The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• As MPs Return and Charter Talk Heats Up, Six-Party Dialogue May Hold Key
• Quick Buck Land Boom Stalls Mon State Resort Developments
• Thein Sein Makes Surprise Visit to Ethnic Leaders
• Investors Lining Up for Mergui Archipelago Hotel Permits
• ‘People Weren’t Very Interested in the Voter Lists’
• Burma to Open Consulate in Chiang Mai
• ‘In Myanmar, Men Are Leading the IT Industry and Women Are Lagging’
• Thailand’s Trafficking Crackdown Adds to Migrants’ Misery
• Thailand Wants Meeting with Burma, Malaysia over Human Trafficking Crisis
• Survivors Battle for Helicopters Near Nepal Village That Vanished
• Images Show Vietnam Reclaiming Land in South China Sea
• After Decades of Decay, Burma Bets on Thilawa to Lead Industry Boom
• Jailed Malaysian Opposition Leader’s Wife Wins His Parliament Seat

As MPs Return and Charter Talk Heats Up, Six-Party Dialogue May Hold Key Posted: 08 May 2015 06:31 AM PDT Aung San Suu Kyi talks during Burma's high-level six-party talks at the Presidential Palace at Naypyidaw on April 10, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Opinions on amending Burma's controversial Constitution are divided as parliamentarians prepare to reconvene on Monday, with charter reform likely to be a major subject of debate during the next legislative session. A bill on charter reform has been drafted by Parliament's Implementation Committee on Constitutional Amendments, and the bill is could be submitted to the Union Parliament and put to a vote sometime after the legislature returns on Monday. But Min Thu, a Lower House lawmaker from the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said with odds stacked against the bill at present, charter reform advocates' best hope might be to wait out upcoming high-level discussions before the issue is taken up by Parliament. "The bill on proposed constitutional amendments is very unlikely to win passage there," Min Thu told The Irrawaddy. "In the Union Parliament, theoretically, civilians have 75 percent of the seats while the military has 25 [percent]. But with the deaths or resignations of some MPs, we only have just over 70 percent. We will never win unless we have support from the military representatives. That would only happen if the army chief gives them the nod." Burma's military-drafted Constitution can only be amended with a yes vote from more than 75 percent of Union parliamentarians, after which it would go to a national referendum, where more than 50 percent of voters must approve. But with the materialization of a long-awaited six-party meeting last month on constitutional reform and Burma's upcoming national elections, and with more high-level discussions to come, hopes for amending the charter are increasingly being pinned on those talks. The six-party dialogue on April 10 in Naypyidaw involved President Thein Sein, both parliamentary speakers, the Burma Army commander in chief, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a representative for Burma's ethnic minorities. "Given the current situation inside the Parliament, we can do nothing," Min Thu said. "So, dialogues outside Parliament, like the six-party talks, are becoming more important." A legal expert, Ko Ni, shared the NLD lawmaker's assessment of the political dynamics at play. The lawyer explained the reason to have an agreement on fixing the constitution among stakeholders because the participants of the talks are Burma's biggest political players and they represent the government, parliament, army, opposition and ethnic interests. If the six leaders come to an agreement, their respective factions would fall in line, making a vote by Parliament a mere formality, he said. "That's why we are waiting for the outcome [of the talks]," said Ko Ni. Burma's Constitution has been controversial since its enactment. It was drafted by the country's former military regime and passed in a rigged referendum in 2008, just a few days after the powerful Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta region, killing more than 130,000 people. Given the circumstances of the vote, the charter is jokingly referred to in some circles as the "Nargis Constitution." The charter has been locally and internationally criticized as undemocratic, owing to provisions that grant 25 percent of seats in Parliament to unelected military representatives; ban opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's most popular political figure, from the presidency; and centralize authority in a way that ethnic groups say has stymied their political aspirations. A Long Road to Reform Suu Kyi has been calling for constitutional change for several years now. The NLD chairwoman and the pro-democracy group 88 Generation Peace and Open Society organized a nationwide petition to amend the Constitution last year, garnering nearly 5 million signatures in favor of reform. The petition, which was submitted to Parliament, also encouraged nationwide public demonstrations calling for charter reform. The six-party dialogue, first proposed by Parliament and later endorsed by Suu Kyi, was ignored by Thein Sein until last month, with the president saying the proposed format was not all-inclusive and that the Constitution should be amended in accordance with the charter's provisions, effectively putting the ball back in Parliament's court. In the wake of the talks on April 10, the President's Office, quoting presidential spokesman Ye Htut, said a timetable for the next meeting had been agreed and that "all participants freely and openly discussed in a brotherly way and reached agreement," without elaborating the date of the next gathering or the nature of the "agreement" reached. The second-round six-party talks is expected to take place after Parliament reconvenes on Monday. Though the six-party stage is seen as increasingly important to breaking the constitutional impasse, political commentator Yan Myo Thein said he did not see the necessary political will to produce concrete results. "Frankly speaking, there is no way to fix the charter as long as the military and USDP [ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party] lawmakers don't support the changes on major articles," he said, referring to articles like 436 and 59(f), some of the charter's most criticized provisions. "I also don't expect any tangible outcomes from the talks because I don't see they [the government and military] have any political will to reform the constitution. That's why the bill to amend the charter still hasn't been submitted yet, after two years," he said, referring to Parliament's decision to first take up the issue in 2013. "That's the most evident example [of a lack of political will]." Myint Tun, an Upper House Lawmaker for the USDP, said it was too early to comment on the upcoming parliamentary session. "I would like to talk after the legislature's resumption on Monday," he said. Sai Thiha Kyaw, a Lower House lawmaker from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), said six-party talks were not the only hope for the realization of ethnic minorities' aspirations, such as constitutional amendments and the granting of equal rights to minorities. The president and army chief could unilaterally decide to make the changes, he explained. "If they say, 'Let's change the Constitution because we want peace,' their associates in the Parliament will do as they are told. That's why I said those leaders play the most important role," he said. "If we have meetings without any result, what should we expect out of them?" he added. The post As MPs Return and Charter Talk Heats Up, Six-Party Dialogue May Hold Key appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Quick Buck Land Boom Stalls Mon State Resort Developments Posted: 08 May 2015 06:23 AM PDT A child plays on the beach at Kabyar Wa. