Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Parents of Koh Tao suspects prepare to visit their boys
• Bullet Points: 17 October 2014
• Former Min. of Religious Affairs sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment
• BUSINESS WEEKLY 17 OCTOBER 2014
• DVB’s Top 10 tips for visitors to Burma
• MoI modifies printing and publishing rules
• Burma’s pygmy people face extinction
• Burma, Japan and Thailand sign MoU to build Myeik power plant
• Kachin rebels, govt forces in standoff at Hpakant

Parents of Koh Tao suspects prepare to visit their boys Posted: 17 Oct 2014 05:26 AM PDT The parents of two Burmese migrants suspected of murder on the Thai island of Koh Tao are preparing to visit their sons. They just need Thai visas, after being recently furnished with Burmese passports. The families from Arakan state in western Burma maintain that their sons are innocent.

Bullet Points: 17 October 2014 Posted: 17 Oct 2014 05:18 AM PDT On today's edition of Bullet Points: Hsan Hsint sentenced to 13 years jail. MasterSports labour dispute ends. Parents of Koh Tao murder suspects prepare to travel to Thailand. Jade and gem fair on in Naypyidaw. You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

Former Min. of Religious Affairs sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment Posted: 17 Oct 2014 05:18 AM PDT Former Religious Affairs Minister Hsan Hsint was found guilty of sedition and criminal breach of trust on Friday by a district court in Naypyidaw, where he was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment and a 100,000 kyat fine. Hsan Hsint's lawyer Tin Tun said his client was sentenced to three years for criminal breach of trust (Article 409 of the Penal Code) and 10 years plus a 100,000 kyat (US$100) fine for sedition (Article 124(a) of the Penal Code). The lawyer said the defence team paid the fine immediately after the verdict and that they are planning to appeal the jail sentences at Mandalay Division's high court next week. "Right now we are awaiting a court order permitting [Hsan Hsint] to grant power of attorney around Tuesday. We expect to file the appeal in Mandalay [Division's high court]" said Tin Tun. After the verdict, Hsan Hsint attempted to tell reporters something as he was being taken away from court by police officers, but he only managed to utter "The judicial and the executive sectors … " after which he was quickly pulled away from the crowd by his police escorts. Then, as he left scene, Hsan Hsint said that he will fight against the verdict in accordance with the law. The former religious affairs minister was charged with criminal breach of trust charge for misappropriating public funding, while the sedition charge was for reportedly saying that the military government ruling the country was "fake" and that only the next military government will be real. Hsan Hsint's lawyer slammed the verdict as unfair. "It's like they are still tying a rope around him, and whether they take it off or not is their decision alone. This is how the courts work, and if you ask me whether I'm happy with the verdict, I would say no," said Tin Tun. Related Stories MoI modifies printing and publishing rules Burma, Japan and Thailand sign MoU to build Myeik power plant Kachin rebels, govt forces in standoff at Hpakant On Thursday, Burma's parliamentary speaker Shwe Mann sent a petition to President Thein Sein containing signatures from over 50 MPs which urged the government to exercise leniency on Hsan Hsint. MP Khin Maung Yi, who collected signatures for the petition, said: "I view U Hsan Hsint, who was just sentenced, as an enthusiastic participant in our country's reforms. This sentence makes me wonder whether he was purged for his liberal ideas." Hsan Hsint was arrested on 19 June, stripped of his position, and accused of mishandling a raid on Mahasantisukha Monastery in Rangoon. The raid took place on 10 June and resulted in the detention of five monks—including prominent Buddhist leader Uttara—for their alleged involvement in a land dispute. The monks were subsequently disrobed and charged for insulting religion and inciting mutiny, a move widely denounced by the Burmese public and religious leaders. Shortly after his arrest, allegations emerged that Hsan Hsint had also misused up to US$10,000 in public funds.

BUSINESS WEEKLY 17 OCTOBER 2014 Posted: 17 Oct 2014 04:23 AM PDT   Ups and Downs Burma's currency remains stable: buying rate is 991 kyat to the US dollar, while selling at 996. Gold is up in value from 651,900 kyat per tical to 657,500 kyat. Fuel prices remain constant: petrol 820 kyat; diesel 950 kyat; octane 950 kyat per litre. High-quality Pawsanhmwe rice is still 1,300-1,700 kyat per basket, while low-quality Manawthukha rice is set at 900 kyat per basket at most Rangoon Markets.   3MDG to fund $11.5 million for tuberculosis research The Three Millennium Development Goal (3MDG) has signed a US$11.5 million agreement with the Burmese Ministry of Health to fund a pilot phase on research into Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The research, which focuses on developing a shorter drug therapy, is scheduled to begin in May 2015 and will be independently monitored by the WHO.   Master Sports auction fetches $300,000 A government auction of 13,133 movable goods inside the Master Sports factory fetched more than 289 million kyat. The money raised will be used to pay off the stalled salaries of 757 employees. After extracting the cost of maintenance and compensation, the remainder will be passed to the owner, a Korean national, who fled the country without clearing debts. Read more    World Bank backs maternal & infant health care in Burma The World Bank will loan Burma US$100 million for the Myanmar Essential Health Services Access Project, which will cater to maternal and child health care. Earlier in January, the World Bank pledged to loan $2 billion to Burma for development across the health and energy sectors.   Hong Kong mining firm gets exploration license in Shan State Asia Pacific Mining Limited (APML), a Hong Kong-based mining company, has received permission from the Burmese government to begin mineral exploration in Shan State. APML, which has been present in Burma for 17 years, announced that it is the first mining development company in Burma to be awarded the AP-4 exploration license.   Japan to supply 3 new ferries for Rangoon An Inland Water Transportation Department official has announced that three new boats from Japan will replace the rickety river ferries transported 30,000-40,000 passengers daily between the town of Dala and Rangoon for over 50 years. The department official said boat fares will remain the same at 100 kyat (US$0.10) per crossing. He added that the Japanese vessels, built in Hiroshima, cost about $4 million each and construction of new piers at Pansodan and Dala jetties will accommodate the boats when they arrive at the end of October.   Russian satellite broadcaster coming to Burma The Russian satellite broadcasting firm, GS Group, has announced that it will soon begin broadcasting in Burma. The firm announced its initial plan at the Intergovernmental Russian-Myanmar Commission for trade and economic cooperation held in Naypyidaw.   Tourism in Karen and Mon hit hard by renewed conflict Tourism operators have warned that the renewed conflict in Karen and Mon states will scare off tourists who want to visit the region via the Myawaddy border checkpoint. Since the Burmese government opened up Karen and Mon states for tourism in 2010, several attractions such as Kyeikhtiyo, the Death Railway, Balu Island, the world's largest reclining Buddha statue and colonial architecture have proved popular among tourists.   IMF maintains 8.5 percent growth rate prediction The International Monetary Fund (IMF) emphasized during a regional press briefing on Friday that Burma's projected growth rate will surpass eight percent for 2014-2015. Jerry Schiff, deputy director for the IMF's Asia Pacific branch predicted that, "growth will be more than eight percent this year and certainly to grow that rapidly over the medium term," reported The Global New Light of Myanmar.   Invitations for timber tenders announced Myanmar Timber Enterprise has invited open tenders for more than 1,000 tonnes of teak and hardwood logs to be sold on 21 October. The bid for tenders opened while MTE have set a target sale of 500,000 tonnes of teak, hardwood and sawed timber for domestic use in 2014-15. In April 2014, a ban on log timber exports was issued by the Burmese government to reduce teak wood extraction and deforestation.   Jade bidding begins at Nawpyidaw Jade traders have assembled at Maniyadana jade Hall in Naypyidaw for a sale of more than 7,000 gems and jade lots. The Myanmar Gems Emporium announced that the bidding will take place between 16 and 19 October. Around 341 companies are expected to sell an estimated 6,892 jade lots.

