Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

UK to Resume Military Ties with Burma

Posted: 16 Jul 2013 07:27 AM PDT

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron greets Burma President Thein Sein in Downing Street, central London, on July 15, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Andrew Winning)

RANGOON — As President Thein Sein envisions an end to Burma's ethnic conflicts on the horizon, Britain has offered to help its former colony work toward peace, announcing a resumption of military ties between the two nations.

The British Ministry of Defense's aid offer came during a trip by Thein Sein to London, where he became the first Burmese head of state to visit in more than 25 years and asserted that a nationwide end to hostilities between his government and armed rebels was "very possibly" within reach.

"Very possibly, over the coming weeks, we will have a nationwide ceasefire and the guns will go silent everywhere in Myanmar for the first time in more than 60 years," Thein Sein told an audience at Chatham House, an influential British think tank, on Monday following meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Various ethnic rebel groups in Burma have been at war with the government since 1948, shortly after the country gained independence from Britain, in what is now the world's longest-running civil war.

Among the achievements of the reformist Thein Sein over the last two years, the government has signed ceasefire agreements with 10 of Burma's 11 major ethnic armed groups. A ceasefire accord with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) remains elusive, though a seven-point agreement was signed in late May in which the two sides agreed to "undertake efforts to achieve de-escalation and cessation of hostilities."

In an indicator of just how far London believes the country formerly ruled by a brutal military dictatorship has come on its path of democratization, the British have agreed to assist Burma's armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, with training on human rights and accountability.

"Reforming the Burmese military and pursuing a sustainable peace process will be key to Burma's stability and prosperity," British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement on Monday. "The focus of our defense engagement will be on developing democratic accountability in a modern armed forces, and we have offered training for the Burmese military to this end."

Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK, a pro-democracy and human rights group, reacted to the announcement of renewed military ties with skepticism.

"The British government says the training is to improve human rights, but they might as well try to teach sharks not to eat fish," he told The Irrawaddy. "The way to stop the Burmese Army from committing human rights abuses is for there to be justice and accountability for the crimes they have committed."

Farmaner added that the announcement appeared to be "more about public relations from the British government to counter criticism that they are ignoring ongoing human rights abuses."

Despite the ceasefires, intermittent fighting involving several ethnic armed groups has persisted. Last month in Shan State, government troops clashed with the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), and in Kachin State the KIO's militant wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), has fought with the Tatmadaw despite the seven-point agreement signed on May 30.

Given the fragility of the country's ceasefires, ethnic leaders on Tuesday urged London to go slowly when re-engaging with the Tatmadaw.

"If they train the Burmese army how to fight and give strategies on how to attack, it will encourage the government army to tackle the ethnic conflicts by military means," Nai Hong Sa, general secretary of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of ethnic armed groups, told The Irrawaddy.

"If so, armed struggle will be worse and longer," he said. "In fact, our armed struggle is based on politics. We have tried to solve this problem through military means for over 60 years. But we haven't achieved it yet and it is getting worse. So, it will be solved only via political means."

Nai Hong Sa said he doubted a nationwide ceasefire agreement would be reached "over the coming weeks," pointing to the fact that government troops have not withdrawn from ethnic-controlled territories and have instead rebuilt or reinforced some of the Tatmadaw's camps.

"It is not that we are pessimistic," he said. "But it is the true that we want to publicize [shortcomings of the peace process]. We have to accept the truth and solve problems in the correct way," Nai Hong Sa said.

Officials in the Thein Sein administration and ethnic rebel leaders have said the government hopes to convene an all-inclusive peace conference, though a date has yet to be determined and some have indicated that any gathering would be contingent on the signing first of a ceasefire accord between the government and the KIO.

Aung Naing Oo, an official with the government-backed Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), declined to comment on specifics of the KIO peace talks but said Thein Sein was "really committed" to achieving a ceasefire, as were other stakeholders.

"The Parliament is onboard—if I'm not wrong—in terms of the peace process, the armed forces are onboard, so everyone is trying to work toward a nationwide ceasefire accord," he said, adding that the achievement of a peace deal in Kachin State would "herald the start, hopefully, of a political dialogue."

Humanitarian aid to Kachin State formed the bulk of nearly £30 million in additional development assistance announced by the UK government this week.

