Thursday, September 12, 2013

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Fighting Escalates in Kachin State

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:43 AM PDT

A Kachin soldier throws a hand grenade at advancing Burma Army troops during heavy fighting at the Hkaya Bhum outpost near Laiza in January. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Fighting is increasing in north Burma's Kachin State, after peace talks last week between the government and delegations of ethnic armed groups in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai ended without agreement.

A few days after the Chiang Mai meeting, sources from Kachin State reported a rise in clashes, saying the Burma Army was reinforcing troops and could be preparing for another major offensive against rebels from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

Fighting was reported early this week in the southern part of the state—in Machang Baw Township, Banmaw District—as well as in the northern part of neighboring Shan State.

Khon Ja, a Kachin peace advocate at the Rangoon-based Kachin Peace Network, a humanitarian organization that assists civilians displaced by the war in north Burma, told The Irrawaddy, "My native village [Nam Lim Pa] has been under attack for three days."

"It is an offensive," she said on Thursday. "It is not a regular troop exchange. We also heard rumors that they [the Burma Army] will use air strikes. It is a kind of threat."

Khon Ja's hometown is in Mansi Township, south of Banmaw District. According to local sources there, government troops are reopening three new war fronts in the Putao area of northern Kachin State, as well as in northern Shan State along the pipeline in Kut Kai and Muse townships.

Fighting has broken out in different areas, Khon Ja said, but most clashes have been reported in north and northeast Kachin State as well as northern Shan State, where dam projects as well as mining, pipeline, agriculture and other business projects will be conducted. Although contracts were drawn up and signed in 2010, these projects have not been operating due to on-and-off hostilities since a ceasefire between the government army and the KIO broke down in June 2011.

Sources from Kachin State say government troops have attempted to clean up important business regions and allow the projects to operate. In late August this year, clashes occurred in Putao, near the site where Burmese tycoon Tay Za was reportedly granted a 100,000 acre (40,000 hectare) logging concession by the government that would allow him to cut down vast swathes of valuable, pristine teak forests.

The KIO has become a major problem for Burma's nominally civilian government, which has sought to end decades of civil wars by signing ceasefires with ethnic armed groups. Since coming to power in 2011, President Thein Sein has signed ceasefires with 13 groups. The government held peace talks with the KIO early this year and signed a tentative seven-point peace deal with the group in late May but has yet to achieve a ceasefire.

The KIO plays an important political role in the alliance of 11 ethnic armed groups, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), because it chairs the alliance.

Sources close to the Burmese government peace delegation say Minister Aung Min from the President's Office and members of the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), a government-associated organization, were displeased after the Chiang Mai meeting because UNFC leaders indirectly turned down a government invitation to come to Burma and sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement next month.

Nai Hong Sa, general-secretary of the UNFC, said, "We asked them, since we have been separately signing ceasefire agreements, why do we need to sign another nationwide ceasefire?"

"We didn't reach an agreement in the meeting. When they asked us to go and sign the nationwide ceasefire accord, we told them that we will have to talk about it again in detail."

In light of the peace talks, Khon Ja from the Kachin Peace Network criticized the continued clashes in Kachin State.

"This kind of act will hurt the trust-building between the government and the KIO while they are dealing with peace talks," she said.

250 Rohingya Men From Burma Swim Ashore in Southern Thailand

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:35 AM PDT

Rohingya refugees are apprehended on a beach in Thailand by the Thai authorities in 2009. (Photo: Royal Thai Navy)

BANGKOK — Some 250 Rohingya Muslim men who fled Burma by sea and were bound for Malaysia swam ashore in southern Thailand after their boat was hit by a storm and drifted off course, the Nation newspaper reported on Thursday.

The men, ranging in age from 15 to 40, came ashore on Wednesday morning in Satun, a Muslim-majority province bordering Malaysia, and were taken to a public park where locals provided food and medicine, while police and officials "conducted an inspection", the report said.

The Nation said the men left Burma on August 26, and nine days later their food and water ran out. When they saw the coast they swam ashore to survive, and were being "kept at the park, pending further action by Internal Security Operations Command officials," it said.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled Burma by sea in the past year, in one of the biggest movements of boat people since the end of the Vietnam War. The number of people boarding boats from Burma and neighboring Bangladesh reached 34,626 from June 2012 to May this year – more than four times the number in the previous year, the Arakan Project says. Almost all were Rohingya Muslims from Burma.

Their exodus is a sign of Muslim desperation in Buddhist-majority Burma, where communal unrest last year in Arakan State left 192 dead and 140,000 homeless, most of them Rohingya. Rohingya activists put the death toll as high as 748.

‘I am ready to be hanged’ for Saffron Revolution Crackdown: Rangoon Chief Minister

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:02 AM PDT

Myint Swe speaks during a meeting in Rangoon. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Rangoon Division Chief Minister Myint Swe—known as a hardliner under the former military regime—has reportedly denied involved in a violent crackdown on the monk-led "Saffron Revolution" in 2007, saying he was willing to be investigated and would even submit to the death penalty if found guilty of involvement.

"If you think I'm responsible, I am ready [to face justice]," Myint Swe reportedly told business people from the Myanmar Fisheries Federation in a meeting in Rangoon on Sunday, reports 7 Days News, a local journal. "To be frank, I am ready to be hanged [if there is a guilty verdict]."

According to 7 Days News, Myint Swe said he was in close contact with the then Gen Shwe Mann, the current Union Parliament speaker, who was his direct superior at the time of the pro-democracy uprising.

Myint Swe was a loyal supporter of Snr-Gen Than Shwe, Burma's retired junta leader, during the days of military rule. He was a powerful commander in Rangoon Division, where only the regime's most trusted generals were put in charge of guarding and controlling the former capital.

During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, Myint Swe led security operations in Rangoon. It is believed that he was directly involved in the subsequent violent crackdown on the pro-democracy protests, which received worldwide condemnation after dozens of people were killed by soldiers. His campaign to pacify the Buddhist monks, who led the demonstrations, by offering them cash donations and other incentives failed.

Prior to these events, Myint Swe was known for having carefully executed two high-profile operations in Rangoon: the arrest of Ne Win's family members in 2002 after an alleged coup conspiracy was uncovered, and the arrest of then Military Intelligence chief and Prime Minister Khin Nyunt and intelligence units in 2004.

This week, the chief minister reportedly denied that he was involved in arresting Ne Win's family members. The former dictator staged a coup in 1962 ruled Burma for decades until he died in 2002, while under house arrest in Rangoon.

"I didn't arrest U Ne Win because I was in Moulmein at that time. I had no reason to arrest him. Neither did I arrest Gen Khin Nyunt," he was quoted as saying by 7 Days News.

Myint Swe's remarks coincided with the six-year anniversary of the Saffron Revolution which began in September 2007.

Despite his dramatic remarks, the Rangoon Division minister will probably lose little sleep over possible prosecution for his past actions. The military-drafted 2008 Constitution provides immunity for the actions of former junta members during military rule.

The Constitution's Chapter 14, Article 445 provides no legal action can be taken against the State Peace and Development Council and State Peace and Development Council members, stating: "No proceeding shall be instituted against the said Councils or any member thereof or any member of the Government, in respect of any act done in the execution of their respective duties."

