The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Burma to Complain About Referee in SEA Games Women’s FootballKnockout
• Kokang Rebels Blamed for Deadly Shan State Blasts
• ‘I Felt Like I Was Kicked in the Chest’
• Burma Chamber of Commerce Wants More Chinese Hydropower Investment
• Hunger Strike Raises Health Concerns for Detained Activists
• With Burma’s First Catholic Saint Possible, Archbishop Hopes for Papal Visit
• Testing Time for Chinese Media as Party Tightens Control
• East Timor Files World Court Case Against Australia
• Bangladesh Violence Risks Spinning Out of Control as Polls Near

Burma to Complain About Referee in SEA Games Women’s FootballKnockout Posted: 19 Dec 2013 04:48 AM PST Burma's female footballers commiserate each other after being knocked out of the SEA Games football competition by Thailand on Wednesday night. (Photo: Myanmar Football Federation / Facebook) RANGOON — The Japanese coach of Burma's national women's football team has vowed to make an official complaint over the referee's alleged lack of expertise during the team's SEA Games defeat on penalties to Thailand. Wednesday night's semi-final at Mandalay's Mandalar Thiri Stadium was a close-run thing, finishing 2-2, with Thailand emerging victorious 11-10 in a tense penalty shootout, knocking the host nation out of the tournament. Burmese fans were outraged by decisions that disallowed a Burma goal for offside but allowed a contentious goal by Thailand to stand. The Indian official refereeing the match, Maria Rebello, as well as her lineswomen, bore the brunt of the criticism. In a post-match press conference, Burma coach Kumada Yoshinori said poor decisions made by the referee had influenced the result, and that he would be filing a complaint with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). "I will submit a complaint to AFC about this unqualified referee, together with the evidence and records. This will not change the result of the match, but I hope this will not happen again," said Yoshinori Zaw Zaw, Chairman of Myanmar Football Federation, backed the coach's plan to demand the referee be disqualified. However, the Thailand team's coach and manager both said that they agreed with the decisions made by the refereeing team during the match. Yoshinori said he will continue to train the Burmese female football team, which remains a respected side at 42nd in the women's football world rankings and could go on to have an impact at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Vietnam next year. But with the men's team going out to Indonesia on Monday night, the SEA Games hopes of football-loving Burma are now dashed. "The offside on the Burmese [disallowed] goal is quite controversial, but the offside on Thailand's goal was so clear and visible," veteran sports columnist Khin Maung Htwe told The Irrawaddy. "Everyone watching the match saw it, but I wonder why the lineswoman and the referee didn't see." He said the referee also made a number of other decisions that caused Burma fans to accuse her of bias. "The referee's bias can be clearly seen when a Thai player hit the face of Burmese player. We saw the Burmese team complain to her [the referee] but she took no action," he said. "When Burmese players were hurt, she gave no fouls against Thai players and she treated the Thai team differently. Such unprofessional attitudes must trigger a complaint." At the end of match, some angry fans threw empty water bottles onto the field to show their disagreement with the decisions causing a brief halt in proceedings. Security was tightened at the match after fans in Rangoon rioted following the men's team's 1-0 defeat to Indonesia. Angry Burma supporters set fire to a billboard and clashing with riot police. But in contrast, most fans in Mandalay on Wednesday reacted calmly, despite a feeling they were robbed. "The spectators and fans were crying silently and calmly," said Zaw Zaw, a Mandalay-based journalist. "They were sharing the sorrow of the players, but they felt satisfied with the match. Only few drunken people shouted out loud and cried. But they all left the stadium peacefully." Khin Maung Htwe, the columnist, said the team's performances in the SEA Games were cause for hope. "The women's team has more potential than the men's team. And they showed it," he said. "Everyone can see from yesterday's match that they are strong, confident and played more strategically than the men and never gave up. If they were given a fair chance, they would have qualified from the semi-final." "I believe they will be able to play and experience success in the upcoming Women's World Cup," he added. The post Burma to Complain About Referee in SEA Games Women's FootballKnockout appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Kokang Rebels Blamed for Deadly Shan State Blasts Posted: 19 Dec 2013 04:38 AM PST A photo posted on a Facebook account linked to the Burmese military shows the remains of roadside construction equipment that was destroyed when a truck blew up en route to Kunlong town in northern Shan State on Tuesday. (Photo: Myawaddy / Facebook) RANGOON — Authorities have accused an ethnic Kokang armed group of planning a bomb blast that killed five people on Tuesday evening in northern Shan State. An investigation is ongoing after a truck normally used to carry agricultural products blew up on the way to Kunlong