Friday, January 25, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Military Gives EAOs until Feb. 12 to Cease Operating Outside Their Areas

Posted: 25 Jan 2019 06:34 AM PST

The Myanmar Military (or Tatmadaw), on Friday warned ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) operating in regions overseen by five of its military commands to cease trying to expand their areas of operation no later than Feb. 12, and to urgently begin peace talks with either the government or the Tatmadaw negotiation team.

It claimed the EAOs are destabilizing the regions by fighting each other, as well as ambushing Tatmadaw troops.

The Myanmar military declared a four-month truce in the areas from Dec. 21, 2018 to April 30 this year, citing the need to negotiate ceasefire-related issues. The military stated that during the unilateral ceasefire period, the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) would engage in peace negotiations with the EAOs in their respective areas: the Northern Command in Kachin State; the Northeastern, Eastern and Central Eastern commands; and the Triangle Command in Shan State. If necessary, it said, the negotiations would be made with the Tatmadaw's negotiation team led by Lieutenant-General Yar Pyae.

The Tatmadaw's warning statement on Friday said, "while the EAOs should be putting their efforts into peace negotiations during the truce, they have focused on building up strength, recruitment and boundary expansions." These actions, the Tatmadaw said, "put a burden on the livelihoods of the local residents, increase the number of war-displaced, impact on road transportation security and finally affect the peace process which the people long for."

In a roughly one-month period from Dec. 21, 2018 to Jan. 24, 2019, there have been 13 instances of interethnic fighting between the EAOs in the regions, namely between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS)/Shan State Army South (RCSS/SSAS) and the combined forces of the Ta'ang Nationalities Liberation Army (TNLA) and Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army North (SSPP/SSAN); and between the RCSS/SSAS and Pa-Oh National Liberation Organization (PNLO).

The Tatmadaw accused the EAOs of operating outside of their own boundaries 168 times; extorting money from civilians 10 times; recruiting people 20 times; ambushing Tatmadaw troops 10 times; and conducting anti-vehicle mine attacks twice.

It specifically warned the RCSS to follow the boundary set under the Union-level ceasefire agreement signed on May 19, 2012 in Keng Tong, Shan State, and the SSPP to follow the boundary set during the meeting on Dec. 15, 2015 in Naypyitaw.

The Tatmadaw urged three groups—the TNLA, AA and MNDAA—in northern Shan State to specifically follow their statement made on Dec. 12 to give up armed struggle, and two NCA signatories—the KNU and KNLA (PC) in Karen State—to follow their agreements.

This month, KNU troops and the Tatmadaw engaged in clashes again over the Tatmadaw's attempt to upgrade roads in the KNU-Brigade 5 area.

In addition, the Tatmadaw said KNU forces extorted money from locals in the Southeast Command and Coastal Command areas and ambushed and conducted anti-vehicle mine attacks against Tatmadaw troops in the Southern Command, which is close to the KNU Brigade 5 area.

When the Tatmadaw held a press conference on Jan. 18, it did not mention the KNU's activities, which are outside of the five Commands under the truce.

Despite these warnings, ethnic and political affairs analyst U Maung Maung Soe expected that "The four-month truce will last until it ends, but a few clashes might occur during that time."

He suggested that the northeast region would see stability when the groups stopped trying to expand their boundaries.

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Int’l Crisis Group Urges China to Push for Army Ceasefire in Rakhine

Posted: 25 Jan 2019 04:46 AM PST

YANGON—In its latest report issued on Thursday, the International Crisis Group (ICG) urged China to put pressure on the Myanmar Army to extend its unilateral ceasefire to Rakhine State in order to address ongoing armed clashes there between government troops and the Arakan Army (AA).

The report, entitled "A New Dimension of Violence in Myanmar's Rakhine State", contains five sections detailing the insurgency waged by the AA, arbitrary arrests of prominent Rakhine politicians, the indiscriminate killings of protesters in Mrauk-U last year and the political grievances between Arakanese political parties and the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), as well as encouraging both sides to restrain from further offensives in the region.

