The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Scheduled Power Outages for Myanmar’s Major Cities
- Myitsone Dam Flashback
- Yangon Region Gov’t, HK-Taiwan Consortium Ink Industrial Zone Deal
- Dhaka Jails Myanmar Nationals Linked to 2014 Blast in Burdwan, India
- 2 Child Victims of Mine Explosion in ‘Contaminated’ Shan State
- ISIS a Threat to N. Rakhine: Gov’t Spokesperson
- The Day Myanmar Lost Its Most Renowned Anyeint Dancer
- The Day Myanmar’s Last Feudal Rulers Gave up Their Power
- Sri Lanka Raids Headquarters of Hardline Islamist Group Suspected in Church Bombings
- More Than 270 Died From Overwork-Related Illnesses in Indonesia Elections
- Thailand Rehearses Elaborate $31M Coronation for King
| Scheduled Power Outages for Myanmar’s Major Cities Posted: 29 Apr 2019 04:43 AM PDT MANDALAY—The electricity supply boards in Yangon and Mandalay have told the public to prepare for reduced power distribution rates and major power outages due to a reduction in rates of electricity being generated by hydropower stations. The Mandalay Electricity Supply Corporation (MESC) announced on Sunday that it will cut power to different districts of Mandalay in rotational shifts during which the blackouts will last one hour or more at a time. "As the power demand is rising in summer [as well as] a lower power supply, the corporation plans to reduce power distribution," said the MESC announcement. All six townships in urban Mandalay will experience blackouts for one to two hours daily, and the industrial zone located at the outskirts of the city will experience blackouts in the late evening. As the scorching summer temperatures have led to reduced water levels in the hydropower dams, electricity production has declined. Meanwhile, power consumption is rising as people need more electricity to cool their homes and workplaces. "The water levels at the main hydropower dams have dropped to 14 feet (4.3 meters) so power production is declining and we have to reduce the power load," said U Zarni Aung, Mandalay Region's minister of electricity and construction. According to the ministry's figures, the overall power production from gas turbines and hydropower dams combined is 3,600 megawatts per day, while the demand is currently over 3,800 megawatts. Gas turbines across the country produce about 1,460 megawatts per day, while the hydropower dams produce 2,000 megawatts per day. Meanwhile, the Yangon Electricity Supply Cooperation (YESC) has also announced that power supply shortages could cause blackouts in the city during peak hours—between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The YESC also stated that the power supply from hydropower dams and natural gas power plants are reducing and plants in Yangon are currently using diesel to generate electricity in an attempt to meet the city's power needs. The total power consumption in Mandalay Region is over 600 megawatts per day and in Yangon Region, 1,548 megawatts. The post Scheduled Power Outages for Myanmar's Major Cities appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 29 Apr 2019 04:06 AM PDT YANGON—Had its original construction schedule not been derailed by controversy and public condemnation, leading to its suspension in 2011, the Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam hydropower project near the source of the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State would be operational by now as scheduled. It has been eight years since the suspension. Currently, the project site on the bank of the river is mostly deserted. When it was launched on Dec. 21, 2009, the Myanmar Investment Commission estimated total investment in Myitsone Dam would amount to US$4.3 billion (6.54 trillion kyats). The project was in the middle of construction when it was halted in September 2011. Before the suspension, resettlement at the dam site was finished, and site formation, water supply, electricity and transportation facilities had commenced, according to its Chinese developer, State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), which was known as China Power Investment (CPI) until 2015. Despite recent pressure from China to resume the dam's construction, anti-dam sentiment is still on the rise among the public. Recently, prominent civil society leaders, environmentalists, writers and artists announced that they would launch a one-dollar campaign to collect money from the public to compensate China in exchange for scrapping the project. The campaign clearly reflects how unpopular the project is among Myanmar people. They don't like it because the project near the confluence of the Maykha and Malikha rivers, which gives rise to the Irrawaddy River, would destroy the country's lifeline waterway, which runs through the country from north to south before emptying into the Andaman Sea. For Myanmar people, the river is the source of their identity because the Irrawaddy valley is the cradle of Myanmar civilization. Furthermore, they fear the dam would disrupt the flow of sediment along river, harming agricultural livelihoods. Plus, the dam site is reportedly seismically unstable; a collapse would have the potential to flood an area twice the size of Singapore. It's interesting to note how such a controversial mega project came into existence. The following is a brief flashback summarizing the development of the Myitsone Dam issue and identifying those involved in