The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Record Foreign Direct Investment Smashes Government Forecasts
• US Rights Envoy Warns of ‘Dangerous Intolerance’
• Former NLD Official Apologizes to Clergy, Remains in Detention
• Mandalay Farmers, Monks, Students Call for Constitutional Reform, Land Rights Protection
• Photo Of the Week (16.01.2015)
• Four Injured in Hpakant Police Station Bombing
• Thailand to Recognize ‘Third Gender’ in New Constitution: Panel
• Refugees on Thai Border to Undergo Verification Process
• Chinese Police Net Over 60,000 People in Drug Sweep
• Pope Tells Philippines Leaders to End Corruption, Hear Cries of the Poor
• Former Screen Star Talks Acting And Activism

Record Foreign Direct Investment Smashes Government Forecasts Posted: 16 Jan 2015 04:33 AM PST Foreign direct investment in the last nine months has almost doubled inflows from the 2013-14 fiscal year. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Foreign direct investment in Burma is continuing at a staggering pace, hitting more than US$6 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, according to figures from the Myanmar Investment Commission. From April to the end of December last year, 25 countries spent $6.62 billion on foreign direct investment (FDI), well above the commission's US$4-5 billion estimates for the year to April 2015 and almost doubling the US$3.5 billion total inflows of the 2013-14 fiscal year. Singapore-listed companies comprised more than half of the investment volume with a combined total of US$3.8 billion, reflecting an apparent trend of managing local projects remotely from the investment haven, particularly for oil and gas projects. Dr Maung Maung Lay, vice chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers and Commerce Industry, said that many international firms had routed their FDI spend through their Singapore offices. "As far as I know China still tops the FDI list," he said. "The Myanmar Investment Commission shows that Singapore based companies are topping the list, but this isn't a reflection only of Singaporean investments. Most international companies are based there." Dr Maung Maung Lay disputed suggestions that the large volume of investment money channeled through Singapore was partially the result of attempts to bypass remaining economic sanctions against Burma. "It's not because of US sanctions. The US government has eased sanctions in recent years. I expect there will be many US and European companies investing here after the general election later this year," he said. In line with government expectations, foreign investment in Burma's telecommunications sector topped the list, accounting for 20 percent of the total, followed by manufacturing. The tourism industry placed third with a recent expansion of international hotel chains into the country. Aung Naing Oo, director-general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, said that strong growth in foreign direct investment was likely to continue on the back of several large international firms gearing up for expansion into the local market. "Some major investors are still waiting to invest in Burma but some are coming in, for example Nestle, Coca-Cola, Unilever and Pepsi. Other multinational companies are still doing surveys," he said. Pyi Wa Tun, chairman of the Parami Energy group of companies, cautioned that foreign direct investment in Burma needed more focus on generating local prosperity. "The government has approved almost all proposals from foreign companies that say they will provide local jobs, but what we have to consider is how our country can generate profits from these investments," he said. "These investments should work with local small and medium enterprises, rather than just granting job opportunities on their own terms." According to the Myanmar Investment Commission's figures, among the other significant FDI contributors were firms based in the United Kingdom ($563 million), Hong Kong (US$455 million), the Netherlands ($302 million), China ($256 mllion), India ($208 million) and South Korea ($150 million). The post Record Foreign Direct Investment Smashes Government Forecasts appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US Rights Envoy Warns of ‘Dangerous Intolerance’ Posted: 16 Jan 2015 04:27 AM PST Tom Malinowski, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, is visiting Burma this week. (Photo: State Department) RANGOON — A high-level delegation of US officials on Thursday concluded a two-day US-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue, the second iteration of what could become a regular affair between the US State Department and the Burmese government in efforts to smooth the edges of a once-rougher regime. Speaking to reporters in Rangoon on Friday, US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski said that while the discussions were "extremely constructive," issues such as ethnic and religious intolerance pose an urgent threat to creating a stable democracy in Burma. "The use of religion in particular to divide people, whether it is done for political or other purposes, is incredibly dangerous," Malinowski warned, emphasizing that religious extremism could have severe consequences particularly in an election year. Malinowski led the senior delegation, which included Lt-Gen Anthony Crutchfield, deputy commander of the US Pacific Command, on his second visit to the country since the United States began