| In Central Mon State, Villagers Flee as Soldiers Hunt for Karen Rebels Posted: 29 Sep 2014 06:28 AM PDT  A Burmese Army soldier looks over his shoulder on the outskirts of Donkachit village. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) KYAIKMAYAW TOWNSHIP, Mon State — Win Thein, a resident of Shwe War Chong village, said he had suddenly found himself in the vicinity of an eruption of violence on Friday, as Karen rebels and government forces engaged in bouts of heavy fighting in the hills and rubber plantations surrounding his village in central Mon State. "Look, I still have to wear this, I could not go back to my village," he said, holding up a dirty shirt that he has worn since fighting began four days ago. Win Thein and has family were among a group of about a dozen villagers travelling on a boat on the Same River to the township capital Kyaikmayaw on Monday, where they joined a group of about 100 villagers
who were seeking refuge from fighting in the area. Weeks of growing tensions and incidents between the Burma Army and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and other, smaller ethnic Karen rebels boiled over into full-scale clashes at several locations in eastern Burma groups on Friday, leading to some of the worst fighting in the region since the government signed bilateral ceasefires with the rebel groups in 2012. Heavy clashes between the DKBA and the army, involving mortar fire and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), were reported in Mon State's Kyaikmayaw Township and near Karen State's Myawaddy town over the weekend. Fleeing villagers in Kyaikmayaw Township said they heard gunfire at around 10 am on Monday morning, but no further violence was reported during the rest of the day. The unrest began on Friday during a scheduled meeting between the DKBA and government security forces at a rebel base in Kyaikmayaw Township.
Tensions rose so much that DKBA rebels detained the 20 security forces at the meeting, causing a Burma Army unit stationed near the base to launch an attack to secure the release of the government officers inside. DKBA fighters fired assault rifles and mortars to repel the attack, injuring two soldiers. The stand-off continued until Saturday morning when the DKBA took the weapons from the officers and released them. After that, the rebels fought their way out of the base and disappeared into the countryside. An Irrawaddy reporter and photographer undertook a three-hour trip from the Mon State capital Moulmein by boat and motorbike to reach Shwe War Chong village on Monday morning and witnessed about 100 government soldiers along the road and in the largely abandoned village. A source with the New Mon State Party, another rebel group in the area, said he estimated that some 1,000 soldiers had been deployed to search for the Karen rebels. Soe Naing Oo, a Special Branch police officer in Shwe War Chong village, said five DKBA fighters were killed during the fighting in recent days, but refused to answer questions about the number of casualties on the government side. The troops in Shwe War Chong were deployed to hunt down the DKBA fighters who fled into the countryside. About a dozen tired-looking soldiers put down their weapons, including several shoulder-fired RPG launchers, while resting at a tea shop in the village. They could be overhead discussing the operations. "I shot one [rebel] who was hiding to shoot at us; he was staying in a tree. I saw he was hit and fell from the tree. I tried to go over and get his dead body, but they [rebels] were very quick and dragged the body away," one soldier told his captain. Shortly afterward, an officer warned reporters to leave and not to take any pictures of the troops. "It is not safe to be here as there is fighting, but the situation will be stable soon," he said. Maj. Win Hlaing of the Border Guard Force, a government-commanded Karen militia supporting the army, shouted to reporters, "Don't you guys want to go back well, or do you want trouble?" Win Hlaing shouted at his militiamen as they stopped to buy snacks at a local shop, "Don’t lose your gun and equipment. You should keep all your equipment all the time with you. If you lose it, I will punish you!" According to residents at Donkachit, an ethnic Mon village near the fighting that had not been abandoned, RPG and mortar fire had landed not far from their homes throughout the day on Sunday. Government schools and health clinics were shut down as civil servants fled. "There are no nurses and school teachers. They all went back to the [major] towns," said a 50-year-old Mon woman, who declined to be named out of fear for reprisal from authorities. "We haven't seen such heavy fighting in this area in 15 years." Nai Tun Maung, a resident of Donkachit village, said, "We do not know exactly what we should do. We wanted to go to check on our rubber plantations, but we were worried about the fighting.” The post In Central Mon State, Villagers Flee as Soldiers Hunt for Karen Rebels appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| More Clashes Between Govt and Karen Rebels in Mon State Posted: 29 Sep 2014 05:52 AM PDT  Soldiers from the Burmese Army check identity cards at a jetty for those entering and exiting Kyaikmayaw Township in Mon State by boat on Monday. