The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• DVB Claims Media Award for Laukkai Coverage
• ILO Urges Greater Protections for Burmese Migrant Workers
• Australian Mining Firm Looks to Dig in Karenni’s Tricky Territory
• Civilians Returning to Laukkai Say Govt Support, Security Lacking
• YCDC to Trade Poison Pill for Surgeon’s Scalpel in Rangoon Dog Cull
• Employers, Workers Far Apart in Minimum Wage Negotiations
• ‘It Is an Artist’s Job to Innovate’
• Two Police Officers Arrested for Rape of Teenager in Chin State
• Suu Kyi Drums Up Support in Rangoon
• Megafight Numbers Add up to New Sporting Landscape
• Angry Nepalis Wait for Quake Help as Death Toll Passes 4,000
• Thailand Seizes 3 Tons of Elephant Tusks Smuggled From Kenya
• Back With a Mission: Empowering Women in Burma

DVB Claims Media Award for Laukkai Coverage Posted: 28 Apr 2015 05:58 AM PDT Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) won this year's national broadcasting news award for its coverage of conflict in Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Special Region in northern Shan State. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A formerly exiled Burmese media organization was awarded this year's national news prize for broadcasting by the Myanmar Journalists Association (MJA), which has organized the media awards since 2012. Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) won the national news award for broadcasting for its coverage of conflict in Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Special Region in northern Shan State, according to Toe Zaw Latt, DVB's Burma bureau chief. Other award recipients this year included Soe Zeya Tun, a Reuters photographer who took out the News Photography category; freelance cartoonist Ko Shwe Htoo (Pyi) for best editorial cartoon; and veteran journalist Pho Thauk Kyar who claimed the News Hero Award, for commitment to journalism. "We were informed by the association's vice president that we won the award," Toe Zaw Latt told The Irrawaddy. "I have no idea about their criteria on choosing awardees but that kind of award is something that acknowledges people who work with difficulties." DVB became the first TV channel to air the attack by unknown gunman on a Red Cross convoy in Laukkai in February. The post DVB Claims Media Award for Laukkai Coverage appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

ILO Urges Greater Protections for Burmese Migrant Workers Posted: 28 Apr 2015 05:20 AM PDT Migrant workers from Burma clean equipment after returning from the ocean to the Thai fishing village of Ban Nam Khem. (Photo: Damir Sagolj / Reuters) RANGOON — A new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) has urged greater protections for young Burmese migrants seeking foreign job opportunities in Asia. The Safe Migration Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Myanmar report, written in collaboration with the Myanmar Development Resource Institute, noted that younger Burmese citizens were at risk of exploitation from unscrupulous employers abroad. "Greater protection for the migrant workers, whose enduring social and financial remittances continue to fuel the country’s development during this critical transition period, is both an economic and human rights imperative," the report said. Ministry of Labor figures show about 10 percent of Burmese nationals are currently working in foreign countries, with 3 million Burmese migrants working in Thailand and Malaysia. Many are still using illegal migration channels to avoid the higher costs associated with an adherence to bilateral labor agreements, rendering them prone to extortionate practices by travel brokers and employers. The study has urged authorities and groups working in the sector to strengthen legislation on migration, calling for awareness campaigns, stricter monitoring of recruitment agencies, tackling corruption and shutting out unlicensed travel and employment brokers. In conjunction with the study, which was conducted at townships in Mandalay Division, Dawei and Shan State early last year, the ILO has opened a number of migrant resource centers at its research sites, partnering with government Labor Exchange offices and community centers. A pre-departure information publication, which seeks to educate migrant workers on counselling services and means to seek redress in the event of exploitation, was endorsed on Sunday by the government for migrants traveling to Thailand and Malaysia. "We had published the pre-departure manual and travel booklet," said Hnin Hnin Nwe, the national coordinator for the ILO's GMS-TRIANGLE project. "We disseminate this information in many ways, via training, workshops with trade unions and civil society organizations, and community centers, where publications in ethnic languages are available." The collaboration between the ILO and the government is a relatively recent development. Statistics from the report show that 74 percent of prospective migrants from rural areas seek reliable information on migration from family and friends, with only one percent seeking information from the government. Yin Htway, coordinator of the Rangoon-based civil society organization Labor Rights Defenders and Promoters, told The Irrawaddy that further research was needed to examine migration issues in the country's border areas. "Migrant workers from the states and border areas are in need of this sort of information," he said. "The lack of awareness [of their rights] among potential migrants is one of the biggest issues." The post ILO Urges Greater Protections for Burmese Migrant Workers appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Australian Mining Firm Looks to Dig in Karenni’s Tricky Territory Posted: 28 Apr 2015 05:16 AM PDT The hills of Karenni State in eastern Burma. (Photo: TR) Australian mining firm Eumeralla Resources and its local partner Myanmar Energy Resources Group (MERG) received approval last year from state authorities to explore a 400km square area in Karenni State. The application, made through Eumeralla’s local Burmese subsidiary Mawsaki Mining Co. which is 70 percent owned by the parent company, still has to be approved by relevant central government authorities but has already raised concerns from local groups worried about the impact that the firm’s activities could have on the environment