The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• International Water Painting Exhibition Held in Rangoon
• Consumer Advocates Test Creamer, Coffee Powders in Burma
• Ahead of Elections, Thilawa Pitched as Jobs Booster
• Tycoon Sues Journal on Defamation Charges
• Rangoon Court Fines Kachin Activists for Peace Protest
• Is Suu Kyi Fighting a Losing Battle?
• UNFC Reiterates Call for Suu Kyi’s Voice in Peace Talks
• A Visit to the Tea Capital
• Philips Links With Partners to Light Up Burma
• Korean Ex-Leprosy Patients Return to Island Colony
• Thai Leader Invokes Security Law Amid Protests
• Indonesia Suspends Cooperation With Australia on People-Smuggling

International Water Painting Exhibition Held in Rangoon Posted: 26 Nov 2013 05:18 AM PST City of Rust, a water painting by Thai artist Supmanee Chaisansuk. Click on the box below to see more paintings. RANGOON — It would be better for art fans to expect diversity at Global Network of Watercolor Painters' Southeast Asia Exhibition in Burma's former capital. The collaboration between Myanmar Artists Organization Central (MAOC) and Global Network of Watercolor Painters (GNWP), the exhibition is aimed to celebrate the addition of Burma as a new member of the global network, as well as the third Asia Watercolor Painters Network Exhibition. The one-week art exhibition, which opened at Gallery 65 on Rangoon's Yaw Min Gyi Street last Sunday, boasts 37 contemporary watercolor paintings from Burma, Japan and China, Korea, Thailand and Iran. "As a celebration and commemoration of the addition of Myanmar as a new member, the founding Asian countries of GNWP came to a unanimous decision to hold this exhibition," said Hiroshi Ueno, the general director of GNWP. Maung Maung Hla Myint, the president of MAOC, said five artists from the organization are selected for GNWP membership this year, and hoped the Burmese artists will have more international exposure. "With the membership, the Burmese artists would have more chances to meet their international counterparts that would be able them to share knowledge and experience among them," he said. GNWP was originally founded in 2010 as an organization where international artists with a passion for watercolor painting can interact and exchanged ideas. Now it has 14 countries as its member. City of Rust, a water painting by Thai artist Supmanee Chaisansuk. Click on the box below to see more paintings. The post International Water Painting Exhibition Held in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Consumer Advocates Test Creamer, Coffee Powders in Burma Posted: 26 Nov 2013 05:05 AM PST Burma's Consumer Protection Association suspects improper ingredients may be making it into creamer and coffee mix. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A consumer advocacy group suspects that some Chinese-made brands of the popular instant creamer and coffee mix enjoyed in Burma may contain dangerous ingredients, the group's chairman said. Burma's Consumer Protection Association (CPA) has sent three samples of nondairy creamers, which are added to coffee, to a laboratory in Thailand for tests, after customers reported suspicions to the organization, chairman Ba Oak Khine told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. CPA suspects that substandard creamer—made with an inedible by-product of palm oil production—is being imported from China to save on costs. Improper ingredients may also be being used in sachets of three-in-one coffee mix manufactured in Burma. "Though we can't say which brands we are sending to Thailand, what we can say is that imported Chinese creamers are using such residues [from palm oil production] to make creamer. It's really dangerous for our people," Ba Oak Khine said. He said, the results of the tests will be ready in late December, when the CPA will announce which brands, if any, are not suitable for consumption. "We heard that these raw materials come from Malaysia to China and are imported to Burma, we have heard these reports for a long time, but we're checking it now," he said, adding that the substandard creamer may also be used by Burmese coffee mix producers. He said it was also suspected that powdered tamarind skin or the fibers of coconuts were being used in coffee mix, the small sachets sold widely across Burma that contain a combination of non-dairy creamer, instant coffee and sugar—to which hot water is added. "We will check out such instant coffee mix too, but creamers could affect consumers more quickly than substandard coffee mix in the market," he said. Ba Oak Khine said long-term health problems could result if improper ingredients are being used for creamer or coffee mix. "Though these won't affect people immediately, it will lead to heart problems and kidney problems," he said. There are about 25 local brands, as well as imported brands, of instant coffee mix in the market. Ko Sithu, marketing manager at leading brand Premier Coffee Mix, acknowledged that some local coffee mix brands, although not his own, were using coconut shell fibers and powdered tamarind shell to give the coffee a strong taste. "I heard that some waste tamarind is used to mix with instant coffee powder, to get the caffeine taste, but coffee lovers can tell when they mix this kind of powder in the packages," Sithu said. "I can say we're not involved in this process." The post Consumer Advocates Test Creamer, Coffee Powders in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Ahead of Elections, Thilawa Pitched as Jobs Booster Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:59 AM PST The Thilawa port is located less than 20 miles southeast of Rangoon. (Photo: Simon Roughneen / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Officials hope that the soon-to-start "Special Economic Zone" at Thilawa near Burma's commercial capital Rangoon will underpin a jobs boom in time for the country's 2015 elections. Building work at the 6,000-acre Thilawa SEZ will begin soon, according to Set Aung, deputy governor of Burma's Central Bank. Set Aung told The Irrawaddy that "we hope that construction will be finished by 2015 and that commercial operations at Thilawa will have commenced by then." If so, there could be jobs for voters in time for the 2015 elections, which will likely take place in late 2015 and will see the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) face-off against the now-unshackled National League for Democracy (NLD), the party led by former dissident Aung San Suu Kyi. Win Aung, president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), predicts that the first phase of the Thilawa SEZ will see garment, furniture and car manufacturing factories established—bringing tens of thousands of new jobs for some of Burma's estimated 37 percent unemployed. "These will be part of the first of three phases of development at Thilawa," he told a