Wednesday, July 3, 2013

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Military MPs Chided for Silence on Telcoms Bill

Posted: 03 Jul 2013 05:02 AM PDT

Military-appointed members of Burma's Parliament attend a legislative session. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

Military representatives in Parliament were scolded by a legislative leader on Tuesday after they failed to contribute to debate over a telecommunications bill currently under deliberation.

Khin Aung Myint, speaker of the Upper House of Parliament, criticized the silence of military lawmakers after they failed to indicate whether they favored or rejected the bill's various chapters during a parliamentary session on Tuesday.

"Army representatives are to say 'yes' if you agree and 'no' if not. You have a responsibility to answer when I ask you all, because every chapter from the telecommunications bill is discussed for approval," Khin Aung Myint said.

"Regarding your indecisive actions, you have been warned indirectly several times. If you do not indicate yes or no, I can order you folks to stay out of the Parliament for this session," he warned.

As a matter of legislative procedure, each chapter of a bill must be presented to parliamentarians for their approval.

During Tuesday's deliberation of the telecommunications bill, Parliament's military representatives failed to respond after being repeatedly prompted to do so, said Hla Swe, a representative from Pwint Phyu constituency.

"It seems that they [the army representatives] became bored and did not say anything in response after the chairman had asked them 20 times. They are not suited to this situation because they are soldiers. Since they did not respond, the chairman got angry and scolded them," he said.

Khin Aung Myint's displeasure prompted him to suggest that the seemingly disinterested military lawmakers remove themselves from the legislative chamber, according to Phone Myint Aung, a representative from South Okkalapa.

"He [Khin Aung Myint] told them they could stay outside if they were not interested since they were sitting without uttering a word," he said.

Unlike other parliamentarians, who were elected by the public, the legislature's military representatives were selected by the Burma's commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing.

That fact makes the lawmakers beholden to the military chain of command, said another member of Parliament.

"Army representatives cannot perform as they wish. They can only continue with orders from above," he said. "It seems that the commander-in-chief asked them to come to the parliamentary meeting to listen and observe the situation only. They have neither the right to talk nor discuss. There was some discussion by them at the very beginning of the parliamentary meetings, but after some time, discussion ceased."

Commenting on Tuesday's events, political analyst Yan Myo Thein said the situation highlighted the need for constitutional change.

"It is useless to the whole political process to let the army have 25 percent of seats in Parliament. According to their nature, army representatives will only do as instructed," he said, referring to a constitutional provision that guarantees the military 25 percent of seats in Parliament. "If the army cannot give up that 25 percent of seats, it should allow the soldiers who are interested in politics to be in Parliament, while letting them enjoy the right to talk and discuss."

One elected lawmaker from Myay Pone constituency claimed that on any issue putting the government at odds with Parliament, military representatives sided with the government. He added that they opposed anything perceived as hazardous to military interests.

Another parliamentary representative agreed.

"They [military representatives] never talk about the desires of the public. It is assumed that they will only do things related to the army as they are not representatives of the public. They, of course, will object if they think the interests of the army will be hurt," he said.

The Constitution has been the subject of much discussion since the reformist President Thein Sein took power in 2011. In addition to the military's guaranteed allocation of seats in Parliament, restrictions on presidential eligibility have been scrutinized by supporters of opposition leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi, who is unable to run for the office because her late husband and children are foreign citizens. Critics say these provisions and others make the 2008 Constitution fundamentally undemocratic.

Shwe Mann Demands Parliament’s Involvement in Burma’s Peace Process

Posted: 03 Jul 2013 02:45 AM PDT

President Thein Sein, left, and Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann, right, at a USDP party conference in Naypyidaw in October 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burma's Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann is calling for the direct involvement of Parliament in the ongoing peace negotiations between President Thein Sein's government and ethnic rebel groups, while he also questions the progress that has been made in the talks.

"During the peace process negative consequences could arise if we try to achieve peace agreements that are not in accordance with law," he said in Parliament on Tuesday. "It could affect the safety of citizens and cause the government to fail in its protection of citizens."

Shwe Mann said it was important that lawmakers stay informed about the discussions between ethnic groups and Thein Sein's peace negotiations team, which is led by President's Office Minister Aung Min.

In an effort to underline his demand for more parliamentary involvement in the peace process, he took the unusual step of calling a meeting of the country's National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) on Monday.

According to some lawmakers, Shwe Mann's questions about Thein Sein's actions signal that a political rivalry between the two leaders of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is developing.

Formed in 2011, the 11-member NDSC is chaired by Thein Sein and includes the speakers of both houses of Parliament, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and his deputy, two vice-presidents and four ministers. The council has a lead role in a State of Emergency, during which it has special powers, such as the authority to proclaim martial law.

Shwe Mann told MPs that the NDSC agreed on Monday that the government should reserve funds for supporting the peace process.

"Foreign donors have said they will support housing for the repatriation of refugees and create employment opportunities, only after peace prevails. But I told [the council] that we should not wait for outside support, we can use our own funding, because our people are in great difficulties," he told journalists in Naypyidaw on Tuesday.

Last year, Thein Sein's reformist government reached ceasefire agreements with 10 of the most important ethnic rebel groups, although it has failed to reach an agreement with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in northern Burma, where fighting resumed in June 2011.

The international community has lauded the progress made by Thein Sein, Aung Min and presidential advisors from the government think-thank, the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). Foreign governments have promised generous aid for the peace process and the MPC.

Naypyidaw has told diplomats that it will hold a national peace conference with all ethnic groups this month. The plan is surrounded by questions, however. A ceasefire agreement with the KIA remains elusive, while there has been little progress in discussions with other groups over their demands for political autonomy.

On Monday, Shwe Mann questioned the government's progress in the peace process. "I've been informed by some lawmakers and through public opinion that the peace talks have failed to achieve peace," he said.

It was the first time that Shwe Mann, who is also chairman of the ruling USDP, which is affiliated with members of Burma's former military regime, has openly questioned the government's approach to the peace talks.

According to some, such public criticism signals a widening rift between the Lower House speaker and the president. The latter chaired the USDP until May 2 when Shwe Mann took over the party's chairmanship.

It remains unclear which of the two USDP leaders will represent the party in the all-important 2015 national elections, which are supposed to be Burma's first free and fair elections in decades.

An opposition lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, told The Irrawaddy, "When Shwe Mann replaced Thein Sein as USDP chairman, that's when the power struggle between them started heating up."

The MP claimed that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy (NLD), had been positioning herself closer to Shwe Mann, as both leaders are in the Lower House and want to gain more influence on decision-making by Thein Sein's government, particularly in the peace process.

"Aung San Suu Kyi and Thura Shwe Mann are in the same political boat, and on the other side are President U Thein Sein, Aung Min and the [Myanmar Peace Center]," he said. "These two groups are now in a power struggle."