DVB’s Top 10 tips for visitors to Burma Posted: 17 Oct 2014 04:10 AM PDT You've been to the Golden Land: you got up at sunrise to photograph the first light of dawn on Shwedagon Pagoda; you coaxed an Inthwa boatman on Inle Lake into showing you how to paddle with your knee; you've flown over the ancient ruins of Bagan in a hot-air balloon. But this time, you'd like to discover something a wee bit different, to get off the "been there, done that" beaten track of Rangoon-Mandalay-Bagan-Inle-Ngapali. It's time to discover those precious historical sites and natural wonders that the tour groups don't see – the places that are still unspoilt. DVB brings you our Top 10 Tips for Visitors to Burma 2014. But plan to head there soon – we don't expect all these wonders to be on the list by next year.   Rih Lake, Chin State Situated some 2,800 feet above sea level, the heart-shaped Rih Lake is a natural sanctuary of fresh mountain air and tranquility. The remote lake is shrouded in legend, with an old Mizo myth recounting how the spirits of the hills encounter the "Water of no more sorrow" spring and the "Flower of no return". To this day, you'll come across Indian and Chin pilgrims praying to the nats and souls of the lake. The best time to visit is in the cold, wintry months, when the lake turns a rusty colour due to the blood-red Taungzalat tree leaves that are shed into its waters. Orchid trees and terraced rice fields frame this picturesque scene. A handful of hotels have opened around the village of Reh Khaw Da, and local food here is said to be among Burma's finest. Rih is very close to the Indian border, located 120km from Hakha and 40km from Tiddim.   The Buddha Caves of Phowintaung This fascinating and oft-times haunting cave complex of 947 Buddha statues and mural paintings is not exactly unknown in Burma, but is still not a firm feature on the Myanmar tour guide's itinerary. Surprising really, because it is a gorgeous site only three hours from Mandalay. The caves are nestled into the bank of the Chindwin River, and were originally occupied by monks who practiced meditation here. Between the 14th and 18th centuries, the murals were created, telling the story of Siddharta Gautama and other legends from Buddhist history. Get a bus from Monywa to Nyaungbin (25km), then take a ferry across the river.   Saddar Cave, Hpa-an "Magical!" is how DVB reporter Alex Bookbinder described his visit to Saddar Cave in Hpa-an, Karen State. "Massive limestone caverns interspersed with stupas, Buddha statues, and underground lakes and rivers. What more could you ask for?" This natural site already has a ready-made tour which involves a hike through the underground passages into a natural amphitheater, and re-emerging by dug-out canoe among the spectacular karst landscape of Zwegabin Mountain and its neighbouring limestone outcrops.   Taung Kalat / Mount Popa Like an enchanted castle in a Bavarian fairy tale, the Taung Kalat monastery sits mystically atop a volcanic plug next to Mount Popa in central Burma. A journey of 777 steps wind up to the Buddhist shrine, so the climb is not for the faint-hearted. The temple is renowned as home to spirits or "nats" and draws thousands of pilgrims every year who carry gifts in tribute to the top of the 737m volcanic promontory. The site is 50km southeast of Bagan, so not too far from the tourist trail, and easily done as a day trip from the ancient Bagan ruins.   Luxury cruise on the Irrawaddy For those who can stretch their budget a little, or who prefer to view the Golden Land while sipping cocktails on the upper deck of a ship, perhaps a two-week cruise along the Irrawaddy River would be more appealing. Smart teakwood state rooms, haute cuisine dining, day trips to Burmese cities along the river, and lots of laughs and sunsets with other passengers are all part of the package. The design of these low-draft floating resorts is based on the British Irrawaddy Flotilla company's passenger ships of the mid-19th century. The pioneer of this tour was a Scottish firm, Pandaw, but several other tour operators are quickly getting on board.   Straddle the Gokteik Gorge by train Get out of Mandalay for a couple of days by heading up to Hsipaw where a trek among the verdant tea plantations will fill your lungs with fresh mountain air and your tummy with the famous Burmese tea leaf salad, lah phet. And what better way to get there than to take a rickety old train along a colonial railway. Get a ticket for a few dollars at Pyin Oo Lwin and jump aboard. The slow uphill journey to Hsipaw takes about five hours, but the highlight is the viaduct over the Gokteik Gorge. Simply gorge-ous, some might say.   Loikaw "Loikaw is spectacular and untouched," says Chris Smith, a Rangoon-based photographer. "Volcanic lakes with mysterious caves, mountain-top pagodas and ethnic tribes." Although it is the capital of Karenni State, Loikaw is a slow town, unaccustomed to visitors. It is a crossroads of nationalities, with ethnic Kayah the majority of the 140,000 people, but you might also spot some long-neck Kayan ladies at the market. Several churches sit alongside Buddhist temples, the highlight of which is the photogenic Shwe Let War Pagoda, which commands a stunning panoramic view over the Karenni landscape.   Kengtung The largest settlement in Eastern Shan State, Kengtung – a former seat of royal power – feels like a different country altogether when compared to the cities and plains of central Burma. It's only accessible by air or by crossing the border from Thailand (for foreigners, at least). With an extremely diverse population, owing to its location at the seams of China and Thailand, the scrubby, mountains around Kengtung make for excellent trekking (are those opium fields, I spy?), with the option of staying overnight in ethnic minority villages. It's also the jumping-off point to the surreal gambling town of Mong La, along the Chinese border.   Andaman beaches & Mergui archipelago Dreaming of a desert island? DVB intern Emma went exploring earlier this year with her fiancé. "It was incredible, we were the only ones on the beach!" she exclaimed. "Apart from passing boats of fishermen and sea gypsies we had the whole beach entirely to ourselves." What is not quite available just yet is the magnificent coral-laden Mergui Archipelago of 800 islands; you currently need a private cruise permit to visit. However, that will change one day, and when it does you'll want to be among the first to get your snorkel and fishing rod together and get into those aquamarine waters.   Hkakabo Razi At 5,881m, Hkakabo Razi is the highest mountain in Southeast Asia. Situated as the tri-border between Burma, China and India, it is a lower Himalayan glacier which boasts an unmatched biodiversity of flora and fauna in the region including pine forests and rainforest. It is also home to Burma's only "pygmy" tribe, the Taron. Nature lovers and trekkers will adore the space and alpine climate of this national park, which has recently opened some modest accommodations. A ski resort was once proposed, and it appears inevitable that tourism will descend upon the northernmost point in the country in the years ahead. Get there now!   Photo credits: COVER: Saddar Cave, Karen Butler Andaman: Evershed Mattingly Shwe Let War Pagoda, Loikaw: Chris Smith Gokteik gorge: Juan Baron