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) YE, Mon State — Were it not for its beautiful beaches, Kabyar Wa would be indistinguishable from any one of hundreds of Mon State's farming villages. Home to about 300 households, most of the area's inhabitants stake their livelihood on fishing, betel orchards and small-plot subsistence farming. Despite being only 27 kilometers (17 miles) away from Ye, the journey into Kabyar Wa takes an hour by motorbike. Communications infrastructure is nonexistent and the area falls under the aegis of the Mon National Liberation Army. Yet life is beginning to change in the village. Last year, after the Ministry of Border Affairs funded the replacement of the rickety wooden bridge into the Kabyar Wa with a new concrete structure, the site has become host to an increasing number of local travelers seeking a weekend's rest and respite by the Andaman Sea. Not long after the announcement, Aung Moe, who lives by the beach, decided to capitalize on the village's new profile by setting up a restaurant. There were barely any customers when he started five months ago, he told The Irrawaddy. In the time since, two new restaurants have opened up to compete for the small daily trickle of local tourist traffic. The Mon State government designated the village's 13-kilometer (8-mile) stretch of beach as a hotel and recreation zone in Sept. 2014. Facilities will be developed under the management of local firm Aurun Co, primarily known for its mining operations, with the construction of an assortment of resorts, bungalows and midrange hotels. The increasing profile of the Kabyar Wa beach has now jeopardized the government's hope to realize its expansive hotel and resort plans by the planned 2017 completion date. News of the proposal has led to a speculative frenzy in beachfront land prices, with a 100-fold increase in value over the past year. "It's difficult to develop it now due to land issues," said Nai Lawi Aung, the state electricity and industry minister. "The project hasn't been developed yet because of land brokers manipulating prices." Before the government's announcement a beachfront plot, usually 40 by 60 meters, cost only US$100-200. Some of the plots were used as makeshift toilets by villagers and many others were neglected completely. After Aurun stalled on its land acquisition plans, the same plots are now selling for $1,000-$20,000, depending on their location and size, with prospective buyers coming from as far away as Rangoon and Myawaddy. Almost all land along beach now has new owners, collectively hoping to sell the titles back to the company for a quick windfall. Kabyar Wa's development has been further stalled by bureaucratic hurdles. The company has so far acquired only 17 hectares (43 acres) of wild land around the village, with promises to provide tarmac roads, medical clinics, a market, a monastery and fire engines to the local community. Work cannot begin on many of these proposals until they are approved by the state Department of Lands, an arm of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. Nai Lawi Aung said that the state government did not have the authority to grant the company permission, and was limited to granting assistance in the company's application to the department. Htay Thwin, Aurun's managing director, told The Irrawaddy earlier this year that his firm expects to spend $12 million on infrastructure and preliminary hotel developments, before seeking partnerships with international companies to build further resort facilities. With the surge in land prices and construction delays, it is unclear whether the project's budget will exceed its initial projections. Meanwhile, in one of the few areas of Mon State to welcome a development proposal with open arms in recent years, villagers have become frustrated that the expected boom in tourist arrivals has yet to occur. "[Aurun] are waiting for hotel zone to develop," said Aung Yin Oo, an orchard owner in Kabyar Wa. "They said that a hotel project would start this year but it has yet to begin. Locals want them to start as soon as possible." The post Quick Buck Land Boom Stalls Mon State Resort Developments appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thein Sein Makes Surprise Visit to Ethnic Leaders Posted: 08 May 2015 04:19 AM PDT   Click to view slideshow. RANGOON — In a surprise move, Burmese President Thein Sein has held a series of informal meetings with ethnic leaders during a visit to the Shan State town of Kengtung, according to pictures posted on the Facebook page of Information Minister Ye Htut. The photos show Mongla leader Sai Lin, Restoration Council of Shan State leader Yawd Serk and United Wa State Army (UWSA) senior leader Pao Yuyi were given separate audiences with the president on Friday. Wednesday marked the end of an ethnic summit in the UWSA headquarters of Panghsang to discuss the government's draft proposal on a nationwide ceasefire agreement. Members of the summit reiterated their desire for a federal system of governance and most delegates to the conference expressed their support for the granting of statehood to Wa territory. The post Thein Sein Makes Surprise Visit to Ethnic Leaders appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Investors Lining Up for Mergui Archipelago Hotel Permits Posted: 08 May 2015 04:09 AM PDT   Moken children play on a beach on one of the islands in the Mergui Archipelago. (Photo: Tim Webster) RANGOON — Nearly 30 local companies and joint ventures are awaiting government approval for hotel projects in Burma's Mergui Archipelago or have already been given the greenlight to start implementing plans, according to Aung Zaw Win, director general of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. The Myanmar Investment Commission is currently vetting 20 local firms and six joint ventures seeking to break ground on hotel and resort projects across 26 of the archipelago's largely unspoiled islands. Two other joint ventures with foreign partners, Moe Kant & Kyaw Win Phyo and United Resorts, have already been granted approval for plans on the islands of Kyun Phila and Ngakhin Nyogyi, respectively. "Many companies have applied to set up hotels in the Myeik [Mergui] islands since 2011, when the new government took office," Aung Zaw Win told The Irrawaddy. "Our ministry has recommended that these companies receive approval from