The claims that Suu Kyi's has shifted towards an unofficial alliance with Shwe Mann against Thein Sein echo a persistent rumor that has been circulating for several months among political observers in Rangoon and Naypyidaw.

"Now, Aung San Suu Kyi has closer relationships with Shwe Mann. She has already begun to criticize Thein Sein's reforms," the MP said, referring to remarks by the NLD leader. In late May, Suu Kyi said the reform measures of recent years "have produced no tangible changes" for the rule of law and peace in Burma.

NLD MP Phyo Min Thein dismissed the claims about his party leader. "I reject the idea that Aung San Suu Kyi and Shwe Mann are forming a political alliance against the government," he said in a recent interview, adding that the two simply enjoyed a good working relationship.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is a Lower House member and Shwe Mann is the speaker, so they have good relations in order to pass legislation," he said.

Shwe Mann denied that his questioning of the peace process was part of a growing political rivalry between him and the president.

"There are talks between the government and Parliament as their opinions are not the same," he told reporters on Tuesday. "Such differences in opinion are normal, so we have to negotiate. When we do that, we follow the people's voices and desires because we are parliamentarians."

Additional reporting by Nyein Nyein.

 

Sri Lanka Bans Time Magazine Over U Wirathu Cover Story

Posted: 03 Jul 2013 05:38 AM PDT

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa looks on as the newly appointed Chief Justice Mohan Peiris swears in on Jan. 15, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka has banned the current issue of Time magazine over a cover story on violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Burma because it could affect religious sentiments on this Buddhist-majority island, a customs official said Wednesday.

Customs department spokesman Leslie Gamini said it has seized 4,000 copies of Time’s July 1 edition, which bears a photo of Wirathu, a radical Burma monk, with the headline “The Face of Buddhist Terror.”

“We have decided not to release this edition” because it could hurt religious feelings in Sri Lanka, he said. Buddhism is Sri Lanka’s state religion.

Burma’s government has also banned the issue of the magazine “to prevent the recurrence of racial and religious riots.”

Wirathu is a leader of a movement of monks that preaches that Burma’s small Muslim minority threatens racial purity and national security. He has called for restrictions on marriages between Buddhists and Muslims, and for boycotts of Muslim-owned businesses. Nearly 250 people have died and tens of thousands, mostly Muslims, have fled their homes in religious violence in Burma in the past year.

Religious tension has also been on the rise in Sri Lanka. Hate speech, vilification and attacks on Muslim-owned businesses and places of worship by Sinhalese-Buddhist groups have occurred in recent months. Inaction by police and other officials has spurred allegations that the government supports the campaign, which it denies.

Groups led by Buddhist monks have spread allegations that Muslims are dominating businesses and trying to take over the country demographically by increasing their birthrate and secretly sterilizing Sinhalese-Buddhists. Muslims make up 9 percent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million people, while Sinhalese-Buddhists account for almost 75 percent.

International concerns have also been expressed over Sri Lankan religious tension.

A US-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in March expressed concern over religious discrimination.

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele J. Sison expressed alarm in April over rising hate speech and attacks against Muslims.

Thai Subsidy Scheme Leads to Burmese Rice Sell-off

Posted: 03 Jul 2013 05:31 AM PDT

A farmer plants rice seedlings in a paddy field on the outskirts of Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Thai traders are flocking to Burma to buy up cheap rice with the aim of selling it to a Thai government rice-buying scheme that is supposed to support Thai farmers, the Myanmar Rice Merchants Federation says.

"For a long time, Thailand did not buy any rice from Myanmar… But at the beginning of this year, Thai traders started to buy normal rice and broken rice [grains] from Myanmar and transport it across the border," said Ye Min Aung, the federation's secretary.

The federation organized a press conference in Rangoon on Wednesday to highlight the increase in the largely unregulated trade in rice.

"This cross border rice trade is related to the Thai government's rice scheme. Thai farmers will benefit if they buy cheap Burmese rice and import it into Thailand for this scheme," Ye Min Aung said. "The Thai government offers a good price for the rice."

On Tuesday, Thai newspaper The Bangkok Post reported that Thai officials at the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border crossing discovered 25 tons of rice hidden in a cargo truck. The paper said the rice was destined to be sold under the Thai government's rice pledging scheme.

In 2011, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra revived a rice subsidy program that offers to buy up rice from paddy farmers at 15,000 baht (US $420) per ton, well above the market price. The program was first started under her ousted brother Thaksin, who sought to woo Thailand's rural voters.

The scheme has been dogged by allegations of massive corruption and cost billions of dollars in government funds. The scheme also pushed up rice prices in Thailand, causing rice exports to fall. On Tuesday, the Thai government announced it was cutting the minimum rice prices for farmers with 20 percent.

The Myanmar Rice Merchants Federation (MRMF) said it would investigate the cross border rice trade to Thailand, adding that it should be regulated and involve Burmese rice traders. "We need to find out whether a lot of rice is exported across the border to Thailand, officially or unofficially," Ye Min Aung said.

Official rice exports from Burma have almost tripled in the last three years and are poised to reach 1.4 million tons in the current fiscal year, rice experts said in March. Only two years ago rice exports still stood at a mere 537,000 tons.

A fourth of Burma's $45.4 billion GDP comes from the farming sector, according data by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation from 2011, the most recent available figures.

Ye Min Aung said however, that the surge in the unregulated flow of Burmese rice to Thailand still remained relatively small compared to the massive, unofficial rice trade on the Burma-China border, which is estimated to have a volume of 800,000 tons.

"Burma and China don't have bilateral trade agreement yet [for rice], even though the Burmese government asks for it every time they meet with China," he said.

"So rice from Burma simply flows [unregulated] across the borders. The Chinese authorities could take action against the traders, but they don't do it because their people demand this rice."

Mechanics Forced to Retool as Newer Cars Flood Burma’s Market

Posted: 03 Jul 2013 03:20 AM PDT

Automotive shop owner Than Oo works on the engine of an older vehicle at his shop in Rangoon. (Photo: Sean Havey / The Irrawaddy)

As the sun set on Rangoon and the heat dissipated after a long day of rains, Ba Bu Lay sat and watched as his sons finished repairs in a shop full of imported Japanese and European cars.

These days Ba Bu Lay, who owns Ba Bu Lay and Sons in a section of town known for auto mechanics' shops, doesn't have much competition.

"There used to be so many workshops in Yangon. Now the old cars are slowly, slowly gone and the new cars come and the old mechanics don't know how to work on them," Ba Bu Lay explained.

Started in 2011, a kind of "cash for clunkers" program in Burma has spurred the import of Japanese cars by encouraging owners of the old, battered vehicles that once filled streets across the nation to turn them into scrap metal at a government-run facility on the outskirts of Rangoon. In exchange for their clunkers, participants receive a voucher that allows them to import a used car from Japan that previously would have had a prohibitively high tax imposed on it.

