The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Photo of the Week (May 22, 2015)
- US Urges Burma to Address Root Causes of Rohingya Crisis
- More Funding Sought for Foundering Mon Language Program
- Muslim Leaders Urge Govt to Crack Down on Arakan Trafficking
- Nattalin Farmers Resign En Masse from USDP
- Parliament to Discuss Postponing Mobile ‘Top-Up Tax’
- ‘Boat People’ Likely Posing as Rohingya for Aid, Says Burma General
- US Readies Air Patrols in Search for Rohingya Boat People
- ‘There Must Be a Balance Between Conservation and Development’
- ‘Ode to May’ Showcases Burma’s Modern Masters
- Cambodia Accepts 4 Refugees Under Australia Agreement
- A Year After Thai Coup, Stability Trumps Growth for Business
- ‘Top 10’ New Species Includes Cartwheeling Spider, ‘Chicken From Hell’
| Photo of the Week (May 22, 2015) Posted: 22 May 2015 07:57 AM PDT  A Rohingya child who recently arrived by boat has his picture taken for identification purposes at a shelter in Kuala Langsa, in Indonesia’s Aceh Province, May 18, 2015. The United Nations has called on Southeast Asian nations not to push back the boatloads of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladeshis – men, women and children who fled persecution and poverty at home, and now face sickness and starvation at sea. REUTERS/Roni Bintang – RTX1DFBH  A Rohingya child who recently arrived by boat has his picture taken for identification purposes at a shelter in Kuala Langsa, in Indonesia’s Aceh Province, May 18, 2015. The United Nations has called on Southeast Asian nations not to push back the boatloads of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladeshis – men, women and children who fled persecution and poverty at home, and now face sickness and starvation at sea. REUTERS/Roni Bintang – RTX1DFBHto The post Photo of the Week (May 22, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| US Urges Burma to Address Root Causes of Rohingya Crisis Posted: 22 May 2015 07:26 AM PDT
 US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken addressed reporters in Rangoon on may 22, 2015. (Photo: Tin Het Paing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A top US diplomat on Friday said the United States is committed to assisting Southeast Asian nations embroiled in an ongoing migrant crisis, urging the Burmese government to step up efforts to address root causes within its borders. "The United States is here to help countries in the region save lives today, that has to be our first priority," US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Burma, where he met with President Thein Sein and other senior government officials to address a recent migrant exodus that has left thousands stranded at sea. "Even as we address the immediate crisis, we also must confront its root causes in order to achieve a sustainable solution," Blinken said, stressing that political and social conditions on the ground were causing people to flee. Thousands of migrants and refugees from Burma and Bangladesh were abandoned by human traffickers in the Andaman Sea and the Malacca Strait following a crackdown on the trade by Thai authorities earlier this month. Most of the so-called "boat people" were found to be Rohingya Muslims fleeing desperate conditions in Burma's western Arakan State, while others are migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. Burma's Rohingya population, which numbers about 1.1 million people, are denied citizenship and viewed as illegal immigrants by the government, which refers to them as "Bengali." The group bore the brunt of inter-communal violence in 2012 that left hundreds dead and about 140,000 more in isolated displacement camps where they are denied mobility and basic services. Following the recent discovery of several boatloads of desperate and malnourished people—which had been refused entry to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia until Wednesday of this week—the Burmese government denied that the movement was caused by strife within its borders, claiming instead that the migrants were from Bangladesh. Blinken debunked the claim on Friday, stating that, "a significant number, a majority, are in fact from Rakhine [Arakan] State, are Rohingya, and left because of desperate conditions that they faced in Rakhine State, and we discussed this with the leadership here." The State Department recommended finding a solution to prolonged displacement in Arakan State and establishing a path to citizenship for the beleaguered Muslim minority. While the Burmese government has made efforts to improve conditions in the troubled state, Blinken said, "manifestly, those efforts are not sufficient." Blinken's trip to Burma was part of a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia with other State Department officials, and was not expressly planned to address the migrant dilemma that developed in recent weeks. The delegation, which also included US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary to the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Scott Marciel, expressed hope that a top-level meeting in Bangkok next week would produce a regional solution to the crisis. Burma's foreign ministry has committed to attending the meeting, hosted by the Thai government, on the condition that the term "irregular migrants" be used to refer to the Rohingya, the President's Office told The New York Times. Foreign ministers of Indonesia and Malaysia announced on Wednesday that they would grant temporary shelter for some 7,000 refugees, provided that the international community offer material assistance and resettlement within one year. The government of Burma said this week that it would scrutinize migrants found near its shores, vowing to provide humanitarian assistance and repatriate those found to be Burmese citizens. On Thursday night the Burma Navy carried out its first search and rescue operation in the Bay of Bengal, bringing more than 200 people to shore. The post US Urges Burma to Address Root Causes of Rohingya Crisis appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| More Funding Sought for Foundering Mon Language Program Posted: 22 May 2015 05:46 AM PDT