Myint Swe, an ethnic Mon, was a graduate of the 15th intake of the Defense Services Academy in 1971. Fellow army officers who personally knew Myint Swe have told The Irrawaddy that he gained promotions as he was an obedient soldier and faithful to the armed forces.

He was brought to the War Office in Rangoon and in the late 1990s he began working directly under Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Vice-Snr-Gen Maung Aye.

Myint Swe was subsequently promoted the Southeast Region commander, before being called back to become head of Rangoon Division. Later he became head of the Bureau of Special Operations-5, a department that also oversees security affairs in Rangoon.

In 2009, Myint Swe was promoted to quartermaster-general of the armed forces and rumors circulated that he was Than Shwe's choice to become the next commander-in-chief. Instead he became the chief minister for Rangoon Region after the 2012 general elections. Since early 2000s, Myint Swe has been taking care of Rangoon Division through several positions.

New Mobile Internet Networks to Be Completed in Time for SEA Games

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 04:50 AM PDT

A view of the 30,000-seat Wunna Theikdi Stadium in Naypyidaw, the main sports venue for the 27th SEA Games. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The installation of fourth generation (4G) mobile Internet networks at venues for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games will be completed next month, according to the national telecoms provider.

U Theinhoke???, deputy general manager of Myanmar Posts and Telecommunicationssaid 4G LTE data services would be available at venues in Rangoon, Naypyidaw, Mandalay and Ngwesaung Beach during December’s SEA Games thanks to assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan’s NEC Corporation.

"We started installing the 4G network in July and now 50 percent of the installation is complete," he said, adding that the 4G infrastructure would remain in place after the games, although no licenses to operate 4G services have been issued by the government.

4G is the successor to 3G standards—currently the most advanced internet network system in use in Burma—and offers so-called ultra-broadband internet access on mobile devices.

JICA said in a statement in December that it was providing a grant of 1.71 billion yen, or about US$17 million, to the government for the Urgent Communication Networks Improvement Plan, an attempt to ready Burma’s communications infrastructure for increased traffic.

The SEA Games are set to be held in Burma in December for the first time in 44 years, and next year the country will also host a number of events in its role as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean.

JICA in the statement said the funding would address serious problems in network capacity and communication quality in Burma.

"Out of the total population of Myanmar [about 60 million], only about 10 million people are using mobile communication and fewer than 3 million people are using the Internets," said Ko Zaw Min Oo, a director at local company????? Barons Tele-link Co. Ltd.

"If 4G network can be available in SEA Games, it is very good for the country," he said.

Ko Aungkham, an IT entrepreneur, said people with smart phones would be able to use the 4G network, but pointed out getting such phones connected was difficult in Burma’s restrictive telecoms market.

"For the 4G network, the service providers charge too much and also the users have to use more high smart phones fitted with the LTE version [of 4G]," he said.

Northern Shan Residents Force Local Drug Addicts Into Rehab Camps

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 04:38 AM PDT

A cache of drugs seized by the Shan State Army and Pa-O rebels in northern Shan State in February, 2012. (Photo: RCSSANC.org)

RANGOON — Residents in Muse, a border town in Burma’s northern Shan State, say they have begun rounding up drug addicts and dealers and forcing them into rehabilitation centers to tackle the area’s rising drug problem.

Northern Shan State, along with much of Burma’s border with China, is known for the production, trafficking and use of both heroin, made from locally grown opium poppies, and methamphetamines.

Residents say drugs are widely available in Muse township’s Thain Lone, Zom Zaw and Man Wayn villages. Muse is the crossing point on the border across from the city of Ruili in China’s Yunnan province.

Sam Aye, a resident from Thain Lone village, told the Irrawaddy that locals had recently started taking matters into their own hands because the lives of many young people in the area were being ruined by drugs.

Residents have confiscated and burned drugs, and sent users to a nearby rehabilitation camp where they are forced to get clean, Sam Aye said.

Armed rebel group the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), which has recently been engaged in fighting with Burmese government forces, operates drug rehabilitation camps in the area.

"In our village, Thain Lone, we managed to arrest five [addicts]. Across other villages in the area, there are other arrested addicts,” he said.

“Such action should have been taken earlier. There are quite a lot of villagers whose lives have been ruined because of narcotics. Actually, the campaign should be launched with the cooperation of authorities."

A resident from Nong Yan village who has taken part in the campaign to round up drug addicts said drug dealers had also been sent to rehabilitation camps, and residents were spreading the word that people should report on drug users to village leaders.

"[The authorities] used to arrest drug users before, but their actions were not effective. So, I would like to call for the cooperation of all residents in order to make our campaign effective. Because of narcotics, a lot of people have died and the lives of many locals have been ruined," he said.

One rehabilitation camp, known to be managed by the local militia, was reportedly opened on Aug. 28 in Man Ton, Northern Shan State.

A similar camp was also situated in Nang Mataw, in nearby Namkham, where Battalion 701 of RCSS/SSA is stationed. However, the camp was captured during clashes with the government in May this year during clashes, according to Sao Kam , a spokesman for RCSS/SSA.

‘I Study as Much as I Can About Different Fashions’

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 03:41 AM PDT

Burmese actress and model Soe Nanda Kyaw poses at the construction site of Star City, on the banks of the Rangoon River. Click on the box below to see more photos. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burmese actress Soe Nanda Kyaw has grown popular with the Burmese public after she was cast as Myant Noe Khin, the main character in MRTV4 channel's soap series "Sign of Love," which also features well-known actors Sai Sai Kham Laing, Thet Mon Myint and Win Ya Mone Hlaing.

Soe Nanda Kyaw recently appeared as a model in photo advertisements for clothing brand STEP wear and is reportedly scheduled to do more fashion photo advertisements. She spoke to The Irrawaddy about her fondness of fashion, her career and family background.

"I study as much as I can about different fashions," says Soen Nanda Kyaw. "Though I like contemporary fashions, I don't often wear something that is too short or too extravagant. But I love wearing traditional Burmese dresses."

The 19-year-old had an early breakthrough into acting and modeling after she won a talent contest in Rangoon, although she says that she had to convince her parents to let her pursue a career in arts and entertainment industry.

"My parents didn't want me to work in the field of arts. I promised them that I would quit my art work if I did not win that performance contest. But luckily, I won and they had to let me continue my art work," she recalls.

Soe Nanda Kyaw said that due to her sudden success she has not had enough time to focus on her education and finish her high school exams.

"I am going to re-sit for my tenth-grade examination. But I haven't decided when… At present, I just focus all my attention on my art work. I am going to try to become a graduate. But, I am going to continue working as an actress," she said.

Her family, she said, had taught her to keep a good attitude in her relationships with others, adding that this has helped her during her career.

"My parents always taught me to be humble towards others. I even deal politely with people working for the media. I am not vain because my parents have taught me to have good relations with everybody," Soe Nanda Kyaw said. "I am a calm person. Everyone acquainted with me knows that," she added, "I love a calm and peaceful family."

Chinese and Indian Firms Tipped for Kyaukphyu SEZ Bidding Race

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 03:20 AM PDT

The Chinese-backed Shwe gas pipeline connection runs from an offshore site in the Bay of Bengal to Kyauk Phyu beach on Burma's western Arakan State. (Photo: Ko Soe / The Irrawaddy)

The Burmese government call for international bids to develop a proposed Special Economic Zone around Kyaukphyu on the western coast makes no mention of existing MoUs already signed with Chinese and Japanese companies, and reportedly involving noted crony Burmese businessman Tay Za.

