| Historic Women’s Forum to Be Held in Burma Posted: 19 Sep 2013 04:43 AM PDT  Tin Tin Nyo, general secretary of the Women's League of Burma, speaks at an event in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Photo: Facebook / Women's League of Burma) An exile women's rights group will for the first time co-host an event in Burma when the Women's Forum (Burma/Myanmar) kicks off in Rangoon on Friday. The Women's League of Burma (WLB), based in Thailand, and the Rangoon-based Women Organizations Network, are jointly organizing the forum. Female parliamentarians, peace activists and ethnic leaders, along with other prominent women from Burma's political, social and health spheres, are expected to attend the event. "We hope to build trust among each other and to work together for peace in our country from this first-time gathering," said Tin Tin Nyo, the general secretary of the WLB. "With women's unity, we will work toward building a peaceful and developed society by ending armed conflicts in Burma," she added. The forum aims to bring women's perspectives together with an emphasis on equality and facilitating genuine reform in Burma. The female activists plan to hold a similar forum in November of next year, with the two events to serve as stepping stones to a larger gathering in 2015. "This is the first step for the upcoming Women's Conference to be held in two years, in 2015," Tin Tin Nyo said. Forum organizers have also invited leaders of the Myanmar Women's Affairs Federation to the historic gathering, but attendance by representatives of the government-backed federation has not yet been confirmed, Tin Tin Nyo said. "But we are open to any women's groups to work together for women's empowerment and genuine peace," she added. The forum will also celebrate International Peace Day, which will be commemorated on Saturday. The WLB general secretary said, "we will keep up our work to pressure the government and the relevant stakeholders to listen to women's voices and to allow women's participation in peacemaking in the country." The three-day forum will discuss a range of topics, including the current peace process between ethnic armed rebel groups and the central government, law and legal protection, gender issues, and women's role in politics. The organizers will hold a press conference following the forum's conclusion on Sunday. WLB, an umbrella organization of 13 ethnic women's groups, was formed nearly 14 years ago in December 1999. WLB held a meeting with the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) last year, when it called for all-inclusive participation in the peace process. WON is a network of 27 organizations set up in 2008 to work toward a "new society where there is equality, peace and development for all women and men." The post Historic Women's Forum to Be Held in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Banks Wait for Central Bank to Give Go-Ahead to International Cards Posted: 19 Sep 2013 04:26 AM PDT  Private banks in Burma are working with United States-based VISA and Mastercard to issue bank cards that can be used overseas. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Two of Burma's leading private banks want to begin issuing debit cards that can be used all over the world, but are waiting for the green light to do so from Central Bank, bankers said. Both the Cooperative Bank (CB Bank) and the Asian Green Development (AGD) Bank have teamed up with United States-based bank card companies so that account holders in Burma will be able to withdraw their money elsewhere for the first time. CB Bank—which is expected to be first to issue internationally accepted cards—is working with Mastercard on an "Easy Travel" prepaid card, which has already been tested at banks in Thailand, Singapore, China and the UK, according to Managing Director Pe Myint. "We're ready to distribute these cards, but the Central Bank has still not given us the green light to issue them," he said. "We're waiting for that. I can say we can issue them as soon as possible after green light by the Central bank." The cards will be available to people holding an account at any CB Bank branch in Burma. "The account in Burma must be opened with Kyat," he said. CB Bank—which is owned by presidential advisor Khin Maung Aye—has also agreed to work with VISA, and will begin developing another new bank card when the Mastercard version is allowed to launch, Pe Myint said. Ye Min Oo, managing director of AGD Bank, said the bank has a similar plan to issue internationally accepted bank cards, but was also waiting for the Central Bank's approval. "First we have to wait the permission by the Central Bank. We at AGD bank have also agreed with Mastercard to issue a kind of debit card, like an 'AGD-Mastercard' or 'AGD-VISA.' But we will wait and see," he said. It is unclear why the Central Bank, which is hesitant to discuss its activities, is delaying the issuing. Industry sources suggested the delay may be related to the appointment of a new board at the Central Bank in August, which saw former bank governor Kyaw Kyaw Maung reappointed to the role. The international cards are a separate project to the Myanmar Payment Union (MPU), a grouping of 14 of Burma's 19 private banks that allows the banks to issue mutually accepted debit cards. Those cards do not work overseas, frustrating migrant workers and travelers. Mastercard and VISA began dealing with Burma's banks last year as the United States lifted some sanctions, but some MPU-member banks are still subject to economic sanctions due to their links to the Burma's military. The post Banks Wait for Central Bank to Give Go-Ahead to International Cards appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma Military Chief Discusses Dawei Project with Thai PM Posted: 19 Sep 2013 04:18 AM PDT  A meeting between Burma's military chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Bangkok on Tuesday. (Photo: Facebook / Yingluck Shinawatra) RANGOON — Burma's military chief met with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra earlier this week in Bangkok, where they reportedly discussed border narcotics issues as well as investment projects, including the multi-million dollar Dawei deep-sea port project. Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Burma's armed forces, also attended a meeting in the Thai capital with high-ranking Thai military officials. He was accompanied by Burmese military officials including Gen Hla Htay Win, chief of the general staff of Burma's armed forces. In the meeting with Yingluck on Tuesday, Min Aung Hlaing said he was "grateful to Thailand for taking part in the development of democracy in his country," according to the Bangkok Post, quoting Thai government spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi. The Bangkok-based newspaper reported that Min Aung Hlaing said he welcomed Thai investment and offered assurances that his country was politically stable. He also reportedly told the Thai prime minister that Burma wanted to work with Thailand on the Dawei deep-sea port project as well as efforts to combat drug trafficking. Many Thai businesspeople are looking to invest in Burma but have concerns about fraudulent business practices and political instability. Min Aung Hlaing is believed to have close ties with former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's eldest brother. During a visit to Burma in April last year, Thaksin met with the Burmese military chief in Maymyo, also known as Pyin Oo Lwin, in Mandalay Division. A photograph posted on Facebook showed Thaksin sprinkling water on Min Aung Hlaing in a traditional Buddhist New Year gesture of blessing and respect. The Shinawatra family is believed to hold property in Dawei, the southernmost town in Tenasserim Division, where a special economic zone is planned and the multi-million dollar Dawei deep-sea port project is under construction. In July, an audio clip was posted online that was believed to capture a conversation between Thaksin and Thai Deputy Defense Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapa about how to make use of Min Aung Hlaing to gain privileged business opportunities in Burma. The two men in the recording said building close ties with the Burmese military chief would help them obtain trade opportunities. The post Burma Military Chief Discusses Dawei Project with Thai PM appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Major US Companies Slow to Report Burma Investments Posted: 19 Sep 2013 04:11 AM PDT  A factory worker inspects packages of Coca-Cola bottles on a conveyer belt at a new Coca-Cola plant in Rangoon in June. Coca-Cola is among big name American brands moving into Burma, but the company has not yet filed an investment report to the US Embassy. (Photo: Sean Havey / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — More than two months after the United States published the first reports by American companies investing in Burma, big name brands such as Cisco, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Visa remain absent from the filings, which are posted on the website of the US Embassy in Burma. American companies putting US$500,000 or more into Burma or investing in the gas and oil sectors are required to file reports outlining steps taken toward "responsible investment," including details such as what human rights and worker rights policies have been implemented in the course of the investment and what due diligence has been undertaken on local partners. Among other requirements, reports must outline any communication with the Burma Army and detail payments exceeding $10,000 made to Burma government bodies. As of this week, the published list features the same five company reports that were first posted in early July, when the report publishing process kicked off. Those reports, of varying detail, were by Capital Guardian Emerging Markets Equity DC Master Fund, Emerging Markets Growth Fund, Crowley Marine Services, Hercules Offshore, and Capital Guardian Emerging Markets Restricted Equity Fund for Tax-Exempt Trusts. American companies were first banned from investing in Burma in 1997, but the ban was lifted in the middle of last year as part of a wider relaxation or removal of most US sanctions, as Burma reforms politically and opens its economy to Western and Japanese investment. The changes come after years of relative isolation, during which most investment—largely based on natural resource extraction—came from neighbors such as China and Thailand. In several cases these investment projects were tainted by human rights abuses such as forced displacement or were tied to Burma's military The reporting requirements are an effort to assuage concerns that the ending of sanctions allows American businesses to cut deals with companies complicit in rights abuses in Burma—amid ongoing bans on deals with the Burma Army, the Ministry of Defense and prominent "crony" businessmen who remain on a US blacklist. "The United States remains concerned about the protection of human rights, corruption, and the role of the military in the Burmese economy," says the "Doing Business in Burma" section of the US Embassy website. Of 15 American companies doing business in Burma and contacted by The Irrawaddy, 10 had responded to questions about the reporting requirements at the time of writing. Of those 10, only General Electric (GE)—thought to be the first American company to invest in Burma after the ban was lifted last year—said it had filed a responsible investment report to the US government. Of the others to respond, all but one declined to confirm whether a report had been filed or will be filed. A MasterCard spokesperson told The Irrawaddy that "the current nature of MasterCard's business in Myanmar does not fall under the US government's 'Burma Responsible Investment Reporting Requirements'." Prior to publication, reports are reviewed by the US government, which retains one version of each company's report, while another version is posted on the US Embassy website. Trade secrets or commercial or financial information deemed by the company as "privileged or confidential" can be withheld from the public report. For 2013, the first year of the reporting requirements, there is a rolling submission deadline of 180 days from when the company reaches the half-million dollar investment threshold. From 2014, all reports will be submitted on July 1 and published afterward. Trade between and investment involving the two countries is negligible. As of Aug. 31, of over $43 billion worth of foreign investment into Burma since 1988, just over $243 million was of American origin, according to the Myanmar Investment Commission, a Burma government body that vets would-be foreign investors. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, "in the first four months of 2013, US exports were $92.6 million, dominated by US exports of aircraft parts and vehicle exports. During the same span, US imports from the country were $3.6 million, including fish products and furniture with wooden frames." There are moves to boost bilateral commerce, however. Coinciding with the visit by Burma President Thein Sein to the United States in May, the one-time enemies signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, following last year's overturning of a ban on most imports to the United States from Burma. The US-Asean Business Council, which helps American companies do business in Southeast Asia, brought a large delegation of prospective American investors to Burma in July, while earlier this year the US Chamber of Commerce visited Burma with a similarly high-profile group of well-known American companies. Anthony Nelson, spokesman for the US-Asean Business Council, told The Irrawaddy that the reporting requirements were not holding up major investments and could in fact prove an asset to American companies trying to access Burma. "Our reputation as responsible investors who perform valuable CSR is a major piece of our competitive advantage," he said. However, the Council believes the requirements, as currently laid out, are a hurdle for small- and medium-sized businesses thinking of setting up shop in Burma, and could be allowing rivals from other Western countries, as well as Japan, which is backing major infrastructure projects in Burma, to steal a march on American companies. "So far, companies have had a difficult time getting answers on what constitutes an investment for the purposes of the requirement, and are reluctant to expand small, representative operations to the point where they will qualify for the reporting requirements when their legal teams don't feel they have a firm grasp on them," Nelson said. The post Major US Companies Slow to Report Burma Investments appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Ministry of Commerce Opens Consumer Affairs Department Posted: 19 Sep 2013 04:04 AM PDT  A Buddhist monk walks inside a mobile phone shop in Rangoon on Feb. 4, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) RANGOON—The Ministry of Commerce has set up a consumer affairs department that will open local offices in Rangoon and Mandalay this week, an official said, adding that a Consumer Protection Bill is due for discussion in Parliament soon. A local NGO welcomed the move, saying that currently Burmese consumers have no recourse if their rights are violated. A senior Commerce Ministry official said the new consumer affairs department plans to open local offices in Burma's 14 states and divisions, including two branches in Rangoon and Mandalay. The latter two offices, he added, were scheduled to open on Thursday. The official, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the department was set up ahead of the approval of a Consumer Protection Bill, which was sent to Parliament in July. The official said the department would try to educate consumers, producers and civil society groups about consumer rights and complaint resolution. "We will arrange workshops to collaborate with consumers and producers associations, and non-governmental organizations working on consumer protection," he said. Ba Oak Khine, chairman of the Consumer Protection Association, said the organization would work with the new government department on these issues. "We will need to collaborate with the consumer affairs department," he said, adding that the NGO would try to help "deal with complaints about car importing companies, or some other companies, that intend to cheat consumers." The association's secretary Soe Kalar Htike said Burma needs a Consumer Protection Law and a consumer affairs department in order to raise awareness over consumer protection among both producers and the public. "Most of our citizens think that it's worth forgiving [sellers] even if certain practices break consumers' rights. I want to remind them that they have a duty to prevent those things from happening again to others," she said. Thuzar, a female resident of Rangoon's Sanchaung Township, said she welcomed the plans to better protect Burmese consumers' rights. "I have often experienced buying some below-standard product, like when I buy food that is not fresh or already expired. But I don't know how to complaint about that," Thuzar said, adding that she hoped that the consumer affairs department would set up phone lines where the public can lodge complaints. The post Ministry of Commerce Opens Consumer Affairs Department appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Mon at Burmese-Thai Border Mark Historic Arrival of Buddhist Scriptures Posted: 19 Sep 2013 03:28 AM PDT  Mon people gather on Thursday morning in front of a bamboo ship, which stands in front of a pagoda in Sangkhlaburi, in Thailand's Kanchanaburi province. (Photo: Awe Mon) RANGOON — Mon people on Thursday gave offerings and prayed in a festival to celebrate the story of a voyage by monks to Sri Lanka, which brought three Buddhist scriptures to southern Burma almost 1,000 years ago. The Mon hold celebrations on the night of September's full moon each year. In Sangkhlaburi, in Thailand's Kanchanaburi province, ethnic Mon prayed in the early hours of Thursday to a large bamboo ship packed full offerings of food. In Rangoon, about 100 Mon people also laid offerings and prayed at a bamboo ship to mark the celebration. At the border, the people woke up early and