The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Japan Announces $96 Million in Aid for Ethnic Areas
• KNU Airs Grievances to Thein Sein Ahead of Nationwide Ceasefire Talks
• Wanted: More Staff at Burma’s Food Safety Regulator
• Thousands Welcome Suu Kyi’s Chin State Visit
• Education Organizations Criticize Govt Education Policy Draft
• Amid Burma Tourism Boom, Calls for Govt to Aid Development
• 88 Generation Organizes Sit-in to Protest Restrictive Laws
• Suu Kyi Urges Army to Support Constitutional Change
• Filipino Workers Join Burma’s Opening Economy
• Cambodian Opposition Chief Undaunted by Govt Threats
• Rising Home Prices Send China’s ‘Rat Race’ Scurrying Underground
• Violence, Boycott Mar Elections in Bangladesh

Japan Announces $96 Million in Aid for Ethnic Areas Posted: 06 Jan 2014 05:17 AM PST Japanese Ambassador Mikio Numata (L) and Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa during a press conference in Rangoon on Monday. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Japanese Ambassador to Burma, together with influential Japanese charity the Nippon Foundation, announced on Monday that Tokyo plans to spend US $96 million in the next five years in order to improve living standards and promote peace in Burma's war-torn ethnic areas. Ambassador Mikio Numata told a press conference in Rangoon that Japanese aid organizations would disburse the funds after discussing their planned aid operations with the government and ethnic armed groups. The ambassador and Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, who co-hosted the press conference, offered few details of how and where the huge sum of aid money would be spent, other than to state that it would be used to support village livelihoods, boost job skills and to provide food aid and medicine. "The aid is for ordinary ethnics who have suffered war and conflict. Housing will be required in the long and short terms for villagers who have left their homes due to the conflict … They will also need to learn skills for professions in order to gain incomes," Sasakawa said through a translator. The Nippon Foundation has long taken an interest in Burma, and following the reforms introduced by President Thein Sein in the last two years, the foundation has become increasingly active in the country. It has sought to play a leading role in Burma's complex ethnic conflict and the foundation organized aid deliveries into three ethnic areas last year, bringing along reporters to cover its rice donations to villagers. "We have found out from our trips to ethnic areas that people have to leave their homes, lack enough food and medicine, and children go without enough food to eat," said Sasakawa, who Tokyo has appointed as Special Envoy for National Reconciliation in Myanmar. "We believe that both sides [the government and ethnic groups] will be satisfied with the amount of aid that we will provide," he added. The Nippon Foundation told The Irrawaddy in an email later that it is considering applying for a share of the $96 million in Japanese funds in order to run aid operations in ethnic areas. Japan has been quick to reestablish economic ties with Burma after international sanctions were cancelled, in order to build up Japanese economic interests in the country and support Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government. In 2013, Tokyo cancelled more than US $3 billion in foreign debt owed by Burma and provided a $500 million loan to clear Naypyidaw's arrears with international financial institutions. Japanese firms are also helping to develop the Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Rangoon, while Tokyo has promised to support a range of infrastructural upgrade projects. The Nippon Foundation has played a supporting role in these efforts. Its chairman Sasakawa is very well-connected in Japan, where he is known to be close to the current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His nationalist government is keen to build up relations with East and Southeast Asian nations, in part to offset the growing economic and military power of China. The post Japan Announces $96 Million in Aid for Ethnic Areas appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

KNU Airs Grievances to Thein Sein Ahead of Nationwide Ceasefire Talks Posted: 06 Jan 2014 05:09 AM PST President Thein Sein, left, speaks with Saw Mutu Say Poe during a meeting between the president and Karen National Union leaders in Naypyidaw on Sunday. (Photo: President's Office) RANGOON — President Thein Sein on Sunday met representatives of the Karen National Union (KNU), an ethnic rebel group that waged war against Burma's former military regime for more than six decades but has increasingly engaged in dialogue with Naypyidaw amid a push by the now quasi-civilian government to secure a lasting peace in the conflict-torn country. Leaders of the KNU, which signed a ceasefire with the government in 2012, said Thein Sein assured them that he was committed to convening a political dialogue with Burma's ethnic armed groups as the only means of achieving a permanent peace. That dialogue would be inclusive and based on equal rights for all, the president said, according to KNU leaders who attended the meeting. The KNU responded with suggestions on how to reinforce the durability of current ceasefire arrangements and the ethnic Karen leaders even requested that Thein Sein allow the military to participate in the peace process, which they said was important given the outsized role the institution has played in decades of conflict. Speaking to The Irrawaddy, KNU central committee member Ta Doh Moo said the leadership expressed concern over several challenges to the national reconciliation process, including the continued close proximity of government troops to rebel armed forces despite an agreement to keep their distance during ongoing peace negotiations to lessen the likelihood of clashes. The KNU leaders told Thein Sein that this was one of multiple promises made by the government that were not being kept, citing a failure by Naypyidaw to form a peace monitoring group as another example. Later this month, the central government and more than a dozen ethnic armed groups including the KNU will sit down to hash out differences between proposals from the two sides on conditions for the signing of a "nationwide ceasefire agreement." Bridging the divide between the two camps was another challenge raised by the KNU over the weekend. While saying he believed the government was genuine in its desire for peace, Ta Doh Moo cautioned its peace negotiators against rushing to force a ceasefire accord upon the ethnic groups, citing a lingering trust deficit as an obstacle to be overcome first through compromise. "We really believe that there must be negotiation to have peace. This is a standard of