Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Bullet Points: 3 November 2014
• Magwe monks march in support of race protection laws
• Min Aung Hlaing visits Moscow 



• Govt to confiscate idle industrial zone land 



• Suu Kyi writes to Par Gyi’s widow
• Farmers Association to buy rainy season paddy
• Burmese journalists call for govt protection

Bullet Points: 3 November 2014 Posted: 03 Nov 2014 04:34 AM PST On tonight's edition of Bullet Points: Govt, ethnic peace negotiators aim to get talks back on track Magwe monks march in support of race protection laws Fraser and Neave shareprice down after losing out on Myanmar Brewery Bagan listed as most romantic place on earth You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

Magwe monks march in support of race protection laws Posted: 03 Nov 2014 04:27 AM PST Monks across Burma are pressuring the government to force through legislation controlling interfaith marriage. The rallying cry is being led by controversial preacher Ashin Wirathu. Buddhist nationalists in Magwe division are the latest to respond to calls for protests.

Min Aung Hlaing visits Moscow Posted: 03 Nov 2014 03:37 AM PST Commander-in-Chief of the Burmese army, Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, met Russian military officers at the Moscow airport yesterday, where they discussed technical cooperation, according to the Facebook page of Burma's Defence Ministry. The Facebook post said that Burma's military chief and his team were on their way to Belarus when they met with Russian military officials—including Alexandra Vasillievich Fomin, the joint chairman of Russia-Burma Military Technological Cooperation—at the Moscow airport. During the meeting they talked about increasing technical cooperation between the Burmese and Russian militaries. Related Stories Suu Kyi writes to Par Gyi's widow Suu Kyi disappointed by quadripartite meeting Thein Sein orders investigation into Par Gyi's death Burmese state-owned media mentioned that Min Aung Hlaing was visiting Belarus after receiving an invitation from the prime minister to discuss issues of shared interest and to learn about Belarusian culture. Belarus announced independence in 1991 after separating from the Soviet Union and initiated diplomatic relations with Burma in 1999. Burma and Belarus have been listed as amongst the most repressive countries in the world in annual reports compiled by human rights watchdogs such as Freedom House, which have criticized the two counties for their lack of basic freedoms—particularly freedom of the press.

Govt to confiscate idle industrial zone land Posted: 03 Nov 2014 02:52 AM PST Rangoon's industrial zone management committee announced last week that the divisional government will take back land from owners who have registered more than 4,000 acres in certain specified economic zones in the Rangoon area. However, a business owner in one Rangoon industrial zone said the government has already made similar announcements three times before without implementing the rules. "The government has said three times that they would take back non-functioning land, but nothing ever happened because people sent letters of appeal to the relevant parliamentary committees. Many of the letters said, 'This land is the only asset I own and it's the only thing I will have for financial support during retirement'," he said. The business owner continued, "Most of the idle land is owned by government officials, and that is why any rule that contemplates land seizures will never be enforced. Actually, these lands should have been confiscated around the year 2000." Related Stories Activist to serve over 13 years behind bars Jailed Kanbalu farmers face additional charges Rangoon police nab 12,000 drivers in a week Instead of running business enterprises on the land, some individuals who purchased land in Rangoon industrial zones during the previous military regime have chosen to wait for prices to rise and then sell their land, he added. But the announcement said that landowners can only avoid confiscation if they submit business plans for their idle industrial zone lands and then actually start business operations by 1 February. Currently, land prices in Rangoon are between 300-500 million kyat (US$300,000 – $500,000) per acre.

Suu Kyi writes to Par Gyi’s widow Posted: 03 Nov 2014 01:28 AM PST Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has sent a letter of condolence to the widow of Par Gyi, a journalist recently killed by the Burmese military while covering armed conflict in Mon State. Par Gyi's wife, Ma Thandar, released Suu's Kyi's letter to the media during an alms offering ceremony for the deceased journalist on November 2. In the letter, Suu Kyi recalled how Par Gyi cooperated with her and other democracy activists during the 1988 uprising. "My dear daughter Thandar, I am very sorry to hear about ‘my son’ Par Gyi. I remember that he worked with us during the democracy movement ever since he was a student. All of us who endured hardship during that period share our condolences for Par Gyi,” wrote Suu Kyi, adding: “I hope your family obtains justice”. Par Gyi was a political activist and a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's personal security team during the 1988 uprising. He was also one of the first National League for Democracy Youth members and acted as the group's Karen State coordinator. After his involvement in the uprising Par Gyi was forced into exile in Thailand and began working as a freelance journalist under the pseudonym "Aung Naing." His wife Ma Thandar spent several weeks looking for her lost husband after he went missing in late September until the military issued a report on 23 October which said the Burmese army killed him due, in part, to his involvement with the Klohtoobaw Karen Organization (KKO), the political wing of an armed group commonly known as the Democratic Karen Benevolent Association (DKBA). The government continues to describe Par Gyi as "Captain Aung Naing," a communications officer for the KKO. However, Par Gyi's family and friends dispute the Burmese army's claim that he was ever a member of the KKO. In an interview with DVB, Maj. Saw Lonlon from the DKBA denied that Aung Naing was a captain in the KKO, which does not even have ranks such as "captain" since, he said, it is merely a political group affiliated with the DKBA. Saw Lonlon admitted the DKBA knew Par Gyi, but only because he had previously contacted them to obtain information for his news reports. "We are often contacted by journalists and usually we show them around, but Aung Naing couldn't film much because there was fighting taking place," said Saw Lonlon. Ma Thandar and the rest of Par Gyi's family have been demanding justice and want to know why he was detained and murdered by the Burmese army while working as a journalist. The international community has expressed outrage at the incident, including the United States, which has called on Naypyidaw to conduct a transparent investigation into the journalist's death. Protests condemning the killing have already taken place in several Burmese cities, including Mandalay, Mandalay, Hinthada, Prome and Rangoon. However, the government been reluctant to grant permission for protests related to Par Gyi's death, and has already arrested several individuals for holding demonstrations without a permit. In Mandalay, an activist was informed by police on 29 October that he was being charged for violating the Peaceful Assembly Act, which prohibits individuals from holding demonstrations without prior approval from the authorities and carries a maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment. Despite the possibility of being arrested for violating the law, around 200 activists still showed up for the protest in Mandalay to call for an independent inquiry into Par Gyi's death. In Prome, 100 people gathered for a similar protest even though two of the protest organisers are likely to be charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act, according to a report in The Irrawaddy. This year a rising number of media workers have been arrested and imprisoned, a trend which UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee denounced in her speech to the UN General Assembly which summarized a report she wrote about Burma's human rights situation. During her speech on 28 October, the special envoy expressed concern about reports that "outdated legislation" is still being used to "criminalize and impede the activities of civil society and the media". Most likely, Lee's concern about government suppression of civil society and the media was a response to Par Gyi's murder and the unusually long prison sentences handed down to media employees and peaceful protesters this year—including five individuals working for a weekly news publication called Unity Journal who were sentenced to tens years' imprisonment in July on grounds of "exposing state secrets." Related Stories Min Aung Hlaing visits Moscow Burmese journalists call for govt protection Suu Kyi disappointed by quadripartite meeting The disturbing increase in the number of media workers being intimidated, arrested, jailed and killed worldwide prompted around 100 Burmese journalists to hold a candlelight prayer vigil in Rangoon yesterday to mark the first International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. In recent weeks, the Burmese government has taken some steps to respond to growing public anger about Par Gyi's death and the jailing of other Burmese journalists. In particular, on 30 October—just a few days after a large protest was held in Rangoon demanding justice for Par Gyi's murder—the Burmese government issued a press release stating that President Thein Sein's office has ordered the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission to conduct an investigation into his death. However, the government's press release still referred to Par Gyi as "Captain Aung Naing" of the KKO and has still hasn't provided an explanation of why it took so long to release the report about Par Gyi’s death. On 21 October, the Myanmar Journalists Network met with Information Minister Ye Htut to discuss their concerns about the rising number of legal actions lodged by the Burmese government against media employees, but it was the first time a government minister met with the journalist association—despite the fact that numerous NGOs have been criticising the government this year for harassing the media and using the law as a tool to stifle the media. In June, Human Rights Watch said the government was using "intimidation" tactics against local media, and Reporters Without Borders released a statement in July condemning Burma's Special Branch—a police intelligence agency—for harassing the news media on the pretext of conducting financial audits. A Reporters Without Borders statement said that Special Branch officers went to the Myanmar Herald's office on 23 July and detained three of the news journal's editors without any explanation. For the moment, the Par Gyi case has become a rallying point for Burma's media workers, who have received support from numerous NGOs such as the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (88GPOS), which released a statement on 24 October strongly condemning the army for summarily executing a civilian, labelling it "a lawless act". The 88GPOS' leader, Mya Aye, said the army is responsible for the murder of Aung Naing and the group will demand justice against the perpetrator(s). "As soon as we heard news that Ko Par Gyi was missing, we reached out to government officials and stressed that he is entitled to legal rights, and that they cannot just arbitrarily detain him and take him away to unknown places," said Mya Aye. The 88GPOS leader then added, "We learned from Aung Naing's family that when they first went to look for him [in Kyeikmayaw], the army told them they would be allowed to see him and that he could be released if his family bails him out. But later they backtracked on their promise and began avoiding the family. "According to the statement released [on 24 October], the army conjured up a far-fetched story about him, claiming that he was shot dead for trying to rob a gun while escaping from detention. But we do not accept that. From a legal point of view, the army has committed a crime and we demand to see effective legal action against the perpetrator(s). We will stage public protests if necessary," said Mya Aye. The Committee to Protect Journalists' has also weighed in on the Par Gyi case, with the group's Southeast Asia Representative, Shawn Crispin, releasing a statement on 24 October. "We are gravely concerned by reports that journalist Aung Kyaw Naing has been killed while being held in military custody in Burma. Government authorities must investigate these reports, reveal publicly the circumstances behind his death, and prosecute the perpetrators under the fullest extent of the law," said Crispin. In early October, Par Gyi was buried by the Burmese army in Karen State without informing his family, but after coming under pressure from Par Gyi's family and civil society the police informed Ma Thanda on Sunday that her husband's body would be exhumed so that Par Gyi's family can see the body and a more thorough forensic investigation can take place.