limited military cooperation with the Burma Army. Envoys representing departments of religious and refugee affairs were also among the convoy that coursed the country meeting civil society, military and government actors. Following a visit to the Kachin State capital Myitkyina and workshops with women, ethnic and mainstream rights activists in Rangoon, the delegation headed to Naypyidaw for closed-door talks with Union ministers about the nation's most pressing human rights concerns, including land policy, the rights of ethnic minorities and the role of the military. The most urgent concern, he said, was ethnic and religious intolerance being used to divide communities, particularly in Arakan State, where more than 1 million Rohingya Muslims remain stateless and vulnerable. Malinowski urged the government to allow unfettered humanitarian access to internally displaced persons (IDPs),revise a plan that in its current form would either confine Rohingya to camps or risk deportation,, and ultimately create a non-discriminatory path to citizenship. Regarding the Burmese government's handling of Rohingya statelessness, who bore the brunt of ethno-religious riots in mid-2012 and still face extreme disenfranchisement and often abuse by their Arakanese Buddhist neighbors, Malinowski said that, "I personally don't view this as a question that has been resolved." While ethnic and religious intolerance dominated much of Friday's briefing, Malinowski detailed a list of ongoing human rights concerns that arose from discussions with activists and other stakeholders during the delegation's visit. Concerns about land policy, political detention and the right to peaceful assembly were shared across ethnic and religious boundaries, according to several activists who met with the delegation earlier this week. Malinowski was appointed in April 2014 after 13 years as the Washington director of Human Rights Watch (HRW). His former colleague, HRW senior researcher on Burma David Mathieson, referred to him as "one of the founding fathers of US policy on Burma," remarking that under his tenure the State Department has shown a sincere commitment to rights in Burma. The State Department's engagement with Burma has rapidly accelerated in recent years; full diplomatic relations were restored in 2012, economic sanctions were eased in 2013, and Malinowski announced during his last visit in mid-2014 that the US military was ready to begin "cautious engagement" with the Burma Army. Engagement with Burma's notorious military has been a frequent point of criticism among civil society, according to Salai Za Uk, director of the Chin Human Rights Organization, who attended a conference with ethnic activists hosted by the State Department earlier this week. While US law places explicit parameters on military-to-military cooperation, many activists still think the move is premature. "If it's all about teaching the Geneva Conventions, that's OK," said Za Uk, "but the mere fact that [the United States] is engaging with the Burma Army might embolden them." This week's conference came in the wake of a recent state visit by US President Barack Obama that was both preceded and followed by dark marks on an already blackened military record. Less than two weeks before Obama's arrival, a leading Harvard-based legal clinic published research implicating Burma's home affairs minister and two other officials of war crimes linked to an offensive against the ethnic Karen minority less than a decade ago. Not a week after the president left Burma, the army fired several rounds of artillery onto a rebel training facility in Kachin State, killing 23 cadets and injuring more than a dozen more. Malinowski conceded that while progress on human rights in Burma has proven to be a long and still precarious process, "three years ago we could not have done this." The post US Rights Envoy Warns of 'Dangerous Intolerance' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Former NLD Official Apologizes to Clergy, Remains in Detention Posted: 16 Jan 2015 04:21 AM PST Htin Lin Oo apologizes to the Chaung-U Township Sangha on Thursday. (Photo: Facebook) RANGOON — Facing a hefty prison term, a contrite Htin Lin Oo offered a public apology to Buddhist monks on Thursday, a gesture of reconciliation accepted by the local clergy that has nonetheless failed to halt the author's prosecution on religious offence charges. Htin Lin Oo's meeting with monks in Sagaing Division's Chaung-U Township came immediately after the renowned columnist and former National League for Democracy (NLD) information officer had his fifth application for bail denied by the local court, according to defense lawyer Thein Than Oo. "The case depends on the complainant as to whether it will continue or not," Thein Than Oo told The Irrawaddy. "It will prove who really wants to prosecute him, since the monks have now forgiven him." Htin Lin Oo met with including the head of the local Sangha and around 30 other monks at the Dhamma Hall of the Chaung-U police station after his Thursday court appearance, apologizing for a speech presented during a literary event in October in which he criticized religious nationalism in Burma. An excerpt of Htin Lin Oo's speech was widely shared over social media, leading to condemnation from nationalist monks and his dismissal from the NLD information officer position after an internal investigation. The author was denied bail at his first court appearance in Dec. 