The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Burma Imprisons Two Muslim Women for Sparking Okkan Unrest
• Sagaing Division Police Arrested on Drug Smuggling Allegations
• Suu Kyi, Ethnic Leaders to Work toward Federal Union
• ‘After These Incidents, Everyone Is Living With Worries’
• Burma Hosts First Human Rights Film Festival
• Chinese telecom firm Huawei leads the bidding for a tender to upgrade Burma’s internet infrastructure.
• About 20,000 Rohingya children have missed school for one year because of the Arakan crisis, the UN says.
• Huawei Leads Bid to Revamp Burma Internet Infrastructure
• UN: 20,000 Rohingya Children Missed School for 1 Year
• Burma is down to ‘the small and fine points’ as it prepares for the Asean chairmanship next year
• A prominent activist says 155 political prisoners may be released by Burma’s government ‘soon’
• Burma Down to ‘Fine Points’ in Asean Chairmanship Preparations
• Mass Political Prisoner Release Expected Soon: Activist
• Airborne Laser Reveals City Under Cambodian Earth
• Indonesia Steps Toward Fuel Hike Despite Protests
• Thai Buddhist Monks Criticized for Lavish Behavior

Burma Imprisons Two Muslim Women for Sparking Okkan Unrest Posted: 18 Jun 2013 05:26 AM PDT A young Muslim boy runs through the ashes of his village in Kyawe Poan Lay, Okkan township, which was razed by a Buddhist mob in May. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON— A Burmese court has imprisoned two Muslim women for sparking communal violence earlier this year in the town of Okkan, near Rangoon, in the latest conviction of minority Muslims while Buddhist suspects have yet to face trial. The two women were blamed for sparking the violence in April after they were involved in an altercation with a Buddhist monk that angered local Buddhists, leading to anti-Muslim rioting in the city about 100 kilometers from Rangoon. One Muslim man was killed and nine were injured in the unrest, while 81 homes and a mosque were burned to the ground. "The court gave them a sentence of two years each in prison and hard labor on June 5," an official from the court in Taik Kyi Township, where Okkan is located, told The Irrawaddy. Burma has seen clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in several states this year, but so far only Muslims have been imprisoned. Muslims make up only about 5 percent of the country's 60 million or so population. In Okkan, the violence erupted on April 31 after a Muslim woman bumped into a novice monk, spilling his food and breaking his alms bowl. The woman and the monk were detained by the police following the incident, and both were released about two hours later after the woman apologized. But when they left the police station, another Muslim woman grabbed the young monk and shook him, accusing him of lying to the police. This prompted both Muslim women to be detained. A mostly Buddhist crowd gathered outside the police station and began destroying Muslim properties in neighborhood. The two women were charged with offending religion in Buddhist-majority Burma. An article of the country's penal code prohibits people from engaging in "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs." As of last month, a total of 39 suspects were reportedly in police custody for their alleged roles in the rioting. "We are summoning witnesses and still investigating the case," an officer at Okkan's police station told The Irrawaddy, adding that he did not have the authority to disclose the exact number of suspects still in detention. Before the rioting in Okkan, inter-communal strife between Buddhists and Muslims broke out last year in west Burma's Arakan State. The violence spread this year to central Burma and east Burma—with clashes in the town of Meikhtila, then in Okkan, and mostly recently in Lashio. In total, more than 200 people have been killed and more than 150,000 people—mostly Muslims—have been displaced. In the unrest this year, the government has convicted more than 10 Muslims but no Buddhists. In east Burma's Lashio Township, a Muslim man was sentenced to 26 years in prison last week after an incident in late May which sparked an outbreak of anti-Muslim violence that left one person dead and displaced about 1,400 Muslim residents. He was convicted of attempted murder, voluntarily causing grievous harm and two drug-related charges. In the central Burma town of Meikhtila, the Muslim owners of a gold shop and an employee were sentenced in April to more than a decade in prison after a dispute with a Buddhist customer in March sparked anti-Muslim riots that left at least 43 people dead and destroyed hundreds of homes. Last month, seven Muslim men were also imprisoned for the death of a Buddhist monk during that unrest. In both cases, most of the remaining suspects under investigation are Buddhists. Seventy-four suspects in custody in Meikhtila have been charged with the destruction of property and murder, while 44 suspects in Lashio have been detained but not yet charged, according to regional authorities. Kyaw Khin, chief secretary of the All Burma Muslim Federation, told The Irrawaddy that he had no comment on the convictions of those who were guilty. "If they are guilty of the crime, they should be punished fairly—no bias against religion and race," he said. "But as of now, all the people who have earned imprisonment are minority Muslims. So I have to ask, where are the majority [Buddhist] people who committed the crimes of looting, rampaging, arson and killing during the riots?" Kyee Myint of the Myanmar Lawyers' Network called on the government to ensure equal treatment for suspects of all religions. "At the moment, they are just playing a game of politics to please the Buddhist majority," he said. "But don't worry: They are going to sentence Buddhists who were involved in the riots very soon."

