The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• ‘Religious Roots of Social Harmony’ Discussed in Rangoon
• A Word Could Delay Burma’s Peace Process: Ethnic Leaders
• Photos Look Back at 19th Century Burma
• Data Project Seeks to Record Stories of All Political Prisoners From 1962-2013
• Burma’s Parliament Delays Controversial Publishing Bill
• After Boom in Burma Flights, Seats Are Left Empty
• ‘A Show of Hands’ for Burma’s Former Political Prisoners
• ‘Local People Do Not Oppose the Project’
• US Offers to Send Envoy to North Korea to Free Jailed Missionary
• HK Arrests Woman in Indonesian Maid Abuse Case
• Vietnam’s ‘Cyber Troops’ Take Fight to US, France

‘Religious Roots of Social Harmony’ Discussed in Rangoon Posted: 21 Jan 2014 06:13 AM PST A man protesting violence against his fellow Muslim is seen during a demonstration near Sule Pagoda in Rangoon on June 5, 2012. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) A man protesting violence against his fellow Muslim is seen during a demonstration near Sule Pagoda in Rangoon on June 5, 2012. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) RANGOON — Leaders from a handful of faiths in Burma came together in Rangoon to discuss "the religious roots of social harmony" on Sunday, less than a week after violence between Buddhists and Muslims reportedly once again wracked western Arakan State. About 100 people, including Buddhist monks, and Muslim and Christian leaders, were present for the interfaith dialogue over the weekend, an event that also saw attendance by U Wirathu, leader of the controversial "969 movement" that critics say has been responsible for disseminating hate speech against Burma's Muslim minority. At a time of rising tensions between majority Buddhists and Muslims in the country, most visibly—and recently—in Arakan State, event organizer Danielle Goldberg said the goal was to promote "mechanisms for preventing violence and helping people to understand each other." Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights, at which Goldberg serves as program coordinator for peace-building and rights, co-organized the dialogue with the local civil society group Religions for Peace. "We have been engaged with different religious leaders here since we started working last year," Goldberg said, adding that the work included outreach to Burma's religious leaders and community organizations. The extent of anti-Muslim sentiment in the country was revealed in June 2012, when local Arakanese Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas attacked each other in Arakan State. The communal violence has since spread to several other states and divisions in Burma, where Muslims have made up the majority of victims in violent, sometimes deadly clashes. Last week, reports emerged of what appeared to be the latest incident in troubled Arakan State. The Arakan Project, a Thailand-based Rohingya rights group, said initial reports from sources on the ground in the region said anywhere from 10 to 60 Rohingya Muslims were killed after a police officer went missing in Maungdaw Township, where access is heavily restricted. The government confirmed the missing law enforcement official, but has denied any knowledge of violence against Rohingya in Maungdaw last week. The dialogue also came less than a week after a conference of monks agreed on a proposal to statutorily restrict interfaith marriage between Buddhist women and men of other faiths. The proposal, first put forward in June 2013, is opposed by human rights defenders and the chairwoman of Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party. But the proposal may gain traction in Parliament, where it looks likely to be submitted as a bill for consideration. In July of last year, a petition in favor of the restrictions garnered more than 2.5 million signatures, according to its supporters, indicating a degree of popular support for the idea. "I know this is very sensitive," Goldberg said on Sunday. "Each day there are challenges for interreligious understanding and harmony." Wirathu, who attended Sunday's dialogue at the invitation of organizers, has been accused of stoking anti-Muslim sentiment by propagating the ideology of his "969 movement," an ultranationalist credo that calls on Burma's Buddhists to boycott Muslim-owned business. In speeches since his rise to national prominence, Wirathu has referred to Muslims as "mad dogs" and blamed an attack at a monastery in Mandalay as the work of "Islamic terrorists." About 90 percent of Burma's population of some 60 million people is Buddhist, and Muslims are estimated to comprise about 5 percent. Ashin Nyanissara, one of Burma's most respected monks who is better known as Sitagu Sayadaw, spoke out against violence at the dialogue. "We should join each other to declare that we should abstain from conflict and violence. We strongly condemn any form of violence. All political leaders and religious leaders should join in this [condemnation]." A Muslim leader, Al Haj Aye Lwin, tried to counter sentiment—espoused by 969 adherents—that Muslims pose a threat to Burma's religious identity. "Myanmar has managed to forge unity in multiplicity in this pluralistic society since the time of Myanmar kingdoms. Islam reached Myanmar more than 1,000 years ago. We are part of the society. We are proud to be dutiful citizens of this beloved land of ours, joining hands with others, brothers and sisters from different people." Speaking to reporters during a discussion break, Wirathu said religious tensions would not be eased by "high level" discussions like the one that took place on Sunday, and called for more dialogue "on the ground." Wirathu added that he would help by educating Arakanese Buddhists on the rule of law in the hopes of avoiding future violent confrontation. Several foreign embassies also sent representatives to participate in Sunday's discussion. The US Embassy's deputy chief of mission, Virginia E. Murray, said solutions to the country's religious divisions would ultimately need to come from within. "It's not for the international community, it's not for outsiders to say what happens next, but what we can do is offer that support and help you ask the questions that you yourselves perhaps need to answer," she said. The post 'Religious Roots of Social Harmony' Discussed in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

