The Irrawaddy Magazine

---

• Wa Rebels Absent From Ethnic Ceasefire Meeting in Laiza
• Salween Dams Raise Doubt Over Burma Peace Plans
• Two Buddhists Imprisoned for Arakan State Violence
• Amid Hype, Burma Ranked One of the Hardest Places to Do Business
• Hundreds Greet Leaders of Ethnic Armed Groups in Laiza
• “Than Shwe Is Worried.”
• USDP Appears Divided as Rift Between President and Party Chairman Widens
• Free of Censors, Burma Artists Bare All
• Crash at Beijing’s Forbidden City Kills Five
• New Australia Govt Upholds Ban on China’s Huawei
• Thai Ex-PM to Be Indicted for Protest Killings
• Two Muslim Men Sentenced for Rape That Sparked Thandwe Violence
• Burma Peace Process Could Create ‘Mini-Cronies,’ Media Coalition Warns
• Thousands of Kachin Villagers Trapped After Burma Army Raid
• Rice Paddies in Dawei Confiscated for Housing
• Ancient Monastery Buried Beneath Thai King’s Tomb in Mandalay
• Guardian Sein Win: A Personal Appreciation
• On the Boil: Thailand’s Government Rice Subsidy
• Blasts Kill Five at Rally for Indian Opposition Candidate Modi
• Chelsea Pounce on Late Blunder to Sink Man City

Wa Rebels Absent From Ethnic Ceasefire Meeting in Laiza Posted: 29 Oct 2013 05:47 AM PDT Panghsang is the Wa capital and headquarters of the United Wa State Army (UWSA). (Photo: Sai Zom Hseng / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma's largest armed group, and ethnic Kokang rebels will not participate in this week's meeting in Laiza, where Burma's rebel groups are convening to discuss a government proposal to hold a nationwide ceasefire conference. UWSA spokesman Aung Myint said Wa leaders would not be present at three-day conference, which is due to start on Wednesday in Laiza, a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) stronghold in Kachin State located on the Burma-China border. "We are too busy at the moment. This is why we could not attend the meeting. We will explain later why we did not attend the meeting," Aung Myint told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. UWSA central committee member Bow Thein said Wa representatives were absent because the party's chairman Bao Youxiang was too "sick" to coordinate representatives during the Laiza conference. At the meeting, 18 armed ethnic groups will discuss Naypyidaw's proposal to hold a nationwide ceasefire conference next month. President Thein Sein's reformist government has signed ceasefire agreements with 14 groups since assuming office in 2011, in a bid to end Burma's decades-old conflicts. Following the Laiza meeting, representatives of the various ethnic groups will reportedly travel to the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, where they will hold discussions with the government chief peace negotiator Aung Min. The KIA and the Taaung National Liberation Army have not yet signed any ceasefires, however, and skirmishes with government troops continue. Since last week, there have been reports of renewed Burma Army operations and clashes with KIA rebels in southern Kachin State's Mansi Township, where thousands of villagers have been displaced. Among the ethnic rebels groups there is doubt about the government's willingness to consider their demands for greater political autonomy through the creation of a federal union of Burma. The UWSA, who are considered Burma's most powerful group with about 30,000 soldiers, have a long-standing ceasefire with Naypyidaw and control parts of northern and eastern Shan State, areas that remain off limits for the Burma Army. The Wa have been linked to the production of illicit drugs that are smuggled to Thailand, China and the wider region. The Wa want the areas under their control to be carved out of Shan State and recognized as an official autonomous state within Burma. Aung Kyaw Zaw, a former member of the Communist Party of Burma, the predecessor of the UWSA, said Wa leaders declined an invitation to the Laiza conference as they believed that the national ceasefire conference would not further their demands for an autonomous Wa State. "According to my understanding, the Wa have mentioned already that they will not agree to sign a nationwide ceasefire. This is why they did not attend the meeting in Laiza," Aung Kyaw Zaw said in a phone call from Kunming, southwestern China. He said an ethnic Kokang group, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), which are in an alliance with the UWSA, had also declined to attend the Laiza conference. The small armed group, which was crushed during a 2009 Burma Army offensive, occupies territory located on Burma's borders with China and Laos. The post Wa Rebels Absent From Ethnic Ceasefire Meeting in Laiza appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Salween Dams Raise Doubt Over Burma Peace Plans Posted: 29 Oct 2013 05:42 AM PDT Karen communities calling for the protection of the Salween River release a bamboo raft on the river in Papun District, Karen State, in March. (Photo: Karen Rivers Watch) RANGOON — Ahead of a planned nationwide ceasefire conference next month, environmentalists in Burma say dam projects on the Salween River continue to fuel conflict in ceasefire zones. The Burma Rivers Network, comprising several environmental groups from eastern Burma, reiterated on Tuesday a call for the Burma government to halt plans to build six dams in resource-rich ethnic regions where inhabitants are negotiating for peace after decades of civil war. The 2,800-kilometer Salween, also known as the Thanlwin River in Burma and the Nu River in China, runs from China down through Burma's Shan, Karenni,Mon and Karen states. The dam projects in Burma were long stalled by fighting between the former junta's troops and ethnic armed groups, but activity has resumed after major Shan and Karen ethnic rebel groups signed ceasefire agreements with the government in early 2012. Securing the dam sites has involved increased militarization and led to violence this year. In the latest incident, government troops earlier this month clashed with soldiers from the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) in the potential flood zone of the Tasang (Mai Tong) dam in southern Shan State, in contravention of a ceasefire, the environmentalist network said. The clashes came as Thailand's energy minister urged the Burma government to speed up construction of the US$12 million hydropower dam, which would be the largest dam planned on the river, at 228 meters tall. The fighting also followed a decision by the Burma government to approve feasibility studies for all six dams, with the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reporting earlier this month that five projects would be constructed and come online in the next few years. In May, the government's Border Guard Force (BGF) attacked the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) to drive the rebel group away from the Hatgyi dam site in Karen State, the Burma Rivers Network added. It said government troops in March also launched an offensive to force the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) away from bases along the Salween near the planned Nong Pha and Man Tong dam sites. Thousands of civilians were reportedly displaced in the fighting. Sai Khur Hseng, a researcher from the Shan Sapawa Environmental Organization, part of the Burma Rivers Network, urged Naypyidaw to halt the dam projects during a press conference in Rangoon on Tuesday. "It is very clear that the Salween dams are fueling war," he said. "If President Thein Sein really wants peace, he should stop the dams immediately." The push to restart the dam projects has led to road construction this year to some dam sites, as well as survey testing at sites, an increase in security checkpoints and intensive logging in remaining forests around the sites, he said. He said that despite input from the Burma Rivers Network, the government and ethnic rebel groups had not prioritized discussions of the dam projects in individual ceasefire negotiations, and would likely not address the issue during the nationwide ceasefire conference planned for next month in Naypyidaw. "They talk about politics," he told The Irrawaddy. "Until now, they discuss political issues and economic issues, but this issue is missing." The government army has deployed 36 battalions in areas around the dam sites, he said, compared with 10 battalions in 1996. Earlier this month, the Burma Rivers Network organized a three-day meeting with community-based organizations, including affected villagers from Shan, Karenni, Karen and Mon states. Participants said they were concerned that security for the dams was being used as an excuse for government troops to occupy wider areas. They said landmines had been planted to secure the dam sites or to prevent ethnic armed groups from accessing the sites, putting civilians at risk. They also complained that the government was prioritizing economic development rather than implementing ceasefire agreements, the Burma Rivers Network said in a report. The six dam projects in Burma—five on the Salween and one on a tributary—would have a combined installed capacity of about 15,000 megawatts and are being planned by Chinese, Burmese and Thai investors. A majority of the generated electricity would go to China and Thailand, the Burma Rivers Network said. Environmentalists and local residents say that in addition to displacing communities, the dam projects would trap sediment from the river and keep nutrient-rich soil and water from reaching their downstream farms. Dam projects are also planned on the Salween River in China, upstream on the Tibetan plateau. Speaking in Rangoon on Tuesday, Chinese environmentalist Wang Yongchen called for cooperation with Burmese environmentalists to protect the river. "Chinese companies are supporting these dams," said the founder of Green Earth Volunteers, a Chinese environmental NGO. "This means we need to work hand in hand, we need to work together to keep the river free for tomorrow, for the next generation." The post Salween Dams Raise Doubt Over Burma Peace Plans appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Two Buddhists Imprisoned for Arakan State Violence Posted: 29 Oct 2013 05:36 AM PDT A young boy walks through the ashes of burned buildings in Pauktaw Township, Arakan State. