The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Red Cross Volunteers Ambushed in Kokang Region to Earn Presidential Honor
• ‘Interfaith Marriage Bill’ Sent Back to Upper House with Reduced Sentences
• Underage Student Facing Letpadan Charges Released on Bail
• 4 Killed, Buildings Collapse in Fresh Nepal Earthquake
• BMW Boasts Strong Sales Figures in Local Market
• Rare Monkey Species in Kachin State Faces Uncertain Future
• Two Soldiers Acquitted in Military Trial Over Journalist’s Killing
• 26 Detained in Thabaung on Immigration Charges
• Up to 6,000 Rohingya, Bangladeshi Migrants Stranded at Sea
• From Rundown Outpost, Philippines Watches China Island Take Shape in Disputed Sea
• Blogger, 16, Exposes Limits on Free Speech in Singapore
• Poking Fun at the Powerful

Red Cross Volunteers Ambushed in Kokang Region to Earn Presidential Honor Posted: 12 May 2015 06:44 AM PDT   A man holds a bandage over the eye of Zaw Min Htike following an ambush of a Myanmar Red Cross Society aid convoy on Feb. 17. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Three Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) volunteers who were victims of ambushes on aid convoys in February in northeast Burma will receive the Presidential Award for Excellent Performance on Friday. MRCS convoys took fire from unknown assailants on two separate occasions while carrying internally displaced persons, Red Cross workers and journalists between Laukkai and Chin Shwe Haw in northeast Burma's troubled Kokang Special Region. Two Red Cross volunteers, Zaw Min Htike and Moe Kyaw Than, were injured in the first ambush on Feb. 17. The presidential honor will be awarded posthumously to 45-year-old Moe Kyaw Than, who was shot in the abdomen during the attack and succumbed to his injuries on March 27. In a second attack on Feb. 21, Red Cross volunteer Kyaw Zaw Htoo and a journalist from the government-affiliated Myanmar Radio and Televeison-4 were wounded along with three others believed to have been migrant workers from Upper Burma. Thein Myo, president of the MRCS chapter in Kunlong Township, said the organization was informed three days ago that the three men were selected to receive the Presidential Award for Excellent Performance this week in Naypyidaw. "Although no one works with the intention of receiving such awards, it is really great since they will be awarded in recognition of their work," he said. Thein Myo said Moe Kyaw Than's widow would travel to Naypyidaw to accept the award on his behalf. "They worked selflessly. They deserve this award," said Dr. Tha Hla Shwe, chairman of the MRCS, adding that the men should serve as role models for younger generations. Shwe Zin Myint from the MRCS said that the organization applied in March for Moe Kyaw Than to receive the Henry Dunant Medal, the Red Cross Movement's highest, and expects to hear the outcome of that petition in the next three months. "I feel both happiness and sadness," 39-year-old Zaw Min Htike, whose right eye was injured in the attack, told The Irrawaddy. "I feel like I am receiving this award on behalf of all volunteers with the Myanmar Red Cross Society, so I am happy for that. But I am sad for the death of my colleague, Moe Kyaw Than, and for his wife and children." The conflict in the region where the convoys were ambushed has displaced tens of thousands of civilians since fighting first broke out on Feb. 9. The ongoing hostilities have pitted the Burma Army against rebels from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). The post Red Cross Volunteers Ambushed in Kokang Region to Earn Presidential Honor appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘Interfaith Marriage Bill’ Sent Back to Upper House with Reduced Sentences Posted: 12 May 2015 05:45 AM PDT   Demonstrators ask for immediate passage of the "protection bills" at the terrace of Eindawya Pagaoda in Mandalay on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's Upper House Bill Committee on Monday submitted a report calling for changes to proposed legislation regulating interfaith marriages, recommending that prison sentences for some violations be markedly reduced. The Buddhist Women's Special Marriage Bill, commonly referred to as the Interfaith Marriage Bill because of its provisions about marrying outside the family faith, is part of a controversial legislative package known as the Protection of Race and Religion Bills first proposed by Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha. The Interfaith Marriage Bill was approved by Burma's Lower House of Parliament on March 19 and resubmitted to the Upper House lawmakers. Discussion will resume before the end of the current 12th session of Parliament. Parliamentarian Tin Yu, a member of the bill committee, recommended that Parliament reduce maximum sentences from five to two years for men who are found guilty of persuading a Buddhist wife to abandon her faith. The committee further recommended that sentences and fines be reduced for any man who is found to have insulted his Buddhist wife's faith, prevented his wife from having a Buddhist funeral, and destroyed or damaged his wife's sacred objects or place of worship. The Interfaith Marriage Bill, which has come under harsh criticism from women's rights advocates and members of the international community, would still require Buddhist women to seek permission from local authorities before marrying a man of another faith. Minor revisions to the Population Control Bill, which is part of the contentious package, were also registered by the Union Parliament Bill Committee on Tuesday at the request of President Thein Sein. Two other bills are included in the Race and Religion Protection package which, if passed, would enact new restrictions on religious conversion and polygamy. The post 'Interfaith Marriage Bill' Sent Back to Upper House with Reduced Sentences appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Underage Student Facing Letpadan Charges Released on Bail Posted: 12 May 2015 05:35 AM PDT   Policemen hit student protester Aung Min Khaing during violence in Letpadan on March 10, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) MANDALAY — The Tharrawaddy Township Court in Pegu Division on Tuesday released an underage student detainee on bail, after two months in prison for his alleged involvement in an illegal protest for education reform that was violently dispersed by police. Aung Min Khaing, a high school student from Shwebo, was