Democratic Voice of Burma

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Rural teachers push for educational reform Posted: 21 Mar 2014 07:23 PM PDT The life of a teacher in the rural areas of Burma is very different to their counterparts in the city — they earn lower wages, face transportation problems, and many must work in the fields before and after classes. As over 70 percent of Burma's population lives in rural areas, many people feel more should be done to improve the quality of education in these rural parts. In the morning, before school, Saw Htoo Shee goes out into the paddy fields to work. When he returns home after a day of teaching, he doesn't mark tests or devise lesson plans — he goes back out into fields. Saw Htoo Shee is in his 40s and is head teacher of the local primary school in Tanyin Kone Village, Irrawaddy Division. He has spent 18 years building his teaching career. However he has had to work two jobs to earn enough money for his family. "I have four elder sisters. My father is 86 and mother is 84. To support their health, I have to work in paddy fields," he said. Burma's school system is in urgent need of reform — the government spends just 5.8 percent of the national budget on education and schools in rural areas are significantly worse off compared to schools in the cities. For teachers in rural areas, there is insufficient training for them to improve and it is difficult for them to get promoted. Related Stories Burma's education policy under fire from academics NLD appeal for school funds Suu Kyi and Yeoh launch health and education foundation Primary school teacher Htew Htew was told during teacher training that she would be eligible for a higher position after three years of work. "I aim to become a headmistress of a high school. It has been six years so far, and I have not yet been promoted," she said. The opposition party, the National League for Democracy, has an educational reform network in place. Thein Lwin sits on the NLD Educational Committee and is a member of the National Network for Educational Reform, said teachers' salaries in rural areas need to be increased. "I can understand the difficulties that teachers working in rural areas face," he said. "As the education budget is low, they don't get enough salary." In rural Burma, the lack of transportation and adequate roads makes access to many villages difficult. Teachers and students often have long and arduous journeys to get to school everyday. "It is different from the schools in urban areas. We have to travel by land and by boat. It is more difficult here," said teacher Myint Shwe. The lack of transport means teachers cannot travel to the cities for training. Saw Htoo Shee said after 18 years in the job he was eligible to apply for a postgraduate degree in education, but he couldn't attend the training. "We are too old to learn now. We wanted to become high school teachers. But it is even difficult to travel for one or two weeks to the city. There are economic constraints as well," he said. However Thein Lwin said teacher training was important and those in power need to make this more of a priority. "A teacher needs continuous learning and needs to attend training. The teachers in rural areas don't have these opportunities," he said. "When reforming the education sector, there should be arrangements for these teachers to have opportunities to learn more, to get master degrees." The Deputy Minister for Information, Ye Htut, says the government is spending more money on education than they have in previous years. In January President Thein Sein said the education budget would increase to 5.92 percent. But even with an increased budget, education leaders warn that if the money isn't used effectively, the school system, especially in rural areas will not improve.

Building consensus on the census Posted: 21 Mar 2014 06:59 PM PDT DVB's Angus Watson spoke to Janet Jackson, Myanmar Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and her assistant Hla Hla Aye, about the international agency's role in the upcoming census, its significance and the potential pitfalls.   Q: What role does the UNFPA play in Burma's 2014 census? A (Hla Hla Aye): UNFPA supports the Ministry of Immigration and Population, the Government of Myanmar [Burma], in providing technical, financial and administrative support to the 2014 Population and Housing Census. UNFPA also helps the Ministry to mobilize resources so that the census is credible and done according to international standards and guidelines. Besides this, UNFPA is working with the Government to ensure that the census is correctly understood by leaders and the public so that when they take part during enumeration, people have information on the census and know the benefits of the census at individual, community and national levels. The census is a technical and developmental exercise. It will clarify how many people live in Myanmar, where they are, and what some of their living conditions are. This will inform the authorities where services and infrastructure such as schools, roads and hospitals are most needed. The census is a critical step in the country's development process. It has the potential to enable evidence-driven, transparent and responsive planning and policy-making for the first time in the country's history. This information will help the government manage public finances transparently. It will help citizens and civil society, including in ethnic areas, hold authorities accountable for public expenditure and services. Publicly available aggregated data will enable national, state/division and local authorities, civil society, and private enterprises to improve planning and operations. Census information will underpin private investment and job creation. By knowing where people live, and what education and skills they have, private investment and training can be targeted at the right places at the right time. These are important considerations in the context of the changes happening now in Myanmar. It means that reliable and accurate data and information from the census will provide a solid foundation for the future of Myanmar's policies, programmes and development planning processes.   