The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Installation From Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei Featured in Rangoon
• Investment Commission Could Have Wings Clipped
• Poisoning of Stray Dogs Met With Anger in Rangoon
• Where Is Ethnic Reconciliation Going?
• Free SEA Games Tickets for Burmese Citizens
• Minister Informs KNPP of Govt Nationwide Ceasefire Proposal
• Girl Power Rises in Burma
• Critics Urge EU to Put Human Rights Ahead of Business in Burma
• In Burma, a Debate Over Mother-Tongue Teaching
• Cambodia Court Races Death, Dwindling Resources to Rule on Khmer Rouge War Crimes
• Back to School: Singapore Course Offers Maids a Brighter Future
• ‘Beautiful China’ Tourism Pitch Misfires Amid Smog

Installation From Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei Featured in Rangoon Posted: 23 Oct 2013 05:22 AM PDT Ai Weiwei's untitled art installation is the main draw of an exhibition titled Lokanat Ground Zero in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Rangoon's Lokanat Gallery this week offers a chance for art fans in Burma to take in a work from the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, designer of Beijing's "Bird's Nest" National Stadium and one of his government's most provocative and outspoken critics. Presented by the Gajah Gallery of Singapore, the Lokanat Ground Zero art exhibition presents installation art by Ai Weiwei along with artworks by other famous Southeast Asian artists from Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as the work of an American. "Ai Weiwei knows his art is on display here. He knows about it and is very excited," Jasdeep Sandhu, the owner of the Singaporean gallery and organizer of the show, told The Irrawaddy of the first-ever display of the internationally acclaimed Chinese artist's work in Burma. Ai Weiwei, who has been jailed multiple times on hazy charges, has become a cause célèbre among freedom of expression advocates for his persistent criticisms of the Chinese government's record on democracy and human rights. Placed on a wooden table in a corner of the Rangoon gallery, Ai Weiwei's untitled installation—featuring a standing and open black suitcase with steel hangers strewn at its base—is one of the major attractions of the show. The organizer explained that the installation was part of bigger presentation in Germany before it was enlisted for the Lokonat Gallery exhibition. "This is something very different for him," Sandhu said. "The usual thing is big shows in big cities and big collectors." Burmese contemporary painter Maung Di, who attended the exhibition on Tuesday, said Ai Weiwei's work used a combination of differing subject matter to create a sense of harmony amid contrast. "A suitcase and steel hangers seem to have nothing to do with each other at first glance," he explained. "But you can feel the harmony only when you take into consideration that they both are related to clothes, and then you will feel closer to the work." Sandhu said the featured artists were excited to have their works exhibited in Rangoon, where an art scene long suppressed by Burma's former military regime is beginning to find its feet. The artists are, like Ai Weiwei, well-known in their home countries. Though offering visitors some big names in the art world, the scope of the Ground Zero exhibition is small—only five paintings and two installations. "We planned to have more but it was really hard to bring in the artwork through customs and insurance…all of these were big problems," the organizer said. Another Burmese artist, Aung Khaing, said the artwork on display was "impressive." "But we want to see more," he added. "It's a shame we don't have a chance to meet the artists as well." The five-day exhibition runs through Saturday. The post Installation From Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei Featured in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Investment Commission Could Have Wings Clipped Posted: 23 Oct 2013 04:52 AM PDT A construction site at the Thailand-backed Dawei deep-sea port project in southernmost Burma. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), the body that vets would-be foreign investors into Burma, could have its discretionary powers curbed as part of a review of investment policy being undertaken by the Burma government and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Dr Khin San Yee, Burma’s Deputy Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, met with the OECD Investment Committee and Advisory Group on Investment and Development last week, and, according to the OECD, the "Myanmar delegation noted that it was already working to ease the administrative burden on investors and simplify the screening process to reduce the amount of discretion of the Myanmar Investment Commission." Such a move, if it comes about, is necessary, according to Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). Han Tha, a member of the NLD’s central executive as well the party’s economic committee, says that the MIC has too much sway over investment into Burma. "The MIC has too much power and any reduction of that is to be welcomed," he told The Irrawaddy. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is currently in Europe, seeking backing for her drive to have Burma’s 2008 constitution amended to allow her become President should the NLD win Burma’s 2015 national elections. However, Tin Aye Han, director of the Directorate of Company Administration (DICA), told The Irrawaddy that there is no indication that the MIC will be tinkered with. "There are no changes at all in MIC’s role," she said. Burma’s foreign investment law was passed in November 2012 after a lengthy saga involving disagreements between President Thein Sein and the Parliament, and between MPs. The new code, which updated a 1988 investment law, was broadly welcomed, though it limits foreign investment in sectors such as energy and farming. The law and subsequently-issued foreign investment rules give the MIC discretionary powers to seek government approval to allow investments in otherwise off-limits areas. But even here, the rules are marred by hazy wording, with one sample clause relating to the MIC reading as follows: "The Commission shall submit and obtain approval from the Union Government for the designation of investment businesses which are categorized by prohibited business for investment within the Union, investment business only to form joint – venture with citizens and investment business only permitted with the specific condition." Along with reining in the MIC, some existing curbs on foreign investment are being looked at, it seems, with the OECD saying that Burma "is also reviewing the many sectoral restrictions on foreign investors, and a new notification on these restrictions will be issued in the coming months." Tin Aye Han said that "the MIC is currently reviewing on Notification No (1/2013) in order to distinguish economic activities to be done under Foreign Investment Law or [under the] Myanmar Companies Act." The MIC is headed by Burma’s Finance Minister, Win Shein, who replaced Soe Thane, a minister in President Thein Sein’s office, earlier in 2013. Other Commision members include Dr Kan Zaw, Minister for National Planning and Economic Development, and Attorney-General Tun Shin. Edwin Vanderbruggen, a partner with Burma legal advisory firm VDB Loi, told The Irrawaddy that “the Myanmar Investment Commission is poised to issue an updated list of business activities for which foreign investors can receive benefits under the Foreign Investment Law. "It is expected that certain types of activities, notably service companies without much capital expenditure, will no longer qualify," Vanderbruggen said. Foreign investment into Burma grew from 3.7 percent of GDP in 2011/12 to 5.2 percent in 2012/13, according to a recent World Bank report, which added that most of this investment was in the energy