Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Burma’s Internet to Experience Disruptions for One Month

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 06:20 AM PDT

Internet users use computers at an Internet cafe in Rangoon on Nov. 21, 2011. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Burma's Internet users should expect delays in establishing connections for a period of about one month, after a disruption occurred with the underwater fiber cable that links the country with international cable networks, Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) announced on Wednesday.

"Works are being carried out to repair the fault as quick as possible in coordination with [a] Singapore-based underwater repair and maintenance team. It is expected to take about one month," the state-owned company said in a brief announcement in government newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.

"[The] public are informed of Internet connection delay[s] while repair works are in progress," MPT said, adding that Burma is currently linked with international networks through overland cross-border connections.

MPT said that the problem began on Sunday when a "fault happened" to the SEA-ME-WE 3 underwater fiber cable at a site located 13 kilometers south off the Irrawaddy Delta's shore. The cable connects Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Western Europe.

Complaints about slow Internet connections have been increasing among Burmese-language Facebook users in recent days. In Rangoon and other parts of the country, many Internet users have been experiencing poor connections for days.

"This is not something that has happened once or twice — this has happened many times," complained a Facebook user called Saw Lynn Aung.

Nay Phone Latt, a well-known Burmese blogger who founded an information and communications technology training organization, said Burma's poor Internet infrastructure leads to recurrent connectivity problems that are never fully explained to the public.

"Whenever there is a problem with the Internet in Burma, they give an explanation that no one can understand," he said.

"To solve these Internet problems we need to develop good infrastructure in our country," Nay Phone Latt said, adding that he hoped that investment by foreign telecom firms would improve Internet connectivity in Burma.

"Now, we pay a lot of money [to use the Internet] but still we have a lot of problems," he said.

MPT officials could not be reached for comment on the Internet disruption.

Zaw Min Oo, chief engineer of the Ministry of Communication's Post and Telegraphs department, said he could not comment on the connectivity problems, but he added that the government plans to expand Internet bandwidth from 3.1 Gbps (gigabit per second) to 5.7 Gbps in the near future.

Currently, there are an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 Internet users in Burma, according to Nay Phone Latt. In 2010, there were about 400,000 Internet users, according to government estimates. The current Internet penetration of about 1.25 percent of the population is very low compared to many other Asian countries.

Burma's Internet infrastructure has been slow to develop under the previous military regime and was heavily restricted through government censorship measures. International sanctions prevented foreign telecom firms from investing in the development of Internet infrastructure.

Currently, several international telecom firms are bidding to set up mobile Internet networks in Burma and winners of the government tender are expected to be announced soon.

Burmese businesses said the current Internet connectivity problems formed an immediate obstacle to their operations and could hinder long-term economic growth and investment.

"Online banking systems will experience minor problems because of the slow Internet, but it will have an impact on those businesses mainly involved in foreign investment and trade," said Than Lwin, the deputy chairman of Burma’s largest commercial bank Kan Baw Za Bank, who is also an advisor to the Ministry of Finance.

Aung Thura, of the consultancy firm Thura Swiss, said the government should not rely on the underwater fiber cable alone, but expand international connections by linking up with networks in China and Thailand.

"It's very obvious now that Burma does not have a secure Internet infrastructure. And this could affect foreign investment while the country works towards modern development," he said, adding that Burma's poor Internet infrastructure could hinder long-term foreign trade prospects.

Tourist businesses, which are dealing with a rising number of foreign visitors, said they struggled to carry out operations due to the current Internet disruption.

"We have to use oversea phone calls now because the Internet is too slow. This is going to cost a lot of money for us," said a staff member at Bravo Travel & Tour Company based in Rangoon.

Rangoon-based media group 7 Day News said their news gathering operations suffered from the poor Internet connection.

Aung Thu Ra, chief reporter in charge of 7 Days' newsroom, said journalists were unable to download photos and documents that were sent to them via email. "We got two event invitations yesterday, but we could not open the attached file," he said.