Regarding the ICG's advice, Yangon-based ethnic affairs analyst U Maung Maung Soe said China has been playing a major role in facilitating the peace dialogue for the Northern Alliance group for several years, adding that a Chinese envoy even recently disused the ongoing violence in Rakhine with AA leaders in Kachin State's Laiza, where the Kachin Independence Army and the AA headquarters are located.

But any encouragement to the military to extend the ceasefire to cover Rakhine State should firstly involve negotiations between the actors, U Maung Maung Soe said.

"Without having any negotiations between them, it's really tough to discuss possibilities," he said.

As part of the solution, the ICG suggested the Myanmar government initiate dialogue with ethnic Rakhine representatives over key political, economic and social issues. It also recommended the authorities consider releasing Aye Maung and other ethnic Rakhine political prisoners.

The report mentioned that political dialogue between the Union government and Arakanese stakeholders should cover the repatriation process for Rohingya refugees who have been sheltering for more than one year in Bangladeshi camps, the rebuilding of Rohingya communities, economic development and power sharing between the central and state governments.

It also said the NLD government's labeling of the AA as "terrorists" had only "exacerbated the tensions" between the Arakanese and Burman political actors at both the state and national levels.

The government convened a rare high-level meeting of senior military and civilian officials in Naypyitaw on Jan. 7 in response to the AA's coordinated attacks on four border outposts in northern Rakhine on Jan. 4, which killed 13 policemen and injured more than a dozen.

The day after the meeting, Myanmar President's Office spokesman U Zaw Htay held a press briefing in which he used harsh rhetoric against ethnic Arakanese, and told reporters that the president had given the military a green light to "crush the terrorists". His comments are seen as having increased support for the AA among the Arakanese public.

The Irrawaddy phoned U Zaw Htay on Friday evening to get his comments on the ICG's criticism of the government, but he declined to answer questions over the phone. Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief did not answer phone calls on Friday.

AA chief Tun Myat Naing previously told The Irrawaddy that the group felt it was necessary to raid the four Border Guard Police outposts in northern Rakhine, as the police were helping the military implement its "four cuts" strategy, which includes cutting off food, information and travel in the conflict zone, as well as conducting arbitrary arrests of AA supporters and Arakanese youth activists.

The ICG report says, "The 4 January attacks and government response have changed the dynamic of armed conflict in Rakhine State by activating previously latent support for the AA and bringing such support more into the open."

In an apparent attempt to discredit the AA among ethnic Rakhine, U Zaw Htay made inflammatory remarks accusing the group of having ties with the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, and of operating two bases inside Bangladesh. The ICG predicted the Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) may instead focus its attention on civilians, seeking to undermine support for the AA by making large-scale arrests.

Despite the ICG's wide range of suggestions on how to find a peaceful solution in Rakhine, armed conflict is seen as likely to emerge in other contested areas across Myanmar in the near future. On Friday, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief issued warning messages to all ethnic armed groups, including both signatories and non-signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, to cease all military movements by Feb. 12.

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Myanmar Army Man ‘Rescued’ in Bangladesh

Posted: 25 Jan 2019 03:37 AM PST

DHAKA—Members of Bangladesh's Border Guard Force “rescued” a private of the Myanmar Army in the Banhatirchhara area of Naikkhongchhari sub-district in Bangladeshi hill district Bandarban on Thursday morning after acting on information from the Myanmar side of the border, officials said on Friday.

The 28-year-old man is identified as army constable Aung Bo Bo Thein, a member of Myanmar's No. 5 Border Guard Police Branch. He was found unarmed, 3.5 kilometers from the international border after reportedly having crossed into Bangladesh at around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

He is originally from a Yangon garrison of the Myanmar Army.

“We were informed by our counterparts in the BGP that one of their soldiers was lost while on duty. We rescued him,” said Bangladesh Border Guard's Ramu region commander Brig-Gen Ainul Morshed Khan Pathan.