One group that apparently will not benefit from British military training is Burma's notorious border guard force, the Nasaka. Ahead of Thein Sein's Europe visit, the unit was disbanded, according to the President's Office, which did not provide a reason for the move.

The Nasaka, which is made up of soldiers, police officers, and customs and immigration officials, has been accused of human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State.

"It is hereby announced that Border Area Immigration Control Headquarters [Nasaka] has been abolished as of today," said a notification dated last Friday but posted to the President's Office website on Sunday, the day of Thein Sein's departure for Europe.

Human rights campaigners have in recent days urged European leaders to pressure Thein Sein on the persecution of Burma's ethnic Rohingya during his visit. Movement for the minority Muslim group has been heavily restricted by the government since about 140,000 people were displaced by communal violence in Arakan State last year. Most of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are Rohingya, who are not granted citizenship rights and have faced discrimination for decades by both the government and ethnic Arakanese Buddhists.

Thein Sein will travel to Paris on Tuesday for talks with government officials, including his French counterpart, Francois Hollande.

Tensions Rise in Parliament Over Land Grab Cases

Posted: 16 Jul 2013 04:33 AM PDT

Zay Kabar chairman Khin Shwe, has faced lawsuits by farmers to provide compensation and return land he seized for business ventures in Rangoon Division. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — A lawmaker who leads one of Burma's most powerful companies has threatened to sue the government amid growing pressure to return land he confiscated under the former military regime.

Khin Shwe, a Lower House lawmaker and chairman of the powerful Zay Kabar Company, has faced lawsuits by farmers to provide compensation and return land he seized for business ventures in Rangoon Division, but he says he is not to blame and should be allowed to keep most of the property.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, he threatened to sue the government if it did not recognize that the former military regime gave him permission to confiscate the land.

His threat followed reports that the defense minister told lawmakers that the military would return land appropriated by their forces. A 2012 farmland law also requires all confiscated land to be returned to their owners within six months if it has not been used.

Of the property in Rangoon Division, Khin Shwe, who represents the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), said he believed he should be able to keep land already registered for construction of economic projects, but that he would return land that had not yet been registered.

The issue of land grabs has become a priority in Parliament amid growing protests by farmers and other land owners who lost their property to the military, government-run projects or private companies during the decades of military rule.

Pe Than, a lawmaker for the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, said he believed the government should return all land to the victims, rather than only giving back plots that are not being used.

"It is important to find out who the land originally belonged to," said Pe Than. "The government should give back all the land to the victims."

Of Khin Shwe, he added: "He has money in his pockets. He can do anything by approaching the military. This is, in the past, how he took land from poor people. No matter what he says about ownership documentation for the land, it is important to give it back to the people."

Mi Myint Than, a lawmaker and member of Parliament's land investigation committee, said the military and the government had long delayed returning confiscated property.

"They do not want to give back land to the people," said the lawmaker from the All Mon Region Democracy Party. "This is why it took so long to discuss the issue in Parliament."

"He [Khin Shwe] only talked about how to protect his company, not how to solve the land problem," Mi Myint Than added.

Burma is an agricultural country where the majority of people are farmers. Land grabs have been common since the 1963 Land Acquisition Act, which nationalized land ownership across the country, with property being confiscated to build economic projects, industrial zones and army bases or to expand urban areas.

Victims could not protest land seizures during military rule, but the country's recent political reforms have emboldened many to speak up, with farmers organizing demonstrations across the country and sending petitions to President Thein Sein to return their land.

In Burma's resource-rich and restive border regions, where many ethnic minorities live, the military has often seized land from communities at gunpoint.

Under Thein Sein's government, most major armed rebel groups have signed ceasefires with the government, and an influx of local and foreign companies have confiscated property in ethnic areas for mines or plantations.

Ethnic right activists have said that the 2012 land law often fails to recognize the land tenure of farmers or local customary land laws, while many farmers struggle to register ownership.

In May, about 40 activist groups met in Rangoon and called on the government, ethnic rebel militias and the international community to ensure that recent ceasefires in ethnic areas do not lead to a surge in land grabbing, deforestation and the damming of rivers. The groups also wanted to meet with the two most important government committees on land tenure, but their request for a meeting was declined.

