The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Exhibition Celebrates Burmese Art Without Borders
• British Investors Interested but Cautious, Ambassador Tells Burma
• Kachin State Chief Talks of War and Drugs
• Sein Win, Force for Press Freedom in Burma, Dies
• Only One Side of the Story of Reform in Burma
• With Burma as Asean Leader, Hopes for India’s Stalled ‘Look East’ Highway
• Precious Metal
• Everything on Track for Burma’s SEA Games?
• One Killed in Shan State Explosions: Police
• Plane Crashes in Laos, 49 on Board Believed Dead
• 384,000 People in Burma Are Modern Day Slaves: Report
• Corruption Watchdog Slams Chinese Firms’ Lack Of Transparency
• Death Toll From Philippines Quake Rises to 144, More People Missing

Exhibition Celebrates Burmese Art Without Borders Posted: 17 Oct 2013 06:06 AM PDT A painting by Burmese artist Wa Lone on display at Culture Bridge Gallery this week. (Wa Lone) RANGOON—It's an art exhibition with a message: "No more walls for Burma's paintings, art inter-relations [with other countries] are just beginning." With the art works of 21 Burmese artists, "Tomorrow Without Walls" at Culture Bridge Gallery in Rangoon provides a window to the different styles in the country's contemporary art scene today, from still life to portrait to abstract. All are flavored with different approaches ranging from realism to hyper-realism to cubism to impressionism. "Since the beginning of the 21st century, Burma's painting market has been open to the west, and there are no more walls in art market," explained Yan Naung Oo, the founder of the gallery. "So, this exhibition symbolizes that now is the beginning of art inter-relations after decades of isolation." Visitors to the exhibition will be treated to acrylic paintings of Burmese nature and culture by master painters like B. Tin Win, or the cubism of Tin Maung Oo (Rgn). Portraits of South American Communist revolutionary Che Guevara, British musician John Lennon and Burmese lifelong peace activist Dagon Taya are on show for admirers and collectors alike. Tomorrow Without Walls is open until Saturday at Culture Bridge Gallery, # 31, Second Floor, Upper Pazundaung Road, Rangoon. Tel: 09420763441 / 09448015682 The post Exhibition Celebrates Burmese Art Without Borders appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

British Investors Interested but Cautious, Ambassador Tells Burma Posted: 17 Oct 2013 05:52 AM PDT Britain's Queen Elizabeth looks at a Jaguar motor car at the Coronation Festival in the garden of Buckingham Palace in central London on July 11, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Stefan Wermuth) RANGOON — British investment in Burma is on the rise, but problems on the ground in the Southeast Asian frontier market have some investors reluctant to commit, UK Ambassador to Burma Andrew Patrick said at a press conference on Thursday. Patrick, who took up his post in September, said that even though Burma's transition to democracy remained incomplete, UK business interest in Burma was growing. "Many British businessmen are coming here … we'd like to see more," he said at the Rangoon-based British Embassy. "We're encouraging investment here," Patrick continued. "We think that investment is important to create jobs—Western countries bring the technology, skills. They will help improve businesses to an international standard." However, he acknowledged that challenges to internal stability were giving reason for pause among some Britons. The ongoing conflict between ethnic Kachin rebels and the government army in the north, religious tensions in Arakan State and a series of bomb blasts that have rocked the nation over the last week were cited as deterrents to foreign investment and trade between the two countries. "British companies are coming here, but of course, yes, when you see the incidents in Kachin, Rakhine [Arakan] recently, and bomb blasts too, it has an effect for the business sector," he said. More than 10 British businesses' delegations are on average meeting with their Burmese counterparts per month, Patrick said, adding that the UK-based luxury car company Jaguar-Land Rover plans to open a showroom in Rangoon early next year. Last month 14 companies sent scouts to Burma, including firms in the construction sector. But UK businesses, and most other prospective Western investors, consider the country's economic potential to be intimately tied to its political situation. "My sense is that international companies are seeing the same opportunities and have similar concerns about the country. I don't think UK companies are more reluctant than Japanese and US companies, I think British companies will be coming here," he said. One factor deterring foreign investors was the high and rising property prices in Rangoon, which have sent commercial rates skyrocketing over the last two years. In June, British Trade Minister Stephen Green visited Rangoon and said the UK recognized the Burma market's attractiveness, but saw key hindrances to foreign investment: corruption; a lack of transparency; physical and technological infrastructure shortcomings; the country's underdeveloped banking system; and low-skill labor pool, among others. Eleven Media reported in June that the UK had witnessed a significant increase in its exports to Burma compared with previous years. Total UK exports to Burma rose 113 percent to US$12.8 million in 2012, and 178 percent in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the same period last year, according to the UK government. According to the figure of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development and the United Nation Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and Pacific, cumulative UK investment in Burma reached nearly $2.8 billion from 1989 to 2012. That compares with $14 billion into the country over the same period from Burma's main investor, China. Addressing a string of recent bomb blasts in Rangoon and other towns across Burma, Patrick said his embassy was still encouraging Britons to visit the country. "We haven't said to travelers, 'Don't come here.' We're still welcoming tourists here," he said. He added that the UK government is encouraging the Burmese government to complete the democratization process by amending the Constitution. "It can't say it has completed the democratization process without amending the Constitution, as the [2015] elections will not be free and fair," he said. The post British Investors Interested but Cautious, Ambassador Tells Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Kachin State Chief Talks of War and Drugs Posted: 17 Oct 2013 05:33 AM PDT