Farmers Association to buy rainy season paddy Posted: 03 Nov 2014 01:11 AM PST The Myanmar Farmers Association (MFA) has pledged to fix a set price for the new harvest, due in early December, at 350,000 kyat (US$350) per 100 baskets* of paddy. Nearly 16 million acres of rice fields are due to be harvested next month, a seasonal task that marks the end of the rainy season. However, with a glut or excess in the market, farmers worry that prices will drop. The MFA has therefore stepped in to guarantee a reasonable return on the farmers' produce, a representative of the Association told DVB. "The MFA plans to buy paddy from all farmers at a rate of 350,000 kyat per hundred baskets, and to preserve a percentage as spare rations for the nation," said MFA Chairman Dr Soe Htun. In addition, the Myanmar Rice Federation and Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation will send local representatives to rice farms to moderate and buy billions of kyats worth of paddy, he said. Soe Htun warned farmers to harvest the paddy systematically and keep it protected from damp, otherwise it would be exempt from purchase. Related Stories Bullet Points: 1 September 2014 BURMA BUSINESS WEEKLY – 29 August 2014 China inspects Burma's rice in advance of trade agreement

Burmese journalists call for govt protection Posted: 02 Nov 2014 11:39 PM PST Burmese journalists took to the streets in Rangoon on Sunday to mark the UN International Day to End Impunity For Crimes Against Journalists. The demonstration was staged to send a message to the Thein Sein government to take active measures to protect reporters within the country. About 100 demonstrators gathered in solidarity in front of Rangoon City Hall wearing black wrist bands to protest what they say is an ongoing repression of media freedom in Burma and the continuing arrest of reporters. Led by the Myanmar Network of Journalists (MNJ), the protestors lit candles and circumambulated Sule Pagoda, praying for the safety of journalists. Myint Kyaw, general secretary of the MNJ, said that journalists are constantly under threat and often criminalised in Burma. He also noted that despite the proclaimed reformist outlook of the Thein Sein government, it remained mum when two journalists were beaten up in Lashio and the perpetrators got away with it. Related Stories Suu Kyi writes to Par Gyi's widow Activist to serve over 13 years behind bars Thein Sein orders investigation into Par Gyi's death MNJ's Shwe Hmong pointed to the cases of journalists from Unity Journal and Bi Mon Te Nay who had been jailed recently for crimes closely associated with news reporting. However, journalists in Burma are not just victims of the government but also the clusters of armed groups and insurgents within the country. "If they [insurgents] go unpunished for their crimes, violence will continue," said Myint Kyaw. The outcry against the murder of journalist Par Gyi by the Burmese army last month is still freshly etched in the minds of the media community at home and abroad. An investigation was called by President Thein Sein as the US embassy urged a transparent probe into the journalist's death. "In the Asia-Pacific last year, a journalist was killed at the rate of one every ten days," said the stated the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in a statement to mark the day of action. "Already in 2014, 33 journalists and media workers have lost their lives including 13 killed in Pakistan alone." Through the social media campaign #whatareyoudoing, journalist communities across Asia aim to hold government leaders and policymakers accountable for crimes against reporters. To raise awareness about the hostile environment of reporting and the numerous lives lost while reporting true stories from the field, IFJ launched a 22-day "End impunity campaign" on Sunday. IFJ Asia-Pacific Acting Director, Jane Worthington, said: "This campaign is reminding the world that journalists do matter. They have families who love them, they are mums and dads, ordinary people; all carrying out the important and increasingly dangerous duty to keep society informed. But for every reporter threatened, for every life extinguished, democracy also suffers the ultimate price."

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The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Burma Police Ordered to Exhume Body of Slain Journalist
• Aung Thaung Blacklisted for Links to Anti-Muslim Violence: Analysts
• Remaining Political Prisoners Committed Other Crimes: Govt
• Suu Kyi to Make First Official Visit China
• 2 Dead, 12 Injured at Taunggyi Balloon Festival
• Thai Police Absent From Inquiry Into Koh Tao Torture Claims
• Among Burma’s Karen Rebels, a House Divided
• What Does the Future Hold for Aung Thaung & Sons?
• UN Resolution Urges Burma to Drop Identity Plan
• Trouble Brewing in South Korea’s Plastic Surgery Paradise
• British Banker Charged With Murder of Two Women in Hong Kong
• Bangladesh Power Back on After Nationwide Blackout

