Sai Jan, a regional chairman for the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), has been freed from Kengtung prison after being held for almost a month.
The politician was arrested in his home in Namt Lin Mai, Kengtung, eastern Shan State, on 5 May by the Burmese armyon suspicion of having breached Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act through alleged links to the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S).
That charge, formally pressed on 22 May, was dropped on Thursday.
SNLD spokesman Sai Lek confirmed that Sai Jan would not have to face court on 2 June, as was previously slated.
"Police earlier today have dropped the charge against Sai Jan – our party officials went to pick him up and are now taking him back home," Sai Lek said on Thursday. "We are all incredibly relieved that he was released."
The SSA-S is the armed wing of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), a political party considered an illegal organisation by the Burmese government, despite partnership in a 2013 ceasefire.
Pitched battles have raged in Shan State between the SSA-S and the Burmese army in recent months, in breach of that ceasefire. Such battles have contributed to reluctance on the part of the RCSS to join current ceasefire talks between the National Ceasefire Coordination Team — an alliance of 17 armed ethnic groups — and the government. However the paramount reason for reclusiveness on the part of the RCSS is the inclusion of rivals, the Shan State Army-North, among the 17 ceasefire parties, say observers.
On 6 May, the day after Sai Jan's arrest, Burmese army troops "raided" the RCSS liason office in Kengtung.
The Burmese currency continued to fall slightly in value this week; the buying rate finished on Friday at 966 kyat to the US dollar (from 963 last week); while the selling rate rose from 966 to 970 kyat to the dollar. The price of gold has decreased notably: down from 662,700 kyat per tical to 649,800 kyat. Fuel prices remain unchanged: petrol is 820 kyat per litre; diesel 950 kyat; and octane 920 kyat a litre. Rice also remains constant: high-quality Pawhsanmwe rice is selling at 1,300-1,600 kyat per basket while low-quality Manawthukha retails at 900 kyat per basket in most Rangoon marketplaces.
Singaporean oil firm expands in Magwe
Gold Petrol, majority owned by Singaporean conglomerate Interra, has expanded drilling projects in Chauk, Magwe Division. Interra announced to the Singaporean stock exchange on Friday that Gold Petrol has expanded drilling to a fourth oil reservoir in the area, having tapped the previous three in March 2013. Gold Petrol hold a 60 percent stake in the Improved Petroleum Recovery Project at Chauk field, with the other 40 percent owned by the state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.
Foreign firms to be contracted for road construction
The construction of Burma's roads and bridges can now be outsourced to foreign firms who may also wish to invest in Burma's infrastructure projects, an official from the Ministry of Construction said. Many of the country's highways are deemed sub-standard, he said, and with plans afoot to implement international pan-Asian and pan-ASEAN road networks, the ministry has decided to lift the restrictions. Current and proposed highway projects include routes to the borders of China, India and Thailand.
Japanese industrial firm moves into Burma
The Burmese government has approved a large-scale investment project put forward by Japanese multinational corporation Komatsu Ltd. The firm, involved in mining as well as industrial and military manufacturing, intends to construct a power plant and an assembling factory in Pyigyitagon Township, Mandalay. The plan was put forward to the Myanmar Investment Commission, who also approved the company to distribute heavy machinery for industrial use. Komatsu equipment, previously imported from abroad, has been widely used in Burma's mining sector in the past.
Arakan's dismal economy due to unrest, VP says
Burma's Vice-president Sai Mauk Kham, in a meeting with Arakanese locals in state capital Sittwe last week, said the steady decline of GDP in Arakan could be attributed to the destabilising outbreaks of communal violence in the region that began in mid-2012. Previously ranked as second least developed state in Burma above remote Chin State, last year Arakan plummeted to the bottom of the list.
Corn production on the rise in Burma
DuPont, one of the world's largest chemical and agribusiness corporations, has set up shop in Rangoon, and predicted that corn could become a major crop for Burma. A representative told DVB that based on the company's experience in neighbouring Thailand, raised income will lead to higher demand for meat, which will lead to higher demand for corn feed.
Pulse price up as Burmese farmers turn to mung bean
The price of a popular Burmese pulse, green gram, has raised dramatically amid falling production rates, Eleven Myanmar has reported. The green gram is a traditional commodity in terms of Burmese exports to India, where it currently fetches upwards of US$750 per tonne, up by around $100 from prices this time last year. The green gram, also known as mung bean, is a staple of many Chinese diets and has taken over as a preferred crop for Burmese farmers. The Burmese mung bean is currently fetching over $1000 per tonne on the international market.
What a load of rubbish! Firms compete to collect Rangoon's garbage
Seven joint-venture companies have submitted tenders for contracts to operate garbage collecting services in Rangoon. Having paid a bidding fee of five million kyat (US$5,000), the companies have until the end of the year to study garbage collection and disposal procedures by the municipality before they make a presentation outlining their proposals for collecting the rubbish of the city's six million residents. The contract winner will be announced in December and operations begin on 1 April 2015.
Foreign banks ready for launch
Overseas banks can now register with Burma's Central Bank to apply for various banking services and operations, according to a Bank official who said that a board had been formed to scrutinise foreign bank operations. Thirty-five foreign banks currently have representative offices in the country, a step that is required before licenses can be granted and branches opened. Bank of India, ANZ and various Thai, Japanese, Korean and Chinese banks are among them.
Kunlong dam gets green light from Burma
Burma's Ministry of Electric Power has approved the 1,400-megawatt Kunlong hydropower project on the Salween River in northern Shan State, industry news site Hydroworld reported. The project is being developed by a joint venture between Burmese firm AsiaWorld Group and China's Hanergy Group Holdings, a private company. As much as 90 percent of the energy produced is believed to be bound for China. The project is one of six controversial hydropower plants proposed for the Salween, which is among the last and longest undammed rivers in the world.
The Burmese government is planning to establish a Ministry for Youth Affairs, according to President's Office Minister Soe Thein.
Speaking at a seminar in Rangoon on Thursday on the role of young people in Burma's political parties, he said, "Youths have roles in various sectors of the country's reforms – some are focused on the education sector or the health sector, as well as civil society. They also should offer a hand to work in the political arena as a step towards the country's development."
The seminar was attended by youth members from various political parties.
Sai Kyaw Thu Linn, a youth member of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, said that young people in Burma are more involved nowadays in political activities than they were in the past; however they don't get much opportunity to play a role in the political system itself.
"I see that the youth of today, compared to the past, are now more keenly involved in the political world, but they still don't get many opportunities," said Sai Kyaw Thu Linn. "I think this is because members of the older generation lack confidence in youngsters and don't give them the chances to prove themselves."
Min Hein, a central youth wing member of the Democratic Party-Myanmar, said: "In my opinion, there isn't much opportunity for young people to play a role in politics, and it may take a while, firstly because the country's reforms are still in their infancy, and secondly because of the poor state of the education system.
"Too many restrictions are placed on students – in some schools, they are unable to form students' unions," he continued. "In other schools, officials just turn a blind eye, but they won't offer any encouragement to those who are politically active."
Yin Yin Gyi, a young member of the Democratic Party for New Society, said that politics and activism are generally stigmatised by Burmese parents who lived through decades of military rule, and this may contribute to why many of Burma's youths lack the initiative to become involved in politics."
Myo Zaw Linn of civil society group The Innovative, which organised the event at the Sky Star Hotel in the former capital, said the seminar was set to continue on Friday.
Burma is not the first country in the region to entertain the notion of a Ministry for Youth Affairs or some such similar department – India, Nepal and Bangladesh each have a Ministry for Youth and Sports; Sri Lanka has a Ministry for Youth Affairs and Skills Development; and Singapore has a Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
Anti-drug officials from China and the five other states of the Greater Mekong Subregion – Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam – stated their intention to improve coordination to tackle growing production, usage and trafficking of opiates and synthetic drugs at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
Liu Yuejin, a high-ranking official from China's National Narcotics Control Commission, pledged "significant Chinese support" for increased collaboration, claiming in a statement that "greater regional cooperation is important as our countries face enormous pressures from drug trafficking.”
The announcement occurred at an annual meeting between regional anti-narcotics officials and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Four of the six states have been party to a memorandum of understanding promoting cooperation between them since 1993, with Vietnam and Cambodia joining the framework two years later. A separate, bilateral anti-narcotics cooperation arrangement between Burma and China has been in place since 1992.
"The new commitment is intended to improve the long-standing cooperation agreement, but also it needed to be updated to reflect the times and regional dynamic – it was a bit out of date – because like any agreement it got stale," Jeremy Douglas, UNODC's regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, told DVB.
