The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• In Mandalay Writers Meeting, Suu Kyi Addresses China Concerns
• Army Lost 2 Helicopters, Suffered Heavy Personnel Losses in Past Kachin Offensive: Report
• Burma to Seek Development Assistance for Airport Project
• Mon State Likely to Pass Mother-Tongue Teaching Bill
• NLD Patron Visits Dr. Cynthia’s Clinic on Thai Border
• Electricity Rate Hike Could Hurt Competitiveness, Raise Consumer Prices
• Report Says Tatmadaw’s Targeting of Civilians ‘Ongoing,’ Urges Reforms
• Suu Kyi Calls on Public to Join Demonstrations for Constitutional Reform
• The Census: Another Complexity in Burma?
• Stock Market on Track, but Hurdles Remain
• Thai ‘Red Shirts’ Take Up Fight to Defend PM Facing Impeachment
• Indian Farmers Driven to Suicide as Hail Ruins Crops
• US Navy Black Box Locator Joins Search for Missing Malaysian Plane

In Mandalay Writers Meeting, Suu Kyi Addresses China Concerns Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:58 AM PDT Aung San Suu Kyi speaks with Mandalay-based writers in Pyin Oo Lwin on Sunday. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Aung San Suu Kyi said over the weekend that the government must respect and protect its citizens from threats posed by illegal immigration, while also urging "harmonious" coexistence with people of all nationalities in Burma. Suu Kyi was responding to questions on Sunday from prominent writers at a gathering in Mandalay Division's Pyin Oo Lwin, a meeting organized following the opposition leader's trip to Mogoke, where she rallied supporters in favor of amending the country's Constitution. Asked for her opinion on how best to control the influx of Chinese nationals that have increasingly come to populate the city over the last two decades, Suu Kyi deferred to the responsible officials in Naypyidaw. "The responsibility to protect citizens is in the hands of the government" she said. "We have to ask, 'Who has given the opportunities to those illegal migrants?' If the government does not protect its own people and the country, no foreign government will think to do so." The Mandalay-based writers complained that the busiest parts of Burma's second city, and the local businesses therein, were increasingly dominated by Chinese immigrants who had entered the country illegally but later managed to secure Burmese citizenship. The writers also brought up the controversial Myitsone hydropower dam, a Chinese-backed megaproject that was suspended by President Thein Sein in 2011 amid widespread public opposition. "We all need to live harmoniously with the world, especially with neighboring countries. But we need a good government that respects its citizens and is willing to take up its duty to protect the country's sovereignty," Suu Kyi said in response to the writers' concerns about talk of a resumption of construction on the dam. The writers accused Chinese nationals, many of whom do not speak the Burmese language, of paying large sums of money to buy homes and plots of land located in the city center, in the process pushing the properties' former residents to the outskirts of Burma's ancient capital. Rising property prices in downtown Mandalay are said have put the prime landholdings out of reach for most Burmese residents in the market for real estate. The Mandalay writers said they had written many articles about Burmese residents who had sold their homes in Mandalay and then taken up residence on the outskirts of the city. "Mandalay has silently fallen into the hands of the Chinese—culturally, socially and economically. … The problems of these illegal migrants has become one of the important matters for 2015 [when national elections will take place]. We don't want the same thing to happen to other cities, and the country," said Hsu Nget, a prominent Mandalay-based writer, at the gathering. During the meeting, Suu Kyi urged the writers to unite in encouraging the people through their literature to participate in politics, which she said was the concern of every citizen. "Since the writers are indirectly or directly engaged with the politics of the country, I would like to request that you encourage the people with your works—without bias—for those who do not understand and are afraid to engage with the country's politics," Suu Kyi said. The post In Mandalay Writers Meeting, Suu Kyi Addresses China Concerns appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Army Lost 2 Helicopters, Suffered Heavy Personnel Losses in Past Kachin Offensive: Report Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:37 AM PDT A Burmese military helicopters involved in airstrikes in Kachin State in December 2012. (Photo: John Sanlin / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Two Burma Army helicopters and possibly one aircraft were shot down by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) during the heavy fighting in the mountains of northern Burma in 2012 and early 2013, according to a recent report by IHS Jane's Defence. The UK publication, which specializes in military and defense industry issues, also cited blogs that claimed the Burma Army suffered a staggering death toll of 5,000 casualties during the conflict. In a recent article, the magazine stated, "At least two helicopters and possibly one fixed-wing aircraft were lost to ground fire or mechanical failure during the operations" to encircle the KIA headquarters in Laiza, located in a mountain valley on the Burma-China border. In January 2013, the Associated Press reported that the KIA claimed to have shot down a Mi-35, a Russian-made military transport helicopter with attacking capabilities. Presidential spokesman Ye Htut said at the time that the helicopter had made an "an emergency landing" during which two pilots and a sergeant were killed. Burma expert Bertil Lintner, who has written several books on the country's ethnic conflict, said, "I believe the helicopter was shot down by a 50 calibre sniper gun, a heavy machine gun. A very lucky shot," adding that the rifle had probably been supplied to the KIA by the United Wa State Army (UWSA). Jane's Defence asserted that the Kachin conflict, which erupted in mid-2011 after a 17-year ceasefire collapsed, had been one of the largest military operations the Burma Army had ever carried out and the problems in using its aircraft and helicopters showcased the limits of its modernizing and expanding air force. "In both new fixed-wing and rotary-wing capabilities, regional analysts note that a lack of pilot experience and weaknesses in maintenance and ground-to-air links still limit the operational effectiveness of the [Myanmar Air Force]," the magazine wrote. "These assessments appeared to be borne out in the Laiza campaign from December 2012 to January 2013, when [Myanmar Air Force] ground-attack operations involving K-8s, G-4s, and Mi-35s were filmed for the first time by independent media," the report said. The magazine went on to cite unnamed blogs that have reported that the Kachin offensive had led to the deaths of thousands of Burma Army soldiers between 2011 and February 2013, when the fighting finally quieted down. "According to statistics on pro-government military blog sites, between June 2011 and the beginning of the Laiza campaign in mid-December 2012, at least 5,000 Tatmadaw troops died in Kachin state. The Laiza campaign and smaller operations since then will have added several hundred fatalities to that toll," the magazine said. KIA sources have confirmed to The Irrawaddy in unofficial comments that the Burma Army had suffered very heavy losses. "We estimate the casualty rate could be between 1,000 and 5,000 soldiers," a senior KIA commander told a reporter during a visit to Laiza in November. "They suffered a great number of causalities, but we don’t want to disclose it as it might raise tensions between us and the government army, while we are in the peace process." Lintner said of the death toll estimate, "It is hard to say, just that casualties were extremely heavy on the government’s side." A photo and video journalist who covered the fighting along the frontline in Kachin State has said he witnessed piles of bodies of Burma Army soldiers and porters that were forced to carry military equipment and supplies for the military. Jane Defence said such casualty rates and ineffectual use of air power raised questions over whether Burma Army would have the capability to take on the UWSA, the country's largest and