A Word Could Delay Burma’s Peace Process: Ethnic Leaders Posted: 21 Jan 2014 05:13 AM PST Ethnic rebel groups held peace talk conference in Law Khee Lah, also known as Lay Wah, the base of Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 7 in southern Karen State.(Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy) LAW KHEE LAR, Karen State — The terminology to be included in a draft of Burma's awaited nationwide ceasefire agreement became the hot topic of conversation Tuesday at a conference of ethnic armed groups in territory held by the Karen National Union (KNU). At issue was the use of the word "revolution" (taw lan yay in the Burmese language), which leaders said could become a sticking point and further delay the peace process. Armed groups are meeting ahead of more talks with the government's negotiating team in the Karen State capital of Hpa-an, scheduled for Feb. 20. Nai Hong Sar, general-secretary of United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of 11 ethnic armed groups, said some groups wanted the document to refer to them as "ethnic revolution armed groups." "[The government] doesn’t want us [ethnic rebels] to use the word 'revolution' in the document. As the ethnic armed groups have been signing ceasefire agreements with the government and we are in the process of peace negotiations, [they say] a word like 'revolution' is not appropriate," he said. "We want to include the word 'revolution' because we engage in military means for a political purpose. We use armed struggle to demand our rights. 'Armed groups' could be any groups who hold arms for looting. They could be terrorists or pirates," said Nai Hong Sar. "But we are not terrorists. We are not pirates. We hold guns and fight against the government to demand our fundamental rights." Nai Hong Sar said the dispute showed the difficulty in reaching a nationwide agreement. "If we can't deal with just a word, like 'revolution,' the peace process can be prolonged. Terminology alone can delay the peace process," he said. Respectively founded after Burma gained independence from its British colonial rulers in 1948, the country's ethnic rebels have been engaging in armed struggles against the central government for autonomy, self-determination and equality—aims that rebels say have not yet been addressed. There are at least 17 different ethnic armed groups with an estimated 100,000 troops combined. Lia Hmong Sakong, an ethnic Chin academic who is writing the draft document for the ethnic armed groups, agreed that the term "revolution" was important. "They [the government] said that as we are in the peace process, a word like 'revolution' is provocative. But, we hold arms not for looting," he said. "By using a word like 'revolution,' we want to show that we don't hold arms for looting and attacking people without reason." Most ethnic minority armed groups, with the exception of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and its allied Palaung group, have signed ceasefire agreements with the government individually since late 2011. Ethnic leaders also said that the conference, which is currently being held at a KNU base at Law Khee Lar, will be extended, since they still have to discuss disagreements and amendments among the ethnic groups involved in the meeting. The conference involves all ethnic armed groups except the United Wa State Army and its allied Mong La militia. It began on Monday and will now continue until Thursday. The post A Word Could Delay Burma's Peace Process: Ethnic Leaders appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Photos Look Back at 19th Century Burma Posted: 21 Jan 2014 05:02 AM PST Merchant Street in Rangoon in the 19th century. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A new photography exhibit in Rangoon is offering a glimpse of what Burma was like in the 19th century. Hosted by the Italian Embassy and the Yangon Heritage Trust, a local NGO dedicated to preserving Rangoon's heritage, the exhibit is showcasing nearly 50 photographs that shed light on architectural styles from over a century ago, as well local fashions, the daily life of various ethnic groups, and the people who lived and worked at royal palaces around the country. The images were taken by three foreigners who owned photography studios in Burma in the mid- to late 19th century. Most were taken by Italian-British photographer Felice Beato, who owned a studio in Mandalay in 1887 and took a wide array of portraits of people from that era. "With the photographs, we want people to think back to their past, celebrate the past, understand, remember and report their history," said Thant Myint-U, founder and chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust, during opening remarks on Monday. Among those at the exhibition launch were Maria Lourdes M. Salcedo, deputy head of post at the Philippines Embassy in Rangoon. "It looks much simpler, the way people dressed, and some of the streets were empty of cars or traffic," she told The Irrawaddy while admiring some of the photographs. "I'm happy to see that they have renovated some of the colonial buildings. They should not be demolished, they should remain, I think. Even the way of dressing, it should be preserved." Another exhibition goer, Thar Htet, chief executive of a Rangoon-based IT company, said he was also interested in the fashions and culture of 19th century Burma. "We don't have much reference to Burmese traditional dress nowadays," he said. "In this exhibition we can study how the Burmese dressed, and their social system, 10 years before the colonial era." The photographs will be displayed until Feb. 28 in the lobby of the Yangon Heritage Trust on Pansodan Street in Rangoon. Copies of some photographs are available for US$5 to $25. The post Photos Look Back at 19th Century Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Data Project Seeks to Record Stories of All Political Prisoners From 1962-2013 Posted: 21 Jan 2014 04:46 AM PST Photographs of former political prisoners are seen at an event honoring those who died in custody after being locked up by Burma's military regime. