Friday, December 5, 2014

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Parliament Considers Bill to Criminalize Polygamy, Infidelity

Posted: 05 Dec 2014 05:50 AM PST

The draft monogamy law seeks to impose hefty prison terms for acts of polygamy or extramarital affairs. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

The draft monogamy law seeks to impose hefty prison terms for acts of polygamy or extramarital affairs. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The Union Parliament will consider a bill to formalize criminal prohibitions against polygamy and infidelity, mandating hefty jail terms for citizens and foreigners who take more than one spouse or commit extramarital affairs.

The bill is one of four draft laws under the controversial "protection of race and religion laws" introduced into the parliament this week and scheduled for debate in January 2015. Published on Friday in the state-run Mirror Daily newspaper, the monogamy law as it currently stands would impose a seven-year prison term and a fine for any act of polygamy and infidelity under Section 494 of the Burmese Penal Code.

Any husband or wife found to marry another party while the original union is still legally recognized or conduct an extramarital affair would also forfeit all property rights and grant their partner grounds to seek divorce.

Dr Nyo Nyo Thin, a lawmaker from the Rangoon Division Parliament, has welcomed the draft law.

"I agree with monogamy law…Burma is working towards an international standard, so for that reason I welcome the law," he said.

The law would apply to all Burmese citizens both within and outside the country, as well as foreigners who marry citizens during their time in Burma.

Lawyer Khin Zaw told Irrawaddy that the law is unclear in parts and does not reconcile with Article 13 of the Burma Laws Act, a colonial-era statute which states that all judicial decisions relating to marriage should be made with respect to the customary law of the religion of the parties concerned.

Presently, the articles of the Penal Code relating to polygamy can potentially be interpreted as only applying to religions which explicitly prohibit polygamy, such as most denominations of Christianity. In Buddhist and Islamic customary law, polygamy is often technically permitted, notwithstanding de facto local taboos.

Cherry Zahau, a human rights activist from Chin State, told The Irrawaddy that any attempts to criminalize polygamy and extramarital affairs would be welcomed, as many women are affected by unfaithful husbands.

However, in light of the large number of laws passed in the life of the current Union Parliament, Cherry Zahau said it would be better to wait for existing laws to establish themselves rather than rushing to pass the monogamy bill next year.

The monogamy bill and the three other bills which comprise the "protection of race and religion laws", which include new regulations on religious conversion, interfaith marriage and population control, were tabled in parliament last week and have been published in full in Burmese language state-run newspapers and the Ministry of Information website.

The post Parliament Considers Bill to Criminalize Polygamy, Infidelity appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Mandalay Authorities Hassle Independent Media During Norwegian King’s Arrival

Posted: 05 Dec 2014 04:30 AM PST

A family displaced by Mandalay authorities in preparation for the arrival of the Norwegian king, have a meal on Friday morning. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)

A family displaced by Mandalay authorities in preparation for the arrival of the Norwegian king, have a meal on Friday morning. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)

MANDALAY — Mandalay authorities hassled independent local media who were trying to cover the visit of Norway's King Harald to Burma's second-biggest city on Friday, allowing only state-run media to access the event, local journalists said.

Reporters working for media outlets such as The Voice, Seven Day News and Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) turned up at Gaw Wein jetty on the Irrawaddy River to wait for the arrival of the king and his entourage, after they travelled from Rangoon to Mandalay by boat as part of an official five-day state visit.

Local Special Branch police, however, shoed the reporters away, warning them that only selected media were allowed to cover the king's arrival.

"We were told by a guy from the SB office at the jetty that only those media that are 'legal' media are allowed to cover the king's visit," said Kyaw Zay Win, a video reporter for DVB. "It seems they consider other media, except for state-owned and crony-owned media, as illegal."

State-owned television broadcaster MRTV, military-owned TV station Myawaddy and Skynet, a satellite TV station owned by a company Shwe Than Lwin with close government links, were among the media outlets allowed on to the jetty to record the king's arrival.

"You guys are not on the list. We got the list of only six legal media. The New Light of Myanmar, Myawaddy, MRTV, Yadanarpon, Mandalay Daily and SkyNet," a Special Branch officer told an Irrawaddy reporter and other journalists.

"You guys must go away from this place and if you want to take photos, you can take them from there," said the officer, while pointing out to the river bank far away from the jetty, where dozens of school children were waiting for the king while holding small flags of Burma and Norway.

Prior to the event, authorities promised independent media press that they could register for press cards to cover the event, but authorities failed to follow through on the promise.

After preventing independent media from accessing the jetty for several hours before the king's arrival, the journalists were finally allowed to get closer to the event, but then most decided not to cover the royal arrival out of anger with the authorities over their treatment.

On Wednesday, controversy arose in relation to the visit of the Norwegian monarch when news emerged that Mandalay authorities had evicted scores of poor families living on the Irrawaddy River bank to avoid blighting the landscape upon the arrival of King Harald.

Norwegian broadcaster NRK subsequently quoted the king as saying that the eviction was "very sad."

"We have not asked for this at all. We were having a private reception here, but this is something they have wanted," King Harald reportedly said, adding that the incident shows that Burma's democratic transition has "a way to go yet."

Zaw Zaw, a freelance journalist, said, "We wonder whether this is the arrangement of the Norwegian authorities or just by the local authorities. The security officers told us that the decision not to allow [independent] media came from the Mandalay Division chief minister."

"We can't accept that. They must understand we need freedom to access information and write the news—and there must be no discrimination," he added.

It is not uncommon for Burmese authorities to limit access to government events and ceremonies in order to avoid critical media coverage, often only allowing state and army-owned outlets access. In Mandalay, authorities often hassle independent media before granting them access to government events.

In March, Burma Army chief Min Aung Hlaing promised to hold his first ever press conference on the sidelines of the Asean Chiefs of Defense Forces Informal Meeting in Naypyidaw, but independent media were prevented from attending the event and the commander only took questions from state-owned outlets.

In July 2013, independent media were blocked from covering the opening ceremony of the Mandalay office of the Southeast Asia Gas Pipeline Company Limited, an event cohosted by the Energy Ministry. The consortium of Chinese firms is constructing the controversial Swe Gas pipeline, which connects China's Yunnan Province with Burmese offshore oil and gas reserves in the Bay of Bengal.

Media freedom has drastically improved in Burma since 2011, when President Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government took office. The past year, however, has seen significant backsliding as authorities initiated a number of criminal cases against several media organizations that led to the imprisonment of more than 10 members of the media, while the government also passed controversial media laws.

The post Mandalay Authorities Hassle Independent Media During Norwegian King's Arrival appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

YCDC Election Candidates Cry Foul Over Signboard Ban

Posted: 05 Dec 2014 03:23 AM PST

Campaign workers prepare t-shirts for Ngwe Zaw, a candidate for the Yankin Township Municipal Committee in the forthcoming YCDC elections. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

Campaign workers prepare t-shirts for Ngwe Zaw, a candidate for the Yankin Township Municipal Committee in the forthcoming YCDC elections. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) has issued a ban on campaign signage in this month's municipal elections to avoid "damage" to the beauty of the city, angering candidates blindsided by the sudden decision.

A total of 291 candidates, including rights activists and a former political prisoner, are contesting the Dec. 27 election. Independent candidates say the edict, which was issued by the YCDC and not the local election commission, has put their campaigns at a distinct disadvantage.

"[The YCDC] should not restrict candidates in the election. This is our main opportunity to publicize our campaigns," said Win Cho, a former inmate of Insein Prison renowned for leading demonstrations over power shortages and land rights, who was unexpectedly approved by the election committee to contest a seat at the end of the month.

Win Cho added that the decision is an affront to democratic standards.

Hla Hla Soe, director of the Karen Women's Action Group and a candidate for one of four seats on the Divisional Municipal Committee, told The Irrawaddy that the YCDC blocked the erection of signboards on the grounds that campaign bunting would threaten the city's beauty.

