The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Population Control Bill Could ‘Stop the Bengalis’: Wirathu
• Military Blames Kokang Rebels for Artillery Fire in China
• Citing ‘Destabilizing Potential,’ Govt Cancels Muslim Conference
• Lead Mine Halts Production on Water Pollution Fears
• New Thai-Burma Border Trade Post Tipped
• Burma Says ‘Boat People’ Crisis Not Caused by Rohingya Strife
• Architect’s Forum Calls for Shwedagon Conservation Plan
• The Cows that Keep on Giving
• Nepal Quake Death Toll Becomes Highest on Record; Dozens Still Missing
• Pressure Mounts on Burma Over Asia ‘Boat People’ Crisis
• Neither China nor US Giving Ground Over Projects Dispute

Population Control Bill Could ‘Stop the Bengalis’: Wirathu Posted: 18 May 2015 08:05 AM PDT   Nationalist monk U Wirathu speaking in January, 2015. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Nationalist monk U Wirathu on Monday lashed out against calls for Burma's Parliament to oppose controversial legislation that would restrict birth rates at the discretion of local authorities, claiming the bill was designed with the dual purpose of protecting women's health and "stopping the Bengalis." The comments, made to The Irrawaddy during a telephone interview, supported criticisms that the legislation was intended to target minorities, particularly stateless Rohingya Muslims in western Burma's Arakan State, also known as Rakhine. "If the bill is enacted, it could stop the Bengalis that call themselves Rohingya, who are trying to seize Rakhine State," Wirathu said. The Burmese government and much of the general public refuse to recognize the term Rohingya, referring to the group as Bengalis to imply that they are illegal immigrants. In recent weeks, the persecuted minority has been at the center of a regional crisis, as thousands are believed to have fled by boat to seek refuge in neighboring countries, often to find themselves caught in an expansive human trafficking circuit. The Population Control Bill, which was approved by Burma's Union Parliament last week and now awaits the President's approval, is one of four bills known collectively as the Protection of Race and Religion package, proposed by the nationalist Buddhist organization Ma Ba Tha. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement on Saturday calling on lawmakers to reject the bill on the grounds that it violated women's rights and could be used to target minorities. The vote, however, had already been cast in favor without garnering much attention from the media. Of particular concern, the group said, was a provision mandating that women wait three years between birthing children, which human rights activists and women's advocates view as an assault on female reproductive rights. HRW also pointed out that the drafting process did not involve participation by ethnic and religious minority women, who would likely be most affected should the bill become law. Wirathu, a radical monk closely associated with Ma Ba Tha and largely viewed as an anti-Muslim agitator, defended the legislation as a health measure that women need not be involved in drafting. "[The Population Control Bill] was drafted for healthcare. The World Health Organization [WHO] also advised a three-year interval between each child," he said, an apparent reference to 2005 research recommending birth spacing to reduce infant and child mortality. "Will it only be legal when women join the discussion? Did women have any participation in Sharia Law?" Under the bill, divisional and state governments are granted the ability to request a presidential order limiting reproductive rates if it is determined that population growth, accelerating birth rates, or rising infant or maternal mortality rates are negatively impacting regional development. An "imbalance between population and resources, low socio-economic indicators and regional food insufficiency because of internal migration" can also be cited in invoking the law. The legislative package, which includes provisions that would restrict interfaith marriage, polygamy and religious conversion, have been lambasted by human rights groups and women's rights advocates since it was first proposed in 2013. Critics claim the legislation undermines women's right to freedom of faith and family planning, while leaving ethnic and religious minority women particularly vulnerable to abuse by authorities. Western governments have warned that enacting the laws would not be in keeping with the country's transition toward democracy. The post Population Control Bill Could 'Stop the Bengalis': Wirathu appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Military Blames Kokang Rebels for Artillery Fire in China Posted: 18 May 2015 06:23 AM PDT   Min Aung Hlaing meeting with Chinese Ambassador Yang Houlan. (Photo: Myawady / Facebook) RANGOON — The head of Burma's Armed Forces has blamed Kokang insurgents for artillery fire that landed across the Chinese border and wounded five people in a Yunnan province village last week. The Chinese Foreign Ministry had earlier condemned the Burma Army over the May 14 incident, during which a Chinese citizen and four Burmese nationals were injured after the shells exploded near a hotel in the town of Zhenkang at around 8:30pm local time. A further four shells were reported to have landed on Chinese soil the following day. On Monday morning, the government said an investigation into the responsible party was still underway. “We still have an ongoing investigation," presidential advisor Ye Htut told reporters at a press conference today. "We need to find whether these artillery shells were from the Burma Armed Forces