The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• A Portrait of Panghsang
• Teachers Federation Calls for Release of Students, Education Law Reform
• Memories of Nargis Amid Enduring Hardship
• Activists, Communities Say Govt Strategy Lacking as Inle Lake Suffers Drought
• Resort Development Underway at Taungthaman Lake
• Slave Fishermen to be Repatriated Next Month: Home Affairs Ministry
• Death of an Activist Reporter
• Burma Army Issues Media Gag Order on Kokang Rebel Statements
• Suu Kyi Attends World Press Freedom Day Event in Rangoon
• Burma Awards Statoil, Conoco Phillips Deep-Sea Exploration Contract: State Media
• Thai Police Arrest Rohingya Man Suspected of Running Deadly Jungle Camp
• ‘People Rely on Government Hospitals More Than Ever’

A Portrait of Panghsang Posted: 04 May 2015 08:25 AM PDT Click to view slideshow. PANGHSAN, Wa Special Region — Situated at the far eastern reaches of Burma's Shan State, Panghsan is the capital of an autonomous enclave officially known as the Wa Special Region. The town, bordering China's Yunnan province, is controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma's largest ethnic armed group, boasting a fighting force estimated at 20,000 men. The UWSA is the military arm of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), which formed after the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in 1989. The area is largely populated by Wa people, one of 135 officially recognized ethnic groups in Burma, who have strong links to the neighboring ethnic Han Chinese in Yunnan. Visitors to the town are immediately struck by the pervasive Chinese influence, from road signs in the Chinese script to the dominance of spoken Mandarin on the streets and Chinese cuisine on restaurant menus. Though the UWSA has tightly restricted access to the region over the years, the group invited a handful of journalists to cover a summit of Burma's ethnic armed groups from May 1-6 in Panghsang. Taking advantage of the opportunity, The Irrawaddy photographer JPaing brings you a rare glimpse of everyday life in the little-known town. The post A Portrait of Panghsang appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Teachers Federation Calls for Release of Students, Education Law Reform Posted: 04 May 2015 08:08 AM PDT Student activist Phyo Phyo Aung appears outside the court in Letpadan on April 23. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Teachers' organizations over the weekend condemned the government clampdown on Burma's student movement and called on Parliament to amend the Education Law so that it ensures independent universities, provides more resources for academic research and gives unions a greater role in universities' administration. The Myanmar Teachers' Federation (MTF), which comprises 10 teachers' organizations from across the country, convened in Mandalay for this first time since its formation last year. Some 300 MTF members discussed the implications of the brutal March 10 crackdown on a student protest and recent parliamentary discussions of amendments to the controversial Education Law. On Sunday, the conference concluded with a six-point statement of demands to the government and the Union Parliament. The MTF called for the unconditional release of some 70 student activists who are being detained at Pegu Division's Tharawaddy Prison and are facing a range of criminal charges that could result in lengthy prison sentences. MTF said the government had violated the terms of the agreement on Education Law reform that was reached between the Education Ministry, lawmakers, students' and teachers' organizations on Feb. 16. A key condition of the agreement was that none of the students, who were demonstrating at the time, would be detained or prosecuted for their activism. Student organizations have been up in arms against the Education Law since the government and Parliament approved it in September without properly consulting students, teachers and independent education experts. Following the crackdown, the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament have made different amendments to the law in an apparent attempt to assuage the concerns, but the amendments have not been to the satisfaction of students' and teachers' organizations. Next week, Parliament recess will end and the Upper House is due consider Education Law amendments made by the Lower House in early April. One of the amendments made by the Lower House was to reduce the role of teachers' and students' unions in administration of universities. MTF said the Education Law should allow for greater academic freedom by lessening the direct government control over universities and academics, while more resources should be allocated for independent, critical research. "We agreed that if the Education Law is approved without benefits for students and teachers we will be strongly against it because we, teachers and students, will be the direct victims of that law," said Arkar Moe Thu, MTF general secretary, "There is no financial support for doing research, we have to do it with our own money even though our teachers' salaries are very small," said Thuta, MTF vice president. The federation also demands that the number of tasks required from government teachers is reduced so that they can focus on teaching and research. Previous military governments in Burma relied on teachers for a range of non-teaching tasks such as providing security at schools or to perform duties during elections, a practice that still continues. The federation further asked that the government and Parliament involve the students' and teachers' organizations in the law-making process for the Basic Education Bill, the Advance Education Bill and university charters, which are due to be drawn up this year. The post Teachers Federation Calls for Release of Students, Education Law Reform appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Memories of Nargis Amid Enduring Hardship Posted: 04 May 2015 08:02 AM PDT Than Than Nwe sits with friends and neighbors at her home in Labutta Township, Irrawaddy Division. (Photo: Salai Thant Zin / The Irrawaddy) LABUTTA TOWNSHIP, Irrawaddy Division — "I can have a proper burial only if the neighbors are willing to help," says Than Than Nwe, rubbing away a tear that dropped from an eye that no longer sees. With little money and no surviving relatives to arrange her funeral, she explains, only the goodwill of her neighbors will see to it that she is properly laid to rest when her time comes. "I lost my husband and all three of my sons in [Cyclone] Nargis. It also destroyed