Burma Police Ordered to Exhume Body of Slain Journalist Posted: 03 Nov 2014 07:29 AM PST A photo of killed reporter Aung Kyaw Naing, also known as Par Gyi. (Par Gyi /Facebook) RANGOON — Police in Burma have been ordered to exhume the body of a journalist who was shot dead by the Army last month, the victim’s wife told Reuters on Monday. The incident comes at a sensitive time for Burma as the government prepares to host U.S. President Barack Obama at a regional summit later this month. The U.S. State Department has called for a transparent investigation into the death of the journalist, Par Gyi, a former democracy activist who once worked as a bodyguard for Aung San Suu Kyi. His wife, Than Dar, said police had told her to go on Wednesday to her husband’s burial place at Shwewarchaung Village, in Mon state, but gave her no other details. She said she was unsure if she would be able to arrange for an independent autopsy. "I don’t know anything yet," she said. "But I don’t think they will let me do that." The police have said military representatives, the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, and legal and medical personnel would witness the exhumation, along with police officials. President Thein Sein last week ordered Burma’s National Human Rights Commission to investigate the death, the government said in a statement published in state media. Par Gyi was detained by the Army on Sept. 30 after photographing clashes between the military and the rebel Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and was killed on Oct. 4, the Myanmar-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said. The AAPP has disputed a statement by the military that Par Gyi was shot when he tried to steal a gun from a soldier and escape after being detained because he was a member of an ethnic Karen rebel organization. Than Dar, a prominent women’s activist, denies her husband was a member of any military organization. She says she suspects he died while being tortured, leading the military to bury his body in secret. She urged the government to return the body to the family. "I sent a request letter to bring my husband’s body back to Yangon for a proper cremation," she said. "But I don’t know yet when or if they’ll allow me to do this." The post Burma Police Ordered to Exhume Body of Slain Journalist appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Aung Thaung Blacklisted for Links to Anti-Muslim Violence: Analysts Posted: 03 Nov 2014 06:09 AM PST Aung Thaung (with glasses) sits next to Aung San Suu Kyi at a meeting in Rangoon last year. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — On Friday, the United States Treasury announced it had blacklisted Aung Thaung, a powerful ruling party member, for undermining political reforms and "perpetuating violence." Political commentators and Burma experts said they believe he was put on a US sanctions list on suspicions of supporting the anti-Muslim violence that has rocked Burma in recent years, but they note that the move is mostly meant as a symbolic warning to the government not to slow down the reforms. Aung Thaung, a Lower House member for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), was a general and minister of industry in the former junta. He is seen as a hardliner and he and his sons have used their close connections to former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe to expand their businesses and amass wealth. Bertil Lintner, a veteran journalist and Burma expert, said Washington appeared concerned about Aung Thaung's possible links with the 969 movement, a group of nationalist Buddhist monks that is accused of spreading hate speech against Burma's Muslim minority. "The US seems to believe that he is behind 969. And that the activities of 969 hamper the so-called reform process," Lintner said, before adding that "it's hard to say" whether Aung Thaung is really involved in hindering the reforms. Yan Myo Thein, an independent political commentator, said he believed that the US government would have strong indications of Aung Thaung's involvement with the movement before sanctioning him. "I've no doubt that the US government will have done a detailed investigation about him before they announced the decision, but I wonder why they announced it shortly before Obama's trip to Myanmar," he said. Civil society groups and analysts have said the violence being fanned by movements such as 969 is being used to destabilize Burma's political transition and ratchet up nationalism ahead of the 2015 elections. During the junta-era, outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence were recurrently used to distract Burma's predominantly Buddhist public. Aung Thaung was seen as a leader of the junta's political mass movement, the Union Solidarity and Development Association, and was linked to groups of thugs that carried out attacks on the opposition, including an attack on Aung San Suu Kyi's campaign convoy in 2003 that killed dozens of her followers. Last year, Aung Thaung was seen visiting the monastery of U Wirathu near Mandalay, and one news report suggested that a new Buddhist militia, the Taung Tha, was set up and named after the MP's home town in Mandalay Division. In June 2013, in an interview with The Irrawaddy Aung Thaung denied any involvement with the 969 movement and played down the significance of his visit to the monastery of U Wirathu, the public face of the movement. He also said he supported President Thein Sein's reform agenda. Aung Thaung could not be reached for comment on Monday. U Wirathu said he did not know whether Aung Thaung was involved in orchestrating the anti-Muslim violence. "What he has told me in Mandalay is that he was worried that he was being accused by people of being involved behind the scenes," said the monk, who himself has denied fanning the violence. US Listing Impact on Reforms? It is the second time since Thein Sein's reformist government took office in 2011 that the US has blacklisted a senior government official. Lt-Gen Thein Htay, who heads the military's Directorate of Defense Industries, was put on a US Treasury sanctions list early last year for illicit trade in North Korean arms to Burma. Friday's announcement comes ahead of President Obama's visit to Burma on Nov. 12-13 for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and East Asia summits, which Burma is hosting this year. In recent months, the Obama administration has come under growing criticism from Congress to ensure that Burma's reform process does not stall after Suu Kyi's constitutional reform attempts were blocked by the government and the USDP, while concerns also abound over the treatment of the stateless Rohingya and the Kachin conflict. The US government's decision, which specifically stated that it was targeting Aung Thaung as an individual and "does not designate a government entity," appears to offer a warning to Naypyidaw not to slowdown the reform process while at the same appeasing US critics of Obama's policy on Burma, said Kyaw Lin Oo, executive director of People's Forum Working Group. "Aung Thaung is known as one of the hardliners in the government as well as in Parliament, but there are many others like him. That's why I think … he's being used as a tool in a political game in the US," he said. "But I don't think there will be a big impact on the government, because former lieutenant-general Thein Htay was also sanctioned by the US government and that has had no impact on the government," Kyaw Lin Oo said. Lintner said the blacklisting would probably not damage relations between the Obama administration and the Thein Sein government as the decision was "mostly symbolic." Tom Malinowski, US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told The Irrawaddy that the latest blacklisting served to keep Burma's reform process on track. "[W]e will do everything in our power to help those inside and outside the Burmese government who are trying to build [the reform process]," he said.  "But we are also perfectly aware that there are powerful interests pushing in the opposite direction, and as we’ve always said, we will counter them when necessary." Hla Swe, an Upper House MP with the USDP, accused Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) of asking the White House to blacklist Aung Thaung in order to taint the USDP, a party filled mostly with former junta members. "I see the blacklisting as a blow to the USDP by the US, which has always had a good relationship with the NLD. I condemn the US action against U Aung Thaung. I have to add this is a dirty action by the US," he told The Irrawaddy. NLD Lower House member Win Htein said in a reaction that he did not understand the decision by the US Treasury, adding that he believed that Aung Thaung had been supporting the reform process. "As far as I can tell from speaking with him in Parliament he seems to be softening his stance. As long as he is a politician, he can meet with all sorts of organizations, including the 969 movement," he said. "Aung San Suu Kyi is now doing national reconciliation, why do they [list him] at this moment?" The post Aung Thaung Blacklisted for Links to Anti-Muslim Violence: Analysts appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Remaining Political Prisoners Committed Other Crimes: Govt Posted: 03 Nov 2014 04:48 AM PST Photographs of former political prisoners are seen at an event honoring those who died in custody after being locked up by Burma's military regime. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's government said that 27 political prisoners who remain behind bars despite a request for amnesty by rights groups are still incarcerated for committing other crimes. State-run newspapers defended the government's continued detention of the 27 individuals after the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and Rangoon-based Former Political Prisoners Society (FPPS) reported that there were still 30 political prisoners in confinement. "It was found that three of the prisoners have been released and the remaining 27 prisoners committed other crimes. Their sentences for political activities have been annulled under [an] order of the President's Office dated 30 December 2013," wrote the Global New Light of Myanmar, which listed the alleged crimes of each of the 27 prisoners. The government has asserted that all political prisoners were released at the end of last year, in accordance with a pledge made by President Thein Sein during a monthly radio address to the nation in August 2013. Bo Kyi, joint secretary of AAPP and also a member of a government committee established by Thein Sein last year to assess the cases of the country's remaining political prisoners, said that 30 political prisoners remained in jail after the last 2013 presidential amnesty. "The statement is not complete," Bo Kyi said. "The three who were released since their imprisonment finished were not subject to the amnesty. The other 27 were arrested for politically motivated reasons, and sentenced with other additional alleged criminal charges during the military dictatorship." He said that in the Government-backed Political Prisoners Assessment Committee, there was general agreement that those who were arrested for reasons related to political activity are political prisoners, and the list of outstanding political prisoners was presented according to that criteria. "We can't measure the political prisoners only against what they have been charged with. We need to put the reasons of why they were arrested and their background into consideration," he said. Bo Kyi said that the remaining 27 prisoners include members from ethnic-armed groups and others incarcerated for political reasons. He cited as an example the former Air Force member Chit Ko, who was arrested for contacting the International Labour Organization, as an example of someone who shouldn't have been imprisoned in the first place. While serving as a pilot at the Myeik Airbase Headquarters, Chit Ko sent an email to the ILO asking whether the organization could assist him to leave his unit. As a result he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2012, with a 900 day remission granted earlier this year. "We need to recognize those 27 remaining prisoners which the government has denied are political prisoners," said lawmaker and former political prisoner Sandar Min. "It is not only now—in the past too, it has been usual for authorities to make politically motivated arrests and prosecutions, not only using political charges but also alleged criminal charges," she said. Sandar Min said that the FPPS and AAPP have provided the president with a definition of political prisoners which was formalized from a two-day workshop jointly held by the two organizations in August. The groups are yet to receive any feedback or a response on whether their definition was accepted. "We urgently need to have the definition that both government and political activists agree to," she said. Bo Kyi from AAPP said that the finalized definition from the workshop will be submitted to the parliament. He said that in addition to those political prisoners identified before the reform process, many more have since been jailed. In total, he said, there are 76 political prisoners behind bars at present, including journalists, land rights advocates and activists. Eighty-nine farmers are currently in prison and over 100 activists are facing trial. Since taking office in 2011, Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government has released thousands of political prisoners and last year about 200 prisoners were released in the course of several rounds of presidential amnesties. The post Remaining Political Prisoners Committed Other Crimes: Govt appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Suu Kyi to Make First Official Visit China Posted: 03 Nov 2014 04:43 AM PST Leader of Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, in September 2013. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is set to make her first official visit to China in December, a senior member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) confirmed. Win Htein, an NLD Central Executive Committee member, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the party leader will travel to China next month, though he did not offer any other details about the trip. "All I can say is she will visit China in December," said Win Htein. Suu Kyi's visit will follow closely after US President Barack Obama's second visit to Burma for two major regional summits in Naypyidaw. The Chinese Embassy in Rangoon was not available for comment, but China's Ambassador to Burma Yang Houlan said earlier this year that an invitation from the Chinese government would be forthcoming, given Suu Kyi's popularity in Burma and abroad. Suu Kyi has expressed a willingness to visit Burma's northeastern neighbor, but has insisted that an invitation be extended directly from the Chinese government. She has declined several invitations from semi-official organizations. China has demonstrated new interest in engaging with Burma's opposition leaders since bilateral relations began to chill in recent years. In 2011, President Thein Sein displeased the Chinese government when he suspended the US$3.6 billion Myitsone dam amid widespread public criticism of the project. Suu Kyi was one of the loudest opponents of the project, which is a joint venture between state-owned China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) and the Burmese government. Growing opposition to other Chinese mega-projects in Burma has since led to a new approach in relations between the two countries, which shared strong financial ties while Burma was isolated from the West. The Chinese government has diversified its approach by reaching out not only to authorities but also to opposition leaders and civil society groups. Chinese diplomats have had near-constant discussions with Burma's opposition in the years since the military ceded power to a nominally civilian government in 2011; the NLD has sent more than four delegations to China in the last year upon official invitations, and the Chinese Embassy donated 1 million kyats (US$1,000) to the NLD's National Health Network earlier this year. In December 2013, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended an unprecedented invitation for NLD members to visit the country. A 10-member delegation led by the party's central executive committee members and spokesman Nyan Win accepted the invitation. In February of this year, China's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ai Ping visited the NLD headquarters in Rangoon, becoming the first high-ranking Chinese official to meet with Burma's top opposition officials in more than two decades. As Burma prepares to usher in a flurry of new financial allies from neighboring Asean nations and the West, some analysts speculated the Chinese government could be trying to regain its foothold in the once-closed country. Veteran journalist and Burma expert Bertil Lintner said Chinese officials could be "hedging their bets" in an attempt to befriend future players in Burmese politics. "The Chinese learned a lesson after Myitsone, and they are worried that Burma is moving too close to the Americans," he said. The post Suu Kyi to Make First Official Visit China appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

