Friday, July 26, 2013

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Letpadaung Copper Mine to Resume Operations

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 05:35 AM PDT

A copper mine excavation about 24 km (15 miles) from Monywa in Sagaing Division. Farming families from 26 villages have lost land for the Letpadaung copper mining project. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

NAYPYIDAW — The controversial Letpadaung copper mine is set to resume operations, a union minister said on Thursday, following the signing of a new contract that gives the government a large share of the mine's profits.

Hla Tun, a union minister from the President's Office who chairs the Letpadaung mining project implementation committee, said 1,300 employees would soon return to work at the mine in northwest Burma's Sagaing Division.

"The mining project will start in the next two months," he told reporters at a press conference in Naypyidaw, adding that the project would be a model for other foreign companies seeking to invest in the country.

Burma's government and the Chinese-backed Wanbao Mining Ltd signed a new contract this week with amendments to the former contract, which was signed during the previous military regime.

Operations at the mine have been suspended since November, following a brutal police crackdown on peaceful protesters who opposed the project's environmental and social impact on local communities. The crackdown left dozens of people injured and prompted the government to set up a parliamentary committee to investigate the project's viability.

Wanbao pledged in the new contract to meet international environmental standards and to give jobs to local people, while also investing in education, health care and community development.

"Our project will benefit the community," Geng Yi, manager of Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd, told reporters. "People in the community will see improvements in education and health care."

Burma's deputy minister of religious affairs, Soe Win, said the project would affect local Buddhist sites.

"All pagodas at the mining site need to be relocated because it is not suitable to keep them in the mining area," he said. "We have already talked to other senior monks about this."

The new contract was signed on Wednesday by the government and Wanbao without prior consultation with the public.

"In the past there were problems because they signed the contract without informing the public," said Khin San Hlaing, a lawmaker and member of the parliamentary committee tasked with investigating the mining project after the crackdown. "Now they have done it again, failing to inform the public."

"I only learned about this a day ago when they came to explain in Parliament," she added. "Even then, they did not explain the details."

Wanbao says it has invested US $600 million in the project and the company intends to produce 40,000 tons of copper monthly.

Thant Shin, a minister from the President's Office, said local communities had become critical of the project due to influence from activists who oppose it for political reasons.

"There are people who want to paint [the situation] in a different color, for political motivations, to stop this project, and they are feeding the wrong message to the people," he said.

According to the new contract, Burma's government will have a 51 percent stake in the mine, while Wanbao and its business partner, the military-backed Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL), will retain 49 percent ownership. Previously, Wanbao and UMEHL held complete control.

The amendments include legal requirements that 2 percent of net profits be allocated for corporate social responsibility projects, with a focus on communities affected by the mine.

Through the commercial production period of the project, Wanbao is also required to pay $2 million per annum to ensure international standards in environmental protection are met.

Wanbao views the agreement as “heralding a new dawn in the relationship between mining companies and their host countries," according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency, citing a press release.

Photo of the Week 11

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 05:30 AM PDT

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Thein Sein Reshuffles Cabinet, State Media Reports

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 05:05 AM PDT

President Thein Sein walks with ministers and other high-ranking civil servants in Naypyidaw. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burmese President Thein Sein's administration on Thursday reshuffled its cabinet in a move that appears relatively minor compared with a shakeup last year that saw the information minister canned and four new ministerial-level posts created within the President's Office.

According to the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, four Union ministers and 10 deputy ministers have been reshuffled, while another two deputy ministers have voluntarily resigned.

At the Union level, ministers from the Energy, Industry, Labor, Employment and Social Security, and Rail Transportation ministries have been reshuffled.

Deputy ministers from the President's Office Ministry (1), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, and Ministry of Rail Transportation, as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology, have also been reshuffled.

The ministries of Health and Border Affairs have seen changes to their deputy ministerial posts.

Deputy ministers from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Rail Transportation have been allowed to resign of their own volition, the newspaper reported.

The cabinet reshuffle announcement also said the deputy chief of the Myanmar Police Force, Brig-Gen Zaw Win, has been promoted to chief of the Myanmar Police Force. He replaces Brig-Gen Kyaw Kyaw Tun, who will continue to serve in his capacity as deputy home affairs minister.

Thursday's reshuffle was the first cabinet shakeup this year, and the reason for the changes was not disclosed by Thein Sein's administration, which has rarely felt the need to offer the public an explanation when it comes to high-level reshuffles.