Launch Inquiry Into Past Journalist Killings, Group Tells Thein Sein

Posted: 16 Jul 2013 04:08 AM PDT

Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai, 50, of APF lies fatally injured on the street of Rangoon after Burmese soldiers fired upon and then charged at protesters on September 27, 2007. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Reporters Without Borders is appealing to President Thein Sein to set up a commission to probe the deaths of six journalists and photographers who have died at hands of Burma's past military junta.

The Paris-based organization sent an open letter to Thein Sein ahead of his two-day visit to France, calling on him to "address impunity for the systematic crimes and violations against news providers during the years of repression."

"We urge you to create a Commission of Enquiry dedicated to combatting impunity for crimes against news providers since 1962," the group said in a statement. "[W]e believe that the process of democratization begun by your government will not be complete without an official effort to render justice for the victims of the military junta's crimes."

The group highlighted six recorded cases of journalists and photographers who were killed while carrying out their work in Burma between 1991 and 2007.

Perhaps the most high-profile among these cases is the killing of Japanese APF photographer and videographer Kenji Nagai. He was shot point blank by a soldier on the streets of Rangoon in September 2007 during a crackdown on the Saffron Revolution movement.

During the incident, which was recorded by the international media, a soldier was seen taking Nagai's video camera. Reporters Without Borders said the camera should be returned to his friends and family. Tsutomu Haringet, a Japanese colleague of Nagai, said he had tried in vain to reclaim the camera in order to "pay a last tribute to his courageous work."

Other cases include the death of Thar Win, a photographer with the government newspaper Kyemon. He died at an intelligence agency detention center in September 1999 after his newspaper carried a photograph of then spy chief Gen Khin Nyunt, with a hidden message calling him "the world's biggest crook."

Photographer Tin Maung Oo, who frequently worked for the National League for Democracy, died during the infamous Depayin Massacre in May 2003. He was struck on the head by the junta's thugs when they carried out an attack on Aung San Suu Kyi's motorcade.

"The commission's main task should be to investigate and, as best as possible, to establish the circumstances in which these six journalists died," Reporters Without Borders said, adding that it should also recognize and document the other abuses, such arrests, torture and detention, that members of Burma's media have faced.

Since assuming office in 2011, Thein Sein has lifted some of the draconian media restrictions that were enforced under the previous military regime.

His nominally civilian government disbanded the government censorship board last year, released jailed journalists and allowed the publication of daily newspapers for the first time in decades.

Earlier this month, however, a controversial Printing and Publishing Enterprise Bill was passed in Burma's Lower House.

Burma's interim Press Council opposes the bill and is calling on Thein Sein and the Upper House to amend it, as the current bill would give the Ministry of Information broad powers to issue and revoke publishing licenses.

Gay Rights Activists to Sue Mandalay Police for Alleged Abuse

Posted: 16 Jul 2013 03:49 AM PDT

A couple kiss before participating in an event celebrating the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia in Rangoon on May 17, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Minzayar)

Burmese gay rights activists are preparing to file a lawsuit against Mandalay police officers who allegedly harassed them during their recent detention.

"We are now discussing with the lawyers to submit the case next week. We have to do this because the police mistreated the detainees, which is beyond the limits of their responsibilities," said Aung Myo Min, director of Equality Myanmar, a group that promotes human rights as well as gay and lesbian rights.

He said the abusive handling of the detainees by police had become a "tradition" for law enforcement authorities across Burma.

"If the court accepts the case, it will show that there are rules of law in the country. Many detainees, not only gays, are being abused by the police and these actions tarnish the image of the police. Such actions must stop," Aung Myo Min added.

On July 6, 12 homosexuals were arrested near Mandalay's Sedona Hotel, a spot popular for its scenic views of the city's ancient moat and Mandalay Hill. It is also an area where homosexuals and other transgender sex workers are known to gather.

The detainees told The Irrawaddy last week that after the arrest, they were abused verbally and physically. Police officers allegedly beat the detainees and forced them to do frog jumps and act as though walking a catwalk, before being put into cells for about four hours.