Sagaing Division Police Arrested on Drug Smuggling Allegations Posted: 18 Jun 2013 05:24 AM PDT In February, police in Tamu Township, Sagaing Division, arrested two suspects accused of smuggling a large haul of drugs and arms across the Burma-Indian border. RANGOON — Two high-ranking police officers from areas in Sagaing Division on Burma's remote border with India were arrested this weekend on allegations of involvement in drug smuggling, national police sources said. "The two officers, one from Tamu Township Police Office and another from Kalay District Police Office, were detained and are under investigation for their involvement in smuggling," said an officer at the National Police Headquarters in Naypyidaw, referring to two areas of Sagaing Division. Radio Free Asia reported on Monday that Tamu Township Police Chief Hla Win and Kalay District Deputy Police Chief Naing Zaw Htun had been put under arrest. "We heard that other policemen from those offices were also under questioning, but we cannot give concrete information as this is a special mission by a team and we do not receive any details yet," said the officer, who declined to be named as she was unauthorized to speak to the media. She said the police team had seized more than 20 unlicensed vehicles that had been brought from India and also confiscated a load of Indian-produced medicine that had been smuggled into Burma. Cheap, over-the-counter medicine from India is often used to extract pseudoephedrine, which can be used as a chemical precursor for the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine. An officer from Kalay District Police Office confirmed that two senior officers had been arrested over the weekend, but he declined to provide further information on the case. The arrests follow the police seizure last week of an illicit haul of medicine, precious hardwood and captured wildlife, including several pangolins, in Kalewa Township, according to a community leader from Kalay District capital Kalaymyo. "It seems news reach Naypyidaw about the involvement of local police [in this case]," the man said, adding that a special police investigation team from the capital had been dispatched in response. "The team arrived here by airplane and no policemen from Kalay knew about this," he said. The Kalaymyo community leader said many corrupt police officers were deeply involved in cross-border smuggling in the region. "Actually, police have been involved in smuggling medicine, drugs, forestry products, and taking bribes from unlicensed vehicle-owners since long time ago. They even own those vehicles," he said. The Kalay-Tamu region in Sagaing Division straddles the remote border with India's northeastern region and smuggling of drugs, medicine and illicit forestry products has thrived in the remote region for many years. Government officials are believed to be involved in much of this trade, and have reportedly even sold arms to Indian insurgency groups based on the other side of the border. Seizures of contraband and arrests are regularly reported in the region, which is becoming increasingly popular as a transit route among drug manufacturers, who use pseudoephedrine-based tablets to make methamphetamines headed for Thailand and China. In February, state-owned newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported that police in Tamu Township seized about 100 kilogram of pseudoephedrine-based cold and flu tablets and a large cache of weapons. The weapons included "96 assorted small arms, 60 assorted shells, 23 landmines, 7,907 assorted rounds of ammunition, 195 assorted magazines and 250 bullets and 4 coils of wires used for explosions." Nang Seng Nom contributed to this story