sector, garment industry, information technology, and food and beverages. Recent data from the MIC shows that Burma received US $1.8 billion worth of foreign direct investment in the months between April and August this year, as much as the entire previous year. The post Investment Commission Could Have Wings Clipped appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Poisoning of Stray Dogs Met With Anger in Rangoon Posted: 23 Oct 2013 04:30 AM PDT Stray dogs are seen at a shelter in Shwe Pyauk, near Rangoon, in August. (Photo: Kyaw Phyo Tha / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Authorities have in recent days undertaken a campaign to poison and kill dogs that live on the streets of Burma's commercial capital, according to residents, who urged City Hall to find a more humane way of dealing with strays. In what appears to be a move to sanitize Rangoon's streets ahead of December's Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), residents say Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) staff since Monday have planted poisoned lumps of meat in parts of the city. YCDC's veterinary department could not be reached to confirm that it was responsible for the poisonings. Pho Htoo, a resident of Rangoon's 45 ward, North Dagon Township, told The Irrawaddy that more than 30 stray dogs died in his ward alone on Monday night. After leaving the poisoned lumps of meat at night, YCDC staff came and picked up the bodies of the dead dogs the next morning, he said. "We used to feed some of the stray dogs that hang around our house. Although they are not our dogs, we feel really sad after seeing their last moments," Pho Htoo said. "It's really cruel. I can't tell you how I felt when a poisoned dog looked up at me to help her in front of my home. I had no idea what to do." Pho Htoo said City Hall should find a better way to deal with Rangoon's strays. Although the majority of SEA Games events will be held in the new capital, Naypyidaw, some will be held in Rangoon, and more visitors from overseas are expected to be in town in coming months. "I heard that they would clean up the stray dogs because of the SEA Games," said Myint Oo, a Thingangyun Township resident, who said he took seven local stray dogs into a monastery near his home to save them. "The authorities said they want to protect locals and foreigners from rabies before the games, but they should have another option for dealing with dogs," he said. Earlier this year, Myat Thet Mon opened a home for stray dogs at Rangoon Division's Shwe Pyauk to house 120 strays rescued near Mandalay from a smuggler who planned to sell them to China for meat. She said she had been contacted this week by people in the city looking for a place to send strays to avoid them being poisoned. "I've asked to junior staff at YCDC why they are killing dogs with poisoned beef. What they said is though they don't want to kill them this way, but they have no choice," she said. Myat Thet Mon said she was currently looking for a location for a new shelter, and was in talks with authorities to help them deal with strays. "If I can accept such dogs in my place, [YCDC officials] promised me they will help as much as they can." The post Poisoning of Stray Dogs Met With Anger in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Where Is Ethnic Reconciliation Going? Posted: 23 Oct 2013 04:24 AM PDT A delegation from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) signs a seven-point peace agreement on Oct. 10, 2013, in Myitkyina. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy) MYITKYINA, Kachin State — In the latest peace talks in northern Burma earlier this month, a government delegation and ethnic Kachin rebels signed a seven-point agreement. It was a step forward, they said, although in fact the agreement was nothing new. Four of the seven points were recycled from earlier deals, while the most significant point—a ceasefire—did not make the final cut. Both sides have different agendas. Rebel leaders from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) want political dialogue. The government delegation, led by Minister Aung Min, wants a formal deal to end armed conflict. Rather than satisfying either side, they both signed the not-so-bold seven-point agreement in Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital, to preserve relations and maintain an opportunity for further talks. On the day of the signing, Oct. 10, high-ranking Kachin and government officials held a closed-door meeting to discuss military matters. Outside, members of the government-associated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) appeared anxious and excited, perhaps anticipating a ceasefire. They were likely disappointed by the end result. Indeed, some observers have suggested that others were too, including President Thein Sein and members of the international community. After each meeting, journalists gathered around the KIO deputy chief of staff, Gen Sumlut Gun Maw, to ask questions. The general seemed eager to share good news, but he did not offer much solid information. He spoke diplomatically, saying he expected certain outcomes or held certain beliefs, but never making a critical comment or expressing any sense of dissatisfaction. The talks in Myitkyina came after a meeting last month in the Thai city of Chiang Mai between Aung Min's delegation and leaders of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an umbrella organization of ethnic armed groups. That meeting was not successful, at least from the government's point of view. The UNFC indirectly rejected the minister's invitation to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement in November, and some media reported that Aung Min responded by saying that his delegation would no longer hold talks with the UNFC, but would meet separately with individual ethnic armed groups in the future. Earlier this month, Aung Min told The Irrawaddy that he did not intend to make these remarks, but that it was unfair for the government delegation to always travel to Thailand to meet with UNFC leaders. "At that time, I told them that this would be the last time we meet in Thailand," he said. "We will meet in our country in the future." Ethnic sources say the minister's delegation and the UNFC, which includes hardline factions of ethnic armed groups, are heading in opposing directions. The UNFC is writing a draft of an entirely new constitution, pushing for a federalist system that would offer more power to ethnic states, while the government delegation says there is no need to even amend the existing charter. Shaky peace deals between the two parties appear to be crumbling. But ethnic armed groups, as well as their political wings, have become divided over the best strategy. While some want to move forward with a ceasefire, others worry that concessions to the government would benefit only select people—including some ethnic leaders, elites and businesspeople—while failing to help most local civilians. The peace deal has been initiated from the top-down, rather than from the grassroots, although communities on the ground will be affected most by whatever deal is reached. Some ethnic factions have been criticized for failing to clearly demand what they want. Except for the ethnic Wa rebels, who administer an autonomous territory in east Burma, most ethnic groups have refrained from calling for secession during government negotiations. Even the idea of federalism has been floated carefully by leaders during peace talks. It is often forgotten that secession was the goal when Shan, Kachin and Chin leaders signed the Panglong Agreement in 1947 with the central government, led by Gen Aung San. They did not want to coexist with the ethnic Burman-dominated central government. Indeed, it did not take long before some ethnic groups decided to form armed groups for civil war. Over the decades, almost all armed groups have dealt with the