Kachin State Chief Minister La John Ngan Hsai talks with The Irrawaddy reporter Saw Yan Naing in Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital. (Photo: John Sanlin) MYITKYINA — As chief minister of Kachin State, La John Ngan Hsai is the highest state government official in Burma's far north, a region rich in natural resources and long plagued by fighting between the central government's military and ethnic armed groups. Given his high rank on the state level, he is also a member of the central government's peacemaking team, led by Minister Aung Min, which met for three days earlier this month with rebels from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). In this interview, he talks about the peace process, deforestation and the rampant problem of drug use in his state. Question: Fighting has been ongoing for two years between government troops and Kachin rebels from the Kachin Independence Organization. What is your role, and can you comment on the conflict? Answer: We ethnic nationalities are like brothers and sisters. We are like families. We need peace in order to build a good and developing nation in the future. We can develop our states only when we get peace. We must attempt to achieve peace. Since fighting broke out on June 9, 2011, we, the Kachin State government, have also kept in mind that we have a responsibility for the safety and development of the people who live in our state. That's why, when clashes first broke out, we thought we should not allow it to continue. On July 27, we formed a five-member committee to serve the state's peace and stability. In August, a delegation led by Gen Gun Maw from the KIA [the Kachin Independence Army, an armed wing of the KIO] met with a government delegation led by Col Than Aung in Lajayang [a strategic area near Laiza, where the KIA has its headquarters]. It was a good meeting. But it didn't work [to end the conflict], for some reasons, even though we made an effort. Q: Kachin State is rich in natural resources, including jade and forests. I have heard that precious trees, such as teak, are almost gone now. Is deforestation happening on a major scale, given the big interests in logging and jade mining here? A: We call Hpakant [in northern Kachin State] a jewelry territory. The Ministry of Mines directly controls and manages the area. And income from jade mining is also managed by the Union [central] government, and it is used systematically in respective government sectors to develop the country, including through construction. In areas under our control, it [deforestation] is rare. The main problem concerns logging between Mansi [in Kachin State] and Mawingyi region [in northern Shan State]. It's because we don't have stability there. We, due to our administration's role, cannot reach such areas. So some businessmen take chances and do that [logging]. There is not much logging in other places in Kachin State. Q: How much of the timber trade benefits the local people? A: If fact, it only benefits businessmen. It does not offer many benefits to ordinary people. Logging takes place more in Sagaing Division and Mandalay [Division] now. We have few [logging companies] in Kachin State, as we only have teak here. Other ironwood species mostly come from Sagaing Division. Q: I also heard that drug use is a big problem in Kachin State. What are your concerns? A: The drug problem is a hot issue all over the world. In our country, we also try very hard to prevent this problem. We, the Kachin State government, also work hard on this issue. It is a very big matter. We need to effectively eliminate this drug problem so we can move forward toward peace and development in our state. Q: Why haven't you been able to stop the drug problem so far? A: The drug problem is also related to peace. For example, the government cannot prevent drug use in areas where we have not reached a peace deal. We haven't been able to eliminate it in those areas, and we cannot arrest those who get involved. Q: What steps have you taken to eliminate drug use? A: There are two parts to our strategy. The first is to educate people about drugs [and their harmful effects]. Another is to take action against those who are involved. For prevention, we have a drug elimination program—traveling to places where people plant poppy and eliminating the plantation. We also have rehabilitation programs for drug addicts, in cooperation with the UNODC [the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime] and respective government departments. Q: As drug use spreads among youths, how are communities affected? A: It's a domestic household problem, within families. If there is a drug addict in one house, family members start to suffer. They can't live in peace. There are frequent arguments and fighting. And when there are more youths using drugs, this is not a good sign for families, for the state and even for the future of the country. So we are trying hard to prevent these problems. But we still have a lot of work to do. The post Kachin State Chief Talks of War and Drugs appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Sein Win, Force for Press Freedom in Burma, Dies Posted: 17 Oct 2013 05:19 AM PDT Sein Win collected the Golden Pen of Freedom award from the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers in the late 1980s. (Photo: Win Family) BANGKOK — Sein Win, a renowned journalist in Burma who championed press freedom and endured three stints in prison as he chronicled several decades of his country’s turbulent history, died Thursday at age 91. His family said he died in a Rangoon hospital after a long period of ill health. His work won him international honors, but in his own country his accomplishments were rewarded with jail time and a quarter-century ban on foreign travel. Sein Win was The Associated Press’ correspondent in Rangoon, Burma’s largest city, from 1969 to 1989. His daughter Aye Aye Win has held the job since then. Sein Win began his journalism career after the 1942 Japanese invasion of what was then called Burma. He started as an unpaid translator at a Burmese-language newspaper, and later worked as an apprentice reporter, editor, publisher and foreign correspondent. He worked under Japanese occupation, British colonialism, parliamentary democracy and military rule. He lived long enough to see censorship lifted, and the return this year of private daily newspapers under the elected government that took over from the military in 2011. "In my experience as a journalist for over 40 years under various types of governments, I always find the independent press as a suspect and victim of the governments," he