Suu Kyi, Ethnic Leaders to Work toward Federal Union Posted: 18 Jun 2013 04:30 AM PDT Aung San Suu Kyi, second from left, walks up the steps to Burma's Parliament with fellow National League for Democracy MPs on Jan. 16, 2013. (Photo: Yeni / The Irrawaddy) Parliamentarian Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), and ethnic leaders from five parties agreed on Tuesday to work together to amend the 2008 military-backed Constitution, with the longer-term goal of creating a federal political system. Following an hour-and-half meeting between leaders of five parties from the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) and Suu Kyi at her home in Rangoon, the participants said amending the Constitution was key to the nation's future. "Daw Suu said Burma definitely needs the federal system, although she does not think it will happen immediately," said Aye Thar Aung, the head of the Arakan League for Democracy. "But she urged that the issue [federalism] needs to be raised over time," Aye Thar Aung added. Sai Nyunt Lwin, the secretary of the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), told The Irrawaddy just after the meeting that the group "talked about how to approach amending the Constitution, especially military participation on the issue." Suu Kyi told the ethnic leaders that the formation of an Evaluation Committee for Amending the Constitution has been proposed in Parliament. She added that the Constitution must be scrutinized line by line to root out inconsistencies in some of its sections. Amending the Constitution has been at the top of the agenda for the opposition and ethnic parties since its enactment in 2008. The current Constitution offers no degree of autonomy to individual states, guarantees 25 percent of Parliament's seats to military representatives and gives sweeping authority to the commander-in-chief of Burma's military, known as the Tatmadaw. The ethnic parties agreed on Tuesday to continue to push for a federal system and amendments to the Constitution before the 2015 elections. They were also united in opposition to an electoral system based on proportional representation (PR). The country currently uses what is known as the first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system. Some smaller political parties have suggested implementing a PR system for the 2015 elections, which they say would allow them greater representation in Parliament. The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has said it too would support a change to the PR system. PR has been rejected by the NLD, however, with the party arguing that such a system is too complicated and ill-suited to Burma's young democracy. Aye Thar Aung sided with the NLD's stance on Tuesday. "The change in Burma now must be a transition from dictatorship to democracy. I think we do not need to change to a new electoral system." "We do not think the PR system is intended to make the [needed] changes for the country," echoed Sai Nyunt Lwin. "Daw Suu also does not think it is an honest plan." The five parties represented at the meeting on Tuesday were once members of the Committee Representing the People's Parliament (CRPP), formed after the 1990 election. Khun Htun Oo of the SNLD, Pu Cin Sian Thang from the Zomi National Congress, Aye Thar Aung from the ALD, Nai Ngwe Thein from the Mon Democracy Party and Saw Harry from Karen National Congress for Democracy, were present at Tuesday's gathering. The leaders agreed to meet frequently in the future.