town, about 10 miles from the Burma-China border, in an apparent bomb attack. But authorities have unofficially blamed Peng Jiashaung, the eldest son of well-known Kokang leader Peng Jiasheng and current chief of the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), a Kokang rebel army that has a ceasefire with the government. "Authorities are accusing this group at the moment," said Haw Shauk Chan, a lawmaker from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (UNDP) representing Kunlong Township. He said the NDAA was active in the township but that police were continuing their investigation and had not yet officially filed charges. The blast killed the truck driver, as well as a government soldier on the road. Two workers for the company Asia World were also killed as they carried out works on the road, as was a civil servant for the government's ethnic border development project. The frontier areas of Shan State are home to numerous ethnic armed groups. The Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), which is stationed near Kunlong, has signed a ceasefire agreement with the government, but sporadic fighting still breaks out and the group has in recent months complained of government army troops being deployed near rebel positions. Fighting escalated this week in northern Shan State between government troops and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), another rebel group that represents the ethnic Palaung people. Unlike the NDAA and the SSA-N, the TNLA has not signed a ceasefire. The TNLA reported several clashes over the past two weeks with the government army and says dozens of clashes have broken out since meeting in July with government negotiators for peace talks. "Our troops have fought five times this month with the government. Most fighting occurred in Kutkai Township, and most of the clashes were small," Mai Phone Kyaw, secretary of the TNLA, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. "It will be difficult to have a nationwide ceasefire agreement if U Aung Min and Gen. Myint Soe cannot approve our ethnic demands." Aung Min is a minister from the President's Office who is leading the government's peace negotiation team, while Lt-Gen. Myint Soe oversees operations for the government army in Kachin State, which neighbors Shan State. The government hopes to consolidate individual ceasefire agreements into a nationwide ceasefire that would include all armed rebel groups, with peace talks planned next month in Karen State. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) also reported clashes with the government army in Shan State's Kutkai Township on Monday, but no casualties were reported, according to Kachinland News, a news agency that focuses on issues in Kachin State. In October, a spate of mysterious small explosive devices—from time-detonated mines to hand grenades—exploded or were discovered around the country. Three people were killed and at least 10 were wounded by blasts in five states and divisions in a matter of weeks. Burma's police declared the bombings in October solved when they arrested eight suspects. Police claimed the suspects admitted they were paid to plant the bombs by ethnic Karen businessmen who wanted to sow instability and deter foreign investment. The post Kokang Rebels Blamed for Deadly Shan State Blasts appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘I Felt Like I Was Kicked in the Chest’ Posted: 19 Dec 2013 04:31 AM PST Zaw Zaw, chairman of the Myanmar Football Federation, holds his Asean Football Federation Association of the Year award in April 2013. (Photo: themff.org) The Burma men's football team crashed out of Southeast Asian Games this week, with a group stage loss that saw angry fans riot in the aftermath, while a confused coach claimed he didn't know the rules of qualification for the tournament's knock-out round. With Burma's South Korean coach Park Sung Hwa under the impression that his side needed only to hold a deficit to no more than one goal for the country to advance, star striker Kyaw Ko Ko started on the bench in what was in fact the most important game of the group stage. The 1-0 loss to Indonesia, which tied Burma at second in the group stage but advanced on a head-to-head rule, was a blow for fans, players and the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF). With the sting of defeat still fresh, The Irrawaddy sat down with Zaw Zaw, chairman of the MFF, to talk about the coaching debacle, fans' reaction to the loss and the way forward for the country's football program. Question: Park Sung Hwa told reporters after the match that he did not know about the head-to-head stipulation. Did MFF ever discuss it with him? Answer: That's not true. The Asian Football Confederation has spoken about the head-to-head stipulation and we told everyone on the team, including the Burmese person in charge and the Korean interpreter, about this rule. About 30,000 football fans at the match on Monday even knew it, so it is not possible that he didn't know. Q: Didn't any of the assistant coaches say anything about Park's starting lineup that day? A: Park Sung Hwa is one of those people who is like, 'I will do it my way, so don't interfere with my plan.' The more we say, the more he will act in defiance. So we, the MFF, decided that we would be patient with him until his two-year contract ends. He has