government individually, signing a first round of ceasefire agreements in the 1980s and 1990s. Ethnic Karen, Shan, Mon, Kachin, Karenni and Chin groups all signed ceasefires. But some of these ceasefires broke down in 2010 and 2011, after the former military regime tried to implement its plan for a Border Guard Force (BGF). The idea was to transfer soldiers from ethnic armed groups to BGF units that would be led by government commanders. Kachin rebels rejected this plan, and about two years ago the KIO's 1994 ceasefire broke down. Fighting resumed and escalated in January this year, although clashes have largely died down since peace talks began in February. As the war in north Burma continued, Thein Sein's government signed ceasefires with most major armed groups after coming to power in 2011. But even in recent months, fighting has been ongoing in Shan State, while the Wa rebels are far from satisfied. The Wa rebels comprise the strongest armed group in the country, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), with an estimated 25,000 troops and a solid stock of modern weapons. They have been the boldest with their claims, calling for an "autonomous region" within Shan State and indicating that they are ready to wage war any time if their demands are not realized. Journalists who have visited the UWSA stronghold, including the army's headquarters in Panghsang on the Sino-Burma border, have expressed the opinion that Wa rebels do not want to co-exist with Thein Sein's administration. One journalist described the Wa region as appearing like another state, outside Burma, with its own administration, military, police and infrastructure. Many ethnic armed groups have called for constitutional amendments, political dialogue and the withdrawal of government troops from their territory. To a large extent, these demands have been turned down—either directly or indirectly—by Naypyidaw, which continues to prioritize a nationwide ceasefire first. As a result, ethnic groups remain divided between soft factions, which will ignore political demands while engaging with the government on economic and social development, and hardline factions, such as the UNFC, which have been criticized for being strong in principle but weak in action. It is not clear exactly which factions will be represented at the nationwide ceasefire meeting next month. Earlier this week, Aung Min held peace talks with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) in an apparent effort to convince that rebel group to join. He reportedly met with KNPP vice chairman Khu Oo Ral on Tuesday and later informed the rebels of the government's draft national ceasefire accord. "It is very detailed and I cannot discuss all of it, but it widely covers the ethnics' political expectations, equality, ceasefire and the way to proceed with the political dialogue," KNPP joint secretary Shwe Myo Thant told The Irrawaddy. "I think if the government implements these steps exactly as in their draft, it would be really good for our country. He added that Aung Min said the draft treaty had yet to be approved by Burma's National Defense and Security Council. If the government does achieves a nationwide ceasefire agreement next month, as planned, the international community will likely cheer and offer support for the country's reforms. But the divided ethnic groups will remain at crossroads. "The Kachin seem to be the last ethnic group resisting the government," R Zung Nyaw, a Kachin woman at a church in Myitkyina, told The Irrawaddy recently. "Why are the Karen [rebels] engaging in such cold-blooded actions?" The Karen National Union (KNU), a Karen rebel group, has been criticized for giving into the government's demands and pushing forward a number of major development projects in resource-rich Karen State. Another observer of the peace talks said, "It is time for ethnic armed groups to strongly demand what they really want, and to stop engaging with the government if their calls are not realized." She added, "Coexistence with the Burman-dominated government will never last long, unless the Burman-led government respects and realizes the demands of the armed non-Burman ethnicities. The ethnic armed groups should also initiate, rather than waiting for government-initiated programs." Additional reporting by Nyein Nyein. The post Where Is Ethnic Reconciliation Going? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Free SEA Games Tickets for Burmese Citizens Posted: 23 Oct 2013 03:57 AM PDT A view of the 30,000-seat Wunna Theikdi Stadium in Naypyidaw, the main sports venue for the 27th SEA Games. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) Burma's sports fans will be able to snatch up free tickets early next month to cheer on the country's Southeast Asian Games athletes at all of the December sporting events except football matches. "This is a special program for citizens and it is also intended to get crowds at all sporting events, to get full national spirit," said Naw Tawngn, a member of the National Olympic Committee. The 27th biannual SEA Games will include 35 sporting events, 34 of which fans will be able to attend free of charge. On Tuesday, state-run newspaper The Mirror stated that citizens would only need to present their national registration cards at pick-up points in Naypyidaw, Rangoon and Mandalay beginning early next month. The exact date and locations of the ticket distribution will be announced soon in daily newspapers. "Audiences from other countries will come to the SEA Games. I think there will be an arrangement for them, with passports instead of national registration cards, to distribute free tickets," said Min Tun, general manager of Accord Myanmar Service, the authorized ticket sales agent for the Games' opening and closing ceremonies. He added that ticket sales for opening and closing ceremonies would begin in November after ticket prices and quantities are confirmed by the SEA Games organizing committee. "Our opening and closing ceremonies tickets can be purchased by locals and foreigners," Min Tun said, adding that an online payment system will be made available for booking through Accord's website. Min Tun said the Myanmar Football Federation will organize SEA Games football ticket sales. Purchasers of tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies, and football matches, will also need to obtain separate free tickets if they wish to attend any additional events. Organizers are asking ticketholders to bring all of their tickets to each event that they plan to attend. Forty-eight days remain until the opening ceremony of the SEA Games, which will be hosted by Burma for the first time in four decades. The Games will run from Dec. 11- 22 in the capital Naypyidaw, Rangoon, Mandalay and Ngwe Saung beach. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Games will be held inside Wunna Theikdi Stadium, said to be the biggest sporting venue in Burma and built by the Burmese tycoon Zaw Zaw of Max Myanmar Group. The full list of events for which free tickets will be distributed is: archery, badminton, athletics, basketball, billiards, body building, boxing, canoeing, chess, chinlone, futsal, cycling, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, karatedo, kempo, muay, pancak silat, petanque, rowing, sailing, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, traditional boat, volleyball, vovinam, weightlifting, wrestling, wushu and aquatics. The post Free SEA Games Tickets for Burmese Citizens appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Minister Informs KNPP of Govt Nationwide Ceasefire Proposal Posted: 23 Oct 2013 03:44 AM PDT President Office Minister Aung Min shared the government's draft nationwide ceasefire accord with Kareni rebels to convince them to join next month's national ceasefire conference. (Photo: The New Light of Myanmar) The Burmese government's chief negotiator Aung Min is holding peace talks with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) in an apparent effort to convince the rebel group to join next month's nationwide ceasefire conference. KNPP's joint secretary Shwe Myo Thant said President Office Minister Aung Min met with KNPP vice chairman Khu Oo Ral on Tuesday in the Karenni (Kayah) State capital Loikaw and on Tuesday he informed the rebels of the government's draft national ceasefire accord. "It is very detailed and I cannot discuss all of it, but it widely covers the ethnics' political expectations, equality, ceasefire and the way to proceed with the political dialogue," he told The Irrawaddy. "I think if the government implement these steps exactly as in their draft, it would be really good for our country," Shwe Myo Thant said, adding that Aung Min had told them that the draft treaty had yet to be approved by Burma's National Defense and Security Council. The 11-member council is chaired by President Thein Sein and includes the speakers of both houses of Parliament, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and his deputy, two vice-presidents and four ministers. A key point in the government draft, Shwe Myo Thant said, was Naypyidaw's plan to amend or appeal the Unlawful Associations Act, a colonial-era law used against ethnic groups that sets harsh penalties for anyone with links to organizations considered politically dangerous to the state. "In the draft that U Aung Min read this morning, it also included how this will be done. We knew that this process will be followed by after the nationwide ceasefire is signed," said Shwe Myo Thant. He said the KNPP had taken no position on the government draft as Burma's major ethnic groups are due to hold a meeting in Laiza, the Kachin rebel stronghold, on Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 to draft their own national ceasefire accord. State-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported that Aung Min told the KNPP leadership that "the nationwide ceasefire agreementsigning ceremony thatwill be held soon is a steptowards holding politicaldialogues" with all ethnic groups. President Thein Sein's reformist government says it signed 14 ceasefire agreements with ethnic groups since taking office in 2011. It is now keen to hold a nationwide peace conference next month in order to present the international community and the public with a concluding achievement that would seemingly end Burma's decades-old ethnic conflicts. Naypyidaw has yet to sign ceasefire agreements, however, with the Kachin Independence Army and the Taaung National Liberation Army, which continue to clashs with the Burma Army. Among the ethnic rebels groups there is skepticism about the government's willingness to consider their demands for greater political autonomy through the creation of a federal union. Talks between the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of 11 groups, and Aung Min have reportedly stalled. The KNPP has said it won't sign a national ceasefire unless it "guarantees a future political dialogue." Shwe Myo Thant said next week's meeting in Laiza would yield a national ceasefire accord proposal drafted by the ethnic groups. "The [KNPP] chairman, vice chairman and the secretary will attend to ethnic conference," he added. This week's talks in Loikaw were the third round of peace negotiations between the KNPP and the government after the sides first signed a ceasefire in mid-2012. The talks also dealt with the practical implementation of the agreed points, socio-economic development, drug eradication and the return of displaced civilians. "Now we agreed to have more effective collaboration," Shwe Myo Thant said. Karenni State Chief Minister Khin Maung Oo, the state attorney general, the Burma Army Eastern Command and several state ministers attended the talks. The post Minister Informs KNPP of Govt Nationwide Ceasefire Proposal appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Girl Power Rises in Burma Posted: 23 Oct 2013 02:38 AM PDT A group of adolescent nuns take part in an after-school peer group discussion as part of the Colorful Girls Circles program. (Photo: May Ko / Girl Determined) HLAING TOWNSHIP, Rangoon — Dressed in the standard pink robes of a Burmese nun, Nan Tha Zin Oo speaks softly when she remembers her childhood in northern Shan State. "When I was in the village, in the media most of the important people were men. I didn't like being a girl. I wanted to be a boy," says the 14-year-old. After moving to Rangoon, she joined a program two years ago with weekly after-school peer groups for marginalized girls in Burma's urban outskirts and rural communities who were at risk of school dropout, early marriage, domestic violence and exploitive labor. The program, Colorful Girls Circles, is run by a community-based organization known as Girl Determined and includes discussions about decision-making, self-confidence, friendship, and cultural and religious differences. More than 1,300 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 participate in the peer groups every week, meeting in the outskirts of Rangoon and Mandalay, as well as the cities of Sagaing and Monywa in northwest Burma, according to Brooke Zobrist, technical director of the organization. "We also plan to expand in 2014 to some areas of Shan State and Mon State," she says. Win Win Nwe, a 13-year-old from Rangoon's Hlaing Thar Yar Township, joined the program two years ago. "We talk about sexual violence, body image and stress management," she says. Sitting beside her, Nan Tha Zin Oo, the nun, says the peer groups have altered her perspective. "I saw that women could form organizations and achieve things like men," she says. "I knew the strength of being a girl and I was proud." In Burma, women face barriers to employment and health care, and they remain underrepresented in politics, with men holding about 95 percent of seats in Parliament. Amid high rates of poverty, adolescent girls say they feel pressured to get a job or stay at home to care for their younger siblings, rather than attending classes. Last week Girl Determined held its third annual conference in Rangoon's Hlaing Township, with a focus on girls' rights in education. About 420 girls, including over 100 young nuns, attended the all-day event, while more than 800 girls went to a conference in Mandalay the week before. Out of the conference came a statement about gender discrimination in education. Drafted since March by a group of girls from the program, the statement describes the pressure to leave school due to financial concerns, and it calls on the government to provide free education through high school. Burma's public schools do not charge tuition, but the education sector remains largely underfunded after decades of military rule, and parents typically pay for books, uniforms and school building repairs. Largely due to these expenses, about one-third of school-aged children in the country never start school, according to Unesco. During his first month in office, President Thein Sein urged lawmakers to increase student enrollment, and the government has set a goal to implement a free, compulsory primary education system by 2015, although the national budget for education remains limited compared to spending on defense. "Many girls stay home from school to help take care of their siblings—boys don't do that," says Than Than Oo, 14, who wants to attend university but worries she may not get a chance. "I need to take care of my family," she says. The girls' statement also called for legal changes to allow more women to be accepted to medical schools and technical colleges, as female students are currently required to score higher on these entrance exams than their male counterparts. "In state [basic education] schools, we cannot see very clear inequality, but at university level more boys study professional subjects," says Biak Chin Mowe, from Irrawaddy Division, who hopes to attend an engineering school