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Activists are attempting to compile the first comprehensive list of political prisoners who were jailed in Burma from the military coup in 1962 through 2013, and to record information about their experiences behind bars. The data collection is being conducted by the Former Political Prisoners Society (FPPS) and the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), two advocacy groups that have compiled lists of former political prisoners in the past but never across the entire country and over such a long period of time. "The only aim of the data collection is to record all political prisoners in history because we need to at least recognize and honor the sacrifices they made as activists for the country," Tun Kyi, a member of the FPPS, told The Irrawaddy. A one-month pilot effort began on Jan. 13, with data collected in Chin State as well as Rangoon, Bago, Magwe, Mandalay and Sagaing divisions, according to Aung Myo Kyaw, a spokesman for the AAPP. Twelve data collectors, all former political prisoners, are gathering the information. "We will collect all the details of political prisoners, including their experiences during inspections and in prison, their profiles, and also their current conditions," he said, adding that the National League for Democracy (NLD), the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society were collaborating in the effort. In the past, he said, activist groups have lacked sufficient data to effectively advocate on behalf of political prisoners and former political prisoners. "We haven't had definite data while talking to the international community and the local government. Before this, nobody knew the number of political prisoners or their information," he said. Since assuming office in 2011, President Thein Sein has freed more than 1,000 political prisoners. He says he has fulfilled a promise to release all remaining political prisoners by the end of 2013, although activists say that some are still behind bars. Tun Kyi of the FPPS said his group and the AAPP would record information about the financial condition of former political prisoners, their education, medical state, and social challenges they faced in reintegrating into society. "At present, the lives of [former] political prisoners are really difficult. They require financial and health assistance," he said. As organizers of the decades-long democracy movement, many of Burma's former political prisoners have emerged as prominent journalists, activists and leaders of civil society, but many struggle to find stable employment. Tun Kyi said some former political prisoners appeared healthy after their release from prison but continued to suffer from damage to their internal organs, potentially from physical abuse, as well as mental conditions such as depression. He called for the adoption of legislation to protect former political prisoners. "The law for political prisoners is urgently needed, like in other countries, to cover all political prisoners and help them get assistance," he said. The FPPS and the AAPP are providing career training for former political prisoners, including computer training and driving training. They are also offering financial assistance from the U Win Tin Foundation, led by former political prisoner and NLD leader Win Tin. Counseling services are provided with funding from Johns Hopkins University in the United States. The post Data Project Seeks to Record Stories of All Political Prisoners From 1962-2013 appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma’s Parliament Delays Controversial Publishing Bill Posted: 21 Jan 2014 04:09 AM PST A session in Burma's Union Parliament in Naypyidaw in 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Burmese lawmakers on Tuesday delayed passing the controversial Printers and Publishers Registration Bill, saying that more time should be spent reviewing the legislation that will regulate the print media in a country that has only recently dropped a strict censorship regime. First published by state media in February 2013, the bill gives the Ministry of Information the power to issue and revoke publishing licenses, drawing criticism from journalists. The bill was expected to be passed at a Union Parliament session Tuesday, but is now expected to go through later this month, although a date has not been set. The committee responsible for reviewing the bill agreed on the suggestion of Aye Myint, a lawmaker with the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, that the legislators should meet again with relevant government officials, according to Ba Shein, a Lower House MP and a member of the Lower House Bill Committee. "It [the bill] is an important one to consider because it is controversial matter as well, and it needs to be reviewed in accordance with international standards. It is an appropriate suggestion and we agreed to it," said Thein Nyunt, another Lower House lawmaker from the New National Democracy Party. Before the final vote, the Bill Committee' members, experts from the Information Ministry, and officials from the Attorney General's Office will meet for further discussion on the draft. The Printers and Publishers Registration Bill was originally submitted to Parliament in March 2013, and has had readings in both houses. It was passed by the Lower House in July, but then amended by the Upper House. Journalists have not been consulted on the law, and powers giving the government the ability to stop outlets from publishing remain in the current draft. However, lengthy punishments for publishers and journalists breaking the law have been reduced. Asked whether the delay of approval for the bill had any impact on journalists working in Burma's media, Myint Kyaw, the secretary of Myanmar Journalist Network, said while he has misgivings about the new law, the delay only means the more draconian 1962 version of the law remains in place. "We think there should be only one law for the media—the Press Law, which will ensure the freedom of expression for the journalists," he said, referring to a law that has been drafted by Burma's interim press council and is also before Parliament. Despite the complaints, the ministry-drafted bill will come into effect this year. "We do not want the [Ministry to have] control over licenses to publication, it should be that the press only informs them for registration. It shouldn't give power to the ministry to revoke licenses anytime they want," he said. There is also some disagreement about the law between Parliament's two houses. In particular, the Lower House wanted definitions of terms such as "media" and website" to be overtly stated in the law. This point has not yet been settled. Lawmakers have also not yet agreed the details of how punishments will be decided for breaches of the law. "We have a disagreement on the 'action taken' [punishments] section," added Ba Shein. "When one breaks the Law, it is still in discussion whether one should have action taken by the Information Ministry's management committee or by the courts," he said. The Upper House is in this case insistent that any dispute should go to the courts for a decision. Myint Kyaw agrees that the law should be applied in the courts as the law is applied to all citizens. "I reckon the ministry should not act as the court's judgment as this could bring concerns about bribery," said Myint Kyaw. "It should be the court that decides for any dispute, but the judiciary system must be just." The post Burma's Parliament Delays Controversial Publishing Bill appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

