The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Burma Govt Denies Reports That It Holds $11B in Singaporean Banks
- Rangoon’s Independent Music Scene Comes Alive
- Photo of the week 23
- All Aboard for the Interfaith Tour
- Burmese Artist Paints Beauty in Bathing
- Burma’s First Hijacking—Soon on Film
- Suu Kyi Says Polish Path to Democracy Inspired Her
- Why Peace Is Still a Tough Sell
- Rubber Tappers Say Burma Army Is Blocking Plantation
- Hunger-striking Activist Naw Ohn Hla to Appeal Sentence by Month’s End
- Rohingya Boat People Detained in Southern Thailand
- Dutch Apologize for Colonial Killings in Indonesia
- Mr. Clean Catches China’s Graft Tigers by the Tail
- Guppies Vs Dengue
| Burma Govt Denies Reports That It Holds $11B in Singaporean Banks Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:31 AM PDT  Singapore city as seen from the harbor. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON—Burma's government on Thursday denied reports that it holds up to US$11 billion worth of foreign reserves in several bank accounts in Singapore. The figure was first mentioned by an independent financial researcher, who said that World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials had provided him with estimates of Buma's overseas reserves. It is believed that the billions of dollars were stashed in Singapore by Burma's former military junta, which for many years earned hundreds of millions of dollars annually from natural gas exports, much of which was siphoned off and pocketed by members of the regime. On Thursday, Deputy Minister of Information Ye Htut refuted the allegations that Naypyidaw maintained vast amounts of foreign reserves overseas, after these reports emerged in local media in recent days. "The government doesn’t stash away the national budget in foreign banks. Give us the evidence regarding the $11 billion in five accounts. The government is ready to take action on it," he said in a Facebook post. Jelson Garcia, Asia Program Manager with the Banking Information Center (BIC), said World Bank, ADB and International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials informed him last year that Burma's government held up to $11 billion in several Singaporean bank accounts. "These were estimates given to us […] I drew it from our meetings with the WB and ADB staff who said they were at that time informed that the accounts could be in 3 to 5 accounts," Garcia told The Irrawaddy in an email. "They did not give the exact worth and specific banks as they themselves did not know that much." BIC is a Washington-based non-profit organization that monitors international financial institutions. The World Bank, ADB and IMF began re-engaging with the Burmese government last year. Previously, the institutions were not allowed to deal with the former military regime, which had grown isolated and failed to pay its outstanding arrears of almost $1 billion to the banks. Encouraged by the political and economic reforms under President Thein Sein, a number of international creditor countries, led by Japan, slashed much of Burma's debt in May, 2013. Japan also provided a bridge loan to Burma so that it could clear its arrears with the ADB and the World Bank, allowing both banks to resume lending and provide aid to Burma. Garcia said ADB staff, during a meeting on April 2, 2012, told him that it was encouraging that Burma's government was finally lifting the secrecy surrounding its Singaporean accounts—which at the time were estimated at $7 billion by the ADB. "The $7 billion in banks in Singapore is both a good and bad thing. The government's willingness to share the IMF report is encouraging. [Let's] look forward to this meeting next year to see how things have progressed," Garcia concluded from his meeting with ADB staff. Following recent local media reports that Burma had parked $11 billion in Singapore, the World Bank issued a statement on Thursday distancing itself from Garcia. Although it made no mention of the reported claims, the bank said that "It is common for governments to hold reserves in foreign bank accounts in order to facilitate importation of goods and services and management of the exchange rate." World Bank officials could not immediately be reached for further comment on Friday afternoon. It is not the first time that researchers have claimed that Burma's government—and individuals connected to it—have stashed vast amounts of foreign reserves in Singapore and other overseas accounts. In 2009, the US-based non-profit organization Earth Rights International (ERI) reported that the then ruling junta had excluded almost $5 billion in revenues—generated from the Yadana Gas project operated by oil giants Total and Chevron—from the country's national budget. These funds, the group found after an investigation, had been placed in two Singapore-based banks—the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation and DBS Group—which functioned as "offshore repositories." The banks have denied the allegations. Paul Donowitz, ERI campaigns director, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that these findings were corroborated at the time by international financial institutions. "The IMF confirmed that in fact over 99 percent of the income from natural gas sales due to the government, was held as foreign exchange reserves, and not included in the national budget," he said in an email. Donowitz said President Thein Sein's reformist government, which assumed office in 2011, was ending the junta-era practice of parking gas export revenues overseas. "We understand that now, natural gas revenues are brought back into the country, and are likely included into the national budget," he said. ERI's 2009 research also found that at the time "hundreds of millions of dollars" had been taken out of the government's two Singaporean accounts and moved into other accounts controlled by Burmese individuals with close connections to the former junta, but who were not US sanctions lists. Donowitz said, however, that ERI had since lost track of these funds. "More recent information indicates that this money left Singapore a couple of years ago, going briefly to Dubai, then to Macau and China […] whereupon the trail and details have gone very cold," he said. During the decades of military rule, Burma was plagued by public sector corruption on all levels, ranging from citizens paying for basic services to massive losses of revenues generated from the exploitation of Burma's vast natural resources, such as timber, gemstones, oil, coal and gas. The resource revenues were siphoned off by the country's military, political elite and businessmen with close connections to the regime. In the past, economists and researchers have pointed to the junta's artificial overvaluation of the kyat against the