"They told me that there are over 200 candidates, and if each candidate posts signboards from their own township, the beauty of the city will be damaged," she said. "This is why they banned us from doing it."

However, Hla Hla Soe said that some candidates had already erected signboards, contradicting the YCDC's decree.

"As I respect their law, I did not post any signboards for my campaign. But I found that some people put up signboards already, which violates the law," she said, adding that she will take her complaints to the election commission.

Tin Aye, the chairman of the YCDC Election Commission, told The Irrawaddy that the order came directly from the YCDC and not the commission itself.

“Their order said that candidates are not allowed to post signboards. But the order did not come from us," he said.

Nonetheless, Tin Aye echoed the logic of the YCDC's decision.

"There are over 200 candidates. If each of them post their own signboards, the city will look bad," he added.

The YCDC has promised that the election will be conducted in a free and fair manner, but the lingering doubts of some participants have not been assuaged by the prohibition on signboards. Controversial decisions to limit the franchise to one vote per household and to appoint five members of the overarching nine-person Divisional Municipal Committee have also been criticized by candidates.

“They say it will be a free and fair election, but we question this,” Hla Hla Soe said.

Candidates the YCDC election will contest a total of 115 seats, including 12 seats across four district committees and 99 seats across four township committees.

The post YCDC Election Candidates Cry Foul Over Signboard Ban appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Rebel Kachin Leader Says Trust in Burma Is Low

Posted: 05 Dec 2014 03:15 AM PST

Maj-Gen Gun Maw is deputy chief of the Kachin Independence Army. (Photo: Steve Tickner/ The Irrawaddy)

Maj-Gen Gun Maw is deputy chief of the Kachin Independence Army. (Photo: Steve Tickner/ The Irrawaddy)

BANGKOK — A leader of ethnic Kachin rebels fighting in Burma said Friday that trust in the country's military-dominated government was at an all-time low despite years of peace talks aimed at resolving the conflict in the country's jade-rich north.

But rebel Gen. Gun Maw told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that the insurgent group was still committed to dialogue because it is "the only way forward."

Fighting between the army and Kachin insurgents flared anew in 2011, ending a 17-year-ceasefire and forcing more than 120,000 people from their homes. Since then, Burma President Thein Sein's administration has agreed to tentative truces with 14 insurgent factions, but it has been unable to secure a deal with the Kachin or broker a broader, nationwide ceasefire with a rebel alliance that top government negotiators have met with regularly since last year.

"Our trust in the government and the army is lower now than when we started talking," Gun Maw said during a visit to Bangkok. "But the lack of trust is why talks are necessary."

Already strained negotiations were dealt a severe blow on Nov. 19 when the army fired a pair of 105mm artillery shells at a Kachin military academy just north of their headquarters in Laiza on the Chinese border, killing 23 people and injuring 20. Only four of the wounded were part of the Kachin rebel organization, however. The rest were members of other allied ethnic groups who had come for training, said Gun Maw, who serves as vice chief of staff of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

Both sides have accused each other of initiating firefights in recent months, and rebels say the Burma Army is still firing shells sporadically at Kachin outposts from hills they seized during a weeks-long offensive that ended in January 2013.

Gun Maw said the rebels' main aim was to achieve equal rights and autonomy within a federalist system, an idea first enshrined in the so-called Panglong Agreement of 1947—which was sealed with ethnic groups who make up about 40 percent of the population. The deal fell apart after national independence hero Gen. Aung San was assassinated the same year and has been generally ignored by the authoritarian military regimes that followed.

A major stumbling block to any deal, Gun Maw said, is the army's insistence that rebels accept the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, which deprives ethnic minorities the right to self-determination. The charter also ensures military domination over the government, giving the armed forces chief more power than the president—including the extraordinary "right to take over and exercise state sovereign power" if an emergency is deemed to threaten the union. It also ensures that 25 percent of lawmakers are military appointees who retain veto power over all constitutional amendments.

"Ultimately they don't want to change the 2008 Constitution because doing so would reduce their power," Gun Maw said. "Their approach to negotiations has been, 'You have to listen to our demands.'"

Another sticking point is the future of the ethnic armies who control a vast patchwork of territories along Burma's northern and eastern borders. There has been no agreement on whether they would lay down their arms or join a federal army, and Gun Maw said that would only be discussed after a general political agreement is eventually reached.

Gun Maw said that peace talks so far had achieved only the minutest of successes—for example, not agreement on federalism or political dialogue, but an understanding that those issues must be discussed in the future.

After retired general Thein Sein assumed the presidency in 2011 and spearheaded a series of dramatic reforms that have opened the country and liberalized its economy, millions of people hoped the country was finally turning around after half a century of military rule. But analysts say reforms have now stalled and continued fighting on the battlefield is part of a greater effort by the army to strengthen its hand and secure mining regions rich in jade and timber.

Asked if he believed the government was committed to peace, Gun Maw said: "I have faith that there will eventually be a solution."

The post Rebel Kachin Leader Says Trust in Burma Is Low appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Norway’s Changing Role in Burma: Drive by Peace or Business?

Posted: 05 Dec 2014 03:09 AM PST

Norway's King Harald is seen accompanied by Burmese Foreign Affairs Minister Wunna Maung Lwin during his visit to Rangoon on Tuesday. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

Norway's King Harald is seen accompanied by Burmese Foreign Affairs Minister Wunna Maung Lwin during his visit to Rangoon on Tuesday. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

Norway's image in the eyes of many Burmese has long been that of a partner of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the world most prominent political prisoner under military rule. Norway was associated with promoting peace in Burma and other troubled countries for the past 20 years.

Until last year, Burmese exile broadcast media, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), was based in Oslo and the Norway-funded organization continues to provide important coverage of news in Burma. It gave a voice to the opposition and activists, despite the fact that the former military regime denounced DVB radio and TV as "an enemy of the state" for years.

These days, the image of Norway in Burma has changed and the country is now more closely associated with Telenor, the Norwegian international telecom conglomerate that has plans to provide network coverage for 90 percent of the roughly 51 million Burmese within the next five years.

During the ongoing visit of Norway's King Harald V, who travelled along with the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Trade and a business delegation of more than 35 Norwegian companies, the king gave a speech that highlighted Norway's priority of establishing "long-term development cooperation" with Burma.

Since Burma has changed and rapid change is part of developments across the globe, it should be no surprise that Norway's image and actions in Burma are also changing.

Even Suu Kyi is now being perceived differently than during her years of house arrest; the venerated democracy icon has taken up a seat in Parliament and has become a real politician for her National League for Democracy since the by-elections of mid-2012. At the time, UK newspaper The Guardian hailed her election to Parliament as a 'new era' for Burma.

Around the same time, Western countries began to respond to the Burmese government's request to remove long-standing trade sanctions against the regime. The US suspended most sanctions and the European Union completely dropped all its restrictions. Western governments then quickly began courting the new nominally-civilian government of President Thein Sein, often with the aim of accessing Burma's untapped sizable consumer market or its wealth of natural resources.

Domestically, however, the honeymoon period of this "new era" did not last long and Thein Sein and Suu Kyi's initial working relationship quickly soured. The military retains its entrenched powers provided by the 2008 Constitution, and the government and army resist Suu Kyi's calls for charter reform.

The army and the former generals, now in their plain clothes in government, have thus revealed their true colors and it's clear they are unwilling to give up power to democratic forces. A recent assessment from a top US military officer described Burma as still "under firm military control."

Mon Mon Myat (Photo: Mon Mon Myat)

Mon Mon Myat (Photo: Mon Mon Myat)

As we assess the stalling of the democratization process, it now seems that too much early optimism among the international community about Burma's military-turned-civilian government has negatively affected the transition.

Norway has in this respect led the way.

Norway was the first foreign government that was approached by Burma to play a role as a facilitator in bringing an end to decades-old ethnic conflict. Thein Sein asked for "help to mobilize international support for the peace process" and Norway responded by setting up the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI), announcing the project in January 2012 during a state visit by Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

Later, Norway wrote off US$534 million Burmese debt. The country has also played a key role as a hub for foreign donors entering Burma and was acknowledged as a founder of the Peace Donor Support Group (PDSG).