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The Burmese Army has reinforced its troops in areas of recent conflict with Karen rebels, as fresh fighting broke out on Monday in Mon State and amid unconfirmed reports of additional clashes in Waw Lay, a border village that headquarters the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). The clash in Mon State took place on Monday morning between the government and DKBA troops in Kyaikmayaw Township, according to a DKBA soldier in Myawaddy who asked for anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media. "The fighting continued this morning [in Mon State]. I heard from my official [Maj. San Aung] that there was fighting there [in Mon State] this morning. But, I didn't get any details," the DKBA soldier said. The two sides also exchanged fire in Kyaikmayaw on Friday. Two government soldiers were wounded and eight soldiers and police officers were taken captive but later released by a DKBA unit there. Meanwhile, a liaison officer from the Karen National Union (KNU), the largest ethnic Karen armed group, told The Irrawaddy that two separate clashes were reported this morning in Waw Lay. The liaison officer, Maj. Saw Zorro, also confirmed that gunfire was exchanged farther south in Mon State. "Fighting continued in Mon State today and another fresh clash broke out in Waw Lay. It broke out twice—one at 9 a.m. and another at 11:15 a.m.," Saw Zorro said on Monday, adding that there were no casualties reported. A separate source on the ground in Waw Lay, however, denied that any fighting had taken place there. The headquarters of the DKBA, Waw Lay, is located in Karen State on the Moei River, about 50 kilometers south of the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Waw Lay is the home of DKBA chief Gen. Saw Lah Pwe, who controls a rebel force of an estimated 1,500 troops. Amid the recent clashes with the Karen rebel group, the government has boosted its troop presence in the conflict-affected areas including Karen State's Myawaddy, where Saw Zorro said the situation was under control after fighting flared up over the weekend. Local residents in the town of Myawaddy told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the government army had deployed troops to key areas in the town and had reopened the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge connecting Myawaddy and Mae Sot, allowing border trading to resume as normal on Monday. Government troops also raided the Myawaddy residence of Col. Tiger, leader of another Karen armed group, the Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KNLA Peace Council), on Sunday and seized all property belonging to the rebel leader. "They took over lands and residences that belong to the Col. Tiger and they positioned their troops in the area," said Saw Zorro. He said that a group of Col. Tiger's soldiers defected into the government-backed Border Guard Force Unit 1022 on Monday, taking seven guns with them. Earlier reports suggested that Col. Tiger had also defected from the KNLA Peace Council and joined the DKBA. Col. Tiger could not be reached by The Irrawaddy to clarify the status of his allegiance. The Irrawaddy reporters in Kyaikmayaw and Myawaddy said the Burmese Army had made heavy troop deployments in villages and areas where fighting occurred over the weekend. Heavy fighting between the DKBA and the government army broke out on Saturday both outside Myawaddy town and Kyaikmayaw. A group of about 100 residents in Myawaddy fled into Mae Sot, crossing the Moei River on Saturday, but they have since returned to Myawaddy. Tension has been mounting between Karen armed groups such as the DKBA and the KNLA Peace Council in recent weeks, with a DKBA soldier shot dead in Myawaddy town on Sept. 18. A government order to ethnic Karen armed groups not to wear uniforms or carry weapons while traveling in towns and cities has added to the tensions. Additional reporting by Lawi Weng in Kyaikmayaw and Kyaw Kha in Myawaddy. The post More Clashes Between Govt and Karen Rebels in Mon State appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Two Days On, Thai Rescue Helicopter Still Missing in Burma Posted: 29 Sep 2014 05:22 AM PDT  Weather conditions have not been favorable to the search efforts on Hkakabo Razi mountain in Kachin State, as seen by this aerial shot of the mountain provided by the Htoo Foundation. (Photo: Htoo Foundation / Facebook) RANGOON— The Thai rescue helicopter that went missing over the weekend during a search for mountain climbers in northern Burma has still not been found, rescue officials say. The helicopter lost contact with ground control on Saturday about 20 minutes after taking off from Putao airport in Kachin State. It was bringing rations to rescuers based in Tahomdum village who are searching for two Burmese climbers on Hkakabo Razi mountain. Three people were on board the chopper, including Shwe Yin Taw Gyi, the nephew of skilled Burmese mountaineer Namar Johnsin and personal assistant to the foundation's patron Tay Za, who is one of the country's richest businessmen. Also on board were Thai pilot Chat Chawal and Burmese pilot Aung Myat Toe. The Htoo Foundation, which has led search efforts for the mountain climbers over the past four weeks, said additional manpower and rations were being allocated to find the helicopter. "We are continuing the search and rescue mission for the two climbers, and on the other hand we are adding force to search for the helicopter that lost contact," Phyo Ko Ko, a spokesman for the foundation, told The Irrawaddy on Monday. He said a B-3 helicopter from the foundation and a MI-17 helicopter from the Burmese military had been deployed for the search, which was being aided on the ground by residents, police officers and soldiers from 11 villages between Putao and Tahomdum. Chinese rescue team Blue Sky has also joined the effort, along with American mountaineers and a rescue team from Nepal. The two Burmese climbers were last heard from on Aug. 31 after becoming the first from their country to summit Hkakabo Razi, long believed to be the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia. Aung Myint Myat and Wai Yan Min Thu had set out with six other climbers on July 31 but were the only two in the group who continued to the top because the final stretch was too narrow. At the summit, the two men sent their GPS location in a message to the others, adding that their battery was weak. They were supposed to meet everyone back at base camp on Sept. 9 but never showed up. Rescuers began carrying out aerial searches on Sept. 10, and last week they found a backpack and two bags at a camp along