said in a 1989 speech to the International Press Institute in Berlin. "The colonial government regarded the independent press as a rebel. The national democratic governments treated us like their rival and the national autocratic regimes branded the free press as enemy." The son of a junior civil servant, Sein Win was born Feb. 12, 1922, in Kyaunggon, a town west of Rangoon, which at the time was the capital. As the Japanese were defeated and the British returned, Sein Win was part of a tiny circle of educated Burmese that included the country’s independence leaders. Most belonged to the Anti-Fascist Peoples Freedom League, the party of Gen. Aung San, father of the country’s current opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Sein Win recounted in a 2002 interview that he was one of the few reporters with a motorbike, and all but the top independence leaders would grab rides with him. Because he wore a respectable-looking U.S. Army surplus uniform, police waved him through checkpoints, so the AFPFL used him to carry sensitive material such as documents. On July 19, 1947, as Britain was preparing to grant Burma independence, Aung San and six ministers in his transitional Cabinet were assassinated. Sein Win mused later that if a heavy rain had not forced him to turn back and let another reporter cover the meeting, he might also have been killed. Independence came in 1948, but repressive colonial-era press laws remained in place under the parliamentary government of Prime Minister U Nu. "Heavy security deposits were demanded from critical newspapers, and editors and newsmen were arrested on flimsiest charges," Sein Win said in his Berlin speech. Sein Win became editor and publisher of the Burmese newspaper The Guardian in 1958. He was jailed for nearly a month in 1960, though the charges were eventually dropped. The dark ages of Burmese journalism began after a military coup ousted the parliamentary government in March 1962. The Guardian and other daily newspapers were nationalized. In 1963, Sein Win earned a seat on the International Press Institute’s board and the Golden Pen of Freedom award from the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers. It was another quarter-century before was he allowed to travel abroad to meet IPI colleagues and collect his award. Strongman Gen. Ne Win tossed thousands of real or imagined opponents into jail. "I was one of them, spending three years under ‘protective custody’ without interrogation or trial," Sein Win recounted later. Sein Win joined The Associated Press in 1969 and became one of the few sources for news from the isolated country. "Without him, we would have been lost," said Denis Gray, who oversaw Burma coverage as the news agency’s bureau chief in neighboring Thailand from 1976 to 2011. He called Sein Win "an absolute gold mine of knowledge." A pro-democracy uprising challenged Ne Win’s erratic and despotic rule in 1988. Its first wave was crushed, and although Ne Win formally ceded power, the shadow government he installed rounded up people he felt had betrayed him. One of the alleged plotters was a news source and a friend of Sein Win. On the night of July 28, 1988, AP’s bureau in Bangkok received a telex. "Daddy has been taken away," it read. "He won’t be available to answer your queries." Sein Win was held for 28 days in Rangoon’s Insein prison, but when he was released, he later wrote, supporters of democracy appeared to be gaining the advantage. "For the first time in a quarter-century, people — thousands and thousands of them — were chanting, crying for democracy, and there were no secret police, no soldiers with bayonets fixed and with fingers on the triggers to stop the demonstrators," he wrote. But the army soon reasserted its authority. In 1989, Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest, where she would remain for about 15 of the next 20 years. Her party won elections in 1990, but the military government refused to step aside. Sein Win gave up his AP job in 1989. He worked for Japan’s Kyodo News Service before retiring. More than two decades later, in 2011, a semblance of democracy was restored when a military-backed but elected government took power. Some of the most notable reforms initiated since then by President Thein Sein have improved freedom of the press. The post Sein Win, Force for Press Freedom in Burma, Dies appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Only One Side of the Story of Reform in Burma Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:30 AM PDT The statement by Burma's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wunna Maung Lwin, on 13 September at the 24th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, on the country's recent reforms or "progressive developments," made for interesting reading. Indeed, it seems to suit many, not least the Burma government, to impose a simplistic narrative on events in the country over the last two years. Yet such a narrative is only one side of the story. Wunna Maung Lwin talks of "the government and people…working together on reform agenda." In fact, while positive and potentially democratic in outcome, the changes have been far from democratic in process. Rather, they have been very much "top-down," instigated by the previous military junta and orchestrated by the current military-backed quasi-civilian government, with the people merely cast in the role of hopeful and wary onlookers. The changes are to be welcomed, but it is important not to misrepresent them. Until the Burma government works collaboratively with all political parties, ethnic nationality groups and civil society organizations, its claims will ring hollow and its achievements will remain fragile. His statement reports that the Burma government has been "striving to fulfill the fundamental desires of the people," including to "live in peace where the rule of law prevails." The stated intentions of the Burma government are admirable, but, again, they are only one side of the story. The reality is that it is not "rule of law" but "rule by law" that characterizes President Thein Sein's Burma. New repressive legislation, such as the draft Associations Law, the Printing and Publishing Enterprise Law, and the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, represents a more sophisticated and subtle tactic than the knee-jerk violence and disappearances of times past. Under this veil of legitimacy, the Burma government can restrict people's rights, control civil society, and silence those who pose a threat to the regime's supremacy – as other countries in the ASEAN region do – without the international