 Mon children study their mother tongue at a school in Panga village, Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State. (Photo: Facebook / Nai Wona Mang) RANGOON — A lawmaker has asked the Mon State parliament to triple the 10,000 kyats (US$9) per month that it pays part-time instructors who teach the Mon language at government schools, in line with a financial pledge that has yet to be fulfilled. Aung Naing Oo, an ethnic Mon lawmaker in the state legislature, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the Mon State government had only provided 10,000 kyats a month to the schoolteachers, one-third the stipend that they were promised. The state government last year agreed to pay part-time Mon language instructors 30,000 kyats monthly, an allocation that advocates of ethnic minority language instruction hope will one day come from the national budget. Union-level funds have not been forthcoming, however, in part because lawmakers in Naypyidaw are currently debating amendments to the National Education Law. Not content to wait for the money to flow from Naypyidaw's coffers, Mon State lawmakers and the regional government pledged to offer language instructors 30,000 kyats, but the allocation never fully materialized. "They did not provide full salary as they said they would. They told us our schoolteachers need to teach 30 hours a month in order to get a full salary, but the education department [the state-level Ministry of Education] only allowed our teachers to teach 20 hours a month," Aung Naing Oo said. With the academic year beginning next month, the lawmaker put the issue to the Mon State parliament on May 8 in hopes that the legislature could negotiate with the state-level Ministry of Education to extend Mon language instruction to 30 hours a week, making instructors eligible for the promised stipend. Ethnic Mon lawmakers pushed hard last year to hire Mon instructors to teach the local language at government schools, in what was a pioneering effort to return ethnic minority language instruction to the classroom. But Aung Naing Oo said the regional government's political will to make the program a reality was lacking. "This government did not want to promote our ethnic language. They could negotiate within their ministries if they wanted to promote our ethnic language," he said, adding that the future success of Mon language instruction depended on having the financial resources available to attract qualified teachers. Nai San Tin, another Mon State lawmaker, said ethnic Mon lawmakers were now reluctant to recruit teachers if a full stipend could not be guaranteed. "It is better if the government hires its own schoolteachers," he said. There were about 300 instructors who taught the ethnic Mon language part time at government schools last year, according to Nai San Tin. That number is expected to be significantly lower if the stipend is not increased. Under the democratically elected U Nu government of the 1950s, all schools in Burma's ethnic minority regions were permitted to teach ethnic languages, but the military regimes that ruled the country from 1962 enforced monolingual education in all state schools. As a result, in Mon State as in other parts of the country, only schools run by ethnic rebel administrations have taught local languages. Amid political reforms initiated after President Thein Sein came to power in 2011, ethnic lawmakers have made requests for mother-tongue teaching to be reinstated. Since 2012, teaching ethnic languages has been permitted, but only outside normal school hours, and without any state funding. The post More Funding Sought for Foundering Mon Language Program appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Muslim Leaders Urge Govt to Crack Down on Arakan Trafficking Posted: 22 May 2015 03:58 AM PDT  The Ministry of Information said the Burma Navy discovered a boat full of 200 people in waters off the coast of Arakan State on Thursday. (Photo: Facebook / MOI Webportal Myanmar) RANGOON — Muslim community leaders in Arakan State have accused the Burmese government of failing to take action against human traffickers while neighboring countries crack down on the regional trade in humans, many of whom are Rohingya Muslims from Burma. A spokesman for the government of Arakan State, where most of the trafficked victims creating the region's most recent humanitarian crisis are from, said authorities haven't acted because they had not received any specific complaints. "The local authorities know who the traffickers are, but they do not arrest the people," said Hla Maung, a local Muslim community leader in Maungdaw, a majority-Muslim township in Arakan State, which is home to an estimated 1.1 million Rohingya. "How can they arrest these people? They are involved in this business, working with our Muslim brokers. "We heard that Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia have arrested people who were involved in human trafficking. But all the traffickers in Maungdaw are running free, no one has arrested them." He said local security forces guarding Burma's border with Bangladesh were among the network of traffickers and facilitators filling boats with Rohingya that, until recently, sailed for Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations. "Our people have to pay 50,000 [kyats, US$45 equivalent] for one person to the border guard force. Then, the border guards allow them passage to the sea. Then, they have to give 100,000 kyats per person to a broker," said Hla Maung. Vice President Sai Mauk Kham paid a visit this week to Arakan State, where recent international scrutiny has been directed as boatloads of Rohingya fleeing persecution in the western state have been found floating in the seas of Southeast Asia, abandoned by crews that feared being caught up in a regional crackdown on people smuggling. State-run daily The Global New Light of Myanmar said the vice president "urged local authorities to do their utmost to prevent human trafficking and transnational crimes in the state" and "discussed efforts to stop human trafficking in Myanmar's sea territories and along the Rakhine [Arakan] coast" with the head of the Danyawady Naval Region Command headquarters. Asked about Hla Maung's claims of government inaction, Hla Thein, a spokesperson for the Arakan State government, said authorities had received no specific complaints to act upon. "There is no one from the Bengali side who has come to complain to us that they were trafficked, nor asked us to arrest those traffickers or brokers," he said, using a term for Rohingya reflecting the government's position that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. "For our part, we cannot go and arrest traffickers unless the victims come to complain about it to us first." There are eight Rohingya camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in and around Sittwe, Hla Thein said, adding that his government meets weekly with Muslim community leaders who take care of the camps and no one had lodged any complaints about trafficking cases. According to the Ministry of Information, the Burma Navy on Thursday discovered a boat carrying about 200 people four miles off the coast of Maungdaw. Those on board were turned over to authorities in Maungdaw, the ministry said, identifying them as Bangladeshis. The ministry did not indicate what would happen to the trafficking victims, but on Tuesday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 13 Bangladesh nationals were found at a seaside