group of Japanese business representatives in Rangoon last week. Job creation, say officials, is now a key aspect of the government's economic policy, after decades of military rule that saw labor-light and often exploitative investment in Burma's natural resources, such as oil and gas, while job-heavy sectors such as garment-making were hobbled by Western sanctions. Khin San Yee, deputy minister of national planning and economic development, said that Burma "is focusing on the promotion of labor-intensive investment and industry." With jobs said to be the key first-up economic priority for the government, a longer-term industrial development plan is being nailed down, it seems, following on from the government's publication of a Framework for Economic and Social Reforms (FESR), a long-term policy document, in early 2013. "After that we will focus on value-added industries and, looking forward to 2030, more heavy industry and hi-tech," the deputy minister said. But given Thilawa's proximity to Rangoon, where around 10 percent of Burma's population lives, investments in heavy industry are unlikely to get the go-ahead. "Due to the nature and location of the project, so close to Yangon [Rangoon], we are not expecting petrochemicals or heavy industry there," Set Aung told The Irrawaddy. Foreign investment into Burma increased from US$1.9 billion in 2011-12 to $2.7 billion in 2012-13, according to the World Bank, which predicts economic growth of 6.8 percent for the current fiscal year ending March 2014. But building on that momentum will not be easy, officials acknowledge, citing Burma's poor infrastructure, high costs and low education standards. Thilawa will have its own 50-megawatt power plant, insulating businesses that set up in the SEZ from Burma's wider electricity shortages. "Thilawa will also benefit from planned upgrades to the existing power plant system in Yangon," said Set Aung. Burma has typically been listed near the bottom of most world graft indices, and officials acknowledge that this will have to change if Burma's economy is to prosper. "We cannot shy away from the problems we have," said Aung Tun Thet, an advisor to President Thein Sein. "Corruption is a major issue for us," he conceded. Another inhibiting factor, said Serge Pun, head of Yoma Strategic Holdings, Burma's only listed company, is exorbitant, speculation-driven land prices, which deter potential factory builders and in turn mean that there are less jobs available than might otherwise be the case. "Thilawa intends to solve that problem by providing affordable land to serious investors," said Pun, who predicted that "this will in turn provide job opportunities." The Thilawa SEZ, one of Burma's three proposed economic zones, has run into controversy, however, with allegations of land grabs and insufficient compensation by farmers in the area. "We have relocated 80 households to a place near the project area," said Set Aung. The post Ahead of Elections, Thilawa Pitched as Jobs Booster appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Tycoon Sues Journal on Defamation Charges Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:54 AM PST The front page of The Sun Rays journal (left) featuring a photo of Tay Za and his family with the headline "Cronies should jump into the Andaman Sea." (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — One of Burma's most well-known tycoons, Htoo Group of Companies CEO Tay Za, plans to sue local weekly journal The Sun Rays on accusations of defamation after the publication ran a front page story with his photo under the headline "Cronies should jump into the Andaman Sea." In a statement on his Facebook page on Sunday, Tay Za said the news journal had "no standards" in terms of journalistic ethics and he had instructed his legal advisors to prepare to file a lawsuit against the journal's publisher Moe Hein. The article, published on Sunday, launched an attack on businessmen, known as 'cronies' in Burma, who have become rich by cutting business deals with the Burma Army during military rule. It singled out Tay Za, accusing his Htoo Group of Companies of bribing the military and government officials in order to gain licenses to plunder the impoverished country's rich resources. Tay Za expressed frustration with the story and said he came from a patriotic family that had worked for the good of Burma, adding that Moe Thein is an American passport holder. "I will deal with this case within the rule of law [and address] his writing about me and use of defamatory language," he wrote. "His actions are very similar to those of a street boy, but I will respond within the rule of law." The tycoon, who has become one of Burma's wealthiest men after building a business empire during the past 25 years of military rule, said he would use the court system to redress the allegations against him. "No one will run away when I file charges. I will even take action against other media groups who write insults about me," he warned. Burma's court system has been deemed corrupt and lacking in independence by international human rights groups. It was frequently used by the former junta to lock up political prisoners and journalists. Under Burmese law, defamation is a broadly defined criminal offensive and anyone found guilty could face up to two years imprisonment. Nyi Nyi Aung, a spokesman of Htoo Group of Companies, confirmed on Tuesday that a lawsuit would be filed against The Sun Rays journal. "We will have our own lawyer and we are going to charge them. We are collecting facts at the moment," he said. "We found that most media groups write news based on media ethics, but this journal has no ethnics in writing about him [Tay Za]. The Sun Rays journal attacked him personally … This is why we have to charge them." The Sun Rays editor-in-chief Moe Hein said he was unperturbed by the legal steps that Tay Za had announced, adding that he stood by his article. "It is not surprising to see such of a statement issued on his Facebook. I do not have any emotion regarding his statement, nor do I feel I made a mistake in writing about him," he said. Moe Hein said it was the task of Burma's nascent independent media sector to criticize the business relations between the country's powerful army and influential businessmen. "We knew that one day they will charge us at court for criticizing them… They have the right to do it. That is rule of law in Burma," he said. Local media industry members urged caution for both sides involved in the row. Aung Thu Ra, secretary of the Myanmar Journalists Network, said other news publication should monitor the case closely to learn how the courts deal with defamation complaints. "It's better to solve problem within the rule of law instead of doing other ways. But media groups have a duty to see whether the court serves fair justice in this case," he said. Kyi