community questioning its policy of engagement and investment. Yet, the Foreign Minister's statement claims that "a series of new legislations…have contributed to the emergence of a conducive political climate." Legislation in Burma in fact contributes to repression and censorship, which may be conducive to the maintenance of government control, but certainly does not represent a conducive political climate as it is generally understood, namely one that promotes democracy, free expression and human rights. Instead, the Burma government should ensure that legislation adheres to international human rights standards. As a matter of urgency, it should establish an independent human rights commission and reform the judiciary into an independent and competent body, in order to begin tackling the scourge of impunity that plagues Burma. If the Burma government genuinely wants to establish the rule of law, building sustainable democratic institutions are a pre-requisite. Wunna Maung Lwin speaks of the "ten amnesties…granted by the President," while failing to mention the continual judicial harassment and imprisonment of political prisoners and human rights activists, such as Daw Naw Ohn Hla, who has recently been sentenced by a compliant and corrupt judiciary to two years' imprisonment with hard labor for exercising her right to peaceful and legitimate protest. A revolving-door system is not the same as opening the doors. The statement claims "tangible results" regarding peace negotiations with ethnic non-state armed groups. Some fragile ceasefires certainly represent progress of sorts for the Burma government and beleaguered ethnic groups such as the Karen. However, ongoing fighting in Kachin and northern Shan States, increased militarization in ceasefires zones, persistent human rights abuses involving attacks on civilians and army impunity, and political stalemate regarding constitutional federalism, development and resource-sharing, do not represent a tangible breakthrough. Furthermore, the "all-inclusive political process" referred to must include all ethnic groups, political parties, civil society organizations, religious minorities and women's groups – in short, all those who have long been disenfranchised and persecuted by the Burma government. Finally, Wunna Maung Lwin reassures his audience that the situation in Arakan State is "gradually returning to normalcy." Such a claim contradicts recent reports by Physicians for Human Rights, the Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum among others of the "ghettoization" of Rohingyas in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, restrictions on humanitarian aid access, ethnic cleansing and even incipient genocide. Furthermore, according to Wunna Maung Lwin's statement, the "communal violence should not be portrayed or construed as religious or racial conflict." Yet the fact that violence has been perpetrated against whole communities for the sole reason that they are Muslim – and in many cases Rohingya – allows for little other interpretation. Discriminatory and draconian laws (both proposed and enacted) governing citizenship and permitted numbers of children, the segregation of communities based on religion and race, and the unequal pursuit of Muslim over Buddhist perpetrators, support these allegations. Moreover, they suggest a state-sponsored system of South Africa-style apartheid in Arakan State. The statement claims that segregation of Muslims and Buddhists is on humanitarian grounds, which should be applauded if so. It is strange then that the authorities are reportedly restricting the flow of humanitarian aid to Rohingya IDP camps, despite claims that Burma "has been cooperating with the United Nations, INGOs and NGOs to facilitate their humanitarian assistance." Furthermore, the people of Burma "do not accept the term 'Rohingya' which has never existed in the country's history." And yet the Rohingya people do exist. They exist inside Burma in huge numbers, but their human rights are simply not recognized. The situation is dire for them and threatens to get a lot worse. And yet there is apparently "no reason to harbor security concerns for anyone in Rakhine State." While one must not blame the Burma government for all violence that occurs on its watch, it must bear a heavy responsibility for failing to do its utmost to quell any violence and to bring perpetrators to account, including for recent outbreaks of more widespread anti-Muslim violence that has scarred communities across the country. Positive reforms and initiatives in Burma should be welcomed. However, an honest dialogue must take place between the government and people, as well as with the international community, with all sides of the story told, however complex the narrative. Otherwise, reform and national reconciliation in Burma will remain illusory and genuine democratic transition elusive. Khin Ohmar is the Coordinator of Burma Partnership, a network of regional and Burma civil society organizations supporting the collective efforts of all peoples working towards democracy, peace, justice and human rights in Burma. The post Only One Side of the Story of Reform in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

With Burma as Asean Leader, Hopes for India’s Stalled ‘Look East’ Highway Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:17 AM PDT A sign showing the road leading to Thailand is seen near Dawei in southern Burma. (Photo: Reuters) Economic planners in India and Thailand are hoping that Burma's chairmanship of Asean starting in a few months' time will reignite interest by the Naypyidaw government in the long-stalled "trilateral highway" to link the three countries. The highway has been on the agenda for 15 years. The Indian government spent US$30 million building 100 miles (160 km) of new road from the India-Burma border at Moreh-Tamu across Sagaing Division in 2001, but it still ends in dust and mud in the middle of nowhere. A new appeal to the Burmese government to get on with the project was made at the Asean summit in Brunei last week, where Burma was formally awarded the 2014 chairmanship of the 10-country bloc. Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged Burma's President Thein Sein to help achieve a 2016 target date proposed by New Delhi and Bangkok for final completion of the trilateral highway. Yingluck made a similar appeal when she and India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met in May to discuss trade links. "Billions [of US dollars] could be saved on shipping if an easy overland route was developed from Southeast Asia to India and more westerly nations," the US business magazine Forbes commented earlier this year in a report on the economic opening up of Burma. But the magazine also reported how India's $30 million investment in road construction in Sagaing still ends in dust and riverbed mud. The plan is for a continuous highway to run from Guwahati, the main city in India's Assam State, through Burma via Mandalay and Rangoon and into Thailand at Mae Sot, where it would link into expressways down to the greater Bangkok industrial conurbation and the Gulf of Thailand. The Indian government has promised to invest another US$100 million to expand the road beyond Kalewa in Sagaing and build dozens of bridges. It's a major task, and India wants to do the work itself. "The remaining work is building the 120-km long missing link in the Kalewa-Yargi sector and repair of 71 bridges on the Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road. This is very much doable by 2016," New Delhi analyst and author Rajeev Sharma told The Irrawaddy this week. Red tape and political lethargy have hindered completion of the trilateral highway, Sharma said. "It is a tough terrain and somehow the three countries are laden with their respective domestic agendas and the political leaderships have not been able to sensitize and energize their respective bureaucracies. Had it been China, the project would have been completed in one year flat," he said. "Myanmar [Burma] is still opening up. The decades-long self-imposed iron curtain will take some time to be torn asunder completely. Myanmar is still a long time away from developing a strategic ethos and culture," Sharma said. Transport infrastructure remains primitive in many parts of Burma and the Naypyidaw government would have to reach international agreements on goods being carried in transit between India and Thailand, and beyond, analysts note. But there would be many beneficial spin-offs for Burma. A flourishing international road would lead to more prosperity for Burmese towns along the route, they believe. "A road link between India and Southeast Asia has been proposed for many years as a key component of Delhi's 'Look East' policy and the hope is that now that Myanmar is more fully re-integrating with its neighbors, this dream can be realised," the economic attaché with a Western embassy in Bangkok told The Irrawaddy this week. "Thailand and India are keen for obvious economic reasons, as should Myanmar be. I think the problem is that the Thein Sein government has many priorities to deal with and completing this road is just one of them. You have to keep that in mind when viewing 2016 as a completion date," the embassy official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The foreign ministers of India, Burma and Thailand are due to meet before the end of this year to plan the highway's future, Sharma told The Irrawaddy, but the reality of the present is summed up by Forbes magazine. "When the Indian army constructed the road from the border crossing at Moreh and Tamu to … Kalewa, they were counting on Myanmar's government to connect the highway to its interior," reported Forbes in March. "That never happened; at Kalewa, the road turns onto a beautiful, expensive, and Indian-built suspension bridge, and then stops. It turns into a rutted, dust-covered dirt road that stretches on for another hundred miles, and is sometimes buried so deep in sand that motorcyclists cannot get up the hills. "Freight drivers don't trust [the bridges]. Instead, they've cut dirt paths into the dry river beds below. Of course, this only works when there's no rain, making the highway inoperable about half the year." Perhaps this time Burma will help place the final pieces in the trilateral highway jigsaw: Thein Sein said last week his government's motto for its Asean chairmanship is "Moving Forward in Unity." The post With Burma as Asean Leader, Hopes for India's Stalled 'Look East' Highway appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Precious Metal Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:07 AM PDT A blue Volkswagen Beetle is squeezed in among cars piled high at the government-run junkyard in Insein Township, Yangon, which takes used cars from across Myanmar and turns them into scrap metal. (Photo: Sean Havey / The Irrawaddy) YANGON — When Myanmar's government introduced a program in 2011 to enable car owners to replace their old vehicles with newer models, it inevitably made mountains of the country's scrap heaps. But not all of the discarded clunkers filling these massive piles of metal are as worthless as they seem. Squeezed in among all the old wrecks at the government-owned Insein junkyard on the outskirts of Yangon are a few true gems: 60s-era Volkswagen Beetles and buses that in many other countries would have been lovingly restored by collectors, not unceremoniously dumped for scrap metal. One needn't look far to find a market for vintage VWs: In neighboring Thailand, car enthusiasts will happily pay thousands of dollars to snap up decades-old vans and "bugs." Tim Samek, a Canadian who works in Thailand's oil and gas industry, recently bought a VW Beetle from a local in Thailand for US$2,500 and modified it to his own specifications. He says they're fun and easy to work on, but not always easy to find. The reason, says Mr. Samek, is that Thailand slaps high import duties on used cars, often matching the value of the vehicle itself. "I believe this is a protectionist measure to protect the Thai automobile industry," he says. "That industry employs hundreds of thousands of people and was hard hit by the floods two years ago." On the Myanmar side, government policy plays a similar role in providing a disincentive to selling vintage cars to collectors. Under the system introduced two years ago, old cars can be traded in for import licenses that are even more exorbitantly expensive than those in Thailand. That means they're more valuable when handed over to government scrapyards than put on the open market. But in the case of old VWs, that isn't necessarily the case. A recent search on a popular vintage car website showed a restored Beetle from the 60s can fetch over $10,000 in Thailand, while VW buses sell for up to $60,000. As long as the governments of these two countries continue to create barriers to imports, it may prove unfeasible to take advantage of the demand for old VWs among diehard fans. But if trade practices change (as they're supposed to 2015, when Asean forms a free trade area), Yangon's scrapyards could turn into goldmines. The post Precious Metal appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Everything on Track for Burma’s SEA Games? Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:34 AM PDT Everything on Track for Burma’s SEA Games? The post Everything on Track for Burma’s SEA Games? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