best armed insurgent group, which numbers around 20,000 fighters—twice the size of the KIA's armed forces. "There is little to suggest today that the Tatmadaw is yet capable of the strategic co-ordination and tactical flexibility that war with the UWSA would demand," according to Jane's Defence. It added that the Burma Army would have to resort "to a strategy centered on efforts to divide and reduce insurgent foes with economic and financial inducements" if it would want to expand its control over the Wa. An official at Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), told The Irrawaddy recently that UWSA commanders were well aware of the strength of their defensive position in Special Region 5 northern Shan State. "The Wa officials told us that the Burmese government army might lose 50,000 of its soldiers if they try to take over their headquarters in Panghsang," said the KNLA officer, who asked for anonymity as he was not authorized to speak about the UWSA military affairs. The post Army Lost 2 Helicopters, Suffered Heavy Personnel Losses in Past Kachin Offensive: Report appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma to Seek Development Assistance for Airport Project Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:20 AM PDT A worker signals a pilot near airplanes at Rangoon's existing airport. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — The Burma government has agreed to seek a concessional loan worth as much as US$750 million to go toward the cost of a new airport to serve Rangoon, officials said Monday. The government in August selected a consortium led by South Korea's Incheon International Airport Corporation as the preferred bidder to develop the Hathawaddy International Airport, to be built in Pegu Division about 95 kilometers (60 miles) from the fast-growing commercial capital. But talks with Incheon collapsed due to problems relating to how the project would be funded, and the government is now also in talks with three other consortiums that want to build the airport—led by Singapore and Japan's Yongnam, Japan's Taisei Corporation and France's Vinci. The setback means the airport—which will soon be needed as passenger numbers outgrow the capacity of Rangoon's existing Mingalardon Airport—will likely not be ready by the original completion date of 2018. On Monday, at the opening of the Myanmar Civil Aviation Development Conference 2014 in Rangoon, officials from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) spoke on the record for the first time about the complications in the deal. Khin Maung Myint, a DCA adviser, said that a snag in the process had been finding funding for the project, which he estimated will cost in total between $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion. "The financial people want some guarantee. That a difficulty," he told The Irrawaddy, explaining that Burma's initial intention was for the developer wholly to fund the project. "Our government position [was]: when that financing is being done, it's a private undertaking.  So the government cannot give a guarantee." However, the government has now agreed to apply for official development assistance (ODA)—discount-rate loans from developed countries to developing countries like Burma—for the project, he said. "Now the government decided 50 percent of the project loan can come from ODA," Khin Maung Myint said. "The government will guarantee that they get the loan, but the payment of the interest…the company has to take that responsibility." The developer would be responsible for funding the remaining 50 percent of the project cost from private sources. It is so far unclear whether any countries are interested in funding the airport, but Burma's reforming government has received large amounts of ODA, with Japan the biggest source of development loans and aid. Tin Naing Tun, the DCA's director general, told a press conference at the aviation event that developers preferred to fund the project with an ODA loan since interest rates can be as low as 0.01 percent. Tin Naing Tun also gave a brief outline of the government's aviation sector "master plan," which he said would help to restore Burma's former status as a hub for flights in Asia. "For the future of the Myanmar civil aviation sector, we have a set vision. We have a dream. Our dream is making Myanmar become a major logistics hub in Asia," he said. He gave few specifics of the plan, but said it included liberalizing regulation of the aviation sector, helping local airlines to compete in the region and connecting Burma directly with more countries outside of Southeast Asia. "The present situation is now we have the air link with India, China, [South] Korea and Japan only. We'd like to extend the air link to the European countries, the United States of America and Australia also," Tin Naing Tun said. "We need to have more and more infrastructure for the airports, airlines and human resources development," he added. The government has invited private companies to come forward to operate 30 domestic airports, and tenders to expand and operate the Rangoon and Mandalay airports were awarded alongside the Hanthawaddy tender in August. Pioneer Aerodrome Services, a subsidiary of Burmese firm Asia World Group, led the winning consortium for the Rangoon airport, and Japan's Mitsubishu and Jalux, with Serge Pun's SPA Project Management Ltd., won the tender to run Mandalay's airport. Khin Maung Myint said those contracts were still being drawn up, but had not faced the financing difficulties of the Hanthawaddy project because the capital investment required is much smaller. "The contract negotiation is nearly completed," he said. The post Burma to Seek Development Assistance for Airport Project appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Mon State Likely to Pass Mother-Tongue Teaching Bill Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:03 AM PDT Students at a school run by the New Mon State Party. (Photo: maukkha.org) RANGOON — Mon State's Parliament is likely to pass a bill next month that would put teaching of the Mon language into government schools for the first time in more than 50 years, regional lawmakers said. Local education authorities in Mon State hosted a meeting with different political parties at the Moulmein assembly on Saturday and it was widely agreed that Mon should be taught in government schools in the next academic year, which begins in July. Nai San Tin, a member of the Mon State Parliament from the All Mon Regions Democracy Party, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that a bill proposing the teaching of the state's mother tongue would go before the Parliament when a new session begins on April 8. "We have sought advice from different leaders and have agreed to have the Mon language taught at the government schools," he said. "This is a pre-discussion before Parliament restarts. We have drafted this bill already, and I will propose it at Parliament." "Even the Parliament chairman supports this issue and the draft bill will likely be approved," he added. Like in all of Burma's ethnic regions, government schools in Mon State teach only Burmese, and many Mon children cannot read and write in their native language. Fearing that their language, and with it a large part of their culture, will die out, Mon leaders have for decades demanded Mon teaching in government schools. Under the proposed bill, Mon would be taught for one hour each day from primary school to Grade 4—from about 5 to 10 years old. The state education department would be responsible for hiring Mon-speaking teachers. It would also allow ethnic Pa-O and Karen people living in Mon State to study their own languages at school. Aung Naing Oo, another state MP said, "This is going to be an achievement from our effort. "All the Mon should be happy for this, even though we will have many challenges." Under the democratically elected U Nu government of the 1950s, all schools in Burma's ethnic areas were permitted to teach native languages, but the military regimes that ruled the country from 1962 enforced monolingual education in all state schools. As a result, in Mon State, as in other parts of the country, only schools run by ethnic rebel administrations have taught the local language. The New Mon State Party, an armed group that has a ceasefire agreement with the Burma government but still controls parts of the state, has since 1972 run its own schools under its Mon National Education Department. It runs 156 schools, employing 800 teachers and serving 17,000 students. Amid political reforms initiated after President Thein Sein came to power in 2011, ethnic lawmakers have made requests for mother-tongue teaching to be reinstated. Since 2012, teaching ethnic languages has been permitted, but only outside of school hours, and without any state funding. Mi Myint Than, an ethnic Mon lawmaker in the Lower House in Naypyidaw, said that the Mon State chief minister, Ohn Myint, told her that he agreed with the proposal. "We met him [Ohn Myint] in September and he told us that he agreed to have Mon language at the government schools. He even told us that every chief minister of Mon State should be an ethnic Mon," said Mi Myint Than. By allowing Mon teaching at schools, Mi Myint Than said, the language will survive in the young generation. "This will be a bridge in the future for our all ethnic Mon children to study Mon," she said. "They will be able to read and write very well in the future if they can study their mother tongue." The post Mon State Likely to Pass Mother-Tongue Teaching Bill appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

