The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Going Clean: A Mon Prison Seeks to Rehabilitate Drug Users
• Suu Kyi Pans Podesta Deal as Govt Wages PR Battle Against US Sanctions
• Court Transfers Students’ Case, 4 Face Extra Charges in Rangoon
• Amnesty Calls for Rio Tinto Probe for Role in Monywa Mine Sale
• Activist Gets 6 Months for Protest Against Journalist’s Killing
• Robert San Aung Nominated for Human Rights Award
• Laukkai’s Displaced Continue to Trickle Back Home
• In Pathein, Old Parasol Craft Struggles With Rising Demand
• Burma Population Control Law Threatens Minorities: Rights Group
• Sri Lankan Police Arrest Former President’s Brother
• Asian, African Nations Challenge ‘Obsolete’ World Order
• Impoverished Indian Farmer Commits Suicide at Rally
• Bangladesh Garment Workers Still Face Abuse, Danger Despite Reforms: Rights Group

Going Clean: A Mon Prison Seeks to Rehabilitate Drug Users Posted: 23 Apr 2015 06:38 AM PDT Click to view slideshow. KWAI WIAT, Karen State — Outside a remote prison deep in the jungles of eastern Burma, young men sweat through their withdrawal in the dense heat of early summer. The inmates at this modest facility, about 60 of them in all, were arrested by ethnic Mon rebels for drug sales or possession, and have been sentenced to a sober stint of road-building in the underdeveloped region. Kwai Wiat village is the site of a rebel military base run by the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), an approximately 1,000-strong ethnic armed group currently participating in union-level peace negotiations with the government. But unlike many of the small army's strongholds, this one is located in neighboring Karen State, where two other non-state forces—the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA)—reign supreme. After an uneasy drive of about one-and-a-half hours southeast from Mudon in Mon State, we arrived at the base where this small and experimental prison was established to curb the growing plague of drug use among the Mon communities peppered throughout the mostly Karen area. Mon soldiers claim that drugs are often trafficked and traded by DKBA soldiers trying to earn more income, much to the detriment of those Mon youths who lack education and employment. Many of the inmates are young, aged between 15 and 45 years old. All but three are ethnic Mon, and are serving sentences ranging from three months to three years, depending on the severity of their offense, mostly related to the use or distribution of amphetamines. The unarmed guards watched over them as they chipped away at the rudimentary beginnings of a new road. "They are not bad boys," one guard told the Irrawaddy as the group paused for a lunch break, "but they have money and they don't know how badly drugs can damage their lives." Prisoners and guards alike spoke openly to our team, explaining how the facility came to be and why its operations are so seemingly relaxed. The prisoners aren't violent criminals, the guard said, which is clear after watching the group joke around and talk over a playful recess. Most of the inmates are allowed to move relatively freely in and out of the prison grounds, while 20 who have been charged with serious crimes are kept under heightened security. Most of the prisoners said their treatment was fair, and that beyond being treated for drug addiction when necessary, they also had educational opportunities while doing time. Inmates attended nightly lessons in Mon language, as well as Buddhist teachings. Work starts at 9 am and ends at 5 pm, during which they either build roads or fences for the MNLA. When their sentences are over, some choose to join the rebel army, but recruitment is optional. Waste of Human Resources Min Soe Nwe, who leads the rehabilitation program in the prison, said that government inaction on the growing drug problem among minorities has left it to rebel leaders to find a solution. In their view, he said, minority groups suffer from a severe lack of human resources when they lose able-bodied youths to narcotics. "The working age for our people is between 16 and 45," he said, "but if they use drugs, they are wasting human resources for the Mon people. They can't create literature, they can't run businesses." Sadly, he pointed out, many minority youths do not have adequate access to education and become addicted to drugs before they are even aware of the risks. While the New Mon State Party (NMSP, the political wing of the MNLA) has taken a hard line on drug eradication, the government could do more to help, he said. Easier said than done, argued Aung Naing Oo, a member of the Mon State legislature who is also ethnically Mon. He said that the issue is often tabled in Parliament, but that a lack of resources, such as rehab facilities and a skilled police force, inhibit political will and progress. "Police have become more active about arresting drug users and dealers, but there aren't enough facilities or even enough police," Aung Naing Oo said. Further complicating matters, several Mon authorities said, is that ethnic Karen rebel authorities in the area don't feel the same incentive to solve the problem, and the MNLA cannot enforce drug restrictions in areas outside of its control. Min Soe Nwe said that while policies enforced by the MNLA have made it much more difficult for users to purchase dugs—in part by driving up prices within its own territories by increasing penalties—in some cases the efforts simply push addicts in the direction of Karen rebels who are willing to sell cheaper drugs in areas beyond their reach. "We know of about 10 houses in DKBA territory where they sell drugs in two different villages," he said, remarking that the houses are "like a market" for narcotics and that "anyone can buy it" for about 4,000 kyats (US$4) per amphetamine tablet. Cultural Costs Mon people are as known as devout Buddhists, a deep cultural tie that local religious leaders claim is also feeling the fallout of a rise in drug dependence. Nai Htwe, a senior Buddhist monk in Mon State, told The Irrawaddy that the plague of addiction has slowly crept into the monastery, corroding what was once a sacred place of respite. While the consumption of alcohol is not strictly forbidden in all Mon Buddhist homes, provided that it was donated during food collection ceremonies, he lamented that "the culture has changed." Nowadays, he said, he sees more and more users entering the monkhood, but not necessarily for help or spiritual rehabilitation. Nai Htwe said that some users go so far as to ask patrons for drugs instead of food at donation ceremonies before entering the monastery. Some even show up high at ordination, so intoxicated that they can barely recite the