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Courts have sentenced two more Arakanese Buddhists to prison for inciting or participating in deadly riots during last year's inter-communal violence in western Burma. In Kyaukphyu, a special economic zone in Arakan State, a provincial court last week sentenced Aung Kyaw Than to seven years in prison for his role in the rioting on Oct. 24, 2012. Two people were killed in Kyaukphyu that day in clashes between Arakanese Buddhists and Muslims. Another Arakanese Buddhist, Naing Win, was sentenced last week to three years in prison for possessing a knife, in violation of the Arms Act, during the rioting. Two waves of violence in Arakan State last year, in June and October, left about 200 people dead and more than 140,000 people displaced. Most of the victims were Rohingya, a minority Muslim ethnic group. In the October 2012 clashes, at least 84 people were killed and more than 120 were injured, while over 22,000 were displaced during a week of unrest in nine townships. Since that second wave of fighting, about 10 people have been arrested for questioning in Kyaukphyu, including Aung Kyaw Than and Naing Win. Their lawyers say they will appeal the convictions to the Arakan State Court. "There was no concrete evidence that he committed the crime," Htein Lin, representing Aung Kyaw Than, told The Irrawaddy. A total of 1,189 people have been detained in Arakan State since the violence began in June last year, according to the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, citing the Arakan State chief minister. Of those detained, 260 are Buddhists and 882 are Rohingyas. No state officials have been arrested in connection with the conflict and its aftermath, despite allegations from rights groups that state security forces were complicit in the violence. In the state capital Sittwe, more Arakanese Buddhists are attending trials for their roles in rioting in Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships. Four weeks ago, five Arakanese Buddhists were sentenced to between one and three years in prison for setting fire to homes in a Muslim village known as Purein Gone in Mrauk-U Township, according to defense lawyer Aye Nu Sein. In Kyauktaw, eight people are still on trial for allegedly setting fire to homes, facing a maximum of three years in prison. On Wednesday this week, several dozens of people will attend a hearing at a township court for their alleged role in a third wave of violence that broke out last month near Thandwe, a southern town in Arakan State. The suspects—including Arakanese Buddhists and Kaman Muslims—were detained by the national police four weeks ago. Since then, the Ministry of Home Affairs says six suspects have confessed to the killing of seven people in Thandwe, while 28 people are being charged with setting fire to homes. More than 100 homes were destroyed in the fighting, displacing about 500 Kaman Muslims. The post Two Buddhists Imprisoned for Arakan State Violence appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Amid Hype, Burma Ranked One of the Hardest Places to Do Business Posted: 29 Oct 2013 05:29 AM PDT The Hitachi building in downtown Rangoon is home to dozens of foreign companies hoping to do business in Burma. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma is one of the most difficult countries in the world in which to do business, according theWorld Bank, which included the Southeast Asian nation in its annual "Doing Business" report for the first time on Tuesday. Burma's first appearance in the report reflectsliberalizing economic policies advanced by the quasi-civilian government that took power in 2011. Reforms have been accompanied by talk of investors rushing into the resource-rich nation's underdeveloped market. However, the report—which compares the obstacles to starting and operating a business in 189 countries—may dampen the hype. It ranks Burma at 182, judging that only a handful of economies, including Chad, the Central African Republic and Eritrea, offered a worse environment for business. The report looked at different areas where bureaucracy or over burdensome regulations can stifle entrepreneurs. There was some praise for Burma, particularly for the government's decision to reduce its corporate income tax rate. Under the 2012 Foreign Investment Law the income of local branches of foreign enterprises are taxed at 25 percent, the same basic rate as locally incorporated companies. But the countrywas ranked bottom of the global table for the ease of starting up a business, largely due to the high cost. Starting a business involves 11 different procedures, takes 72 days and costs nearly US$1,500 in Burma, it said. And a deposit of more than $58,000 is required to start a business—higher than in any other country—the report said, pointing out that such requirements in general "significantly slow entrepreneurship." Burma ranks especially poorly for "protecting investors" (182 out of 189) and "enforcing contracts" (188). The report also highlighted Burma—alongside other new entrants in this year's rankings South Sudan and Libya—as countries emerging from conflict or isolation. "This is the right time to improve business regulations," it said of the three countries. "Old laws and regulations still apply in Myanmar [Burma], including the Companies Act of 1914, the Code of Civil Procedure of 1908 and the Evidence Act, 1872," the report said, while noting that in all three countries new laws being discussed to replace old ones would have an impact on the ease of doing business. Despite the difficulties outlined by the World Bank, healthy rates of economic growth are widely predicted for Burma, and many foreign companies have announced plans to invest in the country. A separate World Bank report issued earlier this month reported that foreign direct investment had grown to 5.2 percent of gross domestic product in the 2012-13 fiscal year, compared with 3.7 percent the year before. "In many ways [it's] all to be expected—and part of the 'messiness' of any country in transition, but especially one so entrenched in which one can say that 'unease' in doing business was the motif for 50 years," economist Sean Turnell, co-editor of Burma Economic Watch, said by email. However, Turnell said that, as well as the problems noted by the World Bank, investors also face high real estate prices and a local financial sector which could not support local entrepreneurs because it is "not yet a vehicle for allocating capital to business." He also highlighted a trend of populism in Burma's Parliament—which has manifested to slow down reform in the telecommunications sector and to influence budget allocations—that "appears now to seemingly all liberalizing measures." "Of course, not all of this is sinister—but it is not helpful in terms of the business climate," he said. The post Amid Hype, Burma Ranked One of the Hardest Places to Do Business appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Hundreds Greet Leaders of Ethnic Armed Groups in Laiza Posted: 29 Oct 2013 05:13 AM PDT Locals welcome a convoy carrying the leaders of ethnic armed groups arriving in Laiza, Kachin State, for talks. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) LAIZA, Kachin State — Hundreds of people, from the elderly to schoolchildren, many wearing traditional ethnic dress, flooded into the streets Tuesday to greet leaders of Burma's ethnic armed groups arriving for a conference to discuss upcoming ceasefire negotiations. More than 20 vehicles traveled from the Kachin capital of Myitkyina to Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) on the Sino-Burmese border, for three days of talks starting Wednesday. They carried leaders of ethnic armed groups including the Karen National Union (KNU), Shan State Army-South (SSA-South), Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and representatives from other ethnic armed groups, as well as leaders of the ethnic alliance the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). According to ethnic sources, following the conference the ethnic groups will return to Myitkyina and hold another meeting with a Burmese government delegation led by Minister Aung Min there from Nov. 4 to 5. Along the road into Laiza, several villages were seen empty and some houses were almost overgrown by bushes. Villagers have abandoned their homes during fighting between the government and the Kachin rebels that broke out in June 2011 and are now taking refuge in camps in Myitkyina. Several women living in an internally displaced persons camp in Myitkyina told The Irrawaddy they want to return to their villages, but do not yet feel safe to do so. Abandoned villages along the road to Laiza were occupied by the government troops. More than 10 military camps and checkpoints are positioned along the road from Myitkyina to Laiza. Local people and merchants said the military officials at the checkpoints often question, tax or extort money from travelers. As the ethnic leaders travel for Laiza for peace talk, government troops reportedly launched attacks against the KIO's military wing, Kachin Independence Army (KIA), in Mansi Township in Bhamo District. In Laiza town, residents who greeted the convoy of the wave flags of the KIO and the Kachin national flag, and chatted in the Kachin language: "We happily welcome you all," they told their guests, "You are all welcome." Present at the talks will be KNU chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe, Col Sai Lao Hseng of SSA-South, Nai Hong Sa, general secretary of the UNFC and Harn Yawnghwe, executive director of Brussels-based Euro-Burma Office. The ethnic armed group leaders will discuss the nationwide ceasefire accord, which the government's peace delegation wants all groups to sign in late November. Ethnic leaders said that the Laiza meeting is important for the future of the ethnic armed groups, with some said termed the goal of the talks as a significant "Laiza Agreement" between the groups. Saw Kwe Htoo Win, general-secretary of the KNU said, "This meeting is very important. It is more important than the Panglong Agreement." The Panglong Agreement is a historic agreement signed in 1947 in Panglong town in Shan State by ethnic Shan, Kachin and Chin with a central Burmese government delegation led by late Gen Aung San. Observers said that the Laiza conference is vital as any decision from the meeting will decide the future of the ethnic armed groups. It is believed the ethnic leaders will negotiate to form one voice before meeting with the government peace delegation and to discuss whether or not sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement. KIO Chairman Zawng Hkra said in a welcoming speech to ethnic leaders, "We ethnic nationalities have been suppressed in the same way. We don't have rights. We don't have political rights. We will fight all together for our freedom and equal rights with the cooperation of the government." The post Hundreds Greet Leaders of Ethnic Armed Groups in Laiza appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

