Tuesday, October 16, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Gov’t, EAOs Agree Guidelines for Further Discussion of Key Peace Stumbling Blocks

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 08:41 AM PDT

YANGON—The government and a group of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) that are signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) concluded a two-day summit Tuesday with an agreed set of guidelines for continued discussion on two key issues that have stalled the peace process.

The contentious issues are the process of forming a unified military, and the military's insistence that ethnic groups vow never to seek secession from the Union.

Participants told reporters in Naypyitaw after the summit that the guidelines for further discussion agreed to at the meeting aim to address the concerns of both sides.

The issues of non-secession and a single national army dominated the talks on Tuesday, with the leaders taking extra time to discuss the former, according to the ethnic leaders.

Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, the vice chair of the Chin National Front, told reporters in Naypyitaw that,"As non-secession is a key issue, our ethnic leaders requested the government let us consult first with the non-signatories to the NCA, as we have more than 10 ethnic groups."

The government and the EAOs agreed to meet again in November.

Padoh Kwe Htoo Win, vice chairman of the Karen National Union and a key negotiator at the summit, said, "If our constitution [established] a democracy and were a federally-based constitution, as called for by the ethnic groups, no one would seek to secede."

He reiterated that the right to secede and the demand for self-determination are two separate issues.

However, peace negotiations have been stalled over these issues for more than a year. This week's summit was held in an effort to overcome the deadlock.

U Zaw Htay, the director general of the Ministry of the State Counselor's Office, said, "The leaders openly shared their concerns" on the issues but in the end they will all move forward as per the agreement. He was referring to the joint statement released by the government and EAOs on Tuesday, which stated that both sides would move forward.

In the statement, seven goals were agreed: to convene Union peace conferences before 2020 prioritizing democratic and federal principles; to break the deadlock on the peace negotiations; to simplify the current political dialogue; to implement any agreement made between the leaders; to begin discussion on security sector integration; to seek to include the remaining ethnic armed groups who have not yet signed the NCA; and to continue discussions on strengthening the ceasefire.

Regarding the issue of forming a unified army, Padoh Kwe Htoo Win, the vice chairman of the Karen National Union who has been a key negotiator at this summit, said the EAOs "agree to the principle of having a single army, but will have to continue discussions on how to form a multiethnic army."

U Zaw Htay added, "Before, we did not know where to start on the issue [of the single army, which forms part of broader security concerns]. Now we have got a specific topic [for discussion]." He said a timeframe had been set to continue these discussions.

Padoh Kwe Htto Win was optimistic that "future negotiations will be smoother" thanks to this week's gathering for informal but high-level negotiations to break the impasse in peace negotiations.

On the government side, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and deputy military commander-in-chief Vice Senior General Soe Win led the talks on Tuesday, while all 10 EAO leaders were there for the second day of the summit.

Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing joined the peace summit on Monday morning to outline the Tatmadaw's stand on the ongoing process and the non-secession issue.

Also on Monday, the Army chief, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and General Saw Mutu Sae Poe of the KNU, accompanied by Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win, met separately to discuss their concerns.

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EU Trade Preference Halt Would Cause Widespread Harm to Myanmar: Activists, Lawmakers 

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 05:28 AM PDT

YANGON—The withdrawal of EU trade preferences would impact the lives of ordinary people, putting more than 400,000 jobs at risk in the fast-growing garment sector, which is the country's largest foreign income earner, lawmakers, labor policy makers and rights groups warn.

The EU Trade Commissioner announced on Oct. 5 that the bloc was considering withdrawing Myanmar's preferential trade status due to human rights violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State.

"The action will affect ordinary people and the families who rely on them," U Maung Maung, the president of the Confederation of Trade Unions in Myanmar (CTUM), told The Irrawaddy.

A garment factory in Yangon / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom warned that Myanmar could lose its "everything but arms" (EBA) trade privileges over the "violation of human rights" cited in a United Nations fact-finding mission's report. (That report, however, recommended the Security Council adopt targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against those individuals found to be most responsible for serious crimes under international law.)

CTUM recently published an open letter to the EU strongly opposing the withdrawal of trade preferences and pointing out that the move would only harm the country's social development as it undergoes a transition to democracy.