democracy," Ta Doh Moo said. Thein Sein met top KNU leaders including the group's chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe, General Secretary Saw Kwe Htoo Win, Gen Saw Isaac and Saw Roger Khin. Senior Burmese government officials and military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing were also in attendance for the gathering on Sunday in Naypyidaw. Meanwhile, several rebel armed groups will hold a four-day conference on ethnic affairs in an area controlled by the KNU on Jan. 20, days before many ethnic groups are scheduled to hold peace talks with the government in the Karen State capital of Hpa-an. "We will mainly discuss how to sign a nationwide peace agreement and what needs to be included in the agreement before we sign it," said Khun Okkar, joint secretary of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of 11 ethnic groups that will participate in the talks. The ethnic Pa-O leader said that a successful peace agreement would require that the government approach negoations with honesty, an open mind, and a willingness to consider the legitimate political grievances raised by the country's ethnic minority groups. The four-day ethnic affairs conference will take place in Lay Wah, Pa-an District, and the meeting in Hpa-an Township will be held from Jan. 24-26. The latter gathering will mark the second round of peace talks between the ethnic armed groups and the government. Their first meeting was convened in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, in early November. The post KNU Airs Grievances to Thein Sein Ahead of Nationwide Ceasefire Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Wanted: More Staff at Burma’s Food Safety Regulator Posted: 06 Jan 2014 04:06 AM PST Laborers load imported goods on a cart in a market on the Burma border. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's Food and Drug Administration lacks the resources necessary to adequately inspect food products in a local market that consumer advocates say is inundated with dicey offerings, according to one of the government regulatory body's directors. "The main requirement to do full inspections of the market is manpower. There are 60 million people in our country. But in the FDA, to check food safety, there are about 40 staffers," Dr. Tun Zaw, director of the FDA's Food Safety Department, told The Irrawaddy. The FDA monitors the safety and quality of food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics, and issues health recommendations for local food manufacturers, according to the Ministry of Health. It also issues health certifications on imported and exported products. Tun Zaw said the FDA tests pre-packaged food products, while inspection of meat, fish and agricultural products fall under the jurisdiction of other government agencies. "With 40 staffers at six FDA branches countrywide, it is impossible to fully inspect foodstuffs in the market in order to notify the public as to whether there are foodstuffs that could be harmful to health and to withdraw foodstuffs from the market that should not be consumed," he said. Ideally, the FDA's food safety ranks would be at least 10 times larger, Tun Zaw said, adding that the regulator had begun recruiting additional staff and training new hires. Ba Oak Khine, chairman of Burma's Consumer Protection Association, said the inability of the FDA to carry out its regulatory mandate was troubling, given the dubious manufacturing practices used by many local producers and foreign importers. "About 70 or 80 percent of foodstuffs in the market are not safe to eat. Most include fake coloring and chemicals for [altering] color, smell and taste that are very harmful to health," he said, adding that he had noted advertisements for FDA job vacancies in local newspapers. An adequately staffed FDA would need to conduct market inspections at least once every three months, Ba Oak Khine said. "I am not seeing that the FDA regularly rechecks the products that received initial approval for distribution in the market. Most businessmen are selling substandard products that are unlikely to be the same as the sample ones that they sent to the FDA for approval," he said. Tun Zaw, the FDA director, admitted that there were many food products of poor quality on the market, and said the problem was exacerbated by imports that entered Burma illegally and thus were unscrutinized by the regulatory body. "Unless illegal border trading stops, we cannot stop the public from purchasing foodstuffs that are harmful to health," he said. The FDA is charged with checking the quality of food products for approval to import, but the Ministry of Commerce is the import license issuing authority. Commerce also deploys a "mobile team" to take action against illegally imported products. Tun Zaw said consumers should avoid foods with extreme coloring and foods packaged in foreign languages that they are unable to read. "It is certain that foods that are only described in the Chinese language were not inspected by us. Parents and teachers should ensure that their children do not purchase snacks like that," the FDA director said. Ba Oak Khine said his organization had found that 90 percent of the products sold in snack shops at schools in Rangoon were harmful to health in recent research, which concluded that the high incidence could lead to an increase in the number of child cancer patients. The post Wanted: More Staff at Burma's Food Safety Regulator appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thousands Welcome Suu Kyi’s Chin State Visit Posted: 06 Jan 2014 03:56 AM PST Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to her supporters from her hotel balcony in Kalay, Sagaing Division. KALAY MYO, Sagaing Division — Thousands of supporters greeted National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she arrived in this small town in Sagaing Division on Monday to begin a visit to neighboring Chin State. Suu Kyi is visiting Chin State, the country's poorest state, for the first time in a decade to speak to the public about constitutional reform. "I do not want to push the people to do this or that. That's why it's really important for them to understand why the Constitution must be amended. That's the reason I'm here," she said from her hotel balcony in Kalay Myo, speaking to the crowd below. "Mother Suu, be healthy and be president in 2015," one supporter yelled. Fans wearing NLD stickers and holding NLD flags lined the road from the airport to her hotel, including some wearing traditional Chin clothing and performing traditional dances. During her stay in Kalay Myo, Suu Kyi will meet with her party members and attend a religious ceremony at a private school on Tuesday before continuing on to Chin State. "We are so happy to meet her again. Her trip to our region gives us hope for the upcoming