or Kokang insurgents. In any case like this, we need to investigate before assigning blame." Later on Monday, the military's Myawady online news portal reported a Naypyidaw meeting between Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and a delegation led by Yang Houlan, the Chinese ambassador. The commander-in-chief reportedly told the group that the artillery shells did not originate from the Burma Army, and were likely to have been fired by Kokang soldiers with the intention of damaging the bilateral relationship between the two countries. The artillery attack came during an engagement between the Burma Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic Kokang armed group that has been fighting government forces since early February. In April, the Burmese government formally apologized to Beijing after the accidental March 13 bombing of a sugar cane field that killed five Chinese civilians. Unconfirmed reports stated that the government paid more than US$10,000 in compensation for each of the deaths. A statement issued by the Burma Army on May 15 vowed to eradicate MNDAA forces from around the border area, and said that most of the insurgent army's strategic mountain posts had been seized in government offensives. The post Military Blames Kokang Rebels for Artillery Fire in China appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Citing ‘Destabilizing Potential,’ Govt Cancels Muslim Conference Posted: 18 May 2015 06:18 AM PDT A Muslim boy stands by his shop in front of a mosque in Rangoon on Nov. 14, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) Plans to hold a nationwide conference this week for members of Burma's Muslim community have been scrapped after the government refused to allow the gathering, which it said risked destabilizing the country. The organizing committee of the Union Muslims Nationwide Conference said that permission to hold the three-day event on May 23 in Thanlyin, located in Rangoon's Southern District, had originally been sought last year. "The district administration office called us on Friday and explained that the conference cannot be held because it might affect the peace and stability of the country. They gave a rejection letter as well," said Ohn Maung, general secretary of the organizing committee. "The conference was initially planned to be held in September 2014. But it was postpone to May 23 this year, and again the permission was rejected," he added. According to the organizing committee leader, the request for permission was sent to President Thein Sein and his Union government, after initially being denied by authorities at the township level last year. "Since the Union government has denied permission, we will not hold the conference," Ohn Maung said. Organizers had hoped that the conference would be the first of its kind since 1946, when a similar gathering was called at Pyinmana in central Burma by U Razak, who would later become one of eight martyrs assassinated alongside Gen. Aung San on the eve of Burma's independence. The Rangoon Southern District administration office confirmed that permission to hold the conference was denied by the Union government. "The sensitive situation of the country is not suitable yet for such a conference, where disagreements and conflicts could occur and could affect the country's peace and stability as a consequence," said Kyaw Win Oo, an administrative officer for Rangoon's Southern District. "We've already explained this and gave the letter from the Union government to the organizing committee members. They said they understood and they've accepted it," he added. It was not clear whether the Upper Burma and Northern Shan State chapters of the influential Association for the Protection of Race and Religion played a role in the conference's cancelation. The two chapters, part of a Buddhist nationalist group known locally as Ma Ba Tha, had issued statements opposing the religious gathering that circulated widely on social media. The separate statements voiced strong opposition to the conference and said the nationalist groups would not allow such a gathering to take place anywhere in Burma. Calling Burma's Muslims "foreigners who migrated to the country for various reasons," Ma Ba Tha's Upper Burma chapter said it further took issue with the conference's title because it included the words "Union Muslims." "The country is a Buddhist country so the Muslim conference must not be allowed. If the conference were to be held, there would be violence and it would affect the peace and stability of the country, which is why the association strongly opposes it," read the statement. The rise of Ma Ba Tha has come amid a climate of growing nationalistic fervor in Burma, where several bouts of intercommunal violence between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims have marred Burma's transition to quasi-civilian rule. More than 250 people have been killed since fighting between the two religious communities first broke out in Arakan State in mid-2012. Asked whether Ma Ba Tha's opposition was a factor in the government's refusal to allow the event, Kyaw Win Oo said he was not aware of the statements in question. Ohn Maung told The Irrawaddy that the main purposes of the conference were to speak out against extremism and violence, maintain societal harmony and participate in the development of the country. "The conference is not organized by a religious group or political party but rather by civil society, only to maintain the peace and stability," he said. "We fully understand what they [Ma Ba Tha and the government] are worried about. That's why we've postponed the conference. "We will explain this to everyone and will try to get the permission from the government, at a suitable time, in accordance with the law," he added. The post Citing 'Destabilizing Potential,' Govt Cancels Muslim Conference appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lead Mine Halts Production on Water Pollution Fears Posted: 18 May 2015 04:46 AM PDT   A hillside in Tenasserim Division. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A lead mine near Tenasserim Division's Kalonehtar village has temporarily ceased operations after villagers asked the mine's owner's to stop polluting the area's only water source. Over 100 villagers visited the mine on Saturday to request the company halt production. The mine's waste products, disposed of nearby, had earlier this year begun to make their way into the Talaingyar stream after soaking into the topsoil at a dumpsite. Tin Than, a midwife living in the village, said that locals were concerned the polluted water would damage nearby orchards once the rainy season begins. "The downstream water has become muddy now and we can't catch fish anymore," she told The Irrawaddy. "We asked them to stop their work until they fix the damage caused to the village." Villagers have requested that the company improves its waste management practices and builds a filtered water tank in Kalonehtar, home to about 200 households. The 407th Burma Army Battalion, stationed nearby, has also approached the company about the polluted stream, which it relies upon for bathing, drinking and cooking. "The soil and other waste from the mine is like a mountain now," said Ye Lin Myint of the Dawei Development Association. "When it rains, this soil will block the stream and change the water flow. The orchards owned by the villagers will be lost… The company is using diesel and coal tar in the mine, and the waste water is being disposed of in the stream as well." Sein Myint, a retired deputy director of the Ministry of Mines, said that the country's laws explicitly forbade disposing of mining chemicals into the water table, and companies were required to filter wastewater until it was no longer harmful to human beings. "We have to check who has allowed throwing chemicals directly into the stream," he told The Irrawaddy. "A systematic disposal plan is required by the ministry." The mine has been run by the ANA&NRD Company since 2000 and is scheduled to operate until next year. Kalonehtar itself has been included in the project area for the Dawei Special Economic Zone, with plans to build a water reservoir to supply the development. Villagers have opposed the plan, concerned about the risk of flooding. The post Lead Mine Halts Production on Water Pollution Fears appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Thai-Burma Border Trade Post Tipped Posted: 18 May 2015 04:39 AM PDT Trucks filled with goods cross the Friendship Bridge from Mae Sot in Thailand to Myawaddy in Burma. (Photo: Moe Kyaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Fully legal trading with Thailand will begin "soon" at an additional border station in southeastern Burma following a boom in overland trade between the two countries, according to a Ministry of Commerce official. The Mao Tao border trading post in Tenasserim Division has already been operating in a partial capacity, Yan Naing Tun, the ministry's deputy director general, told The Irrawaddy on Monday. Mao Tao has been accepting imports from Thailand since 2013, but Burmese exports have not been permitted on the Thai side. Ministry of Commerce officials are in talks with their Thai counterparts to legalize two-way formal trade at the border crossing. "Actually, we opened that station two years ago, but the Thai side is still working to legalize it, as there are many procedures working with other departments. Both sides' authorities need to discuss the process further," he said. "We'll announce [the Mao Tao opening] soon publically, after we have had further discussions," Yan Naing Tun said. Tenasserim Division already hosts two of Burma's four formal trading points with Thailand, at Htee Khee and Kawthaung. The other two stations are at Myawaddy and Tachileik in Karen and Shan states, respectively. Three Pagodas Pass is also viewed as a border crossing with high trade potential, though currently no official commerce between the two countries is transacted there. Among the operational trade stations, Myawaddy-Mae Sot is the biggest trading point for the two countries, with Burma largely exporting marine products and importing foodstuffs, home appliances, construction materials, automobile parts and agricultural equipment. Dr. Maung Maung Lay, vice chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), said he welcomed more trade linkages with Burma's two biggest overland trading partners, Thailand and China, but he added that more should be done to curb the rampant black market trading that takes place between the countries. "For example, there is going to be a lot of informal trading along these borders, because when we've checked data from the Myanmar side and Thailand side, they are largely different," he said. "What we're concerned about is that there are many unsuitable food and drink products coming through the borders, and also uncertified home appliances. That's why more effort should be made to prevent illegal trading along there," he said. Though legal overland trade with Thailand has surged in recent years, China remains Burma's largest trading partner. At Muse in Shan State alone, traded goods totaled more than US$5.1 billion in the 2014-15 fiscal year. According to Ministry of Commerce data, the border trade between