After Boom in Burma Flights, Seats Are Left Empty Posted: 21 Jan 2014 02:43 AM PST Engineers work on a plane in a hangar at Rangoon International Airport in October. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Fierce competition among airlines operating in Burma is set to continue in 2014 as demand for flights takes time to catch up with a boom in the operators offering new routes, according to industry experts. Some 28 airlines are now flying international routes to and from Burma, up from 21 in 2012, with most international flights linking the Burmese commercial capital Rangoon with Bangkok. That includes two local carriers, Myanmar Airways International (MAI)—the formerly state-run airline now majority-owned by tycoon Aung Ko Win—and Golden Myanmar Airlines, a recent startup from CB Bank chairman Khin Maung Aye that is already linking the Rangoon to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, as well as Bangkok. Visitor numbers to Burma still are increasing, with 2.044 million international arrivals at the Rangoon International Airport in 2013 compared with 1.929 million in 2012, according to Department of Civil Aviation figures. But growth has slowed, and competition has seen some local carrier discontinue flights recently. The large number of flights on offer has led to overcapacity, said MAI sales and marketing executive Aye Mra Tha. "Before 2012, only MAI and Thai Airways International were running regular international flights to Bangkok, but now about six airlines are on this route. It means that no airlines have been full of passengers in their schedule flights since mid last year. Now there is more competition," Aye Mra Tha said. According to MAI figures published by analysts the CAPA Center for Aviation on Tuesday, the airline's passenger traffic in 2013 went up by 4.6 percent. "Although there were a lot of tourists coming in during 2013, we do not have new customers because more airlines are sharing this market. We're trying to attract them with better services and promotions, that's why we dare not create new routes for regular flights except charters recently," Aye Mra Tha said. "International airlines are expecting that Burma is a new market for them, that's why they come in quickly. But the market is not that big, because business people are not yet coming to Burma as much as expected." He also said MAI is planning to open a flight between Rangoon and Seoul, South Korea, early this year, although the flight schedule has not yet been decided upon. Local operator Asian Wings, which last year was formed in a joint venture between a Burmese company and Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA), will become an international airline and begin flying between Mandalay and Chiang Mai in northern Thailand from Jan 29. ANA bought a 49 percent stake in Asian Wings for US$25 million in August. Asian Wings director Lwin Moe said the new route to Chiang Mai involves a code-sharing deal with Burmese tycoon Tay Za's airline Air Bagan. Lwin Moe said Asian Wings was not getting involved in the over-saturated Bangkok-Rangoon route, but wanted to link Burma and Thailand's second cities. "We'll try to operate this route because there are a lot of tourists coming from Chaing Mai to Upper Burma. We thought we can make a market through this route," Lwin Moe said Asian Wings would also soon link Rangoon and southern Thailand's Phuket, he said, adding that new flights to Cambodia's Siem Reap and Vietnam, were also planned this year. Lwin Moe said the heightened competition would only increase when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' "Open Skies" policy, which is intended to break down barriers to regional competition between airlines, begins in 2015. The post After Boom in Burma Flights, Seats Are Left Empty appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘A Show of Hands’ for Burma’s Former Political Prisoners Posted: 21 Jan 2014 02:35 AM PST Artist Htein Lin sits with a few of his plastic hand molds, each representing a different former political prisoner’s story. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — As President Thein Sein releases and pardons political prisoners, hoping to put the issue in Burma's past, Rangoon-based artist Htein Lin is working to ensure that the prisoners' sacrifices are not forgotten. In a project entitled "A Show of Hands," he will display plastic molds of 1,000 former political prisoners' hands, each paired with a video about the individual's personal journey through prison. Since September, Htein Lin has collected 206 molds, which each took him about 20 minutes to shape and dry. He made the molds in his own Rangoon home and at political events, during which the molding process became a public performance. "The political prisoner issue is extremely important during this time of transition in Burma," he says. Htein Lin was a prisoner from 1998 to 2004, after the government intercepted a letter an old friend had written to him and accused him of suspicious political activity. He says "A Show of Hands" has allowed him to come back into contact with many of the people he met while in prison. "It's kind of a reunion," he says. "Also it is a kind of a retreat for ex-prisoners to their time in prison. I am learning how these people survived." The hand molds are visual representations of the prisoners' personal stories. One of them belongs to Nitar May, who worked for the British Embassy in Rangoon before she was imprisoned. When she was