‘After These Incidents, Everyone Is Living With Worries’ Posted: 18 Jun 2013 03:48 AM PDT Htun Maw Thein, a migrant worker in Malaysia who was injured during the recent violence that affected the Burmese community there, arrived in Rangoon on Monday. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) In recent weeks, several Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia were injured and five reportedly died during clashes between Buddhist and Muslim migrants there. The violence is believed to be a spillover of recent sectarian violence in Burma. Burmese migrants in Malaysia, who are estimated to number around 500,000, have called on their government to provide protection. Some 170 workers have returned home out of fear of renewed violence. The Ayeyarwaddy Foundation of Burmese business tycoon Zaw Zaw has offered to help migrant workers, including some of the injured, to return home. On Tuesday, the foundation invited reporters to interview Htun Maw Thein at Rangoon's Witoriya Hospital, where he was recovering from two-week-old stab wounds to his stomach, chest and back. Htun Maw Thein, who worked as a supervisor in NSK Supermarket in Kualu Lumpur, returned to Burma a day earlier. Question: Can you explain what happened to you? Answer: It was my unlucky day, May 30, around 10 pm. I usually would go back home with friends [after work]. But on that day I went to buy fried chicken and so I'm alone on my way back home. I was just outside the NSK building, when two unknown guys, each holding a knife, passed me and blocked my way while another one was at my back. When they tried to stab me, I begged them not to hurt me but one of them said in Burmese: "Stab him, kill him!" And, so the three of them moved toward me as I turned my back and ran. The one at my back stabbed me on my chest, abdomen and back. When one tried to stab me in the heart, I waived my hand so that my hands were injured. They leave me when I fell down. I do not know what nationality are they or could not recognize the faces as it was so dark. But one of them surely commands in Burmese to kill me. There's nobody on the road so, I stood up, clasped my gut — which fell out from the wound — braced myself and start to walk, and later I saw some security guards, asking for help and reach to the hospital. My friends report to the police while I was in the hospital. The police said I am the third one who has been attacked in the week. Later we heard that the police were arresting Burmese workers who are without legal documents. Doctors said that they have to cut off some parts of my intestines. In the hospital I could not sleep, not because of that pain but because I'm afraid that somebody might come and kill me. I thought about going back home all the time. I dare not to go near NSK, not even to collect my salary. But now, thanks to everyone who helped me, I feel safe. However, I still do not know how to carry on in the future, as I could not do hard work due to my health situation. But I do not want to blame others, this is just my karma. Q: Do you believe this incident is related to the recent inter-communal violence in Burma? A: I think so. After the news about clashes in Lashio [starting on May 28], the attacks targeting Burmese workers in Kuala Lumpur, began. Selayang area, where I live, is the most dangerous area, as many Burmese migrant workers live there. Q: After this experience, are you willing to go back to Malaysia to work? A: No, no. I dare not to go. I will never go to Malaysia again. I'm really afraid to go there again. I feel sorry for my friends who could not come back home. There are many who wish to come back home but they still have problems. Some are staying illegally, or lack proper documents, or they have to think about their family who to depend on them [for income]. After these incidents, everyone is living with worries. Q: What would you like to tell to the people who are preparing to go to work in Malaysia? A: I do not want to encourage them to go to Malaysia. Because there's no safety and I'm worried that they might face an incident like me, as the Malaysian government cannot provide safety for Burmese workers in their country. Even the Burmese Embassy in Malaysia could not help us; it is very difficult to face problems in that country. Working in another country is such a hard experience.

Burma Hosts First Human Rights Film Festival Posted: 18 Jun 2013 03:45 AM PDT Award-winning Burmese filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi speaks at the "Human Rights Human Dignity" international film festival, which he organized in Rangoon. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON—Burma is hosting an international film festival focused on human rights, casting a spotlight on rights abuses under the former military regime with locally produced films that would have been unthinkable to screen in the past. The "Human Rights Human Dignity" film festival, which opened in Rangoon over the weekend and closes on Wednesday, is featuring more than 50 foreign and local films, including some about the torture of political activists by the country's former spy master, Khin Nyunt, and his military intelligence unit. The international festival, hosted by award-winning Burmese documentary maker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, is the first film festival in the country focused on human rights, and the second major festival to show uncensored, critical films after nearly half a century of military rule. In the past, any mention of human rights could put a person at risk for imprisonment by the former regime. More than 500 people came out for the festival's launch on Saturday at a movie theater in downtown Rangoon, with an opening ceremony attended by Min Ko Naing, a leading activist from the 88 Generation Students Group and one of Burma's most influential opposition leaders. Also at the event was San Zaw Htway, a former political prisoner and actor who narrated a film on the festival lineup about his time in detention under the former regime. The film documents how the National League for Democracy (NLD) member was sentenced to 36 years in prison for his activism and tortured after his arrest by military intelligence. "They didn't feed me food or water for two days during the interrogation," he said. "They didn't let me sit down, I had to stand the entire time. Whenever I tried to sit, they came and beat me. Later I couldn't speak because I was so dehydrated, I even collapsed on the floor." "They tortured me mentally and physically," he added. "I can remember once they told me I might as well try to grow a coconut tree in prison, because I had such a long sentence, and that way I would at least be able to eat." San Zaw Htway was released in 2012 with an amnesty from President Thein Sein. The reformist president who took office in 2011 has pardoned several hundreds of political prisoners, but activists say more than 150 still remain bars. Min Ko Naing also spoke of his experience in prison at the festival's launch. "I met someone in prison who was sentenced to seven years after giving some water to a protester. He couldn't give us an answer when we asked what he had been charged with, so we joked that he was a man who could be charged with delivering water," said the 88 Generation leader, with people in the theater laughing and clapping after his story. He called on filmmakers to consider how to best reach the local Burmese audience. "Short films give us something to think about," he said. The film festival was dedicated to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with an award ceremony to be held on Wednesday, her birthday. The Nobel Peace laureate could not attend the festival but requested that a spokesperson at the launch read a letter she wrote for the occasion: "The cinema has significant influence not only in culture, but also in social, economic and political life," she wrote in the letter. "In this way, film artists can play a crucial role in the transitional period of our society. "At the time when our country is on the verge of turning toward critical changes, the effective performance of film artist is more important ever due to the role they play and how they help our people to understand the concept of democracy, human rights and human dignity." The award ceremony will include five awards, including for best documentary, short film and animation film. After the festival concludes in Rangoon, it will continue with subsequent film screenings in different states and divisions around the country in the following months. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who organized the festival, is currently producing a documenting about Suu Kyi. He also helped coordinate the "Art of Freedom" film festival in Burma last year. That festival, which was also organized by Suu Kyi and comedian Zarganar, was the first festival in the country to screen films that had not been approved by the censorship board. Lu Min, president of the Myanmar Film Association and an actor, praised the human rights film festival at the opening ceremony. "We could not speak out about human rights in our country in the past," he said. "But here and now we are able to hold this human rights film festival. "I am very proud of this, that our country can hold an international film festival."