17 and has been in custody ever since. Tun Khaing, the officer from the township immigration office who filed the initial lawsuit at the local clergy's request, said he had no intention of withdrawing the charges. "Monks in Chaung-U accepted his apology, but I believe it is not relevant to the prosecution," he said. "According to my personal view, the case concerns all monks and all members of the public who are members of the religion he disgraced." Saw Sandar, Htin Lin Oo's wife, said that the case was opened at the request of the Chaung-U Sangha, and she hoped the monks would ask for the charges to be withdrawn after accepting his apology, adding that the excerpt of his speech shown over social media had led to his words being taken wildly out of context. "Those who listen to his full speech will know what he wanted to say, but those who just watched the excerpt of the video will not understand," she said. Htin Lin Oo has been charged under the Penal Code's Article 295a, which prohibits "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings", and Article 298, which proscribes "uttering words [...] with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings". Both charges are punishable by fines or jail terms of up to two years for the former and one year for the latter. The post Former NLD Official Apologizes to Clergy, Remains in Detention appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mandalay Farmers, Monks, Students Call for Constitutional Reform, Land Rights Protection Posted: 16 Jan 2015 04:02 AM PST Participants at a rally in Mandalay Friday listen to speeches calling for democratic reforms and better land rights protection. (Photo: Teza Hlaing) MANDALAY — About 1,000 farmers, students, labourers, Buddhist monks and community leaders gathered in Mandalay on Friday to call for better protection of land rights, democratic reforms and abolishment of Burma's military-drafted Constitution. At a five-hour rally next to U Pwar Pagoda, senior monks, farmers' representatives and student leaders took turns to give speeches demanding broad political reforms from President Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government. "Most of the problems [in Burma] are because of the bad government who do not want to serve its people. The bad government come up with the 2008 Constitution, which is why it is important to abolish it," said Sayardaw U Thawbita, a Mandalay-based member of the Saffron Revolution Buddhist Monks Network. "We want to urge the government to listen to the voices of its people and take action to fulfil the needs of the country and citizens," he added. The 2008 Constitution grants the military significant political power, including direct control over a quarter of Parliament, and prevents popular opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president because her sons are UK nationals. Organizations involved in the rally included Movement of Democracy Current Force, the Facilitator Network with Farmers and Labours and the Ba Ka Tha Student Union. U Arriyawuntha, an abbot from Myawaddy Mingyi Monastery, alleged that the government had purposely failed to prevent inter-communal violence between Burma's Buddhists and the Muslim minority, which rocked parts of the country in recent years. "Since military rule, they created such communal violence intentionally to divert the anger of the citizens and to maintain their power," he said. "We also want to tell the people that we must understand this, and we must be alert to stop such violence, which threatens the stability of the county." In a joint statement distributed at the rally the organizations called for a new charter, better protection of land rights, labour rights and an independent education system. The groups said they were sending their demands to Parliament, the president and foreign embassies. They also called for greater public involved in their cause and said more rallies would be held in the near future. A particular focus of the activists' anger was the China-backed Letpadaung copper mine, where recent farmers' protests against land seizures led to a violent confrontation with the police, who shot and killed a farmer named Khin Win. Her daughter, named Win Khin, addressed the event on Friday. "We are only working on our land as planting crop is the only livelihood we know. My mother was shot dead because of this project, which is why we call for an end to this project. If the project is still exists we're afraid, there will be more cases like my mother's," she said. The post Mandalay Farmers, Monks, Students Call for Constitutional Reform, Land Rights Protection appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Photo Of the Week (16.01.2015) Posted: 16 Jan 2015 03:25 AM PST The post Photo Of the Week (16.01.2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Four Injured in Hpakant Police Station Bombing Posted: 16 Jan 2015 12:16 AM PST A sign welcomes visitors to Lone Kin village in Kachin State. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) A drive-by bombing at a police station in Hpakant Township injured four civilians on Thursday in the latest violence to hit troubled Kachin State in northern Burma. The blast, at around 6 pm on Thursday, injured four family members of a police official at the station in Lone Kin village. No police officers were hurt in the attack, according to sources at the police station. "A [unknown] motorcyclist threw the explosive into our station from the road," Tin Ko Ko, an official at the Lone Kin station, told The Irrawaddy on Friday. "At that time, family members of a police officer were staying at the station. The bomb went off and hurt four people. They were hit in the stomachs and legs." The victims of the attack—Nang Hseng, Ma Htet, Pon Sar and Pon Ti Aung, all between the ages of 20 and 50—were treated at a hospital in the town of Hpakant, the official said. It was not immediately clear whether the incident is linked to recent hostilities between the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burma Army. An investigation is being carried out by the local police force in Lone Kin, and all government offices and police stations in the Hpakant region have been instructed to be on alert for possible additional attacks. "It is not good to attack us in a lawlessness way. We are trying to track down the criminal," said Tin Ko Ko. On Thursday, intense fighting took place near the villages of Aung Bar Lay and Tagaung in Hpakant Township, a jade-rich region about 50 miles northwest of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina. The clashes forced about 1,000 civilians to flee the area, with the displaced sheltering at local churches. Tensions between the Burma Army and the KIA have been mounting since KIA troops arrested three Burmese police officers and briefly detained Kaman Du Naw, the Kachin State transportation minister, on Wednesday. The minister was released later the same day, but the three police officers are still being held by the KIA. The KIA is one of two major ethnic armed groups that lack a bilateral ceasefire with the government. Prior to this week's clashes, the latest and most deadly incident in years saw the Burma Army shell a rebel training academy outside Myitkyina in November, killing 22 cadets. The fighting in Kachin State comes even as ethnic rebel leaders and the government negotiate to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement next month. The plan to sign an accord on Union Day, Feb. 12, has been viewed with varying degrees of enthusiasm and credulity by Burma's ethnic armed groups. The post Four Injured in Hpakant Police Station Bombing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand to Recognize ‘Third Gender’ in New Constitution: Panel Posted: 15 Jan 2015 09:54 PM PST Isabella Santiago of Venezuela (C) is kissed by runner-ups after she was crowned Miss International Queen 2014 at the transgender/transsexual beauty pageant in Pattaya, Thailand, November 7, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK— Thailand’s constitution will include the term "third gender" for the first time, a member of a panel drafting a new charter said on Thursday, in a move to empower transgender and gay communities and ensure them fairer legal treatment. Thailand has a large gay community, but remains largely conservative, although homosexual, transgender and transsexual people play key roles in its entertainment industry. Thai law does not recognize same-sex unions, which keeps gay couples from taking joint bank loans and medical insurance, besides barring changes to gender categories on national identity papers. The Constitution Drafting Committee, a group hand-picked by the military to prepare a new constitution after the previous one was scrapped following a May coup, began work this week. Panel spokesman Kamnoon Sittisamarn said the new measure would ensure all sexual identities were protected under the constitution and treated equally by the law. "We are putting the words ‘third gender’ in the constitution because Thai society has advanced," he told Reuters. "There are not only men and women, we need to protect all sexes. We consider all sexes to be equal." The panel will send details of the measure to the National Reform Council by April. It will need to be formally approved by the ruling junta, also known as the National Council for Peace and Order. In 2012, a group of lawmakers and LGBT activists formed a committee to draft legislation recognizing same-sex couples that would, among other things, enable them to marry. But discussion of the draft law was put on ice while Thailand struggled with political protests in 2013 and 2014. Gay rights activists welcomed the decision to include the term "third gender" in the new constitution. "It would treat all citizens equally and help to protect from discrimination in all areas including ease of doing business and also personal life," said prominent gay activist Natee Teerarojjanapongs. The army seized power on May 22 to restore order after months of political infighting that killed nearly 30 people. It scrapped a 2007 constitution for an interim charter giving the military sweeping powers, and protection for the coup makers. The post Thailand to Recognize 'Third Gender' in New Constitution: Panel appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Refugees on Thai Border to Undergo Verification Process Posted: 15 Jan 2015 09:03 PM PST A refugee family hold numbered placards as they pose for a photo during a census conducted by Thai authorities at Mae La refugee camp in July 2014. (Photo: Reuters) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The UN refugee agency and Thailand's Ministry of Interior will conduct a verification exercise on the Burmese refugee population along the Thai border, with the data intended to help find "durable solutions" and better coordinate future humanitarian assistance. The