The criminal status of the detainees remains unclear, but all 12 were released on bail after they agreed to sign an agreement stating that they would not dress like women and would stay away from the area where they were arrested, according to one of the detainees.

Police have denied any wrongdoing and maintain that the officers had handled their law enforcement obligations professionally.

"We were just carrying out our duties. Since they are men, we must not let them go into men's cells with wigs, bras, condoms and women's attire. So we had to take them all off. We have much evidence to prove this, however, I have nothing to say about being accused of abusing them," said Soe Nyein, a Mandalay Division police officer.

According to the police, complaints about homosexuals causing disturbances in the area were raised by the public and prompted the police action.

"There are many complaints that they are shouting and disturbing the public who come to the area to relax," Soe Nyein said, adding that cross-dressing men were known to rob unsuspecting victims.

"To prevent such things, we are just giving them a warning."

Thaksin’s Alleged Convo on Burma Military Chief Circulates Online

Posted: 16 Jul 2013 02:06 AM PDT

In a photo posted to his Facebook account, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sprinkles water on Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of Burma's armed forces, while paying a visit to Burma over the Buddhist New Year in April. (Photo: Facebook)

Thailand's supreme military commander has urged journalists to be sensitive when reporting on the audio clip of a conversation between ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and a deputy defense minister about Burma's commander-in-chief.

The 30-minute audio clip, which is believed to capture a discussion between Thaksin and Thai Deputy Defense Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa during a secret meeting in Hong Kong, began spreading through social media including Facebook about two weeks ago.

The voices discuss a several issues, including a plan to push for an amnesty bill for Thaksin, the military's reshuffle to give Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government greater control over their affairs, and opportunities surrounding the Dawei port project in Burma.

In the conversation, the two men discuss the possibility of using their links with Burma's commander-in-chief, Sr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, to influence Burmese leaders over the port project. Min Aung Hlaing has close ties to Burma's President Thein Sein.

Following the emergence of the audio clip, Thailand's supreme commander, Gen Thanasak Patimaprakorn, traveled to Burma last week to attend a friendly football tournament between Burma, Thailand, India and Singapore.

The Thai commander said Min Aung Hlaing appeared neither angry nor concerned about the audio clip when they met, according to a report by the Bangkok Post over the weekend.

"Myanmar and Thailand remain friendly, as usual," he told reporters during a visit to an army training ground, according to the Bangkok Post. "He [Min Aung Hlaing] didn't say anything when we met. I can assure you that he understands."

However, he urged reporters to be careful when reporting on the clip, in order to avoid misunderstandings between the two countries.

The Thai and Burmese commanders have reportedly played golf together, according to Burma's state-run media. Min Aung Hlaing also reportedly met with Thaksin in Burma in April during the Buddhist New Year festival, and during a visit to Thailand in May he was awarded the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand.

Thaksin has maintained good relationships with senior officers from Burma's former military regime since the mid-1990s, including former Gen Khin Nyunt from the military intelligence unit, in a business partnership for telecommunications company Bagan Cybertech.

"Thailand sees that the army will continue to influence and rule Burma, so it assumes it can manipulate Burma if it has good and strong ties with the Burmese army," said Aung Lin Htut, a former major from Burma's military intelligence unit who now lives in the United States under political asylum. "That was why Min Aung Hlaing was persuaded with an award, the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand."

With Nasaka Border Force Abolished, National Police Move In to Arakan

Posted: 15 Jul 2013 11:58 PM PDT

The Nasaka headquarters is seen in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — A national police battalion has been deployed to Arakan State after the government's notorious Nasaka border guard force was abolished four days ago, a state government spokesman says.

"Police have been stationed in areas where security is a concern to replace the Nasaka," Myo Than, a secretary for the Arakan State government's information team, told The Irrawaddy on Monday. He said the border guard force had been stationed in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, which are largely populated by the Rohingya Muslim minority.

"The police there have nothing to do with the Arakan State Police but are under a Union-level directorate," he added.

The Nasaka, known officially as the Border Area Immigration Control Headquarters, comprises army and police officers as well as customs and immigration officials. In addition to monitoring Burma's western border with Bangladesh, it administered certain areas of north Arakan State and has been accused of rights violations against the Rohingya population there for decades. It also oversaw a controversial practice of registering Rohingya households.