the project's inception at a time when Myanmar was under military rule. Beginnings It all started with the Ministry of Electrical Power's hydropower project master plan for the upstream Irrawaddy River basin in Kachin State in late 2005. The plan was initially developed with Yunnan Machinery (Equipment) Export & Import Company (YMEC) and Kunming Hydropower Institute of Design. The plan was scrapped when the ministry was reformed in May of the following year as the Ministry of Electric Power-1 (MOEP-1) for generating electrical power and the Ministry of Electric Power-2 for distribution. Enter the CPI On Oct. 29, 2006, Myanmar's then prime minister, the late General Soe Win, left for Nanning, the capital of Guangxi autonomous region in southern China. The visit came three years after he oversaw the bloody attack on then opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's motorcade in Depayin in upper Myanmar in May 2003, shortly before he assumed the prime minister position. The purpose of the China trip was to attend the Third China-Asean Exposition (CAEXPO) and Summit. Among those he met during a series of meetings in Nanning were officials from China Power Investment (CPI). On Oct. 31, the prime minister officially invited CPI on behalf of the Myanmar government to invest in and develop hydropower projects along major rivers including the Irrawaddy and the Chindwin. After careful consideration, the CPI decided to accept the Myanmar government's invitation to develop hydropower projects in the upstream Irrawaddy River basin, according to the Chinese company.
 Two months later, on Dec. 28, a CPI delegation led by its vice president, Shi Chengliang, arrived at the office of Electric Power-1 Minister Colonel Zaw Min in Naypyitaw. Among them was CPI's local partner, U.S. sanctions-listed Stephen Law, aka U Htun Myint Naing, managing director of Asia World Company (AWC). He is the son of the late drug lord Lo Hsing Han. The purpose of the visit was to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MOEP-1 and CPI for the Maykha-Malikha Water Resources Development and Ayeyawaddy (Irrawaddy) Confluence Hydropower Project. Hydro Power Implementation Department director general U Aung Koe Shwe and the vice president of CPI's Department of Planning and Development, Wang Xian Chun, signed the MoU and exchanged documents. State-run newspapers at the time reported that the department and CPI would build a 2,000-MW hydropower project at Chipwe on the Maykha River and a 3,600-MW project near the confluence of the two rivers that form the Irrawaddy River. Eight Projects On April 30, 2007, a groundbreaking ceremony for another project, the 65MW Chipwe Nge hydropower project, was held. According to the government's announcement, the project aimed to provide electricity for seven other projects slated for the Maykha and Malikha rivers near Myitsone. The ceremony was attended by CPI vice president Shi and then Northern Command chief Lieutenant-General Ohn Myint, AWC's Htun Myint Naing and others. In 2011, when military junta chief Snr-Gen. Than Shwe ceded power to a quasi-civilian government led by his subordinates, U Ohn Myint became minister for livestock, fisheries and rural development. As minister he was widely known by his nickname "Slapping Ohn Myint" for a physical threat to the public he made during his tenure, saying, "I can go around and slap anyone's face… if they insult or oppose the government." A few days later on May 6, a site management office for the Myitsone and Chipwe projects opened in the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina. Environmental Impact Assessment According to International Rivers, CPI funded and commissioned China's Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design and Research (CISPDR) to conduct the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) with Myanmar experts from the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) in the project areas. On Dec. 24, 2008, BANCA and CPI signed an agreement to conduct an EIA. From January to July 2009, Myanmar and Chinese experts conducted the study on the upper Irrawaddy. The report was finalized in October of that year, but BANCA chairman Dr. Htin Hla said BANCA's environmental baseline assessment report and the broader EIA could not be regarded as a perfect observation document because the study was forced to conclude within five months instead of seven due to time constraints faced by the Chinese experts. CPI did not wait for the EIA to be finalized before commencing construction and resettlement. Construction began in December 2009, three months before the final EIA was reportedly made available to CPI from CISPDR in March 2010. International Rivers said parts of the EIA are contradictory to BANCA's findings. MoA Signed in China In March 2009, the Myanmar and Chinese governments reached a framework agreement on hydropower cooperation. According to CPI's Myanmar subsidiary Upstream Ayeyawaddy Confluence Basin Hydropower Co., Ltd (ACHC), both parties expressly supported the CPI's investment and development in the projects.  