The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Mandalay Parents Pull Children from School amid Rumors of Religious Violence
• Prepaid Payment System to Install on Circular Trains
• Digicel Lays on the Charm Offensive in Burma
• 3 Rohingya Killed in Clash with Burma Police
• World Economic Forum in Burma Shouldn’t Be ‘Fooled by Fine Words’
• Burma Offers New Microloans to Poor Farmers, Factory Workers
• Thailand’s Dawei Port Project in Burma Not Dead Yet
• Farmers in Arakan State ‘Forced to Pay $100 Bribes’ to Secure Loans
• Burma to Build First Data Center With Japanese Firm
• Chinese Investment in Burma Falls Sharply as Western Interest Picks Up
• Ethnic Militia Deny Forcing NLD Members to Resign at Gunpoint
• Farmers in Arakan State ‘forced to pay $100 bribes’ to secure loans
• Ethnic militia deny forcing NLD members to resign at gunpoint
• Chinese investment in Burma falls sharply as Western interest picks up
• Burma to build first data center with Japanese firm
• UWSA Wants Autonomous State, Not Independence
• UK Military Chief Discusses Burma Training Link
• Human Rights Groups Oppose US Trade Benefits for Burma
• Endangered Elephant Killings Rising in Indonesia
• Obama to Press China’s Xi to Act against Cyber Spying

Mandalay Parents Pull Children from School amid Rumors of Religious Violence Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:58 AM PDT Parents gather outside a school in Mandalay on Wednesday to attempt to pull their children from classes amid rumors that students were being target by both anti-Islamic and anti-Buddhist agitators. (Photo: Manthalay / The Irrawaddy) Panicked residents of Mandalay pulled their children from schools on Wednesday as false rumors spread that violence had broken out between Buddhists and Muslims in the latest incidence of religious tension to wrack Burma. Rumors that Maha Aung Myay Township's State High School No. 3, where most of the students are Muslim, had been attacked and set on fire began to spread in the early afternoon, worrying parents and prompting them to gather in front of the school to retrieve their children. The crowd blocked the road and alarmed residents of the surrounding neighborhood. "A rumor that the school was set on fire was spread. Then the parents came and police had to clear the way and security [measures] were taken. The rumors, the road blocks and the security scared the neighbors," said a man who lives near the high school. The man told The Irrawaddy that the rumors reached Pyigyidagun and Chanmyathazi townships in the southern part of the city, causing panic there as well. Schools in Myit Thar and other nearby townships were also affected. "Rumors here were that there was a fire," said Ko Shwe Maung from Pyigyidagun Township. "As people were worrying about the fire, a rumor was spread that a Buddhist child was struck by a car driven by a Muslim man, so that some angry people gathered and argued … and people were worrying that there might be conflicts so parents were trying to pull their children from school." He said shirtless men on motorcycles were later seen wielding iron rods and shouting through the streets in some parts of town, heightening tensions. "Those men were shouting that there was a fire. People were scared and worrying that communal conflict would happen," he added. By the afternoon, the situation in Mandalay had returned to normal, with a small contingent of police officers guarding State High School No. 3 as well as other schools in the city. An official from the Mandalay district administration office told The Irrawaddy that nothing serious had happened and that security forces had fanned out to control the situation and ensure that further unrest was prevented. The tensions on Wednesday did not escalate to the point of previous altercations between Buddhists and Muslims. Just last week in Lashio, Shan State, one man was killed and more than 1,000 Muslims were displaced after a Muslim man allegedly set fire to a Buddhist woman, sparking anti-Muslim reprisals. Larger-scale violence also took place in March, in central Burma's Meikhtila, and last year more than 140,000 people, mostly Rohingya Muslims in western Arakan State, were displaced in two bouts of violence there. Hundreds have died over the last year in the recurring spates of religious violence.

Prepaid Payment System to Install on Circular Trains Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:55 AM PDT A man walks down the platform as a train arrives at a station in Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma may implement an electronic system of paying for train travel in its commercial capital if talks between the state railway firm and a private company are successful. State-owned Myanmar Railways is in talks with the military-owned iPay company over rolling out a pre-paid card system on circular railways in the former capital Rangoon, according to a Myanmar Railways official. Chit Kyaw Myo, the deputy general manager of Myanmar Railways, told The Irrawaddy the company was holding discussions with IPay, which is a subsidiary of the military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings. "This kind of payment system is currently used on buses and ships, so I don't think it will be very difficult to implement on trains," Chit Kyaw Myo said. "We, however, still have to talk about monetary issues with them as we use our funds every day." "They will have to carry out the necessary building at different stations," he continued. "We just can't start the system right away, but we are negotiating." The iPay Company launched an electronic payment system with prepaid cards for public transport in Rangoon in 2012. "We already have the technology and are currently in discussions with [Myanmar Railways] to use it on circular trains," said Thant Sin, operation manager of iPay. "We have done a field study about how ticketing works on trains and submitted our findings to [Myanmar Railways] together with our recommendations on how to install a new system." He said fees for circular trains will remain the same and, if this system works, his company will work with the Ministry of Railway Transportation to gradually expand it to long-distance routes. Tickets currently cost between 100 kyat (about US $0.11) and 200 kyat ($0.22). "I don't know if I can pay bus fees with a prepaid card, but I would like to use it on trains as I won't need to buy tickets hurriedly or in advance," said Khin Aye Mon, a female commuter in Rangoon. In a recent survey of Rangoon residents, The Irrawaddy found that half of those who use buses and circular trains every day do not like the prepaid card system.