and the local community. Local activists are also worried that the deal—which, when approved, will give the Australian firm and its little known partner permission to explore a huge area of a state racked by armed clashes between the government and rebel groups since the late 1940's—could re-ignite conflict in Burma’s smallest state. While a ceasefire was reached between the government and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) in 2012, it remains unclear whether this represents a pause or a complete end to fighting in the state. Much of the fighting that took place in Karenni State over the last five decades revolved around the struggle between the government and the KNPP and other armed groups for control over the Mawchi mine, which during the colonial era was one of the largest tin and tungsten mines in the world. While Eumeralla has stated that the exploration lease, once fully approved, "would be one of the largest foreign held concessions in Myanmar," the firm declined to answer questions from The Irrawaddy regarding exactly where in the state they have applied for exploration and if any of those areas included territory controlled or claimed by the KNPP or the several other non-state armed groups that continue to operate there. Presumably, this is information that the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listed firm's shareholders would be interested in knowing as well, but none of those details could be found in any of the firm's filings. "All the information you need or we can disclose is in the public domain via the ASX website or on the Eumeralla website," said Eumeralla CEO Michael Hynes in an emailed response to the Irrawaddy. The fact that Eumeralla will not reveal what specific area the application covers is troubling, according to Ko Reh, a spokesperson for the Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN), a group active in monitoring development in Burma's smallest state. Ko Reh maintains that the Australian government should discourage firms like Eumeralla from operating in conflicted areas of Burma until permanent peace has been established. "The situation is not stable," warns Ko Reh, whose organization is concerned about the increased presence of army troops in contested parts of the state since the KNPP's ceasefire was signed.Ko Reh also believes that the present Burmese government policy regarding natural resource extraction, and mining in particular, does not do enough to safeguard the rights of small-scale land holders whose farms would be impacted by both mineral exploration and mining. He's not alone; a recent Investment Climate Assessment released by the World Bank earlier this year bluntly warns that with regards to mining, Burma does not have rules in place to protest the interests of local communities. "When it comes to mining, Myanmar [Burma] currently lacks the necessary laws and enforcement mechanisms to protect its environment and vulnerable populations against the impacts of mining. Over the past two decades, this has led to conflict and severe environmental degradation in the wake of a rapid increase in large-scale mining," the report concluded. Calls that Australia discourage its firms from mining activities in ethnic areas will likely fall on deaf ears in Canberra, which over the last two years hasactively promoted Australian mining and oil firms to invest in the former pariah. Burma's Minister of Mines reportedly visited Sydney in May 2013 as the head of a high-level delegation sponsored by the Australian government which is also supporting a rewrite of Burma's mining laws which,, when finalized, are expected to make it much easier for foreign firm's to operate in Burma. Questions Remain About Firm's Local Partners Eumeralla's website and various corporate fillings reveal little about the firm's relatively unknown Burmese partner Myanmar Energy Resources Group (MERG) who, according to Eumeralla, owns the remaining 30 percent stake in Mawsaki. Eumeralla claimed in an Activities Report sent to shareholders in June 2013 that MERG is a "Myanmar conglomerate with operations across a diverse range of business sectors," but didn’t disclose what any of those non-mining sectors were. Eumeralla identified MERG's executive director as a Hpone Thaung, though little information could be found about him. The MERG website, registered in Australia, does not include the name of Hpone Thaung or anyone else affiliated with the firm. Last year, text posted on the website claimed that MERG "became the first local business to bring world-class foreign mining companies to Kayah [Karenni] State." The MERG site also claimed that the firm is "working closely with the Kayah State government" to develop a 3,500MW hydroelectric project in the state, likely a reference to the proposed Ywathit dam on the Salween River(also known as Thanlwin). The Ywathit dam is a deeply unpopular project that has environmentalists up in arms over its impact on local fish species and communities living in thevicinity of the site. Both of these claims, last viewed in March 2014, have since disappeared from the MERG website. MERG's registration with government authorities, a copy of which was obtained by The Irrawaddy, does not include anyone named Hpone Thaung, instead listing two individuals named Kyaw Tin Oo and Win Naing as directorsof the firm, which according to the document is headquartered in Rangoon's Taung Kyar ward. Mawsaki, the firm held by Eumerralla and MERG, does not appear on the public list of firms registered with the Burmese government's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. A four-page statement released by a Karenni activist group, the Molo Women Mining Watch Network (MWMWN), in October 2013, claimed that Mawsaki was owned by the chairman of the Karenni Nationalities People Liberation Front (KNPLF), Tun Kyaw, and a foreign firm which went unnamed but was identified as Australian. Mawsaki is also the name of a village in Karenni state that has long been under the control of the KNPLF, a group that broke away from the KNPP in 1978 before reaching a ceasefire with the central government in 1994. According to a former resident familiar with the area, Mawsaki village is next to a small mine that is also held by the KNPLF, which officially transformed into a border guard force in November 2009. Both Mawsaki village