The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Bomb Blast Hits Traders Hotel in Rangoon
• MRTV Begins Digital TV Broadcasts, Expects to Reach Nationwide Coverage by 2020
• Letpadaung Mine Project Resumes but Fails to Meet Lawmakers’ Requirements
• Ready or Not, the Tourists Are Coming
• Burma Saddles Up for the Asean Chairmanship
• Vigilance Urged After Spate of Bombs Planted in Burma
• ‘They Want to Move Forward to a Genuine Ceasefire’
• Rohingya Refugees Ponder Future Minus Australia Option
• Thailand Finds 13 Dead Suspected Burma Migrants
• Mass Evacuation Saves Indian Lives as Cyclone Leaves Trail of Destruction
• Malaysian Court Rules Use of ‘Allah’ Exclusive to Muslims
• Death Toll in India Temple Stampede Rises to 109

Bomb Blast Hits Traders Hotel in Rangoon Posted: 14 Oct 2013 01:55 PM PDT Rangoon police in front of Traders Hotel following the blast on Monday night. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — At approximately 11:15 on Monday night, a small bomb ripped through a 9th story room at Traders Hotel, one of the nicest hotels in downtown Rangoon. Max Mezezy of Hong Kong could be heard screaming for help for his wife, saying repeatedly, "Where's the ambulance?"  Both he and his two young sons were unharmed in the blast.  He carried his injured wife, bleeding profusely from wounds in her arms and thighs, out to a waiting van, which brought her to Rangoon General Hospital.  The American family, only in Burma for a brief stay, was supposed to fly back tonight to Hong Kong where they currently live. According to the police, the bomb was planted in the toilet of room 921.   Although the blast tore apart the bathroom, blew out the room's window, and left ceiling panels hanging, the family's two small sons, aged 5 and 7, don't remember hearing anything, only waking up to see their mom lying on the floor bleeding. The glass from the window pane was blown out several feet in front of the hotel. Rangoon police and an army bomb disposal unit arrived within the hour and were carrying out an investigation.  Traders' General Manager Phillip Couvaras delivered what he called a "holding statement" at 2:35 AM, saying that a guest had been taken to the hospital, but "because this is an active police investigation, we cannot comment further at this time." The victim's condition is currently unknown. Since Friday, a series of bombs has exploded across Burma.  This is the third explosion in Rangoon since Sunday.  A bomb exploded in Pegu Divison on Friday, killing two people and injuring one. Burma is gearing up to host the 2013 Southeast Asia Games in early December and was recently appointed the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for 2014.   The post Bomb Blast Hits Traders Hotel in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

MRTV Begins Digital TV Broadcasts, Expects to Reach Nationwide Coverage by 2020 Posted: 14 Oct 2013 05:23 AM PDT Tint Swe speaks to The Irrawaddy at MRTV's Rangoon bureau. (Photo: Simon Roughneen / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), the national TV and radio broadcaster, is implementing a major upgrade of its broadcasting system and will start digital TV broadcasts in the country's three major cities this week, MRTV director general Tint Swe said. MRTV plans to switch from an analogue to digital broadcasting system that provides nationwide coverage, Tint Swe said, adding that digital TV broadcasts will begin in Rangoon, Naypyidaw and Mandalay on Tuesday. "We're expecting such a digital system to provide coverage in the whole nation by 2020," he said, adding that MRTV plans to build 77 digital TV broadcasting stations by 2015 and increase this number to 253 stations by 2017. MRTV will use the Asean-standard Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial-2 (DVBT-2), according to Tint Swe, who headed the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department, Burma's censorship department, until August 2012. Viewers much have a digital TV that has a DVB-T2 or MPEG-4 tuner in order to be able to receive the broadcast, or users can buy a digital receiver, a MPEG-4 set-top box. A digital TV currently cost about US $300 in Burma, while a digital receiver costs about $40. "Though we're going to change the system from analogue to digital, the analogue users can continue to view as usual the next three years. Until 2016, it's optional for them," Tint Swe said. The MRTV channels will sell commercial advertisement broadcast time in order to gain revenues, in addition to receiving government funding. Tint Swe declined to comment on the costs of upgrading the broadcast system, and refused to disclose the name of the company awarded the government contract to build the new broadcasting infrastructure. MRTV currently has five public television channels, such as the Myanmar International Channel, the Farmers Channel and the recently started National Races Channel, which aims to serve the country's various ethnic minorities. The military-owned Myawaddy company broadcasts seven television channels, such a news, sports and entertainment channel. Myawaddy's broadcasts will also be made available through MRTV's digital broadcasting system, along with four pay-per-view TV channels of Forever Group. Forever Group, run by Chief Executive Officer Win Maw, was the first private media company to set up a joint-venture with the Burmese state-run broadcaster in 2005, when MRTV was firmly under control of the military regime. The Forever Group consortium reportedly had close ties with the junta’s Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, who stepped down from his post in August 2012. MRTV was set up 1979 and for decades it has been used a propaganda unit by the repressive regime. President Thein Sein's reformist government has lifted numerous restrictions on the media in Burma since assuming office in 2011. The Ministry of Information is currently drafting a law that would reform MRTV into a public broadcast service media that receives government support to produce informative, independent programs, as is common in many other countries. The post MRTV Begins Digital TV Broadcasts, Expects to Reach Nationwide Coverage by 2020 appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Letpadaung Mine Project Resumes but Fails to Meet Lawmakers’ Requirements Posted: 14 Oct 2013 05:18 AM PDT Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is seen during her visit to the Letpadaung copper mine in March 2013. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — The Letpadaung copper mining project has resumed operations in northwest Burma without meeting requirements set by lawmakers, according to a member of a parliamentary commission that set the requirements. Khin San Hlaing was part of a commission led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi that investigated the suspended project earlier this year and filed a report with a list of conditions for its resumption. The project restarted earlier this month, but she says it has not met requirements for transparency, specifically in relation to its impact on public health and the environment. "The mining company is obviously disobeying and going beyond what we suggested in the report by resuming their mining process without proving that they have complied with the report," said the lawmaker, who is part of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party. "We have still not heard about the new contract, or whether the process is moving forward with approval for the EIA [environmental impact assessment] and the HIA [health impact assessment]. We keep asking them to present the documents and facts to the public, but they are still silent, which means there is no full transparency. Problems with the farmers will continue unless they work transparently." She added that requirements have also not been met to compensate farmers for lost land. The mining project in Sagaing Division—a joint venture between China's Wanbao and a Burmese military-backed company—was suspended in November after a brutal police crackdown on protesters. Suu Kyi's commission investigated the project after the crackdown and recommended that the mining company resume operations only after taking steps to ease the adverse educational, social and environmental effects on local residents. Under a new contract signed this year, the Burma government took a 51 percent stake in the mining project, while the military-backed Union of Myanmar Economic Holding Ltd (UMEHL) accepted a 30 percent stake and Wanbao a 19 percent stake. Despite continuing protests, the mining project resumed earlier this month, with a fence being erected around disputed land that bars farmers and their flocks of animals from entering. The fence starts in Tone village and reaches the base of the Leik Kun Mountain, and farmers say it has destroyed over 100 acres of land they were using to grow sesame and other crops. Earlier this month, hundreds of farmers near the mine site went to a liaison office opened by the parliamentary commission's implementation committee, located at New Hse Tae and Zee Taw village, to urge the mining company not to resume work. They met with the divisional minister for forestry and mining, Than Htike. Last week, as operations continued despite the complaints, farmers marched out to the disputed land to stop the fencing. "When we met recently with Minister Than Htike at the liaison office, he assured us that the mining company would not work yet on our land, for which we have not yet received compensation," Win Htay, a farmer from Hse Tae village, said with a cry. "But now the company has initiated a fencing process and our land has been taken. They are liars and they take us as illiterates." Compensation has been offered to the farmers, but many have refused it. "We have not taken the compensation because this money will soon be gone, and it will not secure our future," said Daw Nwae, another farmer from Hse Tae. "They said they would give us jobs at the project, but how can we depend on that low salary? We surely will not receive a high-ranking job, but rather very basic work that we are unfamiliar with. We know nothing apart from planting crops." She added, "If compensation has changed someone's life, why don't they show that person as an example? It [compensation] is just a PR attempt by the mining company." Khin San Hlaing of the parliamentary commission said authorities were concerned about the refusal of some farmers to accept compensation. "There are a lot of questions about why these farmers are not taking compensation," she said. "The mining company and the authorities need to think about providing long-term assurances for the livelihoods of farmers who lost the land which they have worked on for generations. "Since there's no transparency from the mining companies and the authorities, plans for the livelihoods of farmers are still unknown. As they have not been assured, the farmers refused to take the compensation. If the mining company really understood and really cared about the lives of the locals and the farmers, they would not move forward like this." The post Letpadaung Mine Project Resumes but Fails to Meet Lawmakers' Requirements appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Ready or Not, the Tourists Are Coming Posted: 14 Oct 2013 03:45 AM PDT Foreign tourists sightsee at Shwe Indein Pagoda near Shan State's Inle Lake. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) YANGON — "Right here," says U Aye Kyaw, pointing to the floor of his office in downtown Yangon, where two Scandinavian tourists had to sleep after they were unable to find proper accommodation. That was last year, when a record one million foreign arrivals put unprecedented strain on Myanmar's underdeveloped tourism infrastructure. The upsurge then of visitors keen to experience the country's largely unseen attractions came with an awkward spotlight on its lack of hotel rooms, dilapidated transport systems and even the quality of its food. This year officials are hoping for 1.8 million visitors, and tourism services and infrastructure are still struggling to handle the potential windfall. For some sectors, such as hotels, times have never been so good. "They are getting a golden egg every day," says U Aye Kyaw of Rubyland Tourism Services in Yangon, referring to the high occupancy and steep room rates enjoyed by accommodation providers. It's better days for tour guides, too, as long as they don't mind a grueling work schedule. "I was on the job every single day from November to February last