went to a Buddhist monastery at about 4 a.m., carrying colorful banners with different patterns and flowers. Villagers wearing traditional red and white Mon dress offered plates with candles, noodles and rice, different fruits and sweets, before the boat was floated on a river. The event, known as a yadaya chay, or "a superstitious ritual," is thought to influence the next monsoon season. If the bamboo ship is left untouched by rain—as happened yesterday—the monsoon will be dryer and crops will suffer. The ritual, lasting about 2 hours, is known in the Mon language as Bor Kamot-Kaban, or "worshipping with food at the bamboo ship." The celebration, which is unique to the Mon, has been held for at least 500 years. The ritual recalls a tale from 1019 to 1020 A.D., during the rule of Mon King Dhamma Zedi. The king of the already Buddhist Mon people sent off monks on two ships, named Seittara Duta and Rama Duta, from his kingdom in southern Burma to Sri Lanka in order to study Buddhism. Just one of the ships, the Seittara Duta returned carrying three scriptures in the Pali language, bearing teachings of the Buddha. King Dhamma Zedi then had a ship built from bamboo and paper and loaded with a thousand offerings. This ritual, the story goes, helped Rama Duta return to port safely. The post Mon at Burmese-Thai Border Mark Historic Arrival of Buddhist Scriptures appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma’s Former Generals Retain Grip Over State Govts Posted: 18 Sep 2013 11:36 PM PDT  Ethnic MPs attend a regular session of Burma's Union Parliament on April 23, 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's former military regime allowed state and divisional governments to form shortly before ceding power to a quasi-civilian government, but two years into reformist President Thein Sein's term, decentralization remains a major challenge, state lawmakers and officials say. The country's state and divisional governing bodies, which were created under the 2008 Constitution, have opened up the political sphere in Burma, which was ruled by military dictators for nearly five decades before Thein Sein came to power in 2011. But despite a number of political and economic reforms, lawmakers and officials in states and divisions say they face significant challenges. "Because of the Constitution, the central government has all the power," said Aung Naing Oo, a lawmaker in the Mon State Parliament. Earlier this month The Asia Foundation detailed some of the challenges of decentralization in an extensive report about Burma's state and divisional governments. The 98-page report—a joint project with the Myanmar Development Resource Institute, an independent research institute—followed nine months of interviews and group discussions at the state and divisional levels with ministers and officials, lawmakers, political party leaders, civil society organizations, educational institutions and private sector actors. The study found that "the 2008 Constitution and related instruments only partially devolve a limited set of decision-making powers and administrative functions" to lower level governments, "while retaining heavy elements of central and military control and oversight." "The executive at state and region [divisional] level is dominated by a top-down appointment process, and ministers have little control over the administrative apparatus, limiting the effectiveness of the new governments," the researchers wrote, adding that partially elected state legislatures faced capacity constraints while state and divisional budgets remained small. According to the 2008 Constitution, the chief executive of a state or division—known as the chief minister—is chosen by the president from members of state and divisional legislatures. In each state and division, the legislature includes two elected members from each township, a limited number of lawmakers representing ethnic minorities, and military-appointed representatives who are reserved 25 percent of seats, the same proportion of seats guaranteed to them in the national Parliament. The chief minister selects his cabinet members from among the legislature, and these ministers are assigned portfolios by the president, according to the report. Administrative offices in states and divisions are also formed by the General Administration Department (GAD) under the Ministry of Home Affairs in Naypyidaw. "The formation of state and region governments is a major development. However, a centralized executive appointment process limits the political autonomy of these new governments," the report said. "Chief Ministers participate in the state/region hluttaw [legislature], but they are accountable ultimately to the President, not to their assemblies." Before becoming president, Thein Sein was a high-ranking general and prime minister under the former junta, though he has since become known as a reformer after releasing several hundred political prisoners, easing media censorship, opening the economy to foreign investment and allowing opposition parties to enter Parliament. Burma has seven states and seven divisions, with six self-administered zones or divisions and one territory containing the capital, Naypyidaw. States and divisions are comprised of districts, whose administrations are headed by a senior GAD official. Districts are made up of townships—generally the lowest level of government—which are also headed by a GAD official. Meanwhile, state and divisional legislatures have been hampered by a limited scope of authority and consequently remain relatively inactive, The Asia Foundation said in the report. According to the Constitution, these legislatures—along with state and divisional governments—do not have authority over important areas including education policy, health care, oversight of development projects and the management of mining concessions, an especially contentious issue in resource-rich border regions, where ethnic conflicts have played out for decades. "Education, health care and development projects are not in control of state governments," Arakan State lawmaker Aung Mya Kyaw