arrested, she was unaware of the fact that she was pregnant. Her son was born in prison and immediately sent home to his father. Nitar May was separated from her child for three years. When Htein Lin met with her in Rangoon to make the mold, it was her first visit back to Burma with her son after a period of exile in the United Kingdom, where she now works for BBC Burma. Another mold gives the peace sign and belongs to Nay Phone Latt, a well-known Burmese blogger. He says he believes the art project will shed light on Burma's history. "I believe it will make a good impression on the public when it is finished," he says. Nay Phone Latt was arrested in 2007 after posting pictures online deemed unsuitable by the government. Time magazine included him on a list of its top 100 heroes of 2010, and he was also awarded with the prestigious PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, for "writers who have fought courageously in the face of adversity for the right to freedom of expression." At first it was difficult for Htein Lin to convince ex-prisoners to let him mold their hands, but now people are approaching him. More and more people have started to reach out to him, and word is spreading internationally. Alexandra Munroe, an Asian art curator at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, recently came to Rangoon to meet Htein Lin. Spreading awareness can be difficult in a changing political climate like that of Burma, where the creation and distribution of all media has until recently been controlled and restricted by the government. Htein Lin says he hopes his project can help break through this repressive wall and encourage his audience to think about how to memorialize and come to terms with injustices committed during the years of military rule. He describes "A Show of Hands" as conceptual art, saying it is "the kind of post-art that Burma needs to think about in this messy time of transition, that drives attention away from an old style that does not hold the meaning that people in this society need to understand what is going on around them." The post 'A Show of Hands' for Burma's Former Political Prisoners appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘Local People Do Not Oppose the Project’ Posted: 20 Jan 2014 10:50 PM PST Construction going ahead at the Myitsone Dam in 2010 before President Thein Sein ordered a suspension on the project. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) The Myitsone dam project was suspended by President Thein Sein in 2011, following public outcry over the potential social and environmental consequences, but it remains controversial today amid a push by its Chinese investors to restart construction. In a joint venture, Burma's Ministry of Electric Power decided to construct the hydroelectric dam in Kachin State along with major Burmese conglomerate Asia World and the state-run China Power Investment Corp. (CPI), which has borne the brunt of public criticism for the project. China has said it respects the will of the Burmese people and government but hopes construction will resume after a new government comes to power in 2015. In this interview, Jiang Lizhe, director of public affairs for CPI frankly explains why, while also responding to his company's critics. Question: Do you think you can restart the Myitsone dam project when a new government comes to power? Answer: That's the government's decision, and we have always respected the government's decisions, even when they chose to suspend the project on Sept. 30, 2011. We implemented this project strictly in accordance with laws and regulations, and the contract was signed. In keeping with international practice and relevant laws, the parties who signed the contract have an obligation to fulfill it. We hope the Myitsone HPP [hydropower project] issue can be solved properly. Q: Local people near Myitsone and activists have strongly called for an end to the project. Why? A: Before the suspension of the Myitsone HPP, there were no opposition activities, and we had a very good relationship with the local people. … During the past two years, we have provided free electricity and water to the PAPs, donated 1,188 tons of rice, and improved education and medical conditions by giving more than 50 scholarships and donations to hospitals. …A lot of residents have told us that the actual difficulties they face are due to the suspension of the project, and they wish the project would continue. Q: How would you respond to criticism that the dam project will destroy the river? A: Studies on the impact of hydropower development in the upstream Ayeyawady [Irrawaddy River] confluence basin on the lower reaches have been thoroughly conducted regarding flow change, utilization of water resources, irrigation of the lower reaches, navigation, sediment, flood control, seawater intrusion, socio-economic development and so on. … Completion of the HPPs will cause only a small change in the flow during dry and rainy seasons, without reducing the total average annual flow. Thus the development has no negative impact on the irrigation of the lower reaches. The hydropower development in the upstream Ayeyawady confluence will not cause seawater intrusion, and will impact positively on strengthening flood control capability and improving the navigation condition in lower reaches. Q: Some activists have criticized CPI's Environmental Impact Assessment report, saying the environmental data are incomplete or have weaknesses. Can you comment? A: During 2008 and 2009, 100 environmental experts from Myanmar and China jointly conducted field investigations and deep studies. The results of these studies and surveys have already been published on our website … and their excellent contribution and efforts for environmental protection should be respected. We welcome all environmental experts to objectively and comprehensively communicate with us in a scientific and serious attitude, but the critics do not have a comprehensive understanding of reality. Q: In recent years, some critics have also accused Chinese investors of getting involved in philanthropy, social affairs, political parties and organizations to improve relations with the Burmese public. Is this true? A: What if you had a good friend who was very kind and did a lot of good things for other people, but never told anyone? One day, a bad guy blames him intentionally and makes others