The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Yangon’s Best Brews and Views
- State Counsellor, Interfaith Leaders Offer Message of Unity and Understanding
- Amnesty Sends Positive Signals for Press Freedom, Reconciliation
- Four Detainees Admit to Being Arakan Army Members: Army
- Gov’t Weighs Legal Action against Monk for Speeches Attacking State Counselor
- Opposition to Myitsone Dam Will Be Outgoing Chinese Ambassador’s Chief Legacy
- INVESTIGATION—Missing wombs: The Health Scandal Enslaving Families in Rural India
- China Building First Modern, Full-Sized Aircraft Carrier
- Sand Mining ‘Mafias’ Destroying Environment, Livelihoods: UN
- A Renewable Vision for Myanmar
- The Day the Prime Minister of British Burma was Hanged
| Posted: 08 May 2019 08:19 AM PDT YANGON—Yangon is always busy. The city has the most active nightlife in the country, and the number of restaurants, bars and clubs that you can have a fun night out with your friends at while sipping your favorite drinks is growing day by day. But the best way to release your evening stress while soaking up that beautiful Yangon sunset is to enjoy yourself at a rooftop bar, where you can get fresh air and good vibes. 'The Irrawaddy' has picked the best selection of Yangon's rooftop bars, whether you're hanging out with friends or that special someone.  Vista Rooftop Bar Vista Bar is on Shwegondaing Road, offering a beautiful view of the sunset over glistening Shwedagon Pagoda. When night comes it can quickly become a full house, so if you want to avoid the crowd, sunset is the perfect time. The bar has acoustic music every Wednesday and Sunday evening, and there is also an indoor area with its own special view. Vista has a wide-ranging menu for both drinks and foods, but it can be pricey. They also offer 'shisha,' and some go just for that. The bar is open until 1 a.m.  Yankin Heights Rooftop Bar Yankin Heights Rooftop Bar, located at the center of Yankin Township, is a new-comer to Yangon's rooftop bar scene. The view from the bar is not very special—all you see at night is the Golden City Tower building—but all you need to do is just chill: chill with your friends and create a good vibe. The bar is affordable, with a big dink-and-food menu. It's also open for breakfast, and the bar closes at 10 p.m. They offer a daily happy hour with its own menu, too. Atlas Rooftop Bar   Atlas Rooftop bar is popular with both locals and foreigners alike. Named the "Best Nightlife Experience" in Yangon by Myanmore in 2017, this rooftop bar offers the best views at night, and there's a live band on Wednesdays and weekends. It's located on the 12th floor of the Uniteam Marine Building in Sanchaung Township. Hours are from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.  Cocoon Bar and Café While the nighttime view from Cocoon is stellar, the bar vibe retains the casual charm of a typical Myanmar beer station. They have good beers and a wide range of cocktails to choose from. When the football season comes, so do the fans—for matches viewed on large screens. So if you are a football lover, enjoy the match with a like-minded crowd. The prices are reasonable and the location is easy to access, at the corner of Shin Saw Pu and Baho Roads. The bar has happy hours and special promotions—just check their Facebook page before you go. They're open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. 369 Dine & Bar 369 Dine & Bar is located on the top floor of the Ibis Styles Yangon Hotel, on Laydaungkan Road in Thingangyun Township. This bar is pricey but their food is top-notch and they have a wide variety of drinks to choose from. 369 also hosts an acoustic music night every Wednesday, plus screenings of football matches and other sports. The bar is open from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.  The Penthouse The Penthouse is a popular, high-end rooftop bar and a foreigner favorite. It's located on the eighth floor of the Park Side One building in Sanchaung. The view from the bar is nothing special but their food and drinks are outstanding. They host frequent DJ events, which they always announce on their Facebook page. The Penthouse is open in the daytime as well, and you can visit for lunch or coffee. It's open from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Yangon Yangon Rooftop Bar Yangon Yangon Rooftop Bar is located on the top of the Sakura Tower in downtown Yangon, and it offers the most beautiful Yangon sunset scene and the best skyline views in the city. The bar can get windy but it provides a fantastic vibe. They also host acoustic music nights and DJ events, which you can find on their Facebook page. Warning: this bar is expensive. The cocktail and beer menu is broad, but they don't have much of a food selection. So: go for a drink and a view. There is a 5,000 Kyat entrance fee but it comes with a free drink. It's open from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.  Mr. Tony Rooftop Bar Mr. Tony is located on the top of the Hotel Vista Yangon in Sanchaung Township. This is the new bar in town, so both locals and foreigners are currently visiting often. The bar has acoustic and other music events every day. Prices are reasonable and the menu is big, but the food is nothing special. Try traditional Kachin liquor at the bar. Happy hour is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. everyday. The post Yangon's Best Brews and Views appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| State Counsellor, Interfaith Leaders Offer Message of Unity and Understanding Posted: 08 May 2019 07:33 AM PDT At a Naypyitaw advisory forum on national reconciliation and peace throughout Myanmar this week, the state counsellor and religious leaders of differing faiths urged people to respect one another's faith, in order to bring about a more peaceful society. The forum, organized by the group Religion for Peace-Myanmar (RfP), was the second part of an advisory forum held over two days, on May 7 and 8. Discussions focused on five key topics: access to education, women and youth empowerment, building unity among diverse ethnic groups, accepting the importance of differing faiths and the ongoing issues in Rakhine State. RfP-Myanmar advocates for peace in Myanmar and across the world; their first such advisory forum in Myanmar was held in November. The group also promotes youth participation, seeking to integrate young people's views through their exchanges for their Interfaith Youth Network, which they held in Yangon in March. "Religious intolerance has never originated in Myanmar," said venerable monk Dr. Dhammasami, also known as Oxford Sayadaw. “Myanmar was peaceful while other countries in the world had crusades.” Thus, he said, Myanmar today should not allow intolerance to infiltrate its society. "Myanmar people think positive, always, and we need to keep reinforcing this positive thinking. With mutual understanding, we can overcome the disputes that come from negative thinking, instead of [angry] reactions," Ashin Dhammasami told reporters in Nyapyitaw. While every religion teaches that respect and tolerance are the keys to peace, Buddhist-majority Myanmar continues to experience a number of communal conflicts sparked by differences of race and faith and—in Rakhine particularly—between Muslims and Buddhists. Whether conflicts in that state among the Rakhine and the Rohingya; the interethnic fighting in Shan State between different ethnic armed groups; or the latest conflict between the ethnic Arakan Army and the government forces, or Tatmadaw, people from different ethnic or religous backgrounds are expressing enormous amounts of hate against one another in Myanmar today. These hatreds spread quickly in the age of social media, and reducing the spread of hate speech is a problem that no one has yet been able to solve. In her opening remarks at the Forum on Tuesday, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also urged people to respect the country's different faiths. Myanmar hosts a diversity of ethnic groups with various religious beliefs, she said; a "mutual respect among the different races and religions" will "improve peaceful and stable livelihoods and…prevent religious conflict." In addition, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said