my house and my belongings," says Than Than Nwe, sobbing now. Before the devastation of Cylcone Nargis, Than Than Nwe and her family lived in the village of Nagon in Irrawaddy Division's Ngapudaw Township, where she worked on a salt farm. Despite leading a hand-to-mouth existence, she says life at home was filled with contentment. The ferocity of Nargis, which whipped into the Irrawaddy Delta region with winds of up to 120 miles per hour on May 2, 2008, took her completely off guard. The military regime of the time, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), did not issue adequate warnings about the cyclone, offering no evacuation plan to the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable residents of the low-lying region. Than Than Nwe even attended a friend's wedding reception in a neighboring village on the morning of May 2, leaving her family behind at their home. That evening, Cyclone Nargis killed her husband and three sons, and robbed her of all of her possessions in a matter of hours. "I was in Kanseit village to attend a friend's wedding reception when the storm hit. The house of the newlyweds collapsed as the storm raged. Three of us floated along on two five-gallon containers. One girl died, and me and another person survived," Than Than New recounts of the storm surge. The cyclone raged through the following morning, killing 84,537 people and injuring another 19,359, with 53,836 missing in 10 townships of the Irrawaddy Delta region, including Labutta, Ngapudaw, Dedaye and Bogale, and three townships in Rangoon, according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Adding those missing to the confirmed fatalities, the human toll of the disaster approached 140,000 people. More than 800,000 houses were damaged in the storm, which also killed 150,000 cattle and inundated 72,000 acres of farmland with crop-killing saltwater. The total financial losses were estimated at US$10 billion, making Nargis the worst natural disaster in Burma's recorded history, and ranking it eighth on a list of the world's worst storms in terms of fatalities and damages incurred. Despite the widespread devastation, the ruling junta went on to hold a national referendum on Burma's military-drafted Constitution that same month, drawing widespread criticism. Some political activists even mockingly dubbed the charter the "Nargis Constitution." The military regime did little to assist victims in the aftermath of the storm. Worse still, the country's leaders were hesitant to accept international humanitarian aid. While Naypyidaw dithered, storm-hit victims in Labutta were desperate for clean drinking water, food and medicines. "There were many injured survivors in the aftermath of Nargis," says a villager from Thingangyi village in Labutta Township who asked for anonymity. "There was no food and the worst thing was there was no drinking water. People in villages were expecting help for two days after Nargis. No help came and we went to Labutta for fear that we would die. Because it was a long distance to the town, many died due to weakness on the way." Than Than Nwe survived the storm and made an arduous return to her home. Eating coconuts and drinking saltwater along the way, she arrived back her house to find the bodies of her husband and children. Her house had been reduced to nothing. Except for rice, oil, clothes and some kitchen utensils, Than Than Nwe received no assistance from the government that might have helped her to pick up the pieces of her former life. The ruling regime, led by retired Sen-Gen Than Shwe, included among its senior leadership Burma's current President Thein Sein, who was serving as prime minister in 2008. Having lost her entire family, Than Than New and other Nargis victims resettled in Peinnetaung village in Labutta Township, but the legacy of Nargis would continue to haunt her. Injuries she sustained while clinging for dear life in floodwaters that surged as Nargis made landfall worsened, and she eventually lost sight in her left eye. "[My eye] was struck with tree branches while [I was] floating on water during the storm. I did not go to see a doctor as I couldn't afford to pay for medical treatment. Now, my left eye is completely blind and my right one is almost blind," says Than Than Nwe. Seven years have passed since Nargis hit the Irrawaddy Delta, but survivors like Than Than Nwe continue to struggle with the hardship it wrought. "I saw a man who resorted to begging in Pathein after all his family members died and he was not fit enough to work," says Than Win from the Pathein-based National Democracy Network. "He died by the roadside because of deteriorating health. The government should provide social welfare allowances, at least daily meal allowances, for those who lost their entire families in Nargis and can no longer work." For her part, with one eye blind and little in the way of financial resources, Than Than New gets by thanks to the generosity of others, and hopes charitable donors might one day allow her to afford a medical procedure to restore her sight. The post Memories of Nargis Amid Enduring Hardship appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Activists, Communities Say Govt Strategy Lacking as Inle Lake Suffers Drought Posted: 04 May 2015 07:58 AM PDT Boatmen drag their boats through the shallow waterways on Inle Lake, which is being hit by drought. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Shan State's famed Inle Lake is experiencing a severe drought this dry season with water levels falling so low that local boat transport has suffered, while tourist visitors are offered a view of a lake much reduced in size and scenery. In recent years, drought has become an annual problem and local communities, activists and even government officials are now questioning whether enough is being done to avert an environmental crisis. In 2010 the lake was hit with record low water levels and again suffered a serious drought in 2013. Local villagers said the situation has now become so dire that low water levels have become a permanent challenge for communities living on the lake. "When I was young, our village is on the water all year-round. When I was 20, for seven months we were on the water, but now we can live on the water for only three months during the rainy season when there is heavy rainfall," said Phyo Thu, a 36-year-old resident from Magyiseik village, located on the southern edge of the lake. "Many families in our village have motorbikes to move around when the water dries up. We even tease each other about selling off our boats since