5 Men Imprisoned for 2011 Bombings in Burma

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 05:20 AM PDT

Police examine a vehicle destroyed by a bomb blast in Mandalay in 2011. (Photo: Reuters)

MANDALAY — Five men have been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for their involvement in a series of bombings that hit Burma's capital, its second-biggest city and another major town two years ago.

The defendants, all ethnic Shan men, were jailed by a Mandalay court on Wednesday for their roles in bombings that struck Naypyidaw, the city of Mandalay and the nearby town of Pyin Oo Lwin on the same day in 2011.

Their family members, who say the sentencing occurred behind closed doors, have pledged to appeal the verdict.

"My brother is not the culprit, but he was detained as a suspect and has now been sentenced," said Sai Han Mein, the brother of Sai Thein Naing, who now faces 10 years in prison. He said the five men were being held at Obo Prison in Mandalay. "We will submit an appeal to fight this unjust judicial system," he added.

Sai Kyaw Than and Sai Moon were also sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Sai Min Sein and Sai Hla Aung were sentenced to 10 years.

The explosions hit on June 24, 2011, with three bombings reportedly occurring within minutes of each other. In the city of Mandalay, a car bomb exploded at a central market, injuring three municipal staff and damaging the market building. Within the hour, an abandoned home in Naypyidaw exploded, and another explosion occurred in Pyin Oo Lwin, a town about 45 miles north of Mandalay where a number of military institutes are located.

State-run newspapers reported at the time that five suspects had been detained and were believed to have purchased the car that exploded near Naygyo market in Mandalay. They were also accused of renting the house that exploded in Naypyidaw's Thabyaygone quarter.

The defendants' family members continue to assert their innocence.

"Although we have a concrete alibi, witnesses and facts, my brother was imprisoned. We just want justice," said Nan Marlar, the sister of Sai Kyaw Than.

From Mogok to Milan: A Fashion Odyssey

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 05:11 AM PDT

Pauk Pauk, left, puts makeup on actress Moh Moh Mint Aung. (Photo: Vincenzo Floramo / The Irrawaddy)

With her gently insinuating smile, enhanced by her clear, deep brown eyes, Pauk Pauk tells a story that speaks of passions, hopes, choices and dreams—the story of her life.

It all started in Mogok, Myanmar's famous city of rubies in Mandalay Region. When she was just five years old, Pauk Pauk followed her mother into the family hairdressing business. It was then that she began playing with cosmetics and hairstyles.

Despite having been born a boy, Pauk Pauk loved to wear feminine clothes from an early age. She also enjoyed using makeup and preferred spending her time with girls, earning her the scorn of boys.

At 16, she dropped out of school and dedicated herself to her work full-time. By this time, her gender identity had taken definite shape, as did her reputation as a makeup artist. Her talents were in great demand among the brides and traditional dancers of Mogok and Mandalay.

But the gifted teen had bigger ambitions, and soon she set her sights on Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. There, she had a chance to reveal her talents—and faced some of the toughest years of her life.

"In Yangon, I had to share a room with other people. Sexual harassment was the norm, and I was often forced to change accommodation for fear of being raped," she says.

Still, her career took off, and her skills grew as she divided her time between Yangon, where she worked as an assistant to a mentor in the film and television industry, and Mogok, where she was still much sought after during the wedding season.

Eventually, however, she decided she had to cut her ties to her earlier life in Mogok and set out on a new path. At the age of 23, after several years of working as a makeup artist in a modeling agency, she felt she was ready take another big step.

"It was mostly my desire to experiment, to try my hand in the unfamiliar field of design, that pushed me more than anything else," she recalls.

This was also when she started her first love affair, an experience that left an indelible impression on her. But her relationship with a rock singer ended badly when she discovered that he was cheating on her.

"I know it might seem hard to believe, but I've always felt like a woman, a Myanmar woman who has never sought easy sex, but rather a relationship of love," she says.

