Tuesday, April 21, 2015

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Win Tin: Burma’s Revolutionary Journalist

Posted: 21 Apr 2015 06:09 AM PDT

Win Tin

Win Tin after his release from prison in 2008. (Photo: Kyi Toe)

One year to the day since Burma lost one of its leading intellectual figures, Win Tin, The Irrawaddy looks back on his enduring legacy. A beloved democracy activist, journalist, founding member of the National League for Democracy and a former political prisoner, Win Tin lives on as an emblem of persistence and bravery for those seeking true democratic change in Burma.

Win Tin spent 19 years in prison for his opposition to the former military regime, but his principles never wavered. With this article from The Irrawaddy archives, originally published on the day of his death, we revisit what it was he stood for and his relevance today.

Burmese journalist Win Tin was a true believer in democracy and press freedom. He never hid his disdain for the repressive military regime and continued to challenge Burma's current nominally civilian government.

Win Tin spent seven thousand nights in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison, but he had no regrets and continued to boldly carry the flag of democracy and helped keep the opposition movement alive. "The dictators can only detain our bodies, not our souls," he once said while in prison.

The way he confronted Burma's repressive rulers was so uncompromising and inspiring that the generals feared him, and with good reason. In Burma and beyond, many loved and respected the man who, together with Aung San Suu Kyi, has become a symbol of the country's long struggle for democracy.

As I learned the news of his passing this morning I thought of his determination, intellectual steadfastness and the principles he upheld, and, most importantly, his contribution to the democracy movement.

Among his fellow political activists and contemporaries, Win Tin stood out as a bit different and, though it was not his intention, he outshone many other opposition figures.

One reason for this was his unbending stance and sharp reading of the political situation during the repressive regime and the current democratic transition. He remained very critical and cautious of the ongoing political reforms—a healthy and welcome approach in my view.

Win Tin was always ready to express his opinions to the media, he was eloquent and precise, and unlike many other opposition members he didn't shy away from criticizing his party leader, Suu Kyi.

Devoted to Political Life

Win Tin was never married, but devoted his life to books, newspapers and politics. Many adored him as an example of a completely selfless man who cared about Burma's people and showed particular concern for the younger generation.

Even when he became older and suffered from increasing health problems, he would not bother people around him with his ailments; instead he would ask them to leave him while always thanking them for their visit.

Right up until the end he was quick to offer his witty or harsh criticism of the former junta leaders, the current government, while also occasionally criticizing Suu Kyi.

Last year, he said that the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader has been too reconciliatory toward the current government. "Some of us would like to push the military into the Bay of Bengal," he told The Washington Post, "She only wants to push them into Kandawgyi Lake," a reference to a lake in central Rangoon.

During my first visit back to Burma in 2012, I went to meet him and asked whether it was the right decision for Suu Kyi to enter the by-elections that year and enter Parliament. He paused, looked at me with smile and said, "You know she enjoys a Hollywood star status and she is a really popular figure."

After he was released from prison in 2008, we spoke on the phone and he outlined some of the differences between himself and Suu Kyi.

"Suu Kyi is a VIP prisoner—we spent our times in dog cells and we were treated inhumanely. Our feelings and sentiments toward the generals are not the same as Aung San Suu Kyi. She always looked at them with some understanding and she sees the military as her father's army. But we don't," he said.

Despite such frank remarks, he never expressed any doubt about Suu Kyi's leadership of the NLD and maintained she was the only political figure capable of leading Burma to democracy.

Nearly Two Decades Imprisoned

In 1989, Win Tin was a journalist when he backed Suu Kyi for the leadership of the NLD that she had formed. The same year he was thrown into prison under trumped up charges and accused of being "a communist" by the military regime that had taken power in a coup. He would spend almost two decades in prison.

I had a chance to speak with Win Tin shortly before the 1988 uprising began during a literary talk of the kind that were regularly held in a discreet manner in the old socialist Burma of former strongman Ne Win.

At a friend's house in downtown Rangoon, some 30 writers had gathered to hear the bespectacled Win Tin speak about the increasingly tense political situation. I noticed he was outspoken but calm, and he voiced concern over the fate of Burma's youths and students in those difficult times.

Looking back, I've wondered if he foresaw the uprising at the time or that he would soon face decades in detention and become one of the most prominent and longest serving political prisoners in Burma.

The regime would later find out that it had been wrong to put the iron-willed Win Tin in prison. Unable to break him physically or psychologically, the generals finally gave up and ordered him released in September 2008.

He continued to oppose them even then and refused to sign a form outlining conditions that he should follow upon his release. Prison officials dragged him from his cell and dropped him at his friend's house.

While in prison, he was often visited by foreign diplomats, US congressmen, International Red Cross officials and UN Human Rights investigators. He became one of Burma's most well-known political prisoners and reports of his ailing health regularly appeared in the international press. Western governments, human rights organizations and press freedom groups repeatedly tried to intervene in order to free him.

Win Tin pressed on in spite of his health problems and maltreatment in prison, where he remained politically active.

In the 1990s, he asked Suu Kyi to stay the course when the regime applied a divide- and-rule strategy against the NLD in order to pressure the party into joining a military-backed national convention to draft a new constitution.

At one point, he and his prison inmates secretly compiled an 83-page human rights report and smuggled it out through a visiting UN special rapporteur. Enraged prison officials raided cells and dug up books, papers, news bulletins, two radios, and publishing materials. Win Tin and dozens of political prisoners were punished with solitary confinement in tiny "dog cells" and received extended jail sentences.

His former inmates recalled how Win Tin always encouraged them to unite and stand up against any unjust treatment imposed on them in prison.

Ironically, he also spent time with some members of the former regime who were imprisoned after Snr-Gen Than Shwe ordered a purge of Khin Nyunt's powerful Military Intelligence (MI) units in 2004.

Several high-ranking MI officers, including one who had been in charge of Win Tin's case, were thrown into prison and shared a cell next to his.

Win Tin also spent time in prison with the grandsons of former dictator Ne Win, who were convicted on high treason charges in the early 2000s by Than Swhe's regime. Late last year, when they were released, one of Ne Win's grandsons immediately went to see the old political activist.

During a funeral in Rangoon in October, former spy chief Khin Nyunt walked up to Win Tin to shake his hand. Win Tin showed no anger, but later told The Irrawaddy that the MI officers should apologize to the nation for what they had done.

Win Tin was a keen, unrelenting government critic to the very end, intent on taking down all the obstacles on Burma's long road to democracy.

Without his guiding light, it's hard to imagine how the democracy movement will treat the many challenges ahead during this unpredictable democratic transition, where there are still many wolves in sheeps' clothing.

The post Win Tin: Burma's Revolutionary Journalist appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

As Election Nears, USDP Candidate List Almost Complete

Posted: 21 Apr 2015 05:56 AM PDT

Shwe Mann

USPD chairman Shwe Mann talks with USPD members during a party meeting in May 2013. (Photo: Nan Thiri Lwin / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burma's ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has begun zeroing in on candidates in the lead-up to landmark elections later this year.

Central Executive Committee member Tint Zaw told The Irrawaddy that while about 80 percent of the party's candidates have already been nominated, a complete list will likely be finalized by the end of June, after the party congress to be held in the capital city of Naypyidaw.