election in 2015," Myint Swe, a central executive committee member of the NLD in Kalay District, told The Irrawaddy. "This is the first time in 10 years that the region has gotten a chance to meet with her, and we are honored. I believe Daw Suu is visiting Chin State because it is the poorest state, and she is interested in promoting development." Tu Ngai, 56, an ethnic Chin living in Kalay, said she was grateful for an opportunity to see the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, saying, "I hope she will bring good luck to our Chin State, and I hope she can speak up to help our people and our state." Suu Kyi's visit to Chin State will begin in the town of Tedim, where she will meet with members of the public and spend the night. She is also scheduled to meet with supporters in Falam city and Hakha, the state capital, before returning to Kalay Myo and departing the region. The opposition leader has been calling for constitutional reform since joining Parliament in 2012. She has expressed ambitions to become the country's next president but is currently ineligible due to a restrictive clause in the 2008 charter, which was written by the former regime. Suu Kyi last traveled to Kalay District shortly before she and her supporters were attacked in 2003 by a pro-junta armed group while traveling in a convoy through Kyee village, Sagaing Division. Suu Kyi escaped but activists say that about 70 people lost their lives in the attack, which has since become known as the Depayin massacre. The post Thousands Welcome Suu Kyi's Chin State Visit appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Education Organizations Criticize Govt Education Policy Draft Posted: 06 Jan 2014 03:23 AM PST The education system in Myanmar is set for an overhaul. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A network of educational organizations has criticized a proposed government overhaul of Burma's long-neglected education system, saying that a new draft education policy fails to include the network's recommendations. Thein Lwin, of the National Network for Education Reform (NNER), said the group put out a statement on Sunday calling on education officials and parliamentarians to engage in discussions with NNER about the planned review of Burma's education. "We released a statement today with our view of the national education policy drawn up by government, which lacks transparency, freedom of thought and limits the rights of universities," he said. "Our main aim is to challenge the government to debate their national education policy and our [proposal]." NNER was formed in October 2012 and includes the National League for Democracy's educational block, the 88 Generation Students and the Democratic Society, the Thinking Classroom Foundation, teachers unions, Buddhists monks, ethnic education groups and Christian churches. The NNER held 25 seminars across country and in June 2013 held a national conference attended by 1,200 participants, after which it sent a report with recommendations for creating an inclusive education system to Parliament and a government committee overseeing the Comprehensive Education Sector Review. NNER met with the Education Ministry three times last year and also discussed education policy reform with Aung San Suu Kyi. The group said, however, that the Implementation of Practical Upgrade Education Committee had ignored the NNER's recommendations, while the committee—formed by presidential decree in October—does not include any outside education experts. "We were not invited to attend the education discussions, but they made the public think that we are participants and approve of their policy," Thein Lwin said. "Our policy was drawn up with input from the public, but theirs is just propaganda of the government." "I would like to suggest that the government be more open and discuss their policy in public," he said. "Or to take into account our education policy, which has been released for a long time and was discussed many times with parliamentarians and civil society." He added that NNER would longer engage in any talks with the government committee unless it agrees to debate new education system policies. Arka Moe Thu, executive member of the University Lecturers Association, said the government had made little effort to seek opinions of university lecturers about the new education policy, inviting only one lecturer each from three universities to attend a discussion on the draft policy on Dec. 31. He said the government-proposed policy would also see the Education Ministry set up a council that would control Burma's universities and limit their independence. "The government committee draft intends to form a Central Council for Universities, which means they want to centralize and handle all activities of universities. Actually, universities should operate independently," he said. The University Teachers Association and Burma Students Union (Ba Ka) on Dec. 24 rejected the proposal to form a Central Council of Universities. Than Htike Aung, a lecturer from East University of Yangon, leveled further criticism at the draft government policy, saying that section two includes a description of education goals stating that "the students have to be taught to have the right idea based on Myanmar national characteristics." This goal raises questions about the policy's concern for the educational needs of Burma's ethnic minorities, he said, adding that such a goal could also be used to restrict academic freedom of thought. "Education needs freedom to foster good ideas," Than Htike Aung said. The post Education Organizations Criticize Govt Education Policy Draft appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Amid Burma Tourism Boom, Calls for Govt to Aid Development Posted: 06 Jan 2014 03:13 AM PST A sign advertises accommodation in Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The government is being urged to play a greater role in Burma's red-hot tourism industry as foreign arrivals surpass the expected total for the current fiscal year with three months still remaining in the 12-month period. The government last year projected that international tourist arrivals would reach 2 million by March 31, but the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism says that figure had already been exceeded by the end of 2013. According to the ministry's latest data, the number of foreign arrivals reached more than 2.04 million by Dec. 31, counting both air and overland arrivals. Of that total, about 885,000 tourists arrived by air, 6,000 came via cruise ships and 1.14 million traveled into Burma by border entry points. "We do expect the number of international tourist arrivals to increase to 3 million in 2014," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism told The Irrawaddy by e-mail this week, referring to the next