Chinese telecom firm Huawei leads the bidding for a tender to upgrade Burma’s internet infrastructure. Posted: 17 Jun 2013 11:05 PM PDT

About 20,000 Rohingya children have missed school for one year because of the Arakan crisis, the UN says. Posted: 17 Jun 2013 11:05 PM PDT

Huawei Leads Bid to Revamp Burma Internet Infrastructure Posted: 17 Jun 2013 11:04 PM PDT Chinese telecom firm Huawei has emerged as the frontrunner in the bidding for a government tender to upgrade Burma's internet infrastructure, state-owned newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reports. Six firms made a formal bid when tender proposals opened on June 7. Huawei's bid to revamp Burma's outdated mobile internet infrastructure came in first at US $34 million, followed by Nokia Siemens at $44 million, ZTE at $47 million and Ericsson at $94 million. The winning firm will begin upgrading the internet infrastructure this year. On June 27, the government will announce which international telecom firms will be granted licenses to set up two new mobile phone networks in Burma.

UN: 20,000 Rohingya Children Missed School for 1 Year Posted: 17 Jun 2013 11:03 PM PDT The UN Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Burma warns that tens of thousands of Muslim families in western Burma's Arakan State continue to suffer the consequences of the inter-communal violence that erupted one year ago. "For example, about 20,000 primary school-aged displaced children have lost an entire school year, with no access to formal education," the office said in a statement on Monday, adding that government restrictions imposed on the Muslim population — such as travel restrictions — were severely affecting the group's livelihood, health and development. The violence has displaced about 140,000 people, mostly Muslims. Some 71,000 are living in UN-built shelters, the office said.

Burma is down to ‘the small and fine points’ as it prepares for the Asean chairmanship next year Posted: 17 Jun 2013 11:02 PM PDT

A prominent activist says 155 political prisoners may be released by Burma’s government ‘soon’ Posted: 17 Jun 2013 11:01 PM PDT

Burma Down to ‘Fine Points’ in Asean Chairmanship Preparations Posted: 17 Jun 2013 11:00 PM PDT Burma is down to hammering out "the small and fine points" as the country prepares to take up the Asean chairmanship next year, Burma's ambassador to Indonesia told The Jakarta Post. "In September, everything will be perfect," the Indonesian daily quoted Min Lwin as saying. Central to the chairmanship is Burma's hosting of a series of conferences and the annual Asean summit. The Burma Foreign Ministry's deputy director general of ASEAN affairs, Aung Htoo, said a new convention center, transportation system and accommodations in the capital Naypyidaw would help ensure the successful hosting of the chairmanship.