MoI modifies printing and publishing rules Posted: 17 Oct 2014 03:36 AM PDT The Ministry of Information announced new printing and publishing bylaws on 16 October, including a provision which extends the amount of time publications have to renew their operating licenses from one year to five years. "Previously, publications seeking permission to operate were granted a temporary license for a six-month evaluation period, and after that a [permanent license] that had to be extended every year," said Aung Kyaw Oo, director-general of the Ministry of Information's Copyright and Registration Department. "Under the new rules, the permanent license will be valid for five years." Aung Kyaw Oo also said that under the previous rules, printing shops seeking to acquire licenses were divided into different categories, each of which had a different application fee, but those categories have been removed under the new rules. "According to the old regulations, printing shop yearly application fees varied based on the category to which each shop belonged: 100,000 kyat (US$100) for category-1 printing shops; 60,000 kyat for category-2 printing shops; and 20,000 kyat for category-3 printing shops," he said. "Now the category system has been abolished, so everyone has to pay the same 50,000 kyat amount for a five-year license." Related Stories Former Min. of Religious Affairs sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment Burma, Japan and Thailand sign MoU to build Myeik power plant Kachin rebels, govt forces in standoff at Hpakant Thiha Saw, an editor at the Myanmar Times, said the new printing and publishing rules are more lenient than the previous ones. "It's clear that the government still wants to maintain control over licenses and registration, but the new rules are more convenient. Now publishers can register not only in Naypyidaw but also at district-level government offices and online," said Thiha Saw. "Although the bad part is that the government still has the power to easily revoke one's license, under the new rules we can now contest a license revocation in court. So while the new rules don't meet our expectations 100 percent, we can say they meet 60-70 percent of our expectations and are much more relaxed than the past rules." So far, 20 private newspapers, more than 360 weekly news journals and more than 290 magazines have been granted licenses for circulation, but no licenses have yet been granted to news agencies.

Burma’s pygmy people face extinction Posted: 17 Oct 2014 02:02 AM PDT Deputy Minister of Culture Than Shwe said this week that the ministry has no independent plan to protect the ethnic Taron – often referred to as the "pygmy" people of Kachin state's Putao – who are on the verge of extinction. According to a 2003 study by Rangoon University's Anthropology Department, only five pure blooded Taron people were still alive – four siblings and one elderly person aged over 100 years. They are all between 1.2 metres and 1.37 metres tall. The minister said the Taron people "need to be educated" that their self-imposed ban on procreation is "leading them into extinction". He said it would be implausible for the ministry alone to start a programme to preserve the Taron, and that any plans would require the cooperation and support of the Kachin regional government. In 1997, a US zoologist, Dr Alan Rabinowitz had a chance encounter with the last five remaining Taron in the forests around Putao, and spent some time with them. He said that the head of the clan, Dawi, age 39, explained that Taron babies were being born with increasingly severe birth defects, and that the Taron elders had decided that rather than risk any more misshapen children, they would let their race go extinct. The Taron are supposedly descended from an ethnic group concentrated in China known as Derung who migrated to Burma from Tibet in the 1880s. According to Rabinowitz, after the discovery of genetic similarities between the Taron and Derung people, Dawi announced he would travel to Tibet in order to search for a wife. Whether he did or not is unknown. See video: The Last “Pure” Pygmy and His Gift Related Stories Suu Kyi reiterates call for national reconciliation Two Burmese mountaineers missing on Hkakabo Razi Rescue team on stand-by as Himalayan radio silence puts nerves on edge

Burma, Japan and Thailand sign MoU to build Myeik power plant Posted: 17 Oct 2014 01:46 AM PDT The Burmese government and companies based in Burma, Japan and Thailand signed a MoU on 9 October to conduct a feasibility study and an environmental and social impact assessment study (EIA/SIA) for a coal power plant the consortium is planning to build in Tenasserim Division's Myeik City. The MoU was signed in Naypyidaw by: Burma's Ministry of Electric Power; Japan's Marubeni Corporation; Burma's company Ayar Hintha Company; and three Thai entities— privately-owned Sri Synergy Company, a member of Thailand's state-owned PTT group called Global Power Synergy, and another Thai government-owned entity called the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (commonly known as EGAT). The cost of building the 1,800-megawatt power plant is expected to be around US$ 3.5 billion . Ye Min Aung, managing director of the Ayar Hintha company, said: "Our aim is to generate electricity and sell it. As of now, there is barely any electricity demand in Burma, so just 100-200 megawatts should be enough for Tenasserim Division, but five to ten years in the future even 1,800 megawatts won't be enough," he said. "There will be a high demand for electricity after the national power grid is fully connected," he added. However, the project will only go forward if the EIA/SIA study finds no negative impacts on the environment or on the livelihoods of local people. Ye Min Aung said that regardless of whether the project is launched, the Ayar Hintha Company will still implement its plan to buy electricity and distribute it to the region at a low price within one year's time. "As we are building this plant in Burma, domestic users will have priority as to electricity generated by the plant, and only surplus electricity will be sold overseas," he said. "At the moment, the price of electricity in the Myeik area is over 400 kyat [$0.40] per unit and we have been looking for ways to make life more convenient for the locals. Our priorities include obtaining power from Thailand and distributing it here at low prices." Related Stories Former Min. of Religious Affairs sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment BUSINESS WEEKLY 17 OCTOBER 2014 DVB's Top 10 tips for visitors to Burma Ye Min Aung also said that a survey his company conducted among locals last year indicated that they are concerned about environmental damage and high electricity prices. The survey also revealed that local people want to have priority over electricity generated inside Burma rather than having all of the output sold to Thailand. In January, locals held a demonstration against the project, which they say was planned without any input from residents or civil society organizations. During the demonstration, protesters expressed concern that the power plant would adversely affect the local environment, which farmers and fishermen depend on for their livelihoods. Some protestors who spoke to DVB also said the plant wouldn't benefit the community; rather, they said it has the potential to harm local residents and noted that a power plant constructed further south on the Andaman coast in Kawthaung Township had reportedly caused respiratory problems.