scriptures, which must be repeated three times to become a monk. Seemingly at a loss for words, Nai Htwe remarked only that, "it is sad for our culture." The post Going Clean: A Mon Prison Seeks to Rehabilitate Drug Users appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi Pans Podesta Deal as Govt Wages PR Battle Against US Sanctions Posted: 23 Apr 2015 05:35 AM PDT US President Barack Obama walks with former White House counselor John Podesta in Washington last year. (Photo: Larry Downing / Reuters) RANGOON — Aung San Suu Kyi has joined a chorus of local critics to pan the government's decision to retain Podesta Group in an effort to overhaul its image, as a senior member of President Thein Sein's retinue admitted that the lobbying firm has been charged with ending United States sanctions against Burma. The Washington-based firm has been hired on a yearlong contract for $840,000, plus business-class travel and luxury accommodation expenses, according to tax disclosures lodged for an agreement signed by Podesta Group CEO Kimberly Fritts and Kyaw Myo Htut, the Burmese ambassador to the United States. In an interview with Radio Free Asia earlier this week, the National League for Democracy chairwoman said that the government living up to the country's expectations would not need a public relations team. "I'm interested to know the motive behind it. [The government] said they hired the group to lobby for them," she said. "To lobby for what? The responsibility of the government is to serve the interests of its citizens. If it can fulfill this duty, why bother to hire such a group?" Presidential advisor Ko Ko Hlaing said that he hoped that hiring Podesta would help the government, citizens and media of the US gain more of an understanding of Burma and the activities of its government, which was important while the US maintained sanctions against local individuals and business concerns. "The reason is simple," he told The Irrawaddy. "The US is the world's biggest power. Although it has reduced sanctions against our country, they have not been totally lifted. So, there remains obstacles to our reform process even though the process is doing better than in the past." "If the reforms take shape quickly and the US also has a better understanding of us, it would bring greater benefits to our people," he added. "Compared to the US, the European Union practices a less strict policy towards Burma. It lifted sanctions earlier than the US. The US is the key country. That is why we target the US." Ko Ko Hlaing said that the amount the government will pay to the Podesta Group is comparatively small, and the practice of hiring lobbyists to improve bilateral relations is not unusual among countries. Indeed, the Podesta Group has provided public relations services to a number of foreign governments in need of an image makeover and a voice in Washington circles. Its client roster includes the governments of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, in the months before popular protests culminated in his ouster last year, former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, who tasked the firm with facilitating the sale of arms, and former Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, for which the firm was accused of planting stories to smear Berisha's political opponents. Earlier Burmese governments also hired public relations firms in an effort to improve their image. The Military Intelligence department of the former military regime hired several PR firms, including Bain and Associates, Jefferson Waterman International and DCI Associates, after the Clinton administration introduced economic sanctions against Burma in 1996, in the wake of a global outcry against human rights violations in the country. Cronies close to the junta reportedly paid for the services at the time. Established in 1987 by brothers John and Tony Podesta, and closely associated with the US Democratic Party, the Podesta Group has represented some of the world's largest corporations. Five of the world's six biggest defense contractors by revenue, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing and BAE Systems amongst others, have recently used the Podesta Group's lobbying services. The firm also represented British Petroleum in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. John Podesta, a former White House counselor to President Barack Obama and chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, has recently been appointed chair of the 2016 presidential campaign for Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton. Additional reporting by Sean Gleeson. The post Suu Kyi Pans Podesta Deal as Govt Wages PR Battle Against US Sanctions appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Court Transfers Students’ Case, 4 Face Extra Charges in Rangoon Posted: 23 Apr 2015 05:18 AM PDT Student activist Phyo Phyo Aung appears outside the court in Letpadan on Thursday. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Letpadan Township Court on Thursday transferred the legal case against 70 detained students to a court near Tharawaddy Prison, while police said that four students were facing additional criminal charges brought by two Rangoon police stations. The students, who have been detained since a brutal police crackdown on an education reform demonstration on March 10, were brought to Pegu Division's Letpadan Court to be informed of the transfer of their case to Tharawaddy Township Court, located near the prison where they are being held. "They say the court case is being moved for security [reasons]," said Robert San Aung, who leads the Myanmar Lawyers' Network team that is providing counsel to the students. He said he believed the court would not begin hearing the charges against the students until police have detained three more student activists—Kyaw Ko Ko, Myat Thu Aung and Ye Yint Kyaw—who remain at large The next hearing at Tharawaddy Court is tentatively scheduled for April 30. Last month, the court released 11 defendants on bail as they were Letpadan residents who had sought to coordinate logistics around the student protest. The defendants face various charges including unlawful assembly, rioting, incitement and causing harm to a public servant. Some of the charges carry penalties of up to three years under articles 143, 145, 147, 332 and 505 (b) of Burma's Penal Code. Amnesty International in a statement on Thursday called for the immediate and unconditional release of the students, some of who could face prison terms of up to nine years and six months because of the combined charges being brought against them. "A raft of politically motivated charges filed against student protesters over the past month—in addition