argued with Burmese coaches many times because the latter criticized his lineups. I asked him, before the Myanmar-Indonesia match, to prepare his best for it and play as if we were in the final because anything can happen. He responded, through the interpreter, 'Rest assured! Nothing will happen.' When I met him again on Monday morning, I said, 'The Indonesian team will use whatever means they can to win the game and something unexpected can happen, so make sure we get the upper hand in the first half. You will do what you want to do only after we have reached a 2-0 position and are certain of winning.' He responded the same. He didn't include striker Kyaw Ko Ko in his lineup and left him on the substitutes bench. So I asked the striker to apologize [Kyaw Ko Ko was reportedly benched for criticizing Park's coaching] and pay respect to his head coach. I also asked the latter to let the former play. Even still, Kyaw Ko Ko was on the pitch only for the second half. Q: We heard you sacked Park after the match. What's next for Burmese football? A: Yes, we have fired him already. We will have to take many steps to improve our teams and the skill of our players. We will have to develop basic infrastructure for football. At the same time, we will have to improve playing techniques and host international competitions in the country. To do so, we can't just focus on reform of the national team; we have to pay attention to club teams as well. At the end of the match Monday, I felt as though I was kicked in the chest because we were in a position to win the gold medal. I can understand the reaction of football fans. Q: As MFF chairman, what do you want to tell Burmese football fans about this match? A: As a responsible person for the MFF, I'd like to convey my humble apologies for this unexpected result to those who invested their time, energy and money in support of their national team. The post 'I Felt Like I Was Kicked in the Chest' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma Chamber of Commerce Wants More Chinese Hydropower Investment Posted: 19 Dec 2013 04:07 AM PST The suspended Myitsone dam in Kachin State was backed by China. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Despite environmental and sustained public opposition, Burma's main business federation has called for more Chinese investment in hydropower projects on the country's rivers. Numerous plans have been announced to build major dams Burma's two biggest rivers, the Irrawaddy and the Salween, and harness the huge amounts of potential energy on offer to address the country's energy shortage. One such project on the Irrawaddy River, backed by China, is the proposed Myitsone dam in Kachin State. But President Thein Sein has suspended the project indefinitely amid concerns that millions of Burmese downstream would be affected by a dam that would largely be providing power to China. This week, the Union of Myanmar Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) signed a trade cooperation deal with its counterpart in Guangdong province, China's most economically productive region and industrial hub. At a signing ceremony for the memorandum of understanding Monday, Cho Thiri Maung, a member of the UMFCCI's central executive committee, told the Chinese delegation that Burma would prefer investment that adds value to goods inside Burma, rather than in extractive industries such as jade, coal and copper mining, where China is already the main investor in the country. However, she said, investment in Burma's power sector, in particular hydropower, was still welcome. "The government allows independent power producers (IPP), and welcomes foreign investors. Most of the investments should go to the power sector," she said, before pointing potential investors specifically to the opportunities in hydropower generation. "We have so many rivers that can produce electricity through hydropower, and this can be considered a high-potential sector to invest in." The pitch was well-received by the Chinese, with Zhao Yufang, vice governor of Guangdong Province, professing interest in both adding value for exports, and helping to get at the country's vast natural resources. "We are interested in Myanmar [Burma] because of its good geographic position between India and China," she said. "Also, Myanmar is very rich in natural resources like rivers, natural gas, jade and mineral resources." According to UMFCCI Vice President Zaw Min Win, China's total investment in Burma is worth more than US$14.195 billion across 52 projects—the highest of any country. "Both normal investment and border trade investment from China is increasing every year and China also stands first in terms of the value of cross-border trade, when compared with other neighboring countries," he said. The value of trade between China and Burma is estimated at more than $6 billion for 2013, an increase of 26.6 percent compared with 2012. China's role in Burma's economy is a contentious subject. It is thought increasing reliance on China in the later days of Burma's military regime was a key factor in the generals ceding power to a nominally civilian government in 2011 and embarking on reforms. Environmentalists are critical of using the country's rivers to fill the energy gap. At a separate NGO-organized event in Rangoon on Tuesday, Tin Aye, the retired director of the Ministry of Forestry who