Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

In 1988, a Brief Renaissance for Burma’s Journalists

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 05:01 AM PDT

Independent newspapers, published in August and September 1988, describe the pro-democracy protests. Leading activist Min Ko Naing is pictured in the photograph on top. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Hmyar Ni still remembers how his nearly 10-member editorial team crowded around a small attic in Burma's biggest city to write articles and lay out his daily newspaper, Our Cause, 25 years ago

It was late August 1988, several days after the government brutally cracked down on pro-democracy protesters trying to topple then-dictator Gen Ne Win's regime. Outside the newspaper bureau, the streets of downtown Rangoon had ground to a halt, as the country trembled with the people's determination to oust a dictator who had oppressed them since 1962.

The days were chaotic but had a silver lining: a brief return of press freedom to a country that had been muzzled by a literary censorship system for the past 26 years. Newshounds like Hmyar Ni and his friends ventured out to report and publish independent newspapers, taking advantage of the government's inability to restore Burma to normalcy.

Starting around mid-August 1988, newspaper boys hawked morning and evening papers featuring photographs and accounts of ongoing demonstrations against the Burmese authoritarian government. Some editions were handwritten and then photocopied or mimeographed, while others were professionally printed.

"As far as I'm concerned, there may have been more than three dozen dailies and weeklies like us at that time in Rangoon" the 64-year old Hmyar Ni said.

It was the first return of privately owned daily news publications in modern Burmese history, long before the resurrection of today's private dailies in April with permission from the quasi-civilian government. The Southeast Asian country had lost freedom of expression after the 1962 coup, when Ne Win shut down nearly two dozen private papers and established a draconian censorship board to ban anything that would disgrace his government.

The resurrection of independent publications in 1988 was short lived, however. The newspapers published only from mid-August to Sept.18, when a new military government came to power.

"We just grabbed the chance we had at the time," said 77-year-old Maung Moe Thu, editor of the Warazein news weekly, which lasted four weeks. "We enjoyed freedom of expression during that short period because there was no longer censorship."

His weekly was in broadsheet format, while other editors opted for tabloids. Like many newspapers at the time, his paper sought to oppose dictatorship by covering ongoing democracy movements across the country. Sales soared as the public heartily welcomed a chance to learn more about the demonstrations.

"Any move against the government became news," Hmyar Ni from Our Cause daily said with a laugh. "Everyone became reporters overnight because they were always calling to give us information."

Win Tin, a veteran journalist and co-founder of the country's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said the 1988 newspapers became "voices of the 88 Uprising" by documenting the wishes of the public. He added that some entrepreneurial editors made lucrative businesses from the brief return of press freedom, referring to newspapers that published graphic photographs and unethical stories about the demonstrations.

"As a whole, you could hear people's voices and find out how much they disliked the government in those papers," he said. "It was the first time they could unleash their anger."

Mandalay, the second-biggest city in Burma, also saw a boom of independent newspapers. Hsu Nget, a Mandalay-based writer, recalls that nearly 30 privately owned papers hit newsstands in the city. Among them was the Four-Eights daily—named after the 8/8/88 uprising, or the 88 Uprising—where he worked as an editor.

"People had a hunger for news," he said. "They really wanted to know what was happening, and where. They had to rely on Burmese services from the BBC or VOA [Voice of America], but at that time not everyone could afford to buy a radio, so they turned to our newspapers."

Among those who embraced the brief return of press freedom were journalists from the government's six daily newspapers, which usually served as propaganda tools for the state. Several days after the country took to the streets on Aug. 8, journalists at these papers restored their first loyalty to the public.

"We publicly announced that we had left behind censorship and were now with the Burmese people," said Ko Ko Gyi, who was then editing The Mirror daily, one of the state-run papers. "We told them to wait and see tomorrow's paper."

They kept their promise, with full coverage the next day of demonstrations across the country. When Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi made her first public appearance at an open ground near Shwedagon Pagoda's western stairway on Aug. 25, Ko Ko Gyi allocated a spot on his front page for the story.

The press freedom came to an abrupt end on Sept. 18. At 4 pm that day, a male announcer on the state-run Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS) proclaimed that "in order to bring a timely halt to deteriorating conditions all over the country. … in the interests of the people, the defense forces have assumed all power in the state, effective from today." The broadcaster's regular programs were then interrupted by strident martial music.

With news of the military coup, nearly all independent newspapers quickly shut down their operations for fear of retribution. Editors burned the draft layouts they had prepared for the next day's papers and went into hiding. Photojournalists looked for secret places to stash away the negatives of photographs that had captured historic moments from the previous month.