Min, a media trainer based in Rangoon, said The Sun Rays also carried responsibility in the row as its journalistic standards had been poor. "They do not understand anything about journalism if we looked at it from our perspective. They are attacking cronies as if it were a boxing arena," he said, adding, "I think that both sides will have a problem if they did not ease tensions." Tay Za's business empire has expanded rapidly since the early 1990s when his firms moved from agribusiness into timber logging, mining, construction and hotels, banking and private airlines. His profited from his close relations with relations with the military regime, for which he also arranged arms deals in Russia. The US government placed on a US sanction list in 2008 and dubbed him "an arms dealer and financial henchman of Burma's repressive junta." Earlier this month, he flew to the Russian republic of Tartastan to represent Burma government interests and he met with the president, trade minister and representatives of a helicopter factory. The post Tycoon Sues Journal on Defamation Charges appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Rangoon Court Fines Kachin Activists for Peace Protest Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:48 AM PST A police officer on duty inside the Sanchaung Township courthouse. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A court in Rangoon's Sanchaung Township gave two Kachin activists 20,000 kyat ($20) fines on Tuesday for leading an International Peace Day event last year, under a statute prohibiting unauthorized demonstrations that continues to rile human rights and free speech campaigners. Under Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, more than a 100 organizers of demonstrations are facing trial and a total of 57 activists have been jailed since the law's enactment in December 2011, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Kachin Peace Network coordinators Maran Jaw Gun and May Sabe Phyu were given fines of 10,000 kyats for the townships of Sanchaung and Dagon each for leading an unauthorized march that passed through Dagon, Sanchaung, Tamwe, Mingalar Taung Nyunt, Botataung and Pazun Taung townships on International Peace Day, commemorated on Sept. 21, 2012. The two activists will still stand trial in Botataung Township for charges filed by another four townships. That trial, scheduled for Dec. 5, will see seven other activists also charged for the 2012 demonstration. "The court sentenced us to jail one month for each township or to pay a 10,000 kyats fine for each township. We don't want to pay the fines, but our lawyers advised us to because if we are in jail it will be very difficult to appeal, so it is better to pay the fine now and we will appeal up to a higher court," May Sabe Phyu said after leaving the courthouse, adding that their payment of the fines was not an admission that their actions were wrong. Maran Jaw Gun said that the activists had originally arranged to make a trip to Naypyidaw for International Peace Day 2012, where they planned to voice their opposition to the ongoing war in Kachin State between government forces and ethnic Kachin rebels. "We cancelled this trip because the police chief of Rangoon's Western District pressured us, saying if we went to Naypyidaw, they would take action," he said. Khon Ja of the Kachin Peace Network told The Irrawaddy that although a permit to demonstrate on International Peace Day 2012 had been applied for a month in advance, they did not receive permission. "Article 18 is supposed to be applied in the interest of protestors' security by requiring authorized demonstrations, but this is now just a crackdown on demonstrations. It should be implemented democratically, but now it is implemented dictatorially. If we are not allowed freedom of expression, this kind of law should not be present and we should object," she said. "Until we remove Article 18, the unfair sentences and charges like this will continue to happen. So Article 18 should be abolished fast," said May Sabe Phyu. Khon Ja said it was believed that the delivery of Tuesday's verdict, originally scheduled for Nov. 19, was postponed due to the visit of the Kachin Independence Army's deputy chief of staff, Gen Sumlut Gun Maw, to Rangoon last week. The continued prosecution of activists under Article 18 has been condemned by human rights groups and foreign governments. "We have been following these cases with concern. One of the most important priorities must be to amend this legislation so as to ensure that it is in line with international human rights standards," Joe Fisher, second secretary of the British Embassy in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. "We urge the Parliament and the government to work to amend this legislation," he said. The post Rangoon Court Fines Kachin Activists for Peace Protest appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Is Suu Kyi Fighting a Losing Battle? Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:44 AM PST Aung San Suu Kyi, it seems to me, is losing her political battle to amend Burma's undemocratic 2008 Constitution. Changing the military-drafted Constitution is the opposition leader's main task ahead of the country's next national election in 2015. One of the chief reasons she decided to run for a seat in Parliament in a by-election in 2012 was to work toward this goal. Unless she succeeds, there's no chance that she will be able to achieve her ultimate objective: to become the president of Burma. But after more than a year of trying to win support among key members of the current quasi-civilian government, including the incumbent president, ministers and powerful parliamentarians, she seems to be growing frustrated. Although they have all seemed receptive to her ideas, none have shown any willingness to back her bid for change. Speaking to her supporters at a rally in Naypyidaw last week, her impatience came to the fore. "I respect those who say frankly that they absolutely cannot accept the amendment of the Constitution," she said, before warning against casting a vote for "those who try to convince the public with cunning tricks and phony smiles to amend only the very minor issues of the Constitution." But it seems that no matter what she says or does, she is unlikely to win against those who resist real change. And with just two years to go until the country goes to the polls again, time is not on the side of the iconic 68-year-old leader. Kyaw Zwa Moe is editor (English Edition) of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at kyawzwa@irrawaddy.org. For Suu Kyi, the great sticking point in the national charter is Section 59(f), which bars her from becoming president or vice-president on the grounds that she was married to a foreign national, the late British academic Michael Aris, and has two children who hold foreign