected government of the de facto national leader, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The administration has kept local and independent media at arm's length, choosing to speak only to international news outlets on occasion. President U Win Myint has yet to hold a press briefing or meet with any media outlets in Myanmar.

Last year, much to the chagrin of her own supporters, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told Japanese broadcaster NHK that the two reporters "were arrested because they broke the Official Secrets Act."

She added, "We cannot say now whether they were guilty or not. That will be up to the judiciary."

The state counselor was herself locked up several times following unlawful trials staged by kangaroo courts – some sentences and extensions of her house arrest were simply meted out in her own lakeside residence, where she herself was held prisoner for decades. If she believes Myanmar's judiciary is independent and should be transparent and accountable, the two reporters should be released immediately.

It is being said with increasing frequency that Myanmar, after making a promising start at change, is now going back to the bad old days and that we are living in challenging times for journalists. As in earlier times, a climate of fear is spreading among the press. It should be said, however, that we are aware we have not yet returned to the conditions seen under Senior General Than Shwe or spymaster General Khin Nyunt.

Nonetheless, the image of the government has been seriously tarnished on many fronts, including maintaining law and order and stability, and keeping its promises of change and allowing the fourth estate to flourish.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was once known for standing up to the repressive military regime of the past; many had hoped that a government under her leadership would allow greater press freedom in Myanmar, but in reality the opposite has occurred.

Myanmar's reformist former President U Thein Sein eased media restrictions, scrapped the censorship board and lifted bans on exiled media and websites, including The Irrawaddy. We were allowed to operate inside the country from 2012; alarmingly, the media space we were granted then has been curtailed and press freedom has since deteriorated.

Self-censorship has replaced the notorious press censorship that was active under the military regime. We also face a serious challenge from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is under the direct control of the armed forces and is not media friendly. To the contrary, it takes a hard line against journalists and the media.

On Sept. 3 we hope the judge will attend the session and end this drama by reading out a verdict that frees the two reporters. They deserve an official apology.

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Myanmar Military Chief’s Facebook Page Deleted

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 04:01 AM PDT

YANGON — In a statement published on Facebook's official Newsroom website on Monday afternoon, it was announced that the social media giant had closed accounts and banned a total of 20 individuals and organizations who "committed or enabled serious human rights abuses in the country" including Myanmar military chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing.

The move also targeted Myanmar military television network Myawady and Myanmar Daily Star, a mouthpiece for military propaganda, among others. The Facebook page of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief was also shut down which, along with Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing's page and the page of the Myawady television network, had a combined total of more than 6 million subscribers.

The statement says Facebook is acting on a recent report by the UNHRC's Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar that found the Facebook accounts and pages of these individuals and organizations to have directly or indirectly contributed to human rights abuses.

The UN report, published on the official UNHRC website earlier on Monday, stated:

"Myanmar's top military generals, including Commander-in-Chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, must be investigated and prosecuted for genocide in the north of Rakhine State, as well as for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States, a report by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar* today urged."

More than 60 other Facebook pages and accounts said to be spreading military viewpoints and untrue information without support of proper, independent research have also been shut down.

"During a recent investigation, we discovered that they used seemingly independent news and opinion Pages to covertly push the messages of the Myanmar military. This type of behavior is banned on Facebook because we want people to be able to trust the connections they make," read the statement.

The statement, which features a number of screenshots of incriminating posts from the respective Facebook pages, also admits company has been "too slow to act" on the long-reported hate- and violence-inciting accounts, adding that efforts are underway to improve technology for reporting hate speech and content review.

Meanwhile, the official Facebook pages of Myanmar's air force and navy remain live online. The Irrawaddy was not able to contact army spokesman General Tun Tun Nyi for comment today.

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‘Thamee, I Will Be Home Very Soon’: Detained Reuters Reporter Comforts his Daughter

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 02:54 AM PDT

YANGON — Yangon’s Northern District court postponed making a final decision on the case regarding two detained Reuters reporters Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo this morning, rescheduling announcement of the verdict for next Monday, as the associate judge U Ye Lwin has been on sick leave since August 24.