“Than Shwe Is Worried.” Posted: 29 Oct 2013 04:14 AM PDT “Than Shwe is worried.” The post “Than Shwe Is Worried.” appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

USDP Appears Divided as Rift Between President and Party Chairman Widens Posted: 29 Oct 2013 04:05 AM PDT A rift between President Thein Sein (R) and USDP chairman and Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann appears to be widening. (Photos: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A spokesman of President Thein Sein has rejected remarks by USDP Chairman Shwe Mann, who has said that Thein Sein would not run for another term in office in Burma's 2015 elections, local media report. The public disagreement is the latest sign of an apparent rift within the USDP leadership. Senior members of the party offered different opinions on the significance of the disagreement, with one USDP member suggesting that Thein Sein could form a breakaway political party ahead of the elections if the USDP refuses to let him run. Shwe Mann, chairman of the ruling Union, Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and Union Parliament Speaker, told a press conference in Naypyidaw last Thursday, "President Thein Sein has told me he will not run for president. I think he meant what he said. He is not running in the election." Shwe Mann has made no secret of his ambition to become Burma's next president. In another headline-grabbing comment, the USDP chair cryptically mentioned that retired military dictator Than Shwe was "concerned" about the current political situation. President's Office spokesman Ye Htut said in a reaction that the USDP chairman was wrong to make public remarks about Thein Sein's future. "I don't understand why Shwe Mann expresses his opinion like that," he told local newspaper 7 Day Daily. "But the president makes this decision himself and will announce his decision to the public directly. We don't need another source for this information." The Irrawaddy was unable to reach Ye Htut for further comment. Thein Sein and Shwe Mann are both former military regime generals and members of the military-backed USDP. Thein Sein, 68, was handpicked by Than Shwe to become president of the nominally civilian government in 2011. Shwe Mann, 66, was the third most powerful general in the former junta; he became Lower House speaker in 2011 and USDP chairman in May 2013. It is not the first time that an apparent political rivalry has surfaced between the president and the speaker. Shwe Mann has questioned the president's much-praised progress in resolving Burma's ethnic conflicts in the past few months. In a recent interview with The Irrawaddy, he criticized the president's advisors of the Myanmar Peace Center, saying the center is "not a decision-maker and cannot make political decisions." Whoever leads the USDP in the planned free and fair elections in 2015 elections will have to take on the hugely popular opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy (NLD). In Burma, Parliament elects the president. Htay Oo, USDP vice chairman and central executive committee member, sought to play down the public disagreements and said no decision had been made regarding the party's main candidate. "Everybody can become president; Shwe Mann can as well. But in our party we don't yet choose or discuss who can run for president," he told The Irrawaddy. He also dismissed rumors that Thein Sein would not seek a second term because of health conditions. "Having a pacemaker is not a problem," Htay Oo said, referring to Thein Sein having been fitted with the medical device. "President Thein Sein has good health—he is healthier than me. He gets regular medical check-ups as president. So he could run in the next election." Htay Oo also volunteered an opinion on Shwe Mann's remarks about retired military supremo Than Shwe, saying that he "is not involved in this issue, he just stays at home peacefully. There is no one who controls the USDP, the majority of its members control the USDP. No one can break up the party." USDP central committee member Hla Swe, however, was less diplomatic and rebuked his chairman for the remarks about the president's future. "Shwe Mann should not say that he wants to become president. If I were him, I would just focus on my work, if you do good work you could surely run for president," he told The Irrawaddy. Hla Swe went on to openly support the idea of Thein Sein running for the presidency in 2015 if the USDP under Shwe Mann's chairmanship would not back his candidacy. "If Thein Sein establishes another party, it won't destabilize the country. Now, if we have a new party that focuses on national interests, it will gain support from people who only care about national interests," he said. "If the president establishes this kind of party, both the USDP and NLD will become less dominant," Hla Shwe said. "Some people don't like the NLD or the USDP in the current political situation." Political commentator Yan Myo Thein said it was too early to draw any conclusions from the apparent disagreements within the USDP leadership. "They have a good strategy, so we must wait and see," he said, adding that any break-up of the party over the issue is unlikely. "I don't believe that the USDP will split. They are just playing with two teams. If the USDP splits, there is no benefit for the party, the leaders understand this." Yan Myo Thein said that despite Shwe Mann's chairmanship, some elements in the party were pushing for Thein Sein to lead the party. "Some forces are pressuring the president to run for another term, but it's difficult to say who they are," he said. "But if Thein Sein wins the next elections, he will need support from the NLD [to govern]. If we compare Thein Sein and Shwe Mann, the latter is closer to Aung San Suu Kyi." The post USDP Appears Divided as Rift Between President and Party Chairman Widens appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Free of Censors, Burma Artists Bare All Posted: 28 Oct 2013 11:00 PM PDT A painting from a series entitled "Nude With Camera," by Burmese artist Sandar Khaing, on display at the Lokanat art gallery in Rangoon. (Photo: San Yamin Aung / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Dozens of female nude paintings are on display in a three-day art exhibition, "S + Z II," at Lokanat art gallery in Rangoon. With the absence of art censors, the artists say they had a chance to push boundaries. "This is the first big exhibition that I have done to show my nude paintings locally," Sandar Khaing said Monday at the downtown gallery on Pansodan Street. Her nude paintings were previously featured in a solo exhibition in the north Thai city of Chiang Mai in 2009. A series of 51 of her paintings are on display now at the Lokanat exhibition, which opened on Sunday and closes Tuesday. Nine paper-cut figures by artist Zun Ei Phyu are also being shown. "In the past, even the backside of the female nude body was not permitted because of censorship. I was only able to show one or two nude paintings in other group exhibitions, and I would put my paintings in the corner on the top floor of the exhibition so they could not easily be seen by everyone," the 41-year-old Sandar Khaing added. "There are no painters who don't produce nude paintings at least once. There are a lot of nude paintings, but they have not been permitted to show. Through this exhibition, other artists will know nude paintings are allowed to be shown now." But she said many people in Burma had not learned to appreciate the nude figure yet as a form of art. "Even my family initially objected, although they understand now," she said. "A visitor who came to this exhibit avoided looking at my paintings. He seemed nervous." Another challenge was finding models to paint. "Burmese girls are naturally too shy, whether they are single or not," she said. She painted about 15 models and said she prefers to feature heavyset, voluptuous women with obvious curves. Also at the exhibition, Zun Ei Phyu said most of the paper cuttings required between two days and one week of work. Some pieces took 10 days to produce because her hands tired after holding the knife cutter for so long. "First I draw an outline on paper; then I cut it out with a knife," she said. "And since we didn't use color in this exhibition, I only used paper that was brown, black and white." Sandar Khaing's nude charcoal paintings are on sale for about US$ 200 each, and Zun Ei Phyu's paper cuttings are not for sale. The post Free of Censors, Burma Artists Bare All appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Crash at Beijing’s Forbidden City Kills Five Posted: 28 Oct 2013 10:11 PM PDT Vehicles travel along Chang’an Avenue as smoke raises in front of a portrait of late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong at Tiananmen Square in Beijing October 28, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — A vehicle plowed through a crowd in front of Beijing's Forbidden City and caught fire in a crash that killed five people and injured visitors