The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• New Research a ‘Step Toward Ending Violence Against Women’
• Students, NGOs Say Govt Violates Agreement on Education Law Overhaul
• New Book Tells Story of ABSDF Massacre Survivor
• RCSS Blames Ethnic Army Representatives for Stalled Ceasefire
• Foreign Embassies Press Govt to Intervene in Shwepyithar Garment Strike
• In Burma, a Running of the Bulls
• Rangoon to Undergo Quake Assessment
• ‘A Guerrilla War is Still Taking Place in Laukkai’
• India Bets on GM Crops for Second Green Revolution
• Curses Protected Indian River, But Now It Faces Modern World 
• Hong Kong ‘Radicals’ up Ante in Democracy Push Against China
• Burma Rebels Deny Attack on Red Cross-Protected Refugees

New Research a ‘Step Toward Ending Violence Against Women’ Posted: 23 Feb 2015 06:06 AM PST Women at a temple in Rangoon on December 3, 2011. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — One of Burma's leading women's rights groups on Monday published groundbreaking qualitative research revealing troubling patterns of violence against women that had long gone unexamined. In an 83-page report titled, "Behind the Silence: Violence Against Women and their Resilience," Rangoon-based Gender Equality Network (GEN) undertook a deep study into the types of violence experienced by women in Burma and how women's rights are perceived by a cross-section of society. The extensive study, which was conducted by a team of five primary researchers in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, was among the first of its kind and will help to underpin a new anti-violence against women law set to reach Parliament in April or May of this year. Research consisted of in-depth interviews with 38 women in Rangoon and Moulmein who had each experienced some form of intimate partner violence. Further study was carried out during focus group discussions in Lashio, Magwe, Loikaw, Labutta and Kale, and key informant interviews were conducted among relevant officials, legal advisors, counselors and various authorities. A review of existing literature on violence against women (VAW) in Burma was also carried out, concluding that discrepancies in research methodology and terminology surrounding the issue to date has left "gaps in the literature," whereby some types of violence have been overlooked and thus unaddressed. GEN's report also noted a "concerning lack of ethical and safety structures in place to minimize the possible negative consequences of research on sensitive topics with vulnerable women," advising that future research be conducted with particular attention to confidentiality, follow-up support and avoiding future risk for participants. The report, while admittedly not comprehensive, is what GEN referred to as "a step toward ending violence," providing a picture of some of the forms violence takes in Burma, how it is experienced and how it is addressed. The study focused primarily on abuse perpetrated by partners such as husbands or boyfriends, but also examined some cases of non-partner abuse. Participants described a broad range of violence, including economic manipulation, verbal abuse, physical and sexual assault. Almost all of the women involved in the study had experienced more than one type of abuse, indicating that violence is "not a one-off," but rather a recurrent predicament. More than half of participants had experienced intimate partner sexual violence, or marital rape, which is not a crime in Burma. GEN advocated strongly for the inclusion of a provision on marital rape in forthcoming legislation, noting that while current law does not identify this type of abuse as a crime, women also typically do not view it as such. In the case of women who were sexually abused by their partner, the report said that "[v]ery few women actively identified their experiences as rape, yet all of them described incidents in which they were forced to have sex against their will." Normative attitudes about sex were found to center on male desire and female submission, the report said, resulting in societal values that herald "purity" and can lead to severe stigmatization. In some cases, women married men who raped them to avoid shaming themselves or their families. "He grabbed me and had sex with me. I screamed, and he told me to be quiet and not shame him," read one woman's account of the first time she was with her spouse. "We became like husband and wife after sex, right? So I had to get married to him." Stephanie Miedema, one of the study's principal researchers, said that similarities were apparent in the accounts of many of the women; most faced multiple forms of abuse, many had difficulty seeking support, and the experience of abuse often reinforced attitudes of inequality. "Many women's stories pointed to this idea that abuse is an indicator of unequal status in society," she said, adding that disadvantages enshrined in law and in societal norms leave women "unable to negotiate their safety and security." Miedema's colleague, Dr. San Shwe, reiterated the need to push forward with the Myanmar National Prevention of Violence Against Women Law, in order to ensure that all forms of violence are recognized as such and to provide women who experience abuse with avenues of adequate support and legal recourse. "We still do not have a good law to protect [women] from some kinds of abuse," she said, remarking specifically on psychological abuse, which the study found to be common among most participants, particularly in the form of humiliation and verbal abuse. "There are people who go mad, go loopy," she said, "they get depressed, some of them attempt suicide." The report's authors recommended that more research—both qualitative and quantitative—be carried out in continued efforts to understand how violence plays out and affects women in Burma, and advocated for the creation of a legal framework that provides for identifying and preventing abuse, supporting survivors, making recourse and medical care available and affordable, and promoting gender equality more generally. GEN also advocated for primary- and secondary-school curricula focusing on gender awareness, sexual and reproductive health. The post New Research a 'Step Toward Ending Violence Against Women' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Students, NGOs Say Govt Violates Agreement on Education Law Overhaul Posted: 23 Feb 2015 05:56 AM PST Student protesters from Mandalay arrive in Okpo, Pegu Division, on Feb. 12. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Student leaders and education NGOs on Sunday accused Burma's government of violating the conditions of a recently reached agreement on drafting a new education bill. The groups said the Education Ministry had attempted to circulate its own bill, while authorities had continued to issue threats against students. The Feb. 14 agreement ended large-scale student protests and was the result of extensive discussions between the government, student leaders, education NGOs, and lawmakers. On Feb. 16, the bill was submitted to Parliament and it is due to be discussed soon. The draft incorporates the 11 principal concerns of student protesters, broadly seeking to loosen government control over educational institutions and expand access to education. Specific provisions include a decentralized curriculum and allowing for native language instruction in classrooms in ethnic minority regions. However, on Feb. 17 state-run media published the Education Ministry's own bill, alongside the agreed-upon bill with a title suggesting that the latter was only being proposed by education NGOs of the National Network for Education Reform (NNER) and student leaders of the Action Committee for Democratic Education. NNER member Arka Moe Thu said the government appeared to distance itself from the agreed-upon bill and had attempted to present its own education bill that was "nearly the same" as the existing Education Law that students and NGOs have been opposing in recent months. "It violates the four-party agreement," he said during a press conference held in Rangoon on Sunday, during which the students and NNER released an open letter criticizing the government and calling on it to abide by the Feb. 14 agreement. As a pre-condition to that agreement, students and NGOs had demanded that the government ceased legal threats against the students, but they said on Sunday that student demonstrators that wanted to march on to Rangoon had still faced legal threats after Feb. 14. Nationalists Criticize Students' Education Bill On Monday, Burma's nationalist Buddhist movement, the Ma Ba Tha, sought to further ingrain themselves into the country's political discussions by issuing a statement that criticized the Feb. 14 education bill now in Parliament. State media published a statement by the Ma Ba Tha, which is led by radical Buddhist monks and has been accused of fanning hate speech against Burma's Muslim minority, saying that some unnamed provisions in the bill "will cause worries for the future of the country, dangerous loopholes, disastrous side-effects and tricks." A man answering the phone at Ma Ba Tha's Rangoon center declined to explain the vaguely-worded statement. The Irrawaddy understands that the statement is targeted at Article 34 (j) of the bill. In the current Education Law's Article 34 Buddhist monastic schools are the only religious schools that can teach in minority languages. Amendments proposed by student leaders and education NGOs would add provision Article 34(j) that would expand the right to teach ethnic minority children in their mother language to all other religious schools. In the days before Ma Ba Tha released its criticism of the education bill, posts began to appear on Burma's social network sites where apparently nationalist Facebook users warned that Article 34(j) could lead to teaching of Arabic languages at Islamic schools. Burma has an active and rapidly growing group of social network users and the sites have been used in the past to spread nationalist hate speech. Independent education expert Thein Lwin, who helped draw up the Feb. 14 bill, said the amendment to Article 34 had been included at the request of Christian ethnic minority organizations that ran schools in ethnic regions, where many children entering primary school initially only speak their mother tongue. "In education, there is no discrimination and we found that children learn more effectively when the teacher teaches in their native language," he said. Aung Hmine San, a student leader on the Action Committee for Democratic Education, said it appeared that the government was using the Ma Ba Tha to discredit the education NGOs and student movement, which have been popular with the Burmese public. The post Students, NGOs Say Govt Violates Agreement on Education Law Overhaul appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Book Tells Story of ABSDF Massacre Survivor Posted: 23 Feb 2015 04:34 AM PST Htein Lin, author of "ABSDF: The Northern Student Affair," presents a piece of performance art based on his book at its launch in Rangoon on Saturday. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Twenty-three years after more than a dozen members of a well-known student militia were massacred in northern Burma, a survivor of the incident has published a book recounting his experience. The book was written by artist Htein Lin, who was a member of the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) and one of the survivors of the Kachin State killings, which were carried out by some of the organization's own members. The ABSDF was an anti-regime student army that formed after the country's 1988 failed pro-democracy uprising to wage a campaign of armed resistance against the ruling junta of the time. "The one definite answer as to why I wrote this book is my promise to Ko Htun Aung Kyaw [to expose the truth] and I feel like it's my duty," Htein Lin told the audience at a launch for the book, "ABSDF: The Northern Student Affair," on Saturday. In the jungles of Kachin State on Feb. 12, 1992, 15 members of the ABSDF were killed after they were accused of being spies for the military regime of the time, with some of the men tortured to death while undergoing interrogation. Htun Aung Kyaw, the chairman of the northern ABSDF until he was accused of spying, was among those executed. Prior to the Feb. 12 massacre, about 70 other ABSDF members were detained on similar espionage allegations in mid-1991. As many as two dozen other ABSDF members are thought to have died in the purge. About 50 detained ABSDF members managed to escape in mid-1992, the author Htein Lin among them. "I want readers to know how humans respond in difficult situations and while their lives are in danger," Htein Lin said, adding that it was not easy to recount the incident. At least three books about the massacre have previously been published. "In my book, I was more interested to present my own experiences and how I have reflected on those instead of about the facts [relating to the incident]," Htein Lin told The Irrawaddy. The book includes stories of the victims and descriptions of the torture, executions, deaths while in detention and the mass escape of dozens of ABSDF members suspected of espionage. "I expect the readers will know how I felt," he said. Six ABSDF members who were among the party that escaped, including Htein Lin, presented performance art inspired by an excerpt from the book at its launch on Saturday. Htein Lin said he had waited more than 20 years to tell his story because the country was not capable of meting out justice over the last two decades. Justice, the artist said, would include expulsion of individuals responsible for the killings from the ABSDF, and a clearing of the names of those accused of spying for the junta. A daughter of U Sein, who died in ABSDF custody, opened an inquiry into her father's death with a Rangoon court in 2012, but the case was closed four months later due to lack of evidence. In May 2013, Htun Aung Kyaw's family also opened a case. The ABSDF formed a truth commission to investigate the killings in 2012, and a report of its findings is expected to be released next month. "Others haven't open cases because the judicial process in the country is still weak," Htein Lin said. The post New Book Tells Story of ABSDF Massacre Survivor appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

