Wednesday, December 19, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Analysis: Deft Diplomacy Required as China, Japan Court Myanmar

Posted: 19 Dec 2018 04:39 AM PST

YANGON—While the West abandons Myanmar over the human rights crisis in Rakhine, China and Japan, understanding the value of the country's strategic location in Southeast Asia, have done the opposite, accelerating their collaboration in a bid to get the upper hand and further their own grand plans.

Beijing and Tokyo's strategies to connect continents and oceans with sea lanes and inland highways that will improve Myanmar's infrastructure have the potential to revive the country's slowing economy and position the country as a regional trade and supply hub.

Key Chinese figures have been traveling back and forth between the two countries this year to pursue Beijing's dream of implementing the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), part of its region-wide Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). A week after signing the Kyaukphyu SEZ, the vice chairman of China's top economic planning agency pushed Myanmar's State Counselor—who also serves as chair of Myanmar's BRI steering committee, to move forward with projects on the ground.

Myanmar's BRI steering committee comprises 25 members including 18 Union ministers (from ministries ranging from Home Affairs to Hotels and Tourism); five chief ministers (from Kachin, Mandalay, Rakhine, Yangon and Shan); the foreign affairs permanent secretary; and the chairman of the Naypyitaw Council.

Last month, Beijing secured a long-awaited agreement to build the Kyaukphyu deep-water port in northern Rakhine State, which already serves as the terminus for twin cross-border oil and gas pipelines between the two countries. Kyaukphyu is a crucial phase in the CMEC.

According to U Set Aung, deputy minister for planning and finance, the Kyaukphyu project will contribute to the sustainable development of both countries and will also be crucial to enhancing Myanmar's regional connectivity.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attend a bilateral meeting at the State Guest House in Tokyo on Oct. 9, 2018. / Myanmar Foreign Ministry / Facebook

Japan has accelerated its plans for Myanmar's first special economic zone (SEZ) in Thilawa, which received more than $1.3 million in investment from 2014-18. It is also planning to upgrade roads and bridges through two states via the East-West Economic Corridor, one of the cross-border transport infrastructure projects that form part of Tokyo's Greater Mekong Region economic integration scheme.

After nearly six decades of isolation under military dictatorship, the government led by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been implementing economic reforms to complete Myanmar's democratic transition. The government has drawn up the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP), the aim of which is to align the country's numerous policies and institutions to achieve genuine, inclusive and transformational economic growth. The MSDP also aims to improve the country's connectivity with neighboring countries and prioritizes economic corridors under both the GMS and BRI.

Under the BRI, Kyaukphyu is seen as a potential hub for China, giving it direct access to the Indian Ocean and allowing its oil imports to bypass the Strait of Malacca. It also serves Beijing's goal of developing China's land-locked Yunnan province.

At a recent Union-ministerial-level planning and finance meeting, it was disclosed that the CMEC will pass through Yangon, Mandalay, Shan, Irrawaddy and Rakhine (to the Kyaukphyu SEZ). China has proposed a total of 40 projects, but the two sides have only agreed to implement nine so far. However, the meeting didn't issue details of the projects, other than construction plans for three economic cooperation zones along the Myanmar-China border in Shan and Kachin states.

In Yangon, the multi-billion-dollar New Yangon City project is a part of the CMEC plan. A framework agreement was recently signed for the project, which is envisioned as a complex of new towns, industrial parks and urban development projects.

Myanmar has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China to begin studying a proposed railway line from Muse, in northern Shan State, to Mandalay. The Muse-Mandalay line is part of Beijing's plan to build a parallel expressway and railway line from Ruili (across the border from Muse in China's Yunnan province) to Kyaukphyu, with a separate road running through northern Myanmar, the northeast states of India, and Bangladesh under the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC).

Within the competition between China and Japan in the Mekong Region, "vertical" integration has been driven by China, while "horizontal" integration has been driven by Japan, as Myanmar exists in the heart of Asia with China to the north and east, India to the west and ASEAN to the east and south.

While Myanmar has come under severe pressure from the international community, Japan has shown its full support, helping to solve the Rakhine crisis and also showing strong disagreement with the EU's consideration to withdraw trade preferences, which would hurt ordinary people in the country. In recent months, Japan announced its Tokyo Strategy 2018, aimed at promoting quality infrastructure development in countries along the Mekong River to counterbalance China's growing influence in the region via the BRI.