village in Maungdaw and were transferred to Bangladeshi immigration authorities. Hundreds of Rohingya, along with Bangladeshis escaping poverty in their home country, have washed up on the shores of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia in recent weeks. Those countries initially refused to accept them as refugees but later agreed to take them, provided that the international community assisted to eventually resettle them elsewhere. While potentially thousands remain stranded at sea with dwindling food and water supplies, the urgency of the crisis has prompted an international outcry. Burma's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in state media on Wednesday that it "shares concerns expressed by the international community." "[Burma] stands ready to provide humanitarian assistance to anyone who suffered in the sea," the statement said, adding that measures were being taken to prevent human smuggling and illegal migration. On Thursday, a high-level US delegation on a three-nation Southeast Asia tour met with President Thein Sein and senior members of his cabinet in Naypyidaw to discuss "humanitarian assistance for illegal migrants" and "combating people smuggling and human trafficking, [and] the situation in Rakhine State," among other issues, according to The Global New Light of Myanmar. Aung Win, another Muslim community leader from Sittwe who is a Rohingya rights activist, corroborated an earlier Reuters report that boats full of Rohingya remained moored off the Arakan coast, with traffickers offering them a return to shore—for a price. "They are asking one person for between 100,000 to 300,000 kyats," Aung Win said. "Refugees are people who do not have money. Where they will get this money for their release? These people [traffickers] are very brutal." He said rather than protecting those within Burma's sovereign borders, the government appeared happy to allow the Rohingya exodus by boat. At issue in Arakan State, for years, has been the government's refusal to grant the Rohingya citizenship. Violence between Buddhists and Muslims in the state in 2012 displaced more than 140,000 people, the vast majority of whom are Rohingya who remain confined to IDP camps, where a lack of access to basic government services has driven tens of thousands to board rickety boats seeking refuge elsewhere. "If we have to think about our life, it is very sad because we were born here long ago, many generations [ago]," Hla Maung said. "But, they do not recognize us as from this country." The dire situation in the seas of Southeast Asia appeared to improve on Wednesday, with Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand agreeing to temporarily take in what is believed to be thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi "boat people" who have made landfall on their soil or have been abandoned at sea. Burma's Foreign Ministry has agreed to attend a conference on May 29 in Bangkok, called hastily last week to discuss a regional response to the crisis. In Washington, a State Department spokeswoman on Wednesday said the United States would help to resettle some of the refugees, but Aung Win said the fundamental problems in Arakan State that were driving the Rohingya exodus remained: poor conditions in camps for displaced people, a lack of jobs and state-sponsored discrimination. "The situation will get more complicated if the government does not solve the problems of these people," said Aung Win. The post Muslim Leaders Urge Govt to Crack Down on Arakan Trafficking appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Nattalin Farmers Resign En Masse from USDP Posted: 22 May 2015 03:50 AM PDT  Local farmers gather to return their membership cards at the Union Solidarity and Development Party office in Nattalin Township, Pegu Division on Thursday. (Photo: Kaung Myat Min/The Irrawaddy) NATTALIN, Pegu Division — Nearly 100 farmers from villages in western Pegu Division's Nattalin Township gathered at the local Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) office on Wednesday, renouncing their memberships over frustrations at a lack of party help in a land dispute. Locals said that the military, district authorities and some government departments had confiscated some 450 acres of land in the township, including lands belonging to USDP members. The farmers, from 10 outlying villages, proclaimed their resignation from the USDP while at least 50 more asked the party to return their membership application forms. "This USDP leadership said they would stand by the truth," said farmer Myint Naing. "They said in the case of conflicts between the interests of the party and the interests of the people, they would serve the latter. When we asked for their help after our land was confiscated, they did nothing. We have resigned from a party that does not look after people." On Wednesday morning, farmers assembled outside the USDP offices in Nattalin town, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) southeast of Prome. More than 50 of those present loudly called for the return of their USDP membership application forms, which were supplied last October as party officials traveled door-to-door to sign up villagers. "In 2008, we voted in favor of ratifying the Constitution. In 2010, we voted for the party," said farmer Chit Ko, a resident of Dama Nge village. "Although our villages don't put up USDP signboards, all are full of USDP members." "Last year, party recruiters visited our homes, took our photos and asked us to fill in membership application forms, and we did so," he added. "We've come now to take them back. Why bother to join a good-for-nothing party?" Tint Lwin, secretary of the Nattalin office of the USDP and a member of the Pegu Division Parliament, told The Irrawaddy that of the 41 people who resigned from the party on Wednesday, 11 had already been expelled, adding that the party would return application forms to those who asked. "There are 120 farmers in the area whose lands were confiscated," he said. "Of the 41 members who resigned, one of them has been expelled from the party a long time ago for breaching party rules. Ten more were expelled yesterday [May 20] after a decision by the USDP township executive board." According to farmers, the simmering dispute began in 1994, when a 1000-acre stretch of land cultivated by district administrators was confiscated under the pretense of turning the area into a forest reserve. Around 550 acres were eventually returned to villagers, while the rest was appropriated by government departments and the Burma Army's 4th Light Infantry Battalion. The post Nattalin Farmers Resign En Masse from USDP appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Parliament to Discuss Postponing Mobile ‘Top-Up Tax’ Posted: 22 May 2015 03:44 AM PDT  Mobile phone users sit against the side of a building in Rangoon. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Parliament has agreed to discuss delaying a tax on Burma's mobile phone users that is due to go into effect on June 1, after a lawmaker from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) asked the legislature to reconsider the plan. The government announced on Monday that subscribers of Burma's three telecommunications providers—state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), Ooredoo and Telenor—would need to pay a commercial tax of 5 percent on all cellphone usage, including phone calls, text messages and mobile data. The tax will be applied to the so-called "top-up" cards that mobile users purchase to add balance to their phone credit, and resulted from an amendment to the Union Tax Law passed on April 1. The announcement sparked criticism among a public that for years had to pay exorbitant sums for a SIM card due their limited release by MPT, which until last year had a monopoly on Burma's mobile network, spawning a black market trade that has only fully disappeared in the last few months. Parliament agreed to discuss the issue on Thursday, after Lower House USDP lawmaker Thein Tun Oo submitted an urgent proposal to the legislature, asking the government to submit an amended Union Tax Law that would postpone enactment of the 5 percent levy until at least the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2016. "It happened on something we did not clearly understand," Thein Tun Oo told The Irrawaddy on Thursday, explaining that the new tax resulted from taking information and technology services off a list of exemptions to the commercial services sales tax of 5 percent. The lawmaker questioned the decision to tax cellphone users, which until a few years ago included only the wealthiest or most well-connected in Burma, now that SIM cards are available to the masses. As late as mid-2013, SIM cards sold on the black market for about US$200 and at one point could sell for 10 times as much, but are now available for 1,500 kyats ($1.40). "It is still only a very short time that Burmese people have been able to use mobile phones widely. Mobile phone users were unhappy when they heard the notice from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to add the 5 percent tax on mobile phone top-up cards starting from June 1. So, I asked for an exemption in this fiscal year," he said, adding that lawmakers could then debate whether to apply it in the tax code from April 1, 2016. Parliament must pass a Union Tax Law, with amendments or not, annually. "I think it is OK to collect after some time, when the country's economy develops. But now … we must consider whether we should collect the tax from the pockets of low-income people or from the rich people," Thein Tun Oo said. The post Parliament to Discuss Postponing Mobile 'Top-Up Tax' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘Boat People’ Likely Posing as Rohingya for Aid, Says Burma General Posted: 21 May 2015 10:37 PM PDT  Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing speaking during a meeting with officials at Kalaw, southern Shan State, April 2011. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's military commander-in-chief said some "boat people" landing in Malaysia and Indonesia this month are likely pretending to be Rohingya Muslims to receive UN aid and that many had fled neighboring Bangladesh, state media reported on Friday. The remarks are sure to spark concern after the United States lambasted Burma this week for failing to address the cause of the crisis, which observers say stems from Burma's refusal to recognize the Rohingya, an ethnic minority group living in western Burma, as citizens. Most of Burma's 1.1 million Rohingya are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions. Almost 140,000 were displaced in deadly clashes with Buddhists in the western state of Arakan in 2012. UN agencies have urged regional governments to protect thousands of migrants stranded on boats in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea with dwindling supplies. Hundreds of migrants, including Rohingya from Burma and Bangladeshis fleeing persecution and poverty at home, have been pushed back out to sea by Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia this month. Many now face sickness and possible starvation. Senior Burmese General Min Aung Hlaing "hinted that most victims are expected to assume themselves to be Rohingya from Myanmar [Burma] in the hope of receiving assistance from UNHCR" during a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported. He cited reports that the "boat victims" were from Bangladesh. "He stressed the need to investigate their country of origin rather than to accuse a country," the newspaper reported. Blinken had stressed the need for Burma to address the causes of the migration, "including the racially and religiously motivated discrimination and violence". Many Rohingya have long complained of state-sanctioned discrimination in Burma and are denied citizenship. Burma denies discriminating against the group and has said it is not the source of the problem. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday pledged assistance and ordered the navy to rescue thousands adrift at sea, and a Thai official said Burma had agreed to attend an emergency conference on the crisis. Malaysia and Indonesia have also said they would let as many as 7,000 migrants on the seas now to come ashore temporarily, but no more. Both countries have also said that temporary shelters would be set up to house the migrants but Thailand, a traditional transit point for those trying to reach Malaysia for work, said it would not follow suit. The post 'Boat People' Likely Posing as Rohingya for Aid, Says Burma General appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| US Readies Air Patrols in Search for Rohingya Boat People Posted: 21 May 2015 10:30 PM PDT  Maritime police patrol the waters around Langkawi island in Malaysia's northern state of Kedah on May 12, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Attention turned Friday to the seas off Southeast Asia's west coast as naval vessels from Burma and Malaysia searched for stranded boat people and the US military prepared air patrols to step up its involvement. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing Burma and economic migrants from Bangladesh are believed to be trapped on crowded boats with little food or water—some after being pushed back by the navies of at least three countries—and the international community has warned that time to save them is running out. In the first official rescue operation since migrants started washing onto Southeast Asian shores earlier this month, four Malaysian navy ships searched the country's territorial waters for the boats. Navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar said three helicopters and three other ships were on standby. The Burma Navy found two fishing trawlers filled with 208 men during a patrol Thursday night off the coast of Burma's Arakan State, the main point of departure for Rohingya minority Muslims fleeing the Buddhist country. Zaw Htay, director of Burma's presidential office, said Friday the men were identified as Bangladeshi and would be sent back to the neighboring country. "The Myanmar Navy continues with search and rescue activities in Myanmar waters," he said. "If they find any boat with migrants, they will provide humanitarian assistance, conduct verification and return them to where they came from." The Rohingya are fleeing hatred and religious violence in Burma, where the government regards them as illegal migrants from Bangladesh—and refers to them as "Bengalis," not "Rohingya"—even though many have lived in the country for generations. Neither Burma nor Bangladesh recognizes them as citizens. About 3,600 refugees and migrants have washed ashore in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, according to the International Organization for Migration. Half are Rohingya and the rest are from Bangladesh, the IOM said. Many endured voyages of more than 1,700 kilometers (1,000 miles) on overcrowded boats that last lasted weeks or months. The UN refugee agency estimates more than 3,000 others may still be at sea after a regional crackdown on human traffickers at the beginning of the month prompted captains and smugglers to abandon their boats. Southeast Asian countries initially responded to the crisis by refusing to take in the migrants. But after pushing back several vessels earlier in the month, Malaysia and Indonesia said Thursday they will provide temporary shelter to the desperate men, women and children if the international community helps resettle them within a year. Indonesia said it would not actively search for the migrants, but will rescue those stranded or drifting in the country's waters close to its shores, said Arrmanatha Nasir, the Foreign Ministry spokesman. He said the country would not push them back out to sea. The US military said it was preparing to send "maritime aviation patrols throughout the region," Pentagon spokesman Lt-Col Jeffrey Pool told The Associated Press on Thursday. The Department of Defense "is responding to this crisis and taking this seriously," he said. Washington has been urging governments in the region to cooperate on search and rescue operations and sheltering the refugees and migrants. Most of the Bangladeshis are believed to be fleeing poverty and seeking better economic opportunities in Malaysia and elsewhere. In Burma, the Rohingya are fleeing years of state-sanctioned discrimination. Over the past few years, Rohingya were targeted by violent mobs of Buddhist extremists and then confined to camps in western Arakan State. At least 120,000 have fled to sea, and an unknown number have died along the way. Burma overcame initial reluctance and agreed to join a regional meeting next week in Thailand to address the crisis. "We are ready to cooperate with other governments to resolve the ongoing problems through constructive engagement and on humanitarian grounds," said Zaw Htay, director of the President's Office, on Thursday. The decision was made after an invitation letter arrived, he said, noting it did not imply Burma was solely responsible for the crisis or use the word Rohingya—two conditions Burma had set for its attending the conference. The United States has said it was prepared to take a leading role in any multi-country effort organized by the UN refugee agency to resettle the most vulnerable refugees. US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, visiting Southeast Asia, met Thursday with Burma's president, army commander in chief and other officials, raising "deep concern about the thousands of vulnerable migrants stranded at sea," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. "He stressed the need for Burma to address the root causes of this migration, including the racially and religiously motivated discrimination and violence facing the Rohingya population in Rakhine [Arakan] State," Harf said. Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The post US Readies Air Patrols in Search for Rohingya Boat People appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘There Must Be a Balance Between Conservation and Development’ Posted: 21 May 2015 10:19 PM PDT
Kyaw Zwa Moe: This week, we'll be discussing potential threats to the future of Shwedagon Pagoda, a sacred site to Burmese people and one of the world's wonders. Joining me are Saya U Than Moe, an urban planning expert and visiting professor at Yangon Technological University, and Ko Maw Lin, vice-chairman of Association of Myanmar Architects and visiting professor at the Mandalay Technological University. I am Irrawaddy Editor Kyaw Zwa Moe. Last Sunday, the Association of Myanmar Architects organized a well-attended forum on the conservation of Shwedagon, which presented recommendations to President U Thein Sein. The majority of Burma's people are not aware of the type of threats Shwedagon Pagoda is potentially facing. Would you please explain? Maw Lin: It is like this. We organized the 'Save Yangon' form around December last year, spreading the message that Yangon is in danger and needs protection and conservation. We also presented recommendations to the president that time. In these recommendations, we stressed that Yangon is extremely crowded, and some places are witnessing very serious traffic woes, and we can't just stand by and watch that happening. While we were talking about Yangon, we found that cultural heritage like Shwedagon and Sule Pagodas—important structures which have cultural, historical and religious significance—have also come under threat. Shwedagon Pagoda is sacred to the entire nation. There is no control over construction projects in its vicinity. There is no urban control and planning. We think developers and authorities are undertaking the projects as they please. There must be controls and detailed plans in undertaking those projects. We held the forum because we believe that restrictions must be imposed on those projects through rules and regulations. KZM: Saya U Than Moe, as far as I understand, there are five high-rise construction projects in the surrounding area of Singuttara Hill where Shwedagon Pagoda lies. Previously the project site between the East Gate and South Gate of Shwedagon Pagoda was owned by the Armed Forces. Rich businessmen and foreign investors were permitted to develop the land. From the urban planning point of view, how could these projects impact Shwedagaon? Than Moe: The Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development, in