The Irrawaddy reported that the PDSG—representing the governments of Norway, the UK and Australia, as well as the EU, the United Nations and the World Bank—promised a total of nearly $500 million to support peace-building and development projects in Burma during a meeting with Thein Sein in Naypyidaw in June 2012.

But was it perhaps too soon to dream of a "new era" in Burma, only two months after the by-elections?

Norway learned a lesson about dealing with Burma much-praised reformist government when it saw its MPSI project get stuck due to military and government intransigence on reaching a nationwide ceasefire. Its report "Lessons Learned from MPSI's Work Supporting the Peace Process in Myanmar" released this year, says "trust in the Myanmar Army still remains a problem, and some areas are still seeing active conflict."

Norway should have done its homework before working in the new Burma. Over the past 20 years, Burmese generals shrewdly repeatedly stated that they were willing to hold a "dialogue" at times of domestic unrest or international pressure.

Whether it is named dialogue or multi-party talks with key political players, or nationwide ceasefire talks, in Burma such kind of negotiations and meetings have always been used by the military and political elite for show.

In the 1980s, the Burma Amy signed several ceasefire agreements with ethnic armed groups but those agreements were very fragile. In the 1990s, the regime negotiated a number of other ceasefires with different groups as part of a strategy to win legitimacy both domestically and abroad.

The same strategy has been used again after the rigged 2010 elections, this time by Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government, which negotiated a large number of bilateral ceasefires with ethnic groups and a initiated a nationwide ceasefire process.

But fighting continues in northern Burma, where the Burma Army on Nov. 19 carried out a surprise attack on a Kachin rebel training school killing 23 young cadets. Some question the sincerity of the government and the army's intentions in the peace process, with Burma expert and veteran journalist Bertil Lintner telling a conference in March that the government's chief peace negotiator, Minister Aung Min, "lacks authority to make decisions on the ethnic conflicts."

The peace talks are in fact being used as a resource by the government to boost its reformist credibility and to be offered in exchange for international aid and trade.

The international community seems eager to play along and has flown in scores of peace experts, a development that Lintner criticized, saying, "The peace process has become an industry where international peace experts and nongovernmental organizations are lavishing money on peace advocacy and development projects."

Norwegian actors, too, have been drawn into this strategy by the Thein Sein government and, what's more, some appear to have been promoting their personal interests in Burma as it opens up to foreign investment.

Concerns over a conflict of interest arose when Norway's former ambassador to Burma, Katja Nordgaard, was appointed executive vice president to Telenor Group, six months after the company won a highly lucrative license to expand mobile phone services in Burma. As ambassador, Nordgaard introduced Telenor executives to the Burmese government.

In March 2014, Statoil, the Norwegian oil giant, was among the foreign oil and gas firms awarded a potentially lucrative offshore exploration concession.

Such developments raise questions over Norway's foreign policy toward Burma and whether it has moved from promoting peace and democracy to promoting Norwegian business interests. This is all the more obvious, when one considers that both Statoil and Telenor are majority state-owned firms.

Burma is no longer a focal point for Norwegian sympathy; for Oslo the country has quickly become Asia's last frontier market, offering a bonanza of resources and a place to sell consumer products to a long-isolated population.

In his speech this week, Norway's King Harald said, "Challenges lie ahead in your ongoing peace process. It takes time to build lasting and sustainable peace."

But the question now is how Norway's desired "long-term development cooperation" with Burma can come about without "sustainable peace."

Mon Mon Myat is a freelance journalist based in Rangoon.

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Government Blocking Aid to Kachin IDP Camps: KIO

Posted: 05 Dec 2014 03:03 AM PST

A view of the Border Post 6 camp for displaced persons, on the mountainous Sino-Burmese border that is administered by the Kachin Independence Organization. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

A view of the Border Post 6 camp for displaced persons, on the mountainous Sino-Burmese border that is administered by the Kachin Independence Organization. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), are facing a shortage of food supplies amid reported restrictions on UN and NGOs' humanitarian aid deliveries.

Kachin IDPs have seen food stocks dwindle in recent weeks as humanitarian aid has been blocked by the Burmese government, according to Doi Be Za, chair of the KIO's IDPs and Refugees Relief Committee.

Doi Be Za, who is also a member of the KIO central committee, said: "The UN and NGOs told us that they will come in October. To date, they have not arrived. Now we are surviving with the help of local donors. The government has suspended the UN and NGOs' permission to come to Laiza, citing security reasons."

It was not immediately clear if aid deliveries were being denied in relation to an incident on Nov. 19 in which a KIO military academy near Laiza was shelled by the Burma Army, killing 23 cadets.

There are more than 20 IDP camps under KIO management, with an estimated total population of 50,000 people living in them, according to Doi Be Za's committee.

"The UN told us that they would come in early November but they didn't come," said Mary Tawn, head of the humanitarian NGO Wunpawng Ningtoi, based in Mai Ja Yang, Kachin State. "The government has closed the road for security reasons. Now, in the Laiza refugee camps, there is a shortage of basic groceries like rice, oil, salt and peas."

With IDP camps that in some cases are more than three years old, deteriorating conditions are beginning to take their toll on inhabitants. Some IDPs in Panwar, at a camp more than 10,000 feet above sea level known as Border Post 8, struggle to keep water from freezing and face other difficulties associated with the rugged frontier, Mary Tawn said.

Doi Be Za said as winter approaches, humanitarian aid groups face increasing difficulties in sending rations to Border Posts 6, 7 and 8, which are along the China Border. He said the IDPs are in urgent need of warm clothes, and are also fearful because their camps are sited in close proximity to Burma Army bases.

The UN estimates that more than 100,000 people have been displaced since fighting resumed between the KIO's armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and government forces in 2011. They are living in temporary camps across Kachin State, some of which are administered by the government and others managed by the KIO.

The post Government Blocking Aid to Kachin IDP Camps: KIO appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Questioning Oslo’s Embrace of Burma

Posted: 05 Dec 2014 01:30 AM PST

Norwegian royal couple King Harald V and Queen Sonja in Rangoon on Dec. 2, 2014. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

Norwegian royal couple King Harald V and Queen Sonja in Rangoon on Dec. 2, 2014. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

The relationship between Burma and Norway has transformed in recent years; one of the most devout supporters of Burma's democratic opposition movement has warmed considerably to the quasi-civilian government that assumed power in 2011, largely made up of members of a former military regime. The friendship has proven to be mutually beneficial, as Norway has enjoyed a number of coveted licenses in once-closed, largely unexplored, resource-rich Burma.

On the event of the first state visit by Norwegian King Harald V and his wife, Queen Sonja, we opened up The Irrawaddy Archives for a reflection on the changing relationship between the two governments. This article by Editor-in-Chief Aung Zaw was first published in May, 2014.

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama is respected across the world for his struggle for the rights of his people and one of the most famous recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, which is handed out in Norway every year.

But during his three-day visit to the country this week, leaders in Oslo were faced with a dilemma: human rights or salmon. This time, salmon won and the exiled leader was unable to meet with Norwegian government officials.

The conservative-led government in Oslo has decided to patch up its relations with China. These relations had suffered after the Nobel Committee awarded the peace prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in 2010, even though the committee is an independent body appointed by parliament.

Norway supplied 92 percent of all Chinese salmon imports in 2010, valued at US$83 million, but, according to media reports, this share has since dropped to just 29 percent after China, angered over the peace prize, imposed import restrictions and cancelled talks on a free trade agreement.

The snub of the Dalai Lama angered domestic opposition and international human rights group, but Prime Minister Erna Solberg defended the government's position. "It has been a difficult situation that we have not been able to work internationally with China for four years. Before 2010 we had a running dialogue with China about human rights issues. Norwegian experts were helping the Chinese to develop a better justice system. After 2010 we haven't been able to do this," she told international media.

But China is not the only country that has benefitted from Norway's recent decision to take a more pragmatic, although less principled, stand on human rights.