citizenship. Unless she can somehow change this provision, she stands no chance of becoming Burma's next head of state. Now, after more than a year of trying to achieve this end by making nice with her former foes, she is hoping that she can get public opinion to decisively turn the tide in her favor. Since early November, her National League for Democracy (NLD) has held large rallies in Rangoon and Naypyidaw in a show of public support for constitutional change. More can be expected elsewhere in the country in the months to come. But will this be enough to make a difference? Or will the government, the Parliament dominated by military appointees and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), and the armed forces itself remain unmoved? As an entrenched political class, the military men and all who are closely associated with them are not likely to yield either to Suu Kyi's charm offensives or to her demonstrated ability to move the masses. Even though some—most notably Shwe Mann, the powerful speaker of the Union Parliament—have publicly backed her calls for constitutional changes, there are no guarantees that they won't desert her at the end of the day. Perhaps the greatest problem is that no one from the government, the ruling USDP or—most importantly—the military seems to trust her. Without a green light from the generals, Suu Kyi's quest for constitutional change will be a non-starter. And Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has already made clear that he sees the military's main duty as safeguarding the Constitution. Suu Kyi knows this, and has done her best to win over the generals with her professions of "fondness" for the armed forces founded by her father, independence hero Gen Aung San. So far, however, they seem unconvinced that she has their best interests at heart. So where does this leave her? Besides her still strong popular support at home, Suu Kyi enjoys a special status on the world stage, giving her some leverage to influence international opinion. But apart from expressing concern about the undemocratic nature of the Constitution, Western governments don't seem particularly interested in exerting any real pressure on Burma's "reformist" government—especially now that there are major investment opportunities at stake. It seems, then, that unless something changes dramatically over the next two years, Suu Kyi's path to the presidency will remain impeded. And what that means for the rest of us, as we strive to shed the legacy of half a century of military misrule, remains to be seen. The post Is Suu Kyi Fighting a Losing Battle? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

UNFC Reiterates Call for Suu Kyi’s Voice in Peace Talks Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:36 AM PST From left to right: Nai Han Thar,Abel Twet, David Thakapaw and Aung San Suu Kyi meet with the press outside Suu Kyi's home in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Leaders of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) have again called for Aung San Suu Kyi's involvement in Burma's ongoing peace process as a delegation of the ethnic alliance makes a historic visit to Rangoon. "We would like her [Aung San Suu Kyi] to participate in the ceasefire talks as a witness and to be involved in the peace process as well," said Nai Han Thar, general secretary of the UNFC, after representatives from the council met with the National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman for the first time at her lakeside residence in Burma's commercial capital on Monday. The UNFC leader said they would like Suu Kyi to participate in upcoming peace talks to be held in Hpa-an, Karen State, next month. The UNFC made a similar request in July, but several rounds of peace negotiations have taken place since without Suu Kyi's involvement. The meeting with Suu Kyi included discussions on how ethnic leaders and the pro-democracy icon could cooperate to achieve peace and genuine democracy for the country, according to Nai Han Thar. The ethnic leaders also gave their input on amending Burma's Constitution, which Suu Kyi is eager to revise. Both sides are in agreement on the need to change the Constitution, but their views appear to diverge on the question of to what degree the document should be altered. Suu Kyi has largely pushed for the removal of a provision that bars her from becoming president, while the ethnic leaders expressed their support for completely overhauling the charter on the grounds that it fails to grant equal rights to all. "When every citizen has an equal right to be president, that means we are practicing genuine democracy. That's why it is necessary to amend the Constitution," said Nai Han Thar. The UNFC prefers that a new Constitution be written instead of amending the controversial current charter, which allows for amendments but requires the approval of a full 75 percent of lawmakers to do so. The military-drafted Constitution was passed in a referendum in 2008, just a week after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country's Irrawaddy Delta region. The result, in which more than 90 percent of voters supported the Constitution, was widely criticized as illegitimate. Nai Han Thar cited the difficulty of amending the Constitution given the current political dynamics in Parliament, which guarantees 25 percent of seats to members of the military and is currently composed of another 51 percent of parliamentarians from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). "We think that writing a new one will be much easier," he said. The ethnic leaders also pointed out that although Burma's political system ostensibly allows for a degree of regional autonomy, most leaders of state-level governance are appointed by Naypyidaw. "To have eternal peace in the country, it is important to have genuine federal state governance," said Nai Han Thar. Suu Kyi said on Monday that she would do her best to support the ethnic groups on their path to peace. "Although I'm not involved in the whole process, I'll do my best to support the needs of the ethnic peoples and work together for peace. But it would be unfair to urge the ethnic groups to do this or that. I believe they know what is in their own best interest," Suu Kyi said. Nai Han Thar and UNFC vice presidents David Thakapaw and Abel Twet arrived in Rangoon on Sunday at the arrangement of the government-linked Myanmar Peace Center (MFC) and Japan's Nippon Foundation.  They are scheduled to visit Naypyidaw, but Nai Han Thar said that they would not meet with President Thein Sein due to the group's limited time in the capital. The post UNFC Reiterates Call for Suu Kyi's Voice in Peace Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