One Killed in Shan State Explosions: Police Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:03 AM PDT A body lies in the street in Namkhan Township after two explosions reportedly took place in the Shan State town on Thursday. (Photo: DVB) RANGOON — One person was killed and six others reportedly wounded when two bombs exploded in northern Shan State on Thursday morning, in the latest of several blasts across Burma over the last week. A police officer in Namkhan Township told The Irrawaddy that the bombs exploded near a pagoda in the center of the Shan State town between 7 and 8 am, and followed a blast on Wednesday night in which no one was injured. "The latest information is one dead, one wounded," said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Aie Taung Win, a resident of Namkhan, said six people were wounded in the dual bomb blasts. A series of crude explosive devices have been discovered or detonated across five states and divisions in Burma since Friday. An incident in Pegu Division's Taungoo Township on Friday killed two people and wounded one more. The bombings garnered international attention when an American woman was injured by a bomb that went off on Monday night in her hotel room at the high-end Traders Hotel in downtown Rangoon. Police say they have detained a handful of suspects in connection with the incidents. One of those arrested, Saw Myint Lwin, is an ethnic Karen who formerly served as a member of the armed rebel Karen National Union (KNU) in Karen State’s Papun Township, according to Thein Lwin, a police chief from Rangoon Division. However, the police chief added that Saw Myint Lwin's alleged involvement in the recent bombings was not related to his KNU connection. "He used to be a member of the KNU. However, there is a [different] group that hired him to do this. We have already identified this group, but we continue to investigate in order to be more certain," said the police chief. Saw Myint Lwin was detained on Tuesday in Belin Township, Mon State, and is accused of bombing Traders Hotel and of involvement in the planting of a separate explosive device at a restaurant in Rangoon. A senior general from the armed wing of the KNU, which signed a ceasefire with the government in January 2012, also insisted that the suspect's alleged crimes should not be linked to the Karen rebel group. "We are staying in the jungle. We do not know anything about these bombings," Gen Saw Johnny, commander-in-chief of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), told The Irrawaddy. "We don't know who did it and we also do not have any evidence to provide. It is not our members who have done this." Thein Lwin said the government would hold a press conference soon to provide information on the group allegedly responsible for the bombing campaign. Meanwhile, the US and Australian embassies have issued security alerts to nationals of the respective countries who are traveling inside Burma, and the US Embassy on Thursday issued a statement condemning the attacks. "Acts of violence like those perpetrated and attempted over the past week have no place in civilized society, and we are confident in the people of this country to confront such acts of terror with strength, determination and a continued commitment to national peace, development, and reconciliation," the embassy said. Burmese authorities say their investigation into the bombings is ongoing. "We do not know yet what intention they have for doing this. We are still investigating what motivations are behind this," said a police chief from the Home Affairs Ministry in Rangoon. Additional reporting by The Irrawaddy reporter Saw Yan Naing. The post One Killed in Shan State Explosions: Police appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Plane Crashes in Laos, 49 on Board Believed Dead Posted: 16 Oct 2013 11:37 PM PDT A Lao Airlines plane is pictured. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) BANGKOK — A plane from Laos' state-run airline crashed in bad weather in the Southeast Asian nation, apparently killing 49 people from 11 countries, the government said. The Lao government said it was dispatching rescuers to the scene of Wednesday's crash, but the Australian government said it was told no survivors were expected. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport, which operates Lao Airlines, said 44 passengers and five crew members were on Flight QV301 from the capital, Vientiane, to Pakse in the country's south. Earlier reports had 39 passengers. "Upon preparing to land at Pakse Airport the aircraft ran into extreme bad weather conditions and was reportedly crashed into the Mekong River," the ministry said in a statement. The airline flies an ATR 72-600 twin-engine turboprop plane on the 467-kilometer (290-mile) route. French maker ATR said the plane that crashed had been delivered in March. The aircraft is configured with 68-74 seats, it said. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said his country's embassy in Vientiane was informed that the plane crashed 7-8 kilometers (4-5 miles) from the airport at Pakse. A passenger manifest faxed by the airline listed 44 people: 17 Lao, seven French, five Australians, five Thais, three Koreans, two Vietnamese and one person each from Canada, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States. Korean, French and Thai officials confirmed the totals for their nationalities. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said six Australians were on board, a discrepancy that couldn't immediately be reconciled. Relatives released a photo of Gavin and Phoumalaysy Rhodes and their two young children. The government said the other two Australians were an aid worker based in Laos and his father. The Lao government said the airline "is taking all necessary steps to coordinate and dispatch all rescue units to the accident site in the hope of finding survivors." However, the Australian foreign affairs statement said, "Lao authorities have told our embassy in Vientiane they do not expect any survivors." The Lao transport ministry statement said the crash is being investigated and the airline hoped to announce its findings on Thursday. A Lao Airlines employee contacted by phone at Vientiane's Wattay airport said a news conference would be held Thursday. ATR issued a statement from its headquarters in Toulouse, France, declaring that it will fully assist the investigation. It said the Lao Airlines plane had been delivered from the production line in March this year. The post Plane Crashes in Laos, 49 on Board Believed Dead appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