takes a keen interest in environmental issues, warned of the damage damming the country's rivers could do. "Rivers should flow freely. The social impacts to downstream communities are caused by the environmental impact on upstream, all because this is the wrong policy for producing electricity," he said, adding that unwise damming was also occurring for agricultural irrigation projects. A coalition of environmental groups—including the Thailand-based Mekong Energy and Ecology Network, the Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar (REAM)and the Myanmar Green Network—has surveyed riverine communities on the Irrawaddy, and found widespread concerns about dams and the impact of fisheries downstream. The groups also found worries over other negative impacts of increasing industrialization on the river. Tin Thit, chairman of Mandalay-based environmental group Seing Yaing So, said factories on the river, seepage of fertilizer into the water, mining projects and dredging were all causes for concern. He also warned that while hydropower projects on the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy received a lot of attention, plans were being made to build large-scale dams on the Salween River, also known as the Thanlwin River. Four Chinese hydropower projects on the Salween have been agreed by the government's department of hydropower implementation since 2005, according to an official at the Ministry of Electric Power, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Two more Salween dams are reportedly backed by Thai firms and will export power to Thailand. "There will be in total six dams on the Thanlwin River with a very high combined megawatt capacity," the official said. One UMFCCI member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, insisted that the organization, as a non-government body, was not responsible for investment decisions. The member also argued that support for increasing Chinese investment was not unanimous in the UMFCCI. "Actually, I don't like Chinese investment," the member said. "They take less corporate social responsibility compared with Japan and other Western countries. "But they can take risks more than other countries, that's why Chinese leads in natural resources investment of Myanmar." The post Burma Chamber of Commerce Wants More Chinese Hydropower Investment appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Hunger Strike Raises Health Concerns for Detained Activists Posted: 19 Dec 2013 03:52 AM PST A prisoner's hand grips the bars on the window of a prison van as he leaves a court in Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Family members are concerned about the health of three farmers' rights activists who started a hunger strike nearly one week ago to protest their detention in prison. The three activists—Myint Myint Aye, Khin Mi Mi Khaing and Thant Zin Htet—stopped eating last Friday after being detained for more than six months without a verdict. They say they will continue the strike until the court makes a decision. They were detained in mid-June for assisting farmers whose lands were confiscated in Nattalin Township, Pegu Division, and they have attended 19 hearings since then, with another scheduled next week. They are all being charged with violating the Law Relating to Forming Organizations, and Thant Zin Htet is being charged with violating the Peaceful Assembly Law. "They began the protest last Friday, and we called the prison to ask about their condition," Han Su Yin, the niece of Myint Myint Aye, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. "The prison staff told us they have not eaten any food. …We are worried about their health as the cold weather approaches." She said her aunt had long suffered from periodic paralysis of her facial muscles but had not received a diagnosis explaining the cause, and that the paralysis had returned during detention. Family members said they had not been permitted to visit the activists, to assess their condition first hand. "The doctor at the prison said on Monday that they were weak after four days of protest. But I know my sister will not accept medicine—she said she would not," said Aye Mee, the sister of Khin Mi Mi Khaing, who, like the other two activists, is being held in Paungtae Prison. The 44-year-old Khin Mi Mi Khaing, from Rangoon, had ovarian surgery three years ago. "She also has hypertension and is taking medicine on a regular basis," said her sister, adding that the prison prohibited visits because Khin Mi Mi Khaing "broke the rules by doing a hunger strike." The third activist, Thet Zin Htet, a second-year university student, has also reported stomachaches since beginning the hunger strike, said Aye Mee. His family could not be reached for comment. Farmers from Nattalin and nearby Zeekone townships have joined the activists' families in submitting letters to President Thein Sein urging him to ensure a quick and fair trial. They have also sent letters to the speakers of Parliament, the chief minister and attorney general of Pegu Division, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "They have been detained and kept in prison for over 180 days, but there is no decision for them yet," said Zaw Yen, leader of the Nattalin Farmers Network. Myint Myint Aye is a leader of the Meikhtila People's Network in Mandalay. She has campaigned on behalf of farmers whose lands were confiscated by private companies, authorities or the military in Mandalay and Pegu divisions. Along with four members of the Meikhtila network and seven farmers, she has been undergoing trial since last year in a separate court for allegedly trespassing, destroying property, stealing, and supporting the farmers in illegal acts. That trial at Wun Twin Township court in Mandalay continued with a hearing on Thursday, according to Myint Myint Aye's nephew. The post Hunger Strike Raises Health Concerns for Detained Activists appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