A Visit to the Tea Capital Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:05 AM PST Women pick tea leaves on a mountain slope. (Photo: Yan Pai / The Irrawaddy) NAMHSAN, Shan State — I had always wanted to visit Namhsan, the ancient "tea capital" of Shan State, and earlier this year, I finally got my chance. In late July, some friends and I set out from Mandalay on a four-hour ride by public bus to Kyaukme, a major trading center for tea since before British colonial times, located on the Mandalay-Lashio road. After spending the night in Kyaukme, we resumed our journey early the next morning in a hired car. When we left at 5:30, the town was still asleep, except for a few people on motorcycles bringing fresh produce to the nearest market. The air was chilly and the surrounding mountain ranges were pitch-dark under the fog. Our next stop was Hsipaw, about 35 km away. We reached it at around 7 am, with the weather still cool and breezy. As the local market started to open, we grabbed some Shan noodles and tea and noticed another early visitor, a foreign woman wearing a Shan bag slung across her shoulders. After a quick breakfast, we set off again, leaving the Mandalay-Lashio road to head north for Namhsan. On the way, we passed Infantry Battalion No. 23, which was stationed just outside of Hsipaw—a reminder that despite a recent ceasefire between the government army and Shan rebels, this area was still not entirely peaceful. On both sides of the Hsipaw-Namhsan road, cornfields stretched far into the distance. We were told that this was "CP corn," a lucrative crop named after Charoen Pokphand, a major Thai agribusiness company. After about 29 km, we came to the Panglong junction. From this point onwards, the road became narrow and rough, covered with stones and potholes. Clinging to mountain ridges, and sometimes perched precariously over ravines, the road was flanked by dense bamboo and coniferous forest. We also saw natural springs running down the mountainsides. As we approached Lilu, a village at the entrance of Namhsan Township, I saw a small truck coming from the opposite direction, full of foreign tourists. But as we continued the steady 35-km climb from Lilu to the town of Namhsan, along a narrow road that was partially blocked in places because of landslides, there were few travelers to be seen. In fact, the higher we went, the harder it was to see anything. The fog grew so thick that it felt like we were driving through the clouds. Looking back, however, we could catch a glimpse of the famed tea plantations that we had come so far to see. Dressed in raincoats, people from the surrounding Palaung villages were collecting the tea leaves that were the main source of income in this remote area. Despite the feeling that we had somehow risen above the cares of the world below, I knew that this was no Shan Shangri-La. In recent years, the local tea industry has been hard hit by concerns about the safety of pickled tea leaves, a Myanmar staple, because of reports about the use of illegal dyes. This—and the fact that armed groups had been coming into Palaung areas to collect taxes and recruit soldiers—put pressure on many to leave for China in search of work in the tea plantations there. Still, as we approached the huge fig tree that stood at the entrance to the village of Sakhantha, shrouded in a beautiful mist, we couldn't help but feel that we had entered another world. Right after Sakhantha, we met two more foreigners, this time riding on motorbikes, wearing raincoats and smiles. They had travelled to Namhsan on their own even though it was temporarily off limits due to recent clashes. Locals told me that some foreigners said this area reminded them of Switzerland, for its mountains and cool, clean air. Unfortunately, however, efforts to develop the local tourism industry have been slow to take off, largely due to the reluctance of the authorities to issue licenses for tourist accommodation. Finally, after a long, winding journey, we reached our destination: Namhsan, nestled high in the Shan Hills, 1,625 meters (5,332 feet) above sea level. Although it was once the capital of the Palaung sub-state of Tawngpeng, today Namhsan is little more than a large village, with one main street of mostly one- and two-story wooden buildings. Clean and quiet, with little traffic, it has a handful of teashops and a few other small businesses, some run by Chinese. The people of Namhsan are mainly from the Ka-tur (Samlong) sub-branch of the Palaung, but there are also residents belonging to Kayin, Lisu and Shan ethnic tribal groups, as well as ethnic Indians and Chinese. While some inhabitants still wear traditional costumes, most dress in jeans and modern clothing these days. The Palaungs here are often referred to as the Shwe, or Golden, Palaung because of the color of the belts they traditionally wore. In the Shwe language (which is distinct from other Paluang languages), Namhsan means "trembling water," which is believed to be a reference to the fact that the town lies in a marshy area that regularly floods during heavy rains. In the early part of the 20th century, Namhsan prospered not only as a tea-growing area, but also as the center of the local silver-mining industry. These days, however, the local economy relies almost entirely on its production of high-quality green tea and pickled tea leaves. Besides traditional home-based tea businesses, the town has two factories for black tea production—one belonging to the government army, and the other privately owned—and one private factory for green tea production. The tea is harvested from April to November, but the best quality leaves are those collected between late March and mid-April. Yields are significantly lower than in tea-producing areas of Sri Lanka and India, and have been declining year by year. Although tea will likely always be the mainstay of Namhsan, my brief visit made me realize that this area also has real potential as a tourist destination—as the steady trickle of foreign visitors who have already discovered it attests. For my part, I felt well-rewarded by my decision to explore this little known corner of Myanmar. The post A Visit to the Tea Capital appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Philips Links With Partners to Light Up Burma Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:41 AM PST Mieke De Schepper, general manager of Philips Lighting Singapore and Export, talks during a press conference in Rangoon on Monday. (Photo: Kyaw Hsu Mon / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Dutch electronics giant Philips has teamed up with local partners to bring more of its products to Burma, as the brand looks to take advantage of the Southeast Asian nation's growing demand for lighting. In a ceremony in the former capital Monday, the 120-year-old firm signed up with three companies who will distribute its lighting products. Pahatma Group will supply the consumer market, while the service and commercial sectors