cooperation with UN-Habitat, drew an urban development plan for Yangon called 'Yangon City in Regional Development' in 1986. Then in 2012, the Ministry of Construction drew up a plan called 'Vision 2040' which examined how to cope with growing population and how to create conservation areas. Then, the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC), in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), drew up the 'Yangon Strategic Plan' in 2013. We organized at least four public hearings and explained the plans to people and sought their opinions. These three plans, which were developed in three different periods, advocated for transforming Yangon from a city with a mono-centered central business district into a city that was multi-centered. They prohibit major land use developments near the central business district, which it calls the development control area. Areas which are at least eight miles or more from the central business district are designated as development promotion areas. TM: Yes, those projects are being carried out in development area. KZM: Ko Maw Lin, a letter has been sent to the president. No matter how much activists campaign against those development projects, authorities do not seem to listen to them. As I have said, the project is being carried out on land that was owned by Armed Forces. It is largely associated with the government as permission comes from them. Among the developers are cronies. As far as I understand there are four developers implementing five projects near Shwedagon Pagoda. They are Shwe Taung Development Co., Ltd, Thu Kha Yadanar Co., Ltd, Marga Landmark Development Co., Ltd and Adventure Myanmar Tour & Incentives Co., Ltd. What action do you think the president can take to address it? Do you think he is able to do anything? ML: Rather than talking about the question of whether he can or not, I think he should address it. He is obliged to control such a project. To be frank, I don't know much about the companies you have mentioned. But as Saya U Than Moe has said, from the point of view of urban planning, such projects should not be undertaken. From a cultural and religious point of view, Shwedagon Pagoda is a source of real cultural heritage. Such a place should be used as public space, for we are seriously short of public space. The president has to exercise control. We need to take a very serious consideration as the projects are already in the process of being implemented. We are not calling for the termination of the projects. There are many other places in Yangon where development projects can be undertaken. There is no reason that the projects must be done at the foot of Shwedagon Pagoda. There are other places where the developments can be made instead. If developments are to be undertaken near Shwedagon, proper research must be done. If there are already plans in place as mentioned by Saya U Than Moe, they should be revised to check if they can be realized or not, to check how serious traffic congestion will become, how much trouble people will experience. The problem and interests of the majority people must be taken into account. It is the duty of the president. He must give consideration to Yangon residents and Myanmar people at the forefront of his mind. From the point of view of urban planning, thorough research should be made on how much more serious traffic congestion can become. Saya U Nyan Myint Kyaw said at the forum that the structure and current strength of Shwedagon Pagoda has not been thoroughly studied. So far, they have only studied the strength of the upper part of the pagoda. Research should be done on the entire structure. It has still not been done because there is no money. How can it be that there is no money for conducting such a study? Such research should be done, as it is important for the country. Water experts said that a thorough risk assessment must be made to check the conditions of underground water table. KZM: We men in the street do not know about water tables. What will happen if something is wrong with water table? ML: If something went wrong with water table, the pagoda may sink, tilt or slide. Some say that situation has already gone beyond redemption, but we don't think so. Only when the buildings are built there could it be said the situation has gone beyond redemption. So far, it has not passed that point. It can be saved. So, proper research must be made and the president must consider if the place should be public space or not. I think the president has to make a decision depending on his vision and his critical thinking. KZM: With regard to public space, there are lands owned by the ministries and the military in Yangon and in many cases, they give those lands to businessmen and developers who carry out big construction projects on those lands and share the profits with them. Can they do so, Saya? TM: The 1892 Town and Village Act does not allow this. If a government department does not use land that it owns, it must return that land to the government. If a land designated to be used as cantonment is no longer used as a cantonment, it must be returned to the government. The government must carry out urban development schemes that are suitable to the current era and harmonize with the town. Only when such a scheme is carried out can prevent government ministries and departments from the building of condos and the like in a development control area. But now, government departments are leasing out lands for housing projects. KZM: So they are breaking the law? TM: I don't know if they don't know the law or if this is intentional. KZM: Ko Maw Lin, you have engaged in 'Save Yangon' and 'Save Shwedagon' forums. What do you want the area around Shwedagon Pagoda to look like to people? How do you want to shape that area? Would you discuss? ML: Shwedagon Pagoda should stand in isolation as a site of cultural, urban and national heritage. Shwedagon Pagoda can be seen as one enters the Yangon River from the mouth. It can be seen along U Wisara Road as one comes from Insein. Yangonites should be able to see it and its surroundings should also be conserved. In other countries, for example in Paris, nothing is allowed to be built in the area surrounding the Eiffel Tower. Heights are limited. Likewise, any cultural heritage sites and their surrounding areas are conserved in cities like London, Rome and Greece. Developments are not allowed recklessly there, like they are in our country. I mean, there must be a balance between conservation and development. Development can affect conservation and vice versa. We must strike a balance between them. To do so, we need a conservation management plan. Only with such plans and controls, we will be able to save Shwedagon. Again, we need bodies to save the pagoda. There is Board of Trustees for Shwedagon. They are