2 Dead, 12 Injured at Taunggyi Balloon Festival Posted: 03 Nov 2014 04:22 AM PST Organisers of the Taunggyi balloon festival have lamented the lack of safety precautions taken by the crowd in the aftermath of Friday night's deadly accident. (Photo: Feliz Solomon / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Two spectators were killed and at least 12 more sustained serious injuries following a fireworks accident during Taunggyi's famed balloon festival late on Friday night. "Eleven people were admitted to our hospital," said Dr. Paw Tun Oo, medical superintendent at Taunggyi's Sat San Tun General Hospital. "Two men died the next day due to serious burn injuries." Aung Ko Lat, 19, and Khun Hla Sein, 37, both from Taunggyi, died on Sunday afternoon as a result of the incident. Khun Hla Sein was a member of the Khun Tan team, whose balloon caused the fatal incident at the festival during the nightly fireworks competition. According to sources from the hospital, two women are in critical condition, while the seven other admissions are out of danger but still under treatment. Three other injured people were admitted to a private hospital in Taunggyi and their current condition is unknown. A hot air balloon from the Khun Tan team was floated at midnight on Friday as part of the town's famous fire balloon competition, which marks the full moon day of Tazaungdaing. The balloon went up as planned and the team was celebrating their success when the parachute valve at the top of the vessel blew off, causing it to drop suddenly at the same time as the homemade fireworks attached to the balloon's basket frame ignited. Some spectators remained in the path of the descending balloon despite a prior safety warning from the jury members of the competition committee. "The balloon went up for about a hundred feet and fell down right onto the crowd," said Sai Moon, who witnessed the event. "Most of the people shouted out and warned others to run but some failed to do so. They were busy with their mobiles, taking a shot of the falling balloon." Such an incident is a harrowing but sadly familiar feature of the festival, where accidents involving pyrotechnics are common. However, residents of Taunggyi said that the weekend's incident is the worst one in recent memory. "I've never seen such a terrible fire balloon accident in these years, because this incident claimed more victims," said Nyein Chan, 32, a Taunggyi local who witnessed the incident at the festival grounds. "About three people were running while the flames consumed them. We shouted at them to not run but to drop down and roll, but they couldn't hear us because they were running around with fear. The firemen came and helped to extinguish the flames but they looked terrible, and to me it seems they will not survive," he added. The Shan State government is reported by a local freelance journalist to be giving financial assistance to those admitted to hospital, with 50,000 kyats (US$50) each to those with minor burns and 200,000 kyats for those with serious injuries. However, state government spokespeople could not be reached for comment on the incident. Elders and residents of Taunggyi said that spectators must in future listen to the competition committee's warning not to go near the fire balloons, which generally carry around 40 kgs of homemade fireworks, as they are sent skyward. "Such accidents can happen anytime," said Tin Win, the secretary of the balloon competition committee. "The spectators need to heed the warning and take care of themselves by watching for the wind direction to understand where the balloons could go. "In this case, most of the spectators failed to follow our warning. Every year, we have to warn people, including the fire balloon teams, about their safety but only a few listen. If everyone listened and followed the safety rules, such a sad incident would not happen," he added. The post 2 Dead, 12 Injured at Taunggyi Balloon Festival appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai Police Absent From Inquiry Into Koh Tao Torture Claims Posted: 03 Nov 2014 03:40 AM PST Dr. Nirun Pitakwatchara, chairman of Thailand's Human Rights Commission, speaks to reporters in Bangkok on Oct. 29. (Photo: Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy) BANGKOK/CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The chairman of Thailand's Human Rights Commission says Thai police have failed to respond to multiple requests for their participation in an inquiry underway into law enforcement's handling of a double murder on Koh Tao island, which has been pinned on two Burmese migrants. The commission invited police to take questions before the accused's parents at their office in Bangkok on Monday, but Dr. Nirun Pitakwatchara, the chairman of the commission, told reporters at a press conference that police had failed to show up for the second time in less than a week. Out of four meetings that the commission has convened, police have only sent representatives to the first two. Kyaw Thaung, a member of the Burmese Embassy's special team assisting the accused, told The Irrawaddy over the phone that "the chairman of the Thai HRC said he is deeply sorry for the Thai police's lack of cooperation on the case." The Thai Human Rights Commission accepted a petition submitted by the accused's parents last week, in which they ask the commission to look into allegations that the two men were forced into their confessions. The commission is expected to travel to the island where the murders took place this week. The badly beaten bodies of British tourists Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on the beach in Koh Tao in the early hours of Sept. 15. On Monday before the press conference, the Thai HRC spoke with members of the Burmese Embassy's special team and a group of Thai lawyers who are closely assisting the accused, as well as their parents. The accused, Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, both 21, have been detained at Koh Samui prison since early October. The Thai police's handling of the case and allegations of forced confessions and torture have sparked criticism worldwide, raising suspicions that the Burmese migrants were being used as scapegoats. Confirming that the suspects would be given the opportunity to take another DNA test, Thailand Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha said Wednesday that the men would be allowed "to fight the case, however they want." Meanwhile, Zaw Lin has asked for assistance from Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "The two didn't commit the crime, but they were beaten and forced to confess. Zaw Lin has asked Daw Aung San Suu Kyi if she would help seek justice for them if possible," said Moe Wai, the interpreter for the embassy's special delegation dealing with the case. Zaw Lin is a supporter of Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD), according to his Facebook profile. Htoo Chit, executive director of the Thailand-based Foundation for Education and Development (FED), has also called for Suu Kyi's intervention, saying her involvement would help to ensure justice and rule of law for Burmese migrant workers in Thailand. "In our view, the case is not the problem of Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun alone, but it is critically important for the rule of law for millions of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand," Htoo Chit told The Irrawaddy. He said that while President Thein Sein and commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing have met with Thai authorities on behalf of the two accused, Suu Kyi—who chairs the parliamentary committee on rule of law and tranquility—should cooperate with the Thai government to demonstrate to the international community that she is concerned about the plight of Burmese migrant workers. Suu Kyi was welcomed by thousands of Burmese nationals when she visited Bangkok in May 2012. In her speech to the crowd, she promised she would seek to protect the legal rights of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand. The post Thai Police Absent From Inquiry Into Koh Tao Torture Claims appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Among Burma’s Karen Rebels, a House Divided Posted: 03 Nov 2014 03:11 AM PST KNU chairman Mutu Say Poe, left, talks to KNLA chief Gen. Saw Johnny at an ethnic armed organization conference in Lay Wah in January 2014. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy) After more than 60 years of war with the Burmese government, the Karen National Union (KNU) is trying to adapt to the dynamic political environment unfolding in Burma. In the process, cracks are beginning to show within the leadership ranks of Burma's longest-running ethnic rebellion. Central to the split is the rebel group's approach to ongoing government-led peace negotiations. The majority of KNU leaders, led by their chairman Mutu Say Poe, are pro-government, while a sizeable minority led by vice chairwoman Zipporah Sein are not in favor of Naypyidaw's peace program. The cracks have been emerging since the KNU signed an historic ceasefire agreement with the government in January 2012. While the leadership maintains an official silence on the matter, the KNU's internal rifts are an open secret, and several attempts to resolve the disagreements have ended in failure. The latest evidence of the leadership schism has involved the proposed creation of the Kawthoolei Armed Forces (KAF), which would comprise the KNU's armed wings—the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO)—and two breakaway armed groups. The breakaway groups, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and the KNLA-Peace Council, split from the KNU in 1994 and 2007, respectively. The KAF proposal, which was first made last month, led top KNU leaders to gather for an emergency meeting to discuss the issue, with the majority of KNU leaders agreeing only "in principle" to the creation of the KAF. KNU chairman Mutu Say Poe's faction is not satisfied with the KAF, while Lt-Gen Baw Kyaw Heh, vice chief of staff of the KNLA, fully backs the unified fighting force. The DKBA recently held public talks concerning the proposed unification and said it would go ahead with the KAF, but the KNU's official position is that the issue will be tabled until its next congress in 2016. Kwe Htoo Win, general secretary of the KNU, said: "We need to check whether some Karen armed groups took up weapons for business interests or political interests. Some armed groups exist only in name. They don't exist as professional armed groups. They don't follow the rules. So, it will take time to work it out." Divisions have also cropped up within the KNLA-PC, a smaller Karen armed group led by Gen. Htain Maung, who is undecided on whether to join the KAF. The KNLA-PC dismissed its two top officials, Pastor Timothy Laklem and Col. Tiger, a.k.a. Eh Kaw Htoo, after learning that the two were involved in the KAF proposal and signed onto the plan on behalf of the KNLA-PC. Sources within the KNU and the DKBA also said that Pastor Timothy Laklem, a controversial Karen politician, was behind the release of the KAF announcement on Oct. 13, without waiting for approvals from leaders of the respective Karen armed units. The Mutu Say Poe faction that dominates the current KNU leadership also views the move to create the KAF as a potential rival to an existing "Unity Committee" led by KNLA chief of staff Gen. Saw Johnny. At its last congress in 2012, the KNU said that unification of the disparate Karen armed groups was an ultimate aim. "We already have our Unity Committee and they will be working on it [reunification]. We have to reunify them [Karen armed groups] and let them stay under one policy and follow the same regulations," said Kwe Htoo Win. Saw Johnny, who backs Mutu Say Poe's faction, said he believed that the KNU should move quickly with the peace process after decades of armed conflict with the government. The KNU has been waging war with the Burmese government since shortly after the country gained independence from Britain in 1948. When asked about some critics' concern that the peace process is being rushed, Saw Johnny replied: "Actually, it is not moving fast enough. The best way is to negotiate political problems at the table." He added that despite dealing with the Burmese government and its peace program, the KNU still had its reservations about its negotiating partner. "It is like we are still on the battlefield," Saw Johnny told The Irrawaddy in an interview at his house in Lay Wah, the headquarters of the KNU. Not the First Divisions It is not the first time that the Karen and its political leaders have faced disagreement and division. Karen political bodies such as the Karen Central Organization (KCO) and its youth branch, the Karen Youth Organization (KYO), emerged in 1945 to contest Burma's general elections in 1947, the year the Karen National Union (KNU) was founded. Disagreements over who should represent Karen interests in Parliament, however, led to the resignation of several KNU and KCO leaders. After Burma's independence in 1948, the KNU started to wage war against the Burmese government, suffering huge losses of territory that it had held in Insein, Rangoon Division; Taungoo, Pegu Division; Papun in northern Karen State; and Manerplaw on the Thai-Burma border. That last loss was actually due largely to a DKBA offensive against the KNU headquarters in Marnerplaw in 1995, with the Karen splinter group receiving backing from the Burma Army. In 2007, more bloodshed as a result of Karen disunity: the KNLA-PC split from the KNU, leading to assassinations on both sides, including the killing of the late KNU general secretary Padoh Mahn Sha in 2008. As the government steps up its effort to ink a nationwide ceasefire with all of the country's ethnic armed groups, the KNU again finds itself at a crossroads. Saw Lay Mu, a KNU official, described the KNU's current position as "never divided and never united." Despite the stated aim of many Karen leaders to reunify the splintered ethnic group, practical matters like the KAF continue to stand in the way, exacerbated by the various egos and emotions driving decision-making at the highest levels. Talking with sources from the respective Karen armed groups, The Irrawaddy learned that from the senior leadership on down to the soldiers on the ground, the various Karen armed groups are ideologically divided over the government's peace program. Reflecting on past divisions and losses incurred, Saw Johnny once famously said: "It is not because our enemy [Burmese government] is clever. It is because we are not clever." The post Among Burma's Karen Rebels, a House Divided appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