Soldiers arrived at The Mirror's bureau in downtown Rangoon at 2 am on Sep 19.

"They stormed into our office to confiscate dummies for the next day's paper and seal the office," Ko Ko Gyi said. "Then they kicked us out!"

Shortly after the generals in olive green uniforms came to power, military intelligence officers combed through the country to arrest anyone who had been involved in publishing the newspapers. But to people's surprise, the journalists were only detained temporarily for interrogation.

"To the best of my knowledge, people weren't seriously punished for publishing the newspapers," Hmyar Ni said. "For my paper, only a few senior editors were taken away for questioning. They were released very soon." He himself was spared from detention.

Ko Ko Gyi was not so fortunate. He was arrested three days after the coup and taken to an interrogation center, where he spent the next 20 days. Upon his release, he was forced to retire from his job. He was 54 years old, or six years shy of official retirement.

Now 77, the veteran journalist doesn't seem remorseful about the decisions he made more than two decades ago.

"I'm proud of what I did," he told The Irrawaddy.

"For me, it was the time when we suddenly saw a flash of light after 26 years of darkness."

Floods Affect 37,000 in Karen, Mon States

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 05:44 AM PDT

Workers try to clear a stretch of the road between Myawaddy and Hpa-an after it was hit by a landslide following days of heavy rain. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Floods in southern Burma's Karen and Mon states have worsened in recent days and are now affecting more than 37,000 people, while at least one person was killed, officials said on Thursday. They warned that heavy rains would continue in coming days.

Aung Kyaw, assistant director of the relief department at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, said 79 relief camps had been set up by Karen State authorities in 12 townships and sub-township for families displaced by the floods.

"We evacuated 33,490 people and have settled them at camps that we set up," he said, adding that Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Nyan Tun was visiting the stricken area to coordinate relief operations.

Days of torrential downpours caused the Salween River to burst its banks and flood large areas in both Karen and Mon states this weekend, and flooding continued to worsen in recent days.

Aung Kyaw said the town of Myawaddy, on the Burma-Thailand border, was among the worst-affected areas, adding that the Thai border town of Mae Sot had also been badly flooded.

Thein Zaw, Myawaddy Township administrator, said landslides had hit the road between Myawaddy and the Karen State capital Hpa-an at 10 places, adding that all road transport between the towns had been blocked for five days. The road winds through the Dawna Mountain Range.

"Road engineers from Naypyidaw arrived today to start clearing the road, but I don't know how long it will take," he told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. "If we continue to lack transportation, commodity prices in both towns will go up."

In Mon State, Belin Township is badly affected and some 4,000 people have seen their homes inundated, according to local National League for Democracy member Kyaw Myo Min. He said a third of all villages in the district had been affected after water levels began to rise on Sunday night.

"We found one dead body while we were delivering food donations. About 2,000 people are now staying in camps. Totally, about 4,000 people were affected by flooding," he said, adding that authorities were handing out small rice rations and dry clothing.

"There are many people who are stuck in their homes and we handed them our food donations," he said, adding that on Thursday water levels started to recede in Belin Township.

Director of the Meteorology and Hydrology Department Chit Kyaw warned however, that heavy rains would resume in coming days in southern Burma and water levels could rise again.

"Depending on the exact amount of the rain, the [southern] area could experience floods again," he said. "We are warning people who stay near the river that they should not sleep at their houses or they should move away and sleep other people houses to avoid the danger of quickly rising water."

A warning in government newspaper The New Light of Myanmar said water levels in the Salween River would continue to rise until Friday afternoon, when they could reach to about 1.42 meter above danger levels. It also warned that the Ngawun River in The Irrawaddy Delta could rise to 88 cm above danger levels.

Overland and river transport between southern Burma and Thailand has been affected by the flooding, bringing cross-border trade to a halt. The Bangkok Post reported that border traders were losing approximately US $3.3 million per day due to the flooding.

Roads between Rangoon, the Mon State capital Moulmein and Dawei port in Tennaserim Division have been blocked in recent days as routes were flooded and a bridge collapsed.

Tala Mon Bus Company said transport between the cities had stopped for two days before resuming on Thursday afternoon.

One truck driver said he and many colleagues had been stranded at a flooded road some 80 kilometers from Dawei. "No one could travel on the roads. We had to sleep for two nights in our trucks after a bridge collapsed," he said.

