The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• International Pressure on Ethnic Armies to Ink Ceasefire
• President’s Pitch on Charter Reform Said to Miss the Mark
• 2 Years Hard Labor for Htin Lin Oo in Religious Offense Case
• Media Ban Extended to Both Houses of Parliament
• Party Over for Burma’s Footballers as Ukraine Hit Them for Six
• Myanmar Music Festival Returns for a Second Year
• Women’s Political Party Backs Down Amid Govt Pressure to Change Name
• Relatives of Deceased Protester Charged by Military
• Don’t Tie US Weapons Sales to Human Rights Issues: Vietnam
• 31 Charged Over Unlawful Association with Arakan Army
• The Textured Lives of the Chin Hills
• Obama Says Burma Needs to End Discrimination of Rohingya to Succeed
• Migrant Boat Still Being Held off Burma Coast: Govt
• Indonesia Rescues 65 ‘After Australian Navy Towed Away’ Asylum Boat
• Some Still Alive Inside Ship Capsized on China’s Yangtze River: State Media

International Pressure on Ethnic Armies to Ink Ceasefire Posted: 02 Jun 2015 05:46 AM PDT The leaders of ethnic armed groups gathered for a summit on Tuesday in Law Khee Lar, Karen State. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) LAW KHEE LAR, Karen State — Envoys from the United Nations and China joined one of Burma's most powerful ethnic armed groups on Tuesday in urging ethnic leaders to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government, at the opening of a summit here to discuss the issue. Mutu Say Poe, chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU), spoke at the meeting, acknowledging that the gathered ethnic representatives had a variety of interests to consider as they debate the merits of a draft accord for which a declaration of support was signed by ethnic leaders in late March. "This meeting will be an important meeting to make a political platform for the future of our ethnic armed groups. Regarding the signing of the NCA [nationwide ceasefire accord], I want to give my thoughts: There are different armed groups in our NCCT, and we have different political interests," he said, referring to the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team, a grouping of 16 ethnic armed groups. "Should we abandon what we have in the current agreement from the draft NCA or take what we have got?" Mutu Say Poe continued. He encouraged NCCT members with reservations about the agreement to embrace a "culture of negotiation" that four years of peace talks had fostered. "Political conflicts must be solved with political dialogue, this is the political stance and commitment of our KNU," he said, adding that the draft ceasefire was not a perfect agreement. "I want to say to you all that we will not get all the rights that we want from this draft NCA. It is not a comprehensive draft, but we need to negotiate more to get our rights via political talks. This draft is just an agreement to talk more," he said, asking ethnic leaders to "be brave" and sign onto the accord. The KNU chairman also addressed ongoing fighting in northeastern Burma, where clashes between the Burma Army and armed Palaung, Kokang and Arakanese rebels have led some ethnic leaders to question the government's commitment to the peace process. The fighting "should not disturb the peace talks," he said, a sentiment no doubt easier said than done for some of the summit's attendees, who have in recent months fought some of the fiercest battles in Burma's civil war since the late 1980s. The UN special adviser on Burma, Vijay Nambiar, and the Chinese envoy Sun Guoxiang attended the meeting as international observers and also gave remarks on Tuesday in support of the ceasefire's signing. Nambiar said it was important that ethnic armed groups sign the agreement before elections due late this year, so that a political dialogue with the government could begin "as soon as possible." "This will require you to make some concessions," he added. Conversations with ethnic leaders on Tuesday revealed varying perspectives on the state of Burma's peace process, and whether members of the NCCT should sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement. N'Ban La, the joint chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), told The Irrawaddy that the KIO would sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement only if it guaranteed a future federal system of government for Burma. Phone Win Naing, a communications officer from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), said that his group would not sign the nationwide ceasefire unless the ethnic Kokang were afforded equal rights. The MNDAA has been the target of a sustained campaign by the Burma Army to rid the Kokang Special Region of the insurgent group, after MNDAA fighters first attacked the city of Laukkai on Feb. 9. "Other people do not understand our situation. We understand our situation. Why would we sign an NCA if we do not get our political rights," Phone Win Naing told The Irrawaddy on the sidelines of Tuesday's meeting. The MNDAA is a member of the NCCT, but the government does not recognize its seat at the negotiating table, nor the claims to NCCT membership of the Arakan Army. A leader from the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) reiterated a position, taken by the MNDAA, TNLA and Arakan Army, that the three ethnic armed groups would resign from the NCCT if its other members went ahead with signing the nationwide ceasefire accord. Supporters of Burma's peace process hope the Law Khee Lar meeting will be the final word on whether ethnic armed groups will sign the nationwide ceasefire accord. Last month, however, NCCT chief Nai Hong Sar said ethnic leaders were considering changes to the draft accord, which Naypyidaw's chief peace negotiator has said could protract Burma's