year," said Yangon-based U Zaw Lynn, a 15-year veteran in the high-end tourism business who expects to put in the same hectic hours this high season. "I was like a zombie," says 24-year-old freelancer Ko Aung Soe Lin, describing his condition after working a similarly frantic schedule last year as a first-time guide. Daily rates for top guides have increased from around US$25 a couple of years ago to between $40 and $50 now, says U Zaw Lynn. In mid-September, the Myanmar Tour Guide Association proposed that guides should be paid at least $35 a day. To hold on to guides, some tour operators in Yangon are offering staff positions to star freelance performers, at around $1,500 a month. One of the country's largest operators, Tour Mandalay, is also offering permanent contracts, according to product manager Marek Lenarcik. Top guides in Myanmar are often, above all, skilled diplomats and problem solvers. "When a car breaks down, or when a flight is delayed, when people get sick, or when there are issues of misinterpretation between tourists and locals—you have to know how to fix all these issues fast," said U Zaw Lynn. The guide shortage means companies are also considering hiring unaccredited persons who can offer special skills, such as languages. "There are people without the license but who are as good as the [accredited] guides. If they do have this kind of quality, and they do have these skills, I am happy to work with them," says Ma Dar Le Khin, director of 7Days Travel & Tour, adding that the company had not yet made a final decision on such hires. The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, which is responsible for accrediting tour guides, said it has added 184 certified guides since 2011, bringing the total to 3,344 as of August. Tour operators are also hiring other staff. At Unique Asia Ticketing and Tour, an original workforce of eight has increased to 30, according to executive director U Lynn Zaw Wai Mang. Tour Mandalay employs more than 150 people, of whom about a quarter were hired in the last two years. The tourism industry may see its greatest moment—and its biggest challenge—in mid-December, when the Southeast Asian Games will be hosted by Myanmar at the same time that the tourism high season is peaking. Thousands of athletes, training staff, government delegations and fans are expected to descend on Naypyitaw, Yangon, Mandalay and Ngwe Saung beach from Dec. 11-22 for the biannual competition. The website Oway.com.mm has been working with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism to offer online tour package booking for visitors to the Games. Oway founder U Nay Aung was quick to spot the market potential of online bookings for everything from hotels and airlines to tour operators and car rental agencies. "My goal is to take positions that have potential for very fast growth," said the entrepreneur who spent 16 years overseas before returning to his home country in 2011. "The travel industry, in its current form, is very poorly served." The rise in online bookings from abroad may leave less room for traditional operators, who can find themselves dealing with "leftovers" such as providing local transport, where fuel and driver costs mean there's little room for profit. "One operator told me he made between $100 and $200 total, providing local transport to a tour group," said U Zaw Lynn. "He joked that it was better to be a guide than an owner—you'd make more money." The Missing Middle Like the economy as a whole, the tourism industry is still largely catering to the high and low ends of the market, with limited space for those at the middle level. High-end tourists can afford the top hotels, luxury private transport, the most experienced guides and the best food. Backpackers arrive with few expectations by way of conditions. The middle market—travelers who hope to pay reasonable prices for reasonable services—are still challenged on everything from room rates to reliable transport to what to eat. "Food is still a big issue here," said U Zaw Lynn, referring to quality, hygiene and price. "Small restaurant fare and street food is not comparable to, say, Thailand, where you can get a decent, healthy meal for as little as a dollar. Here, a basic meal will cost more than that. And your evening curry may have been cooked in the morning, or even the day before. "It's a bit of a worry for us, food. We recommend good restaurants that are known to us. But if clients want to try other places, we give them the full information on the situation." The biggest industry challenge this year is still room shortages. For U Aye Kyaw of Rubyland, this could be ameliorated relatively quickly if the government would allow homestays, which are technically illegal under current law—a situation that looks unlikely to change anytime soon. High-end hotels in Yangon like Traders, the Park Royal and Chatrium have reconverted former hotel rooms that they had turned into office space when occupancy rates were low. As other international hotel chains embark on new projects, just under a thousand new international-standard hotel rooms are expected to be ready in Yangon by the end of the year, according to property firm Jones Lang Lasalle. Nationwide, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism says there are 859 licensed hotels and guest houses, offering more than 31,000 rooms. That is up from 731 licenses in 2011, with about 28,000 rooms. Enterprising newcomers are also entering what for the moment is an attractive hotels market. Ko Ye Man Thu, a 25-year-old Yangon resident, will this month open the 28-room Grand Empire Blazing Hotel in Bagan, where last year some hapless tourists who couldn't find rooms slept in local monasteries and even in cemetery grounds. "I think I can help the tourism industry," he said in September as hammers pounded and electric drills whirred at his unfolding hotel site. Here Come the 'Happy Police' One innovation set for this year is a 175-person strong tourist police force charged with servicing visitors at tourism hotspots including Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan. Mark Wilson, an American colonel with 40 years of law enforcement experience, most recently in training police in Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan, has