the MIC through the Tanintharyi [Tenasserim] Division government. We have checked their environmental protection plans in their proposals, then recommended them. After that, MIC is checking them and if it is OK, will approve them," he said. He added that because the Mergui Archipelago had remained unexposed to mass tourism, in contrast to neighboring Thailand, a growing contingent of foreigners were making their way to its islands from the Thai beach town Phuket and elsewhere. "Recently, Dawei and Thailand's Kachanaburi district are connecting to develop tourism around the southern part of Myanmar, so at the same time, the Kawthaung region will also keep developing. That's what we are expecting," Aung Zaw Win said. The Mergui Archipelago spans 800 islands across an area of 10,000 square miles in Burma's far south. While currently difficult and expensive to visit, the area, also known as the Myeik Archipelago, is tipped to become a major tourist destination as Burma welcomes more foreign tourist arrivals. The archipelago is listed as a priority area for development under a Tourism Master Plan released by the government in 2013, with the coral-rich area seen as likely to draw intrepid ecotourists, divers and holiday-goers from southern Thailand. Hlawan Moe, assistant director of the Kawthaung department of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said foreign and local investors in recent years had expressed strong interest in the Mergui islands. "The United resort is now preparing to start work on Ngakhin Nyogyi island. They plan to invest 500 million kyats [US$450,000] for an initial project," Hlawan Moe said. "All the islands are beautiful and untouched, we've been making field checks of these islands since last year to approve applicants working with MIC," he said. Attempts by The Irrawaddy to contact the Myanmar Investment Commission's secretary Aung Naing Oo to discuss the commission's approval process were not successful. At least one other project is already moving forward. Last year, the Myeik Public Corporation announced plans to invest $4 million in a resort on Kadan Island, the archipelago's largest, beginning this year. Kadan lies some 15 miles west of Myeik, a coastal town on the Burmese mainland that serves as the region's commercial hub. Aung Myat Kyaw, the chairman of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association and an adviser to Burma's Tourism Marketing Committee, welcomed the new hotel projects in the archipelago, saying the development would spur regional tourism as well as improve local livelihoods in southern Burma by creating jobs. "In the past, there was very little infrastructure in the Myeik islands. Even though tourists wanted to enjoy snorkeling and scuba diving there, a lack of infrastructure made it difficult to go there. That will soon improve," he said. "For residents in that area who are fishing with dynamite, damaging the environment, if these investors create job opportunities for them, they will have an alternative income rather than fishing, so it will benefit both," he said. Win Myo Thu, an environmentalist with the Burmese NGO EcoDev, acknowledged the region's inherent tourism potential, but warned that environmental pressures were already being felt, and could be exacerbated by a sudden, inadequately regulated expansion of the industry. "I wonder how these local companies will manage the environmental issues in this area," he said. "How can the government control this issue credibly?" Virginia Henderson, a researcher and writer who visited the archipelago last month, called the experience "magnificent." "I had the privilege to visit the Mergui Archipelago during Thingyan last month with Moby Dick Tours. It was a magnificent experience boating around the pristine deserted white sand beaches, peaceful and delightful nature at its best," she said. "There is obviously enormous potential for development in this area, but I'd hope that rather than rushing in and building resorts, developers would plan carefully to protect and maintain this extraordinary environment," Henderson added. According to figures from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, there were about 1,150 hotels in Burma as of March 31, most of them being concentrated in Rangoon (298 hotels) and Mandalay (148 hotels). The post Investors Lining Up for Mergui Archipelago Hotel Permits appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘People Weren’t Very Interested in the Voter Lists’ Posted: 08 May 2015 03:58 AM PDT   Than Htay serves as director of The Serenity Initiative, a civil society organization formed in 2013 committed to voter education. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Burma's last general election, held in 2010, was largely viewed as fraudulent, an assessment that many blamed on inaccurate and doctored voter lists. As this year's landmark election draws near, new voter lists are beginning to take shape. The first phase of voter lists in Rangoon was rolled out in late March, when a preliminary list of all eligible voters in 10 townships were made public. Phase two, which will catalog another 14 of the city's 45 townships, is set to be publicly displayed for two weeks starting on May 25. Than Htay serves as director of The Serenity Initiative (TSI), a civil society organization formed in 2013 committed to voter education. He and his colleagues recently cooperated with Union Election Commission (UEC) to carry out similar pilot projects for voter list compilation in Myitkyina, Kachin State, and Tedim, Chin State. Than Htay recently sat down with Irrawaddy's Wei Yan Aung to discuss his work and progress toward educating Burma's citizenry about electoral processes. What is The Serenity Initiative working on now? Right now we are involved in compiling voter lists. We have also established a resource center in Rangoon for electoral education. We will set up a website which will provide schedules and a list of CSOs that provide voter education and electoral monitoring. The resource center is equipped with literature on elections and it is open to all. Downloadable books are also available. The center is located at Room No. B 2, on the sixth floor of the Sein Gay Har Supermarket building in Hledan. It is open now, and we expect to launch the website by the end of this month. Did you participate in the first phase of voter lists in Rangoon? When the voter lists were put on display in 10 townships in Rangoon, we teamed up with other CSOs in nine major townships to provide voter education. We, The Serenity Initiative, worked as a coordinator between authorities and other CSOs. For the time being, we are holding meetings to give voter education in 14 townships where voter lists will be displayed on May 25. How did voters respond when the lists were put on display? People weren't very interested in the voter lists, since this was the first phase and the election is months away. The number of people who viewed the voter list was said to be about 30,000, but in reality it was more than that. A person who comes to see the voter list may also take a look for his family