there is a need "to help those affected by the conflicts to rehabilitate and to participate and cooperate in nation building." Myanmar has been trying to achieve peace and end the fighting between government forces and the various ethnic armed groups since its seven decades of civil war began in 1948, shortly after independence, and it's the same struggle that has now led Myanmar to its issues in Rakhine State, including the repatriation of some 700,000 Rohingya who've been forced to flee from their homes since August 2017. Religious leaders echoed the state counsellor's call for reconciliation, saying they firmly believe that they are the ones to counsel the laypersons. "Our society needs peace in this time, when hate speech is easily available. The religious leaders of different faiths have a responsibility to right the people," said Al Haj U Aye Lwin, the chief convener of the Islamic Center of Myanmar and one of the key peace advocates. The current lack of peace, he said, hinders the development of education and proper healthcare. Al Haj U Aye Lwin said the forum aimed to gather perspectives from people with different races, religious beliefs and thinking, and that the views expressed would be shared with those who can enact change at the national level. "We also do what we can to reduce the spread of hate speech and disinformation in our respective communities. This is a focus during our peace education trainings, which scrutinize disinformation," he told The Irrawaddy. His Eminence Cardinal Charles Bo of the Catholic Church and a patron of RfP-Myanmar said the group "vows to continue working to achieve peace." Leaders said RfP-Myanmar will continue holding talks and conducting peace-building awareness trainings, to build respect, understanding and tolerance in the society and to end hate speech. Another forum is planned for November, with an advocacy event highlighting unity and diversity to follow. The problems facing Myanmar "are created by humans, so we believe we can find the way to overcome these problems," said U Aye Lwin; that is why the religious leaders participate in such discussions. Religious leaders urged people to learn about their own religious belief and to learn about other faiths as well. "It would help protect from bad laypersons who want to use race, religion and faith for the wrong purposes," U Aye Lwin said. While the religious leaders focused their efforts on achieving peace and overcoming the conflict in Rakhine State, the government will also continue its task of accepting the return of Rakhine State’s displaced, currently sheltered in refugee camps in Bangladesh. In Yangon on Monday and Tuesday, the Implementation Committee on [the late] Kofi Anan Commission's Recommendations on Rakhine State held a workshop reviewing implementation plans. Dr. Win Myat Aye, committee chair and union minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that the government is trying its best for the returnees, but areas in northern Rakhine State are still facing armed conflict. The post State Counsellor, Interfaith Leaders Offer Message of Unity and Understanding appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Amnesty Sends Positive Signals for Press Freedom, Reconciliation Posted: 08 May 2019 06:22 AM PDT The release of the two jailed Reuters reporters is welcome news. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Western governments are among those who have applauded the announcement. The presidential pardons for Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, who were convicted of violating the Official Secrets Act and spent more than 500 days in prison, triggered a wave of rare optimism in Myanmar's still depressingly repressive society. Amid a generally bleak outlook and a series of joy-killing headlines of late, the news offers a glimmer of hope. We would like to believe that it is not a false hope; that, as many have touted, the sight of the reporters and several activists being freed yesterday is a small step on the long journey to press freedom. We can't give up. Ethnically diverse Myanmar is going through a deeply complex political transition with an elected civilian government now in power. We must acknowledge that the release of the two reporters and a number of members of ethnic armed organizations, along with several civilians accused of being affiliated with them, is a meaningful gesture. The international press has understandably focused on the release of the two Reuters reporters, but the EAO members' release sends an important signal for national reconciliation. So far, about 6,520 prisoners have been released in the third round of this year's presidential pardons, for which President U Win Myint—himself a former political prisoner—deserves full credit. The journalists' release was preceded by much back-and-forth negotiation and difficult dialogue between the ministries, the military and the President's Office as demands to free the two reporters increased both inside and outside the country. On Dec. 17, 2017, Army-appointed Vice President U Myint Swe, acting on behalf of Myanmar's civilian then-President U Htin Kyaw, signed a document authorizing the arrest of the two Reuters reporters. The government announced that the pair faced charges under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act for obtaining important secret papers. From that moment, the government came under steadily increasing pressure to release them. In Singapore last year, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence pressed State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi "multiple times" to pardon the two journalists, Reuters quoted White House officials as saying at the time. Upon the release of the two reporters, Lord Darzi, a member of the International Advisory Board on Rakhine State, said, "This outcome shows that dialogue works, even in the most difficult of circumstances. I would like to pay tribute to all of those that came together to achieve this—the government of Myanmar, the world-renowned Reuters news agency, the UN and various governments and international organizations." He added, "The power of dialogue must be turned towards securing a lasting peace in Rakhine State and the return of the hundreds of thousands of refugees, whose desperate plight continues. This is essential if Myanmar is to build on today's progress so that all its citizens can live together in dignity in the hope of a better tomorrow." He used a BBC interview to emphasize, "There have been many international institutions and governments involved in the dialogue—and dialogue is the only way to achieve what we've achieved today." The happy outcome was the result of several backdoor meetings and negotiations. It had appeared unlikely that the two reporters, who received seven-year prison sentences, would be freed anytime soon. At the World Economic Forum in Hanoi, Vietnam last year, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi stood firm on the verdict, thwarting the hopes of some that she would lead calls for the pair to be pardoned. "They were jailed because a sentence has been passed on them, because the court has decided they have broken the Official Secrets Act."  She also said, "I wonder whether very many people have actually read the summary of the judgment, which had nothing to do with freedom of expression at all; it had to do with an Official Secrets Act." She added that the "rule of law" means that "they have every right to appeal the judgment and to point out why the judgment was wrong." However, many dialogues and meetings took place among high-ranking officials and international players. Government leaders didn't want to be seen intervening in court proceedings or the judicial process. Some movement apparently occurred last year after news emerged that a court had rejected the reporters' appeal of the lower court's ruling. It had been rumored that the pair would be released as part of an amnesty to mark this year's Independence Day on Jan. 4, but it didn't happen. After they lost their appeal to the Supreme Court in Naypyitaw, it was quietly suggested to the two reporters and their family members that they not lodge any further appeal to the Chief Justice. The President and State Counselor received letters from the reporters' families at a meeting between media practitioners, government officials, legislators and members of the judiciary in Naypyitaw on April 30. The Independence Day amnesty came and went with no release for the pair. But another chance arrived with Myanmar's traditional New Year in April, during which the president customarily pardons a large number of prisoners. Sources said that President U Win Myint was determined to free the reporters, but did not wish to interfere in the court proceedings. The president, a former barrister, promised to bring about democracy and the respect for human rights that our people long for, and to reform the country's weak judicial system and establish respect for the media. As a former political prisoner he was known to be sympathetic to the media and the role it played in the pro-democracy movement. Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were included in the presidential amnesty announced on May 7. According to a statement announcing the amnesty, the prisoners were released "without condition" as part of the Myanmar New Year and to help smooth the peace-building process and national reconciliation. No such gesture was offered during amnesties by previous governments or regimes. Between April 18 and May 7, President U Win Myint pardoned 23,019 prisoners, many of them convicted of violating drug laws, in particular drug convicts who were especially young or old. The two reporters were among them. This moment of optimism is important; we must seize on it and build the momentum needed to further advance the processes of political reform and national reconciliation in Myanmar. The country's media sector has a proud tradition; many talented, trained and courageous editors, journalists and reporters have sacrificed their lives to tell the country's stories to the world. Because of them, the world learned and discovered many untold stories of Myanmar, and this must continue. But journalists continue to face reprisals, including long and unfair jail sentences, merely for doing their jobs in what is already a difficult and challenging environment. Despite the glimmer of hope offered by the Reuters reporters' release, journalists still face threats and intimidation these days amid an increasing climate of fear in the country. In the run-up to World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the military filed a number of charges against journalists and news media organizations. A senior military officer said the military chose to pursue criminal charges because they carry stiffer penalties than would be available through Press Council mediation. The media freedom, democracy and human rights situations in the country remain dire. Several journalists have been hit with lawsuits recently; one of them is an editor at this publication. The military has sued The Irrawaddy News under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law for its coverage of recent clashes between the Myanmar Army and the Arakan Army ethnic armed group in the ancient town of Mrauk-U in Rakhine State. Additionally, several members of the Peacock Generation Thangyat ensemble were arrested for participating in a performance that criticized the Myanmar military, the group said. As a sign of its commitment to the transition to democracy, Myanmar must improve the freedom of its press. Press freedom is key to further democratization in the country. In working, functioning democracies, journalists must be able to carry out their mission without fear of retaliation. The government must act to ensure the safety of journalists, while helping to create enabling conditions for a free and responsible media, including regulatory and legal reform. So far, however, we have seen discouragingly little along these lines from the government. Putting journalists behind bars for doing their job is a disgrace. With the release of the two reporters, we hope the practice is at an end. The post Amnesty Sends Positive Signals for Press Freedom, Reconciliation appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Four Detainees Admit to Being Arakan Army Members: Army Posted: 08 May 2019 06:00 AM PDT YANGON—After eight days of interrogation during military detention, six out of dozens of detainees from Kyauktan Village in northern Rakhine State's Rathedaung Township were transferred to Sittwe Police Station on Wednesday. Military spokesperson Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that four of the detainees had confessed to being members of the Arakan Army (AA) and that it will take action against them in line with the laws. Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun said that the interrogations uncovered four core members of the AA and two other suspected associates. Until Wednesday morning, the military had held 83 villagers in a school in Kyauktan and in the afternoon they released about 35 detainees. Another 40 villagers remain in the custody of military troops for further investigation. The military released 126 locals on May 2 and another 48 on May 6. A Kyauktan resident told The Irrawaddy under the condition of anonymity that one of his relatives was among the six accused. He said that on Tuesday night, the six men were blindfolded and taken from the school to a navy vessel. It wasn't until later when their family members brought food for them to the school where they are being detained they found out that their relatives were gone. He said the four suspects are Ko Nyi Nyi Htay, Ko Maung Maung Naing, Ko Soe Win Kyaw and Ko Thein Aye Maung but he could not verify the two other detainees' names. He said that until this morning, the village was surrounded by dozens of lines of soldiers. Since April 30, the military has arrested a total of 275 locals for questioning and locked down the entire village. Regional lawmakers, and even emergency rescue teams are banned from entering the village. On May 9, six villagers were shot dead by military troops and eight others were wounded in an incident in which eyewitnesses claim the soldiers opened fire into the crowd when one detainee tried to escape. This counters the report of the military's spokesperson who told The Irrawaddy that the detainees attempted to grab firearms from the soldiers. Some of the wounded are receiving medical treatment in Sittwe General Hospital. Politicians from the Arakan National Party (ANP) have expressed their doubt about the military's explanation. Despite the military's disputed explanation of the six deaths, Union Minister of the Defense Services Lt-Gen Sein Win told The Irrawaddy on Sunday that the military established an inquiry body headed by five military officers to investigate the shooting and to find out whether soldiers acted in accordance with the law. The following day, Human Rights Watch (HRW) announced that the killing of six villagers during detention should be fully and credibly investigated by an independent body rather than a military investigation team considering that Myanmar has a "long history of failing to effectively or credibly investigate alleged abuses by its own forces, rarely holding military personnel accountable." HRW's Asia director Brad Adam was quoted in the statement saying, "An independent and impartial investigation is needed to bring to justice anyone responsible for wrongdoing." The Irrawaddy's Naypyitaw correspondent contributed to the reporting of this story. The post Four Detainees Admit to Being Arakan Army Members: Army appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Gov’t Weighs Legal Action against Monk for Speeches Attacking State Counselor Posted: 08 May 2019 05:42 AM PDT NAYPYITAW—The government is considering taking legal action against ultra-nationalist monk U Wirathu over his recent speeches in Yangon and Tanintharyi's Myeik. The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture is reviewing audio recordings of the speeches to check whether they violated any laws, ministry Permanent Secretary U Myint Oo told The Irrawaddy. "It is best to follow procedures. We will surely [take action against U Wirathu], but it is important that it is done in line with procedures. We have to confirm that his speeches [violated the law]. We are examining the audio files. And we'll proceed as the minister has instructed us," he said. Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture Thura U Aung Ko was quoted in the May 7 issue of 7 Day newspaper as saying the monk would be prosecuted over speeches he made referring to State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also the leader of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD). When asked about the minister's plan to prosecute the monk, U Myint Oo said: "We are still looking at how to handle it. The minister may well have said that." A two-and-a-half-minute video that recently went viral on social media shows U Wirathu verbally attacking Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally in Myeik on April 5 against amending Article 59(f) of the 2008 Constitution, which bars her from the presidency. "[She] only knows how to put on makeup, wear fashion and walk in high heels. What's more, [she] likes to shake her ass when [she] sees foreigners. And [I don't understand why people] want to elect someone that is lecherous as the president. We will be doomed. The country is doomed to become the one that General [Aung San] predicted," U Wirathu said. Before independence, General Aung San, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's father, urged citizens to work hard, saying the country would have to rely on prostitution otherwise. The monk also criticized the government for including foreigners on the Rakhine investigation commission. He asked why Myanmar fought to regain independence if it wanted to rely on foreign governments so much. "The General risked his life for independence, because he didn't know about his daughter," the monk said. Speaking at a similar rally in front of Yangon City Hall on Sunday, the ultranationalist monk called for military-appointed lawmakers to be worshipped like the Buddha. "Today, soldiers sit in Parliament, braving the wrath [of the people]. They don't get the salaries of a lawmaker. The only get their soldiers' salaries. You should, in fact, worship the soldiers who protect the country despite the wrath and their [modest] soldiers' salaries," he said. Ashin Ariyavumsa, the abbot of Myawady Monastery in Yangon, told The Irrawaddy that U Wirathu's statements tarnish Buddhism, and that the members of the Sangha—the Buddhist clergy—should no longer accept him as a monk. "He should have been banned by monks long ago. Now, Buddhist monks dare not travel abroad in yellow robes," the monk said. The abbot questioned the purpose of forming township Sangha Nayaka committees, and the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, the highest Buddhist authority in Myanmar, if they are simply going to ignore U Wirathu's inflammatory actions. The Irrawaddy phoned U Wirathu for comment about the possible government action against him. The monk picked up the phone, but when he heard it was The Irrawaddy, he laughed and hung up. Notorious for his anti-Muslim rhetoric in the wake of communal violence in Rakhine State in 2012, U Wirathu was once featured on the cover of Time Magazine with the headline "The Face of Buddhist Terror." The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee banned U Wirathu from preaching sermons for one year in 2017, after he wrote on his Facebook page that he was grateful to the assassins of slain constitutional lawyer and NLD legal adviser U Ko Ni. The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture said in a statement regarding the ban on U Wirathu's preaching that the restrictions on the monk were due to his criticism of the government, religious hate speech made at a Dhamma talk in Kyunku, and his praise for those who have since been convicted of U Ko Ni's murder. In February 2018, under pressure to clamp down on hate speech, Facebook removed U Wirathu’s page due to his incendiary posts about Muslims. The post Gov't Weighs Legal Action against Monk for Speeches Attacking State Counselor appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Opposition to Myitsone Dam Will Be Outgoing Chinese Ambassador’s Chief Legacy Posted: 08 May 2019 02:15 AM PDT YANGON—It has been a busy week for the Chinese ambassador to Myanmar. Just a week after Beijing hosted the 2nd Belt and Road (BRI) forum, Hong Liang has been bustling around the government offices in Naypyitaw attending a series of meetings since Monday. So far, he has met with President U Win Myint, Electricity and Energy Minister U Win Khaing and the Parliamentary speakers. He is expected to meet with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as with other ministers and senior officials in the capital. At the meetings he has held so far, the 50-year-old ambassador has recapped and reaffirmed the agreements reached between China and Myanmar over the past four years, and touted the countries' joint achievements. Then he has made his farewells, saying goodbye to everyone he has met, wishing them luck and thanking them for their hospitality. Hong Liang is leaving. Very soon, he will become the 19th Chinese ambassador to bid farewell to Myanmar upon completing his duties. As of Wednesday, the Chinese Embassy in Yangon still hadn't officially announced his departure, but the country's state-run media recently began referring to him as the "outgoing ambassador". Hong officially became the ambassador to Myanmar—the curriculum vitae published on the Chinese Embassy's website describes his position as "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Myanmar"—in July 2015, under the previous government. Eight months later he witnessed the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy come to power and form a government after the general election. His nearly four-year tenure under the NLD government has been eventful. He has been involved in BRI-related projects between China and Myanmar such as the signing of the MoU for the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone, and an agreement to conduct a feasibility study for the Muse-Mandalay railway as well as a framework agreement for the New Yangon City Development.  But the general public in Myanmar will mostly remember him as a pushy figure who aggressively lobbied for the resumption of the controversial Chinese-backed Myitsone mega dam project, which has been halted since 2011 over nationwide public criticism due to environmental and other concerns. The negative sentiment toward the Myitsone project came under the spotlight again when Hong claimed after a visit to Kachin State at the end of December that the Kachin people were not opposed to the dam's resumption. Later, the prominent Kachin parties objected and said the claim was "inaccurate and misleading." Gumgrawng Awng Hkam, the president of the Kachin Democratic Party, and Rev. Hkalam Samson, the president of the Kachin Baptist Convention, both of whom met with the Chinese ambassador at the time, told The Irrawaddy that Hong briefed them in a bossy manner. They felt threatened by the ambassador, who also warned them not to oppose the Myitsone Dam and not to make close friendships with Western diplomats, otherwise they "would face serious consequences." Apart from warning people whom they shouldn't make friends with, Hong was also known for telling people where they should and should not go in Myanmar. In early 2016, a few months after his appointment, Hong repeatedly urged then U.S. Ambassador Derek Mitchell not to travel to rebel-infested Kachin State or eastern parts of Shan State along the China-Myanmar border, where Beijing has an influence on the ethnic armed groups, saying the U.S. "should respect China's interests." Closer to his second home in the former capital, the Chinese ambassador seemed to have a good relationship with Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein. When the chief minister embarked on his so-called reform of the Yangon public bus system in 2017, Hong helped arrange the purchase of 1,000 new buses from Chinese companies Yutong and Ankai at a total cost of US$56 million (85.4 billion kyats). Yangon Planning and Finance Minister U Myint Thaung told the regional parliament the ambassador guaranteed that the quality of the products and the price of vehicles were reasonable.  