The net effect of the program is obvious in Rangoon, where newer Japanese imports increasingly crowd the roads.

"Between October 2011 and April 24, 2013, a total of 160,431 cars were imported into Myanmar," Thein Myint Wai, an assistant director at the Ministry of Commerce, told The Irrawaddy in April.

Despite the surge of new cars, the lifelong mechanic Ba Bu Lay said small workshops are suffering because they don't know how to work on the new models.

Thanks to his shop's good reputation, locally based diplomats have been bringing their more sophisticated vehicles to his shop for more than 20 years, he said. To keep up with the demand, Ba Bu Lay sent his sons to Singapore 10 years ago to learn how to work on new vehicles that require a more specialized skill set.

This foresight gave him and his four sons a jumpstart on the advanced technologies, Ba Bu Lay said as he smoked a cigarette and watched his sons close shop for the day.

Business is good at Ba Bu Lay and Sons, but others have not been so fortunate. With many of the older, problem-laden cars now being used as scrap metal, and their replacements featuring far more complex machinery, a generation of mechanics is fading.

"Many mechanics who only work on the old cars have closed their shops because they cannot follow the technology," Ba Bu Lay said.

Near Ba Bu Lay's shop in a crowded Rangoon classroom, men write words like "manufacturing specifications" and "powertrain" in their notebooks as mechanical engineer Zaw Ye Win lectures them on the importance of properly diagnosing a malfunctioning car before attempting to fix it.

The students are learning how to run on-board diagnostics, or OBD, as the wave of used Japanese cars floods Burma. With all the new imports, many of Burma's mechanics are finding themselves at a loss when it comes to knowing how to properly work on the newer and more sophisticated cars, Zaw Ye Win confirmed.

"All of our mechanics only know how to work on older cars and traditional diagnostics," he said. "They run the car and listen to the sound of the engine and they may drive it around a little bit and it's all according to the mechanic's experience, but that doesn't work on the newer cars."

Because of this knowledge gap, Zaw Ye Win and a few friends from engineering school founded Engine Doctor Engineering, a school that teaches mechanics how to handle the new technologies.

"Running diagnostics correctly is one of the most important things when working on a used car," said Zaw Ye Win, who opened the mechanics school earlier this year. "And most of the countrymen can only afford to buy used cars."

So far, each month-long class has been filled with mechanics, most of whom own or work for auto shops. After learning how to use the sophisticated and oftentimes proprietary OBD equipment, they will bring that knowledge back to their shops where they can teach their coworkers, Zaw Ye Win said.

Myat Ko Ko, the managing director of Skyhigh, a used car dealer, said the newer models bring another challenge. Despite a new Toyota dealership in town, which has most parts immediately available, procuring parts for the changing car landscape in Burma can be difficult and delays repairs, Myat Ko Ko said.

On top of the struggle to locate parts, finding a mechanic capable of working with the new cars' computer-based technologies can be equally difficult, he said.

So hard that Myat Ko Ko has had to bring in a mechanic from Thailand who is more familiar with Japanese cars to work on his own sports car.

"[My mechanic] doesn't speak Burmese and I don't speak Thai so there is a lot of miscommunication between the two of us, but he is better than anybody locally," he said with a laugh.

The Lady as President? Don’t Count on It.

Posted: 03 Jul 2013 02:56 AM PDT

At this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia meeting, held in Naypyitaw in early June, opposition leader Daw Aung Suu Kyi reiterated her desire to become president of Myanmar. "I want to run for president and I’m quite frank about it," she said at a debate held in the Myanmar capital.

There are certainly many who would like to see her realize her wish when the country next goes to the polls in 2015. My bet, however, is that it won't come to pass, for the simple reason that there are too many people in positions of power who fear it.

For the men who once ruled Myanmar with an iron fist, the current political order is the best of all possible worlds, and one they will not relinquish willingly.

After decades of international criticism, Myanmar's generals and ex-generals are now fêtedaround the world for introducing reforms. Far from facing justice for past crimes against the country's citizens—including countless human rights violations and the theft of national assets—the leaders of the former military regime have either comfortably retired or assumed high positions in the current quasi-civilian government.

While the three areas of the state's power—the government, the Parliament and the military—have competed among themselves for a greater share of power under the current system, they are not about to let their rivalry go too far, because they all know that they benefit from the status quo. Above all, they will not allow anyone to upset their efforts to reap the rewards of reform even as they maintain their overarching control.

This is why, I believe, the next president of Myanmar will be one of the leaders of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), and not Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Kyaw Zwa Moe is editor (English Edition) of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at kyawzwa@irrawaddy.org.

As disappointing as this may be to her many supporters, however, all is not lost: There is still a very good chance that she could become vice-president. The real question, then, is who will capture the top spot in 2015, and how that person will manage his relationship with the woman who would be president.

When U Thein Sein, Myanmar's current president, was handpicked by former junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe to lead the quasi-civilian government that took over from the military in March 2011, he was widely expected to stay in office only for a single term. Now, however, that is not so certain, as he has expressed an interest in capitalizing on his success in winning international and domestic acceptance to seek another term in office. It seems, then, that he is now one of the main contenders for the presidency post-2015.

Unlike the last time, however, he will have a serious rival next time round: Lower House Speaker U Shwe Mann, another ex-general who previously occupied the third-highest position in the former military regime. In his current position, U Shwe Mann has won accolades for allowing Parliament to function as a forum for genuine debate, instead of merely acting as a rubber-stamping institution. At the WEF meeting in Naypyitaw, he told The Irrawaddy that he is also interested in becoming president.

Much has been made of the relationship between U Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi: It was their meeting several months after the present government was formed that set the stage for the dramatic changes that were to follow.

Far less has been said about how well U Shwe Mann gets on with Myanmar's most famous political figure. Some analysts have suggested that the two see each other as rivals, but actually, the opposite seems to be true: It is now believed that they have become allies.

The key issue for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is whether she can win support for her efforts to change the 2008 Constitution, which bars her from becoming president on the grounds that she was married to a foreign national.

Shortly after she expressed her desire to become president, U Thein Sein said in a television interview that it was up to Parliament to amend the Constitution—signaling that he was not the one who would come to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's aid.

It is to U Shwe Mann, then, that she must turn if she wants to become president—or the next best thing, vice-president.

And so it comes as no surprise that Myanmar's most prominent parliamentarian and the Lower House speaker have, according to sources close to both figures, been informally discussing ways to amend the Constitution so that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi can become vice-president, in exchange for her backing of U Shwe Mann's bid to become president.

This arrangement comes with possible risks to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's reputation, since the public generally regards U Shwe Mann as less reputable than President U Thein Sein. But the opposition leader has evidently decided that the risk she is taking is worth the potential reward.

So how does this fit with the problem of resistance to any change at all from Myanmar's powerful vested interests?