when she graduates from high school. The Burma government reduced the exam requirements for male applicants to medical school because women were earning higher scores and women doctors outnumbered men doctors. But in engineering schools and other technical colleges, male students are in the majority. During a question-and-answer session at the conference, the teenage girls asked questions such as, "Why don't they give girls and boys equal rights?" and "Why can't a woman become president?" Some said opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had inspired them since she was released from house arrest under the former regime in 2010 and joined Parliament last year. "My father always listened to the radio and talked about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," says Ma Zar Chyi Win, referring to the democracy icon with a title of respect. The 14-year-old lists Suu Kyi among her top three role models, after her mother and a teacher at school. "I hope she will become the president of Myanmar. She is getting older, but she is still strong. And she can do anything like a man." The post Girl Power Rises in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Critics Urge EU to Put Human Rights Ahead of Business in Burma Posted: 23 Oct 2013 02:15 AM PDT Aung San Suu Kyi, left, EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton, center, and Rangoon Division's Chief Minister Myint Swe clap during the opening ceremony of the EU Office in Rangoon last year. (Photo: Reuters) http://www.irrawaddy.org/eu/burma-hails-eu-lifting-of-sanctions.html A series of meetings between leaders of the European Union and Burma's government on a comprehensive program to help promote economic development begins next month. Preparations for the meetings, to be held in Rangoon and Naypyidaw, were being made this week during a visit to Brussels and Strasbourg by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But critics have called on the European Union to put human rights issues such as land theft ahead of business promotion. The so-called Task Force meetings, from Nov. 13-15, are part of comprehensive aid program planned by the European Union up to the next parliamentary and presidential elections in 2015. "This is a formative moment in [Burma's] transition, allowing more possibilities for achieving results," an EU statement said. "Political partnership requires regular exchanges. In November 2013, an EU-Myanmar Task Force will give a visible signal to that effect, as well as offer a high-level platform to pull together EU resources for helping the transition move ahead." In addition to offering help in economic development, the EU promises guidance and training to promote political and social development to "foster respect for human rights and assist the government in rebuilding its place in the international community." However, the intensifying links between Brussels and Naypyidaw are being criticized in some quarters for focusing too much on economic issues rather than human rights. "The EU is effectively entering into partnership with the military-backed ruling party in Burma, rather than with the people of Burma," the human rights group Burma Campaign UK said. "[The EU] seems so averse to hearing critical voices that don't fit with its own views that it ignores its own commitments on involving civil society in its engagement," Campaign director Mark Farmaner told The Irrawaddy. "The EU's economic engagement with Burma must start to include government spending priorities. The full benefits of economic growth won't reach the people as long as the [Burma] government continues to prioritize military spending over health, education and other services," said Farmaner. Preparations for the EU-Burma Task Force meetings come as a group of 15 NGOs representing ethnic communities in Burma appealed to the governments of the United States, Britain and Australia to reconsider plans to help train the Burmese military. Economic reforms over the last two years have benefitted the military leadership and the companies they control through land holdings and natural resources, the NGOs said in a statement to the three Western governments. "The main reforms in which the military is interested are economic reforms, not democratic reforms. This prioritization greatly benefits the Burmese military leadership, whose large economic interests and holdings ensure they profit enormously from seizing our land and resources," said the statement. One of the biggest complaints being made across Burma still is the theft of land and property without compensation wherever there are business developments. "The most useful contribution the EU could make relates to land issues. Quite a number of currently prosperous but newly entered EU members had to deal with socialist land ownership issues not so long ago," economist and Burma watcher Sean Turnell told The Irrawaddy this week. "Given the importance of this question in Burma, it might be something the EU could usefully contribute to," said Turnell, co-editor of the Burma Economic Watch. The European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, said in Brussels on Saturday that the EU's projects in Burma will include human rights education and "awareness on rule of law principles and practices" in a planned training program for the police. "The European Union is very well aware that the way to democratization is still incomplete and that more needs to be done," Barroso said in a Brussels speech. "But the will is there and [Burma] deserves the support of the international community to continue with its political and economic reform process." Issues the EU says its Task Force visit in November will focus on include reform of state administrative institutions, ensuringtransparency and accountability in extractive industries, andassistance to promote trade and private sector development, among others. Barroso said the European Union has been listening to appeals from Suu Kyi for more pressure on President Thein Sein and his government to enforce the rule of law as a prerequisite for aid, but Reuters quoted her in Europe this week saying many foreign businesspeople remained hesitant about investing in Burma. "They have no confidence in the situation in the country. They are not happy about the political situation and they are not happy about the rule of law situation," Suu Kyi was quoted by Reuters. "They are not happy with the lack of infrastructure, no roads, no electricity [and] in some places no water." The EU in April lifted all economic restrictions against Burma except military aid. A ban on any equipment from EU countries that might be used for internal repression remains in force. The post Critics Urge EU to Put Human Rights Ahead of Business in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