The announcement raises questions over these previous agreements, but an economic expert on Burma said he thinks China remains the frontrunner to develop the SEZ, and might face competition from Indian companies.

China certainly has a head start over anyone else at Kyaukphyu, a town located on the coast of western Burma's Arakan State. It built and operates the oil port import terminal on Ramree Island where Kyaukphyu is located. Its twin crude oil and natural gas pipelines start there, and the Chinese have signed a MoU to build an 800-kilometer railway linking the SEZ with China's Yunnan Province — the destination of the pipelines.

The railway MoU awarded China's Railways Engineering Corporation a long-term Build-Operate-Transfer agreement "under which China will fund and construct the railway and operate it for half a century before handing it over to the Burma authorities," according to Arakan Oil Watch, a Thailand-based human rights and resources transparency NGO.

Arakan Oil Watch says in a special study that the SEZ planned for Kyaukphyu is one of several being targeted by China's central planners across Southeast Asia to improve trade with ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, following a free trade agreement between the two.

Arakan Oil Watch claims that two or three large companies are already designated to be the main SEZ developers. It identifies these as CITIC, a state-owned Chinese conglomerate; Nippon Koei Company, a Japanese engineering consultancy; and Burma's Htoo Trading Company, a subsidiary of the Htoo Group of Companies owned by noted former military junta crony businessman Tay Za.

These companies have previously signed MoUs with various Burmese government ministries to develop the Kyaukphyu SEZ.

It's unclear whether the Naypyidaw government has abandoned SEZ development proposals for the Kyaukphyu area drawn up by Nippon Koei Company in association with China's CITIC, or whether they would be incorporated in any new bidding proposals.

The government's Bid Evaluation and Awarding Committee said bidding development strategy contracts for a Kyaukphyu SEZ must be lodged before November 19, and suggested that initial work could begin in April 2014.

Earlier outline proposals for a central coast SEZ cover an area of 120 square kilometres, embracing all of Ramree Island and rural districts on the adjoining mainland.

Sean Turnell, a prominent economist with a close understanding of Burma, thinks Indian state-owned businesses could be interested in investing in a Kyaukphyu SEZ, as India is "anxious to offset China’s erstwhile dominance in this strategically important area".

But he told The Irrawaddy he thinks there will be little interest outside of Burma's two giant neighbours, and warns that it would be a mistake to offer potential investors too many financial incentives otherwise there is a danger that "concession-dependent activities are the only ones attracted".

"Likewise, it is important that links be established to local suppliers and other businesses, otherwise the danger that they simply become privileged ‘enclaves’ is likely," said Turnell a professor at Macquarie University in Australia and co-author of the Burma Economic Watch Bulletin.

He added, "SEZs are not a bad idea in Burma, especially as locations for surmounting the country’s many institutional, infrastructure and energy obstacles, and as areas for policy experimentation."

Arakan Oil Watch has warned, however, that plans revealed to date for a Kyaukphyu SEZ would likely mean the relocation of many thousands of people and a disruption to agricultural activity.

"The construction of the Special Economic Zone will multiply the already unfolding impacts of the Burma-China oil and gas pipelines. Massive industrialization will have devastating consequences for tens of thousands of farmers and fishermen who have been neither informed nor consulted about the plans," the NGO said in its own assessment.

"According to project maps, the 120 square kilometres zone could lead to the relocation of about 40 villages as well as parts of Kyauk Phyu town. Construction of the Shwe pipelines and associated infrastructure has already led to the confiscation of thousands of acres of valuable farmlands. Most of these confiscations were involuntary."

Until now, most SEZ activity in Burma has been centered on the plan for Thilawa on the edge of Rangoon, while a third potential major SEZ — at Dawei on the southeast coast — has been at a standstill for lack of investment. Japanese companies are dominating development plans for Thilawa.

However, the Thilawa SEZ, located some 20 kilometers from Burma's commercial capital Rangoon, has been stalled for nearly one year due to land rights issues, power supply and other infrastructure problems. The project is supposed to be one third complete by 2015.

A recent assessment by the Oxford Business Group, a research company with offices in London and Dubai, thought Thilawa nonetheless offered the best early prospects for an SEZ to help develop Burma's nascent market economy.

"The Thilawa SEZ's location, close to [Rangoon] and committed funding by Japanese low-interest loans, makes it a more likely success story for the coming years. Mitsubishi, Marubeni and Sumitomo are all conducting feasibility studies to use the zone, alongside Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japanese government," said the Oxford Business Group study.

India’s Exim Bank Sees Potential in Burma

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 02:39 AM PDT

Jameet Singh Narula of the Export-Import Bank of India speaks to The Irrawaddy in Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON – The Export-Import Bank of India opened an office in Rangoon on Monday, becoming the first bank owned by the Indian government to set up headquarters in Burma.

The Exim Bank aims to promote India-Burma trade, and it has already extended credit totaling US$247 million to projects in Burma, in sectors including transportation, telecommunications, electricity and vehicle manufacturing. The Irrawaddy caught up with Jasmeet Singh Narula, the Burma representative of India's Exim Bank, in Rangoon this week to discuss the bank's move to the Golden Land and what it hopes to achieve here.

Question:  How does India's Exim Bank work here? I mean, how do you promote your bank to traders, both Burmese and Indian?

Answer: Exim Bank has been providing alternative financing solutions to the Indian industry, especially the exporting fraternity, supporting them in their efforts to be internationally competitive. Over the past three decades, a greater measure of internationalization of Indian business has been occurring, through Indian corporates establishing joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries, as well as acquiring companies abroad. Exim Bank was the first financial institution approved by the Reserve Bank of India, India's central bank, to provide overseas acquisition finance.

Through its wide range of financing, advisory and capacity building activities, Exim Bank also endeavours to significantly supplement the efforts of the host country government in achieving its development objectives. Exim Bank, with the support of government of India, has extended seven lines of credit (LOCs), valued at US$247 million, to Myanmar [Burma] for various developmental projects, including upgrading and setting up of railway projects, a petrochemical complex, OFC links, refinery projects, automobile assembly and manufacturing plants, and transmission lines projects. Exim Bank is the only financial institution in India today through which all LOCs extended by the government of India are implemented. Exim Bank's LOCs afford a risk-free, non-recourse export financing option to Indian exporters. The bank also offers medium- and long-term buyer's credit for project exports to Myanmar, enabling Indian project exporters to secure business while avoiding risk.

Q: Why did Exim Bank decide to open here? How will Myanmar benefit?

A: The inauguration of Exim Bank's representative office in Yangon [Rangoon] marks the opening of its eighth office overseas, besides its 10 domestic representative offices in India. Since its inception, Exim Bank, through its wide network of offices located in Washington DC, Dubai, Singapore, Addis Ababa, Dakar and Johannesburg, besides its branch in London, has strived to play a catalytic role, as a key player in promoting India's international trade and investment relations with partner countries, while contributing to the internationalization endeavors of Indian business. With its presence in Yangon, Exim Bank will now focus on further enhancing India's bilateral trade and investment links with Myanmar, with which India shares rich historic, cultural, social and economic ties.