Almost all of the party's incumbents, most of whom were elected during general elections held in 2010, will seek reelection, Tint Zaw said. A few who wish to retire or vacate their positions for other reasons will be replaced by new candidates.

"Our priority is the candidates who won in 2010," he said, adding that new candidates will be put forward by state and divisional committees for approval by the party's central authority.

The central committee will focus campaign efforts on areas that already have a strong support base for the policies and principles of the USDP, he said.

Most of the party's candidates have been selected and approved by the committee, though the list has not been disclosed. The USDP will prioritize the inclusion of women, minorities and well-educated members to fill remaining vacancies, Tint Zaw said.

The USDP currently holds about 50 percent of parliamentary seats, and data from the Union Election Commission indicates that only about two percent of them are women. About 27 percent identify as ethnic minorities, the large majority being ethnic Burman, according to the non-governmental monitor Open Myanmar Initiative. Tint Zaw said that as the party considers its nominees, members "will try to listen to local voices."

Some USDP members are sure to seek reelection, he said, including Parliamentary Speaker Shwe Mann, who is expected to seek the presidency. "We all want him to contest," Tint Zaw said, adding that the party is still unsure whether incumbent President Thein Sein will run again.

Lower House lawmaker Aung Thaung, who made headlines last year when he was blacklisted by the United States for undermining reform and "perpetuating violence," is expected to seek reelection, as is Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint.

A candidate list for 45 townships in Rangoon has already been finalized and submitted to the committee, according to the USDP's divisional office in the former capital, but it has also not been made public.

The USDP is Burma's biggest and most powerful political party, established in 2010 as the country began its transition from military rule to quasi-civilian leadership. The party is closely associated with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the former military regime that was dissolved in 2011.

The main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), boycotted the 2010 elections that installed the USDP in Parliament, though by-elections held in 2012 landed 43 NLD members in the legislature including party chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi.

The post As Election Nears, USDP Candidate List Almost Complete appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘History May Blame Those Who Refuse to Hold Talks’

Posted: 21 Apr 2015 05:43 AM PDT

Parliamentarian Aye Maung

Parliamentarian Aye Maung represents Burma's ethnic minorities in high-level, six-party talks on political reform. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

A dialogue involving six of Burma's leading political players, considered by many to be crucial for Burma's tenuous democratic transition, was held on April 10. The much-anticipated gathering yielded little in the way of political breakthroughs, however, with the parties agreeing to meet again next month.

Parliamentarian Aye Maung, who represented Burma's ethnic minorities in the talks, sat down with The Irrawaddy following that meeting to discuss its outcomes, constitutional reform and the political calculus of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

How satisfied are you with the six-party talks?

It is not that only us [ethnic minorities and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi] that demanded six-party talks, but all of Parliament demanded it. But even then, more than four months have passed [since Parliament called for the dialogue]. To be frank, I feel sorry about the time [that has passed].

We had desperately hoped for the dialogue. History may blame those who refuse to hold talks. It is because everyone wants to get the Constitution amended, and everyone well understands that the six-party dialogue is important for constitutional reform.

Therefore, I am satisfied with the talks themselves. Once a dialogue is started, it can't be reversed. Once it is started, all six parties are obligated to make it a success. It is already satisfactory that initial steps have been made toward trust-building as a result of the talks.

What did you discuss on behalf of ethnic minorities' interests?

I discussed principles. I said that firstly, we want a genuine federal system within the framework of constitutional reform. The federal system, according to our definition, has four features: autonomy, self-determination, resource-sharing and tax revenue-sharing.

Regarding autonomy, we want the Constitution to provide that local persons govern their respective regions. Here, we need to amend Article 261; we want the Constitution to provide that states' chief ministers are directly elected by their respective state parliaments.

We want to reduce the role of the army in the administrative apparatus. I asked for a reduction in the 25 percent bloc of army men in state parliaments and the granting of self-determination by creating a parliament that can pass legislation without the army's involvement.

We want no more ministers, including the border affairs minister, who are directly appointed by the army. The civil war might even come to an end by reducing the role of the army in state parliaments. The civil war is mainly attributed to [ethnic armed groups'] desire for autonomy and self-determination.

I can accept the fact that the army takes 25 percent of seats in the Union Parliament as part of its role in the Union. But, it has nothing to do with state parliaments. If it [the military] is sincere, it should reduce its block in division and state parliaments. I want the army to be under the control of a democratic government. Even if it can't do so overnight, it should reduce its role over time if it wants to show its respect for democracy.

What were the responses of others to the points you made?

Everyone talked about his or her wishes and positions. The Union Parliament speaker shares the same position as us. It is difficult to disclose who said what. I can tell you what I discussed, but as for the positions of others, I had better keep silent.

Since you attended the dialogue representing Burma's ethnic minorities, have you shared the outcome of the talks with them?

Yes. I explained the positions of each individual participant and recounted the discussion as best as I could recall. I explained to representatives of ethnic parties at 6 pm the same day [as the dialogue was held, April 10]. And I also gave interviews to some news agencies.

How did ethnic representatives respond? Did they react?

Not yet. We, ethnic parties, have compiled a book on agreed points among us and my discussion points at the dialogue were within the framework of that book. I only talked about the things we have already agreed upon. The book also includes proposed amendments to the Constitution by ethnic parties. I handed over copies of the book to the commander-in-chief, the president and parliamentary speaker U Shwe Mann. We want to make the move openly.

We are going by our four-point principles, which I mentioned before.

Do you think the six-party talks will be successful? If not, what will the future of Burma's politics look like?

We have an optimistic view. We hope for the success of the dialogue. If it does not deliver results, history will cast us—each and every one who participated in the talks—in a negative light.

The country is likely to face a general political crisis if the dialogue fails to deliver results. We may experience another uprising like the 88 pro-democracy one, or the country may become the enemy of the entire international community. And all the gains achieved over the past four years may come to nothing. All six participants are obliged to make sure a general political crisis does not happen.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has implied that she may boycott the election. What is ethnic groups' response to that?

I think she said the right words at the right time. Her choice of words, saying she may avoid the election if necessary, drove [the concerned political leaders] into six-party talks. We reckon that her words led to the six-party talks. I am grateful to her.

But her words do not mean that she would do as she said. We are politicians and, of course, we have options. We will exercise those options as necessary. We will use sword or scissors or canon or bigger options as necessary. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has used a sharp sword and that has proved to be really effective.

Indeed, they are testing each other's strength, with smiles on their faces. They are making moves. Previously, those six were at a distance from one another and now they have become closer. So, I hope we will be able to complete a long, difficult journey.

Do you think the democratic reforms of President U Thein Sein will be considered a success as his term comes to an end?

He tries as best as he can. Rather than U Thein Sein, I would like to assess former Senior General Than Shwe. We should think about what moves U Than Shwe is making at present. U Thein Sein was handpicked by U Than Shwe. If U Than Shwe had not made that move, U Thein Sein would not have become president. Likewise, all the key figures are on U Than Shwe's chess board.

U Than Shwe has made other moves: making Burma undergo a democratic transition without a drop of blood, making the people accept the 2008 Constitution and making the NLD [National League for Democracy], which boycotted the 2008 Constitution, enter Parliament through by-elections. The next move of U Than Shwe will be a deciding factor [in Burma's politics].