will be served by JJ-Pun and Power Light, according to a statement. Mieke De Schepper, general manager of Philips Lighting Singapore and Export, told reporters that the growing population in Rangoon meant demand for lighting would grow in the city. However, she warned, the already strained electricity infrastructure would be put under more pressure. "As Myanmar develops and its urban populations grow, the current energy infrastructure will come under increasing pressure," De Schepper said. "A lot of foreign lighting companies [are entering] the local market, [the] country needs more electricity supply, tourists are more coming here, [there will be] a lot of demand in electricity." City officials expect Rangoon's population to double to 10 million people by 2040. De Schepper said the growing commercial capital already consumes 45 percent of the power used in Burma, meaning it was imperative to find energy efficient solutions. According to Rangoon Electricity Supply Board, Burma as a whole uses 1,500 megawatts of power, of which Yangon consumes 720MW. She said that by switching from traditional light bulbs to energy efficient lighting, such as Light-Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs, could reduce energy costs by US$9.7 million a year nationwide, and save 45 kilotons of CO2 yearly. De Schepper said Philips had already begun re-establishing its brand among Burmese people, and aims to become a market leader. The company is in talks with the government about more project around Burma, she added. Philips has also formed a partnership with the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) and the conservation group the Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT) to improve the lighting of the city's historic buildings. The Dutch company is contributing $75,000 toward blue plaques to mark key heritage sites in the city, and has already provided lighting around downtown Rangoon's Maha Bandoola Gardens, the heart of the former colonial district. The post Philips Links With Partners to Light Up Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Korean Ex-Leprosy Patients Return to Island Colony Posted: 25 Nov 2013 10:07 PM PST A leper plays the harmonica as his colleague listens in a leper colony in Sorok Island, an island in Goheung county in the far south of South Korea, in May 2010. (Photo: Reuters) SOROK ISLAND, South Korea — Kang Sun Bong once considered this tiny island a "hell on earth," a place where hospital workers beat the leprosy patients exiled here and forced them into harsh labor, sterilizations and abortions. But three years ago, old, sick and broke, Kang returned to the place he'd been banished with his mother decades ago. His savings wiped out by cancer treatment, the 74-year-old now hopes to live the rest of his life with hundreds of other former patients on Sorok Island, which sits off South Korea's southwestern tip and has become a mini-welfare state. Despite the misery many say they endured here, dozens are returning each year, partly for the free medical care, food and housing offered to former sufferers of the disease. But the onetime place of exile has also become a peaceful refuge for many after years of discrimination and hardship, the only place they feel at home. "I came here because I thought I should die while being nursed," said Kang, who had a bitter, lonely childhood here, but came back to find the island had utterly changed. Most returnees are cured of the disease and are free to live wherever they choose. But many say life is better here than outside the island, where prejudice against leprosy still runs deep. Yu Myung-sun, 61, who lived on Sorok for six years until 1974, returned in 2008 after living with other former leprosy sufferers in a village near Seoul. People outside the village "wouldn't even look at me…restaurants wouldn't sell meals to us," Yu said. "People on Sorok Island make me feel at ease," she said, wearing a pair of big sunglasses, her face dotted with black spots from anti-leprosy medication. "I feel comfortable here and this is where I'll die." Starting about a decade ago, the number of returning former patients began gradually increasing. Over the past few years, about 70 people, mostly former residents, have resettled here each year. Six years ago, a bridge was built linking the island, which is about the size of New York's Central Park, to the mainland, symbolizing the end of its isolation. Growing numbers of tourists are visiting the island, which still preserves historic sites, including a detention building for disobedient patients and another ward where sterilizations took place. These days, there are about 570 former leprosy patients, with an average age of about 74, as well as six who are currently being treated for leprosy but not contagious, according to officials at the government-run Sorokdo National Hospital. Twelve doctors are on staff. Leprosy, also called Hansen's disease, is neither highly contagious nor fatal. It is a disabling chronic bacterial infection that often lies dormant for years before attacking the body's nerves and slowly causing numbness. Hands and feet eventually claw inward and serious injuries often go unnoticed because no pain is felt—fingers and toes can be lost and blindness can occur. It has been curable since the 1940s thanks to antibiotics. As in many Western countries, leprosy has almost disappeared from South Korea, which reported only six new cases in 2010. The disease remains a problem in Brazil, India, Indonesia and East Timor. Worldwide the number of new leprosy patients has dropped from 10 million in 1991 to around 230,000 last year. Active leprosy communities still exist in several countries, including in India, China and Vietnam, and discrimination continues to plague those maimed by the age-old disease. In South Korea, the stigma remains strong. Many former leprosy sufferers say they've never visited a public bath house, a popular pastime, and some are still turned away at restaurants. Many are shunned and ostracized by their families too. "The people who returned really had no other places to go," said Lee Kil Yong, who lived on the island in the 1960s and now heads the Korean Federation of Hansen Associations, a government-affiliated organization that promotes leprosy victims' rights. Oh Dong-Chan, a dental surgeon and the longest-serving physician on the island at 18 years, said many former patients have come back as word has spread that conditions on the island have improved. He said he often treats his patients, who are used to being shunned, with his bare hands because he knows they like the feel of bare skin. The island was established as a leprosarium in 1916 by the Japanese during their 35-year colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. They mobilized patients to produce war supplies and forced sterilization and