Malmstrom said the European Commission and the European External Action Service would notify the Myanmar authorities that it would send an emergency, high-level EU mission to the country in the coming days to assess the situation on the ground.

She said, "There is a clear possibility that a withdrawal could be the outcome."

Myanmar is not the only country under threat of losing privileged access to the European market. Earlier this month, Malmstrom announced that Cambodia's access to the EBA scheme was under review in response to a finding by Brussels that the elections in the country earlier this year were unfair and that voters' rights had been abused.

According to the conditions of the scheme, EBA preferences can be withdrawn "in case of some exceptional circumstances, in case of serious and systematic violation of principles laid down in fundamental human rights and labor rights conventions."

A part of the EU's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the EBA scheme grants full duty-free and quota-free access to the EU's single market for all products except arms and armaments. To qualify, a country must be listed as a Least Developed Country (LDC) by the UN Committee for Development Policy.

A garment factory in Yangon / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

Since 2013, the EU has lifted duties on goods from Myanmar under the EBA's zero-tariff import regime. This has helped Myanmar attract foreign investment and become a major support for its economic boom centering on the garment sector. Nearly 70 percent of Myanmar's exports go to EU countries, and more than half of these are garments.

According to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA), as of 2014 Myanmar's garment sector was booming, with both foreign- and locally-owned factories exporting to the European and U.S. markets.

The EU is Myanmar's largest trade partner for garments, purchasing more than 47 percent of the products, while Japan, the second-largest, purchased just 27 percent of garment products in 2017. Myanmar exported $1.2 billion worth of garments in 2013, $1.5 billion in 2014, $1.7 billion in 2015, $2.1 billion in 2016 and $2.7 billion in 2017, according to the MGMA.

Garments account for 71 percent of overall exports to the EU, fisheries products 8 percent, rice 4 percent, beans 4 percent, precious stones 8 percent and wood products 5 percent.

According to MGMA, the garment sector has become the most labor intensive of Myanmar's major industries since the opening of the EU market, with the number of factory workers growing from 240,000 in 2012 to 450,000 currently.

According to CTUM, however, there are more than 500,000 garment workers in Myanmar, of whom at least 400,000 work in factories that mainly export to the EU.

As of Sept. 30, 2018, according to the MGMA's records, there were 518 factories in Yangon, Thilawa, Pathein, Hpa-An and Mandalay, supplying European and other international brands like H&M, Inditex, Next, Adidas, Primark and Gap. Yangon is home to about 200 garment factories.

"The garment sector is an incredibly powerful generator of livelihoods and opportunity for hundreds of thousands of families in Myanmar," the MGMA said.

Lawmaker Daw Pyone Kay Thi Naing, a member of the Lower House International Relations Committee, told The Irrawaddy the government is doing its best to solve the Rakhine crisis.

The lawmaker said the EU should consider the fact that over 400,000 people, mostly women, would be affected by sanctions—more than half the number of people who fled from Rakhine State into Bangladesh.
"I see no connection between those women and human rights abuse accusations in Rakhine State. If those grassroots women become jobless due to the EU sanctions, it's a kind of war crime," she said.
Lawmakers said withdrawal of trade preferences is not the right way to apply pressure over human rights violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, as they would also disrupt the government's major economic reforms, which have seen the country open up after more than six decades of isolation under military dictatorship.

"It is the wrong button. Trade sanctions are not the right way to apply pressure over human rights violations in Rakhine State. They would only send the civilian government into another crisis," Daw Zin Mar Aung, a Lower House lawmaker, told The Irrawaddy.

"The EU should think about who will suffer as a result of removing trade preferences. Their approach should be positive, whether the government has committed human rights violations or is trying to make conditions better," she said.

Lawmakers said that while the government rejected the UN fact-finding report, it did set up its own commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations in Rakhine State. Moreover, it has been implementing the recommendations in the report by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State chaired by the late Kofi Annan.

Eleven groups comprising the European Burma Network based in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden and Germany, including Burma Campaign for UK, Burmese Rohingya Organization UK, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Civil Rights Defenders Burma, warned the EU that "such a move risks having a disproportionate impact on ordinary people who have played no role in human rights violations against the Rohingya and others, and in fact themselves suffer from a lack of human rights and genuine democracy in Burma."