been enlisted by the Ministry of Home Affairs to train the force. Part of the challenge, he says, is "demilitarizing" the cadets. "So now it's a new day, a new Myanmar, and I've got the happy police. Instead of the gray shirts with the very military-looking uniforms, we're putting them in yellow polo shirts that say Tourist Police on the back, and telling them to smile and talk to people and wave." He added, "I've been training them more as Disneyland security guards than as police." By mid-September, the tourist police had their own Facebook page, but staff at the Pansodan Road head office in Yangon still appeared unready to handle walk-in queries from foreign visitors. When approached by this reporter on two separate occasions, the officers on duty were unable to answer a few simple questions in English. "It's going to be an interesting season," said Mr. Wilson, who also teaches basic "police English" to the officers three times a week. "With the influx of people for the SEA Games, and visitors coming to watch the games, and the regular tourists, it's going to be a big season. A lot of challenges." Though annual tourist arrivals have risen steadily since 2011, and the strain has shown, there is little danger of Myanmar being overrun with visitors just yet. The numbers coming here are still tiny compared to the 22 million tourists that neighboring Thailand sees annually. Even Laos, with a population of 6.5 million, welcomed 3.4 million visitors last year. But the government has big plans: 3 million annual foreign arrivals by 2015 and 7.5 million by 2020. The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is planning to coordinate nearly $500 million in spending on the sector through 2020. In turn, the ministry expects revenue from tourism-related services to rise from $534 million last year to more than $10 billion in 2020. Slowly but steadily, linkages within and outside of Myanmar are being improved. Domestic airline Air KBZ will deploy two more commercial planes starting this month, and hopes to put another on the tarmac before the end of the year, nearly doubling the carrier's current fleet of four. Myanmar Airlines International is also expanding links with regional destinations, while Thai carriers such as Nok Air and Bangkok Airways are introducing direct international flights to tourist destinations such as Mawlamyine and Mandalay, as well as to Naypyitaw. In the east, four entry points on the border with Thailand were opened in late August to overland travel by foreigners for the first time. Most of the 465,614 visitors entering Myanmar through land gateways last year were Thai citizens who stayed for less than one day. Foreigners entering the gateways with a visa can now stay for up to 28 days and travel onwards. U Aye Kyaw, who is a board member of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association, said the UMTA will send representatives out to the region this year to provide tourism-related training. "We are responsible, as an association, to train those people in how to handle the tourists," he said. Meanwhile, new and perhaps surprising players are readying to capture segments of the market. In September, Saw Lah Lel, manager of the newly opened Moe Ko San Travel and Tour Company—owned by the Karen National Liberation Army's 7th brigade—sounded an optimistic note to Karen News. "When the gates are opened, foreigners will be able to go in and out of the country freely. The rate of visitors to [Myanmar] will increase dramatically," the budding entrepreneur told the publication. Improving the experience of travel to previously inaccessible areas will take time, however, as 7Days Tour's Ma Dar Le Khin can attest. During a mid-September attempt by a client to travel to Thailand via the Myawaddy crossing, impassable roads required that the traveler abandon the tour car and enlist a motorcycle to carry him the remaining 40 miles to the border. Marcus Allender, a British national who came to Myanmar as a tourist in 2010 and returned last year as an entrepreneur to set up a tourism-related website, journeyed in August to formerly off-limits parts of Tanintharyi Region. "The railway down to Dawei, it's scarcely believable, but it was built, according to Wikipedia, in 1998," he said. "In fact, it would be bad by 1898 standards." But while the trip—which involved long hours atop a truck on poor roads—was at times dangerous, uncomfortable and energy-sapping, it was also "utterly fascinating"—for the landscape, the "sheer unfamiliarity" of everything and the welcoming Mon people. Said Mr. Allender: "It was more than worth the effort." This story first appeared in the October 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Ready or Not, the Tourists Are Coming appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma Saddles Up for the Asean Chairmanship Posted: 14 Oct 2013 03:30 AM PDT Burma Saddles Up for the Asean Chairmanship The post Burma Saddles Up for the Asean Chairmanship appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Vigilance Urged After Spate of Bombs Planted in Burma Posted: 14 Oct 2013 02:49 AM PDT A Burma Army soldier holds a grenade found in a restaurant in Mandalay on Monday, one of a series of explosive devices planted around Burma in the past few days. (Photo: Tay Za Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Rangoon police have warned the public to be on the lookout for suspicious packages in public places as a bombing in Pegu Division reportedly killed two and a series of bombs have been placed in Burma's commercial capital in the space of a few days. Three small bombs have exploded since Friday, a mine was discovered Monday at a Chinese restaurant in Rangoon and a bomb was found at an eatery in Mandalay, also on Monday. On Friday, a bomb blast at a guesthouse in Taungoo Township, Pegu Division, killed two people and injured one at about 9 pm, according to local media reports. According to the Democratic Voice of Burma, a man and a woman were killed and another woman was hospitalized when the bomb went off in Taungoo, a town about 220 km (137 miles) from Rangoon. Then in the early hours of Sunday morning, a bomb exploded at a bus stop in northern Rangoon's Insein Township. The blast damaged a bus stop and a billboard but no