Q: Could you give us a logistical breakdown of the project, for example how many people are involved/employed? Where are they working? A (Janet Jackson): The Government of Myanmar, through the Department of Population (DoP), will conduct the Population and Housing Census in March/April 2014. In terms of involvement, every person in Myanmar will be involved in the census. This is a chance for each household to speak of their living conditions and their needs. About 120,000 primary and secondary school teachers are recruited from their locality across the country to be the enumerators during the census. There are about 490 master trainers and 7,140 district trainers. At the DoP there is a team of over 300 people responsible for mapping, logistics, data processing and analysis. A census building was constructed last year to host all the staff and instruments needed for such a colossal nationwide exercise. UNFPA has posted an international Census Chief Technical Adviser at the DoP as well as a number of international consultants to support the department in the technical process of the census. This is because Myanmar has not had a census for more than 30 years. The census is also supported by an administrative structure set-up for the involvement of Ministries, UN, civil society, religious leaders, ethnic groups, youth groups, disability groups, women organizations, etc. These structures included the establishment of the Census Commissions presided by the Vice-President with key Ministers and UNFPA representative as members, the Census Committees at State/Region, district and township level across the country with members from health, education, labor, etc, as well as the International Technical Advisory Board (ITAB) comprising 15 census experts from various countries to oversee and advise on census preparations. In addition, a National Advisory Committee (NAC) composed of government ministries, UN agencies, donors, civil society, ethnic and religious representatives, women's groups, disability groups, and academia has been set-up to input and advise at each phase of the census process.   Q: Ethnic political groups, such as the Karen National Union, have urged members of ethnic sub-groups to identify themselves more generally as members of a major ethnicity. Why might this be a policy for ethnic leaders? Would you encourage this? A (HHA): The question on ethnicity will capture diversity of the nation, inclusive of ethnic minorities. This provides the opportunity to start a new, inclusive and consultative dialogue on ethnicity in a country of remarkable diversity. One of the fundamental principles of a census is that everyone has the right to be counted. This includes the right to self-identify on ethnicity. Everyone who is present in Myanmar on the night of 29 March 2014 will be counted, regardless of citizenship, ethnicity, religion, gender or age. Also, everyone has the right to have the census explained fully to them beforehand. Understanding and respecting these rights will enable the questions in the census to be answered correctly and without bias, fear or coercion. The role of leaders, including community, ethnic and political leaders, is to provide their members with accurate and timely information regarding all processes of the census. More importantly, they have a responsibility to encourage people to participate in the census. Once people from all groups are properly sensitised and participate, then they can self-identify in the way they wish to on ethnicity. It is the right of each person to decide what ethnicity they belong to and this should be respected by all involved in the process. This applies also for those who wish to record their identity as of mixed ethnicity. All new entries under the provision for 'other' will be coded separately during the stage of data processing.   Q: The government has claimed recently that ethnic political and armed groups are ready and willing to work with the government on the census project. Do you think this claim has any validity? In what ways would these groups assist? A (HHA): Over the last four months, the Government team led by H.E. U Khin Yi, Minister for Immigration and Population, has travelled the country far and wide, getting to some of the most far-flung townships and communities. He has visited, held discussions, and held town hall and had bilateral meetings with many types of leaders, including ethnic political and armed leaders, in different parts of the country including self-administered areas, for example in Loukang, Shan East, Tachileik, Kyaintone, Mine Lar [Mong La] and Pan Seng, Chin, Kayin [Karen] and Mon states. Visits have also been undertaken to Kachin and Bago. A special meeting on the census was held with representatives of almost all non-state armed groups in Chiang Mai at the end of 2013. UNFPA took part in most of the visits, with the UNFPA Representative [Janet Jackson] often explaining the importance of the census for the country in its development, for the reform agenda, as well as for the transition process. These meetings have had a positive effect in terms of dispelling initial mistrust and misunderstandings of the census. More importantly, the meetings clarified how it will be undertaken and how data would be used to benefit the country. This helped to secure the engagement and readiness of leaders to dialogue and work to ensure full nationwide coverage as well as sufficient numbers of enumerators, including enlisting local people to be trained for the task. These initiatives have helped build confidence in the process. The fact that Myanmar has followed international standards every step of the way has underlined the intention to get the process right. Leaders, including non-state groups and ethnic leaders, have shown that they are willing to work for a successful census. Other leaders can do the same to help make the census an event of nationwide participation and a success.   