and friends. Suppose a person views the voter list for himself and two other persons, the number is 90,000 if 30,000 viewed the list. This is just my estimate. Were there any difficulties in displaying voter lists during the first phase? Political parties did not take an active part, but that isn't entirely their fault. The UEC did not invite them to participate. It does not allow them to act freely for fear that they might take advantage and canvass support for themselves. And political parties themselves did not urge people in their respective constituencies to take a look at voter lists on display. So now we invite them to take a part. We will be meeting with the Rangoon Election Sub-Commission on May 12 and will discuss the difficulties we faced during the first phase of voter list display. We've also written a report and we will submit the report to the commission. What is your plan for voter education in the next six months leading up to the election? We will focus on educating the electorate about voting methods and making sure that we, CSOs, do not duplicate voter education programs in the regions and states. Do you plan to provide voter education for people in Burma's ethnic minority states and regions? Recently, on the invitation of the Moulmein Election Sub-Commission and CSO Network, we travelled there [to the Mon State capital] to share voter education knowledge. Voter education programs will be carried out in Moulmein starting in June. We also plan to provide voter education materials in six major ethic languages. We have yet to decide which languages will be selected. If somebody gives us translated documents, we'll also share them in black and white printouts and on our website. What about voter education for people living with disabilities? One of our five directors takes responsibility for people with disabilities. He himself has a disability. Again, we have office staffers who are trained to help these citizens vote. What kind of relationship do you have with the UEC? The UEC fulfills most of our demands. We cooperate with different levels of the election commission as necessary. The post 'People Weren't Very Interested in the Voter Lists' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma to Open Consulate in Chiang Mai Posted: 08 May 2015 01:51 AM PDT Burmese Buddhist devotees at Wat Sai Moon in Chiang Mai in 2012. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) Burma will soon open a consulate in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, according to a source close to the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok. Hundreds of thousands of Burmese migrant workers live and work in the northern Thai city and since the political opening in Burma, air routes between Chiang Mai and Rangoon and Mandalay have expanded. Several Burmese activist groups, media and NGOs working on Burma-related issues are also based in the city of around 170,000 people. Burma's Embassy in Bangkok has been struggling to address the various issues Burmese migrant workers face in Thailand, including their nationality registration and work status. The post Burma to Open Consulate in Chiang Mai appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘In Myanmar, Men Are Leading the IT Industry and Women Are Lagging’ Posted: 08 May 2015 01:50 AM PDT   Sandy Sein Thein of Idea Box says the Internet can be a valuable educational resource for Burma's younger generation. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) Sandy Sein Thein is one member of a growing contingent of Burmese society: those among us who left Burma to work or study, but have returned to contribute their skills and vision to larger Burmese society at a time of rapid change. For the 26-year-old, the nexus of women and technology beckoned. With a background primarily in marketing, she admits that she is "not a technician or a programmer." Nonetheless, when her employer Idea Box, which focuses on activities that encourage innovation, saw a need for more women in the varied and growing technology-related fields, Sandy Sein Thein became a self-described "Geek Girl." In this interview, she talks to The Irrawaddy about a gender gap in the technology arena, her organization's mission and the opportunities that the 21st century presents to Burma's young people. What is Geek Girls Myanmar? While working on innovation activities, we started a 'Women in Technology' community called Geek Girls Myanmar at this time last year. Geek Girls Myanmar is a community that encourages women who are involved in the technology [arena] in Myanmar. We started this community because in Myanmar men are leading the IT industry and women are lagging behind. Women also do not progress as expected in start-ups, either. To tell you the truth, about 60 percent of the students at computer studies universities are women. But they are lagging behind when they start working after school. We started thinking, 'Because females are lacking in this kind of industry, what should we do? What should Idea Box do?' That's how we started Geek Girls Myanmar. And what exactly is it that you do? We do workshops and trainings monthly. We do these for free and the main aim is to get the women together. It's easy for males to meet up [with each other]. It's convenient for them to meet up in a teashop and talk about coding, gaming, computers and whatnot. There are no such gathering places for women. We are not like a community, more like a platform. The purpose is to better educate them. And we don't just educate about technology. We also school them in business, PR [public relations], and entrepreneurial skills. Although there are 400 members online, only about 50 of them are active offline. What is your advice for Burma's younger generations? The way I see the youth today, most of the youth in Myanmar lack the desire to learn. Most of them are learning, but they are learning more about negative stuff. They are reading less as well. For reading, you don't necessarily have to be reading a big book; there are lots of places to learn online. Today, there are a lot more open sources compared with when we were young. Things have become more convenient for young people today. I would like to suggest to young people: Do more self-learning, since today we can now use the Internet. The post 'In Myanmar, Men Are Leading the IT Industry and Women Are Lagging' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand’s Trafficking Crackdown Adds to Migrants’ Misery Posted: 08 May 2015 01:50 AM PDT A Rohingya, who requested anonymity because he is afraid of the authorities, points at the sea exit where Rohingya boats allegedly illegally leave from, in Byuhar Kone village, Maungdaw town in northern Arakan State November 10, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, Thailand — A crackdown on human trafficking networks in Thailand is putting migrants fleeing Burma and Bangladesh at more risk as smugglers hold their captives for longer at sea and hide deeper in the jungle, say activists and officials. Police have found more than 30 bodies, mostly believed to be of stateless Rohingya Muslims