US dollar, at 6.5 kyat to $1, while money changers in Rangoon were offering about 1,000 kyat for $1. (The government launched the managed float of the kyat in April 2012, and it is currently valued at about 970 kyat to $1) This overvaluation of the kyat in the past allowed the junta to claim that gas export revenues were reaching state coffers, while in fact most of the foreign currency paid by Thailand for Burmese gas imports simply stayed overseas. "The difference was siphoned off and sent to banks in Singapore and Dubai. The country was robbed of billions of dollars," said a foreign banking consultant based in Bangkok. The consultant, who declined to be named, said the Burmese nationals who controlled this ill-gotten wealth through their connections with the former junta are now looking for ways to invest their illicit funds back into Burma's growing economy. With the economic reforms under way in Burma, however, the local financial sector is coming under closer scrutiny of the IMF and other monitoring organizations. Rangoon's booming property market provides the best vehicle for laundering this illicit, overseas money, according to the consultant, as Burmese authorities do not require real estate buyers to disclose the source of funding for their property purchase. "They can use the money there [overseas] to buy real estate in Burma, then sell it and declare the income as money from real estate deals. Then the money is 'clean'," he said in an email. "Hence the astronomical prices for real estate in Rangoon. This is what has caused prices for real estate to skyrocket. It’s not because of foreigners wanting to buy anything," he said. "Foreigners cannot buy property in Burma and they think the prices are outrageous anyway, they are not interested… [They are] only [interested] in renting some office spaces or such." Aside from benefitting Burmese individuals tied to the former military regime, the Burmese government's billions kept in Singaporean accounts could also have been used for defense procurements for the country's powerful military. In July, Lt-Gen Thein Htay, who heads the Directorate of Defense Industries (DDI), was put on a US Treasury sanctions list after it was found that he may have opened several bank accounts in Singapore in past years in order to help Burma's military sort out international arms deals. DDI was designated for US sanctions a year earlier for developing missile technology with the help of North Korean experts. Several businessmen in Burma told The Irrawaddy that Thein Htay is believed to get involved in "illicit trade in North Korean arms to Burma," which is said to involve tens of millions of dollars. | |
| Rangoon’s Independent Music Scene Comes Alive Posted: 13 Sep 2013 04:25 AM PDT  Side Effect, one of the country's most internationally known bands, performs at a Jam It! event at Rangoon's Right Track Bowling Centre last weekend on Sunday. (Photo: Greg Holland) RANGOON — Rangoon's independent music scene shook the city last weekend. At a closed bowling alley in the eastern part of town on Sunday, DJs, underground hip-hop artists and alternative Burmese rock bands united under the banner of "Jam It!" to entertain a crowd of young revelers into the late hours of the night. Frustrated at the lack of live music and music venues that would agree to host alternative and underground acts in Rangoon, two independent musicians started Jam It!, a music group that organizes monthly events, late last year. One of those musicians, Eaiddhi, has since become the guitarist of Side Effect, one of the country's most internationally known bands, while the other, Ye Ngwe Soe, is the lead singer for No U Turn, another major band in Burma's underground punk scene. The group's first show was held outside a famous amphitheater in Kandawgyi Park and consisted of a few bands playing acoustic guitars for a handful of friends. Jam It! eventually found a home at a local restaurant but turned to Right Track Bowling Centre for their latest event. In terms of ambience, the Jam It! organizers couldn't have made a better move. The vibe of the darkened, after-hours bowling alley complimented the raw, DIY mood of the event, and concert-goers loved it.
Sunday night was the biggest show yet for Jam It!, with a crowd of about 250 people. The evening began with DJ Zaw Gyi spinning tracks—followed by the band Allergic Reaction—but really started to gain steam when the spunky lead singer and guitarist from The Myth took the stage with her band. Hip-hip trio Cyclone descended on the crowd after The Myth, bringing with them a wave of appropriately dressed fans that seemed to spread out across the space. The beats were catchy and the raps were tight, with concert-goers singing along from the trio's very first number, a song called "24-7." Cyclone was quickly followed by Snare, a duo of former Cyclone members that have recently been riding high in the world of Burmese hip-hop. After Cyclone and Snare finished their ear-catching sets, Skunx, a group whose style is probably best described as a mix of metal and electro-hip-hop, stormed the stage. The lead MC, sporting dreadlocks down past his shoulders, performed a number of high-energy, well-crafted songs with his crew that really roused the crowd. Side Effect, fresh off their European mini-tour, took the stage as the last band of the night. Introducing the set, lead singer Darko told the band's excited fans that although he was glad to have performed for such huge crowds in Europe, he couldn't be happier to be back in Burma, performing for a local audience. At the bowling alley, fans danced along to the music, jumping and pumping their arms, occasionally singing along and even chanting the band's name. At one point, Darko jumped out into the crowd, still singing, and joined the dancing. One of the songs Side Effect played was "Meiktila," which Darko wrote out of sadness at recent violence against Muslims in Buddhist-majority Burma. Speaking after the show, he said, "I wrote this song in English because I want the world to understand there are also people who don't think like that. For us, we don't really hate Muslim people. We can live in harmony. We totally believe that." Side Effect is a Burmese alternative punk rock band that first gained recognition overseas when their successful fund-raising campaign on Indiegogo, an international crowd-funding website, went awry last year because of US government sanctions on Burma. They have since won a large overseas following—a fact that was reflected in the makeup of the crowd this weekend, which included a number of expatriates. Sunday's iteration of Jam It! was officially the closing party for the Wathann Film Festival, held annually since 2011, and it featured some of the top acts in Burma's underground and alternative music world playing alongside unknown bands. Both Jam It! and Wathann are part of a recent flowering of an independent arts culture in Rangoon that has taken off since the easing of repressive government measures. At the end of Side Effect's highly enjoyable set, Darko announced, "The party's not over. We're still going to be here and party with you!" before he jumped off stage and an electronic dance beat filled the darkened bowling alley. | |
