Friday, March 8, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Bus Company Owned by Ex-Dictator Ne Win’s Grandsons at Risk of Lawsuit Over Unpaid Loan

Posted: 08 Mar 2019 08:13 AM PST

YANGON—Two grandsons of Myanmar's ex-dictator Ne Win may be at risk of being sued by a local bank for failing to repay hire-purchase loans obtained to acquire buses for a transport company they own.

The bus company, Omni Focus, and two of its affiliates—Central Yangon Network Company and Keen Support Company—took out a loan of 56 billion kyats (US$36.8 million) from AYA Bank in 2017 to buy 500 new buses to be operated by Yangon Bus Service (YBS). The loan was sought at the recommendation of Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein.

In a statement released on Friday, the bank said it is planning to sue the companies for failing to repay the loans. The bank said it had attempted to communicate with the companies for several months, including sending bank notices and legal notices requesting repayment, as per the bank's procedures.

U Myint Zaw, managing director of AYA Bank, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the three companies failed to make at least 50 billion kyats in repayments, including interest and late penalties, over the past 17 months.

"As a bank, we gave them loan within the bank compliance and procedures. And now they have missed the deadline to make the repayment. We would like to urge them to repay the loan," he said.

U Kyaw Ne Win of the Omni Focus Company and officials from AYA Bank met separately with the Yangon Regional Parliament's Finance, Planning and Economy Committee on Thursday to discuss the dispute.

Regional lawmaker U Kyaw Zeya, who is a member of the committee, told The Irrawaddy that the loans were provided because the regional government told the bank to do so. He said the bank officials said that while other companies repay their loans regularly, the three companies, which are all under Omni Focus, failed to pay. He added that U Kyaw Ne Win acknowledged receiving notices from the bank.

During the meeting, U Kyaw Ne Win complained of the difficulties that his company is facing, including the fact that the bus lines are losing money; what he described as the Yangon Region Transport Authority's failure to keep its promise to offer assistance to bus companies operating under the YBS; and a delay in the implementation of a cash payment system.

"He said he doesn't mind the lawsuit. If he is sued, he will disclose his difficulties to the public," U Kyaw Zeya quoted U Kyaw Ne Win as saying.

A few hours after AYA Bank released its press statement, the bus company responded, saying it informed the bank on Jan. 31 that it would attempt to meet the repayment deadline.

However, U Myint Zaw said AYA Bank had no knowledge of the company's claim.

The post Bus Company Owned by Ex-Dictator Ne Win's Grandsons at Risk of Lawsuit Over Unpaid Loan appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Yangon City Chief Grilled Over Chinese Contractor’s Reputation

Posted: 08 Mar 2019 05:57 AM PST

YANGON—The CEO of the company developing the controversial New City project on the west bank of the Yangon River has defended the involvement of a Chinese firm with an international reputation for engaging in bribery and corruption.

The Yangon government-backed New Yangon Development Company (NYDC) last year signed a US$1.5-billion (about 2.3 trillion kyats) framework agreement with Beijing-based China Construction and Communication Company (CCCC) under which the latter will build infrastructure for the new city. The project, slated to be developed on 20,000 acres of land, is part of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative in Myanmar.

However, the project has been a source of controversy due to its flood-prone location as well as CCCC's involvement. The Hong Kong-listed, Chinese state-owned company has been accused of engaging in corruption and bribery relating to development deals in at least 10 countries in Africa and Asia, from the Philippines to Bangladesh to Tanzania, according to international media reports.

At a public consultation meeting about the project in Yangon on Wednesday, NYDC's CEO Serge Pun was bombarded with questions on topics including the project's location, financial model, environmental feasibility, job creation and the controversial Chinese firm's involvement, among others. Audience members wondered aloud whether the New City project would have a negative impact on Yangon and expressed concerns over Chinese influence over the New City once it is completed.

When asked if NYDC had done a background check on CCCC before signing the framework agreement, the CEO said it had. He acknowledged that the Chinese company had once been blacklisted by the World Bank along with internationally known U.S. and Canadian companies, but insisted that "the situation has changed".