In Burma's capital Naypyidaw, officials of President Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government have been enjoying a good relationship with Oslo during the rocky democratic transition in the country and Norwegian businesses have been warmly welcomed by the government.

Norway's Telenor was one of two foreign firms awarded a license to develop the telecom sector in Burma, Asia's last frontier in mobile and internet expansion, while Norwegian state-owned firm Statoil received a license to explore one of Burma's most promising offshore oil and gas blocks.

The close relationship between Oslo and Naypyidaw should come as a surprise, perhaps, as Norway was long one of the staunchest supporters of Burma's democratic opposition movement and of the ethnic refugees stranded on the Thai-Burma border.

Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and Norway also funded the exile media group Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), allowing the opposition radio and television station to broadcast from Oslo.

In the late 2000s, this position began to gradually change and—even before the democratic transition initiated by the military regime began in 2011—Oslo signaled a willingness to move closer to the repressive military regime.

In January 2009, Norway's then-Minister of International Development, Erik Solheim, visited Burma and afterward called for a review of Oslo's Burma policy and putting more emphasis on economic engagement and less on international isolation.

In January 2012, then-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, paid a two-day official visit to Burma. Oslo subsequently indicated it would no longer urge Norwegian companies to refrain from trade and investment in Burma.

In private conversations, Norwegian diplomats claimed that Oslo had "foreseen" the democratic reforms and this prompted the move toward a more pragmatic stance. Some even questioned the governing capabilities of the National League for Democracy and its leader Suu Kyi, but noted that the officials in Thein Sein's government were able reformers.

Norway continued to take the lead on Burma's international rehabilitation and worked with Japan to move the international community at the Paris Club of creditors to clear Burma's foreign debt. Last year a staggering sum of around $6 billion was written off.

Thein Sein duly thanked Norway for its early support of reforms and helping squash Naypyidaw's huge foreign debts.

Burma's peace process, aimed at ending decades-old conflicts with an array of ethnic armed groups, could also count of Norwegian support. About $5 million was poured into the government's Myanmar Peace Center, while a $2 million dollar scheme, the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative, would facilitate the return of refugees to their ethnic areas.

The project proved controversial among local aid organizations working with conflict-affected ethnic groups, who said it lacked transparency, failed to consult them and risked channeling aid into ethnic areas before genuine peace is established.

Norway still believes it can play a role in the peace process and one Norwegian official said his government "can influence the ministers and the government in Burma" through its close ties.

But for some of Norway's earlier friends from Burma—the democracy movement, rights groups and ethnic organizations—the success of Oslo's new approach is less clear.

Among Burma's democrats and dissidents many quietly wonder if Norway had a change of heart. Some question the need for an oil-rich nation like Norway to seek business deals in Burma.

A prominent Kachin ethnic rebel leader told me that they consider the Norwegians approach to the peace process "Taw Tha Htay," an expression meaning a wealthy person from a remote area with limited understanding.

Yet there is no need to be pessimistic. Clearly Norway can still play an important role in promoting peace and democratic reform in Burma—in 2012 it invited Suu Kyi to pick up her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize—but for those working outside the current government, the question has become how?

Now that Burma's democratic transition is entering a crucial phase and doubts are increasing about the intentions of the government and the military, Oslo should take a stronger stand in support of Burma's pro-democracy forces.

Norway should make it clear what its goals are in engaging with Burma's government and whether it will support its old Burmese friends in the opposition. These are questions that many Burmese who are still fighting for greater freedom feel they have a right to ask.

The post Questioning Oslo's Embrace of Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Keep Your Eyes Closed, Your Majesty, Don’t Peek

Posted: 05 Dec 2014 12:49 AM PST

Keep Your Eyes Closed, Don't Peek

Keep Your Eyes Closed, Don’t Peek

The post Keep Your Eyes Closed, Your Majesty, Don’t Peek appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Hong Kong Protesters Weigh Next Move as One Suggests Blocking Govt, Not Roads

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 08:48 PM PST

Student leader Joshua Wong (L), who is on the third day of a hunger strike, reacts to cold weather as he and other students meet journalists outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong December 4, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

Student leader Joshua Wong (L), who is on the third day of a hunger strike, reacts to cold weather as he and other students meet journalists outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong December 4, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

HONG KONG — Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong weighed their options on Friday, whether to call off more than two months of street demonstrations or change tactics, as one leader suggested a campaign of withholding tax to "block government".

Leaders of the Hong Kong Federation of Students will decide in the next week whether to call on protesters to pull up stakes from camps straddling some of the Chinese-controlled city’s main thoroughfares which have created havoc for transport and business and tried residents’ patience.

About 20 protesters dressed in thick jackets waited out cooler temperatures on Friday in the main Admiralty protest site, next to the Central business district, while tents were covered in plastic bags and tin foil for insulation and protection from the rain.

Student Keith Ng, 17, who has his first exam on Monday, reflected the overall mood, nursing a heavy cold.

"I am in the first aid team here, so I have to stay till the end," he said. "But for the other protesters, I think they will retreat as morale is very low now."

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese Communist Party rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that gives it some autonomy from the mainland and a promise of eventual universal suffrage.

Beijing has allowed a free vote in 2017, but insists on screening any candidates for city leader first.

Chief Executive C.Y. Leung told the Hong Kong Economic Times that protesters still occupying the streets were the more radical ones, and this was why action should be taken to clear the camp sites.

Police are expected to clear the streets of the Admiralty area from Wednesday, media said, and many students like Timothy Sun, 18, who was arrested on Sunday, said he would leave.

"I can’t afford to be arrested for a second time," Sun, who is on a gap year, said.

Benny Tai, one of the founders of the "Occupy Central" movement, reiterated calls for students to leave and pondered where the disobedience movement could go next.

"Blocking government may be even more powerful than blocking roads," he wrote in the International New York Times.

"Refusal to pay taxes, delaying rent payments by tenants in public housing … along with other such acts of non cooperation, could make governing more inconvenient."

Despite the expected police clear-out and a retreat by the main student federation, some were likely to stay put.

"After more than two months here, many see this place as their home," said Louis Tong, 20. "They won’t leave because we haven’t achieved anything."

But Tai said much had been achieved by the so-called Umbrella Movement, despite the fact that the government had not met its demands for a free vote.

"The Umbrella Movement has awakened the democratic aspirations of a whole generation of Hong Kong people," he wrote. "In this sense, we have achieved much more than we could have hoped for."

The post Hong Kong Protesters Weigh Next Move as One Suggests Blocking Govt, Not Roads appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

In North Korea, Hackers Are a Handpicked, Pampered Elite

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 08:42 PM PST

A Sony Pictures film, in which two journalists are instructed to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, is believed to be the motivation behind a successful hacking attempt on the company. (Picture: Reuters)

A Sony Pictures film, in which two journalists are instructed to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, is believed to be the motivation behind a successful hacking attempt on the company. (Picture: Reuters)

SEOUL — Despite its poverty and isolation, North Korea has poured resources into a sophisticated cyber-warfare cell called Bureau 121, defectors from the secretive state said as Pyongyang came under the microscope for a crippling hack into computers at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

A North Korean diplomat has denied Pyongyang was behind the attack that was launched last month but a US national security source said it was a suspect.

Defectors from the North have said Bureau 121, staffed by some of the most talented computer experts in the insular state, is part of the General Bureau of Reconnaissance, an elite spy agency run by the military. They have said it is involved in state-sponsored hacking, used by the Pyongyang government to spy on or sabotage its enemies.

Pyongyang has active cyber-warfare capabilities, military and software security experts have said. Much of it is targeted at the South, technically still in a state of war with North Korea. But Pyongyang has made no secret of its hatred of the United States, which was on the South’s side in the 1950-53 Korean War.

Military hackers are among the most talented, and rewarded, people in North Korea, handpicked and trained from as young as 17, said Jang Se-yul, who studied with them at North Korea’s military college for computer science, or the University of Automation, before defecting to the South six years ago.