Digicel Lays on the Charm Offensive in Burma Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:24 AM PDT In an attempt to muster last-minute brand awareness, teams of enthusiastic promoters have been stationed on street corners across Rangoon for the past week, handing out flyers promoting Digicel's bid. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) Eleven contenders remain in the race to secure one of the two mobile operator licences to be issued in Burma on June 27. But none have made their presence felt quite like Jamaica-based Digicel, whose bid is backed by local conglomerate Yoma Strategic Holdings and George Soros' Quantum Strategic Partners. Digicel has had a presence in Burma since 2009, long before the government announced its intention to liberalize the telecoms sector. The company sponsors Burma's football federation and Special Olympics teams, and in an attempt to muster last-minute brand awareness, enthusiastic promoters have been stationed on street corners across Rangoon and Naypyidaw for the past week, handing out flyers promoting Digicel's bid. "It's a historic day for Digicel because we have just submitted our tender document [for a telecoms licence] to the government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar," said Digicel's chief executive Denis O'Brien in Naypyidaw on Monday. The world's 65th-largest mobile provider, Digicel is best known for its previous forays into underserved markets across the Caribbean and South Pacific. O'Brien announced an ambitious timeline for Digicel's proposed operations in Burma, which the company intends to launch in December. "We will launch our 4G data and voice network, achieving 52 percent population cover by the end of 2013," O'Brien said. "This coverage will increase to 96 percent [of the] population by 2016." He also announced plans to roll out 7,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cable and establish 23,000 WiFi hotspots around the country. In 2012, the company proposed a partnership with state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications to upgrade Burma's skeletal mobile infrastructure. After its proposal was rejected in favor of an open tender, the company entered into its current three-way partnership to vie for an operator licence. The consortium is up against better-capitalized players on the licence shortlist, including SingTel from Singapore, India's Bharti Airtel, and Telenor from Norway. A consortium led by China Mobile and Vodafone—the two largest network operators in the world—recently pulled out of the runnings, claiming an operation in Burma would "not meet the strict internal investment criteria to which both Vodafone and China Mobile adhere." The fact that Digicel has made it to the final round, despite its small size, is likely a function of its long focus on Burma and a high level of planning. "I think it's fair to say that we've done something very strategic in order to guarantee a very, very fast launch date … as we are the only bidder to have signed 5,641 tower leases, and we have spent 18 months establishing all of these sites," said O'Brien.

3 Rohingya Killed in Clash with Burma Police Posted: 05 Jun 2013 03:53 AM PDT A woman from a Rohingya internally displaced persons (IDP) walks along a railway line back to her camp after sheltering from Cyclone Mahasen in a mosque outside of Sittwe, Arakan State, on May 17, 2013. (Photo: Reuters /Soe Zeya Tun) RANGOON — Several women villagers from Burma's Rohingya minority have been shot dead in a confrontation with security officials, police and activists said Wednesday. A police officer in Mrauk-U Township in western Arakan State said Wednesday that three women died in the village of Parein, where they were part of a crowd that defied efforts to relocate them from the housing in which they have been living since their original homes were burned by Buddhists in a wave of sectarian clashes last year. The officer from the Special Branch political police, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to release information, said two men and two women were injured. A website covering Rohingya news, Rohingya Blogger, said four women were shot dead and five other villagers wounded in the Tuesday confrontation, which broke out when workers from another township came to unload wood to build new dwellings. It said that when Parein villagers sought to stop the unloading, they began quarreling with police, who opened fire on them. The police officer said some in the Rohingya crowd carried knives, sticks and slingshots. Several hundred people were killed and about 140,000 fled or lost their homes in Arakan State last year in two waves of sectarian violence that targeted mostly members of the Muslim Rohingya community. While the conflict seemed contained at the time, communal violence spread this year to central and northeastern Burma, with Muslims again targeted as several dozen people were killed. The violence threatens to undermine the political and economic reforms undertaken by President Thein Sein, who came to power as an elected chief executive in 2011 after almost five decades of military rule. The government's failure to effectively tackle the problem also risks shaking the confidence of Western countries, which have rewarded Thein Sein's reforms by lifting sanctions that were applied against the previous repressive army regime. The latest incident took place just ahead of a regional meeting in the Burma capital Naypyidaw of the World Economic Forum, which will be attended by hundreds of business leaders and opinion-makers from around the world and is meant to showcase the positive changes made under the new government. Similar though not fatal confrontations over relocation of Rohingyas were reported last month, when officials sought to move reluctant residents from camps thought to be vulnerable to damage from an expected cyclone. In the end, Cyclone Mahasen veered away from Burma, causing no damage. But aid workers note that many of the camps, almost all of which shelter Muslim Rohingyas, have inadequate shelter, medical care and other basic services.

