Monday, April 1, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Myitsone Dam Is Now a Sovereignty Issue

Posted: 01 Apr 2019 09:04 AM PDT

Public opposition to the controversial Myitsone Dam project is gaining momentum ahead of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's upcoming visit to China. The State Counselor will meet President Xi Jinping when China holds the second Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) summit this month.

In the latest show of popular opposition to China's proposed dam, prominent Myanmar environmentalists, writers and civil society leaders formed a national committee to oppose the suspended project, and warned the government of more resistance if it is revived.

The Myitsone project is expected to be one of the issues on the table for discussion. The Myanmar public wants her to say no to the massive hydropower plan, but so far her statements on it have been vague. But saying yes to the project would be political suicide for the government and for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi herself.

In 2018, speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Papua New Guinea, Xi announced that "China will work with all countries involved with the BRI according to the principle of consultation and collaboration for shared benefits". He vowed the initiative would incorporate high standards, "so that it will deliver quality outcomes and create even greater development opportunities for the people in the Asia-Pacific and beyond." But anti-China sentiment and demand for a critical debate on the BRI are growing in Myanmar.

Chinese officials now acknowledge the China-funded Myitsone project in Kachin State is part of the BRI project, and Beijing has recently stepped up pressure on Myanmar to accept the project.

The Chinese ambassador, as well as other officials and representatives of China's State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), have traveled to Kachin State to meet local groups in an effort to persuade them to say yes to the project. However, public emotion there is running high, and a sense of anger toward China is spreading to the rest of Myanmar.

But no one at the leadership level has openly opposed the project, out of fear of upsetting Beijing.

In a recent interview with RFA, Gun Maw, a leader of the Kachin Independence Organization, said, "The KIO has always responded that it mainly needs to find a solution with the government, because the Myitsone project initially started in consultation with the government."

Prominent meteorologist and Myanmar Climate Change Watch founder U Tun Lwin appears at an anti-Myitsone Dam event on April 1.

He said his organization would be led by public opinion. "We can't object if they accept it. We can't force the people if they don't accept it." This is an ingenious answer—who in Kachin State would support the project?

The previous regime's baby

The project was signed in 2006 under the previous regime led by Senior General Than Shwe. But when President Thein Sein took office in 2011 the project was suspended due to a strong negative reaction from the public.

The Myitsone Dam project would cost about US$3.6 billion (5.4 trillion kyats) and reportedly submerge about 766 square kilometers of forestland—an area bigger than Singapore.

In 2006, a delegation led by General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo (who served as vice president under U Thein Sein's government before resigning), went to Beijing and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) securing Chinese help with hydropower development, including the construction of the Myitsone dam. No public criticism was possible at that time, as Myanmar was still under the repressive military regime.

Inside sources say the regime's leaders had little experience with multibillion-dollar projects such as Myitsone or the Kyaukphyu deep seaport project in Rakhine State. Local attorneys who were close associates of the military were consulted and the MOU and related contracts were signed.

Indeed, the dam is a dagger in the heart of the Kachin people, and they won't accept it.

Local residents gather to pray for an end to the Myitsone Dam project at the confluence of the May Kha and Mali Kha rivers, which forms the source of the Irrawaddy River, in 2016. / Supplied

Myitsone gamble

In 2011, when the country was opening up, Myitsone was one of the issues that received domestic and international attention.

The initial reasons for the anti-dam protests centered on the project's negative environmental impacts, including the likely damage to fisheries, the flooding of wide swaths of jungle and altering of the downstream river flow, as well as fears of what would happen in the event of an earthquake. But as much as all of these things, the protests are motivated by the symbolic power of Myitsone—which is an emblem of Kachin ethnicity and the site of the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, which forms the source of the Irrawaddy River.

On Sept. 30, the then president, U Thein Sein, surprised everyone by announcing that the joint venture with China to build the mega-dam had been suspended because "it was contrary to the will of the people."

U Thein Sein received much-deserved praise from Western leaders, including critics of the regime. The decision to suspend the project was seen as a snub, causing China to lose face.

The decision was also no doubt a cue to Western countries that still had sanctions in place against Myanmar.

Opening up the country's political system, releasing political prisoners and allowing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to take part in the political process was part of the package that the regime's leaders offered to improve relations with the West and to have sanctions lifted. Moreover, the decision to suspend the Myitsone project was a gamble signaling to the West that Myanmar wanted to balance the Chinese threat in the hope of diminishing Western sanctions and ending its pariah status.

There is no doubt that the decision was well calculated; Myanmar suddenly became a friend of the West and saw the gradual lifting of sanctions.

Then-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (right) shakes hands with then-Myanmar Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo during a meeting in Nanning in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Oct. 20, 2011. / Reuters

China as Big Brother

In recent years, however, China has been seen as Myanmar's "big brother" neighbor and a strong political ally.

This has shown up the hypocrisy of the West's shallow policy toward Myanmar, which has seen Western countries rally against Myanmar due to the crisis in northern Rakhine, where thousands of Rohingya and local people have fled due to terrorist attacks, a long running conflict and the military's operations. China is back at the forefront of the engagement in Myanmar and has restored its previous position as a "big brother". The West has retreated to almost the same position as before. A top-ranking government official who spent several years overseas and came back to join Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party admitted that the pressure the government faces is mammoth and ultimately unbearable. "We are inevitably back into China's orbit," he said. "We are surrounded by enemies inside and outside. They are trying to bring down our government."

The West's pressure came as a blessing in disguise, as Myanmar has been forced to seek China's diplomatic support at the United Nations to see it off. Some political observers say that the West sees Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's stance toward China as being too cozy; Western countries raised the issue of the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State when she came to power. Now, faced with mounting pressure, she has found China as a close ally. She has maintained stable relations with India and Japan, but they don't carry as much political weight on the UN Security Council or on the international front.