RCSS Blames Ethnic Army Representatives for Stalled Ceasefire Posted: 23 Feb 2015 04:10 AM PST Restoration Council of Shan State chairman Lt-Gen Yawd Serk on Monday. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The head of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) has further distanced the rebel group from other ethnic factions, blaming the impasse over the nationwide ceasefire agreement on the political concessions sought by members of the United Nationalities Federal Council. During a press conference in Thailand on Monday, Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, the RCSS chairman, also said that the RCSS would continue to directly negotiate with the Burmese government if a nationwide peace accord did not come to pass. The RCSS, the political wing of the Shan State Army-South, was one of the four signatories of a "Deed of Commitment for Peace and Reconciliation" on Union Day earlier this month, which pledged a commitment towards achieving lasting peace in Burma. President Thein Sein had earlier called for a comprehensive nationwide ceasefire agreement to be concluded by Union Day, an aspiration scuttled by renewed fighting in the Kokang Special Region, clashes between government troops and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, and continuing disagreements between government negotiators and the ethnic army's Nationwide Ceasefire Coordinating Team (NCCT). Yawd Serk told the media that the delay was due to the NCCT's attempts to devise a comprehensive political framework with the ceasefire agreement before it is signed. He said his organization signed the Union Day deed of commitment because it intends to continue independently seeking a peaceful resolution to ethnic conflict. "[The RCSS is] free from any ties of alliance and we acted according to our policies," he said. "It is a new page of our history to be moving forward to a political dialogue." Prior to Union Day, the RCSS and Karen National Union (KNU), other signatory of the deed of commitment, met with the Mongla National Democratic Alliance Army and the United Wa State Army. Attending the Union Day commemoration, RCSS leaders met with Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the speakers of the Union Parliament and members of the public in Shan State. According to the RCSS chairman, the meeting with the army chief helped to resolve old misunderstandings. "We were able to tell him that, for instance, the RCSS were not responsible for the death of four forestry staff in Linkhay in Dec. 2014, as we were accused of being," he said. Speaking of the current clashes between the Burma Army and the ethnic Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in Laukkai, Yawd Serk said that the Burmese government and Burma Army should "have a big heart" for the insurgents. "We are not taking sides, and the Kokang conflict area is out of our area of control," he said, referring to an accusation in the Union Parliament last week that the RCSS was supporting the rebels. Yawd Serk added that his party would be happy to intervene in the conflict by brokering negotiatons between the parties. The RCSS signed a bilateral ceasefire with the Burmese government in 2012, with both parties agreeing to implement 31 separate agreements. Three years on, Yawd Serk said only three components of the ceasefire had been implemented, including the opening of liaison offices, allowing open meetings with the public, and authorizing regular meetings with other political parties. Though the Union Day deed of commitment only bound signatories to further political dialogue, the signing has already provoked a divide in the KNU leadership. The party's central committee last week issued a statement saying that KNU chair Mutu Say Poe did not have authority to sign the commitment. The post RCSS Blames Ethnic Army Representatives for Stalled Ceasefire appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Foreign Embassies Press Govt to Intervene in Shwepyithar Garment Strike Posted: 23 Feb 2015 03:52 AM PST   Garment factory workers on strike at Shwepyithar Industrial Zone in Rangoon's Insein Township on Feb. 17. (Photo: Sai Zaw/ The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Concerned embassies have reportedly made representations to the Burmese government on behalf of foreign businesses affected by a long-running strike at the Shwepyithar Industrial Zone. On Feb. 2, about 2000 employees of the E-Land, COSTEC and Ford Glory garment factories stopped work to demand a raise in monthly wages to 80,000 kyats [US$78]. The factories are owned by Chinese and South Korean firms, according to the workers. "I can't say which embassies filed complaints," said Htin Aung, Deputy Minister for Employment and Social Security, during a press conference held at the Insein Township General Administration Department on Sunday. "Their complaints did not reach us, they were filed with an authority higher than us. Embassies called for actions in line with our existing laws, as the investments of their citizens are being affected." The Chinese embassy in Rangoon was closed for Chinese New Year and unable to provide comment. The South Korean embassy was sought for comment. Htin Aung said textile manufacturers usually did not finalize orders in May and June, and were not currently in the position to offer a wage increase of the size sought by the striking garment workers. Workers have called for a monthly increase of 30,000 kyats [$29.10], while the three employers have individually proposed counteroffers based on an increase to daily wages, which each total around 12,000 kyats [$11.60] per month. Employees have said that they would consider the proposed pay increase but have yet to return to work. Meanwhile, there were reports of a clash and some arrests between over 100 policemen and workers staging a protest in front of the E-Land factory on Friday evening, following four rounds of failed negotiations between government, employer and employee representatives. The discussions had focused on wage increases, the stalled minimum wage bill, and demands for the free formation and recognition of labor unions. "Employers have filed complaints to the court," Zaw Aye Maung, the Rangoon Division government's Labor Affairs Minister, said of the events on Friday. "That's why there have been some procedural arrests by police. We have no reason to intervene as [employers] filed complaints over their losses."   The post Foreign Embassies Press Govt to Intervene in Shwepyithar Garment Strike appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

In Burma, a Running of the Bulls Posted: 23 Feb 2015 02:20 AM PST Nearly 40 oxen from Rakhine Gyoung village in Dala Township competed in an annual bullock cart race on Feb. 15, drawing a crowd of enthusiastic spectators. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RAKHINE GYOUNG VILLAGE, Dala Township — In this farming community south of Rangoon, oxen serve multiple purposes. When the monsoon rains come, they plow paddy fields, and year-round they draw carts as a means of transportation or for hauling goods. But when they're not out in the fields or plying Dala Township's dusty dirt roads, the bovid beasts take on a competitive air. On Feb. 15, Rakhine Gyoung village in Dala held its annual bullock cart race, with nearly 40 oxen from the host village and nearby joining the contest. Coming just two days after nationwide celebrations of Gen. Aung San's centennial birthday, the race this year was held under his name to honor Burma's national hero. Gambling on which bull would win played an important role in the race. Braving the scorching midday sun, hundreds of men and women flocked to both sides of a nearly 300-meter-long track, with bets fueling the boisterous crowd as the animals approached the finish line. The post In Burma, a Running of the Bulls appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rangoon to Undergo Quake Assessment Posted: 23 Feb 2015 01:25 AM PST The Seismic Hazard Assessment Project was launched in Rangoon. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A one-year seismic hazard assessment will be conducted for Rangoon, Burma's biggest city, which lies in a zone of the Earth prone to earthquakes. At a ceremony to launch the project last week, Nicolas Louis, the director-general of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO Myanmar), said that the growing number of high-rises in Rangoon and the city's burgeoning population in recent years necessitated the study. The results will be used to mitigate what could be considerable losses if a major earthquake strikes the commercial capital, he added on Thursday at City Hall. The Myanmar Geosciences Society will carry out the assessment with the assistance of the Myanmar Earthquake Committee and other concerned associations, with the authorization of the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). The project will begin later this year, with financing from the Myanmar Consortium for Community Resilience (MCCR), an affiliate of ECHO Myanmar and UN-Habitat. Burma is divided into five zones related to potential earthquake intensity: The tiered categories define risk levels as low, moderate, strong, fierce or devastating. The commercial capital lies in an earthquake zone of moderate to strong intensity, according to local seismologists and geologists. "We are studying the resiliency of the town in case of seismic waves," said Soe Thura Tun, vice chairman of the Myanmar Earthquake Committee. "We are also studying the possible intensity of earthquakes in different parts of the town. We'll combine the results and determine the risks and vulnerability of respective parts of the town." He underscored the need for an accurate seismic hazard assessment so that related regulations on quake resistance could be enforced on already built and future planned high-rise buildings. Myo Thant, a lecturer from Rangoon University's geology faculty and a member of the Myanmar Earthquake Committee, stressed that it was critically important that lawmakers put the results of the assessment to good use in order to facilitate sustainable urbanization. "It will be useless if the report is just placed on the bookshelf. That report must be for bona fide use. It [the report] will take effect only when it gets into the hands of authorities at different levels. It will be of no use if it does not take effect," he told The Irrawaddy. It would be easier to educate Rangoon residents who live in earthquake-prone areas of the city after the seismic hazard assessment came out, he added. UN-Habitat said that similar assessments were being carried out in the towns of Pegu, Sagaing and Toungoo. Burma has seen at least 19 tremors that measured above 7 on the Richter scale, 7.0 being the same magnitude as the earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince in 2010. Burma rests on a particularly active tectonic zone, with one of the world's two main fault lines running through major Burmese cities including Mandalay, Pegu and Rangoon on its way from the Mediterranean to Indonesia. Strong earthquakes rocked Tarlay in eastern Shan State in 2011 and Shwebo in Sagaing Division in 2012, with scores of casualties reported in both disasters. The post Rangoon to Undergo Quake Assessment appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘A Guerrilla War is Still Taking Place in Laukkai’ Posted: 22 Feb 2015 09:45 PM PST In this week Dateline Irrawaddy show—first aired on DVB on Feb 18— The Irrawaddy Magazine editor Aung Zaw is joined by Yan Pai and Kyaw Kha to discuss the history of conflict in the Kokang borderlands. Aung Zaw: Hello and welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy. This week, we’ll be discussing the fighting in Laukkai. I am Irrawaddy Magazine Editor Aung Zaw, and joining me in the discussion will be reporters Yan Pai and Kyaw Kha. Let's discuss the latest from the fighting in Laukkai, a town located on the Chinese border in northern Shan State, and the Kokang rebels. What is the current situation, Ko Kyaw Kha? Kyaw Kha: There have been sporadic fights. In the aftermath of urban fighting, Laukkai was in a state of fear, and now it looks like a ghost town. AZ: Has the Burma army occupied the town? KK: The Burma Army has taken complete control of the town now. It is hard for the rebels to enter the town. AZ: By rebels you mean the Kokang armed group? KK: There is still some fighting as some of the rebels remain in the town as guerrillas. The government has officially announced that the Burma Army suffered over 50 casualties, with the Kokang group suffering over 20 casualties since the outbreak of the conflict on Feb. 9. Locals who dare not remain in the town have fled. Those who are close to China have fled there and those who are close to Burma have fled to Lashio and Mandalay. AZ: Among them are Shan, Chinese Shan and Kokang—the Kokang are Burmese nationals who speak Mandarin. It is said that Mandarin-speaking Laukkai locals have fled into China. How many refugees have fled there? KK: More than 30,000 refugees have fled to China. In Burma, thousands of people are taking shelter at the home of their relatives, monasteries, schools and relief camps. I don't know the exact number, but there are thousands of refugees at present. YP: I hear that some war refugees have gone back to Kokang to find work. KK: They are migrant workers. The number of war refugees has been on the increase. The town [Laukkai] is almost like a ghost town now. AZ: So, a guerrilla war is still taking place in the town. Are there still Kokang rebels in the town? KK: There are some guerrillas hiding in the town and they are shooting at government troops from the roofs of houses. AZ: The Burma Army’s efforts to restore control over the region have yet to achieve success. Who is Peng Jiasheng? In fact, it is not an unfamiliar name to Myanmar people. It has been a familiar name to the people of Burma, ethnic armed groups, drug cartels and local and foreign media since the time of military regime. Ko Yan Pai, would you mind talking about Peng Jiasheng and his Kokang group? YP: Peng Jiasheng has hit the headlines three times. The first was after the Burmese government made peace with the Kokang in 1989. Peng Jiasheng split from the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) during the military regime, at a time when Gen. Khin Nyunt was very powerful. AZ: Peng Jiasheng led the internal rebellion within the CPB in 1989. YP: Peng Jiasheng and his group were in the spotlight at that time. He got on well with the military regime until he was attacked by the Burma Army because of the border guard dispute in 2009. He made headlines then and now this is the third time. He is particularly notorious for drug trafficking. But at that time, he was on friendly terms with the military regime. The military regime permitted him to do business and launder money. We learned that he established businesses in Rangoon, Mandalay and Lashio. He was on the US government sanctions list because of his drug trafficking. AZ: In the 1990s, Peng Jiasheng was associated with the Mandarin-speaking Wei Xiao Kham and Lo Hsing Han. Who are they? YP: As most people know, Lo Hsing Han is the father of Tun Myint Naing (also known as Steven Law), the owner of Asia World. He is a descendant of the Han Chinese. The Burma Socialist Program Party had Lo