Q: Do you think there will be any reluctance for people from minority groups, particularly minority religions, to provide correct data on the census form? Would people fear authorities recognising them as Christian or Muslim for example? A (HHA): Enumerators are being trained to complete the questionnaires accurately according to the responses given by the people and to strictly protect the confidentiality of the responses. Where the person responds to the question on religion as being Christian or Muslim, then this is what will be recorded. If there are worries during the enumeration process, then the respondents can ask the enumerator to show them how the answer has been completed. In our interactions with many different groups, the main concerns have been on ethnicity, particularly the freedom to state their ethnic identity as they wish, trusting that there will be confidentiality of information, and understanding that this is a totally separate exercise to that of national registration, citizenship, election voter registration and taxation. Therefore, census data will not be used for any such purposes. Everyone's personal details will be kept confidential. No one will be able to access information about individual people, households or institutions. In upholding international standards in census-taking, this is a commitment and an assurance that has been repeatedly given on the part of the government. Indeed it is also part of a written and signed commitment made with the United Nations in April 2012 when the government decided to undertake a census.   Q: What is at stake if the census needs to be postponed, or if some groups refuse to participate or call for a boycott? A (JJ): Myanmar's first census in 30 years will provide population data that is needed to promote inclusive development that can benefit people from all groups. Postponing it now would lead to a delay of several years in making this data available to planners, undermining development efforts and the reform process. Large-scale non-participation would be detrimental to efforts for social and economic development of all areas of Myanmar.   Q: What is the UNFPA’s response to those groups? A (JJ): The Ministry of Immigration and Population and UNFPA have taken concerns expressed by ALL groups very seriously. Consultations have been taking place throughout the past year with ethnic armed groups, representatives of self-administered areas, civil society and religious groups. Trips were taken by the Minister and the Representative of UNFPA to special regions to have discussions with the leaders of those areas to dispel any concerns and make sure of their active participation. The discussions yielded positive results and the Government has received promises of full participation by almost all groups. On 2 March, a group of 126 ethnic political party leaders and representatives in the peace process from self-administered areas, voiced their support and readiness to take part, on the basis of the government's readiness to open up a dialogue on ethnicities and ethnic groupings after the census that would involve consultation with the ethnic groups themselves. In the meetings with ethnic leaders, the Government has acknowledged that the categories being used in the census are imperfect, and has committed to engaging in a dialogue with them after census enumeration to develop an ethnic categorisation that better reflects the country's diversity.   Q: Is there anything else you might like to add? A (JJ): The Census enumeration (data collection) is only one phase of the census process. Consultations between the Government, UNFPA and all groups will continue and intensify after data collection to obtain advice from all groups and develop dissemination and analysis plans that respond to the needs and concerns of all groups.

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The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• ‘We Are Worried About Dependency—We Consider It in Everything We Do’
• A Day in the Dark
• Putin Looks to Asia as West Threatens to Isolate Russia
• Burma’s Marine Eden Braces for Tourism
• The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (March 22, 2014)

‘We Are Worried About Dependency—We Consider It in Everything We Do’ Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:40 PM PDT Mary Tawn, co-founder and coordinator of local relief agency Wunpawng Ninghtoi, speaks to The Irrawaddy at her office in Mai Ja Yang, Kachin State. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) MAI JA YANG, Kachin State — Mary Tawn oversees six camps along China-Burma border for internally displaced persons (IDPs), housing a total of more than 10,000 people, including more than 4,000 children. She co-founded local relief agency Wunpawng Ninghtoi (WPN) in June 2011 when fighting broke out between the Kachin Independence Army and government troops, sending more than 100,000 people in total into temporary shelters. Almost three years later, The Irrawaddy sat down with Mary Tawn at WPN's office at Mai Ja Yang to talk about her work. Question: How did you start your organization? Answer: The war broke out on June 9, 2011, at San Gang village in Moe Mauk Township in the eastern division of the KIO [Kachin Independence Organization]-controlled area. Villagers from San Gang village had to leave their homes in fear of their lives. They were not able to pick up their property, including cash, and it was during rainy season. It is about six hours drive by motorcycle from here, Mai Ja Yang. We heard that villagers, including women and children, were in trouble and having difficulties to survive in the forest. A group of women in Mai Ja Yang discussed how we could help them, even though we had no experience of helping war refugees. With the desire to help people who had run away from the war, we went to groups like churches, local groups and local NGOs that mostly work on environmental conservation issues to form this group on June 14, 2011. Q: How did you plan to run the organization? A: We had nothing when we started. There were some personal donations and a Kachin women's group donated 6,000 yuan [almost US$1,000] as our main funding. We started with over 100 youth volunteers to help us. As the battle got more severe, the number of refugees increased. There was no large funding from international NGOs until Feb. 8, 2012, but Kachin living in China and some others donated to us. We saved it and distributed rations once every 15 days. We started to realize that this was not going to be a temporary task and we would have to continue to help people. At that time it was getting harder and the battle got even more severe. Not to mention humanitarian principles and standards, it was a situation where we are working hard simply to provide food for them daily. We decided to travel to Rangoon and give a presentation about the needs of IDPs in KIO-controlled areas. We got connected with Save the