No one in the government, the Parliament or the military wants to give Daw Aung San Suu Kyi the power that she seeks. However, with a "guardian" like U Shwe Mann, who still has considerable influence over the military, the one-time "enemy" of the former regime will be seen as less of a threat to their interests.

This will, in fact, be welcomed by those who fear another confrontation with The Lady, whose domestic and international support remains strong. By making this concession, they may hope to diminish the risk that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi—who will be 70 in 2015—will eventually achieve her long-term goal of becoming president.

For her part, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi may also be prepared to accept something less than the presidency in the interests of achieving national reconciliation. As vice-president, she can continue to work hard to heal the wounds of nearly 50 years of military rule, during which a tremendous division has grown between Myanmar's supposed defenders and its people.

This will also reassure the international community, which is watching developments in Myanmar closely, that reforms are not losing momentum. For whether Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is president or vice-president after 2015, the country will clearly be a very different place from what it was before.

This viewpoint appeared in the July 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.

Thein Sein Cannot Control Army, Shan Rebels Say

Posted: 03 Jul 2013 02:19 AM PDT

Yawd Serk, center left, dresses President Thein Sein in traditional Shan attire during a meeting in Naypyidaw last month. (Photo: Ye Htut / Facebook)

RANGOON—Burma's President Thein Sein is unable to control the army, a major ethnic rebel group said following talks with the government in Naypyidaw.

The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), a rebel political group in east Burma, said that despite Thein Sein's desire for peace in Burma's ethnic minority states, the president lacked real authority over the country's armed forces, who continue to clash with ethnic rebels despite ceasefire agreements.

"The president worries that true peace cannot be obtained and he worries about the re-emergence of battles," the RCSS said over the weekend, in a joint statement with its armed group, the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N).

"Some people from the government want reforms, but some don't," it added.

The RCSS, which has signed a ceasefire agreement with the government, made the statement on Saturday, following meetings in Naypyidaw in early June. The meetings, which saw Thein Sein talk with an RCSS-SSA delegation led by Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, were held at the request of the Union Peacemaking Working Committee.

Other ethnic armed groups have also questioned Thein Sein's authority, especially over government soldiers in north Burma's Kachin State, where fighting escalated early this year despite calls by the president for a unilateral ceasefire.

"Look at the example of the Kachin issue," Naing Han Thar, secretary-general of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), an ethnic rebel group in Mon State, told The Irrawaddy. "The president wrote to the army [to stop attacking], but the army did not obey. So the army is trying to cling to its own style and ways of operating. You can see that the government cannot be influential over the army,"

Following the latest peace talks in Kachin State in May, Kachin rebels and the government made a tentative peace agreement but clashes continued in June.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a military analyst based on the China-Burma border, said current clashes in Burma did not indicate weakness on the part of Thein Sein. He said the military was continuing to operate in accordance with plans created by Burma's former dictator, Sr-Gen Than Shwe.

The military analyst added that Thein Sein did not have sole authority to make decisions, as power in the country was divided between leaders of the army, Parliament and the government.

"Because all three leaders have authority, none of them has a right to make a decision [alone]," he said. "But at present, regarding the peace process, the army is the most powerful. Even if U Thein Sein, the president, told the army [to stop fighting], the soldiers would not pay attention. It's just Than Shwe's workmanship."

In the last union-level meeting in eastern Shan State in May last year, a Shan delegation led by Yawd Serk signed 12 agreements with the government, led by Minister Aung Min from the President's Office.

Offshore Gas Hunt Will Not Yield Swift Energy Relief for Burma

Posted: 03 Jul 2013 02:12 AM PDT

Protesters outside the Chinese Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand, demand an end to the Shwe gas pipeline project. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

The imminent awarding of licenses to explore for oil and gas in 30 sea blocks off Burma's coast will not immediately solve the country's energy crisis and could embroil investors in escalating sectarian violence, industry analysts warn.

That's the view of foreign observers who also warn that despite progressive changes in Burma over the last 24 months, the rule of law remains plagued by corruption and interference by military interests that could hamper investors.

Bids for the 30 blocks, 19 in deep water and 11 in near-shore shallow locations, closed in mid-June and winners are due to be announced within days, according to the Ministry of Energy.

While little interest was shown earlier by big foreign oil companies in a batch onshore blocks, the likes of BP, Shell, Chevron, Petronas of Malaysia Thailand's PTTEP and China National Offshore Oil Corporation are understood to being among those bidding for the offshore stakes.

The territorial waters of Burma are where all the country's big natural gas discoveries have been made—from the Bay of Bengal close to Bangladesh in the west to the Gulf of Martaban on Burma's east coast.

"It is perhaps significant that Burma's offer of 18 onshore blocks in January failed to attract the interest of any large oil companies," independent energy industries analyst Collin Reynolds told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

"Taking up an offshore block is going to be much more expensive because of the highly specialized equipment needed and the more precarious conditions of operation. On the other hand, there are zero complications over land access and ownership, issues which I think have been causing numerous problems since the liberalization."

The potential prizes are big for both developers and Burma, which desperately needs access to energy resources to fuel a massive expansion of electricity production upon which the country's economic growth will depend.

The Naypidaw government has made clear that future gas and oil finds must first be used for Burma's benefit before any new energy exports can be allowed. At present, almost all of the natural gas produced or soon to be produced from offshore fields is piped abroad under long-term contracts.

"The Energy Ministry has recently implied that the allocation of the new offshore blocks to new investors will quickly help solve Burma's energy requirements, but that it certainly not going to happen," said Reynolds, who is based in Bangkok.

"Offshore E&P [exploration and production] is a long process. The Shwe field, which is soon to go onstream to feed the Chinese pipeline through Burma into Yunnan [province], has been under development for more than 10 years. I believe the first contracts were signed with Daewoo [International, of South Korea] in about mid-2000," Reynolds said.

The chairman of Burma's Energy and Renewable Energy Committee, Thaung Win, told a South Korean investors conference on June 24 that natural gas would soon play a "vital role" in Burma's growth, and predicted a 70 percent increase in gas production. He provided no information to back up this figure.

Daewoo's development partners include two Indian state oil firms, ONGC Videsh and GAIL. Almost all the Shwe gas found in two blocks—totaling more than 200 billion cubic meters so far—has been bought by China under a long-term contract.

Land confiscation and compensation claims continue to bedevil the area of Kyaukphyu on the Arakan State coast, where the transhipment point for Shwe gas to the onshore pipeline just completed by the China National Petroleum Corporation is located, as well as other Chinese oil installations.

Land rights issues and the rule of law are both highlighted in a new study as significant problems facing foreign companies planning to invest in major infrastructure projects in Burma.

"Political reforms have yet to bring notable improvements to the rule of law, with a continued absence of judicial independence, corruption at all levels of government, and widespread discrimination against ethnic minorities," said the 70-page study seen by The Irrawaddy this week.