Burma's President Thein Sein abolished the border guard force on Friday, according to a statement by the President's Office, but he did not publicly provide a reason for doing so.

The decision came ahead of a trip this week to Europe, where the Burmese president is expected to discuss rights abuses in his country during meetings with leaders in Britain and France.

Win Myaning, a spokesperson for the Arakan State government, declined to comment on the dissolution of the Nasaka and said he only learned about the president's decision from the President's Office statement.

Zaw Aye Maung, the minister for Arakanese ethnic affairs, said the Nasaka was abolished because the Rakhine Investigation Commission, a team tasked with investigating communal violence in the west Burma state last year, alleged in its report that the border guard force had been ineffective in performing its duties.

"The report said the Nasaka didn't have teamwork," said the minister. "I learned that the president abolished the border guard force to assign a superintendent with a separate mission."

The demise of the Nasaka will likely not affect the local Arakanese people, said a resident in Sittwe, the state capital.

"The government will surely replace it with another security force," Than Tun told The Irrawaddy, adding that security concerns for the Arakanese would arise if a replacement was not established.

Shwe Maung, a member of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), said he welcomed the dissolution of the Nasaka, which he accused of widespread rights abuses in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships.

"It is my understanding that the Nasaka was abolished because its existence, activities and formation were illegal according to the Constitution," said the lawmaker, who represents Maungdaw.

He said the Constitution only allowed administrative department officials to administer a constituency.

"We MPs from Maungdaw and Buthidaung have been complaining about the Nasaka's behavior for a long time," he said. "We are very happy, and I would like to thank President U Thein Sein for this great reform."

Additional reporting by Paul Vrieze.

Burma Leader Pledges Prisoner Release On UK Visit

Posted: 15 Jul 2013 11:46 PM PDT

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron greets the President of Burma Thein Sein in Downing Street, central London July 15, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

LONDON — President Thein Sein, the first leader of Burma to visit Britain in more than 25 years, promised to release all his country’s political prisoners by the year’s end after his host, Prime Minister David Cameron, pressed him to speed up reforms.

Cameron, who visited the former military dictatorship last year, asked Thein Sein to ensure the constitution was changed to allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to contest a presidential election in 2015 and urged him to halt inter-ethnic violence against Burma’s Muslim minority.

"We very much welcome the reform process you are undertaking in your country and look forward to free, fair and open elections in 2015," Cameron told Thein Sein. He was ready to help spur the economic and political transition of the one-time British colony with aid money, his office said in a statement.

Thein Sein, a former military commander, wants the West to help the economy of the former Burma recover from decades of dictatorship, Soviet-style planning and international sanctions, but rights groups say the West should proceed cautiously until he enacts deeper reforms.

Thein Sein said on Sunday that he had disbanded a security force accused of rights violations against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State in the west of Burma, scene of deadly violence between Muslims and majority Buddhists in the past year.

He has already freed some political prisoners, and in a speech at the Chatham House think tank promised to free all those remaining by the end of this year, saying a special committee was tackling the backlog.

"I guarantee to you that by the end of this year there will be no prisoners of conscience in Burma," said Thein Sein.

"Over the last two and a half years, we have embarked upon a transformation which I believe is unprecedented."

He also said he was close to brokering a nationwide ceasefire to end long-running ethnic conflicts.

Religious Violence

But rights activists were unimpressed. About 30 members of the campaign group Avaaz protested outside the British parliament with a banner reading: "Cameron – Don’t let Burma become the next Rwanda", a reference to the 1994 genocide when hundreds of thousands were killed.

At least 237 people have been killed in Burma in religious violence over the past year and about 150,000 have been displaced. Most of the victims were Muslim and the deadliest incidents happened in Arakan State, where about 800,000 Rohingya Muslims live, according to the United Nations.

One activist waiting for Thein Sein outside his central London hotel held a placard that read: "Wanted for War Crimes: President Thein Sein. Do not Reward."

On a two-day visit to talk trade, aid and democracy at a time when mineral-rich Burma is opening up its oil, gas and telecoms sectors to foreign investors, Thein Sein was vague about future investment opportunities, mentioning only the tourism and healthcare sectors in broad terms.