"The six states have agreed to cooperative measures in law enforcement to improve information and intelligence exchange and investigations, prosecutions, and even some health and development measures for drug users and vulnerable communities," he said.
Afghanistan overtook Burma as the world's largest opium producer in 1991, but the drug still plays a significant role in the country's economy. Much of Burma's opium, which is produced primarily in the rugged hills of Shan State, is exported to China. Last year, UNODC's annual Southeast Asia Opium survey noted a 13 percent increase in cultivation from the year before, with an estimated 57,000 acres of poppy fields countrywide.
With global opium prices depressed in the early 2000s owing to a spike in Afghan output, many of Burma's drug syndicates switched to producing synthetic drugs for export, primarily methamphetamine. A UNODC report released this month, which looks at production, traffic and use of synthetic drugs worldwide, claims that "some methamphetamine originating in Myanmar is intended for the domestic market, but most is intended for trafficking to neighbouring countries."
The report claims that methamphetamine seizures by law enforcement have "risen rapidly" throughout the region in recent years, noting that "a rapid rise in seizures [has] particularly been reported in mainland China, where detected methamphetamine has risen annually from six tons in 2008 to more than 16 tons in 2012, making up about 45 percent of total methamphetamine seizures for the region that year."
A portion of the Burma-Bangladesh border fence is seen near Arakan State's Maungdaw Township. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy)
RANGOON — A Burmese border guard police officer has confirmed that a member of the Border Guard Bangladesh was killed by his unit on Wednesday when a clash broke out between the two sides amid rising tensions along the border, with the government in Dhaka calling for an investigation into the incident.
"One from the other side [Bangladesh] was killed by our police force when a clash broke out on May 28," Tun Oo, a police colonel in Sittwe, Arakan State, told The Irrawaddy on Friday. "After the clash, we have had ongoing negotiations and there is no problem."
That assurance came despite unconfirmed reports from Bangladeshi media late on Friday that a firefight between the two sides had erupted again on Friday afternoon.
In the initial aftermath of the clash on Wednesday, police in Arakan State's Maungdaw Township told Burmese media that the incident involved members of the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), a militant group said to be based in Bangladesh.
According to those erroneous reports, Burmese police killed one member of the RSO and seized a firearm following the clash. No mention was made of the Border Guard Bangladesh, a paramilitary force under Bangladesh's Ministry of Home Affair.
The involvement of Border Guard Bangladesh personnel only came to light after the Bangladesh government asked the Burmese Embassy in Dhaka to investigate the case, with the Bangladeshi Embassy in Rangoon also pressuring Burma's Foreign Ministry on the matter.
Sources near the border in Maungdaw Township told The Irrawaddy that the Burmese military has deployed troops, seemingly in response to the heightened presence of Bangladeshi security personnel across the border.
Hla Maung, a Rohingya Muslim in Maungdaw, said that although the township was "stable," some villagers living near the increasingly tense area have fled, fearing more clashes might break out amid the bolstered security presence on both sides of the border.
The BGB officer was killed between border posts 52 and 53, about 30 miles from Maungdaw Township.
Clashes involving Burmese police along the Burma-Bangladesh border have been increasingly reported in recent months. An Arakan State spokesman confirmed last week that four border guard police officers were killed after a gunfight on May 17 with an unidentified armed group along the border.
The Burmese government has undertaken an effort to fence in the porous border on the country's western flank, saying the project is necessary to protect Burma's sovereignty and prevent illegal border crossings from Bangladesh.
Staff at the Bangladesh Embassy in Rangoon on Friday said no one was available to comment on the situation.
An artist's impression shows plans to develop the area around Rangoon's historic railway office by Yoma Strategic Holdings. (Image: Yoma Strategic Holdings)
The US Campaign for Burma has criticized the International Finance Corporation (IFC)'s decision to invest about US$170 million in the private sector development of upscale hotels and real estate in Burma, and said the projects would do little to alleviate poverty in the country.
The IFC, which is part of the World Bank Group, defended the projects and told The Irrawaddy that the development of high-end tourism and hotels would boost Burma's economy and create jobs.
The organization, whose mission is to reduce poverty and support the private sector in developing countries, returned to Burma in late 2012 following the reforms introduced by President Thein Sein. It has since announced plans to provide about $200 million in financing and is also working with the government on improving energy infrastructure.
The US Campaign for Burma Policy Director Rachel Wagley said in a statement released earlier this week that, "The IFC's lending proposals are raising serious questions regarding the IFC's mission to alleviate poverty in Burma.
"The IFC's recent investment proposals […] may instead exacerbate socioeconomic inequality," she said. "Upscale hotel construction and signing multiple investments with one individual, Serge Pun, are peculiar ways to empower impoverished people in a country where over one-fourth of the population lives under the national poverty line."
The IFC has announced investments in luxury hotels and real estate, including a $75 million loan for two firms of Burmese businessman Serge Pun. The firms are implementing a $500 million project to build office towers, a business hotel and apartments in a 10-acre zone around the former British Burma Railway Company headquarters in downtown Rangoon. Pun's Yoma Bank will also get $30 million in IFC funding for a small and medium enterprise (SME) lending program.
The IFC provided an $80 million loan for the expansion of Sule Shangri-la (Traders Hotel) in downtown Rangoon and construction of Shangri-La's a luxury apartment tower overlooking Kandawgyi Lake. Shangri-La Asia Ltd is 50 percent owned by Kerry Group, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate of Robert Kuok, one of Asia's richest men.
Other announced IFC's investments include a $17 million loan for Apple Tree Company, which is building luxury hotels in Rangoon, Bagan, Inle Lake, and in Luang Prabang, Laos. The Burma branch of Cambodian microfinance institution Acleda received a $2 million IFC loan.
The US Campaign for Burma also questioned the IFC's decision to grant so-called 'Financial Intermediary' status to the $30 million investment in Pun's Yoma Bank SME financing program, as this designation would exempt the bank from due diligence standards and safeguards, such as conducting environmental or social impact assessments, or disclosing its sub-clients.
"We urge the IFC to consult with civil society, and choose projects that reinforce business transparency and broad-based development," Wagley said in an email.
IFC Burma Resident Representative Vikram Kumar defended the organization's private sector investments on Thursday and told The Irrawaddy, "It's a gross mischaracterization to say that were only working with Serge [Pun] and working only on upscale hotels."
He said that 10 IFC projects totaling about $300 million in investments had been approved so far and would cover not only hotels and real estate, but also infrastructure, agribusiness and lending to local banks and microfinance institutions.
"We have many other projects in other sectors…but we can't disclose those right now," Kumar said in a phone call, adding that the IFC was also supporting and partially financing the transformation of the Yangon Electricity Supply Board into a commercial corporation.
IFC's investments in luxury hotels in downtown Rangoon and other tourist destinations in Burma, he said, would address the shortage in hotel rooms, create jobs, boost economic growth and generate government revenue.
"A hotel has a huge downstream impact, the services and jobs it creates," he said, adding that Burma "needs to develop tourism and you need to attract high-end tourism to get bang for your buck."
Vikram said Yoma Bank's $30 million SME program loan was exempt from IFC Performance Standards regarding due diligence standards and safeguards as the project was considered relatively small and because "SME [lending] is considered to have very little social and environmental impact."
He said the firms that received IFC loans had been selected because "these are companies with good growth potential…and can return the investment."
The World Health Organization's office on Rangoon's Pyay Road, the rental of which costs $79,000 per month. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)
RANGOON — Following an outcry over the revelation that the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) is paying a steep rental fee to a former military official, other international organizations operating in Burma are facing calls to be transparent about their rental arrangements in Rangoon.
Last week, Unicef admitted that it pays US$87,000 per month for its office in the up-market Golden Valley neighborhood of the former capital, and confirmed that the property's owner is related to a former general—thought to be former Agriculture Minister Nyunt Tin.
Some organizations have followed Unicef's lead in revealing information on their rental of properties in Rangoon. The World Health Organization (WHO) admitted it is paying almost as much, $79,000 per month, for its Rangoon office.
The Unicef story—first reported by The Irrawaddy—has brought into public discussion the issues of Rangoon's soaring property market, the concentration of ownership of properties among former military officials and their associates, and the transparency of foreign aid organizations.
Vicky Bowman, the director of the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business, said she was "disappointed" that a UN agency would enter into such an arrangement.
"It is very disappointing to see them paying such high prices to anyone, and especially when a former general owns the property," Bowman, a former UK ambassador to Burma, said during this week's Dateline Irrawaddy program.
While there are few properties to choose from for such organizations, Bowman said it was positive that Unicef's rental cost and the identity of the recipient had come to light.