| Posted: 13 Sep 2013 04:17 AM PDT | |
| All Aboard for the Interfaith Tour Posted: 13 Sep 2013 03:53 AM PDT  U Myo Win, the director of the Smile Education and Development Foundation, stands inside the bus that carries his interfaith group around Yangon to visit places of worship. (Photo: Tim Webster / The Irrawaddy) YANGON — What does one do on a hot Sunday but jump on an old bus and go to see what's happening at Yangon's faith spaces, find someone knowledgeable to speak with and pose some curly questions about the meaning of life? Some curious young people with tons of initiative and social conscience recently created the country's first Youth Interfaith Tour. Innovative and challenging, the event brought together 26 young men and women from different religious backgrounds to investigate first-hand what makes various faiths tick. The keen participants had answered an invitation posted on community noticeboards, at churches, temples, mosques and on the Internet. This extraordinary bunch of faith explorers comprised three female and three male participants from each of four religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity—as well as three "free thinkers," who often took the front row, observing and listening keenly, generating thoughtful discussion with lateral queries. Leaving shoes on the bus, the gang alighted on Anawrahta Street and slipped from the busy, crowded street into the cool, calm and welcoming Shri Kali Temple. Built by Tamil migrants in 1871 and known for its dramatic sculptures of Hindu gods Ganesh, Shiva, Laxmi and many others in this particular pantheon, Shri Kali offers visitors a chance to connect with nature. It is an elemental experience. Bells, water, flowers, smoke and flames awaken the senses, evoking impulses and sharpening the mind. Poking around the dark corners, it is possible to witness local worshippers conducting their own elaborate prayer rituals. U Aung Naing of the Kali Temple Trust explained: "Hindus are very free. Let people worship the way they think is right. To be frank, I'm not a very religious man. I have all religions around me. Everybody must be respected and valued. Speak well of other religions. Try to be as humane as possible. Don't be aggressive. Follow ahimsa [non-violence] as promoted by Mahatma Gandhi. Be relaxed in what you do." Taking these words of wisdom on board, it was back on the road, where everyone had a chance to reflect on the ways that the approximately one percent of this country's population who are Hindus practice their faith, what it means to them and where there may be common ground. Adorned in gold and thousands of diamonds and seen from almost all over the city, the glittering Shwedagon Pagoda was next on the itinerary for the faith research team. Crammed with Buddhists on their day off, making merit and on family outings, this most famous stupa reveals some obvious connections between Hindu Brahmanism and Buddhism in the astrological stations for days of the week and planets located around the sacred site. The inauspicious toppling of the gem-laden spire during an earthquake was described in a hushed tone by one of the pagoda managers. Apparently built by the Mon people between the 6th-10th centuries, the Shwedagon symbolizes the tenets of generosity, loving- kindness and compassion that underpin Buddhist philosophy. Under a shared umbrella, sheltering from the rain, it became clear that this was the first Shwedagon visit for a 19-year-old Muslim colleague who had lived all his life in Yangon. Treading on new ground with an open mind, he contemplated the importance of taking these steps toward greater understanding and deeper listening to each other. U Myo Win, the director of the Smile Education and Development Foundation, is an inspiring character, a sort of "guardian angel" for the interfaith and peace-building movement. An imam trained in trauma healing, conflict resolution, critical thinking and teaching tolerance, he advocates for communities to bridge their differences and develop cross-cultural relationships through networking and dialogue. Education is a key. So, too, is the breaking of stereotypes and building civic consciousness by promoting personal responsibility—meaning that those who follow the interfaith ethos should be able to honestly say to themselves, "There is no conflict regarding race and religion because of me." U Myo Win's introduction of Islamic principles at Jongalay Mosque gave hearty food for thought. Once again on this "beliefs road trip," some participants found themselves in completely new spaces—physically, mentally and spiritually. At the Methodist Church, founded in 1879, Pastor Saw Shwe Lin reminded the group of the importance of interfaith dialogue and highlighted the challenges of "misinformation, miscommunication, misinterpretation and misunderstanding." Coordinator U Aung Naing Win, a trained dentist, planned the interfaith tour with his friend and facilitator U Bahlal. Both U Aung Naing Win and U Bahlal are alumni of the Myanmar-US Friendship Association, which sponsored this thought-provoking project. Further dialogue and peace-building initiatives are underway, for education is a process, not an end. The day's rich discussions opened doors and delved into the ways that tolerance is linked to the notion of democracy. It concerns our personal, intimate relationship with our creator and relates to the struggle for the soul and identity of the nation. It is about everyone having a place: many faces, many beliefs. The probing, contemplating and wondering continue. This story first appeared in the September 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. | |
| Burmese Artist Paints Beauty in Bathing Posted: 13 Sep 2013 03:44 AM PDT  A 'woman bathing' painting by Win Khaing. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — While other artists may go to painstaking lengths to hunt down their subjects, Win Khaing can't be bothered to take so much trouble. He simply invites female models to the forecourt bathing place of his home and asks them to take a shower. Known in Burma and abroad for these semi-nude paintings, the 41-year-old artist admits that he owes his fame to his "woman bathing" paintings. The provocative series depicts Burmese women in the process of bathing, with water glistening on their skin and wrapping a sarong tightly to their feminine figures.