A map showing the route of China's planned Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor. / 'China's Asian Dream' by Tom Miller

However, Japan's quality infrastructure projects in the Mekong Region date back to the early 2000s, initiated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA has spent trillions of yen to improve economic integration in the Greater Mekong Region with a network of land and sea infrastructure routes between the countries. It emphasizes regional connectivity, which is focused on both industrial and physical infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications and power transmission lines.

"The rapid rise of China is one major factor in JICA's decision to increase infrastructure development assistance in the Mekong Region," said Tetsuji Iida, an adviser to the Planning and ASEAN Partnership Division of JICA's Southeast Asia and Pacific Department.

Since the 2010s, Myanmar has opened up to the world and also joined in the full scope of GMS cooperation that has opened a new front in China and Japan's rivalry in economic diplomacy.

Within Japan's grand plan, Myanmar sits on two major economic corridors: the East-West Economic Corridor connecting Vietnam's Dong Ha City with Yangon's Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) via Cambodia and Thailand, and the Southern Economic Corridor connecting central Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand to the Dawei SEZ in southeastern Myanmar.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has claimed that Myanmar will benefit from over 16 bilateral projects and 100 multilateral projects as part of the Mekong-Japan cooperation.

Japan's grand plan aims to improve connectivity between Bangkok and Yangon along the East West Corridor. The corridor will help businesses based in Bangkok extend their supply chains to Yangon (at the Thilawa SEZ).

A map detailing Japan's plans to establish economic corridors in the Mekong Region / Government of Japan

JICA is looking to build an inland highway as a transport shortcut from Thilawa to Bangkok. Transportation routes from Singapore currently runt to a combined length of 4,000 km and take 21 days to negotiate. On the East-West Corridor, the Myanmar section does not function as an international highway due to bottlenecks such as one-way traffic, a lack of paved roads, traffic difficulties in the rainy season and weight limitations.

JICA plans to shorten transport time by constructing three bridges in Karen and Mon states—the Gyaing-Kawkareik Bridge, the Gyaing-Zathabyin Bridge and the Atran Bridge—as a part of the East-West Economic Corridor. It expects to take one-and-a-half days to transport goods over 870 km from Thilawa to Bangkok. JICA expects loans for the project to amount to about 33.8 billion yen and that the project will be complete by 2023.

Japan pledged about 800 billion yen (US$7.03 billion) in 2016 in public and private support over five years, including for urban development in Yangon, and roughly 260 billion yen for the Mandalay-Yangon rail modernization project. JICA agreed to provide 6 billion yen in grants to develop a major port in Mandalay that will connect the two cities by river. The plan includes the construction of a new pier and cranes to handle freight.

According to Japan's Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy, Tokyo also plans to construct the Hanthawaddy International Airport near Bago city around 80 kilometers north of Yangon. In May, Transport and Communications Minister U Thant Sin Maung said that although Japan wants to start the project as soon as possible, Myanmar is considering the investment amount. However, according to a Japanese newspaper report in June, both sides agreed to go ahead with the project, which has a total estimated cost of $1.5 billion and is slated to be completed in 2020.

On the Southern Economic Corridor, the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is crucial for Japan's GMS connectivity, which will link central Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand to southeastern Myanmar. The Dawei SEZ is an $8-billion project in Tanintharyi Region that includes a deep seaport, set to be Southeast Asia's largest industrial complex. In November, Myanmar and Thailand signed an agreement to upgrade a highway linking their border with the Dawei SEZ.

According to Dawei SEZ Management Committee Chairman U Tun Naing, JICA has been conducting a full phase master plan for the deep seaport project, including setting up an electrical grid, basic infrastructure and buildings. The primary stage of the project will jointly be implemented by Myanmar, Thailand and Japan, according to Ministry of Commerce.

Prof. Manabu Fujimura of the College of Economics at Tokyo's Aoyama Gakuin University, an expert on economic corridors in GMS, told The Irrawaddy that Myanmar's economic landscape is basically divided into two parts—Chinese economic influence in Myanmar will continue to extend from Muse (in Shan State on Myanmar's border with China's Yunnan province) to Mandalay and "upper Myanmar", while Japanese and Thai economic influence would extend from Myawaddy (in Kayin State, on the border with Thailand's Tak province) to Yangon and "lower Myanmar."