to surveillance and harassment of human rights defenders and lawyers suspected of supporting the students—is a blatant attempt to intimidate and punish those connected with the student protests," the group said, adding that "a wider crackdown on freedom expression" is taking place in Burma. Police officers at Rangoon's Pabedan and Bothathaung townships told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that their respective stations were bringing additional charges against four students for their involvement in unauthorized education reform protests in the city in February. Three of the students, Phyo Dana, Phyo Phyo Aung, Nanda Sitt Aung, are being detained in Tharawaddy Prison. The fourth, Lin Htet Naing, who is the husband of Phyo Phyo Aung, is at large and is already being sought by Rangoon's Kamayut Township police for an unauthorized protest. Botahtaung Police Station's Maj. Sein Wai said police there wanted to charge Phyo Phyo Aung, Nanda Sitt Aung and Lin Htet Naing at Bothathaung Court with violating the Peaceful Assembly Law's Article 18, which sets out a maximum punishment of six months in prison. Phyo Dhana told reporters while he being led into the Letpadan Court building that he was facing charges under Article 18 in Pabedan Township. "I was told I will face a new charge for protesting," he said, adding that the charges being brought against him and other students are "non-sense." "The charges are pressed in whatever way the plaintiff wants—that should not happen if we are truly on our way to being a democracy," he said. Dozens of family members and friends of the detained showed up at the court house in order to briefly speak with their loved ones outside the building. Some said they were concerned over the well-being of the defendants because of a lack of sanitation and hygiene, and poor medical treatment in prison, while prisoners cannot use mosquito nets. Khin Moe Moe, a lawyer of some of defendants, said, "The youths are healthy but have mosquito bites, there are lots of insects… Also the water is not clean; it's got too much calcium and gives them skin rash." The post Court Transfers Students' Case, 4 Face Extra Charges in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Amnesty Calls for Rio Tinto Probe for Role in Monywa Mine Sale Posted: 23 Apr 2015 04:54 AM PDT A copper mine excavation about 24 km (15 miles) from Monywa in Sagaing Division. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) London-based rights group Amnesty International has called on British authorities to investigate British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto for "a possible breach of EU economic sanctions on Burma" over the role it played in a controversial sale of the Burmese assets of a Canadian firm Ivanhoe Mines, a sale that according to a leaked US State Department cable may have involved internationally blacklisted billionaire Tay Za as a middle man. Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines was involved in the Monywa copper mining project by way of its 50 percent stake in a joint venture called Myanmar Ivanhoe Company Limited (MICCL), a partnership with a Burmese state-owned company, which began operating the mine in the late 1990s. When Ivanhoe announced in August 2011 that its Burmese assets had been sold off, Rio Tinto owned a 46.5 percent stake in the Canadian mining firm—founded by mining mogul Robert Friedland—and had appointed half of its directors. Rio Tinto has subsequently increased its stake in Ivanhoe, and since 2012 has owned a majority stake in the firm—now called Turquoise Hill Resources and primarily focused in Mongolia. The handling of Ivanhoe's Burmese assets was mired in controversy long before Wikileaks published diplomatic cables implicating Tay Za in the eventual sale. In February 2007, Ivanhoe established what it claimed at the time was an independent third party trust called the Monywa Trust to take control of its 50percent stake in MICCL in preparation for a sale. The Trust was established as part of an agreement between Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto that was reached prior to Rio Tinto buying a substantial stake in the Vancouver-based firm, which already had the rights to a giant copper deposit in Mongolia that underpinned their partnership. Ivanhoe's founder and long time chairman, Robert Friedland, has described Rio Tinto's role in creating the trust as, "a matter of public record, that the creation of the Monywa Trust structure was dictated entirely by Rio Tinto as a condition of its significant equity investment in the Company [Ivanhoe Mines]." Following the creation of the Trust, Ivanhoe claimed that it no longer had anything to do with the mine's operations, a claim Amnesty challenged in a lengthy report released in February citing leaked diplomatic cables quoting the mine's acting general manager as saying that "Ivanhoe Headquarters" was still giving him instructions on how to operate the mine nearly two years after the ostensibly independent trust was created. In a detailed press release issued on April 16, timed to coincide with Rio Tinto's annual shareholders meeting, Amnesty highlighted Rio Tinto's connection to the controversial disposal of Ivanhoe's Burmese assets and the possible violation of sanctions. "Rio Tinto's role in the creation of this trust raises serious questions about whether the company was involved in activities which may have had the effect of circumventing EU economic sanctions, a criminal offence under UK law", Amnesty International UK's Economic Relations Program Director Peter Frankental said in the press release. "Information obtained by Amnesty International suggests that the Trust's subsequent sale of Ivanhoe's stake could have involved a breach of economic sanctions on Myanmar [Burma], by making assets available to the military-owned conglomerate the Union of Myanmar Economic Holding (UMEHL) and Tay Za, a 'broker' for the Myanmar government," read Amnesty's press release, a reference to a number of leaked cables which quote MICCL's acting general manager Glenn Ford detailing Tay Za's involvement in the negotiations for the sale. Amnesty's extensive research found that Ivanhoe established the trust in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), an overseas British territory. Because it was based in BVI the Trust's activities were subject to British and EU sanctions, which were in effect at the time of the sale, targeting Tay Za, the apparent broker of the sale and the military holding company UMEHL which took over the project. Following Ivanhoe's departure, UMEHL and a subsidiary of Chinese weapons manufacturer Norinco—called Wanbao Mining—have moved to significantly expand the mine and develop