The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Who’s Responsible for Reining in Rogues?
- Juggling For Joy
- The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Jan. 24, 2015)
| Who’s Responsible for Reining in Rogues? Posted: 23 Jan 2015 04:50 PM PST  Nationalist monk U Wirathu lashes out at UN rights envoy Yanghee Lee during a speech on Dec. 16, 2014. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) There are lines that one does not cross and words that one does not utter—especially if one is a man of the cloth. I am not going to bemoan: "Oh! What has the world come to? What has become of this noble order?!" This is about one individual—a demagogue running wild and potentially poisoning an entire society. Every age has its rogue characters, and ours is no exception. The reader, no doubt, knows who this article is about. This is about a well-known Buddhist monk, U Wirathu, and his hateful words regarding a female human rights expert representing the United Nations. When the words, ethos and collective emotions of masses are left to simmer unchecked for too long, they risk boiling over. Any sane and conscientious society should try to contain potentially harmful sentiments and nip the problem in the bud before it can be harnessed by ill-willed provocateurs. That such preventative measures haven't happened in Burma a symptom of a societal malaise, and our chief rabble-rouser is a mirror held up to present-day Buddhist society. The image in the mirror is clear, however homely it may be, and each member of this society needs to act thoughtfully and responsibly to change the course. A man is shamed not by his birthplace or other incidental facts about him, but by his words and deeds. By extension, a society is shamed if it bows to the shameful, letting them run wild among the rest. Several hundred people listened and cheered when this demagogue spoke. There will always be a mob—people who are swayed by emotion and easily led by the nose—but we need to listen past that to the counter-voices of reason and sanity. Those voices, admittedly, are both faint and scarce. If this disparity continues, the purveyors of poison will prevail. The majority in Myanmar society will need to undergo a deep transformation to achieve greater understanding and tolerance for other faiths and ethnicities. The crushing dictatorship that lasted half a century swept those issues under the rug—or rather the bamboo mat. Now that the demons of those long-buried issues have reared their ugly heads, it is clear that containing the damage and handling the legacy of state-fostered intolerance is a far more critical concern than vague dreams of "democratization." This is where institutional responsibility comes in. Trouble is being fomented by extremists within the Buddhist clergy and the government is doing nothing about it. Even beyond the government's correctional capacity, doesn't the Sangha itself have a mechanism for dealing with rogue behavior? State props won't help if the institution at the core of this controversy has no moral authority. The state could nonetheless do more. There is a Ministry of Religious Affairs, and there are laws. Unfortunately, the government uses these tools as it likes and the rules are often unevenly applied. But the strongest and furthest-reaching impact that the government could have on this issue would come from political leadership, if it were only willing to speak up. This is an election year, after all, and anything that could cost a vote is assiduously avoided. But I would suggest that even Myanmar's biggest issues, such as armed conflict and chronic poverty, are slighted by the problem of an immense political vacuity right up to the highest levels of governance. Nota bene: Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has also been silent. The office of the UN human rights rapporteur has undergone a sea-change in Myanmar. There was a time when the military's notorious secret police leaned heavily on it, while the democracy movement relied heavily on its support and intelligence. The office and its incumbent now face a new kind of pressure, one that is perhaps even stronger. But among this dismal picture there are still individuals who are not bereft of character and moral courage—for instance, the abbot of Mansu Shan monastery, who sheltered Muslim families when violence shook Lashio. These individuals embody this country's real strength and hope for a promising future. The post Who's Responsible for Reining in Rogues? appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Posted: 23 Jan 2015 04:30 PM PST  U Soe Si of the YCDC gets into the spirit. YANGON — Weekend visitors to Yangon's Maha Bandoola Park can hardly fail to have noticed the arrival of a colorful crew of performers who have been providing plenty of laughs and entertainment ahead of the city's first international juggling festival next month. Keeping three balls or other items in the air by hand is something everyone can try. Many park-goers have been giving it a shot. Others just sit back and enjoy the spectacle of flying ribbons, balls, and curious s-shaped staffs known as buugeng skillfully manipulated by French juggling master Julien Ariza. In Myanmar, juggling has typically been the province of the feet, not the hands. Local practitioners of chinlone, a traditional Myanmar sport that involves one or more players keeping a small rattan ball in the air without using their hands, are some of the most spectacular ball-manipulators of