British Parliament Speaker Offers Assistance, Urges Federalism for Burma

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 05:29 AM PDT

John Bercow, speaker of the British House of Commons, speaks to an audience at Rangoon University on Thursday. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — John Bercow, speaker of the British House of Commons, delivered a blunt speech at the University of Rangoon on Thursday, welcoming nascent change in Burma but delineating the need for continued reform to further the country's democratic transition.

While acknowledging the "glimmers of hope" sparked by reformist President Thein Sein over the last two years, Bercow cautioned that the international community "must be vigilant in guarding against premature euphoria, which is as misplaced as it is desperately dangerous."

Urging the unconditional release of remaining political prisoners, Bercow called on the government to repeal repressive laws, conduct a full legislative review, revise the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law and enshrine international human rights standards into law.

Bercow also called for amendments to the 2008 Constitution that would enable inclusive democratic reforms and advised lawmakers to redefine eligibility for a presidential candidacy. "Any constitutional change that would not allow Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to be a candidate for president would be regarded in my country, and surely across the international community, as a joke in very poor taste," he said, referring to a constitutional provision that prevents Suu Kyi from running for the office because her late husband and children are foreign nationals.

"But I am not here just to tell the government what we expect of them," Bercow added. "I am also here, along with my colleagues, to offer assistance." In addition to the British delegation's trip to Burma, he noted that two groups of Burmese parliamentarians had already been to London to consult on issues of lawmaking, and that both sides were considering ways to further that relationship.

Bercow was adamant in asserting that current reforms would mean nothing without an immediate halt to violence against minority groups and the initiation of a nationwide peace process. Violence in Burma's ethnic regions, as well as recent Buddhist attacks on the country's minority Muslims, have been blights on Thein Sein's largely lauded reform agenda.

"As a friend of this country and its people, I say, stop the war, stop the killings, stop the torture, stop the rapes, stop forced labor," the speaker said.

Bercow called on the government to engage in genuine political dialogue with Burma's ethnic rebel groups, some of which have been at war with the government for more than 50 years. The creation of a federal system, Bercow said, would help ensure the rights of all citizens were respected. Rather than view federalism as a dangerous idea that would only wreak havoc on the stability of the state, he pointed to countries like the United States and Germany—where federal systems had produced bastions of political stability—as models for Burma's road forward.

Bercow also called on the government to bring an end to the prevailing culture of impunity. "If the president's reforms are to be believed, the culture of the Tatmadaw" must change, Bercow said, calling the military by its Burmese name.

Bercow's speech and actions were a marked departure from the typical role of the speaker of Britain's lower house, as it is unusual for the speaker to involve himself in anything that could be deemed "political." According to staffers, his multiple visits to Burma's border regions, where he personally saw the effects and heard stories of Tatmadaw brutality, had deeply affected Bercow and played a part in his decision to eschew the largely apolitical approach traditionally adopted by the speaker.

When asked about the durability of the current reforms, Bercow, looking out over a crowd that included students from all over Burma, responded that the people's appetite for change had become irreversible and that ultimately, he was an optimist.

MOGE Begins Long Process to Pick Burma’s Oil, Gas Investors

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 03:46 AM PDT

Burma is offering 30 offshore blocks for exploration. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Negotiations have finally begun to select foreign investors to explore for oil and gas in the seas off Burma's coast, but it could be another eight months before any licenses are awarded.

The Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and the Energy Planning Department (EPD) will hold talks with 61 companies that have been "shortlisted" as suitable candidates to bid.

The bidders include major international oil firms such as Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Total and Statoil of Norway.

The list also contains numerous Asian firmsfrom Thailand, South Korea, India, Japan and Australia, as well as China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which has built two controversial oil and gas pipelines through Burma.

The Ministry of Energy has said the long process is intended to make sure bidders are able to make the right financial commitment and have the skills for deep-water exploration and drilling.

The ministry is also planning to offer sweeteners. These are expected to include a cut in tax on projects down to 25 percent, and a tax holiday extension from three years to five years, said industry analysts Platts in Singapore.

After the long delay in announcing the bidding terms, and given the urgency for Burma to tap into its potential energy resources to help fuel an expanding economy, it is unclear why the selection process may not be completed until the first quarter of 2014.

Bidding for these 30 licenses was due to take place last year but was postponed until April, supposedly because of foreign concerns about MOGE's murky past with the former military regime.

However, MOGE remains firmly involved.

"We expect that each company will have about a one hour meeting time with MOGE, to review data, and one hour with the EPD to discuss terms," VDB Loi, a law and tax advisory company that now has offices in Rangoon and Naypyidaw, said in a report.