A map showing expected industrial connectivity in the Mekong Region. / JICA

Naypyitaw believes foreign direct investment (FDI) offers a shortcut by which Myanmar can catch up to its neighbors and the rest of the global economy, but experts suggest the country needs to make efforts to improve the business environment by engaging in continuous reform—while also making an effort to balance two giants while not pitting one power directly against the other.

Experts said the evidence showed that Japan wants to counter China's economic and political forays into Myanmar, and that Japan's role has become increasingly important as the West turns its back on Myanmar due to the crisis in Rakhine State and human-rights abuses in the country.

Longtime Myanmar observer Bertil Lintner told The Irrawaddy, "Myanmar would need some very skilled diplomats to deal with this issue, because the country is rapidly becoming a pawn in a geopolitical game that goes far beyond ports and economic zones. It's about power games in the region where countries such as Japan and India are trying their utmost to contain China's growing influence in Myanmar."

Accepting aid from Japan is less risky than taking Chinese assistance, which usually comes in the form of loans and credits, which can turn into what's known as a "debt trap". If the loans can't be repaid, China seizes the asset, as it has done in Hambantota in Sri Lanka. Japanese aid comes with fewer strings attached. But given the rivalry between Japan and China, Myanmar should expect a lot of Chinese pressure (political, economic, support for armed groups) if it accepts aid and assistance from Japan, Lintner added.

The post Analysis: Deft Diplomacy Required as China, Japan Court Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Doctor Says Facebook Comedian Died From Blows to Head

Posted: 19 Dec 2018 04:03 AM PST

YANGON — A forensic doctor testified in the Aung Yell Htwe murder trial on Tuesday that the popular Facebook comedian died from severe head trauma, according to local media.

Taking questions from the  prosecution, the doctor, from Yangon General Hospital, told the Yangon Eastern District Court that the trauma included fracturing and hemorrhaging of the meninges resulting from blows with a hard and round object.

He was the last of the prosecution’s 22 witnesses.

The court will decide whether to charge the three murder suspects at its next hearing.

Aung Yell Htwe, 24, was severely beaten by a group of men at a New Year’s Eve party on Dec. 31 and died in hospital hours later after being operated on.

The Eastern District Court had dropped the case after questioning only 14 witnesses and before hearing from either the doctor or police investigator or reviewing the CCTV records. Yangon’s attorney general at the time, U Han Htoo, who approved the dismissal, said there was no solid evidence against the suspects.

U Han Htoo has since been dismissed and is on trial with five other court officials for allegedly taking bribes from a relative of one of the three suspects to drop the case.

Following a public outcry and pressure from the President’s Office, the Eastern District Court resumed the trial in October.

The post Doctor Says Facebook Comedian Died From Blows to Head appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lawmakers Fret Over Chinese Loans

Posted: 19 Dec 2018 02:17 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — Union Parliament lawmakers on Tuesday complained that they could see no signs of progress on the projects paid for with the $700 million in foreign loans the government paid back over the past year.

"Of the annual $700 million repayment, we had to pay about $550 million in principal and interest to China alone — about 80 percent. But taking a look at the projects being implemented with the loans, there is nothing noticeable," Lower House lawmaker Daw Khin San Hlaing said during discussion of a new report on the 2017-18 fiscal year debt.

She said two steel mills being run by the Ministry of Industry in Mandalay and Bago regions, with loans from the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, were only adding to Myanmar’s debt burden, as were loans from the same banks being passed on to local farmers to set up cooperatives.

The previous Parliament approved $300 million in loans from the Export-Import Bank of China at 4.5 percent interest to fund the cooperatives.

Daw Khin San Hlaing, who opposed the loans, has urged the government to negotiate with Beijing to convince it to either cancel the debt or to reduce the interest rate and extend the repayment period.

According to the latest debt report, Myanmar had racked up some $4 billion in loans by 1988 and another $2.7 billion after that up to 2011, 97 percent of it from China. It says the government amassed another $3.1 billion in loans between 2011 and 2016 and $91 million more since then.

Myanmar currently owes a total $10 billion to international lenders, $4 billion of it to China.

"According to the report, it is clear in which period the burden was heaviest," said Upper House lawmaker U Hla Hsan.