After a few romantic adventures, true love arrived when an actor from Yangon came into her life. Years later, she is still deeply attached to him.

Paradoxically, that love further fueled her dreams and prompted her to focus more and more on her work. In 2006, at the age of 35, she was ready to take her next great leap, this time beyond Myanmar's borders.

After facing many difficulties obtaining a visa, Pauk Pauk booked a flight to Milan to attend design classes at the Burgo Fashion and Design Institute.

As a girl born and raised in Myanmar, life in Italy was like being in a completely different world.

"The early days were really tough," she says. "I had to search for accommodation, the studies had already started full time, and I had to deal with the language barrier in a strange land."

But as always, she somehow landed on her feet. She made new friends and they helped bolster the resolve of the stubborn girl from Mogok, who vowed never to throw in the towel.

In many ways, life in a foreign land was an education in itself. What seemed commonplace to many Italians had the power to open her eyes to endless possibilities.

"It will seem trivial to you, but for me, just going around downtown, looking at the different styles represented in the windows of the big fashion brands' shops, was a constant source of inspiration."

Back in Myanmar, her Italian journey would yield unexpected returns.

In Mandalay, news of her return spread via word of mouth and local media soon started to take an interest in her and her designs. Demand began to grow, and with it, work—almost more than she could handle.

"During that period, I spent the week in Mandalay and weekends in Yangon," she says, describing how she kept up with the constant stream of orders from customers.

All the time and effort she has invested in her work have rewarded her more than she could have imagined: Today, she is one of the most famous fashion designers in Myanmar, and she has also begun to make a splash on the international scene.

But her ambitions are not limited to her own career: she also has great hopes of putting Myanmar on the world's fashion map. Through a scholarship program she has established for promising new designers, she aims to help others just setting out on a journey like her own.

And yet, even with so much already achieved, she still has another great dream yet to fulfill: "To create a Myanmar village where the art is able to represent our own artistic values and traditions."

Govt’s Peacemaking Efforts Remain Piecemeal, Observers Say

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 04:59 AM PDT

Government negotiators and Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) leaders exchange the preliminary agreement they signed on May 30, 2013. (Photo: Facebook / Hla Maung Shwe)

President Thein Sein's recent claim that the country could reach a nationwide ceasefire "over the coming weeks" is being met with skepticism by observers and peace process participants who say the optimistic assertion is the latest example of a government better at making promises than fulfilling them.

Despite nearly every major ethnic group having signed ceasefire agreements with the government over the last two years, ethnic leaders today are taking a more cautious approach to their engagement with Naypyidaw, given realities on the ground that they say belie the rosy view expressed by the president last week in London.

Nai Hong Sa, the general secretary of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of 11 ethnic armed groups, said he had doubts about Thein Sein's claim, adding that any signing of a "nationwide ceasefire" would be less about substance and more about public relations.

Nai Hong Sa said the government had accelerated its push for a nationwide ceasefire to serve its own ends—namely, to bolster its credentials as a reformist administration in the eyes of the international community. Establishing a durable peace in ethnic regions and solving the many and varied problems between the Union government and Burma's ethnic rebels remained a secondary concern, he claimed.

On Sunday, opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi lent the weight of her international reputation to the credibility of the peace process, participating for the first time in a meeting of the Union Peacemaking Working Committee meeting.

Opposing Visions

Nai Hong Sa said the government's technical team told UNFC representatives during their meeting last week in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, that the government was seeking to reach a nationwide ceasefire agreement before moving on to establishing a political dialogue. That approach is at odds with what UNFC representatives want, with the ethnic alliance preferring a time-bound political plan implemented alongside a nationwide ceasefire agreement.

Mahn Mahn, head of the UNFC's technical team, said it was important to have a concrete political plan implemented within a given timeframe. That would make the peace process move forward smoothly, he added.