In June, Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Vice Chairman cum deputy military chief Vice Senior General Maung Aye and his wife headed to Beijing for a goodwill visit at the invitation of then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. SPDC Secretary-1 General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, Major General Min Aung Hlaing (now the military commander-in-chief) and MOEP-1 Minister Colonel Zaw Min and others joined the delegation. Snr-Gen Maung Aye met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. On June 16, after their evening meeting in the Eastern Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Snr-Gen Maung Aye and Xi oversaw the signing of two memorandums of agreement (MoAs) and one MoU between Myanmar and China. One of the MoAs concerned hydropower projects in Kachin State. Myanmar Ambassador U Thein Lwin and CPI president Lu Qizhou signed the MoA on behalf of the Department of Hydropower Implementation and CPI for the development, operation and transfer of hydropower projects on Maykha, Malika and Myitsone. Myitsone Project Launched In December 2009, the Myanmar government, CPI Yunnan International Power Investment Co., Ltd. (CPIYN) and Asia World Co., Ltd. entered a joint venture agreement (JVA) on the development of Myitsone Dam Project or Myitsone Hydropower Project. Officials of the two states witnessed the signing of major agreements. Xi paid a one-day visit to Naypyitaw on Dec. 20. During the trip he met with the military junta's Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye. Sixteen MoAs, including one for the Kyaukphyu-Yunnan crude oil pipeline project, were signed on the same day in the presence of Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye and Xi.  Right after Xi's visit, on the next day, Dec. 21, the Myitsone Dam project was launched at the project site, 4.3 miles downstream of the Irrawaddy confluence. Northern Commander Major-General Soe Win, MOEP-1 Minister Colonel Zaw Min, CPI President Lu Qizhou, Yunnan Province Vice Governor Zong Hua and others were present. According to CPI's Myanmar subsidiary Upstream Ayeyawaddy Confluence Basin Hydropower Co., Ltd (ACHA), Myitsone Dam is a 139.5-m high concrete face rock-fill dam with an installed capacity of 6,000 MW—more than 2,000 MW larger than the figure Myanmar announced in 2007. Myanmar would have free use of up to 10 percent of the electricity generated. The franchise period of the project is 50 years, raising concerns among the public that China is taking a heavy-handed approach, as most joint venture projects in the country have a period of 30 years.  ACHC, a joint venture established by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE), SPIC Yunnan International Power Investment Co., Ltd. (SPICYN) and Asia World Company (AWC), was registered in Naypyitaw on June 18, 2010. According to ACHC, the shareholding ratio between MOEE, SPICYN and AWC is 15, 80 and 5 percent, respectively. Apart from Myitsone Dam on the Irrawaddy River, the company plans to construct seven other hydropower dam projects: Chipwi, Wutsok, Hpizaw, Kawnglanghpu, Renam and Chipwi Nge on the upper reaches of the Maykha River, and Laza on the Malikha River. The total planned installation capacity is about 21,600 MW with a total investment of more than $25 billion. Out of the slated eight projects, only Chipwi Nge has been completed so far and is generating electricity. Most of the rest are in the initial stages and suspended due to public criticism as well as armed conflicts between local ethnic armed groups and government troops in their areas.
 Criticism and Suspension On January 24, 2011, then Prime Minister U Thein Sein visited the Myitsone Dam site to inspect the progress of the dam, which was 8.5 percent complete. From its inception, the project had been never been popular among local Kachin. The following month saw anti-dam sentiment spread across the country and abroad. To counter the criticism, the MOEP-1 minister, ex-Col. Zaw Min—under the pseudonyms "Staff Member of MEPE" and "Kyaw Min Lu"—penned two articles on Aug. 9 and 10 in state-run newspapers, saying, "I wish they would view the Myitsone Dam reasonably." The next day, Aug. 11, an appeal letter from then opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urging that the Irrawaddy River be spared kicked the anti-dam movement into high gear. Writing in a private capacity, she asked that more thought and study be put into the project before authorities proceeded with it. "While recognizing that large sums of money have already been spent on the realization of the project, 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," Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said. Exactly one month later, in September, the minister told the media during a press conference that the Myitsone Dam project "wouldn't be given up for all the criticism" because it was needed for electricity. When asked about the dam's negative impact on the environment and residents, the one-time colonel retorted: "We need to think which is bigger, the damage to the environment or benefits to our country. We are implementing this project because the benefits are bigger than the anticipated damage to the environment." On Sept. 17, the Myanmar government hosted a workshop in Naypyitaw to discuss the impact of hydropower projects on the Irrawaddy River, with ministers, NGOs and Chinese investment interests represented. The workshop turned into heated argument as the attendees differed on the pros and cons of the project. At the workshop, Minister for Industry-1 and Industry-2 ex-vice admiral Soe Thane, who was also Myanmar's Industrial Development Committee chairman and President U Thein Sein's aide at the time, favored other upstream dam projects over Myitsone. He later wrote in "Myanmar's Transformation & U Thein Sein: An Insider Account" that he had known that instead of Myitsone, U Thein Sein preferred other hydropower projects upstream, and was in favor of replacing Myitsone's 6,000 MW with projects totaling 4,000 MW, thereby reducing the area to be flooded. On Sept. 30, President Thein Sein announced the suspension of the Myitsone Dam "in the time of our government", citing the adverse ecological consequences, hydrological risks, the displacement of up to 20,000 people, and the loss of their livelihoods. However, he said later, other dams upstream would continue, as Myanmar was "not failing to honor what one friend should do for another."  