With Burma’s First Catholic Saint Possible, Archbishop Hopes for Papal Visit Posted: 19 Dec 2013 03:42 AM PST A handful of Burmese Catholics worship at St. Mary's Cathedral in central Rangoon. (Photo: Simon Roughneen / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — With the announcement by the Vatican last week that Isodore Ngei Ko Lat, a lay catechist killed by Burmese rebels in 1950, was on track to become Burma's first Catholic saint, Burma's most prominent Catholic cleric said that the announcement "means that the Holy Father is giving attention and care to the forgotten church that was under military rule for 50 years." And with 2014 marking 500 years since the first presence of Catholicism in Burma, Archbishop of Rangoon Charles Bo hopes that Pope Francis will visit Burma to mark the occasion. "We have sent the invitation to the Pope and we are hopeful that he will come," Archbishop Bo told The Irrawaddy. Isidore Ngei Ko Lat's sainthood case was first pressed by the Diocese of Loikaw, centered on Karenni State. The region of east-central Burma is where the man was killed, allegedly by Baptists, alongside Italian priest Father Mario Vergara in 1950. "We believe that once you are martyred for your faith, you are in heaven," the Archbishop said. Before Isidore Ngei Ko Lat is named a saint, if that comes about, Archbishop Bo hopes Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, will visit Burma. There has been "no response yet from the Pope, but he has already said that he is interested to focus his visits next year to Asia," Archbishop Bo said. The Archbishop said he does not know whether Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi raised the issue of a possible Papal visit to Burma, when she met Pope Francis a few weeks ago. "I will ask her about this when we next meet, which will be on December 27th," he said, adding that an official invitation from the Burma government will also be needed. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra invited Pope Francis to visit Thailand, when she was in Europe in September this year, with the Pope accepting that request but without since confirming any dates. Pope Francis would likely visit both countries on the same trip, if it comes about. The Burmese and Thai requests are not the only invitation sent to the new Argentinean pontiff to visit the region, however. "Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines was telling me that the Philippines has invited him to come to the Philippines in 2016," said Bo, who thinks however that a visit to Asia by the pontiff could take place before then. Pope John Paul II visited Thailand in 1984, and nine years later said Mass to an estimated five million people in the Philippines, thought to be the biggest-ever Papal audience. The same Pope made a famous trip to East Timor in 1989, a visit sometimes depicted as reviving international attention on Indonesia's deadly occupation of the tiny half-island country. However the Philippines and East Timor are the only two Catholic-majority countries in Asia, with substantial Catholic minorities in countries such as India, Vietnam and Korea. Burma has around 770,000 Catholics spread across 16 dioceses, said Archbishop Bo, around a fifth of Burma's total Christian population, which Bo estimates at about 7 percent of Burma's 50-60 million people. The Archbishop says that Burma's change of government to a reform-inclined administration has made life easier for Catholics. "At the moment we have freedom to speak," said Bo. "Usually any Sundays or any feast day I could definitely guess there was some MI [military intelligence] listening or recording," said the Archbishop, referring to government spies sitting in on his sermons during the era of the former military regime. However some restrictions remain in place, with the Archbishop saying that permits for churches or seminaries can be slow to come. One new seminary proposed just east of Rangoon, at a site near the 18th century Portuguese-built Catholic Church at Thanlyin, has been held up for four years, said the Archbishop. "I have been applying and applying, but nothing forthcoming yet." The area is close to the proposed Thilawa Special Economic Zone and was the stronghold of the short-lived kingdom established by Portuguese warlord Philip de Brito. De Brito, who started his career as a mercenary in the pay of the Arakanese, was executed in 1613 by Anuakpetin, a conquering Burmese King. De Brito was accused of stealing the famed Dhammazedi Bell from the Shwedagon Pagoda five years earlier. Put to death along with de Brito was Nat Shin Aung, a cousin of Anaukpetin who is remembered as one of Burma's historic poets but who converted to Catholicism as part of his pact with de Brito. The Archbishop is involved in inter-religious negotiations in Burma, talks aimed at trying to improve relations between Burma's majority Buddhists and minority Christians, Muslims, Hindus and others. Since mid-2012, Buddhist-Muslim violence has flared in various locations across Burma, though most concentrated in western Arakan State, where the bulk of those displaced and killed have been Muslims and of those, many are from the Rohingya minority. The Rohingya are regarded by the Burmese Government as Bengali immigrants and are denied citizenship, as well as not being categorized as a separate ethnic minority. "There are Rohingyas who came in more than a century ago," said Archbishop Bo, who added that those who could show they had at least a century lineage inside Burma should be given citizenship.  