World Economic Forum in Burma Shouldn’t Be ‘Fooled by Fine Words’ Posted: 05 Jun 2013 01:53 AM PDT Naypyidaw's government district features a landscape of modern interpretations of Burmese style monumental architecture, but is almost devoid of human activity. The Burmese capital is hosting the World Economic Forum this week. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) Senior international business, political and financial aid figures plus hundreds of peripatetic freeloaders have converged on Naypyidaw this week to offer a mountain of advice on how Burma might progress from Year Zero to booming tiger economy. There will be much discussion about promoting the inclusive society and dragging the country's tens of millions of subsistence farm workers into the 21st century with factory jobs, mobile phones and aspirations to own cars. But how close to reality will all these worthies attending the three-day World Economic Forum (WEF) be, confined in the isolated and grandiose surreal capital built in the jungle with the sweat of Burma's poor by a bunch of neurotic army generals? "Davos Man arrives in Myanmar. Now Myanmar is truly a stopover for the Masters of the Universe, a country becoming part of the global economy, rather than an exotic cul-de-sac," Sean Turnell, a long-time expert on the state of Burma's economy, told The Irrawaddy. "I suspect this will largely be one of those NATO [No Action, Talking Only] affairs, but not to be dismissed necessarily. The imprimatur of the WEF is not an unimportant one for multinational enterprises, who can now enter Myanmar in the expectation it is just another normal developing country of some risk, but opportunity too," said Turnell, a professor at Australia's Macquarie University and editor of Burma Economic Watch. "That said, it is to be hoped that Davos Man and Woman look beyond the obvious, as well as the city limits of Naypyidaw, and recognize both the realities of life for most people in Myanmar, and their own responsibility in behaving in genuinely ethical ways." The conference from Wednesday through Friday will include debate on economic development across East Asia and particularly Southeast Asia, but its focus will be Burma. "After a series of bold economic and political reforms in [Burma] the meeting will be the first leading international gathering of senior decision-makers from industry, government, academia and civil society to be held in the country," the WEP said in its promotional blurb. "Through this unique multi-stakeholder platform, the meeting will be an unrivalled opportunity to understand and to shape Myanmar's on-going reforms and reconciliation process." However, the forum is taking place as two reports highlight some of the unsavoury and questionable realities going on within Burma while multinational companies make or consider investments in the country. "Pushed to the Brink," published on Wednesday by the Kachin Women's Association Thailand, documents how thousands of ethnic Kachins displaced by fighting between Kachin militia and the Burmese Army have led to increased trafficking of women into China. It details the cases of young women and girls "tricked, drugged, raped, and sold to Chinese men or families as brides or bonded laborers," some ending up thousands of miles from home in eastern China. "Push tens of thousands of people to China's doorstep, deprive them of food and status, and you've created a perfect storm for human trafficking," said the Kachin women's group spokeswoman Julia Marip. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture's latest statistics disclose a massive increase in land transfers to business and state agencies. Between January 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, so-called land concessions increased 76 percent to cover 3.42 million acres. Under the new Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law, concession land is supposed to be unoccupied or unused. But it can include land in use by local communities and not registered with the government. "The World Economic Forum should focus on the voices of the people of Myanmar, which should be the primary driver of development models adopted by the government, foreign investors, and other stakeholders," EarthRights International campaigns director Paul Donowitz told The Irrawaddy. He said the Farmland Act and the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Law were examples of laws passed "with little or no public consultations, that do not recognize traditional upland farming practices, and that are leading directly to land grabbing by powerful interests. "This development strategy, which is more of the same from previous times, will continue to alienate the people of Myanmar and not lead to sustainable economic and development outcomes," Donowitz said. EarthRights is a US-based NGO seeking to promote fairness in environmental and commercial development of natural resources. "We have seen the [Burma] government prioritize large-scale natural resource strategies, including the opening of almost all of the countries offshore petroleum blocks, and new mining and large-scale hydropower projects with little or no public consultation that are leading to conflict, land grabbing, and severe livelihood impacts," Donowitz said. The PR words on the WEF's Naypyidaw conference website appear not to impress one former Young Global Leader at the WEF's 2010 conference in Tanzania who spoke this week to The Irrawaddy. "Delegates from the World Economic Forum must not allow fine words and fine wine to fool them into thinking that they are visiting a country making a transition to democracy," said Zoya Phan, a manager at the London-based human rights NGO Burma Campaign UK. "As they arrive in Naypyidaw, delegates should remember that a few hundred miles northwest ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity have been committed against the Rohingya, and a few hundred miles northeast, ethnic Kachin women have been raped and killed by Burmese Army soldiers," Phan said. "My advice to delegates is to go to visit the displaced people in Mai Ja Yang [a rebel-controlled area] in Kachin State who fled attacks by the Burmese Army. Go and see the squalid conditions in the Rohingya camps where [President] Thein Sein won’t allow free humanitarian access. Visit the farmers in Karen State whose land has been confiscated by the government. Then decide how real this process is and if you think Burma is a safe place to invest. "Lt-Gen Myint Soe [from the Burmese Army] recently said in an interview with The Irrawaddy, 'Don’t believe everything you hear.' That's good advice for WEF delegates when listening to the government and military." It might indeed be something to bear in mind for the six high-ranking conference coordinators: AirAsia founder and chief executive Tony Fernandes; PepsiCo USA chairwoman Indra Nooyi; Mitsubishi Corporation chairman Yorihiko Kojima; General Electric vice chairman John Rice; Tata Consultancy Services of India vice chairman Subramaniam Ramadorai; and Helen Clark, the United Nations Development Program administrator in New York.