NLD Patron Visits Dr. Cynthia’s Clinic on Thai Border Posted: 24 Mar 2014 04:58 AM PDT Dr. Cynthia Maung, second right, walks beside National League for Democracy patron Tin Oo, left, at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot on Monday. (Photo: Moe Kyaw) The patron of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party paid a visit on Monday to the renowned Mae Tao Clinic for Burmese refugees and migrants in Mae Sot, Thailand. During the visit, NLD patron Tin Oo met with Dr. Cynthia Maung, founder of the Mae Tao Clinic, which offers health care to Burmese refugees and migrants, as well as providing education for their children on the Thai-Burma border. Tin Oo crossed the border into Thailand after arriving in Myawaddy, Karen State, to officially inaugurate an NLD branch office in the southeastern Burma border town on Monday. "He visited the Mae Tao Clinic to thank and honor Dr. Cynthia Maung's efforts on health care," said Sein Bo, the district chairman of the NLD's Myawaddy office. The NLD patron spent about two hours on Monday at the clinic, where he also met with members of the refugee community, and health and education workers. Cynthia Maung told The Irrawaddy after their meeting that they had discussed how to collaborate in the health and education sectors amid Burma's ongoing political reforms. "We discussed collaboration, not only in providing health care services and support in ethnic areas, but also for the development of health care policy in general," Cynthia Maung said. The ethnic Karen doctor, who has won a number of awards for her work along the Thai-Burma border, said she thanked the NLD leader for his encouragement and support for the clinic's health care workers and staff. "We appreciate such an honor—that he gave time to meet with us while he was here for the NLD office opening in Myawaddy, and assessed the border issues by meeting with various groups," she said. Tin Oo is scheduled to address the public at the newly inaugurated NLD office on Tuesday. The post NLD Patron Visits Dr. Cynthia's Clinic on Thai Border appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Electricity Rate Hike Could Hurt Competitiveness, Raise Consumer Prices Posted: 24 Mar 2014 04:20 AM PDT A factory worker inspects packages of Coca-Cola bottles on a conveyer belt at the new Coca-Cola plant in Rangoon on June 4, 2013. (Photo: Sean Havey / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Last week, Parliament approved a government proposal to introduce a long-expected hike in electricity prices per April 1. Business sector representatives now warn that the measures will undercut the competiveness of Burmese industries and lead to a rise consumer prices. Under the new plan, for households using under 100 kilowatt hours, or units, per month, the price will remain at 35 kyat (less than US$0.04) per unit. The price will rise to 40 kyat per unit for those using between 101 and 200 units in a month, and to 50 kyat for those using more than 200 units. For businesses, the basic charge for those using less than 500 units per month will remain at the current level of 75 kyat. But large consumers using over 500 units will pay 150 kyat per unit. The government and MPs said the plan would have little impact on most families and small- and medium-sized businesses. Maung Maung Lay, vice chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers and Commerce Industry (UMFCCI), said production costs for Burmese industries were set to rise significantly as a result of the plan, thereby undercutting profits and competitiveness of Burmese products. "Market competition is important for local manufacturers, so if other costs are increasing for local industry, how can they compete with foreign manufacturers [selling goods in Burma]?" he asked. Maung Maung Lay said Burmese factory operations are generally relatively small and would therefore struggle to cope with the sudden rise in costs, adding, "Here the production rate is less than other countries, manufacturers couldn't survive this hike in electricity prices. "Because of the new plan product prices [of Burmese goods] will rise very soon," he warned. "I am worried that [factories] might also cut product quality due to the higher production costs; they have to consider ways to compete with foreign companies in this situation." Myat Thin Aung, chairman of the Hlaing Thayar industrial zone in Rangoon, voiced similar concerns. "All manufacturers will be impacted … they can't compete with imported [goods], because production costs are increasing here," he said. Myat Thin Aung complained that the burden of raising government revenues on electricity supply had been put on the private sector, saying that he believed that the real cost of producing electricity is about 100 kyat per unit, while larger industrial producers will be forced to pay 150 kyat per unit. Although Burma is rich in energy resources, with large oil and gas reserves, and vast hydropower potential, only a quarter of all Burmese have access to reliable electricity, according to the World Bank. The government has an ambitious plan to more than the double energy supply in the next two years. Burma's energy demand is set to expand from 2,000 megawatt per day to 4,900 megawatt per day by 2015. Rangoon represents more than half of the nation's energy demand. During the hot season, from March to May, a drop in water levels in hydropower dams and increased demand in the city leads to rolling blackouts. Industrial zones are often only supplied with a few hours of power, forcing factories to shift to expensive diesel generators, which produce electricity at around 300 kyat per unit. So far this hot season, however, supply has been better, according to Myat Thin Aung. "This year, the electricity supply by [the Yangon Electricity Supply Board] is better than last year, we are still receiving 24 hours per day, even in the dry season time," he said, before adding, "I'm not sure about April." Burma's government has long subsidized electricity and prices were among the lowest in the region, but budget pressures and advice from international financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank have pointed to the need to raise prices. The plan would reportedly save about US$272 million from the government's annual spending on supplying power. According to figures from the Ministry of Electric Power, 56.6 percent of households do not use more than 100 units per month, and 55.6 percent of businesses use less than 500 units. Tin Htut Paing, a member of Generation Youth who helped organize last year's candle protests in Rangoon against blackouts and electricity price hikes, said he worried that the new plan would directly impact the poorest families as stores and producers will increase prices on goods such drinking water and tea prices. "I've realized that some commodity prices are already starting to increase even before the electricity price hike is in effect," he claimed, adding that the energy bills of many households will also increase. "Normally, a household [without aircon] spends 150 units per month at least, so they have to pay 8,000 kyat, up from 6,000 per month, but their income has yet not increased," Tin Htut Paing said. "Income and expenditure are not being balanced in Myanmar, so I feel that people are being robbed by the president," he added. The post Electricity Rate Hike Could Hurt Competitiveness, Raise Consumer Prices appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Report Says Tatmadaw’s Targeting of Civilians ‘Ongoing,’ Urges Reforms Posted: 24 Mar 2014 04:13 AM PDT A young boy washes in a stream at the Hpun Lum Yang camp for internally displaced persons in Kachin State. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's military continues to target civilians in its operations against rebel armed groups in the country, according to a report released Monday by a US-based human rights institute, which recommended a series of reforms to improve the situation. In a memorandum on "Preventing Indiscriminant Attacks and Wilful Killings of Civilians by the Myanmar Military," Harvard University's International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) said "the Myanmar military continues to prioritize military objectives over civilian protection, including through policies that sanction the direct targeting of civilians." That targeting has taken the form of "shoot-on-sight" directives, indiscriminant artillery shelling, extrajudicial killings and use of landmines to inflict civilian casualties, according to the IHRC. The Clinic said the offenses, which constitute violations of international humanitarian law, were part of a "centrally planned counterinsurgency" strategy by Burma's military, also known as the Tatmadaw. The 44-page IHRC report emphasized the need to enforce greater accountability for members of the armed forces who inflict civilian casualties, as well as to introduce positive incentives for soldiers who act within the bounds of international humanitarian norms in conflict environments. The IHRC also recommended better training for soldiers who have for decades served a military establishment that has not prioritized human rights. The IHRC, which has been monitoring the human rights situation in Burma for nearly 10 years, based its memorandum in large part on ongoing research of a counterinsurgency offensive that took place from 2005-08 in eastern Burma, mostly affecting the region's ethnic Karen population. The military campaign ostensibly pitted the Tatmadaw against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), but the IHRC said its research "indicated that during the offensive Myanmar Army units largely avoided confrontations with the KNLA and instead pursued civilian targets." Matthew Bugher, a clinical advocacy fellow with Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program, said the IHRC's findings related to the military's conduct in Karen State continued to be relevant today, citing civilian casualties and mass displacement in northern Burma in recent years. "Especially in the last two years, attacks on civilians, civilian targeting, has not gotten enough attention," he said at a press conference in Rangoon on Monday. "I do think that the international community should take this issue very seriously, and that engagement on a number of issues in the political sphere, in the military sphere, should be tied to concrete and fundamental reform of the policies that we talk about in this memo," added Bugher, who helped compile the IHRC report. Despite progress in reducing fighting between the Tatmadaw and insurgent forces, including the signing of ceasefire agreements with more than a dozen ethnic armed groups since 2011, clashes in Burma's border regions have occurred with regularity, displacing more than 100,000 civilians and killing an untold number of non-combatants. Fighting under the reformist government of President Thein Sein has been most recurrent in Kachin State and northern Shan State, where two of the country's most high-profile armed ethnic rebel groups that have yet to sign ceasefires hold territory. "[I]n areas of ongoing conflict, such as Kachin State and northern Shan State, communities continue to report attacks that are consistent with historical patterns of civilian targeting," the report said."These events suggest that improvements in civilian security in ceasefire regions are the result of a reduction in hostilities rather than the reform of problematic policies and practices." In Kachin State, fighting between Tatmadaw forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) displaced more than 2,000 civilians late last year in Mansi Township. They joined an estimated 100,000 in total that have been displaced since a ceasefire broke down and fighting flared up between the KIA and government troops in mid-2011. Khon Ja, an activist with the Kachin Peace Network, echoed the IHRC's assertion that civilians were still subject to the abuses perpetrated during the 2005-08 conflict. "Exactly the same things are happening in Kachin. It's repeating, just copy-and-paste. However, when they paste, it has been stronger. That means using more troops, more resources from the government army and bigger damage in the Kachin area," she told The Irrawaddy on Monday. The Kachin activist warned that foreign countries' engagement with an unreformed Tatmadaw would only serve to legitimize the institution's international standing. Both Britain and the United States have begun initial engagements with the Tatmadaw, focusing on human rights law and related issues that both countries maintain do not further the Burma military's tactical capabilities. The memorandum on Monday offered nearly 50 recommendations for changes to policy and practice within the Tatmadaw that it said could decrease civilian casualties and further the country's three-year-old reform program. "The fact that these abuses have continued under the current government suggests that the first wave of reform in the country has failed to address fundamental institutional problems within the Myanmar military," the report said, citing a lingering culture of impunity as central to the problem. Recommendations include Burma's accession to UN protocols aimed at protecting civilians in combat situations, and constitutional amendments that would allow for civilian oversight of the military justice system. Its suggested policy changes range from instituting a military promotional and salary structure based on individual soldiers' protection of civilians, to better human rights training all the way up the chain of command. Another issue raised by the report, based on its research into the 2005-08 offensive, was a color-coded system of geographic designations that determined the military's rules of engagement with both armed personnel and civilians in a given area. Under the tripartite system of white, brown and black designations, government soldiers operating in the so-called black zones were ordered to treat civilians and armed combatants indiscriminately, effectively making any human being or manmade structure a target. "In the front lines, whenever you enter the village . . . and you see anyone, no matter who [they] are, you have to kill them . . . all the Karen people you have to kill," the report quoted one former soldier as saying, referring to military conduct in black zones. Leaked government documents and civilian testimony corroborated the existence of the color-coding. The report said IHRC could not verify that the system remains in place today, but asserted that there was a "strong likelihood" that it does in some form, based on the targeting of civilians in Kachin State and elsewhere. The report acknowledges that the abuses against civilians are, to a degree, the result of a difficult operational environment in which guerilla warfare tactics by ethnic armed groups blur the line between civilian and militant. "Members of opposition armed groups may sometimes fail to wear uniforms or try to confound the military's efforts to distinguish them from civilians," it said. "Nevertheless, these difficulties do not absolve the Myanmar military of its obligations under international humanitarian law nor do they justify inaction on the problems identified." Failure to reform would also have important implications as Burma, and countries hosting Burmese refugees, consider an appropriate time to resettle those displaced by decades of civil conflict. "Many individuals with whom we spoke did not feel safe returning to their homes, and feared that the peace process would fail and civilians would again be targeted en masse," stated the report. "For many civilians, peace dividends