the route that the climbers had scaled. "Although the foundation set September 27 as the target date to find the two climbers, they are continuing the search effort," said Kyaw Naing, a member of the Thabawa Khawthan Association (Natural Call), which organized the climbing expedition. "It is more difficult for the rescue team because they are now searching for the climbers and the helicopter at the same time," he added. Hkakabo Razi was long considered to be the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia. Recently, however, there has been some debate after satellite and digital data revealed that Gamlang Razi mountain, also in Kachin State, may be taller. The post Two Days On, Thai Rescue Helicopter Still Missing in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| ‘I Don’t Think the NLD Will Win a Landslide Victory in 2015’ Posted: 29 Sep 2014 03:44 AM PDT  Hla Swe, a prominent USDP member. (Photo: Hla Swe / Facebook) RANGOON — Hla Swe is an Upper House MP representing Magwe Division's Constituency No. 12 for the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and a Central Executive Committee member. The USPD comprises former junta officers and members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the former regime's political mass movement, who joined the newly former party and entered Parliament following the rigged 2010 election. The move to turn junta members into civilian MPs is part of the Burma Army's carefully planned transition to nominally-civilian rule under President Thein Sein's government. The USDP will take on Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic minority parties in the 2015 elections, which is supposed to be Burma's first free and fair vote after more than two decades of military rule. Hla Swe, a former lieutenant-colonel, is one of the USDP's more prominent figures as he often speaks to the media and offers his opinions on his Facebook page. Recently, he spoke to The Irrawaddy about the country's politics, his activities in Parliament and his views on the NLD and its leader Suu Kyi. Question: What sort of activities do you carry out these days as a parliamentarian? Answer: I usually take a two-day leave from Parliament and for four days,
including the weekend, I meet with local people to discuss regional development activities in my native place of Saw Township [in Magwe Division]. I have just inspected the progress in the construction of a 600 million kyat [about US$600,000] bridge across Salin Creek in Saw Township. I am also inspecting the construction of seven bridges between Saw, Zigon and Longshae. I have been supervising the works on the ground and I am going to meet local people there. Q: How did you join USDP? And why did you not choose the NLD? A: I was discharged from the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and became a USDP party member just before the [2010] election. But before the election, I served as patron of USDA in my native place. As regards my view of NLD membership, dissident civil servants have joined the NLD. Civil servants that resigned in opposition to the government and because of various problems have gathered at NLD. Q: How did you go from being a military man to a politician? A: They [military leaders] took me [to join the USDP]. I was working at my farm in my native village after retiring from the military and they took me to enter politics. Q: What are the differences between the work of a military officer and a lawmaker? And in which capacity can one better serve the country? A: Getting into the Parliament is like reaching a certain class. A lawmaker can do more regional development tasks as he can communicate with
ministers and government agencies. He can make demands to the government on behalf of the people. I think that as a lawmaker you can serve better. To me, power is something that can drive you crazy. I am not interested in taking a deputy minister or minister's post. Q: Some former generals think that they have become capable of managing politics, governance, as well as the economy, after having served in the military? Do you agree with this view? A: No, I think we know nothing. We have yet to learn more, even though we have served in the military. Q: President Thein Sein has said the military should be thanked for bringing about a stable transition in the country. Do you agree with this view? A: Yes, I do. Just draw a comparison with other countries that initiated political reforms before us. We have made the most stable transition. We can prove it. In Egypt and Thailand, the military have seized back power. Cases of beheadings, which we witnessed in 1988 uprising, have started to take place in Iraq. Such cases do no longer happen in our country now. The military is much criticized on Facebook, but just take a look at newspapers and you can see that most girls wed with [military] captains. You can also understand quite clearly the role of the military by looking at the Meikhtila conflict. Without military involvement, the conflict could have
further escalated. [Deadly anti-Muslim raged for days in Meikhtila town in March 2013 until the government finally ordered in the military and imposed a curfew.] Q: How do you think opposition politicians without a military background will perform, will they make an important contribution to Burmese politics? A: I don't think civilian politicians will be able to hold their heads high. So, I don't think civilian politicians led by the NLD's Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be able to take the reins in 2015. I don't think NLD will win a landslide victory in the 2015 election. Q: Why did you compare Suu Kyi to the computer gaming app "Angry Birds" earlier this year? A: Because she was like an angry female bird. I called her an angry bird because of the way that she shouted at an old man in Tatkon, it made me think of an angry bird rather than a fighting peacock [which is the symbol of the NLD]. [Suu Kyi reportedly responded