Burma Offers New Microloans to Poor Farmers, Factory Workers Posted: 05 Jun 2013 01:50 AM PDT Farmers in Ma U village in Rangoon Division's Helgu Township, plant their paddy with rice. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Workers and farmers in Burma will be offered loans in a new scheme proposed by President Thein Sein on Sunday in an attempt to alleviate hardship in Asia's poorest country. Working class people in Burma have few assets which can be used as collateral by banks, meaning they often have to rely on predatory loan sharks, ending in a cycle of debt. The President made the announcement at a public meeting at Rangoon's Thuwanna Stadium on Tuesday, promising to work to make life better for the roughly 70 percent of the population who depend on subsistence agriculture and farming-related manual labor jobs. At the meeting on Sunday, Union Minister and Minister of Cooperation Kyaw Hsan said 1.3 billion kyat (US $1.4 million) would be offered to farmers and factory workers in Rangoon Division. He did not say if there would be loans available to cooperative workers outside of Rangoon. The move drew criticism from some quarters, as analysts questioned whether Thein Sein was trying to guide the country back to the policies of a past characterized by corruption and impunity. "The cooperatives only know how to take bribes," argued Dr. Maung Maugn Soe, from the department of economy in Yangon University of Distance Education. "What the President has proposed is great, but without discipline we cannot change anything." Cooperatives' credibility has taken a knock in past years, as scandals over unpaid refunds on savings and misuse of funds has rocked the organization, said Thein Nyunt, head of the New National Democratic Party. "The president said that to reduce poverty the former cooperative system was necessary," he said. "But low-level employees must act properly. Only then will the microloans program be a success. If not, we will just see a repeat of the past." The head of Burma's farmers association Dr Soe Tun said the policy of handing out microloans through cooperatives needed reviewing. "Although there are good policies, the implementation of them is weak," he said."So far, no the public has not felt the positive effects. We need to reconsider whether the policy is being implemented properly or not."