"Now we know [Nyunt Tin] is earning about a million dollars a year," she said. "He is subject to income tax, which is about 20 percent in Burma. So, he should pay $200,000 to the government."
Following last week's Unicef disclosure, The Irrawaddy approached a number of other international organizations requesting information on their rental of properties in Rangoon.
The WHO, which is also a UN agency, told The Irrawaddy its office on Pyay Road in Mayangone Township is rented at a cost of $79,000 per month. The price tag means the agency is paying $948,000 a year for its office, more than one-tenth of its total annual budget in Burma of $9 million.
In an email, a WHO representative denied that the property was owned by the Burmese military's Commander in Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, or someone in his family, contrary to a report from the Washington-based Radio Free Asia's Burmese-language service.
"It belongs to a landlady Daw Khin Nwe Mar Tun," the representative said.
Similarly to Unicef, the WHO explained that following the Burmese government's order for UN agencies to move out of Traders Hotel (now Sule Shangri-La) last year, the agency conducted a wide search for suitable properties in Rangoon.
"Finally, the present property was identified [and] found suitable also in line with UN security standards," the WHO said.
"The rental cost was high, in line with current market rates of astronomical rents but the building was taken after careful and due diligence. Though it was not to our desirable cost, but the best rate that were available and suitable at the time."
The European Union's Burma mission, which rents an office in the Hledan Center as well as a residence in Rangoon, declined immediately to declare its rental arrangements.
In reports that could not be independently confirmed, sources told The Irrawaddy that the EU ambassador's residence, close to Inya Lake, belongs to a family member of the late Burmese dictator Gen. Ne Win.
The Asian Development Bank, which does not rent a standalone property but hires office space in the Union Business Center near Kandawgyi Lake, also declined to give details of its rental arrangement.
Smaller UN agencies have come forward with details of their office rents.
The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS said the villa it shares in Kamaryut Township costs $11,500 per month.
"We share the space with two small UN supported entities/projects so UNAIDS pays $9350 per month," Country Director Eamonn Murphy said by email, explaining that due diligence had been conducted on the property's owner.
"No known links were found to members of the former military or current government."
According to Pierre Peron, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, his agency "rents office space at the cost of 12,000 USD per month for 30 staff" in Bahan Township.
'There's No Choice'
Observers said it was likely that Unicef was not alone in renting from someone with connections to Burma's former military regime.
Kyaw Lin Oo, the executive director of the Myanmar People Forum Working Group, said a shortage in the supply of properties in Rangoon had driven up prices and left international organizations with sparse choice of properties.
"Most houses in the better locations in Rangoon are owned by former military generals and cronies," he said, adding that international NGOs would face the same difficulty.
"Most of the INGOs and UN agencies have to rent their houses. There's no choice, so such aid money is going into the generals' pockets," Kyaw Lin Oo said. "Rich people are getting richer and richer."
Aung Myo Min, director of Equality Myanmar, also told The Irrawaddy it was likely that many international organizations and NGOs were paying high rents to people linked to the former military regime.
"The problem in Burma is while such NGOs and INGOs are renting houses, some don't know who is the real owner," he said.
"Mostly, there is no ownership under the general's name. They might use some other name, so [the renters] don't know. We have to be cautious about this issue."
While he agreed that it was difficult for international organizations to avoid the situation, Aung Myo Min said the high cost paid to rent offices risked undermining the work that aid organizations do in Burma.
"I always object to some international organizations whose costs are higher than the amount that reaches the people," he said.
People sign a petition to amend the Constitution at the office of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society in Rangoon on Tuesday. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)
RANGOON — Burma's minister of agriculture and irrigation told ministry staff members to stay away from politics just one day before the country's biggest opposition party launched a signature campaign for constitutional amendments.
The minister made the directive during a meeting in Naypyidaw on Monday, before the National League for Democracy (NLD) began collecting signatures on Tuesday to support charter reform, according to an official from the ministry's Department of Agriculture.
"He said government staff must not participate in political movements, public speeches or campaigns, nor can they give opinions or vote in such campaigns," the official told The Irrawaddy on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He said the minister warned staff members that anyone who participated in political movements would do so at their own risk.
The next day, the ministry's director-general allegedly issued the same warning in a letter, while also calling staff members on the telephone to reinforce the message, the official from the Department of Agriculture said.
The head of an agricultural training school run by the ministry also made a similar warning to staff, according to a letter with his signature which was posted on Facebook. In the letter, he urged ministry staff not to participate in public polls by any political party, while suggesting there could be consequences for doing so.
Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD and the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, an activist group, have teamed up to collect signatures from hundreds of supporters across the country in support of constitutional reform.
Civil servants have been banned from participating in politics since the former military regime. Some civil servants today complain that continuing restrictions on their participation indicate there has been little change under President Thein Sein's government.
"They never want to change and they are afraid of change. We, civil servants are at their [the government's] mercy, and that's why they always want to control us," said a medical practitioner who currently works at Yangon General Hospital in Rangoon. "Whether there's a warning or not, we are afraid."
She added, "My friends, my family and I already signed the petition. I believe civil servants need to serve the country, and signing the petition is a different way to serve the country apart from our regular duties."
A girl with a hearing aid practices writing at the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf in Rangoon. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)
RANGOON — A two-year education project for disabled children, promoting inclusive education, will begin in Burma's Irrawaddy and Rangoon divisions next month, an organizer said.
The Myanmar Independent Living Initiative (Myanmar-ILI), a rights group advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, will implement the project with the help of the Myanmar Education Consortium.
"Our project will begin in June at Yay Kyi in Irrawaddy Division and Dala in Rangoon," said Yu Ya Thu, operation manager of Myanmar-ILI.
Explaining the chosen locations for the project, she said that Irrawaddy Division has the most disabled people in the country, and Dala—which is across the Rangoon River from the center of the former capital—misses out on the development taking place nearby.
"Children with disabilities have very limited access to education. We want an education system in which all disabled people can attend mainstream schools," Yu Ya Thu said.
According to a national survey conducted by the government, 50 percent of all people with disabilities, including physical and intellectual disabilities, have never attended school, largely because they were denied entrance at the government's mainstream public schools.
"Mainstream schools pose many challenges for students with disabilities. For example, teachers who can explain with sign language are needed for the deaf in schools," she said.
She said that the project will provide teaching and learning tools for students with disabilities, funding to attend school, training for teachers and other educational programs.
Outside mainstream schools, disabled students have few options, with just 15 special education schools in the entire country for the deaf, blind, physically disabled and intellectually disabled, including those with autism. There are also seven vocational training schools for people with physical disabilities. Some are run by the government, while the others were established by NGOs.
"In some places, if a child is blind, deaf or intellectually disabled, mainstream public schools will not allow him or her to enroll. Parents are also important because most think disabled children don't need to go to school," Yu Ya Thu said.
Burmese activists gather during the Asia Pacific Feminists Forum in Chiang Mai on Friday. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy)
CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Burmese women are raising concerns about a proposed interfaith marriage law during a major conference in Thailand that brings together about 300 feminists from across the Asia-Pacific region.
On Saturday, the second day of the Asia Pacific Feminists Forum (APFF) in the northern city of Chiang Mai, they plan to seek advice as they devise a strategy for countering the proposed law, which would require Buddhist women to get permission from their parents and local authorities before marrying a man of any other faith.
"This law takes away women's decision-making power," Htar Htar, founder of the Rangoon-based Akhaya women's network, told The Irrawaddy on the sidelines of the forum on Friday. "This is not just a local problem—it is a global issue. We will discuss how to respond through collective efforts."
May Sabe Phyu, coordinator of Burma's Gender Equality Network, said Burmese women would seek support from other feminists.
"We will see whether they have had experiences tackling similar problems," she said.
Ten Burmese women are attending the second APFF, which has drawn feminists from 30 Asia-Pacific countries. The first forum was held in 2011.
The forum is organized by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD). Participants discuss a wide range of issues from religious fundamentalism to communal unrest, peace and security, and environmental conservation.
Tin Tin Nyo, secretary of the Women's League of Burma (WLB), said discussions on Friday focused on labor rights, land-grabbing, sexual violence and women's role in peacebuilding.
"Burmese people face the same difficulties as those in other nations," she said, calling for "collective movements through the Asia Pacific region, rather than isolated movements in each country."
Kate Lappin, regional coordinator of the APWLD, said the outcomes of the forum would be presented to the UN General Assembly in New York in September.
"We want to use this APFF to really bring together feminist movements—and also other movements, not just women's movements—to collectively demand development justice," she told The Irrawaddy.
A screenshot shows Kyaw Zwa Moe (left) talking with Vicky Bowman, director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, and Kyaw Lin Oo (right), coordinator of the Myanmar People Forum Working Group, on Dateline Irrawaddy.