The journalists were detained on Dec. 12 last year and have been facing an ongoing trial while incarcerated at Insein Prison since then. Their arrest came within half an hour of receiving a set of documents from police officers in Htauk Kyant on the outskirts of Yangon. A number of the officers had recently been transferred from northern Rakhine’s strife-torn Maungdaw Township to Myanmar's commercial capital Yangon.

The journalists were accused of possessing classified documents and charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Dozens of journalists from both local and international news outlets arrived at the court around two hours in advance along with some diplomats including US Ambassador Scot Marciel and EU Ambassador Kristian Schmidt as well as other representatives from international organizations.

The small courtroom space with around 70 seats was crowded with journalists and diplomats. Additionally, dozens of journalists and observers were waiting outside the courtroom expecting the final decision to be made today. Some wore white T-shirts sporting the slogan “Journalism is not a crime.”

Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were brought in handcuffs to the courtroom at 9:40 a.m. Ko Kyaw Soe Oo’s young daughter cried when she saw her father in handcuffs. He calmly comforted his beloved daughter saying, “Thamee, I will be home very soon.”

The wife (left) and daughter of Ko Kyaw Soe Oo at Monday’s court hearing. (Photo : Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

Soon after their arrival, a new male judge came into courtroom on behalf of associate judge U Ye Lwin and quickly announced that U Ye Lwin had been on sick leave since Aug. 24 and that the hearing is to be rescheduled for next Monday.

"How can we know if the judge is really sick or not? On a positive note, he will have more time to consider the judgment he is going to make, said U Than Zaw Aung, one of the defense lawyers for the journalists.

Regarding the verdict postponement, Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, issued an urgent statement on Monday.

HRW Asia’s Deputy Director Phil Robertson wrote in that statement, "Sending these two Reuters reporters back to jail for another week just because someone else can't read an already written verdict shows again how both common sense and justice is failing in Myanmar’s judicial system.“

Before the surprise arrest last December, the reporters were investigating a massacre, which took place in the Rakhine village of Inn Din where villagers, police and army soldiers executed 10 Rohingya men. In April, the army officially announced that seven soldiers had been sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor in a remote area of Myanmar for participating in the mass killing.

The killings took place during the military's crackdown on Rakhine State's Rohingya communities following militant attacks on security outposts. The United Nations says the military crackdown has sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

The journalists' defense lawyers say their clients were "trapped" by police in an effort to interfere with their reporting of a massacre of Rohingya Muslims.  Moreover, a police captain Moe Yan Naing, who met with Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo at Htauk Kyant on the night of their arrest, was initially listed as a key witness of the prosecutor but during the court hearing claimed that they had “set up” two reporters on the instructions of his superiors.

The prosecutor announced Police Captain Moe Yan Naing a hostile witness and later the home affairs ministry announced he had violated police discipline and was dismissed from his position, receiving a one-year prison sentence.

Although the government prosecutor claimed documents found in the reporters' mobile phones were top-secret documents, defense lawyer U Than Zaw Aung pointed out that contents of the documents had been publicly announced in government newspapers previously.

The hearings have been taking place since January. In total, 22 out of an initial 25 witnesses testified; three were removed from the list of witnesses, including Police Sergeant Khin Maung Lin, who was fired by the police and whose whereabouts have been unknown since May.

The post 'Thamee, I Will Be Home Very Soon': Detained Reuters Reporter Comforts his Daughter appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dozens of Myanmar Nationals Deported from US Arrive in Yangon

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 01:39 AM PDT

YANGON — The US has deported nearly 30 Myanmar nationals convicted of crimes, and more are expected to follow, Dr. Ro Dinga, president of the Burmese American Community Institute (BACI), told The Irrawaddy.