all. Chinlone "jugglers" from Myanmar impressed audiences in Europe and the United States in the late 19th century when they toured as traveling entertainers, according to research by British academic Jonathan Saha. Among the most famous was Moung Toon, "The Marvelous Burmese Juggler", who was noted for his ability to move balls all over his body without using his hands. In 1896 audiences at the Crystal Palace in London were amazed by Moung Toon's abilities with a cane ball that "appeared to be endowed with human knowledge, so cunningly did it lend itself to the design of the performers." Moung Toon went on to tour in the United States the following year. "He starts to juggle two glass balls, such as we would hang on a Christmas tree, but all his work in throwing, catching and tossing is done with those eloquent feet…the audience stares in wonder," according to a review in a San Francisco newspaper in 1899. However the minstrel life, then as ever, was a vulnerable one. Dr. Saha also found letters to the Government of India regarding "a troupe of Burmese jugglers who were stuck in the north-west of England having been abandoned by their employer in 1898." And in 1900 it seems that Moung Toon had other problems too. Reportedly he had fallen in love with an English woman and she had agreed to marry him. But the clergyman refused to conduct the ceremony after the chinlone player's manager informed him that Moung Toon already had a wife in Myanmar. The organizers of the International Juggling Festival have been tracking down more information about juggling and circus performances in Myanmar in the past, according to Jude Smith of the Serious Fun Committee. They hope to find out more from old movie footage and from Myanmar puppetry experts, and welcome information from any other source. The committee organized similar juggling festivals in Laos in 1996 and Thailand in 1993 and is keen to connect Myanmar enthusiasts with the international network. Comedian Zarganar introduced Serious Fun to Omega Mime, comprised of two young comedians Thura and Jo Ker, who also juggle. Omega Mime will emcee a big free public show featuring international and local performers from 6:30 pm in Kandawgyi Park on Feb. 12. Entertainment at the Day of Fun to be held at Maha Bandoola Park on Feb. 14 will include a Juggling Olympics as top jugglers, including one-time seven ball champion Haggis McLeod from the United Kingdom and "Venus, Goddess of the Diabolo" from the Netherlands, compete for medals. Local community groups are organizing play shops and games, and the festival activities will include flash poetry and story readings from PEN Myanmar, action painting with artists from Pansodan Scene, performances from the New Yangon Theatre Institute and singing from the Global Harmonies choir. And watch out for a potential "match" between the international jugglers and local players from the National Chinlone Association. The juggling events have the support of the Mayor's Office and Yangon City Development Committee—whose committee member U Soe Si discovered that he too can do the three-ball cascade with just a few minutes instruction. "One of the wonderful things about organizing this juggling festival is that it brings together diverse groups of people, bridges the gaps, breaks down barriers," says U Myo Win of Smile Education and Development Foundation, a local NGO partnering with the committee. Meanwhile, this month the organizers are continuing a community outreach program bringing fun and teaching juggling skills to disadvantaged children in orphanages, hostels and schools. Community Juggling Coordinator Jules Howarth starts his sessions showing how to make juggling balls with balloons and pigeon pea for filling, overcoming any need for expensive equipment. "Anyone can juggle," says the Welsh performer. "Juggling is a great leveler." The writer is the Yangon Coordinator for the International Juggling Festival. For updates, contact: festival@seriousfunglobal.net Tel: 09-250 156 750 or 09-972 129 645. This story initially appeared in the Jan. 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy Magazine. The post Juggling For Joy appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Jan. 24, 2015) Posted: 23 Jan 2015 04:00 PM PST Open Data Survey Puts Burma Bottom of the Accountability Table Burma has been ranked at the bottom of a list of 86 countries in a study on openness of public information available from government, state agencies and private businesses. The Open Data Barometer analysis places Burma in a group of a 10 countries that it describes as capacity-constrained. "[They] all face challenges in establishing sustainable open data initiatives as a result of: limited government; civil society or private sector capacity; limits on affordable widespread Internet access; and weaknesses in digital data collection and management." Burma's neighbors also fared poorly in the study. The constrained cluster group of 10 included Thailand and Bangladesh, as well as Indonesia and Vietnam within Southeast Asia. Laos and Cambodia were not assessed. It's the first year that Burma has been included in the study, which named China as making the biggest improvement since the 2013 survey. The Open Data Barometer survey, published by the World Wide Web Foundation, recommended several steps for countries to follow to improve openness, including political commitment to disclosure of public sector data, particularly the data most critical to accountability; sustained investment