Anti-dam and anti-war graffiti are seen on a riverbank near Myitsone, Kachin State. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Myitsone as sovereignty issue 

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been unusually vague on the Myitsone issue since coming to power. After taking office, her government formed a 20-member commission that includes the chief minister of Kachin to review the dam and its likely impacts on the environment and local communities. The commission has produced two reports to date, but the government has yet to release either.

When in opposition she initially delayed weighing in on the dam issue. When she did finally voice her disapproval, the then opposition leader echoed the public's concerns that the dam was dangerous and divisive.

In a statement issued at the time, she said, "Since the commencement of the Myitsone project, the perception long held by the Kachin people that successive Burmese governments have neglected their interests has deepened."

She went on to say, "We would urge that in the interests of both national and international harmony, concerned parties should reassess the scheme and cooperate to find solutions that would prevent undesirable consequences and thus allay the fears of all who are anxious to protect the Irrawaddy."

She no longer makes such statements.

In March, local residents in Pyay, Bago Region asked her about her opinion on the controversial project and she replied, "I would like you to think [about the project] from a wider perspective."

She then said the final decision would have to be politically, socially, economically and environmentally sound and sustainable.

She also said her government should not abolish a project approved by a previous government just because it did not comply with the current administration's policies.

Local people stage a protest against the Myitsone Dam Project at the entrance of the project in 2015. / Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy

Does this mean that she will give the go-ahead to the project?

In late January, U Thaung Tun, minister of investment and foreign economic relations, said the government and a commission studying the project are in very serious discussions and considering all possibilities, including downsizing the dam, relocating it or developing other projects instead.

But locals won't accept any compromise on a dam project on the Irrawaddy River. They have said that enough is enough.

Myitsone is now a sovereignty issue and the majority of Myanmar people won't accept the dam. Any political leader, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who seeks a compromise that would allow the Myitsone Dam project to proceed will surely face the public's wrath.

Aung Zaw is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Irrawaddy.

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Senior Mining Enterprise Official Arrested for Corruption

Posted: 01 Apr 2019 06:36 AM PDT

YANGON—A managing director of the government's mining enterprise was arrested on corruption charges in Naypyitaw on Monday.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said in a statement issued Monday afternoon that it had opened a case at Zabuthiri Myoma Police Station against U Than Daing, the managing director of No. 2 Mining Enterprise under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation.

The commission said that after receiving a complaint against U Than Daing, it conducted an investigation and found that he abused his position by requesting a payment of about 3.3 million kyats (US$2,162) from a company hired to level land he owned in Zabuthiri Township in Naypyitaw in 2014. It also found that the managing director asked a company to pay 4.2 million kyats (US$2,787) in hotel fees his family incurred while on vacation in Ngapali Beach, Rakhine State during the water festival in 2016.

The commission did not identify the companies involved or the person who filed the complaint.

ACC spokesperson U Kyaw Soe told The Irrawaddy the managing director was detained at Zabuthiri Myoma Police Station but declined to comment further on the case.

The commission opened the case against U Than Daing under Article 56 of the Anti-Corruption Law. The law prescribes a maximum 10-year prison sentence for political officeholders found guilty of corruption.

The detention of the managing director follows last month's arrests of former Tanintharyi Region Chief Minister Daw Lei Lei Maw and three officials from Global Grand Services Co.

The post Senior Mining Enterprise Official Arrested for Corruption appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Reporter’s Notebook: On the Ground in Mrauk-U

Posted: 01 Apr 2019 05:51 AM PDT

YANGON—It is possible I would not be alive to write this had I opted to have dinner at Khant restaurant, opposite the KBZ Bank in northern Rakhine State's ancient city of Mrauk-U, on March 18, as that evening Army troops opened fire on homes in the area.

The main road crosses through the downtown quarter for a length of about 3.6 km. In the evening, a friend suggested that I eat out in a neighborhood where Arakanese traditional cuisine and salads are available. At about 6:30 p.m., the situation in the town was peaceful. Many people were strolling along the roads, and the teashops were crowded with people.

Then, starting at 7.20 p.m., a terrifying message reached us from local residents; a Myanmar Army convoy had entered Mrauk-U town shooting. A few minutes later, a series of gunshots and deafening artillery explosions could be heard.

The only thing separating the restaurant from the main road—a distance of about 200m—was a stretch of grassland. Simultaneously, the sound of rifle fire and artillery bursts could be heard, as well as the sound of bullets whizzing through the air. A group of women screamed as bullets struck the restaurant.

Within half an hour, six wounded

Almost immediately, netizens based in Mrauk-U posted a list of casualties. A total of six residents were injured in the shelling and gunfire. The following morning, on March 19, I was able to visit the scene of the shooting. The KBZ Bank branch's front door was blown off and the walls were pockmarked with bullet holes.

Several locals who were lucky to have been spared the shooting recounted their ordeal to me at the scene on Tuesday morning. But judging from their accounts and my own experience as a firsthand witness, the rationale for the Mrauk-U shooting provided by the Office of the Commander-in-Chief—that the attack was in response to an ambush of the convoy by Arakan Army (AA) members downtown—doesn't make sense.

A number of questions immediately occurred to me in response to this explanation: If the AA really ambushed the Army troops, why was no one hurt in the military convoy? The Army said there were no casualties on its side on the day. And why would they intentionally fire dozens of rounds at a KBZ Bank office in response to an ambush?