program will be carried out in all nine refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border, where some 130,000 Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic Karen, have been living for decades after fleeing their homes amid Burma's long-running civil war. Saw Honest, chairman of the largest refugee camp at Mae La, told The Irrawaddy that his camp's program would likely begin in February. "They will tally the refugee population," said Saw Honest, whose camp hosts more than 40,000 refugees in western Thailand's Tak province. "Then, 11-year-olds and older will be issued a card that contains family bio data." Retinal scans, fingerprints and photographs of the refugees will reportedly be recorded in the verification process, he said. Vivian Tan, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Asia, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the aim of the exercise was to physically verify and update existing records of Burmese refugees living in the camps to allow for better humanitarian aid planning. "Upon verification, refugees will receive a card with their information contained on a data chip. This card, which is unique and not issued to other groups in Thailand, will be linked to durable solutions and future assistance," said Tan, adding that the card would not be a substitute for a state-issued identity document and would not entitle card holders to the right to work or travel in Thailand. The one-time exercise is mandatory for all refugee camp residents and those who are absent will be struck from the list of registered camp residents. The verification process, which will run from late January through April, will also document non-registered refugees, but will not serve as a way for these individuals to register with the UNHCR. Registering with the UN agency comes with benefits such as eligibility for third-country resettlement. Sources close to nongovernmental organizations on the border said the Thai government was considering issuing "hill-tribe" ID cards to the refugees so that they could travel outside the camps and work legally in Thai industries to earn a living. Under Thai law, the 130,000 refugees on the border are prohibited from traveling outside the camps and cannot legally take jobs in Thailand. Last year, the Thai military conducted a headcount of the refugee population on the border, raising concerns that plans were afoot for an imminent repatriation of the refugees. The UNHCR has consistently maintained that the time for refugees' return is not yet appropriate, though discussions on the matter have been taking place in light of the relative peace that has accompanied the signing of more than a dozen ceasefires between the Burmese government and ethnic armed groups over the last three years. Since the Thai military took power in a May 22 coup, the head of the regime, a former general and current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, has pushed for the refugees' repatriation. He has also met with the head of the Burma Army, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, in Bangkok to discuss the issue. Most refugees are reluctant to return home at present, feeling the potential for armed conflict lingers in Burma's ethnic border regions, a survey of refugees in mid-2013 found. The post Refugees on Thai Border to Undergo Verification Process appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chinese Police Net Over 60,000 People in Drug Sweep Posted: 15 Jan 2015 08:43 PM PST Policemen in Shanghai stand guard next to confiscated drugs on display during a campaign for the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. (Photo: Aly Song / Reuters) SHANGHAI, China — Police in China have arrested 60,500 people for drug-related crimes and seized more than 11 tonnes of narcotics in a vast, multi-city sweep, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Police handled 52,800 drug crime cases from late September to December during a campaign dubbed "Ban drugs in hundreds of cities", it said, quoting the Ministry of Public Security. The campaign will last until April. The ministry said earlier that around 180,000 drug users had been punished by mid-December, with 55,679 sent to compulsory rehabilitation centres. Illegal drugs, especially synthetic substances like methamphetamine, ketamine and ecstasy, have grown in popularity in China in tandem with the rise of a new urban class with greater disposable incomes. Authorities have stepped up efforts to combat drugs, teaming up with Laos, Myanmar and Thailand to try to stem the flow of drugs from Southeast Asia, even arresting a string of celebrities on drug charges to bring publicity to the issue. Earlier this month a Beijing court sentenced Jaycee Chan, son of kung fu movie star Jackie Chan, to six months in prison and fined him 2,000 yuan on drug charges. The post Chinese Police Net Over 60,000 People in Drug Sweep appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Pope Tells Philippines Leaders to End Corruption, Hear Cries of the Poor Posted: 15 Jan 2015 08:38 PM PST Pope Francis waves to the crowd on his way to a welcoming ceremony, for his state and pastoral visit, at the presidential palace in Manila on Jan. 16, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) MANILA — Pope Francis called on the Philippine government on Friday to tackle corruption and hear the cries of the poor suffering from "scandalous social inequalities" in Asia's most Catholic