Kachin rebels, govt forces in standoff at Hpakant Posted: 16 Oct 2014 11:24 PM PDT Amid a standoff with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the jade-mining town of Hpakant, the Burmese army has blocked access to a village close to rebel Kachin positions, raising fears among locals about a potential clash. Dashi Laseng, Hpakant Township chairman for the National League for Democracy (NLD), said the commander of the Burmese army's 66th Light Infantry Division (LID) earlier gave residents of nearby Aungbarlay village a deadline of 14 October to move out. Local community and church leaders, fearing potential clashes between government forces and KIA troops, requested that the commander order his troops to withdraw. However, on Wednesday, the 66th LID issued an order prohibiting access to and from the village and stationed more than 200 troops near a creek that runs adjacent to the village. Related Stories Former Min. of Religious Affairs sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment MoI modifies printing and publishing rules Burma, Japan and Thailand sign MoU to build Myeik power plant Government forces recently began pressuring KIA troops stationed near Hpakant's jade mines to withdraw on the grounds that some jade mining companies had complained that Kachin troops were demanding taxes from them. However, a KIA official told DVB they have no plans to withdraw from their positions in Hpakant. The NLD's Dashi Lasang said blocking access to the village will lead to a shortage of basic commodities. Aungbarlay, located approximately 15 miles from Hpakant, has around 300 households, a school, a Buddhist monastery and a church.

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The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Burma Qualifies for U-20 World Cup With AFC Tournament Win
• Fighting Escalates Between Gov’t, Rebel Alliance in Shan State
• After Months, Hundreds of Garment Workers Receive Overdue Pay
• Burma’s Ex-Religion Minister Gets 13 Years for Graft, Sedition
• Hilton and Eden Group Open Hilton Hotel in Naypyidaw
• US Seeks More From China, Asian Muslim Nations, on Islamic State
• Thai Soaps Trigger Outcry Over Romanticizing Rape 
• Hong Kong Police Clear Protesters, Barricades at Key Site
• Navigating the Rivers of Burma

Burma Qualifies for U-20 World Cup With AFC Tournament Win Posted: 17 Oct 2014 06:45 AM PDT Zaw Zaw, chairman of the Myanmar Football Federation, hugs a fan following Burma's victory at Thuwunna Youth Training Center Stadium in Rangoon on Friday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's Under-19 national team advanced to the semifinals of the AFC Asian Cup with a 1-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates on Friday, in the process qualifying for the U-20 World Cup for the first time ever. Than Paing scored the winner for Burma, finding the back of the net in the 52nd minute at Rangoon's Thuwunna Youth Training Center Stadium before a crowd of 29,000 people. The team on Monday faces the winner of a quarterfinal match between China and Qatar, scheduled for later Friday night. The U-20 World Cup will be played in New Zealand from May 30 to June 20 next year. Burma will be one of just four Asian countries represented at the 32-team tournament. Following Than Paing's go-ahead goal on Friday, the Burmese team settled into a defensive stance and possession was dominated by the UAE, making for a nerve-wracking final stretch that included a whopping seven minutes of stoppage time. Burma is hosting the AFC Asian Cup this year, with the final scheduled for Oct. 23 in Rangoon. North Korea also advanced to the semifinals on Friday, beating Japan in a penalty kick shootout and securing the team a place in the 2015 World Cup alongside Burma. The post Burma Qualifies for U-20 World Cup With AFC Tournament Win appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Fighting Escalates Between Gov’t, Rebel Alliance in Shan State Posted: 17 Oct 2014 05:42 AM PDT A TNLA officer talks on his radio about Burmese troop deployments at the frontline near Lwel Khan village in Kyauk Mae Township, northern Shan State, July 2014. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Fighting erupted for the second time this month between the Burma Army and an allied force of ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State this week, according to an officer of one rebel group. Tar Kyan Hein of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the Burma Army Light Infantry Divisions 11 and 99 invaded rebel territories of Loi Kang village in Tarmoenye, a sub-township of Kutkhai, where a similar incident in early October reportedly left 17 government soldiers dead after they tried to advance on TNLA territory. At least three rebel armies—TNLA, Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—have bases in the area and consider each other allies. Tar Kyan Hein said that the Burmese troops encountered and fought with each group over the past two days. "We [the TNLA] clashed with them [the Burma Army] on Thursday for about three hours," he said, adding that the Burma Army attacked both KIA and MNDAA soldiers the previous day. Tar Kyan Hein said that some rebel troops were wounded and an unknown number of government troops were killed during the skirmishes. Reports on social media have led many to believe that at least one Burma Army captain died in the conflict. Tar Kyan Hein said that 30 trucks carrying Burmese troops drove into the area last week and began launching an offensive; first against the MNDAA, then clashing with the KIA before opening another frontline on the fringes of TNLA ground. Tensions remained high after fighting subsided as the government troops did not withdraw. The TNLA officer warned that the conflict could resume "at any time." Rebels say that the Burma Army's presence has been steadily increasing in the ethnically diverse area surrounding the upper Salween River. The TNLA has claimed that about 2,000 Burmese troops have been stationed in Kutkhai, Namkham and Namsam townships since 2013. Similar reports have come out of Kachin State in the country's far north, where conflict continues between the government and the state's most dominant rebel groups, the KIA and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N). Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Burma Army LID 66 ordered 1,000 civilians to evacuate three villages near Hpakant, a mining town rich in jade. KIA spokesperson La Nan confirmed to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the Burma Army had ordered his troops to leave their bases, but the KIA refused to stand down. No fighting has since been reported but local sources said that villagers have been ordered not to leave their homes pending a resolution from the capital. The United Nations Federal Council (UNFC), a coalition of ethnic armed groups, issued a public statement on Wednesday denouncing recent attacks by the Burmese military against ethnic armed groups that are currently embroiled in peace negotiations. Joint-Chairman of the UNFC Nai Hong Sar told BBC Burmese on Thursday that continued state aggression toward ethnic minorities could set Burma back to pre-reform conditions. Speculating that the government could be trying to gain more ground before securing a nationwide ceasefire, he added that the UNFC will continue to negotiate with the government to achieve lasting peace. "From our perspective, we don't want to lose what we have already accomplished during the peace process. There will be some people within the government who agree with us, we will do as much as we can. But things will go back to how they were if they [the government] keeps attacking ethnic armed groups," he told the BBC. The post Fighting Escalates Between Gov't, Rebel Alliance in Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