In Burma, a Debate Over Mother-Tongue Teaching Posted: 22 Oct 2013 11:54 PM PDT Students walk near a public school in Rangoon this year. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — As a student in Mandalay, Thida Win would wake up early every morning, before sunrise, to cram in two hours of Chinese language and history study before classes started at her public school. She and her parents were born in Burma, but her grandfather migrated to the country from China in the 1950s, and she wanted to speak his language. She couldn't learn Chinese at her public school, a government-run institution where instructors taught in the national language, Burmese, as they do in all public schools in the country. So she paid 60,000 kyats (US$60) per semester to enroll in a private Chinese school in the city. "I would go in the morning from 6 to 8, and then I would go to Burmese school," says the student, now 20 years old and pursuing a college degree in the United States. Recalling her childhood, she says some of her ethnic Kachin friends in Kachin State complained that they could not understand their teachers, as they were raised speaking the Kachin language at home. "I think they should teach in ethnic languages too. If we only learn in Burmese, we will forget our cultural languages." Burma is a country of great diversity, with more than eight major ethnic groups officially recognized by the government and over 100 subgroups, many of which speak their own languages. In ethnic minority states, children often become familiar with Burmese language at school while learning to read and write their mother tongue languages elsewhere, including at religious centers such as monasteries over the summer. In some cases, teachers at public schools can offer lessons in ethnic minority languages outside of school hours. This education policy to instruct in only Burmese is controversial in Burma, following decades of fighting between the government—which is dominated by the majority Burman ethnic group—and ethnic minority rebel groups in several states. As the government attempts to negotiate a nationwide ceasefire, some ethnic education groups are urging it to change its education policy and allow schools to offer ethnic language classes during school hours. Others have gone a step further, recommending that children have the option to learn mathematics, literature and other subjects in their mother tongues, to promote better understanding. As the country transitions from nearly half a century of military rule, these ethnic education groups may now have a platform to officially voice their concerns. The input of parents, teachers, school administrators and other educators around the country is being sought as part of a government-led review of the public school system, which began in February last year and seeks to identify priority areas for reform. The review is known as the Comprehensive Education Sector Review (CESR) and includes assistance from more than 20 international development partners, including from Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. Consultants involved in the process say it could potentially lead to major changes, such as a revision to outdated curricula, larger discretionary budgets for schools, and perhaps more freedom for teachers to instruct in ethnic languages. "We are trying to promote mother-tongue teaching so students can understand basic education," says Mi Kun Chan Non, a former teacher and adviser to the Mon National Education Committee. "We have discussed among ethnic groups how we can propose mother-tongue teaching to the CESR." Mother-tongue teaching has emerged as a key concept at schools internationally, including in the Asia Pacific, which is home to about 2,300 of the world's 7,000 languages according to Unesco. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines last year adopted a mother tongue-based multilingual education system, with 19 languages taught in primary schools. In East Timor, the idea has been widely debated, with support from the education ministry but resistance from some who say the teaching style would be difficult to implement and could threaten national unity. Thailand's government has worked with the UN agency for children to promote multilingual education, while Cambodia, Indonesia, China and Vietnam have established experimental programs. In Papua New Guinea, the most linguistically diverse country in the world, the government in 1995 initiated a system of teaching in local languages for the first three years of formal schooling. Schools began offering classes in hundreds of the country's more than 800 spoken languages. But the program lacked support from some parents, who wanted their children to learn in English, according to Julian Watson, a British and Irish education consultant who has worked in Papua New Guinea and more than 20 other countries. Textbooks were another challenge. Blank books were produced, with room for teachers to write information in the appropriate languages. "Coming up with different books in different languages can be expensive," Watson says. In Cambodia, over the border from Burma, the government has tried a different approach. Hoping to lower the dropout rate and increase understanding in schools, it pays to hire teachers' assistants from different ethnic groups who can work in the classroom during the first three years of primary education. While the main teachers instruct in Khmer, the assistants can help ethnic minority students understand the lessons in their own languages. "That's proven relatively successful," says Watson, who also worked in Cambodia and says the dropout rate has decreased significantly since the new system was implemented. Today Watson is based in Rangoon. He was hired as an independent consultant to coordinate between the Burma government and international development partners in the education review, and he says a report will be finished by the end of this year with options for possible reform. These options will be discussed early next year by teachers, parents and other stakeholders, and a costed education sector development plan will likely be ready by the end of June. Watson says recent academic studies have shown a number of benefits to mother-tongue teaching. "It's more or less proven that if a child learns to read and write in its mother tongue first, the child will learn another language very much quicker," he says. "It's a shorter road. If you want a non-Myanmar-speaking child to speak, read and write in Myanmar language, it's quicker to make it literate in its own language and then move to Myanmar language, rather than going straight to Myanmar language." Still, multilingual teaching is far from easy, he adds, citing practical problems including deciding which of several local languages to teach at a particular school. While many students in Shan State grew up speaking the Shan language, for example, others spoke the Mon language with their families. "You might have eight languages being spoken in a school," Watson says. "Are you going to teach eight languages? Can you afford to teach eight languages?" Smaller class sizes might be necessary, which would require more teachers. A majority of education budgets in many countries around the world goes to teachers' pay, says Watson, "so the moment you reduce class sizes, you rocket your education costs." "It's massively costly in terms of materials and everything else," he says of multilingual education, though he adds, "That's not a reason not to do it." If Burma were to adopt some form of mother-tongue teaching in public schools, textbooks would likely require revision. In primary school, a series of textbooks known as the Myanmar Readers helps promote literacy, with letters of the alphabet and short rhymes, as well as longer stories for memorization. "Nowhere in the Myanmar Readers is there any suggestion that anyone in Burma speaks any language other than Burmese," says Brooke Treadwell, a US-based education researcher who has studied the textbooks extensively. "They selectively show what diversity they want to highlight." "I guess that's true of textbooks in all countries," she adds. "The Myanmar Readers are filled with grandmothers and children, students and teachers, all different characters, and although they are from different ethnic minority groups, all of them speak fluent Burmese. None mention speaking anything else other than Burmese." Some ethnic education groups have developed their own textbooks in ethnic languages, however. These books are not part of the public school curricula but are used in some conflict zones where ethnic groups established distinct education systems outside the government's school system. The Karen Education Department incorporates ethnic Karen culture and language into a curricula that is used in more than 1,200 schools, for example. In Mon State, the rebel New Mon State Party administers a network of more than 150 schools, where students learn in the Mon language during primary school. A mix of the Mon language and Burmese is used during middle school. Min Yarzar Mon, a 24-year-old student from Mon State, did not attend one of these schools. He went to one of the government's more than 41,000 basic education schools, and he wished his teachers taught in the Mon language. "When I was really young, it was hard for me to speak Burmese because all my family and my cousins were Mon, so we did not speak Burmese." His understanding improved over the years, especially after moving to Rangoon, where he is now pursuing a higher education degree. "I've been living here for four years and communicating so much with Burmese people, so it's getting easier. But even now, when I speak Burmese some people still don't understand my accent—I speak Burmese with a Mon accent." As a child he studied the Mon language at a monastery over the summer, and he says some ethnic Mon teachers offered lessons outside of school hours. But many of his friends never acquired proper literacy in their native tongues. "Later they did not want to try to write in Mon. They didn't want to read in Mon, because Mon is hard to understand," he says. 