Thailand’s Dawei Port Project in Burma Not Dead Yet Posted: 05 Jun 2013 01:46 AM PDT Dawei Development Company Managing Director Somchet Thinaphong shows a model of the proposed SEZ during an interview in Bangkok. (Photo: Reuters / Sukree Sukplang) BANGKOK — Thailand's plans to convert a remote coastal strip in southern Burma into a Southeast Asian gateway for international trade appear to have moved little from the drawing board. Or so it seems. Efforts by the current government to throw a political lifeline to the deep-sea port and special economic zone (SEZ) in Dawei have had limited success financially. After all, its key salesperson, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, has struggled to secure the injection of funds needed from Japan to breathe life into the troubled multibillion-dollar project. Nothing conveyed this better than Yingluck's late May visit to Japan. During a keynote speech at the Nikkei Conference on the Future of Asia, she portrayed Dawei as a bridge to take maritime connectivity to new heights, linking the Pacific Ocean in the east with the Indian Ocean in the west. "Dawei is an investment in the future of Asia," she said. "We look forward to participation from foreign partners for investment." But it appeared—on the surface, at least—that Japanese support for the first phase of the US$50 billion harbor and SEZ was still not forthcoming. The chilly reception to Yingluck's plea for funds stood in contrast to Tokyo's clear interest in another industrial zone and port in Burma, at Thilawa. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe underscored this when he flew to Burma hours after Yingluck had spoken. Abe promised billions of dollars in debt relief, aid and new investments to the country's reformist government. The financial support for the Thilawa SEZ, just south of Rangoon, affirmed its relevance as a marquee project for Japan, now in a rush to forge stronger economic ties with Burma. Yet for those quick to dismiss the Dawei project as a stillborn blueprint, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) offers a different picture. It has emerged as a key behind-the-scenes player to confirm that the Japanese government still has an eye on the Dawei SEZ. Lending weight to this effort are leading Japanese companies such as Mitsui and Sumitomo, which are listed as "supporters of the project," according to an informed source. Heading the METI's priorities is a study to review the plan for the harbor and the SEZ that was first conceived by Italian-Thai Development (ITD), Thailand's largest construction company. That assessment is expected to be completed this year. ITD won the 60-year concession in 2008 from Burma's then military regime to develop what it has been promoting as Southeast Asia's largest industrial zone. Its plans for the 200-square-kilometer industrial complex and port included steel mills, oil refineries and petrochemical plants. An eight-lane highway was to link the Dawei SEZ to major industrial zones and the port southeast of Bangkok. ITD's failure to attract $8.5 billion to fund the infrastructure for first phase imperiled the project until the Yingluck administration stepped in to shoulder the burden of raising international finance, with Japanese investment billed as a key draw. Another boost followed: the recent creation of a special company, in which the Thai and Burma governments will each hold 30 percent stakes, to raise finances for the Dawei SEZ. But the prospect of Japanese funds pouring into this special purpose vehicle (SPV) will have to wait until Tokyo completes a revamped vision for the project. That includes a new Dawei master plan developed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) following the METI's review of ITD's Dawei master plan, according to a report seen by The Irrawaddy. In fact, Japan's interest in this venture was first rooted in another initiative that had drawn Tokyo's attention—developing logistics as part of its investment portfolio to transform the lower Mekong River region. Under this arrangement, Japan, Thailand and Burma were to "establish a trilateral dialogue for the development of Dawei," according to the Japanese foreign ministry. "Japan Inc. is interested in Dawei as a general matter," said Yuki Akimoto, director of Burma Information Network-Japan, a Tokyo-based watchdog that monitors financial flows to Burma. "But Dawei would be a much bigger undertaking than Thilawa." It has also raised questions about who profits more, she told The Irrawaddy, pointing out that Japan may not be in a rush to invest in a project where Thailand stands to reap most of the benefits. "I think it's partly a matter of sequencing—Japan can't commit to Thilawa and Dawei at the same level simultaneously—and partly that Japan wants to be helping Burma and not so much Thailand." Thailand's interest in the Dawei project has been further complicated by the overt role played by Thaksin Shinawatra, the fugitive former prime minister, to see the struggling project become a reality. Besides regularly muscling his way into Burma—including a mid-April meeting with the country's powerful army commander, Sr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing—the eldest brother of Yingluck has also begun lobbying forcefully in Japan. This has seen the emergence of a hitherto unknown organization last year during Thaksin's visit to the country. The so-called "Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Promotion Organization" only seems to feature Thaksin and stresses the importance of the Dawei project as a symbol of Thai-Japanese partnership as its main mission. "Connectivity is the card Thailand wants to play to increase its regional competitiveness and significance," said Pavida Pananond, associate professor at Thammasat University's business school in Bangkok. "There is nothing wrong with that. But this should be done in a transparent and straightforward way. "If Dawei is so crucial for Thailand, prove why not having it would hurt the country," she asserted in an interview. "Make it clear what the role and responsibility of the Thai government is, and it should not be an industrial estate operator." The rocky journey toward this regional logistics hub has not dampened ITD's enthusiasm. A workforce of 300 men and women has been assigned to carve out the highway that will link the Dawei SEZ to Thailand's Laem Chabang port. "Italian-Thai feels confident that it would be able to attract Japanese investment for the highway," said Naruemon Thabchumpon, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "Japan has been interested in supporting regional connectivity, such as the east-west highway links across the Mekong region." But that will test the Thai construction giant's patience. "They may have little choice, given the $2 million already invested and the recent announcement that it may commit a further $300 million for the first phase of the project," a source familiar with ITD's investments revealed. "Dawei has exposed the difference between the Thai way of doing business overseas and Japan's."

Farmers in Arakan State ‘Forced to Pay $100 Bribes’ to Secure Loans Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:54 PM PDT Farmers in Burma's southwestern state of Arakan are being forced to pay up to 100,000 kyat (US $112) in administrative fees, which they say are bribes, before applying for an agricultural loan, the local Narinjara news agency quoted farmers as saying on Wednesday. The fees, which come in the form of paperwork and identification documentation, are not part of the central Burmese government's policy for agricultural development and could provide insight into the gap between President Thein Sein's government's anti-corruption policies and facts on the ground in rural areas. The amount of interest payable on the loans has also not been made clear, farmers allege.