fiscal year. That would mean a near tripling of arrivals since 2012, which saw 1.06 million visitors. Among the foreign arrivals this year, Thai tourists topped the table, with Chinese and Japanese visitors following. The country's biggest draws were Rangoon, Mandalay, Inle Lake in Shan State and Golden Rock in Mon State. The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and industry leaders have held several workshops based on the country's Tourism Master Plan, which is targeting an increase in international tourist arrivals to nearly 7.5 million by 2020. To do that, the master plan lays out projects aimed at improving industry institutions, developing human resources, expanding the variety of tourism destinations, and promoting the management of those sites. Upgrading the quality of tourism services that Burma can offer is also a priority. Aung Myat Kyaw, chairman of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association and an advisor to the nongovernmental Myanmar Tourism Marketing Committee, attributed the significant rise in tourist arrivals over the last two years to a raft of political and economic reforms in Burma that have improved the country's standing abroad. "The country's image change has caused tourist arrivals to increase, but we need better infrastructure and security services. That could further increase the number of tourist arrivals in future," Aung Myat Kyaw said. The Union of Myanmar Travel Association chairman said better transportation networks, 24-hour electricity supply, and more developed mobile phone and Internet infrastructure were necessary, as was an effort to tamp down accommodation prices, which have been driven up by a supply shortage in Burma. "We have very good potential tourist destinations around the country. Our country is not an island or a land-locked country. We have potential visitors from our neighboring countries, for example Thailand and China, so the government target of 2 million is quite modest and we can expect more than that in future," he said, adding that there were many cultural attractions, beach destinations and adventure travel options that could be used to promote the tourism industry in Burma. "But the thing is, the state and regional governments' involvement is quite important. They need to know that they are essential to promote the country's tourism industry," Aung Myat Kyaw said. Burma's 14 states and divisions offer significant potential for a diverse array of tourism attractions, from tropical coastal areas to snow-capped mountains in northern Kachin State. Some of the country, however, has been off-limits to tourists for years, due largely to the various ethnic conflicts that still simmer in border regions. Maung Maung, the chairman of World Quest International Travel and Tour Company, said he was skeptical of the government data on tourist arrivals for 2013-14. "As far as I know, group tours this year are significantly lower than last year. Most of them [foreign arrivals] come via border entries [from China and Thailand] as FIT [free independent travelers]. I think the government also counted visitors to the Southeast Asian Games," Maung Maung said, referring to the recently concluded regional sporting competition hosted by Burma. "Burma is now quite popular, so tourists want to see and visit, but as a long-term plan, the government needs to improve infrastructure. Tourists say that accommodation in Burma is expensive and good service is lacking, so the sustainability of tourist arrivals totally depends on the government," he said, adding that despite a wealth of natural beauty in Burma, other Asian countries without similar allure were still besting the Southeast Asian nation. "We have to ask a question: Why is Burma still so low in terms of tourist arrivals? It's because of mismanagement," he said. The post Amid Burma Tourism Boom, Calls for Govt to Aid Development appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

88 Generation Organizes Sit-in to Protest Restrictive Laws Posted: 06 Jan 2014 02:57 AM PST An aerial view of protesters gathering at a sit-in to urge the government to abolish or amend undemocratic laws and regulations. (Photo: JPaing /The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's leading student activist group has staged a sit-in with nearly 1,000 supporters calling on the government to abolish and amend restrictive laws, including those that make it difficult to organize protests. The sit-in on Sunday was the first protest organized by the 88 Generation Students group since its members were released in 2012 from prisons around the country, where they had been held by the former military regime as political prisoners for their pro-democracy activism. The protest near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon was attended by members of Parliament, students, farmers and leaders of civil society organizations, just one day after a separate demonstration was held in the city urging lawmakers to amend provisions in the Constitution that currently prevent opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president. At the Sunday sit-in, protesters called on the government to abolish or amend laws that are widely seen as at odds with ongoing democratic reforms, including the Peaceful Assembly Law, which was passed under President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government and has led to the continuing arrests of many political activists over the past two years. "We want the government to abolish Article 18, which bans people from peaceful gathering and expressing their wishes," Htay Kywe, a student leader from the 88 Generation Students, told protesters, referring to a controversial article from the Peaceful Assembly Law that requires organizers to obtain government permission before a protest. This can often be a major feat, as Thein Sein's government has not always been quick to issue permits for demonstrations. The 88 Generation Students received permission to organize the sit-in. Under the former military regime, which ceded power to Thein Sein's administration in 2011, gatherings of five or more people were illegal. In an address to protesters, Min Ko Naing, one of the country's most prominent activists and a leader of the 88 Generation Students, said the Burmese people had grown tired after living under oppressive legislation for decades. "Now we gather here boldly to express how much we dislike these laws," he said. "Please be united. If we are, we can amend any law we do not like, not to mention the Constitution." The 88 Generation Students called for amendments to a number of additional controversial laws and regulations. "They include Article 18, 505 [Section of the Penal Code], the Emergency Provisions Act 5(J), and the regulation that requires you to report to local authorities whenever you have a visitor at your house," Makee, another member of the students group, told The Irrawaddy. "We believe our movement today can put significant pressure on MPs to make changes or abolish the laws and regulations," he added. Also at the sit-in was D Nyein Lin, president of the organizing committee for the Federation of Student Unions. Joined by 19 members of his group, he said the event sent a message to the government about the wishes of the people. "The government and MPs are responsible for making these a reality," he said. "Whether or not our demands are met will depend on how seriously they take our demands into consideration." The post 88 Generation Organizes Sit-in to Protest Restrictive Laws appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Suu Kyi Urges Army to Support Constitutional Change Posted: 06 Jan 2014 01:09 AM PST Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at an event in Rangoon on Saturday to mark the 66th anniversary of the country's independence from the British. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called on the army to support efforts to amend the Constitution, which was written by the former military regime. Speaking on the 66th anniversary of the country's Independence Day on Saturday, the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader said it was crucial for military representatives in Parliament to get involved in the amendment process. The Constitution currently reserves 25 percent of seats in the legislature for military representatives, and any amendments would require approval of more than 75 percent of lawmakers, meaning that some soldiers would have to vote in favor of change. "The army should not act like this issue is not related to them, because they are very important," the Nobel Peace Prize laureate told a crowd of hundreds of people at an event at the NLD headquarters in Rangoon's Bahan Township. "The government is acting similarly. But this issue affects all people in the country, so how could it not relate to government? "They need to have courage to deal with these challenges, in order to have real national reconciliation. How can they improve the political situation if they keep pretending there is no problem?" Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burmese independence hero Gen Aung San, says she wants to become president after the 2015 general elections, but the Constitution currently makes her ineligible. Written by the former junta and passed in a 2008 referendum that was widely regarded as a sham, the charter says a president cannot have family members who are foreign nationals, and Suu Kyi's two sons are British. The charter also reserves a quarter of parliamentary seats for the military. The president is chosen by members of Parliament. "Burma achieved independence with cooperation from the army and the people. I hope the army will cooperate with the people to have a stable independence, and to have a better political system and freedom in the country," Suu Kyi said. Burmese President Thein Sein last week said he supports efforts to change the Constitution and remove restrictions that currently prevent Suu Kyi from becoming president. Speaking Thursday in a monthly radio address, he said "a healthy Constitution must be amended from time to time to address the national, economic and social needs of our society." "I would not want restrictions imposed on the right of any citizen to become the leader of the country," he added. "At the same time, we will need to have all necessary measures in place in order to defend our national interests and sovereignty." A parliamentary committee has been formed to review the Constitution and consider amendments, with political parties and members of the public submitting recommendations. Thein Sein said Thursday that the military has also submitted recommendations, but he did not elaborate as to the nature of the proposals. Additional reporting by Lawi Weng. The post Suu Kyi Urges Army to Support Constitutional Change appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Filipino Workers Join Burma’s Opening Economy Posted: 06 Jan 2014 12:45 AM PST Philippine President Benigno Aquino III speaks in Naypyidaw during the World Economic Forum in June. (Photo: Simon Roughneen / The Irrawaddy) MANILA — New data showing that Philippine workers based in Burma remitted US$150,000 to their homeland in 2013 is perhaps another small signal of Burma's economic reintegration with the wider world. The numbers, in the latest Philippine central bank statistics on remittances to the Philippines, show a rise from $0 to $150,000 for August 2013, with Burma joining the 24 Asian countries and dozens of others worldwide where about 10 million Filipinos have moved to work and send money back to families at home. Money remitted by overseas Filipino workers is worth about 10 percent of the Philippines' $250 billion economy, with the latest central bank data showing $18 billion worth of remittances for the first 10 months of 2013—numbers that are likely to jump later when money sent back to families affected by the Nov. 8 Typhoon Haiyan—known as Yolanda in the Philippines, where it killed over 6,100 people—is taken into account. It seems the new Burma data is attributable to a small influx of workers from the Philippines into newly opening sectors of the Burmese economy, such as telecommunications and energy. "We have noticed an increasing number of migrant workers into Myanmar [Burma], mostly in the telecoms sector, as well as engineers hired by the companies in the oil and gas sector," Maria Lourdes Salcedo, the deputy ambassador of the Philippines in Burma, told The Irrawaddy, using the official name for Burma. She estimated that about 600 Filipinos are working in Burma at the moment. To compare the new Burmese figures with those from other countries in the region, the first 10 months of 2013 saw over $1 million in remittances sent back to the Philippines from East Timor, about $8 million from Thailand, $220 million from Malaysia and over $860 million from Singapore. Both Burma and the Philippines share relatively high levels of emigration, with perhaps 7-10 percent of Burma's population working abroad, similar to the proportion of overseas workers from the Philippines. In Burma's case, the bulk of economic migration is to Thailand, as well as Singapore and Malaysia, while overseas Filipino workers are much more far-flung, with significant numbers in Europe, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf as well as North America. Millions of Burmese, like Filipinos, rely on money sent home by family members working abroad. Remittances to Burma are difficult to quantify, however, with the country's population statistics awaiting the country's first census since 1983, which will take place next year. In the past, most remittances