Every politician should be aware that while they need a good beginning, they also need a good ending. U Than Shwe has taken the current path to achieve a good ending. He won't commit the same mistake made by U Ne Win. U Than Shwe has made this move because he has considered his younger generations rather than himself. Nothing could be as politically secure as a democracy for his future generations. If all these moves were made by U Than Shwe, it can be said that he is creating a very good democratic society for our country. At this point, we should be able to negotiate for an agreement that can fulfill our demands to some extent, as well as providing an exit for him [Than Shwe]. And this negotiation may have an impact on the six-party talks.

The post 'History May Blame Those Who Refuse to Hold Talks' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Govt Reintroduces Top Civil Servant Post

Posted: 21 Apr 2015 05:08 AM PDT

Thein Sein

Burma President Thein during a televised address in March 2013. (Photo: President's Office website)

RANGOON — President Thein Sein's government is reintroducing the post of permanent secretary, bringing back the old position for the highest civil servant in a ministry, a ruling party parliamentarian said.

Hla Swe, a Union Solidarity and Development Party Upper House lawmaker, said the government this month appointed 36 officials to the position of permanent secretary, adding that most of those appointed were previously director generals in their respective ministries.

The permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant position and serves directly under the minister, which is a political appointment. Burma's 1950s government of Prime Minister U Nu employed permanent secretaries, but Gen. Ne Win abolished the post after staging a military coup in 1962.

The permanent secretary will receive a 700,000 kyats monthly salary (about US$700), up from the director general's salary of 500,000 kyats, according to Hla Swe.

The lawmaker said Parliament had not objected to reintroducing the executive branch positions, even though they are more powerful than the post of director general.

Nyan Win, a spokesperson of the National League for Democracy, said the opposition party had no problem with bringing back the post. "We have no reason to argue against these appointments, a permanent secretary is just a government employee," he said.

Some political analysts, however, believe the government might have reintroduced the permanent secretary post in order to place old regime-era officials loyal to the USDP and the army in more powerful civil servant positions.

Such a move, they said, could strengthen the USDP and army's hold over the government administration in case of an opposition victory in the general elections scheduled for November.

"I am not surprised; it is a precautionary measure before the election, just to make sure the same power structure remains in place even if the NLD does win the election," said Bertil Lintner, a veteran journalist who wrote several books on Burma.

Yan Myo Thein, an independent political analyst, said, "I don't think there is sufficient reason to quickly appoint permanent secretaries right now. What I believe is that government is trying to keep the military regime mechanisms strong, even after the election."

"Most high-ranking officials in government ministries came from the military; most DGs [director generals] have a military background. These people will become more important [through the creation of the permanent secretary post] even if the next government is a purely civilian government," he said.

The Irrawaddy was unable to immediately confirm the names of most permanent secretary appointments.

Local media outlet DVB reported that Tint Swe, director general of state broadcaster MRTV, was promoted to permanent secretary at the Ministry of Information. Under the former military regime, Tint Swe held the position of deputy director at the information and communications department and he was also director of the censorship board, which was abolished in 2012 by Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government.

Toe Aung Myint, the current director general of the Commerce Ministry's department of trade promotion, was promoted to permanent secretary, said Yan Naing Tun, a deputy director general at the ministry. Dr. Zaw Wai Soe was reportedly appointed as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health.

Myint Kyaw, secretary of the Myanmar Journalists' Network, said he was not concerned over the appointment of the junta-era censor to permanent secretary. "I don’t think the media policy will significantly change because of the new appointment of U Tint Swe to permanent secretary since the minister and the government will still control everything," he said.

The post Govt Reintroduces Top Civil Servant Post appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Murder Probe Opened in Shooting of Letpadaung Farmer: Lawyer

Posted: 21 Apr 2015 04:59 AM PDT

Letpadaung

Family members of Khin Win, who was killed by police during a protest on Monday, file a report concerning her death at Salingyi Township Police Station on Dec. 23. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Police in Salingyi Township have reportedly opened a criminal probe into the fatal shooting of Khin Win, a local farmer at the controversial Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Division, with the family's legal counsel indicating that authorities are considering the case a murder.

Lawyer Thein Than Oo, a member of the Myanmar Lawyers' Network who has been helping the victim's family to navigate the legal process since the incident on Dec. 22, said police officer Than Naing from the Salingyi Township Police Station would act as plaintiff in the case.

Khin Win, a woman in her 50s, was killed when police opened fire on farmers who were protesting efforts by the Chinese firm Wanbao to fence in their farmland as part of the mining project, which is a joint venture with the Burma Army-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEHL).

Khin Win's family submitted a report with local authorities early this year, seeking criminal prosecution in relation to her death. They were told that a decision on how the case would be handled was pending a ruling by the Salingyi Township Court.

Thein Than Oo said the court determined on April 9 that Khin Win's death, resulting from a gunshot to the head, constituted an offense warranting a murder investigation. With the opening of the case, investigators will collect witness and law enforcement testimonies to determine whether any police personnel should be held criminally liable for the killing.

"It can be said that this is progress for the case," said Thein Than Oo, who explained that he had initially thought the push for criminal prosecution would be rejected. The lawyer said he expected authorities to instead opt for a noncriminal inquest into Khin Win's death, justifying the less serious probe by defending the episode as a case of public servants performing their public duty.

The Salingyi Township Police Station could not be reached for comment.

Thein Than Oo said he would await further developments as legal proceedings move forward.

In mid-January, officials from the Myanmar Police Force's headquarters in Naypyidaw reportedly traveled to Sagaing Division, interviewing local authorities and the head of the Sagaing Division Police in relation to the case.

Following an investigation into the incident, Burma's National Human Rights Commission released a report in January that found police had failed to follow standard security procedures in their efforts to control the angry crowd that had gathered to protest the fencing off of land they claimed as their own.

Ten police officers and 11 villagers were injured in the altercation at the mining site, which has proven a volatile flashpoint in recent years as the project has advanced. Locals complain of forcible land confiscations, inadequate compensation offered for land seized and negative environmental impacts resulting from the project.

The post Murder Probe Opened in Shooting of Letpadaung Farmer: Lawyer appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Win Tin Honored on One-Year Anniversary of His Death

Posted: 21 Apr 2015 02:51 AM PDT

Click to view slideshow.

RANGOON — Colleagues, activists and admirers took time on Tuesday to remember Win Tin, one of Burma's most famous champions of democracy, by marking the first anniversary of his death in Rangoon.

Win Tin, who cofounded the National League for Democracy (NLD) along with the party's current chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi, was a veteran journalist known for his relentless activism and outspoken opposition to Burma's former military regime. He died of multiple organ failure last year at the age of 84.

Also known as one of Burma's longest serving political prisoners, Win Tin spent almost two decades behind bars, beginning in 1989, for cofounding the NLD and later for attempting to alert the United Nations to human rights violations in the country's prisons.

In honor of the late activist, hundreds of people including Suu Kyi attended a commemoration ceremony in Rangoon.

During a 13-minute speech dedicated to her fellow democracy icon, the leader of Burma's main opposition party described him as "dutiful and faithful to the party, [a man] who worked hardest among the party secretary members."