Speaking to Reuters in Seoul, he said the Bureau 121 unit comprises about 1,800 cyber-warriors, and is considered the elite of the military.

"For them, the strongest weapon is cyber. In North Korea, it’s called the Secret War," Jang said.

One of his friends works in an overseas team of the unit, and is ostensibly an employee of a North Korean trading firm, Jang said. Back home, the friend and his family have been given a large state-allocated apartment in an upscale part of Pyongyang, Jang said.

"No one knows … his company runs business as usual. That’s why what he does is scarier," Jang said. "My friend, who belongs to a rural area, could bring all of his family to Pyongyang. Incentives for North Korea’s cyber experts are very strong … they are rich people in Pyongyang."

He said the hackers in Bureau 121 were among the 100 students who graduate from the University of Automation each year after five years of study. Over 2,500 apply for places at the university, which has a campus in Pyongyang, behind barbed wire.

"They are handpicked," said Kim Heung-kwang, a former computer science professor in North Korea who defected to the South in 2004, referring to the state hackers. "It is a great honor for them. It is a white-collar job there and people have fantasies about it."

The technology news site Re/code reported on Wednesday that Sony intends to name North Korea as the source of the attack. But when asked about the Re/code report, a Sony spokeswoman said no announcement from the studio was coming. The company declined comment on Thursday.

Sony Pictures, a unit of Japan’s Sony Corp, is the distributor of "The Interview," a forthcoming comedy featuring a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has described the film as an "act of war".

Last year, more than 30,000 PCs at South Korean banks and broadcasting companies were hit by a similar attack that cybersecurity researchers widely believe was launched from North Korea.

Months later, the South Korean government’s online presence was targeted, with the president’s website defaced with a banner reading "Long live General Kim Jong Un, president of reunification!"

Neither attack was particularly sophisticated, but South Korean authorities said North Korea was to blame, even though 'hacktivist' groups—online activists who hack high-profile targets in order to spread political messages—first appeared to claim responsibility.

Those attacks used rudimentary but effective malware which security researchers later dubbed DarkSeoul.

Also known as the DarkSeoul Gang, the hackers have been involved in a five-year spree against South Korean targets, according to a report last year by computer security firm Symantec, which estimated the group included 10 to 50 hackers and described it as "unique" in its ability to carry out high-profile and damaging attacks over several years.

Some security experts have cast doubt on North Korean involvement in the attack on Sony, citing the publicity-seeking hacktivist style of the attacks. However, the use of an unknown name by the group behind the Sony attacks, "Guardians of Peace", is similar to previous attacks by the DarkSeoul gang.

It remains unclear if the DarkSeoul gang are outsiders working on behalf of North Korea, or some of Pyongyang’s troops in the isolated country’s own 'cyber army'.

Additional reporting by Jim Finkle and Ron Grover.

The post In North Korea, Hackers Are a Handpicked, Pampered Elite appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Philippines Braces for Powerful, Erratic Typhoon

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 08:36 PM PST

Super Typhoon Haiyan seen approaching the Philippines in this Japan Meteorological Agency handout image taken on Nov. 7, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

Super Typhoon Haiyan seen approaching the Philippines in this Japan Meteorological Agency handout image taken on Nov. 7, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

MANILA — A wide swath of the Philippines, including the capital Manila, braced Friday for a dangerously erratic and powerful typhoon approaching from the Pacific, about a year after the country was lashed by Typhoon Haiyan that left more than 7,300 people dead.

Typhoon Hagupit—Filipino for "smash"—strengthened overnight with its sustained winds intensifying to 215 kilometers (134 miles) per hour and gusts of 250 kph (155 mph). The local weather agency PAGASA's forecasts show the typhoon may hit Eastern Samar province late Saturday or early Sunday.

But a forecast by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii said Hagupit (pronounced HA'-goo-pit) may veer northward after making landfall and possibly threaten Manila, which has a population of more than 12 million people.

"We have alerted the people of Manila and we're ready," Mayor Joseph Estrada said, while acknowledging "these typhoons change direction all the time."

It is currently 450 kilometers (280 miles) from the country's eastern coast in the Pacific Ocean and moving slowly.

If the first forecast holds, Hagupit's path will send it barreling inland into central Philippines along the same route where Typhoon Haiyan leveled villages and left more than 7,300 dead and missing in November last year.

Still, Hagupit's erratic behavior prompted the government to call an emergency meeting of mayors of metropolitan Manila to warn them to prepare. Manila is north of the path that Haiyan took.

Given the country's experience with Haiyan, which caught people unprepared to deal with its ferocity, authorities seemed better positioned this time to respond to the impending crisis.

Officials in central Philippine regions, which were hammered by Haiyan, evacuated thousands of people to safer areas, including Tacloban city, where the new typhoon has triggered panic-buying in grocery stores and gas stations and brought back nightmares of last year's deadly onslaught.

Haiyan survivor Emily Sagales said many of her still-edgy neighbors in Tacloban packed their clothes and fled to a sports stadium and safer homes of relatives. Long lines formed at grocery stores and gas stations as residents stocked up on basic goods, she said.

Haiyan demolished about 1 million houses and displaced some 4 million people in the central Philippines. Hundreds of residents still living in tents in Tacloban have been prioritized in an ongoing evacuation.

Hotels in Tacloban, a city of more than 200,000 people still struggling to recover from last year's massive damage, ran out of rooms as wealthier families booked ahead for the weekend.

The government put the military on full alert, workers opened evacuation centers and transported food packs, medicines and body bags to far-flung villages, which could be cut off by heavy rains.

In Manila, President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday led an emergency meeting of disaster-response agencies and ordered steps to prevent panic-buying and hoarding of goods.

The government decided to move the venue of a meeting next week of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which was to be attended by hundreds of diplomats from 21 member economies, from Albay province, which could be lashed by the typhoon, to the capital, Manila, which forecasters said on Thursday will likely be spared.

The post Philippines Braces for Powerful, Erratic Typhoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Remembering a Political Showdown Turned Funereal Fiasco

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 04:30 PM PST

People carry a wreath for U Thant, standing at the entrance of Rangoon University campus on Dec. 5, 1974. (Photo: Htein Win)

People carry a wreath for U Thant, standing at the entrance of Rangoon University campus on Dec. 5, 1974. (Photo: Htein Win)

Six days after U Thant, the first and only Burmese secretary-general of the United Nations, died of cancer in a New York hospital in the last week of November 1974, a small propeller plane carrying his remains landed at Rangoon's Mingaladon Airport. His body was brought back to Burma for burial in accordance with his wishes.

But the then ruling Gen. Ne Win, who suspected the former secretary-general of colluding with forces pressing for a return to democracy in Burma, refused to give U Thant the state funeral that the Burmese people felt he deserved.

U Thant, who was also the first Asian secretary general, served in the prestigious UN post from 1961 to 1971. During his tenure, he helped defuse the Cuban missile crisis, which brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war, and helped end a civil war in Congo.

Ne Win, orchestrator of a military coup in 1962 that overthrew a democratically elected Burmese government, refused to honor the late secretary-general, reportedly saying: "Even my wife was buried in Kyandaw cemetery [the graveyard is now converted into a glitzy shopping mall near Hanthawaddy junction in Rangoon] like other people. Let that codger lie there, too."

Ne Win's decision was met with popular outcry. A group of university students snatched U Thant's coffin from the Kyaik Ka San racetrack, where he was lying in state, on Dec. 5.

Determined to give the statesman "a proper burial," the students entombed him in a hastily built mausoleum on the grounds where the Student Union building was once stood on the Rangoon University campus.

But in the small hours of Dec. 11, Burmese security forces stepped in brutally to seize back the remains and buried them near the southern stairway of the Shwedagon Pagoda, where his mausoleum stands to this day.

During the crackdown, several hundred students were arrested, an uprising against Burma's military rulers that went down in modern Burmese history as "The U Thant Affair."