Q: Do you think Myanmar's banking system is sufficiently connected to international banks?

A: Growth in the economy and a pickup in consumer demand are expected to fuel growth in Myanmar's financial sector, which presents opportunities for collaboration. With increased demand for technology and expertise from the banking sector required for global integration, opportunities emerge in technology upgrades and automation of the financial sector. Indian financial institutions could collaborate with local banks as they seek to offer more services. Foreign banks may eventually look to secure branch licenses, which could fuel domestic growth through providing commercial and project financing services. With India's proven expertise in banking and financial sector-related software and automation processes, India could contribute to capacity building and training for the personnel of regulatory agencies and financial institutions. With the need for greater global financial integration to enable cross-border payment and transaction, there is expected to be an increasing demand for technology for integrated electronic payment systems, ATM networks and banking security, among others.

Q: What are the challenges of entering Myanmar's banking sector?

A: Myanmar's recent reforms open up a wide range of economic opportunities, including foreign investment in key sectors, mainly on account of its strategic geographic location and abundance of natural resources.  With a view to attracting greater foreign investments into the country, the adoption of the new Foreign Investment Law by the government of Myanmar is a welcome development which would encourage creation of a favorable investment climate and increased investment flows.

Q: Do you have some figures about recent Myanmar-India trade?

A: Trade relations between India and Myanmar have witnessed a robust trend in recent years, with India's total trade—exports plus imports—with Myanmar having risen from US$408 million in 2001 to almost US$2 billion in 2012, witnessing a more than fourfold rise. This buoyant trend has been underlined by both a rise in India's exports to and imports from Myanmar. Bilateral trade relations between India and Myanmar have witnessed a significant rise in recent years, with India accounting for 15 percent of Myanmar's global exports in 2012, and ranking as its second-largest export market. As a partner country for Myanmar's imports, India accounted for a share of 3 percent of Myanmar's global imports while ranking as the seventh-largest import source Myanmar generally maintains a trade surplus with India, which has increased from US$293 million in 2001 to almost US$1 billion in 2009, and stood at US$819 million in 2012, reflecting the large volume of India's imports from Myanmar, vis-à-vis India's exports to Myanmar.

During the period 2001 to 2012, India's exports to Myanmar have risen more than ninefold, from US$58 million in 2001 to US$527 million in 2012. India's exports basket to Myanmar primarily comprises pharmaceutical products, articles of iron or steel, machinery and boilers, electrical and electronic equipment, residues and animal fodder, and iron and steel, which together account for as much as 73 percent share in India's total exports to Myanmar in 2012.

As regards India's imports from Myanmar, wood articles, charcoal and edible vegetables dominate the import basket, accounting for as much as 95 percent of India's total imports from Myanmar.  For both these items, Myanmar is India's largest import source, accounting for a share of 26 percent each in India's global imports of wood and wood articles and edible vegetables, roots and tubers.  India's imports from Myanmar witnessed a sharp increase from US$ 350 million in 2001 to US$ 1346 million in 2012.

Analysis of trends in Myanmar's imports of major items and India's share would reveal that India has achieved a respectable share in only few products out of the major import categories of Myanmar, namely pharmaceutical products, perfumes and cosmetics, rubber and articles, iron and steel and articles, and cotton. India's share in the other major import items of Myanmar continues to remain marginal.

With a view to, thus, further enhancing bilateral trade relations, there is need to identify potential items of India's exports to Myanmar, in line with India's global export capability as also demand existing in Myanmar exhibited by the rising trend in major import items of Myanmar. This win-win situation, in turn, would also serve to enhance India's ranking as Myanmar's import partner.

One may also note that in spite of India's geographical proximity to Myanmar and export capability in most leading import items of Myanmar, India's share in Myanmar's imports is relatively low, as compared to other partner countries in Asia including China, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Malaysia. There is a need for a stronger bilateral cooperation between India and Myanmar in order to harness the true potential that exists for increasing bilateral trade and investment. In this regard, it was envisaged by both countries during the India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee meeting held in New Delhi in September 2011 to double bilateral trade to US$ 3 billion by 2015.

Burma’s Youth Power Strives for Maturity

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 03:32 AM PDT

Youth representatives gather at an apartment in Rangoon to discuss ways to organize a movement on the International Day of Peace. (Photo: Nanchanok Wongsamuth / SEAPA)

RANGOON – In 1989, visiting a roadside bookstore in downtown Rangoon was not something as simple as it might sound. Unless the vendors recognized your face, that is.

Yan Myo Thein, now 44, knows how difficult political activism among Burmese youth used to be. The former medical school student had to use his familiar face to get rare reading materials when dropping in bookstores.

"When they recognized me, they showed me political or history books written in English regarding Burma whenever they had some," said the political commentator, who has also listened to radio news programs from Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Corporation for at least three hours a day since the age of 14.

At that time, books about the Burmese opposition movement were not allowed to be sold in public, so bookstores were important places to promote ideas of revolution. Books like these, which were sold for about 200 kyat, were passed from one person to another, exchanged and discussed among friends.

Twenty-four years later, the number of youths participating in various movements is higher than in the past, but Yan Myo Thein, who was jailed for almost three years when he was 18 years old for participating in the 1988 uprising against the socialist government, remains skeptical about how much influence they can actually assert in politics.

Generation Wave, a pro-democracy youth group, has openly conducted awareness campaigns since the 2010 elections, roaming the streets to collect signatures and explain to people that the political war is not yet over. The group is known for expressing its views through hip-hop songs and graffiti.

Among the activists is 32-year-old Moe Thway. A former rock musician, he sits cross-legged in jeans and a black-and-white checkered shirt, his eyes covered by strands of hair when he looks down, revealing black stud earrings. Someone who once led a wild life, he is not the average freedom fighter.

"During those years of dictatorship, we couldn't do anything, so we did a lot of art forms such as distributing music, publishing poems and drawing graffiti on street walls," he says. He has been president of the youth group since its formation in 2007.

Now Generation Wave deploys different tactics. Their website and Facebook page are used to provide updates on their activities, mobilize people and organize protests.

Small political forces like this have benefited from greater access to the Internet in Burma after decades of heavy censorship. With over half the country's population under the age of 30, the Internet has been a critical tool to express views on politics and democracy.

In May, Generation Wave spent one month collecting signatures for a campaign to stop "civil war" and start a political dialogue. With the help of the Internet, Facebook and email, they collected more than 60,000 signatures. Last year, they also gathered about 2,000 people to march for 10 miles on the International Day of Peace.

Since September last year, Moe Thway has faced 19 trials for demonstrating without permission and acting against the state or public tranquility, both violations of the Penal Code.  His weekly routine consists of paying visits to the court. He estimates he has gone more than 170 times.

"I have 16 cases related to [violating] Article 18 [of the Penal Code], which has a maximum punishment of one year in jail; and two cases related to Article 505 (b), with a maximum of two years. So that's 22 years maximum," he says with a smile.

Since Generation Wave's formation, 27 members have been arrested, but all are released now. Still, the 15 group members know they might be arrested at any time. "Even now [the police] might come and arrest us, at this very moment, including you," says Min Yan Naing, a co-founder of the group.