one was injured, according to the government-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper. "According to reports, police also discovered a home-made bomb with a C-4 detonator, a clock wires at a garbage near the scene [sic]," the newspaper reported, adding that the case was being investigated. Also Sunday, another homemade bomb attached to the underside of a truck exploded at about 5 pm in Rangoon's Thaketa Township when two youths tried to remove a clock attached to the device, according to a statement posted on the Burma police force's Facebook page. The two youths were only slightly injured in the blast, the statement said, naming them as Htet Naing Aung, 14, Win Min Htwe, 14. On Monday, police in Ahlone Township said a small mine was found fixed under a table at Western Park 2, an expensive Chinese restaurant in western Rangoon. In a press conference Monday afternoon, Win Naing, a police officer in Ahlone Township, said the mine, which was discovered by staff cleaning the restaurant on Monday morning, had been removed safely without being triggered. "We do not think they wanted to harm the people. They could have harm the people or me if they wanted while we were defusing it," he said. A police photo shows the alleged explosive device found on Monday morning inside Western Park 2 Chinese restaurant in western Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) "They wanted to show they could do harm to the people if they wanted to." Another bomb was found at central Mandalay's Bal Lay Burmese restaurant at about 1:30 pm on Monday. Police removed the bomb and detonated it in a controlled explosion outside of the restaurant. The police statement, posted on Facebook on Sunday, told the public to be vigilant after the series of incidents involving explosive devices. "We inform the public that if they find a strange package at bus or train station, or a seaport, please do not open it and please inform a nearby police station or township authority or official headquarters as soon as possible," it said. San Min, a township official in Thaketa told The Irrawaddy on Monday that an investigation was underway to find out who was behind the bombings. "We will tell the public when we are ready," he said, adding that authorities were also trying to establish whether the separate incidents were connected. "They have intentionally done this, according the evidence we found. They wanted to threaten to the people by showing they can do this at," he said. "For us, we will compare the evidence we got here with the evidence from Insein." Small bomb blasts occurred frequently under Burma's military regime, and were normally blamed on armed ethnic groups, although many believed the authorities were behind the explosions. Such incidents have become rarer in recent years, and security at borders has been heightened this year in anticipation of December's Southeast Asian Games. Win Khaung, the national police chief, said in August that official intelligence had identified a terrorist movement the country and that heightened security was needed to protect increasing numbers of foreign visitors to Burma. Additional reporting by Zarni Mann in Mandalay The post Vigilance Urged After Spate of Bombs Planted in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘They Want to Move Forward to a Genuine Ceasefire’ Posted: 14 Oct 2013 02:35 AM PDT Vijay Nambiar, the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Burma, observes the KIO-government ceasefire talks in Myitkyina last week. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy) MYITKYINA — Vijay Nambiar, the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Burma, has participated twice as an observer to the ceasefire talks between the Burma government and the ethnic Kachin rebels, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Last week, Nambiar observed the three-day talks in Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital in northern Burma, on Oct. 8-10. It was the second time that the two sides met since May and the meeting produced an agreement, but not a ceasefire deal. Shortly after the talks ended, the UN envoy spoke with Irrawaddy reporter Saw Yan Naing about the peace prospects for Kachin State. Question: What did you learn during this latest round of ceasefire talks? Answer: Genuine progress has been made in terms of moving the process forward. I think that in the last few days, the negotiations took place in a genuine spirit of the cooperation and harmony between the two sides, even though they got differences in term of the perception of things. The agreement they signed meets many of the concerns that the two sides have had in relation to the start of the process of political dialogue, the de-escalation and also looks at the specific mechanisms, including the joint monitoring. … But, what I have been most impressed is the spirit and the courage by both leaders and delegations in moving forward. There are, of course, many things that still need to be done. Even though they have an earlier agreement, there have been some skirmishes. But, they want to move forward to a genuine ceasefire. And the agreement they have reached includes the KIO convening very soon a joint meeting of all ethnic groups [in Myitkyina] in order to be able to proceed forward with a nationwide ceasefire. That also, I think, represents such substantial progress. And I think that is the first stage of a political dialogue that would look at the larger picture of the inspiration of [Burma's] ethnic groups toward federal power sharing and resource sharing. Q: Even though there have been several rounds of ceasefire talks, more than 100,000 displaced civilians still can’t return home. What are your concerns about these people who have been displaced for more than two years? A: That is another area where I think there has been a genuine effort to meet the concerns of both sides. They are looking at specific areas, such as the Bhamo-Myitkyina road [which remains closed], they have been discussing about reopening roads. And the technical groups, joint monitoring groups, will also have to cover resettlement [of displaced civilians]. And the fact that both sides expressed that they will take accounts of the personal views and desire of local [displaced] themselves