to Burma were sent back via informal channels such as the hundi system, though this is changing as international finance companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram spread across Burma and as the country upgrades its banking system. Andy Hall, international advisor for the State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation of Thailand (SERC) and the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN), and a longtime advocate for Burmese migrant workers' rights, said remittances to Burma could be of similar proportions to those sent back to the Philippines. "Estimated remittance from sources I discussed is $3-5 billion per year in hard cash, one of the largest sources of cash coming into the country,” Hall told The Irrawaddy. Burma's GDP is estimated at just over $50 billion, and Hall believes remittances to Burma exceed foreign aid outlays. Though bilateral trade between Burma and the Philippines is small, just over $47 million in 2012, this number is expected to jump in coming years after Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and Burma counterpart Thein Sein signed agreements on trade agriculture, energy and information cooperation during Thein Sein's visit last month. According to data from Burma's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), the Philippines has two listed investments in Burma. These are worth $146 million, or 0.33 percent of the total cumulative investment into Burma since 1988, putting the Philippines 15th in the overall list of source countries for investment into Burma. But of those two projects, only one, a joint Filipino-Burmese venture plywood factory in Pegu Division, is still in operation, according to Mya Thuza of DICA. "We are hopeful that there might be more investment from the Philippines in the future," she told The Irrawaddy. Maria Lourdes Salcedo said several business delegations from the Philippines had visited Burma in recent months, in sectors such as water and food, with a Burmese franchise of the Jollibee fast-food chain on the cards. Now Filipinos hoping to travel to Burma can take advantage of a new visa regime, with a 14-day visa-free exemption in place since Saturday for prospective visitors, though there are no direct flights from Manila to Rangoon. A memorandum of agreement on the visa exemption allows "Filipinos who are holders of ordinary passports visa-free entry to Myanmar for tourism and business purposes," Aquino said in a joint media briefing with Thein Sein during the latter's visit to the Philippines last month. The post Filipino Workers Join Burma's Opening Economy appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Cambodian Opposition Chief Undaunted by Govt Threats Posted: 05 Jan 2014 10:25 PM PST Sam Rainsy (C), president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, smiles during a Buddhist ceremony held for four garment workers who were killed during violent clashes with armed authorities last week at his party office in Phnom Penh. (Photo: Reuters / Pring Samrang) PHNOM PENH — The head of Cambodia’s opposition party vowed Sunday not to give up anti-government protests despite violent police crackdowns and threats of legal action against him and his colleagues. Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy also said his party would not be baited by the violence into abandoning nonviolent tactics in its struggle to have Prime Minister Hun Sen resign and call fresh elections. The opposition claims elections in July were rigged and cheated them of victory. The unrest is the biggest challenge in many years to the authoritarian rule of Hun Sen, who has led the country for almost three decades. Protests over the election have been generally peaceful, but a strike by workers in Cambodia’s key garment sector has put extra pressure on Hun Sen’s regime. Authorities on Saturday banned rallies and street marches in the capital, Phnom Penh, and forcibly cleared about 1,000 anti-government demonstrators from a city park. Prosecutors also have issued warrants summoning Sam Rainsy and his deputy party leader to appear at a city court later this month for questioning apparently related to the current unrest. In another example of the government’s hard line, at least four people were killed Friday when police opened fire with assault rifles to break up a protest by striking garment workers demanding a doubling of the minimum wage. The labor struggle is separate from the election challenge, but unions in Cambodia have long and close ties to the opposition. Sam Rainsy spoke Sunday at a Buddhist religious ceremony held at his party’s headquarters for the four people killed in Friday’s clash. About 1,000 of his supporters attended, and the meeting was uninterrupted by security forces. The party canceled its weekly rally Sunday at Freedom Park, which had been expected to draw larger than normal crowds because of public anger over Friday’s shootings. Friday’s violence also caused the opposition party to cancel negotiations with Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party for a political solution to the election grievances. Sam Rainsy said talks could resume when the government stops employing threats and violence. Sam Rainsy said Hun Sen’s party had police employ force during Saturday’s sweep at Freedom Park as a trap to have protesters respond in kind and discredit the opposition. "They hoped that we would resist and refuse to move, then they would use violence, kick us and beat us and hope some of us would be angry, and would respond," he said. Sam Rainsy said that as soon as he heard of the sweep, he told his organizers to avoid violence and move the protesters out from the site. "We continue our peaceful and nonviolent way, so we just bypass that and then we still move forward," he said. "It will take more time, but at least we are avoiding violence." A Phnom Penh city court prosecutor this past week issued a citation requiring Sam Rainsy and CNRP deputy leader Kem Sokha to come to court on Jan. 14 for questioning related to accusations of causing social unrest and inciting others to commit serious crimes. The prosecutor’s action could lead to criminal charges being filed against them. A copy of the citation was posted on the party’s website on Saturday. Sam Rainsy said he would appear in court, and dismissed the warrant as a political tactic by Hun Sen. Sam Rainsy returned to Cambodia from self-imposed exile shortly before July’s election, after being given a pardon for charges that he said were politically inspired. His return galvanized the opposition, which made an unexpectedly strong showing in the polls even according to the official results it disputes. The post Cambodian Opposition Chief Undaunted by Govt Threats appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Rising Home Prices Send China’s ‘Rat Race’ Scurrying Underground Posted: 05 Jan 2014 10:10 PM PST A general view of buildings in Beijing on July 3, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — Zig-zagging left and right through a maze of dark, narrow corridors in a high-rise's basement, 35-year-old kitchen worker Hu has joined the many thousands of Chinese fleeing fast-rising property prices by heading down—down underground. Hu lives here beneath an affluent downtown apartment building, in a windowless, 4 square-meter (43 square-foot) apartment with his wife. For 400 yuan (US$65.85) a month in rent, there's no air-conditioning, the only suggestion of heat is a pipe snaking through to deliver gas to the apartments above and the bathroom is a fetid, shared toilet down the hall. "I can't afford to rent a house," said Hu as he showed off his meager appointments. Living in basement apartments isn't illegal in China, but like anywhere else it is nothing to brag about and Hu, who guts fish for 2,500 yuan a month at a popular Sichuanese hotpot restaurant on the street above, declined to provide his given name. "If I weren't trying to save money, I wouldn't live here," he said. Locals have dubbed Hu and his fellow subterranean denizens the "rat race"—casualties and simultaneously emblems of a housing market beyond the government's control. Despite efforts to discourage property speculation and develop affordable housing, a steady stream of job-seekers from the countryside and a lack of attractive investment alternatives have kept prices soaring. Residential property prices rose 10 percent in November from the same month of 2012, according to data released last week, and have been setting new records every year since 2009. Prices in Beijing are rising even faster—16 percent a year—with rents climbing 12 percent a year. That's pushing more and more newly arrived urbanites underground. Of the estimated 7.7 million migrants living in Beijing, nearly a fifth live either at their workplace or underground, according to state news agency Xinhua. Beijing's housing authority refuted this statistic, saying in an e-mail to Reuters that a government survey last year found only about 280,000 migrants living in basements and that only a small percentage of Beijing's basements were being used as dwellings. Last month, authorities sealed Beijing's manhole covers after local media discovered a group of people living in the sewers below, with one, a 52-year-old car washer, reported by the local media to have been living there for at least a decade. The sewer dwellers were relocated and those not from Beijing sent back home. Surging residential prices are both boon and bane to the government. China's booming property sector accounts for roughly 15 percent of GDP and heavily indebted local governments rely on land sales—selling land earns them roughly three times what they collect from taxes. But rising prices are putting home ownership farther out of reach for most Chinese, worsening the gap between rich and poor and breeding social discontent. "Some people can buy several homes, some people can't even buy one," said Mao Yushi, co-founder and honorary president at the Unirule Institute of Economics, an independent think tank in Beijing. "There will be an impact on society." The government has responded by restricting home purchases and boosting the supply of low-cost public housing. In Beijing, the total floor space of public housing rose 20 percent in the first 11 months of 2013 from the year before. But with the promise of employment and education beckoning in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the problem appears likely to only get worse. Beijing saw another 316,000 migrants arrive in 2012, lifting its population to 19.6 million. That has made housing in Beijing more expensive relative to average incomes than in many developed countries. The median price for residential property in Beijing is over $4,500 a square meter, according to property developer Soufun, with rents running at $9.50 per square meter—in a nation where the average annual income is just over $6,000. That makes Beijing homes almost three times as expensive for Chinese as buying a home in New York City is for Americans, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the World Bank and San Francisco-based property website Trulia. Renting a 1,000 square-foot apartment in China's capital would cost almost double the average citizen's monthly income. Not surprisingly, public opinion polls routinely rank rising home prices as one of the biggest sources of anxiety among Chinese adults. A 2012 survey by the Hong Kong media website Phoenix found that couples in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen spend on average 42 percent of their combined monthly income on mortgages. Chinese have invented the term "housing slave" to describe those struggling to make hefty monthly mortgages payments. But with Beijing home prices having risen six-fold in the past decade, according to Soufun, even cheap public housing can be beyond the reach of many, forcing them to seek less attractive alternatives. In a basement below a block of apartments in downtown Beijing, residents walk stooped to avoid pipes hanging from the ceilings. "This is better than other basements in the area," said one 26-year-old resident. The typical basement or workplace apartment is less than 5 square meters, according to Xinhua, less than a tenth the size of the typical Beijing apartment. Fires sometimes break out in basements when people cook—at least three were reported in Beijing last year. Apartments are so small that Hu said he and his wife have trouble sleeping together in their tiny bed. He has resorted to spending most nights in another basement apartment provided by his restaurant. His wife yearns for a larger home above ground and in the meantime makes do by decorating the room with plastic bells and flowers that Hu says she finds in the street. Their dream of owning a home remains distant and Hu says basement living has hurt their relationship. "It's too difficult to have a house right now," said Hu. "Every basement has people living in it. See for yourself. There are so many of us out there." Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Shao Xiaoyi. The post Rising Home Prices Send China's 'Rat Race' Scurrying Underground appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Violence, Boycott Mar Elections in Bangladesh Posted: 05 Jan 2014 10:02 PM PST Activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-E-Islami set fire to an office of ruling party Bangladesh Awami League during a clash in Narayanganj on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters) DHAKA — Bangladesh's ruling Awami League party was leading Monday with 232 seats in a national election marred by violence and boycotted by the opposition amid concerns by the international community that the process was deeply flawed. The Election Commission had not provided official results, but preliminary results reaching the commission showed that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party bagged 105 seats among 147 constituencies where voting took place Sunday, when at least 18 people were killed in election-related violence. Hasina's refusal to heed opposition demands to step down and appoint a neutral caretaker to oversee the election led to the boycott, undermining the legitimacy of the vote. Opposition activists have staged attacks, strikes and transportation blockades in unrest that has left at least 293 people dead since last year. The opposition boycott meant that elections for another 153 seats went uncontested, with Awami League taking 127 seats. Jatiya Party, a partner of Hasina's current government, took 32 seats while 13 independent candidates won. The results mean Hasina will face no problem to forming the next government, as only 151 seats are needed for a majority to form a new government. Turnout was about 22 percent, down from 87 percent in the last vote, with officials saying the violence and boycott by the opposition kept voters away. On Sunday, police in Bangladesh shot dead three protesters as suspected opposition activists stabbed an election official to death and set more than 100 polling stations on fire in a bid to disrupt the elections. Police opened fire to stop protesters from seizing a polling center in northern Rangpur district, killing two people. In a similar incident in neighboring Nilphamari district, police fired into about two dozens of protesters, leaving one person dead. Police gave no further details, but Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper said the three men belonged to the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party. Elsewhere, police said suspected opposition activists stabbed to death a polling official, and local media reported that attackers torched more than 127 school buildings across the country in overnight attacks. The buildings were to be used as polling stations. The voting began at 8 am but local television stations showed mostly empty polling stations, still wrapped in early morning winter fog. The election commission said polling was suspended in at least 38 centers because of attacks by anti-election activists, burning of ballots and election materials. Much of the capital, Dhaka, has been cut off from the rest of the country in recent weeks, as the opposition has pressed its demands through general strikes and transportation blockades. Civilians have been caught up in the bloodshed, with activists torching vehicles belonging to motorists who defy the strikes, leading to a growing sense of desperation over the political impasse. "I want to go to vote, but I am afraid of violence," said Hazera Begum, a teacher in Dhaka, said before the polls closed. "If the situation is normal and my neighbors go, I may go." The chaos could exacerbate economic woes in this deeply impoverished country of 160 million and lead to radicalization in a strategic pocket of South Asia, analysts say. The opposition had demanded that Hasina step down and appoint a neutral caretaker administration to oversee the election. But Hasina refused, which meant the election was mainly a contest between candidates from the Awami League and its allies. Awami League candidates ran unchallenged in more than half of the country's 300 parliamentary constituencies. Bangladesh has a grim history of political violence, including the assassinations of two presidents and 19 failed coup attempts since its independence from Pakistan in 1971. A wave of political violence surrounding the election in 2013 killed at least 275 people. "I am fearful that deadly violence could return, people would continue to suffer, political forces with extreme views could emerge in the face of government crackdown and repressive measures," said Asif Nazrul, a law teacher and analyst. "This election will just pollute our very new democracy by shrinking the space for opposite views." The squabbling between Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia—known as the "Battling Begums"—has become a bitter sideshow as both women, who have dominated Bangladeshi politics for two decades, vie to lead the country. "Begum" is an honorific for Muslim women of rank. Zia urged people to boycott what she called "farcical" elections. "None at home and abroad will legitimize it," she said. The bickering between the two longtime rivals caused an uproar in October, when the women spoke for the first time in years in an acrimonious telephone call. "I called you around noon. You didn't pick up," Hasina said, according to a transcript published in the Dhaka Tribune, an English-language newspaper. Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said the prime minister was wrong. "You have to listen to me first," Zia snapped. Late last month, after authorities barred Zia from leaving her home to join a rally, she told police that she would change the name of Gopalganj, Hasina's home district, if she came to power. Her outburst was broadcast live on TV while roads around her home were heavily guarded and sand-laden trucks were parked to obstruct her movement. A key factor in the latest dispute is the role of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest Islamic political party. The party is a key ally of Zia, and was a coalition partner in the government Zia led from 2001 to 2006. Opponents of Jamaat-e-Islami say it is a fundamentalist group with no place in a secular country. Bangladesh is predominantly Muslim, but is governed by largely secular laws based on British common law. The execution last month of Abdul Quader Mollah, a Jamaat-e-Islami leader and a key member of the opposition, exposed the country's seething tensions. Mollah was the first person to be hanged for war crimes in Bangladesh under an international tribunal established in 2010 to investigate atrocities stemming from the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan. Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators including Mollah, killed at least 3 million people and raped 200,000 women during the nine-month war. The case remains politically volatile because most of those being tried are connected to the opposition. The European Union, the United States and the British Commonwealth said they would not send observers for the election. US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington was disappointed that the major political parties had not yet reached a consensus on a way to hold free, fair and credible elections. The post Violence, Boycott Mar Elections in Bangladesh appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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