Furthermore, the following year, when New Yangon Development Company—the sole developer of the controversial New Yangon City—was launched, the Yangon chief minister said, "Special thanks go to the Chinese ambassador and other diplomats" for their help in realizing the project. One month later in May, China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC) signed a framework agreement with the Yangon government for the preparation and submission of a detailed proposal to provide infrastructure work related to the first phase of the development of the project. However, due to the long list of controversies connected with CCCC, New Yangon City is attracting mounting public concern and criticism. The controversies surrounding the firm involve alleged fraud, corruption and bribery in many other countries where it has implemented similar development projects. No picture of Hong's time as ambassador would be complete without an account of his relationship with the ethnic armed groups over which China wields influence, especially in northern and eastern Myanmar along the border with China. Since 2017, China has acted as a peace broker between the military and the Northern Alliance—the Kachin Independence Army, Arakan Army, Ta'ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army—all of which are members of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee. People close to the ethnic armed groups said the ambassador's bossy manner and poor communication skills annoyed the Northern Alliance members during informal meetings. On one occasion, Hong's brash demeanor upset the armed groups' representatives, including the Kachin side, leading not only to disagreements over the matter being discussed but also to a postponement of the meeting and the sudden departure of another senior Chinese official. The Chinese Embassy in Yangon didn't reply to The Irrawaddy's requests on Tuesday and Wednesday for the ambassador's comment on his accomplishments and failures during his time in Myanmar, or on the identity of his successor. Ethnic affairs and China analyst U Maung Maung Soe said Hong will likely earn praise from Beijing for his efforts on behalf of the Chinese government's policies in Myanmar. "But his biggest failure in Myanmar is the way he handled the revival of the Myitsone Dam. His actions only inflamed public resistance, which is not a good sign for China-Myanmar relations." Another analyst, Daw Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee, the head of the China desk at the Institute of Strategy and Policy (ISP)-Myanmar, said the outgoing ambassador's two most visible achievements were his efforts to promote Chinese New Year celebrations in Yangon for two years in a row, which included an official ceremony that saw Chinatown adorned with red paper lanterns, and his frequent donations to social activities. "However, his action over the Myitsone Dam severely damaged China's image among the public," Daw Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee said. "The lesson from Myitsone is that he should have made more of an effort to understand the public's will. He should have listened more to voices on the ground. When it comes to 'public diplomacy', it should not be one-way communication; it should be a two-way interaction," she said. The post Opposition to Myitsone Dam Will Be Outgoing Chinese Ambassador's Chief Legacy appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| INVESTIGATION—Missing wombs: The Health Scandal Enslaving Families in Rural India Posted: 07 May 2019 09:50 PM PDT KARAULI, India—Farm laborer Dharmendra Meena’s first year of marriage with his wife Vaijanti in northwest India was “beautiful and carefree.” But their first pregnancy changed everything. First came the infection during childbirth, then the stark choice presented by a visiting doctor: undergo a “life-saving” hysterectomy—the removal of her uterus and ovaries – or die. The couple took a loan of 100,000 rupees ($1,400) to cover the procedure, trapping Dharmendra in slave labor and joining thousands of people in rural India estimated to have been duped by unscrupulous doctors into having unnecessary hysterectomies. A Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation found many women—often young—targeted by doctors whom medical experts say seek to profit by prescribing the surgery for minor ailments, with the operation and later costs driving families into debt. Having a hysterectomy brought on the menopause for Vaijanti, also a farm laborer, then aged 19, while Dharmendra was forced to work on the money lender’s farm for long hours and low pay as he tried to clear his debt—becoming a victim of debt bondage. He ended up having to do other jobs and take more loans to support his wife and child, and now—seven years after the surgery—earns less than the monthly interest of 6,000 rupees. “The interest on the loan is rising every month,” Dharmendra told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, sitting in a sparse hut next to his wife in Taroli, a village in the state of Rajasthan. “We don’t sleep any more. We fear the money lender,” he said before Vaijanti listed their losses—the wedding jewelry they sold, her fertility, his freedom and their hopes for the future. Seeking a solution About 3 percent of Indian women have had the surgery, found a landmark survey in 2018 by the government, which is trying to improve medical standards and reduce malpractice after media reports and a lawsuit drew attention to hysterectomy scams. The cost of hysterectomies driving families into slavery has largely gone under the radar, human rights activists said. The Indian Council of Medical Research is writing guidelines for hysterectomies, and the health ministry plans to publish a standard operating procedure for gynecologists to follow. But Dinesh Baswal, deputy commissioner of maternal health in the health ministry, said it was a complex problem as women sought hysterectomies thinking that it would help resolve abnormal bleeding or painful periods that stopped them working. “A majority of cases can be handled with the assurance that it will go on its own,” Baswal said. “But how do you counsel them? They keep going back to the doctor for a solution.” Medical experts and health campaigners said they were concerned action was too slow with India overlooking the financial distress and bonded labor involved post-surgery. The popularity of hysterectomies was once attributed to its coverage by state health insurance schemes for the poor. But the surgery has continued after many states removed the cover due to reports of hospitals carrying out the procedure to claim funds. In visits to about a dozen villages in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana states over five months, the Thomson Reuters Foundation found hysterectomies were routinely leaving families destitute and trapping people in modern-day slavery. Interviews with 38 women who said they were struggling financially post-surgery uncovered 10 cases of debt bondage, with families selling jewelry, livestock and land to survive. In most cases, their husbands or sons had no choice but to toil for the money lender, who used the debt as leverage to compel them to work without any contract, rights or recourse. The families reported the surgery costing between 30,000 and 100,000 rupees, but many ended up paying more for post-procedure problems. With many women unable to return to work, families’ incomes were halved, increasing their dependence on loans. 