of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) told The Irrawaddy this week. "Managing natural resources—the state-division level cannot do that. It's all centralized control by the national government." "State and division parliaments have no authority," he added. "They just draw minor laws—they can draw laws to manage the roads better, for example." Aung Naing Oo, the Mon State lawmaker, agreed. "Two and a half years have passed, but we have not really been able to draft our own state laws yet," he said, giving the example of a forestry law. "The state government does not have authority to make decisions about growing and cutting down trees—the central government has the authority to decide." He called for more control at the state level over development projects. "We have a local development project department, but the central government has a similar department, the Border Areas Development Ministry, and it controls the building of roads and bridges for border area development," he said. The 2008 Constitution was drafted by the former junta and passed in a referendum that was widely regarded as fraudulent. While the regime promoted the document as a step toward democracy, critics have described it as a continuation of military control. In July, Burma's national Parliament established a 109-member committee to review the Constitution and consider changes that might give states and divisions more power. Ethnic minorities are pushing for a federal system, after decades of fighting against the national government for greater autonomy. Calls for federalism have also recently gained backing from Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann, a powerful figure who was once the third-ranking general in the former junta. Last month the national Parliament also passed a new law governing state and division parliaments. The Region or State Hluttaw Law replaced a 2010 law and introduced potentially significant changes, The Asia Foundation report said, including permitting state legislature offices that are not necessarily GAD-controlled, allowing for public attendance at legislature sessions, and proposing that representatives should have constituency funds and independent representative offices. Additional reporting by Lawi Weng. The post Burma's Former Generals Retain Grip Over State Govts appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Life Picks Up as Filipino Troops Corner Rebels Posted: 18 Sep 2013 11:25 PM PDT  Residents displaced during fighting between government soldiers and Muslim rebels of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) cheer up after an aid worker, front, announces the arrival of relief goods at an evacuation center in Zamboanga city in southern Philippines on Sept. 18, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Erik De Castro) ZAMBOANGA, Philippines — Life in a southern Philippine city at the center of a hostage crisis is slowly returning to normal, as troops went house-to-house Wednesday searching for the remaining Muslim rebels and their hostages in a 10-day standoff that displaced more than 100,000 people. As the worst fighting in years between Muslim rebels and government troops eased, the military warned the rebel holdouts that they faced two choices: surrender unconditionally, or "suffer the consequences and feel the weight of the suffering of so many innocent people in your hands," said military spokesman Lt-Col Ramon Zagala. The standoff began Sept. 9 when Moro National Liberation Front rebels tried to take control of Zamboanga, a major port city of nearly 1 million people. They were foiled by troops but still managed to take scores of people hostage. The military pressure has resulted in the release of 178 hostages so far. The fighting has killed 14 soldiers and police and seven civilians, while 86 rebels have died and 93 others have been captured. About 30 to 40 rebels, led by Habier Malik, remained hiding with 21 hostages in two communities, authorities said Wednesday. Troops, ordnance teams and bomb-sniffing dogs were scouring 70 percent of the coastal areas previously occupied by the insurgents. "It looks like it's nearing the end. The government is doing its best to put the situation under control," said Rogelio de Sosa, plant manager of the Zamboanga Universal Fishing Corp. Fishing and canning industries are the city's lifeline, and factories were forced to cut production because of fighting, a naval blockade and the closure of the city's airport and seaport. Zamboanga Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar called on residents to remain steadfast. "Let not devastation creep in our hearts," she said, holding back tears. "We shall fight for justice, we shall rebuild this city, we shall come out stronger after all this." Regional prosecutor Peter Medalle said the captured rebels and their commanders would likely be charged with rebellion, as well as violating international humanitarian laws that forbid taking people hostage and using them as human shields and occupying civilian communities. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said flights would resume Thursday. Stores and banks have already reopened in the city center. De Sosa said his company faced a shutdown unless the city's bustling port reopened soon. "We will not have any raw materials to use. We also cannot ship out our finished products. So it is futile to keep on producing," he said. The MNLF faction, overshadowed by a rival and bigger rebel group in negotiations with the government to expand an autonomous Muslim region in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation's south, barged into the city several weeks after declaring independence in Muslim-dominated southern provinces. Led by Nur Misuari, the group signed a peace deal in 1996, but the guerrillas did not lay down their arms and later accused the government of reneging on a promise to develop long-neglected Muslim regions. The government says the rebels, with several hundred armed fighters, refused to take part in the ongoing talks with their rivals—the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front—because