The statement warned "there is a danger that such measures could be blamed on the Rohingya, further hardening public sentiment against them. There is also a danger that the impact on ordinary people will discredit all sanctions in the public mind and in the media, making it harder to secure support for sanctions that are more likely to have a meaningful impact."

In April, the EU extended and strengthened the EU's arms embargo on Myanmar and prohibited the provision of military training to and cooperation with Myanmar. In June, the EU imposed sanctions against seven senior military, border guard and police officials who it said were responsible for or associated with serious human rights violations against the Rohingya population in 2017. The sanctions comprise an asset freeze and a travel ban.

Rights groups have urged the EU to impose targeted sanctions against the Burmese military and its leadership, who according to a recent UN investigation are responsible for crimes against humanity, war crimes and perhaps even genocide.

The Irrawaddy asked Kinga Malinowska, the European Commission's press officer for trade issues, about the review period and the process of withdrawing Myanmar from the EBA. However, the spokesperson simply referred to the statement by the trade commissioner, and would not answer any further questions.

Policy makers from trade unions said the withdrawal process takes about six months, adding that they would negotiate as best as they can to persuade the EU not to withdraw the trade preferences.

"The EU should not only listen to the one-sided lobbyists; they should also listen to our voices. We will let them know that [ending the EBA is] the wrong goal," said U Maung Maung, the CTUM president.

The post EU Trade Preference Halt Would Cause Widespread Harm to Myanmar: Activists, Lawmakers  appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Veteran Modernist’s Striking Experiment in Nudes

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 04:53 AM PDT

YANGON—To his third solo art exhibition, Aung Win has brought a subject completely different from his previous shows.

Aung Win made his name as an artist for his paintings of Kyaukse elephant dancers, but this time, nude damsels have provided the 69-year-old artist with an inspiration.

Entitled Samudaya Saccā, which is the name of one of the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism and can be translated as "the truth of the origin of suffering," Aung Win's solo show features young rural women in the nude.

"I experimented with a new subject and then continued it as I enjoyed it," said Aung Win who focused on lines in these nude paintings.

In his famed paintings depicting the elephant dance festival, Aung Win tended to use vibrant colors, but in his new series, he draws in more muted colors with marked tones.

"His human figures are as unique as his elephants. His love and respect for and his trust in his style, as well as his boldness and decisiveness, are reflected in his paintings," said veteran artist U Win Pe.

The exhibition at Nawaday Tharlar Art Gallery features 15 acrylic paintings and will continue to be held there through Friday.

Born in Kyaukse, Aung Win is a graduate of Mandalay State School of Fine Arts and joined Myanmar's modernism movement in the 1970s.

"People have known Aung Win in connection with the elephant dance, but now he has drawn a totally different subject with new ideas and new creations. And I like it very much. At his age, it is quite hard to create a totally different subject without courage. I like his courage to change," said curator Ko Pyae Wai.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

The post Veteran Modernist's Striking Experiment in Nudes appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chinese-Made Fighter Jets Crash in Magwe, Killing Girl, Pilots

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 04:19 AM PDT

YANGON — A sixth-grade girl and two pilots were killed when a pair of military planes crashed in Magwe Region's Minbu Township on Tuesday morning.

Thwel Zin Nyein, who lived in Minbu’s 4th Ward, was struck and killed by debris from one of the planes that crashed during a training exercise.

"She was reading for the exam when the parts hit her in the back. She died at the hospital," Lower House lawmaker U Win Win, who represents Minbu, told The Irrawaddy.

Four other students were also reading with her in a group at the time of the accident, but none of them was seriously injured, said U Win Win, who visited the victim's house.

The Office of the Commander-in-Chief blamed the crashes on bad weather.

According to a statement from the military, four F-7 fighters from Magwe Airbase were taking part in the training exercise when the weather suddenly turned bad at about 6:20 a.m. It said two of the planes landed safely and two crashed, killing Captain Hein Thu Aung and Captain Phyo Maung Maung.

One of the planes crashed near the Sar Bwak creek and the other crashed in a field 1 kilometer west of That Nat Pin Su village.

Photos of one of the crash sites shared on social media showed bullets spread around the aircraft parts.

Locals who said they witnessed one of the crashes told The Irrawaddy that the plane struck a broadcast tower before hitting the ground. One resident, Ko Hsan Win Tun, said he went to the scene and saw that the tower was broken.