In last year's cabinet shakeup, Thein Sein added scholars and technocrats as deputies to some ministries in his administration. The reshuffle on Thursday saw the appointment of the rector of Rangoon's Institute of Economics as deputy minister for education. Still, the number of cabinet members with military backgrounds among those newly appointed remains a mystery.

Maung Aung Myoe, a Burmese security scholar and author of "Building the Tatmadaw: Myanmar Armed Forces Since 1948," said via Facebook that among cabinet members prior to Thursday's reshuffle—comprised of 93 ministers and deputy ministers—51 held military backgrounds.

KNU and Karen NGOs Discuss Land Rights Challenges

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 04:57 AM PDT

A group of Karen refugees by the Thai-Burmese border town of Mae Sot. (Photo: Reuters)

The Karen National Union and ethnic Karen non-governmental organizations held a three-day workshop in the Thai border town of Mae Sot this week to discuss land rights and water management challenges in southeastern Burma's Karen State, NGO workers said on Friday.

Officials of the KNU's Agriculture Department and several KNU brigades and district officers met with dozens of representatives of NGOs, such as the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen Person (CIDKP), the Karen Office for Relief and Development (KORD) and the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN).

NGO representatives urged the KNU and the Karen community to jointly address water management and land rights issues, and to come up with policies that would protect these resources for the Karen people.

"The workshop just provides us with information on how important land and water policies are. It is also like an advocacy workshop to discuss land and water policies, and people who want to give suggestions can also share their ideas there," said Saw Steve from CIDKP.

Land ownership has become a particularly pressing issue as many Karen refugees are expected to return home when Burma's government and ethnic Karen rebel groups reach a peace accord.

In January 2012, President Thein Sein's reformist government reached a ceasefire with the ethnic Karen rebels after decades of conflict. But as the two sides slowly move towards a peace agreement, land confiscation, deforestation and hydropower dam construction have increased in Karen State.

Saw Steve said reclaiming old village lands would be a difficult process for the displaced Karen, as they are required to show proof of ownership, a history of the land and accounts of old neighbors that support their claims.

More than 150,000 Karen refugees have been living in camps along the Thai-Burma border for decades, while thousands remain internally displaced by the ethnic conflict in Karen State.

Many of them lost their farms and large swathes of land were confiscated by Burmese Army units or by businessmen with close links to the Burmese government.

Few of the displaced Karen have official proof of land ownership as they traditionally farmed without legal land registration. The ethnic conflict in Karen State also prevented the formal government registration of land ownership.

Saw Steve said the KNU has been trying to address the issue of land rights and began issuing its own land documents to displaced Karen two years ago.

KNU’s Agriculture Department is responsible for collecting information about land claims made by displaced Karen villagers. If claims are approved the department will conduct land measurements and issue ownership documents.

According to NGO sources and workshop participants, the KNU said it will raise the issue of land rights during the next round of peace talks with Naypyidaw. The group will seek government recognition of land claims and show its documents containing the claims of Karen refugees.

The KNU will reportedly also develop further legal procedures for registering land claims and set up a complaint mechanism for those whose land has been grabbed by the Burma Army or businessmen.

It remains to be seen however, if Naypyidaw and the KNU can reach an agreement on the thorny issue of land rights, and whether the government would be willing to legally recognize the KNU-registered land claims.

Many refugees meanwhile, are afraid to return home as large areas of farmland are contaminated with landmines, while many also fear that conflict could resume.

KNU officials could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Fighting Resumes in North Shan State

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 04:04 AM PDT

A unit of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in Shan State. (Photo: Kyaw Kha / The Irrawady)

Clashes have resumed between government troops and allied ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State, almost a month after the gunfire last stopped.

Fighting continued on Thursday evening at an outpost of the ethnic Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). Two days earlier, the TNLA and allied troops from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) clashed with the government's Light Infantry Battalion No. 506, which attacked their outposts in a KIA-controlled area.

"Our outposts were attacked in Kutkai and Mongtong townships," said Mai Phone Kyaw, general secretary of the TNLA. "The government troops' LIB 506 attacked us with 80-82 mm rocket launchers, so we had to fight back."

According to the TNLA, three columns of government troops have made military movements west of Kutkai Township, where TNLA outposts were also attacked by the government's Infantry Battalion 145.