He said they are following international laws as prescribed in the Geneva Convention in order to get him back to his home country.

The Bangladesh border guard officials said the soldier was “drunk” and roaming “aimlessly” when the team at the Bhallokkhia border outpost found him in uniform.

A local Bangla-language daily Nayadiganta quoted Bangladesh border guard officials saying that in primary interrogations of the soldier, he expressed that he was unhappy with his army job in Myanmar.

When asked when he would be returned to Myanmar, the Ramu border guard force chief said they would send him back “as soon as possible,” in compliance with their commitment to good relations with their Myanmar border guard counterparts.

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Infographic: 30 Years of Chinese Investment in Myanmar

Posted: 25 Jan 2019 02:45 AM PST

YANGON—Amid increasing global pushback against Chinese investment, Myanmar's government has grown more agreeable to involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Looking back at the last three decades, Chinese investment in Myanmar reached its peak during the 2010-2011 fiscal year after President Thein Sein's government took office. In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, Chinese investment began a rapid decline after the controversial $3 billion China-backed Myitsone hydropower project was suspended amid public outcry. The years between 2014 and 2016 then saw a steady rise in investment figures from China.

Despite public wariness surrounding Chinese investments, the Rohingya crisis and condemnations from the West over what has happened in Rakhine State have pushed Myanmar back into the hands of the Chinese.

Last year, Myanmar began to adopt a "look east" economic policy and has the Greater China region in its new line of vision. Experts have been surmising that BRI infrastructure projects are set to become the country's most significant source of investment and support for the country's economic growth this year.

It is certain that China will remain to be a decisive economic influence for Myanmar which is also a potentially crucial partner in its BRI and other economic plans. In terms of foreign investment figures, China is now Myanmar's largest investor as well as biggest trade partner.

Here, The Irrawaddy compiles clear visualizations of all Chinese investment projects in Myanmar, including the proposed, those about to be implemented, currently being implemented, completed projects and those suspended due to public pressure and contract agreement issues.

Ref: China Overseas Investment Data, Ministry of Electric and Energy, DICA, Global Environmental Institute: Investment Trade and the Environment Program report and rivers network.

The post Infographic: 30 Years of Chinese Investment in Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘I Don’t Need to Explain Myself’: Scandal-Hit Tenasserim Chief Minister

Posted: 25 Jan 2019 01:39 AM PST

YANGON—Tenasserim Region Chief Minister Daw Lei Lei Maw said she would not respond to a nepotism scandal surrounding her.

"I don't need to explain myself. Time will tell. They [the government] can come and make an inspection, and if I have done something wrong, it will be revealed," she told The Irrawaddy.

According to unconfirmed reports, the chief minister will be forced to resign for allegedly awarding business contracts to Global Grand Service (GGS) Company, which is reportedly owned by her relatives, and allegedly appointing a relative as her personal secretary, a paid government position.

The chief minister has denied that any of her relatives work for GGS Co.

"If I am asked to resign, I will. I would have to; that is standard procedure," Daw Lei Lei Maw said. She was confident she would be able to clear her name, however.

Daw Lei Lei Maw said the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD)'s Central Executive Committee had not communicated with her regarding the allegations.

"My personal secretary is [an official] from the General Administration Department," she said.

According to lawmakers in the regional parliament, Daw Lei Lei Maw appointed a daughter of U Aung Soe, a member of the NLD's Central Executive Committee and the chairman of the NLD's Tenasserim Region chapter, as her personal secretary when she took office. Daw Lei Lei Maw is U Aung Soe's sister-in-law.

Daw Lei Lei Maw denied making any such official appointment. "I have not appointed her [to a position]. But sometimes, she helps me with some computer work in my office. She is just helping," she told The Irrawaddy.

The President's Office issued an order on April 1, 2016, barring Union ministers from appointing family members as their personal secretaries. According to the order, Union ministers must select from among departmental officials when appointing personal secretaries, in line with the rules and regulations for civil servants.