Moe Thway is also working closely with the National Youth Congress to encourage youths to become political leaders. Sitting at 50th Street Café in downtown Rangoon, he says democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi does not have the capacity to lead the country alone, after being kept under house arrest for 15 years during military rule. "We need Daw Suu to build the foundation, but for future leadership we must build ourselves and not depend on other people," he says.

He adds that he does not have any plans to enter politics for the 2015 elections, saying that democracy is not just about elections, but includes other forms of participation by the people. To raise participation, civil society is essential, he says. He might consider entering politics in 2020, together with other youths today. "I want to go with the wave of the generation," he says.

Elsewhere in Rangoon, at 3 pm in an apartment on Zayyar Thiri road, nine men and eight women aged 20 to 35 sit on the floor, discussing ways to organize a movement on the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21.

Facilitate. Inclusive. Peace documentary. Facebook. The fact that almost all of them can use English terms like these during their discussion shows why they have been able to connect to other international organizations through social media.

When 26-year-old Salai David got his own Facebook account in 2008—also when he moved from Shan State to Rangoon to study—SIM cards for mobile phones cost at least US$2,000, so he had to use a cyber café to access the Internet. Last year he purchased a SIM card for $500. Working as a freelance researcher on youth policy in Burma, he now uses the Internet on his mobile phone for posting updates on the Chin Youth Network page, which he co-founded last year.

The Chin ethnic group is one of the 135 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Burma government, covering a population of about 500,000. Each state in Burma has its own youth networks for different ethnic groups, and they meet every year at the national youth forum. In July, the Chin Youth Network met members of Parliament in Naypyidaw to submit a policy paper discussing 10 issues, including a lack of access to telephone lines and technology across Chin State.

This is the third time Salai has attended the meeting, which is dominated with words like framework, democracy, motivation, solution and 88.

The 1988 pro-democracy uprising was led by young people, which is why some like Seng Gu remain optimistic about the power of the youth.

"Now youth groups are leading the democratization process, but the problem is that our government doesn't mention the history very well. School curricula don't mention the 1988 uprising and the democratization process, which leads to a gap between seniors and the youth," says the 35-year-old, who is part of a community response group that provides peace module training to civil society.

Highlighting the point of political maturity, Yan Myo Thein says that without having good education and reading about political ideas, as his generation did in the past, a person cannot be a politician. "You can be an activist without studying or reading works, but our country needs a lot of mature politicians. Without them, the future of our country will be in a bad condition," he says.

Yan Myo Thein's profile picture on Facebook is a peacock, a symbol of the student movement. He has 1,500 friends on the social media website who follow his posts on politics.  Now his daughters, aged 13 and 10, are keen to set up Facebook accounts.

"I will allow them to open [a Facebook account] at the age of 14, because sometimes I think some posts aren't very good for children," he said. "Here, most of the youth only read short posts on the Internet and Facebook, instead of reading books. They fail to educate themselves. Most of the youths here can't read in English, so most have to search for translated posts in Facebook and on the Internet. Because of that, they are not very well updated."

A group of young debaters, however, have aimed to dismiss this notion.

At 2:30 pm on a weekday in 2008, around 20 people gathered at the ground floor of the two-storey building at the American Center Debate Club (ACDC). They had come to discuss environmental conservation and economic development, with a plan to debate which of the two was more important. A man in his 20s stood up to explain his stance.

"The government is exploiting natural resources in the country and selling them to China and other countries. While they are putting money in their pockets, our people are still in poverty," he said.

After the event ended, five of the participants were taken away by military intelligence. Luckily, they were only put into custody and questioned for a short period. They did not mention Nyein Zarni Naing, who was leading the activity that day and was a founding member of ACDC, which was scrapped a year later due to the risks associated with the activities.

"Before that day, someone noticed people had been following us. But I thought it was very common in Myanmar," says Nyein Zarni.

Today, 28-year-old Nyein Zarni is head of advocacy and consultancy at the Myanmar Debate Education Society (MDES). Set up in 2011, the MDES is a nonprofit and non-political association aimed at promoting a debate culture in a country where the practice has long been discouraged.

Nyein Zarni says Burma needs a debate culture for successful peace dialogue. "If the peace process is led by young people, it would be successful because they are really realistic and have no agenda behind. But they need experienced people. So why not bring young people into the dialogue?" he asked.

Peter Pyaezone, 33, a member of the MDEC, also sees debate as a form of dialogue. If the debate culture really takes off, then spaces like Facebook can be useful, he says. "If you had a problem in the Stone Age, you would solve it by using force and weapons. With debate, we use our rationalized thoughts and see their perspectives with respect, and we can find some common ground," he says.

If young people are well educated from the perspective of debate education, they can go on Facebook, read the comments and identify the fallacies. This includes overgeneralization, irrelevant reasons and improper premises, says Peter Pyaezone, adding that identifying fallacies are important because oftentimes people tend to participate in discussions by using emotion rather than rationale.

The MDES, which claims to be the only debate group in the country, estimates that about 500 to 1,000 youths have participated in its activities since the group set up.

Saw Thet Tun, 41, who was also involved in the 1988 democracy movement, was kept in prison for 17 years, and recalled how officials did not hesitate to punish and beat prisoners. He said the youth nowadays do not believe in physical struggle anymore.

When he left prison in 2011, he set up Sky Age, a free education center for the poor.

In the 2010-11 academic year, Burma had nearly 40,000 government schools, 275,000 government teachers and 8 million basic education students, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Educational Planning and Training.

To Saw Thet, the government is not interested in improving the country's education system, with a large amount of the budget used for military purposes. "They pretend to be interested in issues such as human rights, ethnic conflicts and religious conflicts because they are afraid of international pressure," he says.

A one-hour drive from downtown Rangoon, there is a small house situated in Southern New Dagon Township. Nineteen students, aged 16 to 41, are here—all from poor families outside Rangoon, including five whose homes did not have electricity.

In a country of 60 million, statistics by the Department of Electric Power indicate that there were only 2.2 million consumers of electricity in 2011. At that time, 486 town and 2,250 villages had access to electricity.

When Saw Thet roamed the states outside Rangoon, he attracted over 500 students who were eager to learn. But with an NGO, not a for-profit education center, he was only able to take 19 students to the study center. English is the main subject, with eight volunteers who teach the students 10 hours daily. The English language is like a weapon, says Saw Thet, and it can be used to communicate with the international community and bring development to the country.

Bhamo Mee Chan, 21, earned only 1,500 kyat per day when she was in her hometown in Pathein district in Irrawaddy Division. She has been with Sky Age for almost two months because costs for continuing her education were too high elsewhere.

Saw Thet says the students, especially women who live in the countryside, lack confidence and are afraid of expressing their feelings. "They think that it is not good for students to ask questions to their teachers. I would like to change this mindset. Every morning I encourage them to ask questions," he says.

For people like Charles Petrie, who heads the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative, the Internet has the potential to be a significant platform to facilitate the peace process among ethnic groups in different regions. "If political dialogue starts, peace will be sustainable. Those who have agreed to stop fighting will now start talking about their political future. But assistance is only one side of what is needed. You need justice and predictability in law," he says.

Meanwhile, political parties are trying to recruit younger members. Of 1.2 million members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), about 50,000 are under the age of 30, estimates party spokesperson Nyan Win. "Compared to the older generation, the youth are capable of looking at things in a broader sense," says the 70-year-old.