they insisted they are the sole representatives of minority Muslims. De Sosa said his cannery cannot operate 24 hours a day because of a curfew that remains in effect. "Our workers are affected," he said, adding that many employees' houses were burned down. "Some of them are able to go to work because they moved in with relatives," he said. "Some have only the clothes on their backs. So we are contributing used clothes and things so they can continue to work." He said the factory, which normally produces 1 million cans a day, was down to half capacity, with a 50 percent workforce. Associated Press writers Jim Gomez, Teresa Cerojano and Hrvoje Hranjski in Manila contributed to this report. The post Life Picks Up as Filipino Troops Corner Rebels appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Punished At the Polls, Cambodia’s Long-Serving PM Is Smiling Again Posted: 18 Sep 2013 11:19 PM PDT  Prime Minister Hun Sen smiles during a meeting with opposition leader Sam Rainsy at the National assembly in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. (Photo: Pring Samrang / Reuters) PHNOM PENH—His party is reeling from its worst-ever election result. His political opponents have grown bold and vocal. His people are protesting on the streets. So why is Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen smiling? The long-ruling autocrat emerged beaming from lengthy closed-door meetings this week with his old political foe, Sam Rainsy, who says Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) cheated its way to a narrow victory in a July 28 general election. He has reason to be cheerful. Although lawmakers from Sam Rainsy’s Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) are threatening to boycott the new session of parliament, due to begin on Monday, until an independent inquiry is held into electoral fraud, the recent political violence has left Hun Sen mostly unscathed. Thousands of CNRP supporters dispersed on Tuesday after a three-day rally in a park in the capital, Phnom Penh, where one man was killed and several injured when police opened fire on stone-throwing protesters on Sunday night. Hun Sen’s composure after this week’s meetings suggests his renewed confidence in breaking the political deadlock and extending his nearly three decades of rule by another five years, say analysts. His smiling photo-ops, however, could also hint at changes ahead for Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who has stamped his authority on every walk of life in Cambodia. After millions of Cambodian voters deserted the CPP in an election widely regarded as tainted, Hun Sen appears intent on softening his remote and fearsome image. From a humble farming background, Hun Sen was just 33 when he took power in 1985, and is now in the unenviable company of enduring dictators such as Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Nazarbayev. Servants of the People? The CPP’s shock election result could force him to change both his party and leadership style. His party officially won the election with 68 seats to the CNRP’s 55, a greatly reduced majority that signaled widespread disenchantment with Hun Sen’s iron-fisted rule despite rapid economic growth of more than 7 percent a year. "Hun Sen and his party must change drastically and fast to be able to remain a relevant political force," said Lao Mong Hay, a prominent Cambodian academic. "They need to work as servants of the people, not their masters." China quickly offered its congratulations to Hun Sen on his election "victory", but the United States and European Union have withheld theirs. Strong economic and political ties with Beijing have allowed Hun Sen to largely ignore criticism from the West and enjoy waves of Chinese investment. In return, Cambodia has emerged as an important Southeast Asian ally for China, defying its neighbors and backing China in tense diplomatic talks over the South China Sea where overlapping sovereignty claims have led to standoffs with Vietnam and the Philippines. Hun Sen claims credit for leading Cambodia from the chaos and poverty following the 1975-1979 "Killing Fields" regime of the Khmer Rouge in which an estimated 1.7 million people – about one third of the population – died. Now 61, Hun Sen has vowed to rule Cambodia into his seventies. But Cambodia’s youthful population – about 70 percent of its 14 million people are under 30 – is focused on more immediate concerns, including land grabbing, labour disputes, joblessness and rampant corruption. Hun Sen’s cordial talks with the opposition come as a surprise considering his past ruthlessness with political opponents and his history of antagonism with Sam Rainsy. A former minister of finance, Sam Rainsy has twice fled into exile to evade criminal charges that U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said were politically motivated. In 2010, he was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in jail for destroying property and spreading disinformation in relation to a new border agreed by Cambodia and Vietnam. He returned to Phnom Penh in July after a royal pardon to lead the CNRP, formed after two parties merged last year. "Where Is my Vote?" Sam Rainsy says the CNRP was robbed of 2.3 million votes that would have handed it victory in July. But Hun Sen rejects his demand for an independent inquiry into election fraud. "If Hun Sen agreed to an outside investigation at this stage that would be tantamount to conceding the elections were rigged," said Carlyle A. Thayer, a Cambodia expert at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia. On Tuesday, CNRP supporters at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park waved placards reading "Where is my vote?" and chanted "Change! Change!" With hopes of an inquiry fading, Sam Rainsy must now convince them to get behind a longer-term campaign to fix the electoral system. "(The CNRP) will have to reconcile themselves to the fact that they are the opposition party for the next five years," said Thayer. Assuming the CNRP takes its place in the 123-seat National Assembly, or lower house, the party’s effectiveness