peace process. "He [President's Office Minister Aung Min, the government's lead peace negotiator] did not want us to add more new points to the NCA draft, but our members generally have discussed adding a few more points to the draft. However, we can only decide at this meeting [in Law Khee Lar] whether we will get agreement from all our members about adding more new points," said Nai Hong Sar. Out of 22 ethnic armed groups invited to the summit this week, three have decided not to join, according to Nai Hong Sar. The United Wa State Army (UWSA), National Democracy Alliance Army (NDAA) and the Restoration Council of Shan State opted out, he told The Irrawaddy. Law Khee Lar, situated along the Thai-Burma border, is controlled by the KNU's Brigade 7 and also played host to a meeting of ethnic leaders in January 2014. In a testament to the decades of conflict that has ravaged the region, a KNU leader warned journalists on Monday not to stray from a designated zone that was determined to be free of landmines. The summit in Law Khee Lar is expected to conclude on Saturday. The post International Pressure on Ethnic Armies to Ink Ceasefire appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

President’s Pitch on Charter Reform Said to Miss the Mark Posted: 02 Jun 2015 05:29 AM PDT President Thein Sein attends high-level six-party talks on constitutional reform in Naypyidaw on April 10, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) A pledge by President Thein Sein to devolve some legislative power to state and divisional parliaments was met with skepticism on Tuesday by a prominent ethnic lawmaker and a political analyst who said a more thorough revamp of Burma's Constitution was required. In his monthly radio address to the nation, Thein Sein said his government was drafting a bill to amend Schedules One and Two of the Constitution's General Provisions chapter, which lay out the legislative domains of the Union Parliament and regional legislatures. As part of efforts to move Burma toward a more federal system, "[the government] is prioritizing the amending of Schedules One and Two of the Constitution to have equal access for the ethnics in terms of shared taxation and power-sharing and for the sake of the ethnic people in the regions/states," Thein Sein said, according to the state-run daily Kyemon. Schedule One and Schedule Two outline which matters of governance Union and regional legislatures are granted legislative authority over. Under the current Constitution, the Union Parliament is afforded far more power, with lawmakers in Naypyidaw given control of legislation covering 11 sectors and 123 subsectors. That compares with eight sectors and 41 subsectors over which regional parliaments are given control. Ethnic minorities have long called for changes to the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, which centralizes political power and gives the president the authority to appoint the chief minister of each of Burma's states and divisions. Another point of contention has been Article 37, which declares the Union "the ultimate owner of all lands and all natural resources above and below the ground, above and beneath the water and in the atmosphere." Union lawmakers are also granted the power to enact laws related to the extraction and use of natural resources, most of which are in parts of the country where ethnic minorities reside. "The bill would be presented to the Parliament within this month, in order to amend Schedule One and Schedule Two, based on suggestions through meetings and consultation and from our [government's] four years of experiences," said the president. Despite the president's apparent support for decentralization, the news is being taken with a grain of salt, coming as it is from a government that has dragged its feet on constitutional reform despite growing calls for change. Dr. Aye Maung, an ethnic Arakanese lawmaker in the Upper House and a member of Parliament's Constitutional Amendment Implementation Committee, said the president was ignoring the clauses that most needed to be rewritten. "He does not encourage changing the clauses that need to be amended, such as Article 261 and Article 37, which are far more important than Schedules One and Two," he said. Article 261 grants the president the power to appoint regional chief ministers. "As U Thein Sein was one of the people who drafted the 2008 Constitution, he has the responsibility to correct it," Aye Maung said "The ethnics must be able to elect their own chief minister, not have one appointed by the president and the Union government." Yan Myo Thein, a political analyst, said the president's proposed changes were not likely to make ethnic minorities feel that their regional governments were more representative. "We have to wait and see," he said. "Unless there is change to Article 261, which requires over 75 percent of lawmakers' votes, there is no way of having a state government that truly represents ethnics." Aye Maung, who is also ethnic minorities' voice in high-level six-party talks on constitutional reform, called for "no more lies" on the issue from the president. "He [Thein Sein] is simply exploiting it for his political ends," he said. The president's monthly speech also addressed the latest in efforts to sign a nationwide ceasefire with ethnic armed groups; the release of census results last week; preparations for the upcoming general election; and the government's humanitarian assistance to migrants found of Burma's coast in recent weeks. Thein Sein also said a decision setting Burma's minimum wage was expected this month. The post President's Pitch on Charter Reform Said to Miss the Mark appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