Over 2,000 people have graduated from the NLD's training center, with topics covering politics and business. Most students are younger than 30 years old and come from outside Rangoon.

The Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS) also has a youth branch, with members between the ages of 15 and 32. They had about 200,000 members in 1990 but are now working with about 500 members, as they try to regroup their organization. "Because of them [the youths], we are surviving. They are our envoy in different communities," says party leader Aung Moe Zaw, who has been in exile for 24 years.

Although the government acknowledges that there has recently been a lot of hate speech, discrimination and campaigning on Facebook, Thaung Tin, Burma's deputy communications and technology minister, stressed the importance of technology in encouraging the democratization process at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Naypyidaw in June.

Even democracy icon Suu Kyi is optimistic about the youth movement in the country. On the last day of the WEF, she brought out a large cheer from a small part of the crowd where all the young people were sitting.

"May I say that my session with the YGL [Young Global Leaders] this morning was the most enjoyable I’ve had in this forum. It really was," she said.

This article was produced for the 2013 Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) fellowship program. Nanchanok Wongsamuth, a business reporter for the Bangkok Post, is one of the 2013 fellows. This year's theme is Freedom of Expression Challenges to Internet Government in Southeast Asia. The article was originally published for the Southeast Asian Press Alliance in September 2013.

Singing Reggae, Seeking Reconciliation

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 01:14 AM PDT

Saw Phoe Khwar performs at Rangoon's Thuwana National Stadium during a peace festival and concert in July. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

His idol is Bob Marley, his credo is peace and his band is One Love, a name inspired by what he describes as cosmic "oneness."

With dreadlocks spilling out of his rastacap, reggae musician Saw Phoe Khwar stands out, but insists that he is just one of millions of Burmese who want peace to prevail in their conflict-torn homeland. He is an advocate for peace, freedom and equality, and he thinks his music can help further those ends.

A rare public presence in the past, the 45-year-old songwriter's profile is on the rise as concepts like peace and national reconciliation—long a distant prospect—are increasingly discussed by laymen and government officials alike.

"Love Each Other," one of his most popular songs, is a favorite of President's Office Minister Aung Min, leader of the government's peace negotiating team. Aung Min's visits to Rangoon almost always include an invitation to Saw Phoe Khwar from the minister, who enjoys hearing the ethnic Karen musician strum out a few casual tunes.

Saw Phoe Khwar was also invited to perform at Burma's first peace festival concert in July, which was attended by thousands at Rangoon's Thuwana National Stadium. He said he planned to hold another peace-themed free concert in January 2014 in Rangoon.

Mindful of how some artists are used as political pawns, Saw Phoe Khwar said he spurned public appearances in the past and avoided attending big events where other well-known Burmese singers performed. But with the Burmese government now negotiating with armed ethnic minority groups to end decades of civil war, Saw Phoe Khwar feels he too has a part to play in determining the outcome of those talks.

He understands that his songs, with lyrics that heavily draw on themes of peace and harmony, are of particular relevance to Burma these days, and for this reason agreed to get involved in the peace festival in July.

"What I believe is that we can only build peace with real love and kindness. What's happening in our country now is that we lack love for each other. That's why we now face nationalism and religious problems. I want to give the message to the people about the reason for the conflicts we are facing now," said Saw Phoe Khwar.

Born to a Christian family in Rangoon's Ahlone Township, Saw Phoe Khwar was surrounded by music since childhood, but it wasn't until the age of 17 that he heard his first reggae. After listening to a Bob Marley album that was given to him by a friend, Saw Phoe Khwar saw a kindred spirit in the Jamaican singer and songwriter.

"I like the taste of freedom," Saw Phoe Khwar said. "His [Marley's] reggae is full of freedom. When I watched the way he sang, I became addicted to reggae. His mood is full of freedom.

"I was moved by this reggae music. It motivated me. I wanted to listen to it until I died. Now, it [reggae] is my life. You can easily know that I'm crazy for reggae by seeing my outfit," said Saw Phoe Khwar, whose chin is inked with a yellow, green and red tattoo as another testament to his dedication to the genre.

It was in order to spread reggae's message, and not the prospect of striking it rich, that Saw Phoe Khwar got into the music business.

"Even singers like the famous singer and songwriter Htoo Eain Thin—he is a favorite singer for many people, but he is not rich," said Saw Phoe Khwar.

"I even put a song on one of my albums about my [financial] situation. I have to struggle to meet daily basic needs. I hardly have a good dinner. But, I have freedom in my life. This is what I want."

Referring to Marley's alleged last words—"Money can't buy life"—Saw Phoe Khwar said he believes life is a priceless commodity. "I can't exchange my life with Tay Za's [one of Burma's richest business tycoons] life," he said. "You can't buy my life."

There is, however, one material legacy that Saw Phoe Khwar hopes to leave behind when his life on this earth has passed: the establishment of a museum dedicated to the music he loves.

Saw Phoe Khwar has produced four albums, but expects to make more music and hold more peace-related concerts in Rangoon, Kachin State and Karenni State.

Recalling the days of his youth, Saw Phoe Khwar said he used to feel strongly about his ethnic identity.

"When I was young, I was proud of being an ethnic Karen. I used to put my nationality first.

"But one day, I was really ashamed when I looked at myself," he said Saw. "I was ashamed of having such a mindset and ideology. I changed myself. It was also because of Bob Marley. He didn't side with white or black people. He sided with human beings because he was a human being.

Saw Phoe Khwar also blamed the attitudes of older generations, whose deeply rooted distrust of other ethnicities was holding back national unity, he said.

"Our grandparents, parents guided us in the wrong way sometimes. They left us many bad legacies. They said, 'Don't trust Burman people. They are bad people.' This is what our elders used to teach us."

He said hatred, ethnic pride and a lack of love for one another were leading causes of the religious violence and decades-long armed conflicts between ethnic groups in Burma.

"With reggae singers, we have same mood, feelings and ideology. If you see a reggae singer in Chiang Mai [Thailand] or in Paris, you will think about me as you see me now in Yangon with this reggae outfit," said Saw Phoe Khwar.

"We believe in oneness and equality. All human beings must be treated equally. This is the message I want to give to people."

Saw Phoe Khwar condemned the ethnic pride, which is passed off by some as "patriotism," and equal disdain for other ethnicities that has led to decades of conflict in Burma. That goes for ethnic minorities like the Karen, as well as the majority Burman people who have long oppressed the country's minority groups.

"In one of my Karen songs … I give a message with a question: By killing and destroying Burman people, is this how we love our Karen people? By defeating other nationalities, is that a patriotic mindset?"

Exports Set to Soar, as Europe Opens Its Doors

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 01:05 AM PDT

Cargo ships are docked at a shipping terminal on the Rangoon River. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

YANGON — A preferential EU trade scheme has Myanmar's exporters eyeing the European market with greater enthusiasm, after the 28-nation bloc recently dropped all tariffs and quotas on goods from the Golden Land.

A July 19 decision by the European Commission saw Myanmar reinstated to the European Union's Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP), a program designed to help the developing world prosper by giving poor nations a more favorable trade regime. Myanmar's designation as a least developed country places it in the "Everything But Arms" bracket, completely removing tariffs and quotas on all exports except for arms and munitions.