In this week's Dateline Irrawaddy show—first aired on DVB on Wednesday—panelists discussed the public outcry over the high price paid by the United Nations' Children's Fund's to former member of Burma's junta for the rental of its office in Rangoon.
Kyaw Zwa Moe: This week, we are going to discuss the fact that some UN agencies and international organizations are renting properties owned by ex-generals from the previous military regime for their offices. Last week, The Irrawaddy revealed that UNICEF rented the house owned by former General Nyunt Tin, who served as the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation. We have learned that UNICEF is paying US$87,000 per month, which is equivalent to 85 million kyat, to rent the place. We are going to explore whether it is ethical for humanitarian organizations—or is it in line with their code of conduct—to pay such a high rates to rent these properties with our invited guests: Vicky Bowman, the director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB), and Ko Kyaw Lin Oo, the coordinator of Myanmar People Forum Working Group. And I am Kyaw Zwa Moe, the Editor of the English Edition of The Irrawaddy Magazine.
Vicky, can we say that these UN agencies and other international agencies in the same situation are "morally corrupt" to spend tens of thousands of dollars to rent the properties owned by former generals (and their family members) who were corrupt and oppressed their own people?
Vicky Bowman: I am very disappointed to hear this. It is very disappointing to see them paying such high prices to anyone, and especially when a former general owns the property. The problem is that the property market now doesn't have many options like that as the market is so small. UNICEF has about 150 staff working in the office. So UN agencies and other international entities don't have many choices. Normally, there is a list of people, from whom the UN agencies and international companies are not allowed to rent the properties. They can't rent from people who appeared in the US and EU blacklists. I think the owners only appeared in the blacklists more than 10 years ago and not in the current lists.
KZM: Yes. But, UN and international organizations have been assisting the needs in Burma for years already and now they are renting the property from a corrupt person and paying them the hefty price of more than $1 million per year for seven years, which makes more than $7 million in total. They are supposed to use that money to support children in need. Now, instead, they are helping the corrupt generals to become millionaires—people are angry at that.
VB: Yes. People are angry. We thank The Irrawaddy for revealing this. Now we know he is earning about a million dollar a year. He is subject to income tax, which is about 20 percent in Burma. So, he should pay $200,000 to the government.
KZM: That is a matter of taxation. Ko Kyaw Lin Oo, let's explore the root cause of this. We know that property rents in Rangoon are extremely expensive. Some people say that Rangoon is more expensive then world's most expensive places like New York, London and San Francisco. Why do you think this has happened?
Kyaw Lin Oo: The main problem is the shortage of supplies to meet the demand, as Vicky just mentioned. When the country opened up, many organizations and companies came in. They couldn't find enough places to setup their offices. I also heard about UNICEF problem from a UNICEF officer who was involved in searching and renting the new place. They were looking for a new place two years ago when Traders Hotel, where their previous office was located, asked them to move out. They couldn't find a place fit for their staff and their cars. They couldn't find anywhere else except that place. When they made the deal with the landowner; the owner agreed to bear the additional expense to ensure the property was suitable for UNICEF's work and provided a new side-building free of charge, if the rent is fixed for seven years. Nevertheless, the problem is that, despite the principles these organizations hold, only people linked to the military regime own big and nice properties like this. It is a hard choice for them. As far as I know, a particular family related to a former general own about 60 properties like that in Rangoon. And those properties are already leased to INGOs, international companies and organizations. When the case of UNICEF surfaced, NGOs are becoming more vigilant and considering who own the properties before they rent.
KZM: The market situation is indeed a problem. However, non-business entities like UN agencies and other development organizations, who are using money from taxpayers from other countries, should have enough conscience to know whether they should or should not rent such places. Although we are talking about UNICEF now, other organizations are in the same situation, like the WHO, which is also paying almost the same amount as UNICEF for their office. Some diplomats are renting the houses of ex-generals, including those owned by the late General Ne Win. What I wonder is: While the EU and the US are blacklisting these generals, do the diplomats coming from there not know what they are doing? Or they are just not aware? That is the main question here. It is not a breach of law or a felony, but it is about how aware and sensitive they are in cases like that.
VB: Normally, the EU and the US are very cautious. However, Ne Win's family has never been on the blacklist. Another thing to consider is that places are quite rare. If they don't live in May Kha Street, should they live in Hlaing Thar Yar? There are some changes in the market though. New condominiums are going up. People are more cautious because of the news. I always advise companies to check whether there is land grabbing involved, or who the actual owners of the land are. Some corporations, including Coca-Cola, are investigating the background thoroughly. But some Western and Asian companies are not doing that. That will hurt their reputations.
KZM: What makes the matter worse is that this country is just coming out of military rule. When I talk to some real estate agents, they told me that when the ex-generals or their cronies ask their tenants for high prices, they pay. That is affecting the property prices and hurting the ordinary people as well.
KLO: Yes. When the news comes out that properties of such and such standard are getting that amount of rental fees that becomes the de-facto standard price for properties at that level. That is a pulling factor for the properties prices.
KZM: The income tax thing that Vicky just mentioned is important. A landowner who is getting $1 million a year must pay about US$200,000 as income tax. Do you know that they pay the tax and if there is transparency in the case? Do the tax officials know? What do you think?
VB: As you know Ko Kyaw Zwa Moe, when people make contracts for renting properties, they sometimes make two different contracts. One is with the fake rates and one is with the real rates. That is the problem there. But I know that UNICEF is not doing like that. I am not sure if the Internal Revenue Department knows about these cases. If they had a hotline to receive complaints, people could inform them. In other countries, they have hotlines that people can inform about tax evasion. They should have it here. The Internal Revenue Department has some policies for tax evasions, but these are only focused on companies, not individuals. They should change that too.
KZM: This is not a small problem. As Vicky just said, other countries that are opening up like Burma are also facing the same problems. How can the government help in such situations? When the government moved to Naypyidaw, a lot of government-owned buildings were left unoccupied in Rangoon. If they renovate and rent them to UN agencies, both parties will benefit. How do you think?
VB: That too can help solve the problem a lot. There are many unused old buildings. Ko Thant Myint-U set up the Yangon Heritage Trust to protect the buildings and there are some companies and embassies who want to get them renovated and use them. But there is a lot of red tape in the way, and the market situation is also a problem. Some departments want to charge a lot. So far, not many buildings are rented out. That would be a better plan.
KZM: Ko Kyaw Lin Oo, how do you think the government can get involved?
KLO: I think organizations like UN should apply the land from the government and build an office building for UN agencies. In Bangkok, there is a building like UN ESCAP. While Burma was under the military rule, UN's functions were quite limited. Now, the functions are increased, as well as the numbers of staff and the budget. They should have already started building like that by now. In a large plot of land, they should build big buildings and let their organizations occupy there. That is good for them in the long run and the government can also earn from that. Now only individuals like General Nyunt Tin get the money. Even if he is paying income tax like Vicky said, they government will only get 20 percent. The rent might not be as expensive as the current one. Not only for UN agencies, the government should also consider about local NGOs, I think, because the rent is also a headache for local NGOs like ours. Because the market is unstable and the prices are going up year after year; like 800,000 kyat this year, 1,200,000 kyat next year and 1,500,000 kyat after that. We have to adjust our budget accordingly. That is very hard.
KZM: Thanks for joining us for this discussion Vicky and Ko Kyaw Lin Oo. We can conclude from this discussion that while the government should intervene to solve the problem, those who are renting the properties owned by the corrupt former military officials should also think and act responsibly about renting them. Thank you all for watching.
Harmoneat will serve healthy locally sourced dishes derived from the country's diverse ethnic and geographic areas. (Photo: Harmoneat)
RANGOON — A new food truck may soon be driving the streets of Rangoon, delivering a mix of traditional Burmese cuisine along with a message about tolerance.
Fund-raising is under way to launch Harmoneat, a food truck that will serve healthy locally sourced dishes derived from the country's diverse ethnic and geographic areas, including noodles from Shan State, seafood salad from Arakan State and spicy chicken from Kachin State.
Along with the meals, which will cost about 1,500 kyats (US$1.50), customers will receive a recipe card and a small description about the history of the cuisine.
Project director Meg Berryman says the goal is to build positive associations between communities and celebrate diversity, in a country with 135 officially recognized ethnic groups. "It's about starting conversations," she tells The Irrawaddy.
She and her husband David Hale, both Australians, were inspired to launch the Rangoon-based social enterprise after working in the development and peace-building sectors in Burma.