remained elusive." The post Report Says Tatmadaw's Targeting of Civilians 'Ongoing,' Urges Reforms appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Suu Kyi Calls on Public to Join Demonstrations for Constitutional Reform Posted: 24 Mar 2014 02:42 AM PDT Protestors in Mandalay demand constitutional reform during a demonstration on Sunday. (Photo: Teza Hlaing/ The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi held two rallies in the town of Mogoke, Mandalay Division, over the weekend and called on the public to join nationwide protests in order to demand amendments to Burma's controversial 2008 Constitution. "Those who say the Constitution does not need to be amended, and that the country is on a path to democracy, are cheating the people," Suu Kyi told a crowd of around 3,000 people in the ruby mining town of Mogoke on Saturday evening. "There are … good point and bad points, which need to be amended. We mustn't say the whole Constitution is good," she said. In recent months, Suu Kyi has become increasingly vocal on the issue and in February she teamed up with the 88 Student Generation leaders in pushing for constitutional reforms through the use of 'people's power' demonstrations. On Saturday, Suu Kyi said she would continue this popular drive, adding that Burmese citizens should join in and "be brave, and rid themselves of fear in order to create the country they want." "I can only depend on people's power. Amending the Constitution is impossible with just 46 NLD parliamentarians," she said, referring to the number of seats her opposition party holds in the Union Parliament. On Sunday morning she addressed another rally in the town, before travelling to Pyin Oo Lwin to meet a group of Mandalay writers who boycotted the recent Irrawaddy Literary Festival. The military-drafted Constitution is widely viewed as being undemocratic as it grants sweeping political powers to the army and because Article 59 (f) prevents National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Suu Kyi from becoming president. The article states that a president's spouse or children cannot be citizens of a foreign country. Suu Kyi was married to British national Micheal Aris, who died in 1999, and she has two sons who are British subjects. The NLD leader has repeatedly called for amendments to the charter, but the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has shown no sign it will cooperate, despite widespread popular support for such changes. The past few weeks, demonstrations have been organized in towns and cities across the country, with groups of hundreds or several thousand demonstrators calling for constitutional reform. Over the weekend, such protests were held in Mandalay, Nyaung Oo near Bagan and in the Sagaing Division towns of Monywa and Depayin. In Rangoon, protests were reportedly held in Tamwe and Dawbon townships. In Mandalay, about 250 people gathered on Sunday shouting slogans and carrying banners to demand constitutional reforms. Protestor Zaw Thu said, "Some government officials said that they would consider to amending the Constitution if most people want to amend it. That's why we just show them how much we are willing to amend this Constitution. We want all of the citizens to join the cause." In the towns of Nat Mauk and Magwe authorities banned two demonstrations that were planned this weekend, local organizers said. Myint Htay, from Nat Mauk, Magwe Division, said an attempt to organize a protest in his home town—which is also the birth place of Suu Kyi's father, General Aung San—was prevented by local authorities. "We explained that this event is just to let the government know that we are willing to amend the Constitution. But the authorities said they would refuse the permit as the protest will create unrest," he said. Burma's government has shown signs of concern over Suu Kyi's plans to demand reform through people's power. In January, President Thein Sein issued a secret order to all government ministries urging them to take precautions to avoid mass protests or violence caused by disagreements over constitutional reform. The post Suu Kyi Calls on Public to Join Demonstrations for Constitutional Reform appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

The Census: Another Complexity in Burma? Posted: 24 Mar 2014 02:31 AM PDT Burma has never had a shortage of complexities. The latest additional one is the national census, which is likely to bring about more problems than fruits after its scheduled period between March 30 and April 10. No doubt the country, which has not had a census since 1983, seriously needs accurate information about its population as one step on the way to development. The government previously estimated the population to be about 60 million. The results might even escalate the country's current volatile political situation, which has a long list of crucial issues such as the unsettled conflicts with ethnic armed groups, rising demands for constitutional amendments, hot-blooded religious conflicts between Buddhists and Muslims and so on. It sounds worrying. There have been countless complaints from ethnic groups and international organizations. Some of them have urged the government and its main assistant, the United Nations Population Fund, to postpone it. But the government seems to be determined to carry it out as scheduled. For many, the core problem is that the upcoming census' 41 questions include ethnicity, in addition to the usual demographic questions of age, sex and marital status. Kyaw Zwa Moe is editor (English Edition) of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at kyawzwa@irrawaddy.org. Burma is officially comprised of 135 ethnicities and needs figures for its respective ethnic populations. Even from this point, it is complex. In fact, some Burman and people of other ethnicities have doubts about the official list of 135 ethnicities. So, it's a debatable question if ethnicity should be included this time. Complaints have emerged across the country—from north to south and from west to east. In northern Burma, where fighting between the government troops and Kachin Independence Army has occasionally broken out, many ethnic Kachin groups recently called for the postponement of the census. The Kachin ethnic group is divided into 12 sub-groups in the official list. Tu Ja, the chairman of the Kachin State Democracy Party, told the Irrawaddy earlier this year that the sub-groups should in fact be categorized into larger groups, rather than labeled in isolation. He also warned that treating each sub-group as completely distinct would harm national reconciliation efforts and affect trust between ethnic groups and the government. None of the ethnic groups believe the government's figure for the population of the Burmans, the biggest ethnic group that dominates the government and its high-ranking official positions. The government estimates that 60 percent of the population is ethnic Burman, but many ethnic groups think that figure is deliberately inflated. Likewise, each ethnic group is concerned its population will be categorized within other groups. According to the current official figures, ethnic Shan represents the biggest minority group at 9 percent while Karen represents the second largest, at 7 percent of the population, Arakan at 3.5 percent, Mon at 2 percent, Kachin at 1.5 percent and Karenni at 0.75 percent. Within almost every ethnic group, there are sub-groups. Some of those sub-groups also don't want be classified in any of the main ethnic groups. For instance, the government has categorized the ethnic Shan into 33 sub-groups and the ethnic Chin into 53. Although some sub-groups seem to accept it, Shan people want them all to belong to one group, the Shan. Tribes like the Palaung, a.k.a. Ta'aung, and Pa-O say they don't belong to the Shan group at all. Similar problems exist in the Karen, Karreni, Chin and so on. Western Burma seems to be more sensitive due to tensions between Buddhists and Muslims. Among the census's numeric codes for the 135 ethnicities, there is no code for Rohingya, the Muslim minority. Rohingya have asked for a code to be used, but the government has said Rohingya must be recorded in the "other" category. Many ethnic Arakanese and some other ethnic groups don't agree the term Rohingya should even be allowed in the "other" category. Recently many ethnic Arakanese have expressed their sheer disagreement saying if Rohingya is allowed even in the "other" category, the census would be a fraud. Many ethnic groups have criticized the government's lack of comprehensive collaboration with concerned groups in communities. International organizations like the Brussels-based International Crisis Group and Netherlands-based Transnational Institute have also criticized the census and called for at least some parts of it to be postponed. President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government should heed ethnic people's concerns and it might be worth postponing the census for some time in order not to add more complexity into the country's ongoing conflicts. The post The Census: Another Complexity in Burma? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Stock Market on Track, but Hurdles Remain Posted: 23 Mar 2014 10:36 PM PDT Asia Green Development Bank plans to be among the first companies to be listed on the new Yangon Stock Exchange. ( photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawddy) As Myanmar's economic opening continues apace, hopes are high for plans to launch the country's first full-fledged stock exchange in more than 50 years. But while the new bourse looks set to meet a late 2015 deadline, observers say a number of key issues could still present major obstacles. Last September, the government and Parliament approved the Securities Exchange Law, clearing the way for the creation of the new Yangon Stock Exchange (YSE) in October 2015. Earlier, in May, the Central Bank of Myanmar and Japan's Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) and Daiwa Securities Group had reached an agreement to establish the YSE as the first market of its kind since the economy was nationalized after a military coup in 1962. Daiwa, a Tokyo-based investment company valued at US$400 billion, has been working in Myanmar since 1996, when it teamed up with state-owned Myanma Economic Bank—which was recently given the go-ahead from Washington to do business with US companies—to create the Myanmar Securities Exchange Center (MSEC). While the MSEC was largely ignored (in 2011, Reuters reported that it had a staff of eight employees and was trading stocks in just two companies), the YSE promises to provide a viable alternative to the trade in gold, US dollars, real estate and used cars that for decades were the only places for local business people to put their money in the country's closed economy. One consequence of this imbalanced investment was rampant inflation, which has only recently dropped to 6 percent from the 30-40 percent seen in the years prior to the introduction of reforms in 2011. Even now, the real estate market remains overheated, while the relaxation of import duties has seen a dramatic fall in car prices, which reached 100 times their market value between 1988 and 2011. With the introduction of the YSE—which will be established with a 32 billion kyat ($32 million) investment, including the TSE and Daiwa's 49 percent stake—the government hopes investors will put their money to more productive use in a variety of sectors and industries, such as services, banking, agriculture and hotels and tourism. Among those keen to hop on the YSE bandwagon is Asia Green Development (AGD) Bank, owned by U TayZa, one of the country's richest tycoons. In December, Daiwa announced an "important milestone of efforts to develop capital markets in Myanmar" when it signed an agreement with the bank to assist it in its bid to be listed on the exchange. But turning a privately owned bank into a public company won't be easy, especially in a country that has long been notorious for the opacity of its business practices. AGD Bank is confident, however, that it can make the transition. "Now we are more transparent—100 percent more—than in the past," said the bank's managing director, U Ye Min Oo. "We have to show all our profits to shareholders annually, and the decision makers have changed. Now we can't do anything without the approval of the board of directors." One decision the board of directors has made is to hold off until the launch of the YSE to start offering shares, in the expectation that the opening of the new stock exchange will boost share prices. As a company with 30 billion kyat (US$30 million) in capital, AGD Bank can raise up to 70 billion kyat from the sale of shares (the government has set a 100 billion kyat limit on the value of public companies). But even if AGD Bank is ready for the big day, many in Myanmar's business community, noting the lack of reliable telecommunications infrastructure and poor public awareness of how stock markets work, wonder if the country is up to the task of hosting a modern stock exchange. "We will need constant access to up-to-date information about stock shares, but how can we have that without better communications?" said U Ye Min Oo, echoing these concerns. He added, however, that he expected the situation to improve after two major international telecoms companies that have recently been given licenses to operate in Myanmar—Norway's Telenor and Ooredoo of Qatar—establish much-needed networks. Fully aware of the challenges it is facing, Daiwa is taking a cautious approach to its second stab at setting up a stock exchange in Myanmar, with plans to list just 10 companies at the launch of the YSE, according to U Ye Min Oo. U ThetHtunOo, the senior manager of the MSEC, said expectations would be modest for the first couple of years of the YSE, until conditions improve and more companies capable of functioning within a more mature trading system emerge. "It won't be easy to develop a stock market right away. First, we need to achieve economic stability and reach a certain level of development. Also, the private sector has to improve, and exact laws and regulations will be required," he said. Among the problems that will need to be addressed, he said, were most Myanmar companies' deficient management and accounting systems, their lack of transparency and adequately trained staff, and illegal practices such as fraud and tax evasion. "We will need collaboration between the government and the private sector, as well as foreign expertise, to tackle these issues," he said. "I don't think we have enough time, but we're trying to work within the government's timeline." In the end, however, he said the development of the stock market would be a boon to the economy. "As the market develops, the country's economy will also improve. But that will probably take another five to 10 years," he said. U Maw Than, a retired professor who is currently acting as an economic advisor to President U TheinSein, agreed that the new stock market would face many challenges. However, the most pressing, he said, is the country's flimsy legal infrastructure. "Even though there is a new stock exchange law in place, many more rules need to be introduced, such as liaison rules for brokers and dealers, so that the public can participate," he said. "Any company that wants to be publicly listed should also be required to disclose who is on their board of directors, as well as information about the past histories of the directors and the companies themselves. When these conditions are met, the public can play a more active role in helping businesses to develop," he added. Although the country clearly has some way to go before it is ready to expand the ranks of investors to include a broader cross-section of the general public, the demand for a move in that direction is already evident. In January, the First Myanmar Investment Co., Ltd. issued an additional 2.5 million new ordinary shares for 10,000 kyat each after selling out an earlier offering of 2,500,000 shares to existing shareholders amid overwhelming demand. With plans by the Thilawa Special Economic Zone Committee to form a public company and begin selling shares to the public early this year, a modern stock exchange is looking increasingly like an idea whose time has come, whether the country is ready for it or not. This article was first published in the March 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Stock Market on Track, but Hurdles Remain appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai ‘Red Shirts’ Take Up Fight to Defend PM Facing Impeachment Posted: 23 Mar 2014 11:06 PM PDT People shout slogans as they gather with others during a rally demanding their votes to be respected, while protesting against the court’s ruling in central of Bangkok March 21, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Supporters of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra say they will take to the streets as moves to impeach her gather pace, raising the specter of confrontation with protesters who helped scupper a February election she had been expected to win. The Constitutional Court annulled the election on Friday and the chairman of the Election Commission said it would be months before a new vote could be held, leaving Yingluck at the head of an enfeebled caretaker government with limited powers. The crisis is the latest chapter in an eight-year battle between Bangkok's middle class and royalist establishment against supporters of Yingluck and Thaksin Shinawatra, her brother, who was ousted as premier by the army in 2006. He lives in Dubai to avoid a jail term for abuse of power. After months of restraint, Thaksin's "red shirts" supporters are making militant noises under hardline new leaders. "On April 5, red brothers and sisters, pack your belongings and be ready for a major assembly. The destination may be Bangkok or other places, it will be announced later," Jatuporn Prompan, chairman of the "red-shirts" United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, told supporters late on Saturday. Jatuporn helped organize a "red-shirts" uprising against a previous government that ended in a bloody military crackdown in May 2010. More than 90 people were killed during the protests in central Bangkok. Jatuporn still faces terrorism charges related to the violence in 2010. In the latest political crisis, 23 people have died and more than 700 have been wounded since November. Speaking to an estimated 10,000 people in Pattaya southeast of Bangkok, another leader, Nisit Sintuprai, sent a warning to Suthep Thaugsuban, the former opposition politician who has led the protests against Yingluck since November. "One big reason why we are on the move again is to tell Suthep that the majority in this country want democracy, want government through elections. We cannot accept a prime minister nominated by your people," he said. Suthep's People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) wants unspecified electoral changes before any election, aiming to dilute the influence of Thaksin and his massive support among the rural poor in the north and northeast. Parties led by or allied to Thaksin have won every election since 2001 and Yingluck's Puea Thai Party is widely expected to win any election held under current arrangements. Impeachment Looms for PM Yingluck Suthep's supporters disrupted the election on Feb. 2 and prevented voting in 28 constituencies. The Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that made the ballot illegal because voting is supposed to be held across the country on the same day. The Election Commission will meet on Monday to decide how to proceed, but it had been reluctant to hold the February election because of the political climate and may push for talks between the opposing sides before setting a new polling date. It is far from clear that Yingluck's caretaker government can struggle on much longer. The most immediate threat is her possible impeachment for alleged dereliction of duty over a disastrous rice-buying scheme that has run up huge losses. This scheme bolstered Yingluck's support in a 2011 election but thousands of farmers, normally solid supporters of Thaksin, have demonstrated in Bangkok this year because they have not been paid for their rice. Yingluck has to defend herself before an anti-corruption commission by March 31 and a decision to impeach her could come soon after that. She could then be removed from office by the upper house Senate, which is likely to have an anti-Thaksin majority after an election for half of its members on March 30. Some analysts say it will fall to the Senate to then appoint a "neutral" prime minister, probably the type of establishment figure the anti-government protesters have been demanding. "Independent agencies are being quite obvious that they want to remove her and her entire cabinet to create a power vacuum, claim that elections can't be held and then nominate a prime minister of their choice," said Kan Yuenyong, an analyst at the Siam Intelligence Unit, referring to the courts and the anti-corruption commission. "If they run with this plan, then the government's supporters will fight back and the next half of the year will be much worse than what we saw in the first half," he said. Violence Damages Economy Encouraged by the dwindling number of protesters and relative calm on the streets, the government lifted a state of emergency on March 19. But three grenades exploded around midnight on Thursday near the home of a Constitutional Court judge ahead of the election ruling and police said a car bomb went off early on Saturday near a PDRC camp in north Bangkok and near a government administrative complex protesters have disrupted for weeks. Explosive devices went off in three incidents late on Friday in Chiang Mai province, a Thaksin stronghold, and one person was seriously injured, police said. One target was Boon Rawd Brewery, which makes Singha beer. A member of the family that owns it has been prominent in PDRC rallies. Consumer confidence is at a 12-year low, prompting the central bank on Friday to cut its economic growth forecast for 2014 to 2.7 percent from 3 percent. In October last year, just before the protests flared up, it had forecast 4.8 percent. The stock market barely moved after Friday's court decision. Some stock analysts have taken the scrapping of the election as a positive move, believing it will spur negotiations between the political opponents. Rating agency Standard and Poor's took a different view. "We believe the Thai court's decision dims prospects for any near-term resolution of Thailand's political split and is in line with our expectations of protracted and possibly increasing political risks," Agost Benard, its associate director of sovereign ratings, said in a statement. The post Thai 'Red Shirts' Take Up Fight to Defend PM Facing Impeachment appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Indian Farmers Driven to Suicide as Hail Ruins Crops Posted: 23 Mar 2014 10:59 PM PDT Farmers thrash paddy in India's Srinagar October 2013. (Photo: Reuters) MUMBAI — Unseasonal rains and hailstorms this month have damaged the winter-sown crops of millions of Indian farmers, but Rekha Garole lost more than others. Her 42-year-old husband Santuka killed himself this month after hail devastated the wheat and chickpea crops that they had been counting on to repay a bank loan of 90,000 rupees ($1,500). "He committed suicide to escape his debt burden," says Rekha, who met nearly a dozen political leaders in a week at her mud house in the Nanded district of western Maharashtra state but has yet to receive any financial aid. Santuka, like other farmers in his village of Golegaon, prayed last year for bountiful rains to end two years of drought in the region. Ample rainfall did come, but at the wrong time. In September, cloudbursts damaged soybean and sorghum crops that were ready to be harvested, forcing farmers like Santuka into debts that they could not pay due to the latest crop damage. Millions of small Indian farmers are struggling to survive as erratic weather hits their only source of income. They are seeking government help to stay afloat until the next harvest, but bureaucrats are moving slowly to record crop losses. Anger is mounting among affected farmers tired of hearing empty promises. Many have given up hope. Nearly five dozen farmers in Maharashtra and the central state of Madhya Pradesh have committed suicide this month over debt worries, farmers' advocacy groups say. This could spell trouble for the ruling Congress party in a five-week general election that starts on April 7, as the farmers' vote helped it retain power in 2009. Opinion polls suggest that Congress faces a heavy defeat. "It will make the government more unpopular just before the elections," said Jaidev Dole, a political analyst based in the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra. "The farmers affected are unhappy with the government's response, and that can be reflected in votes. Opposition parties have already started to make this an election issue." In Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, nearly 3 million hectares of crops have been hit, Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said. Crops