they are useful for only three months," he said. Combined pressures are leading to the alarming situation at the lake, which is known for its grand views, picturesque floating villages and vegetable gardens, and iconic images of ethnic Intha fishermen who row by holding a peddle with a leg. Environmental degradation in the surrounding hills is a major reason for the drought, researchers and government reports have said. Deforestation caused by villagers collecting firewood has damaged the watershed, with huge amounts of nutrient-rich soil washing down the denuded mountainside and into the lake, where it reduces water depth, blocks water ways and leads to a proliferation of algae and weeds. Climate change is further compounding the problems as the amount of rainfall has begun to fluctuate greatly with each year. "Deforestation and the impact of environmental destruction were so great that our efforts to re-grow trees and conserve the environment failed," said Hnin Hnin Ohn, project manager of Shwe Inn Thu, one of several local environmental groups implementing initiatives to conserve the lake. "If large amounts of silt keep entering the lake and the area of water keeps reducing at this rate, drought might occur every summer," she said. "We worry the lake will disappear in the near future." Population growth and unsustainable agricultural methods, such as the use of chemical fertilizer and pesticide, on farms around the lake and on the floating gardens are polluting the water, a pressing problem for local communities that rely on the lake for drinking water. Local villagers have expanded the floating gardens, which mostly produce tomatoes, and the gardens now cover some 7,000 acres of the lake's surface. "We've been trying to promote the use of organic fertilizer for five years. Some villages on eastern bank of the lake use it but we still need to spread this to the whole lake," said Hnin Hhin Ohn. A rapid increase in tourist visitors to Inle Lake following the opening of Burma under President Thein Sein's government in recent years is adding further pressure as hotels and tourism infrastructure around the lake expand. In 2013-2014, some 100,000 tourists made their way to the lake, according to an October 2014 presentation by the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry Department on government measures to conserve the lake. Recently, local authorities issued a letter warning local communities against using the lake's water for drinking purposes this dry season due to the dangerously high pH levels of between 8.2 to 8.6, which were found at nine measurement points on the lake. "Almost every drain and waste ends up in the lake because all the houses, hotels, guest houses and restaurants were built in the lake or on its edge. So, we do not have clean and safe water to use, or to drink," said Aung Nge, a member of Inn-Sar-Lu-Kae, another local group working to preserve the lake. Many communities have little choice but to rely on the lake for drinking water, though some initiatives are under way to provide free bottled water to affected villages. The lake's indigenous residents, the Intha, are traditionally completely reliant on the lake for cleaning and drinking water. Thar Gyi, a resident of Thalae Oo, a village located on the east side of the lake, said, "Before, there were springs on the eastern and western sides that could provide enough clean water for every village. But since the hotel zone emerged, the springs on the eastern side have been destroyed." In 2012, work began on a new 250-hectare hotel zone on Inle Lake's eastern edge and some forest was removed to make way for the construction of 16 hotels. Kyaw Soe, a resident of Magyisate village and member of local environmental group Hnalone Hla Inn Maung Mae, said government measures had been half-hearted and prioritized economic development over conservation, undercutting the local communities' environmental projects. "The government established the hotel zone where trees were bulldozed, while the locals and environmental activists are trying their best to grow back trees to prevent silt erosion," he said. Aung Kyaw Zwar, head of a hospitality training school in Inn-Paw-Khone village, said the expanding tourism sector is an important source of income for local communities and was helping to develop the region. He said its negative impacts should be addressed through proper government planning. "We couldn't tell the businessmen to stop developing the region and the tourists not to visit us. This [growth] could open opportunities for the locals," he said. "What we need is a strategic planning to deal with the [environmental] impact from which the lake and its inhabitants suffer. Since the planning in the past was weak, we let the lake suffer." Local authorities have been implementing a five-year strategic plan from 2011-2015, which includes a range of measures such as dredging of the lake and its waterways, reforestation programs and the construction of small dams in hillside gullies and streams that capture silt. Win Myo Thu, managing director of EcoDev, a national environmental NGO, said the lake was in a critical situation and its degradation could only be halted if the government develops a comprehensive, integrated conservation strategy soon. "If there's no strict policy on environmental matters from the government, but priority will only be given to economic profits, then conservation work on the lake will be in vain," he said. "I feel like the current conservation projects could not save it anymore—the only hope is that the government puts all its efforts into helping to keep the lake alive." Kyaw Kyaw Oo, a senior official with the department of irrigation in Nyaung Shwe, the biggest town on the lake, said government measures taken in recent years had reduced environmental degradation, but he acknowledged that an overall long-term policy for the lake was still lacking. "We've built check dams on streams in the western and northern area of the lake to control the silt. We could say these dams are now reducing the flow of silt into the lake," he said. "In my own opinion, the conservation of Inle Lake or many other environment plans lacks a clear goal and master plan… Setting a concrete goal defines how far we will go to save the lake," Kyaw Kyaw Oo said. "The measures we are now taking are just a response to the situation. To correct these weaknesses, all we need is an environmental law." The post Activists, Communities Say Govt Strategy Lacking as Inle Lake Suffers Drought appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Resort