"Other artists have their trademark subjects, so I chose 'bathing women' as mine, as no one had taken that," he said. The goal is to give viewers a sensation of "wet beauty" through his paintings, Win Khaing told The Irrawaddy. That has not prevented some people with conservative predilections from complaining that his paintings are a bit too revealing and racy, he acknowledged. Despite the critics, he said the works have been commercially successful. "I have local and international collectors of my paintings. The Chinese and Koreans are at the top of the list," he explained. "I just present women in an art form and I don't think I have gone that far, as there are some people who paint nudes." | |
| Burma’s First Hijacking—Soon on Film Posted: 13 Sep 2013 03:26 AM PDT  Maj Saw Kyaw Aye of the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO), middle, stands government military representatives in front of a Dakota plane a period of peace negotiations. (Photo courtesy of Antony) RANGOON — At 2 am on June 25, 1954, 28-year-old Maj Saw Kyaw Aye from the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) couldn't sleep. Instead he stayed awake, talking with his colleagues, Capt Thein Kyaw and A Nyein, about the next day's mission: a trip to Rangoon airport, to pull off the first-ever airplane hijacking in the country. After Burma achieved independence from the British in 1948, there was considerable tension between the ethnic Karen community and the ethnic Burman majority, which dominated the new government. Some Karens sought autonomy, while others hoped to co-exist within Burma. The KNDO, which later become the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), was an armed organization formed by the Karen National Union (KNU) in 1947 to defend the interests of Karen communities. Most KNDO soldiers had previously served in the forces of British-ruled Burma. In this story, Saw Ba U Gyi, the first president of the KNU, was also a player. After independence, he urged Burma's first Prime Minister U Nu to respect equal rights for all under a democratic system, but he received no response. Not long after, he was shot and killed by Burma Army troops in Karen State in 1950. Following that death, KNDO troops were weakened—facing not only military attacks from the government, but also political attacks. The ethnic rebels struggled with a lack of financial support, medicine and weapons, leading to low morale. At that time, Saw Kyaw Aye, the sleepless KNDO major, was searching for a way to bolster the ethnic rebel forces. Looking for a way to defend against the government army, he wanted the KNDO to access heavy weapons that had reportedly been hidden by Japanese troops somewhere in the Dawna mountain range of Karen State. But there seemed to be just one way to do that: via airplane. Saw Kyaw Aye's resulting exploits are chronicled in "The World's First Hijacking of Burma," a book by writer Hla Thaung that was published in April this year. Despite the title's suggestion, the airplane hijacking was not actually the world's first, although it was Burma's first. Twelve years earlier, British pilot Ted Strever reportedly hijacked an Italy-bound sea plane after being captured as a prisoner of war during World War II. Saw Kyaw Aye's hijacking team—which included Thein Kyaw and A Nyein—used fake names to buy Union of Burma Airways tickets from Rangoon to the Arakan State capital, Sittwe. The Dakota plane was scheduled to make the flight on June 25, 1954, with 14 passengers and four airline staff. A monk, a woman and military officers would be among those on board.  KNDO’s Maj Saw Kyaw Aye in 28 years old. photo courtesy to Anthony. The plane took off, and the hijackers were armed with pistols and hand grenades. Three hours into the flight, they urged the pilot, A.E. Hare, to land prematurely, but their intended landing point was not open. Instead, Saw Kyaw Aye decided to land the plane in Magyizin village, Gwa Township, Arakan State. He hoped to fly to Karen State's Dawna mountains, but he lacked enough fuel to take off again. Also on board the plane was a government-owned box of 700,000 kyats (US$700), guarded by a military officer. The hijackers had not known about the box, nor had they intended to take it, but given the fuel situation, they decided to steal the money, hand over control of the plane, and flee. In 1959 Saw Kyaw Aye's collaborated with the government—peacemaker between Karen rebels and the government. Until the 80s. still kndo. Then religious affairs. The hijacking made headlines in Burmese newspapers at the time and is now coming back into the spotlight, with Rangoon-based film director Antony planning to turn the true story into a film this year. The expected cost of the film project is 300 million kyats, and Thailand-based Gear Head Co. Ltd. will offer technical support. "I met Saw Kyaw Aye to hear the real story, and I also referred to Hla Thaung's book," Antony told The Irrawaddy. "Saw Kyaw Aye is now 88 years old and only focusing on religious affairs—he is Christian—so my film will be based on the true story. I even met one person who was a passenger, the only passenger who is still alive today." The producer and director is eager to cast up-and-coming actors for the project, with training from more experienced artists. "The training is starting now," he said. "It will take three months, and the shooting will begin in November. That will take three months, too." The 60th anniversary of the hijacking will be next year in June, and the director aims to release his film at that time, though he is somewhat worried about potential difficulties in arranging screenings at movie theaters in Rangoon. "If I can't show at that time here, I will attempt to show the film at international theaters," he said. About 30 actors will participate in the project, and the director aims to film in the historical landing point of Gwa Township, but he says he will need to check whether the area is suitable for a large indoor studio, which will be necessary for scenes inside the plane. "I'm so excited to make this film. It's a really big job. I will put some romantic scenes in too," he said. One challenge will be finding a Dakota plane, as there are only two of the aircraft left in Burma—one is used by the Air Force and one by the Army. The rest have been put in a museum in Rangoon. "So maybe the Thai company can help us get a new Dakota," Antony said. Grace Swe Zin Htike, a former actress and current secretary of the Myanmar Motion Picture Organization, has been recruited to train the film's acting crew. She said she expects the film to be positively received internationally. "All are new faces," she said. "I'm trying to teach them basic theory, as well as stamina [for filming]." The film premier is expected to be held on the full moon day of Tazaungmone in November. | |
| Suu Kyi Says Polish Path to Democracy Inspired Her Posted: 13 Sep 2013 03:09 AM PDT  Poland’s former president Lech Walesa walks out with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (R) after their meeting in Myslewicki Palace in Warsaw. (Photo: Reuters) WARSAW — Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi told Polish democracy champion Lech Walesa on Thursday that she was inspired by how Poland had peacefully ended authoritarian rule and hoped her homeland would follow the same path to freedom. Suu Kyi, who spent many years under house arrest for opposing Burma’s military rulers, met fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate Walesa, who in the 1980s led the protests that helped oust Poland’s Communist authorities. "We in Burma are just at the beginning of this road that you took many, many years earlier, a couple of decades earlier, but we believe, as you did then, that we should succeed," she told reporters in the Polish capital. "It is very encouraging for me to be among people who understand exactly the kind of struggle that we would still have to go through before we can say that we are a democratic society," she said. Walesa, a former shipyard worker who went on to be Poland’s first democratically elected president, said he was optimistic about Burma’s chances for freedom. "We lost a number of battles before accomplishing success. They’re in a similar situation. They lose some battles, but in general they’ll probably win the war," he said. Suu Kyi is on a tour of eastern Europe that will also include visits to Hungary and the Czech Republic. On Wednesday, Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had to walk through the rain to visit Poland’s parliament after protesters blocked traffic, but she said she did not mind because it showed democracy in action. Suu Kyi had to get out of her car and walk to avoid crowds of trade unionists protesting in front of the parliament in Warsaw. Speaking to reporters after she reached the building, she brushed off the inconvenience. "It was interesting to me to see a democracy in action," she said. "I had to come to the parliament on foot despite the rain." "The whole thing, thanks to the colorful jackets (worn by protesters), is beautiful," she said. | |