and the mine near it are controlled by Border Guard Force (BGF) 1004, a unit comprising men loyal to Tun Kyaw, who was recently awarded the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by military authorities for his service in the BGF. Apart from the mine at Mawsaki, which like the nearby and much bigger Mawchi mine also yields tin and tungsten, the KNPLF are also known to be involved in gold mining in territory the group controls on the Salween River. Eumeralla did not respond to questions about Tun Kyaw's alleged involvement with Mawsaki. According to Eumeralla Mawsaki's application for exploration was approved in November 2014 by the Karenni chief minister’s cabinet. The MWMWN statement, which preceded Eumerralla's announcement of a deal in Karenni state by more than a year, noted that that there were reports at the time that "Kayin state government and Kayah state government have recommended an application by the Mawsaki mining company to survey for and mine tin and tungsten in an area of 100,000 acres (about 426 square kilometers) in the Mawsaki area." While Eumeralla pushes ahead with plans to explore Karenni State, another foreign firm appears to have opted to stay away because of security concerns. In January 2013, a delegation from Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Mining Limited (APML) made what the firm described on its website as "a four-day due diligence visit to an operating tin/tungsten mine with a view of coming to an agreement with the underlying owner." Though the firm, which was founded and led by an Australian businessman, didn’t mention the mine site by name, APML described it as "historically" being the "world's biggest tin/tungsten producer," which appears to be a reference to the Mawchi mine, the only one in the country that has ever been described as such. According to APML, the firm opted not to pursue this project because the "security situation in the area dictated that this was not an opportunity we could contemplate at the current time." APML is instead focused on exploring northern Shan State, hardly a model of tranquility. Just three days after the firm's exploration permit was approved last October, fighting broke out in northern Shan State. In recent months fighting has continued between both the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the recently resurrected Kokang-based Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army across much of northern Shan State. The post Australian Mining Firm Looks to Dig in Karenni's Tricky Territory appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Civilians Returning to Laukkai Say Govt Support, Security Lacking Posted: 28 Apr 2015 05:10 AM PDT Families who fled fighting in Laukkai are seen at a shelter in Lashio on Feb. 17. (Photo: J Paing/The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Displaced civilians who have returned to the Kokang Special Region capital of Laukkai said living conditions in the battle-damaged town remain difficult as authorities have failed to provide them with food, shelter and basic amenities, while fighting continues not far from the town in northern Shan State. Ko Ko Oo said he and his family returned to Laukkai from Lashio on April 21, after authorities had called on civilians to come back as the situation in the town had returned to normal. He said that upon his return he found that fighting was raging several kilometers from the town and gunfire could be heard frequently, while authorities were failing to adequately help families meet basic needs or find them places to live. Ko Ko Oo said his family and a group of internally displaced civilians who had returned from Lashio were placed in a local school building, only to be asked to vacate it a week later. The government, he said, "told us they would arrange everything, including water and electricity, when we arrived back in Laukkai. But then, all of us were asked to leave the [ethnic] Kokang school by April 28 where we were put up… They said the Chinese schools would be re-opened on May 1." Mee Mee, a volunteer helping displaced families in Lashio, said several families had come back from Laukkai in recent days as authorities had asked them to leave the schools where they had been given refuge. Ko Ko Oo said nearly all buildings in Laukkai were damaged or looted and some were completely destroyed. He said farm owners asked returning laborers to harvest sugarcane from the fields, but workers were scared to do so because of the possible presence of landmines and unexploded ordinance. Nandar Myint Aung, another Laukkai resident who recently returned from Lashio, said, "For the time being, we were given a bag of rice, a bottle of oil, a packet of peas and a packet of salt to eat. But the rice is wet and yellowish; we can't eat it at all." "[The government] does not provide security [for us] to go back to Lashio. Around 20 people have gone back to Lashio on their own accord. We have no money to go back. We've got a shelter, but have no food. At nights, we dare not light a candle. We worry," she said. Fighting broke out in the Kokang Special Region on Feb. 9 after Kokang rebels of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance (MNDAA) launched attacks on security forces stationed in and around Laukkai. Following weeks of heavy fighting, the government recaptured Laukkai in March and declared the town to be safe for civilians to return. Tens of thousands of civilians fled the clashes, the majority of whom were from the ethnic Chinese Kokang minority. They crossed the border into nearby China, where many remain. Some 15,000 Burmese laborers, who had been employed in Laukkai as farm and construction workers, fled south to Lashio and Mandalay in central Burma. A Shan State lawmaker has previously estimated that as many as 60 civilians were killed during the fighting, while a human rights group said it documented at least half a dozen cases of right violations by the army against Kokang civilians. Burma Army troops continue to comb the rugged mountains around the town and along the border for MNDAA rebels, who are putting up fierce resistance and claim to have killed dozens of soldiers in recent weeks. The post Civilians Returning to Laukkai Say Govt Support, Security Lacking appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