"I don't want to comment on CCCC's past. But they have to stay on the right track when working with us," he said, adding that if it didn't the outcome would be poor.

"My responsibility is to keep it on the right track," he said.

Serge Pun told the audience that since the formation of NYDC last year, many international firms had approached it about investing in the New City, but they had failed to meet NYDC's basic conditions for the project, under which it will provide the land while its partners must bankroll all the infrastructure projects.

"So in the end only one was left: CCCC," he said.

Though CCCC has yet to be given the green light to proceed with the project, the framework agreement between NYDC and the Chinese company says NYDC will provide 28 sq.km of land for use by CCCC, which will invest $1.5 billion in building six infrastructure works including bridges, roads and power and water treatment plants.

During the town hall meeting, U Win Myo Thu, the chairman of the Advancing Life and Regenerating Motherland (ALARM) group, said the agreement was "too good to be true".

"Other investors have turned their backs [due to the huge investment required], but CCCC is still around. Why? Do they have a hidden agenda?" he asked.

U Win Myo Thu cited examples in other countries where Chinese state banks have poured huge amount of cash into projects. Not only do the subcontracts all go to Chinese companies, he said, but when the project fails to generate sufficient profit to repay the loans, the Chinese developers seize the land.

"China is known for playing this trick all over the world," he said.

"If something goes wrong [with the New Yangon City project], we won't have much bargaining power with China either," he warned, while questioning whether the new city would become a Chinese enclave.

Serge Pun's audience and co-panelists appeared less than impressed by his failure to provide concrete answers to some of their questions relating to the project.

When the moderator asked why a flood-prone location was chosen for the project he replied, "It's difficult to answer."

"I was assigned to take care of the project after they [the government] chose the location. I wasn't involved in the location selection process," he said.

When another member of the audience asked whether the project had been submitted to the Myanmar Investment Commission (any project with an investment value larger than $5 million requires the investment body's approval), the CEO said simply that they were awaiting permission "from Naypyitaw".

"People 'upstairs' are now in discussions. The Union Attorney General's Office is reviewing the Pre-Project Document [a set of documents including technical specifications, a financial proposal and a business model] submitted by CCCC. I think it will happen soon," Serge Pun said.

The post New Yangon City Chief Grilled Over Chinese Contractor's Reputation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

More than a Dozen Soldiers, Including Captain, Killed in Clash with AA in Chin State

Posted: 08 Mar 2019 05:37 AM PST

YANGON—More than a dozen Myanmar Army soldiers, including a captain, were killed during a battle with the Arakan Army (AA) in Chin State's Paletwa Township on Thursday.

Captain Aung Chan Moe was among the troops from Light Infantry Battalion No. 542, based in southern Rakhine State's Kyaukphyu Township, who were killed in the clash.

The AA released an update via its official website on Friday afternoon displaying a number of soldiers' ID cards, including that of Capt. Aung Chan Moe, along with badges, epaulettes and a 9-mm pistol. The AA said at least 15 government soldiers were killed.

It also displayed photos of three dead Army troops as well as a number of pieces of military equipment including binoculars, mine detectors, three MA assault rifles, more than 20 mortar rounds of different sizes, and six RPG rounds. In the AA handout, the ID of another captain, Saw Maung Maung Nyein, and an epaulette with three stars were also displayed, but it remains unclear whether the officer was among a group of soldiers who managed to escape, or if he was freed by the AA.

Since March 3, the AA has occasionally released battle updates via its website and that of its political wing, the United League for Arakan (ULA). The AA recently announced that it killed more than 30 Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) soldiers in a March 4 attack in Mrauk-U Township.

The AA said its fighters claimed to have ambushed two wooden motorboats carrying dozens of Tatmadaw soldiers who were part of reinforcements for an Army offensive in Mrauk-U. It said the soldiers drowned when the boats sank. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify this claim.