"In certain cases, particularly for the deep-water blocks, we expect that there is little or no data to be reviewed," it said. "The Minister of Energy has earlier announced that no negotiations will be entertained with respect to the commercial terms of the Production Sharing Contracts."

VDB Loi, which also has offices in Singapore and elsewhere, specializes in Southeast Asian business and Burma in particular. It published an analysis report of the bidding process.

Burma is offering 30 offshore blocks for exploration and possible exploitation, but the chief interest is in the 19 deep-water blocks where the greatest potential riches are believed to lurk.

Bidders can apply for up to three blocks. Foreign companies will be allowed to operate independently in the deep-water blocks with 100 percent operatorship, but for 11 shallow water licences they must acquire a Burmese partner.

Burma has 7.8 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, according to BP's annual global analysis report. These reserves were worth US$75 billion, according to the latest benchmark prices for gas, Bloomberg recently reported.

"In global terms Burma's proven reserves are modest. What makes these offshore block licenses attractive to the big boys of the industry is the unknown potential, which could be huge—or a disappointment," regional industry consultant Collin Reynolds in Bangkok told The Irrawaddy.

"In terms of the potential benefit to Burma it is going to be a long-term process. It will take years to bring any major oil or gas discoveries ashore, and in the meantime the country is still desperate for energy."

One of the major changes between the 30 new blocks on offer and the offshore blocks currently in production is that any new hydrocarbon discoveries will largely benefit Burma.

"For deep-water blocks, the state’s share of production—represented by state-owned MOGE—ranges from 60% to 85% for crude oil and 55% to 80% for natural gas," Platts reported on Wednesday. "MOGE's take for onshore blocks is between 60% and 90% for both crude and gas, depending on the volumes produced."

Most of the natural gas now being produced offshore—in the Yadana, Yetagun and Shwe fields—is for export, in deals that were made by the former military leadership and still remain opaque.

Those fields are operated by Total of France, Chevron of the United States, Daewoo of South Korea, and ONGC and GAIL of India.

All of those companies are on the MOGE list to negotiate the new licenses, as are PTTEP of Thailand and CNPC of China, the main buyers of the existing gas production.

Others among the 61 bidders accepted as "pre-qualified" by MOGE include Japan's Nippon Oil; Woodside and Roc Oil of Australia; Repsol of Spain; Eni of Italy; Petronas of Malaysia; PetroVietnam; Brunei National Petroleum Company; and Navitas Petroleum, Israel.

The most prominent Burmese company on the list is MPRL E&P, owned by Michael Moe Myint.

"Foreign oil companies may bring in a local partner because they are required to, or for other reasons. In fact, for onshore blocks and for blocks on the [shallow waters] shelf, a local partner is required according to the Ministry's bidding announcements," said VDB Loi. "However, the local partners are only required at the time of the bid, not at the time of prequalification. That is why there are hardly any [Burmese] oil companies on the list of 61, although MPRL and Twinza Oil did prequalify in and of themselves."

Formal bids for licenses will only begin after MOGE has talked to all 61 companies on the shortlist, which might take the whole of August.

Greater Political Role Awaits New Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 03:23 AM PDT

Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint hands over the duties of Union Parliament Speaker to USDP leader and Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann on Wednesday. (Photo: Myanmar News Agency via The New Light of Myanmar)

RANGOON — Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann officially became Union Parliament speaker on Wednesday. Lawmakers said the position will give him a greater role in resolving challenges during Burma's democratic transition, such as reaching a national peace agreement and amending the country's undemocratic Constitution.

In a first speech in his new role, Shwe Mann called for a sustainable nationwide peace agreement with ethnic rebel groups and for an end to inter-communal violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities.

"I earnestly request the responsible persons to manage [the peace process] fairly in order to achieve permanent ceasefire agreements, and [request] the public to cooperate and promote the peace-making process while political dialogue is under way," he told lawmakers on Wednesday.

The chairman of the ruling Union Development and Solidarity Party (USDP) also urged "all citizens to live in love and harmony to prevent riots like those that happened in Rakhine State, Meikhtila town, the western part of Bago [Pegu] Division and Lashio from erupting again, and to respect and obey the laws of the state."

Touching upon the issue of Burma's development, he said, "We need to understand and practice multiparty democracy and market-oriented economic systems with a growing trend towards development."

Shwe Mann took over as Union Parliament Speaker from Khin Aung Myint, the Upper House Speaker.