Cameron’s office said the two men had discussed developing links between their respective armies and "educational partnerships for English language training".

Western leaders have praised Thein Sein for ending the house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other reforms, but want him to loosen the military’s grip further.

Rushanara Ali, a lawmaker from the opposition Labour party, said Britain’s voice could make a difference.

"It is important not to underestimate the soft-power influence that Britain has on the Burmese government. We’ve got a unique responsibility," she told Reuters.

Thein Sein this year became the first leader of his country since 1966 to visit the White House. After leaving Britain, he is due to travel on to France.

Indian Relatives Continue Search for Missing after ‘Himalayan Tsunami’

Posted: 15 Jul 2013 11:40 PM PDT

A security personnel opens a gate covered in posters of missing people affected by flash floods and landslides in India, at the Indian Air Force base in Dehradun, in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on June 26, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Danish Siddiqui)

DEHRADUN, India — The pilgrims came seeking salvation and a place in heaven, but now their faces stare from banners and tatty flyers tacked to gates and walls of Indian villages and hill-towns.

Some are children, smiling as they pose between parents; others are elderly couples standing side-by-side looking into the camera. Many posters show groups from the same family and some offer rewards of up to 200,000 rupees ($3,340).

All carry the names of those pictured and a telephone number. All have one word in common: "Missing."

A month ago, India's Himalayan region of Uttarakhand was lashed by its heaviest rainfall on record, causing glacier lakes and rivers to burst their banks and inundate towns and villages.

Now authorities say there is little hope of finding alive the 5,748 people declared to be missing from the disaster, making it the deadliest ever in the mountainous region.

"Three generations of my family were there. What am I going to do now?" asked P.C. Kabra, a middle-aged civil servant searching for any sign of 15 relatives at the main police station in the hill-town of Dehradun.

Kabra, from the city of Lucknow, told how he lost contact with his family, including his mother, two brothers, sisters, their spouses and children, when the floods struck the Kedarnath Valley at the heart of the disaster.

"I last spoke to my elder brother on June 17 at 6 o'clock in the morning. He called me and was screaming, 'There is water everywhere. We are in danger, please help us,'" said Kabra, who has been hoping against hope as he scours the area's hospitals.

"The phone disconnected after that and I haven't been able to get through since then," he said, lifting black-rimmed glasses to wipe away tears.

The disaster affected not just inhabitants but the tens of thousands of devotees who flock each year on a pilgrimage to the temple towns of Kedarnath, Gangotri, Badrinath and Yamunotri.

Authorities say a significant percentage of the missing were pilgrims, like Kabra's relatives, who came from other parts of India. Many pilgrims and residents were stranded for days but military rescuers pulled more than 100,000 of them to safety.

The flash floods and landslides washed away or damaged 5,000 roads, 200 bridges and innumerable buildings on river banks. But with many roads still blocked, some areas are only reachable by air.

The calamity was a "Himalayan tsunami" that brought death and destruction to a rugged terrain sprawling over 37,000 sq. km, said Vijay Bahuguna, chief minister of the state of Uttarakhand that suffered the brunt.

"We are not getting into the controversy whether the missing persons are dead or not," said Bahuguna. "We are abiding by what the families of the victims say, and if they think that they haven't come back and have no hope as well, [then] we are providing them monetary relief."

Without a body, Indian law does not allow a person to be declared dead until seven years have elapsed, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a weekend interview.

Even so, the death toll is likely to be too low, say aid workers and people living in the disaster zone, who say more than 10,000 people were in the area when the floods struck.

Air force pilots, who were operating more than 40 helicopters at the peak of the search, have had to negotiate narrow valleys, sometimes flanked with dense forest, and unpredictable mountain weather. Two helicopters have crashed during the rescue and 20 servicemen killed.

While Bahuguna said it was still possible some of the injured had taken refuge in mountain villages cut off from telecommunications, air force officials did not think that was likely.

"Even if people had managed to climb up the mountains to avoid the deluge, there is no way they could have survived in these wild forests for a month," said Air Commodore Rajesh Isser, who is heading air force operations.

Government officials say most deaths occurred in the narrow, 14-km Kedarnath Valley, with its temple town dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, whose role is to destroy the universe in order to re-create it.