Children International from that trip. The situation was really bad at the time. We reformed WPN into a nonprofit organization then, and all the founders became partners in 2012 April. It was already one year after the war began that Save the Children became our implementation partner, which it remains until now. We are not a registered organization [with the Burma government] but we have already notified KIO central committee because we are based in KIO-controlled areas. We were also recognized by the Minister of Welfare, Myat Myat Ohn Khin together with other Kachin NGOs as a joint strategy team, and we explained to her what we have been doing. Q: What is the current need in the camps? A: Firewood is the urgent need, especially for students at boarding houses. About 300 of them use about $750 per month for that. One good meal for IDP students at the boarding houses is also essential. They have only two meals per day, one at 7:30 am and 5:00 pm. They cannot eat anything the whole day. Children who live with their parents can have cold and leftover rice, but these boarding house children cannot. I have been asking for funding for this for a long time, but I couldn't get it yet. Some students have got gastric problems. We used to provide food for extra-nutrition for old people like distributing Horlicks and Ovaltine. But we got no funding this year and we cannot provide them this anymore. Shelter is urgently needed for Bum Tsit Pa camp. Shelter renovation for all camps is needed too where water supply is a problem in summer. Q: What are you doing to address the trauma the refugees have suffered? A: We also do psychosocial support for refugees. As their time in the camps gets longer, we are worried about dependency—we consider it in everything we do. Since we provide them only dry food, we help them to grown vegetables. We formed community kitchen garden committee in every camp. We support them with seeds, farming tools and technical help, especially in organic farming techniques. We ask and discuss with them and the locals here what kind of vegetable they want to grow and what is good to grow in accordance with the seasons. Then, we support it. Q: What are the refugees' feelings at the moment? A: Since the peace talks happened nearby in Laiza and Myitkyina [in October and November], the news is getting better. In their minds, they think 'We can go back soon.' So, some ask 'When can we go back?' We have to explain to them the situation and why they can't go back yet. Most people from here do animal husbandry, farming, and gardening. Three men tried to go back home to check on their cows. Two died stepping on landmines on the way. We told them that the international community has a duty to help them but they also have responsibility not to hurry back. The two governments—the KIO and Burmese government—also have a responsibility to clear up the landmines. In their villages, the Burmese military has bases. We don't allow them to go back. Some try to go back and take a look at their houses but step on mines. It has happened three or four times. Q: Fighting between the KIA and the Burma Army is still going, even while there are ceasefire talks. What is your opinion about that? A: I think the Burmese military's role is important. Peace will still be far away if they don't have the will to reform. [Burma President] Thein Sein and the MPC [the Myanmar Peace Center] are doing as much as they can, but on the ground level, human rights abuses are happening. If the commander-in-chief himself is not involved in peace process, peace will still be far away. The KIO and other ethnic armed groups are enthusiastically working for this. If the army doesn't have the will, peace will still be far away. The post 'We Are Worried About Dependency—We Consider It in Everything We Do' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

A Day in the Dark Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:16 PM PDT The extraordinary array of images Pindaya Caves in Shan State provide a singular spectacle. Click the box below to see more images. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) PINDAYA, Shan State — Shan State has no shortage of attractions, but few can offer the unusual sights you are likely to behold during a trip into the depths of a limestone mountain near the southern town of Pindaya. The Pindaya Caves are not so much a natural wonder as an intriguing pilgrimage site, where you can see thousands of Buddhist statues that have accumulated since the spot first became a place of worship sometime in the 18th century. When you enter the main cave (there are three altogether, although one is only open for religious holidays), don't be surprised to see a pair of sweating Buddha images. For some reason, moisture only appears on these two statues, making them especially popular with pilgrims, who compete with each other for a chance to wipe away the "perspiration" that constantly covers them. They do this because they genuinely believe this act ensures that their wishes will soon be granted. As you come close to the end of the 490-foot walking tour of the cave, you will also witness another remarkable sight: Buddhist devotees enthusiastically collecting clay under a signpost that reads "Black Clay Hillock." The reason for this is that this is the only place in the Pindaya area where the earth is black instead of red. The devout take this as a sign that the clay is sacred and can be used to ward off evil spirits. "It's very hard to explain," says U Khin Maung Oo, president of the caves' board of trustees. "Some people claim that their wishes have been fulfilled, so they just keep coming back for more." Even if you don't believe in the magical properties of sacred sweat and soil, you are sure to be amazed by the sheer number and variety of Buddha images in the cave, which is officially known as the Shwe U Min ("Golden Cave") Pagoda. According to U Khin Maung Oo, who conducted a survey in 2006, the cave contains nearly 7,000 Buddha statues, although other estimates put the number at more than 8,000. They come in every imaginable size, and are made from many different materials, including marble, lacquer and wood. One thing they have in common is that almost all are covered in gold leaf, applied to them by thousands of worshippers. Inside the cave, you will constantly feel the watchful gaze of the