The Union Parliament speaker represents the two chambers of Burma's legislature, the upper and the lower houses. The position, which holds great political power, is rotated between the speakers of the two chambers every two and a half years, midway through the government's five-year mandate.

President Thein Sein and his cabinet attended Wednesday's ceremony in Naypyidaw and military leaders, including Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, were also present.

Shwe Mann will stay on as Union Parliament speaker until 2015 when he is likely to run in the elections as leader of the USDP, the ruling party which comprises members of Burma's former military regime.

Shwe Man was the third most powerful general in Burma's former military junta, after Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Vice-Snr-Gen Maung Aye.

The USDP leader has been seeking a greater political role and his new position would give him more influence on key challenges during Burma's democratic transition, such as the peace process and amending the 2008 Constitution.

Early last month, Shwe Mann openly questioned Thein Sein's government's handling of peace talks, signaling a growing political rivalry between the two USDP leaders.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, meanwhile, appears to be moving closer to Shwe Mann, as both parliamentary leaders want to gain more influence on decision-making by Thein Sein's government. Their cooperation is also crucial to establishing parliamentary support for the peace process or constitutional amendments.

Several opposition lawmakers said they hoped that Shwe Mann's new role as Union Parliament Speaker would allow him to bring various political parties together and achieve progress on these complex challenges.

"Since he now holds that position, he can serve the state by using his great charisma in handling parliamentary affairs," said Thein Nyunt, a Lower House MP for the New Democracy Party, adding that he wanted Shwe Mann to bridge the divisions between government and lawmakers.

Phyo Min Thein, lawmaker with the National League for Democracy, said he hoped that Shwe Mann and Suu Kyi could cooperate in order to find a way to amend the 2008 Constitution. Drafted by the military, it is widely seen as undemocratic and contains a provision that prevents Suu Kyi from becoming president.

"Thura U Shwe Mann has a very good relationship with Daw Aung San Su Kyi. He may be supportive to amending the Constitution … and has political vision," said Phyo Min Thein.

"The time he is going to serve as Union Parliament speaker is really critical for amendment of the Constitution and for the peace process."

Graft Claims in Arakan State Remain Unaddressed

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 03:10 AM PDT

A camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) outside of Sittwe in Arakan State. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

Despite President Thein Sein's frequent pledges to act against corruption among civil servants and military personnel along the Burma-Bangladesh border in Arakan State, there are few indications that the problem is being dealt with in a significant way.

Aung Gyi, former head of the Nasaka border guard force based in the Maungdaw region, is the only major dismissal to date that might be linked to the widespread graft allegations that have beset the region. And even the general's firing was officially due to his handling of the riots that erupted last year in Arakan State, though accusations of bribe-taking had swirled around him and remain unaddressed.

The Nasaka, which was disbanded by Thein Sein last month, was formed from members of the army, police, and Customs and Immigration departments. Members of the army were widely regarded as the most powerful voice within Nasaka, which was notorious for extorting bribes from Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic minority that is denied citizenship by the government.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, told the Myanmar Times that the abolition of the Nasaka was linked to plans in Washington to sanction the border guard force.

Though it appears the Nasaka will no longer be around to solicit bribes, the practice is not likely to disappear in Arakan State. Reports of corruption, such as the illegal issuance of identification cards to people who are not considered Burmese citizens in towns scattered across the state, are common.

Dr. Aye Maung, a representative from the Upper House of Burma's Parliament and chairman of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), said one possible element hindering action against graft was the involvement of army officials in the corruption.

"The main responsible persons, according to what I hear, are those who were posted in Rakhine [Arakan] State as head of the regional command and others who are officials from the army. That may be why there has been no action yet," Aye Maung said.

Though corruption allegations are not a new phenomenon, in years past few dared to talk about or take action against those accused, when military intelligence officers under Gen Khin Nyunt and the army were at the height of their power.

Today, many of the former military regime's senior leaders have taken up important positions in the present government under the ruling, military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Their hold over Parliament has led to accusations that the legislature is also acting as an obstacle to effective action against corruption in Arakan State.

A government report on the widespread violence in Arakan State that took place last year said that ahead of the 2010 election, temporary identification cards were issued to 500,000 Rohingyas so that the USDP could win votes from the ethnic minority. The 2012 violence would ultimately displaced about 140,000 people, most of whom are from the Rohingya minority and remain housed in temporary camps on the outskirts of several towns in Arakan State.

No serious action has yet been taken concerning the vote-buying allegations, despite the fact that the issue was brought to the attention of the Union Election Commission, the president and relevant governmental departments.