The US government sent a list of 47 Myanmar nationals slated for deportation to the Myanmar Embassy in Washington two months ago. Of these, 27 were deported on Aug. 22, according to the BACI.

"The government didn't want to take them back. So the US government put a visa embargo on officials at the level of director-general and above at the Home Affairs Ministry and the Immigration Department. The Myanmar government then relented and said it would take them back, and 27 Myanmar nationals were deported to Yangon," Dr. Ro Dinga said.

The US government flew the 27 back to Myanmar on a chartered flight. They arrived in Yangon on Aug. 22. Seven of them are ethnic Chin, six are Bamar and the rest are Karen.

Twenty others will also be deported but the date is not yet known, Dr. Ro Dinga said.

"I read that they were deported because they committed crimes. I don't know exactly what happened," said Ngai Sek, chairman of the Chin National League for Democracy.

The Irrawaddy was not able to obtain a comment from Immigration Department officials about the deportations.

According to BACI, some of the deported individuals committed domestic violence offenses, some overstayed their visas, some forged passports and some violated other immigration laws.

"I'm sorry for that," said Dr. Ro Dinga. "The [US] government has tightened restrictions."

The deportation was carried out by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The agency recently deported nearly 500 Cambodian nationals.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Dozens of Myanmar Nationals Deported from US Arrive in Yangon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

FDI Drops $900M in 2017-18 Fiscal Year

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 01:11 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Myanmar declined by nearly US$900 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year, according to chairman of the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) U Thaung Tun.

"Despite the drop in investment volume, the number of foreign investors and invested businesses increased," U Thaung Tun said as he explained the MIC for 2017-18 fiscal year report on Friday in Parliament.

The chairman did not provide details about the reasons behind the decline or which sectors were hit the hardest.

In the 2016-17 fiscal year, Myanmar received US$6.649 billion from 25 countries in 138 businesses belonging to seven sectors.

Twenty-eight countries invested in the country in the 2017-18 fiscal year, and China, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea, Britain and the United States of America were the top investors.

When foreign investment was allowed for the first time in 1988 to date, China, Singapore and Thailand have been the major investors in Myanmar, according to the MIC report.

The manufacturing sector attracted a large proportion of foreign investment, accounting for 30.94 percent of total investment. This was followed by real estate development and the service sector.

Last year, US investment in developing countries around the world totaled nearly US$1.2 trillion and Myanmar received US$5 billion. Meanwhile, potential US investors retreated after the country changed its economic policies, said Lower House lawmaker U Aung Hlaing Win of Mingaladon Township.

"In the past, we received certain levels of investment because it is normal [for investors] to reap around 10 percent profit [on investments] in developing countries. And they usually get 30 percent profit in the oil and gas sector," he said.

"But these days, taxes are levied strictly and there are also industrial disputes," he added.

There have been weaknesses in implementing economic policies under successive governments, said U Aung Hlaing Win, adding that inflation, land disputes and exorbitant land prices also hinder investors.

"Lately, an investor came and said that he needed about 50 acres of land. It is not yet clear if he has to buy the land or if the government will lease it," said U Aung Hlaing Win.

"In our country, it seems that the MIC approves business proposals only when an investor has land, capital and technology.  It is impossible for investors to fulfill all those requirements. The government should help fulfill them. But it can't," he added.

The government should ease its restrictions on land utilization, for example, allowing the use of farmland for other purposes.

"If there is improved access to electricity, better transportation and political stability, things will get better," said U Kyaw Myo, general manager of CP Co.

"Investors have no confidence and dare not take risks. As there is no mass production in the country and we have to rely on imports, this allows manipulation of the cost of a dollar. There must be circulation of money in an economy. But some who seek to exploit the situation have held money in order to manipulate the price. So, there are few exports and this leads to economic decline," he said.

In the 2017-18 fiscal year, Myanmar received US$5.718 billion in 222 businesses in nine sectors. Meanwhile, the investment of citizen investors totaled almost 4 trillion kyats (US$2.6 billion).