"[Considering what he endured], no one can sacrifice like he did, but we have to hold him up as a model. … I want to honor him as a democracy comrade," she said to the gathered audience. Among the crowd, many donned blue tops in honor of the revered dissident, who wore his blue prison shirt until his death in a show of solidarity with those who remained behind bars for political reasons.

Even after a new quasi-civilian government came to power in 2011, Win Tin condemned the Burma Army's continuing role in the country's reform process. He was also one of the few people who dared to question the tactics of Suu Kyi, whom he described as "too conciliatory" toward the generals who had once jailed him and placed her under house arrest. Win Tin was one of the earliest critics of the NLD chairwoman, saying she was overly eager to compromise and work within a system of entrenched military power.

"Even though we sometimes had different opinions, we negotiated successfully. We never resented each other," she said Tuesday.

"We have found solutions for the good of the people, not by putting our own interests first. I think that is the way to honor him," she added.

The memorial event included a public display arranged in tribute to Win Tin. At one corner of the hall, a table bore a large portrait of the late activist and books he had written on subjects ranging from journalism to European art to travelogues. A blue prison shirt was folded beside the books, while his wooden walking stick was laid on top of the table.

Down the hall, photographs documenting his political activities were on display along with handwritten manuscripts and some of the author's best-known quotes, such as: "If we are not dutiful in our time, the next generation will blame us. We should at least serve as a model that they should adopt for freedom and justice."

At the event, the NLD's patron Tin Oo called Win Tin "someone who deserves praise" for his dogged pro-democracy convictions and activism after his release from prison, often in spite of ill health. Tin Oo, himself a former general, added that his colleague had never let his own individual beliefs trump the party line and was determined to successfully carry out the NLD's collective will.

"If he were alive these days, he could write about and point out more relating to current political dynamics locally and internationally. I don't have that kind of ability like he did," Tin Oo said.

The post Win Tin Honored on One-Year Anniversary of His Death appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burmese Activist Wins ‘Green Nobel’ for Campaign Against Irrawaddy Dam

Posted: 21 Apr 2015 02:38 AM PDT

Myint Zaw

Environmental activist Myint Zaw. (Photo: goldmanprize.org)

RANGOON — Burmese activist Myint Zaw was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. The American organization said it was honoring him for his successful efforts to stop the Myitsone Dam from being built on the Irrawaddy River in 2011.

"Facing heavy government scrutiny and restricted use of tools like email or social media, Myint Zaw launched a national movement that successfully stopped construction of the Myitsone Dam on Myanmar's treasured Irrawaddy River," the organization said about its decision to grant the award for environmental activism in Asia to Myint Zaw.

The annual prize is also called the Green Nobel and comes with a US$175,000 cash reward.

It honors grassroots environmental activists from Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America, for efforts to protect the natural environment. The prize was established in 1989 by San Francisco philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman and winners are selected by an international jury.

Devi Thant Cin, a Burmese environmentalist who also campaigned against the dam, said in a reaction, "This is an honor, not only for the environmentalist, but for all people from Burma."

The 6,000-megawatt Myitsone Dam is a megaproject planned by state-owned China Power International at the confluence of the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State. The $3.6-billion dam would have significant downstream environmental impacts and forcibly displace 18,000 local villagers.

The project led to massive opposition after a nationwide campaign got under way, with much of the public virulently opposed to the decision by the former military regime to let Chinese investors dam the country's major river.

After the regime appointed President Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government in 2011 he decided to suspend the project for the duration his five-year presidential term.

Myint Zaw was a leading activist in the "Save the Irrawaddy" campaign and one of its most visible advocates; he held public talks, organized rallies and exhibitions on the importance of the river. He was joined by dozens of prominent Burmese leaders, activists, intellectuals and artists.

Myint Zaw, 40, studied development studies in Thailand and journalism in the United States, and after his studies abroad he came back to Burma in 2008 and joined the humanitarian relief effort after Cyclone Nargis hit. He is currently pursuing a PhD in resource management at the Australia National University College of Asia and the Pacific's Crawford School of Public Policy.

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Meikhtila on Edge After Standoff Over Interfaith Couple

Posted: 21 Apr 2015 01:58 AM PDT

Meikhtila

An intoxicated youth clenches a broken brick in late March 2013, as he surveys the smoldering remains of one of Meikhtila's Muslim neighborhoods, which was razed by rioters. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

MANDALAY – Central Burma's Meikhtila remains on edge after a tense inter-communal standoff on Monday night, following news that a young Buddhist woman had eloped with her Muslim partner.

In Thabyewa, a village about 10 miles north of the town, a small mob of hostile Buddhists gathered at the man's workplace to demand that she be turned over, witnesses said.

By around 9pm, a group of the woman's relatives and other Buddhists were facing off with a small assembly of Muslims outside the restaurant where he worked.

Police arrived quickly to defuse the situation, locals said. No one was injured and no property was damaged.

"The two groups argued and shouted at each other as the Buddhists urged [the Muslim man] to return the girl. About 20 police and administrative officers from Meikhtlia arrived and negotiated with the crowd," witness Maung Maung told The Irrawaddy.

Villagers said the young woman was returned to her immediate family and the crowd soon dissipated.

The duty officer on call, who wished to remain anonymous, said the incident was peacefully resolved.

"The situation has been controlled and the mob was dispersed at midnight," he said. "No one was detained and there was no destruction or violence at all."

Villagers remain fraught, however, as the memory of deadly communal riots remains fresh. In March 2013, a quarrel at a gold shop in Meikhtila set off several days of violence targeted toward Muslims leaving more than 40 people dead and thousands displaced.

Two years on, hundreds of the displaced have reportedly been resettled and more than 20 people have been sentenced for their involvement in the massacre.

The town has since been calm, if cautious. Following Monday night's scare, locals expressed concern that rumors have begun to circulate that could destabilize the town, which is still struggling to recover from its previous trauma.

"Some men have been talking about the incident in teashops, spreading rumors that Muslims and Buddhists are facing a deadly fight," said city elder Myint Lwin, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. "They are trying to stir up problems."

The post Meikhtila on Edge After Standoff Over Interfaith Couple appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Shine On

Posted: 21 Apr 2015 01:20 AM PDT

Shine On

The post Shine On appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Can Burma Buy Happiness in Washington?

Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:44 PM PDT

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Myanmar's President Thein Sein during their meeting in Yangon

US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Burma's President Thein Sein during their meeting in Rangoon in November 2012. (Photo: Reuters)

Burmese activists were outraged to learn late last week that the government had entered into a year-long public relations contract with a Washington-based lobbying firm worth US$840,000. Some took their disgust to social media, begging such legitimate questions as: "If reform is genuine and sincere, why would they need to hire a PR firm?"

The contract between the Burmese government and the Podesta Group, a powerful lobbying and public affairs firm closely aligned with the Democratic Party, began in March and will last for one year, during which Burma will dish out $210,000 each quarter plus expenses that extend to business-class travel and luxury accommodation. A disclosure required by the US government revealed some details of the agreement, signed by Podesta CEO Kimberly Fritts and Burma's Ambassador to the United States Kyaw Myo Htut.