'It's still very hard for me. I can speak very well, I can read, but I can't write very well." The post In Burma, a Debate Over Mother-Tongue Teaching appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Cambodia Court Races Death, Dwindling Resources to Rule on Khmer Rouge War Crimes Posted: 22 Oct 2013 10:34 PM PDT Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea, "Brother Number Two," sits in the courtroom during his trial at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh December 14, 2011. (Photo: Reuters) PHNOM PENH — The clock is ticking at Cambodia's Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal, where the two elderly defendants are in poor health and funds vital for bringing some semblance of justice for the horrors of the "Killing Fields" era are fast drying up. On trial are 87-year-old "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and former president Khieu Samphan, 81, the right-hand men of the late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, whose dream of a peasant utopia claimed as many as 2.2 million Cambodian lives from 1975-1979. The hybrid UN-Cambodian tribunal has so far reached a verdict in just one case, the life sentence in 2010 for Kaing Guek Eav, alias "Duch," chief of the S-21 torture center where 14,000 people died. Prosecutors face a race against time to ensure Duch is not alone. They are asking for life imprisonment for the two cadres in a complex case being fast-tracked to salvage something from a court set up in 2005 ostensibly to bring Cambodians closure for one of the darkest, bloodiest chapters of the twentieth century. Khieu Samphan was no figurehead, but a "skilful, manipulative" leader, while Nuon Chea is as much an extremist today as he was when almost a quarter of Cambodians died of execution, starvation, torture or disease, international deputy prosecutor William Smith said in his final arguments. International civil party lawyer Christine Martineau launched a scathing attack on the defendants' claims they had no role in directing the bloodshed. "You followed Pol Pot until his last day, you were the two men he trusted. You never distanced yourself from him," Martineau told the court last week. "You continue to lie to this day." Time and Funds Running Out The words have made little dent on the defendants. Khieu Samphan showed no emotion throughout the final arguments that began last week and for long periods he sat with his eyes shut. The former Khmer Rouge cadres are all that remains from case 002, which initially had four defendants charged with crimes against humanity and genocide, among other offences. Many fear that only Khieu Samphan will live to hear his verdict. Nuon Chea is in poor health and has attended much of the proceedings via video from his cell. Former foreign minister Ieng Sary died earlier this year and his wife, former social affairs minister, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and declared unfit for trial. To try to secure a conviction, Case 002 was broken up into smaller cases. The current hearing is about their alleged role in the forced evacuation of the Phnom Penh in 1975 and execution of government troops. The court expects a verdict within the first half of next year. Kuy Ke, a 62-year-old rural farmer, said he feared facing Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan in the afterlife if there was no ruling soon. "We want punishment," he said. "In one to two years, they will die." There are more Khmer Rouge members under investigation and two generals, Meas Mut and Sou Met, faced possible indictment. Sou Met died in June, however, and it was unclear if Meas Mut would ever appear before the tribunal. Due process takes time the court does not appear to have. It also takes funding from increasingly reluctant donor countries, $173 million from 2006-2012, and three foreign judges have quit, two citing "political interference." Cambodia's government, which includes some former Khmer Rouge members, has not helped much either. It is obliged to foot the bill for the local staff and running costs of the chamber, but instead asks for donations, fuelling claims it wants to ensure no more cases go to court. Activists and rights groups fear it will get its way. "With uncertain foreign funding, government obstruction and concerns about the health of the accused, the likelihood of such trials occurring are slim at best," the Cambodia Center for Human Rights said in a tribunal briefing. The post Cambodia Court Races Death, Dwindling Resources to Rule on Khmer Rouge War Crimes appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Back to School: Singapore Course Offers Maids a Brighter Future Posted: 22 Oct 2013 10:24 PM PDT A maid from the Philippines works at her employer's house in Singapore in this 2008 photo. (Photo: Reuters) SINGAPORE — When she was 8, Lisa Padua lost everything after her father died, forcing her to leave school in her mid-teens to work as a maid in Qatar and then in Singapore. Twenty-one years later, she still works in Singapore as a domestic helper but now owns three businesses and earns enough to send six nephews and nieces to college in the Philippines. Padua says she owes her success to Aidha, a micro school in Singapore that trains women like her in wealth and business management so they can build a better future back home in the Philippines, Indonesia and Burma. "I'm a farmer's daughter," she told Reuters. "So I said one day I want to have my own farm, my own house, my own water buffalo. And I said because I didn't go to college, I want my nephews and nieces to have their dreams come true." Aidha offers a nine-month course for S$350 ($280) that emphasizes computer, communication and financial skills. The three-hour classes run two Sundays a month to accommodate the days off of the women who work as family maids, nannies and caregivers to the old and ill. Ambitious students can then take a more intense nine-month module that helps them launch their businesses. "This journey of transformation allows them to stand up by themselves financially," Veronica Gamez, Aidha's executive director, told Reuters. Gamez, who holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and worked at Credit Suisse and Boston Consulting Group, uses her experience to make the modules practical for the real world. Saving for the future is the crux of the course. The biggest challenge in breaking the cycle of poverty is finding a productive use for the money the women send home, Gamez said, rather than having it spent on items that do not ultimately help their families. At least 211,000 foreign domestic helpers work in tiny, wealthy Singapore for about S$300 to S$600 a month. Hong Kong and Taiwan also have large concentrations of these women. The money they send home is modest on a personal scale but the overall remittances from hundreds of