Buddha, whether you are navigating the maze of statues, sitting under huge stalactites, or carefully making your way along narrow stairs or a terrace dampened by water droplets dripping from rock crevices. The cave can be visited at any time of year except the rainy season, but if possible, it's best to come this month, March, when the pagoda's trustees hold a six-day festival (March 11 – 16) that is one of the largest in the state. Tourists who visit at this time can check out the festival's famous mile-long market and watch traditional Myanmar dance troupes performing under centuries-old banyan trees in the pagoda compound. Early visitors will also have a chance to experience the culture of the Danu, the main ethnic group in this area, who give traditional music and dance performances, but only on the eve of the full-moon day of March. The post A Day in the Dark appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Putin Looks to Asia as West Threatens to Isolate Russia Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:10 PM PDT Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) greets Japan’s National Security Advisor Shotaro Yachi during their meeting in Moscow March 12, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) MOSCOW — When President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty this week annexing Crimea to great fanfare in the Kremlin and anger in the West, a trusted lieutenant was making his way to Asia to shore up ties with Russia’s eastern allies. Forcing home the symbolism of his trip, Igor Sechin gathered media in Tokyo the next day to warn Western governments that more sanctions over Moscow’s seizure of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine would be counter-productive. The underlying message from the head of Russia’s biggest oil company, Rosneft, was clear: If Europe and the United States isolate Russia, Moscow will look East for new business, energy deals, military contracts and political alliances. The Holy Grail for Moscow is a natural gas supply deal with China that is apparently now close after years of negotiations. If it can be signed when Putin visits China in May, he will be able to hold it up to show that global power has shifted eastwards and he does not need the West. "The worse Russia’s relations are with the West, the closer Russia will want to be to China. If China supports you, no one can say you’re isolated," said Vasily Kashin, a China expert at the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) think tank. Some of the signs are encouraging for Putin. Last Saturday China abstained in a U.N. Security Council vote on a draft resolution declaring invalid the referendum in which Crimea went on to back union with Russia. Although China is nervous about referendums in restive regions of other countries which might serve as a precedent for Tibet and Taiwan, it has refused to criticize Moscow. The support of Beijing is vital for Putin. Not only is China a fellow permanent member of the U.N. Security Council with whom Russia thinks alike, it is also the world’s second biggest economy and it opposes the spread of Western-style democracy. Little wonder, then, that Putin thanked China for its understanding over Ukraine in a Kremlin speech on Tuesday before signing the treaty claiming back Crimea, 60 years after it was handed to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Chinese President Xi Jinping showed how much he values ties with Moscow, and Putin in particular, by making Russia his first foreign visit as China’s leader last year and attending the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi last month. Many Western leaders did not go to the Games after criticism of Russia’s record on human rights. By contrast, when Putin and Xi discussed Ukraine by telephone on March 4, the Kremlin said their positions were "close". A strong alliance would suit both countries as a counterbalance to the United States. Warm Embrace, But No Bear Hug But despite the positive signs from Beijing, Putin may find China’s embrace is not quite the bear hug he would like. There is still some wariness between Beijing and Moscow, who almost went to war over a border dispute in the 1960s, when Russia was part of the Communist Soviet Union. State-owned Russian gas firm Gazprom hopes to pump 38 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas per year to China from 2018 via the first pipeline between the world’s largest producer of conventional gas to the largest consumer. "May is in our plans," a Gazprom spokesman said, when asked about the timing of an agreement. A company source said: "It would be logical to expect the deal during Putin’s visit to China." But the two sides are still wrangling over pricing and Russia’s cooling relations with the West could make China toughen its stance. Russian industry sources say Beijing targets a lower price than Europe, where Gazprom generates around half of its revenues, pays. Upheaval at China National Petroleum Corp, at the centre of a corruption investigation, could cause also delays, and Valery Nesterov, an analyst with Sberbank CIB in Moscow, said China also needs time to review its energy strategy and take into account shale gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG). "The bottom line is that the threat of sanctions on energy supplies from Russia has indirectly strengthened China’s position in the negotiations," Nesterov said. Boosting Business Russia meets almost a third of Europe’s gas needs and supplies to the European Union and Turkey last year exceeded 162 bcm, a record high. However, China overtook Germany as Russia’s biggest buyer of crude oil this year thanks to Rosneft securing deals to boost eastward oil supplies via the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline and another crossing Kazakhstan. If Russia is isolated by a new round of Western sanctions – those so far affect only a few officials’ assets abroad and have not been aimed at companies – Russia and China could also step up cooperation in areas apart from energy. CAST’s Kashin said the prospects of Russia delivering Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jets to China, which has been under discussion since 2010, would grow. China is very interested in investing in infrastructure, energy and commodities in Russia, and a decline in business with the West could force