The suspension announcement caught China off guard. CPI President Lu Qizhou told China Daily that the Myanmar side never communicated with them in any way about the suspension. Lu said the president’s decision was "very bewildering" because U Thein Sein himself had urged CPI to accelerate work on the dam when he inspected it in January as the military's then prime minister. He warned that a complete halt to construction would "lead to a series of legal issues" because the two countries had already secured loans to pay for $20 billion worth of hydropower projects in Kachin State. However, Beijing's recent efforts to revive the dam have fueled negative sentiment among the Myanmar public. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government hasn't made public its view on whether the dam should be resumed or terminated. But recent remarks by the State Counselor suggesting that governments ought to respect the deals made by their predecessors have raised public concerns that the dam project is back on track. Unfulfilled Promise While on the campaign trail on Oct. 2, 2015 in Myitkyina, Kachin State, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told prospective voters that the first thing the NLD would do if it was elected would be to make public the deal between the government and the Chinese firm on the dam. Now, after more than three years in office, her government has yet to publish the contract. Instead, she formed a 20-member commission tasked with evaluating hydropower projects on the Irrawaddy River on Aug. 12, 2016. The commission has produced two reports to date, but the government has yet to make either of them public. After a few years in the wilderness, the Myitsone Dam issue sparked public concerns again this year after Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang's claim, following a visit to Kachin State in late December in 2018, that the Kachin people were not opposed to the dam's resumption. It prompted a series of protests in major cities calling for the project to be scrapped. On the other hand, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government hasn't made public its view on whether the dam should be resumed or terminated.  Adding to the public's concerns, the State Counselor suggested in Pyay on March 14 that governments ought to respect the deals made by their predecessors, causing worries that the dam project is back on track. When Daw Aung San Suu Kyi left for Beijing on April 24 to attend the 2nd Belt and Road Summit, many at home believed that Myitsone would be on the agenda during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the same day.  However, Myanmar President's Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay told The Irrawaddy on April 26 that the issue was not discussed during the trip. "We won't do any secret dealings [about the dam]. There will be transparency and we will let the public know how we will deal with it," he said. The post Myitsone Dam Flashback appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Yangon Region Gov’t, HK-Taiwan Consortium Ink Industrial Zone Deal Posted: 29 Apr 2019 04:01 AM PDT YANGON—The Yangon regional government will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a consortium of Hong Kong and Taiwan companies next month to develop an international-standard industrial zone in Htantabin Township in the west of the commercial capital. Worth an estimated US$500 million (761.2 billion kyats) the Htantabin Industrial Zone will be implemented on more than 1,000 acres and is expected to create more than 150,000 job opportunities, said Naw Pan Thinzar Myo, Yangon Region Karen ethnic affairs minister, at a press conference on Friday. The regional government and the Hong Kong-Taiwan consortium, Golden Myanmar Investment Co., are scheduled to sign the MoU at the 2nd Yangon Investment Fair on May 10, which will showcase about 80 projects across Yangon Region in an effort to drum up local and foreign investment. It is expected to take about nine years to fully implement the Htantabin Industrial Zone. The MoU is the first to be implemented among 11 industrial zones planned by the Yangon regional government in undeveloped areas on the outskirts of Yangon.  