detained along with more than 100 other students after the crackdown of a peaceful student protest in Letpadan, Pegu Division, on March 10. The incident brought a violent end to the students' march of more than 300 miles from Mandalay to Rangoon, with authorities refusing to allow the protestors to advance beyond Letpadan, about 80 miles northwest of the commercial capital. "The court said my case would be handed over to the juvenile court and that I was entitled to bail because I am under 18, so I was released from detention," said Aung Min Khaing, who is president of the Shwebo district high school students' union. In the days following the March 10 crackdown, a photograph of Aung Min Khaing captured by a Reuter's photographer was widely published as a portrait of the police's brutality in breaking up the protest. The student is pictured fleeing from baton-wielding police officers, a half-dozen of which had surrounded him on three sides. Aung Min Khaing on Tuesday recalled the "terrifying" incident. "Although I pleaded with the police not to beat me and said I would go with them peacefully, the police beat my head so badly. My head was covered with blood and I felt so dizzy that I couldn't stand up on my own," Aung Min Khaing said. "A policeman helped me stand up and took me to the police vehicle. I thought that I was going to die soon. When I was put in prison with the other students, I was treated with Paracetamol and vitamin B6 alone. The nurse there said my head injuries did not require stitches," he said, adding that substandard medical care and unsanitary conditions continued to be problems for the students who remain behind bars. "The water to bathe ourselves is so dirty that we suffered from scabies and skin rashes. Poor ventilation inside the prison building also caused us to sweat excessively and some suffer from headaches and dizziness," he said. According to a lawyer representing the detainees, two other underage students remain in the prison awaiting authorities' decision on whether they will be granted bail. The juvenile court in Tharrawaddy Township will hear the case of Aung Min Khaing on May 26. "He has to face about five charges in the juvenile court, including unlawful assembly, incitement, rioting and causing harm to the policemen, which could see him sentenced to three years' imprisonment," said Robert San Aung, the lawyer. There are nearly 70 students who remain in Tharrawaddy Prison and face similar charges. About 20 of the detainees are seeking bail. Robert San Aung said representatives from the US, French, German and EU embassies were on hand for the students' latest hearing on Tuesday and spoke with some of the detainees. The lawyer said the diplomatic staffers' presence indicated that the international community was keeping an eye on the case to ensure a fair outcome. In testimony on Tuesday, Police Maj. Phone Myint reignited a controversy over the European Union's link to the crackdown, telling the judge that "the students were dispersed in accordance with training given by the EU." That assertion has been adamantly denied by the European Union, which is providing police training in crowd control techniques but in the days following the incident was quick to condemn the police's heavy-handedness. The student activists were arrested for protesting a National Education Law passed last year in a process that they said was not sufficiently consultative. Their demands for amendments to the legislation are expected to be taken up by Parliament during its current session, which began on Monday. May Sitt Paing contributed reporting from Tharrawaddy. The post Underage Student Facing Letpadan Charges Released on Bail appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

4 Killed, Buildings Collapse in Fresh Nepal Earthquake Posted: 12 May 2015 03:07 AM PDT   A boy affected by the Apr. 25 Nepalese earthquake sits next to collapsed houses on the outskirts of Kathmandu. (Photo: Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters) KATHMANDU — At least four people were killed in a central Nepal town on Tuesday after a 7.3 earthquake shook the Himalayan nation, just weeks after a devastating temblor killed more than 8,000 people and damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings. The four people died in Chautara in Sindhupalchowk district, north of the capital Kathmandu, after several buildings collapsed, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration said. Separately, a district official there said 12 people had been injured in Sindhupalchowk, which suffered the heaviest death toll in last month’s quake. The new temblor also triggered at least three big landslides in the district. “The latest earthquake has left us shaken. I am still trembling,” said the official, Diwakar Koirala. The US Geological Survey said Tuesday’s earthquake was centred 68 kilometers (about 42 miles) west of the town of Namche Bazar, close to Mount Everest and the border with Tibet. A magnitude 7.3 quake, it was felt as far apart as New Delhi and Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Residents in the Indian town of Siliguri, near the border with Nepal, said chunks of concrete fell off one or two buildings. People in Kathmandu, panic-stricken after the April 25 quake, rushed outdoors, Reuters reporters said. Parents could be seen clutching children tightly and hundreds of people were frantically trying to call relatives on their mobile phones. Shopkeepers closed their shops and the streets were jammed with people rushing to check on their families. “I’m heading straight home,” said Bishal Rai, a man in his 20s, who said he was trying to contact his family in the north of the capital. The quake’s epicentre was close to Everest Base Camp, which was evacuated after an avalanche triggered by last month’s quake killed 18 climbers. Mountaineers seeking to scale the world’s tallest peak have called off this year’s Everest season. Last month’s quake killed at least 8,046 people and injured more than 17,800. It was recorded at 7.8 magnitude, almost six times stronger than Tuesday’s quake. But a 7.3 magnitude earthquake has the potential to cause significant damage and landslides. The Nepal government was scrambling on Tuesday to assess the damage as the phone network got affected and information was hard to come by. “We are getting messages that many people have vacated their houses and the temporary shelters,” said Ram Prasad Sharma, a home ministry official in Kathmandu. “This is only information we have now.” The post 4 Killed, Buildings Collapse in Fresh Nepal Earthquake appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