2 Years Hard Labor for Htin Lin Oo in Religious Offense Case Posted: 02 Jun 2015 05:11 AM PDT Htin Lin Oo in custody outside the Chaung-U Township Court. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) CHAUNG-U, Sagaing Division — Attacked by the clergy, shunned by his party and remanded in custody for six months after he was denied bail, the ongoing saga of Htin Lin Oo reached its nadir on Tuesday when the prominent columnist was sentenced to two years' imprisonment with hard labor. His crime was to argue, in front of a literary festival audience last October, that discrimination on racial and religious grounds was incompatible with the central tenets of Buddhism. Htin Lin Oo had spent the previous six months in custody for a trial under the Penal Code's Article 295a, which prohibits "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings", and Article 298, which proscribes "uttering words […] with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings". The Chaung-U Township Court on Tuesday found the former information officer for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) guilty of the first charge and issued the maximum sentence allowable under the law. He was acquitted on the lesser charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 months, due to insufficient evidence. "What I said was for love and peace between different communities with different faiths," said Htin Lin Oo outside the court, after the day's proceedings had concluded. "I received two years' imprisonment for that, but I won, because I can reveal the people behind all of these haters. From my case, the whole country now knows who is the black hand behind the scenes." Around 50 members of the Buddhist nationalist Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, also known as Ma Ba Tha, were present outside the court on Tuesday, along with around 30 nationalist monks. Similar nationalist crowds had been present outside the courthouse during Htin Lin Oo's earlier appearances. Lin Min Tun arrived at court with a security escort, and about 20 police officers were stationed outside the building to keep order. "As everyone has seen the situation of the court, I doubt the court too stressed about this case," said defense lawyer Thein Than Oo. "The case was suitable for bail but because of pressure from every direction, the bail was denied." While handing down the sentence, Judge Lin Min Tun said that Htin Lin Oo's speech had not been directed at a section of the clergy but had deliberately defamed the entire Buddhist religion. As he was led away, the author said that pointing out which members of the Buddhist clergy he was referring to during the speech would have been redundant, as it was already common knowledge. "If I have to point them out, I can," he said. "Everyone already knows who they are, too. I didn't name them [in the speech] to avoid unnecessary chaos." Htin Lin Oo will return to Monywa Prison to serve his sentence, less the six months already spent in remand. His family and Thein Than Oo are preparing an appeal for the Sagaing Divisional Court. Amnesty International issued a statement on Thursday labeling the columnist a prisoner of conscience and calling for his immediate release. "Today's verdict is yet another blow to freedom of expression in Myanmar and should be overturned immediately," said Rupert Abbott, the Amnesty research director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. "Htin Lin Oo did nothing but give a speech promoting religious tolerance." "This is a sad indication of how Myanmar continues to rely on a range of draconian laws to silence and lock up critical voices. Despite promises to clear the country's jails of prisoners of conscience, arrests of peaceful activists have actually picked up pace alarmingly over the past two years," he added. Htin Lin Oo was widely condemned on social media last November after a 10-minute excerpt of a speech delivered to 500 people at a literary event in Chaung-U. "Buddha is not Burmese, not Shan, not Karen—so if you want to be an extreme nationalist and if you love to maintain your race that much, don't believe in Buddhism," he said at the time. A statement from the Patriotic Buddhist Monks Union released on Nov. 15 called on NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi to take responsibility for the speech, warning that it had the potential to tarnish the opposition party's image. Following an internal party investigation, Htin Lin Oo was relieved of his position as NLD information officer. He was later expelled from the party. Nyan Win and Nan Khin Htwe Myint, the official spokespersons of the NLD, had their phones switched off on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment on Htin Lin Oo's conviction. In December, Htin Lin Oo was placed into custody after an official from Chaung-U Township's Department of Immigration filed a formal complaint with the local police station. He was denied bail during a Dec. 17 court hearing. On Jan. 17, the author prostrated himself before the Chaung-U clergy, a gesture of reconciliation that was accepted by the head of the local Sangha but failed to persuade the original complainant, Tun Khaing, to withdraw the charges. Htin Lin Oo's conviction is the second prominent religious offense conviction so far this year, following the prison sentences handed down to New Zealand National Philip Blackwood and his Burmese business partners Tun Thurein and Htut Ko Ko Lwin in Rangoon's infamous V Gastro Bar case in March. Buddhist nationalist monks and Ma Ba Tha members were regular fixtures outside the trio's court appearances. Failing a successful appeal, Htin Lin Oo will remain in Monywa Prison until December 2017. Additional reporting by Sean Gleeson in Rangoon. The post 2 Years Hard Labor for Htin Lin Oo in Religious