angrily during a NLD rally at Naypyidaw's Tatkon Township in May 2014 when a man, believed to be associated with the government, spoke ill of her father Gen. Aung San] She did not look like a fighting peacock but an angry bird during this argument. That's why I called her an angry bird. A fighting peacock is a peacock proud of nationalist spirit and lineage—she did not look like a fighting peacock at that time. Q: What measures is the USDP taking to work for a victory as the 2015 elections drawing closer? A: The most important thing is we, USDP members, need and must be able to show that we are different from what we were in the past. We need to go beyond reforms and must ensure changes, and finally have to make a decisive move [for the future]. This is my principle. We'll be able to achieve success only when we make such a move. Q: You seem to be using Facebook quite a lot these days to offer your opinions. Why is that? A: Among Facebook users, I've found that the moral standards of many people are quite low. But I have also found very outstanding people on Facebook. So I find two kinds of people on there. I think Facebook users are educated and yet some of them are using very strong language. I want to say nothing about it. It is up to them. For example, a teenager asked me to accept his friend request, saying he wanted to be a friend with me because he wanted to call me names. I accepted his friend request and let him swear at me. It depends on how individuals take it. As to me, I have love for all people. The post 'I Don't Think the NLD Will Win a Landslide Victory in 2015' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| 7 Years on, Saffron Revolution Impact Still Lingers at Monastery Posted: 29 Sep 2014 03:24 AM PDT  Monks from Ngwe Kyayan Monastery collect alms in the early morning in Rangoon's South Okkalapa Township. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — At midnight of Sept 26, 2007, two truckloads of soldiers rushed into Ngwe Kyayan Monstery, kicking in its door before opening fire on the residing monks and laymen, and arresting anyone in sight. The reason for their actions: most monks at the monastery in Rangoon's South Okkalapa Township had joined the Saffron Revolution, a monk-led, pro-democratic uprising that brought hundreds of thousands of people out into the streets of Burma's largest city in 2007. "The headlights of the trucks illuminated the whole monastery compound. They charged in while opening fire on us. We had to run for our lives," a monk recalled in a recent interview. After the raid, more than 100 monks were detained and questioned for three months for their involvement in the uprising. A government court set up in Insein Prison sentenced the defrocked clergymen to prison terms, with most receiving eight years' imprisonment. The last monks were released in 2012. The causality rate of the raid that night still remains unknown. The arrests were part of a bloody crackdown by the junta that brought the Saffron Revolution to an end after three months of street protests. Seven years later, the monastery, once the center of the monk-led revolution, is no longer a hotbed of political dissent. The more than 100 residing monks, including those who took part in the revolution, now solely focus on religious activities. They study Buddhist scripture, meditate or collect alms in the neighborhood; these days Ngwe Kyayan seems no different than any other monastery in Burma. But most monks at the monastery share a common attitude towards outsiders, whom they view with distrust. "It's our common knowledge that the military government had some moles, like thugs or military intelligence guys, at the monastery at the time. If not, how could they know about the fact that we were involved in the uprising, or that we lived in this particular monastery?" another monk involved in the Saffron Revolution explained. "That's why we no longer talk to strangers about what we did in 2007. Fear is still lingering with us," he told The Irrawaddy. The post 7 Years on, Saffron Revolution Impact Still Lingers at Monastery appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| 12 Companies Bid to Develop Infrastructure in Kyaukphyu SEZ Posted: 28 Sep 2014 11:19 PM PDT  Some development is already underway at Kyaukphyu in Arakan State, the site of a planned special economic zone. (Photo: Ko Soe / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Eleven foreign companies and one local company have expressed interest in developing infrastructure for the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Arakan State. Three of the companies will be awarded tenders, according to the tender selection board. "Currently, 12 companies have expressed interest. Some companies have merged with four or five other companies and applied jointly. A local developer has also expressed interest," said Aung Kyaw Than, secretary of the selection board. The winners will be chosen in the last week of December and announced in January 2015. Three developers will be assigned to implement port, industrial and residential projects, respectively, Myint Thein, the deputy rail transport minister and chairman of the SEZ's management subcommittee, said in July. In March, the government named a consortium led by Singapore-based firm CPG as the winner of the US$2.5 million consulting contract for the project, one of three planned SEZs that Burma hopes will drive economic growth and provide jobs. The Kyaukphyu SEZ is planned for the island in Arakan State that is also the terminus of Chinese-built cross-country oil and gas pipelines, and officials have expressed hopes that the developments will transform the impoverished coastal region. Myint Thein said the SEZ would initially cover 1,000 acres of land and would later expand to 4,000 acres. While the tight deadlines signal the Burmese government's desire to get the Kyaukphyu project under way swiftly, the Japan-backed SEZ at Thilawa, near Rangoon, has gathered the greatest