from Burma, since last Friday after raiding camps in the country's south where migrants were held for ransom under brutal conditions. But activists and officials say the crackdown is also having an unintended effect: traffickers are taking greater risks to avoid being caught. The results are conditions of increasing desperation. "We've been ordered to carry out [a crackdown], and, yes, I admit there may have been some effects," Police Colonel Anuchon Chamat, deputy commander of police in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, told Reuters. "Before, the ships would wait for people in Myanmar [Burma], and once they were full, would rush over and in four or five days be in Thai waters. But not anymore," he said. Call for Coordinated Global Response Late last year Thai officials tightened inspections on roads in the country's south, which for years has been used as a waystation for tens of thousands of Rohingya fleeing Burma, mostly on their way to mainly Muslim Malaysia. It was the discovery of about 100 Rohingya in a convoy in January that led to the unraveling of the network allegedly behind the mass graves, Anuchon said. But the crackdown has also spooked traffickers into splitting migrants into smaller groups, and keeping them on the move between camps, said Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, which plots migration across the Bay of Bengal. Other traffickers have responded by keeping thousands of migrants for weeks or months at a time in ships before being moved to land, said Lewa, whose organization interviews migrants and smugglers. Thailand has been stung in the past by criticism, including from the United States, that it is not doing enough to fight trafficking. An official from the US Embassy in Bangkok told Reuters that Washington was concerned about "reports of thousands of additional migrants on land and at sea in boats and ships," and called for a "coordinated international effort" to address the issue. Thailand on Friday called for a meeting with Burma and Malaysia to try to resolve the crisis. As Thai police press on with their raids—which have uncovered three recently abandoned camps in the last week—conditions will likely get worse, Lewa added. "Thailand is trying to show off to the US that they are doing something but it's putting the Rohingya in greater jeopardy," she said. More than 50 police officers have been transferred over suspected involvement in the trade. 'Security Very Tight' Trafficking victims interviewed by Reuters described criminal networks that appeared under stress from authorities, resulting in dire conditions for those caught up in their web. Muhammad Solim, a Rohingya previously living as a refugee in Bangladesh, said he spent nearly three months at sea and 90 days in a jungle camp before he was ransomed for the equivalent of US$2,240, paid in baht and ringgit. Solim, 20, said his ship waited in Thai waters for 15 days after spending about two months off Bangladesh waiting for passengers. In cramped conditions, two died and were thrown overboard. "The guards on the boat told us security was very tight, we cannot go (ashore)," he said. After landing on the southern Thai coast, Solim said the roughly 400 migrants were marched 24 hours to a jungle camp. A 13-year-old Rohingya boy told Reuters he had spent three months at sea—including a month off Thailand—before entering the jungle camps. Guards told the boy, too, that they feared encountering Thai authorities if they land, he said. The post Thailand's Trafficking Crackdown Adds to Migrants' Misery appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand Wants Meeting with Burma, Malaysia over Human Trafficking Crisis Posted: 08 May 2015 01:44 AM PDT Rescue workers dig as human remains are retrieved from a mass grave at an abandoned camp in a jungle some 300 meters from the border with Malaysia, in Thailand's Songkhla Province. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday called for a three-way meeting with neighbors Malaysia and Burma to try to resolve a regional human trafficking crisis following the discovery of a mass grave in the country's far south. Thirty-three bodies, believed to be migrants from Burma and Bangladesh, have been found in shallow graves over the past week in Songkhla province, near the Malaysian border. Three suspected trafficking camps have also been found. "I have ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to liaise with Malaysia and Myanmar [Burma] to hold a meeting to resolve this," Prayuth told reporters. "We think this meeting can be held by the end of this month." Malaysia's foreign ministry declined immediate comment, and Burmese officials could not be immediately reached. Police General Aek Angsasnanont, deputy commissioner-general of the Royal Thai Police, said, so far, eight people have been arrested—seven Thais and a Burma national—suspected of having links to human trafficking networks. A "top figure" in a regional trafficking network had been arrested, police added, without providing details. Thousands of migrants, including Rohinghya Muslims from western Burma and from Bangladesh, brave perilous journeys by sea and land to escape religious and ethnic persecution and in search of work abroad. They are often trafficked through Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country, and taken into the country's jungles, where traffickers demand ransoms to release them or smuggle them across the border to mainly Muslim Malaysia. "This problem needs to be solved from the starting point which means Bangladesh and Rakhine [Arakan] in Myanmar," said Prayuth. The United States, which has censured Thailand for failing to act against human trafficking, called on Monday for a speedy and credible inquiry into the discovery of the mass grave. "We are concerned about the camps and mass graves that Thai authorities have discovered in Thailand, and reports of thousands of additional migrants on land and at sea in boats and ships who may need humanitarian protection and assistance," a US Embassy official in Bangkok told Reuters on Friday. "This is a regional challenge that needs to be addressed regionally, through a coordinated international effort and in accordance with international conventions and maritime law." The post Thailand Wants Meeting with Burma, Malaysia over Human Trafficking Crisis appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Survivors Battle for Helicopters Near Nepal Village That Vanished Posted: 07 May 2015 10:51 PM PDT   Earthquake survivors from Langtang valley near Nepal's border with Tibet, gather inside a makeshift shelter at Yellow Gompa in Kathmandu on May 5, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) DHUNCHE, Nepal — It was three foreign trekkers who used their satellite telephone to call the rescue helicopter that landed in Nepal's Langtang Valley around midday on Tuesday, April 28. Three days earlier, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake had triggered a catastrophic landslide that buried hundreds of people in one village in the valley. But villagers clung to the chopper's landing skids, preventing