BMW Boasts Strong Sales Figures in Local Market Posted: 12 May 2015 02:35 AM PDT   BMW models on display in Rangoon's Prestige Automobiles showroom, located on the corner of Pyay Road and Narnattaw Street, Kamaryut Township. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — German luxury automotive manufacturer BMW has made substantial inroads into the Burmese market, with the country's first licensed importer selling 180 vehicles since the opening of a Rangoon showroom last November. Speaking at the local unveiling of the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer on Saturday, Prestige Automobiles managing director Chan Mya told reporters that demand was especially strong in the last two months of 2014. "We targeted 80 sales last year, which we reached," he told The Irrawaddy. "For this year, we targeted 200 sales and within five months we have already sold 90. We expect to reach our sales target this year as well." The sales figures include 169 near new cars sold at a discount after they were used for official delegations during last year's Asean summits in May and November. Chan Mya said that a discerning client base had buoyed local demand for luxury models, and the import of the 2 Series reflected a strategy of targeting parents of young families aged 30-45 and older citizens with a relatively inexpensive product from the BMW range. "The most important thing in Myanmar is there are many people who like cars and understand cars," he said. "They know which ones are good and which ones are bad. In many countries, generally people can't distinguish between the two. But here, besides buying on the basis of brand, customers understand the technology. It is a strong point for the market here." BMW dealerships opened in Laos and Cambodia in 2013, with each selling about 100 vehicles per annum. Burma's second BMW dealership is slated to open in Mandalay within the next year on the back of anticipated demand. "In the past, most people see BMW as a luxury car for very rich people," said Chan Mya. "But the new series which we introduce today can also be affordable for medium-income people." The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer rolled off production lines last year and was released to the Burmese market on Saturday. It will retail locally for US$79,900—well above its US sale price of $32,000, which a Prestige Automobiles spokesperson attributed to the costs of importation and government sales taxes. According to the UN, Burma's gross domestic product per capita was $1,125 in 2012. The post BMW Boasts Strong Sales Figures in Local Market appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rare Monkey Species in Kachin State Faces Uncertain Future Posted: 12 May 2015 01:55 AM PDT   The critically endangered Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey photographed with a camera trap in 2010. (Photo: FFI) Whether the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey, a unique looking species recently identified by researchers working in northern Burma continues to survive in the wild for the foreseeable future remains far from clear. Much of the monkey's habitat in the hills of eastern Kachin State, along Burma's border with China, has in recent years been the site of large-scale resource extraction projects that threaten it with extinction. The London-based conservation group Fauna and Flora international (FFI) has in the years following the monkey's discovery in 2010 been lobbying Burma's government to establish the Imawbum National Park in a remote corner of Kachin State controlled by a pro-government militia in order to protect the monkey and other endangered species. The park, which has yet to be formally established, is in the final stages of the approval process, which FFI expects to be finished in the coming months. When completed, the "National Park will provide further legal protection for the area" says FFI's Myanmar Program Director Frank Momberg, who believes that such a move could also encourage China authorities on the other side of the border to take more of an interest to ensure the species isn't driven to extinction. "However, until effective National Park management is in place and the forest department can enforce the law against illegal logging, the future survival of these newly discovered primates is still critically endangered," Momberg warns. According to FFI, the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey population is as low as 260-330, meaning that the species will soon be listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Activists from the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG), a local NGO that has been monitoring environmentally destructive resource and development projects in Kachin State for more than a decade maintain that ensuring the continued existence of the monkey and other rare species has less to do with establishing a formal park and more to do with bringing about a fundamental change in how Kachin State's environment is managed. A process KDNG says must be inclusive. "The government needs to listen to local communities" says Saji, a KDNG spokesperson who remains skeptical of claims that the government wishes to protect the environment given its dismal track record in Kachin State, which his organization has repeatedly documented. Saji says that while he hopes efforts to protect the monkey are successful, they should be done in a way that involves real consultation with the Imawbum area's linguistically and cultural diverse population, which includes Lisu, Lachik and Lhao Vo, many of whom do not speak Burmese fluently. Momberg says that his group has taken steps to facilitate an inclusive process that incorporates the rights of local people living in the area. "In collaboration with the Kachin State forest department we finalized the participatory boundary delineation of the proposed National Park in March, to ensure all indigenous rights of the local Kachin ethnic groups are fully respected and no shifting cultivation areas, 'Taungya' [both upland and fallow land] are excluded within the park boundaries", Momberg told the Irrawaddy via email. Despite these reassurances, Kachin activists have retained much of their skepticism about the park. The Imawbum park is not the first example of an