After Months, Hundreds of Garment Workers Receive Overdue Pay Posted: 17 Oct 2014 05:14 AM PDT Former Master Sports workers count their salary and severance pay, which they received from the Labor Ministry on Friday. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Some 750 laid-off workers of the closed down South Korean Master Sports factory in Rangoon received their unpaid salaries and severance pay from the Ministry of Labor on Friday, after it auctioned off the property of the factory last week. The workers, mostly young women, gathered at the factory in Rangoon's Hlaing Thar Yar Industrial Zone on Friday to receive the payments on which they had waited since July. "I received one month salary and three months' severance pay totaling over 300,000 kyats [about US$300]," San Thida, one of the labor leaders, told The Irrawaddy. "Today all the workers are happy." The footwear factory opened last year but closed abruptly in late June and workers were dismissed without receiving their salaries for that month. Hundreds then marched to protest in front of the South Korean Embassy on July 17 to demand their pay. In August, the Rangoon Division Labor Tribunal decided that the factory should provide a severance pay and outstanding salaries to the workers by Sept 16, but the Korean factory owner had left the country. The Labor Ministry seized his property and auctioned it off in order to pay the workers. On Friday, the workers were given their outstanding salary for June and severance pay. The severance pay was equal to three months of salary for those who worked at the factory for more than a year, while those who worked there for more than three months received two months of salary. Those who worked there less than three months received one month salary as severance pay. At Master Sports, workers earned an hourly wage of between 150 kyats and 170 kyats (about $0.15-$0.17), and were paid a monthly allowance of about $20. They could earn overtime payment at 300 kyats per hour. Moe Wai, a member of auction committee, said the sale of factory properties had raised about $290,000, while the workers were owed about $210,000. Asked about the remainder of the funds, she said, "The costs of [renting an auction] room and running auction advertisements were subtracted, the rest was put in a bank." Although the workers finally received their overdue payments, their futures remain uncertain, said San Thida, as other garment factories are hesitant to hire them because of their protests against Master Sports. "Everyone is trying to get a job. [But] the leaders of the workers have appeared in the media so the employers don't want to hire us or the other workers," she said. According to U Htay, a labor rights lawyer, only 200 out of 750 women have found work again, despite requests by the Labor Ministry that they be offered jobs by other garment factories. "Those who found work again can't let the factory owners know that they previously worked at Master Sports because in some factories there were cases where they fired those workers when they found out," he said. U Htay said he believed it was the first time that the government had intervened in a labor dispute and provided for laborers' payment by seizing and selling off a factory's property. He said the Labor Ministry should draft a law that would require foreign investors to deposit a certain amount of money with the ministry, so that it can pay workers in case the factory suddenly closes. Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security Aye Myint said the government would try to better scrutinize foreign investments to ensure that short-lived investments, such the Master Sports, and their impact on the labor force would be avoided in the future. "The Myanmar Investment Commission and other related departments should be cooperating in order to avoid issues like Master Sports in the investment process," he said, while speaking at a ceremony where the payments were handed out. He told managers of other factories who attended the ceremony that they should offer jobs to the former Master Sports workers as they had not been at fault. Tens of thousands of workers are employed in labor-intensive industries at 14 industrial zones around Burma's commercial capital. Garment and footwear factories are the biggest industrial employers, with about 100,000 workers total. The post After Months, Hundreds of Garment Workers Receive Overdue Pay appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma’s Ex-Religion Minister Gets 13 Years for Graft, Sedition Posted: 17 Oct 2014 04:18 AM PDT Former Religious Affairs Minister Hsan Hsint, seen here before a court hearing on July 3, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison. (Photo: Citizen Journalist) RANGOON — Former Religious Affairs Minister Hsan Hsint was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment on Friday after a Naypyidaw court found him guilty of corruption and sedition. Tin Tun, Hsan Hsint's lawyer, said the Dekkhinathiri District Court in Naypyidaw sentenced the former minister to three years in prison under the Penal Code's Article 409—criminal breach of trust by a public servant—and 10 years and a 100,000 kyats fine under Article 124(a), which covers "attempts to bring hatred or contempt … or disaffection toward [the government]." "It is not fair," Tin Tun told The Irrawaddy on Friday. "I will appeal until he gets an acquittal from the sentences." He said that he would submit an appeal to a higher court in Mandalay Division after the official letter detailing the verdict is received on Tuesday of next week. The lawyer added that he would take the appeal all the way to the Supreme Court in Naypyidaw if necessary. Ahead of the sentence, the Daily Eleven newspaper reported on Friday that 51 members of Parliament and 1,004 constituents, including several monks, submitted a letter to the speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, asking for a review of Hsan Hsint's case and requesting that the minister be arraigned on less severe charges. The speaker of the Lower House forwarded the message to the president and Union chief justice on Wednesday, the report stated. On June 19, President Thein Sein dismissed Hsan Hsint as head of the Ministry of Religious Affairs for "not performing his duties efficiently." Subsequent local media reports claimed that he had also been accused of misappropriating millions of kyats from his ministry's budget for personal family interests. While he was charged for the alleged misuse of ministry funds under Article 409, the bulk of Friday's sentence was handed down under Article 124(a), a sedition charge that was added by prosecutors in July. His firing in June followed a controversial raid on a monastery in Rangoon by the state-backed Buddhist clergy, which had been in an ownership dispute with a group of monks who refused to leave the monastery. The raid led to the arrest of five monks who have since been released on bail. Local media reported that Hsan Hsint and other cabinet members had disagreed over the plan to raid the monastery. Hsan Hsint's brother Hsan Myint, who is also a lawyer representing him, told The Irrawaddy that prosecutors brought the sedition charge due to media coverage that followed the monastery raid. Hsan Hsint was accused of sowing discord between the government and monks in the aftermath of the raid by feeding reporters information about the incident. Before becoming the religious affairs minister in January last year, Hsan Hsint was a parliamentarian for the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), representing an Irrawaddy Division constituency. He was also the deputy commander of the Rangoon divisional military command. The former minister has been detained at Ramaethin Prison in Mandalay Division since his arrest. In August, Hsan Hsint's family said they were concerned about his health, which had deteriorated since his incarceration, but Tin Tun on Friday said the minister was in good health. The post Burma's Ex-Religion Minister Gets 13 Years for Graft, Sedition appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Hilton and Eden Group Open Hilton Hotel in Naypyidaw Posted: 17 Oct 2014 03:12 AM PDT From left to right: Hilton Group executive William Costely, Tourism Minister Htay Aung and Eden Group owner Chit Khaing open the Hilton Hotel in Naypyidaw on Friday morning. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) NAYPYIDAW — Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc opened its first luxury hotel in Burma on Friday, after completing an upgrade of a hotel in the capital Naypyidaw owned by local conglomerate Eden Group. The new hotel is one of five high-end hotels planned in Burma by Hilton, the world’s largest hotel operator by market value, which first announced the plans in June. At a cost of US$47 million Eden Group's Thingaha Garden Hotel was upgraded to become the Hilton Hotel, with 202 rooms in a building located on a 100-acre area in Dekkhinathiri Township in Naypyidaw, according to Eden Group Director Than Htut. He said the investment was made by Eden Group, which continues to own the hotel but pays a share of its annual profits to Hilton in exchange for use of its brand name and its support in managing and upgrading the hotel to five-star quality standards. "We want our hotel in Naypyidaw to become international hotel chain quality, that’s why we decided to work with Hilton Group," Than Htut said. "I am so delighted to be here to open the first Hilton Hotel in Myanmar, this opening marks very significant milestone for Hilton Worldwide Asia Pacific," William Costely, head of Hilton Group for the Asia Pacific Region, said during an opening ceremony. Eden Group will also work with Hilton Group to carry out a $10-million upgrade of its Thingaha Ngapali Hotel in the beach resort in southern Arakan State in order to make it a Hilton Hotel, according Than Htut. Hilton Group is working with Thailand-based LP Holding to open up a Hilton Hotel in Rangoon in Centrepoint Tower, at the corner of Sule Pagoda and Merchant roads. Another two Hilton hotels are being planned near the temple complex of Bagan in Mandalay Divsion and near Inle Lake in Shan State. Than Htut said it had been a priority for Eden and Hilton to open the Naypyidaw hotel ahead of the 25th Asean Summit and the East Asia Summit, which will be held on Nov. 12-13. Burma chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year and the events will bring Asian and world leaders, including US President Obama, to the capital together with hundreds diplomats, officials and journalists. "All international hotel chains expect to receive many international delegates for the Asean Summit in November. After that, we expect that other foreign guests will come for business purposes or state affairs," Than Htut said. "The US government has now lifted economic sanctions on many businesses in Myanmar; many US businessmen want to come here. That’s why Hilton is confident to work here" in Naypyidaw. Hilton is the fourth international hotel chain to open up in the capital, after Switzerland-headquartered Kempinski, Singapore's Parkroyal and France's Accor Group all opened luxury hotels in Naypyidaw in partnerships with local business conglomerates. Work on Burma's new capital began about a decade ago on orders of the former military junta, which enlisted the help of the country's tycoons to construct government buildings and hotels in the capital. To this day, the government encourages investment in the sprawling but largely empty city that is home to mostly government officials. Eden Group is owned by one of Burma's wealthiest tycoons, Chit Khaing, who has businesses interests in construction, hotels and tourism, banking and agriculture. A US Embassy cable from 2007 described him as "an up and coming crony, [who] has parlayed his regime connections to amass great wealth, while most Burmese struggle to survive." Unlike some other well-connected tycoons, he was not blacklisted by the US Treasury Department. The US cable said "Eden Group was one of eight companies that constructed Naypyidaw." It built the President's Palace and the Defense Services Museum and the Thingaha Garden Hotel in an arrangement with the regime, which paid Eden Group with car import licenses. The post Hilton and Eden Group Open Hilton Hotel in Naypyidaw appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

US Seeks More From China, Asian Muslim Nations, on Islamic State Posted: 16 Oct 2014 09:59 PM PDT US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks during a news conference with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta on Feb. 17, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON / JAKARTA — US Secretary of State John Kerry will seek greater cooperation from China and Southeast Asia's main Muslim states, Indonesia and Malaysia, in the campaign against Islamic State and staunching the flow of foreign fighters to the militant group, US and Asian officials said. China's most senior diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, is expected in Kerry's home city of Boston on Friday and Saturday, a Chinese diplomat said. Kerry is then due in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, for Monday's inauguration of newly elected president Joko Widodo. The trip to Indonesia is significant on several fronts. A fast-growing beacon of moderate Islam and Southeast Asia's largest economy, Indonesia exerts enormous influence in a region that has seen growing numbers of fighters traveling to Syria to join Islamic State, also known as ISIL. Indonesian security crackdowns have weakened and dispersed militant groups, helping to transform the country's image since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks when it was an epicenter of Islamist militancy and breeding ground for the likes of Jemaah Islamiah, which carried out the 2002 Bali bombing and other attacks on Western targets. A senior US administration official said the focus of talks with Indonesian leaders would be on building a relationship with the new government and discussing ways to stop the flow of fighters from Indonesia and Muslim-majority Malaysia. In Jakarta, Kerry will also meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Malaysia's foreign ministry said the two would discuss the global coalition against Islamic State. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha have also said they will attend the inauguration. British Prime Minister David Cameron and other leaders have also been invited but have yet to confirm. The United States has assembled a coalition of what it says are more than 40 countries and has carried out air strikes in territory held by the group in Iraq and Syria. US fighter and bomber planes made 14 raids against Islamic State targets near the Syrian town of Kobani on Wednesday and Thursday. In Boston with Yang and again in Jakarta with Indonesian officials, Kerry is expected to discuss expanded intelligence cooperation, including tracking militant movements and financing, say analysts familiar with the administration's thinking. The fight against Islamic State offers a rare convergence of security interests for Beijing and Washington, and a break from their more typical enmity on sensitive geopolitical issues, from Iran to the South China Sea. China has significant energy interests in Iraq and is also troubled by what it says are domestic Islamist militants. Its state media has reported that militants from the western region of Xinjiang, which abuts Pakistan and Afghanistan, have fled from the country to get "terrorist training" from Islamic State fighters for attacks at home. The head of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, has said around 1,000 recruits from India to the Pacific may have joined Islamic State in Syria or Iraq. Security officials and analysts estimate they include more than 100 citizens of Indonesia, Malaysia and the southern Philippines. Malaysian and Indonesian militants have also discussed forming a 100-strong Malay-speaking Islamic State unit in Syria, according to a report from a security group released last month. About 160 Australian jihadists are thought to be in Iraq or Syria, several in leadership positions, say security experts. The head of the US Marine Corps said that it had been expanding its relationship with the Indonesian army over the past four to six months and could, along with Australia, form an alliance for joint operations and military exercises. "They're a pretty important partner," Marine Corps Commandant General James Amos said, citing ties with Indonesia in the Asia-Pacific region, where worries have been mounting about Chinese assertiveness over territorial claims. The general cited Indonesia's critical strategic location in the Pacific, just north of Darwin, Australia, where the Marine Corps already has a small contingent of Marines that is slated to grow substantially in coming years. On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama told military leaders from more than 20 countries working with Washington to defeat Islamic State that he was deeply concerned about the group's advances at the north Syrian town of Kobani and in western Iraq. Chris Johnson, of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies research group, said China and the United States may seek from their talks to align messages as to what they would like to see from the Iraqi government. In Indonesia, the waning of the Jemaah Islamiah insurgency appeared to have reduced enthusiasm for cooperating against militancy and the issue of militant flows would be have to be discussed discreetly. "Publicly the Indonesians don't want to talk about this issue," Johnson said, "and IS is a kind of 'not our backyard' kind of issue, so they may not be as enthusiastic there." Outgoing Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono banned Islamic State and made its eradication at home a top priority. His spokesman, Julian Pasha, said last month, however, that Indonesia would