The group will "provide strategic counsel [to the government of Burma] on strengthening the principal's ties to the United States government and institutions. Registrant will also assist in communication priority issues in the United States-Myanmar bilateral relationship to relevant US audiences, including the US Congress, executive branch, media and policy community," the disclosure said.

In Burma and among policy monitors, the move was surprising at first but ultimately understandable; amid mounting claims that the so-called reformist government is backsliding on key freedoms, the need for an image makeover is crystal clear. Landmark elections are set to be held later this year, and the country is still grappling with decades-old tensions exposed to more public attention since the reforms began.

Moreover, the Obama administration and the Democratic Party have deepened their ties to the country in recent years. The United States restored diplomatic relations in 2012 under US President Barack Obama. In November of that year, Obama became the first sitting US president to visit the country, after then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an historic visit one year prior. The Podesta Group, it should be mentioned, was cofounded by John Podesta, who is now the chairman of Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

Aung Zaw is the founding editor-in-chief of The Irrawaddy.

Aung Zaw is the founding editor-in-chief of The Irrawaddy.

Further evidence of the Democrats' affinity with the former pariah state can be seen in the sheer volume of exchanges and diplomatic delegations that have come to Burma over the past three years. Obama even ventured back for a second visit in November 2014, during which he affirmed his belief that "the democratic process in Myanmar is real" while cautioning that "change is hard." The comment spoke to a concern held widely among Burma's citizens that rapid change has come with severe consequences, and that what at first looked like political change is now often viewed as a deceptive power shift to the benefit of a select few.

Indeed, during Obama's last visit, he met with a group of young aspiring leaders from across the region for a town hall style meeting at Rangoon University, where he was greeted with banners reading "Reform is fake" held aloft by daring young students and activists. The simple act of protest struck a chord with several generations of activists and opposition politicians, and reflected a broad concern that the United States, the European Union and other western actors may have provided undeserved legitimacy to the Burmese government by embracing it prematurely.

Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has publicly shared her opinion that the current quasi-civilian government is a "hardline regime" with an insincere leader. Speaking to Reuters only a few weeks ago, Suu Kyi questioned the United States over its tactic of praising the Burmese government in hopes of encouraging further reform.

"I would ask whether it actually encourages them to do more or it simply makes them more complacent," she told Reuters, adding that the United States and the West were "too optimistic and a bit of healthy skepticism would help everybody a great deal."

In recent months alone, the Burmese government has provided plenty of fodder for its critics. Prisons are now filled to the brim with young activists on trumped up charges, while journalists and activists have faced a barrage of attacks by authorities, both physical and judicial.

The country's protracted peace process—which is geared toward ending decades of crippling civil war between the government and armed ethnic minorities—has often been denounced as farcical in the wake of continued attacks on rebel armies, particularly in the country's north and northeastern territories. Furthermore, the international media has kept up its harsh criticism of Burma's Constitution, which reserves the military's stronghold over the national legislature and prevents Suu Kyi from becoming president.

It is easy to see why the government wants a high-profile firm to engineer its image at this time, especially one so cozy with a party that has championed its leadership and reforms, and especially as that party prepares to keep its hold on the White House next year. An image of success and legitimacy would certainly be a win-win.

Priscilla Clapp, who served as Chief of Mission to the US Embassy in Burma from 1999 to 2002, speculated on the government's motivations when the Podesta contract was first reported by US-based policy newspaper The Hill.

"The breadth of the transition that's going on in the country is so wide and so deep that it's having a lot of unintended consequences in the country and in the society," she told The Hill. "I suspect that this is some of the reason the embassy would want to have a very highly reputable, politically savvy firm representing them here… because they don't have the capacity to maneuver the political system here in the US, they want to make sure that the policy community in Washington understands them better."

In the 1990s, when the Clinton administration placed sanctions on the country in the wake of a brutal crackdown on the 1988 popular uprising, the then-ruling junta reached out to several PR firms to deal with its worsening image. Over the years, those firms have included Bain and Associates (founded by former television reporter Jackson Bain and his wife), Jefferson Waterman International and DCI Associates, a Republican-leaning lobbying firm now known as DCI Group.

In the past, bills for PR services were covered largely by Khin Shwe, a powerful businessman then in charge of the Zay Ka Bar construction company, who now serves in Parliament. At the time, news reports often speculated that the PR push was motivated by big oil and gas interests eager to have sanctions lifted.

But circumstances have changed. Sanctions have already been eased and business is already booming. Keeping the pace will require at least a veneer of successful reform, as the Burmese government has already made promises to its Western partners. This isn't the first time the government has hired foreign firms to clean up its image in the United States, but it may well be the most crucial. Creating a pleasing image of the country and its leaders, however, could prove to be a tremendous challenge.

The post Can Burma Buy Happiness in Washington? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Firms to Sign First Phase of Dawei SEZ Development in June

Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:34 PM PDT

Dawei

A dirt road at the Dawei SEZ, a planned regional hub that remains largely empty. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

BANGKOK — Italian Thai Development Pcl and Rojana Industrial Park will sign a US $1.7-billion deal to develop the first phase of the long-delayed Dawei industrial zone in southeastern Burma by June, Thailand’s deputy transport minister said on Tuesday.

Thailand’s government had said the deal would be signed by March.

The project is arguably Southeast Asia’s most ambitious industrial zone – a 250-sq-km (100-sq-mile) deep-sea port, petrochemical and heavy industry hub located along the slim Thai-Burma peninsula.

"Italian Thai Development and Rojana will sign the first contract in May or early June … after Myanmar’s cabinet has approved it," Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told reporters in Bangkok.

The project’s first phase is set to include a 27-square-kilometre industrial estate, said Arkhom.

The project will begin with construction of a 138-km (86 mile) road from Dawei to Kanchanaburi province, 119 km northwest of Bangkok. Road construction should begin by the end of this year, said Arkhom.

The Dawei Special Economic Zone project has been stalled for years. Delays were largely blamed on Italian Thai Development (ITD), which had failed to secure private investment and agree on a power source for the complex.

Burma has asked for 4.5 billion baht ($138.9 million) from Thailand for construction of the road, said Arkhom.

Thailand said in January that it would provide soft loans to Burma to meet a budget of about 3.9 billion baht for road construction.

Thailand and Burma seized control of the strategically located complex from ITD, Thailand’s biggest construction firm, in November 2013.

A master plan for development of the project will be completed by June, said Arkhom.

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After 19 Years Behind Bars, Journalist Win Tin’s Fiery Spirit Is Far From Broken

Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:25 PM PDT

Win Tin

Win Tin was a veteran journalist and a co-founder of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party. He died on Monday at the age of 84. (Photo: Kyi Toe)

Burmese democracy activist Win Tin, who passed away in Rangoon one year ago today, spent 19 years as a political prisoner due to his opposition to the former military regime. In this article from The Irrawaddy's archives—originally published in 2007, one year before Win Tin's release—another former political prisoner, Kay Latt, pays tribute to the democracy activist's resilience behind bars. Kay Latt lived beside Win Tin for four years in the same cell block of Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison, where he saw how the co-founder of the National League for Democracy (NLD) sought comfort in the news and in friendships with other political prisoners.

Like the English poet William Blake, who wrote the immortal line "Tiger, tiger, burning bright," Burma's long-serving political prisoner, writer and journalist Win Tin used the image of the proud jungle predator as a metaphor in o­ne of his own works.