At the time of the disaster, officials say there were about 5,000 registered inhabitants. But there are no records of the number of pilgrims and migrant workers, many from Nepal, who work in hotels, restaurants and as porters in the region.

The area is still only accessible by helicopters that have been flying in paramilitary and army personnel, medical experts and other officials trying to locate, identify and dispose of decomposing corpses buried in mounds of sludge.

Doctors have been photographing bodies, collecting any documents or personal possessions which can be used to identify them, and taking DNA samples.

But the final figures of the dead may never be known, with many bodies believed to have been carried away by the torrents and buried deep in mud and sludge.

Some relatives grieve that this will leave them no chance of performing last rites for their loved ones. The 500,000 rupees ($8,347) compensation from the government is scant comfort.

"The money is not important," said Kabra. "It's hard to accept that my relatives will be presumed dead. Whatever the government says, I will keep looking for them. I have to have hope, otherwise I have nothing."

Stronger Labor Law In Bangladesh After Garment Factory Collapse

Posted: 15 Jul 2013 11:33 PM PDT

Relatives of garment workers gather in front of a factory belonging to Tung Hai Group, a large garment exporter, after a fire in Dhaka on May 9, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Andrew Biraj)

DHAKA — Bangladesh approved on Monday a labor law to boost worker rights, including the freedom to form trade unions, after a factory building collapse in April killed 1,132 garment workers and sparked debate over labor safety and rights.

The legislation puts in place provisions including a central fund to improve living standards of workers, a requirement for 5 percent of annual profits to be deposited in employee welfare funds and an assurance that union members will not be transferred to another factory of the same owner after labor unrest.

"The aim was to ensure workers’ rights are strengthened and we have done that," Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, chairman of the parliamentary sub-committee on labour reforms, told Reuters.

"I am hoping this will assuage global fears around this issue as well," Hossain said.

The legislation is seen as a crucial step towards curbing rising cases of exploitation in a country with 4 million garment factory workers. But activists said it failed to address several concerns and blamed the government for enacting the law in a hurry to please foreigners.

Bangladesh was under pressure to adopt a better labor law after the European Union, which gives preferential access to the country’s garment industry, threatened punitive measures if it did not improve worker safety standards.

Tax concessions offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh’s garment sector into the country’s largest employment generator with annual exports worth $21 billion. Sixty percent of exports go to Europe.

In late June, US President Barack Obama cut off US trade benefits for Bangladesh in a mostly symbolic response to conditions in its garment sector, given that clothing is not eligible for US duty cuts.

"They have made progress but the government rushed with it," said Rashed Khan Menon, president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh and a member of Parliament.

"They should have spent more time to deliberate on the issue of compensation for the injured and dead, maternity benefits and rights of domestic workers," he said.

The government is in talks with labour groups and factory owners on a new minimum wage for the garment sector. Its current $38-per-month minimum pay is half what Cambodian garment workers earn.

Bangladesh last increased its minimum garment-worker pay in late 2010, almost doubling the lowest pay. This time, wages are unlikely to go much higher as factory owners, who oppose the raise, say they cannot afford higher salaries as Western retailers are used to buying cheap clothing.

The April 24 collapse of the Rana Plaza complex, built on swampy ground outside Dhaka with several illegal floors, ranked among the world’s worst industrial accidents. A fire at another garment factory last year killed 112 people.

Education Limited for China’s Disabled

Posted: 15 Jul 2013 11:07 PM PDT

Students take a class at a primary school in Dabie Mountain, Anhui province, China, last year. (Photo: Reuters)

BEIJING — More than a quarter of Chinese children with disabilities don't get to go to school, while many of those who do are blocked from mainstream institutions or taught by untrained teachers, a human rights group said.

The report released Tuesday by New York-based Human Rights Watch said Chinese students with disabilities are denied access to regular schools unless they can prove they can adapt to the schools' physical and learning environment, and that accommodations for such students are "little to none."

In one example, the group said a mother went to school several times a day to carry her child up and down stairs because the restroom was on a different floor from the classroom.

The report sheds light on how China's burgeoning problem of social inequality—even in education—applies to people with disabilities. In China, there is only a nascent public awareness of the issues that people with disabilities face.