| Why Peace Is Still a Tough Sell Posted: 13 Sep 2013 12:03 AM PDT Burma has witnessed the breaking of many political taboos over the past two years. Perhaps the most significant example is the use of the word "federalism" by the powers-that-be. During his recent visit to the country's northeast, Thura Shwe Mann, the speaker of Parliament, said that Burma should adopt a form of federal union. That Shwe Mann, once the number-three general in the former ruling junta, now sees fit to express public support for the federalist idea suggests that the elite's long-held phobia about decentralization is losing steam. When the Burmese army staged a coup in 1962, it justified the takeover by claiming it was preventing the country from falling apart. The army claimed that the Shan ethnic-led political movement, which called for establishment of a federal union in Burma, was a secessionist effort to disintegrate this multi-ethnic country. Yet as the military tightened its grip on power, several ethnic groups took up arms against the central junta, leading the country into what would become one of the world's longest-running civil wars. Now President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government is pursuing peace negotiations with dozens of ethnic armed groups, possibly the most complicated and challenging task it has tackled since early 2011. If the president's initiative succeeds, it could mean the end of Burma's decades-long civil war. So it's worth taking a closer look at the peace process and its feasibility. Let's start with the government's plan. Generally speaking, the whole peace process is an executive-led initiative. The Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), led by reform-minded ministers Aung Min and Soe Thein, plays an essential role in facilitating on-the-ground negotiations (as well as the ensuing complaints, protests and controversies). With the help of the MPC, the government has thus far struck ceasefire deals with fourteen ethnic armed groups despite ongoing battles with Kachin state in northern Burma and other ethnic resistance armies. President Thein Sein has made it very clear on many occasions that the country would soon see a nationwide ceasefire signed between the government and ethnic rebel armies. The government plans to hold a grand ceremony in October of this year to sign a nationwide ceasefire accord with the 14 ethnic armed groups and is keeping the door open for other armed groups to enter the agreement at any time. The government, working in coordination with all stakeholders—including ethnic groups, Union Parliament, the military, political parties and civil society organizations—will then draft a framework for a national political dialogue. Thein Sein and his aides are aiming for nothing less than a complete end to the civil war. And that, needless to say, is a very ambitious goal indeed. They'll need a lot of luck in order to pull it off. The president and his associates seem to mean well. They hope to put the country on the right track while they're still in power and to leave behind a positive legacy. Some cynics believe the president is only in it to win this year's Nobel Peace Prize—in fact, he's already a strong contender. Regardless of his motives, the plan has at least the potential to yield a good outcome for Burmese citizens. In any case, the motives behind the government's push are ultimately irrelevant. The real crux of the matter is whether the government has the power to negotiate peace in the first place. Thein Sein's administration will only be in office for another two years before the next general election in 2015. According to reliable sources, Thein Sein and many reformists are not likely to run for office again, so they're effectively brokering this deal as lame duck politicians. It's going to be a tough sell. Two other powerful players in Burmese politics, Aung San Suu Kyi (leader of the opposition group National League for Democracy in Burma) and Thura Shwe Mann (speaker of Parliament), may have little incentive to jump on the bandwagon. As I noted in one of my previous posts, the rivalry among these three key players—Thein Sein, Shwe Mann, and Suu Kyi—is only getting worse. Moreover, the latter two have struck an uneasy alliance in order to outmaneuver Thein Sein in many of his recent political postures. Recently, Shwe Mann questioned Thein Sein's approach to ethnic peace talks and asked that Parliament be directly involved in ceasefire negotiations with ethnic groups. The MPC then invited both Shwe Mann and Suu Kyi to its office for a long briefing on the peace talks. Shwe Mann has just completed an official tour in Shan State, where he met with representatives of the most powerful ethnic armed group, the United Wa State Army. For Shwe Mann, who publicly declared that he wants to be the next president of the country, this is a great opportunity to garner ethnic support for his 2015 campaign. And since Shwe Mann wants to be the leader who can claim that he successfully ended the civil war and brought peace to Burma, his timeline is longer than that of the ruling lame ducks. Meanwhile, Suu Kyi has also announced her 2015 campaign for presidency. Her position appears to be harder to track these days. Before her release from house arrest in 2010, she supported the ethnic cause and showed political and moral solidarity with ethnic resistance groups by sending videos and other messages to them. Even after she was freed in 2010, she continued to advocate the holding of a nationwide conference to address ethnic conflicts in Burma. But since entering Parliament, Suu Kyi has toned down her stance on ethnic issues. She has said, for example, that she is taking a neutral stand in the ethnic civil war in Kachin State. It's increasingly apparent that her once whole-hearted support from the ethnic groups is now dwindling. Nevertheless, Suu Kyi remains a prominent and respected figure in international politics, and the Burmese government must still count on her when it comes to securing international legitimacy and resources. The most important strategic players in this peace process are the armed forces: both the government army and the troops of the ethnic rebel groups. As a general rule, these armed forces tend to be more institutionalized, and their leaders tend to plan for the long term (unlike the above-mentioned politicians who are focused primarily on the 2015 elections). The armed forces on both the government and rebel sides, therefore, have relatively stable stances and strategies on issues such as territorial control, economic gains, and the consideration of geopolitical influences such as China and Thailand. The success of the president's peace plan thus depends less on simple hard work and good will than on the tricky process of bargaining among these multiple strategic interests. Burma's long civil war comes down to more than just inter- and intra- ethnic power distributions. Among many other factors it involves the interests of neighboring countries and illicit businesses. The lifting of the federalism taboo is most welcome. But unless President Thein Sein is somehow able to work around the interests and motives of all the key players and strike a strategic bargain, the true end of the civil war in Burma remains elusive. Min Zin is the Burma blogger for Foreign Policy's Transitions blog, where this article first appeared on Sept. 10, 2013. | |