KBZ Bank doesn't seem so stupid as to accept AA rebels. Along the road, I saw dozens of spent 5.56mm rounds, several spent 40 mm grenade casings, and mortar shells of various sizes—all Myanmar Army ammunition. Not even hotels that mostly cater to foreigners, including the Nawarat Hotel, Prince Hotel and Hotel Mrauk-U, were spared the attack.

The front door of the KBZ Bank building in Mrauk-U is shattered after being shot up by Myanmar Army troops during their attack on the town on March 18. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

One bullet struck the dining room of the Nawarat Hotel. On March 19, more than a dozen foreigners and local tourists from Yangon fled to the Rakhine State capital, Sittwe, by fast boat or by car, as shelling could clearly be heard from downtown Mrauk-U well into the morning.

There are two surveillance cameras positioned in front of KBZ Bank. The CCTV footage would surely contain some evidence.

What happened before the shooting?

Before the fierce shooting erupted in Mrauk-U, a convoy of about 11 Army trucks carrying fully equipped soldiers from Sittwe to Mrauk-U was attacked at about 6.30 p.m. by AA soldiers near Kyauk Kyat and Taung Oo villages, 32 km from downtown Mrauk-U, not far from the Mahamuni pagoda in Kyauktaw Township.

High-ranking AA officers told me that three Army trucks were completely destroyed by RPG attacks. Locals estimated that at least 20 soldiers were killed on the spot. The information I received from the AA was that this occurred before the Army convoy began shooting in downtown Mrauk-U at about 6:50 p.m.

Later, eight military trucks—likely from the military convoy ambushed by the AA in the rural area—began firing upon civilians in Mrauk-U. The shooting occurred unexpectedly, causing chaos among residents and shopkeepers along the main road. Some who were not able to flee described lying on the floor during the shooting.

Several structures including some homes were damaged by artillery explosions and gunfire. On the morning of March 19, the town's busiest place, Mrauk-U municipal market, was locked down and the surrounding roads deserted. The sounds of shelling and ambulance sirens were everywhere. The area's iconic temples, Chit Thaung and Htuk Kan Thein, were devoid of vendors and tourists.

Spent 5.56mm rounds found on March 19 at a location where the Myanmar Army opened fire in downtown Mrauk-U the previous day. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

Artillery barrages day in, day out

All of the new arrivals to the urban area on March 19 were displaced residents of neighboring villages, most of them from Ywar Haung Taw. As of this week, the displaced population in northern Rakhine alone is in excess of 20,000. Yaung Haung Taw was struck by 120-mm and 60-mm mortar shells believed to have been fired by Police Regiment No. 31 or Light Infantry Battalion No. 540 based in Mrauk-U.

Victims and witnesses, including the abbot of Ywar Haung Taw monastery, told me there had been no provocation by the AA prior to the Tatmadaw's attack on the village. He said the village's bamboo thatch homes were destroyed by gunfire, and one couple was wounded by a 120-mm mortar explosion.

During my one-week visit to Mrauk-U, the police regiment situated near Koe Thaung temple fired between 40-60 howitzer shells every day into mountains where AA rebels are thought to be based near Min Byar Township's Pan Myaung village.

Some domestic tourists from Yangon told me they heard artillery explosions and gunshots for the first time in their life, and decided to end their vacation abruptly when the violence reached the town. Their holiday may have been ruined, but at least they now know the reality of the situation in Mrauk-U and will have a better understanding of the plight of displaced and injured locals.

To my dismay, on social media, many people from big cities far from Mrauk-U reacted very differently to the situation. Even domestic tourists couldn't bear to spend even a few days in Mrauk-U; for the town's residents it must be a nightmare having to live through gunfire and shelling right in front of their doors.

Never in the past six decades have the Arakanese experienced such attacks on a downtown area, including artillery shelling. Some elderly people in the town have been traumatized by the gunfire, fleeing inside when a car backfires on the road.

Traveling amid shelling

Whenever a stranger passes by in a neighborhood, the locals eye them suspiciously, especially at someone like me, driving through the town alone despite the daytime artillery shelling. As a reporter on the ground, meeting eyewitnesses is essential, but many locals hesitated to travel with me as a guide to the active conflict zone.

Their reluctance is understandable. It is an unnerving experience to travel near a police regiment that fires artillery shells all day and is situated on the way to Ywar Haung Taw village, where about 10 artillery rounds landed, while Army fighter jets reportedly bombed the forests near neighboring Pan Myaung village about 12 km east of downtown Mrauk-U. Given the random artillery firing, it's not safe to go there. One displaced villager, Karen Chay, who sought refuge in Chit Thaung monastery, agreed to lead the way to his village and we were able to interview witnesses and photograph eight projectiles collected by villagers.

Collected 120mm and 60mm mortar shells are displayed at Ywar Haung Taw monastery on March 20. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

On my third day in Mrauk-U, March 19, I learned that the Army used several attack helicopters and fighter jets against AA fighters in the mountains in neighboring Min Byar Township's Pan Myaung village for three days.

Pan Myaung, which comprises more than 2,000 households and has a market, hospital and several monasteries, has been serving as a home to about 2,000 IDPs from neighboring villages. They are terrified of being detained or killed by LID Nos. 55 and 22, which are deployed in their region.

Although I wanted to observe the reality with my own eyes in Pan Myaung, locals from Mrauk-U would not travel there with me.

Rights abuses by soldiers

On March 21, my fifth day in Mrauk-U, I was able to meet up with Pan Myaung locals and spent one night in the village. On the morning of March 21, I awoke to the sound of shelling. In fact, the Army's tactical operation base is situated right behind a hill near Pan Myaung monastery. That monastery is one of two that currently house about 1,000 displaced villagers.