thousands of women working abroad are enormous, plowing billions of dollars into the economies of the Philippines, Indonesia and Burma. A recent World Bank report on remittances said $26 billion has flowed into the Philippines so far this year, making up almost 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Directing those funds into entrepreneurial projects could have an even bigger multiplier effect for developing countries, especially in rural areas. The objective is not just to impart business skills, Gamez said, but to turn the women into "agents of positive change." In villages like the one where Padua grew up, farms without funds are left barren and abandoned, and people are left without work. But the farm Padua bought using her savings is now managed by her brother. They employ up to 18 farm hands, providing her neighbors with jobs and income. Padua also rents out a house to families and invested in a friend's business that delivers frozen food to local shops. That spirit of sharing extends to many of the women who enroll in Aidha. Almost half of the 500 students this year are supported by their employers, who pay all or some of the fees. "People are more generous than we think," Gamez said. "If you have a domestic worker, create a difference in your own home first." The post Back to School: Singapore Course Offers Maids a Brighter Future appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘Beautiful China’ Tourism Pitch Misfires Amid Smog Posted: 22 Oct 2013 09:58 PM PDT Buildings are seen in heavy haze in Beijing's central business district on Jan. 14, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — Forget all the headlines about eye-watering pollution in Beijing and Shanghai—the Middle Kingdom's latest tourism slogan invites visitors to "Beautiful China." Adorning buses and trains in cities such as London, the marketing effort has been derided as particularly inept at a time when record-busting smog has drawn attention to the environmental and health costs of China's unfettered industrialization. Like this year's typically clunky theme for visitors "China Ocean Tourism Year," the slogan highlights the tin ear of an industry that has ridden the coattails of China's rapid economic growth and increased global prominence but failed to keep up with international travel trends. "Beauty can be looked at in many different ways, but when you have all the stories about the pollution, and the air pollution in particular, people are not going to buy the fact that China is 100 percent beautiful," said Alastair Morrison, a Beijing-based expert in tourism destination marketing and development. China's tourism industry has grown at a fast pace since the country began free market-style economic reforms three decades ago. In 2011, travel and tourism generated US$644 billion, or more than 9 percent of China's GDP, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, mostly propelled by its huge domestic market of 1.1 billion people. China is also the world's third most-visited country after France and the U.S. Despite that status, the numbers are less significant economically than domestic tourism. On top of that, the growth in foreign tourists has lagged world averages. According to the World Tourism Organization, whose data is based on national sources, the average growth rate in overnight visitors worldwide was 2.8 percent from 2008 to 2012. The average growth rate in China was 2.1 percent. And in the first nine months of this year, a period during which China's image as a destination has been tainted by worsening air pollution and unprecedented coverage of it, foreign overnight visitors dropped 7 percent to 15 million people. "For a destination like China, which is a large country that many foreigners have not been to, and with the interest in China, you would expect above average growth rates," said Morrison. "You have to question what's going on." Some point to unsophisticated marketing as an explanation. Whereas tourism offices all over the world use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, Chinese tourism authorities stick with what they know: trade shows and magazine advertising. They are fond of using wordy theme years to promote China, having used one annually since its "Friendly Sightseeing Year" of 1992. The busy looking website of the national tourism body has been likened to a company newsletter. "Most government tourism administrations in China prefer the traditional way of promotion to attract foreigners, such as holding promotions in targeted places overseas," said Wang Sheng, assistant general manager at D & J Global Communications. "But this practice has one major shortcoming in that they are still not close enough to the potential individual customer." Some local tourism authorities recognize the problem and are leading the way in changing their strategy to attract foreign tourists, particularly those from Europe and North America. The tourism authority in Shandong province, home of Confucius' birthplace and Tsingtao beer, has consulted Google Inc. to improve its advertising reach. Google helped them set up a channel on YouTube and increase their advertisements' visibility alongside search results and on its partner websites. It also suggests advertising ideas and online designs. Sun Shue, director of the international tourism marketing department at Shandong Tourism Administration, said they were working with Google to target primarily the European and American markets to make their inbound tourism market more balanced. Nearly half of inbound tourists to Shandong on the eastern coast come from regional neighbors Japan and South Korea, with Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia also providing many visitors, she said. European visitors are few in number and this structure is "not conducive to long-term stable growth," she said. Hangzhou city's tourism office has a Facebook page and a website in several languages including English and German. The city's marketing and the image of Hangzhou's scenic West Lake has extended to dozens of buses and taxis in four European capitals and Tokyo and Seoul. This year, Hangzhou city has mainly targeted Britain, France, Germany and the United States and says it works with local PR companies to promote its brand. Other problems in the industry are organizational. Tour operators abroad complain that instead of cooperating with them to draw up cultural, historical and other themed itineraries, which is customary in the global industry, Chinese tourism authorities prefer to market directly to foreigners through travel magazines and other media. Terry Dale, president and CEO of the United States Tour Operators Association, said it was a "cumbersome process" dealing with Chinese tourism authorities. The national tourism body unveiled its new logo and tagline "Beautiful China" in February—a square blue logo with "Beautiful China" written in English and Chinese. It is competing with South Korea's use of "Gangnam Style" star Psy as the face of its tourism adverts abroad, and is expected to be discussed at this week's China International Travel Mart in south China, one of the country's most influential travel industry events. The China National Tourism Administration declined to be interviewed. On a recent day, tourists on a hill overlooking the Forbidden City imperial palace in Beijing said they thought the slogan could have been more sophisticated. "Well indeed China is beautiful, that's what we have seen for the last few days, yet I find it a little bit general because there have been a lot of beautiful places we have been to," said backpacker Maciek Pielok, 26, from Naleczow in Poland. "I guess that you could even call it Epic China or the oldest country in the world, something like that." The post 'Beautiful China' Tourism Pitch Misfires Amid Smog appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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