The TNLA—which represents the Palaung, a small ethnic group living in northern Shan State, not far from the Chinese border—is believed to have a strategic military alliance with both the KIA and the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), which is connected to the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N).

The rebel groups have been locked in a decades-long guerilla war with the central government. The TNLA supposedly has seven regiments with about 1,300 soldiers under its command, and is said to enjoy popular support among the local Palaung.

The TNLA has outposts in a number of Shan State townships, including Namkhan, Kutkai, Namatu, Mongtong, Nansam, Momate, Moegyot and west of Kyuakme.

Government troops are deployed most heavily in Nansang, Mongtong, Namkhan, Kutkai and Namatu townships. Normally, government troops camp in villages where the gas pipelines pass through from Burma's Arakan State to China's Yunnan Province.

"When government troops make a military movement in an area, they tell us to withdraw our outposts," said Mai Phone Kyaw. "If we do not withdraw, they say they will fire at us. But we have no place to withdraw, so we stay at our outposts."

The TNLA spokesman said a few people had been injured in the recent clashes but could not provide an exact number. There were not many casualties because the TNLA outposts were located in relatively remote regions, at the top of hills, where the ethnic armed group can keep watch for approaching government troops.

Before the clashes this week, the guns were silent for nearly a month in rebel-controlled areas of north Shan State, despite the close proximity between rebel and government outposts, sometimes between one and two miles apart, according to Mai Phone Kyaw.

The fighting has reportedly forced Kachin and Palaung residents to flee from their homes and hide in the jungle.

The renewed clashes occurred amid pledges by the government to soon hold a nationwide ceasefire conference with ethnic minority groups in the capital, Naypyidaw.

A 21-Gun Salute to the ‘Death’ of Censorship

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 03:58 AM PDT

‘This is an Honor for All of Us’

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 03:54 AM PDT

Lahpai Seng Raw, co-founder of the Rangoon-based Metta Development Foundation, sits with her son Brang Lai in front of their home. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

An ethnic Kachin woman who co-founded Burma's largest civil society organization was awarded with this year's Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia's version of the Nobel Prize, along with four other Asian leaders. Lahpai Seng Raw, a stay-at-home mother turned social worker who helped launch the Rangoon-based Metta Development Foundation, which provides support to displaced people in Burma's conflict-torn areas, says she was inspired by other Kachin leaders in her 40s. In an interview with The Irrawaddy this week, she said the prestigious award was an achievement that she shared with her colleagues, and added that the honor was a reminder that much work remains to help the people of Burma, also known as Myanmar, as the country transitions from military rule.

Question: First of all, can you share your thoughts and feelings about receiving such a prestigious award, which is the Asian equivalent to the Nobel Prize?

Answer: I was amazed when I first heard about it on July 12, while I was traveling to Lashio [in Shan State]. I am deeply honored by this award, but also humbled in the knowledge that I owe it all to the host of wonderful friends, colleagues and partners at home and abroad who have sustained me in my work with their wise counsel, help and encouragement. So I accept this award not as a personal honor, but as a celebration of our collective achievement.

I handed over the Foundation's leadership role to a new generation two years ago. This honor is a force for our foundation, to the new generation, to keep up the work we are doing. There are many displaced people all over our country, including in my state, Kachin State. As you know, tens of thousands of Kachin refugees are among those who have been displaced in Burma due to unstable ceasefires. As the president [Thein Sein] said, only after negotiations are made and sustainable peace is built can the refugee issue be solved. I reckon the honor comes at just the right time, while our country is on the path of reform. It also highlights that much still needs to be done.

Q: What is your role in the Foundation, after leaving your leadership position in 2011?

A: I have been working in social development for more than 20 years, since 1987. I will keep supporting those individuals or groups who I have been helping. For our country's reforms, our civil society group must be effective. We still have to keep up a lot. I will serve again on the Foundation's board of trustees this coming September.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about the Foundation and its present work?

A: I began providing assistance for community development in 1987. After a decade assisting people in the communities, the Metta Development Foundation was formed in November 1997, several years after ceasefires were made with ethnic armed groups in Burma. It [the Foundation] provides support for community development for the ethnic [communities] in these areas.

Q: What are the specific activities of the Foundation?