Lower House lawmaker Daw Thet Thet Khaing called on the government to adopt a clear borrowing policy.

"As most of the loans are long-term, the current government is enticed to take them because only its successors will have to pay the loans back," she said.

Lawmakers also noted with concern that the kyat’s ongoing depreciation against the US dollar will make it increasingly costly for Myanmar to finance its long-term loans.

"As a result, the government might have to either increase taxes or reduce its budget," Daw Thet Thet Khaing said.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Lawmakers Fret Over Chinese Loans appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Facebook Shuts Hundreds More Pages Linked to Myanmar Military

Posted: 19 Dec 2018 01:02 AM PST

YANGON—As part of its ongoing effort to remove hate speech from its platform, Facebook on Tuesday said it had purged nearly 600 hundred additional accounts, pages and groups with links to the Myanmar military for engaging in "coordinated inauthentic behavior". Critics have accused Facebook of contributing to outbreaks of deadly violence in Myanmar by allowing the spread of inflammatory rhetoric targeting ethnic communities.

This is the third time Facebook has targeted activity related to the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw). In August, following the release of a UN Fact-Finding Mission report that found evidence of genocide in Rakhine State, the company removed 18 Facebook accounts, one Instagram account and 52 Facebook pages, including those of armed forces commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and the military's Myawaddy television network.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh since last August as a result of the Tatmadaw's clearance operations, which followed attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on military and security outposts in northern Rakhine State.

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in Myanmar with 18 million local users. Since its arrival in the country, the volume of hate speech against minority groups—particularly the Rohingya in Rakhine State—has exploded.

Facebook said the move was the result of its ongoing investigation into this type of behavior in Myanmar. The company's latest action removed 425 Facebook Pages, 17 Facebook Groups, 135 Facebook accounts and 15 Instagram accounts it said were posing as independent news, entertainment, beauty and lifestyle pages.

"This kind of behavior is not allowed on Facebook under our misrepresentation policy because we don't want people or organizations creating networks of accounts to mislead others about who they are, or what they're doing," Facebook said.

It said the decision to remove pages was based on the behavior of the actors rather than on the type of content they were posting.

It had discovered that the pages, accounts and groups were linked to the military and to pages or persons previously removed from Facebook.

Facebook said one of the closed pages had 2.5 million followers, while one of the closed Facebook groups had 6,400 followers and one of the Instagram accounts had 1,300 followers.

Some of the most-followed of the banned Facebook Pages were "Down for Anything," "Let's Laugh Casually", "We Love Myanmar Knowledge" and "All About Myanmar," according to Facebook Newsroom.

"Our investigations in Myanmar are ongoing and we will continue to provide updates on abuse we find and remove," Facebook said.

In October, the company removed 13 Pages and 10 accounts associated with violence against Rohingya Muslims for engaging in "coordinated inauthentic behavior". Among the removed items was a page containing collections of soldiers' photos.

The post Facebook Shuts Hundreds More Pages Linked to Myanmar Military appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Brother Refuses to Concede Legal Fight over Inheritance

Posted: 18 Dec 2018 11:52 PM PST

NAYPYITAW—U Aung San Oo, the elder brother of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, said that the rejection of his appeal against a court decision involving the residence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at No. 54 University Avenue, is unfair.

"I will lodge an appeal to Chief Justice U Tun Tun Oo. I don't know whether he will accept it or not, but he might not. Three judges under him seemed to be afraid to handle the case. I think they are worried about the case as it involves the State Counselor," U Aung San Oo told the Irrawaddy.

The special appeal was filed by U Aung San Oo himself to the Union Supreme Court on Oct. 17 this year and rejected by the court on Dec. 12.

A spokesperson for the public relations branch of the Union Supreme Court said, "The appeal lodged by U Aung San Oo was rejected by the court on December 12."

Official documents of the court and other pieces of evidence will be sought in order to lodge an appeal to the chief justice as soon as possible.

U Aung San Oo said that he would make it clear in his appeal that the sharing of the inheritance with defendant U Khin Maung Aye, who he believes was not entitled to it, was never mentioned in the case.

"His name was never mentioned when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi lodged an appeal three times. According to the law, he is not eligible to be a defendant when the inheritance is shared under a commissioner. But Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that he was eligible. It was her influence above the law. She used it and said that the inheritance must also be shared with U Khin Maung Aye so I lost that case at the court," he added.