"As long as the black stripes o­n the yellow background are vividly painted, the tiger is still a tiger," Win Tin wrote—a line that embraces a metaphor for himself and his caged existence. After 18 years behind bars, Win Tin is defiantly saying that caging a tiger doesn't change the animal into a docile cat. The tiger remains a tiger.

Win Tin actually befriended a cat in prison, and the animal repaid him by contributing some of its hair to bind a paste from which he made crayons. The inventive and determined writer crushed bits of red brick, mixing them with water and then binding the mixture with cat's hair. After two days in the sun, the dried mixture provided serviceable red crayons.

I first met Win Tin when he was transferred to cell block 3 of Insein prison, where I was also incarcerated. He had just been sentenced to serve a further 11 years shortly before completing his first term of imprisonment—a flagrant act of calculated cruelty by the regime.

At first, we were able to meet and exchange a few words daily during the 15 minutes when we were allowed out of our cells to shower and empty slop pails. But I also found opportunities to visit his cell, when he invariably asked: "Any news today?"

A senior jailer who overheard these exchanges even gave Win Tin the nickname "Mr. Any News." News and books were indispensable to Win Tin—he called them a kalikaw, which means "timeless need" in Pali.

Admitted o­nce to the prison's hospital block for hernia treatment, he couldn't wait to exchange the relative comfort of his sick room for his dank and filthy cell because he missed his reading matter and his "news."

He told me after his discharge from hospital that although the facilities and standard of comfort were "three star," he wasn't happy there. He had nobody to talk to, no news, no reading material, no paper to write—and he missed the singing of political prisoners from neighboring cells.

His political engagement remains undampened in prison, and he has paid dearly for his defiance of authority, seeing his sentence willfully increased despite his age and failing health.

I lived in the same cell block as Win Tin for four years, until I was transferred to another prison. He talked to me and other prisoners o­n every topic except his personal life and family, admitting o­nly that it was difficult to live alone. The news from outside that was so important to him never disclosed anything about any family members, although friends visited and engaged him in debate.

He never asked any favor from anybody apart from news and books. If he was given a treat he gave it away to somebody more in need. O­nce, o­n my birthday, I asked him to let me wash his blanket. He refused, but I told him I wanted to perform a kuthoel (a good deed) o­n my birthday, and then he handed his blanket over. And it certainly needed washing!

Win Tin told me he'd like to see me become a journalist, and he set about teaching me the trade. He entrusted me with completing his unfinished works. Whatever I achieve as a journalist I shall owe to him.

His strict routine extends to his eating habits—just o­ne daily meal and some gruel in the evening. He has his preferences, though: sausages, fried eel and peanuts. But his teeth give him problems, and he can't manage hard food. He has other health problems, which restrict what comfort he has in prison. He has to wear a neck collar because of a spinal problem and a hernia belt.

Despite failing health and the rigors of life in o­ne of the world's most notorious prisons, Win Tin's spirit remains unbroken. He is truly a tiger—and will remain o­ne.

Kay Latt is a former political prisoner who lived in exile for many years. This article was originally published by The Irrawaddy magazine in July 2007.

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Win Tin’s Lessons for Burma

Posted: 20 Apr 2015 10:29 PM PDT

Win Tin

Win Tin, one of Burma's most famous democracy activists, passes away on Monday, April 21, 2014, at the age of 84. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

One year to the day since Burma lost one of its leading intellectual figures, Win Tin, The Irrawaddy looks back on his enduring legacy. A beloved democracy activist, journalist and former political prisoner, Win Tin lives on as an emblem of persistence and bravery for those seeking true democratic change in Burma.

Win Tin spent 19 years in prison for his opposition to the former military regime, but his principles never wavered. With this article from The Irrawaddy archives, originally published on April 22, 2014, we revisit what it was he stood for and his relevance today.

Burma has much to learn from the life of veteran journalist and pro-democracy activist Win Tin, a man of courage and integrity who passed away on Monday morning while seeking care for several health ailments at a general hospital in Rangoon.

The 84-year-old was a founding member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. She called him "a man of courage and integrity" and said he was instrumental in spearheading the country's democracy movement.

But for any oppressive government, Win Tin was a great enemy. Due to his political activities, the former regime put him in jail for nearly two decades, tortured him, withheld medical treatment and confiscated his home. When they eventually released him in 2008, they demanded that he remain on parole. Still, despite their pressure, he never backed down from his principles.

While in prison, Win Tin created a motto, known in Burmese as Suu Hlut Twe, which laid out a simple and suitable path toward democracy. If Burma's ruling leaders are even remotely serious about their current reform process, they would do well to take his message to heart.

Kyaw Zwa Moe is editor (English Edition) of
the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at kyawzwa@irrawaddy.org.

Suu stands for Suu Kyi and the release of all political prisoners. Hlut, a shortening of the Burmese word Hluttaw, or parliament, refers to the assembly of a national legislature with representatives who were chosen in the 1990 election, which the NLD won by landslide. Twe, the Burmese word for "meeting," refers to political dialogue between the ruling government and opposition groups.

This motto was quickly embraced by political prisoners and opposition politicians, but calls for Suu Hlut Twe fell on deaf ears within the former military regime, led by dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Today under President Thein Sein, the dictator's hand-picked leader for a reformist government, some progress has been made on the first of Win Tin's three principles. Since 2011, nearly 2,000 political prisoners have been released from jail, although some remain behind bars.

The second principle, Hlut, has never fully come to fruition. The results of the 1990 election were nullified by Than Shwe's regime, which subsequently rigged the 2010 elections to ensure that the majority of seats in Parliament were filled by representatives of the ruling party. Still, free and fair by-elections in 2012 saw Suu Kyi and other NLD members earn 43 seats in the legislature, moving somewhat closer toward Win Tin's vision.

Political dialogue, the last principle, is the most important. Opposition groups have called repeatedly to negotiate with ruling leaders over the past two decades, with support from the United Nations and others in the international community, but political dialogue has yet to occur. In dealing with ethnic groups, Naypyidaw continues to delay substantive talks about political issues, saying it must first secure a nationwide ceasefire. Meanwhile, Suu Kyi's requests for four-way talks with Thein Sein, the army chief and the speaker of Parliament have been ignored, in an embarrassing show of the government's shaky commitment to reform.

Perhaps we should look elsewhere for advice on these matters. In particular, the Burmese today can learn from South Africa's struggle to dismantle the apartheid system. During a speech in 2012 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, former South African President F.W. de Klerk shared how he and Nelson Mandela worked to adopt their country's first fully democratic constitution in late 1993. He offered five lessons for transitioning to democracy.

"First, if you want to break out of the cycle of violence, if you want to lay the foundations for a more prosperous society, if you want to democratize, then the departure point is that leaders must become convinced that fundamental change is necessary," he said.

The movement to end apartheid eventually won support from both black and white leaders in South Africa. But in Burma, despite some progress over the past three years, the government does not seem convinced that fundamental change is necessary, especially since limited reforms have already won praise from the international community.

"Secondly," de Klerk said, "any new dispensation will best succeed if it is based on agreements forged in inclusive negotiations. Why do I put the emphasis on 'inclusive' negotiations? In most conflicts there are many parties involved in the conflict, with different agendas, with different concerns, with different fears and different aspirations.