Two Myanmar Army captain's epaulettes and one pistol are displayed in images released by the AA on March 8, 2019. / AA info desk

According to the AA, the Tatmadaw's Light Infantry Division (LID) No. 55 has been pouring more troops into the frontline in Paletwa, and troops from LIDs No. 22, 33, 66 and 99 are also being deployed to battlefields in northern Rakhine. The AA estimates that the Tatmadaw has dispatched not less than 10,000 soldiers to Rakhine since armed clashes there escalated in December. The AA predicted the fighting would only intensify as long as the military continues to send in reinforcements.

After learning that the Tatmadaw was using private boats and vehicles to transport troops, the AA recently warned boat owners not to transport soldiers to contested zones.

A spokesman for the Office of the Commander-in-Chief did not respond to The Irrawaddy's calls on Friday.

In late December, the Tatmadaw acknowledged that some high-ranking officers had been killed in clashes with the AA, without providing details. Another officer, Major Aung Ko Nyein, was shot dead during a battle in February.

Local relief groups estimate that nearly 10,000 civilians have been displaced across Rakhine due to the intense fighting in the northern of the state. Most of the IDPs are sheltering in poor conditions and are relying mainly on donations from the local groups.

The post More than a Dozen Soldiers, Including Captain, Killed in Clash with AA in Chin State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Infographic: China’s Plantation Greed

Posted: 08 Mar 2019 04:51 AM PST

YANGON—Chinese tissue culture banana plantations, banned from Laos and Thailand, came to war-torn Kachin State in 2007. For more than two years, controversial China-backed banana plantations have been facing backlash from local residents in Kachin State, where operators are accused of unfairly taking over lands previously leased from the authorities by locals, many of whom were displaced by conflict.

As the plantations expand, villagers displaced by fighting and living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) are increasingly concerned that their land may be occupied, and that they will not be able to farm when they return home.

The area occupied by tissue culture banana plantations has been expanding rapidly in Kachin State, particularly in Waimaw Township close to the state capital of Myitkyina, and most of the plantations are operated by Chinese companies.

According to the State's agriculture ministry, there are more than 60,000 acres of banana plantations. However, civil society organizations have recorded more than 170,000 acres across Waimaw, Bhamo, Shwegu, Mansi, Momauk and Dokphoneyan townships in Kachin State. Local lawmakers have also pointed out the discrepancy between government data and information on the ground and are calling for action to be taken against those behind the cultivation of tissue-culture bananas.

According to a 2017 environmental study by the Lisu Civil Society Organization, Chinese companies have been planting tissue culture bananas since 2012 in Kachin State's Special Region 1, which is under the control of the government-allied New Democratic Army-Kachin militia. It said the plantations have been gradually expanding to the other townships.

More than 50 farmers from multiple villages in two townships of Myitkyina District on Wednesday told the media how the China-backed plantations were causing suffering among the local communities. The famers also said they have been threatened by the Chinese companies for opposing the bananas plantation near their villages.

According to environmental reports by civil society organizations, the companies are using insecticides, weed killers and fertilizers and disposing of them carelessly. This has led to the pollution of water supplies in these areas, in turn causing soil damage and killing fish and livestock.

Here, The Irrawaddy illustrates and maps the expansion of banana plantations in Kachin State.

(This data is based on information from Myanmar's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, the 2018-2019 Land Security and Environmental Conservation report conducted by a coalition of 11 civil society organizations and a 2017 environmental report by the Lisu Civil Society Organization.)

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Govt Promises More Female Participation on Women’s Day

Posted: 08 Mar 2019 04:41 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — Vice President Henry Van Thio vowed to ensure that women make up 30 percent of the participants in every sector during an event marking International Women’s Day in Naypyitaw on Friday.

"It has been set out in the political framework of the Union Accord to guarantee at least 30 percent women's participation in all sectors," he said.

The government, he added, was implementing 2013-2022 national strategic plan for advancement of women that targets 12 for gender equality, in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action.

The priority areas laid out in the plan are livelihoods and poverty reduction; education and training; health; violence against women; emergencies; the economy; decision making; institutional mechanisms; human rights; the media; the environment; and girls.

Task forces have been formed as part of the plan to prevent violence against women and girls, help them participate in politics and business, promote gender equality in all sectors, and ensure peace and security for women.