A: We support the community's needs, which involves agricultural awareness, education, health care, and relief and social rehabilitation works. For example, rehabilitation in the post-Nargis [cyclone] period was not only a matter of building shelters, but also raising awareness among teachers and parents about hygiene as well as environmental issues. … We focus on the community's proposal to implement a project, based on their decision, which is the most beneficial for them.

Q: When you started the Foundation under the previous military regime, what challenges did you face?

A: We were able to travel to areas where international organizations could not go. The locals also cooperated with us. We did not face huge challenges implementing our projects, except for the lack of international aid. If we had secured more foreign aid or technical assistance under the previous government, we would have done more.

Q: When you traveled, were you be able to work in ethnic areas affected by civil wars?

A: Of course, we were able to work in areas where ceasefire agreements were signed. We have also expanded our reach to help people displaced by natural disasters, not only man-made disasters, since 2004. We provided support to the tsunami victims in 2004, to the 2008 Cyclone Nargis victims in the Irrawaddy Delta, and in 2010 to the Cyclone Giri victims in Arakan State. Our support was not limited to a region. When local residents informed us about their need for help, we would reach them.

Q: Were there any other co-founders?

A: Yes, I am one of four founders of the Foundation. Actually, the four of us, we are all women who share the same commitment—two Karen ladies, another Kachin lady and I started it with US$20,000 in funding. We supported the development of agriculture, health care, education and hygiene development. Now the Foundation has expanded through multi-ethnic collaboration, with ethnic Mon and Shan representatives. My current successor is a Shan man, Dr. Sai Sam Kham. He took the leadership role in September 2011.

Q: Do you have any plans for how you'll use your cash prize?

A:  In keeping with my commitment to work for sustainable peace and a development process that spreads evenly across the country, I pledge to use the prize money for projects that will protect and preserve the Myitsone area in northern Myanmar and that will provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for communities there. We provided agricultural and breeding support as well as forestry preservation assistance before the residents were relocated to new villages. Today the area is under threat from a dam project [currently postponed], which poses grave dangers to its delicate ecosystem, its cultural and religious heritage sites and its communities, displaced and deprived of land and livelihood.

Q: What was the driving force behind your decision to get involved in social development?

A: I was a stay-at-home mom in Myitkyina [the state capital of Kachin State] before getting involved in the field. Many people impressed me—those who were dedicated to our country and weren't taking advantage of it for their own sakes. I was working with them, including ethnic leaders, and they inspired me. My first role model was the late Maran Brang Seng, who was chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). He encouraged me to become involved in work to improve the situation of destitute Kachin communities along the borderlands of northern Myanmar. Today, I thank him and the KIO leadership for directing me on this path. I would also like to offer my sincere thanks to the government of Myanmar, for opening the door for me to openly and freely initiate programs that would assist conflict-affected communities after the 1994 ceasefire agreements. The active young people in the communities are also a force that keeps me working in the field.

Q: There are many young philanthropists in Burma. What advice would you give to those who are working with civil society groups?

A: I want to encourage other women as well as the youth to try hard on their tasks, whether they perform philanthropic work individually or with a group. The power of civil society groups is significant in moving toward change in our country. The recognition of the RMAF [the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation]to a Myanmar citizen shows that civil society groups in Burma are capable of change. This is an honor for all of us.

Police Detain 2 Suspects for Mandalay Bomb Blast

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 03:26 AM PDT

The car that an explosion reportedly emanated from on Sunday is pictured. (Photo: Mann Thar Lay / The Irrawaddy)

MANDALAY — Mandalay police said on Friday that they have detained two suspects in relation with a bomb blast that occurred on Sunday near a building where ultra-nationalist Buddhist monk U Wirathu was giving a sermon.

"After studying CCTV camera footage, which was installed at the place near the area of the blast, we found that these two men were acting suspiciously so we detained them at their homes," said Soe Nyein, superintendent at Mandalay Division Police office.

"We are sorry but we cannot provide further details about the detainees because they are still suspects," he added.

The blast occurred on a street in central Mandalay on Sunday night near the entrance of a building where well-known nationalist monk U Wirathu was giving a speech to hundreds of people.

Five women and a young Buddhist monk sustained minor injuries from pieces of iron, nails and wires that were placed inside the explosive device, police have said. Officers believe the perpetrators intended to throw the bomb into the venue, but it rolled under a car before detonating, limiting the blast's impact.