What Does the Future Hold for Aung Thaung & Sons? Posted: 02 Nov 2014 04:05 PM PST Aung Thaung, left, and KIO Chairman Lanyaw Zawng Hkra exchange a document during ceasefire negotiations in China's Yunnan Province on Nov. 29, 2011. (Photo: KIO)3 The United States last week blacklisted Aung Thaung, a man regarded as one of Burma's most controversial lawmakers. A former industry minister under the previous military regime, Aung Thaung today serves as a lawmaker in Parliament's Lower House. His blacklisting comes less than two weeks ahead of Barack Obama's visit to Burma, where the US president will attend the Asean and East Asia summits. In this May 2012 article from The Irrawaddy's archives, we take a closer look at Aung Thaung's notoriety. Reports this week that Lower House MP Aung Thaung, a former general who served as Burma's industry minister in the previous military junta, will no longer head efforts to reach a peace agreement with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) are just the latest twist in the long career of a man regarded by US diplomats as a “notorious hardliner”. According to an anonymous government official quoted by Agence France-Presse, Aung Thaung will not be included in a new Kachin negotiation team that will reportedly be led by President Thein Sein "because of a health condition." Aung Thaung's apparent ouster is similar to the fate of Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo, who reportedly resigned last week, also for health reasons. The move to sideline Aung Thaung from his position as chief of the parliamentary negotiating team, the Union Level Peace Committee, leaves many questions unanswered, including how much influence he still wields and whether more allies of former junta supremo Than Shwe will also be purged from influential positions in the new government. It is also unclear if the shakeup in the negotiating team will actually lead to better relations between the government and the KIO. Burma's army under the leadership of commander in chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has twice over the past six months ignored Thein Sein's public orders to halt the offensive against the KIO—a strong indication that Thein Sein and his allies have little control over the country's armed forces. Aung Thaung, who is widely believed to have profited immensely from corrupt business deals involving firms owned by his sons, is not known for his negotiating skills. A leaked September 2008 US diplomatic cable describe him as a "notorious hardliner" and noted his close relationship with Than Shwe. Over the past six months Aung Thaung led a series of meetings with the KIO in the Chinese city of Ruili—talks that failed to reach any form of agreement to end the 11 month conflict between the army and Burma's second-largest armed ethnic group. Although Aung Thaung's team successfully reached agreements with two relatively small groups, the Shan State Army—North and a breakaway faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, the parliamentary group's failure to make a deal with the KIO stood in sharp contrast with the negotiating team led by Railways Minister Aung Min. Aung Min's team has concluded a flurry of high-profile ceasefire agreements with more than half a dozen groups since early January, when a deal was reached with the Shan State Army—South (SSA-South). The pact with the SSA-South was quickly followed by similar agreements with the Chin National Front, the Karen National Union (KNU) and the New Mon State Party. Aung Min's tentative agreement with the KNU, which brought a pause to one of the world's longest-running conflicts, gained international attention and praise from numerous Western governments. While Aung Min recently traveled to Switzerland and Norway to discuss ways of ending Burma's civil wars, Aung Thaung and his team continued to be largely shunned by Western governments. Although Aung Thaung, Aung Min and Thein Sein all served as senior figures in the notorious State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Aung Thaung has had far more difficulty rehabilitating his image. A key figure in the leadership of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the pro-military group that was later transformed into the similarly named political party currently in power, Aung Thaung is often cited by opposition activists as one of the key architects of the Depayin massacre. This was the infamous May 30, 2003, incident in which a mob of stick-wielding USDA cadres attacked supporters of National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi while she was on a speaking tour in Upper Burma. The coordinated attack left several dozen NLD activists dead, a fate which Suu Kyi herself only narrowly escaped. Although Aung Thaung and the other alleged organizers of the Depayin attack will likely never face trial for their involvement in this horrendous event, his association with one of the more notorious episodes in recent Burmese history is one possible reason that he has met with few international visitors to Burma, in stark contrast with the showering of praise Aung Min has received. The Norwegian government will reportedly spend millions of dollars over the next five years funding ceasefire-related development programs backed by Aung Min in Karen State and other areas of eastern Burma. Reports from Naypyidaw suggest a rivalry between Aung Min and Aung Thaung, though as with many reports from anonymous individuals speaking about the small clique who run Burma, it is difficult to tell how far these tensions actually run and whether this led to Aung Thaung's removal. Nirmal Ghosh, a correspondent for Singapore's Straits Times, wrote on May 3 that "Sources said Mr Aung Thaung has been privately critical of Mr Aung Min for making too many concessions to the ethnic groups." These and other reports that Aung Thaung took a tougher line are hardly surprising given Aung Thaung's role in escalating tensions with the KIO prior to the end of the group's 17-year ceasefire with the central government. During negotiations in early 2010, Aung Thaung and then Communications, Post and Telegraph Minister Thein Zaw gave the KIO until July of that year to join a Border Guard Force under Burmese military command. The decision by the KIO to ignore this deadline led to the 50-year-old organization being declared a terrorist group in state media shortly afterward. Thein Zaw, who has also made the transition from the army to Parliament, currently serves as the second-ranked member of the Union Peace Committee. How Aung Thaung helped his sons become millionaires Aung Thaung served as Burma's Industry Minister (1) from 1997 until the official end of the ruling SPDC last year, a 14-year period in which Burma's industrial sector came to be dominated by a small group of businessman connected to the military leadership, including Aung Thaung's own children. Although they may have not made as much money as billionaire Tay Za, two of Aung Thaung sons, Pyi Aung (also spelled Pye Aung) and Nay Aung are thought to have become multimillionaires using their father's position in Than Shwe's junta to advance their business interests, which include timber, oil, gas, electricity, banking, hotels and construction. The brothers' business empire is based on a series of interconnected firms, most prominently IGE Co Ltd (also listed as International Group of Entrepreneurs and IGE Pte Ltd). According to a company brochure UNOG Pte Ltd, which deals in oil, gas and mining (also UNOG Co Ltd and United National Oil & Gas), is also under the IGE umbrella, as is another firm that deals in timber called MRT Co Ltd. A 2008 diplomatic cable states that Win Aung, owner of the timber company United International, told US diplomats that "IGE is the second largest timber company in Burma, earning more than USD 75 million in 2007." According to the pamphlet, other parts of the IGE group of companies include FCGC Co, which deals in "infrastructure development," and the Hotel Amara in Naypyidaw, where many recent international conferences have been held. Aung Thaung's family also owns United Amara Bank, formed in 2010. During the great asset sell-off that took place at the end of the SPDC regime, IGE gained control of what was previously a state-owned 50 percent stake in three upscale hotels in Rangoon—the famed Strand, the Dusit Inya Lake and the Thammada. Another firm, Aung Yee Phyoe Co (also Aung Yee Phyo), which deals in agricultural products, is also part of the family empire. A US diplomatic cable from 2008 reports that IGE was formed in 1994 and later registered in Singapore in 2001. UNOG, which is also registered in both Burma and Singapore, was created in 2000. The 2008 cable states: "Nay Aung's best friend, Win Kyaing, is the Managing Director of IGE Co. and UNOG Co." Recent reports in Burmese state-controlled