384,000 People in Burma Are Modern Day Slaves: Report Posted: 16 Oct 2013 11:00 PM PDT Forced laborers clearing rocks after a landslide in Tedim Township in Chin State in May, 2008. (Photo: Chin Human Rights Organization) LONDON — Some 30 million people are enslaved worldwide, trafficked into brothels, forced into manual labor, victims of debt bondage or even born into servitude, a global index on modern slavery showed on Thursday. The report estimates that 384,000 people are enslaved in Burma. Almost half are in India, where slavery ranges from bonded labor in quarries and kilns to commercial sex exploitation, although the scourge exists in all 162 countries surveyed by Walk Free, an Australian-based rights group. Its estimate of 29.8 million slaves worldwide is higher than other attempts to quantify modern slavery. The International Labor Organization estimates that almost 21 million people are victims of forced labor. "Today some people are still being born into hereditary slavery, a staggering but harsh reality, particularly in parts of West Africa and South Asia," the report said. "Other victims are captured or kidnapped before being sold or kept for exploitation, whether through ‘marriage’, unpaid labor on fishing boats, or as domestic workers. Others are tricked and lured into situations they cannot escape, with false promises of a good job or an education." The Global Slavery Index 2013 defines slavery as the possession or control of people to deny freedom and exploit them for profit or sex, usually through violence, coercion or deception. The definition includes indentured servitude, forced marriage and the abduction of children to serve in wars. According to the index, 10 countries alone account for three quarters of the world’s slaves. After India, China has the most with 2.9 million, followed by Pakistan (2.1 million), Nigeria (701,000), Ethiopia (651,000), Russia (516,000), Thailand (473,000), Democratic Republic of Congo (462,000), Burma (384,000) and Bangladesh (343,000). The index also ranks nations by prevalence of slavery per head of population. By this measure, Mauritania is worst, with almost 4 percent of its 3.8 million people enslaved. Estimates by other organizations put the level at up to 20 percent. Chattel slavery is common in Mauritania, meaning that slave status is passed down through generations. "Owners" buy, sell, rent out or give away their slaves as gifts. After Mauritania, slavery is most prevalent by population in Haiti, where a system of child labor known as "restavek" encourages poor families to send their children to wealthier acquaintances, where many end up exploited and abused. Pakistan, India, Nepal, Moldova, Benin, Ivory Coast, Gambia and Gabon have the next highest prevalence rates. At the other end of the scale, Iceland has the lowest estimated prevalence with fewer than 100 slaves. Next best are Ireland, Britain, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Finland and Denmark, although researchers said slave numbers in such wealthy countries were higher than previously thought. "They’ve been allocating resources against this crime according to the tiny handful of cases that they’ve been aware of," said Kevin Bales, lead researcher and a professor at the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation at Hull University. "Our estimates are telling them that the numbers of people in slavery – whether it’s in Great Britain or Finland or wherever – in these richer countries actually tends to be about six to 10 times higher than they think it is." Walk Free CEO Nick Grono said the annual index would serve as an important baseline for governments and activists in the anti-slavery fight. "This kind of data hasn’t been out there before," he said. "It’s a multi-year effort, and next year we’ll have a much better picture of where slavery is and what changes there are. If you can’t measure it, you can’t devise policy to address it." Countries With Highest Absolute Numbers of Slaves Country Estimated slaves India 13.9 million China 2.9 million Pakistan 2.1 million Nigeria 701,000 Ethiopia 651,000 Russia 516,000 Thailand 473,000 D.R. Congo 462,000 Burma 384,000 Bangladesh 343,000 Ranking by Prevalence of Modern Slavery per Head of Population Rank Country Estimated slaves Population 1 Mauritania 151,000 3.8 million 2 Haiti 209,000 10.2 million 3 Pakistan 2.1 million 179.2 million 4 India 13.9 million 1.2 billion 5 Nepal 259,000 27.5 million 6 Moldova 33,000 3.6 million 7 Benin 80,000 10.1 million 8 Ivory Coast 157,000 19.8 million 9 Gambia 14,000 1.8 million 10 Gabon 14,000 1.6 million (Source: Global Slavery Index 2013, Walk Free) The post 384,000 People in Burma Are Modern Day Slaves: Report appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Corruption Watchdog Slams Chinese Firms’ Lack Of Transparency Posted: 16 Oct 2013 10:49 PM PDT An employee carries bundles of 100 yuan Chinese bank notes to store after counting at a bank in Taiyuan, Shanxi province , in July. (Photo: Reuters) BERLIN — The anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has admonished Chinese companies for their opaque business practices while praising Indian firms' relatively high standards, in a survey of emerging market multinationals released on Thursday. China got the lowest rating of the BRICS economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), whose companies made up three quarters of the total sample in the survey of 100 of the fastest-growing multinationals in 16 emerging economies. Marked on how transparently they present measures to combat corruption, how they report on their organizations and how they disclose data like revenue, expenditure and taxes, three quarters of the companies scored less than five out of 10. "As emerging market companies expand their influence they should seize the opportunity to play a bigger role stopping corruption internationally," said Huguette Labelle, head of the Berlin-based independent pressure group. Widespread shortcomings included the failure of about 60 percent of all the companies surveyed to disclose information about their political contributions. "Results show that companies from China lag behind in every dimension with an overall score of 20 percent," Transparency said in the report. "Considering their growing influence in markets around the world, this poor performance is of concern." Eight of the 10 worst-performing companies were Chinese, such