Whenever the Army fired an artillery round, dozens of children playing in the monastery compound ran into the structure. Displaced villagers told me they are more scared of gunfire than artillery explosions. Villagers showed me the mountains where Army attack helicopters and fighter jets attacked 5 km away, on the opposite side of the Army tactical base.

Villagers recalled that some 100 soldiers raided areas in Pan Myaung model village despite not having engaged the AA there. Army troops fired at homes, tortured for hours more than 120 villagers deemed to be suspicious, and detained four civilians from the village.

Eight residents of Pan Myaung village corroborated the reports of torture by Army troops, and of shooting and looting on March 19. About six patients I spoke to in Mrauk-U Hospital with gunshot and artillery shrapnel wounds sustained in Mrauk-U and Min Byar townships said Army troops shot them for no reason.

Maung Win Yee, who was injured by an exploding artillery shell in downtown Mrauk-U on Monday night, sits in the medical ward of Mrauk-U Hospital, in Rakhine State, on Tuesday morning. / Irrawaddy

Senior Army officers denied that soldiers from LID Nos. 22 and 55, or from regional battalions in northern Rakhine, had committed rights abuses, but soldiers from LID No. 22 handed 100,000 kyats to the patients in Mrauk-U Hospital last week.

Ma Nandar Khine, daughter of wounded local resident Daw Than Than Win from Pan Myaung village, said that she only took the money because she was terrified of the soldiers, and if possible would like to return the cash.

The post Reporter's Notebook: On the Ground in Mrauk-U appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Prominent Activists, Writers Form Group to Oppose Myitsone Dam

Posted: 01 Apr 2019 04:55 AM PDT

YANGON — In the latest show of popular opposition to China’s proposed Myitsone dam in northern Myanmar, prominent environmentalists, writers and civil society leaders formed a national committee on Monday to oppose the project and warned the government of more resistance if it were revived.

While China steps up pressure on the government to resume work on the dam, the meeting in Yangon was the first time that about 200 people from across the country came to together to show solidarity with Kachin State residents fighting the project.

"I don't want [the government] to make a decision [on Myitsone] easily," said U Tun Lwin, a well-known meteorologist and founder of Myanmar Climate Change Watch.

"If they make the wrong decision, [the government] will face severe problems both politically and environmentally," he said.

Commenting on what advice he would give officials, he said, "think carefully," "abolish the Myitsone project completely" and "respect the public's wishes."

About 3.2 km south of where the confluence of the May Kha and Mali Kha give rise to the Irrawaddy River, the 6,000 MW dam is expected to cost $3.6 billion, ranking among the largest hydropower projects in the region. Work started in 2009, when China’s State Power Investment Corporation was known as the China Power Investment Corporation.

Environmentalists warn the dam site has some of the highest biodiversity in the world and that the project would both destroy the natural beauty of the Irrawaddy River and disrupt water flow. They say it could potentially flood an area the size of Singapore, destroying livelihoods and displacing more than 10,000 people. In September 2011, then-President U Thein Sein suspended the project due to widespread concerns about its environmental and social impacts.

After taking power in early 2016, the National League for Democracy (NLD) set up a 20-member commission to review the project and its likely impacts on the environment and local communities. The commission has produced two reports, but the government has yet to release either.

Beijing's recent efforts to restart work on the dam have reanimated resistance to the project, especially after Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang claimed that the Kachin people were not opposed to its resumption after a visit to Kachin State in December. The envoy’s claim sparked protests in Yangon, Mandalay, Myitkyina and Pathein urging the government to end the project for good.

At Monday’s meeting in Yangon, Ko Tar, a popular writer, told attendees that the dam would not benefits locals with jobs or electricity and would not contribute to the country’s broader development either.

Under the terms of the initial agreement, the dam would send 90 percent of its electricity to southern China's Yunnan Province.

Last month, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called on the public to consider the dam from "a wider perspective" and said that projects approved by previous administrations should not be cancelled just because they did not comply with the current administration's policies. The comments raised concerns that her government would do Beijing’s bidding, in particular when it came to the Myitsone dam.

"I cast a vote for the current government because I believed that it wouldn’t behave like the previous [ones]." said Ko Tar.

"We all want the government not to make the same mistakes again. We want a government that will correct past mistakes," he added.

While campaigning for the 2015 general election, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi promised to release the contract the country’s military junta signed for the Myitsone project, but it has yet to do so.

"There are a lot of approved project that had to be stopped for the long-term benefit of the nation," said U Tun Lwin.

He noted recently elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's decision to cancel Chinese-backed projects approved by his predecessor, Najib Razak, over concerns that they would not benefit the country and saddle it with too much debt.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said that her government would make a final call on the dam based on political, economic and environmental factors and provide a detailed explanation of its decision.

Reacting to the state counselor's comments, U Tun Lwin said, "The project is unacceptable from any perspectives. For me, the project is also impossible to accept from a legal perceptive, an environmental perspective, an economic perspective and also for sentimental reasons."

In late January, U Thaung Tun, the investment and foreign economic relations minister, said the government and commission were having very serious discussions and considering all possibilities, including downsizing the dam, relocating it or developing other projects instead.

Juu, a prominent female writer, told Monday’s attendees that she did not want any dam on the Irrawaddy River, the country’s lifeline and the next generation’s inheritance.

"I understand that our leaders are under pressure from China. But I am just a citizen, so I will think like a normal citizen. I will keep opposing the project," she said.

In Waimaw, one of the townships downstream of the dam and about 19 km from Myitkyina, the  capital of Kachin State, more than 4,000 residents worried the dam could flood their homes if ever burst are planning to stage a protest against the project next week.