At the country's first Investment Fair in late January, the Yangon government showcased planned international-standard industrial zones in 11 townships: Kungyangon, Kawhmu, Twantay, Thingyan, Kyauktan, Khayan, Thongwa, Taikkyi, Hmawbi, Hlegu and Htantabin. The government hopes the zones will boost development and job opportunities for local people and reduce overcrowding and traffic congestion in the metropolitan area. Naw Pan Thinzar Myo said, "Many investors are interested in the industrial zones. Many of them are still in the process of complying with rules and regulations. They are not yet ready to sign an MoU." The regional government also plans to invite investment in the hotel and tourism; digital economy; real estate; and industrial sectors at the 2nd Yangon Investment Fair. According to the Myanmar Investment Commission, Yangon Region received 77 percent of the country's total foreign investment last year. The top investors were China, Hong Kong and South Korea. The post Yangon Region Gov't, HK-Taiwan Consortium Ink Industrial Zone Deal appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Dhaka Jails Myanmar Nationals Linked to 2014 Blast in Burdwan, India Posted: 29 Apr 2019 03:42 AM PDT DHAKA—A special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced three Myanmar nationals linked to a 2014 blast in Burdwan, India to 10 years' imprisonment each for their roles in carrying explosives on Sunday. Special Tribunal-4 Judge Muhammed Rabiul Alam announced the verdict to a packed courtroom in the presence of two of the three convicts. The tribunal also fined the men—Muhammed Nur Hossain, 30, and Yasir Arafat, 26, who were on the dock and Omar Karim, 29, who is on the run after securing bail—10,000 Bangladeshi Taka (US$119) each. According to investigators all three had previously been residents of Rakhine State. "They were Myanmar nationals and linked with an international extremist group," said Muhammad Salahuddin Howlader, assistant public prosecutor at the Dhaka court. He said the convicts had no lawyers but the state engaged state defense for them. No state defense was present during the verdict announcement. According to a First Information Report filed by police at the Lalbagh Police Station in Dhaka on Dec. 1, 2014, Nur Hossain, Yasir Arafat and Omar were arrested the the Lalbagh area for being found with explosives during a raid carried out by the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Nov. 30, 2014. A number of others who avoided arrest during the raid were not named in the charges as their whereabouts remain unknown. Police investigators said in the report that the men were active members of an extremist group and suspected that they had tried to commit sabotage in Bangladesh. The Detective Branch's bomb disposal unit sub-inspector SM Raisul Islam stated in the report that they learnt the three arrested had "links to the recent Burdwan explosion [in India]." The arrests were made two months after an explosion in a house in the Khagragarh area of Burdwan in India on Oct. 2, 2014 which left two suspected extremists killed and another injured. The Indian police seized 55 improvised explosive devices, organic explosive compound RDX, wrist watch dials and SIM cards at the scene. Detective Branch investigator Abdul Kader Mia submitted charges against the three accused on March 3, 2015 and charges were formally pressed on July 12, 2015. The court examined nine of the 18 prosecution witnesses before completing concluding the case on April 9 this year. All witnesses were members of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. The post Dhaka Jails Myanmar Nationals Linked to 2014 Blast in Burdwan, India appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| 2 Child Victims of Mine Explosion in ‘Contaminated’ Shan State Posted: 29 Apr 2019 03:30 AM PDT Two children were killed and eight others wounded in a bomb blast in Mong Pan Village, Namkhan Township in northern Shan State on Friday, according to local sources. A two-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy were the victims of a bomb blast which occurred at 6:30 p.m. according to members of the Ta’ang Students and Youth Union (TSYU), an organization which provided assistance to the families affected and transported them to the hospital in Namkham. "After we heard the bomb blast, people saw two children had died on the spot and another eight were wounded," Lway Hlar Reang, TSYU's secretary, told The Irrawaddy on Monday. She said that the eight children suffered injuries to their bodies, including to their heads, torsos, feet, and fingers. According to TSYU, the six boys and two girls who received injuries were under the age of eight years old and were playing together in the village after returning from the fields with their families. TSYU said though the area has been largely peaceful in recent years, there was an outbreak of fighting between government and TNLA troops there last year and that an unexploded device may have been left near the village during the skirmish. "They (the TNLA and Myanmar Army) did not fight in the village, but they both were based outside the village while they fought each other," said Lway Hlar Reng. The children often played in the area at a pile of used car tires in front of a house in the village, but the families of the victims said a bomb had never exploded there before. Landmines and other explosive devices often detonate in the areas which have seen armed conflict between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State, often resulting in injuries and deaths among innocent local civilians. On International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action which fell on April 4, UNICEF reported that landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) from