about what they want to do for their own resettlement. That is very important. Q: Based on your observations this week, what are the challenges ahead in the peace process? A: I think challenges still remain. These processes are just beginning. Once the political dialogue starts there will be new challenges to face because I think the process of working out the framework for political dialogue will remain a substantial challenge. But, I see there is genuine willingness to move forward together. I think that is a good sign. Q: Your home country, India, is a multi-ethnic country like Burma. It also faced problems with ethnic conflict. What experiences can you share? A: There are some similar experiences from other countries that we can talk about. But, essentially, this [ethnic conflict] has to be resolved by people, by the ethnic groups themselves. Experiences of other countries are just kinds of reference points of what they have done. This is has to be done by the people themselves. Q: What is the role of the United Nations in the national peace and reconciliation process in Burma? A: We will continue to play a role in supporting both the government and the ethnic groups as they move forward in this process. The UN will get involved as a neutral party observer. We are willing to play what role they would like us to do. The post 'They Want to Move Forward to a Genuine Ceasefire' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Rohingya Refugees Ponder Future Minus Australia Option Posted: 14 Oct 2013 01:28 AM PDT More than 90 refugees are being held at the Makassar Immigration Detention Center on Indonesia's Sulawesi island after being pushed back from East Timor shores. (Photographer's name withheld) KUALA LUMPUR — Australia's clampdown on refugees and migrants trying to reach the country's shores by boat has prompted uncertainty among Rohingya who, facing state oppression and attacks by Arakanese Buddhists, have fled Burma in the tens of thousands in recent years. Since Australia's now-ousted Labor government decided in July to prevent refugees traveling by sea from landing in Australia—saying that would-be arrivals would be taken to processing centers in neighboring Nauru and Papua New Guinea (PNG)—some Rohingya who had hopes of making it to Australia are now in a bind. "We are disappointed, we feel like we are stuck," said Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, president of the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHOM). "Many of us do not have papers here [in Malaysia] and we have no status in Burma. It is a difficult situation for anyone who hoped to travel to Australia," Ahmad told The Irrawaddy. Thousands of Rohingya refugees undertake a treacherous maritime journey from western Burma to Thailand or Malaysia. From there some in turn hope to reach Australia, usually attempting another dangerous maritime crossing through the Indian Ocean. Between 25,000-30,000 Rohingya are estimated to have fled Burma since June 2012, when clashes between Arakanese Buddhists and Muslims in Arakan State turned deadly, with the Rohingya making up the majority of those displaced by violence in the region. Burma is home to an estimated five million Muslims in all, comprising groups such as the Kaman, who unlike the Rohingya, are recognized by the Burma government. However, Canberra's tightening-up on sea arrivals has dampened interest in sailing to Australia among Rohingya in Malaysia, who are estimated to number between 30,000 to 40,000 in all, counting just over 30,000 registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and others unlisted. "The new Australia policy of resettlement to PNG and Nauru has definitely cooled down the Rohingya about taking the risk," said Chris Lewa, head of the Arakan Project, which documents living conditions for Rohingya in Burma and beyond. Rohingya arrivals to Australia are difficult to quantify, as those who do make it are listed as "stateless" by Australia, while some others who arrived in Australia over recent years claimed to be Rohingya but were assessed by Australia to be either Bangladeshi nationals or Burmese Muslims, according to Chris Lewa. Australian government statistics—covering the years from 1998 to 2012—list 2,204 stateless maritime arrivals to Australia, a cohort that includes Kurds, Palestinians and Rohingya. Migrant arrivals by boat to Australia have shot up in recent years, from 6,535 passengers landing onboard 134 vessels in 2010 to 17,202 arrivals on 278 boats last year, according to Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection. In Australia's recent national elections, parties competed to offer the most stringent regulations on maritime arrivals. One reason given by Australia is that the boats reaching Australian shores are too often run by people smugglers who extort a high price from their passengers, most of whom travel from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Sri Lanka and some of whom are assessed by Australia to be economic migrants rather than refugees. "Don't risk your life or waste your time or money by paying people smugglers. If you pay a people smuggler you are buying a ticket to another country," reads a notice on the website of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. A voter backlash against the arrival of over 40,000 asylum seekers since 2007, when policy was relaxed for a time, prompted both of Australia's main parties to suggest tighter controls. But critics say Australia's "offshore processing"—referring to the assessing of asylum claims in PNG and Nauru—of maritime arrivals is contrary to the country's moral obligations. Additional measures aimed at dissuading maritime refugee arrivals, which have been proposed by new Prime Minister Tony Abbott, could contravene Australia's obligations under international law, according to human rights groups. Indonesia is a common transit point for refugees trying to reach Australia, Rohingya included. At least 28 Middle Eastern migrants drowned when a boat, which was aiming to reach Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, sank off Indonesia in late September. That tragedy came just before Abbott visited Indonesia, which like Malaysia and Thailand—two other common destinations or transit points for Rohingya—is