Thailand and Burma has increased nearly 18-fold since 2011-12, when it stood at $24.5 million. Trade rose to $144.8 million in 2012-13, $271.5 million the following year and $432.6 million in 2014-15. The post New Thai-Burma Border Trade Post Tipped appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Says ‘Boat People’ Crisis Not Caused by Rohingya Strife Posted: 18 May 2015 04:31 AM PDT Migrants believed to be Rohingya rest inside a shelter after being rescued from boats at Lhoksukon in Indonesia's Aceh Province May 11, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — The Burmese government on Monday met with foreign diplomats to address the ongoing crisis of human trafficking along the country's western coast, vowing to collaborate with regional governments to combat trafficking while denying that a recent exodus was caused by conflict and discrimination in the country. Speaking to reporters after a closed-door conference in Rangoon, Minister of Information Ye Htut denied that the crisis at sea was related to the treatment of stateless Rohingya Muslims in western Burma's Arakan State, also known as Rakhine, calling it "just a problem of human trafficking" that should be resolved by all governments  affected by the trade. "Some people said that these people tried to escape from Rakhine where there is conflict, but we do not agree with this," the minister said. "Traffickers brought these people to Thailand and Indonesia. This is just a case of human trafficking. As we are a member with other [Asean] countries and the international community, we will work together to solve this problem." The minister did not commit to attending a May 29 multinational summit hosted by Thailand to address the crisis, which is believed to have left thousands of people from Burma and Bangladesh afloat on abandoned boats with little or no food and water as neighboring countries refuse to let them approach their shores. Many of the so-called "boat people" were found to be Rohingya Muslims who left Buddhist-majority Burma to seek asylum in Malaysia. The Rohingya, with a population of about 1.2 million, are denied citizenship and remain subject to discriminatory policies in Burma. The Burmese government does not recognize the term Rohingya, referring to the group instead as Bengali, implying that they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh. The minority bore the brunt of deadly inter-communal riots beginning in 2012 that left an estimated 140,000 people displaced in squalid and isolated camps, where they are denied mobility and public services. Reports over the past three years point to an expansive human trafficking scheme originating in the Bay of the Bengal, whereby Rohingya and other migrants pay smugglers to transport them to other countries, but are intercepted by traffickers who hold them captive in camps and demand ransom for their continued passage. Pressure has increased in recent weeks to find a solution, after a mass grave was unearthed near Thailand's border with Malaysia. Dozens of bodies, most believed to have been trafficked Rohingya, were exhumed from the site, prompting a crackdown that led to the discovery of several other such camps in the jungles of southern Thailand. Human rights monitors warned that Thailand's crackdown on inland trafficking camps could worsen the problem by leading traffickers to abandon the boat people at sea. That fear proved all too real last week when reporters found a boat packed with hundreds of people and a broken engine floating near a Thai island in the Andaman Sea. Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia have all stated their intention to "push back" boats entering their waters, against the pleas of the United Nations and rights groups that accused the relevant governments of playing "human ping pong" with the refugees. Hundreds rescued from several boats off the coast of Indonesia in recent weeks—including men, women and children—are being held in makeshift facilities where they face an uncertain future. Ye Htut said the government of Burma would cooperate with other countries to determine whether those who reach shore are from Burma, an approach seen as problematic by rights groups because the Rohingya do not hold citizenship in any of the concerned countries. "Our position is very clear," Ye Htut said. "First, we have to start a verification process to determine the status of these people. If they are coming from Myanmar and they have enough evidence to prove that, Myanmar [is] ready to bring them home." The United Nations refugee agency estimates that 25,000 people have left western Burma and Bangladesh in rickety boats in the first three months of this year, twice as many departures as the same period in 2014. Rights groups warn that the numbers of those currently at sea could be extremely high this time of year, as it may be the last chance for migrants and asylum seekers to leave before the monsoon season makes waters too difficult to navigate. The International Organization for Migration recently warned that as many as 8,000 people could still be stranded at sea awaiting rescue. Asked whether there would be any immediate relief for those still at sea, EU Ambassador to Burma Roland Kobia said after Monday's conference that, "[t]hese people can't wait too long to get solutions, so I think there was a wide agreement around the table that things need to be done now, even in a conservatory manner, but to try to avoid people dying at sea and to try to find a longer term solution." The post Burma Says 'Boat People' Crisis Not Caused by Rohingya Strife appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Architect’s