There have also been other reports of how the blast occurred, however. Some eye witnesses claimed that the device was thrown from above, while others said that it had been planted inside or beneath the car.

U Wirathu leads the nationwide 969 campaign, which calls on Buddhists in Burma to shun the country's Muslim minority. The sermons of the Mandalay-based monk have been labeled hate speech and he is accused of fanning anti-Muslim sentiments at a time of growing tensions between Burma's Buddhists majority and its Islamic communities.

U Wirathu has been quick to claim that he was the target of the bomb blast, which he said was carried out by "Islamic extremist". Last month, the monk's face appeared on the cover of Time Magazine Asia with the headline "The Face of Buddhist Terror." At the time, he claimed that "Islamic extremists" had arranged the magazine cover "because they want my downfall."

Superintendent Soe Nyein said on Friday that police were still investigation the identity of those responsible for the blast, adding "It's too early to say ifs the culprits are Islamic extremists or others."

West Pushed on Conditional Trade to End Burma Rights Abuses

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 02:54 AM PDT

Demonstrators shout slogans in support of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma during a protest outside the United Nations' offices in Sanaa, Yemen, last year. (Photo: Reuters)

International human rights groups are putting pressure on Western governments to re-apply conditions for trade and investment with Burma in an effort to make President Thein Sein's government deal properly with continuing abuses in the country.

"Let's ensure that they talk human lives before they talk dollar signs," urged an online petition by the global advocacy group Avaaz ahead of Thein Sein's visit to France and England last week.

Meanwhile, in its latest report on Burma made available to The Irrawaddy, the business risks analysis company Maplecroft warns potential investors that the "near-total absence of judicial independence and a weak rule of law foster a culture of impunity in [Burma]" that poses a serious threat to business.

Avaaz says it succeeded in pressuring France's President Francois Hollande to publicly call on Thein Sein to take action against ethnic cleansing and religious violence in Burma during his visit to Paris on July 17.

Meaning "voice" in several languages, Avaaz mustered an Internet petition of more than 1 million signatories that it sent to both Hollande and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron. The petition urged the leaders to demand that ethnic violence in Burma be stopped "as a condition of improved trading relations."

There have been similar calls by Human Rights Watch, Fortify Rights International and Burma Campaign UK, which has accused Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague of "wearing rose-tinted glasses" in his view of Burma.

"You won't hear Prime Minister David Cameron talking about taking action on ethnic cleansing going on in Burma. You won't hear Foreign Secretary William Hague condemning the widespread use of rape by the Burmese Army. … They talk up the positives, but play down or don't talk about many of the negatives," Burma Campaign UK said.

"To pressure the government to return to a policy where they put human rights first, we are launching a campaign to deliver as many rose-tinted glasses as possible to Hague."

Maplecroft, in its latest report on Burma, said Thein Sein's promises during his recent visit to France and Britain on quelling ethnic violence "need to be viewed with caution, given the objective of attracting investment."

Recent actions by the Burmese government "suggest an entrenchment of discriminatory practices," Maplecroft warned, citing widespread human rights abuses, including continued land grabs, and endemic corruption as being serious risks to the international reputation of large companies considering investment in Burma.

"[Aung San] Suu Kyi's collaboration with the government against communities whose land has been taken, and her failure to speak out actively against the repression in [Arakan State], also raises doubts over the sincerity of the recent announcements.

"Investors face substantial reputational risks and should monitor the situation closely for actual change and events, rather than political promises and claims," Maplecroft advises in its report.

Maplecroft outlines three possible near-future scenarios in Burma, ranging from continuing reforms and investment to a reversal of Thein Sein's achievements due to a withdrawal of military support. It says this latter possibility is unlikely.

"The continued easing of sanctions is very likely to allow preferential access for imported goods from [Burma]. However, the government's failure to take action to prevent the spread of sectarian violence will likely lead to a continued deterioration of the security environment in the short term," said Maplecroft.

"Companies willing to accept a higher threshold of risk will continue to show interest in the country, hoping to gain an early presence in an opening market. This is most likely to occur within the retail and extractive sectors.

"On the other hand, poor infrastructure and the risk of sectarian violence will remain problematic for potential investment in value-added production projects."

Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights International, which has researched conditions for displaced Muslims in Arakan State, accused foreign governments of myopia in their praise of Thein Sein and the lifting of sanctions.