During Monday’s meeting, the newly formed committee issued a brief manifesto urging the government to protect the next generation, avoid any deals that jeopardized the country’s independence, and cancel the project.

"I believe our leaders will keep their promise." said U Tun Lwin, referring to the NLD’s pledge to "stand with the people."

"If they don't keep their promise, the future will be bleak," he said.

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Military Officer to Sue Prominent Movie Director for Defamation

Posted: 01 Apr 2019 03:55 AM PDT

YANGON—A military officer from the Yangon Region Command has filed a lawsuit against movie director U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, a police officer at Insein Police Station has confirmed to The Irrawaddy.

"I have no idea what they complained about so I have no comment for the time being and the police have not notified me about it," he told The Irrawaddy.

The Yangon Region Command could not be reached for a comment. On Sunday, U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi was travelling to Naypyitaw to attend a rally in support of amending the 2008 Constitution.

The Telecommunications Law was amended in August 2017 following demands from civil society organizations to scrap Article 66(d) which, according to them, has been widely used as a tool by those in positions of power to punish dissidents.

The amendment approved by the Parliament in 2017 requires prosecutions under the law to be conducted directly by the "defamed" individual, rather than by a third party, unless that party has been granted legal power by the individual. It also allows for bail to be granted to the defendant.

The maximum prison sentence was also cut to two years from three. However, the law's most contentious clause, which broadly prohibits the use of the telecommunications network to "extort, defame, disturb or intimidate" remains in place.

"There were 77 cases filed under Article 66(d) after it was amended. This is the first time the military has filed a complaint after the article was amended," said Maung Saung Kha, founder of Athan, a Yangon-based freedom of expression advocacy group.

He said he also has no idea why the military officer has filed a lawsuit against U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi.

According to Athan, a total of 179 complaints were filed under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law since its enactment in 2013 through Feb. 4, 2019.

After the law was amended in August 2017, 77 cases have been filed, 24 of which were filed by government officials and lawmakers.

Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi is the founder of the Human Rights, Human Dignity International Film Festival and has been a strong critic of the Myanmar military.

On his personal Facebook page, the filmmaker criticized the speech by the military's deputy commander-in-chief at the Armed Forces Day event on March 27 during which he said "simply implementing the wishes of the majority, without considering whether it is correct or not, is illegal."

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Explosion Kills Three Farmers in Aftermath of Fighting in N. Shan

Posted: 01 Apr 2019 03:04 AM PDT

Three people were killed and four were wounded by a bomb blast in Mann Lee Village, Namtu Township in northern Shan State on Saturday, according to local sources.

Ko Thar Oo, Mann Lee village leader told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the seven victims had been tending crops which are growing on the mountainside at the time of the blast.

"They went to work at [a field] on the mountain [where they] grow food. They left home at 5:30 a.m. They had breakfast at 6 a.m. at a hut in the field. The 15-year-old boy stayed at the hut area and he stepped on the bomb," said Ko Thar Oo.

The 15-year-old boy who stepped on the landmine is one of the three who died at the scene. The four injured were sent for treatment at Hsipaw Hospital but one person with serious wounds was later transferred to Lashio Hospital.

The area where the landmine exploded was the location of fighting between rival ethnic armed groups the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), and the joint forces of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) in early March.

Fearing undetonated devices could remain in the field after the fighting took place on his land, the land owner burnt off the growth before the villagers came back to tend the land.

Ko Thar Oo said the fighting in the area in early March lasted for several days and that no one knows which side planted the landmine as many armed groups have been active in the areas around Mann Lee Village.

"Someone could have come and planted the bomb after the field was burnt. The people thought that they were safe after the area was burnt off. That's why they came to work at the field," he said.

Village authorities told the villagers not to work in the fields yet, as fighting has only recently ceased in the area and thus it remains unsafe for locals.

However, locals depend of the food they grow on this land which must be done in time before the rainy season starts in May. Ko Thar Oo said that's why the locals had to go and work the land despite the warnings.

Armed groups tend not to take responsibility for civilian deaths or injuries that occur in the area as a result of their clashes. Ko Thar Oo said that the civilians are the ones who suffer the most.

"We did not know how we can help our villagers," he said.

Mann Lee is a village of about 100 households and many villagers have left to find work in China as they feel unsafe working in their own village.

"We cannot [convince] them anymore not to go to China because we cannot provide food for them," he said.

The TNLA-SSPP forces and the RCSS have blamed each other for the landmine incident. Tai Freedom, a media outlet under the control of the RCSS, reported that the bomb belonged to the TNLA, leading the latter to release a statement on Monday denying that the mine came from their troops.

Youth's death came a day after his father's release from RCSS custody

On Friday, the RCSS released eight people who they had been holding in detention since early March during the inter-ethnic conflict in the area.

The father of the 15-year-old landmine victim was among the eight detainees who were released.

A number of civil organizations from both the Ta'ang and Shan ethnic communities worked together to negotiate with the RCSS for the release of the eight people.

Another four people who disappeared early in March, a case which Ta'ang civil groups have blamed on the RCSS, remain missing.

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Reaction Mixed to Military’s Announcement it Won’t Extend Ceasefire

Posted: 01 Apr 2019 02:47 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — A spokesman for the government said it would not comment on the military’s recent announcement that it will not extend the unilateral four-month ceasefire it started on Jan. 1.

The military, or Tatmadaw, announced the ceasefire in December in a move it said was aimed at fostering constructive peace talks with ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) that have not signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) or more limited bilateral deals with the military.

The ceasefire — which encompasses the military’s Northern Command, Northeastern Command, Eastern Command, Eastern Central Command and Triangle Region Command — expires on April 30.