In April, an F-7 fighter from Toungoo Airbase also crashed, killing the pilot.

The F-7 is a version of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 licensed and built by China.

In September, a military G-4 jet fighter from Pathein Airbase crashed about 19 kilometers from Rakhine State's Gwa Township. Two pilots died in the accident.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Govt to Supply Rural Communities With Antivenom to Reach Farmers

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 02:59 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Snake antivenom will be supplied to more than 1,700 rural health care centers starting next year, the Ministry of Health and Sports has announced.

The ministry said it would buy the medicine from the state-owned Burma Pharmaceutical Industry (BPI), under the management of the Ministry of Industry, at a price well below the cost of production.

"We will make sure 1,760 rural health care centers have easy access to antivenom as farmers are the most vulnerable to snake bites in the country," BPI Managing Director U Ko Ko Aung told reporters during a workshop on Myanmar's antivenom projects in Naypyitaw on Monday.

He said there were around 10,000 cobra and viper bites in Myanmar every year, most of them in rural areas. But antivenom currently is supplied only to township hospitals in urban centers. Getting the medicine to rural areas could help save lives.

The Ministry of Health and Sports will train health assistants in rural areas on how to administer the antivenom.

"Previously only a liquid form of antivenom could be produced. But now a freeze-dried form can be produced with modern equipment," said U Kyaw Kan Kaung, director of the Public Health Department.

The Ministry of Industry will sell 20-ml bottles of liquid antivenom for 38,000 kyats ($23.91) each and the freeze-dried form for 48,000 kyats ($30.20), said U Ko Ko Aung.

"This will significantly reduce the number of deaths caused by snake bites," U Myint Ko, a health assistant in Amatkyee Kone Village, in Bago Region's Yedashe Township, told The Irrawaddy.

Since the government started supplying township public hospitals with antivenom, the number of deaths from snake bites has fallen sharply. Most deaths from bites today are attributed to the use of pseudo-medical treatment based on superstition.

"Previously snake bites were quite common. But these days more and more people wear long boots, and there have been fewer victims," said U Win Myint, a farmer in Yedashe Township's Khin Tan village.

BPI produced more than 120,000 units of antivenom in 2017 and plans to produce 130,000 units this year.

Established in 1957, BPI produces some 200 medical products in various forms, including capsules, tablets and vaccines. The company started manufacturing 11 new products during the previous fiscal year and had a total output worth 39 billion kyats ($24.59 million).

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Night Market in Thandwe Gets the Green Light

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 02:36 AM PDT

YANGON—The Rakhine government has given the green light for a new night market in southern Rakhine’s Thandwe Township, the location of the miles-long uniquely beautiful Ngapali Beach, as a means of introducing the night-out culture in the Rakhine community and drawing some tourists too.

Ko Tun Thant Kyaw, the managing director of Shwe Khine Thazin, a public company in Thandwe, said nearly 100 residents submitted a collective proposal for the night market project to the Rakhine State government in August. On Oct. 12, it was officially approved by the government's administrative office.

Although night markets and nightlife culture are commonplace for residents in the commercial cities of Yangon and Mandalay, it is a new concept in Rakhine State. Ko Tun Thant Kyaw has learned that tourists visiting Thandwe sometimes ask if there is a market or place where they can buy traditional Rakhine dishes and local handicrafts.

He said, “Despite [producing] a number of sea and fish products, locals can’t easily buy them around the downtown area. By creating this project, Thandwe locals will at least have a place to visit.”

According to him, the project will not be funded by the state government but by Thandwe locals and business people. They plan to support the night market by establishing the relevant infrastructure including electricity and a water supply, a land labeling process as well as a drainage system. He believes that the new project could provide a number of jobs for locals.

The government-approved location for the night market is to be in front of Thandwe's Myoma Playground, near the Thandwe River Bridge. However, this location, at 8 kilometers—a 14-minute drive—from hotels serving Ngapali Beach may not be close enough to attract tourists. Late afternoons and evenings at Ngapali are usually spent enjoying the sunset and swimming and playing on the beach. Thus, implementing a night market closer to the beach and hotel zone would likely draw more tourists.