Burma to Build First Data Center With Japanese Firm Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:54 PM PDT Burma will build its first data center in the commercial capital Rangoon by April next year in a joint venture with Japanese electronics giant Hitachi, local media reported on Wednesday. Eleven Media reported the Myanmar Information and Communication Technology Development Company saying plans have been drawn up for the US $10-15 million center and will be put into action soon. The news comes after announcements that Burma will form its own stock exchange before elections to be held in 2015. The stock exchange will be built in co-operation with Japanese firms and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Chinese Investment in Burma Falls Sharply as Western Interest Picks Up Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:53 PM PDT Chinese investment in Burma has plummeted over the past year amid strained relations and a surge of interest from Western foreign investors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The report comes as China is nearing the completion of a major investment in the Southeast Asian country, two natural gas pipelines from the Bay of Bengal through Burma's Shan State into China. For decades, China has been Burma's closest large trade partner, with the world's second-largest economy benefiting from economic sanctions imposed on Burma by the West. But a recent easing of economic restrictions has begun to sideline China.

Ethnic Militia Deny Forcing NLD Members to Resign at Gunpoint Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:53 PM PDT The ethnic Pa-O paramilitary group has denied it forced National League for Democracy members to resign their posts at gunpoint last month, the Democratic Voice of Burma reported on Wednesday. The NLD, which is led by Aung San Suu Kyi, said 57 party members in Shan State resigned on May 16 following threats from the Pa-O. The Pa-O said the NLD members were not coerced. But the NLD's local chair Tin Maung Toe maintains the party members were tied up for two or three days and forced to sign resignation letters. The NLD filed complaints to the Union Election Commission.

Farmers in Arakan State ‘forced to pay $100 bribes’ to secure loans Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:53 PM PDT

Ethnic militia deny forcing NLD members to resign at gunpoint Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:52 PM PDT

Chinese investment in Burma falls sharply as Western interest picks up Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:52 PM PDT

Burma to build first data center with Japanese firm Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:52 PM PDT

UWSA Wants Autonomous State, Not Independence Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:51 PM PDT Panghsang is the Wa capital and headquarters of the United Wa State Army (UWSA). (Photo: Sai Zom Hseng / The Irrawaddy) The United Wa State Army (UWSA) is pushing to upgrade its territory from an autonomous region to an officially recognized autonomous state in northeast Burma, but is not aspiring for complete independence from the national government, the ethnic armed group said. "It's not to split the Wa area from the mainland," Sam Khun, a spokesman for the UWSA's political wing, the United Wa State Party, told The Irrawaddy recently. The UWSA, one of the strongest armed groups in Burma, was granted an autonomous region in a remote area that borders China in the 2008 Constitution, which was backed by the former junta. But its leaders say the region is not enough "We guarantee we are not asking for an independent state," a Wa representative told The Irrawaddy in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina, while attending peace talks last week between ethnic Kachin rebels and the government in Burma's northernmost state. Sam Khun said the UWSA wanted autonomy to administer their own land and improve rights conditions for the 500,000 or so ethnic Wa people, who like many ethnic minorities in the country were oppressed by the former junta. "We're asking for state autonomy," he said. "They gave us a Wa-owned administrative region, which we cannot accept because a region is smaller than a state." The Wa leader said the group faced problems over land distribution, with demands from the national government to hand over the southern Wa area. "We cannot move from the area, which we occupied by fighting," he said. "If they want it, fight us. We cannot leave for free." The UWSA, which is legendary for its involvement in the drug trade, agreed to a ceasefire with Burma's military regime in the 1990s but did not disarm or give up controlled areas. Sam Khum denied that opium plantations existed in Wa-controlled areas. "Drug plantation hasn't been happening there since 2005, but the drug trade is there because of traders," he said. He said Wa and Chinese anti-drug forces regularly swept through the region. If people were caught growing opium poppies, he said, they would be sentenced to seven years in prison. He also denied recent allegations that the armed group received weapons from China. "The weapons weren't purchased recently, they were already there," he said, adding that engineless fighter planes had been shown in public parks to attract tourists, including from Laos, China and inland Burma, but that the planes could not fly. He said the Wa had a good relationship with China, their sole trade partner, but were independent from the giant East Asia neighbor. "Wa works for its people and its development," he said. "We stand on our own feet for the betterment of the Wa ethnic people. We do not have support from other foreign countries." The Wa autonomous region, which comprises six townships in Shan State, runs for about 500 kilometers along the China border. The Wa restrict access to their territory, but any Burmese citizen can enter freely as long as they do not carry weapons or ammunition. "They must hold a Burmese identification card to travel in the Wa region," Sam Khun said.