'War on women' India is home to an estimated 8 million modern-day slaves, working at farms, factories and fisheries, trapped in the sex trade or forced into marriages, according to the Global Slavery Index by the Australia-based charity Walk Free Foundation. While factors ranging from India’s caste system to rural-urban migration or drought and deforestation are often cited as causing debt bondage, the financial impact of hysterectomies has received little attention, human rights campaigners say. In a first step to map the problem after years of activism on the medical malpractice, the government last year released data on the number of women who had undergone the procedure. Various states from Telangana to Chhattisgarh have in the past decade cracked down on small private clinics that performed the surgery frequently to claim state health insurance funds. But India has not grasped the scale of how many unnecessary hysterectomies are being performed nationwide, according to activists who said the 2018 survey was only a small first step. More than 22,000 Indian women aged 15 to 49 out of 700,000 surveyed—3 percent—had undergone a hysterectomy, it found. Half of the women had never gone to school and two-thirds of surgeries were performed in private hospitals, the data showed. Campaigners fear without a crackdown on unscrupulous clinics across rural India, the practice will continue to endanger women’s health and trap families in debt bondage. Some medical studies have linked hysterectomies to early onset of osteoporosis and other serious health side effects. “This has to be recognized as a cause of indebtedness and bonded labor,” said Bharath Bhushan, founder of Centre for Action Research and People’s Development (CARPED)—one of the first organizations to study the medical malpractice in 2005. “This (a hysterectomy) is a big expense for poor families, and it leads to loss of wages as the women are unable to work post-surgery,” Bhushan said. “They have lost their health, and livelihood. This is crazy … this is war on a woman’s body.” Bonded Over the last decade, activists have recorded thousands of hysterectomies in villages in Telangana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Karnataka and Odisha, among other states. Deepali Laute was 21 when she had a hysterectomy after being told she could die of her abdominal pain. Laute was a mother of two and the doctor said she no longer needed her uterus anyway. As farm workers in Budhiyad village in Maharashtra, Laute and her husband earned 200 rupees daily. They took a loan of 20,000 rupees from their boss that trapped them in debt bondage. Three years later, she is still recovering from the surgery and cannot work, while her husband Dashrath repays the loan by spending longer hours on his employer’s farm for far less money. “We were always poor, but I never had a loan on my head,” said Dashrath. While he earns about 250 rupees for a day’s work, the loan repayment leaves him with only 50 rupees to take home. “My loan is constantly increasing as I keep borrowing more for recurring medical expenses. Deepali is still not well.” Despite their strife, the couple do not regret the surgery. “The doctor said I will die if I don’t get my womb removed. I feel a lot of pain after the surgery in my limbs, but at least I am alive,” said Laute, feeding goats tied outside her tin shed home in the middle of a pomegranate farm as dusk drew nearer. Baswal, from the health ministry, said various states have started requiring doctors to gain government approval to perform a hysterectomy to curb unnecessary surgery and fraudulent claims for money. But now people pay for the procedure themselves and move to nearby villages or far-off towns to repay the debt, said Archana Kharche of Astitva, a Maharashtra-based women’s rights charity that has the mapped the malpractice in 20 villages in the area. About 400 kilometers (245 miles) east of Budhiyad is Mohammed Nagar village in Telangana state, where generations have undergone the procedure as doctors in the area defy sporadic state crackdowns. Telangana has the highest number of hysterectomies in India, government data shows, with Maloth Bhuti among those who believed the surgery was her best shot at curing period pains. The surgery halved her family income as Bhuti, whose mother and daughter-in-law are among 50 women in the village to have undergone the procedure, was unable to return to her farm work. “I can no longer work. My children take care of me. My husband had to leave the village to work on the money lender’s farm. He had no choice,” said Bhuti, 45, a mother-of-four. Telangana health director G. Srinivas Rao said the state was informing women in villages of the health risks of the surgery. “We have also asked hospitals to fill out details of each hysterectomy case, which is then audited by health officials. There is some change,” said Rao, a doctor. 'Unnecessary and unethical' In Dausa, Rajasthan, advocate Durga Prasad Saini recalled how he started tracking hysterectomies in five private hospitals in the neighboring town of Bandikui almost a decade ago. “We were discussing the problem of female foeticide, when someone said: ‘But where are the wombs?’,” he said. “Nearly 80 percent of all procedures carried out were hysterectomies. We counted 1,000 hysterectomies in a year in the five [private] hospitals,” he said. His findings formed part of a petition filed in 2013 against the practice in the Supreme Court by physician-campaigner Narendra Gupta, founder of non-profit Prayas based in Rajasthan, who sought compensation for the women who had the surgery. The petition, which is still pending in India’s top court, and subsequent requests to officials prompted the government to carry out the first-ever national hysterectomy survey, he said. Rural women often do not get a proper consultation at state hospitals so they go to private doctors, where they are advised to undergo “unnecessary and unethical” hysterectomies, he added. “There are enough studies and reports that show clearly that there is a rising number of hysterectomies,” Gupta said. “A lot … are being conducted without other non-invasive methods being explored.” While hysterectomies in the West are common post-menopause, activists say many rural Indians are having the surgery young after being told it offers a quick fix to their period problems. Some doctors say they offer the surgery based on demand. “Women think if the uterus is removed, they will be free of [period pains],” said C.K. Sharma, a doctor who runs a hospital in Karauli, which is popular with women in nearby villages. “If I say no [to a hysterectomy], they will go to another doctor to get it removed,” said Sharma, who declined to give his full name and did not respond to further requests for comment. Desperate for the doctor Hysterectomies, medical experts say, are never the solution to the problems that women present to doctors, and its demand highlights the issue of private doctors cashing in on ignorance. “Doctors link all of it—their pelvic pain or lower back pain—to the uterus,” said Subha Sri, the head of Commonhealth, a Chennai-based coalition of health charities. Subha Sri reviewed hysterectomy cases in southern Karnataka State and said the procedure, which should be carried out only in rare cases, was being arbitrarily done by doctors. “They are introducing health problems and often not treating women for what they had come for,” she said. Couples such as Dharmendra Meena and Vaijanti said they felt they had no option but to opt for surgery that was presented as a life-or-death choice at a desperate time. But Vaijanti often wonders about what could have been. “I could have continued working on the farm if I hadn’t had the surgery. I would have had another child,” the 26-year-old said. “The surgery changed everything.” The post INVESTIGATION—Missing wombs: The Health Scandal Enslaving Families in Rural India appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| China Building First Modern, Full-Sized Aircraft Carrier Posted: 07 May 2019 09:41 PM PDT HONG KONG/BEIJING—Construction of China’s first full-sized aircraft carrier is well under way, according to satellite images obtained and analyzed by a U.S. think tank. The images from April, provided to Reuters by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, reveal considerable recent activity during the last six months on a large vessel at the Jiangnan shipyard outside Shanghai. China has not formally confirmed it is building a third carrier, despite recent hints in state media, and the timing and extent of its carrier program remain state secrets. The Pentagon said last week that work had begun, but no images have emerged until now. Both Asian and Western militaries, and regional security analysts, are seeking information on the carrier, which is expected to be China’s first large, modern platform capable of leading a full range of strike group operations. The effort to build a large, locally designed carrier is seen as a core part of China’s extensive military modernization drive. A series of recent Reuters Special Reports showed how that