YCDC to Trade Poison Pill for Surgeon’s Scalpel in Rangoon Dog Cull Posted: 28 Apr 2015 03:46 AM PDT A family of stray dogs in downtown Rangoon's Botahtaung Township. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Municipal authorities in Rangoon have announced they will begin a neutering program to curb the number of street dogs in Burma's largest city, after an outcry over the poisoning of local strays. Dog lovers and animal rights activists had earlier made known their opposition to the Yangon City Development Committee's (YCDC) dog culling policy as an inhumane method of dealing with the city's street dog population, estimated to number in the tens of thousands. Dr Aye Min, a southern district committee member of the YCDC who is responsible for animal affairs under the Veterinary and Slaughterhouses Department, told The Irrawaddy that, the body is planning for a neutering program in response to feedback from Rangoon residents, which will initially target about 20 percent of the stray population. "Dog lovers prefer neutering to killing," he said. "We will collect the dog population in townships and seek input from the residents for the plan." Aye Min said that the YCDC would have to continue the extermination of dogs showing signs of rabies or other communicable diseases. He told The Irrawaddy that some dogs were neutered last year but a citywide approach would require more manpower to catch the strays, administer the operations and care for the animals during their recovery. "If any dog lovers or animal rescue groups can collaborate with us, it would be easier," he said. Myat Thet Mon, the owner of a shelter for 300 stray dogs in Thanlyin Township, welcomed the plan and said she would be happy to assist. "It is really upsetting to watch dogs suffer after being poisoned," she said. "Since the YCDC will now use birth control, which was unaffordable in the past, I am very pleased." The post YCDC to Trade Poison Pill for Surgeon's Scalpel in Rangoon Dog Cull appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Employers, Workers Far Apart in Minimum Wage Negotiations Posted: 28 Apr 2015 03:08 AM PDT Workers from the Myue & Soe Garment factory stand during a protest for a salary increase in front of the Mayangone Township labor office in Rangoon on Sept. 7, 2012. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) RANGOON — Tripartite discussions between Burma's Ministry of Labor, workers' representatives and factory owners in recent days have revealed wide differences of opinion about the country's future minimum wage, which will be determined in the next few months. Sai Khaing Myo Tun, a workers' representative on the tripartite National Committee on Minimum Wage, said workers' organizations are demanding about 4,000 kyats (about US$4) for an 8-hour work day, excluding welfare benefits, overtime and bonus payments. The workers representatives set out their demands during a meeting with Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Aye Myint on Sunday. Dozens of employers met with the minister on Saturday and garment factory owners, one of the largest sources of industrial employment in Burma, demanded a 1,500 kyat minimum wage for an 8-hour work day, according to a Rangoon-based factory owner, who asked not be named. He said garment factory employers had demanded the 1,500 kyat wage due to the labor-intense production process in the sector, adding that the owners of other type of factories, such as wood-processing factories, were willing to accept a minimum wage of 3,000 kyats per day. Sai Khaing Myo Tun said workers' organizations were demanding a minimum wage on par with that of civil servants, who saw a modest pay rise in recent months—a government measure, he said, that was pushing up to cost of living for workers. "The workers will only be comfortable with over 4,000 kyats per day because civil servants get at least 120,000 kyats per month…. If the salary is less than the civil servants, [workers'] living conditions will be difficult," he said. "A salary of 1,500 kyats per day is not suitable and cannot have a good effect on the country." The Asian Development Bank said last month that inflation for this year is projected at 8.4 percent; Burma's economy is expected to grow at 8.3 percent. On May Day, about 2,000 workers plan to hold a march to call for a 5,600 kyats minimum wage and they have asked authorities for permission to walk from Rangoon's Insein Township to Mayangon Township and on to Kamayut Township, according to Hla Hla, a member of the National Network for Workers Unions. "We have demanded 5,600 kyats since 2013 but it can be negotiated," she said, adding that 4,000-4,500 kyats would be the bare daily minimum income required by workers due to the rising costs of living. Burma's former military regime repressed labor movements and industrial relations were undeveloped; as a result the country still lacks a set minimum wage. Currently, average monthly wages in Burma are among the lowest in the region, with most workers making between 30,000-40,000 kyats ($30-40) per month, less than half of what laborers in Cambodia or Bangladesh earn. The low wages force Burmese workers to work grueling schedules of up to 11 hours per day and six days per week, according to a 2013 labor rights report, in order to earn overtime and bonus payments that increase their monthly income to about 70,000-80,000 kyats. In 2013, President Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government passed the Minimum Wage Law and established a tripartite National Committee on Minimum Wage tasked with determining an appropriate wage level through research and negotiations. This process will come to a conclusion "within one or two months" through Ministry of Labor-led negotiations between employers and labor representatives, state media reported on Sunday. Steve Marshall, the International Labor Organization's liaison officer in Burma, said in a recent interview that the process should result in a minimum income standard that "supports the most vulnerable in society in terms of their basic living standards, but also supports the growth of the economy and that the country remains competitive." Additional reporting by May Sit Paing. The post Employers, Workers Far Apart in Minimum Wage Negotiations appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘It Is an Artist’s Job to Innovate’ Posted: 28 Apr 2015 03:02 AM PDT Performance artist Moe Min adopted a modern take on the country's traditional dances, combining the latter with the contemporary flair of well-known dancers like Michael Jackson and Mithun Chakraborty. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Moe Min was born to a family of Burmese traditional dancers and since he was a boy, he took part in on stage musical performances and epic dramas featuring the Jataka tales, which detail the Buddha's previous lives. He went on to follow in the steps of his father, the famous traditional dancer Sein Mar Din, becoming a traditional dancer himself. He rose in popularity by adopting a modern take on the country's traditional dances, combining the latter with the contemporary flair of well-known dancers like Michael Jackson and Mithun Chakraborty. His skill won him gold medals two consecutive years in the dramatic performance category of a government-organized traditional Burmese performing arts competition. Moe Min sat down with The Irrawaddy to talk about traditional Burmese culture and its modern incarnation, evolving performing arts tastes and prospects for Burmese dance making a mark on the international stage. Which gets more support, traditional arts performances or modern musical shows? It can be said that the two have an equal number of fans. People want to see and enjoy new things and are impressed by modern musical performances. Fans had seen enough of the traditional performing arts. But then, in this open age, fans have begun to fall in love again with traditional performing arts. So, the level [of interest] is at parity again. Modern musical performances are often criticized. What do you have to say about that? While some fans welcome and love modern musical performances, some people think that it goes against the values of traditional performing arts. They think that performers of traditional performing arts have to preserve cultural artistic heritage and if they don't do so, they are not real performers of traditional performing arts. But artists will innovate and entertain with new things. It is their job. In fact, it is the responsibility of the government to preserve the heritage of Burma's traditional performing arts. Culture and heritage are a little bit different. Culture changes. Looking back at the history of Burmese culture, it has changed through cultural exchanges. Different categories of arts combined and evolved into a culture that encompasses the fundamental characteristics of Burma. The culture changes. If it can't be changed, it is called heritage. The culture has changed a lot. It has become contemporary. Performers of traditional performing arts should inform the people that their dance styles have changed and merged with contemporary arts. Now, we are trying to bring about contemporary culture by combining our culture with the cultures of other countries. What is needed to bring Burma's traditional performing arts onto the international stage? We need to focus on presentation if we are to go international. If we can modify our presentation to meet international standards, we will get attention from the world. For example, even Burmese people do not like duet dances. Why? We need to find out the answer. There is no interpreter or subtitles; foreigners watch the dance and don't understand. They don't know what the dancer is talking about. To bring our traditional performing arts onto the international stage, we need to improve it in every respect. Otherwise, only Burmese people will watch it. Traditional performing arts professionals met the president in 2014 and called for building theaters. How did the government respond? We have asked [the government] to arrange theaters and venues for performers of Burma's traditional performing arts. We want land plots. To this day, there is no entertainment zone in new towns. There should be a venue for any traditional performing arts troupe, any singer, or any entertainer in town. I don't know why there has been no follow-up. It is the duty of those who are responsible [to follow through]. What are you doing as an artist now? Now, I don't have a traditional performing arts troupe. As a performer, I help traditional performing arts troupes if they need it. I have also established Anawmar Thukhuma Arts Service Co., and I serve as the secretary. What is your advice to younger generations of traditional performance artists? They need to be well-versed in traditional performing arts. They can't lose track of the times and modern technologies, but at the same time, they can't only focus on technology. Those who express vocally their love for traditional arts and culture are also focusing on materials and technology because fans love to see it. It seems that performances are not complete without the use of materials and technologies. It seems that they are testing the strength of each other. In fact, it should be balanced. Skills and materials should be input equally. While the older generations need to hand down the traditional performing arts, the younger generations need to value the older generations and learn from them. Only then will they be able to preserve traditional performing arts. The post 'It Is an Artist's Job to Innovate' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Two Police Officers Arrested for Rape of Teenager in Chin State Posted: 28 Apr 2015 12:41 AM PDT Riot policemen train outside Rangoon in 2014. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — Local authorities have arrested and charged two police officers from Chin State's Tonzang Township over allegations of the rape of a 16-year-old girl on the evening of Apr. 11. The officers, both lance corporals from the small town of 20,000 people, are now in detention at the Tonzang Police Station after a complaint filed by the victim's father. "Tough penalties will be given to them and we'll also take actions against their supervisors," Col. Myint Lwin, the Chin State police chief, told The Irrawaddy. "We are working to bring them to trial at the district court as quickly as possible. The two have confessed." According to Tonzang locals, the accused are close friends of the girl's family. The pair will be punished by the Falam District Court and the Myanmar Police Force for the crime, according to Myint Lwin. "We'll punish them for breaching the police code of conduct. Meanwhile, the district court will also hand down penalties to them for the rape under civilian law," he said. The post Two Police Officers Arrested for Rape of Teenager in Chin State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi Drums Up Support in Rangoon Posted: 27 Apr 2015 11:24 PM PDT Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Kawhmu Township, Rangoon, on Monday. (Photo: NLD Chairperson / Facebook) RANGOON — Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi addressed her constituency on Monday, urging them to support her party in general elections later this year. While Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has not yet publicly committed to participating in the elections, she advised her supporters to accept development assistance from the ruling party but ultimately vote for the opposition. A local healthcare worker at the rally in Rangoon's Kawhmu Township alerted Suu Kyi of her organization's needs, explaining that it had been offered assistance from her rival candidate Khin Shwe of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). "Let me tell you frankly, in the presence of journalists," Suu Kyi responded, "take everything U Khin Shwe gives you, but vote for the NLD." Suu Kyi was elected by Kawhmu Township in by-elections held in 2012, beating her opponent Soe Win with 47,730 votes. She has since established the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, which works in social development, hospitality and catering for the township's youth. Khin Shwe, her primary opponent, is one of Burma's top businessmen, elected to the Upper House of Parliament during a 2010 general election that was boycotted by the NLD and largely viewed as fraudulent. His party has been very active in the area of southern Rangoon in recent years, particularly by building roads and schools. The post Suu Kyi Drums Up Support in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Megafight Numbers Add up to New Sporting Landscape Posted: 27 Apr 2015 10:43 PM PDT Eleven-time, five-division world boxing champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather (L) and eight-division world champion Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao pose at a news conference ahead of their upcoming bout, in Los Angeles, California March 11, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) Even in Las Vegas where fortunes are won and lost on the roll of the dice, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao have Sin City abuzz over a megafight that will generate millions and reshape the sport business landscape. From $100,000 ringside seats to $150 million paydays, Saturday's long-awaited showdown between the greatest fighters of a generation is expected to be the richest fight of all-time and smash records in knockout fashion. "It is precedent setting and it breaks every financial model known to man," Rick Horrow, sports lecturer at Harvard Law School, told Reuters. "The pay-per-view is $100, the tickets are almost unaffordable for even the millionaire fight fan. "The numbers are almost unrealistic yet we have said that about a lot of things in global sports: television rights, $2 billion franchises, billion dollar stadiums. "So nothing surprises me anymore but this in many ways is a watershed event for boxing and maybe the business of sport." Even by Las Vegas standards, a desert city built on excess, Mayweather and Pacquiao will bank a king's ransom, their night's work likely to land both men at the top of Forbes' 2015 highest-paid athletes list. The undefeated Mayweather (47-0) is guaranteed $120 million and Filipino Pacquiao (57-5-2) is assured $80 million but could top those figures depending on pay-per-view (PPV) sales. Showtime and HBO will jointly broadcast the bout, which is one of the most eagerly anticipated in boxing since the 1975 'Thrilla in Manila' between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The current PPV record is 2.5 million buys for a 2007 fight between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya but Saturday's bout should obliterate that mark with at least 3 million boxing fans expected to tune in. "A lot of people over the last half dozen years have been saying, 'Well MMA or UFC is taking over,'" famed ring announcer Michael Buffer told Reuters. "MMA, UFC, no doubt about it, are very successful and have a hard core and loyal group of fans… but they don't have the scope or the worldwide appeal that boxing does. "Boxing is huge in Russia and the eastern European countries. Asia, of course, with Pacquiao. Chinese fighters now have started to step up. "When you have a billion people, if you just get 10 percent of the population to watch a fight on television, you do the math." And the numbers are eye-popping. While sport fans have grown numb to multi-million soccer transfer fees and routine $100 million player contracts the figures surrounding Saturday's fight have provided a 'take notice' jolt. With Showtime and HBO predicting unprecedented pay-per-view numbers ticket brokers have also been startled at the staggering prices on the resale market with some ringside seats on StubHub commanding $109,000. The MGM Grand Garden Arena, which has a capacity of 16,800, will be packed with high rollers, A-listers, entertainment moguls and business tycoons, tickets out of reach for all but the rich and famous with only 500 offered for sale to the general public. As usual, casinos up and down the Las Vegas Strip will flash the names of big-name headliners on their glitzy marquees but for this weekend the hottest ticket in town once again belongs to boxing. "Mayweather-Pacquiao fight is an event that transcends not just boxing but sport in general," Peter Nelson, vice president of programming for HBO Sports, told Reuters. "The quality of competition is what attracts fans. "People want to see athletes at the top level of their sport in the toughest test imaginable. "Greatness is more than talent, it's seeking out moments of adversity and moments of reckoning and showing people what you can do in those moments." The post Megafight Numbers Add up to New Sporting Landscape appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Angry Nepalis Wait for Quake Help as Death Toll Passes 4,000 Posted: 27 Apr 2015 10:31 PM PDT A member of the Nepalese police looks on as an excavator is used to dig through rubble to search for bodies, in the aftermath of Saturday’s earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, April 27, 2015. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui KATHMANDU — Shock turned to anger in Nepal on Tuesday as some of the tens of thousands stricken by a devastating earthquake, which killed more than 4,000 people, expressed frustration at what they said was their government’s slow response to the crisis. International aid has finally begun arriving in the Himalayan nation of 28 million people after the major quake that struck at about midday on Saturday. A Home Ministry official in the capital, Kathmandu, said the death toll from the 7.9 magnitude quake stood at 4,010, with 7,598 injured. Nepal’s most deadly quake in 81 years triggered a huge avalanche on Mount Everest that killed at least 17 climbers and guides, including foreigners, the worst single disaster on the world’s highest peak. A series of aftershocks, severe damage from the quake, creaking infrastructure and a lack of funds have slowed the disbursement of aid to those most in need. The head of neighbouring India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), one of the first foreign organisations to arrive in Nepal to help in the search and rescue effort, said finding survivors and the bodies of the dead would take time. NDRF Director General O.P. Singh said heavy equipment could not fit through many of the narrow streets of Kathmandu. “You have to remove all this rubble, so that will take a lot of time … I think it’s going to take weeks,” he told Indian television channel NDTV late on Monday. Many people across Nepal slept in the open for a third night, their homes either flattened or threatened by tremors that spread more fear among a traumatised population. In Kathmandu, as elsewhere, thousands are sleeping on pavements, roads and in parks, many under makeshift tents. Hospitals are full to overflowing, while water, food and power are scarce, raising fears of waterborne diseases. With aid slow to reach many of the most vulnerable, some Nepalis were critical of the government. “The government has not done anything for us,” said Anil Giri, who was with about 20 volunteers looking for two of his friends presumed buried under rubble. “We are clearing the debris ourselves with our bare hands.” Officials acknowledged they were overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster. “The big challenge is relief,” said Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudel, Nepal’s top bureaucrat. “We urge foreign countries to give us special relief materials and medical teams. We are really desperate for more foreign expertise to pull through this crisis.” The situation is worse in remote rural areas. Highways have been blocked by landslides, and many villages and communities are without water and electricity, surviving on salvaged food and with no outside help. While aid has begun arriving in the capital, including food, medical supplies, tents and dogs trained for rescue efforts, the authorities are struggling to deliver relief further afield. Time is running out to find survivors among the rubble of collapsed buildings. In the north of Kathmandu, survivors suspended their search overnight, with plans to resume early on Tuesday. “We cannot look for missing people … with a candle in our hands,” said Amarnath Prasad, 26, a musician who was helping his best friend look for his missing mother. “She loved me like her son, and I think it is my duty to find her, dead or alive,” said Prasad. Families and friends of the victims lit hundreds of funeral pyres in towns and the countryside. Foreign countries escalated efforts to get medical equipment, medicine, food, water, blankets, tents and search-and-rescue teams into Nepal, but chaotic scenes at the main international airport slowed the flow of aid. India and China were among the first contributors to an international effort to support Nepal’s stretched resources. On Monday, the United States announced an additional $9 million in aid for Nepal, bringing total U.S. disaster funding to $10 million. US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said two C-17 US Air Force transport planes carrying search-and-rescue personnel and supplies were headed to Nepal. Australia is also sending a C-17 to deliver disaster relief supplies, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said, and to start ferrying out some of the more than 1,150 Australians who were in Nepal when the quake struck. High in the Himalayas, hundreds of climbers from around the world were reeling from the avalanche that swept through Everest base camp in a few terrifying moments when the quake struck. Many Nepalese sherpa mountain guides had descended to their homes and villages to see if loved ones were safe. Foreign mountaineers, meanwhile, were divided over whether to continue their pursuit of scaling the surrounding peaks if their local guides returned to lead them. “For me personally it’s probably too early to say how I feel about that,” said Canadian Nick Cienski, who is attempting a record ascent of six 8,000-metre peaks this calendar year. “I wouldn’t want to continue if it made anybody uncomfortable to continue, sherpas included in that.” Romanian climber Alex Gavan, who had microblogged his eyewitness account of the avalanche and its aftermath, said he had left Everest base camp to help the earthquake relief effort. The post Angry Nepalis Wait for Quake Help as Death Toll Passes 4,000 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand Seizes 3 Tons of Elephant Tusks Smuggled From Kenya Posted: 27 Apr 2015 09:45 PM PDT A customs officer measures confiscated elephant tusks before a news conference at the customs department in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 27, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Thailand seized 3 tons of ivory hidden in tea leaf sacks from Kenya in the second-biggest bust in the country's history, one week after the biggest seizure, customs officials said Monday. The 511 elephant tusks worth US$6 million, bound for Laos, were seized upon arrival Saturday at a major port in Chonburi province in eastern Thailand. The bust came after customs officials received a tip-off in Laos and Thailand and tracked the containers from Kenya, Customs Department Director-General