it from taking off, witnesses said. They then led the uninjured foreign trekkers out of the aircraft and carried injured Nepalis aboard, including a toddler with broken legs, at a rescue in another village, Kyanjin Gompa. "Most helicopters were coming to pick up the foreigners, who were healthy, not our injured people," said Lhakpa Jangba, a local baker who was interviewed at a monastery in Kathmandu after his evacuation from the valley last week. "We said to the foreigners, 'You are healthy. Stay one or two more days and let our injured people go.'" Rescue workers are struggling to recover the bodies of nearly 300 people, including about 110 foreigners, believed to be buried under up to six meters (20 feet) of ice, snow and rock from the landslide that destroyed Langtang village. So far, the bodies of nine foreigners have been recovered. That makes Langtang one of the worst-hit sites in a disaster whose toll throughout Nepal has reached 7,759 dead with more than 16,400 injured. Langtang Lirung, the 7,234-metre (23,734 feet) mountain looming over the Langtang Valley, shook violently, survivors recalled. It then shed a gigantic slice that fell hundreds of feet, launching a massive torrent of air, snow, ice and rock upon the village and its 55 guesthouses, brimming with trekkers at the start of the climbing season. The stunning landscapes of Langtang Valley, the nearest Himalayan region to Kathmandu, which lies 60 km (35 miles) to the south, make it popular with foreign climbers and trekkers. This is the second successive year a catastrophe on the roof of the world has disrupted the climbing season. Last year, sherpas threatened a boycott of Mt. Everest expeditions after 16 were killed in an avalanche on the perilous Khumbu icefall. Eighteen died at Everest Base Camp in April's quake. It's a big business: Everest expedition companies charge clients between $40,000 and $90,000, depending on the number of guides and other services they want. Sherpas can make as little as $1,000 in a whole season. Those who come to the Langtang Valley are a mix of experienced climbers and adventure trekkers. "Everest is for very specialized, skilled climbers, while those in Langtang were people on adventure holidays—most without any guides," said Prachanda Man Shrestha, a former head of Nepal's tourism department. "Anyone can get to Langtang, you are walking at high altitude, but if you are reasonably fit you can go there." Subterranean Universe US mountaineer Kevin Krogh was filming people fleeing a shaking guest house in Kyanjin Gompa in the Langtang Valley in the midst of the quake. The video abruptly ends with people looking back toward the Langtang Himal range as a foggy cloud enters the frame. Krogh, 32, and his wife, Kat Heldman, 40, had left Langtang village early Saturday morning with the rest of their party for the three-hour trek to Kyanjin Gompa. The quake was "like nothing I've ever seen in California," real estate broker Heldman told Reuters in a telephone interview from her home in San Diego after her evacuation. "We see this giant cloud of white. It was moving very fast—we knew it was an avalanche. Our guide screamed: 'Avalanche, run!' We ran through the town as fast as we could, but you can't outrun an avalanche." Heldman said she ran about 100 feet before diving behind a wall just as the juggernaut of ice, rock and snow caught up to her. She crouched down, putting up her arms "so that I know which way is up if I'm buried." Someone else came up behind her and she grabbed onto him until the avalanche ended. "When it stopped, and it did stop, we could stand up. He had lost his shoes." She looked around and saw Krogh digging out another member of their party, Oscar Olea. "If you were on the wrong side of a building, you were going to get buried," Heldman said. She ran into the guest house to get some rescue gear, past a British trekker. "His face was totally bloody—just standing there holding this baby. He gave it to the mother." Frightened yaks and horses wandered around "a subterranean universe—all gray and white," she recalled. Her party had hired two guides from a Nepali company called Expedition Himalaya, along with two cooks and 15 porters. They had intended to climb the majestic 6,387-metre (19,680 feet) Gangchempo peak in Langtang National Park. Instead, they set up a triage station and a dining tent and went in search of the missing. The fellow climber shown on Krogh's video fleeing from the guest house, nurse Brigida Martinez, treated a number of head wounds after the avalanche. The group had 12 days of food for their expedition that they intended to share with survivors. Under the Overhang Toyanath Rijal was just outside Langtang village scouting for a location to build a mobile telephone tower when the quake knocked him and three colleagues off their feet. First, he said he heard a sound like thunder, then an almighty crack. He turned to see a chunk of rock and ice sliding down the mountain, sweeping away everything before it. "It was like watching a wave crashing down the hillside," said Rijal, 40, interviewed in Dhunche, a town in the foothills of Langtang National Park and the base for recovery operations in Langtang. The landslide was so powerful it traveled across a plateau below the mountain range, over a river and up the other side of the valley, he said. Rijal watched all this from under a 40-foot high slab of overhanging rock where he had scrambled for shelter with his colleagues. When the avalanche passed, Rijal fell to his knees clutching his upanayana, the sacred thread devout Hindus wear around their neck, and wept. "I have been given another opportunity in life and there must be a reason for that," he said. "I'm going to use it." He spent the next three nights living in the open, scavenging for food and firewood around the smothered landscape of Langtang village, where only one building was left partly standing. Social Media for the Missing Back in California, Kat Heldman's sister Caroline began calling satellite phone numbers that she obtained from Expedition Himalaya as soon as she heard about the earthquake in Nepal that Saturday, April 25. "I begged her expedition company to give me whatever satphone numbers they knew of in the region for guides," Caroline Heldman said in an email interview from Los Angeles, where she is a political science professor at Occidental College. "I called them one after another until I found her." Thirty hours later, calling almost nonstop, she finally got through to Oscar Olea, the climber her sister's husband had dug out of the avalanche at Kyanjin Gompa. "I didn't even know I was talking to him at first. I didn't know they were there. Honestly, according to their itinerary, I thought they were buried in Langtang village." On the other end of the line, Kat Heldman was also disoriented. "It took me a while to realize who was calling…that was the first time she knew that we were alive." It was only then, when Caroline updated her with the news of the quake, that Kat said she realized the extent of the disaster. Caroline quickly figured out that many families, authorities and