"Some members of the international community—and of [Burma's] own government—believe that market-based solutions will ultimately prevail in [Arakan] State," Smith told Asia Times.

"The hope is that Buddhist and Muslim communities will eventually peacefully integrate out of economic necessity. However, as there are currently no indications that authorities will permit displaced Rohingya to return home or grant them basic human rights, this position is deeply out of touch with reality."

Evidence that international NGO pressure may be having some effect on Western governments came to light this week with several reports that Thein Sein's recent disbandment of the Nasaka—a special border security force in Arakan State—was motivated by plans by the US government to impose some form of sanctions on it.

Washington has been petitioned by several NGOs, including the US Campaign for Burma, to act against the Nasaka, which was accused of violence against minority Rohingya Muslims, as well as corruption.

Graft remains another significant concern for prospective investors, according to Maplecroft.

"Without an independent and effective anti-corruption agency, a sudden influx of capital could further undermine already weak anti-corruption efforts," the consultancy said in its report.

"Although anti-corruption enforcement was not a key pre-requisite for the removal of international sanctions, the [Burmese] government will come under pressure to improve overall institutional capacity, in light of prospects of increased trade with Western businesses."

The Lady’s Political Tango in ‘Post-Junta’ Burma

Posted: 26 Jul 2013 02:25 AM PDT

During my visits to Burma this month and in June, several political observers and tycoons told me that it has been difficult to understand the military's motives as the country transitions toward democracy. "Since they have a vested interested in the country's business and economy, they are not going to leave soon—they will remain in power," said a tycoon on the US sanctions list who asked to remain anonymous.

I agree without hesitation. Some former army generals have told me that they are retreating, but I see the opposite: They have maintained a grip on power for so long that they will not walk away, nor will they abandon the wealth they have accumulated. They will hold on.

It will be interesting to watch the country's political trajectory over the next few years—especially outside the walls of Parliament, as the public becomes more involved in social and political movements. One businessman who was involved with construction projects under the former regime predicts that the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which has been fighting for democratic reform for a quarter century, will take more seats in the legislature. "The military leaders and government know that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party will win in this coming election, and they cannot accept this as fact," he told me, referring to the elections slated for 2015.

It's true that the NLD's political momentum has grown since by-elections in April last year, when the party won 43 of the 44 parliamentary seats it contested. There are rumors that on the evening election results were read, former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe had a meltdown while sitting with other hardline generals at his residence in Naypyidaw. He did not expect the NLD to win such a landslide victory. Some sources say he expected the opposition party to take just 25 of the 44 seats.

Since then, Burma has seen a spike in Buddhist-led nationalism and anti-Muslim riots in some major cities, with more than 200 people killed and about 150,000 displaced since clashes first broke out in June last year. Many political observers believe the military and hardline forces have played a role in instigating the riots.

Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at aungzaw@irrawaddy.org.

Still, support remains strong for the NLD and Suu Kyi, who has expressed a desire to be the country's next president. To achieve that goal, she faces the tough hurdle of amending the Constitution, which currently prohibits anyone from running for president if their spouse or children are foreign nationals. Suu Kyi's late husband was British and her two sons from that marriage hold UK citizenship.

Recently, Suu Kyi asked the speaker of Burma's Lower House of Parliament, Shwe Mann, to use his political clout to help amend the Constitution. Shwe Mann, the third-ranking general in the former military regime, has also expressed presidential ambitions and will likely be Suu Kyi's primary competition in 2015.

What is intriguing is that Shwe Mann and Suu Kyi are getting closer. This is the talk of the town in Rangoon and Naypyidaw, where the two politicians have been seen together at several public functions, including a meeting of the Union Peacemaking Working Committee for the first time at the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). Some observers question whether the pair has reached a political agreement ahead of the 2015 election.

At the same time, Suu Kyi seems to have distanced herself from President Thein Sein. In May, the democracy icon lashed out at his administration, which took power after elections in 2010. "The last three years have seen no tangible changes, especially in rule of law and the peace process," she told her committee members. "If we want success in reforms, everyone involved in the process must change. Only lip-service doesn't work."

The president did not react. Some observers say Thein Sein, a former general who served faithfully under Than Shwe's regime, is likely to retire when his term expires. During his recent visit to Europe, he said he was not preparing to contest the upcoming election and had "no objections" to Suu Kyi running for the presidency. "As of now, I have not prepared myself to run for the 2015 presidential election," he told France 24 television, speaking through an interpreter.