media suggest that four years later, Win Kyaing remains managing director with IGE while his friend Nay Aung continues to serve as the chairman of both IGE and UNOG. In January of this year, the New Light of Myanmar listed a woman named Thazin Aung as the managing director of UNOG. The revealing US diplomatic cable goes on to describe both of Aung Thaung's sons as being "close to Senior General Than Shwe, who allegedly regards them as family." The cable quotes a Rangoon-based businessman as stating that both men "use their family connections and close ties to the regime to amass great wealth." In addition to being the son of Aung Thaung, Pyi Aung is married to Nandar Aye, the daughter of Gen Maung Aye, who for many years was the second-highest ranking member of the SPDC. A US diplomatic cable dated June 2009 suggested that Maung Aye preferred his son-in-law over Tay Za when handing out lucrative business deals. The 2009 cable cites another Rangoon businessman who told US diplomats that the Joint Chief of Staff Gen Shwe Mann and Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye were favoring Nay Aung, Zaw Zaw (head of Max Myanmar) and Aung Thet Mann (Shwe Mann's son) "for new projects and licenses in return for their 'assistance.'" The leaked 2008 cable also reports that IGE "was one of eight companies to construct buildings in Nay Pyi Taw. In addition to building several government housing complexes in the capital, the company built IGE Hotel [now Hotel Amara], a four-star hotel with thirty bungalows. As with other construction companies, the GOB [Government of Burma] did not pay IGE for its services, instead providing it with 15 vehicle import licenses, worth USD 200,000 each." According to business sources in Burma who spoke to The Irrawaddy last year, in early January 2011, IGE received an official permit from the government's Trade Policy Council (TPC) to import pipeline material to be used for the Shwe pipeline project which will send fuel from the Arakanese coast to China's Yunnan Province, literally cutting Burma in half. The billion-dollar project's twin oil and gas pipelines will be operated by a consortium led by the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC). The route of the pipelines goes through a lengthy strip of northern Shan State controlled by the KIO, where heavy fighting is reportedly continuing between the group's armed wing and Burma's military. It is unknown if IGE's involvement in the pipeline was a topic of discussion during the KIO's negotiations with Aung Thaung. IGE and UNOG may not major be players in Burma's oil industry, however the Aung Thaung family empire is in a good position to receive a percentage of the lucrative royalties that will flow if the oil and gas blocks UNOG co-owns become operational. In April 2012, UNOG and Petronas Carigali, the exploration and production arm of Malaysia's state-owned energy firm, obtained the rights for two onshore blocks, RSF-2 and RSF-3. In 2010, Petrnoas Carigali and UNOG reached a similar deal for the rights to offshore blocks in the Gulf of Martaban, MD-4, MD-5 and MD-6. UNOG also currently co-owns the rights to the M1 offshore block with another foreign firm. Norwegian firm ignored sanctions targeting Aung Thaung's kids In May and June 2011 Norwegian firm Seadrill conducted drilling work in the M1 offshore block despite the fact that the block's co-owners, Aung Thaung's sons, were subject to EU sanctions. Though Norway is not in the EU, Oslo officially adopted the EU's Burma sanctions, which were in effect until last month. Despite the notorious reputation of Aung Thaung and his sons, Seadrill did not appear to be concerned about being associated with them. The New Light of Myanmar reported that Seadrill staff attended a June 1, 2011, ceremony that was held on Seadrill's West Juno drilling rig to mark the beginning of drilling at the M1 block's test well, Shwepyitan No. 1. Left unreported in state media was any mention of the fact that the M1 block is located in the ecologically sensitive Irrawaddy delta, home to the increasingly rare Irrawaddy dolphin. In March 2007, the New Light of Myanmar reported that UNOG Pte Ltd had teamed up with Rimbunan Petrogas (also known as RH Petrogas), a British Virgin Islands-registered firm to sign a production-sharing agreement with MOGE. According to Burma's paper of record "MOGE and the two companies will explore, drill and produce oil and natural gas at M-1 block in Mottama offshore." Leaked US diplomatic cables state that the agreement signed in 2007 gave UNOG and their partner firm the rights to M1 for thirty years. An August 2011 report produced by MOGE continues to list UNOG as co-owner of the M1 offshore block with its partner, Rimbunan Petrogas. Seadrill's regulatory filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suggest that Rimbunan Petrogas was the lead operator in the venture between the Malaysian-owned firm and UNOG, a technicality that may have legally allowed Seadrill to circumvent restrictions on doing business with Aung Thang's blacklisted progeny. Seadrill's 6 K filing dated August 2011 shows that West Juno was hired by Rimbunan Petrogas for a one-month contract beginning in May 11, 2011, at a day rate of US $124,500, a slight reduction from the $129,500 rate Seadrill received from Thailand's PTTEP for a four-month drilling contract in Burmese waters from Jan. 11 to May 11, 2011. The reputation of the Malaysian timber and media tycoon behind Rimbunan Petrogas is not much better than the family behind UNOG. While registered in the British Virgin Islands, Rimbunan Petrogas is part of Tiong Hiew King's Rimbunan Hijau Group. The ethnic Chinese billionaire has come under repeated scrutiny from international environmental groups concerned about his companies' destructive timber practices in Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, both places where Tiong Hiew King uses his substantial ownership in the local media to advance his firm's interests, a practice that has earned him comparisons with Rupert Murdoch. Greenpeace has described the 75-year-old Tiong Hiew King as operating a "global logging empire" that is "responsible for the destruction of huge swathes of pristine rainforest in Southeast Asia." Offshore gas rules bent for Aung Thaung's sons Another US government cable dated June 5, 2009, describes how in late 2008 IGE was able to keep its partial ownership of potentially lucrative offshore gas exploration block A5 after the firm's Malaysian partners Rimbunan Petrogas opted to pull out from the block. According to the cable, under rules put in place by MOGE, when Rinmbunan Petrogas withdrew from the exploration block, MOGE should have made it available for auction again. Instead, it held on to the block and in early 2009 entered into an agreement with Indian's Reliance Industries to develop it. In April 2011 this block was taken over by Korea-Myanmar Development Co Ltd and Brilliant Oil Corporation Pte, a Singaporean firm controlled by Silver Wave Energy chief Minn Minn Oung, an individual described in a US cable as a front man for infamous regime crony Tay Za. IGE involved in log export scam Leaked US diplomatic cables from September 2008 reveal that IGE benefited from a blatantly corrupt practice in which the state-owned Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) "pre-sells uncut timber to well-connected Burmese companies at below-market prices." MTE has an official monopoly on the exporting of logs but the cronies, including IGE, were able to twist this to suit their own needs. According to the US cable, IGE along with other crony-controlled firms, including Tay Za's Htoo Trading, Win Aung's Dagon Timber and Tin Win's Tin Wun Tun Company, used "their connections to ensure they received the best quality timber, and often felled them in place of MTE." The cable said that IGE and the other firms "exported all logs under MTE's name" and went on to report that firms in fact received the entire profit from the sale of the logs. According to the cable, the "companies, like others in the industry, exported all logs under MTE's name, but in their case MTE did not take a percentage cut." In another cable from June 2009, a former senior official from the Ministry of Forestry told US embassy staff that although the government had given Htoo Trading and IGE Co Ltd permits to engage in reforestation programs, both firms were using the permits as an excuse to build plantations. The cable noted that according to the official, "instead of promoting reforestation, these companies [Htoo Trading and IGE] are instead using the land for teak plantations, which he argues is not reforestation. The objective of these plantations, he noted, is to grow teak for future export." The post What Does the Future Hold for Aung Thaung & Sons? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