Though the rule could be strictly interpreted as not applying to local governments, Tenasserim regional parliament speaker U Khin Maung Aye said it applies to all government officials.

"Those who hold important positions should not appoint their relatives. Others might have a bad opinion of this. My understanding is that [the order] applies to all members of the government," he said.

He confirmed that U Nay Myo Aung, the son-in-law of U Aung Soe, holds a senior position in GGS Co., which supplies electricity in Dawei District.

GGS Co. produces electricity from gas purchased from the government. The company owes over 8 billion kyats for gas supplied between July 2017, when it launched its power supply service, and late 2018.

He said the regional parliament has received complaints from locals about the chief minister and GGS Co. The parliament will take action in line with the relevant laws and regulations, he said.

NLD spokesperson Dr. Myo Nyunt told local media the party had also received complaints against the chief minister.

The scandal follows a separate controversy involving the Kachin chief minister. On Friday and Monday, Chief Minister U Khet Aung ordered three ministers to resign from their positions. The only explanation given for the move was that the instruction had come from State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

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Loans from China Must Be Repaid ‘As Early As Possible’

Posted: 24 Jan 2019 10:33 PM PST

NAYPYITAW—During a session of the Union Parliament on Wednesday, lawmakers urged the Union government to pay off loans from China as quickly as possible, pointing out that China's interest rates are the highest among all foreign countries that have lent to Myanmar.

Lawmakers discussed the Joint Public Accounts Committee's assessment of the government's debt report for a six-month transitional period in 2018 before the new fiscal year began in October.

"As we are allowed to pay back any amount any time we wish, we should pay back loans from China—whose interest rate is high and whose loan amount accounts for 40 percent of the total national debt—as early as possible," Lower House lawmaker Daw Cho Cho told the Union Parliament.

According to the latest government debt report, Myanmar had racked up some $4 billion in loans by 1988 and a further $2.7 billion up to 2011—97 percent of which is owed to 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 of $10 billion to international lenders, more than $4 billion of it to China. According to lawmakers, China's interest rates are also the highest at 4.5 percent.

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

Upper House lawmaker U Than Soe called for the urgent adoption of a debt management strategy to arrange loan repayments to China.

Citing international examples, he suggested that Myanmar can repay China's loans in the form of rice exports, as the majority of Myanmar's rice is exported to China through border trade.

"The majority of Chinese loans were borrowed under previous successive governments. Now it is time we pay them back," said U Than Soe.

The Union ministers are set to discuss the national debt in response to the Joint Public Accounts Committee's assessment at the Union Parliament on Jan. 29.

The post Loans from China Must Be Repaid 'As Early As Possible' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

President Honors Top Taxpayers

Posted: 24 Jan 2019 08:44 PM PST

NAYPYITAW—Myanmar President U Win Myint presented certificates of honor to the country’s top payers of income tax, commercial tax and special commodity tax for the 2017-18 fiscal year, at the presidential residence in Naypyitaw on Thursday.

A certificate of special honor was awarded to U Aung Ko Win, chairperson of Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank which has topped the list of taxpayers for seven consecutive years.

U Zaw Zaw of Max Myanmar Group (left) receives a top taxpayer certificate from President U Win Myint. / Htet Naing Zaw

Among the top income taxpayers of the 2017-18 fiscal year are leading businesspersons U Zaw Zaw, U Ai Tun, U Aung Moe Kyaw, U Khin Maung Aye and U Tha Toe Hein as well as Myawady Bank and Myawady Trading, both of which are owned by the Myanmar military.

The post President Honors Top Taxpayers appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Big Brands Revisit the Milkman Model to Cut Plastic Pollution

Posted: 24 Jan 2019 08:40 PM PST

Major packaged goods sellers and retailers, under pressure to cut the flow of single-use plastic bottles and containers clogging the world’s waterways, have teamed with recycling and shipping firms on an e-commerce service that puts a twist on the old-fashioned milkman.