international conservation group seeking to create a protected nature area in Kachin State to aid an endangered species. In western Kachin State's Hukawng Valley, a tiger reserve established during the time of Than Shwe's military regime in the early 2000s with the backing of New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the group's former Director of Science and Exploration, Alan Rabinowitz, is officially the largest tiger reserve in the world. In the years since the reserve—which officially includes the entire valley—was created, the Yuzana company, a conglomerate controlled by Htay Myint—a prominent military crony turned USDP MP—seized hundreds of acres of farmland from small farmers to make way for growing biofuel crops that are processed in a factory also located in the valley. In addition to the plantations, logging and mining have also destroyed much of the area's sensitive ecosystem. According to Kachin land rights activist Bauk Jar (also spelled Bawk Ja), local hunters said there are no longer any tigers left living in the tiger reserve, a claim that doesn't surprise KDNG and others who—at the time the reserve was created—criticized Rabinowitz and others involved for what they claimed was an opportunity for Burma's rulers to camouflage themselves as protectors of the Hukawng while pursuing its destruction. It remains to be seen if the monkey reserve will function as FFI has proposed, or if it will instead operate more like the Hukawng's reportedly tiger-free tiger reserve. Geography and conflict have certainly complicated things for the park's backers. The proposed park is set to be located in Kachin State Special Region no. 1, an area that was officially ceded to the New Democratic Army Kachin (NDAK) in an 1989 sign-fire that was reached after the NDAK's long time leader broke away from the Communist Part of Burma (CPB). Though the NDAK officially transformed into a border guard force in 2009, Special Region 1 remains the fiefdom of Zahkung Ting Ying, who represents the area in the national Parliament (his son, Zahkung Ying Sau, represents the same area for the Kachin State Parliament). The former communist guerrilla leader-turned-businessman is reported to have profited considerably over the years from his involvement in alarge molybdenum mine located in NDAK territory. In addition to mining, the NDAK is reported to have profited considerably from years of heavy logging in the area. A gleaming multi-storey office building located on the outskirts of Myitkyina, which serves as the headquarters of the NDAK's business arm, stands as a testament to the handsome rewards Zakhung Ting Ying has received since ditching the CPB's failed revolution and making peace with the central government. The NDAK, according to Momberg, "has been supportive" of the creation of the national park, a sentiment expressed by Zakhung Ting Ying himself during a meeting that FFI's local Burmese partner, BANCA, held with him to discuss the issue. "In this meeting the NDAK leader has been supportive of the conservation of Imawbum. Parliamentarians from Saw Law township who are NDAK members have joint [sic] our stakeholder meeting for Imawbum National Park designation," explained Momberg in an email to the Irrawaddy. The NDAK leadership's newfound respect for the environment would be a much welcomed change for the group and its wily leader, who are considered by many in Kachin State to have been exclusively focused on enriching themselves, a view shared by many outside observers. In a leaked 2005 US embassy cable published by Wikileaks, American diplomats described the NDAK as a group that "resembles nothing more than a tightly-controlled business cartel." The cable continued, "By all accounts, the outfit's sole political objective now is to maintain sovereignty over the economic concessions it garnered in 1989 in one of the Burmese regime's first cease-fire arrangements." Timber and mining aren't the only profit making activities the NDAK is said to be involved with. A report released by the Kachin Women's Association of Thailand (KWAT) last year, alleged that BGF units comprised of ex-NDAK members still loyal to Zakhung Ting Yin have been actively involved in the opium trade across Special Region 1 in Chipwe, Sadung and Tsawlaw townships. The report, titled "Silent Offensive" alleges that the NDAK were being allowed to grow opium "in exchange for fighting against" the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), who have been in conflict with the central government since a ceasefire dissolved in June 2011. Allegations of drug-running in NDAK territory are nothing new, and wee one of the reasons cited by a group of NDAK dissidents to justify what ultimately ended up being failed coup against Zakhung Ting Ying in 2005. The post Rare Monkey Species in Kachin State Faces Uncertain Future appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Two Soldiers Acquitted in Military Trial Over Journalist’s Killing Posted: 12 May 2015 01:14 AM PDT   Police tape marks the site of the slain journalist Par Gyi's grave, at the exhumation of his body on Nov. 5, 2014. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Two soldiers on trial for the killing of journalist Par Gyi while in Burma Army custody last year have been acquitted by a military tribunal, according to the Myanmar Human Rights Commission (MHRC), as a separate inquiry into the incident by a civilian court continued this week. Lance Corporal Kyaw Kyaw Aung and Private Naing Lin Tun from the No. 210 Light Infantry Division were charged with culpable homicide under Article 71 of the Defense Services Act and the Penal Code's Article 304, according to a May 8 statement from the commission, with the court deciding to acquit the defendants in a ruling approved by the head of the Burma Army's Southeast Command. Par Gyi, also known as Aung Kyaw Naing, was apprehended in Mon State by the Burma Army last September, and remained missing for several weeks as his wife Ma Thandar, an award-winning human rights activist, repeatedly called for a search. Weeks later, the military informed a member of the Myanmar Press Council that he had been killed after attempting to seize a weapon and flee from custody. The council was told that he had been buried shortly after his death. The military did not identify Par Gyi as a journalist, describing him instead as a member of a Karen rebel armed group that the government was exchanging hostilities with at the time. MHRC