Offense Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Media Ban Extended to Both Houses of Parliament Posted: 02 Jun 2015 04:55 AM PDT A session in Burma's Union Parliament in Naypyidaw in 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Last week's decision to ban reporters from observing sessions of the Union Parliament has been extended to meetings of both houses of the legislature, in what journalists say is a sign of backtracking on press freedoms. On the morning of May 26, reporters were told that they were no longer allowed access to a media observation booth above the Union Parliament chamber, claiming they were offered no explanation and no date at which they would be allowed back in. The ban was extended to the Lower House on Wednesday, and the Upper house followed suit on Monday of this week. Many speculated that the decision was prompted by unflattering photos and videos captured in the booth, including an image of lawmakers asleep during a session and a photograph that appeared to show a military lawmaker voting on behalf of his absent neighbor. Journalists who regularly cover parliamentary sessions said they now watch the proceedings on a television monitor outside the chambers, broadcast exclusively by state-media. Reporters also said that they used to receive a daily printout of the agenda for each joint session, but now they are offered only one to share among the crowd of journalists. Journalists now take turns using their cell phones to photograph the agenda, which is posted on a bulletin board in the hallway outside the chambers. The Myanmar Journalists Network (MJN) tried to negotiate with Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann, but has thus far been unsuccessful. MJN secretary Myint Kyaw said the Parliament does not appear close to backtracking on the ban, as "the situation is worse now because they have closed all the houses." Negotiations with the Lower House resulted in an initial compromise that many journalists found unsatisfactory, whereby the media would soon be allowed to observe from the back of the chamber but still denied access to the media booth. Video journalists said that the arrangement was impractical, as they could not oversee the entire chamber from that vantage point. Parliament officials could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. BBC reporter Aung Thu Ra, who regularly attends the sessions, told The Irrawaddy that the ban creates unnecessary obstacles for journalists. "They let us in before, but now they've closed it, which makes work difficult for photographers and videographers," Aung Thu Ra said, stressing that "reporters need to be able to look at the activity of lawmakers for reporting." The post Media Ban Extended to Both Houses of Parliament appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Party Over for Burma’s Footballers as Ukraine Hit Them for Six Posted: 02 Jun 2015 02:45 AM PDT Members of Burma's men's football team pose for a photo at Rangoon's Thuwanna Stadium on Dec. 7, 2013. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) WELLINGTON — Burma's under-20 World Cup "party" came to a crashing halt on Tuesday when they were hammered 6-0 by Ukraine, with all six goals coming in the second half, prompting the Asian side's German coach to apologize to their fans. Burma, which qualified for the tournament for the first time by reaching the Asian under-19 championships semifinals on home soil last year, had given the United States a massive fright in their opening game on Saturday before eventually losing 2-1. They managed to hold Ukraine scoreless in the first half in Whangarei before the Europeans scored six in the second, with Shakhtar Donetsk's Viktor Kovalenko grabbing a brace. The scoreline could have been even worse had Pavlo Polehenko not missed a penalty after defender Thiha Htet Aung was sent off for a hand ball on the line. "We must be realists, the party is over," Burma's coach Gerd Zeise told a media conference. "I must apologize to the Myanmar fans, I am responsible for this disaster, but I can't turn a cyclist into a racing driver." Like many developing nations in Asia, world governing body FIFA has pumped money into the country and given more than US$1.1 million through its Goal program over the past five years to fund facilities and training programs for age-group players. Burma's qualification for the tournament in New Zealand was seen as proof the money was working. Zeise, however, suggested the tournament, despite causing an outpouring of celebrations back home, had come too early for his side. "Obviously we only had the power for one match. The European teams play in another league and we cannot follow," he said. "We are too blind and we do not have the experience, that's absolutely clear. "It was a disaster and this tournament has come too early for us. We cannot follow these teams, no chance. "My team was too poor." Burma's final game in the tournament is on Friday in Wellington against hosts New Zealand, who play the United States in Auckland later on Tuesday. The post Party Over for Burma's Footballers as Ukraine Hit Them for Six appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Music Festival Returns for a Second Year Posted: 02 Jun 2015 02:34 AM PDT The Myanmar Music Festival runs from June 8 to 14 in Rangoon. (Photo: Myanmar Music Festival) RANGOON – Burmese musicians and international music experts will gather for the second edition of the Myanmar Music Festival which will take place from June 8 to14, according to a statement released on Tuesday. Performances during the festival will be held at the American Center, the Swiss Embassy, Parami Hospital and Yangon Gallery. The Celebration Concert will be held at the National Theatre on June 14. Outreach tours to