there depends on what concessions its leaders can wring from Hun Sen this week. The CNRP wants reforms to the National Election Committee, the body stuffed with former CPP officials, as well as its own television station to break Hun Sen’s stranglehold on the country’s media, which has largely avoided covering the protests. The CNRP is also angling for the presidency or deputy presidency of the National Assembly, as well as positions on parliamentary committees long dominated by Hun Sen loyalists, say analysts. "Without these concessions, the CNRP will not be able to achieve very much," said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. Hun Sen must also reform his own aging and corruption-riddled party. "Internally, the CPP is one big mess – from nepotism and family ties through marriage, to economic deals that favour close allies," Ou Virak said. A CPP spokesman could not be reached for comment. But while Hun Sen might add some new faces to his cabinet, he will not risk destabilizing the party by removing its most powerful figures, said Ou Virak. "The party will remain out of touch with the young and ambitious Cambodian population as a result," he said. That he is talking to the opposition at all suggests Hun Sen is changing too, said social analyst Kem Ley. "He has been quiet, which means he is listening more now," he said. "And he is smiling— that’s already a positive sign." Even so, autocrats aren’t exactly famous for makeovers. "Power shouldn’t be centered on one man," said Kem Ley. "He must have faith in other people. In his system, he doesn’t trust anyone except for himself." The post Punished At the Polls, Cambodia’s Long-Serving PM Is Smiling Again appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| The Struggle to Control the Peace Process Posted: 18 Sep 2013 11:06 PM PDT  Burmese government delegation leader Aung Min, left, chats with KNU Gen Mutu Say Poe during peace talks in Pa-an earlier this year. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Soon after taking office in March 2011, President U TheinSein announced his intention to end Myanmar's decades of conflict in border areas through a peace process that would persuade most of the country's ethnic militias to lay down their arms. Since then, 13 ethnic armed groups have reached ceasefire agreements with the government. Despite this seeming success, however, the process has yet to achieve a lasting peace, and appears to be increasingly in danger of unraveling. On the ethnic side of the negotia-tions, there are growing divisions over how to proceed with the talks with the government, resulting in a split into "hardline" and "pragmatic" factions. In late July, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of 11 ethnic groups, held a major conference in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai that was also attended by non-member groups such as the Arakan League for Democracy and the Zomi Congress for Democracy, as well as opposition politicians and representatives of civil society organizations. Even the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Myanmar's largest ethnic armed group, and its much smaller allies, the Kokang and Mongla militias, officially took part for the first time. But this show of solidarity belies the power struggle playing out in the background for control over the talks with the government. Shortly before the conference in Chiang Mai, the UNFC pulled out of the Working Group for Ethnic Coordination (WGEC), a group formed in June 2012 and funded by the Brussels-based Euro-Burma Office (EBO), founded by Sao HarnYawnghwe. Observers say that the WGEC, which still includes some UNFC members, such as the Chin National Front and a faction of the Karen National Union (KNU), favors a more "pragmatic" approach that includes direct cooperation with government-affiliated organizations, while the UNFC's leaders prefer to remain independent and are wary of working with any group controlled by Naypyitaw. According to sources, some in the UNFC came to believe that the WGEC had been formed primarily to counterbalance the "hardliners" in the UNFC, which received funding from the EBO until June. Some say that the UNFC withdrew from the WGEC over funding issues, while others note that the UNFC also receives support from the Japan-based Nippon Foundation and so could afford to go its own way. The dispute has been especially damaging to the KNU, which continues to suffer deepening disunity within its ranks over the peace process, with some leaders, such as Chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe, siding with the WGEC's approach, while others, including Vice Chairman NawZipporahSein, remain more skeptical of the government's intentions. Meanwhile, on the government side, there also signs of tension over who is in charge of the peace process. Diplomatic and NGO sources say that the National Defense and Security Council (NDSC), a high-level government body that includes the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has begun taking a more active role in the process, which until recently was almost entirely in the hands of a negotiating team led by President's Office Minister U Aung Min and the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), a government-affiliated group formed last year to facilitate ongoing talks. According to these sources, the MPC's international funding is now channeled through the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development. Ethnic sources say that U Aung Min has reportedly asked to resign from his role as chief negotiator, as he no longer feels he has a mandate to reach agreements with the ethnic armed groups. There has also been a concerted push by Lower House Speaker U Shwe Mann to involve lawmakers in the peace process—something that some well-informed sources said amounts to an effort to further sideline U Aung Min and the MPC. In early July, U Shwe Mann suggested that the negotiations with the ethnic armed groups are too important to leave to presidential appointees. "During the peace process negative consequences could arise if we try to