Moscow to drop some of its reservations about Chinese investment in strategic industries. "With Western sanctions, the atmosphere could change quickly in favour of China," said Brian Zimbler Managing Partner of Morgan Lewis international law firm’s Moscow office. Russia-China trade turnover grew by 8.2 percent in 2013 to $8.1 billion but Russia was still only China’s seventh largest export partner in 2013, and was not in the top 10 countries for imported goods. The EU is Russia’s biggest trade partner, accounting for almost half of all its trade turnover. Dilemma for Japan, Support in India Sechin, whose visit also included India, Vietnam and South Korea, is a close Putin ally who worked with him in the St Petersburg city authorities and then the Kremlin administration, before serving as a deputy prime minister. In Tokyo, he offered Japanese investors more cooperation in the development of Russian oil and gas. Rosneft already has some joint projects with companies from Japan, the world’s largest consumer of LNG, and Tokyo has been working hard under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to improve ties with Moscow, despite a territorial dispute dating from World War Two. But Japan faces a dilemma over Crimea because it is under pressure to impose sanctions on Moscow as a member of the Group of Seven advanced economies. It does not recognize the referendum on Crimea’s union with Russia and has threatened to suspend talks on an investment pact and relaxation of visa requirements as part of sanctions. Closer ties are being driven by mutual energy interests. Russia plans to at least double oil and gas flows to Asia in the next 20 years and Japan imports huge volumes of fossil fuel to replace lost energy from its nuclear power industry, shut down after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Oil imports from Russia rose almost 45 percent in 2013 and accounted for about 7 percent of supplies. But if the dilemma is a tough one for Japan, it is unlikely to cause Putin much lost sleep. "I don’t think Putin is worried much by about what is said in Japan or even in Europe. He worries only about China," said Alexei Vlasov, head of the Information and Analytical Center on Social and Political Processes in the Post-Soviet Space. Putin did take time, however, to thank one other country apart from China for its understanding over Ukraine and Crimea – saying India had shown "restraint and objectivity". He also called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the crisis on Tuesday, suggesting there is room for Russia’s ties with traditionally non-aligned India to flourish. Although India has become the largest export market for U.S. arms, Russia remains a key defence supplier and relations are friendly, even if lacking a strong business and trade dimension, due to a strategic partnership dating to the Soviet era. Putin’s moves to assert Russian control over Crimea were seen very favorably in the Indian establishment, N. Ram, publisher of The Hindu newspaper, told Reuters. "Russia has legitimate interests," he added. For Putin, the Crimea crisis offers a test case for ideas he set out in his foreign policy strategy published two years ago as he sought a six-year third term as president. He said at the time he wanted stronger business ties with China to "catch the Chinese wind in the sails of our economy". But he also said Russia must be "part of the greater world" and added: "We do not wish to and cannot isolate ourselves." Two years on, he is closer to securing the first goal, but it is not yet clear how his population feels he has done on the second. The post Putin Looks to Asia as West Threatens to Isolate Russia appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma’s Marine Eden Braces for Tourism Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:05 PM PDT Moken boys fish off Langon, a village on Annawa Island in Burma's Mergui archipelago. (Photo: Jacques Maudy / The Tribe Press Agency) MERGUI ARCHIPELAGO — Where the Indian Ocean rolls toward Burma's southwestern coast, a lacework of 800 islands rises, fringed with shimmering beaches of no footprints. Here hornbills break a primeval silence as they flutter through soaring jungle canopy. Pythons slumber on the gnarled roots of eerie mangrove forests. Only rarely will you spot the people who live here: the Moken, shy, peaceful nomads of the sea. The Mergui archipelago has been called the "Lost World," but outsiders have found it—first fishermen, poachers and loggers, and now developers and high-end tourists. The people losing this world are the Moken, who have lived off the land and the sea for centuries. The islands are thought to harbor some of the world's most important marine biodiversity, and are a lodestone for those eager to experience one of Asia's last tourism frontiers before, as many fear, it succumbs to the ravages that have befallen many once-pristine seascapes. As the world closes in, the long-exploited Moken are rapidly diminishing in numbers and losing the occupations that sustained them for generations. Though they are known as "sea gypsies," very few still live the nomadic life, and only some aging men can fashion the "kabang," houseboats on which the Moken once spent much of every year. Their island settlements are awash with trash and empty liquor bottles, signs of the alcoholism that has consumed many Moken lives. They eventually may share the same fate as some of their cousins in neighboring Thailand who have become exotic photo opportunities near highly developed tourist areas. "Before it was easy to earn money, to find products of the sea. You could easily fill a bucket with fish. But now many Burmese are pursuing the same livelihoods," said Aung San, resting under the trees of Island 115 with some 20 Moken men, women and children. "The life of the Moken is becoming harder and harder. So many Moken men are dying." Asked if his people would welcome foreign visitors, the fisherman and trader replied, "We don't want to live with the Burmese or other people. We want to live by ourselves." The former military rulers of long-isolated Burma kept the archipelago off-limits to foreign visitors until 1996. A nominally civilian government took over in 2011, but tourism remains relatively low. Some 2,000 tourists visited last year—that's about 2.5 per island. To date only one hotel exists, the