abortions. South Korea abolished its anti-leprosy segregation policy in 1963, but rights abuses on the island continued for decades. Recent government investigations confirmed a 1948 slaughter of 84 leprosy patients by hospital workers and security officers over a management dispute. Kang was 7 years old and did not have leprosy when he was quarantined here in 1946 with his mother, who had the disease and was housed in a separate compound. He lived with about 10 boys in a single room that had no heating for much of winter. They were infested with lice and many of them suffered from malnutrition. A few years later, he developed leprosy himself. "We were nothing but skin and bones," he said. "We only had rice, kimchi and watery soups." During once-a-month meetings between children and parents, he wasn't allowed to touch his mother through a wire fence that separated them. Everyone was crying, he said. Parents "cried after seeing how their children looked, and children cried because they missed their parents so much. It's beyond description," he said. He fled the island 16 years later, in 1962. "It was like being sent to the hell and escaping…. A hell on earth," Kang said from his small home on the island. "I returned in 2010 and found things have changed completely and bias has disappeared a lot." Kang, who lost much of his eyebrows because of the disease, has faced less discrimination than those with more serious physical deformities. But even after he was cured of the disease, he said that he was required to be sterilized before he could marry another former leprosy sufferer in the late 1950s. In 2007, South Korea's Parliament passed legislation calling for an investigation into alleged rights violations and the provision of state subsidies to leprosy victims. The next year, the prime minister visited Sorok Island and apologized. South Korea now gives subsidies of 150,000 won ($140) a month to former leprosy patients, but only to those who authorities determine belong to low income brackets and were the victims of rights violations. Critics say it's too little money. Kang Chang-suk, who lived on the island for six years in the 1980s before returning in 2009, said men were still required to get sterilized before they got married at least until the 1980s. He said hospital workers ordered former patients to clean squat toilets at their homes and stay 3 meters (10 feet) away from them during conversations. "When I left here, I spit and swore that I'd never drink Sorok Island water again," said Kang, who lost parts of his fingers to the disease. "But I'm drinking its water again." The post Korean Ex-Leprosy Patients Return to Island Colony appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai Leader Invokes Security Law Amid Protests Posted: 25 Nov 2013 10:00 PM PST Anti-government protesters remove razor wire at the police barricade near the Government house in Bangkok on Nov. 25, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Kerek Wongsa) BANGKOK — Thailand's prime minister invoked an emergency law on Monday after demonstrators seeking to remove her from office occupied parts of the finance and foreign ministries. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra announced that the Internal Security Act would cover all of Bangkok and large parts of surrounding areas. Three especially sensitive districts of the capital have been under the law since August, when there were early signs of political unrest. The law authorizes officials to seal off roads, take action against security threats, impose curfews and ban the use of electronic devices in designated areas. Peaceful rallies are allowed under the law. Protesters swarmed into the two government ministries earlier Monday, overrunning several buildings and cutting electricity in an escalating campaign to topple Yingluck's government. Protesters say they want Yingluck to step down amid claims that her government is controlled by her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 for alleged corruption. On Sunday, more than 150,000 demonstrators took to Bangkok's streets in the largest rally Thailand has seen in years, uniting against what they call the "Thaksin regime." The incursions into the finance and foreign ministries were the boldest acts yet in opposition-led protests that started last month. They highlighted the movement's new strategy of paralyzing the government by forcing civil servants to stop working. The opposition Democrat Party, which is spearheading the protests and has lost to Thaksin-backed parties in every election since 2001, also plans to challenge the government Tuesday with a parliamentary no-confidence debate. "The protesters have escalated their rally, which previously was a peaceful one," Yingluck said in a televised address. She said the government respected the people's right to freely express opinions, but also had the responsibility to safeguard the country's peace and stability and assets, along with the safety of citizens and their right to access government offices. The law will cover the city's international airports. In 2008, anti-Thaksin demonstrators occupied Bangkok's two airports for a week after taking over the prime minister's office for three months. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban led the crowd at the Finance Ministry on a day when protesters fanned out to 13 locations across Bangkok, snarling traffic and raising concerns of violence in the country's ongoing political crisis, which has revolved around Thaksin for years. "Go up to every floor, go into every room, but do not destroy anything," Suthep told the crowd before he entered the ministry and held a meeting in its conference room. "Make them see this is people's power!" said Suthep, a former deputy prime minister and opposition lawmaker. Protesters sang, danced and blew noisy whistles in the hallways as part of their "whistle-blowing" campaign against the government. One group cut power at the Budget Bureau to pressure the agency to stop funding government projects. Police made no immediate move to oust them. The protesters in the evening burst onto the Foreign Ministry grounds, which was not on their original list of targets. "The protesters are on the ministry's compound but they promised they will not enter the buildings," Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said by phone. "We are now asking them to provide ways for the officials who were still working to leave the offices and they will likely have to work from home tomorrow." He did not know how many protesters there were, though Thai media said there were several hundred. In a late-night announcement, police spokesman Piya Uthayo said authorities will seek to negotiate with the protesters to take back the government offices they are occupying, and would try their best to avoid the use of force. More than two dozen Bangkok schools along Monday's protest route were closed and police tightened security at the protest destinations, which included the military and police headquarters and the five television stations controlled by the military or the government. Despite a heavy police presence at most protest sites, there was limited security at the finance and foreign ministries. At another protest near the prime minister's office, police were outnumbered by more than 1,000 protesters who scuffled with officers and tore down a razor wire barricade. A foreign freelance journalist in the crowd was punched by protesters who accused him of biased reporting before security personnel intervened. Many fear that clashes could erupt between the anti-government protesters and Thaksin's supporters, who are staging their own rally at a Bangkok stadium and have vowed to stay until the opposition calls off its demonstrations. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki urged all sides to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue. "Violence and the seizure of public or private property are not acceptable means of resolving political differences," she said in a statement. Thaksin's supporters and opponents have battled for power since he was toppled in 2006 following street protests accusing him of corruption and disrespect for the country's constitutional monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thaksin has lived in self-imposed exile for the past five years to avoid a prison sentence on a corruption conviction. The battle for power has sometimes led to bloodshed on Bangkok's streets. About 90 people were killed in 2010 when Thaksin's "Red Shirt" supporters occupied parts of central Bangkok for weeks before the government, led then by the current opposition, sent the military to crack down. The latest protests have ended two years of relative calm under Yingluck's government. Yingluck's administration has struggled to contain the demonstrations, which started over opposition to a government-backed political amnesty bill that critics said was designed to bring Thaksin home from exile. The Senate rejected the bill earlier this month in a bid to end the protests. But the rallies have gained momentum and leaders have now shifted their target to toppling the "Thaksin regime." The post Thai Leader Invokes Security Law Amid Protests appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Indonesia Suspends Cooperation With Australia on People-Smuggling Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:40 PM PST Indonesia suspends cooperation with Australia after a diplomatic rift between the neighbors, raising the possibility of a surge in asylum seekers heading to Australia from Indonesian shores. JAKARTA — Indonesia’s police confirmed they had suspended cooperation with their Australian counterparts after a diplomatic rift between the neighbors, raising the possibility of a surge in asylum seekers heading to Australia from Indonesian shores. The rift over reports last week that Canberra spied on top Indonesians is straining ties already soured by pressure from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government since it was elected in September to return asylum-seeker boats to Indonesia, which Jakarta has resisted. Asylum seekers, many from South Asia and the Middle East, often try to reach Australia via Indonesia. "Cooperation over people-smuggling has been stopped for now, according to the president’s instructions," National Police Chief General Sutarman told Reuters in a text message late on Sunday. "Now we are still waiting for further instructions." He declined to give details. The diplomatic row has pushed relations between the two countries to their lowest point since the late 1990s. Reports that Australia had tried to monitor the telephones of top Indonesian officials in 2009 were based on documents leaked by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. The police had earlier said they had not received specific instructions after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced that Indonesia was suspending military and intelligence cooperation with Australia, including on the politically sensitive issue of asylum seekers. That cooperation involves both the military and police to monitor and prevent so-called boat people heading to Australia. But the breakdown in ties means asylum seekers will now face fewer obstacles in sailing from Indonesia. The steady flow of refugee boats is a hot political issue in Australia, polarizing voters. Abbott’s conservative Liberal-led coalition government came to power partly on the back of a tough campaign against asylum seekers, following a relaxation of border policies by the former Labor government that resulted in a rise in the number of boats. Australia’s Immigration Minister Scott Morrison, who heads the combined asylum seeker task force known as Operation Sovereign Borders, has declined to say which, if any, operations have been affected by the withdrawal of Indonesian cooperation. "Our efforts to stop the boats go forward, unaffected, and with great resolve," Morrison told reporters at a weekly update on border protection on Friday. "I said this operation rests on no single partner, no single operation, no single measure … We are at a phase in this issue where it’s government-to-government and leader-to-leader." The Australian Federal Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. Accusations that Canberra spied on Yudhoyono and his wife triggered anti-Australian protests in Jakarta last week and have begun to damage commercial ties, with a state-owned Indonesian firm on Friday suspending talks with Australian cattle farmers. Indonesia is a major importer of Australian agricultural produce, such as wheat and live cattle, while Australia is Indonesia’s 10-largest export market. Abbott sent a letter to Yudhoyono over the weekend but neither side has made its contents public. Abbott has not publicly confirmed the spying but has expressed regret for embarrassment the media reports caused Yudhoyono and his family. Relations between Australia and Indonesia last hit a low in 1999 when Australia sent troops into East Timor to restore peace and subdue Jakarta-backed militias after Indonesia’s military pulled out of the former colony. Ties with Jakarta have improved significantly since the two countries were drawn together in response to the 2002 bombings on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, which killed more than 200 people, including 88 Australians. But relations have again turned increasingly prickly since Abbott took office in September, because of the spying reports and tension over the asylum seekers. The post Indonesia Suspends Cooperation With Australia on People-Smuggling appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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