The last time Myanmar benefitted from GSP, the ledgers of importing European companies were tabulated in an amalgam of currencies, from francs to lira to pesetas. Sixteen years later, the single-currency EU bloc offers one of the world's largest markets. With some 500 million consumers now accessible and duty free, opportunities for Myanmar's exporters have never looked so attractive.

The European Union revoked GSP benefits for Myanmar in 1997, in response to the country's failure to uphold international labor standards and worker protections under the former military regime. GSP benefits will be applied retroactively from June 13, 2012, when the International Labor Organization (ILO) said Myanmar's new quasi-civilian government had made significant progress toward rectifying those labor shortcomings.

The European contingent of prospectors to Myanmar is growing, and EU governments are doing their part to encourage business links. The Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry plans to set up an office in Myanmar in November. The French in July followed their British counterparts in setting up a trade commission office in Yangon, which will serve as a liaison between French and Myanmar companies looking to do business together.

French imports from Myanmar soared in the first five months of this year, compared with the same period last year. Imports rose 1,260 percent, from 1.5 million euros (US $2 million) to 20.4 million euros, with most of the increase coming from finished jewelry products, according to Dominique Causse, head of the French Embassy's economic service.

French Trade Minister Nicole Bricq was on hand two months ago for the inauguration of the country's trade commission office in Yangon.

"She's the first minister of the French government with economic responsibilities [to visit Myanmar], and she wanted to show that the relationship between Myanmar and France has to be economic and even commercial in nature, not only political," Mr. Causse said. "It has to be translated into business relations between companies."

For Myanmar's agricultural sector, which employs some 70 percent of the country's workforce, duty-free exports to the European Union could be a major boon. U SoeTun, an executive member of the Myanmar Rice Industry Association, told The Irrawaddy that he expected rice exports to the EU market to increase tenfold this year—though he is quick to point out that the increase comes from a very low base of just 5,000 metric tons shipped to the European Union in the 2012-13 fiscal year, out of about 1.5 million tons exported by Myanmar in total.

The garment sector, which makes up the greatest portion of Myanmar's exports to the European Union, is equally bullish.

"The opening of the Western markets is a very good opportunity for us, in that we can expand our manufacturing and job opportunities for our country," said U MyintSoe, chairman of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association. He said he expected garment exports to the European Union to make up 25 percent of the total next year, rising from 20 percent this year, when Myanmar is on track to export $1 billion globally.

In remarks following the decision to reinstate GSP status, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht touted the "huge difference" that GSP privileges would make for Myanmar's economy.

"Trade is fundamental to supporting political stability, and the EU's trade preferences mean we will give this reform-minded country priority access to the world's largest market," Mr. De Gucht said. "This has the potential to make a huge difference to the country's economic development and to bring real benefits to the people there."

One of those benefits will be the knock-on effect of growth in potential export markets as businesses in Myanmar retool their product offerings to meet stringent EU standards for imported goods.

"If you manufacture a product for the Europeans and it actually meets the standards of the EU and you can enter the European market, then you become a global manufacturer," said Andrew Tan, a Singaporean consultant whose Yangon-based Consult Myanmar helps foreign firms navigate the local business environment. "If you can meet EU standards, then you can meet US standards, then you can probably meet Japanese standards and so on."

This story first appeared in the September 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.

Sex and the Chinese City: Classes Help Women Shed Taboos

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 01:00 AM PDT

Sex shops with neon signs are seen at a wealthy district in Beijing May 6, 2013.

SHANGHAI — In an unmarked room at a three-star hotel in downtown Shanghai, Ma Li teaches small groups of Chinese women about a topic that traditionally has been taboo: sex.

The two-day tutorials are not cheap at 2,500 yuan ($410), more than half the average monthly wage in Shanghai. But a rising number of women are signing up for Ma's classes and similar sessions in other cities to learn about the anatomy, psychology and techniques of intimacy.

"I had absolutely no sex education at all. I thought adult male bodies look the same as baby boys'," said Sophia Hu, a 30-year-old lawyer. "I want to understand myself and the realities of sex."

Ma, certified by the US-based World Association of Sex Coaches, favors a frank approach to encourage confidence. Her lessons include explicit videos of oral sex and appropriately shaped fruit for practice sessions.

She avoids repeating what is available in magazines, saying tips such as "light candles for romance" are dull and not new.

The classes, which started in January, are fully booked weeks in advance, Ma said. In Beijing, psychologist Zhenhong Li started her own series of meetings in July for women to talk openly about sex.

China's conservative attitude towards sex, ushered in by the prudish Communist Party when it took power in 1949, has slowly been changing alongside growing affluence, more overseas travel and exposure to foreign popular culture.

"In Beijing, Shanghai and other big cities, women are very influenced by Western, Taiwanese and Korean culture so have very modern attitudes to sex," said Jay Zheng, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan. "But in rural areas, some women know nothing."

'I Will Be More Relaxed'

The lack of knowledge is partly because there is little sex education in Chinese public schools.

In 2011, a married couple in the city of Wuhan made the news for believing—for three years—that lying side-by-side on one bed would result in pregnancy. Only after a visit to the doctor did the couple, both college graduates, realize their failure to conceive was down to not having sex, Chinese media reported.

"In China, schools are focused on grades, so non-examinable subjects are often changed to ones that will raise grades," said Maggie Hu, who works for the Guangzhou-based sex education provider SexualityZone.

The women who attend Ma's classes come from all over China and from various backgrounds. Some are 20-year-old students wanting to prepare for their first sexual encounter. Others are middle-aged divorcees seeking to regain their confidence.

Many Chinese parents only talk about sex to scaremonger and encourage abstinence, Ma said.

"One of my clients said they were told by their mother that sex is like being shot at with a gun," Ma said. "Many people will grow up thinking that sex is a dangerous thing or really shameful."

For Hu the lawyer, who has yet to have a sexual experience at age 30, taking the class has reduced her anxiety about sex and helped her to understand the pleasures.

"When I have sex, I will be more relaxed," she said. "I won't be as afraid."

Institute: North Korea Nuclear Reactor Likely Restarting

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 10:27 PM PDT

A North Korean nuclear plant is seen before demolishing a cooling tower, right, in Nyongbyon, in this photo taken June 27, 2008, and released by Kyodo. (Photo: Reuters / Kyodo)

WASHINGTON — A recent satellite image appears to show North Korea is restarting a plutonium reactor, in a move that could raise renewed international alarm over its nuclear weapons program, a US research institute said Wednesday.

The 5 megawatt reactor at the Nyongbyon nuclear facility was shuttered in 2007 under the terms of a disarmament agreement. Pyongyang announced plans in April to restart it amid a litany of threats toward the United States and South Korea after it faced tougher international censure over its latest nuclear and rocket tests.

North Korea has since toned down its rhetoric and stepped up diplomacy with rival South Korea, but Wednesday's finding by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies is a sign that the regime of Kim Jong-un is pressing ahead with its nuclear program.

Without access to the secretive facility, it is difficult to say with certainty that the reactor has restarted, but the institute says an Aug. 31 commercial satellite image shows white steam rising from a building next to the reactor. The building houses steam turbines and electric generators that are driven by heat generated by the reactor. The color and volume of the steam is consistent with the electrical generating system being readied to come online, indicating that the reactor is in or nearing operation, the institute says.