The case involving the State Counselor's residence was opened in 2011 and a final verdict was given by Yangon West District Court in November 2016.

The court decided that a two-story house and half of the two-acre plot owned by Daw Khin Kyi, their mother, would be given to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, while a one-story house plus the other half of the plot would be given to her brother, U Aung San Oo. However, he was not satisfied with the court's decision and demanded that the residence be auctioned off and the proceeds of the sale shared equally between them.

During her ill health in 1988, Daw Khin Kyi told her son and daughter, who were then living abroad, to come back to Myanmar. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Yangon to nurse her sick mother but U Aung San Oo failed to follow his mother's request. Before her death, Daw Khin Kyi decided to give her nephew U Khin Maung Aye a plot in the compound measuring 21.3 by 30.5 meters (70 by 100 feet) as inheritance.

U Khin Maung Aye died in August this year.

U Aung San Oo said, "They said my demands were too much and they could not be negotiated. If I am demanding too much, they can auction off the plot and they will know whether I am demanding too much or not. Why can't they auction it off?"

However, he did not elaborate on exactly how much money he was demanding.

U Myo Nyunt, spokesperson for the National League for Democracy, said, "It is not true. The court will decide independently. We will not intervene in the case. We will not even make a remark as a political party. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will not make a remark as an individual. The court has the right to decide on the case independently."

The house and plot at No. 54 University Avenue was given to Daw Khin Kyi by former prime minister U Nu. U Nu invited Daw Khin Kyi to move to the residence on University Avenue from their residence at Tower Lane (now General Aung San Museum), in order to help the family to overcome their grief after one of the sons drowned there.

The post Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Brother Refuses to Concede Legal Fight over Inheritance appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Three Fined for Demanding Release of Jailed Kachin Antiwar Activists

Posted: 18 Dec 2018 11:30 PM PST

YANGON—A court in Myitkyina, Kachin State has fined three activists who led a rally calling for the release of three imprisoned anti-war protesters.

On Dec. 11, Sut Seng Htoi, Brang Mai and Seng Hkum Awng led a demonstration against the imprisonment of three activists who were convicted earlier this month of defaming the Army after leading an antiwar protest in April. Around 5,000 local residents took part in the Dec. 11 demonstration. Myitkyina Township police charged the three under Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law.

"Sut Seng Htoi was fined 100,000 kyats, and the other two were fined 300,000 kyats each," Maran Seng Htwal, a member of the protest's organizing committee, told The Irrawaddy.

According to township police, demonstrators used the Kachin State flag without permission and held up placards reading "Failed democracy?" and "Failed law", as well as pictures of the three imprisoned anti-war demonstrators.

They were protesting the Dec. 7 sentencing by Myitkyina Township Court of Lum Zawng, Nang Pu and Zau Jat to six months in prison and fines of 500,000 kyats each for defaming the Myanmar Army during the anti-war protests in April. The plaintiff in that case, a military officer of the Myanmar Army's Northern Command, took the three to court over the protests, which called for the rescue of 2,000 locals displaced and trapped by fighting between the Myanmar Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) near the village of Awng Lawt in Tanai Township.

Activists said they would continue their campaign, including lodging an appeal for the release of the anti-war demonstrators.

"We will also seek their unconditional release [through activities] outside the court," Maran Seng Htwal said.

"Demonstrations calling for the rescue of innocent civilians are not defamatory. They were simply calling on the parties involved to rescue innocent civilians," Maran Seng Htwal, who is also the manager of the Yangon branch of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners told The Irrawaddy.

June 9 marked the seventh anniversary of renewed clashes between the Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, and the KIA after a 17-year truce between the Tatmadaw and the KIA collapsed in 2011. More than 100,000 locals have been forced from their homes into camps across Kachin State since then.

The post Three Fined for Demanding Release of Jailed Kachin Antiwar Activists appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Violence Against Journalists Hits Unprecedented Levels: RSF

Posted: 18 Dec 2018 09:03 PM PST

PARIS — The murder of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi in a year when more than half of all journalists killed were targeted deliberately reflects a hatred of the media in many areas of society, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Tuesday.

At least 63 professional journalists around the world were killed doing their jobs in 2018, RSF said, a 15 percent increase on last year. The number of fatalities rises to 80 when including all media workers and citizen journalists.