Thein Sein's government and its political allies are reportedly feeling the heat from some in the international community who are pushing the president to move more quickly in enacting some of the unrealized reforms that the administration has promised.

One informed source told The Irrawaddy that the government's key peace negotiator, Minister Aung Min, and the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), a government-affiliated organization, are facing pressure by some international donors for failing to implement some of its approved projects, including a land mine removal program. Significant foreign funding for Burma's peace process is channeled through the MPC.

Aung Min has said the military is conducting some de-mining operations with the help of nongovernmental organizations. He highlighted a de-mining effort in Papun District, one of Burma's most mine-populated areas, in northern Karen State.

However, information disclosed to The Irrawaddy raised questions over the extent of the government's de-mining program. Small-scale land mine removal conducted by local units of the Burmese military was underway, but was motivated by the units' own respective interests, one source claimed. Meanwhile, some land mine-related activities and trainings, such as mine risk education, were being provided by Scandinavian NGOs.

One NGO, the Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), signed an agreement on May 31 with the European Commission, donating 3.5 million euros (US$4.6 million) to support the establishment and initial operations of the Myanmar Mine Action Center over the next 18 months.

The MPC has also received some funding budgeted for de-mining efforts, according to one source, but has not implemented any projects on the ground due to opposition from both the government army and the Karen National Union (KNU), an armed ethnic rebel group.

"They [Aung Min and the MPC] make promises very easily to donors to do this and that, but they can't implement the projects they promise and the budget is in their hands. So, they are being pressured by donors because they don't have activities on the ground," said the well-informed source.

"There are many international players including NGOs who want to get involved in fixing Burma's problems. They want to test the waters, but now they realize that it is not as easy as they had thought," the source added.

He said many NGOs that had opened offices in Burma were not operating with an official license and instead were conducting their activities with an "understanding" or informal "permission" from the government, awaiting the issuance of more formal Memoranda of Understanding.

A Conference Unrealized

Last month, the Burmese government promised an EU delegation in Naypyidaw that the government would hold a major peace conference with ethnic armed groups in July. The government planned to invite leaders from every major ethnic armed group to come to Naypyidaw, where it was hoped that the parties would sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement. That plan now looks unlikely, at least for this month, with just one week left in July and a ceasefire between the government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) still unrealized.

While the motivations for the government's peace push remain up for debate, observers agree on the importance of achieving a nationwide ceasefire if the national reconciliation process is to move forward. In the meantime, some worry that ceasefires and other agreements reached between the government and respective non-state armed groups will only prove satisfactory in the short term, with key rebel demands, especially concerning military matters, still unaddressed by the government.

Calls by non-state armed groups for the government to withdraw its troops from ethnic territories have been ignored.

Bertil Lintner, a veteran journalist who has produced several books on Burma, said barring fundamental constitutional reform, Naypyidaw's peacemaking efforts would be of little substance.

"I think it's a propaganda stunt to please international donors," he told The Irrawaddy. "There will be no peace in the country until and unless it has a new Constitution, and that goes not only for the relationship between the non-Bama [Burman] peoples and the center but also for the way the country as a whole is being governed."

Critics of the peace process also say the liaison offices opened after the signing of ceasefire agreements have done little to strengthen the ceasefire agreements in place. Instead, some allege that officers at liaison offices are busy receiving guests from business circles, some of whom seek to curry favor via envelopes filled with cash or ethically dubious invitations to be wined and dined.

Some also claim that significant budget allocations on travel, accommodation and dining for peace negotiators are being spent—including on private planes often hired for peace teams to attend meetings abroad—with little substantive peace process progress to show for it. Ethnic leaders lament what they say is a lack of authority vested in MPC representatives, nearly all of whom belong to the country's ethnic Burman majority.

Having dealt with the government's peace negotiators for more than two years, Nai Hong Sa said he could list very few encouraging developments in the course of his engagement with Naypyidaw. While government peace negotiators have agreed "in principle" on many matters, the government army continues to send more troops, weapons and rations to ethnic regions and in some cases has rebuilt its military bases in ethnic territories instead of withdrawing troops.