At a press conference on March 25, the military’s Maj. Gen. Soe Naing Oo said the four months were enough to move the peace process forward.

"We have the fighting ability. But we don't want to fight with our brothers; thus we called the ceasefire," he said at the time.

On Friday, at a press conference in Naypyitaw, government spokesman U Zaw Htay said some progress had been made during both formal and informal talks between the government, military and EAOs.

"The Tatmadaw will review the ceasefire period depending on the progress. And it is up to the Tatmadaw whether or not to extend it. The government can't tell the Tatmadaw what to do," said U Zaw Htay, director-general of the President’s Office.

He said the Peace Commission, the National Reconciliation and Peace Center and the military’s negotiating team, led by Gen. Yar Phae, have found some common ground with the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) and the Karenni National Progressive Party, adding that the latter would be holding more formal talks with the military and peace center on signing the NCA later this month.

"If they can reach more agreements to de-escalate the fighting, the Tatmadaw might consider [extending the ceasefire]. It is up to the Tatmadaw," he said.

The government and military are also set to meet twice in April with the Kachin Independence Organization, which the Peace Commission has asked to comment on a proposed Deed of Commitment it has proposed.

The military will also meet with the Restoration Council of Shan State and SSPP to discuss troop deployments and the return of families who fled their homes to escape the civil war in Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships.

Col. Khun Okkar, of the Pa-O National Liberation Army, was skeptical that an extension would do much good.

"There is still no clear sign that the meetings in the five military regions have the potential for success. There has been more bargaining and exploitation by the two sides in those months, and there have been no achievements. So it will be meaningless to extend the ceasefire if there is no prospect for favorable results beyond four months," he told The Irrawaddy.

By announcing that it would not extend the ceasefire a month before it was due to expire, he added, the military was trying to pressure the EAOs into making concessions.

Lower House lawmaker U Sai Thiha Kyaw, who represents Shan State's Mongyai Township, also held out little hope that the talks would succeed, noting that fighting had continued in some areas.

"They should not ignore people’s suffering on the ground, and [the two sides] should focus more on political dialogue during the ceasefire period," he said.

According to its monthly press conferences, the military has since late December fought with the SSPP the most. Between Dec. 21 and March 23, it says, there were 30 battles between EAOs and the military and 40 between EAOs themselves, more than 380 cases of trespassing, 32 cases of extortion, and 38 cases of recruitment by EAOs.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Reaction Mixed to Military’s Announcement it Won’t Extend Ceasefire appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Community Connection, a Palace and a Lake — Destination Guide to Eastern Myanmar

Posted: 01 Apr 2019 01:52 AM PDT

A woman of the Kayan ethnic group at her home near Demoso in Karenni State. / Thet Htun Naing / The Irrawaddy

Loikaw

Loikaw, the capital of Kayah, Myanmar's smallest state, is an up-and-coming destination for travelers in Myanmar. Most visitors use the town as a base for visiting or trekking to outlying villages to see the distinctive, myth-filled Kayan culture in which some of the women wear brass coils on their necks. Major efforts to establish community-based tourism have been taking place in the area and immersive travel programs have been developed to avoid the potential for "human zoos" to emerge as they have elsewhere.

Inle Lake is home to the leg-rowing fishermen who have become a symbolic image of Myanmar. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

Inle Lake

Fishermen row small boats by leg on the still waters of a lake sitting 900 meters above sea level. Mountains surround the water where diverse ethnic subgroups live and earn a livelihood from the lake. As one of Myanmar's most popular destinations, it's easy to get there and has a huge range of accommodation options from budget to blow-out. What's not to love about Inle Lake?

Taunggyi is where one of the biggest annual festivals takes place every November, the Tazaungdaing Fire Balloon Festival. / The Irrawaddy

Taunggyi

This Shan capital sits atop a mountain and is a vibrant, thriving center of commerce. In the market you'll see members of different ethnic groups peddling the freshest, juiciest of produce grown in the surrounding fertile Shan Hills. Aythaya Vineyard is a must-visit around sunset. The town comes alive in the week before the November full moon when it hosts Myanmar's most spectacular cultural event, the Tazaungdaing fire balloon festival.

The view of the Shan hills from a viewpoint outside Kalaw during the rainy season. / Marie Starr

Kalaw

The cool climate makes this former colonial hill station feel like it's in a different country. Kalaw sits in a picturesque valley with green hills, colorful gardens and pine trees everywhere you look. As many travelers stop here before setting out on their trek to Inle Lake, the town is well connected, has lots of accommodation options and great restaurants and cafes, though the best Shan noodles and hin htote dumplings to be found are at the tiny shops inside the central market. Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp and Ride Behind Kalaw now offer plenty of activities to keep you in Kalaw for a few days.

Inside Shwe Oo Min cave at Pindaya. / The Irrawaddy

Pindaya

Most visitors to Pindaya come to visit the famous natural cave at Shwe Oo Min Pagoda that has been filled to the brim with over 6,000 Buddha images of all shapes, sizes and designs. The pagoda sits on a hillside and there are fantastic views of the surrounding, colorful Shan farmland. A wander around the area may lead you to the lake or an old teak monastery and if you're lucky you may see people from the Pa-O, Danu and Taungyo ethnic subgroups who live in the area.

Ywangan is where some of the best coffee in Myanmar is produced. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

Ywangan

Ywangan, 90 minutes north of Pindaya and two hours north of Kalaw, is famous for its coffee plantations which produce some of the highest quality of coffee grown in Myanmar. Another special feature is the unusual blue lake which, though small in size, is surrounded by lots of local legends and superstitions and is so clear you can see the black fish darting around the bottom. Alawe Chaung Waterfall is another nice place in Ywangan to spend some time relaxing.