decades of armed conflict across Myanmar continue to threaten the lives of children and their families every day in nine out the 14 states and regions which are known to be "contaminated." The report shows that in 2016 and 2017 combined, 337 casualties were reported, with conflict-stricken States such as Kachin and Shan topping the list. Out of every four casualties, at least one child was injured, and one in four accidents resulted in death. "Even though we know that many incidents still go unreported, every second day an accident caused by a landmine happens in Myanmar. Sadly, children and women bear the brunt," said June Kunugi, UNICEF's representative to Myanmar, noting that 43% of those harmed in 2017 alone were women and children. The post 2 Child Victims of Mine Explosion in 'Contaminated' Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ISIS a Threat to N. Rakhine: Gov’t Spokesperson Posted: 29 Apr 2019 01:31 AM PDT NAYPYITAW—The director general of Myanmar's President's Office U Zaw Htay has said that Myanmar has been a target of the Islamist militant group ISIS since 2012 when the group shifted its focus to northern Rakhine State after losing its footholds in Syria and Iraq. "ISIS mainly nurtured home-grown cells. The terrorists who entered from outside linked and worked with radical elements inside the country, as in the case of Sri Lanka," U Zaw Htay told reporters. Malaysia Police Chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun has also claimed that ISIS is believed to be shifting its focus to southern Philippines and Myanmar's Rakhine State for terrorism. The police chief made his statement after ISIS claimed responsibility for a string of bombings in churches and hotels on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka that killed 253 people. "Indonesia has warned us [of terrorist attacks] several times as it carries out counter-terrorism as a priority," said U Zaw Htay. While Myanmar's government, the military (or Tatmadaw) and security organizations have prioritized preparations against terrorist threats, they are at the same time working to address radicalism inside the country, he said. Many youth refugees, who had to flee Rakhine State for Bangladesh following counter-insurgency operations in the north of the state in 2017 and still can't return to Rakhine, will harbor grievances as time passes, making it easier for ISIS extremists to rally their support, said Rakhine affairs analyst U Maung Maung Soe. "I think they will choose to launch suicide bomb attacks like in Sri Lanka rather than establish an ISIS army like in Syria. Therefore, there are reasons that they may use northern Rakhine State to build a foothold," U Maung Maung Soe told The Irrawaddy. An ISIS involvement would be another blow to troubled Rakhine State which is suffering due to clashes between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) while it is also under international pressure, said U Pe Than who is a central executive committee member of the Arakan National Party (ANP). "The situation will get worse if religious extremists launch suicide attacks. There are fierce ongoing clashes with the AA, and under such circumstances, if ARSA [the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army] entered [Rakhine], it would be quite difficult to restore stability," said U Pe Than. He suggested that the government makes peace with the AA, which is representing an ethnic group of Myanmar, the Rakhine. "If the AA is allowed to be based [in Rakhine] as a border guard or as part of a peace agreement, it will be difficult for ARSA to enter. It is impossible for ARSA to enter if Arakanese (Rakhine) people oppose it," he added. Nearly 300 local civil society organizations in Rakhine released a joint statement on Tuesday calling for dialogue to be used to solve problems between the two sides, rather than using military means. According to their statements, 66 camps have been opened in Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Minbya townships for over 34,000 locals displaced by clashes. At a high-level meeting between Myanmar's border guard forces and Bangladesh officials held in Naypyitaw on April 9, the two sides agreed to cooperate in crushing the AA and ARSA. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post ISIS a Threat to N. Rakhine: Gov't Spokesperson appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| The Day Myanmar Lost Its Most Renowned Anyeint Dancer Posted: 28 Apr 2019 10:24 PM PDT On this day in 1945, one of the most celebrated Anyeint dancers in Myanmar's history, Liberty Ma Mya Yin, passed away. She was the most famous dancer of the pre-World War II period, and was popular not only among ordinary people but also among the ruling elite, including the governor. In the past it was customary for Myanmar communities to include Anyeint performances in ceremonial occasions such as novitiations. Liberty Ma Mya Yin was so popular that partial payment had to be made one year in advance to book her Anyeint troupe. She was usually fully booked for the whole year and it was even said that donors could not choose the dates for their donation ceremonies, but had to organize them on the days when she was free. Her fans included prominent figures of the colonial period such as colonial Burma's only local governor, Sir J. A. Maung Gyi; police chief U Tun Hla Aung; and ICS U Chan Than, the Yangon Mayor.