Htein Win, a Burmese freelance photographer, tried to capture those moments on his camera, and on the 40th anniversary of the event this week, The Irrawaddy publishes some of those pictures that have never been printed before.

The post Remembering a Political Showdown Turned Funereal Fiasco appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai, Burmese Villagers Fear Secretive Salween Dam Project

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 04:00 PM PST

Karen communities calling for the protection of the Salween River release a bamboo raft on the river in Papun District, Karen State, in March 2013. (Photo: Karen Rivers Watch)

Karen communities calling for the protection of the Salween River release a bamboo raft on the river in Papun District, Karen State, in March 2013. (Photo: Karen Rivers Watch)

SOB MOEI, Thailand — Tikuepor, an ethnic Karen from eastern Burma living on the Thai side of the Salween River, is one of thousands of people worried about losing everything if a multinational hydropower project goes ahead in this sensitive border area.

A senior commander of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), which claims to control land in Burma affected by the project, says the Burma military has moved more troops into the area and this could derail peace talks with the government.

Tikuepor was only 13 when she fled her village in eastern Myanmar to escape a campaign by the Burmese military against ethnic armed rebels, during which troops terrorized civilians to stop them supporting the rebels.

Now 54 and living in Sob Moei, a Thai village beside the fast-flowing Salween, she fears what little she knows of the hydropower project.

"I don’t have a Thai citizenship card. We don’t have titles for the land we live on," said Tikuepor, who goes by a single name, sitting on a bench in the school grounds. "We won’t receive any compensation if we have to leave this village."

Sob Moei is located 47 kms (30 miles) upstream from the site of the long-planned 1,360-megawatt Hatgyi dam in Burma.

Environmental activists say Hatgyi, aimed at harnessing the power of the Salween, Southeast Asia’s second longest river, could displace thousands of people, block fish migration routes and reduce the food and jobs on which riverine people depend.

Communities in the area are already marginalized—many are poor, uneducated ethnic and religious minorities living in remote places.

General Baw Kyaw Heh, KNLA’s vice chief of staff, has said the Burmese troop deployment to the area threatens to derail peace negotiations between the government and ethnic armed groups.

Burmese also object to the fact that most of the electricity to be generated will go to Thailand, leaving little for energy-starved Burma.

Hatgyi is being developed jointly by Chinese, Thai and Burmese investors, including the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and IGE, a Burmese company dealing in timber, oil, gas and mining.

IGE is linked to the sons of Aung Thaung, a prominent Burmese lawmaker blacklisted by the United States for "actively attempting to undermine recent economic and political reforms."

Thana Puttarangsri, EGAT’s manager for international issues, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation the completion of Hatgyi depended on decisions by partners but refused to comment further and did not pick up subsequent calls.

Myanmar’s Energy Ministry was also not available for comment despite numerous calls.

19 Dams Planned

The Salween rises on the Tibetan Plateau and flows some 2,400 kms (1,500 miles) through China, Thailand and Myanmar to the Andaman Sea, crisscrossing many of Myanmar’s ethnic minority areas.

Six million people live in the Salween watershed and depend on the river for jobs and nutritious food, according to the WWF. Campaigners say six dams are planned in Burma and 13 on the upper Salween in China.

In Sob Moei, a remote village at the confluence of the Moei and Salween rivers, about 40 families share Tikuepor’s plight, according to the village’s Thai-Karen headman, Decha Srisawaidaoruang, 30.

The village has no electricity or phone signal, though WiFi is available in the school grounds. It is an hour’s boat ride from the only pier along the Salween in Thailand.

"There have not been many channels to voice our concerns about this dam and we do not have access to decision makers," said Decha.

Civil society groups are concerned that Thailand’s military rulers may allow EGAT and the Thai energy industry to push the project through without assessments of its impact on people living nearby, said Pianporn Deetes, campaign coordinator for the environmental group International Rivers (IR) in Thailand.

Information about the project has been minimal, she said. "The last environmental impact assessment that was conducted was not made public."

"We’re just asking the Thai government and Thai energy utilities to behave as they do at home, to comply with Thai laws that require social and health impact assessments on large-scale infrastructure projects," she said.

Threat to Peace Talks

If built, Hatgyi could destabilize the area, KNLA general Baw Kyaw Heh warned.

"With such large-scale investment and a flood of money coming into the area, there are likely to be lots of conflicts. The villagers will face the direct cost of militarization and fighting," he told journalists at Ei Thu Ta camp.

"It’s clear that investment in Hatgyi and similar projects are obstructing the peace process in Myanmar, particularly in Karen state," Baw Kyaw Heh said.

Ei Thu Ta, 90 minutes upstream from Ban Sob Moei and on the Myanmar side of the river, was set up around 2006 for over 3,700 displaced Karens who say they fled abuses by the Burmese army.

Burma’s semi-civilian government is currently negotiating a nationwide ceasefire with guerrilla groups.

The post Thai, Burmese Villagers Fear Secretive Salween Dam Project appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Rangoon Govt Plans More Flyovers to Ease Traffic Woes

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 05:33 AM PST

The division parliament is considering a proposal to construct flyovers in Bahan, Tamwe and Mayangone Townships to combat the city's growing congestion problems.

Rangoon Division lawmakers are planning new flyovers in Bahan, Tamwe and Mayangone to ease the city's rising traffic congestion problems. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — The Rangoon Division government hopes to alleviate the commercial capital's chronic traffic congestion problems with the construction of three more flyovers in the 2015-16 budget year.

The infrastructure, discussed during a special meeting of the division parliament on Wednesday, will cost almost 54 billion kyats (US$52 million) in total, approximately 10 percent of the divisional government's annual budget.

Under the proposal, flyovers will be constructed at the intersection of Kabar Aye Pagoda Road and Pyay Road in Mayangone Township, Kabar Aye Pagoda Road and University Avenue in Bahan, and the five-street intersection which includes Shwegondaing and Tha Mein Ba Yan Roads in Tamwe.

Rangoon Mayor Hla Myint said that the flyovers are critical to reduce congestion in some of the city's most congested areas.

"We are planning these bridges because of heavy traffic jams. If these bridges are finished, traffic congestion will reduce quite substantially," he said.

Other lawmakers have questioned the effectiveness of the proposals.

"Building the bridges cannot solve the traffic problems," Kyaw, a Rangoon Division lawmaker, told The Irrawaddy. "They cost billions. To build the bridge [in Bahan] is not necessary."

Kyaw added that a more urgent priority is the construction of a proper junction at Waizayanthar Street and Lay Daungkan Road near the Thuwanna National Stadium, to the northeast of the proposed five street intersection in Tamwe.

Three flyover bridges have been constructed by the divisional government in the last two years, with a further overpass currently under construction at Myanigone junction in Sanchaung Township.

The number of cars on the road in Rangoon has risen dramatically in recent years, with a dramatic rise in congestion across the city. Approximately 412,000 cars are registered in Rangoon Division, with many others registered in neighboring divisions at a lower cost and predominantly used in Rangoon, according to Chief Minister Myint Swe.

The post Rangoon Govt Plans More Flyovers to Ease Traffic Woes appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Playing Ball in Burma’s Big Leagues

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 05:29 AM PST

From left to right: Sai Aik Pao, Khin Maung Swe, Htay Oo, Aung San Suu Kyi, Khin Aung Myint, Shwe Mann, Sai Mauk Kham, Thein Sein, Nyan Tun, Min Aung Hlaing, Tin Aye, Soe Win, Thei Tun, Khun Htun Oo. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

From left to right: Sai Aik Pao, Khin Maung Swe, Htay Oo, Aung San Suu Kyi, Khin Aung Myint, Shwe Mann, Sai Mauk Kham, Thein Sein, Nyan Tun, Min Aung Hlaing, Tin Aye, Soe Win, Thei Tun, Khun Htun Oo. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Talking is better than fighting and shaking hands is better than using a fist; these are universal truths. It is clear that Burma's present triumvirate of political leaders—President Thein Sein, Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann and the Burma Army commander in chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing—have finally realized that a dialogue with their opponents is inevitable. Burma's ethnic armed groups and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will get a chance to have their say.