They started an online fund-raising campaign on May 20 and have already raised over Aus$13,000 (US $12,000). They hope to crowdsource more than four times that amount by the time the fund-raising period closes in 20 days.
To offset costs and keep meal prices competitive, Harmoneat will offer cooking classes for visitors and expats in Burma's former capital. Burmese chefs, ideally from a range of ethnic backgrounds, will be hired to lead the classes. "Harmoneat will be a locally led and run operation—we want to build the capacity of local entrepreneurs and youth groups to develop social businesses," says Berryman.
"We don't want to compete—we want to collaborate with existing organizations in Yangon [Rangoon]," says Berryman.
If the fund-raising campaign succeeds, the food truck will likely stay in Rangoon for the first year, with the possibility of traveling elsewhere in Burma after that.
"That's the beauty of a food truck," Berryman says. "In the future it's something we can take on the road, either as an educational tool or as a business itself."
A map shows the epicenter of Friday's earthquake just inside China's Yunnan Province, based on coordinates given by the US Geological Survey. (Credit: Google Maps)
RANGOON — An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 hit Burma on Friday near its northeastern border with China but there were no immediate reports of damage, a meteorological official said.
The earthquake, described as moderate, struck at 7:51 a.m. (0121 GMT) about 375 km (240 miles) northeast of the city of Mandalay and 60 km (40 miles) southeast of the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina, the official from the Meteorological Department told Reuters.
"The epicenter is on the Myanmar-Chinese border. We haven’t heard any information about damage or casualties," he added.
The central and northern parts of Burma are often hit by earthquakes. In November last year, a moderate earthquake struck Shwebo District about 135 km (85 miles) northwest of Mandalay, killing at least a dozen people.
A police officer walks alone near police vehicles at an empty Victory Monument, where anti-coup protesters were gathering on previous days, in Bangkok on May 29, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Erik De Castro)
BANGKOK / CHIANG MAI, Thailand — On Dec. 27 last year, Thailand's powerful army chief stood before a crowded news conference and stunned the beleaguered government of Yingluck Shinawatra by saying he would not rule out military intervention to resolve a deteriorating political crisis. Gen. Prayuth Chan-Ocha said "the door was neither open nor closed" when he was asked whether a coup would happen. "Anything can happen."
It was a marked shift from the strong coup denials the armed forces had routinely made up until then. Prayuth was not just speaking off the cuff in front of reporters. A document drawn up by the army's chief of staff and dated Dec. 27—the same day the general faced the media—runs through various scenarios of how the crisis could unfold and how the military should respond.
One of the scenarios details what the army should do "if at any time the situation is beyond the control of police." If that happened, the document says, the army would impose a state of emergency or impose martial law. The document also provides guidance on how to take power "while acting in a neutral manner," and how to help mediate between the warring camps.
As events unfolded over the next five months, the army found itself dealing with most of the scenarios mentioned in the document: failed attempts at mediation, rising political violence culminating in martial law.
There have now been 12 successful coups over the past eight decades of Thailand's modern monarchy. But the latest, on May 22 following a last ditch effort by the military to mediate, did not follow the usual script, which runs: lock down Bangkok while the rest of the country watches with bemusement from the countryside, untouched by events.
This time, the army moved swiftly across the country, rounding up politicians, activists and academics, most of them "red shirt" supporters of the ousted government, according to multiple interviews with activists, the military and families of the detainees.
The meticulous moves to put a military government in place—and the lack of any timeline for a return to democracy soon—have many wondering if the generals have plans and scenarios for running the country for a long period of time.
The junta has denied planning the coup in advance. Lt-Gen Chatchalerm Chalermsukh, the deputy army chief of staff, told foreign media on Thursday that "planning for a coup is treason which is why we did not plan it."
"What we did was a risk, because if we don't carry out our plan properly then we might go to jail or be put to death," Chatchalerm said. "There was no planning in advance."
The junta has suspended the old constitution, muffled the media and imposed martial law—including prosecuting civilians in military courts.
The generals are promising unspecified reforms aimed at ending the power struggle that has stymied the kingdom for years. It is a contest between a royalist establishment, including the military brass, elite bureaucrats and big business, and a mainly rural-based "red shirt" movement loyal to populist former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
In the months ahead, the military will have to grapple with how democracy will ultimately work in Thailand: through elections that inevitably return a pro-Thaksin government or through an establishment that aims to limit the power of elected—and, in their view, corrupt—politicians.
That question has become ever more acute because King Bhumibol, a revered figure who has reigned for nearly seven decades, is 86 and only recently was released from three years in a Bangkok hospital. Anxiety is growing about his succession.
Bloodied Monument
The Thai army began putting in motion plans to seize control of the country after men armed with guns and grenades killed three and injured more than 20 in an attack on anti-government protesters at Bangkok's Democracy Monument. The May 15 attack at the monument—erected after a 1932 coup that overturned an absolute monarchy—conjured up the military's worst nightmare: civil war in the Kingdom of Thailand, whose ailing king has all but faded from public view. It signaled to Gen. Prayuth that the situation was getting beyond the control of police.
"After that incident, the feeling among prominent members of the military was that the mood of the country had changed and every side was prepared to use violence," army deputy spokesman Veerachon Sukhontapatipak said. "We soon announced martial law [on May 20] to give everyone a chance to retreat. But after that day, clear steps were put in place, and 'option B,' which we all wanted to avert, was a coup."
A "judicial coup" preceded the military one, in the view of the ousted government. And it left the military in a dilemma. On May 7, the Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra—Thaksin's sister—and several cabinet ministers from office for "abuse of power." Pro-government protesters warned of "civil war" if an unelected leadership was put into office.
But the court unexpectedly decided to leave a rump of the pro-Thaksin government in power as a caretaker administration, and that alarmed the military, according to a source involved in back channel talks between the government and its opponents in the street.
"They [the caretaker government] couldn't sign any national security laws. They were powerless to deal with civil unrest," the source said. That's when the military started thinking about an "option B," the source said.
The army document seen by Reuters said the military needed a Cabinet directive to take control of the streets and disperse protesters, which the caretaker government was unable to give.
The same court in February annulled an election that would likely have returned Yingluck's government to power. In another decision, it banned the use of force to disperse anti-government protesters.
Yingluck herself sowed the seeds of the anti-government movement last November, when the lower house of parliament passed an amnesty bill that could have allowed Thaksin to return from self-exile. Though the bill died, it spawned a protest movement under former deputy premier Suthep Thaugsuban. He demanded the government be dissolved and replaced by an unelected "people's council."
A telecommunications billionaire, Thaksin, 65, revolutionized Thai politics. He won two landslide election victories with his brand of retail politics, populist programs and crony capitalism. The army ousted Thaksin in a 2006 coup, accusing him of corruption, nepotism, abuse of power and insulting the monarchy. He faces a two-year jail sentence after being convicted in absentia on a conflict of interest charge. From his outposts of exile—London, Dubai and Hong Kong—he has funded and effectively controlled the "red shirt" movement.
Reluctant Coup-Maker?
Allies of Gen. Prayuth insist he was a reluctant coup-maker, given the army's experience the last time it tried governing. The 2006 army putsch only entrenched political divisions and was infamous for botched policies, including imposing capital controls that caused a 15 percent one-day plunge in Thailand's stock market.
Prayuth, then a major-general, was part of the junta that seized control of the government in 2006. When he was appointed army chief in 2010, he was seen as a hardline royalist, opposed to the red shirt movement. In 2011, Jatuporn Promphan, a red shirt leader and member of parliament, was imprisoned for making comments deemed to be disrespectful of the monarchy. The case was prompted by a complaint by Prayuth.
Plans for a full military takeover were already advanced when Prayuth declared martial law on May 20—two days ahead of the coup—ostensibly to maintain order while the politicians worked out a solution, a senior military officer said.
"From the moment martial law was announced, there was a 50-50 chance he would take power, but he first wanted to give all sides a chance to back down," the military officer said.
The junta has provided no timeline for when fresh elections would be held, but have indicated it won't be any time soon.
The coup contingency planning documents seen by Reuters details how to give power back to the people "in the shortest time possible."
Chatchalerm, the deputy army chief of staff, said conditions had to be right and divisions healed before there could be a return to civilian rule.
"How long it takes to heal divisions between two groups that has been going on for 10 years?" Chatchalerm asked foreign media.
After the Sept. 19, 2006 coup, it was 15 months before elections were held, in December 2007.
Prayuth's new team of advisers, a junta kitchen cabinet, includes a former defense minister, Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, and former army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda. The two are towering figures in Thailand's military establishment and have close ties to Prayuth. All three are staunch monarchists who helped oust Thaksin in 2006.