country. The pope, who arrived on Thursday night, went to the Malacanang presidential palace on Friday for an official welcoming ceremony led by President Benigno Aquino as tens of thousands of ecstatic Filipinos lined the streets. After a private meeting with the president, Francis, a champion of the poor, pulled no punches in calling for a more just and caring society in the Philippines, which is about 80 percent Catholic. "It is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good," he said. Aquino, the only son of democracy champion and former president Corazon Aquino, took office in 2010 on the promise of transparency, good governance and battling corruption to lift the Philippines from poverty. But he has struggled to shed the country's image as one of the most corrupt in Asia as he continues to defend his allies, while at the same time chasing down politicians, bureaucrats and generals associated with the past administration. Francis was driven to the palace from his residence at the Vatican embassy in a small blue Volkswagen Touran, in keeping with his simple, no-frills style. Enthusiastic crowds had started gathering four hours before he arrived. The Philippines has laid on the largest security operation in its history, with about 50,000 police and soldiers on hand. His car was flanked by police vehicles, which sometimes made it difficult for people to see him. Francis was saluted by presidential guards at the Spanish colonial palace and greeted by hundreds of people waving Vatican and Philippine flags. Children rushed up to embrace him as he walked along a red carpet on the palace grounds. The pope urged government officials "to reject every form of corruption, which diverts resources from the poor, and to make concerted efforts to ensure the inclusion of every man and woman and child." Since taking office, Aquino has executed wide-ranging reforms in graft-laden agencies such as the customs and internal revenue bureaus, helping improve the Philippines' ranking in watchdog Transparency International's corruption perceptions index (CPI) to 85 last year from 94 in 2013 and 105 in 2012. But cases of high-level officials in central and local governments misappropriating public funds for personal gain still abound. At least 25 percent of the country of about 100 million are poor, according to the Philippine statistics agency. "The great Biblical tradition enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear the voice of the poor," Francis told Filipino leaders. "It bids us break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to glaring, and indeed scandalous, social inequalities. Reforming the social structures which perpetuate poverty and the exclusion of the poor first requires a conversion of mind and heart," he said. Francis was due to celebrate a Mass later on Friday in Manila's colonial-style cathedral, on the same site where a first church was built with bamboo and palm leaves in 1581. That was to be followed by a rally with Filipino families. Divided families are big issue in the Philippines, where as many as 12 million people have left to find work in other countries, making it the fourth-largest recipient of remittances worldwide. About half of population have been affected by labor migration and the strain of decades of labor migration has come at a significant social cost. Francis has made defense of vulnerable migrants and workers a central issue of his papacy. At an October synod on the family, he urged bishops to find solutions to the challenges faced daily by families. The post Pope Tells Philippines Leaders to End Corruption, Hear Cries of the Poor appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Former Screen Star Talks Acting And Activism Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:00 PM PST Former actress Daw Swe Zin Htike. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) After more than two decades in the film industry, former Myanmar actress Daw Swe Zin Htike, also known as Grace, embarked on a new career in the nonprofit sector. She was Population Services International (PSI) Program Director from 1999 to 2013 and now devotes much of her time to educational projects, while continuing to promote Myanmar's film industry. The 61-year-old award-winning former actress spoke with The Irrawaddy about her wide-ranging work, including in health and education, and her push to encourage more female film directors. Q: When did your acting career begin? A: I worked in the film industry from 1971 to 1993. I acted in more than 200 films in that period and won a Myanmar Academy Award in 1977. I was also nominated on four occasions. Q: What is your educational background? A: My undergraduate degree was a Bachelor of Commerce. I have also studied accountancy, French and the Abhidhamma and received a media fellowship in the United States in 2002. Q: What did you do after moving on from the film industry? A: From 1993, I worked for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Myanmar as a consultant producing advocacy materials. I then moved to Population Services International (PSI) in 1999 and worked there until June 2013. After retiring, I focused on my own company, Communication Services Group (CSG), which I helped found in 2000. At CSG, we provide three kinds of services. Translation services for TV content; education services including a mobile education project [providing non-formal education via mobile classrooms to children compelled