| Rubber Tappers Say Burma Army Is Blocking Plantation Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:21 PM PDT  A rubber plantation in southern Ye township that local rights group HURFOM says has been confiscated by the military. (Photo: HURFOM) RANGOON — Rubber tappers in Southern Burma's Mon State say a battalion in the Burma Army is blocking them from their plantations after they attempted to raise in Parliament the issue of their land being seized by the military. Residents of Ye township said the colonel of Light Infantry Battalion No. 586, Kaung Kyaw, told them earlier this month that they could not tap the rubber from trees on more than 300 acres of land that they have tapped toward the end of the each rainy season for years. Battalion No. 586, which is under Military Operations and Management Command No. 19, seized control of the plantations in 2000 without compensation, but has for some time allowed the tappers to access the rubber trees on the land, according to the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM). Mi Ngwe Pin, an ethnic Mon rubber tapper who says 36.6 acres of land has been confiscated from her, said Col Kaung Kyaw had stopped 36 rubber tappers from accessing in total 341 acres of land. The stoppage came after residents raised the issue of the military taxing them on their rubber trees through Mon member of Parliament Nai Banyar Aung Moe. "[Kaung Kyaw] called all of us recently and told us that we could not work in our plantation anymore because he was disappointed we proposed our cause to Parliament," said Mi Ngwe Pin, explaining that although the land was seized by the military, until now the owners could still access it. "Five years after they confiscated land from us, the army allowed us to tap rubber again, but they collect taxes from us. The set tax for one tree was between 1,000 and 1,500 kyat [or about $1 to $1.50]. " Mi Ngwe Pin said the military had asked for payment for access to the rubber two or three times per year, but had asked for a one-off payment last year, which caused problems for the tappers. "I had to pay 1,500 kyat for each plant. I paid them in total 6 million kyat [about $6,250]," said Mi Ngwe Pin. During Burma's military regime, the government allowed military units to confiscate land to build barracks, but critics say this power was abused by corrupt officials. The Land Investigation Commission formed by Burma's Parliament found that the army had taken some 250,000 acres of farmland from its owners, and proposed in December last year that confiscated land should be returned its original owners .The military has not complied, however. "We've found the land investigation Commission has no power in Parliament. They are just a group who communicate between the land victims and the government," said Nai Aue Mon, a coordinator at the HURFOM. "The Ministry of Defense has the influence. We wanted the commission to have power for solve these problems." HURFOM has recorded that about 12,000 acres of rubber plantation was confiscated by Burmese government troops along the highway from Moulmein to Ye Township in Mon state between the years 2000 and 2010. | |
| Hunger-striking Activist Naw Ohn Hla to Appeal Sentence by Month’s End Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:16 PM PDT  Naw Ohn Hla is pictured after her release from prison, where she was serving time for participating in an illegal protest march, on May 17, 2013. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)Naw Ohn Hla is pictured after her release from prison, where she was serving time for participating in an illegal protest march, on May 17, 2013. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The lawyer for jailed land-rights protestor Naw Ohn Hla says that his client hopes to appeal her two-year jail sentence by the end of September. "We are hopeful for an appeal hearing around September 25," Robert San Aung, the jailed woman’s lawyer, told The Irrawaddy. Robert San Aung said that Naw Ohn Hla, who was a political prisoner under Burma’s old army government, has been on hunger strike since her sentencing on August 29 for breaching Burma’s Penal Code. "Her sentencing was unjust," the lawyer added. Naw Ohn La was arrested on Aug. 13 while protesting near the Letpadaung copper mine, a long-controversial project run by China’s Wanbao and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings (UMEHL), a huge and secretive Burmese army conglomerate. Work at the mine was held up as locals protested the confiscation of 7,000 acres of farmland around the mine. In November last year, police, firing incendiary devices, attacked a sit-in protest near Letpadaung and injured dozens of people. An official inquiry was set up after the crackdown, headed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite the controversy and violence around the mine, the inquiry commission recommended that mining be allowed go ahead. Work at the mine, which Wanbao has said could produce 100,000 tons of copper a year, is scheduled to resume by the end of September, less than a week after Naw Ohn Hla’s appeal, if the hearing goes ahead as her lawyer plans. A revised revenue deal—announced after the Aung San Suu Kyi inquiry report was published—gives the Burma government 51 per cent of earnings from the mine with two per cent more to be used on "corporate social responsibility projects." Farmers affected by the mine have until September 30 to accept a revised compensation offer, but many continue to protest and say the proposed redress is not enough. Naw Ohn Hla’s was not the first case of an anti-Letpadaung demonstrator being jailed. On 8 July, Aung Soe, Maung San and Soe Thu were jailed—in Aung Soe’s case for 11 years—for protesting against the mine. Naw Ohn Hla faces a separate trial for protesting without a permit, under a controversial 2011 law that allowed Burmese to protest but states that demonstrators taking to the streets without police permission could face a year in jail. Neither the lawyer nor the woman’s family, who live in Rangoon, have been able to visit Naw Ohn Hla since the sentencing. "I have been busy with other cases and her family are very poor and cannot afford to travel all way to the prison," Robert San Aung said. Keeping political prisoners locked-up in remote jails, often hundreds of miles from family, was a common practice under Burma’s military dictatorship. | |
| Rohingya Boat People Detained in Southern Thailand Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:11 PM PDT  In a similar incident in 2008, a group of boat people were detained on the Thai island of Koh Sai Baed. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — More than 200 members of the Rohingya minority fleeing Burma have been detained in southern Thailand after their boat ran aground, a Thai official said Thursday. Thai district chief Watcharasak Chulayanon said the 219 men aboard swam ashore after their boat became stuck Wednesday off the coast of Satun province. The men told Thai authorities they left Burma in late August wanting to go to Malaysia but rough seas put them off course. Muslim Rohingyas face discrimination in Buddhist Burma, where sectarian violence over the past year left hundreds killed and more than 100,000 displaced from their homes. Even before the unrest, many sought asylum and work in other countries, especially Malaysia, which has a Muslim majority. Thailand has already detained more than 1,700 Rohingya who arrived earlier this year. Watcharasak said the new arrivals had been moved from a temporary shelter but refused to give their current location. "Thailand is giving assistance to them but what we want to focus on is that we want the international community to support us in seeking a solution to the root cause," Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Manasvi Srisodapol said. "We know that Myanmar is seriously trying to solve the problem, which is sectarian violence. Once the root cause is solved, the number of people trying to leave the country will decline, leaving only migration for economic reasons," he said. Thailand's treatment of the Rohingya has been criticized by some human rights groups, and there are allegations that Thai officials have been involved in trafficking some of those who landed in Thai territory. They have been housed in crowded conditions, sometimes in local jails, and have made repeated escape attempts. New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch has called on the Thai government to release the asylum seekers and provide them protection, saying they were living "under inhumane and unsafe conditions." "The Thai government needs to end the inhumane detention of Rohingya and ensure the United Nations refugee agency and other international organizations have full access to provide much-needed protection and assistance," Human Rights Watch's Asia director Brad Adams said. Thailand's government initially said the Rohingya asylum seekers could stay for six months, but extended the deadline indefinitely. Human rights activists have called for authorities not to send the Rohingya back to Burma. | |
| Dutch Apologize for Colonial Killings in Indonesia Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:59 PM PDT  An Indonesian man holds his hands up in surrender during a Dutch 'police action' in its former colony Indonesia, which declared independence in 1945 but was not recognized as a sovereign nation such by the Netherlands until 1949. (Photo: www.historischnieuwsblad.nl ) JAKARTA — The Netherlands formally apologized Thursday for mass killings committed by the Dutch military more than six decades ago in Indonesia during its former colony's fight for independence. "On behalf of the Dutch government, I apologize for these excesses. Today I also apologize to the widows from Bulukumba, Pinrang, Polewali Mandar and Parepare," Dutch Ambassador Tjeerd de Zwaan said, referring to the districts in South Sulawesi where the Dutch troops, then led by Capt. Raymond Westerling, waged a counterinsurgency operation from 1946 to 1947. De Zwaan said his government has agreed to compensate the victims' widows in Sulawesi and Rawagede, who turned to the Dutch courts seeking retribution. Rawagede, a small village in West Java, was the scene of the Dec. 9, 1947, killing of up to 430 boys and young men by Dutch troops. Some of the victims' surviving family members attended the ceremony. Ten widows from South Sulawesi—now in their 80s and 90s—sued the Dutch government, and a court there ruled that it must award 20,000 euros ($26,600) to each of the claimants. Embassy spokesman Nicolaas Schermers said other widows with similar cases can now apply for compensation directly to the government instead of going through the court. De Zwaan had previously apologized to victims' relatives during a visit to Rawagede in 2011, after an earlier court ruling ordered the Netherlands to give each of those 10 surviving widows the same amount in compensation. In his speech at the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta, which was meant as a more general apology for all war atrocities, the ambassador said the violence claimed many innocent victims on both sides and resulted in suffering that is still felt today. "The Dutch government hopes that this apology will help close a difficult chapter for those whose lives were impacted so directly by the violent excesses that took place between 1945 and 1949," he said. Indonesia's presidential office declined to comment, referring queries to the Foreign Ministry. It did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Indonesia declared its independence from Dutch colonial rule on Aug. 17, 1945, but the Netherlands refused to acknowledge it and fought unsuccessfully to maintain control of the lucrative Asian outpost. It finally recognized the country as an independent nation in 1949. Indonesian authorities claim some 40,000 people were killed during the operation, while most Dutch historians estimate the dead at about 1,500. A 1968 Dutch report acknowledged "violent excesses" in Indonesia but argued that Dutch troops were conducting a "police action" often incited by guerrilla warfare and terror attacks. The Dutch government has never prosecuted any soldiers for the killings despite a UN report condemning the attack as "deliberate and ruthless" as early as 1948. De Zwaan was scheduled to travel to South Sulawesi next week to meet directly with some of the surviving widows who were too weak due to their age to attend Thursday's event. None of the relatives attending the ceremony agreed to speak to speak to the press. | |
| Mr. Clean Catches China’s Graft Tigers by the Tail Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:54 PM PDT  An attendant serves tea for Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Qishan during the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Jason Lee) SHANGHAI — Behind China's aggressive drive to root out corruption is Wang Qishan, a historian-turned-economist who once felt so bad about getting free parking that he reportedly sent a colleague back to pay the fee. President Xi Jinping launched the anti-corruption campaign after becoming Communist Party chief in November. So far the party has announced the investigation or arrest of eight senior officials, including three from the 376-member elite Central Committee. Among them, former executives from oil giant PetroChina are being investigated in what appears to be the biggest graft probe into a state-run firm in years. Wang, 65, heads the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and ranks sixth in the party hierarchy. His power far exceeds this, said Cheng Li, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and an expert on Chinese politics. "I would say that Wang Qishan is the second most powerful person next only to Xi Jinping," he said. Given the secretive nature of China's Communist Party, there are few details on what Wang has done as its top graft-buster, a role he assumed when Xi became party chief. Wang keeps a low profile and his public appearances and comments, like those of all top Chinese leaders, are usually scripted. He rarely gives interviews. But observers said the fingerprints of the urbane former banker were visible in the anti-corruption campaign and in related efforts to force officials to behave less extravagantly. "He is the lead actor in this," said Zhang Ming, a professor at Renmin University in Beijing. Immunity for Elite Removed For example, it was Wang who proposed the party scrap a decades-old unwritten rule that exempted incumbent and retired members of the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, of which he belongs, from investigation for corruption, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. That landmark move was approved earlier this year by the Standing Committee, China's top political decision-making body, sources who have ties to the leadership or direct knowledge of the matter have told Reuters. Wang has also reorganized parts of the discipline inspection commission and added two offices so the body can deepen its investigations into provincial leaders. And one of the earliest initiatives Xi unveiled was a set of guidelines for officials that aimed to cut bureaucracy and formality. "This came from the discipline commission," said Li of the Brookings Institution. "He and Xi Jinping have a very, very good partnership." To be sure, China has announced corruption crackdowns before that have met with little success. Experts say only deep and difficult political reforms will move the needle. "If the anti-graft campaign is sustained and expanded, it could begin to challenge the party's systemic problems with corruption, but it's