Somchai Sujjapongse told reporters. The ivory, hidden among tea leaves, was shipped out of Kenya on March 24 and went through ports in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore before coming to Thailand, he said. The bust came one week after Thai customs officials seized 4 tons of tusks that were smuggled from Congo and also destined for Laos in what they said was the nation's biggest seizure. Somchai said that the tusks seized Saturday were "more beautiful and complete than the previous lot," and that they would likely have been distributed to buyers in China, Vietnam and Thailand had the shipment reached Laos. Thailand is one of the top destinations for African ivory smuggling in Asia and could face international sanctions soon if it doesn't show progress in combatting the problem. "After these two consecutive big busts … the transnational crime networks must realize it is getting increasingly difficult to send their shipment past Thailand, but I think they will try to come up with the more complicated means, so we will have already prepared the measures to [tackle the issue]," Somchai said. Poachers have killed tens of thousands of African elephants for their tusks in recent years to meet demand for ivory in Asia. China has imposed a one-year ban on ivory imports amid criticism that its citizens' huge appetite for ivory threatens the existence of Africa's elephants. The post Thailand Seizes 3 Tons of Elephant Tusks Smuggled From Kenya appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Back With a Mission: Empowering Women in Burma Posted: 27 Apr 2015 05:00 PM PDT Lway Aye Nang, head of the Women Leadership Program, April 2015. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — As elections near and Burma's leading lady, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, is still categorically barred from the country's highest office, more and more political onlookers are raising the question of what role women will play in designing future policy. Lway Aye Nang has some ideas, not just about how to increase women's participation in guiding the country through its transition to democracy, but about how to make that participation both lasting and meaningful. As head of the Women Leadership Program (WLP), a project of the NGO Educational Initiatives, which she helped to found in 2008, Lway Aye Nang travels to some of Burma's most remote areas to scout for promising political talent. WLP offers training and support for ambitious young women seeking nominations in their constituencies, regardless of party affiliation. Lway Aye Nang is ethnic Palaung, also known as Ta'ang, a minority that mostly lives in northern Shan State, eastern Burma. During her years living in exile in northern Thailand, she found herself increasingly involved in a growing movement to promote gender equality in Burma and among exile communities. When she was finally able to return to her home country in 2013, her mission was clear. Burma's political reforms and opening seemed to be a golden opportunity for women to take the reins and have a say in their country's future. Lway Aye Nang was determined to help prepare the nation's women for power in any way she could. "We train women to be productive leaders," she told The Irrawaddy during a recent interview, "but we have found a lot of challenges." Many of the communities she works in are so culturally unexposed to the idea of women's empowerment that the mere phrase elicits fear and confusion. Lway Aye Nang said she had experienced such responses in several parts of the country; in Sagaing and Irrawaddy divisions, and Karenni and Chin states. She attributed this apprehension to deep-seated cultural views, whereby women simply are not seen as critical thinkers or decision-makers. "Women are not allowed to question," she said, a problem prevalent in most parts of the country, regardless of ethnicity or religion. While new initiatives have sprung up in some areas to empower women and introduce the idea of women's leadership, Lway Aye Nang said she has observed weaknesses in implementation whereby "outside forces" have encouraged inclusion but done little to support actual equality. The few women who are able to enter politics are often unable to advance within their parties, still limited by men sitting at the top. Quotas could offer a partial solution, she said, but they need to be addressed in the form of written policy by individual political parties. "So far, we don't have those policies," she said. Amid increased pressure to at least appear to be moving toward a more egalitarian politics, some political parties in Burma have begun to adopt gender policies. Thus far, however, proposals are geared toward increasing candidacy, not ensuring that positions are actually assumed by women. Furthermore, none of the proposed policies have been written into party charters, and there is no state or national legislation to address the issue. And the lack of women leaders is an issue in Burma, where only about five percent of union lawmakers are women and sub-national governance figures are even worse, leaving Burma with the lowest proportion of elected women in the entire region. To put that into a less-than-comforting context, only about 22 percent of lawmakers worldwide are women. Addressing gender disparity is complicated, she said, and ultimately both men and women will need to make a concerted effort to balance things out. While quotas can help to ensure that women are welcome and protected in the political sphere, those elected need to be as prepared and enthusiastic about their work as the men they sit beside. "Women's knowledge varies depending on their geographical location," she observed, pointing out that for someone in her line of work, it is necessary to go to remote places and seek out those who show promise, skill and interest, but may not have the means to compete for the highest levels of authority. But Lway Aye Nang has no personal ambition to inter parliamentary politics; for now she is content to prepare the next generation of women leaders. "So far, I feel the need for dissemination of knowledge is far more important that being in the Parliament," she said. The post Back With a Mission: Empowering Women in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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