Myanmar Andaman Resort, tucked under forest cover deep within a U-shaped bay on McLeod Island. But a grab-the-best-island race is being run among Burmese and foreign developers, with a dozen concessions already granted and others under negotiation. The reefs and islands here range from rocky outcrops to extensive land masses of high hills pierced by caves and blanketed by luxuriant vegetation. A long jetty and two helicopter pads have been built and nine bungalows are under construction on the stunning but rather unwelcomely named Chin Kite Kyunn — Mosquito Bite Island. It is leased by Tay Za, believed to be Myanmar's richest tycoon and closely connected with its power brokers. Three security men and 11 lazy dogs are currently the island's only inhabitants. The website of one development company, Singapore's Zochwell Group, advertises the island it hopes to develop as "The Next Phuket." Zochwell is negotiating a lease to build a marina, casino, hotels and a golf course to be designed by the company of golfing legend Jack Nicklaus. Visitors, almost all traveling aboard yachts or dive boats, invariably fall under Mergui's spell. "There was no infrastructure, no towns, no streets, nothing. A maritime Shangri-La. Nobody in our group had seen anything like it. We were absolutely enchanted," said Christoph Schwanitz, editor of a China business magazine who came a year ago and now is part owner of Meta IV, a US$1 million yacht offering cruises. Last September, a super-yacht carried a Russian couple to a "unique Robinson Crusoe setting" together with harps, xylophones and chanting Buddhist monks imported for a deserted-island wedding. Burma's minister of hotels and tourism, Htay Aung, said the islands will be promoted, but that protecting the environment and "minimizing unethical practices" are top priorities. For the time being, however, the region remains a free-for-all, with no overall management plan for tourism or the environment. Nor is there a known blueprint for the precarious future of the Moken, whom French anthropologist Jacques Ivanoff describes as "the soul of the archipelago." For centuries they roamed the islands, worshipping spirits and reciting long epics of a mythical past. They collected mollusks, crabs and sea cucumbers, speared fish, hunted and dove deep to find valuable pearl oysters. Today, most have been moved into settlements by the government or driven to find work on the mainland, where they are sometimes forced to labor on mines and farms. Their hand-hewn "kabangs," built as symbolic representations of humans, complete with mouth, anus and other organs, are becoming museum pieces. About 2,000 Moken are believed to inhabit the archipelago, significantly reduced through migration, intermarriage with Burmese and deaths of males from rampant alcohol and drug abuse. "In 20, 30 years the Burmese will dominate Moken culture. Only a little of it may remain," said Khin Maung Htwe, a Burmese married to a Moken, in Ma Kyone Galet village. The village, located within Lampi National Park on the islands, is home to 480 Burmese and other ethnic groups, 280 Moken and 146 from Moken-Burmese marriages, as of a 2012 count. From a distance, the village is a tropical idyll. But its streets and beaches are piled high with trash by villagers who in the past simply discarded their natural refuse. A dip below the surface off nearby beaches reveals a world of dead coral and very few fish. Though tourism is just getting started here, industry has already taken a heavy toll, including dynamite fishing, illegal logging and wildlife poaching. On army-controlled Jar Lann Island, reporters easily located an illegal logging camp not far from a military outpost. Trawlers have depleted the shallow fishing grounds of the Moken, who cannot compete with better equipped Burmese divers in search of sea cucumbers and oysters. Instead, they catch small squid, often hooked by cheap plastic bait, while Thai and Burmese fishermen use powerful kerosene lamps to attract larger squid species in vast quantities. Julia Tedesco, who manages an environmental and tourism project at Lampi, said tourism is developing "just as so many resources have already been depleted." Tedesco's three-year project, run by the Italian group Instituto Oikos, includes the development of eco-tourism, putting a draft management plan into practice and training park staff. A key challenge, she says, is to protect the environment while providing income to local people who have long drawn their sustenance from it. What happens to them will depend greatly on Myanmar's powerful politicians and generals, and their business cronies. Pervasive corruption breeds doubt that the islands will be managed sustainably. Adrian Zdrada, marketing manager for the Myanmar Andaman Resort, said the government could create "sustained tourism, like on the Galapagos. … But it's a dream that will never happen. They will just sell and lease as many islands as they can. It will be a Thailand scenario. It will be another Phuket." Phuket and other Thai islands adjoining the Mergui archipelago to the south were once similar to the Lost World. Today, Phuket's beaches are packed with tourists, luxury high-rise hotels and jerry-built beer bars draped with prostitutes. Backpackers are ferried to even the most remote islands. And the Moken who also inhabit that region cling to the fringes of society, no longer tied to the sea. The answer in Burma may be eco-tourism, but even that is problematic, at least for the Moken. Khin Maung Htwe, who has worked with the anthropologist Ivanoff, said re-orienting the largely illiterate Moken from their deeply rooted lifestyles and occupations to being nature guides or hotel staff would prove difficult. "They are innocents. The reality is that they don't understand or believe in the value of education. They don't understand how it could help them gain their livelihood," he said. On Island 115, several Moken families recently hunted for squid and whatever else they could collect before returning to their village on another island. The children, none of whom attend school, romped on the beach or expertly paddled out in dugout canoes. At night, all slept on the white sand or just inside the tree line hugging the beach. "We just want to do what we are doing. We don't have the knowledge or motivation to do any other work," Aung San said. "We