Called Loop and announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, it delivers products such as orange juice, shampoo and laundry detergent in reusable glass and metal bottles to shopper doorsteps and retrieves the empties for cleaning and reuse.

Launch partners include recycling firm and Loop parent TerraCycle; shipper United Parcel Service Inc.; consumer packaged goods sellers Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever Plc., PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola European Partners Plc.; and retailers Carrefour and Tesco Plc. Loop’s unveiling comes just months after China’s decision to stop collecting and processing plastic waste escalated alarm over environmental damage to the world’s oceans.

The service launches in May with projects in Paris and the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area. A UK program is slated for later in 2019, with Toronto, Tokyo and California to follow next year.

Users order products online and put down fully refundable deposits for the reusable packaging. They can wipe out shipping fees of $15-$20 by including about seven items in their order, said Tom Szaky, chief executive of recycling firm and Loop parent company TerraCycle.

Plastic production has surged over the last 50 years, leading to widespread use of inexpensive, disposable bottles, cups, takeaway containers and other products.

Government bans on products like single-use plastic water bottles, shopping bags and polystyrene cups have sent retailers and consumer goods companies searching for solutions.

Loop’s Paris retail partner Carrefour will test and tweak the program ahead of the official launch.

“It will surprise me if it works on day one,” said Carrefour Secretary General Laurent Vallee, who added that Loop challenges industry and consumers “to act, to think and to buy differently.”

PepsiCo will start a 5,000-household Paris project with Tropicana orange juice in glass bottles and Quaker Chocolate Cruesli cereal in steel containers, said Simon Lowden, president and chief marketing officer of global snacks and insights.

Lowden and other executives vowed to use their companies’ scale and marketing muscle to support the project, but declined to quantify financial investments.

P&G’s Loop contributions include Tide Purclean laundry detergent in stainless steel bottles and Pampers diaper recycling.

Loop’s refundable deposits in Europe range from 0.25 euros for a Coca-Cola 200 milliliter bottle to 47 euros ($53.50) for Pampers recycling, TerraCycle said.

Virginie Helias, P&G’s chief sustainability officer, said the company will monitor Loop demand before investing in comprehensive package redesign projects.

Likewise at Nestle, which designed a stainless-steel Haagen-Dazs ice cream container designed for Loop’s New York-area project, Kim Peddle Rguem, Nestle USA’s ice cream president.

The post Big Brands Revisit the Milkman Model to Cut Plastic Pollution appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Canada’s Envoy to China says ‘Misspoke’ on Huawei CFO Case

Posted: 24 Jan 2019 08:35 PM PST

TORONTO—Canada’s ambassador to China said he “misspoke” when he said Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou had a strong case against extradition to the United States, John McCallum said in a statement on Thursday.

Speaking to Chinese-language media in a Toronto suburb on Tuesday, McCallum said Meng had “good arguments on her side” in her case.

“I regret that my comments with respect to the legal proceedings of Ms. Meng have created confusion. I misspoke. These comments do not accurately represent my position on this issue,” McCallum’s statement said.

Meng’s arrest in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the behest of the United States enraged China, which has called for the extradition case to be dropped. The United States has until Jan. 30 to formally request her extradition over alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran.

Canada’s government has emphasized that it follows the “rule of law” and cautioned against politicizing the case after US President Donald Trump told Reuters last month he would intervene if it served US trade or national security interests.

In his Tuesday remarks, McCallum said Trump’s comments and the fact that Canada had not applied the same sanctions against Iran as the United States made for “strong arguments” Meng could make before a judge. She next appears in court on Feb. 6.

Meng has been released on bail and is living in one of her two multi-million Vancouver homes, wearing a GPS ankle bracelet and watched by security guards when she leaves the house.

The case has made for tense Canada-China relations. Two Canadians were detained in China following Meng’s arrest, and a third was sentenced to death on drug charges.