and security officers at one of China's most politically sensitive and heavily guarded public spaces. No information was released about a possible cause of the seemingly deliberate crash, and authorities quickly erected screens to hide the aftermath and clean up the scene, while images of the crash were removed from the Internet. Police were investigating and taking "effective measures to ensure the capital's safety and stability," according to a statement on the Beijing police's microblog. Those killed in Monday's crash were the vehicle's three occupants and two visitors. The 38 injured were among the crowds in front of Tiananmen Gate, where a large portrait of Mao Zedong hangs near the southern entrance to the former imperial palace. A woman from the Philippines was killed, according to Beijing police and a Philippine official. Police said the other visitor killed was a Chinese man and three other Filipinos and a Japanese man were among the injured, but no details about their conditions were released. The police statement said the driver veered inside of a barrier separating a crowded sidewalk from busy Chang'an Avenue and then drove along the walkway to Tiananmen Gate, which stands across the avenue from the sprawling Tiananmen Square. The vehicle burst into flames after crashing into a guardrail for one of the ancient stone bridges leading to the gate, police said. Chang'an Avenue was closed as police and rescue services converged, but police said traffic was restored just over an hour later. Any incident in the area is sensitive because the square was the focus of a 1989 pro-democracy movement that was violently suppressed by the military. The square is still heavily policed to guard against political protests, which occasionally happen on sensitive dates. The incident had every appearance of being deliberate, since the driver apparently jumped a curb and traveled about 400 meters (yards) to the spot where the car was said to have caught fire while avoiding trees, street lights and at least one security checkpoint. Police did not immediately release any information about who was inside the car or how they died. Photos of the scene that briefly circulated on the Internet showed a vehicle emitting thick smoke at the gate. Injured people, including a young girl, lay on the ground, many of them bleeding heavily. Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said their information indicated that the woman who died and the injured Filipinos—two women and a man—were tourists. "Our embassy is working to gather more details about this incident and to extend the necessary and appropriate assistance to the victims," he said in a statement. Police said the other tourist killed was a man from the southern province of Guangdong. Attendants and nearby concession stand vendors who were asked about the incident all said they were not clear on what happened. Such employees are generally understood to be part-time police informants. Just west of the square lies the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's Parliament, while many of China's top leaders live and work just a few hundred meters (yards) away in the tightly guarded Zhongnanhai compound. The post Crash at Beijing's Forbidden City Kills Five appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

New Australia Govt Upholds Ban on China’s Huawei Posted: 28 Oct 2013 10:04 PM PDT Recently elected Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, spoke during the People's Forum with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Sydney August 28, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) SYDNEY — Australia’s newly elected conservative government is upholding the ban on China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd tendering for work on the country’s $38 billion National Broadband Network (NBN), the attorney-general said on Tuesday. The former Labor government cited cyber-security concerns when it banned Huawei, the world’s largest supplier of telecoms network equipment by revenue, from bidding for contracts on the infrastructure rollout last year. Some senior officials in the new Liberal-led Coalition government, including Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, have supported a review of the ban, raising expectations it would be scrapped. But Attorney-General George Brandis said that after due consideration the government had decided not to change the policy, citing new briefings from Australia’s national security agencies. The move is likely to rile major trading partner China in the midst of negotiations on a free trade agreement, while pleasing Australia’s traditional ally the United States where lawmakers have warned against awarding Huawei major contracts over spying fears. "Since the election the new government has had further briefings from the national security agencies. No decision has been made by the new government to change the existing policy," Brandis said in an email to Reuters. "The decision of the previous government not to permit Huawei to tender for the NBN was made on advice from the national security agencies. That decision was supported by the then opposition after we received our own briefings from those agencies," he said. The government would not comment on advice from the national security agencies, he added. The U.S. House Intelligence Committee last year described Huawei as a national security threat and urged American firms to stop doing business with the Shenzhen-based company. Huawei has denied the U.S. lawmakers’ allegations that its equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage. The British government said in July that checks on Huawei’s role in British telecommunications infrastructure had been "insufficiently robust" in the past, and announced a review of security at a cyber center the company runs in southern England. Huawei spokesman Jeremy Mitchell said the company believed the Australian government was still reviewing its policy. "Huawei’s understanding is that no decision has been made regarding the NBN and that the review is ongoing," Mitchell said in an emailed response after Brandis released his statement. Huawei has become a significant market force in Australia. It supplies equipment to Singapore Telecom’s local unit Optus as well as Vodafone, and has conducted trials with Australia’s biggest telco company, Telstra Corp Ltd. The company, founded in 1987 by former People’s Liberation Army officer Ren Zhengfei, last year proposed building a cyber security evaluation center in Australia. It has also employed former senior Liberal Party officials as part of its lobbying effort to overturn Australia’s ban. The post New Australia Govt Upholds Ban on China’s Huawei appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai Ex-PM to Be Indicted for Protest Killings Posted: 28 Oct 2013 09:48 PM PDT Thailand's then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva speaks at the Government House in Bangkok on Dec. 24, 2010. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Prosecutors in Thailand on Monday said they will seek an indictment against a former prime minister and his deputy for their alleged roles in the deaths of demonstrators during a 2010 crackdown on anti-government protests, officials said. The moves follow a controversy surrounding a law draft that could grant amnesty to those involved in the political conflict that marred the country for almost a decade. Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban will be formally charged with "causing others to commit murders and attempted murders" through orders they issued to end a nine-week occupation of downtown Bangkok by anti-government protesters, Attorney General's Office spokesman Nanthasak Poolsuk told reporters Monday. More than 90 people, most of them protesters, were killed during the "Red Shirt" rallies, which saw tens of thousands of demonstrators camp out in the heart of Thailand's capital to try to force Abhisit to call early elections. They were mostly made up of supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. Abhisit and Suthep are accused of allowing "unnecessary use of arms" by security forces during the crackdown that "led to deaths and severe injuries to the protesters and people who were nearby," the spokesman said. Earlier this year, a Thai court ruled that soldiers killed six protesters during the crackdown. Suthep was in charge of the ad hoc government-run security agency set up to contain the protests. The pair, both opposition Democrat Party lawmakers, are currently shielded from trial by parliamentary immunity while parliament is in session, but can be formally indicted once the session ends Nov. 28. Democrat Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said Monday that the two are willing to fight the accusations in court. The indictment decision, made by Attorney General Atthapon Yaisawang, marks the first prosecutions of officials for their roles in the 2010 political violence. Earlier this month, the Attorney General's Office decided not to indict Thaksin on terrorism charges even though other Red Shirt leaders were prosecuted. But any charges against both sides of the political divide might be voided if the parliament passes a contentious draft bill to grant a blanket amnesty to those involved with political conflict since the 2006 coup. The draft, preliminarily approved by a House committee, has been criticized, with opponents saying it could whitewash Thaksin's cases and pave the way for his return to Thailand. He has been in self-imposed exile to avoid serving a two-year jail term for a 2008 conflict of interest conviction. It would also give immunity to Abhisit and Suthep for any involvement in the 2010 crackdown. The post Thai Ex-PM to Be Indicted for Protest Killings appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Two Muslim Men Sentenced for Rape That Sparked Thandwe Violence Posted: 28 Oct 2013 08:57 AM PDT The burned remains of a Muslim-owned house in Thandwe, which was destroyed during a flare-up of inter-communal tensions in June. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Thandwe Township Court has sentenced two Muslim men to 15 years in prison for rape, according to police, in a case that acted as a catalyst for the deadly inter-communal violence that has wracked southern Arakan State in recent months. Rumors that a young Buddhist woman had been raped by an ethnic Kaman Muslim man sparked violence in the area in June that saw four Muslim homes destroyed or razed to the ground. The relatively minor outbreak of violence preceded events between Sept. 29 and Oct. 3, in which seven people were reportedly killed and scores of homes were torched in Thandwe as Buddhist mobs attacked local Kaman Muslims in seven villages surrounding the coastal town. Kyaw Aung, a police inspector in Thandwe Township, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that two Muslim men, Min Naing and Naing Thu, were on Oct. 21 found guilty of raping a Buddhist woman in June. "The court found two the detainees were guilty and sentenced the two of them," he said, adding that both men were given 15 years in prison. "We [police] investigated first whether they raped the young girl. Then the court did further investigation and also found that they did it," said KyawAung. "We found that they took the girl on their motorbike taxi and raped her after the girl arrived in Thandwe from Gwa Township." A Muslim resident in Thandwe, who asked not to be named, contested the police's account, saying an initial medical examination found the girl had not been raped. However, local Buddhists said that the examination was invalid as it was carried out by a Muslim doctor, and took the girl to nearby Taungup Township where another examination apparently confirmed that she was raped, according to the resident. Rumors of the alleged incident at the time led to about 50 people surrounding a local police station on June 30 before going on to attack Muslim homes. Authorities brought the situation under control by the following day, but three months later, Thandwe erupted again, leaving 112 homes destroyed and forcing almost 500 Kaman villagers to flee. At least 78 people were detained after the second round of violence, which swept through Thandwe Township just as President Thein Sein was paying a visit to other parts of Arakan State. Burma's Home Affairs Ministry later said six suspects had admitted to murder and 28 people had been charged with setting fire to Muslim homes. In the time between the two outbreaks, inter-communal tensions reportedly grew tense after an Aug. 26 event to celebrate an unofficial "Buddhist day." The event was led by a community organization linked to U Wirathu, the monk who heads the anti-Muslim 969 movement. After that, residents said, stickers, flags and flyers of the virulently sectarian 969 movement became commonplace in Thandwe. The situation in the area is now stable, but authorities have made no efforts so far to rebuild Muslim villages, according to people affected in Thapyugyaing village, where about 50 houses were burned down. "We have food to eat, but we are still afraid that the attackers will come and attack us again," said San Myint, a Muslim man in Thapyugyaing village. The events in Thandwe this year followed violence between local Buddhists and stateless Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State last year, which left 192 people dead and about 140,000 people, mostly Muslims, displaced, according to UN and government figures. Authorities have been accused of supporting the Buddhist mob attacks on Muslim minorities and of doing little to prosecute Buddhist perpetrators of the violence Arakan State, as well as outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence in other parts of the country. The post Two Muslim Men Sentenced for Rape That Sparked Thandwe Violence appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma Peace Process Could Create ‘Mini-Cronies,’ Media Coalition Warns Posted: 28 Oct 2013 08:42 AM PDT Karen National Union (KNU) leaders and government peace negotiators shake hands during talks in Rangoon last year. After agreeing to a ceasefire, the KNU has negotiated with the government over development projects in Karen State. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's peace processes risk creating "mini-cronies" in ethnic minority areas, if concerns about economic development in the resource-rich borderland regions are not addressed. The granting of business licenses and concessions to ethnic minority militia leaders as part of Burma's peace processes is seen by some observers as "a ploy by the government to turn ethnic leaders into 'mini cronies' while also performing a public relations stunt to attract more foreign investors," according to a report published on Monday by Burma News International (BNI), a coalition of Burmese news agencies. Most of the ethnic militias "have asked for specific business concessions during peace negotiations with the government," the report said, listing some of the deals struck. Some of the projects have turned out well, BNI added, but others did not. "This is due to management problems (as many do not have business skills), or in other cases the military has blocked their activities.” While acknowledging that economic development is needed in Burma's minority areas, the site of on-off fighting between the Burma Army and local militias for decades, the report said the nature of business in Burma contributes to fighting, citing clashes close to big projects such as dams as well as oil and gas pipelines. "These economic activities are bringing more military to the [ethnic minority] areas in the name of security," said Nan Paw Gay, development officer at BNI, which runs the Myanmar Peace Monitor website, set up to track Burma's various peace processes involving the government and the country's array of ethnic minority militias. "The military is using force to protect business interests in minority areas, including the military’s own business interests," added Nan Paw Gay. Many of Burma's ethnic armed groups are meeting this week in Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of the larger minority militias, to debate a common position ahead of talks later in the week with the government in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina. According to the Myanmar Peace Monitor website, there have been seven meetings between the government and ethnic militias so far this month, with 14 ceasefires currently in place between the government and ethnic militias. The government hopes those talks will pave the way for a showcase national ceasefire deal by the end of the year, taking in all of Burma's militias, though the KIA and the government have yet to sign a ceasefire, and there were reports last week of the Burma Army attacking Kachin villages. If it comes about, the nationwide ceasefire deal will be a milestone, according to one long-time Burma watcher. "The one issue remaining for those who advocated regime change in the past is the minority issue," said David L. Steinberg, speaking last weekend at the Myanmar Peace Center, a government-associated organization that facilities the various talks between the government and the ethnic militias. The post Burma Peace Process Could Create 'Mini-Cronies,' Media Coalition Warns appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thousands of Kachin Villagers Trapped After Burma Army Raid Posted: 28 Oct 2013 08:18 AM PDT A woman stokes a cooking fire with her two children at a camp for displaced people near Myitkyina, Kachin State in 2012. (Photo: Reuters) One Kachin woman has died, one man was injured and eight villagers are being detained during ongoing Burma Army operations in southern Kachin State, according to Kachin relief workers. They said more than 2,000 Kachin civilians remain trapped in the conflict zone in five villages in Mansi Township for the seventh consecutive day on Monday, while several thousands are trying to escape the area on foot. Naw Din, director of Karuna Myanmar Social Service Relief Team, said a 48-year-old ethnic Kachin woman, who had been in ill health, died on Oct. 24 while she was hiding in a local church in Mung Ding Pa village. According to the UN, some 1,700 civilians have sought refuge in the church after government troops raided Mung Ding Pa village on Oct. 22. Four other villages in the township, Nam Phu, Kong Ja, Khon Yum and Nam Lim Pa, were also occupied by the Burma Army, relief workers said. Soldiers allegedly opened fire upon entering the villages, where there are also several internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. Naw Din said the occupying soldiers had detained the headman of Nam Phu village, named Hpau Nat Dut, along with two other villagers. Hpau Nat Dut was allegedly tortured while being detained. He and other villagers were released on Saturday. Naw Din, whose organization supports IDP camps in Bhamo Township, said he and several Catholic priests visited the occupied villages over the weekend and brought back the injured village headman and his wife. Naw Din added that eight villagers were still being detained by Burma Army soldiers in Mung Ding Pa village. Lazing Aung, a manager of an IDP camp in Bhamo, said the headman had been injured because of beatings by soldiers, while he sustained a head injury because a weapon had been fired close to his head. "Hpau Nat Dut arrived to us on Sunday at 8 am, with injuries on his head, chest, back and shins," he told The Irrawaddy, adding that he was being treated in Bhamo Hospital. Naw Din said that between 4,000 and 5,000 ethnic Kachin live in the five villages affected by the military operations. Many had fled into the surrounding jungles; some 1,200 had escaped on foot to Bhamo town and the nearby village of Mai Hkaung, while about 1,700 remain holed up in the church Mung Ding Pa. Naw Din said relief groups had been prevented from delivering aid to the cut-off families in Mansi Township this past weekend, but would be allowed to bring in supplies to the occupied village of Nam Lin Pa on Tuesday. "We will bring rice, oil, salt, blankets and some cooking utensils for some 1,800 to 2,000 IDPs in Nam Lin Pa," he said, adding that his organization Karuna Myanmar would also supply aid to about 700 IDPs sheltering in Mai Hkaung village. "But our support will not reach the people who fled to the jungle," Naw Din said, adding that government troops were warning the occupied villagers not to try to leave the area. "We managed to talk to few villagers and some young students, who revealed that they are being threatened; if someone leaves or enters the village, they will be shot," he said. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Burma Ashok Nigam said in a statement on Friday that he was "seriously concerned" about Mansi Township's civilians "being caught in any cross-fire, especially children and the elderly." He urged an end to military operations so that aid deliveries could begin. The UN has requested the Burma Army to open up the area for aid deliveries and was waiting for a reply, UN spokesman Aye Win said on Monday. "We, as well as the on-the-ground relief groups, are trying to provide support to those people," he said, "But we are still waiting for permission. As soon as we are allowed in, we will go." It remains unclear what has prompted Burma Army units to enter Mansi Township early last week. State-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar has reported that the army was carrying out operations against illegal timber loggers in the area. The township is under a degree of control of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which is involved in occasional skirmishes with government troops. Some clashes have been reported between KIA brigade No. 3 and government forces in Mansi Township, but local villagers said it appears that KIA rebels had decided not to confront the Burma Army because of ongoing ceasefire talks with Naypyidaw. Villagers said there were no KIA bases in the villages. The unrest in Mansi Township comes at a time when the Burmese government is keen to sign a ceasefire with the KIA and hold a nationwide ceasefire conference with all rebel groups. This week, all major rebel groups are meeting in Laiza to take a joint position on Naypyidaw's proposal to hold a conference. The post Thousands of Kachin Villagers Trapped After Burma Army Raid appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Rice Paddies in Dawei Confiscated for Housing Posted: 28 Oct 2013 07:56 AM PDT Workers fence in rice paddies on land to be used for civilian housing in Dawei Township's Sanchi quarter on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. (Photo: Tun Tun Win) RANGOON — Authorities in a town slated for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in southern Burma have confiscated paddy fields ready for harvest to make way for civilian housing quarters, according to a local activist group. An activist from Dawei Human Rights Watch said a nearly 200-strong team led by district and township administrators showed up on Sunday morning at the rice plots in the Sanchi quarter of western Dawei Township, where they proceeded to fence off 14 acres of rice paddies. The land grab evicted more than 20 people working and living out on the fields. Dawei is the capital of Burma's southernmost Tenasserim Division. It is also the site of a 250-square-kilomter (97-square-mile) Dawei SEZ, which the Burmese and Thai governments hope to transform into Southeast Asia's largest industrial complex. The watchdog's Than Win, who witnessed Sunday's land confiscation, told The Irrawaddy that authorities ordered the farmers to leave the area within 30 minutes. "They said any assembly of more than five farmers would be punished," he said, adding that authorities claimed the land had already been confiscated in the 1990s, but was only now being fenced in by the government. "If it were unused land, I wouldn't feel that bad, but the rice is now ready for this year's harvest," said Tun Tun Win, one of the land claimants whose four acres of farmland was included in the Sunday land grab. Than Win said the latest seizure is part of more than 300 acres of farmland in Dawei Township confiscated by the former military regime. Government office buildings and other privately owned structures have been built on about 100 of the 300 acres. The state has offered compensation to 64 farmers who owned the 300 acres, but nearly all of them have rejected an offer to relocate their land holdings to new plots, with the farmers contending that the land is not suitable for growing rice. Though their lands lie outside of the area designated for the Dawei SEZ, which includes a deep-sea port project, Than Win said the dispossessed farmers were still suffering the consequences of the US$50 billion project, sited 18 miles away from them. "You could say today's incident is one jump ahead of other moves as more development projects will be rushing into the area thanks to the deep-sea port project," he said, adding that the rice paddies grabbed on Sunday were situated nearly one mile from the Dawei town center. Burma and Thailand signed an agreement to develop a deep-sea port and SEZ at Dawei in 2010. The original developer, Italian-Thai Development, stepped back from the project after struggling to win financial backing. The Burma and Thai governments have since taken over and are attempting to bring Japan into the project, the first phase of which is expected to cost around $10 billion. But the project is now under fire from human rights groups and local residents who are demanding a suspension of work at the SEZ site, claiming promised compensation has not been paid and work carried out so far has damaged agricultural land. Tun Tun Win said his family had farmed the land for generations, and added that he learned only last year of the military's claim that it had officially seized his land in the 1990s. "When I went out to pay annual tax for my land as I have in previous years, the official no longer accepted it and I was told my land has been seized since the 1990s." He explained that when he was first informed of the military's land claim, no compensation proposal was presented, but later authorities said they could offer a plot of 40 feet by 60 feet for every three acres of farmland confiscated. One square acre is approximately 209 feet by 209 feet. Tun Tun Win said he and other farmers refused to accept the compensation offer. "It's a rip-off," he said. "The location of the land they offered is quite far away and unfertile. Our lands are near the town center." Kyaw Swe, chairman of the Dawei District administration, confirmed the Sunday confiscation and the assertion that the land had technically been government property since the 1990s. He said the land fenced in Sunday was formerly owned by five farmers. The government last year compensated three of them with the 40 feet by 60 feet land plots for every three acres of the seized farmland. "We will also compensate the other two owners, and allow the farmers to harvest," he said. Burma is an agricultural country where more than 70 percent of its 60 million people work on farmland. Land grabs were rife throughout the country under the former military dictatorship, and the issue has not abated with the installation of a nominally civilian government in 2011. Between July 2012 and January 2013, the country's parliamentary Farmland Investigation Commission received 565 complaints from farmers who alleged that the military had forcibly seized 247,077 acres (almost 100,000 hectares) of land, mostly in Irrawaddy Division, central Burma and some ethnic regions. Even the country's President Thein Sein acknowledged during a July speech in London that the issue of land-grabbing was one of Burma's most important challenges, saying "land ownership issues … are extremely complex," and vowing to develop "clear, fair and open land policies." A few days after the president's speech, Burma's defense minister said the military had reviewed half of all complaints of land-grabbing by its units, but had thus far decided to return only a fraction of all farmland forcibly seized during the junta era. Defense Minister Lt-Gen Wai Lwin told Parliament that it was impossible, for security reasons, to give back lands that were located close to some areas used by the military, such as army training grounds and buildings, and land with ongoing development projects on it. "So the farmers need to stop staging protests or their fight to win back their lands," he said. On Sunday afternoon, Than Win of Dawei Human Rights Watch and farmers were preparing to seek permission from local authorities to protest Sunday's land grab and campaign for decent compensation. "I have tried for the permissions two times in the past," he said. "But they never allowed us." Tun Tun Win said the affected farmers were asking that the government give them the market rate for their lands. "If they can't give the price we demand, just give back our land and allow us to officially register those lands," he said. The Irrawaddy's San Yamin Aung contributed reporting. The post Rice Paddies in Dawei Confiscated for Housing appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Ancient Monastery Buried Beneath Thai King’s Tomb in Mandalay Posted: 28 Oct 2013 06:40 AM PDT The excavation site of the historic tomb of former Siamese King Uthumphon at the edge of Taungthaman Lake in Amarapura Township in Mandalay. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) Archaeologists say they have discovered the remains of a monastery building buried beneath the historic tomb of a former Siamese king in Mandalay Division. The tomb of King Uthumphon, in the well-known Linzin Hill graveyard in Amarapura Township, has been under excavation since February. Mickey Heart, a historian who leads the excavation team, said the foundations show the monastery building was about 18 meters wide, while the monastery compound was about five acres. "We still can't say exactly which abbot resided in this, but since it was situated near the pagoda built by the Thai king, it could have been the place where Thai abbots were living," he told The Irrawaddy. According to Burmese history records, Uthumphon was originally brought to Mandalay Division in the 18th century as a prisoner of war. He was captured by the third king of Burma's Konbaung Dynasty, Hsinbyushin, who invaded the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya in 1767 and returned to his own capital, Ava, with as many subjects as possible.  