UN Resolution Urges Burma to Drop Identity Plan Posted: 02 Nov 2014 10:26 PM PST Rohingya Muslims gather together at a traditional wrestling festival at Kyaukpannu village in Maungdaw, northern Arakan State, on June 6, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) UNITED NATIONS — A new UN draft resolution takes aim at Burma's aggressive campaign to have its Rohingya Muslims identify as a term they reject, urging "access to full citizenship on an equal basis." The European Union-drafted resolution, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, is one piece of international pressure on the Southeast Asian country to change its campaign, preferably before world leaders including US President Barack Obama arrive for a regional summit in less than two weeks. Burma's 1.3 million Rohingya have emerged as a sensitive issue as Burma, a predominantly Buddhist state, tries to move away from decades of repressive military rule toward democracy. The Rohingya have been denied citizenship and have almost no rights. Attacks by Buddhist mobs have left hundreds dead and 140,000 trapped in camps. Others are fleeing the country. Authorities want to officially categorize the Rohingya as "Bengalis," implying they are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. The Rohingya counter that many of their families have been in Burma for generations. Effectively stateless, they are wanted by neither country and say the Burmese government's campaign feels like an effort to have them systematically erased. The vast majority of Rohingya live in the state of Arakan. President Thein Sein, a former general, is considering a "Rakhine [Arakan] Action Plan" that would make people who identify themselves as Rohingya not only ineligible for citizenship but candidates for detainment and possible deportation. The resolution now before the General Assembly's human rights committee is nonbinding, but a strong vote in its support would send a message that international opinion is not on Burma's side. A Burmese diplomat assigned to that committee, reached by telephone Friday for comment, said, "It's too early to say." The resolution expresses "serious concern" about the Rohingya's status. It calls on the government to "allow freedom of movement and equal access to full citizenship for the Rohingya minority" and to "allow self-identification." Burma's plan worries some in the Muslim world, and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation pushed for strong language in the resolution. This week, Burma's ambassador to the United Nations, Tim Kyaw, told the General Assembly's human rights committee that his country is not "targeting a religion." He warned that "insisting on the right to self-identification will only impose obstacles to finding a lasting solution" to ethnic tensions. Vijay Nambiar, the UN secretary-general's special adviser on Burma, told The Associated Press this week that Burma's government is facing increasing pressure to allow the Rohingya to identify as something other than Rohingya or Bengali. But, Nambiar said, "In the immediate future, the government says that's not possible." The post UN Resolution Urges Burma to Drop Identity Plan appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Trouble Brewing in South Korea’s Plastic Surgery Paradise Posted: 02 Nov 2014 10:18 PM PST Kim Bok-soon stands on a street as she waits for a social worker outside her home in Seoul on Oct. 14, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) SEOUL — Kim Bok-soon disliked her nose and fantasized about getting it fixed after learning of the Korean superstition that an upturned nose makes it harder to hold on to riches. While waiting in a hair salon, she saw a magazine advertisement for a plastic surgery clinic and decided to go for it, despite her family's objections. In South Korea, where physical perfection is seen as a way to improve the quality of life, including job and marriage prospects, plastic surgery procedures can seem as commonplace as haircuts. Kim's doctor said he could turn her into a celebrity lookalike, and Kim decided to take the plunge, taking loans and spending 30 million won (US$28,000) for 15 surgeries on her face over the course of a day. When the bandages came off and she looked in the mirror, she knew something had gone horribly wrong. Only later did Kim find out her doctor was not a plastic surgery specialist. Five years later, Kim struggles with an array of medical problems, and is unable to close her eyes or stop her nose from running. The 49-year-old divorcee said she was unemployed and suffers from depression. "It is so horrible that people can't look at my face," Kim, crying, said in her tiny one-room Seoul flat filled with photographs from before and after the surgeries. "This is not a human face. It is more revolting than monsters or aliens." A record from the Seoul central district court shows that Kim's doctor faces a pending criminal case on charges of violating medical law. The case began in 2009 after several patients including Kim reported him to the authorities. The doctor's lawyer turned down Reuters' request for an interview. The boom in South Korea's $5 billion plastic surgery industry—that's a quarter of the global market according to the country's antitrust watchdog—is facing a backlash, with formal complaints about botched procedures and dodgy doctors doubling in 2013 from a year earlier. Some plastic surgeons say safety fears could stifle the country's nascent but fast-growing market for medical tourism, especially from China. Complaints range from unqualified doctors to overly aggressive marketing to "ghost doctors," who stand in for more qualified doctors and perform surgeries on unwitting, anaesthetized patients. Cha Sang-myun, chairman of the Korean Association of Plastic Surgeons, which represents 1,500 plastic surgeons, is worried about their reputation. Cha and some lawmakers are among those calling for tighter supervision and stricter advertising rules. "We've got to clean ourselves up," Cha said at his clinic in Seoul's high-end Gangnam district, which is filled with plastic surgery clinics. "Now, patients from China are coming in the name of plastic surgery tourism but if things go on like this, I don't think they will come in the next few years," he said. In a notorious case last December, a high school student ended up in a coma after surgeries to fix her nose and get a "double-eyelid," a procedure that makes the eyes look bigger. Cha's group looked into the incident and found the hospital that performed the surgery hired such ghost doctors, and referred the case to prosecutors. It is still under investigation by prosecutors and nobody has been indicted, an official at the association said. Critics blame lax regulation, excessive advertising and society's obsession with appearance for fueling an industry run amok. South Korea is home to more than 4,000 plastic surgery clinics and has the world's highest rate of cosmetic procedures—13 for every 1,000 people in a population of 49 million—according to government data. The boom is gaining steam, fueled by tourism, with the number of visiting Chinese patients tripling between 2011 and 2013, government data shows. "Advertising too much has made people think surgeries are a commodity. People now think plastic surgeries are like buying stuff somewhere," said Cha, who has performed plastic surgeries for more than two decades. "But plastic surgery is a surgery too, which can risk your life," he said. A Miss Korea contestant in the 1980s underwent breast augmentation in 2008 in the hope that it would boost her chances of finding a husband. Park, 50, who is divorced and gave only her surname, ended up going to the same doctor as Kim. Due to a series of post-surgical infections, her right breast ended up half the size of the left. "I regret it so much that I tried to kill myself twice," she said. "Plastic surgeries are like an addiction. If you do the eyes, you want to do the nose. And doctors don't say 'you are beautiful enough,' but get people to do more." The post Trouble Brewing in South Korea's Plastic Surgery Paradise appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