Immigration Minister Khin Yee told reporters at an interfaith conference in Rangoon on July 21 that white cards were issued to some people from Arakan State whose identity was unknown and who could not provide any evidence of citizenship. The white cards, which are distinct from the pink cards carried by Burmese citizens, allowed the holder to vote in the 2010 election, but required that they accept the government's official designation of the ethnic minority as "Bengali," not Rohingya.

The implication is that a white card holder is not a Burmese citizen and is instead an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh. The view that the ethnic Rohingya are largely comprised of such illegal immigrants is widely held among Arakanese.

About 500,000 Rohingyas received the white cards, Khin Yee added. Rohingyas in Arakan State are estimated to total about 800,000 people.

In return for bribes from Rohingyas, the Immigration Department also issued identity cards for some Rohingyas stating that the cardholders were Kaman people, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group whose Burmese citizenship is recognized by the government.

Though the population of Kaman people is only about 20,000 today, the number of people who hold Kaman ID cards is about 200,000, said one Kaman leader in an interview with Voice of America's Burmese language service.

While acknowledging widespread public criticism of the Immigration Department's bribe-taking, Khin Yee in an interview with Radio Free Asia asserted that the practice was not as rampant as some believed.

Aye Maung said that while ethnic Arakenese were not typically in positions of power that might allow for extortion, no one should be spared accountability for their actions.

"Rakhine people were not posted in the important positions. Those who really had the authority to act were officials from the army. Should Rakhine people be guilty of breaking the law, action must be taken against them, of course," said Aye Maung.

Cambodian PM Says Ready for Talks with Opposition After Disputed Polls

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 12:19 AM PDT

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) speaks to the media as he inspects a bridge construction site in Phnom Penh July 31, 2013. (Photo: Pring Samrang / Reuters)

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s long-serving leader, Hun Sen, said on Wednesday his party was ready to talk to the opposition after both sides claimed victory in Sunday’s general election, talking of the need for compromise but calling himself "prime minister elect".

"We open our heart to compromise in order to create a parliamentary leadership," Hun Sen said while on an inspection of a bridge construction site, his first public appearance since the election and his first comments on the deadlock.

"We have to respect the people’s decision and if we don’t, and turn to violence … that would lead to chaos in the whole country and this is not what people want to see," he said.

The election campaign and voting on Sunday were largely peaceful but Phnom Penh remains tense because of the political stand-off. Police and the military are maintaining a presence on the streets, although business is mostly back to normal.

Hun Sen, 60, has been prime minister for 28 years and has crushed dissent in the past while maintaining tight control through his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and a network of business, government and military allies.

Earlier on Wednesday, the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), said it had won the general election, stepping up its battle with Hun Sen’s CPP, which has also claimed victory and rejected accusations of electoral fraud.

Yim Sovann, a lawmaker and spokesman for the CNRP, said it had won 63 seats in the 123-member parliament, with the CPP getting 60.

"This is according to figures of votes we collected from various provinces and this needs to be investigated," he told Reuters.

The government announced on Sunday that the CPP had won 68 seats, a sharp fall from its previous tally of 90 but beating what it said was the CNRP’s 55.

The National Election Committee (NEC) has yet to release official results and says it does not expect to do until mid-August.

Return From Exile

The CNRP was formed last year from the merger of two opposition parties. Long-time opposition leader Sam Rainsy returned from exile on July 19 to galvanise its campaign after a royal pardon that removed the threat of jail for what he called trumped-up charges relating to criticism of a new border the government agreed with Vietnam.

That pardon was recommended by Hun Sen, apparently under pressure from aid donors demanding a free and fair election, analysts said.

Sam Rainsy has demanded an inquiry into the election with U.N. involvement, alleging in particular that up to 1.3 million names were missing from the electoral rolls. The government has rejected that.

The United States and European Union have expressed concern about irregularities but both have said an investigation should be conducted by the NEC.

Hun Sen said his party was ready to talk to the NEC and the opposition about the alleged irregularities. However, the Foreign Affairs Ministry told foreign countries not to meddle.

"The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation would like to urge foreign diplomatic missions not to play a role to support the opposition party," the ministry said in a statement.

US-based Human Rights Watch called on Wednesday for an independent investigation, saying senior CPP officials appeared to have issued fake voting documents to supporters and had allowed some people to vote in more than one place.

"The multiple voting scheme suggests the possibility of systematic election fraud by the CPP and raises serious questions about the credibility of the election," Brad Adams, its director for Asia, said in a statement.