Hsing Han raise Kokang troops to counter the threat of CPB. Meanwhile, the CPB used Peng Jiasheng to attack the government. The two were warlords and both had troops. After the Kunlong fighting, the Burma Socialist Program Party allowed Lo Hsing Han to grow opium poppy and turned a blind eye to it. But then, Lo Hsing Han challenged the government authority's and the government arrested him on charges of high treason. He was granted amnesty in 1980. After that, he disappeared from public attention. Then he emerged again in 1989. AZ: My understanding is that Lo Hsing Han brokered the negotiations between Peng Jiasheng and Gen. Khin Nyunt, the chief of military intelligence, who had started to rise to prominence at that time. Among the personalities at the negotiating table were Kokang chieftain Olive Yang and Brig-Gen Aung Gyi. YP: I hear that Lo Hsing Han's son Ko Aung Naing has passed away. He served as a coordinator for negotiations. AZ: All the groups in northern Shan State had previously worked hand in glove with the military regime. It is fair to say that it was the generals of the previous military regime who allowed the drug barons to launder their black money. It is the previous military regime that allowed Peng Jiasheng and other drug barons to attend the National Convention as ethnic representatives. This should be included in our discussion. The fight took place before Union Day. While the fighting was going on in Laukkai, some ethnic armed groups signed a pledge to work for peace. The Kokang are represented at the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). Would you care to discuss this? KK: The government really wanted to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement on Union Day and the president said that he was very desirous of it. Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing had also talked about signing it. Ethnic groups believe that they would have no role left to play if they signed the truce without firm guarantees by the government. So, a real dialogue is still needed for them to meet their demands. They had said before Union Day that they would not sign the agreement before discussing their demands. Fighting took place just a few days before they went to Naypyidaw. Four armed groups, namely the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, Kachin Independence Army, the Kokang and the Shan State Progressive Party/ Shan State Army-North have been active in northern Shan State and the government already knows that. But why does it target the Kokang now? It is an interesting question. AZ: Let's discuss the role of Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing. He went to Lashio and met with war refugees. People become more aware of the important role of the army and the army could highlight its important role. The Laukkai fighting has come to the fore, overtaking student demonstrations against the National Education Law and protests against the Letpadaung copper mining project. YP: Following the conflict, public attitude toward the military has changed. Their dislike for the army has lessened. AZ: Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing mentioned the concept of 'just war' as he met with war refugees. He said the sovereignty of the country is threatened. What is meant by just war? YP: The army's fight against the Kuomintang in the past could be called a just war. But it is an open question if the fight against own national brethren is a just war. I notice that the army increases its support amongst the public when it tries to explain and promote its role. KK: The phrase ‘just war’ has confused people, because the Kokang is also one of the groups sitting at the negotiating table with the government. It also joined the talks in Rangoon. The Kokang group of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) is also a member of the UNFC and the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), which is an alliance of 16 ethnic armed groups engaging in peace talks with the government. The Kokang is also one of the 135 ethnic groups in Burma. So, the choice of the phrase ‘just war’ has confused people. YP: Some Facebook users described the fight as an invasion. AZ: Let's talk about the position of China. While the fight was going on, The Global Times, which is the Chinese government's mouthpiece, said that northern Burma is not unlike the recent case of Crimea. Before that, the Chinese foreign affairs envoy paid a call on Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlang and discussed matters related to the peaceful settlement of border issues. In the past, the Snr-Gen had serious discussions with the Chinese Vice-President during a visit to Beijing. Haven't the Burma army, the generals and the Burmese government known that there would be clashes and tensions? YP: In meeting with Chinese envoy, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing talked about the way Chinese local authorities handle the situation at the border. He said that the peace process initiated by Burma government has been impeded by clashes at the border. At that time, the fight had not yet taken place. But then, fighting suddenly broke out after the envoy went back to China. So, I assume the military expected that a war was likely. If it did not sense that fighting was on the horizon, it must have been the result of shortcomings in army intelligence, isn't that true? Suppose they already smelled the fighting, why didn’t they prepare for it? What do they want to do? This has become an important question for us. AZ: China was a constant and big supporter of the Burmese military regime and is a neighboring country. It is Chinese government that provided oxygen to Burmese military regime to survive militarily and politically over 20 years of international sanctions. So, I don't think the Burmese government or military regime would dare to declare war on China. I think the government army fought a limited war in order to reignite nationalism and promote the role of the military. What do you think? YP: China has many interests in Burma, including the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port, the Myitsone Dam and teak logging. But we can do something to those interests if we happened to fight with China. At the moment, it seems the government is trying to create the public perception that the army is trying to protect its people from Chinese invaders. AZ: If the current Burmese government and the generals who have now amassed substantial fortunes could handle these issues prudently, the Burmese people would regard them as protectors of national sovereignty. We will conclude our program here. Thank you all.   The post 'A Guerrilla War is Still Taking Place in Laukkai' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