live here. We don't want to go anywhere else." AP reporter Aye Aye Win contributed to this report from Rangoon. The post Burma's Marine Eden Braces for Tourism appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (March 22, 2014) Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:00 PM PDT 'Complications' in Shwe Field Slow Burma's Gas Flow to China The pipeline running through Burma and carrying gas from the Bay of Bengal to China is working at less than 20 percent capacity because of "complications" in the Shwe offshore gas field, an industry report said. "The China-Burma gas pipeline is running significantly under capacity because of complications in the offshore drilling program," Interfax Gas Asia news agency said this week. "More than seven months after its commissioning ceremony, the pipeline is handling a fraction of its designed capacity of 12 billion cubic meters per year, according to Chinese customs data," Interfax reported. The throughput figures indicate it is less than 20 percent of full capacity use. "Industry sources attributed the delays to a hold-up offshore. One source told Interfax that Daewoo International, which operates the offshore Shwe gas fields feeding the pipeline, was behind schedule in its drilling program. Daewoo could not be reached for comment," the report said. Daewoo of South Korea leads an international consortium operating the Shwe field which includes two Indian state firms, ONGC Videsh and GAIL. State-owned China National Petroleum Corporation bought the rights to 90 percent of the gas in the Shwe field and has a contract with the Burma government's Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise to offload 400 million cubic feet per day. Rangoon to Host Oil and Gas 'Congress' Organized by Chinese Firm With no sign of an announcement on the winners of international bids for 30 new offshore exploration contracts, the Burmese government is holding yet another oil and gas industry conference in Rangoon to promote investment. Three have already been held so far this year in Rangoon. The Myanmar Offshore Congress, to be held over two days in September, will "provide an exclusive opportunity for international oil and gas professionals to meet local government, operators, and other local players, discussing and learning about one of the world's most exciting offshore regions," said the organizers SZ&W Group, based in Shanghai. SZ&W Group claims on its website to have the backing of the Naypyidaw government and hopes to attract up to 200 industry representatives. A series of such conferences and forums have been held over the past two years. Local and Southeast Asian oil firms have secured contracts since President Thein Sein took office, but a major Western company has yet to secure a contract. Japanese Firms Queue for Thilawa But Worry About Labor, Power As many as 100 Japanese firms have expressed interest in investing in Thilawa Special Economic Zone after infrastructure work is completed, Japanese government trade promotion agency JETRO said. The first phase of the SEZ on the outskirts of Rangoon is scheduled to be completed by 2015, said one of the three main Japanese site developers, Mitsubishi Corporation. The other two are Sumitomo Corporation and Marubeni Corporation. However, JETRO's chief representative in Burma, Masaki Takahara, told an SEZ promotional forum in Rangoon this week that investors were concerned about two major issues: adequate electricity supply and sufficient skilled labor. Takahara said about 1,000 employees will be needed when the first phase is ready, according to a Mizzima report. Thilawa will offer facilities for warehousing, factories and port transshipment of goods. The start of site clearance and installation of water and electricity utilities was held up last year due to land access rights. ILO Accuses Thailand of Failing to Deal With Abuse of Burmese Migrants The government of Thailand has been criticized by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva for failing to tackle abuse of rights problems associated with huge numbers of illegal migrant workers, mostly from Burma. The criticisms are made in a lengthy report to be presented to an ILO conference in Geneva in June, an advanced copy of which has been seen by The Irrawaddy. The report by a committee of experts highlights Thailand’s "inadequate responses" on forced labor and child labor. The report states: "The committee once again urges the [Thai] government to take the necessary measures to ensure that migrant workers, particularly those in the fishing industry, are fully protected from abusive practices and conditions that amount to the exaction of forced labor. It also requests the government to further strengthen its law enforcement mechanisms, including measures to enforce anti-trafficking laws against those who target migrant fishermen, as well as to ensure that sufficiently effective penalties are applied to persons who subject these workers to conditions of forced labor." Thousands of Burmese work in the fishing and fish canning industries in Thailand and there have been numerous reports over the past year of abuse. "Thailand features prominently regarding labor abuses in this ILO annual document. Particularly, Thailand is censured in the report in relation to forced labor against migrant workers, poor and ineffective migration policy management," said a Burma human rights activist in Bangkok, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Burma's Jade Export Earnings Shine as Japanese Lead List of Buyers The value of Burma's jade exports in 2013 rocketed by more than 30 percent to a record US$920 million, according to government figures. The earnings from exports in the nine-month April-December period compared with $600 million a year earlier, said the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, quoted by Eleven Media. The chief buyers come from China, Hong Kong, India and Japan. Japanese were the biggest buyers, according to the ministry. Exhibitions of Burmese jade tend to draw much attention from those countries, but Japan is the top buyer. Burma's annual jade production is more than 10,000 tons. The highest production month is May. The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (March 22, 2014) appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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