not a signatory to the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. In June this year a group of 99 "boat people," including some 73 Rohingya, sought to sail to Australia but were forced ashore at East Timor by engine trouble, after which they were taken to Indonesia, where they remain at a detention center in Makassar on the island of Sulawesi. Some from the group have tried to escape, citing cramped conditions, with 15 people staying in rooms measuring 18 feet by 40 feet, according to an account by Rafi Zaw Win, a Rohingya in the center. "Please help us to safety to Australia and or to any resettlement country where we would be able to continue our lives for safety," implored Rafi Zaw Win. The post Rohingya Refugees Ponder Future Minus Australia Option appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thailand Finds 13 Dead Suspected Burma Migrants Posted: 13 Oct 2013 10:34 PM PDT Burmese migrant workers cross the Three Pagodas Pass on the Thai-Burmese border. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy) BANGKOK — Thai police said Sunday that the bodies of 13 people believed to be migrants from Burma seeking work have been found off southern Thailand’s Andaman Sea coast. Lt. Col. Nirat Chuayjit said that marine police in Ranong province, 580 kilometers (360 miles) south of Bangkok, had recovered the bodies of 12 men and one woman, whom they believe were on a boat that broke up in bad weather Wednesday as they sought to travel illegally to Thailand. Thailand hosts hundreds of thousands of migrants from neighboring Burma who are willing to take menial jobs at low pay. They can register to work legally under strict conditions, but many also labor illegally. Nirat said it was unknown how many people from the boat might be missing or survived, but that such boats normally carry about 30 people. Survivors would be unlikely to contact Thai authorities for fear of the legal consequences of trying to enter the country illegally, he said. It is common for migrant workers to try to sneak into Thailand during the rainy season, because the marine police cannot conduct regular patrols in stormy weather, Nirat said. The post Thailand Finds 13 Dead Suspected Burma Migrants appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Mass Evacuation Saves Indian Lives as Cyclone Leaves Trail of Destruction Posted: 13 Oct 2013 10:28 PM PDT A man stands next to overturned trucks on a highway after Cyclone Phailin hit Girisola town in Ganjam district in the eastern Indian state of Orissa October 13, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) GANJAM/BHUBANESWAR, India — A mass evacuation saved thousands of people from India's fiercest cyclone in 14 years, but aid workers warned a million would need help after their homes and livelihoods were destroyed. Cyclone Phailin was expected to dissipate within 36 hours, losing momentum on Sunday as it headed inland after making landfall from the Bay of Bengal, bringing winds of more than 200 kph (125 mph) that ripped apart tens of thousands of thatched huts, mangled power lines and tore down trees. Authorities in the eastern state of Odisha said the death toll stood at 15 people, all killed as the storm slammed in from the ocean. Most died under falling trees and one was crushed when the walls of her mud hut fell in. The low number of casualties stands in contrast to the 10,000 killed by Odisha's last big cyclone in 1999. The building of hundreds of shelters since, warnings which started five days before the storm and mass evacuations—often by force—minimized loss of life, aid officials said. Almost a million people in Odisha (formerly Orissa) state and adjacent Andhra Pradesh spent the night in shelters, some after wading though surging rivers to higher ground. Others sought safety in schools or temples. "The loss of life has been contained this time with early information and speedy action of government," said Sandeep Chachra, executive director of ActionAid India. Indian media commentators were effusive in praise for the evacuation operation and for accurate forecasting by India's Met office. Before the storm, some foreign forecasters had warned that India was underestimating its strength. Authorities canceled the holidays of civil servants during the popular Hindu Dussehra festival, deployed disaster response teams with heavy equipment as well as helicopters and boats for rescue and relief operations. Over the years, organizations like the Red Cross have mobilized thousands of volunteers across the cyclone-prone region, who are not only trained in basic first aid but also help with evacuations and relief distribution. Drills are organized so people know what to do when an alert is issued, locking up their homes, leaving cattle in safe places and taking only a few clothes and important documents with them. "The 1999 cyclone was a real wake-up call for India. It was at a time when economic growth was high and India was seen as developing rapidly. It was embarrassing to be seen to be not taking care of their people, even with all this development," said Unni Krishnan, head of disaster response for children's charity Plan International. The death of at least 89 worshippers at a temple celebrating Dussehra in central India on Sunday was a reminder that disasters with many casualties remain common. In July floods and landslides killed nearly 6,000 people in India's Himalayan foothills. Destruction Phailin left a trail of destruction along the coast, overturning cars and large trucks. Storm surges from the sea submerged farmland near the coast, while heavy rain flooded towns inland. Along the highway through Ganjam district in Odisha, the countryside was ravaged. An electricity tower lay in a mangled heap, poles were dislodged, lines tangled and power was out in much of the state. In villages, cranes lifted trees off crushed houses. A barber shop was tilted to one side. The students' common room at Berhampur University was a gaping hole, its facade knocked out by the cyclone. "The wind was so strong I couldn't get out of here," Gandhi Behera, a cook in a nearby snack shop said. The Indian Red Cross said its initial assessments showed that over 235,000 mud-and-thatch homes owned by poor fishing and farming communities had been destroyed in Ganjam