Development Underway at Taungthaman Lake Posted: 04 May 2015 07:52 AM PDT U Pein Bridge, which stretches across Mandalay's Taungthaman Lake. (Photo: J Paing/The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A Mandalay-based developer has commenced work on the construction of a 16-hectare (40-acre) resort to be built on dormant farmland by the Taungthaman Lake, home of the famed U Pein Bridge. The resort, to be built on an overgrown clearing near the eastern end of the 1.2-kilometer (0.75-mile) teakwood bridge, will cater to increasing tourist arrivals in the area. "The main objective of the resort is to conserve the environment and provide development for local people," said Soe Myat Thu, adviser to construction firm Taungthaman Thistsar Co. "The resort will showcase Myanmar traditional foods and handicrafts based on Myanmar culture." Amarapura Township locals have cautiously welcomed the development. "It is good that a resort will be built," said Mandalay-based writer Suu Ngat. "I made remarks at [the developer's] recent press conference and I presented three suggestions for the development—not to damage the lake's ecosystem, not to damage ancient buildings nearby and not to affect the lives of locals." The company has compiled a list of local fishermen, traders and hawkers selling goods and handicrafts in the area with the intention of negotiating an agreement on their use of the land around the eastern end of U Pein Bridge. "According to our list, there are around 60 sellers," said Soe Myat Thu. "Some of them sell on the bridge and some sell nearby. We are thinking of building shops for them not far from the bridge for their convenience and for the convenience of visitors." Taungthaman Thistsar received approval for the resort project from the Mandalay Division government on Feb. 27 and has begun conducting a land survey. Locals from Taungthaman and Ywathit villages, which sit at opposite ends of the development, are now working at the construction site. "Some villagers have worked at the resort site to clear bushes and rubbish. They earn 4000-5000 kyats (US$3.67-4.58) per day," said Ywathit villager Shwe Aung. The resort is set to be completed in 2018 and Taungthaman Thistsar estimates the final cost of the project to be in the order of 30 billion kyats (US$27 million). The post Resort Development Underway at Taungthaman Lake appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Slave Fishermen to be Repatriated Next Month: Home Affairs Ministry Posted: 04 May 2015 07:34 AM PDT Indonesian fishermen walk along a sea wall at Jakarta's Muara Baru port. (Photo: Beawiharta / Reuters) RANGOON — Hundreds of Burmese fishermen working in conditions described as "modern slavery" in Indonesia will be sent back home in mid-May, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Following an investigation into the Thai fishing industry by Associated Press in March, about 530 Burmese nationals trafficked to Indonesia by Thai fishing boats are now undergoing an identification process ahead of their eventual repatriation. A board of officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs has screened the men in Jakarta and at locations in the Maluku Islands, an island chain at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago where the men were sent to work, by determining whether they can speak and write Burmese and verifying their addresses in Burma. "The Burmese will be gathered to Ambon Island and we will bring them back together," said Gen. Win Naing Htun, chief of the ministry's human trafficking taskforce. Officials from the Burmese embassy in Indonesia have collected information and interviewed Burmese nationals living on the island since April with the assistance of Indonesian immigration officials. "Most of them had been trafficked by Thai fishing boats and left behind at the islands," said Win Naing Htun. "Some of them had worked on the boats for three or four years." The Associated Press investigation into the conditions of Burmese fishermen on the island of Benjina reported that the laborers were forced to work up to 22 hours at a time with no days off, paid little or nothing, subject to unlawful imprisonment and in the worst cases, beatings and deaths aboard fishing trawlers. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Indonesian officials are assisting with the repatriation process. In April IOM estimated that there were up to 4,000 men trafficked from across Southeast Asia and forced to work in the fishing industry in the Maluku islands. The post Slave Fishermen to be Repatriated Next Month: Home Affairs Ministry appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Death of an Activist Reporter Posted: 04 May 2015 07:23 AM PDT Activists hold up a banner of the late Aung Kyaw Naing on Sunday in Rangoon, at an authorized protest calling for an inquiry into his killing in military custody. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, an occasion sanctioned by the United Nations to remind governments across the world of their obligations to uphold freedom of expression. In this column from October 2014, The Irrawaddy's founding editor Aung Zaw recounts the events surrounding the death of freelance journalist Par Gyi, who was shot while in military custody late last year, and examines the state of press freedom in Burma. Aung Kyaw Naing was a simple and honest person, his friends recalled at a small, quiet Buddhist religious gathering in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. After the ceremony, Aung Kyaw Naing's daughter, Suu Pyi Naing, 23, who studied at Chiang Mai University, told me that her father and mother, Than Dar—herself a former political prisoner and activist—were about to reunite in Thailand after years apart. "But he can no longer come back to see us," she said. The family doesn't even know where his body is and so cannot hold a formal religious ceremony. The last time Suu Pyi Naing saw her father was in 2012 in Mae Sot. Better known as Par Gyi by his friends, Aung Kyaw Naing, 49, was shot dead while in custody of an unnamed military battalion in Mon State, according to a letter reportedly sent to the Interim Myanmar Press Council by an aide to Burma Army Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing. Aung Kyaw Naing was a veteran political activist. His early activism began during the 1988 democracy uprising and he was one of the leading members of the National League for Democracy (youth wing). He was also part of the Tri-Color (Thone-Yaung-Chae) student organization and briefly served as a bodyguard for Aung San Suu Kyi. To escape the