"And only if you reach an agreement based on a broad consensus—one that is inclusive of an overwhelming majority of the population, who then say, 'We take ownership of this new constitution, of the principles of this agreement reached in negotiations'—can you be sure that it will last."

In a third and related point, the former president said, "Such negotiations, and the agreements reached as the result of negotiation, must accommodate the reasonable concerns and aspirations of the parties to the conflict. This means sacrifice from all sides. It means that the negotiation process should not end with victor and vanquished. The point I want to make is the negotiations must be on a give-and-take basis. Everyone has to have some pain, but everyone also has to get some satisfaction out of the negotiations."

In Burma, inclusiveness is scant. There is no give and take in negotiations, as the government allows only limited input from opposition and ethnic groups.

Fourth, de Klerk said it was necessary to "strike a balance between unity and diversity."

"The challenge is how to accommodate diversity, how to manage diversity. And if you want to resolve the problems, if you want to bring peace to those countries in transition, you need to strike a balance between unity and diversity," he said. "Important minorities need to feel that they are not marginalized, that they are recognized as important constituent parts of the whole."

This is a complicated issue for Burma, a country comprising many ethnic minority groups which have fought against the government for several decades. The ruling party remains unwilling to establish a federal system, as ethnic groups have requested.

Finally, de Klerk spoke about finding a formula for dealing with past political crimes.

"In many countries there is one big stumbling block to successful negotiation. It is one that prevents leaders from taking initiative to change the situation, to move toward democracy, toward greater freedom. It can be summed up in two questions: 'But if I lose power, will I go to jail? Will there be retribution against me?'" he said.

Burma's former generals definitely live in a similar state of fear, as do the country's current military leaders, government officials and lawmakers from the ruling party. In this regard, the option of a mass amnesty might be discussed during political dialogue between the government and opposition groups, following in the footsteps of negotiations in South Africa. Opposition leaders here would likely be willing to let go of desires for retribution in exchange for full inclusion in a genuine reform process.

But again, this can only happen if political dialogue occurs, which brings us back to the third principle of Win Tin's motto: Twe. Without dialogue, this country will never reach democracy. And unless the ruling leaders, including military leaders, believe that fundamental change is necessary, dialogue will never take place.

Unfortunately, although the ruling leaders who viewed Win Tin as "hard-liner" might shed crocodile tears on his death, they will likely not take his political suggestions seriously. The past three years of reform have offered little indication that the country's military leaders believe in fundamental change.

As a pragmatist, Win Tin understood this, which is why he did not trust Thein Sein's government. During an interview at his home in 2012, the veteran journalist told me that leading members of the current government could be seen as "a bunch of thieves."

He added, "All of us, including journalists, are still in the tunnel. Journalists must break out if there is no exit."

Living alone for many years, even before his arrest, Win Tin seemed to have just one attachment in life: the fight for democracy. "I will try to dismantle the military dictatorship until my final breath, with all my remaining strength and power," he told The Irrawaddy before the 2010 elections.

Until the very end, he stayed true to that promise. With his passing, Burma has lost a great man.

The post Win Tin's Lessons for Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bangladesh’s Opposition Leader Attacked at Election Rally but Unhurt

Posted: 20 Apr 2015 10:17 PM PDT

Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Begum Khaleda Zia at a rally in Jan. 2014.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Begum Khaleda Zia at a rally in Jan. 2014. (Photo: Andrew Biraj / Reuters)

DHAKA — Assailants wielding iron rods attacked the car of Bangladesh's former prime minister and main opposition leader Khaleda Zia on Monday during an election rally and then shot at it as the vehicle sped away but she was unhurt, officials said.

The attack highlighted tensions in the politically unstable South Asian country, where Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has stepped up protests aimed at forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit and hold a new national election following a disputed 2014 poll.

BNP spokesman Mohammad Shamsuddin told Reuters Khaleda had been addressing a rally for a mayoral election in the capital Dhaka from her car when the men tried to attack it with iron rods and sticks.

Shots were fired at the bullet-proof vehicle as it drove off, Shamsuddin said.

Khaleda's bodyguard and five other people were injured in the attack and had to receive hospital treatment, he added.

The BNP called for a nationwide general strike outside Dhaka and the city of Chittagong—which both hold mayoral elections on April 28—to protest against the attack on its leader.

The prime minister's political adviser, H.T. Imam, said Khaleda's party should take better security precautions in crowded urban areas because many Bangladeshis were angry with her over the protests organized by her party.

More than 120 people have been killed and hundreds injured in months of political violence, most of them in petrol bomb attacks on vehicles, amid transport blockades and strikes by the opposition aimed at toppling the government.

Political Rivalry

The BNP refused to take part in last year's general election, saying it was rigged.

Hasina has refused the BNP demands that she step down, instead tightening her grip by arresting key opposition leaders and clamping down on media critical of her government.

Bangladeshi politics has been mired for years in rivalry between Hasina and Khaleda. Both women are related to former national leaders and they have alternated as prime minister for most of the past two decades.

Khaleda, 69, is facing charges of instigating the violence, which is estimated to have cost Bangladesh the equivalent of 0.55 percent of its national output.

Earlier this month Khaleda was granted bail in two graft cases she is fighting. She denies any wrongdoing and says the charges against her and the BNP are politically motivated.

The post Bangladesh's Opposition Leader Attacked at Election Rally but Unhurt appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Advocate: 5 Asylum Seekers on Nauru Set to Go to Cambodia

Posted: 20 Apr 2015 10:08 PM PDT

Nauru refugees

Protesters hold placards at a 'Stand up for Refugees' rally held in central Sydney on Oct. 11, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

CANBERRA, Australia — Five asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, Burma and Iran have agreed to be among the first to leave the Pacific island nation of Nauru for Cambodia under a deal that allows refugees rejected by Australia to be resettled in the Southeast Asian country, a refugee advocate said Monday.

Ian Rintoul, spokesman for the Australia-based advocacy group Refugee Action Coalition, said none of the five men had had their refugee claims accepted yet.

While the bilateral agreement signed last September stipulates that those resettled in Cambodia must be genuine refugees who volunteered to go, officials in Nauru were inviting asylum seekers whose refugee claims have yet to be processed as well as bona fide refugees, he said.

"My suspicion is that they'll delay the flight long enough so that they can fast-track their determination process and they'll be granted refugee status before the plane arrives," Rintoul said. "The government is desperate to save political face and there are serious questions about the bona fides of what they're involved in."

The government had expected the first refugees to move to Cambodia by late last year, but the asylum seekers on Nauru have proved reluctant.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's office confirmed Monday that only genuine refugees would be resettled in Cambodia.

Of the 718 asylum seekers in Nauru from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, 485 had proven to be genuine refugees by the end of last month. Another 83 had their claims rejected and another 150 had yet to be assessed.

A fact sheet outlining the benefits that refugees would be provided with if they became the first to go to Cambodia, including free health insurance and cash, that was circulated by Australian officials around the detention camp in recent weeks said the plane could leave as early as Monday.