Pyay, Mandalay and Myitkyina will also be held before and after the festival. The Myanmar Music Festival is supported by a team from Burma, as well as international organizations, individuals, students and the American and Swiss embassies. The Ministry of Culture and the United Nations will also be participating. Burmese rock band Iron Cross plays at the Myanmar Music Festival 2014 in Rangoon. (Photo: MyanmarCelebrity.com) According to the program, the festival will feature classical Western and Burmese music performed by Burmese musicians, chamber music groups, pianists and the festival choir. Students from Pacific American School in Taiwan will join Burmese artists in an innovative arts entrepreneurship program to be held at Khayay International School in Rangoon. The international artists include two pianists: the festival's artistic director Kimball Gallagher, of the United States, and executive director Kai-Yin Huang, of Taiwan, who will perform together. The festival will also feature American violinist and conductor Joel Schut and Swiss mezzo-soprano Kirsty Griffiths, who also serves as the UN choir conductor in Geneva. The post Myanmar Music Festival Returns for a Second Year appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Women’s Political Party Backs Down Amid Govt Pressure to Change Name Posted: 02 Jun 2015 02:24 AM PDT A voter marks her ballot in a polling booth in Insein Township, Rangoon, on Dec. 27, 2014. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — In an unexpected about-face, a political party founded by women in eastern Burma has accepted the government's request to make its name less inclusive. The Woman's Party, which applied for registration approval with the Union Elections Commission (UEC) in April, received a letter from the board requesting that it change its name to something "more specific," preferably with something "in front of or behind" the word "woman." UEC Deputy Director Hla Maung Cho told The Irrawaddy in May that the name "Woman's Party" was seen as too general, as it could appeal to all women across the country. The party's leadership initially refused to comply on the grounds that the party, while founded by ethnic Mon women, was meant to grow and develop chapters nationwide. Last week, however, the central committee changed course and registered as the Woman's Party (Mon), which the UEC approved of. Party Chairwoman Mi Than Shin, also known as Mi Layaung Mon, told The Irrawaddy that the party leadership did not view the addendum as a complete concession. "We were told by the UEC that our choice of name was too general because it represented all women in Burma, and they couldn't allow it," Mi Than Shin said. "We can't back down now… so we didn't change the name, we just put the word 'Mon' in parentheses, as we are based in Mon State." Mi Than Shin said the Woman's Party (Mon) hopes to contest in every constituency in Mon State, but it will ultimately depend on the state's two dominant parties and the will of local monks. She said the party plans to spend the coming months traveling throughout the state to consult with local communities and gauge support before deciding which constituencies are feasible. "Depending on the monks, the public and the two Mon parties [the All Mon Region Democracy Party and the Mon National Party], we will contest in every place they give us," Mi Than Shin said. "If possible, we would like to contest in every place, but we still have to negotiate so as not to cause conflict." The Woman's Party (Mon) was founded in October of last year with the aim of increasing female representation in politics by creating an inclusive and welcoming space for women of all ethnicities to participate in governance. The party courted controversy from the start, as detractors claimed that a new party based in Mon State risked further fracturing an already disparate leadership among the ethnic minority. Elsewhere in the country, the party has seen growing support among ethnic minority women, according to Mi Than Shin. Burma has the lowest percentage of women in its national Parliament of any country in the entire region, about five percent, while women's regional representation is only about four percent. While some political parties have adopted voluntary measures to increase the number of women seeking candidacy, Burma does not have any existing legislative or constitutional tools to address the issue. The post Women's Political Party Backs Down Amid Govt Pressure to Change Name appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Relatives of Deceased Protester Charged by Military Posted: 02 Jun 2015 02:16 AM PDT   A meeting on military land confiscations in Ye Pu village, on the outskirts of Taunggyi. (Photo: Tin Maung Toe) RANGOON — The military's Eastern Command has leveled charges against two nieces of farmer Myint Aung, who last month set himself on fire on the outskirts of Taunggyi to protest land seizures, over allegations that the pair trespassed and "acted against state interests". Maw Maw Oo, told The Irrawaddy that she and her sister San Myint had been named in a complaint made at Nyaung Shwe Police Station by Capt. Win Tun Oo, the manager of the military-operated Kyaukni Farm. The pair were charged for working at the farm without permission. Maw Maw Oo said that other villagers work on the farm without formal permission and they were targeted because of their relation to Myint Aung. "The head of Nyaung Shwe Police Station and a police officer came to my house yesterday evening for us. I was outside and did not meet them," she told The Irrawaddy by phone on Monday, adding that they had not returned home on Monday evening for fear of arrest. The duty officer at Nyaung Shwe Police Station confirmed that Capt. Win Tun Aung had filed the