Tourists leave the Haw after a visit./ Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

Hsipaw

Hsipaw is a wonderful northern Shan town with great trekking opportunities, waterfalls large and small to swim and chill at and possibly the best noodle dishes in Myanmar. For much of the year, the surrounding farmland is bursting with sweetcorn and other agricultural crops. The home of the last Shan prince, known as the Shan Palace is open for a few hours per day and a descendant of the family invites people into the home to tell the family story.

An ethnic Lisu woman at the main market in Kyaingtong (or Kengtung) in 2015. / The Irrawaddy)

Kyaingtong

Sometimes spelled Keng Tung, this is a major hub in the east of Shan State where there are Chinese and Thai influences and ethnic subgroups like the Wa, Akha, Ann and Lahu live nearby. Trekking to tribal villages nearby can be arranged and a walk through the morning market is a vibrant and colorful experience where you can see many kinds of traditional outfits.

The post Community Connection, a Palace and a Lake — Destination Guide to Eastern Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Low Turnout, Voter Roll Trouble Mar Yangon Municipal Election

Posted: 01 Apr 2019 12:53 AM PDT

YANGON — Yangon residents showed little interest in Sunday’s municipal election, according to the People's Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE), an independent, non-government election monitor.

The group sent out 348 observers to the 33 townships across Yangon Region taking part in the poll.

Fewer than 10 percent of the more than 3 million eligible voters cast ballots across the townships between 6 and 10:30 in the morning, PACE Executive Director U Sai Ye Kyaw Swar Myint told The Irrawaddy.

There were more than 1,800 eligible voters in Latha Township’s Ward 6, but only a little more than 200 of them had cast ballots by noon, said ward administrator U Aung Moe Kyaw.

"The turnout was quite disappointing. Some could not cast a vote because of some weaknesses in compiling the voter list," he said.

Political analyst U Yan Myo Thein said the low turnout reflected the public’s declining satisfaction with the municipal government’s performance.

"Perhaps people do not cast votes because they think nothing will change even if they vote," he told The Irrawaddy.

He said the Yangon Municipal Election Commission also failed to raise public awareness of the poll or to educate many voters in advance.

U Khin Hlaing, one of the candidates, said the commission did not do enough to inform the public about the new Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) Law.

"People don't know all the provisions in the municipal law, so they don't know how important it is. And the poll was held soon after the municipal election by-law was adopted. People were not adequately informed about it,” U Khin Hlaing said, meaning some people who would have made strong candidates never even registered to run.

PACE said hundreds of eligible voters could not cast ballots because they were not included on the voter rolls.

In Sanchaung Township’s Lin Lun Myauk Ward alone, more than 100 voters were disenfranchised because they were not on the voter list, said Lower House lawmaker U Bo Bo Oo, who represents Sanchaung.

"Voters complained to me that they could not cast votes because they were not on the voter list. Some of them have lived [in Sanchaung] for some three decades. The situation was the worst in Lin Lun Myauk," he told The Irrawaddy.

A total 105 seats are up for grabs — three in each of the city's 33 townships and six for the executive board of the YCDC, one of whom will be elected vice-mayor. A total of 272 candidates contested the election.

The official results will be released on Monday.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Low Turnout, Voter Roll Trouble Mar Yangon Municipal Election appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Separated from British India 82 Years Ago Today

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 10:09 PM PDT

Burma, which had been a province of British India since annexation in 1886, separated from India on this day in 1937.

The issue of separation from India had been a source of conflict within Myanmar's political class since the 1920s, prompting local leaders to ask the British government to intervene.

The British separated the administration of Burma from India under the Burma Act 1935. It created 102 government departments to govern "Burma Proper", of which 91 were headed by elected local ministers—a system later known as the 91-department administration.

Under this system, the legislature expanded to become a bicameral system consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The government was led by a governor appointed by the Crown, and a council of ministers, or cabinet.

As the most important person in the new administration, the governor wielded veto power, thus limiting the authority of the ministers and legislature. This prompted Doh Bamar Asiayone (the We Burmans Organization), which played an important role in the independence struggle, to oppose the administration.

The 91-department administration remained in effect until Japanese forces entered Burma in 1942.

The post Burma Separated from British India 82 Years Ago Today appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Red Cross Society Turns 82

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 09:55 PM PDT

On this day in 1937, the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) gained national status when the country was politically separated from colonial India. The MRCS was founded in 1920 as a branch of the Indian Red Cross Society.

The governing body of the MRCS was led by British governor Sir Archibald Douglas Cochrane, and the health minister at the time served as vice chairman. It gained recognition as a national society from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1939.

After Myanmar gained independence in 1948, Supreme Court Judge U Ba Oo  — who would go on to become the country’s second president — served as chairman of the MRCS, which is dedicated to the rescue and health of people displaced by the civil war.

The headquarters of the MRCS were opened on Strand Road in Yangon under the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League government and remain there to this day.

Myanmar Red Cross member Sai Aung Hlaing Myint was the first person to win the Henry Dunant Medal in Southeast Asia in 1977. He was awarded the medal for rescuing a solider from an icy Irrawaddy River in Kachin State.

To date Myanmar also has four winners of the Florence Nightingale Medal awarded by the ICRC. Chief Nurse Major Khin Ohn Mya was awarded the medal in 1963 for treating Myanmar troops wounded in World War II. Nursing officer Daw M Yaw Nam was awarded the medal in 1993 for treating soldiers wounded in northern Shan State.