At the event, representatives of Myanmar Women's Organization Network said there was also much work left to do to educate men about respecting women.

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement has opened “one stop women’s support center” to help women who experience violence in Yangon, Mandalay, Lashio in Shan State, and Mawlamyine in Mon State. Minister U Win Myat Aye said centers were also planned for Irrawaddy Region, Kayah State and Karen State.

"Though 30 percent women's participation is granted, it is important that they have decision-making positions. Women's participation is very low in every sector," said Upper House lawmaker and women’s rights activist Naw Hla Hla Soe.

She said seminars on women's rights, practical help for victims, legal support and the rule of law were all important factors.

The slogan for this year’s Women's Day is, “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change.”

Henry Van Thio urged women, who account for more than half the national population, to unlock their potential and work shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts in establishing the rule of law, promoting socio-economic development, and building peace and federalism.

The event was attended by First Lay Daw Cho Cho, Union ministers, and representatives of women's rights groups and other local and international non-governmental organizations.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Landmine Kills War Vet in Northern Rakhine

Posted: 08 Mar 2019 03:41 AM PST

SITTWE, Rakhine State — A landmine killed a 68-year-old man in Rakhine State’s Mrauk-U Township on Wednesday, bringing to five the number of civilians killed by landmines or unexploded ordnance in northern Rakhine and the neighboring township of Paletwa in Chin State since February.

The Myanmar military and Arakan Army have been fighting in the area since late last year.

On Tuesday, the Chin Human Rights Organization said U Aung Lun, a resident of Shin Ma Dein Village in Paletwa, was forced to guide the military’s Light Infantry Battalion 544 at the head of the column and was killed after stepping on a mine near the Bangladesh border on Feb. 25.

A captain and other soldiers were also seriously injured by the blast, the rights group said in a report, adding that the military promised to compensate the victim's family in line with ethnic Chin traditions.

Two days later, a couple from Ahtet Thin Pone Tan Village in Ponnagyun Township died when an artillery shell they had found in the forest exploded while they were taking it home. Two other villagers on the boat with the couple were also injured.

On Dec. 29, an ethnic Mro villager from Leik Hpa Village, also in Ponnagyun, was injured after stepping on a landmine.

These figures exclude deaths from accidental shootings or assassination.

In the latest incident, three residents of Auk Tha Kan Village were on their way home from the forest at about 6 a.m. on Wednesday when one of them stepped on a landmine, according to police Capt. Aung Thu Myo of the Mrauk-U Township police force.

The man, a 68-year-old war veteran, lost his leg below the knee from the blast and bled to death on the way to the hospital in Mrauk-U.

"The two others were slightly injured," U Tun Than Sein, a state lawmaker who represents Mrauk-U, told The Irrawaddy.

The military and Arakan Army clashed near the site of the mine blast on Feb. 19 and 20, according to locals.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Ten Missing Ta’ang Villagers Held by RCSS, Rights Groups Say

Posted: 08 Mar 2019 03:04 AM PST

Ta'ang rights groups have accused the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) of detaining 10 ethnic Ta'ang residents of Mann Lee village in northern Shan State's Namtu Township.

The 10 went missing after fighting broke out between rival ethnic armed groups in Mann Lee on March 1. According to the groups, a phone memory card found at the scene of the clash contained images of the missing villagers.

A family member of one of the missing found the card in a phone that had been left in the village and took it to the Ta'ang Women's Organization (TWO).

Lway Poe Jae, joint secretary of the Ta’ang Students and Youth Union (TSYU), told The Irrawaddy on Friday that, "Our evidence is mainly from the villager who came to give the memory card to us. When we checked the memory card, we found they [the RCSS] had detained those 10 people."

The images show the missing villagers sitting down with their hands tied by rope and blindfolded. Armed men dressed in civilian clothes stand behind the victims, she said.

The TSYU and the TWO issued a joint statement announcing the discovery of the photos and accusing the RCSS of detaining the 10. It demanded that they be released.