Dutton would not say when the first plane would leave Nauru or how many refugees it would carry. "It won't be far off," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

"We're having discussions with a large number of people on Nauru at the moment because we've made it very clear that those people will not be settled in Australia," he said. "So we want to provide them with assistance in the first instance to go back to their country of origin. If they're not prepared to do that, then we will provide them with assistance to go to Cambodia. That's the option available to them."

Rintoul said asylum seekers were being offered between 10,000 and 15,000 Australian dollars (US$7,800 and $US11,700) to go to Cambodia.

Human rights groups have condemned the deal as being dangerous for refugees and have called on Australia to fulfill its own obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention by resettling the refugees.

But Australia refuses to accept any refugees who attempt to reach its shores by boat. It pays Nauru and Papua New Guinea to hold them in detention.

The five men who had accepted resettlement in Cambodia had been segregated from the rest of the Nauru camp, Rintoul said. They included three ethnic Tamil Sri Lankans, a Rohingya Muslim from Burma and one Iranian, he said.

An Iranian woman whose refugee claim had been rejected volunteered to go to Cambodia, but her offer was not accepted, Rintoul said.

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Indonesia Military Launches Anti-IS Operation on Eastern Island

Posted: 20 Apr 2015 10:02 PM PDT

Indonesia ISIS

Indonesian soldiers patrol after parachuting from a transport aircraft near Poso, Central Sulawesi, on March 31, 2015 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. The drill was part of a broader effort to crack down on militants with suspected links to the Islamic State group. (Photo: Reuters / Antara Foto)

JAKARTA — Indonesia's armed forces have launched a six-month anti-terrorism operation to crack down on militants with suspected links to Islamic State, the top general said on Monday, amid growing concern about military involvement in internal security.

General Moeldoko said special forces personnel and intelligence agents were helping police track down radicals in Central Sulawesi, long known to be a hotbed of militant activity.

This is Indonesia's first major military counter-terrorism operation, traditionally the domain of the police, since the aftermath of the 2009 Jakarta hotel bombings.

"The geographical terrain there makes it difficult for police to get to them," Moeldoko told Reuters at military headquarters on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta.

"Our hope is that with our troops and live ammunition, we can compel the radical groups to come out of that area. After that, it's easier for the police to arrest them."

Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, is growing increasingly concerned about the return of hundreds of its citizens that have fought for IS in Syria and Iraq.

"The military will not give any space for IS to develop or live in Indonesia," Moeldoko said.

The military's growing presence on the island of Sulawesi started last month in an exercise involving warships and military aircraft. Some troops remain in the area.

But activists have questioned the military's involvement in domestic security, pointing to its track record of rights abuses in handling internal conflicts.

"Terrorism is not war, it is criminal," said Haris Azhar, coordinator of the commission for missing persons and victims of violence. "It has to be dealt with by police, not by the military."

Moeldoko said it was the military's job to make sure Indonesians were safe.

The general also raised concerns over tensions in the South China Sea, calling for a new military balance in the region.

"There are significant changes in the stable and calm conditions that existed in the region a decade ago," he said.

"So everyone has an opinion that China is a threat to the neighborhood. The region needs a new balance, which cannot be represented by just one major power."

China claims most of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea, disputed in parts with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Indonesia plans to upgrade its military forces in the remote Natuna Islands and Tanjung Datu, areas near China's claims, "to deal with developments in the South China Sea," the general said.

The post Indonesia Military Launches Anti-IS Operation on Eastern Island appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Crafting a Better Life

Posted: 20 Apr 2015 05:00 PM PDT

Click to view slideshow.

YANGON – Making a living has never been easy for Daw San San Oo, who at 44 has lived most of her life with a prosthetic leg and one functioning eye. When she was about 5 years old, an untreated ulcer in her toe soon became a brutal infection, coursing through the right side of her body. After three amputations, little was left of her leg and her vision was permanently impaired.

Despite living very close to a primary school, Daw San San Oo was not allowed to enroll. She never went to school and she never learned how to read or write. Eventually, she taught herself to count as being able to read numbers and count cash was necessary for just about any kind of job. She spent years eking out a living as a vegetable vendor, but the work was hard and the income unstable.

"I was tired all the time," she recalled, sitting on the floor of a small wooden house in Dala Township, just across the river from the heart of Yangon.

About one year ago Daw San San Oo joined the team of Pann Nann Ein, an organization that employs people living with a disability while providing a vocational skill set. Since it was founded in 2012, Pann Nann Ein has grown into a successful business producing quality hand-crafted greeting cards, with 18 full-time employees earning a steady and livable wage.

All of Pann Nann Ein's craftspeople live with some type of disability. Some are hearing impaired, some have Down syndrome and several—like Daw San San Oo—have lost limbs. They all live within an hour's commute from Dala, where they convene once a week to restock materials and spend a day working and studying together. While five of the staff are hearing impaired, all are learning Myanmar sign language so they can communicate with each other.

The degree and nature of disability among Pann Nann Ein's staff varies wildly, but some experiences were shared by all, namely, discrimination in social life, in schools and in the workplace. For many of Myanmar's disabled, lack of access to schooling causes enormous difficulty in adult life, further disadvantaging already marginalized people. While some educational reformers are pushing for inclusive education, disabled children are often not allowed to attend government schools and are offered few alternatives.

Myanmar only has about 15 special education schools for the deaf, blind, physically and intellectually disabled. Government figures indicate that only about 0.5 percent of the country's school-aged children living with a disability are enrolled in government-run schools. While there are a few other specialized institutions operated by NGOs, basic education is largely limited to those who live in one of the country's two largest cities: Yangon and Mandalay.

"Accessibility is the main problem," explained Daw Hnin Phyu Kaung, one of the founders of Pann Nann Ein and a former employee of The Leprosy Mission International. She said that attitudes and misconceptions about disability—even among education professionals—make it difficult for children with disabilities to attend local schools, while many have no access to special education programs.

"If they change their attitudes, there’s no need for special schools. We're all people, we're part of the same community, we can attend the same schools," she said.

Daw Hnin Phyu Kaung said she helped establish Pann Nann Ein after working for seven years with people affected by leprosy, a curable infectious disease that can lead to severe disfigurement. It has been eradicated in many parts of the world, but South and Southeast Asia still have some of the highest prevalence rates globally.

After years of experience with leprosy patients, Daw Hnin Phyu Kaung surmised that one of the biggest problems for people living with a disability is a significant disadvantage in gaining employment, stemming from both poor education and social stigma.

"I found that sustainable livelihood is important for them," she said. "If we give them sustainable work, it supports their skills. It makes them more sociable, more confident."

She seems to be right, according to several of the organization's staff. U Nay Linn Aung and his wife, Daw Khin Moe Win, joined the team together in late 2013. She was born without full use of her left arm and leg; he lost a leg in a machine-related accident while farming only a few years ago. For some time after the accident, U Nay Linn Aung was depressed; he said that people suddenly treated him differently. "Even my friends looked down on me," he said.

With limited options, U Nay Linn Aung struggled to get by making baskets and fishing nets, but he and Daw Khin Moe Win are now able to earn a steady income. They share a small home in Dala and hope to have children. Glancing at his wife as she nonchalantly trimmed away at textile swatches, he smiled and said, "I like working here."

Pann Nann Ein products can be found at Pomelo, 89 Thein Pyu Road, Yangon.

This article originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.

The post Crafting a Better Life appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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