Forum Calls for Shwedagon Conservation Plan Posted: 18 May 2015 01:50 AM PDT Shwedagon Pagoda at night. (Photo: Kyaw Phyo Tha / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Experts have called for a comprehensive government plan for the sustainable management of Shwedagon Pagoda and the surrounding area, in response to five nearby development projects that they said could threaten the structural integrity of the sacred site. The Association of Myanmar Architects (AMA) has also released a statement claiming the pagoda was in urgent need of protection and warning that its durability would be at risk if nearby developments were not properly managed. Speaking at the 'Save our Shwedagon' forum, organized by the AMA and held at the pagoda on Sunday, the organization's vice-president Maw Lin said the pagoda's religious and historical significance meant that the government needed to exercise caution in granting permissions for development in the area. "Using conservation management and zoning plans, the government should make an overall study across Rangoon for which areas they should grant development approvals or not," he said. Sunday's forum, attended by about 300 people, heard the opinions of nine experts across fields ranging from history to urban planning, underground water table management and environmental engineering. Dr Nyan Myint Kyaw, a civil professor from the Rangoon Technological University who was involved in the pagoda's restoration and maintenance works in 2009, said that even though Shwedagon had received structural strengthening in recent years, a comprehensive survey on the site's foundation and underground water had yet to occur. "What we can say right now is only guesswork," he said. "No one knows exactly what would happen as we have no scientific data. That's why we are calling for a risk assessment." Water expert Dr Khin Ni Ni Thein backed up Nyan Myint Kyaw's comments, saying that while while some preliminary risk assessments had been performed, a more comprehensive risk assessment was needed to gauge the impact of the projects on the pagoda. Other attendees of Sunday's forum took issue with the visual impact of the five developments, spread out over a 71-acre site that near the foot of Singuttara Hill. Hlaing Maw Oo, an architect and director from the Ministry of Construction, said that high-rise buildings near the pagoda risked "visual pollution" obscuring a monument of great cultural, historical and religious significance. "From an urban design point of view, it's unacceptable. The more visual pollution we have, the faster we will lose the view of the great pagoda for the next generation," she said. Architect Khaing Win Lat said the area around Shwedagon Pagoda should be retained as a green area with public access for cultural, educational and recreational purposes. "The area should be a conservation zone that belongs to people," he said. In a written message to the forum, Thant Myint-U, chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust, said Shwedagon must be the centrepiece of any plan for a 21st century Rangoon, together with its waterfronts and heritage architecture. "I believe there can and should be medium and high-rise development—but in their proper place," he wrote. "There is more than enough room for the kind of growth and modernization we all want. There is no conflict with development. On the contrary—it is unplanned growth that will ultimately hinder and make impossible the sustainable development of Yangon." The AMA has sent a letter to President Thein Sein, ministers and relevant ministries in the Union and divisional governments, calling for the urgent adoption of a conservation plan for the area and recommending "Shwedagon's environs be spared and used as public spaces." "The most important points in the letter we sent to the president are that conservation of Shwedagon and a thorough risk assessment on the pagoda are in urgent need," Maw Lin told the forum on Sunday. "In addition, a conservation management plan for the area is needed and Shwedagon's surroundings should be kept as public space." The post Architect's Forum Calls for Shwedagon Conservation Plan appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Cows that Keep on Giving Posted: 17 May 2015 10:36 PM PDT Click to view slideshow. As a child, U Than Myint rarely played with toys other than a small wooden cow he had since he was four. He bought a real cow at 14 and now, 40 years later, his affection for the animal on which he has built a successful business remains undiminished. "Since I was young, I loved cows very much. I didn't have other interests, I just loved to keep cows," U Than Myint recalled, sitting in a gazebo at his farm in a Yangon suburb where around 1,000 of his milking cows, a Holstein Friesian cross-breed, are housed in cattle sheds. Born in a small village on Bilu Gyun Island near the Mon State capital of Mawlamyine, U Than Myint's passion for cattle likely came from his grandfather, U Pho Thaung, who had kept around 100 cows in the state's Kyaikmayaw Township. However, after the military seized power in 1962 and sought to nationalize farmland, U Pho Thaung decided to offload his livestock. Initially, he didn't want his family to follow him into farming. "He was concerned that if we were connected with farming and cows we'd be ill-fated like him," U Than Myint said. "So I kept my first cow secretly." When U Pho Thaung did eventually learn of his grandson's genuine interest in rearing cows, he happily offered advice on how best to manage and care for them. Today, U Than Myint's TM Dairy Farm is the country's largest, distributing 3,000 one-liter