momentum among the country's industrial zone plans. However, long-standing plans to develop an industrial hub in Dawei, Tenasserim Division, have stalled, with the Thai developer initially selected for the project no longer in charge of the development. The post 12 Companies Bid to Develop Infrastructure in Kyaukphyu SEZ appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma’s Wirathu and Sri Lanka Buddhist Radicals Join Hands Posted: 28 Sep 2014 11:13 PM PDT  U Wirathu (R), shakes hands with clergymen of the Bodu Bala Sena, a radical Buddhist group, at Colombo airport on Sunday. (Photo: Bodu Bala Sena Blog / Facebook) COLOMBO — A hardline Buddhist monk from Burma known for his anti-Muslim stance said his movement would join hands with a like-minded Sri Lankan group to “protect” Buddhists, whom he called an endangered world minority. U Wirathu, leader of 969, a fundamentalist movement, was a special invitee Sunday at a rally of Bodu Bala Sena, or Buddhist Power Force, a Sri Lankan group accused of instigating deadly violence against the country’s minority Muslims in June. Joining 969 could further boost an already soaring support base for Bodu Bala Sena, an ultranationalist group that has enlisted thousands of youth and Buddhist monks in just two years of existence. This, in turn, could exacerbate mistrust and tensions between Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese-Buddhists and its Muslims. Politically, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s credibility among Muslims stands to erode further after his government allowed U Wirathu to visit Sri Lanka despite opposition from Muslim groups, including his own allies. Rajapaksa is already under criticism for not taking action against Buddhist monks whose inflammatory speeches are blamed for anti-Muslim violence in June that killed two people and wounded dozens, and saw many shops and homes set on fire in three western towns. Three local body guards accompanied U Wirathu as he walked onstage for his speech Sunday at a packed indoor stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital. “Buddhists are a world minority. If we don’t protect this small group, remember, it will be the end of the Buddhists,” U Wirathu said. “To achieve this … my 969 organization will work hand in hand with Sri Lanka’s Bodu Bala Sena.” Sri Lankan Muslim groups urged the government not to allow U Wirathu to visit the country, warning it could lead to religious tensions. However, in his speech, U Wirathu thanked Rajapaksa for granting him a visa despite “attempts of sabotage by extremists.” Muslim leaders were not immediately reachable for comment. Bodu Bala Sena accuses Sri Lanka’s Muslims, who comprise about 10 percent of the population, of trying to take over the country by having more children, marrying Sinhalese-Buddhist women and taking over businesses. Buddhists account for more than 70 percent of the country’s 20 million people. U Wirathu’s 969 started on the fringes of society, but now boasts supporters nationwide in Burma. Hundreds of people died in 2012 sectarian violence in Burma, with about 140,000, mostly Muslims, forced from their homes. Buddhist monks were accused of instigating and sometimes actively participating in the violence. The post Burma's Wirathu and Sri Lanka Buddhist Radicals Join Hands appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Thai Rescue Helicopter Missing in Burma Posted: 28 Sep 2014 11:06 PM PDT  A helicopter used in search efforts for two Burmese mountaineers in Kachin State. (Photo: Facebook / Htoo Foundation) RANGOON — A rescue helicopter from Thailand has lost contact with ground control during a search for two climbers who scaled Southeast Asia's highest peak a month ago, officials said Sunday. The helicopter was carrying three people, including a Thai pilot. According to Htoo Foundation, the chopper left Putao airport in Burma's northern Kachin State on Saturday to drop food for a team searching for two Burmese climbers missing since Aug. 31. The foundation is leading the search effort for the climbers. An eight-member team set out to climb the 5,881-meter (19,300-foot) Hkakabo Razi mountain last month, but only two went up the final stretch due to the narrow nature of the summit, reaching the ice-capped mountaintop on Aug. 31. The men reported before making their descent that their radio battery was weak. They were supposed to reconnect with their colleagues at base camp on Sept. 9, but did not show up. The search for the climbers involved helicopters from Thailand, the United States and China, as well as other mountaineers. The post Thai Rescue Helicopter Missing in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Thai Police No Closer to an Arrest in Murder of British Tourists Posted: 28 Sep 2014 10:58 PM PDT  Police measure footprints of a man as data is collected from people who work near the spot where bodies of two killed British tourists were found on the island of Koh Tao on Sept. 19, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Chaiwat Subprasom) BANGKOK — Thai police investigating the murder of two British tourists said on Sunday that they were no closer to an arrest as frustration grows over the lack of a breakthrough. The bodies of Hanna Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were discovered on Sept. 15 on Koh Tao island, popular with divers who come for its coral reefs and beach parties. Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Kissana Phatanacharoen told Reuters that "hundreds of DNA samples" had been collected. "The Royal Thai Police need time to complete their investigation particularly given the intense international interest," Kissana said. "Police are no closer to an arrest but the investigation is close to being completed. "We are narrowing down our list of suspects. Hundreds of DNA samples have been taken on Koh Tao," he added. Police have offered a 700,000 baht ($21,650) reward for any information leading to an arrest. Post-mortem examinations by Thailand’s forensics department showed that Miller died from drowning and blows to the head while Witheridge died from severe head wounds. Police said on Friday they had taken DNA samples from a group of Thais who had taken part in a football tournament in the area. DNA samples were also taken last week from a group of workers from neighboring Burma. They have since been eliminated as suspects. Authorities are under intense pressure to solve the case which has garnered huge interest both domestically and abroad. Some have criticized the investigation saying that the crime scene was not sealed off quickly enough and that potential suspects were allowed to leave the island. Kissana defended the investigation. "We realize the public wants answers. We have poured many resources into the investigations and what we are asking for now is the time and space to investigate thoroughly so that the culprits can be arrested quickly." The post Thai Police No Closer to an Arrest in Murder of British Tourists appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Pro-Democracy Protests Expand in Hong Kong Posted: 28 Sep 2014 10:46 PM PDT  A protester (C) raises his umbrellas in front of tear gas which was fired by riot police to disperse protesters blocking the main street to the financial Central district outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong, September 28, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) HONG KONG — Pro-democracy protests expanded in Hong Kong on Monday, a day after demonstrators upset over Beijing’s decision to limit political reforms defied onslaughts of tear gas and appeals from Hong Kong’s top leader to go home. And with rumors swirling, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying reassured the public that speculation that the Chinese army might intervene was untrue. "I hope the public will keep calm. Don’t be misled by the rumors. Police will strive to maintain social order, including ensuring smooth traffic and ensuring the public safety," said the Beijing-backed Leung, who is deeply unpopular. He added, "When they carry out their duties, they will use their maximum discretion." At dawn Monday, police officers tried to negotiate with protesters camped out on a normally busy highway near government headquarters that was the scene of the tear gas-fueled clashes that erupted the evening before. An officer with a bullhorn tried to get them to clear the way for the commuters that would soon be streaming into work. A protester, using the group’s own speaker system, responded by saying that they wanted Leung and his cabinet to "do something good for Hong Kong. We want real democracy." Protesters also occupied streets in other parts of Hong Kong Island, including the upscale shopping area of Causeway Bay, the Wan Chai nightlife district as well as across the harbor in densely populated Mong Kok on the Kowloon peninsula. The city’s transport department said roads in those areas were closed. More than 200 bus routes have been canceled or diverted in a city dependent on public transport. Subway exits have also been closed or blocked near protest areas. The mass protest, which has gathered support from high school students to seniors, is the strongest challenge yet to Beijing’s decision to limit democratic reforms for the semi-autonomous city. The scenes of billowing tear gas and riot police outfitted with long-barreled weapons, rare for this affluent Asian financial hub, are highlighting the authorities’ inability to assuage public discontent over Beijing’s rejection last month of open nominations for candidates under proposed guidelines for the first-ever elections for Hong Kong’s leader, promised for 2017. Authorities said some schools in areas near the main protest site would be closed, as Leung urged people to go home, obey the law and avoid causing trouble. "We don’t want Hong Kong to be messy," Leung said as he read a statement that was broadcast early Monday. That came hours after police lobbed canisters of tear gas into the crowd on Sunday evening. The searing fumes sent demonstrators fleeing, though many came right back to continue their protest. The government said 26 people were taken to hospitals. The protests began with a class boycott by students urging Beijing to grant genuine democratic reforms to this former British colony. "This is a long fight. I hope the blockade will continue tomorrow, so the whole thing will be meaningful," said 19-year-old Edward Yau, 19, a business and law student. "The government has to understand that we have the ability to undo it if they continue to treat us like we are terrorists." When China took control of Hong Kong from the British in 1997, it agreed to a policy of "one country, two systems" that allowed the city a high degree of control over its own affairs and kept in place liberties unseen on the mainland. It also promised the city’s leader would eventually be chosen through "universal suffrage." Hong Kong’s residents have long felt their city stood apart from mainland China thanks to those civil liberties and separate legal and financial systems. Beijing’s insistence on using a committee to screen candidates on the basis of their patriotism to China — similar to the one that currently hand-picks Hong Kong’s leaders — has stoked fears among pro-democracy groups that Hong Kong will never get genuine democracy. University students began their class boycotts over a week ago and say they will continue them until officials meet their demands for reforming the local legislature and withdrawing the proposal to screen election candidates. Students and activists had been camped out since late Friday on streets outside the government complex. Sunday’s clashes arose when police sought to block thousands of people from entering the protest zone. Protesters spilled onto a busy highway, bringing traffic to a standstill. In a statement issued after midnight, the Hong Kong police said rumors that they had used