Lway Poe Jae said local residents had identified the armed men in the photos as RCSS members.

The 10 disappeared on March 1 after the village became caught in fighting between the RCSS and a joint force of Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) troops. The fighting caused the population of the village to flee. Two people who had stayed behind to take care of property and another eight villagers who were among those who fled were all later reported missing.

The TSYU and TWO said they would ask other rights groups including those from the Shan and international communities to lobby the RCSS to release the villagers.

Colonel Sai Oo, a spokesperson for the RCSS, denied the group is holding the missing villagers.

"We did not arrest them," he said. He added that he had read the statement by the TSYU and TWO, but found the account of finding a memory card hard to believe.

"Their armed group [the TNLA] sometimes arrests its own people but blames us," he said.

No one benefits from arresting civilians, he said, before calling on armed groups to help local residents.

Col. Sai Oo added that if his group had arrested any civilians, and if they were found to have done nothing wrong, the group would release them.

The fighting between ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State has inflamed tensions between ethnic Shan and Ta'ang in the region. At least 40 people have disappeared in Namtu Township since fighting broke out between the TNLA and the RCSS in the area, according to Ta'ang rights groups.

The RCSS is an ethnic Shan armed group historically based in Loi Tai Lang, southern Shan State. However, it has begun to exert control in areas in northern Shan since signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the Myanmar government in 2015.

The TNLA has been the RCSS' main rival among the ethnic groups in the area, but the SSPP, a Shan ethnic armed group based in northern Shan State, has staged attacks against the RCSS of late too.

The TNLA and SSPP are members of the Northern Alliance bloc of armed groups. They have joined forces to attack the RCSS and defend their areas of control. Both the TNLA and SSPP accuse the RCSS of occupying their areas of control.

The two armed groups are trying to kick the RCSS out of northern Shan State. The RCSS retains small areas of control in Namtu and Hsipaw townships. Over 2,000 IDPs have fled villages in Namtu and Hsipaw amid ongoing clashes in the area.

The post Ten Missing Ta'ang Villagers Held by RCSS, Rights Groups Say appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Charter Amendment Committee Starts Work

Posted: 08 Mar 2019 01:47 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — The parliamentary committee drafting amendments to the Constitution met on Thursday in Naypyitaw for the first time since it was established over two weeks ago and discussed the first 14 articles covering the basic principles of the Union.

Lawmakers for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and those appointed by the military, or Tatmadaw, who opposed the committee’s formation, showed up but did not join in the discussion.

Lawmakers “from the Tatmadaw and the USDP didn't take part in the discussion, but they took notes on the discussion among the other parties," U Aung Kyaw Zan of the Arakan National Party (ANP) told reporters.

The ANP proposed restructuring Myanmar’s regions and state in such a way that would help put the main ethnic groups on equal footing.

USDP lawmakers declined to be interviewed after the meeting. Military-appointed lawmakers spoke only to Myawady Television, the military-owned broadcaster.

"I am not authorized to reveal what was discussed at the meeting because it is graded classified information," USDP lawmaker U Sai Kyaw Moe said.

Committee Secretary U Myat Nyana Soe said all the member parties except the Wa Democratic Party attended the meeting and participated actively.

The other parties in the committee are the ruling National League for Democracy and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, Zomi Congress for Democracy, Pa-O National Organization, Palang National Party, Kokang Democracy and Unity Party, United National Democracy Party, Mon National Party, National Unity Party, Kachin State Democracy Party, and Lisu National Development Party.

There are a total of 48 clauses in the first 14 articles of the Constitution. Committee members declined to say what was said about Article 6 (f), which allows the military to “participate in the national political leadership of the state.”

Any amendment to the Constitution requires the approval of more than 75 percent of lawmakers in the Union Parliament, where the military controls 25 percent of the seats as per the Constitution.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Key Players in Peace Process Steering Team Step Down

Posted: 07 Mar 2019 10:34 PM PST

CHIANG MAI—Karen National Union (KNU) Chairperson Gen. Mutu Say Poe and Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) Chairperson Yawd Serk have stepped down from their respective positions as chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST), a group representing 10 ethnic armed group signatories of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

The PPST held a series of meetings in Thailand's Chiang Mai from Tuesday to Thursday this week.