Mass Political Prisoner Release Expected Soon: Activist Posted: 17 Jun 2013 10:56 PM PDT A prominent activist says 155 political prisoners may be released by Burma's government "soon," Mizzima reported. "We can't say when they will be released, but I think it may happen sometime soon," Bo Kyi, a member of the government-appointed committee to investigate political prisoners' cases and co-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), was quoted as saying over the weekend. The anticipated release would include three activists recently arrested for protesting the controversial Letpadaung copper mine. AAPP said recently that it considers 183 people in Burma to be political prisoners, though that did not include the Letpadaung trio.

Airborne Laser Reveals City Under Cambodian Earth Posted: 17 Jun 2013 10:55 PM PDT A view of Cambodia's famous Angkor Wat temple during sunrise in Siem Reap on December 22, 2012. (Photo: Erik De Castro / Reuters) SYDNEY — Airborne laser technology has uncovered a network of roadways and canals, illustrating a bustling ancient city linking Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temples complex. The discovery was announced late Monday in a peer-reviewed paper released early by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The laser scanning revealed a previously undocumented formal urban planned landscape integrating the 1,200-year-old temples. The airborne lasers produced a detailed map of a vast cityscape, including highways and previously undiscovered temples, hidden beneath dense vegetation atop Phnom Kulen mountain in Siem Reap province. It was the lost city of Mahendraparvata. "What we have now with this instrument is just 'bang'—all of a sudden, an immediate picture of an entire city that people didn’t know was there before, which is remarkable," University of Sydney archaeologist Damian Evans, the study's lead author, told Australia's The Age in a video interview from Cambodia. "So instead of this kind of very long gradual process, you have this kind of sudden eureka moment where you bring the data up on screen the first time and there it is—this ancient city very clearly in front of you." The laser technology, known as lidar, works by firing laser pulses from an aircraft to the ground and measuring the distance to create a detailed, three-dimensional map of the area. It's a useful tool for archaeologists because the lasers can penetrate dense vegetation and cover swaths of ground far faster than they could be analyzed on foot. Lidar has been used to explore other archaeological sites, such as Stonehenge. In April 2012, the Australian researchers loaded the equipment onto a helicopter, which spent days crisscrossing the dense forests from 800 meters above the ground. The team then confirmed the findings with an on-foot expedition through the jungle. "We had reasonable expectations, I guess, of what we would find using the lidar data, but what we've ended up with has just blown our minds," Evans told The Age. "It's just absolutely incredible what we can see." The researchers theorize the civilization at Mahendraparvata eventually collapsed because of deforestation and broken canals and reservoirs.