The analysis was written by Jeffrey Lewis and Nick Hansen and provided to The Associated Press ahead of publication on the institute's website, 38 North.

When North Korea announced its plans in April, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that restarting the plutonium reactor would be "extremely alarming" but added: "There's a long way to go between a stated intention and actually being able to pull it off."

Department spokesman for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Jason Rebholz, said Wednesday that North Korea's nuclear program remains a matter of "serious concern." Rebholz reiterated the call for Pyongyang to comply with its previous commitments and abandon all nuclear weapons and nuclear programs. He did not directly address the reactor report, saying the department does not comment on intelligence matters.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service also said it could not confirm the reactor report because it involves confidential intelligence.

Commercial satellite images taken in recent months had indicated preparations for restarting the reactor were progressing rapidly. In June, the institute predicted the reactor could be up and running by the end of August, depending on the availability of fresh fuel rods to power it.

The reactor can be used both to generate electricity and produce fissile material for nuclear weapons, and once it is operating, can produce about 6 kilograms of plutonium a year—enough for one or two bombs. Experts estimate North Korea already has enough plutonium for between four to eight crude weapons.

"The reactor restart fits a pattern of continued expansion of North Korea's WMD programs short of conducting outright nuclear and missile tests," said Joel Wit, a former State Department official and editor of 38 North. WMD stands for weapons of mass destruction.

"An operating reactor will enable Pyongyang to renew the production of plutonium, albeit on a small scale, that will enable it to slowly expand its stockpile of nuclear bombs," he said.

The development could intensify pressure on Washington to restart international aid-for-disarmament negotiations with Pyongyang, stalled since 2009, although the differences between them are stark.

The United States is demanding North Korea first recommit to past agreements on denuclearization, while Pyongyang insists that it be recognized in disarmament negotiations as a nuclear power, which the United States refuses to do.

North Korea has dialed down its bellicose rhetoric in recent months and on Wednesday agreed with South Korea to restart operations at a jointly run factory park that Pyongyang shut down in April.

But despite the easing tensions, analysis of recent commercial satellite photos also shows Pyongyang may also be doubling the size of its uranium enrichment plant—a potential, second source of fissile material for nuclear weapons—and expanding its main rocket launch site, located on its west coast near China.

North Korea has conducted three underground nuclear test explosions since 2006. The latest, in February 2013, prompted international condemnation and a tightening of sanctions by the UN Security Council. The sanctions are intended to hinder the North's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

The North's weapons capabilities are a subject of conjecture, but experts doubt it has yet mastered how to miniaturize a nuclear device that fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the United States, although it is possible it may have for shorter-range missiles.

Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

Prosecutor Calls for Death in Delhi Bus Rape Case

Posted: 11 Sep 2013 10:16 PM PDT

Demonstrators with their heads covered by black cloth take part in a protest outside a court in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo: Reuters)

NEW DELHI — Saying their crime shocked the conscience of India, the prosecutor in the fatal New Delhi gang rape called Wednesday for all four convicted rapists to be hanged, while one of the defendants shouted out his innocence as police drove him into the courthouse.

It was not clear which of the four men was shouting, because his face was obscured behind the police van's heavy metal mesh, but he repeatedly called out, "I am innocent! I am innocent!" as the van drove past a scrum of reporters.

The men were convicted Tuesday in the December gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving New Delhi bus, a brutal crime that unleashed a wave of public anger over the treatment of Indian women and a long-unspoken epidemic of sexual violence. The victim died two weeks after the attack.

The four face either life imprisonment or death by hanging. Calls for the men to be executed have grown increasingly loud, with everyone from the victim's parents to top political leaders demanding the men be sentenced to death.

Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan said the attack shocked India's "collective conscience," noting the police report showed the men pulled out some of the victim's body parts after savagely penetrating her with an iron rod.

"There can be nothing more diabolic than a helpless girl put through torture," he said.

Judge Yogesh Khanna said he would hand down the sentences on Friday.

The four men sat in in the back of the tiny courtroom in T-shirts or short-sleeved polo shirts, unshackled and with policemen holding them from both sides. They appeared impassive, though it was not clear how much they understood of the proceedings. Most of the day's arguments were in English, a language that only one of the men, Vinay Sharma, is able to speak. They had no translator.

The defense lawyers have long proclaimed their clients' innocence, while sometimes indicating some of the men may have been on the bus. They insist that any confessions were coerced by police torture.

On Wednesday, they called for the judge to avoid the death penalty.

"If they have committed a mistake, and the court accepted that they committed a mistake, then they should be given a chance to reform," lawyer A.P. Singh, who has worked with all the defendants at various times, said outside the courthouse. "The accused are not habitual and professional criminals. They should be given one chance to reform themselves."

Vivek Sharma, a lawyer representing Pawan Gupta, a 19-year-old fruit vendor, asked for a sentence of life imprisonment, noting that Indian law calls for execution only in very exceptional cases.

Sharma said Wednesday the crime may have happened "on the spur of the moment" and urged leniency for his client because of his age and because he had to support his impoverished family. He said Gupta did not join in the rape or in violating the victim with the rod.

The family of the victim watched from one row in front of the prisoners, close enough to touch one another.

When the hearing ended, they again called for the men to be hanged.

"They finished our daughter," said the father, who cannot be named under Indian laws guarding his daughter's identity as a rape victim. "We want them finished."

An airport baggage handler who makes a little more than $200 a month, he and his wife had broken with the conservative rural culture in which they had been raised, encouraging their daughter to study hard and even leave home to get a degree in physiotherapy. At the time of the attack, she was awaiting her exam results.

India's Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty should only be used in "the rarest of rare cases," though what defines those cases remains highly debated.

By most estimates, more than 100 people are sentenced to death in India in most years, but the vast majority of those cases are eventually commuted to life in prison.

India had an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment that lasted eight years, ending with the November 2012 execution of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunmen in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Two months later, Mohammad Afzal Guru, convicted in a deadly 2001 attack on India's Parliament, was also hanged.

Indian media reports say about 400 prisoners are believed to be currently awaiting execution.

In addition to their confessions, the four convicted rapists were identified by the woman's male friend who was with her on the night of the attack. The two were coming home from a movie when the men tricked them into boarding a bus they were joy-riding. They quickly beat the friend into submission, held the woman down and took turns raping her. They also penetrated her with the rod, causing severe internal injuries that led to her death.

The defendants, like the victim, come from poor and ill-educated families. One, Mukesh Singh, occasionally drove the bus where the crime occurred and cleaned it. Another, Vinay Sharma, was a 20-year-old assistant at a gym and the only one of the attackers to graduate from high school. Akshay Thakur, 28, occasionally worked as a driver's helper on the bus.

With them on the bus were two other men. Police say Ram Singh, 33, hanged himself in prison, though his family insists he was murdered. He was the brother of Mukesh Singh. Another man—an 18-year-old who was a juvenile at the time of the attack and cannot be identified under Indian law—was convicted in August and will serve the maximum sentence he faced, three years in a reform home.

About two dozen protesters gathered Wednesday by the courthouse, calling for the four men to be executed and taunting defense lawyers.

"Hang All The Rapists" one sign urged.

Associated Press writer Katy Daigle contributed to this report.
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