regime's crackdown on activists, he travelled to Mae Sot, a Thai-Burmese border town where ethnic rebels, activists, and politicians often sought refuge. Friends recalled him as a quiet person who devoted most of his time to political activism and the democracy movement. He was always happy to assist his fellow colleagues and never sought any credit. For Aung Kyaw Naing, Mae Sot was like a second home. He met former dissidents who set up offices there and learned about the lives of migrant workers, prostitutes and ethnic refugees who had fled Burma. Perhaps, like many of us, these experiences inspired him to pursue his future vocation: reporting. On Nov. 7, 2010, the same day the regime held shamelessly rigged elections—the first in two decades—10,000 refugees fled Burma as fighting between Karen and Burma Army forces broke out. Aung Kyaw Naing went to help refugees. Equipped with a camera that he had recently received from a friend in Japan, he also took photographs. It was the day he began his career as a freelance photographer and reporter. Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at aungzaw@irrawaddy.org. As the country was opening up in 2012, Aung Kyaw Naing was gathering information in conflict zones and sending photographs and news stories to be published in local papers in Rangoon. His pen name was Aung Gyi. When conflict flared up between the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and the Burma Army in Karen and Mon States in September this year, Aung Kyaw Naing tried his luck again and travelled to the conflict zone. The situation was tense and many reporters were stopped, searched and interrogated. Irrawaddy reporters who travelled to the area were stopped and asked to erase the photographs they had taken. Than Dar spent years in prison for her political activism while Aung Kyaw Naing was living in Mae Sot and often crossing the border back into Burma to report. Last week, she was one of two Burmese women activists who, along with an advocacy group, received awards from the N-Peace Network in Bangkok. Before collecting the award, Than Dar was in Chiang Mai with her daughter waiting to see her husband. But he never showed up and she eventually called a press conference to bring attention to his disappearance. According to friends and relatives, Aung Kyaw Naing was possibly returning to the border to see his family, after taking photographs in the conflict zone, but was caught and arrested by police and soldiers. However, a statement sent to the Interim Press Council accused Aung Kyaw Naing of being a "communications captain" with the Klohtoobaw Karen Organization (KKO), the political wing of the DKBA. It also made the incredulous claim that Aung Kyaw Naing was shot because he had tried to seize a soldier's weapon. The unsigned statement was accompanied by a photograph of Aung Kyaw Naing allegedly sitting with other KKO members. It was published in the Voice Journal—once known to advocate the military regime's seven-step "roadmap to democracy." However, the photograph, seemingly intended to discredit Aung Kyaw Naing, most likely depicts the journalist on a reporting trip in 2010. He was detained on Sept. 30 by the army's Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 208 in Mon State's Kyaikmayaw and had not been heard of since. LIB 208 is notorious in the area for carrying out the arrest and detention of many suspected rebels and some possible disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The army officers implicated in the killing of Aung Kyaw Naing evidently thought they would get away with it this time too. Aung Kyaw Naing was tall and well-built but it was believed that he was badly beaten and tortured in army detention. His wife reached out to him through opposition and official channels but was not allowed to see him. The first news that arrived in dissident circles indicated that he had been detained so some thought the army would eventually free him. Than Dar discovered that he had been badly tortured. Some sources close to the local police and army claimed that his physical condition was in such bad shape that there was no way he could have tried to escaped and seize a gun, as claimed in the army statement. Around the same time Aung Kyaw Naing was awaiting death in army detention, Burma's "reformist" President Thein Sein travelled to Europe to petition European leaders to stop submitting annual reports on the human rights situation in Burma. During the Asia-Europe Meeting in Milan, Italy, Thein Sein told European leaders that while Burma's transition to democracy was at a "delicate" stage "the government is committed to overcome the challenges and to continue the reform process without backtracking." Citing the creation of a National Human Rights Commission and the establishment of a reporting mechanism for human rights violations, the President's Office issued a statement saying that "considerable progress in human rights protection has been made in Myanmar but the international community has not recognized the progress enough." But on the ground, the situation looks markedly different to the government's rosy portrayal. Many activists feel that the space afforded to them a few years ago has shrunk and journalists covering conflict and hard hitting political stories are getting nervous. The media is coming under increasing pressure and the same people who have governed the country over past decades continue to run the show. Closer to the truth was a UN report on Burma released last week that suggested the government was showing signs of backsliding. Many in the human rights community would no doubt agree. In the report, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, called the arrest of journalists and protesting activists in Burma "troubling" and noted allegations of ongoing rights abuses in areas of ethnic conflict and "systematic discrimination" against Rohingya Muslims in western Arakan State. "The important transition and far-reaching reforms in Myanmar must be commended," the report states. "Yet, possible signs of backsliding should be addressed so as not to undermine the progress achieved." The death of an activist-turned-reporter, as well as increased government scrutiny of reporters and journalists, comes just weeks before US President Barack Obama's visit to Burma to attend the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit. The West would like to see and hear a more positive spin on Burma ahead of Obama's visit, but the reality on the ground is not promising. In an attempt to keep the media onside, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing recently met a group of editors and journalists who are part of the Interim Myanmar Press Council. The group was a mix of pro-regime figures with strong links to former regime leaders and a small number of independent-minded journalists. During the three-hour meeting, the group discussed the media's access to, and safety in, conflict areas. The commander-in-chief agreed to collaborate, but how? The killing of Aung Kyaw Naing is a stark reminder of the dangers that journalists continue to face in Burma and of the official attitudes that paint the press as a potential threat and thus help enable such abuses. On Oct. 27, the Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova urged Mexican authorities to investigate the recent killing of citizen journalist María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio and bring those responsible to justice. The international community, including Western leaders and UN agencies like UNESCO, should do the same for Aung Kyaw Naing. The post Death of an Activist Reporter appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Army Issues Media Gag Order on Kokang Rebel Statements Posted: 04 May 2015 07:14 AM PDT Peng Daxun, the commander in chief of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, attends a summit of ethnic armed groups in Panghsan, Wa Special Region, on Friday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Burmese military has threatened media outlets with legal action if they report statements from a Kokang ethnic rebel group that has been blacklisted by the government. An announcement by the "Tatmadaw [Burma Army] Accurate Information Team," made available to journalists via the Myanmar Press Council on Sunday, imposes a "total ban" on publishing or broadcastings statements made by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) at a summit its representatives are currently attending along with 11 other ethnic armed groups in Panghsan, eastern Shan State. "We are letting you know that we will prosecute under existing law for either publishing or airing MNDAA statements from the summit, because the MNDAA has been outlawed by the government," reads the statement. It was not clear if the ban would apply beyond the Panghsang meeting's conclusion later this week. Coincidently, the statement was released just hours after Burma's Information Ministry jointly celebrated World Press Freedom Day with Unesco in Rangoon. The event was attended by Information Minister Ye Htut, who said that "the Burmese people need to have accurate information from unbiased, independent and varied sources." Myint Kyaw, secretary general of the Myanmar Journalists' Network, said the military's gag order on MNDAA statements was "ugly." "If they are threatening against biased or unbalanced reporting, that is fine. But what they are doing now is a kind of censorship," he told The Irrawaddy. Though the statement does not specify what charges those who fail to heed the prohibition might face, it is likely that they would be prosecuted under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Association Act. Under the provision, which prohibits affiliation with groups considered unlawful, violators could face up to three years' imprisonment. Since February, MNDAA forces have clashed with the government to regain territory in the Kokang Special Region that the rebel group lost to the Burmese government in 2009. The fighting in northeast Burma has been some of the deadliest in years. The United Wa State Army (UWSA), which controls the Wa Special Region in eastern Shan State, is holding a summit of selected ethnic leaders from May 1-6 in Panghsan to discuss a draft nationwide ceasefire agreement signed by ethnic negotiators and their government counterparts in late March. The post Burma Army Issues Media Gag Order on Kokang Rebel Statements appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi Attends World Press Freedom Day Event in Rangoon Posted: 04 May 2015 07:06 AM PDT Aung San Suu Kyi addresses attendees of an event marking World Press Freedom Day in Rangoon on May 3, 2015. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — At an event marking World Press Freedom Day, Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday called on the media to ensure that upcoming elections will be free and fair. The Nobel laureate and chairwoman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) stressed the importance of a responsible and independent press as a means of accurately informing the public and keeping the powerful in check. "The 2015 election is a very important turning point [for Burma]," she said, speaking at Rangoon's newly christened Novotel Hotel. "I would like to ask the media to give their best support to make sure these elections are free and fair." Suu Kyi said the government has a responsibility to enact media laws that align with international standards, while members of the media have a responsibility to help readers differentiate between fact, rumor and politically or personally motivated fabrications. Urging journalists to "do their homework," Suu Kyi added that the media also has the responsibility of educating itself to improve accuracy and uphold journalistic ethics. Sunday's event was the fourth time that World Press Freedom Day has been observed in Burma, where media freedoms are still novel and criticism remains of the government's treatment of the fourth estate. Media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) recently ranked Burma as the ninth most censored country in the world, despite advances such as the abolition of pre-publication censorship in late 2012. Minister of Information Ye Htut, who also attended the event, hit back at claims by international organizations that the country is "backsliding" on press freedom. "Almost a dozen international organizations publish Burma press freedom indices and reports," said Ye Htut, "but I don't consider them complete because they are based on the [the degree of] freedom and don't reflect news quality and editorial independence." The minister reiterated his commitment to establishing a public service media that would serve to inform the population and promote the voices of minorities. Despite legal reforms related to the press, members of the media expressed concern that Burma's legal environs do not offer adequate protection for journalists, pointing out that 12 media professionals are currently serving prison sentences and outdated laws are still being used to unfairly target members of the press. Myint Kyaw, general secretary of the Myanmar Journalist