believe he is bad. Is this fair for the friend? The Chinese people in past decades have given abundantly to help the Myanmar people, and we provided support to the Myanmar people during the sanction period, but we did not say one word, so most people do not know the truth, they believe the bad guy. Now we are only saying what we have done and what we have contributed to Myanmar's social and economic development. We should let the world know, and we should do it early. Q: Why does CPI want to continue the hydropower project, despite challenges and objections? A: Actually the local people do not oppose the project. Due to a lack of understanding about the truth, some rumors and false news have led to misunderstandings about the project. We believe that by understanding the real project, the government and people will make the right choice. The Myitsone hydropower project is a Myanmar project—it is important for Myanmar development and the improvement of people's livelihoods. It was suspended by President U Thein Sein, who broke a legal contract. We expect that the government can give us an adequate solution to this issue. The initiative of the Myitsone hydropower project came at the invitation of the Myanmar government to CPI, in order to solve difficulties in hydropower development associated with finance, technology and the consumption market. Only 25 percent of Myanmar people can use electricity. … Myanmar needs this large hydropower project to solve the electricity shortage. For the Myanmar government, local enterprises and the people, this is a win-win project, and all parties should work together to promote it. Q: CPI has reportedly invested a vast amount of funds for this project. How much? A: The estimated investment for the Upstream Ayeyawady hydropower projects is US$25 billion. We had already invested $1.2 billion before the Myitsone HPP was suspended. Q: How much have you paid the Burma government? A: According to our agreement, the investor needs to provide finance and technology while also helping Myanmar find a power consumption market. The Myanmar government provides resources as shares. It will benefit by receiving 10 percent of the electricity for free, 15 percent of shares in the joint-venture company, and a large amount of tax revenue. The total amount of revenue for Myanmar during the construction and operation period will be much more than the amount for CPI. Q: Will the suspension of the Myitsone project have any effect on foreign investment to Burma? A: Confidence has been affected. A lot of foreign investors who were focused on this project for a long time were surprised by the suspension of the Myitsone HPP … This will make other investors re-evaluate the risk of investment. As everyone knows, foreign investment has sharply decreased since the suspension, although this was not expected to occur. The post 'Local People Do Not Oppose the Project' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

US Offers to Send Envoy to North Korea to Free Jailed Missionary Posted: 20 Jan 2014 10:37 PM PST Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American Christian missionary who has been detained in North Korea for more than a year, appears before a limited number of media outlets in Pyongyang in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Jan. 20, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) SEOUL — The United States has offered to send a special envoy to North Korea to win the release of a jailed missionary, but signaled that any meaningful resumption of denuclearization talks required Pyongyang to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Kenneth Bae, 45, has been held for more than a year by the North which convicted him of trying to overthrow the state and sentenced him to 15 years hard labor. Bae, a Korean American, was paraded in front of a group of foreign and local reporters on Monday and asked Washington to help him get home, the North's state news agency and foreign media based in Pyongyang reported. "We hope this decision by DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] authorities to allow Kenneth Bae to meet with reporters signals their willingness to release him," a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Monday. "We have offered to send Ambassador King to Pyongyang to secure Mr. Bae's release. We have asked the North Koreans this, and await their early response," the official added. An attempt by US North Korean rights envoy Robert King to secure Bae's release last August was rejected by Pyongyang. It was not immediately clear why the North Korean authorities had allowed the event at Pyongyang Friendship Hospital, Bae's second media appearance since his arrest in 2012 when he led a tour group into the country. North Korea's state KCNA news agency reported Bae himself had asked to hold the press conference. Bae's son Jonathan urged Washington to respond to the plea. His father's words "obviously mean that Washington has not done enough," Jonathan Bae told Reuters by phone. "We need to send someone over and bring him home. That's what it's going to take. He needs to come home," he said. US Ready for 'Credible' Nuclear Talks Bae's appeal came days after reclusive North Korea demanded that South Korea and the United States halt annual military drills due in February and March and offered the South a halt to hostilities. The North's official Rodong Sinmun continued the conciliatory note in a commentary carried on Tuesday saying the state was open to friendly ties with any country "on a basis of mutual respect and equality, even with capitalist countries." US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said on Tuesday in Seoul that the United States and South Korea were concerned by the prospect of "further reckless behavior" from Pyongyang. In 2013, North Korea launched a months-long barrage of threats against South Korea, Japan and the United States, saying it would stage missile and nuclear strikes, triggering a sharp escalation in tensions and military deployments. Burns said that both Washington and Seoul were willing to return to "credible" talks but only if Pyongyang were committed "authentic negotiations aimed at denuclearization." He did not comment on Bae. North Korea has undertaken three nuclear weapons tests and used its civil nuclear program as a cover to develop weapons. Pyongyang says that it will never give up its nuclear