A new chairperson and vice-chairperson will be elected formally at the next summit, though the two outgoing leaders delegated authority to KNU General Secretary Padoh Saw Ta Doh Moo and RCSS Deputy Chief of Staff Brig-Gen Pao Khay.

Negotiations with the government and military on moving Myanmar toward a federal and democratic system that guaranteed equality and self-determination for ethnic minorities had "deviated" from the path set out by the NCA, the delegates said at the meeting.

The leadership change is aimed at putting the process back on the right track and continuing peace talks with the government based on the common ground reached at the meeting, said Saw Ta Doh Moo.

RCSS Chairman Gen. Yawd Serk and Deputy Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Pao Khay. / Aung Moe Myint

"This is to replace [the PPST leadership] with younger generations who appear to be able to debate and negotiate more effectively," Saw Ta Doh Moo said in a press conference on Thursday.

Delegates of the KNU and the RCSS, the two biggest groups among the 10 NCA signatories, said that the leadership change would not impact peace talks, though some delegates of the smaller signatory groups expressed concerns that there would be a negative impact on talks.

"We don't think it will have an impact because our argument will be framed by policies and not on personality, so it won't have an impact," RCSS Second Secretary Col. Sai Ngin said at the press conference.

During the meeting, delegates discussed the current peace process framework, discussing ways to make it more inclusive, and tried to reach a consensus on a timeframe for future talks with the government and military.

The PPST summit is scheduled to be held on May 14 when a proposal will be submitted to change its name to the Peace Process Consultative Meeting as well as the formal election of the chairperson and the vice-chairperson.

The PPST was formed by eight original signatories of the NCA in 2017 in Thailand's Chiang Mai in order to facilitate peace talks with the government and Tatmadaw.

The PPST suspended all formal meetings following arguments over the concept of "single army" and "non-secession from the Union" brought up at exclusive meetings between the government, Tatmadaw and NCA signatories last October in Naypyitaw.

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An Open Letter to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Women’s Day

Posted: 07 Mar 2019 10:10 PM PST

Today we celebrate International Women's Day, a day in which we mark the key role that women play in our societies, in Myanmar, in the Netherlands and all around the world.

Much has been accomplished in securing equal rights for women, ensuring equal opportunity for women and ensuring that women everywhere around the world can participate in all aspects of society. With the #SheDecides initiative, the Netherlands contributes to promoting sexual and reproductive rights for women and girls, creating a movement that is vibrant and active.

Much has been accomplished, but many challenges remain. Therefore we must aim for #BalanceforBetter, the theme of WWD2019. It makes clear that a better balance is not only needed but that we all stand to benefit if we are able to accomplish this goal. A balanced world is a better world.

In Myanmar many people, women and men, look up to your picture on their wall. They look up to you as you embody the hope that people have for a better future in Myanmar. However, as you have said yourself, a better future requires peace in Myanmar. While women are usually not the cause of conflict, they should be part of the solution. There can be no sustainable peace without the input and participation of women.

Women should be given the opportunity to express what they need from the peace process, how they want peace to be shaped. Women represent half of Myanmar's population. Their voice cannot be excluded. And they should not only speak on “women's issues” or “gender equality.” Their perspective counts on any topic. Just as much, we need to hear men speak on all issues, including about gender and women's issues.

You have fought for democracy and human rights for the better part of your life. You are a role model for many women in Myanmar. As state counselor and chair of the Union Peace Conference, you are in a position to set an example for a Myanmar based on diversity and inclusion. So if we want #BalanceforBetter in the peace process, then let's not just talk about quotas but amplify powerful female voices, give them a platform, a seat at the table. All of Myanmar will benefit.

Wouter Jurgnes is the Netherlands’ ambassador to Myanmar.