the Letpadaung deposit against the wishes of local farmers whose protests have been harshly dealt with by government authorities. Responding to the Irrawaddy’s questions a spokesperson from Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth office indicated that Amnesty's concerns were being looked into. "The UK is a leading advocate of strengthening financial and sanctions compliance worldwide. We have alerted authorities in the British Virgin Islands to this alleged breach, and requested that appropriate steps are taken to investigate," read an emailed statement from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Despite this assurance, it remains far from certain whether the British Virgin Islands, an autonomous jurisdiction known as the home of a financial system with extremely lax regulatory enforcement, will actually follow up on the matter, Rio Tinto, which did not did not respond to The Irrawaddy's request for comment, has repeatedly sought to distance itself from the controversy over the sale of Ivanhoe's assets. In a letter to Amnesty earlier this year, Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh took issue with allegations raised in Amnesty's report on the Monywa mine. "We do not agree with a number of your assertions, or the conclusions you seek to draw from them," read the letter, which was re-published in Amnesty's report. "It was, and remains, our understanding that the measures required by Rio Tinto and put in place by Ivanhoe on the disposal of the Myanmar asset were fully compliant with all applicable laws giving effect to sanctions. Rio Tinto was not aware of any facts or circumstances that would suggest any non-compliance with those laws at the time of, or prior to, the apparent divestment of the interest in mid-2011," Walsh concluded. Although Walsh claimed in his letter to Amnesty that the "conditions which Rio Tinto placed on Ivanhoe's disposal of the Myanmar assets also illustrated our recognition of the importance of meeting the high social, environmental and human rights standards to which we are committed," his firm has long been the focus of heavy criticism from rights groups over allegations relating to rights abuses and environmental destruction at various Rio Tinto project sites around the world. In 2008, the Norwegian Government Pension Fund—Global divested itself of its $850 million stake in Rio Tinto, citing environmental concerns over the firm's 40 percent stake in a massive mine in Indonesian-controlled West Paupa, operated by the firm's partner Freeport McMoRan. According to the fund, the decision to dump the Rio Tinto shares was made because of the "unacceptable risk that the Fund, through continued ownership in the company, would contribute to ongoing and future severe environmental damage." The post Amnesty Calls for Rio Tinto Probe for Role in Monywa Mine Sale appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Activist Gets 6 Months for Protest Against Journalist’s Killing Posted: 23 Apr 2015 02:44 AM PDT Protestors in Mandalay in late October call for an investigation into a journalist's killing. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — A Mandalay court on Thursday sentenced an imprisoned activist to a further six months of detention for staging an unauthorized protest against the Burma Army's killing of a journalist last year. Mandalay's Aung Myay Thar Zan Township Court found Thein Aung Myint guilty of violating Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law and handed down the maximum punishment of six months' imprisonment. In October, Thein Aung Myint organized a protest without approval from local authorities that called for justice in the case of the killing of freelance journalist Aung Kyaw Naing (also known as Par Gyi) by soldiers in Mon State, who were fighting a Karen rebel group. In late March, Thein Aung Myint was already sentenced to six months in prison, together with his wife Khet Khet Tin, for organizing an unauthorized "candle light" protest against frequent power outages in Mandalay. The activist couple is being detained at Oh-Bo Prison in Burma's second biggest city. While he was led out of the court, Thein Aung Myint told reporters that Burma's judicial system was broken as it had sentenced him to prison for a peaceful protest, while no one has been arrested for the killing of the journalist. "Until now, in the case of Ko Par Gyi no justice has been found. But I, who demand for justice for him, was sentenced with the highest penalties," he said. "This shows the judicial system of our country lacks justice." An inquiry by the Myanmar Human Rights Commission into the death of the journalist referred the case to a civilian court, but so far no court has taken up the case. Thein Aung Myint's lawyer, Ywat Nu Aung, said he would not appeal against the sentence as, "My client does not believe in this judicial system, so he has no willingness to try for an appeal." The lawyer said the sentence had been too harsh and that Thein Aung Myint's demonstration should have been allowed as it falls under freedom of expression. Lwan Moe Aung, a court information officer, said the court handed down the maximum punishment because Thein Aung Myint supposedly had also insulted government and army leaders during his unauthorized demonstration. "During his protest, he stated the name of president and army commander-in-chief as just Thein Sein and Min Aung Hlaing [without titles], which is impolite. And he also said: 'Get out you power-hungry lunatics,'" according to Lwan Moe Aung. "That's why the court found him guilty; his unauthorized protest was not only demanding justice for Ko Par Gyi, but also insulting the country's leaders." The post Activist Gets 6 Months for Protest Against Journalist's Killing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Robert San Aung Nominated for Human Rights Award Posted: 23 Apr 2015 01:52 AM PDT Robert San Aung, left, in 2012. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Prominent Burmese legal activist Robert San Aung has been announced as one of three nominees for this year's Martin Ennals Award, in recognition of his work as one of the country's leading human rights defenders. Devised in 1993 to give visibility to prominent activists across the world, the award's jury of 10 international human rights organizations said that the lawyer had distinguished himself for having "courageously fought against human rights abuses". "I feel humble and extremely honored to be nominated for this prestigious award," Robert San Aung said in an Amnesty International press statement. "This nomination conveys the message to activists, human rights defenders and promoters who fight for equality, justice and democracy in Myanmar that their efforts are not forgotten by the world." Arriving at university in 1974, Robert San Aung joined that year's demonstrations in support of a state funeral for former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant, during which many students were killed or imprisoned after a crackdown by the Ne Win government. After participating in numerous demonstrations, facing threats of expulsion and a spell in jail, he was admitted to practice law in 1980. He was imprisoned a total of six times between 1974 and 2010, with his law license revoked in 1993 for almost 20 years. Since returning to the courtroom in 2012, Robert San Aung has been an advocate for a number of land rights demonstrators facing charges under the country's draconian Peaceful Assembly Law. Along with his defense of villagers facing prosecution for their opposition to the Letpadang copper mining project in central Burma, he is currently representing students detained in Thayawady prison for demonstrating against the National Education Law. The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders is named for the British human rights activist who served as secretary-general of Amnesty International between 1968 and 1980. During Ennals' time at the helm of the organization, Amnesty was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its advocacy of the rights of political prisoners. The other nominees for the 2015 award are Ahmed Mansoor, a freedom of expression campaigner in the United Arab Emirates, and Asmaou Diallo, the founder of a sexual assault support service in Guinea. The award will be presented in Geneva on Oct. 6. The post Robert San Aung Nominated for Human Rights Award appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Laukkai’s Displaced Continue to Trickle Back Home Posted: 23 Apr 2015 12:40 AM PDT War victims who arrived in Lashio, Shan State, from the Kokang Special Region in February. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Residents of Laukkai who fled clashes between the Burma Army and Kokang rebels in northern Shan State continued what has been a gradual return to the conflict-wracked region this week, even as uncertainty lingers over the stability of the broader Kokang Special Region. Mee Mee, who has been helping those displaced by the fighting, told The Irrawaddy that the war victims were secure, with activists and volunteers helping them to piece their lives back together. "There are only 200 victims who have returned from Lashio. There were over 40,000 victims hiding along the border and most of them have returned to Laukkai now. They are being accommodated at schools and with makeshift tents," Mee Mee told The Irrawaddy from Laukkai. Tens of thousands fled the town following clashes that first broke out on Feb. 9 between government troops and Kokang rebels of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), led by Peng Jiasheng. "We have sent back 243 victims from Lashio," said Kyaw Ni Naing, a Lower House lawmaker from Laukkai, referring to northern Shan State's largest city, located about 80 miles southwest of Laukkai. "Those who were taking shelter at border checkpoint 125 have also come back. The town is alive again. [Recent] clashes have occurred at places far from the town, west of Laukkai. Harvesting has already begun at sugarcane plantations," he told The Irrawaddy. Kyaw Ni Naing said repairs had begun on buildings damaged by the fighting, and that food supplies would be provided to the returnees once a week. He added that President Thein Sein has been asked to establish a relief fund for the rehabilitation of Laukkai. MNDAA spokesman Htun Myat Lin, however, offered a different version of the situation in northeast Burma. "I hear victims were forced to go back. They were asked to go back amid clashes and were ordered to leave by a specific date," he told The Irrawaddy. From April 18-20, government troops again clashed with Kokang rebels, with Htun Myat Lin telling The Irrawaddy that about 20 Burma Army soldiers were killed and another 65-70 wounded. He claimed only two MNDAA soldiers were killed in the fighting. The Burma Army said earlier this week that 126 of its soldiers had been killed since fighting first began, and that it had recovered the bodies of 74 Kokang rebels. Civilian casualties in the conflict remain unknown. The post Laukkai's Displaced Continue to Trickle Back Home appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

In Pathein, Old Parasol Craft Struggles With Rising Demand Posted: 23 Apr 2015 12:39 AM PDT Pathein parasols are put on display outside a workshop in the Irrawaddy Delta town. (Photo: Salai Thant Zin / The Irrawaddy) PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Delta — Aung Naing's family has been making Pathein parasols for generations and in recent years he has reverted back to the original crafting techniques used since the time of Burma's last monarch, King Thibaw. "We're re-using the techniques of craftsmen from over 100 years ago, from the time of my grandfather. Parasols are handmade and 100 percent made of natural raw materials," said Aung Naing, who runs Shwe Sar Pathein Parasol Workshop. An icon of Burmese culture named after the Irrawaddy Delta town where it is made, the parasol, called Pathein htee in Burmese, has become increasingly popular with both domestic consumers and Burma's rising number of tourist visitors after producers began reintroducing old techniques. Its rising popularity is, however, presenting the Pathein producers with a problem as demand is outstripping production capacity, while traditional natural raw materials are in increasingly short supply. In the time of King Thibaw, the last monarch of Konbaung Dynasty who was ousted by the British some 150 years ago, ordinary citizens were only allowed to use parasols made of oil paper. The use of superior cotton or silk-canopy parasols was an exclusive right for the king and royal family. After his fall, royal parasols producers left Mandalay and some resettled in Lower Burma in Pathein, where the craft lived on and the parasols were produced as gifts for Buddhist monks and nuns. These days, the parasol is a popular decorative item. Producers make parasols following a Bagan period design, a Mandalay design (called ein taw yar) and a modern design. They are priced at between 2,000 kyats (US$2) to 100,000 kyats, depending on quality, design and size. Old Craft Brings Popularity, Pressures Until old techniques were reintroduced, the parasols were made of paper, but now the canopy is made of either cotton, silk or satin and glued to the frame with glue made from grinded tapioca powder dissolved in water. Juices from wild fruits, called sitsee, are used to water-proof the