The study, "Human Rights and Societal Risk Report – Myanmar," was compiled by Maplecroft, an international business risk assessor based in Britain.

"In the medium term, the one element of governance that may witness some improvement is corruption, particularly within the extractives sector. This is because of [Burma's] agreement to work under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative [EITI], under international pressure," the Maplecroft report said. "However … the extremely weak judicial structures are continuing to undermine enforcement of many of [Burma's] decades-old business and security regulations."

Maplecroft says the success of any investment is "heavily reliant on good relationships with government officials, who regularly demand bribes, resulting in unfair competition and exposing investors to allegations of corrupt practices."

A large proportion of the offshore blocks offered for development are off the coast of Arakan State, where violence between Muslims and Buddhists has led to more than 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and a heightened military presence—a combination that often leads to abuse, human rights NGOs have noted.

"While [Burma] is currently adapting its regulatory framework to improve the country's attractiveness for investors, the process is marked by a near-complete lack of transparency or consultation with stakeholders," the Maplecroft study said.

"In particular, land acquisition for commercial operations continues to be associated with extreme social risks. Discretionary power vested with government agencies in land transactions and dispute resolution leads to high prevalence of involuntary displacement as a result of land grabs."

US Sanctions Burmese General for North Korea Ties

Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:06 AM PDT

Lt-Gen Thein Htay, Burma’s former minister for border affairs, addresses a news conference in Rangoon last year. Thein Htay has been blacklisted by the US government for alleged continued arms deals with North Korea. (Photo: Reuters)

WASHINGTON — The United States imposed sanctions Tuesday on a Burmese general who it says violated a UN Security Council ban on buying military goods from North Korea despite Burma's assurances it has severed such ties.

Lt-Gen Thein Htay is the head of the Directorate of Defense Industries, which the United States designated for sanctions a year ago, saying the organization has carried out missile research and development and used North Korean experts.

The latest US action does not target Burma's reformist government, which has continued to take positive steps in severing military ties with the North, the Treasury said. That has been a key goal of the Obama administration's engagement with the government of President Thein Sein, who has introduced democratic changes after decades of authoritarian rule that had led to international isolation.

Washington says the arms trade provides Pyongyang with revenue for its nuclear and missile programs that threatens the United States and its allies. North Korea has conducted long-range rocket and atomic tests in the past year that have deepened concerns about its weapons' capabilities.

In response to Burma's reforms, the United States has eased its longstanding restrictions on trade and investment in the impoverished Southeast Asian country but it still enforces targeted sanctions against individuals it considers to be bad actors.

"Thein Htay has disregarded international requirements to stop purchasing military goods from North Korea, the revenues from which directly support North Korea's illicit activities," Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen said in a statement, without specifying the goods that were purchased.

Thein Htay took part in a secret visit by top Burma military officials to North Korea in late 2008. They visited military facilities, and according to the US State Department, signed a memorandum of understanding with North Korea to provide assistance to Burma to build medium range, liquid-fueled ballistic missiles.

It is unclear what kind of military hardware and know-how Burma has actually obtained from North Korea. The leader of the 2008 mission, then-junta No. 3, Shwe Mann, has since renounced the military trade with the North. Tuesday's action, however, reflects US concerns that Thein Htay has allowed it continue.

Shwe Mann, who is now speaker of the lower house of Parliament and is considered an advocate of democratic reform, was taken off the US sanctions list last September. As chief of Burma's ruling party, he has cooperated with opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Shwe Mann told The Associated Press during a visit to Washington last month that Burma's arms trade with North Korea has stopped.

"If there's any information that we hear on this matter we will continue to take actions as required. Because our country, like others, will abide by the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council," he said. "We are not neglecting this matter."

As US Companies Disclose Burma Investments, Washington Blacklists General

Posted: 02 Jul 2013 11:54 PM PDT

Lt-Gen Thein Htay, center, and Shwe Mann, right, who is now Burma's lower house speaker, stand with a delegation of North Korean officers in 2008, in a photo leaked at the time from Burma's Defense Ministry. Thein Htay, a former border affairs minister, has been blacklisted by the US government for alleged continued arms dealing with North Korea.

RANGOON — Five American businesses have filed "responsible investment" reports with the US government as part of new requirements for companies putting more than US$500,000 in Burma.

The reports, posted on the website of the US Embassy in Burma, come as the United States ups diplomatic and commercial engagement with a country that was long under American sanctions.

Two of the five companies listed so far—Hercules Offshore Inc. and Crowley Marine Services—have carried out small-scale support work in Burma's energy sector, working with Thailand's PTTEP, which in turn has partnered with the long-controversial state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). Any commercial dealings by American companies with MOGE must be reported, according to the investment requirements.

Companies are required to report on human rights, worker rights, anti-corruption and environmental policies, and procedures relating to their Burma operations. In a detailed submission, Hercules Offshore said a compliance officer visited Burma twice to check on whether subcontractors were sticking to the rules, while Crowley Marine Services reported that it "maintains a comprehensive series of policies and procedures that address environmental and social concerns."

While many of the sanctions on Burma have been removed and big-name American businesses such as Coca-Cola and General Electric have set up shop in the Southeast Asian country, some prominent Burmese businessmen, collectively nicknamed "cronies," remain blacklisted due to links with the former military junta.

And despite the removal of a visa ban on Burma government officials and a general thaw in bilateral relations, former Border Affairs Minister Lt-Gen Thein Htay was on Tuesday added to the US blacklist due to alleged continued arms trading with North Korea.

The general's military links with Pyongyang go against the Burma government's pledges to stick to UN Security Council resolutions targeting North Korea and to end its previous military links with the country, which were once said to have included imports of nuclear material.

"Thein Htay has disregarded international requirements to stop purchasing military goods from North Korea, the revenues from which directly support North Korea's illicit activities," said David S. Cohen, the US Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

The US government said the listing of the general was not aimed at its Burmese counterpart, and it seems the move is unlikely to undermine nascent commercial and political ties between the two countries.

Burma's President Thein Sein visited the United States in May, following a stopover by US President Barack Obama in Rangoon late last year. In a nod to the warming diplomat links between the former adversaries, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Burma's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in Brunei on Monday that "President Thein Sein works with a resurgent parliament that includes former military officers working alongside [opposition leader] Aung San Suu Kyi, and that is really an incredible testament to the possibilities of what happens with leadership and with values and the possibility of progress."

Last year the United States ended a ban on imports from Burma, except for Burma's multi-billion dollar jade and ruby mining sectors, both of which have been linked to ongoing fighting between the Burma Army and ethnic minority rebels in Kachin and Shan states.

And while American companies eye investment opportunities in Burma, Burmese businesses are in turn hoping to expand, based on hopes of accessing the American market.

For Burma's labor-intensive garment sector, selling to US-based buyers represents "a good opportunity for the Myanmar garment makers," according to Myint Soe. He is chairman of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, representing more than 150,000 workers in a sector that took hefty commercial losses during the United States import ban.