However Archbishop Bo expressed doubt that recent arrivals had that entitlement, saying that each case should be assessed individually. "We have to go case-by-case," he said. The post With Burma's First Catholic Saint Possible, Archbishop Hopes for Papal Visit appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Testing Time for Chinese Media as Party Tightens Control Posted: 18 Dec 2013 10:24 PM PST A man reads the cover story of the Southern Weekly at a newsstand in Beijing on Jan. 10, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Jason Lee) BEIJING — Early next year, Chinese journalists will have to pass a new ideology exam to keep their press cards, in what reporters say is another example of the ruling Communist Party's increasing control over the media under President Xi Jinping. It is the first time reporters have been required to take such a test en masse, state media has said. The exam will be based on a 700-page manual being sold in bookshops. The manual is peppered with directives such as "it is absolutely not permitted for published reports to feature any comments that go against the party line," and "the relationship between the party and the news media is one of leader and the led." The impact of increased control in the past year has been chilling, half a dozen reporters at Chinese state media told Reuters, mostly on condition of anonymity to avoid repercussions for talking to the foreign media without permission. "The tightening is very obvious in newspapers that have an impact on public opinion. These days there are lots of things they aren't allowed to report," said a journalist at a current affairs magazine. China has also intensified efforts to curb the work of foreign news organizations. Both the New York Times and Bloomberg News have not been given new journalist visas for more than a year after they published stories about the wealth of family members of former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and President Xi Jinping, respectively. The General Administration of Press and Publication, a key media regulator, has said via state media that the aim of the exam and accompanying training is to "increase the overall quality of China's journalists and encourage them to establish socialism as their core system of values." It did not respond to questions from Reuters about the exam or press freedom in China. Traditionally, Chinese state media has been the key vehicle for party propaganda. But reforms over the past decade that have allowed greater media commercialization and limited increases in editorial independence, combined with the rise of social media, have weakened government control, academics said. China media watchers point to a flurry of editorials after Xi spoke to propaganda officials in August as evidence of concern within the party that control over public discourse was slipping. The official Beijing Daily described the party's struggle to win hearts and minds as a "fight to the death." Some reporters and academics, however, trace the start of the tougher attitude to a strike lasting several days in January by journalists at an outspoken newspaper, the Southern Weekly, after censors scrapped a New Year editorial calling for China to enshrine constitutional rights. Xi had taken over the Communist Party only several weeks earlier. "This was a shock to Xi Jinping's leadership [circle]," said Xiao Qiang, a China media expert at the University of California at Berkeley. "They own these newspapers. That makes it an internal, public rebellion, which made the censorship and media control mechanism look really bad." The strike ended after local propaganda officials promised to take a lighter hand with censorship. While journalists there would not talk publicly about the matter, some senior reporters have since left the paper, two sources familiar with the matter said, adding they did not know why. The Southern Weekly declined to comment. Journalists will have to do a minimum 18 hours of training on topics including Marxist news values and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, as well as journalism ethics before sitting the exam in January or February. Reporters who fail the test will have to re-sit the exam and undergo the training again. It's not clear what happens to reporters who refuse to take it. While in theory all reporters in China need a press card to report, many do so without one, said Zhan Jiang, a journalism professor at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. Recent scandals in the Chinese media had also raised some questions about the industry's professionalism, Zhan