began an investigation in October at the order of President Thein Sein and Par Gyi's body was exhumed from a shallow grave on Nov. 5, revealing possible signs of torture. The commission's report, released in early December, did not address the torture claims and was rejected by the victim's family and their lawyer. It did, however, recommend that the case be brought before a civilian court. The MHRC's suggestion was apparently rejected by the military, which said a court martial should handle the case as laid out in Article 72 of the Defense Services Act, which applies to acts committed by soldiers against civilians in an active duty context. The family's lawyer Robert San Aung told The Irrawaddy that the military tribunal's ruling would not affect separate ongoing proceedings at a civilian court in Mon State. "We don't know about the proceedings held at the military court and they did not even inform the suffering person, Ma Thandar," Robert San Aung said. The civilian trial's fourth hearing was held on Monday, with the court taking testimony from Ma Thandar. "Ma Thandar was questioned [about events] from the time of her husband's disappearance; how she searched [for him]; difficulties she faced when she reported to the police station, military and border affairs minister; and about the injuries that were found on her husband's body," said Robert San Aung. Civil court proceedings began in February, but Par Gyi's widow and the family's lawyer were not made aware of the trial until a third hearing was held in late April. There are no defendants in the ongoing trial, which is due to resume on May 25. The post Two Soldiers Acquitted in Military Trial Over Journalist's Killing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

26 Detained in Thabaung on Immigration Charges Posted: 12 May 2015 12:14 AM PDT The outskirts of Thabaung town. (Photo: Salai Thant Zin / The Irrawaddy) PATHEIN — Irrawaddy Division police officers have arrested 14 ethnic Rohingya alongside 12 other people suspected of bringing them from a relief camp in the Arakan State capital of Sittwe to Thabaung Township. Police alleged that the group of 14 and two minders were preparing to travel to Rangoon by river from Thaebyu village when they were arrested on May 4. Further investigations led to the arrest of 10 more suspects alleged to be involved in the group's passage. Three children are among those detained, according to Zaw Win, head of the township police force. "Brokers in Sittwe asked [one of the suspects] to transport the group for one million kyats (US$921) each," he said. Most of the group of 14 can speak Burmese and were able to relate the names of their parents and their addresses in Rakhine State. At the time of the arrest, they were unable to furnish police with either their national identity cards or white cards. The Thabaung Township Immigration Department head has filed a complaint against the detainees and the police station has charged all 26 under the Immigration Act. The post 26 Detained in Thabaung on Immigration Charges appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Up to 6,000 Rohingya, Bangladeshi Migrants Stranded at Sea Posted: 11 May 2015 10:21 PM PDT A Thai fishing boat plies the invisible maritime border between Thailand and Burma, with the hills of Burma visible in the background. (Photo: Reuters) JAKARTA — Hundreds of migrants abandoned at sea by smugglers in Southeast Asia have reached land and relative safety in the past two days. But an estimated 6,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims from Burma remain trapped in crowded, wooden boats, migrant officials and activists said. With food and clean water running low, some could be in grave danger. One vessel that reached Indonesian waters early Monday, was stopped by the Navy and given food, water and directions to Malaysia. Worried that boats will start washing to shore with dead bodies, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the United States and several other foreign governments and international organizations have held emergency meetings, but participants say there are no immediate plans to search for vessels in the busy Malacca Strait. One of the concerns is what to do with the Rohingya if a rescue is launched. The minority group is denied citizenship in Burma, and other countries have long worried that opening their doors to a few would result in an unstemmable flow of poor, uneducated migrants. "These are people in desperate straits," said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch in Bangkok, calling on governments to band together to help those still stranded at sea, some for two months or longer. "Time is not on their side." The Rohingya, who are Muslim, have for decades suffered from state-sanctioned discrimination in Buddhist-majority Burma, which considers them illegal settlers from Bangladesh even though their families have lived there for generations. Attacks on members of the religious minority, numbering at around 1.3 million, have in the past three years left up to 280 people dead and forced 140,000 others from their homes. They now live under apartheid-like conditions in crowded camps just outside the Arakan State capital, Sittwe, where they have little access to school or adequate health care. The conditions at home—and lack of job opportunities—have sparked one of the biggest exoduses of boat people since the Vietnam War. Chris Lewa, director of the non-profit Arakan Project, which has been monitoring boat departures and arrivals for more than a decade, estimates more than 100,000 men, women and children have boarded ships since mid-2012. Most are trying to reach Malaysia, but recent regional crackdowns on human trafficking networks have sent brokers and agents into hiding, making it impossible for migrants to disembark—in some cases even after family members have paid US$2,000 or more for their release, she said. Lewa believes up to 6,000 Rohingya and Bangaldeshis are still on small and large boats in the Malacca Strait and nearby international waters. Tightly confined, and with limited access to food and clean water, their health is deteriorating, she said, adding that dozens of deaths have been reported. "I'm very concerned about smugglers abandoning boatloads at sea," said Lewa. In the last two days, 1,600 Rohingya have washed to shore in two Southeast Asian countries. After four boats carrying nearly 600 people successfully landed in western Indonesia, with some