complaint. Tin Maung Toe, the chairman of the Taunggyi branch of the National League for Democracy, said the complaint was filed with the police station on May 21, the same day that Myint Aung self-immolated. He told The Irrawaddy that he believed Maw Maw Oo and her sister were specifically targeted because of their uncle's actions. "Many people grow there, but only two people have been charged," he said. Myint Aung and his family owned about 14 acres of land in Ye Pu Village on the outskirts of Taunggyi that was seized by the Eastern Command in 2004. He and others were allowed to continue cultivating their fields for a small fee until last year, until a state government edict put a stop to the tenancy payments. Myint Aung, 63, succumbed to his injuries at Sao San Tun Hospital in Taunggyi on May 22. His funeral the following day was attended by nearly 600 people, most of them nearby villagers who had been subjected to similar land confiscations. The post Relatives of Deceased Protester Charged by Military appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Don’t Tie US Weapons Sales to Human Rights Issues: Vietnam Posted: 02 Jun 2015 01:21 AM PDT US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter drinks wine with Vietnamese military generals during a ceremony in Hanoi on Monday. (Photo: Hoang Dinh Nam / Reuters) HANOI — Questions about human rights violations by the Vietnamese government should have no bearing on whether the US should fully remove its ban on lethal weapons’ sales to Hanoi, Vietnam’s defense minister said Monday after meeting with US Defense Secretary Ash Carter. Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh and Carter said the two nations are expanding their defense cooperation to include plans to conduct military operations together. The US will also help Vietnam prepare to begin participating in UN peacekeeping missions. Asked if the human rights issue should play a role in the US military relationship with Vietnam, Carter would only say that US officials routinely have “very candid” discussions on political and internal issues with Vietnamese leaders, and said those issues intersect with security matters. Western nations and international human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about human rights violations by Vietnam’s authoritarian government. Vietnam is a one-party state that squelches dissent, and Amnesty International has said that scores are still being detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Hanoi says only those who violate laws are put behind bars. Speaking during a news conference after the meeting with Carter, Thanh said through an interpreter that the full removal of the weapons sales restrictions would be “in line with the interests of both countries. And I think we should not attach that decision to the human rights issue.” And he offered a broad defense of the government, saying it respects the rights and freedoms of the people. Last October the US partially lifted its ban on weapons sales to Vietnam, allowing only the sale of lethal maritime security and surveillance capabilities. To date no weapons have flowed to Vietnam. Carter also said that the US will provide $18 million to Vietnam to buy vessels for the Coast Guard. And the two men signed a joint statement calling for expanded cooperation between the two militaries. For the last several years, the administration and the Pentagon have been focusing more on the Asia-Pacific region, in what’s been called a strategic pivot after more than a decade of war and intense focus on the Middle East. The US insists the rebalance is not aimed at China and its growing military, but the US has worked to expand and solidify relations with nations across the region, including many who have been at odds with China’s moves to exert its sovereignty in the South China Sea, which the US and others consider international waters. Beijing has also bristled as America has moved more ships and other assets to the region, expanded military exercises and rotated troops more frequently in and out of other Pacific nations. Another key issue discussed by Carter and Thanh involved the land reclamation projects being conducted by China, Vietnam and others in the South China Sea. Carter had said he would urge Vietnamese officials to give up their reclamation projects and Thanh acknowledged the issue did come up. Asked if Vietnam would agree to the request, he was largely noncommittal, saying Hanoi has not expanded its building activities in the South China Sea. Instead, he said, the work being done is to prevent soil erosion to ensure the safety of the people and military members living on the land. And he said there are military personnel on 19 remote islands or other features. Carter, however, said the government of Vietnam is considering a permanent halt to the reclamation program, and that they all support a peaceful negotiation process to end the disputed claims in the South China Sea. China’s rapidly expanding building projects has raised tensions and caused concerns among the United States, Vietnam and other countries in the region. Beijing’s building program on reefs and atolls now totals more than 2,000 acres, according to the US. China is vigorously defending the projects in the face of persistent criticism from US leaders, who say that the building programs will not provide Beijing any additional sovereign land. The US and others are concerned that China will use the artificial islands as military bases and to assert control over navigation in the South China Sea. Most recently, US officials said that China had placed two motorized artillery vehicles on one of its reclamation sites, but they have now been removed. This is Carter’s first trip to Vietnam as defense secretary, and comes as part of an 11-day trip to Asia. As part of his visit to Vietnam, he gave Thanh a diary that was taken from the body of a Viet Cong soldier by a US Marine who served in Vietnam during the early 1970s. US officials said they are hoping the diary can be returned to the soldier’s family. The post Don’t Tie US Weapons Sales to Human Rights Issues: Vietnam appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