The Thai king, who was in monkhood, died in captivity and was buried at Linzin Hill. Dr. Tin Maung Kyi, a Burmese historian who lives in Mandalay, agreed that it was unclear which abbots once lived at the site. "We can't say that this monastery belonged to King Uthumphon," said Dr Tin Maung Kyi. "Other abbots may have resided there." The abbots may have lived during the reign of King Bodawpaya (AD 1782-1819), the sixth monarch of the Konbaung Dynasty, he said. Meanwhile, the 100-person excavation team also plans to establish a museum around Linzin Hill that reflects the culture and daily life of the Thai people who lived in Mandalay during the 18th century. The post Ancient Monastery Buried Beneath Thai King's Tomb in Mandalay appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Guardian Sein Win: A Personal Appreciation Posted: 28 Oct 2013 12:44 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) U Sein Win, who passed away on Oct. 17, was the last of his generation—the remaining English-language reporter, correspondent, editor, and publisher from the Burmese civilian era. His contribution to the dignity, spirit, and integrity of Burmese journalism has been both inspiring and important. His legacy will long remain, and was recognized through international awards he received. He also contributed to our understanding of Burmese politics with his seminal work "The Split Story," the study of the disintegration of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League governing political party in 1958. That was the year I first met U Sein Win. And since my numerous returns to Burma/Myanmar, I always went to his home and we drank tea and discussed Burmese politics, society, and the state of the Burmese state. We were joined by his daughter Daw Aye Aye Win, who also later became the correspondent of the Associated Press in Burma. In the last few years, he was no longer able to participate in these dialogues, for first his hearing became marginal although his mind remained acute, and later he became seriously ill. A few years ago, when Daw Aye Aye Win was interested in publishing her father's columns that he had written in jail, I was able to retrieve copies of them from the Washington D.C. archives of the Library of Congress.  It was a small service for an inspiring man. U Sein Win was not only important to Burma. He was internationally respected, and when he was jailed by General Ne Win, there was an international outcry in the foreign media against such an injustice. Yet his legacy needs internal recognition. His standards for reporting and his balance need to be the criteria for the new wave of journalists who are now coming on the scene in the wake of the elimination of most forms of censorship. He would, if he were alive, try to instill these international standards on to the young Burmese journalists who are beginning their careers. At this critical juncture in the history of Burma, and with the present polarization of political opinion, such objectivity is sorely needed. Now, when I return to Burma, I see the sons and daughters (and even some grandchildren) of friends and acquaintances of those whom I knew in the early civilian days. But U Sein Win was the last of those Burmese whom I knew in that long lost era. So I feel a sense both of regret for the loss of a person who was a beacon of light in his field, but also a personal loss of a friend, and through him of an epoch in Burmese history. David I. Steinberg is Distinguished Professor of Asian Studies Emeritus, Georgetown University, and the author of “Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know” (Oxford, 2nd edition, 2013). The post Guardian Sein Win: A Personal Appreciation appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

On the Boil: Thailand’s Government Rice Subsidy Posted: 28 Oct 2013 12:33 AM PDT A worker carries a bag of milled rice at a mill in Suphan Buri Province, about 105 km north of Bangkok on Feb. 6, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) BAAN NON SOMBOON, Thailand – On a sun-drenched afternoon, a tractor pulling a flatbed trailer piled with large bags of unmilled paddy arrives at the home of Sa-ngaim Khampakdee, a rice farmer. The 69-year-old inspects the off-white bags with his thick, calloused hands and then requests his son-in-law, the driver, to unload the contents. Thirty minutes later, there is a mound of 25 sacks near the entrance to Sa-ngaim's house in this village in northeast Thailand. Similar scenes play out in villages across the Khorat Plateau in Isaan, a rice bowl of Thailand. Farmers like Sa-ngaim have just begun to harvest this year's monsoon crop. Even before hauling the unhusked grain to the closest miller, the farmers have a rough estimate how much their main annual crop will fetch. "It is much better now; so easy to calculate how much we would get when we sell our paddy," admits Sa-ngaim. "That is how it was for me during the last two seasons; no uncertainty." Such a sense of security is the product of the "rice pledging scheme" introduced by the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. October marked the third year that this lifeline to the farmers is being implemented. Under it, market forces have been given a short shrift. In vogue is the pledge that Yingluck's Phue Thai (For Thais) Party campaigned on for the July 2011 general elections, and delivered on the back of a thumping polls victory—direct government intervention in the rice trade. The state has promised to buy "every grain of rice" up for sale at rates far above the market price. So, a ton of unmilled white rice earns farmers like Sa-ngaim 15,000 baht (US$484), while the fragrant, long-grained jasmine rice is lapped up by the government at 20,000 baht ($643) per ton. These prices are nearly 35 per cent to 40 per cent above the estimated market price, since the current international price for milled white rice is $400 per ton. That is $335 cheaper than what the Thai government is paying locally for the same polished grain—$775 per ton. It explains why an estimated 4 million rice farmers registered for this scheme in October 2011, the first year it was unveiled, according to agriculture officials. They were drawn to the windfall from this pro-poor policy aimed to tap the farmers' vote, the largest constituency in the country. It offered farmers in Baan Non Somboon an answer to the perennial costs of paddy production. The latter ranged from the spike in fertiliser and pesticides to oil. Yingluck's rice policy is in step with the raft of unprecedented pro-poor policies that were implemented during the five years that her twice-elected elder brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, governed, till he was ousted in a September 2006 military coup. That first incarnation of populism assured a 1 million baht village fund for small loans, imposed a debt moratorium and unveiled a universal health care scheme. "The current government and the Thaksin government embraced the ideology that the farmers are the backbone of Thailand," says Thanet Aphornsuvan, a historian at Bangkok's Thammasat University. "And they have been rewarded at the polls by implementing programmes that help the farmers." This twist by the Shinawatras is a departure from the previous trends that has shaped the politics of rice. That took root after Thailand broke away from decades of military dictatorships and took its first steps towards democracy in the 1970s. "Some of the previous interventions favoured the rice traders, while the farmers were left as poor peasants," Thanet explained. "That has changed since Thaksin started intervening to strengthen the rural, grassroots economy." But Yingluck's efforts to cosy up to the farmers have given rise to a fault line. The divide pits a satisfied rural constituency against an irate chorus of economists in Bangkok. The latter are troubled by the mounting costs the country has to shoulder, in addition to Thailand being dethroned from its place as the world's leading exporter of the Asian staple. In 2012, Thailand was replaced by Vietnam and India in the global rice market, exporting a reported 7 million tons of rice for $4.8 billion, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association. In 2011, by contrast, this Southeast Asian kingdom shipped nearly 11 million tons as the world's top exporter, bringing in $6.4 billion to the national coffers. Some critics of the rice-pledging policy are buttressing their arguments with revelations that came to light in July. The losses arising from corruption and the exaggerated production figures from the rice policy over three years of harvests could reach 220 billion baht ($7 billion) a year, said Supa Piyajitti, a senior official at the finance ministry, during an inquiry conducted that month by the Senate. Pridiyathorn Devakula, a former finance minister, painted an equally damning picture. The losses for the first two years of the rice-pledging scheme could hit 425 billion baht, he revealed during a mid-October press conference. This scheme, in his view, is "the biggest loss-incurring project ever conceived." A swift rebuttal by the government—the losses could be "80 to 100 million baht''—has done little to detract from another glaring fact: the "rice mountains" that have emerged in the country. The prohibitive price that Thai rice is being flogged in the international market has posed a challenge to the government. It is struggling to dispose of the over 26 million tons it bought during the first two years of the program. And government-to-government deals, couched in secrecy, have not eased the pressure on the brimming silos. But the Yingluck administration's political capital is still intact. Farmers' incomes have been boosted by 115 billion baht annually since late 2011, according to official estimates. No wonder a survey conducted by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in September