ambitions which it says are a deterrent against aggression. Bae Hopes for Pardon Pictures of the Bae's press conference released by the North's KCNA news agency showed Bae in a drab grey prison uniform and baseball cap, although he appeared to be in reasonable health. North Korea's Supreme Court had said Bae used his tourism business as a cover to recruit people to overthrow the government. KCNA reported that Bae acknowledged he had broken North Korean laws and said he wanted to clarify "misinformation" surrounding his incarceration that had "enraged" the North. "I, availing myself of this opportunity, call on the US government, media and my family to stop linking any smear campaign against the DPRK and false materials with me, making my situation worse," Bae was quoted by KCNA as saying. "I hope that I will be pardoned by the DPRK and go back to my family. I request the US government, media and my family to pay deep concern and make all efforts to this end," he added, according to KCNA. Bae is said by his family to be in ill health. He led missionary groups into North Korea, according to speeches he made that were posted on the Internet. On one of his trips, Bae recalled singing hymns together with his mission tourists at a beach surrounded by North Koreans. The post US Offers to Send Envoy to North Korea to Free Jailed Missionary appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

HK Arrests Woman in Indonesian Maid Abuse Case Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:43 PM PST Domestic helpers and their supporters hold placards and pictures of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, an Indonesian domestic helper allegedly tortured by her employers, during a march to demand an investigation into the incident, in Hong Kong on Jan. 19. (Photo: Reuters) HONG KONG — Hong Kong police arrested a woman on Monday accused of beating her Indonesian maid in a case that has triggered outrage over its alleged brutality. The 44-year-old woman, surnamed Law, was detained at the city's airport as she was trying to catch a flight to Thailand, Senior Inspector Chan Wai-man said. The case drew attention after photos circulated last week among Indonesians in Hong Kong of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih's injuries, showing her face, hands and legs covered with scabs and lacerations, and blackened skin around her feet. Chan said police arrested the woman in connection with Sulistyaningsih's case as well as that of another maid who filed a complaint Sunday alleging she was also beaten by the same person. An Indonesian migrant workers' union in Hong Kong said the maid, who arrived in May last year, was tortured by her employers on a daily basis and forced to wear a diaper. The 23-year-old maid was allowed to return to Indonesia earlier this month after her injuries prevented her from working, and was given the equivalent of only about $9 by her employer, according to the union. Fadli Iman, one of the doctors treating Sulistyaningsih in Indonesia, told the AP her condition is improving but she's still weak and often complains of dizziness. "The wound on her head is the most serious," Iman said from Amal Sehat hospital in the Central Java town of Sragen. He said a CT scan indicated she suffered frequent blows to the head with a hard object, resulting in a concussion. "Hopefully, she will be able to go home in another week," he said. He said a team of five specialists treating Sulistyaningsih is awaiting the arrival of four Hong Kong police officers who are visiting Indonesia to find out more about her injuries. Sulistyaningsih's father, Rohmad Saputra, said his daughter was healthy when she left for Hong Kong last year but came back with wounds to her head and a broken nose and teeth. She can't open her swollen eyes because she was punched almost every day and is unable to walk, he said. "I was shocked and very sad," Saputra said. "She looked like a skeleton with bad injuries when she came home." He demanded that those who "tortured my daughter must be punished." Monday's arrest came a day after thousands of maids and their supporters protested in Hong Kong over the case, which is the latest to stoke fury over poor treatment of the city's 312,000 foreign domestic helpers, most of them young women. Indonesians account for about half of Hong Kong's foreign maids and Filipinos make up most of the rest. In a similar case last year, a couple was imprisoned for torturing their Indonesian maid with a hot iron, a paper cutter and a bicycle chain. Amnesty International said in a report in November that foreign maids working in Hong Kong are vulnerable to widespread abuse and exploitation, including restrictions on freedom of movement, physical and sexual violence, inadequate food and long working hours. Associated Press writer Niniek Karminiek in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report. The post HK Arrests Woman in Indonesian Maid Abuse Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Vietnam’s ‘Cyber Troops’ Take Fight to US, France Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:08 PM PST Bui Thanh Hieu, a dissident blogger, holds Vietnamese national flags while marching during a demonstration in Hanoi on July 3, 2011. (Photo: Reuters / Kham) HANOI — Working on her blog in California one day, Vietnamese democracy activist Ngoc Thu sensed something was wrong. It took a moment for a keystroke to register. Cut-and-paste wasn't working. She had "a feeling that somebody was there" inside her computer. Her hunch turned out to be right. A few days later, her personal e-mails and photos were displayed on the blog, along with defamatory messages. She couldn't delete them; she was blocked out of her own site for several days as her attackers kept posting private details. "They hurt me and my family. They humiliated us, so that we don't do the blog anymore," said Thu, who is a US citizen. She has resumed blogging, but now the Vietnamese government is blocking her posts. Activists and analysts strongly suspect Hanoi was involved in that attack and scores of others like it. They say a shadowy, pro-government cyber army is blocking, hacking and spying on Vietnamese activists around the world to hamper the country's pro-democracy movement. IT experts who investigated last year's attack on Thu said the hackers secretly took control of her system after she clicked on a malicious link sent to