bottles of milk daily with the help of 70 workers. New Frontiers When U Than Myint began selling fresh milk in the 1980s, he owned about six cows. "At that time… all condensed milk houses were owned by Chinese and Indians. They didn't raise cows like us. They just bought milk from us and made profits from that. But we didn't make profits like them although we devoted ourselves to keeping cows," U Than Myint said. His hobby would soon become a burgeoning business and in 1991, he founded a condensed milk house in Chaung Sone Township. Eight years later he owned 100 cows, but began to face challenges; the small market wasn't meeting his supply. "There were only two things to consider," U Than Myint recalled. "Reduce my cows or move to a bigger market." Reluctant to relinquish any of his precious cattle, he made the decision to shift his operations to the then-capital Yangon. "I wanted to develop my business and also desired to move to a metropolis so my sons could gain experience and knowledge there," he said. After searching for suitable farmland for nearly one year, he received the official documents granting him permission to leave his native town and move to Yangon. He and his family settled on their current property at Htauk Kyant in Mingaladon Township in 2000. "All the other dairy farms were bigger than mine when I first arrived," U Than Myint said. Dairy farms including the Chinese-owned Fun Hwa and Super Cow had around 400 cows. He sold fresh milk from his car in downtown Yangon twice a day and sent condensed milk to regular customers in Mawlamyine. In 2005, he launched pasteurized products using the brand name "TM," his initials, and began targeting the bigger retailers like City Mart supermarkets. Top Quality More than 10 local dairy products, including Fun Hwa, Pyin Ma Pin, Super Cow, Walco and Silvery Pearl, were already prominent in the market at that time. As the newcomer, U Than Myint had to work hard to be competitive. "I maintained the best quality and sold at lower prices than the others," he claimed, adding that he used only natural milk from his farm and didn't mix his products with water, or with milk from other sources. TM's efforts at providing quality milk have not gone unnoticed. Khin Maung Oo, deputy director of the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development, said that an expert from New Zealand had recently evaluated Yangon's local milk products. The expert, who works on a dairy cattle breeding development project between the two countries, collected a number of local dairy products in March and took them for testing in a Bangkok laboratory. "It turned out that TM milk is the best [in quality]," Khin Maung Oo said. U Than Myint was also awarded the President's Excellent Performance Award in 2014 for his 40-year devotion to the dairy industry, although he said the government had not extended any assistance to cattle owners like him. Expansion Some 15 years since relocating to Yangon, TM Dairy Farm now boasts 1,200 cattle and U Than Myint has opened another farm in Naypyitaw, with 50 cows. Wary of balancing the demands of his business with the welfare of his livestock, U Than Myint has continued to explore better ways to care for his animals. With the help of one of his sons, he hit upon a more advanced type of cow shed used in the United States. While they're not cheap at 2 billion kyat (around US$1.95 million), for U Than Myint the sheds, which house 250 cows, are worth it. "Although my farm became the biggest one in the country, the systems we are using here are not modernized like internationally," he said. "I'm now building a modernized cow shed. In there, I can give them better facilities and they will have more space to walk and to lie down." U Than Myint's passion for the animals not only helped him win over his skeptical grandfather, but also his wife. Daw Tin Swe said that while others may have stopped raising cows in difficult times, her husband was stubborn and would be more likely to sell the family jewels than let go of his stock. "In 1980, I told him not to keep cows anymore because it was really tiring. We were failing our social duties since we couldn't go out or close the farm for a day," she said. But his lifelong devotion is something she has grown to accept. "He loves cows very much," Daw Tin Swe said with a smile. "So I just leave him to do his hobby and support him." This article originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post The Cows that Keep on Giving appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Nepal Quake Death Toll Becomes Highest on Record; Dozens Still Missing Posted: 17 May 2015 10:31 PM PDT Nepal military personnel search for bodies amidst rubble from collapsed buildings after Tuesday's earthquake at Singati village in Dolakha, Nepal, on May 15, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) KATHMANDU, Nepal — The number of people killed in Nepal by two major earthquakes has surpassed 8,500, making the disaster the deadliest to hit the Himalayan country on record, as rescuers on Sunday searched for dozens of people still missing in remote villages. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, killing thousands and demolishing more than half a million homes, most of them in rural areas cut off from emergency medical care. A second major quake struck on Tuesday, 76 kilometers (47 miles) east of the capital Kathmandu, just as Nepalis were beginning to recover from the previous earthquake. The death toll from the two quakes now stands at 8,583, the home ministry said on Sunday. The previous deadliest earthquake to strike the country—in 1934—killed at least 8,519 in Nepal, as well as thousands more in neighboring India. In Dolakha district east of Kathmandu, which was hit hardest by the second quake, dozens of landslides have blocked access to remote villages. In Singati village, devastated by a landslide, dozens are still missing and rescue workers are yet to remove debris from all of the village to recover bodies, district officials said. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told reporters on Sunday that 58 foreigners had died in the two earthquakes. Koirala said 112 foreigners were still unaccounted for, although many of those could be backpackers who choose not to register with authorities when they leave the country. The post Nepal Quake Death Toll Becomes Highest on Record; Dozens Still Missing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Pressure Mounts on Burma Over Asia ‘Boat People’ Crisis Posted: 17 May 2015 09:52 PM PDT   Thai fishermen (R) give some supplies to migrants on a boat drifting 17 km (10 miles) off the coast of the southern island of Koh Lipe, Thailand May 14, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) KUALA LUMPUR/KOH LIPE, Thailand — Malaysia prodded Burma on Sunday to halt the exodus from its shores as concern grew for uncounted migrants adrift in rickety boats around the Andaman Sea. The United Nations has called on Southeast Asian nations not to push back the boatloads of Rohingya Muslims from Burma and Bangladeshis—men, women and children who fled persecution and poverty at home, and now face sickness and starvation at sea. Malaysia, which says it has already taken in 120,000 illegal migrants from Burma, has made it clear that it wants no more and its deputy prime minister said on Sunday that Burma must now take responsibility. "What is the responsibility of the Myanmar [Burma] government… is there any humanitarian aspect for them to solve this matter internally?" Muhyiddin Yassin told a news conference, adding that the burden should not fall on other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Foreign Minister Anifah Aman told reporters that Malaysia, as current chair of Asean, was hoping to discuss the crisis with Burma "before it is brought to the international level." An estimated 25,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya boarded smugglers' boats in the first three months of this year, twice as many as in the same period of 2014, UNHCR has said. A clampdown by Thailand's military junta has made a well-trodden trafficking route into Malaysia—one of Southeast Asia's wealthiest economies—too risky for criminals who prey on Rohingya fleeing oppression in Buddhist-majority Burma and on Bangladeshis looking for better livelihoods abroad. Region's Leaders Have 'Failed to Act' The United Nations said last week that the deadly pattern of migration across the Bay of Bengal would continue unless Burma ended discrimination. Most of Burma's 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions. Almost 140,000 were displaced in clashes with ethnic Arakanese Buddhists in 2012. Burma terms the Rohingya "Bengalis," a name most Rohingya reject because it implies they are immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh despite having lived in Burma for generations. Thailand has said it will host talks in Bangkok on May 29 for 15 countries to discuss the emergency. However, there has been no sign yet of a coordinated response from regional governments over what to do with some 2,500 migrants who have landed in Malaysia and Indonesia over the past week or some 5,000 others still stranded at sea. "The need for effective regional action to combat the crisis is clear, yet our leaders have consistently failed to act," said Charles Santiago, chairperson of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights and a member of parliament in Malaysia. "They hide behind the arcane and ultimately destructive policy of non-interference, repeating the demonstrably false claim that the Myanmar government's persecution of Rohingya is an 'internal affair'," he wrote in the Jakarta Post on Sunday. US Raps Burma over Rights Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have all turned or towed overcrowded migrant boats away from their shores in recent days, in what the International Organization for Migration has described as "maritime ping-pong with human lives." For several days, about 300 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants on one particular boat have zig-zagged across maritime borders just out of sight of gleaming Thai beach resorts. Reuters journalists on a speedboat off the coast near the border between Malaysia and Thailand saw hundreds of rake-thin migrants huddling on the sun-beaten deck of the boat, which was towed back out to sea twice by the Thai navy and intercepted by the Malaysians. Bangkok said in a statement released on Sunday that the people on the boat did not want to land in Thailand, that it would not push boats back and would set up temporary shelters for migrants that do land. The United States last year downgraded Thailand and Malaysia to its list of the world's worst centers of human trafficking, dumping them in the same category as North Korea and Syria. As for Burma, US President Barack Obama said in a routine note to Congress last week that Washington—while not curtailing engagement with Burma after decades of military rule—would maintain some sanctions on the country. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said that Washington continued to raise its concerns with Burma over the migrants "because of dire humanitarian and economic situations they face at home out of fear of ethnic and religious violence." There was no immediate response from Burma to Malaysia's calls for it to take responsibility. On Saturday, a senior official from the president's office said Burma had not received an invitation for the Bangkok meeting and would not take part anyway if the word 'Rohingya' was used. The post Pressure Mounts on Burma Over Asia 'Boat People' Crisis appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Neither China nor US Giving Ground Over Projects Dispute Posted: 17 May 2015 09:47 PM PDT   Chinese President Xi Jinping and US Secretary of State John Kerry hold a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on May 17, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — China and the United States are budging not a bit over Beijing's assertive development in disputed parts of the South China Sea, with Chinese officials politely but pointedly dismissing Washington's push for US-proposed ways to ease tensions. As US Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up a visit to China on Sunday, both sides stressed the importance of dialogue to resolve competing claims in the waterway. But neither showed any sign of giving ground over Chinese land reclamation projects that have alarmed the United States and China's smaller neighbors. Kerry met Sunday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will be making an official visit to the United States this fall and sought to highlight US-China cooperation. "In my view, US-China relations have remained stable overall," Xi told Kerry at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, adding that he "look[ed] forward to continue to grow this relationship" on his upcoming visit. Despite those words, which came shortly before Kerry left Beijing and arrived in Seoul, South Korea, friction over China's construction in the South China Sea was evident and clouded the start of Kerry's brief trip to Asia. The United States and most members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) want a halt to the projects, which they suspect are aimed at building islands and other land features over which China can claim sovereignty. "We are concerned about the pace and scope of China's land reclamation in the South China Sea," Kerry said on Saturday. He urged China to speed up talks with Asean on guidelines for handling maritime activity in disputed areas. The goal is to help "reduce tensions and increase the prospect of diplomatic solutions," Kerry said. "I think we agree that the region needs smart diplomacy in order to conclude the Asean-China code of conduct and not outposts and military strips," Kerry told reporters at a news conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang indicated that while China was prepared to talk, it would not back down on the construction that, he said, "is something that falls fully within the scope of China's sovereignty." "The determination of the Chinese side to safeguard our own sovereignty and territorial integrity is as firm as a rock, and it is unshakable," he said. "It has always been our view that we need to find appropriate solutions to the issues we have through communications and negotiations that we have among the parties directly concerned with peaceful and diplomatic means on the basis of respecting historical facts and international norms. This position will remain unchanged in the future." Wang added that the differences between China and the United States could be managed "as long as we can avoid misunderstanding and, even more importantly, avoid miscalculation." The Chinese claims and land reclamation projects have rattled the region where South China Sea islands and reefs are contested by China and five other Asian governments. These activities have led to maritime clashes, accompanied by nationalistic protests and serious diplomatic rows. The United States says it takes no position on the sovereignty claims but insists they must be negotiated. Washington also says ensuring maritime safety and access to some of the world's busiest commercial shipping routes is a US national security priority. China has bristled at what it sees as US interference in the region and wants to negotiate with the Asean countries individually, something those much smaller nations fear will not be fair. In one disputed area, the Spratly Islands, US officials say China has reclaimed about 2,000 acres of dry land since 2014 that could be used as airstrips or for military purposes. The United States argues that man-made constructions cannot be used to claim sovereignty. Obama administration officials have declined to comment on reports that it may deploy military assets, or that it is considering a demonstration of freedom of navigation within 12 nautical miles of the islands' notional territorial zone. But they have said many of the features claimed by China in the disputed Spratlys are submerged and do not carry territorial rights, and maintained that China cannot "manufacture sovereignty" with its reclamation projects. Despite the clear disagreements over the South China Sea, Kerry and Wang said they were on track to make progress in other areas, notably on climate change, the fight against violent extremism, and preparations for the next round of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in June and Xi's visit to Washington in September. They expressed pleasure with their cooperation in the Iran nuclear talks, their solidarity in trying to denuclearize North Korea and combat diseases such as the deadly Ebola virus. The post Neither China nor US Giving Ground Over Projects Dispute appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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