Network, said that while the country's nascent media could improve its professional standards, legal action taken against journalists has been disproportionate. "While reporters need to make sure that facts are true and correct, some of these laws should have been amended many years ago and the judicial system needs to be fair and independent," Myint Kyaw said, adding that members of the media are "ready to work together with the government" to achieve greater press freedom. Several prominent media professionals, including members of the Press Council Thiha Saw and Kyaw Min Swe issued statements on Sunday denouncing the government's treatment of journalists. Lower House lawmaker Khaing Maung Yi, speaking on behalf of the committee on sports, culture and public relations, called on the government to drop all pending legal action against journalists and grant amnesty to those currently serving prison sentences. Sunday's event was hosted by the Ministry of Information and was attended by several foreign diplomats and a representative of the United Nations' cultural agency, UNESCO. The post Suu Kyi Attends World Press Freedom Day Event in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Awards Statoil, Conoco Phillips Deep-Sea Exploration Contract: State Media Posted: 04 May 2015 06:54 AM PDT The US oil and gas giant Conoco Phillips was one of two firms awarded exploration blocks last week. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Burma has awarded contracts to international oil majors Statoil and ConocoPhillips for oil and gas exploration in a deep-water offshore block, the official Kyemon Daily said on Sunday. The state newspaper said the two companies' regional subsidiaries—Singapore-registered Statoil Myanmar Private Ltd. and ConocoPhillips Myanmar E&P Pte. Ltd.—agreed to invest US$323 million in oil and gas exploration in Deep-Sea Block AD.10, off Burma's western Arakan State coast. Under the contracts, signed last week, production sharing agreements would span eight years. The companies will have to undertake environmental impact studies first, the newspaper said. Last year, Burma awarded exploration rights to the two companies, as well as to Royal Dutch Shell and Total, for 10 shallow-water blocks and 10 deep-water blocks. During the fiscal year that ended in March, Burma attracted foreign direct investment totaling $8 billion, of which more than 35 percent was generated by the energy sector, according data released by Myanmar Investment Commission. Burma has targeted raising $6 billion through FDI during the current fiscal year. The post Burma Awards Statoil, Conoco Phillips Deep-Sea Exploration Contract: State Media appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thai Police Arrest Rohingya Man Suspected of Running Deadly Jungle Camp Posted: 04 May 2015 05:36 AM PDT A policeman takes pictures of bodies retrieved from a mass grave at an abandoned camp in a jungle near the border with Malaysia, in Thailand's southern Songkhla province, on May 2, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) PADANG BESAR / NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, Thailand — Thai police have arrested a man they believe is the key figure behind a brutal human trafficking network that ran a jungle camp where dozens of bodies have been found. Soe Naing, widely known as Anwar, was detained on Wednesday as authorities closed in on a camp near the Thai-Malaysia border where as many as 400 trafficked migrants, mainly Rohingya and Bangladeshis, were imprisoned for ransom, Police Col. Anuchon Chamat, deputy commander of police in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, told Reuters. He was charged with fraud related to his failure to release a trafficked Rohingya after receiving a ransom payment. His arrest, and the uncovering of the camp containing 26 bodies on Friday, is the first major bust of a trade in humans that activists and some Thai officials say has been allowed to flourish for years amid indifference and, sometimes, complicity by Thai authorities. "This is huge. He's a big guy, a top guy," Anuchon said. Anwar denies any involvement in trafficking and says he made a living tapping rubber and selling fried bread. People with grudges against him circulated his photo and accused him of trafficking, he told Reuters in Nakhon Si Thammarat police station on Wednesday. "There are many Anwars. I'm also called Anwar. But you have to consider which Anwar is actually a human trafficker," he said. Four other people have been arrested for alleged involvement in the network since January, Anuchon said, adding that phone records indicated the operation likely stretched to Malaysia, Burma and Bangladesh. Police are collecting evidence with a view to laying charges against Anwar, a Rohingya living in the southern Thai province of Songkhla, for murder, human trafficking and cross-border criminal activity, said Anuchon. Phone records, financial transactions and witness testimony point to Anwar allegedly playing a central role in the operation, Anuchon said. Police are also collecting DNA evidence from the grave site. Case documents reviewed by Reuters, as well as interviews with police and witnesses, provide some insight into one of the alleged networks involved in the smuggling of the more than 100,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence and poverty in Burma since 2012—often held at sea and in camps for months as they are shunted from Burma to Thailand, and then Malaysia. Amy Smith, executive director for Southeast Asia at rights group Fortify Rights, said the camp uncovered on Friday was just one of the many that trafficking survivors say are strewn across southern Thailand. "To our understanding, this is the first mass grave that's been uncovered by Thai authorities. This demonstrates Thailand's level of complacency in conducting proper investigations," she said. Reuters has previously documented the involvement of some members of Thai security forces in trafficking, and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has acknowledged some official complicity. Stung by being downgraded by the United States to the lowest category on its annual Trafficking in Persons report—citing a lack of enforcement and the involvement of some officials—Thailand's military junta has ordered a crackdown on traffickers and introduced the death penalty in cases where their victims died. Regularly Beaten At the camp uncovered on Friday, just a few hundred meters from the Malaysian border, rows of bamboo pens sit beneath a tree canopy; makeshift water pipes run nearby. Discarded shoes