district alone. It expects thousands of people to need help in coming days. Plan International said it was concerned about the health and sanitation needs of close to a million people and the impact of the storm on people's livelihoods. "They cannot stay in the shelters for long as they are overcrowded and sanitation issues will crop up with the spread of diseases such as diarrhea and dysentery, especially amongst young children," Mangla Mohanty, head of the Indian Red Cross in Odisha, said by phone from Ganjam district. In some parts of the state, people were making their way through destroyed farmland toward their broken homes. Dozens crammed onto mini-trucks and others trudged with sacks of belongings. Mothers carried babies in their arms. "There are no farms left. Everything has disappeared into the water," said S. Dillirao, a paddy farmer, as he stood on his inundated land. Seawater had swept into his fields. "There's no way a single crop will grow here now," he said. The post Mass Evacuation Saves Indian Lives as Cyclone Leaves Trail of Destruction appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Malaysian Court Rules Use of ‘Allah’ Exclusive to Muslims Posted: 13 Oct 2013 10:17 PM PDT Muslim demonstrators chant slogans outside Malaysia's Court of Appeal in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 14, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Samsul Said) PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — A Malaysian court ruled on Monday that a Christian newspaper may not use the word "Allah" to refer to God, a landmark decision on an issue that has fanned religious tensions and raised questions over minority rights in the mainly Muslim country. The unanimous decision by three Muslim judges in Malaysia's appeals court overturned a 2009 ruling by a lower court that allowed the Malay language version of the newspaper, The Herald, to use the word Allah—as many Christians in Malaysia say has been the case for centuries. "The usage of the word Allah is not an integral part of the faith in Christianity," chief judge Mohamed Apandi Ali said in the ruling. "The usage of the word will cause confusion in the community." The decision coincides with heightened ethnic and religious tensions in Malaysia after a polarizing May election, in which the long-ruling coalition was deserted by urban voters that included a large section of minority ethnic Chinese. In recent months, Prime Minister Najib Razak has sought to consolidate his support among majority ethnic Malays, who are Muslim by law, and secure the backing of traditionalists ahead of a crucial ruling party assembly this month. His new government—dominated by his Malay-based United Malays National Organization—has toughened security laws and introduced steps to boost a decades-old affirmative action policy for ethnic Malays, reversing liberal reforms aimed at appealing to a broader section of multi-ethnic Malaysia. In its case, the government argued that the word Allah is specific to Muslims and that the then-home minister's decision in 2008 to deny the newspaper permission to print it was justified on the basis of public order. Lawyers for the Catholic paper had argued that the word Allah predates Islam and had been used extensively by Malay-speaking Christians in Malaysia's part of Borneo island for centuries. They say they will appeal against Monday's decision to Malaysia's highest court. Christians in Indonesia and much of the Arab world continue to use the word without opposition from Islamic authorities. Churches in the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak have said they will continue to use the word regardless of the ruling. The paper won a judicial review of the home minister's decision in 2009, triggering an appeal from the federal government. Ethnic Malays make up 60 percent of Malaysia's 28 million people, with Chinese accounting for more than a quarter and ethnic Indians also forming a substantial minority. Christians account for around 9 percent. The post Malaysian Court Rules Use of 'Allah' Exclusive to Muslims appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Death Toll in India Temple Stampede Rises to 109 Posted: 13 Oct 2013 10:09 PM PDT A woman cries next to the body of a victim killed in a stampede near Ratangarh temple, Datia district, in India's Madhya Pradesh State on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters) NEW DELHI — The death toll from a stampede near a temple in central India rose to 109 after many of the injured succumbed, an official said Monday. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims were crossing a bridge leading to a temple in Madhya Pradesh state on Sunday when they panicked at rumors the bridge would collapse, triggering a stampede. The district medical officer R.S. Gupta said that autopsies had been carried out on 109 bodies by late Sunday. Relatives of the dead crowded the state-run hospital in Datia district to take the bodies after the autopsies. Others searched frantically for their relatives among the injured in the hospital. Hundreds of thousands of devotees had thronged the remote Ratangarh village temple in Datia to honor the Hindu mother goddess Durga on the last day of the popular 10-day Navaratra festival. It was not immediately clear how many people were on the two-lane bridge over the Sindh River in the Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh when the stampede started. Local media said some 500,000 people visited the temple and some were headed home when the rumors began. Police wielding sticks had charged the crowd to contain the rush and people retaliated by throwing stones at the officers, D.K. Arya, deputy inspector general of police, said. One officer was badly injured. The state has ordered a judicial inquiry. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed "deep sorrow and shock over the loss of lives" and asked local officials to help the injured and the families of the dead. "On this day of festivities, our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families," the prime minister’s office said in a statement. The post Death Toll in India Temple Stampede Rises to 109 appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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