parasols for a period of up to two years, Aung Naing said. The parasol's main shaft, he explained, is made of a wood known in Burmese as ma u shwe war, while the ribs and stretchers are made from a type of bamboo called taragu, which grows around Pathein. The production process is labor-intensive and the old methods of preparing raw materials take time: taragu bamboo needs to be kept under mud for nearly three years so that it will not be eaten by worms. "For parasols to be made in 2017, we have to buy bamboo and prepare now. We just can't cut down the bamboo and use it immediately for parasols. Otherwise, they will be of poor quality," said Aung Naing. Pressures on the environment around Pathein are also a problem. "Taragu bamboo has become rare because of deforestation. Even if you have money, it is now not easy to stockpile it. We now have to buy it anywhere it is available. We should afforest bamboo systematically," said Ni Ni Htay, who owns Nay Nat Thar Parasol Workshop. Aung Naing said rising domestic and overseas demand was overwhelming Pathein's three main workshops and the dozens of smaller family businesses that produce the parasols. "Once we received an order for a container [of parasols] from abroad. They gave us three months. Even if all Pathein parasol workshops in the entire Irrawaddy Division produce together, we would not fulfill the order," he said, adding that producers could only meet about 20 percent of demand. "In recent years, we mainly distribute parasols domestically because local demand is unusually high," added Ni Ni Htay. Parasol producers said they are eager to scale up production, but, in addition to a lack of raw materials, they also face a lack of capital—a situation they said that should be remedied by the government. "We lack capital to produce quickly and in large numbers… all of us run [workshops] on a manageable scale as a family business. So, we are not in a position to fulfill the demand," said Aung Naing. Producers said they have approached the government for small and medium enterprises (SME) loans and requested allotment of land to cultivate taragu bamboo, but they have received no response so far. "If the government provided low-interest, long-term loans Pathein parasols could well become an export item that can generate foreign currency," said Aung Naing. He said government could follow the example of Thailand, where hundreds of Pathein-style parasol producers in Chiang Mai have received a tax exemption and various forms of government support in order to boost their industry. Organized in a "parasol village," the craft workshops have become a tourist attraction. The Pathein-style parasols reached Chiang Mai some 100 years ago when a Burmese layman donated a parasol to a Thai Buddhist monk, who then asked his disciples to copy the production technique. "A Thai government official who visited my workshop told me that the [Thai] government established a village for parasol craftsmen in Chiang Mai… I quite envy them," said Aung Naing. "The craftsmen here will try as much as they can to make sure their ancestral Pathein parasol industry does not disappear. If they give up their business because of financial restraints, Myanmar's valuable arts and crafts will gradually become extinct." The post In Pathein, Old Parasol Craft Struggles With Rising Demand appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Population Control Law Threatens Minorities: Rights Group Posted: 22 Apr 2015 10:42 PM PDT Rohingya refugee Rehana Begum holds her child as she hides in a house in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on June 17, 2012. (PHOTO: Reuters) LONDON — Burma's religious and ethnic minorities may be targeted, abused and suppressed by a proposed population control law which could be a serious setback for the country's maternal health advances, according to a US-based human rights group. The bill introduces the practice of birth spacing, requiring women to wait three years between pregnancies, which can curb maternal and child deaths, the Physicians for Human Rights said. While Burma has one of the highest infant mortality rates in Southeast Asia, World Bank figures show, the government has taken action, including access to education and contraception to improve maternal and child health, the rights group said. Yet the group said it was concerned that the bill, passed by Burma's parliament earlier this month and awaiting President Thein Sein's approval to become law, could strip women of the freedom and right to choose how they have children. "We want to encourage lower fertility rates but it can't be done coercively or by suppressing the growth of marginalized groups," Widney Brown, Physicians for Human Rights' director of programs, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. "If this bill is signed and applied selectively in areas where religious or ethnic minorities are already subjected to persistent and pervasive discrimination, we face a heightened risk of grave human rights violations." Women could be forced into abortions and both men and women could be sterilized if the bill comes into force, Brown said. "Without a clear non-coercion and non-discrimination clause, the bill should never have moved forward." The Muslim Rohingya population in Burma's western Arakan State are at particular risk of abuse, having been subjected to restrictions on marriage, registration of births, and many other human rights violations, Physicians for Human Rights said. The bill could be an attempt to keep the Rohingya from having any children at all, Brown added. Almost 140,000 of Burma's 1.1 million Rohingya, most of whom are stateless, remain displaced after deadly clashes with Buddhists in Arakan State in 2012. The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, said in a report published last month she had witnessed "abysmal" conditions at a camp where displaced Muslims were being held "for their own security." Lee said the population control bill and proposed laws on religious conversion, inter-faith marriage and monogamy could worsen ethnic tensions following a government plan in February to revoke temporary identification "white cards" for minorities. Burma's parliament voted earlier that month to grant white card holders, mostly Rohingya, the vote in a possible constitutional referendum, paving the way for their participation in a general election later this year. But Buddhists protested against the plan in Rangoon, the biggest city in Burma, arguing many of the white-card holders were illegal aliens. Shortly after the protest, the government announced it would revoke the white cards. The post Burma Population Control Law Threatens Minorities: Rights Group appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Sri Lankan Police Arrest Former President’s Brother Posted: 22 Apr 2015 10:36 PM PDT Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa greets supporters after casting his vote for the presidential election in January. (Photo: Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters) COLOMBO — Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brother was arrested Wednesday and a judge ordered him detained for two weeks over alleged misappropriation of state funds, an official said. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said the brother, former Economic Affairs Minister Basil Rajapaksa, is accused of financial irregularities in a poverty alleviation program run by his former ministry. Two other senior ministry officials were also arrested. Basil Rajapaksa had vast powers over the country’s economy during his brother’s presidency. He left for the United States, where he also has citizenship, after his brother’s defeat in a January election. He returned to Sri Lanka on Tuesday in response to a police summons. The police financial crimes unit questioned him for several hours Wednesday before arresting him. Since the new government took office, the Bribery Commission and police have initiated investigations into alleged corruption during the previous administration. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa also has been summoned by the Bribery Commission to explain why he gave a ministerial position last year to an opposition leader who defected to support Rajapaksa’s presidential re-election campaign. Rajapaksa’s rivals say the ministerial position was a bribe. Another brother, former Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has been asked to appear before the commission on Thursday. Rajapaksa loyalists have protested the summoning of the brothers, saying it is an affront to leaders who ended the country’s 26-year civil war. The brothers are credited with leading the military campaign that defeated Tamil Tiger rebels and ended the civil war in 2009. The rebels were fighting for an independent state for the country’s ethnic Tamil minority. According to a conservative U.N. estimate, about 100,000 people were killed in the conflict. The actual toll is believed to be much higher. The post Sri Lankan Police Arrest Former President's Brother appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Asian, African Nations Challenge ‘Obsolete’ World Order Posted: 22 Apr 2015 10:32 PM PDT Leaders from Asia and Africa pose for a group photo before the start of the Asian-African Conference in Jakarta on April 22, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) JAKARTA — Leaders of Asian and African nations called on Wednesday for a new global order that is open to emerging economic powers and leaves the "obsolete ideas" of Bretton Woods institutions in the past. Their calls came at the opening of a meeting of Asian and African nations in Jakarta to mark the 60th anniversary of a conference that made a developing-world stand against colonialism and led to the Cold War era's non-aligned movement. Among the leaders listening were Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who were expected to meet on the sidelines of the conference, the latest sign of a thaw in relations between the Asian rivals. Sino-Japanese ties have chilled in recent years due to feuds over the two neighbors' wartime past, as well as territorial rows and regional rivalry. Bilateral talks in Jakarta on Wednesday had the potential to promote a cautious rapprochement that began when Abe and Xi met at a summit in Beijing late last year. Abe, in an apparent reference to China's growing military assertiveness, told the conference that the use of force by the "mightier" should never go unchecked. The Japanese prime minister also said Japan had pledged, "with feelings of deep remorse over the past war," to adhere to principles such as refraining from acts of aggression and settling international disputes by peaceful means. It was not immediately clear if the remarks would satisfy China's desire for Japan to acknowledge its wartime past, but a Japanese official told Reuters Abe and Xi would meet. Xi had earlier told the conference that "a new type of international relations" was needed to encourage cooperation between Asian and African nations, and said the developed world had an obligation to support the rest with no political strings attached, the Xinhua news agency said. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the conference host, said those who still insisted that global economic problems could only be solved through the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank were clinging to "obsolete ideas." "There needs to be change," he said. "It's imperative that we build a new international economic order that is open to new emerging economic powers." The IMF and World Bank were at the center of the post-World War II monetary order created by the United States and Europe at the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire in 1944. Widodo made no mention of the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that is seen as a competitor to the Western-dominated World Bank and Asian Development Bank, but Indonesia is one of nearly 60 countries that have offered to be founding members of the AIIB. The United States and Japan have not thrown their support behind the bank, which is viewed as a threat to US efforts to extend its influence in the Asia-Pacific region and balance China's growing financial clout. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe told the conference that Asian and African countries "should no longer be consigned to the role of exporters of primary goods and importers of finished goods." He called it a "role that has historically been assigned to us by the colonial powers and starting from the days of colonialism." Indonesia invited heads of state and government from 109 Asian and African countries, but according to a conference official, 21 leaders turned up, which commentators have said shows the group is no longer relevant. The world order has changed dramatically since nearly 30 heads of state gathered in 1955 in the Indonesian town of Bandung to discuss security and economic development away from global powers embroiled in the Cold War. Together they accounted for less than a quarter of global economic output at that time, but today they contribute to more than half of the world economy. Many of the Bandung countries, such as China and India, are now themselves at top tables like the Group of 20 and wield significant economic power. Widodo said the group may be meeting in a changed world but still needed to stand together against the domination