devoting themselves to the pagoda. But when it comes to technical matters, I think we might need a management body comprised of experts, people's representatives and community elders for the sustainable management of the pagoda. Only when there are plans, bodies and laws will we be able to preserve Shwedagon properly. KZM: So, as Ko Maw Lin said we have yet to wait and see how far the president will go to save the pagoda. Surely there is still time? Saya U Than Moe, Ko Maw Lin, thank you for joining the discussion. The post 'There Must Be a Balance Between Conservation and Development' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘Ode to May’ Showcases Burma’s Modern Masters Posted: 21 May 2015 10:18 PM PDT Click to view slideshow. RANGOON — The works of 27 Burmese artists will be on view at Rangoon's Cloud 31 Gallery from May 23 to 31. "ODE to MAY" features 30 original watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings by some of the country's most revered masters, including Win Pe, Kyee Myintt Saw, Win Pe Myint, Pe Nyunt Wai and the late Khin Mg Yin. Tin Oo, a manager of the gallery and one of the artists featured in the exhibition, said the show takes nature as its primary subject. "We mainly drew nature," Tin Oo said, "but visitors will be treated with a variety of paintings such as landscape, portrait, nudes and Burmese women." All works are available for purchase, with prices ranging from US$200 to $3,000. Artist Wei Chit Ko said the name of the exhibition draws on a famous poem by Min Thu Wun, written in 1990, in reference to the election that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi won in a landslide victory that was never honored. Cloud 31 Gallery, located at No. 49/ 51, 31st Street (lower block), is open daily 9 am to 5 pm. The post 'Ode to May' Showcases Burma's Modern Masters appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Cambodia Accepts 4 Refugees Under Australia Agreement Posted: 21 May 2015 10:17 PM PDT  Protesters hold placards at a 'Stand up for Refugees' rally held in central Sydney on Oct. 11, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) CANBERRA — Four refugees rejected by Australia who have agreed to resettle in Cambodia will likely become examples that other refugees will follow, an Australian minister said Friday. Cambodia has agreed to accept the first four refugees under a 40 million Australian dollar (US$32 million) four-year agreement it made with Australia nine months ago to resettle asylum seekers held in an Australia-run detention camp on the Pacific island nation of Nauru. Many of the 677 asylum seekers on Nauru have been there for almost two years. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen signed an endorsement letter on Wednesday and the countries are now discussing when the four will arrive in Cambodia, Gen. Khieu Sopheak, spokesman of Cambodia's Interior Ministry, said on Thursday. Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Australian officials were working with the International Organization for Migration and other groups in Cambodia to provide the refugees' needs for accommodation, jobs, transport and education. "We want to show success with this first four who travel," Dutton told reporters. "I think when we demonstrate that that can be a success, we'll see other people from Nauru follow to start their new life in Cambodia." The first Cambodian settlers will be two Iranian men, an Iranian woman and a Rohingya man from Burma. They are the only ones so far to apply for Cambodian residency, the Cambodian general said. He declined to say where in Cambodia they would live once they arrive. Dutton defended the steep cost to Australian taxpayers of the AU$40 million agreement that has so far attracted only four people from among the 488 verified refugees on Nauru. Australia's tough policies of turning asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia and refusing to resettle any refugee who arrives on its shores by boat have all but stopped the boats from coming since the conservative government was elected in September 2013, Dutton said. But the government still has to resettle more than 31,000 of the 52,000 asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by boat during the six years that the center-left Labor Party was in power. "Labor created a massive mess when it comes to boats and it's going to take time and taxpayers' money, I'm sorry to say, to clean up Labor's mess," Dutton said. As part of its efforts to deter boats of asylum seekers, Australia made the agreement with Cambodia last September despite critics worrying that Cambodia was too impoverished to handle the new residents and its poor human rights record would put them at risk. Cambodia sent officials to Nauru to meet the four applicants and to make sure their move was legal and voluntary. The post Cambodia Accepts 4 Refugees Under Australia Agreement appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| A Year After Thai Coup, Stability Trumps Growth for Business Posted: 21 May 2015 10:10 PM PDT  Thai soldiers stand guard along roads blocked around the Victory Monument, where anti-coup protesters were gathering on previous days, in Bangkok on May 30, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — When Thailand's army seized power in a bloodless coup, much of the business establishment quietly cheered them on. A year on, the captains of Thai industry remain firmly behind the junta, despite a lackluster economy and a delayed return to democracy. For businesses, calm on the streets of a city that was engulfed in chaos for months leading up to a putsch is more important than finding a cure for the malaise in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. "I'm satisfied. At the very least it has made the country peaceful and it has brought order," Poj Aramwattanont, president of the Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA), told Reuters. In the early months of 2014, Thailand's government was paralyzed, parts of Bangkok were clouded by tear gas and state buildings fortified to look like army barracks. Conditions for growth are better now, reckons Poj. "There is an attempt to reform according to the junta's road map," he said. "Thailand was on pause for a long time because of political problems so … the economy has a chance to rebound." A year ago, pro-government protesters camped on the outskirts of the Thai capital swore they would spring into action if the army intervened to remove the elected government. In the city's heart, anti-government protesters, mostly southern Thais and middle-class Bangkok residents aligned with the royalist-military establishment, were equally determined to get rid of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. On May 22 the military took control, detaining hundreds of politicians and activists on both