Liberty Ma Mya Yin was imbued with both beauty and a fine voice. Her dancing and singing styles were distinct from her contemporaries, which her fans found captivating. While there were no loudspeakers in her time, her voice could be clearly heard in open theaters housing audiences of more than 2,000 people. Though she had to sing daily, she never lost voice. She later found success as a recording artist, putting out gramophone records. Unlike some female Anyeint dancers, Liberty Ma Mya Yin was admired for not pandering to male patrons by performing seductive dances. Her original name was Ma Mya Yin; she was dubbed "Liberty" by her fans among college students who were advocating independence. She died in 1945 of malaria, which she contracted while she fleeing the fighting during World War II. She was 42, and had worked as a dancer for 26 years The post The Day Myanmar Lost Its Most Renowned Anyeint Dancer appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| The Day Myanmar’s Last Feudal Rulers Gave up Their Power Posted: 28 Apr 2019 10:08 PM PDT On this day in 1959, the saophas, the local rulers of Shan State, relinquished their titles and feudal powers, finally bringing to an end the last remaining feudal system in Myanmar. The saophas gave up their hereditary rights in a ceremony in Taunggyi on April 29, 1959. The event was attended by President Mahn Win Maung and Prime Minister General Ne Win. Saophas of all 34 prefectures in Shan State relinquished their titles in exchange for a total of over 25 million kyats in compensation. After the British annexed the whole of Myanmar, the colonial government separately ruled Shan State, which was made up of nominally sovereign entities, each ruled by a local monarch, but administered by a single British commissioner. The feudal system was maintained in Shan State throughout British rule, though different administrative systems were introduced in other parts of Myanmar. The 1947 Constitution, which was drafted to regain independence from the British, also reserved seats for Shan saophas in the Chamber of Nationalities of Myanmar's bicameral Union Parliament, effectively enabling them to retain certain powers.  Though the majority of ordinary Shan people opposed maintaining the monarchy in Shan State after Myanmar regained independence in 1948, the government of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League led by U Nu ignored the anti-monarchy movement, not wanting to lose the support of the saophas by abolishing the feudal system. However, Gen. Ne Win, who staged a military coup and formed a caretaker government, finally stripped the saophas of their feudal powers in 1959. "If you wish to retain your powers, both political and administrative problems will arise in Shan State and the Union," U Ne Win told the saophas at the event on April 29, 1959, according to a book providing a brief history of Shan State and biographies of the saophas published by the Information Ministry in 1959. The post The Day Myanmar's Last Feudal Rulers Gave up Their Power appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Sri Lanka Raids Headquarters of Hardline Islamist Group Suspected in Church Bombings Posted: 28 Apr 2019 09:48 PM PDT COLOMBO/KATTANKUDY, Sri Lanka—Sri Lankan police raided the headquarters of a hardline Islamist group founded by the suspected ringleader behind the Easter suicide bombings of churches and hotels, a Reuters witness said, as Sunday mass was cancelled due to fears of further attacks. Armed police in the town of Kattankudy searched the headquarters of the National Thawheedh Jamaath (NTJ) and detained one man at the premises, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. Police did not comment. On Saturday the government banned the NTJ under new emergency laws. The authorities believe Zahran Hashim, the founder of NTJ, masterminded and was one of the nine suicide bombers in the attacks on Easter Sunday which killed 253 people. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. Police suspect the bombings were carried out by two local Islamist groups, including the one established by Zahran. Around 10,000 soldiers have been deployed around the island as the authorities hunt for more suspects. Police sources told Reuters on Sunday that Zahran’s father and two brothers had been killed two days earlier in a gun battle with security forces. A relative identified the three men in a video circulating on social media calling for war against non-Muslims. The Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Ranjith, who had asked churches to suspend Sunday mass due to security fears, delivered a televised special sermon from a chapel at his home. The service was attended by President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The archbishop said earlier this week that he had seen an internal security document warning of further attacks on churches. “We cannot kill someone in the name of God … It is a great tragedy that happened,” the archbishop said in his sermon. “We extend our hand of friendship and fraternity to all our brothers and sisters of whatever class, society or religion that differentiates us.” The archbishop and political leaders then lit candles to commemorate the victims. Most of those killed in the Easter Sunday attacks were Sri Lankans. The dead also included 40 foreigners, including British, U.S., Australian, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese nationals. Police believe that radical Muslim preacher Zahran led the NTJ—or a splinter faction—to mount the attacks in Colombo as well as on a church in Batticaloa in the east. The