Indonesia Steps Toward Fuel Hike Despite Protests Posted: 17 Jun 2013 10:52 PM PDT Riot police fire tear gas to disperse student demonstrators protesting against the government's plans to raise fuel prices in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Monday. Indonesia's parliament on Monday passed measures paving the way for a 33 percent rise in the country's fuel prices to reduce a government subsidy bill that has cast a shadow over Southeast Asia's biggest economy. (Photo: Yusuf Ahmad / Reuters) JAKARTA – Indonesia's Parliament voted to approve a budget package on Monday that lays the groundwork for the slashing of government fuel subsidies, as police fired tear gas and water cannons outside to disperse hundreds of angry protesters. The package, which passed after repeated interruptions from lawmakers on both sides, includes a provision for about $900 million in cash handouts to help cushion the impact on 15.5 million impoverished families. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was expected to move swiftly ahead with the plan to cut the subsidies, which will increase fuel prices an average of 33 percent. In 2011, the subsidies cost close to $20 billion, the same amount the government aims to spend on infrastructure in 2013. The issue is highly sensitive—a fuel price hike in 1998 triggered rioting that helped topple former dictator Suharto. Last year, Parliament rejected a similar plan to raise fuel prices. In a speech after the voting, Finance Minister Chatib Basri said the legislators have made the best decision for the country by ensuring that the poorest people are not hit by a sudden spike in fuel costs. "With the fuel price hike, the poor will increase by 4 million if there are no cash handouts," he said. The compensation will be paid over four consecutive months. Even before the vote, street protests erupted in major cities and clashes with authorities were reported. More than 18,000 police and soldiers were deployed to secure the capital, Jakarta. Thousands of police also guarded gas stations across the country. At least 14 people were injured nationwide. After setting tires on fire near Parliament's main gate, hundreds of protesters blocked both lanes of traffic in front of the complex for hours. Police later used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd after the rally continued beyond the time limit set for the protest. The proposed plan would raise the price of gasoline from around 50 cents to 65 cents per liter and diesel fuel from 45 cents to 55 cents. The subsidies have kept pump prices in Southeast Asia's largest economy among the cheapest in the region, but experts warn they are weakening the economy. "If fuel prices are not raised, there will always be threats to Indonesia's fiscal strength, especially threats to the exchange rate, consumption and price of crude oil," said economic analyst Said Didu. "All three are difficult for the government to control." Indonesia, with 240 million people, is the region's largest oil producer, but has been forced to turn to imports amid skyrocketing demand and decades of declining exploration and extraction. Each year, a million new cars and 8 million new motorbikes hit the streets, according to the Central Statistics Agency. The government has set the 2013 fuel subsidy at $20.2 billion—nearly 4 percent of total economic output—in the revised budget. It said without the price hike, subsidies would jump to about $29.7 billion this year. Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos contributed to this report.

Thai Buddhist Monks Criticized for Lavish Behavior Posted: 17 Jun 2013 10:50 PM PDT A screengrab of the YouTube video showing a Thai monk wearing stylish aviator sunglasses on a private jet. The video attracted criticism from Buddhists nationwide. (Photo: YouTube) BANGKOK — Thailand's Buddhism body said it is monitoring monks nationwide for any inappropriate behavior after a video showed monks using luxurious personal items while flying on a private jet. The YouTube video showed one of the monks was wearing stylish aviator sunglasses, carrying a luxury brand travel bag and sporting a pair of modern-looking wireless headphones. It attracted criticism from Buddhists nationwide. Office of National Buddhism director-general Nopparat Benjawatananun said Monday that the agency saw the video early this year and had warned the monks from a monastery in Thailand's northeast not to repeat the lavish behavior. A country with the world's largest Buddhist population, Thailand has attempted to help Buddha's 2,600-year-old doctrine stand the test of time through a variety of means, including banning the sale of alcohol on religious holidays. The efforts, however, are sometimes tainted by the Buddhist monks themselves. Last year, about 300 out of 61,416 Buddhist monks and novices in Thailand were reprimanded—and several were removed from the monkhood—because of misconduct ranging from alcohol consumption, having sex with women to extortion. The Office also received complaints about monks driving cars, and scams and false claims of black magic uses by monks. Nopparat said the Buddhist monks in the video were acting "inappropriately, not composed and not adhering to Buddha's teachings of simplicity and self-restraint." Monruedee Bantoengsuk, an administrative officer at Khantitham Temple in Sisaket province, confirmed to The Associated Press that the monks on the private plane lived at the temple but refused to give details about the trip. "We can explain this, but not now," she said, saying that the abbot, who appeared in the video, is currently on a religious tour in France. The images from the video contrasted with the abbot's message on the temple's homepage that read: "The true core of those who preach Buddha’s teachings is to not to own any objects at all." "When Lord Buddha was alive, there wasn't anything like this. There were no cars, smart phones or cameras, so the rules were much simpler," said Nopparat. "While the monks need to keep themselves abreast of new knowledge, current events and technology, they are restrained to choose the appropriate tools." He said one way to prevent the monks from misbehaving is for followers not to spoil them with valuable objects or vices. "In many cases, it was the followers who gave the monks the luxury. Some bought them sports cars. This is by no means necessary."

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