said. A reporter for the Guangzhou-based New Express tabloid was arrested in October after confessing on state television to accepting bribes for fabricating more than a dozen stories about Changsha-based Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co Ltd. The reporter wrote that Zoomlion had engaged in sales fraud and exaggerated its profits, accusations strongly denied by the state-owned construction equipment maker. "It's hard to say if this is really to improve the actions of journalists, or to control them. You don't know what [the authorities] are thinking," Zhan said. Reporters had little doubt about the aim of the exam. "The purpose of this kind of control is just to wear you down, to make you feel like political control is inescapable," said a reporter for a newspaper in the booming southern city of Guangzhou. The post Testing Time for Chinese Media as Party Tightens Control appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

East Timor Files World Court Case Against Australia Posted: 18 Dec 2013 09:35 PM PST Comrades help an activist, hit with the baton of a policeman, as protestors try to surround and block access to the High Commission of Pakistan in Dhaka on Dec. 18, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) THE HAGUE — East Timor has launched legal action claiming that Australian agents illegally seized documents from a lawyer who represents the impoverished Asian nation in a dispute over a multibillion-dollar oil-and-gas deal, the International Court of Justice announced Wednesday. The case at the United Nations' highest court is the latest step in a legal battle between the neighbors over a 2006 deal that shares seabed oil-and-gas reserves between the countries. That dispute is under arbitration. Australia enraged East Timor earlier this month by raiding the home of its legal representative in the arbitration and seizing documents on the eve of a hearing. The lawyer, Bernard Collaery, claims that Australia bugged the Cabinet office of the fledgling East Timorese government before negotiations that paved the way for the oil and gas revenue sharing deal. On the same day Collaery's office was raided, the secret service also raided the home of a former Australian spy who made the bugging claims. The spy's identity hasn't been released. East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has condemned the secret service raids as "counterproductive and uncooperative." Speaking to Australian Broadcasting Corp. after the spy's arrest, Collaery called the secret service action, "an attempt to intimidate our witness and to prevent the evidence going forward" in the arbitration case. East Timor is using the alleged espionage as basis for challenging the validity of its revenue deal with Australia at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. East Timor wants the court to order Australia to return the documents and apologize for the raid. It also asked the court to impose urgent "provisional measures" before a final ruling including ordering Australia to seal any documents or data taken from the lawyer's office and hand them to the court and to destroy any copies made of the documents or data. Dili also wants the court to seek assurances from Australia that it will not intercept communications between East Timor and its legal advisers. No date was immediately set for a hearing. Cases at the International Court of Justice usually take months or years to resolve. The court's decisions are final and legally binding. The post East Timor Files World Court Case Against Australia appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Bangladesh Violence Risks Spinning Out of Control as Polls Near Posted: 18 Dec 2013 09:25 PM PST Comrades help an activist, hit with the baton of a policeman, as protestors try to surround and block access to the High Commission of Pakistan in Dhaka on Dec. 18, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) DHAKA — When an ally in Bangladesh's ruling coalition threatened this month to pull out of upcoming elections, elite troops broke open the gates of the party leader's home, brushed aside his guards and hauled him away. "It was horrible to see sir being dragged into a car in front of our very eyes, and yet we could do nothing," said an official of Hossain Mohammad Ershad's party. The official, who declined to be named for fear of arrest, was at the home of the one-time military ruler at the time of the raid. The detention of Ershad, 83, was widely seen as an attempt by the ruling Awami League (AL) to prevent him from withdrawing his party from the Jan. 5 election, which would have further undermined the legitimacy of a ballot already being boycotted by its main rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). As it is, the BNP's boycott means that more than half of the 300 parliament seats at stake will go uncontested, dimming hopes that an inclusive ballot could restore stability to this strife-plagued South Asian country. The crisis has spilled onto the streets, where people are shot, beaten or burned to death daily in clashes between rival groups and police. More than 200 people have died in political violence this year, half of them since Nov. 25, when the Election Commission announced a date for the vote. Many say that emergency rule under the army looks increasingly likely. Rolling general strikes staged by the