Last week, a clash between government troops and the New Mon State Party (NMSP) killed two ethnic Mon soldiers. The fighting broke out despite the existence of an 18-year-old ceasefire agreement. As in the latest incident in Mon State, fighting in Kachin and Shan states is on and off, in violation of ceasefire deals and other agreements signed to ease tensions.

"It has taken more than two years already, but there is no significant improvement on the ground. About 100 clashes have also been reported in Shan State even though there is a ceasefire agreement. It shows there is no trust," Nai Hong Sa said.

Skeptics of the government's stated intentions say Naypyidaw wants peace and a nationwide ceasefire agreement only on its own terms, agreeing to concessions on military matters only "in principle." Concrete steps from the government are lacking, they say, with pledges like troop withdrawals from ethnic territories unlikely to be fulfilled by officials who maintain a policy of one state, one army.

In a recent interview with The Irrawaddy in Rangoon, long-time Burma watcher Ashley South said two theories predominated when it came to the military's relationship to the nominally civilian government of Thein Sein.

"I think there are many different scenarios, but I guess the two main things that people talk about are: Either the government has its reform and peace agendas, and the Myanmar Army has its own responsibilities for security and national defense, and the Myanmar Army might not always have the same priorities or agenda—or interests—as the government," said South, who is also a consultant with the Norwegian-led Myanmar Peace Support Initiative.

"Or there is a conspiracy theory that, actually, behind closed doors the government and the Army have quite well-worked-out 'good cop, bad cop' roles: While the government is engaging in reforms and the peace process, the Myanmar Army is at the same time still pursuing a policy of military expansion to defeat the armed groups, one by one," he continued, declining to reveal the theory to which he subscribed.

Nai Hong Sa said economic development projects were being prioritized over progress on military matters.

"Some international players don't know the real situation," he said. "They think that if there is economic development, ethnic armed struggles will be quieted and peaceful. Because they are fed this line by the government, they focus on aid and development projects. And if there is stability, some of them want to make investments and do business. They don't prioritize the root of armed conflict."

Several ethnic observers said aid and development projects were short-term fixes that would not be able to replace an inclusive political dialogue as a means of ending ethnic armed struggle in Burma.

Echoing that sentiment, Nai Hong Sa pointed to the fragility of economic progress in conflict-prone regions, as in Kachin State, where a 17-year-old ceasefire between the government and the KIA broke down two years ago. The retreating Kachin rebels destroyed many of the businesses and infrastructure that had been built up in the state since the signing of the ceasefire in 1994.

"That means if there is no political stability, there is no guarantee for economic and other developments. They [the government and international players] should realize it. If they don't realize it, they will face another big challenge," Nai Hong Sa said.

Observers also say the ceasefire agreements remain little more than pieces of paper, with ample examples of accords breaking down over the years.

"I used to tell U Aung Min that if we don't put a political solution in place first, but prioritize business, it is pushing in the wrong direction," Nai Hong Sa said. "We engage in armed struggle not because we are starving."

Emphasizing the need for a more meaningful peace-building effort, he warned that development alone is a two-sided coin.

"Even if we do succeed in business, we can then buy more weapons and recruit more troops. And the civil wars will spread even wider and longer. This is also something to keep in mind."

In Photos, Words and Art, a Generation Looks Back on 1988

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 02:01 AM PDT

One of the many visitors to this year's exhibition contemplates portraits of leading resistance figures. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

One of the many visitors to this year's exhibition contemplates portraits of leading resistance figures. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

The collective memory of one of Burma's most iconic generations has re-emerged in an impressive art show commemorating the 1988 popular uprising that became known worldwide as the 8888 Uprising.