far too early to say that the government is committed to that," said Duncan Innes-Ker, senior China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Like his predecessors, Xi says corruption threatens the party's very survival. He has said he wants to show he is serious by going after "tigers," or political heavyweights, not just "flies." Some questioned the wisdom of moving Wang away from his role as a leading economic policymaker. A protégé of former premier and economic reformer Zhu Rongji, he was even viewed as a dark-horse candidate for premier before the new leadership lineup was announced in November. Now that the Chinese economy is showing signs of stability, the decision to deploy a man widely known as "the chief firefighter" to the corruption front might be a good call. "They needed a person to deal with corruption who was strong and whose image and reputation were good, and he was that person. There was no one else they could have picked," said Jin Zhong, editor of Hong Kong's Open magazine, which follows elite Chinese politics. Wang is under no illusions as to task ahead. Graft oils the wheels of government at almost every level in China, which ranked 80th out of 176 countries and territories on Transparency International's corruption perceptions index, where a higher ranking means a cleaner public sector. "The war against corruption needs to be resolute and long-lasting, and it must be a battle to the death," the Xinhua news agency quoted Wang as saying in March. Not everything has gone according to plan. State media reported last week that Yu Qiyi, a 42-year-old engineer in the eastern city of Wenzhou, drowned after being repeatedly dunked in cold water while being interrogated by corruption investigators. Six officials will soon stand trial. No Time for Nonsense Wang made a name for himself in the late 1990s when he sorted out a debt crisis in booming southern Guangdong province. He then ran the island province of Hainan as governor before moving to Beijing where he tackled the deadly SARS pandemic in 2003 as mayor after his predecessor was sacked for covering it up. His most recent job was vice premier with responsibility for the economy. As an undergraduate in the mid-1970s he studied history in Shaanxi province, where he had worked on a farm at the height of the Cultural Revolution. In the 1980s Wang moved to Beijing and focused on rural policy, the forefront of China's market reforms. He later transitioned into banking. Wang is a straight shooter, sources say. When being briefed by officials he has a habit of stopping them from reading from prepared statements and asking them questions. "He does not have time for nonsense and demands direct answers," a source with ties to the leadership told Reuters. The new administration has taken steps to introduce more transparency and adhere more closely to the rule of law in anti-corruption work, said Zhu Jiangnan, a professor at the University of Hong Kong who has researched corruption in China. The discipline commission held its first news conference ever in January and launched a new website at the start of this month. "I suspect some of those ideas are coming from Wang Qishan," Zhu said. In May, Wang ordered disciplinary and supervisory cadres to give up club membership and VIP cards, apparently common gifts for officials, calling them "small objects [that] reflect a big problem in working style." The son-in-law of late vice premier Yao Yilin, Wang has a reputation for modesty and honesty. In a late August cover story, the influential state-run magazine, Southern People Weekly, recounted an incident in which a parking attendant insisted on letting Wang, then mayor of Beijing, park for free. "The car behind started to get impatient and honk so Wang had to drive away," it said. Wang later sent a staffer to pay the fee. Additional reporting by Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard in Beijing. | |
| Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:46 PM PDT  A pair of "Metal Yellow Lace" guppies swim in a fish tank at a guppy farm in Singapore in 2009. (Photo: Reuters) The lowly guppy, unassuming inhabitant of many a child's fishbowl, could become an unlikely combatant to slow the spread of dengue, an agonizing, mosquito-borne illness giving rise to hundreds of thousands of severe cases every year, including up to 20,000 deaths worldwide. A trial study conducted by the governments of Cambodia and the Laos, supported by the Asian Development Bank, which provided a grant of US$1 million, and the World Health Organization resulted in a sharp decline in mosquito larva in water storage containers after the tiny fish were introduced into them. The key was convincing communities to accept fish in their water containers, according to the ADB, with residents wary of the tiny fish swimming around in their water storage jars. But, according to the report, guppies don't harm water quality and can survive on microscopic organic material in the absence of mosquito larvae. At the project close in Cambodia, 88 percent of the storage containers in the project contained guppies, with the figure at 76 percent in the Laos study. "This is a low-cost, year-round, safe way of reducing the spread of dengue in which the whole community can participate," said ADB health specialist Gerard Servais. "It offers a viable alternative to using chemicals and can reduce the scale of costly emergency response activities to contain epidemics." The diminutive fish are ideal for the purpose, being prolific reproducers. The gestation period is 21 to 30 days, the female dropping up to 50 fry at a time. They prefer water temperatures of 20-27 degrees Celsius, ideal for tropical climates. They eat just about anything including flake foods, rine shrimp, algae—or mosquito larvae. The trial was conducted in two districts, one in Cambodia and the other in Laos, from 2009 to 2011, resulting in a sharp decline in mosquito larvae. Guppies eat larvae that grow into mosquitoes, which in turn infect humans with dengue, an enormously painful infectious tropical disease also known as bonebreak fever because of the deep muscle and joint pain it causes. Victims have been known to lose as much as 10 kg in a few days because of the fever and other ailments it causes. It can develop into dengue hemorrhagic fever and possibly dengue shock syndrome, leading to death if it is not treated properly. "Outbreaks of the illness not only affect families with sudden health care costs and loss of incomes for adults put out of work, but also impact health services, businesses and tourism," an ADB study said, "straining government budgets due to unplanned spending on large-scale emergency response measures." Dengue has become a global problem throughout Southeast Asia in particular although it is now endemic to more than 100 countries. Although intensive work has gone on to produce a vaccine, so far there has been little success. Eliminating the mosquitoes is currently the most effective remedy. "Around 2.5 billion people worldwide are at risk of contracting dengue, more than 70 percent of whom live in Asia and the Pacific," the ADB study said. "The threat of exposure to dengue-carrying mosquitoes is rising with uncontrolled urbanization and a surge in the use of non-biodegradable packaging, which can act as a water reservoir for dengue mosquito breeding. Dengue is spread by a specific mosquito that breeds readily in standing water, such as found in storage containers, flower pots and discarded tires. The guppies are particularly effective in these settings. "The project was successful in mobilizing communities with widespread grassroots participation, and high levels of acceptance of fish as an effective way of reducing the spread of dengue," said Dr. Eva Christophel, a WHO specialist in vectorborne diseases. "This project was an important contribution to WHO's efforts to develop a toolkit of different community-based methods to prevent and reduce the magnitude of dengue transmission." |
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