Prejudice and social stigma run high in this deeply competitive society, driving many parents to abandon children with disabilities to China's chronically underfunded state orphanage system.

Just days before the Human Rights Watch report was released, China's Education Ministry issued its own report on the same topic.

The ministry's report said that 28 percent of Chinese children with disabilities are not enrolled in China's compulsory nine-year education. But it said the 72 percent enrollment rate represented a jump of nearly 10 percentage points from 2008, and that an increasing number of disabled students were in regular schools with proper accommodations.

Maya Wang, a researcher for the rights group, said the ministry's report failed to show how it was making mainstream schools more accessible to disabled students, as the government is obligated to do under an international treaty on the rights of disabled people that Beijing ratified in 2008.

Yang Zhanqing, an independent advocate for people with disabilities, said the HRW report is "quite objective" but that the picture would be worse if interviewees from remote, mountainous regions were included in the research.

Another activist had harsher words on the overall situation.

"No Chinese student with disabilities has his or her rights fully protected," said Cheng Yuan of the non-governmental agency Ganzhilu, which helps people with disabilities.

In its report, the Education Ministry said both central and local governments have pumped funding into special education. Of all 378,800 students with disabilities in Chinese schools, more than half are in regular schools with necessary accommodations, including home tutoring, the ministry said.

It said schools in at least three major eastern cities are banned from turning away any student with disabilities.

However, Human Rights Watch said the reality was different. Despite government policies ensuring access for children with disabilities, many of them have in practice been denied admission to mainstream schools or pressured to leave, the report said. Often, teachers have received little training to adjust to the needs of children with disabilities, it said.

Human Rights Watch also said those who are bright enough for higher education are often denied admission under guidelines set up by the government. The guidelines advise universities of the types of "physiological defects" and "illnesses" that make a person "unable to take care of themselves or complete their studies."

The ministry said school programs take into account the students' physical capabilities as well as market needs.

Human Rights Watch said its report was based on more than 60 interviews with children and young people with disabilities and their parents.

Thai University Apologizes for Hitler Banner

Posted: 15 Jul 2013 10:58 PM PDT

Adolf Hitler is depicted alongside Superman and other superheroes outside the art faculty of Chulalongkorn University as part of a tribute to the 2013 graduating class. (Photo: Facebook)

BANGKOK — Thailand's premier university has apologized for displaying a billboard that showed Adolf Hitler alongside Superman and other superheroes, saying Monday it was painted by ignorant students who didn't realize Hitler's image would offend anyone.

The huge billboard was placed outside the art faculty of Chulalongkorn University as part of a tribute to this year's graduating class.

It said "Congratulations" in bold white letters and showed Hitler with his arm raised in a Nazi salute next to Batman, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man.

"[We] would like to formally express our sincere apology for our students' 'Superhero' mural," art school dean Suppakorn Disatapundhu said in a statement issued Monday. "I can assure you we are taking this matter very seriously."

The billboard was up for two days before being removed Saturday in response to criticism. Online photographs showed graduating students in their robes, mimicking Hitler's raised arm salute.

Suppakorn said that freshman art students had painted the banner as part of a traditional send-off from incoming students to the graduating class, and it was one of dozens of banners and billboards across the campus during the university's commencement period.

The artistic vision behind the picture was to show that good and bad people co-exist in the world, Suppakorn said after summoning the students for an explanation.

"They told me the concept was to paint a picture of superheroes who protect the world," the dean said in a telephone interview.

"Hitler was supposed to serve as a conceptual paradox to the superheroes," he said, noting that the superheroes were painted in vivid colors, while Hitler's image was in grey scale. "This kind of thoughtless display will not happen again."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights group, had criticized the banner prior to its removal.

"Hitler as a superhero? Is he an appropriate role model for Thailand's younger generation—a genocidal hate monger who mass murdered Jews and Gypsies and who considered people of color as racially inferior," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean at the center, said in a statement Friday. "The Simon Wiesenthal Center is outraged and disgusted by this public display at Thailand's leading school of higher education."

The study of history in the Thai school system revolves primarily around the history of Thailand and its long line of kings. World history is glossed over, with little or no mention of the Holocaust.

Associated Press writer Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report.
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