Back in Burma, some well-informed sources believe the president and Shwe Mann have reached an agreement to allow Shwe Mann to run in the 2015 election. One tycoon told me that a message of warning has been sent to Suu Kyi regarding the Lower House speaker's political ambitions and trustworthiness. I am sure that she listened carefully and has done her homework, but she did not respond.

Some believe Suu Kyi is putting herself in the wrong camp. Sources close to Shwe Mann have confided to me that they have concerns about the Lower House speaker. Two of his sons, Toe Naing Mann and Aung Thet Mann, are both on the US sanctions lists, with several businesses that deal in rice exports, construction and local telecoms projects. Suu Kyi is well aware of the situation and has reportedly warned them to behave themselves in order to avoid tainting their father's reputation.

As a captor of the former regime for years, the democracy icon may have an idea of the military's real motives, and could be calculating her strategy with this in mind. From house arrest to Parliament, she improved her ties with Thein Sein, but is now backing away, forming this new political alliance with the Lower House speaker. It's a change in tack, and it will likely not be her last.

Parliament Forms Committee to Review Constitution

Posted: 25 Jul 2013 11:13 PM PDT

Opposition leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi, left, sits next to Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann during lunch at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Naypyidaw. (Photo: Simon Roughneen / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burma’s Parliament on Thursday established a committee to review the country’s Constitution to consider changes that could allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to become president. The changes might also allow ethnic minorities increased self-rule.

The 109-member committee includes lawmakers from all parties in Parliament, including Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and President Thein Sein’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, along with the military’s allotted representatives.

The NLD considers the current Constitution undemocratic because it gives the military a substantial percentage of parliamentary seats and disqualifies Suu Kyi from running for president. Ethnic minority parties seek to elect their own chief ministers in their regions, rather than have them appointed.

Conflict with ethnic minorities seeking greater autonomy has bedeviled democratic and military governments alike since Burma obtained independence from Britain in 1948, and has often involved armed rebellions. Thein Sein’s government is seeking to establish cease-fires and eventually political accords with all of them.

The Constitution was drawn up under the previous military regime to ensure its continuing influence in government. The next election is in 2015.

Since coming to office in 2011, Thein Sein has instituted a series of political and economic reforms after almost five decades of repressive army rule. A major achievement was persuading Suu Kyi’s party to rejoin the electoral process after decades of government repression, and her NLD won 43 of 44 seats it contested in by-elections last year.

State television on Thursday announced a cabinet reshuffle involving 17 positions but signaling no obviously significant changes. The ministers for energy and railways traded portfolios, as did those for industry and labor, while a new national police chief was appointed, the old one retaining his other position as deputy home minister. As is customary, no reason was announced for the changes.

Sri Lanka to Reduce Troops in Ex-War Zone in North

Posted: 25 Jul 2013 11:07 PM PDT

Sri Lankan police commandos march during a passing out ceremony at their academy in Kalutara, about 35 kilometers south of Colombo in 2009. (Photo: AP)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's military said Thursday that it would eliminate 13 army camps in the former northern civil war zone and give the land back to the original owners, a move that comes ahead of key elections in the region.

Sri Lanka has faced rising international criticism for failing to demilitarize the north since the quarter-century-long civil war ended in 2009 when government troops crushed the separatist Tamil rebels, who were fighting to create a separate state for minority ethnic Tamils.

Troops will be removed from 13 camps in the Jaffna peninsula and the locations, "for which the army paid rent, will be handed over to the original owners," said military spokesman Brig. Ruwan Wanigasooriya.

The decision marks a change in the government's stance on demilitarizing the north. President Mahinda Rajapaksa last year rejected international calls to remove military camps in the region, saying his government was not prepared to undermine national security by removing them because remnants of the Tamil rebels remained active.

The move also comes after the government called for provincial council elections in the Tamil-majority Northern Province, once the theater of bloody battles between government troops and the rebels. A date for the vote—the first council elections in the province since the end of the war—has not been set, but it is likely to be in September.

Wanigasooriya, however, said the decision to remove the camps was not related to the elections, saying the military has been gradually reducing the presence of troops. He said more than two-thirds of land once occupied by the military has been handed back to its owners since the war's end and that the number of troops has been reduced to less than 15,000.