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The Fall of Rangoon

Posted: 07 Mar 2019 05:58 PM PST

On this day in 1942, Rangoon came under the control of the Burma Independence Army (BIA) and the Imperial Japanese Army. British Governor Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith had withdrawn his forces from Rangoon on March 1, knowing that the two armies were marching on the city. Formed in Bangkok by the "30 Comrades" led by General Aung San, the BIA had entered Myanmar in three columns with the Japanese Army and arrived in Rangoon in early March.

On March 5, the BIA made the decision to take control of Rangoon. The army's Dawei column marched from Hmawbi Township at dusk on March 7 and occupied Rangoon at around 10 am on the following day after encountering some resistance.

Formed with only 100 or so troops, the BIA's ranks swelled to some 40,000 in Rangoon. It was Myanmar's first national army since the abdication of the country's last monarch, Thibaw, in 1885.

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Regulation Can Hinder Not Help Asia’s Social Enterprises, Analysts Say

Posted: 07 Mar 2019 05:00 PM PST

BANGKOK—As more Asian nations consider laws to promote social enterprises, analysts on Thursday warned that legislation could hold back, not help the growing number of ethical businesses.

Thailand last week passed a social enterprise act that gives tax breaks and other incentives to registered ventures that aim to deliver a positive social impact while turning a profit.

Such ventures can register if they generate half their revenues from the business, and reinvest 70 percent of profits.

“The law makes it possible for social enterprises—and their supporters—to receive various benefits,” said Vichit Charadsooksawad, director of the industry law division of the government’s advisory council, who helped draft the law.

“It recognizes the role that social enterprises can play in solving social, economic and environmental challenges,” he said on Thursday at a regional conference in Bangkok.

Across Southeast Asia, social enterprises are helping narrow inequality and create livelihood opportunities.

Thailand is among the few countries in the region with legislation aimed at such ventures.

Vietnam revised its enterprise law in 2014 to provide a legal definition of social enterprise, while Myanmar set up a committee to promote inclusive businesses and impact investing.

Malaysia had a three-year strategy to promote social ventures that ended last year, while the Philippines had drafted a bill to reduce poverty through social entrepreneurship.

But regulation is not always needed or desired, Tristan Ace, who heads the British Council’s social enterprise program, said on the sidelines of the conference.

“There is a difference between recognition and regulation. Recognition sends an important signal to the market that it is being taken seriously,” he said.

“But when you have a sector in a nascent stage of growth, you don’t want to restrict it too much. Regulation can come later,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Instead, governments must first help the sector develop talent, and improve access to finance, said Ace.

This view was echoed by Alfie Othman, who heads the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, which provides training and other resources for ethical entrepreneurs.

“We are opposed to regulation—it would kill innovation in the sector,” he said. “The tax breaks are not that important—we want the sector to grow first.”

Meanwhile in Indonesia, there is a discussion on whether a new law is needed, said Romy Cahyadi, chief executive at Instella, which supports social enterprises.

“Some social enterprises want greater clarity and recognition as legal entities,” he said.

“The government plans to include social enterprise in the five-year national plan. We believe that’s a good approach.”

Thailand has a long history of social enterprises, with the quirky Cabbages and Condoms restaurant set up in 1975 to fund AIDS projects and sexual-health education programs.

It has since grown into a chain of restaurants and resorts in Thailand and overseas.

“When we began, even the term ‘social enterprise’ was not used. We made good money without any government support, and paid tax like any company,” said founder Mechai Viravaidya, known as the “godfather” of Thai social business.

“More than legislation, what we need is awareness and education,” he said.

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“Buddhism Under Threat”: Thai Election Gives Platform to Radicals

Posted: 07 Mar 2019 04:30 PM PST

PATHUM THANI, Thailand — A clothing and cosmetics model and a former monk are campaigning together for Thailand’s election at a market outside Bangkok. The message: Buddhism is under threat.

Their politics marks a new trend in traditionally tolerant Thailand, where Buddhist nationalist movements have never taken root in the same way as in countries such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

Buddhism is one of the traditional pillars of Thai society and underpins many aspects of Thai life, but monks have little influence over the state compared to the monarchy and military.