effort is challenging decades of U.S. strategic superiority in East Asia. The CSIS images show a bow section that appears to end with a flat 30-meter (98-foot) front and a separate hull section 41 meters wide, with gantry cranes looming overhead. That suggests a vessel, which China has dubbed Type 002, somewhat smaller than 100,000-ton U.S. carriers but larger than France’s 42,500-ton Charles de Gaulle, analysts say. Fabrication halls the size of several soccer pitches have been built nearby, and work appears to be continuing on a floodable basin, possibly to float the finished hull into the nearby Yangtze River estuary. “While details regarding the Type 002 are limited, what is observable at Jiangnan is consistent with what is expected for the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s third aircraft carrier,” said the CSIS’ ChinaPower analysis, published on its website Tuesday. CSIS analyst Matthew Funaiole told Reuters that images taken late last year were inconclusive, but that now the work under way is clear. “From what we can see there has been a lot of activity in the last six months or so,” he said. “It would appear that it is the third carrier, and if it is not, it’s hard to envisage what other large vessel it would be.” The Pentagon’s annual report on China’s military modernization, issued last Friday, noted that the third carrier would probably be larger than the first two and fitted with a catapult launch system to accelerate aircraft during takeoff. “This design will enable it to support additional fighter aircraft, fixed-wing early-warning aircraft, and more rapid flight operations,” the report said. Funaiole and other analysts said it was unclear what kind of catapult—traditional steam-powered or a more cutting-edge electromagnetic system—would be used. It also remains unclear whether the Type 002 would be nuclear-powered. China has 10 nuclear-powered submarines, but so far no surface ships with nuclear propulsion; some analysts think China is not ready to make that step. Singapore-based regional security analyst Ian Storey said a full-sized carrier would make some of China’s neighbors nervous and highlight the importance of their strategic relationship with the United States. “Once completed, it will outclass any warship from any Asian country, including India and Japan,” said Storey, of the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. “It is yet another indication that China has emerged as Asia’s paramount naval power.” China’s first two carriers are relatively small, with only up to 25 aircraft, less than half the number aboard U.S. carriers, and have jump ramps built into their bows. That configuration limits not just the types of aircraft that can fly off them, but how much weaponry and fuel they can carry. Its first carrier, the Liaoning, was a Soviet-era Ukrainian ship bought secondhand in 1998 and re-fitted in China. A still-unnamed second carrier based on that design, launched in 2017, was built locally. The Liaoning had been seen as more of a training platform for teaching personnel the tricky art of carrier operations. But last month, Chinese state media said the ship “is starting to play a combat role following recent modifications and intensive training exercises.” The second carrier has been undergoing sea trials from its base in northern Dalian and is not expected to enter service until 2020. China’s state media have quoted experts as saying China needs at least six carriers. The United States operates 11 carriers. China’s Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. The post China Building First Modern, Full-Sized Aircraft Carrier appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Sand Mining ‘Mafias’ Destroying Environment, Livelihoods: UN Posted: 07 May 2019 09:04 PM PDT BANGKOK—Sand mining is eroding the world’s river deltas and coastlines, damaging the environment and hurting livelihoods from Cambodia to Colombia, as government regulation fails to keep pace with rising demand, the United Nations warned on Tuesday. Global demand for sand and gravel, used extensively in construction, is about 50 billion tons or an average of 18 kilograms (40 pounds) per person per day, according to a report published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Extraction in rivers and beaches has increased pollution and flooding, lowered groundwater levels, hurt marine life, and exacerbated the occurrence and severity of landslides and drought, it said. “We are spending our sand ‘budget’ faster than we can produce it responsibly,” Joyce Msuya, UNEP’s acting executive director, said in a statement. “For one of the most traded commodities on the planet, it is one of the least regulated activities, and there is very low general awareness about extraction impacts.” Growing populations, increasing urbanization, land reclamation projects, and rapid infrastructure development in countries such as China and India have increased demand for sand three-fold over the last two decades, the UNEP said. Meanwhile, damming of rivers and excessive extraction have reduced the sediment carried by rivers to coastal areas, leading to reduced deposits in river deltas and faster beach erosion. “Communities in the Asian deltas are the biggest losers, with the combined effect of sand mining, hydropower dams and groundwater extraction causing large areas of land to sink and shrink,” said Marc Goichot at the Worldwide Fund for Nature. “But as long as demand for sand remains high and no alternative sourcing is available, enforcement is close to impossible, as the economy is based on sand,” said Goichot, a water expert who contributed to the UNEP report. Current legal frameworks are not sufficient, and “sand mafias” comprising builders, businessmen and dealers in countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Kenya and Sierra Leone regularly flout existing laws, said the UNEP. The science to support responsible consumption and extraction is lagging, it said, adding that new technologies and materials that can substitute or limit the use of traditional concrete are growing in use, but still limited. In India, a 2017 Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation revealed that workers were drowning while illegally mining sand in some parts of the country. While awareness of the impacts of sand mining have grown, and more laws are in place, greater efforts are needed to map supply and demand for effective regulation, said Sumaira Abdulali of environmental advocacy group Awaaz Foundation. “Communities are losing their land and their homes because of sand mining, but they are split over the issue because some people make a living from it, while others say it is ruining their lives,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Sand is too plain, too ubiquitous to get the sort of attention that illegally mined diamonds have. But it deserves just as much attention, because its impact is so tremendous.” The post Sand Mining ‘Mafias’ Destroying Environment, Livelihoods: UN appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| A Renewable Vision for Myanmar Posted: 07 May 2019 07:29 PM PDT Myanmar continues to experience a rapid increase in economic activity as it transitions into an open market system. With that, power demand continues to increase—for modern amenities like air conditioning and power for industrial factories. This is especially true in the economic hubs of Yangon and Mandalay. In the last few weeks it has come to light that there is now an insufficient power supply. As temperatures soar past 40 degrees Celsius, depleted water supplies from the country's major hydropower dams have resulted in insufficient power generation and rotating blackouts across the country. Myanmar is running out of options for additional power generation. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) solutions are too expensive and the government has so far failed to complete a power purchase agreement. Coal power is opposed by the general public, and rightfully so. Hydropower dams take too long to complete and have too grave an impact on the surrounding population and environment. The country cannot afford to wait for five or 10 more years to remedy this power shortage. It is time for the government to act quickly and decisively. One solution that can have an immediate impact is solar power. It perfectly complements hydropower and gas generation. The very conditions that drive the demand and cause water shortages are the conditions that provide the best environment for solar generation. Other advantages of solar power are that it is a green and renewable resource, requires no water or fuel and emits no pollutants. It can also be built very quickly using local labor, providing much needed employment opportunities. Foreign investors tend to be keen on solar investments, further complementing the need for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Myanmar. Timing is also such that no additional support or incentive programs are required from the government to compete with other fossil or hydropower generation. Myanmar is much luckier than developed countries to have this chance as solar prices continue to decrease—when the U.S., Canada, and many European and other developed countries began building renewable power facilities, they required heavy subsidies and government incentives. Myanmar does not need this, and can still get all the benefits of green energy. Vision Myanmar produces approximately 3,000 megawatts of hydropower at any one time. With the addition of solar, Myanmar can become one of the greenest countries in Southeast Asia, meeting most of its energy needs from renewable power. This doesn't mean we can ignore other types of power generation, as we still need them for nighttime use, but we can use these resources intelligently. For example, Costa Rica is a darling of renewable energy, with over 98 percent of its energy generated from renewable resources such as hydro, wind, solar and geothermal. Solar power generation equipment can be added to existing power plants to immediately increase the power supply significantly. As much as 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy can be added without impacting the current system, according to studies by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The actual limit may be even higher if solar panels are sited strategically near load centers. There is a living example in Longyangxia, China, where facilities to generate 320 megawatts of solar energy was added to a 1,280-megawatt hydropower plant in order to save water. It worked so well, equipment for an additional 530 megawatts of solar was added a few years later. Now, 850 megawatts of solar is generated in conjunction with the 1,280 megawatts of hydropower seamlessly at this site, prolonging the hydropower capabilities late into their peak season. Since it rarely rains outside monsoon season in Myanmar and the country is dry for six to seven months per year, it has to store water for hydropower production during the remaining hot summer months which is when the demand is highest. Summer is the most challenging time of year for power systems, and we are currently experiencing two to three-hour, rotating load shedding (also called blackouts) per day because of it. Those hot, sunny days when power demand is driven up are the times that solar power really shines, perfectly complementing hydropower generation and leveraging the inherent benefits of hydropower generation. FDI Global investment in renewables was over US$300 billion per year in 2017 and 2018. Although most of that investment occurred in developed countries, even developing countries are seeing significant investments in renewables—over $50 billion in 2017. With the need for both power and FDI, it is very conceivable that Myanmar could attract $1 billion to $2 billion per year over the next five to 10 years—a significant sum for a country in urgent need of a boost to its economy. Why solar? Solar prices have decreased significantly in the last few years. Now on a leveled basis, the per-unit price for solar is between $0.07 and $0.08 cents per kilowatt-hour for projects in Myanmar. Many solar proposals have been submitted to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE). Compared to LNG or gas-fired generation, solar is at least 30 percent cheaper, not to mention the fact that there is no risk of price increases in the future, as it does not use any fuel. Compared to heavy fuel oil (HFO, or bunker oil) or diesel, solar is 50 to 60 percent cheaper and similarly not subject to commodity price risks. Cleaner coal and hydropower plants can be built, but they take at least four to five years and eight to 10 years construction time respectively. There are also cost implications, as Japanese-designed clean-coal plants are still very expensive and need very specialized equipment and labor—costing much more than solar, even in the long term. The environmental impact of coal plants are widespread, not just in creating air emissions but also in requiring large quantities of water usage for cooling and steam and ash disposal. They should only be considered as a last resort. Major benefits of solar
However, there are two downsides of solar power, but these impacts can be minimized by combining solar with other resources on the system while optimizing overall system costs.
Action plan In order to increase the power supply immediately, the government has to implement some or all of the following items through regulatory change.
In summary, the power situation will get worse over time with continued load growth and over-dependence on hydropower. It is imperative that the government makes a smart decision to address these immediate needs. Without these changes, future economic activities will be constrained and people will continue to suffer. If this issue is not fixed quickly, the economic development and political transition of Myanmar may never realize their full potential. Lin Tun is managing director of Quasar Resources LLC, a development company focused on power sector investments in Myanmar. He has 29 years of experience in the energy sector, working for power system utilities and multinational corporations in the US and Myanmar. Views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of The Irrawaddy. The post A Renewable Vision for Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| The Day the Prime Minister of British Burma was Hanged Posted: 07 May 2019 07:04 PM PDT YANGON—Seventy-one years ago today, U Saw, then prime minister of British Burma, was executed by hanging at Yangon's Insein Prison for his assassination of Myanmar's independence hero, General Aung San and Aung San’s cabinet members, in July 1947. U Saw was hung at 5:33 a.m. on May 8, 1948, and before his last breath, he said prayers before the Buddhist shrine near the gallows. He said he harbored no grudge against the judges or prison wardens, then said goodbye to the prison governor. He was 48. The ruling was made in December 1947, after 37 court hearings that spanned three months. Six individuals, including U Saw, were given death sentences. He was tried before a special tribunal set up by Sir Hubert Rance, the British colonial governor. U Saw put the blame for the assassination on his subordinates. However, due to the testimonies of informers Ba Nyunt and Yangyi Aung, and other solid evidence, he was convicted. The President and the High Court of independent Myanmar rejected his appeals. At the time of the trial, it was found that several low-ranking British officers had sold guns to a number of Burmese politicians, including U Saw. Shortly after the conviction, Captain David Vivian, a British Army officer, was sentenced to five years imprisonment for supplying U Saw with weapons. Captain Vivian escaped from prison during the Karen uprising at Insein in early 1949. U Saw had only completed fifth-grade schooling but passed the law exam and became a lawyer. Despite his low educational profile, he played various roles on Myanmar's political stage, even serving as the third prime minister of British Burma from 1940 until 1942. While Myanmar was about to regain independence, U Saw rejected General Aung San’s invitation to join hands with him in independence efforts, and also rejected participating in signing the Aung San-Atlee Agreement. The post The Day the Prime Minister of British Burma was Hanged appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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