China Says Mekong Operation Seized $400m of Drugs

Posted: 02 Jul 2013 10:49 PM PDT

Officials inspect a collection of seized drugs in Rangoon on June 26. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

BEIJING — Drugs worth more than 2.5 billion yuan ($400 million) have been seized in a two-month multinational operation targeting crime along the Mekong River, China's drug enforcement chief said Tuesday.

From late April to late June, authorities from China, Laos, Burma and Thailand shared intelligence and hunted for drug lords and fugitives, resulting in the detention of 2,534 suspects and the seizure of almost 10 tons of drugs and more than $3.6 million in drug-related assets, according to Liu Yuejin, director general of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security.

The four countries began joint security patrols along the Mekong River in late 2011 after the grisly murders of 13 Chinese sailors on a section of the river that flows through the Golden Triangle region, notorious for drug production and trafficking as well as extortion gangs. In March of this year, China executed the accused ringleader, Burma citizen Naw Kham, and three accomplices who were found guilty of the murders.

Liu told a news conference also attended by representatives from Laos, Burma and Thailand that following the trial and execution of Naw Kham, they had seen a "dramatic decline" in the activities of drug rings and criminals operating in the Mekong region and Golden Triangle. Their success has been seen in tighter supplies and higher prices for drugs in China and Thailand, he said.

"This shows that the demand for drugs has far exceeded the supply of drugs. This is because criminal rings and individuals during that time were afraid of carrying out high-profile activities," he said.

Liu said 60 to 70 percent of the drugs in China come from the Golden Triangle, where methamphetamine production is surging even as that of opium and heroin has been suppressed through enforcement efforts.

Liu said that in the future, the four countries would work toward poppy eradication in the Golden Triangle, northern Laos and northern Burma and promote the growing of substitution crops.

In Search of an Asian or Asean Identity

Posted: 02 Jul 2013 10:40 PM PDT

Women stand under the Asean flag at a human rights and democracy demonstration ahead of the Asean Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Nov. 16, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)

Much is made about the 21st century belonging to Asia, but what exactly does this mean? This is not a question of the region's rising economic and political importance, but the broad strokes in which observers seem to brush over the continent is rather misleading. Talks of Asian growth are largely specific to China and Southeast Asian countries as opposed to the continent of Asia.

The confusion largely stems from the absence of any agreed definition of an Asian identity, due in part because Asians themselves are not necessarily united beyond the continent on which they inhabit. In common parlance, "Asia" is sometimes used to refer only to the peoples of East and Southeast Asia; however, Asia encompasses far more than those countries bordering or in the Pacific.

With respect to that fast economic development in Southeast Asia, the region is no less united in pursuit of prosperity and resolving territorial disputes. Asean has served as the primary vessel through which Southeast Asian nations address and manage regional concerns; however, the forum has proved rather ineffective in dealing with the South China Sea disputes. Hopes of an Asean unity may appear far off, but it is a far easier task than an Asian unity.

The Asian Identity

From a large portion of the Middle East and the Mediterranean to the Pacific Ocean, "Asian values" nonsense to the contrary, Asia cannot be defined as one language, one people, or one religion. It is not surprising that Asia is often broken down to sub-regions such as the Middle East, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia so as to better describe who and what one is discussing.

Talk of one unifying Asian identity is, at present, a hypothetical exercise given its size. If there is an Asian identity, it will be so vague as to be nonexistent. Regardless, a discussion on Asian identity does provide an opportunity to compare against Europe, no less diverse, and its successful establishment of a European identity.

Simply put, Europe, even with the broadest of generalizations, is a far more cohesive entity than Asia. There exists a quality to "being" European-born from possessing certain shared values and beliefs, a shared continental history despite language, religious, and cultural differences. Western Europe and Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and Southern Europe—though each is different, they are also similar. The relative locality of nations and their shared borders, to say nothing of their history, have undoubtedly factored into the creation of a European identity and, as a result, the establishment of the European Union.

Asia, however, is a creation of Ancient Greece and has been perpetuated since, rather than a term originating from the continent. The term has only ever been used for broad strokes as opposed to referring to a specific group of people; and as such, it is not hard to imagine why no meaningful Asian identity has been established.

Distance as a consequence of Asia's geographic size, in addition to its colonized past, has instead limited the exchange of historical cultural interactions between Asian nations. Although modern technological advances in communication and transportation such as the Internet and air travel have essentially eliminated, if not significantly reduced, barriers between Asian countries, creating an Asian identity similar to that in Europe would be no small feat, to say nothing of a potential integrated economic zone akin to the European Union.

Despite these difficulties, the Asia Cooperative Dialogue appears to have taken the first step toward fostering pan-Asian unity. Created in 2002, the organization aims to incorporate "every Asian country and building an Asian Community without duplicating other organizations or creating a bloc against others." Only time will tell just how effective the ACD will prove.

An Asean Unity

If not Asia, then what about Asean?

At the heart of Asia-Pacific are China and the member states of Asean; however, the future bodes ill for Asean unity. The 2012 Asean Summit in Cambodia saw for the first time in the organization's history a failure by member states to issue a joint closing statement, due in part to disagreements over China and the South China Sea.

The apparent failures of Asean may be attributed to a combination of its diverse membership and soft touch toward confronting issues. Although there is much to respect about the Asean way, it must be said that the Asean way has thus far proved ineffective in dealing with the South China Sea disputes. If Asean is to remain relevant in the coming years, it must change to reflect the times.

First, China is no longer a peasant country as it once was during the establishment of Asean. In today's Asia-Pacific, China is a giant. It has economic, diplomatic and military weight. Though many Asean member states (especially Vietnam and the Philippines) are apprehensive with respect to China's increasing assertiveness in the region, they are unable to muster an appropriate response, as evidenced during the 2012 Asean Summit.

Second, Asean must recognize its limitations. The organization is without a natural leader. That every member state is equal may appear ideal, but it leaves Asean rudderless when tackling challenges such as the South China Sea disputes. Asean needs a leader, a state possessing the influence and resources necessary to muster its fellow members into action.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, for Asean to endure, it must be rooted in something deeper than economic pursuits; and as such, the organization must put forth core values on which it will build for the future. These values should include individual freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Talks of Asean unity cannot have any real hope of success without encompassing those intangible qualities that are beyond monetary value.

For the similar reasons regarding an Asian identity, Asean unity is difficult to establish due to the fact that Asean member states are quite diverse, linguistically and culturally. Southeast Asia includes a number of ethnic groups and their respective languages, and dozens of religions as diverse as Christianity and Islam to Buddhism and Confucianism. Southeast Asia is no more united in identity than Asia.

Nevertheless, Asean unity is important largely because foreign interests do not always align with those of Asean states. China cannot be expected to hold the best interest of Asean at heart, and why should it? Chinese foreign policy is explicitly Chinese. Without a common foreign policy, Asean, and Southeast Asia as a whole, will be subject to the dictations of foreign powers.