Over the last three years, it seems to me the three men are using a "keep your enemies close" strategy, and they have used it wisely and carefully.

In 2011, Thein Sein initiated ceasefire talks with Burma's ethnic armed groups, whose main political demands are a federal state, self-determination and an equal seat at the table on decisions affecting their economic and social existences. At the time, we welcomed the invitation.

Since the beginning of the talks, 14 ethnic armed groups have signed bilateral ceasefire agreements, although implementation of those accords has been weak. The ethnic groups have since joined up to coordinate among themselves, and have insisted that ceasefire agreements alone are not enough to obtain a lasting peace. The search for such a peace has led them to advocate for a "political dialogue," the goal of which is to amend Burma's Constitution based on the outcome of the talks.

Cheery-Zahau300

Cheery Zahau is a human rights activist from Chin State. (Photo: Cheery Zahau)

Surprisingly, the president and his team, including chief peace negotiator Aung Min, are also convinced that political dialogue is the way to move forward. This is to the president's credit, and trust in him has grown among the ethnic armed groups and other political players. I hear people say, "The president is sincere about the peace process."

They might be right. But the president does not hold the key to ending ethnic conflict in Burma, someone else does—or perhaps no one does at all. What's clear is that Thein Sein is not the man who ultimately calls the shots, as has been proven by the recent attack on a Kachin military academy in Laiza, Kachin State. Indeed, the Kachin Independence Army has faced several of the heaviest military attacks in decades under Thein Sein's government. Meanwhile small skirmishes in Shan and Karen states have also occurred, raising questions about the relationship between the executive branch and Burma's powerful military establishment.

Another aspect of the country's reform process pertains to the "democratization" of lawmaking. The establishment of a nascent parliamentary system has been guided by Shwe Mann, with whom it is believed Suu Kyi has struck up something of a bond. But friendship or not, more than three years of parliamentary proceedings has not resulted in much-anticipated constitutional amendments. Despite the efforts of Suu Kyi and her party to amend the Constitution from within the parliamentary system—and in defiance of public support for change, as indicated by a massive NLD-led signature campaign—prospects for charter reform look dim. Again, it raises the question: Is this friendship a "keep your enemies close" strategy? Many of us would not be surprised as we all know these former generals are masters of tricks and strategizing.

By late 2013, Min Aung Hlaing had made his presence known in both Burma's peace process and parliamentary affairs. It quickly became clear that his military, also known as the Tatmadaw, is by no means under the control of the president or Parliament. In fact it is the other way around, as we've seen through the Tatmadaw's stonewalling of parliamentary debate on constitutional reform and a flexing of its military might in ethnic border regions. The latter has prompted major doubts about the peace process, and negotiations have essentially been deadlocked since the last time the two sides met in September.

Many observers now wonder, "What does the army chief want?"

Recently, he allowed himself to be seen palling about with leaders of the military's long-time nemesis, the Karen National Union (KNU). The images call to mind a time back in 1992, when the regime gave favor to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), while simultaneously fighting against the rest of the ethnic armed groups. Is the same tactic being applied today?

This is a perfect game, with all the high drama an audience could ask for. And what comes next? The outcome is unclear, but the roster is set: ethnic armed groups; Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party; various other political parties; civil society; and the international agencies, all will be kept busy with the tricks and distractions of the men pulling the strings. Meanwhile, legislation will be passed by Parliament, policies and laws will be adopted and implemented by the executive, and fighting will continue, ignited by the Tatmadaw.

Nevertheless, the ethnic armed groups and the government negotiating team will continue to profess their faith in the overall process, without setting a timeframe for political dialogue. Calls will continue to be made for a "sexpartite dialogue," which many believe would serve as nothing more than a symbolic gathering of the leaders—if it happens at all.

And all the while, the ball is being passed among three powerful men.

Cheery Zahau is a human rights activist from Chin State.

The post Playing Ball in Burma's Big Leagues appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

IRI Denies Wrongdoing After Election Commission Criticizes Training for NLD

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 05:22 AM PST

An election official displays a spoiled ballot paper during the 2012 parliamentary by-elections in Burma. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

An election official displays a spoiled ballot paper during the 2012 parliamentary by-elections in Burma. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The US-based International Republican Institute (IRI) has said it is complying with Burma's laws and Constitution after the Union Election Commission (UEC) suggested earlier this week that an IRI training event for the National League for Democracy (NLD) had violated election laws and should not continue.

The Election Commission has said that IRI's election campaign training for the NLD branch in Irrawaddy Division's Pyapon District on Nov. 17 breached election rules as it provided exclusive support for one party. The commission said training can only be held if organized as a multi-party event.

IRI Burma Resident Country Director Stephen Cima told The Irrawaddy in a reaction that the institute had carried out election training for registered political parties in Burma in the past 18 months through both multi-party and single-party events without receiving complaints.

He said the programs provide equal training opportunities to all political parties and that single-party training had been provided to various parties, including the NLD and the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

"IRI is committed to complying with the Constitution and election regulations and laws. IRI looks forward to continuing cooperation with political parties and the UEC," Cima said.

He said IRI's single- and multiparty-training events had been welcomed by participating parties, adding that single-party training "is particularly effective when discussing campaign topics related to message and strategy, where a party may not be willing to speak candidly with their potential competitors in the room."

In late 2015, Burma is scheduled to hold its first free and fair democratic elections after decades of direct military rule. The NLD of popular opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is the main challenger for the USDP, a political party filled with ex-junta members.

IRI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization funded by the US State Department, US Agency for International Development, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the UN and European Union. The institute implements democratization programs that include supporting political parties ahead of elections, as well as electoral reform and election monitoring.

Election Commission Deputy Chairman Hla Maung Cho said the commission believes single-party training is "a problem" and sent a letter urging IRI to discontinue the events. "It should not give training to only one party, but should give seminars or training that includes all the political parties," he said on Thursday.

"If the International Republican Institute is going to give training concerning the political parties it should be in line with the rules and regulations, including provisions of the Constitution," Hla Maung Cho said, without specifying which rules and regulations IRI had violated by holding single-party training.

He said the NLD in Pyapon District also failed to seek prior approval from the commission for the Nov. 17 event as required by the Political Parties Registration Law. He added that the NLD could be at risk of violating Constitution Article 407(C), which states that a party's registration could be revoked for receiving "financial, material or other support" from foreign organizations.

Asked why the commission had not objected earlier to IRI's single-party events, Hla Maung Cho said, "We don't know about what they [IRI] did in the previous period, we know about what they did in Pyapon." He declined to comment on whether the commission would formally ban IRI single-party training.

In the past, concerns have been raised over the independence of the Election Commission, which is chaired by Tin Aye, a former junta general and ex-USDP lawmaker who was appointed by President Thein Sein in 2011. The commission's actions are being closely watched to see if it will be a fair arbiter in the important 2015 poll.

In April, Tin Aye raised eyebrows after he said that military lawmakers would leave Parliament "only when democratic standards are high." He suggested that politicians would only be allowed to campaign in their constituency, a move that was seen as a way of curbing the campaign options for the hugely popular Suu Kyi, who regularly draws tens of thousands of people to her rallies.

IRI is among a group of about half a dozen international organizations that are working with Burma's Election Commission and political parties to prepare them for the elections. Some will also carry out independent monitoring during the poll.

This story was amended on Dec.5, 2014, to reflect the fact that IRI is funded by the US State Department, USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy, and not by the US House of Representatives as was previously reported.

The post IRI Denies Wrongdoing After Election Commission Criticizes Training for NLD appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Cash for Cleanliness Scheme Aims to Sanitize City

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 04:45 AM PST

Municipal workers clean a street in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

Municipal workers clean a street in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — In a bid to clean up the streets of the former capital, which has suffered neglect in recent decades, Rangoon administrators plan to reward neighborhoods that shine.

Beginning in December, a committee appointed by the city's administrative body, Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC), will scour the streets to examine each of the 33 townships' performance in waste management, water sanitation and drainage.