British Banker Charged With Murder of Two Women in Hong Kong Posted: 02 Nov 2014 09:55 PM PST Rurik Jutting, right, a 29-year-old British banker who has been charged with two counts of murder, sits in a police van as it arrives at a court in Hong Kong in this Nov. 3, 2014, still image provided by Reuters TV. (Photo: Reuters) HONG KONG — A 29-year-old British banker appeared in a Hong Kong court on Monday charged with two counts of murder after police found the bodies of two women in his apartment, including one inside a suitcase on a balcony. Rurik George Caton Jutting, looking stony-faced and unshaven and wearing a black T-shirt and dark-rimmed glasses, said he understood both charges. The brief hearing was adjourned until Nov. 10, without Jutting entering a plea. Jutting was arrested in the early hours of Saturday at his apartment in Wan Chai, a central city district known for its vibrant night life. A charge sheet read out in court said the woman whose body was found in the suitcase had been killed on Oct. 27. The second woman was killed on Nov. 1, the document said, without saying how they were killed. A spokesman for Bank of America Merrill Lynch told Reuters on Sunday that the US bank had, until recently, an employee with the same name as Jutting's. Bank of America Merrill Lynch would not give more details nor clarify when Jutting had left the bank. It did not respond to a request for further comment on Monday. Media described the two victims as prostitutes and said both had neck injuries, adding one was nearly decapitated. One of the women was Indonesian, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported. The grisly murders have shocked Hong Kong, a city with a low homicide rate. While one of the victims had been put in the suitcase on the balcony, the other had been found lying inside the apartment with wounds to her neck and buttocks, police have previously said. Jutting had called police and asked them to investigate the case, police have said. Britain's Foreign Office in London said on Saturday a British national had been arrested in Hong Kong, without specifying the nature of any suspected crime. A LinkedIn account under Jutting's name said he had worked in structured equity finance and trading at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong since July 2013. Before that, he had worked in the same department but in London. The profile also said Jutting had worked in structured capital markets at Barclays between June 2008 and July 2010 and had studied at Cambridge University. A spokesman for Barclays in Hong Kong said the bank was not immediately able to confirm if Jutting had worked for them in London. The apartment where the bodies were found is on the 31st floor in a building popular with financial professionals, where average rents are about HK$30,000 (nearly US$4,000) a month. "It's very shocking because we never expected something like this to happen in Hong Kong, especially in the same building that I'm living in," said banker Mina Liu. Another woman who lives down the corridor from the flat where the bodies were found said she had seldom seen anyone come and go from the apartment. Wan Chai has been a popular haunt for foreign navies on rest and recreation over the decades. There were 14 homicides in Hong Kong, a city of seven million people, between January and June, down from 56 in the same period last year, according to government crime statistics. In one of Hong Kong's most talked-about killings, the so-called "milkshake murder," a Merrill Lynch banker was clubbed to death in 2003 by his wife, who drugged him beforehand by serving him a milkshake full of sleeping pills. The post British Banker Charged With Murder of Two Women in Hong Kong appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Bangladesh Power Back on After Nationwide Blackout Posted: 02 Nov 2014 09:48 PM PST Crows perch on power lines in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Photo: Reuters) DHAKA, Bangladesh — Power was back on across Bangladesh on Sunday, a day after the impoverished, energy-starved nation was plunged into a nationwide blackout when the transmission line from neighboring India failed, officials said. The country's energy grid was fully restored, and any further problems that may arise would be for "local reasons," Junior Power Minister Nasrul Hamid told reporters. The blackout was Bangladesh's most severe since a 2007 cyclone knocked out the national grid for several hours, and once again exposed inefficient and dated infrastructure that has held back development in the South Asian nation. Hamid would not say what exactly had caused the blackout, which hit the country around noon Saturday after what some power officials described as a "technical glitch" in the transmission line that caused a cascade of failures throughout the national power grid, with power plants and substations shutting down automatically. For a power grid to work, electricity must be supplied constantly at a rate equal to demand. "An investigation has been ordered. It could be misleading to talk before getting the findings," Hamid said. Government officials offered some possible causes. One suggested a Bangladesh substation link to the Indian transmission line may have failed. Two others said there was an unexpected dip in the Indian supply, which at the time accounted for nearly 10 percent of the grid's 5,000-megawatt load. The three spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. "It was really worrying. The government should find out soon what happened, why it happened," Dhaka schoolteacher Rukhsana Begum said. "Our inefficiency? Bad network? Whatever, it should be unearthed to avoid future disaster." After an evening spent in the dark, most residents of the capital, Dhaka—a city of more than 10 million people—got electricity back by 1 a.m. Sunday, said Mohammad Nasir Uddin, a control room official for the Dhaka Power Distribution Co. Power was fully restored to all parts of Dhaka and the rest of the country by noon. Power outages blamed on old grid infrastructure and poor management are common in Bangladesh, and many businesses and residents keep diesel-powered generators for a backup supply. Saturday's blackout did not affect operations at the international airport and major hospitals in Dhaka. But many offices normally open on Saturdays had to send their employees home, underlining how the country's energy woes have hampered economic development. The World Bank estimates that power outages cost Bangladesh at least 5.5 percent in lost business revenue last year. "It was unprecedented. I have never seen any such situation in my life," said Dhaka grocery store owner Abdullah Rana, who had to turn away many customers searching desperately for candles after he ran out of supplies. "It's good that we have got it back finally," he said. Bangladesh is considered one of the most energy-poor nations, with one of the lowest per capita electricity consumption rates in the world. More than a third of its 166 million people still have no access to electricity, and often the country can produce only some of its meager 11,500-megawatt generation capacity. Meanwhile, no nation has ever raised its gross domestic product without simultaneously increasing its electricity consumption. With a GDP of just US$130 billion, or less than a tenth the market capitalization of the Bombay Stock Exchange in India, Bangladesh has been trying to improve its energy situation by extending access to more customers and signing deals with energy companies in Russia, Japan, China and the United States for power plants and infrastructure. The country last year began importing electricity from India through the 400-kilovolt transmission line, which runs from Baharampur in the Indian state of West Bengal to the town of Bheramara in southwestern Bangladesh. The post Bangladesh Power Back on After Nationwide Blackout appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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