employ a "soft power" approach and made clear it did not plan to get directly involved overseas. Malaysia has arrested 36 citizens suspected of militancy since April this year and authorities believe that at least 30 are already in Syria and Iraq, fighting for different groups tied to Islamic State. On Wednesday, authorities said they had arrested 13 Malaysians suspected of having links to Islamic State who were planning to leave for Syria. The post US Seeks More From China, Asian Muslim Nations, on Islamic State appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai Soaps Trigger Outcry Over Romanticizing Rape  Posted: 16 Oct 2014 09:53 PM PDT A poster advertising a Thai soap opera. (Photo: thaiworldview.com) BANGKOK — In a famous scene from Thailand’s award-winning soap opera "The Power of Shadows," the handsome protagonist gets drunk and rapes the leading lady. He later begs her forgiveness, and they live happily ever after. Boy Meets Girl, Boy Rapes Girl, Boy Marries Girl. The premise is so common in Thailand’s popular primetime melodramas it could be called a national twist on the universal romantic plotline. But calls for change are growing. The recent real-life rape and murder of a girl on an overnight train in Thailand has focused national outrage on messages in popular culture that trivialize—and some say even encourage—rape. Even the powerful general who took over the country in a coup this year had to apologize after suggesting that women who wear bikinis on the beach are vulnerable to sexual assault. Many in the soap opera industry continue to defend sexual violence, in part, as a key to high ratings in a fiercely competitive industry that draws more than 18 million viewers a night to network television, nearly a quarter of Thailand’s population. Award-winning director Sitthiwat Tappan even describes some rape scenes as a sort of public service. "There might be a scene where a woman is dressed sexy, and she walks past a man who has been drinking, and it shows on his face that he’s aroused and wants her," Sitthiwat said. "In the end, she succumbs to the physical power of the man." "Scenes like this try to teach society that women should not travel alone or wear revealing clothes," the director said. "And men shouldn’t drink." But rapists are seldom punished in TV melodramas, and their victims rarely talk about it. That much, at least, is reflected in real life. Last year, the Public Health Ministry said its hotlines received 31,866 calls from victims of rape or sexual assault. But police that year filed only 3,300 rape cases, and made just 2,245 arrests. Even the hotline number is believed to be far lower than the actual number of assaults in this Southeast Asian country of 67 million. Public concern about rape in Thai society grew this summer, after a 13-year-old girl was raped on an overnight train, then suffocated and thrown out the window. A 22-year-old train employee has been convicted of the attack and sentenced to death, and the rail authority has introduced a women-and-children-only sleeper carriage with policewomen as guards. Indignant newspaper editorials and TV talk shows have triggered a national conversation, and an online petition asking soap operas to stop romanticizing rape has attracted more than 30,000 signatures. "I’m not saying soap operas are the cause of rape in Thailand. But I believe they are part of the problem," said Nitipan Wiprawit, a 36-year-old architect who launched the petition. "Soap operas send the message that rape is acceptable. This is something that needs to stop." As a result of Nitipan’s petition, the national broadcasting commission has organized roundtables that bring directors and screenwriters together with health and human rights experts to discuss the messages soap operas deliver. The latest one focused on how TV sexual violence influences Thai children, who are often raised on a steady diet of nighttime soaps that parents switch on after dinner. "Some producers might say that what they’re producing doesn’t have an impact on people, but I assure you it does," Kemporn Wirunrapan, of Thailand’s Child and Youth Media Institute, told the forum. "The more children see repetitive images of violence, the more it will be reinforced in their minds." In a poll of more than 2,000 youths conducted by Thailand’s Assumption University in 2008, more than 20 percent of 13- to-19-year olds said rape scenes were their favorite part of TV shows. The same percentage of teenagers said they found rape to be a normal and acceptable act in society. Yossinee Nanakorn, producer of one of Thailand’s best-known soaps "Prisoner of Love," said rape scenes are sometimes essential to plotlines. "Soap operas are all about conflict. Without conflict there’s no story," she said. "We try to avoid rape scenes, but if it helps drive the story then we keep it." The idea that some forms of sexual violence are acceptable is reflected even in the Thai language. The word "blum," which translates roughly as "wrestling," is how Thais describe unconsenting sex that a man initiates to make a woman fall in love with him. It is considered different from "khom-kheun," the criminal act of rape. "Blum" is what transpires in "The Power of Shadows," says Arunosha Bhanupan, producer of the soap, which aired in 2012 and recorded the highest ratings in the history of its network. "In theatrical terms, it was an act of love," the producer said, referring to the scene where the lead actor grabs the heroine and rapes her after she slaps him and screams, "Let me go!" "It wasn’t rape. It was more romantic, because they were in love." That is one type of soap-opera rape scene: the seduction of a "good girl." Thai soaps also have "bad girls," for whom rape is depicted as punishment for behavior deemed immoral, like dressing provocatively and promiscuity. Feminist scholar Chalidaporn Songsamphan said rape fantasies in Thai culture stem in part from traditional beliefs that it is improper for women to show sexual desire before marriage. "When men initiate sex, women have to try to reject it, or say no, to show they are innocent sexually," said Chalidaporn, a women’s studies professor at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. "Rape scenes on television reflect this kind of thinking." Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former army chief who took control of the country in May, stumbled into the debate with a comment he made last month, soon after the bodies of two British tourists were found bludgeoned to death on a Thai beach. He said women who wear bikinis in Thailand will be safe "only if they are not beautiful," a remark instantly ridiculed on social media as chauvinistic and insensitive to the female victim, who had been photographed in a bikini prior to her rape and murder. Prayuth apologized for having "spoken too harshly." Another high-profile slip-up came last month when Durex Thailand released an online advertisement saying: "28 percent of women who resist eventually give in"—an ad viewed as encouraging its male customers to rape. The condom maker quickly pulled the ad from its Thai Facebook page and issued an apology for the "inappropriate" post. For some actresses, the reality of rape has exposed the flaws in how it is dramatized on television. Up-and-coming star Pimthong Washirakom played a "bad girl" in the series "The Rising Sun" who is raped by a police detective after he locks her in his office. As the cameras rolled, the 22-year-old’s thoughts drifted to the child whose body was thrown from the train. "I felt like the girl in the news," she said. "I thought of the 13-year-old girl, and tears started running down my face." Her crying, and violent portions of the rape scene, were edited out of the episode, which ran last month. The cuts drew complaints from some of the cast and crew, but Pimthong supported them. "Sometimes, viewers don’t have the right judgment and might imitate what they see," she said. "Our society is deteriorating every day, so we have to cut certain scenes off. Kids are definitely watching this show. Why would we let them watch a rape scene?" The post Thai Soaps Trigger Outcry Over Romanticizing Rape  appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Hong Kong Police Clear Protesters, Barricades at Key Site Posted: 16 Oct 2014 09:48 PM PDT   Cleaners remove notes and posters from the glass exterior of a bank branch, after police cleared a protest site in Mong Kok shopping district in Hong Kong October 17, 2014. (Photo: Carlos Barria / Reuters) HONG KONG — Hundreds of Hong Kong police staged their biggest and boldest raid yet on a pro-democracy protest