rubber bullets to try to disperse protesters were "totally untrue." Police in blue jumpsuits, wearing helmets and respirators, doused protesters with pepper spray when they tried to rip metal barricades apart. Thousands of people breached a police cordon Sunday as they tried to join the sit-in, spilling out onto a busy highway and bringing traffic to a standstill. Although students started the rally, leaders of the broader Occupy Central civil disobedience movement joined them, saying they wanted to kick-start a long-threatened mass sit-in demanding Hong Kong’s top leader be elected without Beijing’s interference. Occupy Central issued a statement Monday calling on Leung to resign and saying his "non-response to the people’s demands has driven Hong Kong into a crisis of disorder." The statement added that the protest was now "a spontaneous movement" of all Hong Kong people. Police said they had arrested 78 people. They also took away several pro-democracy legislators who were among the demonstrators, but later released them. A police statement said the officers "have exercised restraint and performed their duties in a highly professional manner." It urged the public to not occupy roads so that emergency vehicles can get through. Among the dozens arrested was 17-year-old Joshua Wong, who was dragged away soon after he led a group of students storming the government complex. Wong is a leader of the activist group Scholarism, which organized protests two years ago that forced the government to drop proposed Chinese national curriculum guidelines seen as brainwashing. He was released Sunday evening. The post Pro-Democracy Protests Expand in Hong Kong appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Once-Banned Indian Leader Woos Diaspora at Giant New York Rally Posted: 28 Sep 2014 10:42 PM PDT  India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sept. 28, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Lucas Jackson) NEW YORK — In a glitzy show of lights, lasers and slogans, populist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a triumphal address to tens of thousands of Indian-Americans and US dignitaries in New York on Sunday, less than a decade after he was barred from the United States over bloody sectarian riots. Speaking at Madison Square Garden, a venue more used to hosting big sports events and the greatest names in rock music, the Hindu nationalist leader urged the Indian diaspora to join his movement for the development of India. "The Indian-American community has played a big role in changing the way the world views India—from a nation of snake-charmers, to people who are adept at working the electronic mouse," he said, referring to India's modern-day reputation as an IT powerhouse. "A government alone cannot achieve development for the whole country, but it can be done if the public were to participate in the development work," Modi said. His speech came ahead of a two-day visit to Washington and a first meeting with US President Barack Obama, where the two leaders will aim to reinvigorate a relationship that has failed so far to live up to billing by the latter as "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st Century." Members of the fast-growing, 3.2 million-strong Indian diaspora cheered and chanted "Modi, Modi!" during his 70-minute address in Hindi at Madison Square Garden, where they made up one of the largest crowds seen in the United States for a foreign leader. On Saturday, Modi appeared before some 60,000 people at the Global Citizen Festival in New York's Central Park, where performers including Jay Z and Sting backed a campaign to end global poverty and bring essentials such as sanitation to all—an effort the Indian leader is pushing at home. On Sunday, Modi drew an especially loud cheer when he made a long-awaited announcement that those holding cards showing they were of Indian origin would be granted lifetime visas to India. "No government has done anything like this for us so far," said Jayashree Iyer, a New Jersey resident who had come with her family to hear Modi speak. Her two daughters would not now have to keep renewing their visas, said Iyer, who has been in the United States for four years. Influential Diaspora India's US diaspora makes up only about 1 percent of the US population, but it is growing fast, highly educated and increasingly influential, including leaders of government agencies and high-tech corporations such as Microsoft, where India-born Satya Nadella became CEO this year. Many Indian-Americans have embraced Modi and his pro-business message and hope his visit will show India's importance not only on these shores but in the wider world too. At Madison Square Garden, where former Beatle and fan of Indian mysticism John Lennon played one of his last concerts, were more than 30 members of the US Congress hoping for expanded business and political ties with India's 1.2 billion people as a result of reforms Modi has pledged. It was a far cry from 2005, when the 64-year-old former chief minister of Gujarat was denied a US visa over rioting in his home state that killed more than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, three years before. Modi, who denies wrongdoing, has been exonerated by an Indian Supreme Court probe. However, the issue has not been forgotten and Modi's US trip had an awkward start on Friday after a little-known human rights group filed a lawsuit against him in New York, alleging that he failed to stop the Gujarat riots. Back in Gujarat at the weekend, authorities arrested at least 40 people after late-night clashes between Hindus and Muslims in the city of Vadodara. Modi's May election triumph was driven largely by his vow to revive the economy after years of sub-par growth. On Monday, Modi will meet US corporate leaders, including those of Google, IBM, GE, Goldman Sachs and Boeing, in a bid to lure fresh foreign investment. However, the US business lobby has yet to be swayed by his reform