The art show, currently on display at the Rangoon University Judson Hall exhibition annex on Pyay Road, this year celebrates the silver jubilee of the uprising, known as 8888 because of the significant events that took place on Aug. 8, 1988.

With the growing environment of free expression in Burma, the exhibition has drawn on previously unseen art works, poetry, writings, sculptures and cartoons produced by former political prisoners both during and after their incarceration.

The quality and depth of the works portrayed, alongside a trove of archival material, comes together in a collection of work both comprehensive and illuminating of the events that now form a significant chapter in the Burmese people's struggle for political, intellectual and artistic freedom.

Former political prisoner Min Ko Naing, who has attended the exhibition, reflected on what a difference a quarter century can make.

"For the previous 25 years, the military government distorted our cause, however now the people's struggle can be preserved and taught to the next generation," he said.

As did many political prisoners, Min Ko Naing spent some of his time in captivity painting. One of his works, "Teardrop," is included in the exhibition.

Min Ko Naing said that of all the paintings at the exhibition, a piece by former prisoner and artist Ra Hula, which offers an abstract depiction of the revolutionary uprising, resonates most deeply for him.

"Ra Hula was one of a number of prisoners sent to the notorious Coco Island detention center. Conditions there in the late '70s were so bad that the prisoners went on hunger strike in an attempt to persuade authorities to return them to Insein jail in Rangoon. More than 10 prisoners died as a result, although Ra Hula survived and passed away only last year."

The exhibition closes on Wednesday.

Toll from China Quake Hits 94, With 1,000 Injured

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 12:31 AM PDT

Villagers and paramilitary policemen carry a coffin to a funeral after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Yongguang village of Minxian county, Gansu province, on July 23, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

BEIJING — Rescuers with shovels and sniffer dogs chipped away at collapsed hillsides Tuesday as the death toll rose to 94 from a strong earthquake in a farming region of northwest China.

Just one person was listed as missing and 1,001 as injured in Monday morning's quake near the city of Dingxi in Gansu province.

About 123,000 people were affected by the quake, with 31,600 moved to temporary shelters, the provincial earthquake administration said on its website. Almost 2,000 homes were completely destroyed, and about 22,500 damaged, the administration said.

The quake toppled brick walls and telephone lines, shattered mud-and-tile-roofed houses and sent cascades of dirt and rock down hillsides, blocking roads and slowing rescue efforts by crews trying to reach remote areas.

Hospitals set up aid stations in parking lots to accommodate the injured, while hundreds of paramilitary People's Armed Police fanned out to search for victims in the region of terraced farmland where the quake struck about 1,200 kilometers (760 miles) west of Beijing.

Min county in Dingxi's rural south accounted for almost all the deaths and the worst damage.

Urban areas where buildings are more solid were spared major damage, unlike the traditional mud and brick homes in the countryside.

Tremors were felt in the provincial capital of Lanzhou 177 kilometers (110 miles) north, and as far away as Xi'an, 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the east.

The government's earthquake monitoring center said the quake was magnitude-6.6, while the US Geological Survey said it was 5.9. Measurements can often vary, especially if different monitoring equipment is used.

The Chinese Red Cross said it was shipping 200 tents, 1,000 sets of household items, and 2,000 jackets to the area. Other supplies were being shipped in by the army and paramilitary police, which dispatched around 6,000 personnel and two helicopters to aid in rescue efforts.

But heavy rain is expected later in the week, raising the need for shelter and increasing the chance of further landslides.

Gansu, with a population of 26 million, is one of China's more lightly populated provinces, although the New Jersey-sized area of Dingxi has a greater concentration of farms in rolling hills terraced for crops and fruit trees. Dingxi has a population of about 2.7 million.

China's worst earthquake in recent years was a 7.9-magnitude temblor that struck the southwestern province of Sichuan in 2008, leaving 90,000 people dead or missing.