her in an e-mail. By installing key-logging software, the hackers were able to harvest passwords, gaining access to her private accounts. Subsequent investigation also found that an upgraded version of the malicious software, sent by the same group, was e-mailed to at least three other people: a British reporter for the Associated Press reporter based in Hanoi; a France-based Vietnamese math professor and democracy activist; and an American member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an online activist group, living in the United States. None of the three clicked the link. It appears to be the first documented case of non-Vietnamese being attacked by a pro-government hacking squad that had already conducted attacks well beyond the borders of this Southeast Asian nation. Its actions would appear to violate the law in the United States at least. "You see campaigns being waged against Vietnamese voices of dissent in geographically disparate regions. Now we have seen an escalation against people who report on those voices," said Morgan Marquis-Boire, a University of Toronto researcher and online privacy activist who dissected the malware and published the findings with the EFF. "It's unlikely that this is the work of an opportunist individual." Suspicion of state involvement is based in part on the fact that attackers have spent tens of thousands of dollars hiring servers around the world from which to launch attacks, often changing them after a few days. This is because the attackers know activists will ask service providers to take them down, said Dieu Hoang, an Australian computer engineer who, along with several other activists, works to help defend the Vietnamese activists online. Attempts to monitor and harass dissidents online mirror the government's efforts to suppress them on the ground, where activists report persistent and occasionally violent harassment by state agents. The state convicted at least 63 bloggers and other nonviolent democracy activists in 2013 of criminal offenses, according to Human Rights Watch. Vietnam is by no means unique in seeking to spy on electronic communications, as recent revelations about the actions of the National Security Agency in the United States demonstrate. But its activities are of special concern because of its human rights record in general. Asked to comment on suspicions of state involvement in targeted surveillance, as well as the attack on the AP reporter, the Vietnamese government gave this brief statement: "Vietnam shares the attention of other countries in ensuring Internet security and is willing to cooperate with other countries in fighting high-tech crimes in general and Internet crimes in particular." Suppressing online dissent in Vietnam is becoming more difficult because of soaring Internet usage. Close to 40 percent of the country's 90 million people have Internet access, and because Vietnam has been less effective than China in restricting that access, many people are viewing uncensored news. Dissidents can network and publicize their activities—and acts of state repression—with comparative ease. Security researchers have found hints of how Hanoi may be dealing with the challenge. In 2010, Google and McAfee alleged that malicious software had been used to spy on tens of thousands of Vietnamese web users. McAfee said the perpetrators of the attacks "may have some allegiance" to the country's government. Last year, researchers led by Marquis-Boire, who also works for Google as a security engineer, uncovered evidence suggesting a spyware suite called FinFisher was being used to track activists' mobile communications inside Vietnam. The government, through state media, has admitted to blocking thousands of "bad, poisonous websites and blogs," and its sites have come under attack, presumably from dissident sympathizers. Ho Quang Loi, propaganda chief of Hanoi's Communist Party, said last year it employed 900 people to counter online criticism. The attack on Thu's blog showed how hacking and blocking can work as a one-two punch to knock out criticism. The blog, named "Ba Sam," is one of the best-known dissident publications. It carries news, views, videos and photos from and about Vietnam of the kind that state media would never touch. After the blog was hacked, it took Thu a week to regain control, move it to a new address and put it back online. Within weeks, authorities in Vietnam began blocking it to web users inside the country. To view it now, people inside Vietnam have to use a proxy server, a relatively common technique for censorship evasion but one that requires some knowhow. This means fewer people are seeing it. Thu said her page views are down significantly, and that she shut down her popular comments sections because of an organized campaign of abuse and spamming. "It became too much trouble," she said. "They sent me threatening messages saying, 'I'm going to visit you in California.'" Hacking a site and blocking it later is a known tactic, said Hoang, the Australian. "Defacing and defaming is done by a hidden force unofficially," he said. "Blocking is done by the official force." The malware sent to Thu and the others was undetected by almost all the commercial anti-virus software experts used on it. The emails accompanying the malicious link sent to the AP reporter exhibited some thought and degree of targeting: one purported to be from Human Rights Watch, the other from Oxfam. The emails were sent in November and December of last year. Proving a Vietnamese state hand in the attacks is hard. "As a general rule, pinpointing the actor behind is difficult. It is much more difficult than taking the malware apart," said Eva Galperin, the EFF activist who received the link. "I think suspicion is warranted, but I would stop short of saying that I know the Vietnamese government responsible." While some overseas activist groups run courses in cyber security for their members, the hackers appear to be winning the battle, Hoang said. "In terms of time and effort and headcount and money, we can't even compare to them. After a while we will be worn out. They slow the people down, make them frustrated, make them scared. They are going to make less and less people put out their message." The post Vietnam's 'Cyber Troops' Take Fight to US, France appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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