A Reuters report in December revealed Prawit and Anupong had secretly backed the anti-government protests that undermined Yingluck's government.
The junta faces an uphill struggle to revive Thailand's economy, which contracted 2.1 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, and some economists say a recession may be unavoidable.
Prayuth's advisor overseeing the economy is Pridiyathorn Devakula. He was finance minister in the military-installed government following the 2006 coup that introduced strict—and, after the stock market tanked, short lived—capital controls to prop up the Thai baht.
Decapitating the Red Shirts
In Bangkok, the junta publicly summoned at least 258 activists, intellectuals and journalists to report to army bases. The purpose of the round-up was to "calm everyone down," prevent further incitements to violence, and silence critical comment that "might affect the military's work," according to junta statements. Almost all of them have been released.
But in "red shirt" country in the north and northeast, where the potential for anti-coup dissent is much greater, the military is conducting a more draconian sweep and things have been less transparent.
"At least in Bangkok, the military issues a formal announcement. But in the provinces it's informal," said an academic from the northern city of Chiang Mai who is in hiding. "They just show up in a truck and take you away."
In Chiang Mai province, the Shinawatra family powerbase, local Army commander Maj-Gen Sarayuth Rungsri declined to answer questions about how many people were detained.
Interviews with activists, academics, detainees' families and the military reveal at least 20 red shirt organizers were taken into custody in Chiang Mai and neighboring Chiang Rai province. Most were released on Tuesday.
Those who were detained say they were made to sign documents—euphemistically entitled "Memoranda of Understanding"—pledging to swear off political agitation, incitement or unauthorized travel. They were warned that breaking the contracts could mean prosecution and up to two years jail.
"They questioned us on whether we're radical, whether we're stockpiling weapons," a Chiang Mai red shirt leader who was detained for six days, and who declined to be identified, told Reuters.
The red shirt leader said he was held with 11 other activists on an army base in comfortable double bedrooms. Detainees were briefly questioned at the start and end of their time at the base, as well as given briefings by army officers to "correct their perceptions," the leader said.
Asked if the army's efforts succeeded in changing his mind, the red shirt leader said: "Let's just say I know the answer, but I can't say it out loud. It's like I have something stuck in my throat. I'm bound by the conditions of my release."
At least half a dozen academics and activists, most unaffiliated with the red shirts, are on the run. None of the names of those detained were found on lists released by the army in Bangkok.
In Chiang Mai, the military's tightening grip has thwarted the kind of uprising that Thaksin's loyalists warned of in the lead-up to the military takeover.
Sarayuth said he would be clamping down further.
"Whenever we have a report that one or two people are preparing to do something, we will go and control the situation," he said.
Daily protests peaked in Chiang Mai on Saturday, when at least 200 people jeered at and sporadically scuffled with police, but have fizzled since. Attempts by anti-coup activists to organize flash mob-style protests via social media and mobile messaging have been foiled by military intelligence gathering, with soldiers taking over rally sites in advance.
At least 16 people have been arrested in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai at anti-coup protests. Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are just two of 36 provinces in the north and northeast. It is not clear how many people have been detained across the entire region.
In the northeastern province of Khon Kaen, another red shirt stronghold, local activists say seven of their leaders have been detained. Their names were absent from army lists disclosed in Bangkok.
Defusing the Royalists
Some in Bangkok believe the coup was a way out for protest leader Suthep, whose support had been dwindling in recent weeks and whose ultimatums for the government to step down were going nowhere.
For months, leaders of his People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), backed by Thailand's conservative royalist establishment, had called on the army to intervene.
Samdin Lertbutr, an anti-government protest leader, said protesters knew the army would step in if the government did not stand aside, but told Reuters there were no closed-door meetings between the army and the PDRC leadership.
"We weren't surprised the army staged a coup. It was not the result we wanted," Samdin told Reuters. "We wanted a people's revolution, and up until Thursday [May 22], we believed that's what we were going to get. There were no meetings between us and the army to discuss the possibility of a coup."
A second PDRC leader, Somsak Kosaisuk, agreed that the protest group did not know a coup was imminent when they attended talks at the Army Club that Thursday aimed at trying to reach a compromise with the caretaker government.
Army chief Prayuth "asked the government side one more time whether it would resign before he took power," Somsak said.
"They said they would not."
That's when Prayuth calmly announced he was taking power. "Everyone must sit still," Prayuth said, according to two sources who attended the meeting.
Immediately after that, hundreds of troops surrounded the Army Club and whisked away everybody from the building. By bringing all sides together for the talks, Prayuth's forces were able to detain many of Thailand's most powerful political figures at the same time. The coup had gone off without a hitch.
Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Pairat Temphairojana.
A rubber plantation in Mon State's Ye township that a local rights group says has been confiscated by the military. (Photo: HURFOM)
The world is currently witnessing the fastest-growing commercial pressure on land in history. The past decade has seen at least 49 million hectares of land in developing countries leased out by global investors, often under the guise of 'national development'.
The impacts on the ground, however, have been forced evictions of rural communities, food insecurity, loss of livelihood and increased poverty, as well as irreversible environmental destruction.
In Southeast Asia, large-scale rubber plantations are one of the main drivers of land grabs and deforestation. As Burma emerges as a key market, the government must decide how to avert the social and environmental harm that the rush for rubber has cost its neighbours.
Around 85 percent of rubber globally is, in fact, produced by smallholders, with farmers typically owning plots of land ranging anywhere between 5 and 100 acres. The beauty of rubber is that farmers can plant it with other cash crops such as banana, tea, coffee, cocoa, cassava and pineapple. Not only does this reduce competition for land, it also provides an alternative income for farmers, and the diversity of crops provides a source of food for families.
This type of agroforestry system, sometimes known as 'jungle rubber', can provide resilience to what are often volatile global markets whilst also helping protect biodiversity and ecosystems. In fact, the recent rapid increase and current crash in rubber prices indicate how volatile the market can be.
The Mekong region, however, is seeing a more alarming type of investment in rubber production. Facing both growing global demand and a shortage of land, the main rubber producer countries have turned to neighbouring countries to expand their rubber production.
The last few years has seen a new wave of rubber investors acquiring large swathes of land in neighbouring 'frontier' countries such as Cambodia and Laos, with devastating consequences for both people and forests. In 2013, Global Witness exposed this new reality of the industry in its report 'Rubber Barons'. Now the industry has its sight set on Burma, often dubbed the 'final frontier' for investors in the rush for the world's remaining natural resources.
Decades of military dictatorship and rampant corruption has already seen many of Burma's abundant natural resources exploited for the benefit of a few. A culture of secrecy surrounding land investments has further fuelled concerns that Burma's natural wealth is being looted by members of the military, political and business elite whilst the poor are left empty-handed.
The last few years has seen huge rubber plantations expand into the country, and with the suspension of sanctions and the country opening up for the first time to global investors, far from bringing progress this agricultural investment model risks both exacerbating poverty levels and increasing deforestation.
It's not clear why investors are buying up such large tracts of land for rubber when it's grown so effectively by smallholders and no one in the industry has really been able to provide an answer. It's true to say, however, that large-scale land investments tend to go hand-in-hand with both weak rule of law and a lack of recognition of local people's rights to their land.
Access to valuable timber may also be an incentive: land grabbing and forest destruction are frequently two sides of the same coin. Companies grab land to access valuable species such as rosewood, while forests are cleared to make way for agriculture. In both cases local communities and the environment lose out to companies and corrupt politicians.
Land deals don't need to happen this way—there is masses of evidence to show that investing in and supporting smallholder farmers brings lasting economic, social and environmental benefits. Burma already has an established smallholder rubber industry—what farmers need is government support to boost the productivity and quality of the rubber they produce.
This can be done through the provision of extension services and better access to the right technology. Well-supported cooperatives can also improve the efficiency and productivity of smallholders and, in turn, secure greater commercial and economic benefits for farmers.
In order for farmers to benefit in the long-term from these projects, they need to have secure tenure of the land and resources on which they rely for their livelihoods. The current drafting of the new national land policy provides an opportunity to ensure that the needs and rights of smallholder farmers are protected and to strengthen and align the current laws governing land investments. Civil society engagement in the drafting of the policy will be a crucial part of the process.
The international community is poised to invest in Burma's rich natural assets. The government currently stands at a crossroads with regards to how it takes advantage of such foreign investor interest. The future of Burma is not yet clear, but the decisions taken now will impact significantly on the country's people and environment for many years to come.
Ali Hines works for Global Witness' Land Campaign.
Paramilitary policemen patrol in formation at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, in March. (Photo: Reuters)
BEIJING — Chinese authorities detained another activist amid increasingly intense efforts to suppress commemorations of next week’s 25th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, his lawyers said Friday.