to work in teashops to support their families]; and production services [for short films and documentaries]. [In the past], the government refused to acknowledge that there were HIV/AIDS patients in Myanmar. But people were dying of AIDS. I saw it. I was especially close with many gay people in the film industry. Many of them died without knowing what they were suffering from. I felt that I needed to educate them on what was happening and how to help prevent it. I understood that I couldn't work alone on this issue. I needed to work under an umbrella. That's why I decided to work for PSI which had resources and funding. I started as a project coordinator earning US$450 per month. I could earn more than this in the film industry, so I wasn't working at PSI for the money. I could learn a great deal working there. I was criticized by one former senior government official who asked: why are you involved in this issue [raising awareness of HIV/AIDS], you are not a doctor, just an actress. But I did my best. In 2000, [annual] condom sales were just 20,000 for the entire country. By 2004, sales reached one million nationwide. I was happy with this change. Beyond 2011, I realized that health is not the only essential issue in Myanmar. That's why I wanted to do more in the education sector and worked for initiatives like the Myanmar Mobile Education Project (myME). Q: What challenges did you face in transitioning from a successful acting career to the NGO field? A: Even when I was working in the film industry, I wanted to gain new experiences. That's why I studied at the same time as I was working. I became involved in making short educational films and pamphlets for health education programs with UNICEF. During these years [working in the NGO field], I was satisfied with some programs but not with others. Working with limited human resources was sometimes difficult. I met many kinds of people, including some with different mindsets to mine. But doing something is better than nothing. In 2002, I went to the United States and met with Myanmar communities there. I asked if they would come back to Myanmar to work for NGOs and help people. Some did come back later. Q: What is your ongoing involvement with the film industry? A: In 2012, I decided to help promote and develop the Myanmar movie industry by organizing the international relations department in the Myanmar Motion Picture Organization (MMPO). I then became secretary of the MMPO's international relations committee. After assuming this position, some outsiders didn't think I would be up to the task. We were not on the same page and they just worked for their own interests. I work for the people's interests. When I was young, I wondered why the movie industry was so commercialized and why people couldn't work for each other. But later I realized that the film industry is totally dependent on the market and investment. In recent times, mainstream Myanmar movies haven't been able to impact the international market. So how can we encourage independent film makers? MMPO has no budget for the international relations committee. So I provide the budget myself in order for some movies to be shown in international film festivals. I define my achievements by what I have done to support the film industry in this country. I would like to encourage women to become creative directors and to try their best. Q: Why do you think there are now just a few female film makers? A: There were some female film makers in the past. In 1940, there was Daw Khin Nyunt, then Parrot Daw Mya Mya, and following them, Daw Thin Thin Yu and Daw Wah Wah Win Shwe. The number of female film directors is small due to a lack of trust. Even in today's environment, female directors are not trusted with the responsibility. Some [in the industry] don't want women to become decision makers. The majority of people working in film distribution are also men, so how can we compete with other male film makers and get our films distributed? I think some men unconsciously discriminate against their female competitors. But Myanmar women have good stamina and we prove that by working hard. Q: How is the MMPO working to support the emergence of more female film directors in the future? A: I am encouraging women to attend script writing and directing classes which recently opened at the MMPO. I'm urging them to study seriously to become successful directors. Most actresses are just recognized as sex symbols—and the younger, the better. But if the role of women behind the camera is also recognized and promoted, we can improve [perceptions and attitudes]. We also need mutual understanding. We need to demonstrate our abilities even as people are trying to test us. Q: Do you think the majority of actresses are discriminated against in terms of their earnings? For example, actors often receive more than actresses even when the latter are in leading roles? A: In the 1950s, some actresses actually earned more than their male counterparts, for example, Daw Kyi Kyi Htay, Daw Wah Wah Win Shwe and Daw Moh Moh Myint Aung. There are two things to mention. Actresses should be paid according to their abilities. They shouldn't be satisfied with smaller wages. If women were able to produce films with their own money, there would be more female lead actors. The post Former Screen Star Talks Acting And Activism appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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