as state-owned Chery Automobile Co Ltd, which along with Mexico's privately-owned consumer goods group Mabe scored zero points. Wang Wei, a spokesman for Chery, said that he had never heard of Transparency International and was never contacted by the organization. "Chery is not publicly traded, so naturally it is not as transparent as those listed companies," Wang said, noting that the automaker does publish quarterly and annual results to its bond investors. Mabe did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "In contrast, Indian firms perform best in the BRICS with a result of 54 percent and several occupy the top positions in the overall index," said Transparency, attributing this to laws in India about how multinationals must report on subsidiaries. Top of the class overall came India's Tata Communications Ltd, which also topped the anti-corruption programs category with 92 percent, followed by three more Tata companies. A Tata Communications representative was not immediately able to comment. Transparency International said public disclosure of anti-bribery measures "confirms a company's commitment to ethical conduct" and made it easier for the public to monitor them. Emirates Airline, which is state-owned, came first in the category for organizational transparency, followed by Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd of China and Malaysian state energy company Petronas. Emirates, Johnson Electric and Petronas were not immediately available to comment. This category marked firms on their disclosure of data like majority and minority holdings, percentages owned by the parent company and the country of incorporation and operation—all of which is often made "deliberately opaque for the purpose of hiding the proceeds of corruption," Transparency said. Eleven companies scored zero in this category, nine of them incorporated in China. In the third category measuring standards of country-by-country reporting of revenues, capital expenditure, income before tax, income tax and community contributions, the Chilean retailing group Falabella scored highest with 50 percent. Sandro Solari, Falabella's chief executive officer, said transparency was "a central element in building trust" and it would continue strengthening its ability to deliver information. "Key financial data give citizens the possibility to understand the activities of a particular company in their country and to monitor the appropriateness of their payments to governments," said Transparency. In a sub-index ranking just the BRICS nations, which the watchdog said account for 20 percent of global economic output and 15 percent of world trade, the companies from first-placed India were followed by South Africa, Russia, Brazil, then China. The post Corruption Watchdog Slams Chinese Firms' Lack Of Transparency appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Death Toll From Philippines Quake Rises to 144, More People Missing Posted: 16 Oct 2013 10:41 PM PDT A view of a portion of a damaged highway in Getafe, Bohol a day after an earthquake hit central Philippines on Wednesday. (Photo: Reuters) LOON, Philippines — The death toll from an earthquake in the Philippines rose to 144 on Wednesday as rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings including an old church and a hospital. Nearly 3 million people were affected by the 7.2 magnitude quake on Tuesday, which caused landslides and widespread damage to infrastructure in the tourist destinations of Bohol Island and the nearby Cebu islands. The number of injured rose towards 300, with at least 23 people missing. The national disaster agency said at least 134 of the dead were on Bohol island, which took the brunt of the quake. The island is located 630 km (390 miles) south of the capital, Manila. Officials feared the toll would rise as communications with remote areas were re-established. "I think this is a growing number," Loon mayor Lloyd Lopez told Philippine radio. "Yesterday, we had a partial communications block-out." "We have not reached all barangays, many are cut off, the roads are blocked by big boulders," Lopez said, referring to villages. Mobile phone links from the country’s main provider had been restored but a rival provider still had to fix some of its damaged equipment, a state telecommunications official said. Many of the millions hit by the quake spent the night outdoors, including patients at some hospitals, because of aftershocks. More than 840 aftershocks have been recorded, with one of magnitude 5.1, the volcanology agency said. "There are so many aftershocks, we are afraid," Elena Manuel, a 64-year-old grandmother, told Reuters after her family and neighbors spent the night in the grounds of a centuries-old church that collapsed in Loon, a town of about 43,000 people. "We don’t have any more food and water because stores are closed, and the bridge … is damaged. After the quake, water and mud came out of cracks on the ground in our backyard." Warning to Profiteers Officials said most of 23 damaged bridges in Bohol were impassable and five roads were closed. Seventeen churches suffered irreparable damage to their old coral-stone structures. "The church here is now only powder," said Benjamin Aggenstein, a 30-year-old German businessman based in Bohol, adding that most residents of Loon did not want to return to their damaged homes and had been staying outdoors. Ferry and airline services have resumed despite damage to ports and airports in Bohol and Cebu. The air force was flying 11 tons of relief supplies to Bohol, a military spokesman said. President Benigno Aquino, who made an inspection by air of quake-hit areas, warned of stiff penalties for profiteers exploiting the disaster. The government has declared a state of calamity in both Bohol and Cebu, triggering a freeze on prices there. Tourism has also been hurt. Some visitors to Bohol have cancelled reservations, but the damage to tourism was likely to be short-lived, John Patrick Chan, corporate general manager of the Bellevue Hotel group, said in a television interview. "We expect things to go back to normal soon. We’re lucky the earthquake hasn’t damaged much, much more," Chan said. The country’s tourism office said it had seen about 1,000 cancellations to Bohol and Cebu by tourists from South Korea. The last time a quake of similar magnitude hit Bohol was in 1602, said Trixie Angeles, a consultant at the National Commission on Culture and the Arts. The post Death Toll From Philippines Quake Rises to 144, More People Missing appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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