even embassies might be in similar predicaments in trying to trace those missing in Nepal. So she started a #Langtang hashtag on Twitter and a Langtang Survivors/Missing group on Facebook. She helped create a Google doc that could be shared among users and listed 440 names—80 of which were missing at one point. The number of missing has since fallen as survivors were found and victims recovered and identified. Separate Camps The first rescue helicopter landed in Kyanjin Gompa on Monday, April 27, two days after the quake, carrying away a half-dozen injured, mainly from the village. The second helicopter came the following day, called in by the three foreign climbers. That was one that the villagers prevented from flying until it took the injured on board. More helicopters came in the hours and days ahead, each mobbed by village people desperate to get out, said Kat Heldman. "All the mountaineers that had gear and tents and food adopted the trekkers that didn't have food," she said. Noted American alpinist Colin Haley, who was two weeks into a climbing trip in the area, set up a water source for the climbers' camp on an open plateau. The villagers camped in a separate area from the climbers, by a garbage dump, because it was sheltered by a large boulder. "But we would go to them to treat their wounds," Heldman said. "Eventually they started coming to us. There was a lot of hugging." Heldman and her group were evacuated the Wednesday following the quake. "Our party was initially broken up but we refused to go without our porters." A US Special Forces team in Nepal contracted a six-seater helicopter four days after the quake. Panicky survivors grabbed their bags and ran towards helicopters as soon as they landed, said Dan, a rescue coordinator who spoke on condition that his family name not be used. "They had mountains on two sides and avalanches on the other. So you can imagine the fear. They realized they couldn't get out unless someone came to get them." After the Fog Cleared Lhakpa Jangba, 34, the baker from Kyanjin Gompa who witnessed the disputes between villagers and trekkers over the helicopter rescues, was caught up in the avalanche that hit the Heldman party. He sat weeping among a hundred or more other evacuated Nepalis sheltering beneath tarpaulins on the grounds of a Buddhist monastery in Kathmandu as he recalled his week-long ordeal. He too heard the explosion on the mountain and saw the fog rolling down. Within seconds it was upon him. "We had no chance to run. I felt the snow hitting me on the back. It swept everything away—houses, people, horses." Joining a group of foreign climbers, he headed toward Langtang village. Two sherpas carried a climber with a broken back. They stopped not far from Langtang village. "The fog cleared and I could see that the whole of Langtang was gone." Lhakpa and a group of 80 or 90 survivors—most of them women, children and the elderly—camped out in the valley. They then returned to Kyanjin Gompa, waiting for rescue helicopters and sometimes squabbling with the foreigners. As of Thursday, at least 300 people had been rescued from the Langtang valley, said Gautam Rimal, assistant chief district officer. Lhakpa said he thinks many people died of their injuries in the valley because not enough helicopters arrived in time. Villagers had "strong words" with the pilots and foreigners, but there was no violence, Lhakpa said. "Whoever survives has to unite. There is no other option." The villagers in Kyangjin Gompa were grateful to an American nurse and climbing group who treated many of their injured, Lhakpa said, apparently referring to Brigida Martinez and the Heldman group. "Our minds were lost. We were half-dead, half-alive." The post Survivors Battle for Helicopters Near Nepal Village That Vanished appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Images Show Vietnam Reclaiming Land in South China Sea Posted: 07 May 2015 10:03 PM PDT A man rides a motorcycle past a poster promoting Vietnam's sovereignty in the South China Sea on Phu Quoc island on Sept. 11, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON — Newly released satellite images show Vietnam has carried out significant land reclamation at two sites in the disputed South China Sea, though the scale and pace of the work is dwarfed by that of China, a US research institute said on Thursday. The photographs, shared with Reuters by Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), show an expansion of the land area of Vietnamese-controlled Sand Cay and West London Reef in the Spratly archipelago and the addition of buildings. Mira Rapp-Hooper, director of CSIS's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, said the work included military installations and appeared to have started before China began a flurry of reclamation projects last year. The photographs, taken by satellite imagery firm DigitalGlobe, were taken between 2010 and April 30 this year. "On one site, it has constructed a significant new area that was formerly under water and at another it has used land reclamation to add acreage to an existing island," Rapp-Hooper said. The speed of recent Chinese reclamation work has alarmed its neighbors and the United States, which sees it as a potential threat to the status quo in a region through which US$5 trillion of sea-borne trade passes each year. China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, which is thought to be rich in oil and gas, with overlapping claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. New Vietnamese military facilities at Sand Cay appeared to include defensive positions and gun emplacements, and new buildings visible on West London Reef could also have military applications, Rapp-Hooper said. Late last month, after weeks of criticism about its reclamation work, China hit back by accusing Vietnam, the Philippines and others of carrying out illegal building work on "Chinese" islands in the South China Sea. "Strictly speaking, these photos show that China is right," Rapp-Hooper said, "but we can safely say that the scope and scale of what China has undertaken is totally unprecedented and dwarfs Vietnam's activities many times over." She said the images showed that Vietnam had reclaimed about 65,000 square meters (699,654 square feet) of land at West London Reef and 21,000 square meters (226,042 square feet) at Sand Cay. This compared to 900,000 square meters (9.6 million square feet) reclaimed by China at a single reef, Fiery Cross. Rapp-Hooper said satellite images showed that since about March 2014, China had conducted reclamation work at seven sites in the Spratlys and was constructing a military-sized air strip on one artificial island and possibly a second on another. She said Vietnam already had an airstrip on the Spratlys. The US State Department and Pentagon had no immediate comment on the latest images. US President Barack Obama last month accused China of "flexing its muscles" to advance its maritime claims and Washington has been helping countries in the region, including Vietnam, strengthen their defense capabilities. The post Images Show Vietnam Reclaiming Land in South China Sea appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