litter the ground, a sign of what police say was a hurried evacuation just days before police arrived. During a visit by a Reuters reporter on Saturday, police and rescue teams could be seen pulling bodies in various stages of decay from the earth. Two police witnesses who spoke to Reuters recounted allegations of beatings and murders in the camp. One, a former inmate who helped lead police to the site, said those being held were regularly beaten while on the phone to relatives in order to extract money. Those who couldn't pay, or who crossed the traffickers, were often killed. The witness, who cannot be identified because he is in police protection, said he saw 17 people bludgeoned to death in the 10 months he was in the camp. "I saw four people beaten to death in the space of two hours," the witness said. Police said on Sunday that initial forensic examinations of the bodies found at the site showed no signs of violent death, such as bone marks or breakages. One of those allegedly murdered was a 25-year-old identified only by his first name, Kasim, whose family had paid 95,000 baht (US$2,870) for his release. Instead, hearing that Kasim's uncle had passed information on his detention to authorities, Anwar ordered him killed, the witness said. Kasim's uncle, Kullya Mei, separately told Reuters the camp guards called him before they killed Kasim, and placed the phone to his nephew's face. "He said: 'They're going to kill me. What did you do?'" Kullya Mei recalled. The next thing he said he heard was his nephew screaming. Reuters was unable to independently verify Kullya Mei's account. Anuchon said police were investigating the allegation. On Jan. 11, police intercepted a convoy with about 100 malnourished Rohingya huddled in trucks in the southern district of Hua Sai, said Anuchon, the police deputy commander. One woman was found dead, another two died later in hospital. Arrests following that interception yielded phone records that allowed police to piece together some of the alleged network, Anuchon said. Kasim's alleged killing helped yield further evidence, with police saying bank transfer slips showed payments to suspected network members. The network grossed about 10 million baht ($302,147) a month, said Police Lt-Col Phongsathorn Kueaseng, an investigator on the case. The post Thai Police Arrest Rohingya Man Suspected of Running Deadly Jungle Camp appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘People Rely on Government Hospitals More Than Ever’ Posted: 03 May 2015 05:00 PM PDT Dr Pa Pa (center), medical superintendent of the Rangoon General Hospital. (Photo: Sai Zaw/The Irrawaddy) Rangoon General Hospital is the largest medical care facility in all of Burma. Built in the middle of the colonial era, the hospital comprises 25 specialist departments and provides treatment for cancer, neurological diseases and heart conditions, medical services that are virtually non-existent in the rest of the country. Dr. Pa Pa, the hospital's medical superintendent, recently sat down with The Irrawaddy's Htet Naing Zaw to discuss how the hospital is responding to a dramatic increase in both government funding and patient numbers. Do people still rely more on government hospitals than private hospitals in Burma? Yes they do. The number of patients we receive in a year has increased from around 25,000 in 2008 to more than 62,000 in 2014. We receive between 300 and 350 emergency patients daily, and 200 to 250 of them stay at the hospital. People rely on government hospitals more than ever. This is partly because we offer free diagnosis and free basic drug prescriptions as much as we can, and partly because of the standard of healthcare given by doctors and nurses here. In the past, the hospital attracted considerable criticism with regard to its service, but now this has started to change. Media outlets do not write as many critical articles as they did in the past about the hospital. What sort of costs do patients have to cover? It is difficult to set a specific amount of health expense for patient because illness and severity varies from one patient to another. The health budget has increased significantly since President Thein Sein took power. In 2012-12 we got an unprecedented amount—750 million kyats (US$700,000)— to buy basic drugs. It increased to 2.45 billion kyats ($2.3 million) in 2013-14 and in 2014-15 it was 3.8 billion kyats ($3.5 million) for overall procurement including drugs and medical equipment. What is being done to upgrade the hospital? We have opened a five-storey ward equipped with PET-CT scanners and other medical equipment for the diagnosis of cancer. We are giving a facelift to the main building of the hospital, which is over 100 years old. We are building pharmacies and infrastructure to produce oxygen for patient treatment. We have also given the emergency unit a facelift. We formed the emergency department in 2013 to take better care of critical patients. The government granted 5 billion kyats ($4.7 million) in 2013-14 and 5.5 billion ($5.1 million) kyats in 2014-15 for this work. In 2013-14 FY, we bought medical equipment worth 14.5 million kyats ($13,500). We have equipped ourselves with advanced diagnostic machines and are offering free services. For example, it costs 10,000 kyats ($9.34) to take a digital X-ray at private clinic, but here we offer it for free. Does the hospital have sufficient staff? The size of the workforce has been unchanged since 2008. I have proposed a new organizational structure to the Ministry of Health in Naypyidaw. The current workforce is around 1,700 people and the new organizational structure I have proposed will double that. What assistance does the hospital offer to those who can't afford to pay for treatment? We offer blood transfusions for free, whereas patients previously had to pay for this service. Nine of the 15 kinds of drugs we carry used to treat cancer patients are provided free of charge. In some cases where patients cannot afford to pay for prescriptions, the hospital will arrange for drugs to be provided for free. Has the treatment of patients by doctors and nurses changed in recent years? From specialists to administrative staff, all have to work harder to cope with the growing number of patients. We have been receiving fewer complaints about our services and we see less criticism of us in the media. This implies the relationship between doctors and patients has improved. The post 'People Rely on Government Hospitals More Than Ever' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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