"Since the National Election Committee and local election commissions are under the ruling party’s control, influential governments and donors should demand independent investigations into these and other credible allegations of election-related irregularities," he said.

Even by the government’s own figures, Sunday’s vote was Hun Sen’s worst election result since Cambodia returned to full democracy in 1998 after decades of war and turmoil that included the 1975-79 "Killing Fields" rule of the Khmer Rouge.

Prolonged wrangling over the result and a weakened Hun Sen could raise uncertainty over policy in the small but fast-growing Southeast Asian country that has built up a thriving garment sector and forged economic ties with China and Vietnam.

American Killed in Thailand Over Singing Dispute

Posted: 31 Jul 2013 11:11 PM PDT

Ao Nang is a popular spot for foreign tourists on Thailand's west coast. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

BANGKOK — An American tourist who insisted on singing with the band in a bar in a beach town in Thailand was killed by one of the musicians, police said Wednesday.

Bobby Ray Carter Jr., 51, died at a hospital of a stab wound in his chest after a brawl broke out early Wednesday at the bar at Ao Nang beach in Krabi province, police Lt-Col Jongrak Pimthong said.

He said Carter, a Texas native, was intoxicated, began singing with the band and refused to leave the stage to let other customers sing.

"Witnesses said Carter got angry when the band played 'Hotel California' instead of the song he requested, and he refused to step down," Krabi city police chief Col. Taksin Pochakorn said.

Police said the band then stopped playing and Carter and his 27-year-old son got into a furious argument with the musicians.

Jongrak said Carter was stabbed in his chest with an iron rod during the fight outside the bar and his son was injured in the head.

The three band members were arrested and face charges of causing death by physical attack.

Ao Nang is a popular spot for foreign tourists on Thailand's west coast.

Power Back in Philippine Province With $93M Bill

Posted: 31 Jul 2013 11:04 PM PDT

Manila Electric Company workers inspect power connections from the main wires in a slum area in Metro Manila in June. Power was shut off in Albay, a province southeast of Manila, after the Albay Electric Cooperative failed to settle a debt of nearly $93 million. (Photo: Reuters)

MANILA, Philippines — Electricity was restored Wednesday to most of a Philippine province that was entirely cut off for more than 24 hours when the national power grid operator stopped its supply due to US$93 million in unpaid bills, officials said.

Shops had been closed and hospitals had been running on generators since Tuesday morning in Albay, a province of 1.2 million people southeast of Manila. Even the provincial governor's office was not spared from the power outage.

The Department of Energy said a disconnection notice was served to the Albay Electric Cooperative because it failed to settle a debt of nearly 4 billion pesos ($93 million) over 15 years.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said power was restored as of 5 pm Wednesday on the conditions that the top 100 delinquent customers—most of them business establishments—remain disconnected and that the electric cooperative pay its current outstanding bill of 59 million pesos ($1.3 million).

He said that as of midday Wednesday, roughly 40 million pesos ($922,000) had been paid, and the mayor of Legazpi, the provincial capital, promised to settle the balance soon even if it would mean declaring a state of emergency in the city to allow the quick disbursement of funds.

"It's really dark at night. Since it is also rainy here, it is like during a typhoon," health insurance company employee Cristie Recebido said earlier Wednesday.

She said shops in Legazpi closed early and hospitals and offices were running on generators.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said he was worried about the economic impact. Albay is an agricultural province and the country's third largest source of geothermal power. The active Mayon volcano overlooking Legazpi is one of the region's top tourist attractions.

Salceda said that the Energy Department laid down two conditions for restoring electricity, including keeping the top 100 non-paying customers off the grid and putting in place a rehabilitation plan to pay off the debt.

Malaysia Worries Over a Crime Wave

Posted: 31 Jul 2013 10:50 PM PDT

A demonstrator wearing a Guy Fawkes mask attends a rally to protest election results at a stadium in Kelana Jaya, outside Kuala Lumpur, on May 8, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

Two contract-killing attempts—one successful—on Malaysian streets have focused attention and growing anger on perceptions of a worrying rise in violent crime in the country, turning it into a political issue between Malays and Chinese as well.

An alarmed Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak held a press conference to say the government is prepared to give the police whatever is needed to fight crime and expressed concern over the spate of killings, saying it affected public confidence and increased fear with regard to security and serious crime.