After Decades of Decay, Burma Bets on Thilawa to Lead Industry Boom Posted: 07 May 2015 10:00 PM PDT An engineer prepares to start work after a ceremony to mark the commencement of the Thilawa SEZ Project in November 2013. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) THILAWA, Rangoon Division — From the banks of the Rangoon River rises Burma's great economic hope, a $1.5 billion manufacturing complex designed to lure investment and help the impoverished country compete in the global marketplace. The first phase of the 2,400-hectare (5900-acre) Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ), an hour from the commercial capital Rangoon, is only months away from completion, and plans to host some 100 factories employing 50,000 people are being fast-tracked. Corruption, sanctions and scant investment under a half-century of military dictatorship has left Burma with a labor surplus, and the reformist government is hoping to capitalise on its workforce to give it a competitive edge. A diverse range of manufacturers from Suzuki Motor Corp to a soft toys factory called “Cute Myanmar” are getting ready to set up at Thilawa. The project is being driven by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp , Marubeni Corp and Sumitomo Corp, with the backing of the four-year-old government. “The Myanmar government is serious,” said Takashi Yanai, president of Myanmar-Japan Thilawa Development (MJTD), which has a 49 percent stake in the SEZ. “They want to change the old style.” That style helped fill the pockets of generals but scared off investors, who watched Burma's economy wilt while neighbours China, India and Thailand grew apace. Now, managed by a semi-civilian government, Burma has one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Developers hope the Thilawa project will provide a further boost to foreign direct investment, which last fiscal year amounted to $8.1 billion—about 25 times the $329.6 million received in 2009/2010 before the military ceded power. Myanmar has two other SEZs on the way, in Dawei, a southern port complex abutting Thailand and Kyaukpyu on its west coast at the Bay of Bengal. But the government has made Thilawa the top priority. New roads have been built, investment permits have been issued in as little as three weeks, and there a plans to expand a nearby port. Of the 41 firms that have so far signed up, 21 are from Japan. The SEZ is currently connected to Burma's notoriously unreliable power grid, but the government has pledged to build a 50 megawatt power plant nearby. Sumitomo announced last month it had won a contract to build the 5 billion yen ($41.59 million) gas-fired plant, and it will be fully operational by July 2016. “Thilawa is very important…it will become the symbol that attracts foreign investment,” said Tanaka Akihiko, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). CHEAP LABOUR Koyo Radiator Company, a unit of Japanese-owned Koyo Group, chose Thilawa due to rising costs at its affiliate plants in nearby countries. “Labour costs in both Indonesia and China have dramatically increased, which has resulted in a tough situation in terms of company profit margins,” said Takuma Ejiri, managing director of Koyorad Myanmar, a member of the Koyo Group. Aware of the cost-saving advantages presented by its workforce, the government must balance cheap labour against fair pay. The head of parliament has recommended the civil servant minimum of 3,000 kyat ($2.75) per day be the standard for industry also. That would compare with about $9.14 in Thailand and $6.35 in Vietnam. But the zone has its critics. Mekong Watch, a Tokyo-based watchdog that scrutinises regional investments, says villagers have been displaced without adequate compensation. Kyaw Naing Oo was among those relocated to a small community nearby that residents call Japan New Quarter. He was given a small amount of money and a wooden house on a 25 by 50-foot plot of land in return for his two acres of farmland. He hopes to work at Thilawa, which has offered training and jobs to those who moved. “If I get a job there it will be a better life,” he said. “But the way I feel now, I prefer the other place.” The post After Decades of Decay, Burma Bets on Thilawa to Lead Industry Boom appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Jailed Malaysian Opposition Leader’s Wife Wins His Parliament Seat Posted: 07 May 2015 09:54 PM PDT   Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at a Kuala Lumpur news conference in May 2013. (Photo: Samsul Said / Reuters) KUALA LUMPUR — The wife of jailed Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has won his seat in a by-election, officials said on Friday, one of two votes held this week that were seen as a test of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s leadership. Anwar’s family has held the seat in Penang state for decades. His wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, retained it in Thursday’s vote over the candidate from the ruling Barisan Nasional, Suhaimi Sabudin, although with a slightly reduced majority. Anwar held the seat of Permatang Pauh until he was jailed in February for sodomy, a charge he says was a politically motivated attempt to end his career. His family’s request for a royal pardon was rejected last month, necessitating the by-election. Najib and the ruling coalition have been under pressure leading up to two by-elections this week. Much of that pressure has been over his management of the economy and a number of scandals, including over the debt-laden state fund 1MDB, use of the colonial-era Sedition Act and the murder of a Mongolian model nine years ago. Malaysia’s former long-time leader Mahathir Mohamad has since publicly called for Najib to step down. Support for Anwar and public outrage over a new goods and services tax has helped the three-party opposition alliance, Pakatan Rakyat, shore up support against the government. More than 10,000 people protested against the new tax just a few days before the by-elections, one of the largest shows of dissent in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, since allegations of election fraud sparked mass protests after Najib narrowly won re-election two years ago. Such anger has helped the opposition alliance overcome unrest after one member, Parti Islam se-Malaysia, sought to introduce an Islamic penal code in a move that alienated it from Anwar’s party and the ethnic Chinese Democratic Action Party. The Pakatan opposition alliance made stunning gains in the 2013 election, which for the first time raised the prospect of a genuine challenge to the coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957. In better news for Najib, Barisan candidate Hasan Arifin won the other by-election for the seat of Rompin in Najib’s home state of Pahang on Tuesday, although with a reduced majority. The post Jailed Malaysian Opposition Leader’s Wife Wins His Parliament Seat appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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