The emergence of the Pandin Dharma Party to contest the March 24 election points to the rise of a fringe of Thai society that is at odds with the royalist-military establishment over religion and expresses growing antipathy to Islam.

“I joined this party because of its policy to protect the religion,” said Sirima “Grace” Sarakul, 36, the model, who is contesting a seat in Parliament as a Pandin Dharma Party candidate.

The threat to Buddhism, Pandin Dharma’s supporters believe, is from secular authorities they accuse of harassing monks and of caring more about Thailand’s tiny Muslim minority than the religion followed by more than 90 percent of Thais.

“Monks have been dealt with heavy-handedly by the state,” complains former monk Korn Medee, 47, leader of the party whose name means Land of Buddhist Teaching. “The government has overtly favored the other religion over Buddhism,” he told Reuters.

The government’s National Office of Buddhism declined to comment on the allegations or the rise of Buddhist nationalism, saying it was a matter of national security.

Two other avowedly Buddhist parties in the election are aligned with the junta, which has imposed measures to bring Thailand’s 40,000 temples under control in the name of tackling scandals ranging from corruption to sex to murder.

Paiboon Nititawan, 65, of the pro-military People’s Reform Party, dismissed Pandin Dharma as “not real Buddhists.”

“Our party is not even talking about religion per se, but rather about applying the teaching of the Buddha,” he said.

Division

Thailand’s longstanding political fracture between the establishment and the populism of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is mirrored in religion.

Thai Buddhism itself is divided into two fraternities: the Mahanikaya of the masses and the more conservative Thammayut, bound to the establishment and more influential since its founding by a 19th century king.

“There has been a conflict of interests between factions within the monkhood and the military government,” said Buddhist scholar Somrit Luechai. “As long as the monkhood remains under the centralized control of the state, this conflict will not end and could even intensify.”

Religion has not been among the top issues ahead of a ballot that is largely shaping up as a contest between parties that support establishment-backed junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha and allies of Thaksin.

But an electoral system designed to help smaller parties — 81 are standing for election — has given greater room for interest groups.

Dressed in white to mark themselves out as devout lay followers of Buddhism, Sirima and another former monk, Boonyatilert Sara, 45, found a ready reception in Pathum Thani Province, where northern Bangkok’s sprawl gives way to rice fields.

“Buddhism has been decaying in this country,” said Yuttana Suksa-ard, 66. “A party like this can help purify the religion.”

Pandin Dharma accuses the military government of unfairly targeting senior monks — raiding prominent temples such as the giant Dhammakaya complex in Pathum Thani — over alleged scandals.

The party wants to formally make Buddhism the state religion and give more support for temples.

“I want to protect the religion and to do that we need legislative power,” said Boonyatilert. “In neighboring Myanmar, the Buddhists there know truly what their religion is and they can defend it. Not here.”

Muslims under fire

Although Pandin Dharma strongly rejects accusations of being anti-Muslim, it complains that Muslims get too much state help.

It wants state-sponsored Buddhist settlements in Muslim-majority southern provinces to aid the return of Buddhists who left because of a decades-old insurgency.

One of the party’s candidates for prime minister, Banjob Bannaruji, has praised hardline Myanmar monk Wirathu and in a 2015 post asked: “will we all succumb and allow Islam to take over the country or do we need Myanmar monks to help us?”

Thai authorities have been tough on monks who express anti-Muslim views, defrocking one in 2016.

But some fear that Buddhist nationalism could also become a threat to centuries-old Muslim communities.

“Before, it was just a bunch of personal animosities against Islam expressed online, but now these scattered movements are becoming more defined,” said Zakee Pitakumpol, an academic at Prince of Songkla University and deputy secretary to the Sheikhul Islam, Thailand’s Islamic spiritual leader.

The Pandin Dharma Party is contesting only 145 out of 350 seats this time and Korn played down expectations of great success, saying the party did not have enough money for posters and was relying on social media and door-to-door campaigning.

“Even if we don’t get any seats, then at least now we have a platform,” he said.

The post “Buddhism Under Threat”: Thai Election Gives Platform to Radicals appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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