opposition and blockades of roads, rail lines and waterways are also hurting the US$22 billion garment industry, which supplies some of the world's top retailers, employs 4 million people and accounts for 80 percent of the impoverished country's export earnings. Political unrest was chiefly to blame for a 40 percent drop in export orders in October from a year earlier, according to Riaz Bin Mahmud, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) The owner of a garment company that employs around 12,000 workers said the drop continued into last month, when he saw his orders fall by around 50 percent from November 2012. None of the factory owners Reuters interviewed for this story were willing to speak on the record about the impact of the unrest, concerned that there could be reprisals for appearing to criticize the political parties involved. The collapse in April of a garment factory complex in which more than 1,100 people died had already raised the alarm among Western brands. Now, the BGMEA says, some are turning to India, Vietnam and Indonesia even though their labor costs are higher. "They [protesters] are not burning our vehicles, they are burning our economy," said a local garments buyer for a major Western firm. "My appeal to the brands is: Do not allow this country to become another Somalia." In the port city of Chittagong, even the weekly auction of tea—one of the biggest in the world—had to be called off this month because of the mounting political turmoil. Making matters worse, activists from the Jamaat-e-Islami party, an Islamist ally of the BNP, have gone on the rampage as a tribunal pursues its leaders for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Last week Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah was hanged, the first war crimes execution in Bangladesh. He was accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces, who were eventually defeated with India's help. Protesters from Jamaat and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, attacked members of the ruling AL party in deadly reprisals after the execution, while hundreds of people staged vigils in the capital, Dhaka, to celebrate his death. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal has exposed divisions in society over what role Islam should play, and the strong public reaction to its verdicts have raised fears that young Jamaat members are being radicalized. The 1971 war, in which an estimated 3 million people died in nine months, is a festering wound not only for those personally affected, but also many young Bangladeshis. "The young generation wants to see the end to this culture of impunity. Whoever you are, you are not beyond justice," said Tapas Baul, a 33-year-old prosecutor at the tribunal. Hopes Fade A resolution to the crisis could rest on two women. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the AL and the BNP's Begum Khaleda Zia have dominated politics in Bangladesh for more than two decades, and mutual suspicion bordering on hatred has blocked attempts at reconciliation between them. Hasina wants to do away with a tradition of introducing a caretaker government to oversee elections, even if it means running unopposed. "Without elections as announced … there will not be any legitimate government and the country will plunge into a serious constitutional crisis," said H.T. Imam, Hasina's adviser. "The BNP, by boycotting, is contributing to the crisis." But the BNP insists an interim government be introduced and Hasina step down before agreeing to take part in the poll. They say the AL has crushed the opposition by arresting leaders, using the tribunal to hound Jamaat after a court in August barred the Islamist party from contesting elections. "The root of the anger is one party not being included," said Shamsher M. Chowdhury, vice chairman of the BNP. "If the government goes through with a one-party election, it would be disastrous for the country." The crisis has raised the prospect of a return to emergency rule, last imposed in 2007 and ending two years later with elections that saw Hasina win a landslide victory, partly on a promise to pursue war criminals. The AL's Imam played down the prospect of army intervention. "Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to UN peace-keeping forces, which is a very lucrative and very important attraction for the military," he told Reuters. "The United Nations does not approve of military takeovers." Imam said the BNP had become hostage to Islamist groups such as Jamaat and Chhatra Shibir, but senior Jamaat leaders blamed the government for the political impasse. "If the government gives space to political parties, I am of the opinion that 80 percent of the violence would come to an end," said Abdur Razzaq, assistant secretary-general of Jamaat and a barrister at the crimes tribunal. Both sides have held talks in Dhaka, assisted by the United Nations, and Hasina is under international pressure to find a solution. But these are faint glimmers of hope amidst the gloom. "The capital is cut off, the economy is at a standstill, people are in constant fear. We've come to the end of the road," Razzaq said. Additional reporting by Ruma Paul. The post Bangladesh Violence Risks Spinning Out of Control as Polls Near appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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