camp before dawn on Friday, charging down student-led activists who have held a key intersection in one of the main protest zones for more than three weeks. The operation in the gritty and congested Mong Kok district—across the harbor from the heart of the civil disobedience movement near government headquarters—came while many protesters were asleep on the asphalt in dozens of tents or beneath giant, blue-striped tarpaulin sheets. The raid was a gamble for the 28,000-strong police force in the Chinese-controlled city who have come under criticism for mounting aggressive clearance operations using tear gas, baton charges and a violent beating of a handcuffed protester by seven policemen on Wednesday. Storming into the intersection with helmets, plastic riot shields and batons at the ready from four directions, the deployment of 800 officers caught the protesters by surprise. Many retreated without resisting. "The Hong Kong government's despicable clearance here will cause another wave of citizen protests," said radio talk show host and activist Wong Yeung-tat, who donned protective goggles over his white-rimmed glasses and sported a boxer's sparring pad on his arm as a makeshift shield. The police sweep of the protest camp in Mong Kok had been expected for several days. It further reduces the number of protest sites that have paralyzed parts of the Asian financial hub since Sept. 28, but could reignite retaliation. "We have urged protesters to maintain a kind of floating protest strategy to guard the streets," said Wong, flanked by protesters who stared down advancing lines of uniformed police. Police gave a short warning on loud hailers before moving in although no direct force was used, witnesses said. The protesters, led by a restive younger generation of students, have been demanding China's Communist Party rulers live up to constitutional promises to grant full democracy to the former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. In August, Beijing offered Hong Kong people the chance to vote for their own leader in 2017, but said only two to three candidates could run after getting majority backing from a 1,200-person "nominating committee" stacked with Beijing loyalists. The protesters decry this as "fake" Chinese-style democracy and demand Beijing allow open nominations for a fairer poll. The raid came less than 24 hours after Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying tried to buy time by resurrecting talks next week with the student leaders. "I am so furious. The government said it would talk to the students about these issues, then it came and cleared our base," said Cony Cheung, a beauty products saleswoman clad in a yellow construction hard hat and an industrial-strength face mask. Barry Smith, one of several senior British police chiefs—a legacy of the pre-1997 Royal Hong Kong Police—commanding the operation, described it as "fairly peaceful". About 800 officers were involved, he added, and no arrests were made. There were no immediate reports of injuries. "They've been occupying this whole area now for almost three weeks, so we decided it's time to give the public the right of way, to get the roads back and get access to pedestrians," said Smith as he paced about the area, directing front-line officers. Little Warning Yellow dump trucks with pneumatic backhoes and claws later cleared away debris including smashed wooden pallets, garbage cans, fences, ripped tents and metal barricades, while the scattered belongings of protesters were loaded on to trucks. Elderly cleaners ripped down democracy posters and notes coating walls, windows and street signs, using cleaning fluid and razors to scrape away stickers stuck to the windows of an HSBC bank branch. Some remaining protesters tried to salvage some of the hand-drawn protest artwork that has mushroomed across protest zones. "These drawings represent the voice of the people. We must try to preserve them and I hope in future they establish a democracy museum to keep these voices at this historic moment," one said. Some protesters used trolleys to cart water, sleeping mats and medical supplies to a nearby park, but later moved supplies back with police saying they'd allow protesters to continue to occupy a section of the heavily trafficked Nathan Road, which leads south down to the harbor, with the world-famous view of Hong Kong Island opposite. "The occupation here hasn't finished yet," said Simon Siu, a protest logistics coordinator. "People will come back." A steady trickle of protesters returned to the bare site. The raid came just days after violent scuffles between police and protesters who attempted to blockade a major road near government headquarters on Hong Kong Island. Police had also used sledgehammers and chainsaws to tear down concrete, metal and bamboo barricades to reopen a major road feeding the Central business district. Despite the clearances, perhaps 1,000 protesters remained camped on Hong Kong Island in a sea of tents and umbrellas on an eight-lane highway beneath glass and steel skyscrapers. Leung has said there is "zero chance" Beijing will give in to protesters' demands, a view shared by many observers and Hong Kong citizens. He has also resolutely refused to step down. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam cancelled planned talks with student leaders last Thursday, saying it was impossible to have constructive dialogue, and it was hard to see how that could change with the two sides poles apart. At the peak of the protests, 100,000 had been on the streets, presenting Beijing with one of its biggest political challenges since it crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in and around Tiananmen Square in the Chinese capital in 1989. Those numbers have dwindled significantly. China rules Hong Kong under a "one country, two systems" formula that gives the city wide-ranging autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, with "universal suffrage" stated as the eventual aim. It is concerned calls for democracy in Hong Kong, and in the neighboring former Portuguese colony of Macau, could spread to the mainland, threatening the party's grip on power.   The post Hong Kong Police Clear Protesters, Barricades at Key Site appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Navigating the Rivers of Burma Posted: 16 Oct 2014 05:00 PM PDT A landscape of rice paddies and ancient volcanic plugs lies at the end of a boat journey to reach the village of Shwe War Chong in Mon State. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) MON STATE — The long, rich history of Burma is deeply entwined with the nation's extensive waterways and river systems. In both pre-colonial and colonial times, it would have been hard to overstate the value of the mighty Irrawaddy River system, extending as it does from sources in the Kachin foothills of the eastern Himalayan mountain range and winding its way south through the center of Burma until reaching the Bay of Bengal. Its sister river, the Salween in eastern Burma, likewise begins in China and is today one of the world's longest free-flowing rivers. The value of these waterways—commercially, environmentally and culturally—remains a topic of passionate debate, brought sharply back into focus with plans for massive hydroelectric dam projects on both river systems. The significance of Burma's inland waterways can be seen in the long history of the Inland Water Transport firm, first established in 1865 under British rule as the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company Limited. The company was nationalized following independence in 1948 to become Inland Water Transport under the Ministry of Transport. There are 16,055 kilometers (9,976 miles) of inland waterways in Burma, according to the Asean Japan Transportation Partnership. Burma's waterways also provide essential access to rural populations and the various produce requiring transport to larger city markets. Fifty kilometers inland from the Gulf of Martaban, on the eastern bank of the Salween River, lies the Mon capital of Moulmein. The small city, just meters above sea level and nestled in craggy, pagoda-dotted hills, presents a gateway into a richly diverse hinterland of rivers, waterways and tributaries. The landscape and waterways of the Same River and its tributaries to the east offer a fascinating glimpse into the ongoing vitality and importance of river traffic in a region slow to receive the benefits of adequate road and rail networks. The post Navigating the Rivers of Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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