of "a certain group of countries" to avoid unfairness and global imbalances. The post Asian, African Nations Challenge 'Obsolete' World Order appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Impoverished Indian Farmer Commits Suicide at Rally Posted: 22 Apr 2015 10:27 PM PDT Protesters gather around a farmer who hung himself from a tree during a rally in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Photo: Adnan Abidi / Reuters) NEW DELHI — An impoverished Indian farmer died Wednesday after hanging himself in front of hundreds of other farmers who had gathered for a protest in the capital. It was the latest in a wave of suicides that has left at least 40 farmers dead in recent weeks—and some 300,000 dead since 1995. Rally organizers, who apparently initially thought the man was trying to disrupt the protest, quickly cut him down from the tree where he had hanged himself and rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead, said S. Saxena, an official at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. According to a note he left behind and which police recovered, Gajendra Singh said he killed himself after his father, left with nothing after rainstorms destroyed their crops, forced him from the family home. "I have three children. I don’t have the money to feed my children. Hence, I want to commit suicide," said the handwritten note. Police said the dead man was from outside the town of Dausa in western Rajasthan state. Rajasthan officials say heavy rains there have destroyed 30 percent of crops, though farmers say the amount is much higher. The man’s uncle, Gopal Singh, said the family owned 3.6 hectares (9 acres) of land where they grew wheat, but that the rains had almost completely destroyed the crops. "No one in the village has received any compensation from the government," said Singh, who was driving into New Delhi to retrieve his nephew’s body. State officials across north India have promised financial help to farmers who lost their crops—and who are often indebted to local loan sharks who advanced them money for seeds and fertilizers—but those payments have been slowed by bureaucracy and corruption, activists say. Wednesday’s rally was organized by the Aam Admi Party, the ruling party in the local New Delhi legislature, to protest proposed changes to land acquisition laws that critics say would harm farmers by making it easier for businesses and the government to buy their land. Almost three quarters of Indians still live in villages, and farm income is crucial to the country’s economy. Most farmers, though, survive season to season on tiny plots. One poor harvest can destroy a family financially. Rising prices for seeds and fertilizers, and banking reforms that ended up forcing farmers to turn to loan sharks, have magnified the trouble. The post Impoverished Indian Farmer Commits Suicide at Rally appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bangladesh Garment Workers Still Face Abuse, Danger Despite Reforms: Rights Group Posted: 22 Apr 2015 10:22 PM PDT People watch as rescue workers continue their operations at the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 kilometers outside Dhaka, on April 25, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) DHAKA — Two years after the deadly collapse of the Rana Plaza complex, employees in Bangladesh's garment sector still face exploitative and dangerous working conditions despite government labor reforms, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday. While the government and global brands have made progress in improving safety conditions for Bangladesh's millions of garment workers, many still contend with abuse at work, delayed wages, and threats when they try to form a union, an HRW report said. "Clearly, it is not enough to focus on safety alone," Phil Robertson, the rights group's Asia deputy director, said in a statement. "Recent tragedies at Bangladeshi factories demonstrate that dangerous working conditions are linked to the failure to respect workers' rights, including their right to form unions which can help them to collectively bargain for improved safety." The Bangladeshi government denies that factory workers are facing difficulties in trying to unionize. "If we receive any complaints from the trade union leaders that they are facing harassment or obstruction for forming trade unions, we immediately take stern action," Labor and Employment Ministry secretary Mikail Shipar, told Reuters. The government has filed more than 100 cases against factory owners or managers since the law was amended, he said. The collapse of Rana Plaza on April 24, 2013, killed more than 1,100 garment workers, shone an unprecedented light on unsafe working conditions in Bangladesh's thousands of garment factories and created urgent demands for global retailers to do more to ensure their workers' safety. The US$24 billion industry is now in the throes of a massive safety overhaul, and more than 2,000 of the country's 3,500 exporting garment factories have been inspected by the government or as a result of retailer-led initiatives. But gains for workers' rights in those factories have been slower to materialize. On the morning that Rana Plaza collapsed, surviving workers reported that managers had ignored their concerns that the building was not safe—a scenario that observers said could have been avoided if workers had better union representation. Since then, the labor law has been amended to make it easier to form unions, among other measures, and more than 300 new labor unions have been registered, the government says. However, workers interviewed by HRW said they were still being beaten and threatened at their factories for trying to organize, or stand up for co-workers' rights. The garment industry accounts for more than 80 percent of the South Asian nation's export earnings and employs some four million workers, providing a crucial source of income to women in particular. A multi-donor fund set up to compensate workers injured in the Rana Plaza collapse and victims' relatives is still short by about $6 million, the International Labour Organization says. Rights groups say that shows the enduring lack of commitment by retailers to those who make their clothes. "Instead of putting the slightest fraction of their profits towards the very people that suffered the most making their clothes, these brands choose to make ever more flimsy excuses," Ineke Zeldenrust, international coordinator of the Clean Clothes Campaign, said in a statement. The post Bangladesh Garment Workers Still Face Abuse, Danger Despite Reforms: Rights Group appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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