sides of the divide and dissolving the protests. Investors welcomed the calm imposed on Thailand's febrile politics, and the stock market rallied. Heavy-handed tactics by the military and police since the coup have ensured that the junta, or National Council for Peace and Order, has ruled largely unchallenged. Ronnachit Mahattanapreut, senior vice president for finance at hotel and food group Central Plaza Hotel PCL, said what the private sector wanted most was security. "We want political stability so that businessmen can project long-term investment plans," he said. "Countries like China, Vietnam and Myanmar, their governments can implement key economic policies to keep investments going." Coup leader and Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha has talked much about healing Thailand's deep political divisions. Reconciliation is a mantra in his weekly televised Friday evening address "Returning Happiness to the People." When asked to comment on the military's year in power this week, he said: "I am satisfied but I am not proud." Critics say politics are simply on hold under a regime that bans political gatherings, and that divisions remain as sharp as ever. They say the blueprint for Thailand in a new draft constitution is an attempt by Prayuth and the powers that back him to prevent a comeback by ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his allies. Thaksin this week broke his silence on the junta that removed the remnants of his sister Yingluck's government from office. Its first year in power was "not so impressive," he said, but he had no plans to mobilize his "Red Shirt" supporters. The junta on Tuesday delayed a planned election by at least six months to August 2016, to allow a referendum on the new charter. Executives appear unperturbed by the delay. "We don't need elections quickly," said Poj. "If the roadmap is prolonged because of the referendum then so be it." Human Rights Watch in a statement on Friday said the junta had systematically repressed human rights throughout the country by banning political activity, censoring the media and trying dissidents in military tribunals. "One year since the military coup, Thailand is a political dictatorship with all power in the hands of one man," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The date for elections continues to slide, with no certainty when they will happen." Pornsil Patchrintanakul, president of the Thai Feed Mill Association and an adviser to the Thai Chamber of Commerce, scored the junta highly for political governance, but less well on the economy. "I would give political management a 10 out of 10. We have to compare this to before … things were not peaceful," said Pornsil, but added that "investment and stimulating the economy have been slow." Despite hopes that the generals would unleash a splurge of infrastructure spending, state investment has failed to keep pace even with the levels the paralyzed government of a year ago managed, partly because bureaucrats fear an anti-graft drive by the junta. Domestic consumption is hobbled as Thai households are saddled with record-high debt and the export-driven economy is suffering as its biggest trade partner, China, grows at its slowest pace in 25 years. Thailand downgraded its growth forecasts on Monday by 0.5 percentage points to 3.0 to 4.0 percent for the year, but the country's central bank governor said last week that even 3 percent expansion in 2015 would be "a challenge." For some analysts, the junta has missed the opportunity to use its almost untrammeled power to drive through investment and economic reforms. "Expectations were high when the military took over that they could kick-start spending quickly, but this has been difficult with the government's focus [rightly or wrongly] on constitutional reform," said Bill Diviney, an economist at Barclays in Singapore. "In hindsight, perhaps it was unrealistic to expect so much of a government that, for all intents and purposes, is a caretaker until democracy is restored." The post A Year After Thai Coup, Stability Trumps Growth for Business appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘Top 10’ New Species Includes Cartwheeling Spider, ‘Chicken From Hell’ Posted: 21 May 2015 10:02 PM PDT  A sequence of photos shows a spider in Morocco "cartwheeling" across sand. (Photo: Prof. Dr. Ingo Rechenberg / Technical University Berlin) NEW YORK — Some 18,000 species, great and small, were discovered in 2014, adding to the 2 million already known, scientists said on Thursday, as they released a "Top 10" list that highlights the diversity of life. The 10 are "a reminder of the wonders awaiting us," said Quentin Wheeler, president of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which issues the list. An estimated 10 million species are still unknown to science. But researchers have to move fast: Development, poaching and climate change are driving plants and animals to extinction faster than science can discover them. Two animals made the list because of unusual parenting. A wasp from China is the first animal found to use chemical weapons to thwart predators that might have designs on its offspring. Mothers fill part of their nest with dead ants, which give off volatile chemicals that mask the scent of larvae, throwing off would-be predators. A frog from Indonesia breaks the rule of anuran reproduction. Rather than laying eggs, as almost all the world's 6,455 species of frogs do, or giving birth to froglets, it deposits tadpoles into shallow pools. One of the top 10, dubbed "the chicken from hell," is extinct. The feathered dinosaur whose partial skeletons were unearthed in the Dakotas was a contemporary of T. rex and Triceratops. Two species caught the list-makers' attention for their performance art. A spider from the sand dunes of Morocco cartwheels to thwart predators, moving twice as fast as when it runs, while a pufferfish from Japan turns out to be the creator of intricate circles on the sea floor which had mystified scientists for 20 years. Males construct the circles, meant to attract females, by swimming and wriggling in the sand. Since no top-10 list would be complete without an entry that made it on looks, SUNY included a photogenic blue, red, and gold sea slug from Japan. More than a pretty face, it could shed light on how algae in a sea slug's gut produce nutrients for the slug out of corals it eats. The release of the top 10 is timed around the May 23 birthday of Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), the Swedish botanist and zoologist who founded modern taxonomy. The full list, with photographs, is at http://www.esf.edu/top10/. The post 'Top 10' New Species Includes Cartwheeling Spider, 'Chicken From Hell' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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