Wang Aizhong, a founder of the Southern Street Movement, which calls for an end to one-party rule, was detained in the southern city of Guangzhou on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking troubles, according to his lawyers Zhang Xuezhong and Wu Kuiming.
Wang is at least the 20th person detained ahead of the anniversary of the June 4, 1989, military attack on protesters, according to Amnesty International. Others have been put under house arrest or reported as missing.
Calls to the Guangzhou were either unanswered or the people who answered hung up after the caller identified herself as a reporter.
Communist leaders detain and harass activists every year ahead of June 4 but this year’s efforts to suppress China’s small number of active dissidents are unusually severe.
In Beijing, human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang and four others were detained after they attended a private forum to commemorate the 1989 protest and its crackdown.
"In the past, these activists got no more than warnings, but formal detentions show the political climate has grown tenser," said Zhang. "There are no grounds to persecute those who should discuss in private a historic event that did happen in our country’s history."
It was not immediately clear on what ground the authorities accuse Wang of breaking the law, but the government wants to control activists like Wang ahead of the June 4 anniversary, Zhang said.
"It is a political detention," Zhang said. "The motivation to detain him and the charge are not the same."
Participants in Wang’s movement have protested in the street, holding up signs and banners to declare their demands. Several of them also have been detained ahead of the anniversary.
Most of the people detained ahead of the anniversary have been charged with picking quarrels and provoking troubles, a charge critics say is used to disguise political persecution.
The human rights group Amnesty International has criticized Beijing for this year’s persecution of activists and said it is contrary to President Xi Jinping’s promise of openness.
Students in Ahmedabad, India, hold candles during a candlelight vigil for a woman whose gang rape on a bus in New Delhi in December 2012 sparked nationwide outrage. (Photo: Reuters)
LUCKNOW, India — Two teenage sisters in rural India were raped and killed by attackers who hung their bodies from a mango tree, which became the scene of a silent protest by villagers angry about alleged police inaction in the case. Two of the four men arrested so far are police officers.
Villagers found the girls' bodies hanging from the tree early Wednesday, hours after they disappeared from fields near their home in Katra village in Uttar Pradesh State, police Superintendent Atul Saxena said. The girls, who were 14 and 15, had gone into the fields because there was no toilet in their home.
Hundreds of angry villagers stayed next to the tree throughout Wednesday, silently protesting the police response. Indian TV footage showed the villagers sitting under the girls' bodies as they swung in the wind, and preventing authorities from taking them down until the suspects were arrested.
Police arrested two police officers and two men from the village later Wednesday and were searching for three more suspects.
Autopsies confirmed the girls had been raped and strangled before being hung, Saxena said.
The villagers accused the chief of the local police station of ignoring a report by the girls' father Tuesday night that the girls were missing. The station chief in Katra, 180 miles (300 km) southwest of the state capital, Lucknow, has since been suspended.
The family belongs to the Dalit community, also called "untouchables" and considered the lowest rung in India’s age-old caste system.
Records show a rape is committed every 22 minutes in India, a nation of 1.2 billion people. Activists say that number is low because of an entrenched culture of tolerance for sexual violence, which leads many cases to go unreported. Women are often pressed by family or police to stay quiet about sexual assault, and those who do report it are often subjected to public ridicule or social stigma.
India tightened its anti-rape laws last year, making gang rape punishable by the death penalty, even when the victim survives. The new laws came after the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Delhi that triggered nationwide protests.
Health workers, police and women’s rights activists say women and girls face the risk of rape and harassment when they go out into fields or bushes due to the lack of toilets in their homes.
More than a half billion Indians lack access to toilets. A recent study said around 30 percent of women from poor families faced violent sexual assaults every year because they did not have access to a safe toilet.
Last month, the head of Uttar Pradesh state’s governing party, the regionally prominent Samajwadi Party, told an election rally that the party was opposed to the law calling for gang rapists to be executed.
"Boys will be boys," Mulayam Singh Yadav said. "They make mistakes."
Girls pose for photos with Thai soldiers stationed at Tha Pae Gate, Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Photo: Paul Vrieze / The Irrawaddy)
BANGKOK — Thailand’s military junta will send officials to Singapore and Japan in coming days to seek tighter censorship of social media from Facebook, Google Inc and instant messenger service Line, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
The military has sought to stifle criticism as it consolidates power after toppling an elected government on May 22, detaining politicians and restricting print, radio and broadcast media.
But authorities have struggled to control activity online, where users have used social media to organize protests and express opposition to the coup. The junta has warned about the spread of what it considers provocative material on social media, and asked service providers to help tighten censorship.
"We want to talk to them informally," Pisit Pao-In, adviser to the permanent secretary of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry, told a news conference on Thursday. "We do not ask them to install any additional software. We just ask them to help filtering content."
Officials would have to travel as the three companies had no representatives in Thailand with whom to hold talks, he said, speaking after a meeting in Bangkok with Internet gateway and Internet service providers (ISPs).
The ministry asked ISPs to block websites within an hour of receiving an official request to take them down, said an ISP source who attended the meeting on Thursday, declining to be identified because he was not authorized by his company to speak to media.
After the coup, the ICT established a commission to monitor websites and block content that flouts military guidelines or Thailand’s strict Lese Majeste laws. There are three monitoring centers working 24 hours a day: one at the army, the ICT and the state telecom regulator, Pisit said.
More than 100 web pages have been blocked since the coup, he added. The ICT, the police, the intelligence agency and regulator work together to monitor websites, he said.
Thai users were alarmed on Wednesday when the ministry blocked access to Facebook. It is unclear why the site was blocked.
The government had no plans to block access to Thailand’s 24 million Facebook users, Pisit said.
Norwegian telecoms group Telenor, which owns a controlling stake in Thailand’s second-largest mobile operator, Total Access Communications, said the outage had lasted 55 minutes.
"Telenor Group believes in open communication and regrets the consequences this might have had for the people of Thailand," the company said in a statement.
National Gateway
The military plans to consolidate the 15 private and state-run Internet gateways into one single national gateway to facilitate monitoring.
"We will have a single gateway to monitor inflow and outflow of content on the Internet… The main reason is for security," Pisit told Reuters. He said it was unlikely the gateway would be completed before the end of the year.
The single gateway would give the government increased control over access to websites hosted outside Thailand, the ISP source said.
Thailand has 15 Internet gateway providers and leading players include two state-owned firms CAT Telecom and TOT Pcl and private company True Internet, part of True Corp.
Local fishermen pass by container ships at Thilawa Port, south of Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters)
THILAWA, Rangoon Division — Tin Hsan and her husband lived modestly in the outskirts of Burma's commercial capital Rangoon, growing rice and betel leaves on their 22 acres and peddling vegetables, but they got by, until they were forced to move to make way for Thilawa, a showcase industrial zone being built with Japanese aid.
The expansive factory park is part of plans to develop the Rangoon region and its crumbling, pre-World War II infrastructure as Burma rushes to shift from subsistence farming to export manufacturing following sweeping political and economic reforms that ended outright rule by the military.
Critics, however, say the landmark project is pushing families deeper into poverty, and accuse local officials of strong-arm tactics to force resettlements, highlighting the dilemmas faced by Burma's fledgling democracy as foreign businesses and development groups pour into the country.
Japan International Cooperation Agency and several big Japanese companies have a combined 49 percent stake in the 2,400-hectare (5,900-acre) special economic zone, which is Japan's biggest investment in Burma so far.
Many of the people forced to move from farms to tiny plots of land outside the area designated for the industrial zone may eventually get jobs in the factories expected to set up in Thilawa. But in the meantime conditions are bleak.
"My husband is a farmer and he only knows how to work in the field. Since he has no work to do, he became depressed and is now drinking day and night," said Tin Hsan, standing outside their rickety, one-room hut that fills a barren roadside lot. "Since we moved here and live in this small place with no space to grow anything, we are living hand to mouth and we are all miserable."
Tin Hsan and her husband are one of 81 households, or about 300 people, moved between 4.5 kilometers and 8 kilometers so far. Local residents and their advocates say that in the rush to meet deadlines, residents were forced to sign agreements for new housing and compensation that fell far short of their needs and also violated JICA's requirement that resettlement not result in lower living standards. More than 4,500 will be resettled for the second phase of construction.
Plans call for the zone to eventually employ nearly 300,000 people, mostly in manufacturing. Since construction began in late November, a Japanese contractor has raised and leveled 400 hectares (990 acres) of land near a port built in the 1990s that will be expanded. During a recent visit, workers were putting the finishing touches on a prefabricated building that will serve as the zone's headquarters.