"Foreign investors will come only when they can make a profit. Economic prospects are not very encouraging next year," U Aung Hlaing Win told reporters.

The post FDI Drops $900M in 2017-18 Fiscal Year appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Half the World’s Schools Lack Clean Water, Toilets and Handwashing

Posted: 26 Aug 2018 10:13 PM PDT

LONDON — Nearly half the world’s schools lack clean drinking water, toilets and handwashing facilities, putting millions of children at risk of disease, experts warned on Monday.

Almost 900 million children have to contend with a lack of basic hygiene facilities during their education, putting their health at risk and meaning some have to miss school.

“You can’t have a quality learning environment without these basics,” said Dr. Rick Johnston of the World Health Organization (WHO), a lead researcher on the project.

“Children may not come to school at all if there’s no toilets … Then, when they are at school, they are not going to [be] at their very best if they [are] not able to use a decent toilet or if they are not properly hydrated.”

World leaders have signed up to global pledges to provide safe water and hygiene facilities for all and ensure every child gets a comprehensive education by 2030 under the UN’s sustainable development goals.

A lack of safe water and sanitation facilities can cause dehydration, illness and even death.

But many children are forced to risk their health to take part in classes, according to the report produced jointly by the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF and the WHO, the first to look specifically at provision in schools.

It found nearly a third of primary and secondary schools lacked a safe and reliable drinking water supply, affecting nearly 570 million children. Nearly 20 percent of schools had no safe drinking water at all.

Just over a third of schools lacked adequate toilet facilities, affecting more than 620 million children. Almost one in five primary schools and one in eight secondary schools were considered to have no sanitation.

Nearly half lacked proper handwashing facilities, essential for helping prevent the spread of infections and disease. Nearly 900 million children were affected, the report found.

Sub-Saharan Africa, East and Southeast Asia had some of the worst facilities.

“It’s deeply shocking,” Tim Wainwright, the chief executive of charity WaterAid, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“The consequences are very broad in terms of children’s access to education, general health and state of nutrition.”

Adolescent girls in particular are often forced to miss classes when they are on their periods if there are no proper cleaning and sanitation facilities, he said.

More than a third of girls in South Asia miss school during their periods, often because they lack access to toilets or pads, according to a WaterAid and UNICEF study earlier this year.

The World Bank last year warned countries needed to quadruple spending to $150 billion a year to deliver universal safe water and sanitation.

However, experts say they are optimistic the situation can be quickly improved if leaders treat water, sanitation and hygiene as a priority.

“With political will, it really is possible to deliver good quality services,” said Johnston.

The post Half the World’s Schools Lack Clean Water, Toilets and Handwashing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

North Korea to Expel Detained Japanese Tourist

Posted: 26 Aug 2018 09:31 PM PDT

TOKYO/SEOUL — North Korea has detained a Japanese tourist accused of breaking the law during a visit to the country and he will be expelled, the North’s official news agency has said.

Tomoyuki Sugimoto, believed to be a videographer from Shiga prefecture in central Japan, was apparently caught filming a military facility in Nampo city, Kyodo news agency and other Japanese media reported on Monday.

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said on the weekend the Japanese tourist was detained and investigated for an unspecified crime.

“The relevant institution of the DPRK decided to leniently condone him and expel him from the DPRK on the principle of humanitarianism,” the news agency said, referring to the North by its official name.

It was not clear if Sugimoto had left the country.

Japan’s government said on Monday it was aware of the KCNA report.

“The government is putting in all its effort, but we refrain from commenting on details due to the nature of the issue,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

Japanese media reported in early August that a Japanese man had been detained in North Korea, and government officials were trying to gather information on him.

Japan, in addition to demanding that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons and missile programs, has also sought the return of abductees kidnapped during the 1970s and 1980s.

It has said it will not provide any economic aid to Pyongyang until that issue is resolved and normal diplomatic relations have been established.

The post North Korea to Expel Detained Japanese Tourist appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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