The initial step, which is to be carried out by the Shwe Khine Thazin company in the coming months, will be plot designation. The selected compound will have a concrete floor laid. The public company has estimated that the project will cost approximately 100 million kyats ($63,200). However, a committee is to be formed to decide who is to be assigned to which market plots.

"Apart from pagodas, we don’t have any places to visit in Thandwe at nighttime.  As you know, pagodas and temples are not a tourist's favorite location to visit at night. Even locals want to eat out at night, but there is no proper market where they can get a variety of foods in one place," said Ko Tun Thant Kyaw.

He said the township municipality will arrange garbage management for the night market. It’s unclear, however, whether they would have sufficient human resources to handle a new project, as the head of the township municipal previously told The Irrawaddy that a lack of staff was the cause for poor waste management reported at Ngapali Beach. As for management of the market, he suggested the authorities form a committee made up of members of the municipal government and some influential businesspeople.

"In one way, it is the right idea as there is nothing [to do at night] in Ngapali. But people do not want to drive or travel far in the evening, especially before or after dinner, so it would need to be nearby," said Oliver E Soe Thet who operates Laguna Lodge Eco Hotel in Ngapali.

In terms of the night market project, he believes it's a good idea as long as the products sold are predominantly Rakhine—traditional souvenirs, Rakhine dishes and snacks—instead of selling imported Chinese or Thai products. Authentic local products like coconut leaf maps, hats, coconut shell artwork, items made from seashells as well as bamboo-made accessories could attract more tourists. He hopes for the market to be Rakhine-driven with Rakhine goods to ensure jobs for Rakhine people and a proper income for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

"It should have many Rakhine desserts and food like monti (rice noodles) made by family-style shops, not by chain [restaurants] which would spoil the image. Women should be at the forefront and sell their goods and food, especially desserts. It should be something the local people are proud of themselves about.”

As well as running Laguna Lodge, Oliver is active in promoting environmental conservation in Ngapali and has an anti-sand-mining campaign so is concerned that sand from Ngapali Beach will be used in the construction of the market with the excuse that it is being used for public interests.

Oliver, a German native based in Ngapali for many years—including during the military regime—said that in late 2017 he submitted his own proposal for a community-based night market project in the village at Ngapali Beach to Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu but a year later, however, it's status is still pending. His more recent suggestions for the planned night market to be established near Ngapali Beach rather than in Thandwe have also been ignored.

The town of Thandwe is home to a mix population including Muslims and Kaman with a majority of Buddhists. When sectarian conflict between Rohingya Muslims and the Rakhine community erupted in 2012, Thandwe residents also suffered tremendously and over the past few years, the authorities have occasionally announced curfew orders in the area. Following the violence in northern Rakhine State in August of 2017, it was reported that some members of Thandwe's community instigated racial hatred by spreading false information on two separate occasions, though no acts of violence are reported to have taken place.

The post Night Market in Thandwe Gets the Green Light appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Protesters Injured in Labor Dispute

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 01:14 AM PDT

YANGON — Six people were seriously injured in a beating of employees on strike at a Chinese factory in Yangon and were hospitalized, said strike leaders on Monday evening.

A group of men beat employees who had joined a sit-down strike at the west gate of Fu Yun Garment Factory in Dagon Seikkan Township against the dismissal of their colleagues on Monday morning. More than 20 were injured in the beating.

More than 200 workers, most of them young women, are on strike.

The Yangon Youth Network sent a letter to social affairs minister U Naing Ngan Lin of the Yangon regional government on Tuesday, asking him to intervene, saying that violence against them seriously harms their dignity and modesty.

"I heard that two were injured on their heads and had to be stitched. But it is a rumor that a pregnant woman was stabbed. I request not to spread rumors under such circumstances," said U Aung Myint, a supporter of the strike.

The beating was followed by a fight between local residents and those who beat the employees.

"The strike will continue unless our demands are met," said strike leader Ma Thet Htar Swe.

Employees have been on a strike since the management of the factory sacked 30 members of the factory's labor union, calling for their re-employment.

The management said that the dismissal was in line with its employment contract and that only those who loafed on the job, breached the contract, were absent without leave, and instigated to disrupt production were let go.

At the press conference on Monday, strike leaders said that they would open a case with the police, and claimed that they were beaten by a group of men.