India Bets on GM Crops for Second Green Revolution Posted: 22 Feb 2015 09:34 PM PST An Indian scientist points to a patch of genetically modified rapeseed crop under trial in New Delhi. (Photo: Anindito Mukherjee / Reuters) NEW DELHI — On a fenced plot not far from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home, a field of mustard is in full yellow bloom, representing his government's reversal of an effective ban on field trials of genetically modified (GM) food crops. The GM mustard planted in the half-acre field in the grounds of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi is in the final stage of trials before the variety is allowed to be sold commercially, and that could come within two years, scientists associated with the project say. India placed a moratorium on GM aubergine in 2010 fearing the effect on food safety and biodiversity. Field trials of other GM crops were not formally halted, but the regulatory system was brought to a deadlock. But allowing GM crops is critical to Modi’s goal of boosting dismal farm productivity in India, where urbanisation is devouring arable land and population growth will mean there are 1.5 billion mouths to feed by 2030—more even than China. Starting in August last year, his government resumed the field trials for selected crops with little publicity. "Field trials are already on because our mandate is to find out a scientific review, a scientific evaluation," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar told Reuters last week. "Confined, safe field trials are on. It's a long process to find out whether it is fully safe or not." Modi was a supporter of GM crops when he was chief minister of Gujarat state over a decade ago, the time when GM cotton was introduced in the country and became a huge success. Launched in 2002, Bt cotton, which produces its own pesticide, is the country's only GM crop and covers 95 percent of India’s cotton cultivation of 11.6 million hectares (28.7 million acres). From being a net importer, India has become the world's second-largest producer and exporter of the fibre. However, grassroots groups associated with Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have opposed GM crops because of the reliance on seeds patented by multinationals. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, a nationalist group which promotes self-reliance, has vowed to hold protests if GM food crops are made commercially available. "There is no scientific evidence that GM enhances productivity," said Pradeep, a spokesman for the group. "And in any case, why should we hand over our agriculture to some foreign companies?" A handful of agrichemical and seeds companies dominate the global market for GM crops, including Monsanto Co., DuPont Pioneer, a unit of DuPont, Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical, and Syngenta. Largely agricultural India became self-sufficient in foodgrains after the launch of the Green Revolution in the 1960s, when it introduced high-yielding seed varieties and the use of fertiliser and irrigation. The challenge now is to replicate that success in edible oils and vegetables, which are increasingly in demand. India imports about 60 percent of its edible oil needs at an annual cost of up to $10 billion—its third-biggest import item after crude oil and gold. The trials of the mustard plant, which provides the highest yield of all oilseeds, are being led by Delhi University researchers headed by Deepak Pental, a scientist who returned to India in 1985 from Britain. He has said that he has developed a transgenic mustard strain that raises output by up to 30 percent but that further trials were halted after the moratorium. The federal environment ministry began approving GM field trials in August, although applicants need to seek no-objection certificates from states where the trials are to be conducted. States ruled by the BJP are spearheading the trials: Last month, Maharashtra gave the all-clear to open field trials of rice, chickpeas, corn and aubergine, as well as new varieties of cotton. Punjab, ruled jointly by the BJP and a local party, gave the go-ahead for mustard in October followed next month by Delhi, then indirectly run by the federal government in the absence of a local government. "The [federal] government is, for a change, being decisive," Pental said, adding his mustard strain could be ready to be released for commercial farming in a year or two. Environmental group Greenpeace however remains opposed. "The current government's rush with open field trials without addressing the fundamental loopholes in the regulatory mechanism is a matter for serious concern," said Manvendra Singh Inaniya, a campaigner for Greenpeace India. "This leaves us vulnerable to contamination with untested and potentially hazardous GM food. We urge the Union Government to roll back approvals given to open air field trials of GM crops." But the environment ministry official said studies have found no ill effects from GM foods and that local firms should partner with multinationals like Monsanto, which has already licensed its Bt Cotton product to several Indian companies. "Farmers are smart and deserve wider choices," a spokesman for Monsanto in India said. "They will only reward products, practices and partnerships which create value on their farms." The post India Bets on GM Crops for Second Green Revolution appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Curses Protected Indian River, But Now It Faces Modern World  Posted: 22 Feb 2015 09:26 PM PST The Chambal River near Kota, Rajasthan, India. (Photo: Creative Commons) BHAREH, India — For centuries, it was a curse that saved the river. It was a series of curses, actually—a centuries-long string of unrelenting bad news in this rugged, hidden corner of northern India’s industrial belt. There was an actual curse at first, a longheld belief that the Chambal River was unholy. There was the land itself, and the more earthly curse of its poor-quality soil. And above all there were the bandits, hiding in the badlands and causing countless eruptions of violence and fear. But instead of destroying the river, these things protected it by keeping the outside world away. The isolation created a sanctuary. It is a place of crocodiles and jackals, of river dolphins and the occasional wolf. Hundreds of species of birds — storks, geese, babblers, larks, falcons and so many more — nest along the river. Endangered birds lay small speckled eggs in tiny pits they dig in the sandbars. Gharials, rare crocodile-like creatures that look like they swaggered out of the Mesozoic Era, are commonplace here and nowhere else. Today, tucked in a hidden corner of what is now a deeply polluted region, where the stench of industrial fumes fills the air in dozens of towns and tons of raw sewage is dumped every day into many rivers, the Chambal has remained essentially wild. But if bad news saved the river, good news now threatens to destroy it. The modern world, it turns out, may be the most dangerous curse of all. Sages and Bandits The fears that shaped this region go back more than a thousand years, to when sages said the Chambal (the term refers both to the river and the rugged land around it) had been cursed and villagers whispered that it was unholy. In a culture where rivers have long been worshipped, farmers avoided planting along the river’s banks. "People always said things were different in this area," says a laborer working along the Chambal River on a hot afternoon. He is thin, with the ropy toughness and the distrust of outsiders so common here. He gives only his first name, Gopal. "People," he says, "were afraid to come." A few centuries later the bandits arrived, men who hid in the maze of riverside ravines and kept outsiders away for generations. They were the last true protectors of the Chambal, it turns out. For hundreds of years, the outlaws ruled the labyrinth of scrub-filled ravines and tiny villages along the river. Spread across thousands of square miles, the Chambal badlands is a place where a dirt path can reveal a tangle of narrow valleys with 