Vietnamese Dissident Said Weak from Hunger Strike

Posted: 23 Jul 2013 11:03 PM PDT

Defendants found guilty of anti-state crimes stand in front of dock at a court in Nghe An Province, about 300 km south of Hanoi, on Jan. 9, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Vietnam News Agency)

HANOI, Vietnam — One of Vietnam's most prominent dissidents is on the 30th day of a hunger strike in protest against being held under solitary confinement, family members said Monday, casting fresh attention on Vietnam's human rights record ahead of trip by the country's president this week to the White House.

Nguyen Van Hai, also known as Dieu Cay, is serving a 12-year prison term for conducting "propaganda against the state" in relation to his blogging and citizen media activities. His case has been mentioned by President Barack Obama, whose administration is appealing for the release of political prisoners.

It is unclear whether human rights will be discussed in talks scheduled for Thursday between Obama and Vietnam's President Truong Tan Sang. Administration officials have said in the past that closer ties between Vietnam, which shares US concerns about China, would be difficult unless it release dissidents and loosens its grip on freedom of expression.

Hai's son, Nguyen Tri Dung, said he was allowed to meet with his father for five minutes on Saturday at "Prison No. 6" in central Nghe An province. Earlier this month, his ex-wife visited and Hai was dragged away when he told her about his hunger strike.

"He is in a very serious condition, I could not recognize him, his face was color and he could not sit," Dung told The Associated Press.

Dung and Hai's ex-wife Duong Thi Tan were waiting outside the prison on Monday for talks with prison officials.

Prison authorities were not immediately available for comment.

Dung said Hai, 60, told him that he would continue his hunger strike until prosecutors responded to his complaints that he had been put in solitary confinement illegally.

Human Rights Watch said Monday it was concerned about Hai's health.

"The government should also immediately release Dieu Cay without conditions, along with other prisoners held for exercising their rights to express their views and peacefully act on their beliefs," it said in a statement.

Hai is one of Vietnam's most well-known dissidents at home and abroad, and the co-founder of the Club for Free Journalists. The group was established in September 2007 to promote freedom of expression and independent journalism. He was first detained in 2007 as a result of his political views. His 12-year prison term began in September.

The US administration has repeatedly called on Vietnam to allow freedom of expression in the communist country. The ruling party has shown few signs it is listening, apparently concerned that allowing greater political freedom would result in it losing power. The rapid spread of the Internet in the country has opened new avenues for dissent. So far this year, 46 people have been convicted and sentenced for dissident activities, many of them bloggers.

Indonesian Nazi-themed Cafe to Close Amid Outrage

Posted: 23 Jul 2013 09:42 PM PDT

Henry Mulyana, foreground, operates the Soldatenkaffee in Bandung, which is decorated with Nazi paraphernalia and has staff dressed in costumes reminiscent of the SS. (Photo: Jakarta Globe / Yuli Krisna)

BANDUNG, Indonesia — The owner of a Nazi-themed cafe in central Indonesia said Monday he has decided to permanently close down amid intense pressure from home and abroad.

Henry Mulyana, who ran the Soldatenkaffee in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung, met with local authorities Monday, and tourism chief Herry M. Djauhari suggested that Mulyana change the name and theme of the cafe.

City officials had earlier expressed concerns about the cafe's motives and worried it might incite hate and racism in the town, which is a tourist destination.

Mulyana said he is considering his options, but will not reopen the Soldatenkaffee cafe.

The cafe opened in 2011, but recent media reports about its Nazi-related memorabilia, including a red wall with a portrait of Adolf Hitler and a flag with a swastika symbol, have prompted angry responses from foreigners and Indonesians.

Mulyana insisted that he was not pro-Nazi but that he was instead using the decorations to attract customers.

It is the second time this month that Nazi images have provoked controversy in Southeast Asia. Last week, Thailand's premier university apologized for displaying a billboard that showed Adolf Hitler alongside Superman and other superheroes, saying it was painted by ignorant students who didn't realize Hitler's image would offend anyone.
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