“The hatred of journalists that is voiced … by unscrupulous politicians, religious leaders and businessmen has tragic consequences on the ground, and has been reflected in this disturbing increase in violations against journalists,” RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

Khashoggi, a royal insider who became a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and began writing for the Washington Post after moving to the United States last year, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

Khashoggi’s death sparked global outrage. Saudi officials have rejected accusations that the crown prince ordered his death.

The Paris-based body said that the three most dangerous countries for journalists to work in were Afghanistan, Syria and Mexico.

Meanwhile, the shooting of five employees of the Capital Gazette newspaper propelled the United States into the ranks of the most dangerous countries.

The media freedom organization said 348 journalists are being detained worldwide, compared with 326 at this time in 2017. China, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt hold more than half the world’s imprisoned journalists.

The post Violence Against Journalists Hits Unprecedented Levels: RSF appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Sri Lanka Lawmakers Defect From President to Prime Minister After Dispute

Posted: 18 Dec 2018 08:48 PM PST

COLOMBO — Three lawmakers from Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s party defected to the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday after a dispute between the two leaders.

The island nation was plunged into crisis in October after Sirisena replaced Wickremesinghe with ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa without the backing of Parliament, leading to protests and downgrades of Sri Lanka’s debt.

Rajapaksa, best known for crushing a long-running insurgency in the north of the country and drawing Sri Lanka closer to China, failed to win a parliamentary majority and resigned on Saturday as a government shutdown loomed.

Wickremesinghe was then sworn in as prime minister for the fifth time in a remarkable comeback.

“We joined the government… as the party and the country have been dragged into a difficult position," Vijith Wijayamuni Soysa, one of the three lawmakers, told Parliament.

With the latest defections, Wickremesinghe has the backing of 120 legislators in the 225-member Parliament.

On Thursday Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled that Sirisena’s decision to dissolve parliament before the end of its term was unconstitutional, a judgment that eventually led to the return of Wickremesinghe as prime minister.

Members of his ruling United National Party and at least six opposition lawmakers want to oust Sirisena through an impeachment, though that needs a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

The post Sri Lanka Lawmakers Defect From President to Prime Minister After Dispute appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bangladesh Ruling Party Promises Growth in Bid For Third Term

Posted: 18 Dec 2018 08:34 PM PST

DHAKA — Bangladesh's ruling Awami League unveiled its election manifesto on Tuesday, making sweeping promises to eradicate poverty and boost the economy as it seeks to retain power for a third straight term.

The 88-page manifesto released by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised to increase the country's gross domestic product to 9 percent from the 7.8 percent the government reported for the 2017-18 fiscal year, partly driven by a more competitive presence in international markets.

The Awami League is up against the National Unity Front, a coalition of smaller parties that have formed what they say is a movement to restore democracy in Bangladesh.

Ahead of elections due on Dec. 30, violent clashes have broken out across Bangladesh since campaigning began last week, and candidates of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is part of the coalition, have been attacked. The Awami League has denied involvement.

The coalition and human rights groups have criticized Hasina's government for being increasingly authoritarian and imposing curbs on free speech and the media.

Hasina's rule is credited for an improved economy, over 80 percent of which depends on a robust garments export sector. But her government has been criticized for cracking down on dissent, going after journalists by introducing tough new laws, and locking up opposition workers.

The Awami League manifesto touted the country’s improving international image under Hasina, who has been lauded for providing refuge for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence and persecution in Myanmar.

The opposition alliance’s manifesto released on Monday took aim at the rights abuses Hasina's government has been accused of, saying it would allow freedom of expression and would punish police officials involved in "politically motivated" arrests.

The BNP also released its manifesto on Tuesday, saying it would modernize education for madrassas, or Islamic religious schools, and offer "honorable allowances" to mosque leaders.

Hasina and BNP leader Khaleda Zia share a bitter rivalry and Hasina has criticized the BNP for its links to the Jamaat-e-Islami, a group that opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan. Khaleda is in jail on corruption charges she says were aimed at keeping her away from politics.

Jamaat's registration as a political party has been revoked under Hasina's rule but at least 22 of its members are contesting the elections under the BNP banner.

The post Bangladesh Ruling Party Promises Growth in Bid For Third Term appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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