100-foot-high walls, and where a bandit gang could easily disappear. The bandits’ power—rooted in caste divisions, isolation and widespread poverty—was enormous. Countless governments, from Moghul lords to British viceroys to Indian prime ministers, vowed to humble them. Countless governments failed. As India modernized—as British rule gave way to independence, and a modern nation began to take shape—the Chambal remained a place apart, a feared region where politicians seemed more like criminals and where, in most villages, bandits were the true power. "We were so isolated for so long," says Hemrudra Singh, a soft-spoken aristocrat with a crumbling family fort overlooking the Chambal River from the village of Bhareh. He understands that isolation well. Until 10 years ago, Bhareh could only be reached by boat during the monsoon season. Only in the late 1990s did life in the Chambal begin to change significantly. Ancient dirt paths became paved roads, prying open villages that had been isolated for centuries. The bandits’ local political patrons were driven from power. Their foot soldiers were killed in shootouts with police, and their hideouts were forced deeper into the ravines by the spread of new roads. The last famed bandit, Nirbhay Gujjar, was killed by police in 2005. Today, cellphone towers and motorcycle dealers and satellite TVs are everywhere. New businesses and new schools have opened, ushered in by years of Indian economic growth. Farmers struggling with the poor soil now have fertilizers and tractors. In so many ways, that has been good news. Poverty remains widespread across the Chambal, but there are more roads now to get crops to market, and mobile phones to call the doctor when someone gets sick. Unemployment remains rampant, but there are occasional new jobs. With the good, though, came troubles that threaten the Chambal and its wildlife: polluting factories, illegal sand mining and fish poachers who hack at gharials with axes when the animals get tangled in their nets. As India’s population and economy grows, more people are moving closer to the river. Suddenly, the Chambal was no longer synonymous with lawlessness. Instead, it meant cheap land and untapped resources. Quickly, people began to come. And almost as quickly, the problems began. The New Curse The garbage multiplied. So did construction projects near the river and, with them, industrial pollutants. Torn plastic bags now sometimes blow through the ravines, and small stone quarries dump refuse into creeks that feed the Chambal. In 2007 and 2008, more than 100 dead gharials washed up on riverbanks — perhaps 25 percent of the world’s wild gharials at the time. While scientists have never been able to pinpoint the cause, and the population has grown back to a degree, most experts believe pollution introduced a toxin into the river. "In the old days, there weren’t many people here to interfere with the river," said Dr. Rajiv Chauhan, a scientist and Chambal River expert with the India-based Society for Conservation of Nature. "But with the bandits gone, the pressure on the river is now just too much." In theory, the wildest parts of the river are protected. A narrow 250-mile stretch of the Chambal was declared an official sanctuary in the late 1970s, closing it to everyone but longtime villagers, approved scientists and the handful of tourists who make it here. But India’s wildlife agencies are woefully undertrained and underfunded. Forestry officials often need to borrow boats to patrol the river. Banditry may have faded, but corruption is rampant: Locals who illegally cut firewood in the sanctuary pass forestry department checkpoints without challenge. More factories are being built upstream from the sanctuary, and their pollutants are leaking into the river. Increased farming has caused a spike in dangerous fertilizer and pesticide runoff, scientists say. Billions of gallons of water are siphoned away for irrigation. The most immediate worry is illegal sand mining, which can strip away thousands of tons of riverbank on a single day, causing immense amounts of silt to spill into the river, upsetting its delicate ecology. Demand for sand has soared across India in recent years as the economy has grown, leaving an emerging middle class clamoring for housing. Since most new Indian housing is made of concrete, and concrete requires sand, the surge in building has given rise to a sprawling network of black-market sand dealers. The "sand mafia," as the Indian media calls it, has no qualms plundering the easy pickings along a wild riverbank. Take a boat along the Chambal River on nearly any day, and the mafia’s power quickly becomes clear. Not far from the village of Bhopepura, dozens of tractors regularly snake down a dirt road to the river, pulling trailers filled with wiry, shovel-wielding men who hop down once they reach the riverbank. These are the sand mafia’s labor force, men who can earn $15 for a long, exhausting day of work. That is good pay around here. The mining is illegal, but the laborers say their bosses have paid off local officials. While none of the miners will give their full names, they also make no effort to hide what they’re doing. The mining area, perhaps 30 acres in total, can be easily seen from both banks of the river. While the men work, tractors rigged with loudspeakers blare Bollywood songs. There’s a calm beauty to the scene. Local villagers pass by, leading camels that leave footprints the size of dinner plates in the soft sand. When the breeze picks up, the camel bells clang. But people like Singh, the aristocrat, worry of tomorrow. Asked if he is optimistic about the area’s future, Singh simply looks at the floor and shakes his head. The laborers, poor men who spend most of the year working on tiny farms, are concerned with making extra money, not with wildlife. And that is the biggest curse that the Chambal faces today: The path of progress, sometimes, leaves little room for anything else. "What is a sanctuary?" says Gopal, the river laborer, his voice dripping with disdain. "What is a mammal? What is a bird? I don’t have time to worry about these things." The post Curses Protected Indian River, But Now It Faces Modern World  appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Hong Kong ‘Radicals’ up Ante in Democracy Push Against China Posted: 22 Feb 2015 09:16 PM PST Pro-democracy protesters carry yellow umbrellas, the symbol of the Occupy movement, and banners as they march on a street in Hong Kong on Feb. 1, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) HONG KONG — Nearly three months after police cleared away the last of Hong Kong's pro-democracy street protests, lingering anger is stoking a new front of radical activism that has turned shopping malls and university campuses into a fresh battleground. While still relatively few in number, a cluster of outspoken groups have staged small but disruptive protests in recent weeks targeting mainland Chinese visitors—tapping a seam of grassroots resentment to call for greater Hong Kong nationalism and even independence from China. More than 100 such activists descended on the New Town Plaza, a mega-mall a short train ride from the border, on a recent Sunday to harass the day-trippers who stream across daily to shop, eat and sight-see. The mainlanders— 40.7 million of which visited the city of 7 million last year—spur the local economy, but also exasperate locals by clogging streets and emptying store shelves of cosmetics, baby formula and other essentials. "Away with the locusts and barbarians," read one banner as protesters roved through the bustling mall tailed by police. "Go back to China," protesters shouted at visitors, including an elderly Chinese woman who fled with her trolley-load of shopping. "We don't want you!" Shops were closed and police pepper-sprayed some activists amid chaotic scenes and made several arrests. A pro-Beijing newspaper, Wen Wei Po, thundered that the "radicals," some of whom waved a British colonial flag, were "inciting the foul culture of Hong Kong independence." The financial hub reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997, under a "one country, two systems" formula that gives it substantial autonomy and freedoms, with universal suffrage promised as an "ultimate goal." The idea of Hong Kong independence is anathema to Beijing, which fears any separatist or sweeping democratic demands spilling into China to undermine its rule. 