But, the Yangon Region Police Force said that the fighting was between two groups of workers, as workers on strike asked their colleagues who were still working at the factory to join the strike.

Nine working employees— a man and eight women—suffered minor injuries in the fight and 23 workers on strike were also injured, seven of whom are receiving treatment as in-patients at Thingangyun Hospital, said the police.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 10:47 PM PDT

Yekyaw's Thadingyut Street Festival

Celebrate Thadingyut, the Buddhist light festival, in style with a street party in downtown's vibrant Yekyaw ward.

Oct. 21 to 25. Yekyaw Street.

Jazz Night

This event is for jazz music lovers.

Oct. 20. 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thiripyitsaya Sky Bistro, 21st floor, Sakura Tower. Entry is 5,000 kyats including a drink.

Vintage Camera Exhibition

This is the first-ever exhibition of vintage cameras in Myanmar.

Oct. 19 to 21. 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Yangon Gallery, People's Park.

Mo Mo's Birthday

The 65th birthday of Myanmar's most famous elephant, Mo Mo, will be celebrated with a festival.

Oct. 21. Yangon Zoological Garden.

 

Photo Exhibition

French photographer Djavanshir. N exhibits his work documenting the punk communities in Myanmar. "Punk, Love & Kindness" has already shown in major cities in France and Germany. Minzayar Oo’s work documenting the life of one young punk will be shown as well.

Oct. 19. 7:30 p.m. to 12 a.m.  Institut Français de Birmanie, No. 340 Pyay Road, Sanchaung Township. Tickets are 5,000 kyats.

Yangon River Cruise and Dining

Cruise the Yangon River and enjoy the sunset.

Oct. 21, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Departs from Botatung Jetty. Tickets are 18,000 kyats to 25,000 kyats. Tel: 09-445151010.

Goethe Film Night: “Das Leben der Anderen”

The Oscar-winning thriller tells the story of an East German state security officer who first spies on and later tries to help a couple under surveillance.

Oct. 17. 6:30. p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Goethe-Institut Myanmar, corner of Kaba Aye Pagoda Road and Nat Mauk Street, Bahan Township. Free admission.

Blind Pony: Electronic Music Night

International and student DJs will perform.

Oct. 18. 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. YangonYangon Bar, Sakura Tower. Entry is 5,000 kyats including a drink.

Collection Show

OK Gallery puts its collection of 12 artists on display.

Oct. 17 to 24. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. OK Art Gallery, Aung San Stadium (north wing).

Aung Win and Samudaya Saccā

Painter Aung Win showcases works exploring his perception of existence in his third solo exhibition.

Oct. 13 to 19. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nawaday Tharlar Art Gallery, Room 304, 20/B, Yawmingyi Road, Dagon Township.

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

Indian Minister Sues Woman Alleging Sexual Harassment for Defamation

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 10:28 PM PDT

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI — Indian government minister M.J. Akbar filed a defamation suit on Monday against one of at least 10 women who have accused him of sexual harassment, calling her allegations false and malicious.

The lawsuit, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, names journalist Priya Ramani as the sole accused and says that she “intentionally put forward malicious, fabricated and salacious” allegations to harm his reputation.

In a tweet late on Monday, Ramani said she is ready to fight the defamation allegation “as truth and the absolute truth is my only defense”.

The lawsuit comes amid widespread calls on social media for Akbar’s resignation from his post as India’s minister of state for external affairs.

Akbar, 67, a veteran editor who founded many publications, has been accused of a range of inappropriate behavior by female journalists.

Many have called for Akbar to be sacked and have threatened to boycott events he is attending until he resigns.

More than 200 protesters of the youth wing of the opposition Congress party waved placards and chanted slogans near Akbar’s Delhi house on Monday. Some jumped barricades and clashed with police and dozens were detained, a Reuters witness said.

Akbar is one of the highest-profile figures so far to face accusations in India’s burgeoning #MeToo movement.

Several powerful men from the worlds of media, entertainment and the arts have already been snared in sexual harassment and assault allegations, which have led to a string of ousters.

Now a high-profile sports figure, the chief executive of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rahul Johri, has also been accused of sexual misconduct — in an anonymous Tweet that recounts an allegation of a sexual assault at his house.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has since asked BCCI not to send Johri to an upcoming ICC meeting, two officials directly aware of the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The sport’s global governing body is set to a host a two-day meeting with chief executives of the governing bodies of cricketing nations in Singapore this week. Johri had been due to attend.