In the most spectacular incident, banker Hussain Ahmad Najadi, 75, the founder and head of Arab-Malaysian Development Bank, was gunned down along with his wife on the street as they walked to his car. Hussain was hit in the chest and lower abdomen and died on the spot while his wife was hit in the arm and leg. She survived the shooting.

The second shooting occurred on July 27 when a gunman riding pillion on a motorcycle pulled up next to a car occupied by R Sri Sanjeevan, the head of a local anti-crime organization called MyWatch, and shot him in the chest when the car stopped at a traffic light in a town in Negeri Sembilan state. Sanjeevan remains in critical but stable condition in a local hospital.

The two incidents are hardly similar. For instance, there is widespread conjecture that Hussain was killed over a land deal gone bad, and Sanjeevan had publicly said he had identified links between policemen and drug dealers, and that he intended to make them public, and unnamed forces on either side of that equation may have attempted to silence him.

However, the shootings tie in with the widening spread of violence including a series of contract killings, such as that in April of the Customs Department director general, Shaharuddin Ibrahim, who was shot dead at a traffic light while being driven to work. The department's highest-ranking uniformed official and one who is believed to have gone after illegal schemes, his death is the focus of a task force that so far has turned up no suspects.

Nor are those alone. The Penang Institute has identified 38 gun murders between January and April of 2013, a shocking figure for a country unused to such carnage. Two street killings took place last week in addition to the shootings of Hussain and Sanjeevan. Street murders by gun have been averaging two a week, according to statistics. A 26-year-old Indian with a criminal record was shot and killed on the street on Wednesday, according to local news reports.

The US State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, in a report dated April 27, describes Malaysia as possessing an overall crime rate designated as "medium," with most streets safe to walk at night, except around some suspect bars. The police, the report says, are a "national police force that is well trained and equipped."

But, residents say, that paints a very optimistic picture. A growing number of Kuala Lumpur acquaintances of all races report fear of being on the streets. Many have been mugged, often by the opposite races. One Chinese friend reported being in a minor fender-bender with a Malay woman who pulled out her cellphone and made a call to someone who showed up a few minutes later with a gang ready for violence.

"It is as bad as people say it is," said a longtime resident of the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Petaling Jaya. "Yes, the crimewatch guy was shot and is in serious condition. Even snatch thefts have become very violent. The gangsters—they are Chinese, they are Indians, they are Malays. This is because guns are so easily available. Across the border they come. Others blame the lack of enforcement of laws. They acknowledge we have good laws but the enforcement leaves much to be desired."

As is almost inevitable in Malaysia, the issue has become another bone of contention being worried over by ethnic Chinese and Malays. Hussain's suspected killer is alleged by police to be a gangster known as Sei Ngan Chai or Cantonese for "four-eyed boy," a Chinese. The taxi driver who dropped him off near the scene of Hussain's shooting has been arrested and identified him as the shooter.

"A Chinese killer will add to the anger," an ethnic Malay acquaintance told Asia Sentinel. "And I tell you we are angry."

Much of the focus is on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's decision to ask for repeal of the colonial-era Emergency Ordinance, which allowed for preventive detention, and, as the Petaling Jaya woman said, the easy availability of guns because of the porous border with Thailand. Many residents are demanding that the preventive detention measure be reinstated.

"Ever since the government abolished the Emergency Ordinances Act and released 2,000 hardcore criminals, violent crime has gone up," the Malay acquaintance said. "There is murder by hired guns on a weekly basis. The police know who all these guys are, know all who are capable of committing such crimes, know all who have the network to commit such contract killing."

Local media said police counted 67 serious crimes committed by former detainees within the first six months this year, a 100 percent increase from 33 cases reported in the corresponding period last year. The increase is said to have followed the release of 2,473 detainees in July 2012.

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has characterized the police force as understaffed, with one police officer for around 700 residents in any given area. The Democratic Action Party disputes that, saying the ratio is more like one to 250 residents.

DAP lawmaker Steven Sim, in a prepared release, charged that the police have plenty of manpower but that the force has been politicized and must be revamped to fight crime. The police budget, he said, had been increased by more than 65 percent from 2007 to 2012. But, he said, the additional officers had been steered into the Special Branch, the police intelligence arm, and the Special Task Force Department, which keeps an eye on political activity, while the number of line officers on the street has stagnated.

But, ethnic Malays charge, it's the DAP that is responsible for the crime wave, by demanding that preventive detention continue to be off the books, and by preaching disrespect for the police.

"Opposition teaches people to rally on the streets break laws and kick the police. You teach children to disobey authority—police authority—and you expect the law to be enforced?"
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