'Mao Zedong Harbor' The student-led "umbrella movement" that saw hundreds of thousands of people blockade major roads for 79 days last year in a push for full democracy, was one of the most overt challenges to the Communist Party's grip on power since the Tiananmen Square protests that were bloodily suppressed in 1989. The movement, named after the umbrellas used by protesters at early "Occupy Central" demonstrations to shield themselves from police pepper spray and batons, has given voice to a breed of younger activists taking increasingly provocative actions. China's Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily, called on mainlanders to stand up to the "demonization" against Chinese shoppers, rather than to "remain passive and be silent". "We should rename Victoria Harbor, Mao Zedong Harbor," wrote one user on Weibo, China's popular social media service that has bristled at the treatment of Chinese shoppers. As activists push back against Beijing's growing attempts to tighten control of Hong Kong on national security grounds, some say the widening social divisions and anti-China sentiment could weigh on its longer term prospects. "If we don't rectify the situation in 10 years… it will be the end of Hong Kong politically and economically," said Elsie Leung, a former Hong Kong Justice Secretary and an advisor to China's leaders. Tensions have also sharpened on university campuses between Hong Kong students, many of whom participated in the protests, and their mainland counterparts, who now make up a sizeable portion of student bodies. Elections for the student union at the elite University of Hong Kong turned into a slanging match, when a Chinese student was accused of being a Beijing spy and subjected to personal attacks. A student at City University, Timson Kwok, gave up his student union campaign during last year's demonstrations, telling Next magazine in an interview that two people who hinted they were working on behalf of Beijing, had offered him money and power to help "de-radicalize" the Hong Kong Federation of Students, a major force in the protests. Kwok and City University declined to comment. China's Hong Kong Liaison Office did not respond to a request for comment. Last Chance for a Direct Vote? Hong Kong is now moving towards a crucial legislative vote in late June or early July on a new electoral package for a 2017 leadership election that could allow a direct vote, but only for candidates pre-screened by a pro-Beijing committee. Democratic lawmakers who hold a one-third veto bloc in the 70-seat legislature have vowed to vote the package down. Sources with ties to Chinese officials dealing with Hong Kong affairs say China remains unpersuaded of the case for granting greater democratic latitude. "Even if there's a 0.1 percent risk, Beijing won't want to take that risk of having someone elected who is against the Central Government," said one source. A veto of the reform package would return Hong Kong to the status quo, with no direct vote for its leader. "Unless we can resolve this conflict between Beijing and Hong Kong … not only will we not get universal suffrage," said Ronny Tong, a moderate democratic lawmaker. "But I fear that there will be an unhappy ending to one country, two systems." Meanwhile, on the streets, activists say the umbrella movement is far from over. "More people will call for independence," said Tony Lam, a 32-year-old at the New Town Plaza protest in a wheelchair. "Only Hong Kong people can save Hong Kong… That's why I keep coming out." The post Hong Kong 'Radicals' up Ante in Democracy Push Against China appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Rebels Deny Attack on Red Cross-Protected Refugees Posted: 22 Feb 2015 08:29 PM PST The Burma Army addresses the press in Naypyidaw after a second attack on an aid convoy in Kokang Special Region, February 21, 2015. (Photo: MOI Webportal Myanmar / Facebook) RANGOON — Kokang ethnic rebels battling Burma Army forces in the country's north denied several government accusations Sunday, including that they attacked a Red Cross-flagged truck that was carrying refugees fleeing fighting in the area. Kokang spokesman Htun Myat Lin said the report by state media of Saturday's attack was not true, and that his group did not even have forces in the area of the alleged ambush. The state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper reported that the rebels used heavy weapons to attack a truck carrying 15 refugees, wounding five people, including a TV cameraman from state-run Myanma Radio and Television and a Myanmar Red Cross volunteer. The two sides traded similar accusations about an attack Tuesday on a seven-car Myanmar Red Cross convoy carrying 100 people that wounded a driver and another volunteer. The Kokang special region, which lies near the border with China, is difficult to access, and verifying claims by either side is difficult. "This is the second time the government has spread this kind of propaganda," Htun Myat Lin said by phone. He also denied accusations made to reporters Saturday by a senior Burmese military official that other ethnic rebel groups were joining the Kokang in combat against the government. "They are not supporting us materially nor are they are joining the fight, though they are our close allies," Htun Myat Lin said. He denied as well an assertion by the military official, Lt. Gen. Mya Tun Oo, that the Kokang rebels were paying former Chinese soldiers to join them and provide military training, saying that China does not support them and that they have no contact with China. Htun Myat Lin said government forces pounded Kokang outposts Saturday using MIG-29 fighters and Mi-35 attack helicopters, resulting in the burning of several houses and villages. More than 50 military troops and 70 Kokang rebels have been killed in fighting since Feb. 9, according to the government. The president of the Myanmar Red Cross, Tha Hla Shwe, said he was "very much disturbed by this second attack on a Red Cross vehicle." "It is unacceptable that Red Cross volunteers carrying out their humanitarian function are targeted. Even though I don't know who was responsible for the attack, I would like to strongly request all parties not to attack Red Cross personnel and civilians," he said. The post Burma Rebels Deny Attack on Red Cross-Protected Refugees appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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