Neither Canada nor China has explicitly tied these actions to Meng’s arrest but some former diplomats have suggested this is a “tit-for-tat” issue.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Wednesday that he is focused on getting detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor out of China and recalling McCallum would not help their case.

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Aid Curbs in Myanmar’s Rakhine Impact ‘At Least 50,000 People’—UN

Posted: 24 Jan 2019 08:27 PM PST

YANGON—New government curbs on aid activities in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State “are affecting at least 50,000 people,” the United Nations has said in an internal note, highlighting the growing impact of recent fighting on the civilian population.

The Rakhine State government this month blocked non-governmental organizations and UN agencies from travelling to rural areas in five townships in northern and central parts of the state affected by conflict.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and UN World Food Programme were exempted from the ban on aid activity in the region, where fighting between government troops and autonomy-seeking ethnic Rakhine rebels has displaced thousands.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) summarized recent information gathered from aid organizations on the impact of the restrictions in the two central Rakhine townships of Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun.

UNOCHA circulated a note on the findings late on Wednesday to some UN officials and non-governmental organisations seeking comments and updates on the situation. Reuters obtained the note independently and reviewed it on Thursday.

It said that the restrictions forced aid organizations to reduce or stop pre-existing programs, including the provision of healthcare, clean water, school construction and teacher training, among other activities.

For example, the agency said that in Kyauktaw “mobile health services were to be provided in 15 villages, totaling around 17,000 people, involving around 1,600 people to be treated on average each month… the provision of these services has now been put on hold.”

The affected activities included primary health care and malnutrition screening and treatment, it said.

“In Ponnagyun, around 220 health consultations in rural areas of the township have been stopped, including emergency referral services,” the agency said in the note.

Fighting has forced about 5,000 people to flee from their homes and to take shelter in monasteries and communal areas across the region since early January, according to UNOCHA.

Myanmar’s president, speaking in a rare meeting with the commander-in-chief this month, urged the military to “crush” the rebels of the Arakan Army. The president, Win Myint, is a loyalist of the de facto government leader, Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Last week, the United Nations called on the government to allow “rapid and unimpeded” humanitarian access to the area.

“We are currently working to assess the impact that recent access restrictions could have on the delivery of pre-existing and ongoing humanitarian programs in the affected townships,” said Pierre Peron, UNOCHA’s spokesman in Myanmar in response to an email seeking comment on the internal note.

“This is an evolving assessment.”

He said the United Nations was “liaising closely with the authorities in Rakhine State, who have now invited humanitarian organizations to individually apply for travel authorizations for specific activities”, adding he hoped authorities would respond “quickly and positively” to such applications.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay did not respond to calls seeking comment.

'Ready to respond'

The Rakhine municipal affairs minister, Win Myint, could not be reached for comment. He told Reuters earlier the restrictions had been put in place for “security reasons” and he did not know when they would be lifted.

Reuters contacted several affected NGOs seeking comment on the situation. One of them, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), said: “Along with most other organizations we do not currently have access to respond to the needs of the conflict-affected and displaced populations.”

“We have emergency supplies prepositioned and remain ready to respond if this situation changes,” said Laura Marshall, the NRC’s acting country director.

The affected aid groups published a statement on Tuesday expressing “deep concern” about the restrictions.

Rakhine State has been roiled by successive rounds of violence in recent years.

In 2017, an extensive military crackdown, following attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents, prompted about 730,000 Rohingya to flee westwards into neighboring Bangladesh.

The Arakan Army, the group behind the recent fighting, is demanding greater autonomy from the central government for the state, where the mostly Buddhist ethnic Rakhine people form the majority of the population.

Arakan Army fighters killed 13 policemen and wounded nine in attacks on four police posts in early January, state media reported.

An Arakan Army spokesman outside Myanmar told Reuters the group attacked the security forces in response to a broad military offensive in the north of Rakhine that also targeted civilians.

The post Aid Curbs in Myanmar’s Rakhine Impact ‘At Least 50,000 People’—UN appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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