UK Military Chief Discusses Burma Training Link Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:48 PM PDT Britain’s Chief of Defense Staff, Gen David Richards, center, visits the Htauk Kyant war cemetery on the outskirts of Rangoon on June 4, 2013. The cemetery is a memorial to Commonwealth soldiers who died in Burma during World War II. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Britain’s most senior serving military officer discussed possible training cooperation with Burma’s armed forces during a visit that ended on Tuesday, the first by the head of a Western nation’s armed forces since the Southeast Asian country began recent reforms. Chief of Defense Staff Gen Sir David Richards also confirmed that Britain will appoint a permanent defense attaché at its mission later this year, the British embassy said. Britain and other Western nations imposed sanctions on Burma’s previous military junta and avoided military-to-military contacts. Most sanctions were dropped after President Thein Sein took office in 2011 and instituted sweeping economic and political reforms. Critics say Burma’s army still commits human rights abuses in fighting against ethnic minority rebels, especially against the Kachin in the north. The government last week said it had made progress in peace talks with the Kachin. The embassy said in a statement that a British "joint military-civilian team comprising experts on security sector reform, policing reform, and governance" arrived in Burma on Tuesday for a two-week visit, with plans to meet representatives from all sectors of society to help identify how Britain can help support further reforms. Richards met with Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as armed forces commander Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, politicians and representatives of ethnic minority groups, the embassy said. "Richards discussed the role of the military in supporting Burma’s democratic transition, and the importance of security sector reform," it said, adding that he also talked about moves for peace and reconciliation and "welcomed the progress made over the last two years in ending fighting across much of the country." British Ambassador Andrew Heyn described Richards’ mission as "very successful." He said Britain feels it can help "to make the peace process move forward and to help the military make the transition from where they were to where they need to be," and that Burma’s military expressed interest in taking such advice. Heyn said opposition leader Suu Kyi strongly supported the idea of cautious military-to-military engagement. During his visit, Richards paid his respects at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Htauk Kyant, just outside Rangoon, where the remains of tens of thousands of Allied soldiers who battled the Japanese in the Burma campaigns of World War II are buried. Richards’ father took part in the bloody fighting, the embassy said.

Human Rights Groups Oppose US Trade Benefits for Burma Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:46 PM PDT Mines in Burma, like this one near Monywa, Sagaing Division, are closely associated with corruption and human rights abuses, say rights advocates. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) WASHINGTON — Human rights advocates on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama’s administration not to extend new US trade benefits to Burma, despite economic and political reforms the country has made over the past two years. "Burma does not yet have the safeguards in place to protect citizen’s rights and assure the rule of law, especially in resource-rich minority regions," said Jennifer Quigley, executive director of the US Campaign for Burma. "We do not support reinstatement of GSP for Burma at this time," she told a panel of Obama administration officials at a hearing on whether to make Burma eligible for the US Generalized System of Preferences program, which waives import duties on goods from developing countries. The hearing came two weeks after Burmese President Thein Sein visited Washington for talks with Obama, who has removed a number of sanctions on the impoverished Southeast Asian country in response to reforms it has made. Thein Sein’s quasi-military government has freed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of political prisoners, scrapped censorship and legalized trade unions over the past two years. The United States is considering adding Burma to the GSP program to help create jobs in the country and boost bilateral trade. The United States imported US $275 million worth of clothing and other goods from Burma in 2003 before an import ban was imposed. In the months since most of the restrictions were lifted, there has been a trickle of imports, including $1.3 million in March and $2.4 million in April. Sein Win, chairman of the Burma Fund, told the panel that adding Burma to the GSP program would only benefit "former and current Burmese military commanders and their cronies," who he said control almost all of the major business entities in the country. If the United States does decide to reinstate Burma in the GSP program, it should require importers to certify that there have been no human rights violations in connections with products they import from the country, said Jonathan Kaufman, legal advocacy coordinator for EarthRights International. Obama should also withhold eligibility for oil, gas, mining and plantation agriculture products from Burma, until the country make progress on what Kaufman said was an "unusually high incidence of human rights abuses in those sectors." The panel also heard from Burmese government officials, who said adding Burma to the GSP program would help the country continue its political and economic transition. "Although there remain some challenges, our reform is a systematic and peaceful process and worthy to be noted as a good example and model for other transitions," said Burma’s ambassador to the United States, Than Swe. He also stressed the strategic importance of Burma, a resource-rich country wedged between China, India and a number of fast-growing countries in Southeast Asia. Restoring GSP would help lift millions of Burmese people out of poverty and stop an outflow of economic refugees looking for work in neighboring countries, he said.