migrants jumping into the water and swimming, a fifth carrying hundreds more was turned away early Monday. Indonesia's Navy spokesman, First Adm. Manahan Simorangkir , said they were trying to go to Malaysia but got thrown off course. "We didn't intend to prevent them from entering our territory, but because their destination country was not Indonesia, we asked them to continue to the country where they actually want to go," he said. Those who made it to shore aboard the other boats on Sunday were taken to a sports stadium in Lhoksukon, the capital of North Aceh District, to be cared for and questioned, said Lt. Col. Achmadi, chief of police in the area, who uses only one name. Some were getting medical attention. "We had nothing to eat," said Rashid Ahmed, a 43-year-old Rohingya man who was on one of the boats. He said he left Burma's troubled state of Arakan with his eldest son three months ago. A Bangladeshi man, Mohamed Malik, said he felt uncertain about being stranded in Aceh, but also relieved. "Relieved to be here because we receive food, medicine. It's altogether a relief," the man said. Police also found a big wooden ship late Sunday night trapped in the sand in shallow waters at a beach of Langkawi, an island off Malaysia, and have since located 865 men, 101 women and 52 children, said Jamil Ahmed, the area's deputy police chief. He added many appeared weak and thin and that at least two other boats have not been found. "We believe there may be more boats coming," Jamil said. Thailand has long been considered a regional hub for human traffickers. The tactics of brokers and agents started changing in November as authorities began tightening security on land—a move apparently aimed at appeasing the US government as it prepares to release its annual Trafficking in Persons report next month. Last year, Thailand was downgraded to the lowest level, putting it on par with North Korea and Syria. Rohingya packing into ships in the Bay of Bengal have been joined in growing numbers by Bangladeshis fleeing poverty and hoping to find a better life elsewhere. Up until recently, their first stop was Thailand, where they were held in open pens in jungle camps as brokers collected "ransoms" from relatives. Those who could pay continued onward, usually to Malaysia or other countries. Those who couldn't were sometimes beaten, killed or left to die. Since May 1, police have unearthed two dozen bodies from shallow graves in the mountains of southern Thailand, the apparent victims of smuggling rings, they say. Thai authorities have since arrested dozens of people, including a powerful mayor and a man named Soe Naing, otherwise known as Anwar, who was accused of being one of the trafficking kingpins in southern Thailand. More than 50 police officers are also under investigation. Spooked by the arrests, smugglers are abandoning ships, sometimes disappearing in speedboats, with rudimentary instructions to passengers as to which way to go. Vivian Tan, the UN refugee agency's regional press officer in Bangkok, Thailand said there is a real sense of urgency from the international community. "At this point, I'm not sure what the concrete next steps are or should be," she said of a string of meetings with diplomats and international organizations. "But there doesn't seem to be a clear mechanism in this region for responding to something like this. McDowell reported from Rangoon. The post Up to 6,000 Rohingya, Bangladeshi Migrants Stranded at Sea appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

From Rundown Outpost, Philippines Watches China Island Take Shape in Disputed Sea Posted: 11 May 2015 10:17 PM PDT   Environmental activists display placards as they march towards the Chinese Embassy in Makati City, Metro Manila May 11, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) THITU ISLAND, South China Sea — As the Philippine military C-130 transport plane made its approach to the country's most precious outpost in the disputed South China Sea on Monday, it flew past a reef which China is quickly turning into an island. At least two cranes and two dredgers were visible on Subi Reef from the plane taking local and foreign reporters on a rare trip to Thitu island. China's reclamation around seven reefs in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea is making Philippine islands such as this, known internationally as Thitu but called Pagasa in the Philippines, vulnerable, said Philippine military officials and security experts. "In the last two years we have seen rapid development. They are getting closer to us. It's a threat," Major Ferdinand Atos, the highest-ranking soldier on Thitu, told reporters after the plane made a bumpy landing on the island's makeshift runway. Subi Reef lies a mere 14 nautical miles from Thitu, its lights visible at night, Philippine officials said. Atos said Chinese patrol ships had not tried to come close to Thitu, which is surrounded by shallow water. But Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's Institute of South East Asian Studies, said the Philippines might struggle to sustain its holdings on Thitu and elsewhere in the Spratlys. "Once [China] has all its facilities up and running, it will put the Philippines in a much more difficult position," Storey said. "The Chinese will be able to harass Philippine coastguard and naval vessels on a more regular basis … they could try to impose blockades on other Philippine-occupied atolls, including Pagasa." China recently warned Philippine air force and navy planes at least six times to leave areas around the Spratlys, the Philippine commander responsible for the region said last week. Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, through which US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims. Last month, China offered a detailed defense of its reclamation work, saying the new islands would provide civilian services such as weather forecasting and search and rescue facilities that would benefit other countries. It has also accused other claimants, including the Philippines, of undertaking major reclamation work. China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the trip by reporters to Thitu, which was organized by the Philippine military. Dilapidated The coral-fringed Thitu, some 280 nautical miles from the Philippines, is the biggest island occupied by Manila in the contested region. The 37-hectare (91-acre) island boasts fresh water, a small number of Philippine troops and a civilian population of about 100 people who take advantage of government subsidies to live here. There is little sign of any upgrading. The runway is no more than an unpaved track dotted with tufts of grass. Blue ocean water washes over one end while erosion is eating away at other sections. The only sign that the island hosts a military base are two 40 mm anti-aircraft guns on opposite sides of the runway. Thitu needs a proper wharf to spur tourism and fisheries, said Eugenio Bito-onon, mayor of Kalayaan, a municipality in the island province of Palawan that administers the island. The military had developed a plan to upgrade the nine islands and reefs it holds in the Spratlys. But those plans were put on ice after the Philippines filed a case with a UN tribunal in The Hague in 2013, challenging China's claims in the South China Sea. China has refused to take part in the arbitration case, which has yet to be heard. Chinese Airstrip Nearby? China's creation of artificial islands is happening so fast that Beijing will be able to extend the range of its navy, air force and coastguard before long, experts say. Dredging at Subi Reef showed a series of landmasses being created that, if joined together, would provide enough land for a 3,000-metre (3,281-yard) airstrip, IHS Janes Defence Weekly said last month. China was building choke points in the Spratlys, Philippine military chief General Gregorio Catapang said last month, referring to reclamation that would narrow the room for Philippine vessels to move at sea. "It will be a challenge for us to bring supplies and rotate our troops in the disputed area," he told reporters at the time. On Monday while on Thitu, Catapang was more guarded when asked about the presence of Chinese vessels in the Spratlys. "We don't see them as a threat, we should demilitarize this area," he said. Joely Mendoza, 44, a mother of nine, said she had lived on Thitu for the past year. She was not afraid of the Chinese navy because its boats did not approach the island, she said. "If the Chinese invade us here then we will just leave," Mendoza added. The post From Rundown Outpost, Philippines Watches China Island Take Shape in Disputed Sea appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Blogger, 16, Exposes Limits on Free Speech in Singapore Posted: 11 May 2015 10:12 PM PDT   Amos Yee eats a banana as he arrives with his father at a Singaporean court on Apr. 17. (Photo: Edgar Su / Reuters) SINGAPORE — A government crackdown on a teen video blogger and independent news and opinion website has focused attention on free speech limits, and perhaps the next election, in this cosmopolitan but famously strict city-state. Five days after the death in March of Singapore’s founding father, 16-year-old Amos Yee posted his latest American-accented blog to YouTube, titled “Lee Kuan Yew Is Finally Dead!” He shared it with the popular and provocative site The Real Singapore, one of several online alternatives to government-controlled TV broadcasts and newspapers. After it went viral locally, with over a million views so far, Yee was arrested and charged with transmitting an obscene image and deliberately “wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person.” He refused bail conditions that amounted to a gag order and has been jailed for over two weeks, awaiting a court’s judgment on Tuesday. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to three years in prison. The government’s Media Development Authority shut down TRS, as it is known, earlier this month—though officials say it was for unrelated reasons. “These are the things that will split the whole society,” said Alvin Tan, who as artistic director of the respected theater company The Necessary Stage has tangled with censors for over three decades. “I think we’re waiting for a tipping point.” He has refused to self-censor but negotiates with government representatives, who have had a lighter touch recently with his plays. Singapore’s government has long aggressively protected its image and authority with legal action both against domestic and international critics, but Yee’s case stands out: A floppy-haired, wryly humorous teenager targeted by prosecutors for a strongly-worded video, sent to prison and shackled in court. Last fall the MDA banned film director Tan Pin Pin’s documentary about political exiles “To Singapore, With Love.” Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s minister for culture, community and youth, said the film “was deemed to be a real distortion of what happened in Singapore’s history, but disguised as a documentary.” “Freedom is not unfettered freedom. There are some limits. And the limits are put out there quite clearly,” he said Wong said the government intervenes only when concerned that speech will upset “social stability.” Standing next to his underground black box theater, Tan said the strong reaction to TRS and “famous Amos” could be due to the political landscape. “I find things tightening up because it’s just before elections,” he said. In the eulogies that followed Lee’s death the public was repeatedly reminded of his—and the ruling party’s—achievements, which will remain fresh in most people’s minds if the next general elections are called later this year, as is expected. But at the same time, with the passing of a stalwart who was the ruling party’s binding force, a political shift feels more possible. As Singaporeans celebrate 50 years of independence in August, they are also finding their own voices in social media, often the site for public debate on politics and social issues. Meanwhile, the opposition has been on the rise, and could do relatively well in the next elections. It won 10 seats in the 99-seat Parliament in the 2011 elections, up from two previously. Losing even more seats to the opposition would be a huge blow for the People’s Action Party, which has ruled the country since 1959, and is now led by Lee’s oldest son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. “The question of who is to lead the next Singapore is going to be one of the scariest questions to answer,” said Shiao-Yin Kuik, a nominated member of parliament who runs a consultancy and small chain of restaurants aimed at encouraging public dialogue about social issues. Though she dismisses Yee’s blog comments as uninformed, she’s been working to encourage political engagement among young people. “A kid does not have it in his head that ‘I’m going to be president one day, or prime minister.’ It’s not in the narrative. And it’s not in the narrative of their parents,” she said. The hard part for young people in modern Singapore is determining how much they can say, whether in politics or art, without repercussions, said 26-year-old visual artist Wong Kel Win. He wrote his university thesis on self-censorship, which is widespread in the arts community and beyond. “The problem is that we don’t know where to draw the line. Where is the line that we get into trouble?” he asked. That leads to a culture of avoiding big issues. Wong assisted a government-sponsored community center project in which participants—young and old—were asked to create art that represented their hopes for the future of Singapore. “They draw more trees, they draw WiFi in the MRT (subway) stations. It’s painful. It’s really painful,” he said. “The country will not grow if we continue to be like that.” Between sips of a Hoegaarden beer in a modern hotel bar, Wong was grappling with his “love-hate relationship” with Singapore. He loves the clean streets, modern conveniences and lack of corruption that have made it a world business hub. He respects and admires Lee’s accomplishments and considers himself politically neutral. But as for the next election: “I would love to see things get chaotic a bit.” There’s already been a bit more chaos than usual for tamped-down Singapore in the court proceedings for Yee. A man ran up and slapped him outside court in front of the media. One of Yee’s attorneys, Alfred Dodwell, said he fears for his client’s safety if he is released. “We’re a mature society now, a very educated society, but at the same time a very sensitive society,” he said. Dodwell is on the board of directors for The Independent, another online news site launched two years ago. He doubts the government has lost much support from the general public over free speech issues, but also predicts change on the horizon. “The real test is the ballot box,” he said. “It’s a very important election coming up. Fifty years have come and gone, so we’re looking at the next leg. The post Blogger, 16, Exposes Limits on Free Speech in Singapore appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Poking Fun at the Powerful Posted: 11 May 2015 05:00 PM PDT   Lu Maw and Lu Zaw before a show. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Just south of the heart of Myanmar's second-largest city, a small group of foreign tourists huddle together under a dim streetlight. Behind them is a large signboard with "Par Par Lay's A-Nyeint Troupe" written in big blue Myanmar characters. Lu Maw, brother of the late comedian Par Par Lay, comes outside to greet the visitors. "While you are waiting for the show, please enjoy these," he says, handing out laminated articles in English, French and German about the famous local comedy trio known for poking fun at those in power. Lu Maw, Lu Zaw and Par Par Lay performed together as The Moustache Brothers for more than 30 years, often attracting the ire of authorities for their satirical performances on everything from government mismanagement to the daily hardships of ordinary citizens. The eldest of the three, Par Par Lay, passed away in 2013. At 8:30 pm, Lu Maw invites the tourists inside his home which, by night, transforms into a small makeshift theater. Dozens of photos and posters of the comedy trio, together with bunches of Myanmar marionettes, line the living room walls. With microphone in hand, Lu Maw introduces himself and his homeland in broken English, gesturing at a map and explaining about the country's many ethnic groups, his favorite of which are the Karen, he says, before breaking into a Karen-style dance. Holding a photo of US President Barack Obama embracing opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Lu Maw exclaims that he would like to kiss the US first lady Michelle Obama as a kind of square-up. The audience erupts in laughter. "But you know, I didn't get the chance since Mother Suu has already kissed President Obama again when he came here for the second time," Lu Maw says sadly, producing another photo of the opposition leader with the president to the sound of more laughter. Lu Zaw performing U Shwe Yoe, a humorous Myanmar dance often performed at donation services and religious events. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) The hour-long show is lively throughout, with jokes on corruption, the judicial system and the Parliament, and dances featuring Lu Zaw, his wife, sisters, nieces and even his youngest four-year-old granddaughter. For their topical satire that often criticized the military government, the group faced the wrath of the authorities, with Par Par Lay imprisoned on several occasions. Since 2001, the trio was banned from performing in public. Unbowed, however, they turned their small home on a nondescript Mandalay street into a tiny theater, attracting a constant trickle of expectant foreign tourists. While government surveillance of The Moustache Brothers eased following the by-elections in 2012, so too did the interest of local fans. "We feel we lost some spice in our mood," Lu Maw tells The Irrawaddy. "Before, we could throw the jokes and criticisms directly to the [local audience] where they could reach directly to the government and have some effect." Performers gesture to the audience from the small makeshift stage. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) But he remains happy entertaining foreign visitors, he says, and having an outlet to show off his talents. As if to show he's lost none of his political edge, Lu Maw holds up a placard with the words "Amend Constitution." "People spoke out with their desire to amend the constitution, but the government turns a deaf ear," he says. Since the death of Par Par Lay, the leader of The Moustache Brothers, Lu Maw and Lu Zaw have continued to perform their distinctive a-nyeintpwe—a traditional Myanmar performance combining dance, music, singing and comedy that can last up to seven hours. Although these days, the shows miss some of Par Par Lay's charm, they are still crammed with the same fearless and irreverent humor and insight. "Since Par Par Lay is not here, side by side with me on stage, I always feel like something is missing," Lu Maw says. This article originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Poking Fun at the Powerful appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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