found that 63.7 percent of 1,228 farmers questioned affirmed that the rice-pledging scheme has "helped raise [their] quality of life." Government largesse has also meant momentary relief to the troubles over household debt. Yet, such an endorsement places the government in a quandary. It coincides with revelations by senior ministers that plans are afoot to scale down the state's monopoly of the rice market for the second rice harvest in early 2014. The hint of such a rollback has prompted threats of rural resistance. Rice farmers from central Thailand, a fertile stretch that is part of the 13 million hectares under paddy cultivation, have announced mass protests in Bangkok. "We will coordinate our protest with rice farmers groups in 10 provinces of the Chao Phraya River basin," a spokesman from a farmers' council has told the local media. The post On the Boil: Thailand's Government Rice Subsidy appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Blasts Kill Five at Rally for Indian Opposition Candidate Modi Posted: 28 Oct 2013 12:28 AM PDT Smoke rises after a bomb exploded near a public ground where Gujarat's chief minister Narendra Modi was to address a rally in the eastern Indian city of Patna on Oct. 27, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Krishna Murari Kishan) NEW DELHI — Explosions at an Indian election rally killed five people and wounded 83 in the eastern city of Patna on Sunday, the chief minister of Bihar state said. At least six crude bombs exploded in quick succession near a crowd of tens of thousands of people waiting to hear a speech by opposition candidate Narendra Modi for the election due by May. Earlier, a small device detonated at Patna's train station. "There was a blast right behind me. I heard people saying that one of the tires of a vehicle has burst," one witness told a TV network. "When I went to the spot, I saw many people lying injured on the ground." Television channels showed pictures of shattered windows of buses, white smoke billowing and people running in panic. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said five people were killed and 83 were wounded in the bombings. The attacks were a reminder of modern India's history of political violence, from the assassination of leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi to a separatist militancy in Kashmir and a present-day Maoist guerrilla uprising. Blasts at big political rallies are unusual and the attack was the first of its kind since Modi, from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, began a campaign to oust the Congress party-led coalition that has governed India for a decade. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks and no group claimed responsibility. A senior police officer in Patna told Reuters one person had been arrested and had confessed to planting a bomb at the train station. Police detained four other suspects for questioning, he said. Police are investigating the possible involvement of the Indian Mujahideen, a home-grown Islamist group that has carried out low-level bomb attacks in cities across India in recent years, the officer said, asking not to be named. "We should be able to get a clearer picture by tomorrow," the officer said. Modi's critics view him as a polarizing figure on whose watch Muslims were attacked in deadly rioting in 2002 in the western state of Gujarat which he has governed for three straight terms. But to his growing army of supporters, including many in Indian business, the BJP strongman is the best hope the nation has of turning around the economy after he helped turn Gujarat into one of the country's fastest-growing states. Modi himself has denied any allegations of bias against India's minority Muslim population. A Supreme Court-appointed panel cleared him of any wrongdoing in the riots. On Sunday, he sought to broaden his appeal, saying Hindus and Muslims both needed to be lifted out of poverty. "Do you want to fight against poverty or against Hindus?" he asked. "Poor Muslims have to fight against poverty. Poor Hindus have to fight against poverty." Modi did not mention the blasts in his speech, but later called them "deeply saddening and unfortunate" on Twitter. He appealed for peace and calm. The first explosion went off in a public toilet at Patna's main train station where Modi supporters were streaming in on special trains for the rally. Then, just before he arrived, small bombs went off at different places near the sprawling public park, sowing panic. At least three unexploded bombs were found near the venue, said Sushil M Khopde, inspector general of police in Patna. Such bombings of political rallies are rare in India. In 1991, a Tamil suicide bomber killed former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during a campaign rally in southern Tamil Nadu state. His son Rahul Gandhi, now leading the campaign for the Congress party and the party's most likely candidate for prime minister, said this week he feared he could be killed, like both his father and grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi and Modi are among the most heavily guarded figures in the election. Sunday's rally was intended as a show of strength in Bihar where the governing party broke off a 17-year alliance with the BJP after it picked Modi as its candidate to lead the party. The state sends 40 lawmakers to parliament's lower house and could prove decisive in forming a new government. The BJP has picked up support since making Modi its candidate for prime minister last month, but would need allies to form a government, two new opinion polls showed this month. The post Blasts Kill Five at Rally for Indian Opposition Candidate Modi appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Chelsea Pounce on Late Blunder to Sink Man City Posted: 28 Oct 2013 12:19 AM PDT Chelsea’s Fernando Torres (R) scores a goal against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters) LONDON — Fernando Torres got his reward for an irrepressible display that he has rarely produced for Chelsea when he scored a last-minute winner after a defensive mix-up in a 2-1 Premier League victory over Manchester City on Sunday. The Spain striker, who set up Andre Schuerrle’s first-half goal, missed a sitter and also struck the woodwork, gleefully fired into an empty net after City defender Matija Nastasic’s header back to Joe Hart went sailing past the outrushing keeper. Sergio Aguero had levelled soon after halftime for City as victory lifted Chelsea back up to second place, level on 20 points with Liverpool and two behind leaders Arsenal. "In a game like this against a great team in the last minutes it tastes much better to score. We controlled the game and created many chances but Sergio Aguero can score goals at any time," Torres told Sky Sports. "We won a game we deserved to win, we are really pleased to beat a contender for the title." Roberto Soldado’s 80th-minute penalty secured Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 home win over Hull City and lifted them up to fourth, while Sunderland moved off the foot of the table after substitute Fabio Borini lashed in a superb late winner in a 2-1 derby victory over Newcastle United. Italian Borini, on loan from Liverpool, lifted the gloom at the Stadium of Light when he thundered a 25-metre rocket past a flailing Tim Krul six minutes from time to hand Sunderland a first league win of the season. Torres’s late goal had manager Jose Mourinho celebrating with fans in the stands and left City manager Manuel Pellegrini stony-faced and in no mood to shake the Portuguese’s hand after the final whistle. German Schuerrle, signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the close season, notched his first Chelsea goal when he turned in a Torres cross from close range on 33 minutes after the Spaniard had burst past Gael Clichy and pulled the ball back from close to the byline. Torres had moments earlier missed a golden opening when left unmarked with just Hart to beat, blazing over the bar. But after setting up Schuerrle, the striker grew in confidence and was close to netting a superb second, turning inside from a tight angle and blasting against the woodwork. City had the better of the second half, levelling when Aguero ran on to Samir Nasri’s pass to smash a shot past Petr Cech for his sixth goal in the last four league games. A smart save by Cech with his legs then denied David Silva a goal and the game appeared to be heading for a draw until Willian lofted the ball forward and a breakdown in communication between Nastasic and Hart cost the visitors dear. "From tomorrow, we will think about the best way to stop the problems of losing away," Pellegrini said after a defeat which left City in seventh place. "We are losing stupid points, the three defeats we got away we did not deserve. We have time to arrange." Spurs, Sunderland Win Hull defended stoutly to frustrate Spurs at White Hart Lane but their resistance was broken when Jan Vertonghen’s cross hit the arms of Ahmed Elmohamady and Soldado scored from the spot. England winger Andros Townsend needed lengthy treatment late on when he went flying over the advertising hoardings, emerging after a few minutes to resume the game with his wrist bandaged. Relieved Sunderland manager Gus Poyet hailed his side’s win over Newcastle as a stepping stone to brighter times. Poyet saw his side concede four at Swansea in his first game in charge last weekend but Borini left him with a smile on his face. "It gives us everything. We needed something. Now there are no excuses, we can go next week and win another game and continue to improve," the Uruguayan said. Darren Fletcher headed the hosts into an early lead but Mathieu Debuchy equalized from Hatem Ben Arfa’s cross on 57 minutes. Swansea City and West Ham United drew 0-0 in Sunday’s other game, the London side’s striker Ricardo Vaz Te suffering a dislocated shoulder according to manager Sam Allardyce. The post Chelsea Pounce on Late Blunder to Sink Man City appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Irrawaddy Magazine To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610