More than 30,000 troops occupied the Jaffna peninsula during the height of the war.

Since the war ended, the government has been under intense international pressure to keep its promise to politically empower the Tamils by strengthening the power of the provincial councils, which are the highest level of local government.

Sri Lanka is also facing criticism for failing to promote ethnic reconciliation and probe the allegations of war crimes by government troops during the final stage of the war.

India Police Arrest Principal After 23 Pupils Die

Posted: 25 Jul 2013 10:59 PM PDT

A sick girl rests at a hospital after consuming contaminated school meals in the eastern Indian city of Patna last week. At least 22 children died and dozens were taken to hospital with apparent food poisoning after eating a meal provided for free at their school in the Indian state of Bihar, officials said, sparking violent protests. (Photo: Reuters)

PATNA, India — The principal of a primary school in eastern India where 23 children died last week after eating lunch prepared with contaminated oil was arrested Wednesday, nine days after she went into hiding, police said.

Meena Kumari fled as soon as the children began falling ill after eating the lunch cooked at the school in Bihar state. Twenty-three children between the ages of 5 and 12 died after eating the meal and many others fell ill.

Forensic tests have revealed that the lunch contained toxic levels of a deadly pesticide.

A police team investigating the deaths arrested Kumari on Wednesday, and authorities were questioning her to establish how the pesticide got mixed with the food, said police superintendent Sujit Kumar.

Bihar's education minister, P.K. Sahi, has said the principal bought the ingredients for the meal from a shop owned by her husband, who has fled.

The school's cooks have told authorities that the principal controlled the food for the government-provided free daily lunch.

One of the cooks said that the cooking oil appeared different than usual, but that the principal told her to use it anyway.

On Wednesday, Bihar's chief minister and top elected official, Nitish Kumar, said the government would punish all those who were responsible for the tragedy.

"No one will be spared," Kumar told reporters, adding that state authorities were working to streamline the school lunch program to prevent the recurrence of such a mishap.

India's midday meal plan is one of the world's biggest school nutrition programs. State governments have the freedom to decide on menus and timings of the meals, depending on local conditions and availability of food rations. It was first introduced in the 1960s in southern India, where it was seen as an incentive for poor parents to send their children to school.

Since then, the program has been replicated across the country, covering some 120 million schoolchildren. It's part of an effort to address concerns about malnutrition, which the government says nearly half of all Indian children suffer from.

Although there have been complaints about the quality of the food served and the lack of hygiene, the incident in Bihar appeared to be unprecedented for the massive food program.

China Microblogs Praise Bo Xilai Prosecution

Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:40 PM PDT

Disgraced former Chongqing Municipality Communist Party Secretary Bo Xilai, left, with Chongqing Deputy Mayor Wang Lijun. (Photo: Reuters)

BEIJING — China's Twitter-like weibo microblogging services have become lively forums for commenting on the events of the day in China's otherwise tightly controlled media landscape. On Thursday, however, the comments about disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai's indictment for alleged corruption, bribe taking and abuse of power were uniformly positive, a likely sign that censors had removed any that criticized the government or voiced support for Bo.

The anonymity of the commentators, their lack of followers, and the echoes of official propaganda sayings in the posts strongly implied they were members of the "fifty cent army," a collection of Internet users paid to sprinkle positive, pro-government messages across the web and social media.

Here's a collection of comments that stood out for being over-the-top in their condemnations of Bo and praise for the ruling Communist Party:

From user "andylau"—"Here we have a grand display of the party Central Committee's determination to fight corruption by both 'swatting the flies and whacking the tigers.' General Secretary Xi, you are truly mighty!"

From "the young gentleman of Shenyang"—"The prosecution of Bo Xilai shows out party has the strength, the guts and the ability to both 'swat flies and whack tigers.' It is iron-clad proof of the party's unswerving determination to strictly govern the party, strictly handle affairs, and enrich the people through the fighting of corruption."

From "greenflowercity"—"Bo Xilai's brazen insubordination can never be tolerated! We're all behind efforts to get to the bottom of his crimes and of those surrounding him."

From "meiguonetizen"—"No matter who you are, no matter how big a deal you are, you break the law, you pay the price."

From "user3549178705"—"Criminal sinner against the people. The punishment is well deserved!"
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