Asean must grow to be more than an organization, more than a forum for discussion. It must seek to establish and grow an identity. Southeast Asia is far too vague, too broad, to define and unite; however, Asean if given a proper mandate, can aspire to champion the causes of Southeast Asia.

Khanh Vu Duc is a lawyer and part-time law professor at the University of Ottawa who researches on Vietnamese politics, international relations and international law.

Mongolia Neo-Nazis Announce a Change of Tack: Pollution Control

Posted: 02 Jul 2013 10:33 PM PDT

A bulldozer is seen as members of Mongolian neo-Nazi group Tsagaan Khass, walk through a quarry during a so-called "environmental patrol," 50 km southwest of Ulan Bator on June 23, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — A Mongolian neo-Nazi group has rebranded itself as an environmentalist organization fighting pollution by foreign-owned mines, seeking legitimacy as it sends Swastika-wearing members to check mining permits.

Tsagaan Khass, or White Swastika, has only 100-plus members but it is one of several groups with names like Dayar Mongol (Whole Mongolia), Gal Undesten (Fire Nation) and Khukh Mongol (Blue Mongolia), expanding a wave of resource nationalism as foreign firms seek to exploit the mineral wealth of the vast country, landlocked between Russia and China.

From an office behind a lingerie store in the Mongolian capital, the shaven-headed, jackbooted Tsagaan Khass storm-troopers launch bizarre raids on mining projects, demanding paperwork or soil samples to be studied for contaminants.

"Before we used to work in a harsh way, like breaking down doors, but now we have changed and we use other approaches, like demonstrations," the group's leader, Ariunbold Altankhuum, 40, told Reuters, speaking through a translator.

On a patrol to a quarry in grasslands a dusty two-hour ride from the capital, members wore black SS-style Nazi uniforms complete with lightning flashes and replica Iron Crosses.

They questioned a mine worker against the sound of machinery grinding stones about paper work, opting to return in a week when the owner had returned.

"Today our main goal is to save nature. We are doing things to protect the environment," Altankhuum said. "The development of mining is growing and has become an issue."

The group, founded in the 1990s, says it wants to halt pollution in the landlocked former Soviet satellite as foreign companies dig for gold, copper, coal and iron ore using cheap labor from neighboring China and nearby Southeast Asia. But a lot of the pollution is caused by local, illegal miners working individually.

"We used to talk about fighting with foreigners, but some time ago we realized that is not efficient, so our purpose changed from fighting foreigners in the streets to fighting the mining companies," Altankhuum said.

Foreign-invested mining companies contacted by Reuters either were unavailable for comment or did not want to comment.

Mongolians fear foreign workers are taking up scarce jobs in an economy where nearly 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the Asia Development Bank.

"Mining is important because it's 90 percent of our economy," said political commentator Dambadarjaa Jargalsaikhan. "But the unequal channeling of this revenue, the inequality in this country, that's the major issue."

Not helping the Tsagaan Khass environmental credentials among mainstream observers, apart from the uniforms, is Altankhuum's reverence for Adolf Hitler.

"The reason we chose this way is because what is happening here in Mongolia is like 1939, and Hitler's movement transformed his country into a powerful country," he said.

Enjoying the Attention

Because of comments like that, some observers dismiss groups such as his as self-serving and irrelevant.

"Mongolia's neo-Nazis have been receiving too much attention from global media, and they've obviously been enjoying it," said Tal Liron, a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago who specializes in national identity. "They do not, however, represent Mongolians as a whole, any more than neo-Nazis in Britain represent the Brits.

"…Mongolians are cosmopolitan, savvy and perfectly capable of adapting many foreign ideologies and fashions to their context. For example, they have since 1990 thoroughly and vibrantly embraced representative democracy, just as they embraced socialism before 1990. I think that's the real story here: Mongolians are not and perhaps never were a remote, isolated people. And they're also quite capable of understanding irony, especially in regards to their contemporary condition."

Resource nationalism has been a major election issue in Mongolia, where the largest foreign investment is the Oyu Tolgoi project, 66 percent owned by global miner Rio Tinto and the rest by the government.

Oyu Tolgoi is expected to boost Mongolia's economy by about a third by 2020. Annual output in its first decade is expected to average 330,000 tons of copper and 495,000 ounces of gold.

But Rio has said since February it will not begin exports from the mine until it resolves disputes with Mongolia over royalties, costs, management fees and project financing.

"They are saying they have signed contracts on it and are giving some percentage of that to the people," Dorjgotov Purev-Ish, a 39-year-old manual laborer, told Reuters, describing government assurances of the advantages to flow from Oyu Tolgoi.

"But our family hasn't received any benefit."

Incumbent president Tsakhia Elbegdorj, who wants more controls on foreign mining investment, won a second term last week, riding concerns over the faltering economy and the growing role of foreign firms.

Colonel Tumenjargal Sainjargal of the National Police Department said the right-wing phenomenon began 15 years ago when young people grew angry at the appearance of foreign languages on signs and made threats against business owners.

"They said it was too much, that it looked like a Chinatown," Sainjargal said.

"There are complaints that some foreign-invested companies hire Mongolian employees and cheat them, use violence, over work them, or refuse to pay money owed to them. Afterward, some of these Mongolians call the nationalist groups. There have been a few incidents with nationalists coming to companies for violent reasons to resolve the conflicts in their own way."

It seems unlikely Tsagaan Khass's new green thinking will be enough to repair its reputation after accusations of violence, such as shaving the heads of women it claimed were prostitutes serving foreign customers.

"We didn't shave the heads of the women, we just cut their hair," said Altankhuum. "But today we are changing. That was crude. That time has passed."

North Korea Seeks Talks with US to Ease Tensions

Posted: 02 Jul 2013 10:28 PM PDT

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun, center, arrives for a retreat session during the 20th Asean Regional Forum in Bandar Seri Begawan on July 2, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Ahim Rani)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei — North Korea's top diplomat said the United States must accept its offer for dialogue without preconditions if it wants to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. He drew a quick rebuttal from his South Korean counterpart, who said the international community has made clear that Pyongyang must give up its nuclear ambitions if it wants better relations.

The Koreas were among 27 nations at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Brunei, where the North's nuclear weapons program was a key topic, along with other hot-button regional issues such as South China Sea territorial disputes. Asia's largest security forum includes the United States, North Korea and the four other countries involved in long-stalled nuclear talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions in return for aid.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the United States, South Korea, Japan and China—North Korea's chief ally—were "absolutely united" in their insistence on a denuclearized North Korea. Washington says Pyongyang must move in that direction before it will agree to talks, but North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun said during the conference Tuesday that it is America that must act.