Endangered Elephant Killings Rising in Indonesia Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:43 PM PDT Villagers stand near a female elephant that died near a palm oil plantation in Indonesia's Aceh Province on April 30, 2012. (Photo: Reuters) JAKARTA, Indonesia — Poisoning or shooting killed many of the 129 critically endangered elephants that have died on Indonesia’s Sumatra island in less than a decade, highlighting weak enforcement of laws against poaching, an environmental group says. WWF Indonesia said killings of Sumatran elephants are on the rise, with 29 either shot or poisoned last year, including 14 in Aceh Province. The group said on Tuesday that no one has been convicted or jailed in the deaths that were counted in Riau Province since 2004. The report came three days after two dead Sumatran elephants were found near a paper plantation in Riau, allegedly poisoned by poachers. Another elephant was killed last month near Tesso Nilo national park and its tusks were hacked off. An autopsy found a plastic detergent wrapper in its belly filled with poison. The group said 59 percent of the dead elephants were definitely poisoned, 13 percent were suspected to have been poisoned, and 5 percent were killed by gunshots. Others died from illness or other causes, or the reason for their death was unknown. The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the animals as "critically endangered" after their numbers dropped to between 2,400 and 2,800 from an estimated 5,000 in 1985. Environmentalists say the elephants could be extinct within three decades unless they are protected. The decline is largely due to destruction of their habitat. Forests across Sumatra are being logged for timber, palm oil, and pulp and paper. Sumatra has some of the most significant populations of Asian elephants outside of India and Sri Lanka and is also home to tigers, orangutans and rhinos. "Effective action on the ground should be taken immediately to protect Sumatran elephants from extinction, especially in Riau," the report said. There are about 300 elephants left in Riau, which is part of Sumatra island. Achmad Saeroji, head of the government conservation agency in Riau, denied the allegation of lax law enforcement, saying at least eight cases have been handled by authorities recently. "We always investigate every case of elephants found dead," he said. "But it is hard to capture the perpetrators, either because of late reports or the fear of people to report the poachers, who work in a network." Indonesia’s elephants sometimes venture into populated areas searching for food. They destroy crops or attack humans, making them unpopular with villagers. Some are shot or poisoned with cyanide-laced fruit, while others are killed by poachers for their ivory.

Obama to Press China’s Xi to Act against Cyber Spying Posted: 04 Jun 2013 10:39 PM PDT US President Barack Obama, right, meets with China’s then Vice President Xi Jinping in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 14, 2012. Xi will meet Obama again this week, this time as China's president. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will tell Chinese President Xi Jinping at a California summit this week that Washington considers Beijing responsible for any cyber-attacks launched from Chinese soil and must take action to curb high-tech spying, White House officials said on Tuesday. Underscoring growing US suspicions of a Chinese role in cyber espionage that has targeted US government entities and major corporations, aides to Obama made clear the issue would be high on the agenda at a relatively informal retreat to begin on Friday. The talks, Xi’s first encounter with Obama since taking over the presidency in March, are meant to allow the leaders to get to know each other away from the spotlight of Washington and begin easing mistrust between the world’s two biggest economic powers. But any feel-good vibe at the luxury resort in the desert near Palm Springs, could be soured by Obama taking a hard line with Xi over Chinese cyber hacking of US secrets. "Governments are responsible for cyber-attacks that take place from within their borders," a White House official told reporters before the summit. "As a part of our interests in protecting US businesses, we will raise with China any concerns we have about intrusions we believe emanate from China." The official said Obama would make clear that China must abide by international "rules of the road" on cybersecurity. China has consistently denied US accusations of cyber hacking and has insisted it is more a victim than a perpetrator. The White House declined to specify what if any punitive measures the United States might take if Xi refused to cooperate and the cyber threats persisted. But one official cited recent unfair trade cases that Washington had taken against China before the World Trade Organization as evidence that "when we believe we’re not making progress simply through dialogue, we are willing to use the measures available to us within the international system." The summit will be followed in July by the first high-level meeting of a US-China panel on cyber-security. Obama has been under strong pressure from lawmakers to persuade Xi to take US hacking worries seriously. The Washington Post reported last week that China had used cyber-attacks to access data from nearly 40 Pentagon weapons programs. China dismissed the report. With China worried the United States is trying to encircle it militarily with its "Asia pivot," Obama also faces the challenge of convincing Xi that America’s reorientation of foreign policy and the shifting of some military resources toward the region are not meant as a threat to Beijing. The strategy is widely seen as a way of reassuring allies like Japan and South Korea of the US commitment to counter China’s power. At the summit, Obama will also be looking to build on recent signs of a sharpening of Chinese pressure on North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, a shift that could bring Beijing closer to Washington’s position. China has long been the closest thing North Korea has to an ally. Another US official said Obama would try to find specific ways the United States and China could work together to force North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions. China has resisted full implementations of sanctions on its impoverished neighbor. China told an envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that Pyongyang should stop conducting nuclear and missile tests, although the North showed little sign of heeding the request, said a source with knowledge of the talks held late last month. High-level US-Chinese encounters of recent decades have been unable to match President Richard Nixon’s groundbreaking visit to Communist China in 1972 that ended decades of estrangement between Washington and Beijing. But US officials held out the prospect that Obama and Xi would be able to develop personal rapport— something lacking between US presidents and Xi’s notoriously stiff predecessor, Hu Jintao—that could aid progress on substantive issues. "He seems to be someone fast on his feet, open to engagement, willing to speak directly to Americans and to issues of concern to Americans in a manner that was not a hallmark of some of his predecessors," one White House official said of Xi. A willingness to forgo the traditional pomp of a White House visit may signal a fresh approach by Xi, who as president-in-waiting met Obama in Washington in February of last year. He is a Communist Party "princeling," the son of a revolutionary leader. But he is also fond of Hollywood movie war dramas.

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