“The world governing body had a chat with the BCCI about the matter yesterday,” said one of the sources, adding the BCCI’s acting secretary, Amitabh Chaudhary, would attend the meeting.

The sources declined to be named, as they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Johri did not respond to calls or messages seeking comment. The ICC and BCCI declined to comment.

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With Solar Farms and Roof Panels, Bangladesh Inches Toward Green Power Goal

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 10:09 PM PDT

DHAKA — Bangladesh's electricity generation from renewable sources has passed the 5 percent mark with the opening of a major new solar plant, boosting hopes the country might meet its goal of getting 10 percent of its power from renewables by 2020, experts say.

The new 28 MW solar power plant in Cox's Bazar District is the largest yet opened in the country, following the earlier construction of a 3 MW plant.

The solar plants come on top of the widespread use of solar home systems in the low-lying country, considered one of those most vulnerable to climate change impacts.

Currently about 5.2 million small-scale solar home systems provide electricity to almost 12 percent of Bangladesh’s 160 million people, Dipal C. Barua, president of the Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

He called the new plant “good news” for the country, saying the accelerating construction of solar power facilities “will build confidence among future investors."

The new 116-acre solar park will supply enough electricity to meet about 80 percent of power demand in the Teknaf sub-district where it is located, said Mahmudul Hasan, chief financial officer for Joules Power Ltd.

That area has about 300,000 power users, though little in the way of industrial or large commercial users, he said.

Nuher Latif Khan, managing director of Technaf Solartech Energy Ltd., a subsidiary of Joules Power that owns the plant, said the plant had begun operations ahead of schedule.

In Bangladesh, “the future of solar power is very fantastic,” he said, noting that the company “definitely” planned to invest more in renewable energy, including potentially wind power.

Khan said the solar park can produce up to 28 MW of solar electricity at peak capacity and has contracted to provide 20 MW to the government grid.

Barua said several other large solar plants are in the pipeline in Bangladesh, after receiving government approval, with a few at advanced stages of construction.

More cost, then less

While solar plants need a large amount of initial investment to set up, he said, they have very small operational costs afterward, unlike plants that need ongoing sources of coal or other fossil fuels.

The government has supported the construction of rooftop solar plants on factories and other commercial buildings, he said, with some facilities on large plants expected to generate a megawatt or more each.

With such solar plants, thousands of factories in Bangladesh should be able to meet their own electricity needs, and contribute surplus power to the national grid.

"I think one day we will see every building has a rooftop solar power system,” Barua said.

However, finding available land to set up ground-level solar plants is a major challenge in densely populated Bangladesh, he admitted.

Sheikh Reaz Ahmed, director of the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), said the country’s 2008 renewable energy policy calls for generating 10 percent of electricity from renewables by 2020.

With the country expected to generate 20,000 MW of electricity in total by the date, renewables would have to reach 2,000 MW to hit that target, he said.

So far Bangladesh generates just over 530 MW from renewables, nearly half of that from hydropower plants, he said.

But the country is set to put online another 600 MW of renewable power in 2019 alone, he said, with another 1,100 MW rolled out in 2020 and 2021.

Altogether, plants now in the pipeline should bring the country’s renewable energy generating capacity to 2,235 MW by 2021, Ahmed said.

Not all the construction is progressing smoothly, however, with some plants tied up in problems with land acquisition and other issues, he said.

Meanwhile, energy generation from fossil fuels also is rising to meet soaring demand for energy in Bangladesh, he said.

Last year, Bangladesh’s cabinet committee on public procurement approved a proposal to construct 10 new oil-fired power plants, capable of generating 1,800 MW of electricity.

In January, construction also began on a 1,200 MW coal-fired power plant in Cox’s Bazar, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

That means boosting Bangladesh’s percentage of renewable energy above 10 percent won’t be easy, because “each year total power generation from traditional sources will go up" too, Ahmed noted.

The post With Solar Farms and Roof Panels, Bangladesh Inches Toward Green Power Goal appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Malaysia’s Mahathir Says Uighurs Released Because They Did Nothing Wrong

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 10:02 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia freed 11 ethnic Uighur Muslims who fled to the Southeast Asian nation after a Thai jailbreak last year because they did nothing wrong there, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday.