"The US must positively respond to our sincere and courageous decision [to offer talks] without preconditions if it is truly interested in ending the vicious circle of intensifying tension on the Korean Peninsula and safeguarding peace and stability," Pak said, according to North Korean delegation official Choe Myong Nam.

Pak said that "a touch-and-go situation in which a war can break out anytime is fostered" on the Korean Peninsula, and that US hostility against the North was primarily responsible for that, Choe told reporters. Pak said the United States must sign a peace treaty with North Korea to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War and lift sanctions against the country, saying the North Korean nuclear standoff won't be resolved unless the United States changes its tone, according to Choe. The war ended with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.

Shortly after Choe spoke, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told reporters that most diplomats at the forum expressed a "very strong message" to the North Korean delegation that Pyongyang must scrap its nuclear program and refrain from another provocation.

"So they must have listened to this message very, very seriously," he said.

A senior US State Department official said North Korea needed to comply with UN Security Council resolutions on denuclearizing and commit to actions as well as talks. "What is needed are credible and authentic negotiations to eliminate North Korea's nuclear program," said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue and so spoke anonymously.

After the conference ended Tuesday, a statement by the forum chairman said ministers had reiterated their support for efforts to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula peacefully. It said most ministers had "encouraged" North Korea to honor past disarmament pledges.

North Korea surprisingly offered to talk with the United States and rejoin long-stalled international nuclear disarmament talks last month after weeks of tension following its February nuclear test. US officials have responded coolly to North Korea's overtures, and analysts say the impoverished country often raises tensions with provocative behavior then calls for talks in order to win outside concessions.

Kerry stepped up pressure on the North to abandon its atomic ambitions after meeting with his counterparts from China, South Korea and Japan. He emphasized Washington's common cause with Beijing, which is North Korea's longtime ally and main aid provider but has been angered by Pyongyang's ramping up of tensions. China has supported tightening UN sanctions and cracked down on North Korean banking activity.

"China made clear to me they have made very firm statements and very firm steps that they have taken with respect to the implementation of that policy," Kerry told reporters.

The nuclear disarmament talks have been stalled since North Korea quit the negotiations in 2009 to protest international condemnation over a rocket launch.

Yun's office said Russia's foreign minister also expressed his opposition to North Korea possessing nuclear weapons when he met with his South Korean counterpart on Monday.

On Tuesday, senior North Korean nuclear strategist and First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan left for Russia. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov as saying he'll meet with Kim in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the possibility of resuming the six-party talks.

Kim, who served as North Korea's top nuclear negotiator, visited China last month and Chinese officials said he expressed his country's intentions to resume the talks during his visit.

Since the Asean security forum includes all members of the six-party talks, it has previously been a venue for informal talks to break stalemates over the nuclear standoff. But there have been no reports that North Korea had similar talks with the United States or South Korea in Brunei.

On South China Sea disputes, meanwhile, the forum chairman's statement said Chinese and Southeast Asian diplomats would meet in China in September to start official consultations on a proposed legally binding "code of conduct" aimed at preventing armed clashes over long-simmering territorial disputes in the area.

The step, however feeble, represented progress toward a longstanding call for China and the 10-nation Asean bloc to negotiate a nonaggression pact to prevent the disputes from turning violent. China, Taiwan and four Asean member countries—Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam—have overlapping territorial claims over resource-rich islands, islets and reefs and surrounding waters in the busy South China Sea.

In a meeting with his Southeast Asian counterparts Monday, Kerry said Washington wanted to see immediate progress on the proposed "code of conduct" between China and the Asean bloc to ensure regional stability. Kerry reiterated that it was in the US national interest that the disputes are resolved peacefully and freedom of navigation is ensured in the disputed waters.

Associated Press writers Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report.

With Law Against Him, Singapore Politician Says He’s Gay

Posted: 02 Jul 2013 10:20 PM PDT

Vincent Wijeysingha of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) speaks during an election campaign rally at the central business district in Singapore on May 5, 2011. (Photo: Reuters)

SINGAPORE — This conservative city-state convicted men for homosexual behavior as recently as seven years ago, and the British colonial-era law it used is still on the books. Singapore's government shows no interest in making a change: The prime minister's advice has been to just let things be.

Opposition official Vincent Wijeysingha isn't taking that advice. On his Facebook page last week, he became the first Singaporean politician to come out of the closet, and he is advocating for the law to be scrapped.

He told The Associated Press on Monday that although the government resists decriminalizing homosexuality, "society will eventually overtake it on this question."

"I am entirely convinced the law will eventually be repealed," said Wijeysingha, treasurer of the Singapore Democratic Party.

The decades-old law makes "gross indecency" between men punishable by up to two years in prison. It has not been actively enforced in recent years, but 185 men were convicted under the law between 1997 and 2006, according to government data.

Complaints of discrimination based on sexual orientation have become less common in Singapore, a Southeast Asian economic powerhouse of about 5 million. But until a decade ago, government policies barred gays from "sensitive positions" in the civil service and strictly censored gay-related content in movies and TV shows.

Gay rights have grown around the world; more than a dozen countries and 13 US states now allow same-sex marriage. But according to the United Nations, about 75 countries continue to criminalize homosexual behavior; in a few of them, it is punishable by death.

Singapore's High Court in April rejected a bid by a gay couple to scrap the city-state's law, ruling that Parliament should be responsible for making any changes.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said earlier this year that these were "not issues that we can settle one way or the other, and it's really best for us just to leave them be, and just agree to disagree."

Gay-rights activists said that is unacceptable to a growing number of Singaporeans. They noted that Saturday's Pink Dot gay advocacy rally drew more than 20,000 people to a Singaporean park, the best showing for the event held yearly since 2009.

The rally played a role in Wijeysingha's announcement. He had spoken at past forums on gay issues, and associates and friends had known that he is gay, but he confirmed it publicly on his Facebook page by saying "yes, I am going to Pink Dot … and yes, I am gay."

"It's the first time he has said it so explicitly in public," said Siew Kum Hong, a lawyer and political commentator. "To that extent, it does show that Singapore society is opening up more, since he obviously does not think that it is fatal to his electoral chances."

Baey Yam Keng, a lawmaker from the ruling People's Action Party, said that although he is unsure how most Singaporeans feel about homosexuality, "the time will come for Parliament to open up another debate" on decriminalizing it.

"There is a lot of stigma still associated with homosexuality in Singapore," Baey said. "Even though more people showed up at this year's Pink Dot event, including straight people, it's hard to say if homosexuality is widely acceptable yet in Singapore. But I think it is important for stakeholders and the government to be open and have continuous engagement regarding this issue."

Baey commended Wijeysingha for being open about his sexuality, saying that "it must have taken a lot of courage to do what he did."

Wijeysingha said the best response he has received is from young people who have told him that he has given them courage by coming out. But he said he will work on more than gay rights.

"My value system is one of equal rights to all," he said. "Human rights are indivisible."
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