authorities have named the other group suspected of involvement as Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim. Neither group were well known before the attacks but the government has come under heavy criticism for not heeding intelligence warnings of the bombings, including one from India’s spy service hours before the attacks. On Friday, President Sirisena said the government led by premier Wickremesinghe should take responsibility for the attacks and that prior information warning of attacks was not shared with him. Gun battle More than 100 people, including foreigners from Syria and Egypt, have been detained for questioning for questioning over the Easter attacks. The Sri Lankan military said at least 15 people were killed during a fierce gun battle with Islamist militants on the east coast on Friday, including six children. In an apparent reference to the three men, Islamic State said on Sunday that three of its members had clashed with Sri Lankan police for several hours on Friday before detonating their explosive vests. It did not name them. The group’s news agency Amaq said 17 policemen were killed or injured in that battle. It did not give any evidence. Sri Lanka’s 22 million population is majority Buddhist and includes minority Christians, Muslims and Hindus. At the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo where one of the bombs went off last Sunday, Buddhist monks, some as young as 10 and senior clergy, performed rituals in a tribute to the victims. The post Sri Lanka Raids Headquarters of Hardline Islamist Group Suspected in Church Bombings appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| More Than 270 Died From Overwork-Related Illnesses in Indonesia Elections Posted: 28 Apr 2019 09:16 PM PDT JAKARTA—Ten days after Indonesia held the world’s biggest single-day elections, more than 270 election staff have died, mostly of fatigue-related illnesses caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand, an official said on Sunday. The April 17 elections were the first time the country of 260 million people combined the presidential vote with national and regional parliamentary ones, with an aim to cut costs. Voting was largely peaceful and was estimated to have drawn 80 percent of the total 193 million voters, who each had to punch up to five ballot papers in over 800,000 polling stations. But conducting the eight-hour vote in a country that stretches more than 5,000 km (3,000 miles) from its western to eastern tips proved to be both a Herculean logistical feat and deadly for officials, who had to count ballot papers by hand. As of Saturday night, 272 election officials had died, mostly from overwork-related illnesses, while 1,878 others had fallen ill, said Arief Priyo Susanto, spokesman of the General Elections Commission (KPU). The Health Ministry issued a circular letter on April 23 urging health facilities to give utmost care for sick election staff, while the Finance Ministry is working on compensation for families of the deceased, Susanto added. The KPU has come under fire due to the rising death toll. “The KPU is not prudent in managing the workload of staff,” said Ahmad Muzani, deputy chairman of the campaign of opposition presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, reported by news website Kumparan.com. Prabowo, who independent pollsters said was the loser of the 2019 polls based on quick counts, had alleged widespread cheating and his campaign claimed some officials punched ballots in favor of incumbent President Joko Widodo. Widodo’s security minister said the allegations were baseless. Both candidates have declared victory, though quick counts suggested Widodo won the election by around 9-10 percentage points. The KPU will conclude vote counting and announce winners of the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 22. The post More Than 270 Died From Overwork-Related Illnesses in Indonesia Elections appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Thailand Rehearses Elaborate $31M Coronation for King Posted: 28 Apr 2019 09:07 PM PDT BANGKOK—Forty roads were closed in Bangkok as a band and officers on horseback marched past the Grand Palace on Sunday in a dress rehearsal for the next weekend’s coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Thailand’s first in nearly seven decades. Vajiralongkorn, 66, also known by the title King Rama X, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne. His coronation follows a mourning period for Bhumibol, whose grand funeral was held a year after his death. The military-run government has set aside 1 billion baht ($31 million) for coronation ceremonies on May 4-6, about one-third of the cost of the funeral. The official coronation will be a mix of Buddhist religious ceremonies and Hindu Brahmin rituals. The king will be crowned on May 4, and the procession follows the next day. On May 6, declared a national holiday, he will meet Thai and foreign dignitaries. Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932, but the king is regarded as the spiritual protector of its people and culture. A revival in the monarchy’s popularity has been helped by a formidable public relations machine—the evening news in Thailand includes a daily segment dedicated to the royals. Thais have been invited to wear yellow—a color associated with the monarch and his late father—to show support for the king from April until his birthday in late July. The post Thailand Rehearses Elaborate $31M Coronation for King appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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