Reuters, citing the men’s lawyer, reported last week that Malaysia had released the 11 from detention and sent them to Turkey, disregarding China’s request to hand them to Beijing.

“They have done nothing wrong in this country, so they are released,” Mahathir said in brief comments to reporters in Parliament, the first from the Malaysian government since their release.

Malaysia’s move was likely to strain ties with China, which have already been tested since Mahathir won a stunning election victory in May and canceled more than $20 billion worth of projects awarded to Chinese companies.

China, which had asked for their extradition, said on Friday that it “resolutely” opposed Malaysia’s decision to release the 11 Uighurs and send them to Turkey.

Prosecutors in Muslim-majority Malaysia dropped charges against the Uighurs on humanitarian grounds, their lawyer said.

The men were detained and charged with illegally entering Malaysia after November’s daring prison break, during which they punched holes in a prison wall and used blankets as ladders.

Reuters reported in February that Malaysia was under great pressure from China to send the men there. Some Western missions sought to dissuade Kuala Lumpur from sending them to China, which has been accused of persecuting Uighurs.

Beijing accuses separatist extremists among the Uighur minority of plotting attacks on China’s Han majority in the restive far western region of Xinjiang and elsewhere.

China has been accused of rights abuses in Xinjiang, torture of Uighur detainees and tight controls on their religion and culture. It denies wrongdoing.

Over the years, hundreds, possibly thousands, of Uighurs have escaped the unrest by traveling clandestinely via Southeast Asia to Turkey.

The post Malaysia’s Mahathir Says Uighurs Released Because They Did Nothing Wrong appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Beer Lovers Face Price Spikes, Shortages as Climate Changes: Study

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 09:57 PM PDT

WASHINGTON — Climate change will brew trouble for beer lovers in coming decades as it shrinks yields of barley, the top grain used to make the world’s most popular alcoholic drink, a study published on Monday said.

Extreme weather events featuring both heat waves and droughts will occur as often as every two or three years in the second half of the century if temperatures rise at current rates, the study said.

Average global barley yields during extreme events are expected to drop between 3 and 17 percent, depending on the conditions, said the study, published in the journal Nature Plants.

Less barley will mean beer shortages and price spikes. Under the hottest scenario, China will suffer the most shortages this century, followed by the United States, Germany, and Russia, it said.

Prices will spike the most in Ireland, Italy, Canada and Poland. During the extreme climate events, prices for a 500-milliliter bottle, slightly more than a pint, in Ireland will rise from about $2.50 to $5.00.

Dabo Guan, a professor of climate change economics at the University of East Anglia and the study’s lead author, said beer issues pale in comparison to other climate induced problems, including food security, storm damage and fresh water scarcity. But the threats to a beverage people have enjoyed for thousands of years is an indicator that even consumers in developed countries cannot escape the effects of a changing planet.

“Climate change will affect all of us, not only people who are in India or African countries,” Guan said.

The study did not consider climate change’s affects on other staple ingredients of beer such as hops.

Consumers in developed countries who want to avoid shortages would be wise to support policies reducing emissions of gases scientists blame for warming the planet, Guan said.

Last year US President Donald Trump announced his intention to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris pact on climate, doubting the extent to which human activity is warming the planet.

Many companies realize the risks of climate on barley, 17 percent of which is used to make beer. Many countries keep emergency reserves of staple crops such as corn, rice and wheat to stave off price spikes and shortages. But most do not do so for barley, making it vulnerable to climate.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's biggest brewer, said this year it would cut its greenhouse gas emissions by a quarter by 2025.

Jess Newman, the head of US agronomy for Anheuser-Busch, said the company was experimenting with developing drought-resistant barley and working with farmers to reduce their need for water by, for example, encouraging them to place irrigation sprinklers closer to the ground.

“It’s definitely an incremental process but we have many varieties in the pipeline,” Newman said when asked how close the company was to breeding a drought-resistant barley in the United States. For several years, Anheuser-Busch has used a winter barley in Idaho that gets moisture from melting snow, cutting the need for irrigation.

The post Beer Lovers Face Price Spikes, Shortages as Climate Changes: Study appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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