achieve peace agreements that are not in accordance with the law. It could affect the safety of citizens and cause the government to fail in its protection of citizens," he said in Parliament on July 2. The more prominent role of the NDSC and Parliament in the peace process was evident in early August, when both sent representatives to attend peace talks with the All Burma Students' Democratic Front that led to a union-level ceasefire agreement. But it isn't just U Aung Min and the MPC that are being pushed aside. According to well-informed sources, President U TheinSein also appears to be steadily losing his grip over the peace process as he comes under increasing pressure to yield control. Despite this, however, the sources said the president seems intent on keeping the talks on track. Less than two weeks after U Shwe Mann openly challenged U TheinSein's authority over the peace process, the president was in London telling his hosts that Myanmar could achieve a nationwide ceasefire within a matter of weeks. However, ethnic observers say that goal is likely to remain elusive, as the government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) are no closer to a deal that will restore a ceasefire agreement that collapsed in June 2011. Other, smaller groups are also reluctant to participate in the peace process, which many see as a government propaganda campaign aimed at the international community. In late July, for instance, the Taaung National Liberation Army, based in Shan State, met with members of the government peace negotiation team but rejected calls to sign a ceasefire agreement. Indeed, many wonder how enduring the current ceasefires with other groups will prove to be. Bawmwang La Raw, a veteran Kachin politician who heads the UNFC's foreign affairs department, said that U Aung Min often emphasized that the deals that have been reached to date were intended only to ease tensions, not resolve longstanding issues or achieve a permanent political settlement. Despite ethnic leaders' doubts about the prospects for a nationwide ceasefire, the MPC insists that the government is sincere about its efforts to achieve real peace. U AungNaingOo, a former exiled dissident who now works with the MPC, said that every reconciliation process must contend with distrust and disagreements, but that they can be overcome if all stakeholders negotiate to find a solution. "I believe a nationwide ceasefire accord will strengthen the current ceasefires. It is something that we haven't been able to achieve in over 60 years, so it's very important for the country," he said, adding that a framework for political dialogue would follow after the nationwide ceasefire accord is reached. But some observers say that the government's approach to stabilizing border areas is fundamentally flawed, as it relies heavily on promoting economic development through business deals and NGO pilot projects while failing to address core demands for greater ethnic autonomy. They also say that the Myanmar military's firm position on maintaining the "one nation, one army" policy enshrined in the 2008 Constitution means that the government will be in no position to meet those demands. Even international donors who have enthusiastically embraced the government's change of tack since the transition to quasi-civilian rule in 2011 are reportedly beginning to have misgivings about how the government is going about achieving peace in ethnic regions. Some projects run by the Norwegian government-funded Myanmar Peace Support Initiative, for instance, have been slow to get off the ground or have been halted because of a lack of local support. "We don't engage in armed struggle because we're starving," said Nai Hong Sa, the general secretary of the UNFC, criticizing the priorities of the government and donors. "I have told U Aung Min that if we don't put a political solution in place first, but prioritize business, it is pushing in the wrong direction." He also hinted that increasing prosperity in ethnic regions could have the opposite of the desired effect, fueling conflict instead of easing it. "If we do succeed in business, we can then buy more weapons and recruit more troops. And the civil wars will spread even wider and longer. This is also something to keep in mind," he said. It's already clear that whatever agreements they reach with the government, the ethnic militias are not about to abandon their arms anytime soon. They are too distrustful of Myanmar's armed forces, and rather than letting down their guard, most have been actively strengthening their arsenals and their ties to each other. This was most dramatically demonstrated by reports that the UWSA had procured helicopters amid growing tensions over the government's refusal to accept its demand for an autonomous Wa state within Shan State. Although the UWSA and China, which supplied the helicopters, have denied that the transaction ever took place, an inside source confirmed that he saw two helicopters at a UWSA base during a recent visit. He added, however, that the helicopters would be used chiefly for transportation between the main Wa territory near the Chinese border and the group's southern territory opposite Thailand, rather than for military purposes. The Wa are also believed to have a ground-to-air defense system. Even more alarming for the Myanmar government, however, may be reports from ethnic Kayin sources that the UWSA recently gave the KNU 20 million Thai baht (US$640,000) for military and business purposes. This unprecedented move may signal the start of a new phase in relations between the Myanmar government and ethnic armed groups—one in which the former can no longer be assumed to possess greater unity, and the latter can begin to negotiate from a position of relative strength. This story first appeared in the September 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post The Struggle to Control the Peace Process appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
The anniversary marks only the second year that the public can officially commemorate the Saffron Revolution following government reforms.