in supporting and training a broad cross-section of civil society and entrepreneurs to understand and use data effectively; and legal reform to "ensure that guarantees of the right to information and the right to privacy underpin open data initiatives." UK Trade Ministry Promotes Burma Energy Industry as Oil Prices Crash The British government is encouraging British firms to invest in Burma's oil and gas industry at a time when five-year low oil prices are putting a brake on new investment in exploration and production. Most of the foreign firms awarded licenses for 20 offshore exploration blocks in Burma in March 2014 are still negotiating terms for production-sharing contracts with the state-controlled Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE). Terms have become much more critical for potential profitability with international oil prices, and to a lesser extent natural gas, plummeting since July. Thailand's PTTEP signaled this month that it is reviewing its capital expenditure program in Burma, among other countries, because of the oil price slump, which is squeezing profit margins, especially for offshore work. However, the British Department of Trade & Industry says in a just published 16-page study that Burma is a "hotspot" for oil and gas investment. "The [Burmese] Ministry of Energy indicated that the next bidding round for offshore oil and gas exploration blocks is likely to take place in 2015. UK companies … interested should start investigating opportunities now," the study said. The human rights NGO Burma Campaign UK said the British government was putting emphasis on the wrong business development for Burma. "The energy sector is not labor intensive, not many Burmese people will benefit from such investment, and revenues will go directly to the government, which still spends more money on the military than on health and education combined," campaign director Mark Farmaner told The Irrawaddy. "As British oil companies announce they are cutting back in the North Sea because of falling oil prices, the British government is telling them to invest billions in Burma." Plans for Tin Smelter Plant in Burma Revived by Indonesian Firm Indonesia's largest tin mining company, state-owned PT Timah, has renewed proposals to build a smelter in Burma, reports said. Timah will invest more than US$8 million in the smelter, the Jakarta Post said, although it's still not clear where the plant might be built. The company last year canceled plans for a smelter following exploration of a tin mining concession around Bokpyin in Tenasserim Division, the result of which it described as disappointing. The Jakarta Globe newspaper said the Indonesian government had imposed limits on tin exports, making Burma a more financially attractive investment. Indonesia is one of the world's biggest producers of tin but, as with other locally mined commodities, the Jakarta government wants to restrict exports in order to supply the domestic market to help Southeast Asia's biggest economy expand. Timah has two joint ventures in Burma, PT Timah Myanmar Mining and PT Timah Myanmar, the Jakarta Post said. The local partners were not named. Burma Aims for Barrier-Free Tourist Travel Among Asean Countries The Naypyidaw government is keen to join a "barrier-free tourism" strategy within the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), a travel trade magazine said. Unrestricted cross-border travel for tourism should become part of Asean's plans for establishing a regional economic community similar to the European Union's tariff-free trade system from the end of this year, Burma's Tourism Minister Htay Aung told TTR Weekly. "We attach the highest importance to addressing barrier-free tourism in the new Asean tourism strategy," he said. "We should create special equipped barrier-free destinations in order to facilitate travel for everyone." Responsible tourism and community involvement are part of a roadmap for the future development of tourism in Burma, the minister told TTR Weekly in an interview. "[Burma's] policies are in line with the wider Asean Tourism Policy," he said, describing the growing industry as a national priority. Thailand Praised, But 'More Action Needed' to End Burmese Labor Abuse The Thai government "still has much work to do to improve working conditions" in the country's fishing industry, which employs many thousands of Burmese migrant workers, a labor rights group said. The International Labor Rights Forum praised the Bangkok government's decision to seek to tighten rules governing the industry, from fishing boat operations to factories where fish are processed and canned for export. The government move follows negative international publicity spotlighting forced labor, cheating on wages, the use of child labor and confiscation of documents to prevent Burmese workers from leaving Thailand. "Legislative changes alone will not succeed without much stronger enforcement and focus on ensuring the rule of law in both migration policy and on fishing boats," the forum's Abby McGill in the United States said in a statement. "Improving working conditions within the industry and bolstering the rights of Thailand's migrant workforce, including by granting them the right to form unions, is vital to actually address human trafficking in Thailand's fishing industry." The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Jan. 24, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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