"There's so much speculative capital looking for somewhere to go. Thilawa is looking like the best bet for an industrial park so that land prices are going up," said Rachel Calvert of consultancy IHS. "The amount of interest in Thilawa is huge."
Thilawa is promising ample, stable electricity and good quality water piped in from a reservoir up country. Since other industrial zones in and around Rangoon are full and lack stable electricity, companies are lining up to get in, said Calvert.
Yet satisfying the priorities of foreign investors and local businesses comes at a high cost for those uprooted. They are unhappy over the disruptions to their lives, loss of livelihoods, the amount of compensation provided, and most acutely over the silty orange water available to their new homes.
Tin Hsan and her husband received about 28 million kyats (US$29,000) in compensation, a sum that is a small fortune in Burma but which was quickly dissipated and also shortchanged them by paying out for only 13 of their 22 acres. Without farmland to provide food and an income, the extended family of four sons and a dozen grandchildren was forced apart. Tin Hsan said they spent about $5,000 to build their new house and split the remaining money between their children.
"Maybe the residents' homes were old, but they were spacious. Now they have new homes, but they're cramped and surrounded by water when it rains. The houses are full of cracks," Michihiro Ishibashi, a Japanese lawmaker who recently visited to investigate, told a parliamentary committee earlier this month.
Officials at JICA, the Japanese aid organization with a 10 percent stake in Thilawa, acknowledge problems with the resettlement effort but insist the project conforms to its own and to other international aid standards.
It said it is working with the local government to try to resolve the problems. The muddy water supply may partly stem from the haste in which the wells were installed, JICA said.
"Resettlement is a tremendous burden and many of the project-affected persons are still struggling," Takuro Takeuchi, a JICA advisor, said in an interview at the agency's headquarters in Tokyo. But ultimately, he said, "It's the Myanmar government that has to settle the situation."
In April, JICA went ahead with loans for Thilawa despite an environmental impact assessment showing 11 areas of likely negative impact and nine needing further study, compared with only six categorized as neutral or positive.
JICA's rules call for the host governments of projects it funds to ensure residents can improve or at least maintain their living standards. Meeting that benchmark appears daunting given the hard-scrabble conditions prevailing around Rangoon and the limited resources available in one of the poorest countries in Asia.
Activists working with Thilawa residents say those resettled were told they had no choice. Despite Burma's recent democratic reforms, most citizens remain wary of protest and unaware of their rights after decades of authoritarian, repressive rule.
"The people in Thilawa continue to suffer, but the Myanmar government isn't listening and JICA isn't listening. They don't seem to care that the project is violating their own guidelines," said Mya Hlaing, leader of the Thilawa Social Development Group, which represents local residents.
The zone began auctioning off shares in the project in early March, for 10,000 kyats per share, with a target of selling 2 million shares, and reported it took in 40 billion kyat ($41 million), nearly twice the amount expected.
Sales of factory sites began May 19.
"From autumn to next year, we will see the highest quality infrastructure in Myanmar," said Win Aung, chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
"You have nothing to worry about," he told a Japanese business mission.
A girl wraps betel nuts in a shop in Naypyidaw. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)
RANGOON — An anti-tobacco campaign in Burma has had little effect, campaigners say, as the popularity of chewing betel nut continues to grow.
"Of anywhere in Southeast Asia, Burma has the most people consuming betel quid with tobacco. More than 51 percent of the population here chews it with tobacco," Dr. Tint Tint Kyi, a specialist at Insein General Hospital, said at a forum in Rangoon ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Saturday.
That's up from about 25 percent of the country's population five years ago and 10 percent of the population a decade ago, she said.
Betel quid, commonly known as betel nut, consists of areca nuts wrapped in betel leaf and coated with lime. Tobacco and spices are added upon preference.
Street stalls throughout Burma sell the addictive nut, which stains the teeth of chewers a dark red color as it gives them a boost much like a cup of coffee.
Dr. Khin Maung Lwin, a former director at the Ministry of Health, said anti-tobacco awareness campaigns needed to reach a bigger audience.
"Most attendees at our talks are nonsmokers and people who don't chew betel," he said at the forum in Rangoon. "As long as we are only raising awareness among people who don't use tobacco, there will be no progress."
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), someone dies every six seconds around the world from tobacco use, while tobacco kills nearly 6 million people each year. Of those, more than 600,000 people are nonsmokers who have been exposed to second-hand smoke.
"Many people are smoking in tobacco-free public places," Tint Tint Kyi said.
Burma's 2006 tobacco control law bans smoking and chewing betel nut in tobacco-free places such as schools, hospitals and sports facilities.
"If we collect fines from tobacco users in tobacco-free places, people will follow the rules," said Khin Maung Chin, a member of the Myanmar Motion Picture Organization who attended the forum.
About 80 people, including students, nurses and staff from the Ministry of Health and health services companies, attended the forum on Wednesday at the National Health Museum.
The former Police Commissioner Office, which later served as the Rangoon Divisional Court, is pictured in 2012, before work began to convert it into a hotel. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
RANGOON — A group of Burmese lawyers has threatened to sue the government for leasing the building that formerly housed the Rangoon Division Court to a private company.
More than 50 lawyers protested on Wednesday outside the building on downtown Rangoon's Strand Road, which is currently being converted into a hotel by a little-known company.
"We staged a protest because we object to the government's plan to lease the building to a private company," said Kyee Myint, a member of Myanmar Lawyers' Network.
"If our protest will not bring any result, we will sue the Myanmar Investment Commission, which granted the lease."
The 90-year-old building—in a prime location in Rangoon's colonial downtown—was shuttered in 2012 and handed for development to a purportedly Burmese-owned firm named "Flying Tiger Company."
The owner of the company is unknown and no details have been made public about the lease or the plans for the property. Officials at the Myanmar Investment Commission were not unavailable for comment.
"Our ultimate goal is to restore the original status of the building—the Divisional Court. What they are doing now shows total disregard for a court that was still functioning until it was shut down," Kyee Myint added.
"If we haven't got any reply, we will start our lawsuit in June."
Kyee Myint explained that the protest was a follow-up to one they held two years ago, when the government announced the handover of the building, along with the 103-year-old High Court building, which was to be turned into a hotel.
After the protest, the government ordered the High Court project abandoned, but work on the Divisional Court building went ahead.
Both buildings are on Rangoon's Heritage List and have long played important roles in the country's judiciary system.
However, when the former military regime moved the capital to Naypyidaw in 2005, the High Court was downgraded to the Rangoon Divisional High Court.
The colonial-era Divisional Court building was originally the Police Commissioner's Office. The structure, fronted with large columns, stretches a whole city block along Strand Road. In more recent years, it contained local courts and judges' offices.
Aye Min, another lawyer, said the Myanmar Lawyers Network will in its lawsuit cite a 1988 preservation law that carries a five-year prison term for anyone who makes structural changes to landmark buildings, as a legal means to nullify the sale of the buildings.
A KIA soldier lobs a grenade at Burmese army forces advancing on Hkaya Bum last year. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)
RANGOON — The first meeting of a new commission to negotiate during armed conflicts in northern Burma met in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina on Wednesday.
Five representatives from the Burmese government and five from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) are part of the Conflict Negotiation Commission, which formed during bilateral peace talks between both sides earlier this month.
Members of the commission are tasked with working together to reduce fighting between the KIO's armed group and the Burmese army, as the government continues to push for a nationwide ceasefire accord with all armed groups.
Lamai Gum Ja, a member of the KIO advisory technical team, said Wednesday's meeting was mostly an introduction.
"This was the first time we were getting to know the other members involved in the commission," he told The Irrawaddy.
"We also talked about how to negotiate systematically if there is conflict. Third, we discussed how to communicate with each other when fighting breaks out. Finally, we talked about setting up an office for the commission."
He said KIO representatives also suggested that government soldiers reduce hostilities by informing the Kachin army before entering their territory.
Fighting is ongoing between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burmese army in Kachin State and northern Shan State. In April, an escalation of clashes forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes. They join more than 100,000 people who have been displaced by the conflict since 2011.
In early May, KIA leaders requested a meeting with Burmese peace negotiators. During a meeting in Myitkyina on May 13, both sides agreed to form the Conflict Negotiation Commission.
Col. Naing Aung from the Burmese army's northern command said the commission would meet during the first week of every month, starting in July.
"We also set up contact points to meet at any time if fighting breaks out and there is an urgent need to solve the problem as soon as possible," he said.
He said troops from the northern command aimed to provide security on the ground.
"But some KIA troops misunderstand our troop movements and attack our troops," he said.
He said the Burmese army would inform the KIA of future troop movements in KIA territory.