One township will ultimately receive the "Cleanest Township Award," which comes with a prize of 2.5 million kyats (US$2,500). The prize will be awarded every three months. Cash will be distributed among the winning township's various municipal staff members.

YCDC member Htin Zaw Win told The Irrawaddy that before transferring garbage collection duties to the private sector, the committee will undertake an assessment of which townships are currently using effective trash-removal systems.

"We plan to grant the city's garbage collection to private companies, so during the period before that, we will make arrangements to recognize and reward hard work by sanitation workers," said Htin Zaw Win. "By awarding them, the city will become cleaner."

Rangoon is the largest city in Burma, with an estimated population of 5 million inhabitants. Much of the city is in dire need of upkeep; a shortage of waste bins and an upsurge in consumer goods result in streets often cluttered with debris. Poor drainage systems lead to flooding during the monsoon season, when stagnant water can sometimes sit for days in congested downtown avenues.

Waste management and sanitation are currently managed by the YCDC, but the committee is looking to outsource. More than 3,800 sanitation workers are currently employed by the city on a day-rate, but only about 700 of them are permanent contracted employees, Htin Zaw Win said.

In the coming months, he added, YCDC will carry out a few extra measures to improve sanitation before any contracts are granted. The committee member said that the city has purchased about 12,000 garbage bins from a German supplier, half of which have already been placed throughout the city. The familiar brick receptacles seen on street corners are being replaced with modern, plastic bins, he added.

Khin win, deputy head of the city's Pollution Control and Cleansing Department, said the recipient of the first cleanliness award will be selected by the end of the year.

The YCDC is also gearing up for its first citywide elections in late December, when nearly 300 candidates will vie for 115 seats in the district, division and township levels of city management.

The post Cash for Cleanliness Scheme Aims to Sanitize City appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

NGOs, Political Parties Condemn Army Shelling of KIA Training School

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 03:38 AM PST

A donation ceremony held on Wednesday for eight Arakanese youth killed by artillery fire last week. (Photo: Soe Thant Aung / Facebook)

A donation ceremony held on Wednesday for eight Arakanese youth killed by artillery fire last week. (Photo: Soe Thant Aung / Facebook)

RANGOON — A group of 54 civil society organizations and ethnic political parties on Thursday jointly condemned the Burma Army's deadly shelling of a Kachin rebel training school two weeks ago, saying that it could threaten the country's national ceasefire process.

"The military must take responsibility to prevent surprise military attacks during the nationwide ceasefire process," a joint statement by the groups said, adding that the army should take the initiative to announce a unilateral nationwide ceasefire to further the peace process.

The government should launch an independent investigation into the shelling incident, according to the group, which includes All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) Taunggyi Branch, civil society organizations such as the Karen Women's Union and the Farmers Network, and political parties such as the Democratic Party for A New Society and the United Nationalities Alliance.

The latter is alliance of eight ethnic parties, including the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, the Mon Democracy Party, Zomi National Congress and the Karen National Party.

The government and the army, the statement, said "should stop the war and urgently hold a political dialogue based on peace, democracy and national reconciliation and development, which involves the government, the army, democratic forces and the people."

On Nov. 19, the Burma Army surprised cadets carrying out exercises when it fired several shells at a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) training school, killing 23 cadets, most of who came from KIA allies, such as the ABSDF, the Arakan Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army.

The attack has proven a setback for the talks between the government and the army and an alliance of 16 ethnic armed groups, which have been discussing a nationwide ceasefire accord since mid-2013.

"Only if the one who has power, the military, announces a ceasefire first and holds honest and frank discussions with the ethnics then we will have peace," Zaw Lian, from the Farmers Network, said during a press conference in Rangoon.

The post NGOs, Political Parties Condemn Army Shelling of KIA Training School appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Plans to Privatize Pair of Rangoon Heritage Buildings Shelved

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 02:46 AM PST

The former head office of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is located on Sule Pagoda Road in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

The former head office of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is located on Sule Pagoda Road in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burma's Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration (DICA) will return two Rangoon heritage buildings to the government that it had slated for privatization, after the directorate was unable to compile a sufficient historical ownership record, DICA's director general Aung Naing Oo said this week.

Last year, DICA announced that it would allow four Rangoon heritage buildings owned by the government to be sold to the private sector. The former Export and Import Enterprise office at the corner of Merchant and Mahabandoola streets and the ex-office of the Commerce Ministry's Corporation No. 5 on Bo Sun Pat Street have already been sold to private companies.

The local firm Apple Tree Co. Ltd. was sold the Corporation No. 5 building and Inya Lake View Resort and Cho Zaw Construction were jointly sold the Export and Import Enterprise office, according to an announcement from DICA this week.

However, two other heritage buildings targeted for privatization—the former head office of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism on Sule Pagoda Road and the old Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise office on Merchant Street in Pabedan Township—will not be turned over to private hands.

"We can't do it without official documents of ownership records for the two buildings, that's why we'll return these buildings to the government," said Aung Naing Oo, who did not indicate which government entity would manage the buildings once they are returned to public ownership.

Under government regulations, a full ownership record is needed before a public building can be turned over to private hands.

Moe Moe Lwin, director of the Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT), said that if the government planned to take back the buildings, it should invest in their upkeep.

"The government can use these buildings for another purpose. They will have to consider long-term preservation [measures]," said Moe Moe Lwin, whose YHT is leading efforts to preserve the former capital's colonial architecture.

"The former Ministry of Hotels and Tourism building was built in about 1905. … though some parts inside the building are ruined, it can still be used for another purpose," she added.

Under British colonial rule, the ministry's office was known as the Fytche Square Building.

YHT is working with the government to preserve Rangoon's heritage buildings, scores of which today lie in various states of neglect. It has compiled a list of more than 1,000 publicly and privately owned buildings that it considers of heritage value. The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) has put together a smaller list of between 100 and 200 public buildings in the city.

DICA has not yet announced how much the winning companies of the two other heritage buildings will invest in the properties, which are expected to be repurposed as hotels. DICA's deputy director San San Myint said the companies would enter into detailed discussions with the Rangoon Division government soon.

The post Plans to Privatize Pair of Rangoon Heritage Buildings Shelved appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burmese Migrants Charged for Koh Tao Murders

Posted: 04 Dec 2014 02:38 AM PST

Two Burmese migrant workers suspected of killing two British tourists on Koh Tao last month stand with Thai police officers during a re-enactment of the alleged crime. (Photo: Reuters)

Two Burmese migrant workers suspected of killing two British tourists on Koh Tao last month stand with Thai police officers during a re-enactment of the alleged crime. (Photo: Reuters)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The trial of two Burmese migrants accused of murdering two British tourists in southern Thailand in September will begin on Monday, the pair's lawyer said.

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, sometimes referred to as Win Zaw Htun, were arrested on Oct. 2 as the primary suspects in a double-murder on the holiday island of Koh Tao.

They were indicted on Thursday following a controversial two-month investigation that critics claim lacked both transparency and evidence.

Defense attorney Amporn Sungthong told The Irrawaddy on Thursday afternoon that "the court hearing will begin on Monday, Dec. 8."

The two suspects, both 21-year-old migrant workers from Arakan State in western Burma, have been in custody since their arrest in early October. They were apprehended about two weeks after the severely battered corpses of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on a Koh Tao beach.

Thai police said the suspects had made a confession, but they later renounced it claiming they had been tortured by authorities. Thai police denied the allegations.

The defendants will face up to seven charges each, their defense lawyer said, including murder, rape, theft and illegal stay in Thailand.

Min Oo, a social worker assisting the Burmese Embassy in Thailand to support the accused, said it is still unclear whether bail will granted for the proceedings or if the pair will remain in custody.

Bail was initially set at 500,000 baht (US$15,000), but was denied on the grounds that the men were accused of a serious crime and are not Thai nationals, according to an NGO-worker assisting the duo.

The post Burmese Migrants Charged for Koh Tao Murders appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.
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