rhetoric and has called on Obama to press the Indian leader to remove barriers to fair trade. US officials have played down the possibility of big-ticket announcements during Modi's visit, but they are hoping it will lay the groundwork for closer long-term ties with a country Washington sees as a key counterbalance in Asia to an increasingly assertive China. US weapons makers are watching closely for signs of a closer strategic relationship with the United States, which has proposed a host of new defense cooperation projects. Sources familiar with the matter said last week that India is expected to choose Sikorsky Aircraft's S-70B Sea Hawk helicopters at a 16-aircraft tender worth over US$1 billion, and that a decision could come during Modi's visit. Additional reporting and writing by David Brunnstrom in Washington. The post Once-Banned Indian Leader Woos Diaspora at Giant New York Rally appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Indonesia Province to Punish Gay Sex by Caning Posted: 28 Sep 2014 10:27 PM PDT  People watch as an Acehnese man, one of eight who was found guilty of gambling by a Sharia court, receives a public flogging outside a mosque in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on September 19, 2014. The provincial legislature passed a law over the weekend that also punishes gay sex by public caning. (Photo: Reuters) BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Lawmakers in a conservative Muslim Indonesian province passed a law Saturday that punishes gay sex by public caning and subjects non-Muslims to the region’s strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. Human rights groups have said the law violates international treaties signed by Indonesia protecting the rights of minorities and women. Gay rights activist King Oey urged the central government’s new moderate leadership to use its influence to overturn the law, or appeal it at the Constitutional Court. "It’s discriminatory and saddening," he said. "We urge people who are concerned with human rights will not sit by silently." The measure was passed by the 69-member assembly unanimously early Saturday after hours of debate, just days before a new 81-member regional parliament takes over in Aceh province next week, said lawmaker Mahyaruddin Yusuf from the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party. The law says anal sex between men is punishable by up to 100 lashes of the cane. Women found guilty of "rubbing" their body parts against each other for sexual pleasure are also liable for caning. Some articles deemed too harsh had been revised. An earlier version of the law that called for people to be stoned to death for adultery has been dropped because of complaints from the central government, said lawmaker Moharriadi Syafari. The law doesn’t mention other sex acts, raising questions over whether the region’s clerics considered them acceptable or even how much thought had gone into the drafting of the law. The law also applies to non-Muslims in the overwhelmingly Muslim province. Only 1 percent of Aceh residents are non-Muslims. Indonesia’s criminal code doesn’t regulate homosexuality. The central government doesn’t have the power to strike down a provincial law, but it can ask Aceh to reconsider legislation. On Friday, Indonesia was the only Southeast Asian nation that’s a member of the UN Human Rights Council voting against a resolution to combat violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The resolution was passed. Aceh is considered more devout than elsewhere in Muslim-majority Indonesia, but the level of support for the implementation of the laws is unclear. Indonesia’s secular central government granted Aceh the right to implement a version of Islamic Shariah law in 2006 as part of a peace deal to end a separatist war. A religious police and court system have been established and the new law is a significant strengthening of sharia in the region. People convicted of adultery, gambling and consuming alcohol already face caning, as do women wearing tight clothes and people who skip Friday Muslim prayers. The post Indonesia Province to Punish Gay Sex by Caning appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Fighting Continues in Karen and Mon States Posted: 28 Sep 2014 09:01 PM PDT  A photo taken by a Myawaddy resident shows Burma army forces moving through the town while some civilians attempt to flee the area on Saturday. (Photo: Nined Blood / Facebook) Fighting continued between the Burma Army and a Karen rebel group, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), in Mon State on Sunday. The fighting near Kyaikmayaw in Mon State, which erupted on Friday after DKBA forces detained eight government soldiers and police officers and injured two soldiers in an exchange of fire, continued yesterday from 9 am. Saw San Aung, a leader of the DKBA, told The Irrawaddy by phone on Sunday that there were casualties on both sides during the conflict which lasted until around 2:30 pm. On Saturday, heavy fighting also erupted between the Burma Army and the DKBA on the outskirts of Karen State's Myawaddy near the Thai-Burma border, forcing dozens of residents to flee their homes to escape the violence. The Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge connecting Myawaddy with Thailand's Mae Sot was also temporarily closed during the fighting. There were no reports of further fighting in Myawaddy on Sunday according to an Irrawaddy reporter in the town. Tensions between government forces and armed Karen groups in eastern Burma have risen in recent weeks after a string of violent incidents. On Sept. 19, government security forces shot and killed a DKBA soldier who was allegedly drunk driving on a road outside of Myawaddy. On Sept. 21, the dead, handcuffed body of a Karen National Union (KNU) soldier was found in the Moei River in the same town. The post Fighting Continues in Karen and Mon States appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