have been damaged in the northern states of Rajasthan and Punjab and in southern Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to a lesser extent. Orange, grape and mango farmers were the worst hit by the storms, along with wheat, rapeseed, chickpea and red gram. The damage could force the government to slash production estimates for key winter-sown crops like rapeseed, chickpea and wheat, but the immediate worry would be vegetable supplies. Prices Rise Again After moderating in recent weeks, vegetable prices have started to rise again as supplies have been disrupted by the rains. Double-digit food inflation contributed to the Congress party's defeat in key state elections last year. Opposition parties, mainly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that is favorite to form the next government, are already cornering the government over farmer suicides and price rises. Campaigning in the hail-hit areas, the BJP's candidate for prime minister, Narendra Modi, said: "Despite India being an agrarian economy, the government's wrong policies are forcing farmers to commit suicide." The central government will provide 13.5 billion rupees (US$220 million) to farmers hit by the precipitation in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, a government source said on Thursday. Farmers' leaders say the aid is too little even to cover the cost of seeds and fertilizers. "Farmers have taken loans from banks and private money lenders. With government help of a few thousand rupees, they can't even repay their debts," said Vijay Jawandhia, a farmers' leader from Maharashtra. Any financial help comes too late for Rekha, who has two school-age children: "After a suicide everyone makes promises," she told Reuters by phone. "But the ones who commit suicide will never return." The post Indian Farmers Driven to Suicide as Hail Ruins Crops appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

US Navy Black Box Locator Joins Search for Missing Malaysian Plane Posted: 23 Mar 2014 10:55 PM PDT Squadron leader Brett McKenzie takes notes of other search aircraft on the windshield of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean March 22, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) SYDNEY/PERTH — The United States Navy is moving one of its high-tech Black Box detectors closer to the search area for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane in remote seas off the Australian coast, bolstering hopes wreckage of the plane may be found soon. Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board on a flight to Beijing on March 8. The so-called Towed Pinger Locator will be crucial in finding the black box of the missing jetliner if a debris field is established by an Australian-led international search team scouring an area in the southern Indian Ocean some 2,500 km (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth. "If debris is found we will be able to respond as quickly as possible since the battery life of the black box’s pinger is limited," Commander Chris Budde, U.S. Seventh Fleet Operations Officer, said in an emailed statement. Attention and resources in the search for the Boeing 777 have shifted in recent days from an initial focus north of the equator to an increasingly narrowed stretch of icy sea in the southern Indian Ocean. Chinese and Japanese military aircraft were joining a 10-strong international fleet of planes scouring the area for the first time on Monday. A flotilla of Chinese ships, including the icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, is also making its way south. Budde stressed that bringing in the black box detector, which is towed behind a vessel at slow speeds and can pick up "pings" from a black box to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet, was a precautionary measure. Similarly, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss stressed the challenges of the search. "It’s a lot of water to look for just perhaps a tiny object," Truss told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Radio. "Today we expect the weather to deteriorate and the forecast ahead is not that good, so it’s going to be a challenge, but we will stick at it," he said. Two Chinese military Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft, two Australian P3 Orions and two ultra-long range civilian jets were in the early search party on Monday. Another ultra-long range jet, a U.S. Navy P8 Poseidon and two Japanese P3 Orions were due to depart later in the day. Floating Objects Australia was analyzing French radar images showing potential floating debris that were taken some 850 kms (530 miles) north of the current search area. "We only recently got this information and we are still examining it," an AMSA spokeswoman told Reuters by telephone. Malaysia said it received the images on Sunday and passed them on to Australia. "We are taking it into account but at this stage we are still focused on the same search area," the spokeswoman said, contradicting earlier comments from Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss that the search area had been expanded north to take into account the French sighting. Australia has used a U.S. satellite image of two floating objects to frame its search area. The search planes are zeroing in on the areas around where the earlier sightings were made in an effort to find the object identified by China and other small debris, including a wooden pallet, spotted by a search plane on Saturday. China said the object it had seen on the satellite image was 22 meters long (74ft) and 13 meters (43ft) wide. It could not be determined easily from the blurred images whether the objects were the same as those detected by Australia, but the Chinese photograph could depict a cluster of smaller objects, said a senior military officer from one of the 26 nations involved in the search. The wing of a Boeing 777-200ER is approximately 27 meters long and 14 meters wide at its base, according to estimates derived from publicly available scale drawings. Its fuselage is 63.7 meters long by 6.2 meters wide. NASA said it would use high-resolution cameras aboard satellites and the International Space Station to look for possible crash sites in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. space agency is also examining archived images collected by instruments on its Terra and Aqua environmental satellites, said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel. "Our satellites and space-based cameras are designed for long-term scientific data gathering and Earth observation. They’re really not meant to look for a missing aircraft, and obviously NASA isn’t a lead agency in this effort. But we’re trying to support the search, if possible," Beutel said. Truss said the aircraft flying on Monday would be focused on searching by sight, rather than radar, which can be tricky to use because of the high seas and wind in the area. Civilian aircraft, which can carry more people, have joined the search. Hijack or Sabotage? Investigators believe someone on the flight shut off the plane’s communications systems. Partial military radar tracking showed it turning west and re-crossing the Malay Peninsula, apparently under the control of a skilled pilot. That has led them to focus on hijacking or sabotage, but investigators have not ruled out technical problems. Faint electronic "pings" detected by a commercial satellite suggested it flew for another six hours or so, but could do no better than place its final signal on one of two vast arcs north and south. The lack of solid news has meant a prolonged and harrowing wait for families of the passengers, who have complained in both Beijing and Kuala Lumpur about the absence of information. A Malaysian statement said a "high-level" team briefed relatives in Beijing on Sunday in a meeting that lasted more than six hours. While the southern arc is now the main focus of the search, Malaysia says efforts will continue in both corridors until confirmed debris are found. "We still don’t even know for certain if the aircraft is in this area," Truss said of the southern Indian Ocean search. "We’re just clutching at whatever little piece of information that comes along to try to find the place we can concentrate the efforts." The post US Navy Black Box Locator Joins Search for Missing Malaysian Plane appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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