Midwife Daw Thein Yi was presented the medal in 2001 for rescuing a child from a burning house. Nurse Sa Naing Naing Tun received the award in 2015 for his efforts to help rebuild the devastated Irrawaddy Delta after Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

The post Myanmar Red Cross Society Turns 82 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Seven Killed in China Plant Explosion; Second Deadly Blast This Month

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 09:42 PM PDT

BEIJING — A plant explosion in China’s Jiangsu Province killed seven people on Sunday, authorities said, the second deadly blast in the province this month as Beijing begins a nationwide industrial safety inspection campaign.

The blast involved a container of scrap metal that exploded in the outdoor yard of a metal-molding plant in a bonded area in the city of Kunshan, causing the plant to catch fire, the local government said on its official Weibo account on Sunday.

“The cause of the incident is being investigated,” it said. Five people were also injured, one severely, in the blast.

Plant owner Kunshan Waffer Technology Corp Ltd, a Taiwan-based maker of magnesium alloy injection molding products and aluminum alloy die castings, said the incident would reduce the company’s April revenue by about 40-50 percent.

The firm said it could not tell when production would be resumed in the plant in Kunshan.

Shares in the company dropped more than nine percent on Monday morning.

The company was fined last May by the Kunshan environmental protection bureau for violating water pollution rules, according to state-owned newspaper the Beijing News.

Kunshan, about 70 km west of Shanghai, is home to more than 1,000 technology companies and manufacturers, including many Taiwanese firms.

Sunday’s incident follows a deadly blast on March 21 at a chemical park in the city of Yancheng, also in Jiangsu Province, that killed 78 people and focused attention on safety at small chemical firms.

Beijing said last week it will launch a month-long, nationwide inspection campaign into hazardous chemicals, mines, transportation and fire safety, adding that authorities needed to absorb lessons from the Yancheng disaster.

The country has a history of major work safety accidents, which often trigger inspection campaigns aimed at rooting out violations and punishing officials for cutting corners or failing their supervisory duties.

China has clamped down on scrap metal imports as part of an environmental campaign against “foreign garbage,” tightening supply sources for metal producers, as it aims to cut solid waste imports by the end of 2020.

The post Seven Killed in China Plant Explosion; Second Deadly Blast This Month appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Brunei Defends Tough New Islamic Laws Against Growing Backlash

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 09:32 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR—Brunei has defended its right to implement Islamic laws that would allow death by stoning for adultery and homosexuality against growing global criticism.

Brunei, a Muslim-majority former British protectorate with a population of around 400,000, will implement the Sharia laws from April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with the death penalty, including by stoning, and theft with amputation.

The laws, elements of which were first adopted in 2014 and which have been rolled out in phases since then, will be fully implemented from next week, the prime minister’s office said in a statement on Saturday.

“The (Sharia) Law, apart from criminalizing and deterring acts that are against the teachings of Islam, also aims to educate, respect and protect the legitimate rights of all individuals, society or nationality of any faiths and race,” the statement said.

Some aspects of the laws will apply to non-Muslims.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, is the world’s second-longest reigning monarch and is prime minister of the oil-rich country. He ranks as one of the world’s wealthiest people.

Brunei, which neighbors two Malaysian states on Borneo island, already enforces Islamic teachings more strictly than Malaysia and Indonesia, the other majority Muslim countries in southeast Asia. The sale of alcohol is banned and evangelism by other religions is forbidden.

The country does not hold elections, but any discontent is assuaged with generous government polices including zero taxes, subsidized housing, and free healthcare and education.

The expected implementation of the strict Islamic laws has drawn widespread criticism. Politicians in Europe and the United States have attacked the plans and raised concerns with Brunei.

“Stoning people to death for homosexuality or adultery is appalling and immoral,” former U.S. vice president Joe Biden said in a Twitter post on Friday. “There is no excuse — not culture, not tradition — for this kind of hate and inhumanity.”

Oscar-winning actor George Clooney has called for a boycott of luxury hotels owned by The Brunei Investment Company, such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Dorchester in London and the Plaza Athenee in Paris.

The post Brunei Defends Tough New Islamic Laws Against Growing Backlash appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thai Activists Protest Against Commission After Chaotic Poll

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 09:10 PM PDT

BANGKOK—More than 100 opposition activists protested in central Bangkok on Sunday, accusing the election commission of delaying and manipulating the results of the first polls since a 2014 coup.

A week after the March 24 vote, the outcome of Thailand’s national election remains uncertain and might not be known until after the commission publishes official results due on May 9.

The body released partial results the night of the vote, and took four more days to publish fuller counts, showing a party supporting the ruling military junta winning the popular vote but the opposition Pheu Thai party ahead in partial results of House of Representatives seats.

Both the Palang Pracharat Party — which seeks to keep junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha in office — and an anti-junta “democratic front” of seven parties, led by Pheu Thai, have claimed a mandate to form the next government.

“Get out! Stop cheating! Respect the people!” chanted the protesters close to the city’s Victory Monument.

They urged bystanders to add to the 830,000 signatures on an online petition to impeach the commission. The commission has declined to comment on criticism of its handling of the results.

The post-election standoff could raise tensions just as the Southeast Asian country prepares for the elaborate coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn in May.

On Saturday, the king issued an order revoking royal decorations that had been awarded to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in an earlier 2006 army coup and is linked to the Pheu Thai party.

The move could hurt the standing of Thaksin and the affiliated party in the eyes of many Thais, because the monarchy is revered without question in Thai culture.

Thaksin-linked parties have won every election since 2001. The 2014 coup ousted a Pheu Thai-led government that had Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, as prime minister.

The post Thai Activists Protest Against Commission After Chaotic Poll appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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