31 Charged Over Unlawful Association with Arakan Army Posted: 02 Jun 2015 12:00 AM PDT Arakan Army troops at Laiza, the headquarters of Kachin Independence Organization in Kachin State. (Photo: Thaw Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A total of 31 Arakan locals from townships across the state are being prosecuted under the Unlawful Association Act for their alleged connections to the Arakan Army. Since clashes broke out between the military and the ethnic armed group on Mar. 29, 32 people have been arrested on suspicion of associating with the Arakan Army. One remains under interrogation while 31 are currently standing trial, scheduled to make their second appearance at the Kyauktaw Township court on June 2 and 4, according to Maj. Khin Maung, the head of the township police force. "We investigated and found that they broke Article 17(a) and (b) [of the Act]," said Khin Maung. "We concluded their actions were against the law." The two charges carry a maximum combined sentence of eight years' imprisonment. After being detained by the military's Kyauktaw-based No. 9 Operations Command in April, most of the defendants were remanded in police custody on May 3 and committed to trial on May 28. The Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw Lawyers Associations have announced they will act for the defendants free of charge. Locals are concerned over increased police and military activity in the state since the recent fighting began, with reports that authorities have stepped up late night visits to village homes in the search for unregistered guests. "We locals have to rely on forests for our livelihood," said Maung Aye Soe, a member of the Arakan National Party's Kyauktaw executive committee. "With the military arresting people on suspicion, locals do not dare enter the forests. The authorities visit our houses to check whether there are guests staying overnight. It's no good." According to lawyer Aye Nu Sein, who assisting with the defense, the 31 committed to trial reside in Sittwe, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Buthitaung, Yathaetaung, Minbya and Kyaukphyu. The post 31 Charged Over Unlawful Association with Arakan Army appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Textured Lives of the Chin Hills Posted: 01 Jun 2015 11:07 PM PDT Click to view slideshow. RANGOON — At a sideways glance, Yo Ya May seems less a textile shop than a museum. Sitting on the first floor of Rangoon's bustling Bogyoke Market, cofounders Khun Shwe and her husband Kyin Lam Mang clearly feel blessed by their success, and in the course of their lives become the city's most eager advocates for traditional Chin craft. Their store is an undeniable labor of love. "My children tell me, 'you are really absorbed in this job. Your soul will stay circling around the shop after you die,'" Khun Shwe told The Irrawaddy. Founded in the 1990s, Yo Ya May has been based at the tourist hotspot since 2003, garnering praise from Lonely Planet and enjoying the dividend from the tourist boom of recent years. Both 56-year-old Khun Shwe and her husband hail from Tedim Township in northern Chin State, and walking into their store is a window into their world. Sitting by hand-woven dresses and fabrics are photos of women in tribal dress and a library's worth of books on ethnic weaving styles, techniques and fashions. For the women behind Yo Ya May's wares, there are no worthier ambassadors than the store's owners. "We started this as a family business," Khun Shwe said. "We continued with pride because with our work we are able to support Chin women as well." The mother of seven children herself, Khun Shwe said that most Chin women don't get the chance to have a formal education, with many villages in the remote mountainous state lacking even primary schools, and with most parents unwilling to send them away for their studies. In many of Chin State's most isolated communities, the women instead devote all of their efforts to craft. "They pour all of their creativity and imagination into their weaving, that becomes their masters degree," she said. When the business started, their stock came exclusively from the work of three elderly women from the southern Chin State township of Paletwa. Each weaved in keeping with the traditions of the Khami ethnic group, which according to Khun Shwe is the most complicated in design and technique of all local Chin styles. As demand grew with the years, Yo Ya May has expanded to take work from members of the ethnic Chin community living in Sagaing Division and Arakan State—some of whom are also trained in Naga craftsmanship—and have begun to stock the work of Kachin and Karen women. Around 100 women in all are now working for the store. Cheery Zahau, a Chin women's rights activist who will be contesting this year's general election, told The Irrawaddy that Chin textiles are becoming more popular with higher tourist numbers, reinvigorating traditions that have until recent years been quarantined by the isolation of one of the country's least developed communities. "The larger the market is, the better for Chin women," she said. "These women will have more income and they will be encourage to preserve their culture." With a vast collection of vintage materials, Khun Shwe said she would like to open a museum in the future dedicated to promoting Chin culture. With most of her trade dependent on foreign buyers, she believes that more should be done to foster a local appreciation of ethnic traditions. "It is rare for local people to come to our shops," she said. "Only foreigners buy souvenirs here. It would be better more locals knew the true value of these products." The post The Textured Lives of the Chin Hills appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Obama Says Burma Needs to End Discrimination of Rohingya to Succeed Posted: 01 Jun 2015 10:52 PM PDT US President Barack Obama speaks with young Asean leaders at a town hall meeting at Rangoon University on Nov. 14, 2014. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama said on Monday that Burma needs to end discrimination against Rohingya people if it wants to succeed in its transition to a democracy, something he has sought to make a legacy of his presidency. Speaking to young Asians invited to the White House, Obama said the United States was focused on making sure Rohingya who have been subject to human trafficking or were adrift at sea were relocated. He commended Indonesia and Malaysia for taking thousands of those displaced and said the United States would also take some. But following on from a question about what was required for Burma to succeed in its US-backed transition from decades of military rule, he said: "I think one of the most important things is to put an end to discrimination against people because of what they look like or what their faith is. And the Rohingya have been discriminated against. And that's part of the reason they're fleeing." Asked where he would want to be if he were a Rohingya, he said he thought he would like to stay where he was born. "I would want to stay in the land where my parents had lived, but I'd want to make sure that my government was protecting me and that people were treating me fairly." Obama has invested significant personal effort and prestige in promoting democracy in Burma, traveling there twice in the past three years to push what he has hoped to be a legacy issue and an element of his strategic rebalance to Asia in the face of a rising China. However, concerns have grown in Washington about a slowing of reform and the treatment of the Rohingya, a minority living in apartheid-like conditions in Burma's Arakan State. Burma denies discriminating against the Muslim minority, but more than 100,000 have fled persecution and poverty since 2012. Burma says the Rohingya are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh, and denied during a 17-nation meeting in Bangkok last week that it was to blame for a crisis in recent weeks that has seen more than 4,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi "boat people" arrive across Southeast Asia. A US State Department spokeswoman said earlier on Monday that Washington had asked Burma to allow the immediate disembarkation of and provision of humanitarian assistance to 727 migrants found packed aboard a boat in the Andaman Sea and being held offshore by the Burma Navy. The post Obama Says Burma Needs to End Discrimination of Rohingya to Succeed appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Migrant Boat Still Being Held off Burma Coast: Govt Posted: 01 Jun 2015 10:47 PM PDT A Burmese military officer, right, looks on from a Navy ship behind a boat packed with migrants off Leik Island in the Andaman Sea on May 31, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — More than 700 migrants found packed aboard an overcrowded boat in the Andaman Sea were still being held offshore by Burma's navy on Monday, more than three days after the converted fishing vessel was intercepted off the country's coast. "The government is checking their identity, asking what they want to do and where they want to go," government spokesman Ye Htut told Reuters, without providing further details of the boat's location. "Usually, most of them want to go back to Bangladesh, so we will arrange according to their wishes." Government officials have been tight-lipped about the identities of 727 migrants on the overcrowded boat, found drifting and taking on water early Friday, as well as their eventual destination. The government initially labeled the migrants "Bengalis," a term used to refer to both Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims, a largely stateless minority in Burma that the government refuses to refer to by name. Officials later said they believed most of those on board were from Bangladesh. Burma has come under harsh criticism for its treatment of Rohingya, more than 100,000 of whom have fled persecution and poverty in Arakan State since 2012. Burma denies discriminating against the Rohingya. A spokeswoman for the US State Department said the United States had asked Burma to allow the immediate disembarkation of and provision of humanitarian assistance to the migrants. "The safety and well-being of these migrants is the highest priority of the international community, including the US, which stands ready to provide assistance as needed," Marie Harf told a news conference. Burma Must End Discrimination: Obama US President Barack Obama told young Asians invited to the White House on Monday that Burma needed to end discrimination against Rohingya if it wanted to be successful in its transition to a democracy, something he has sought to make a legacy of his presidency. "[O]ne of the most important things is to put an end to discrimination against people because of what they look like or what their faith is," he said. "And the Rohingya have been discriminated against. And that's part of the reason they're fleeing." Journalists from Reuters and other foreign media were briefly detained and turned back to land after approaching the fishing boat on Sunday. Navy officials made journalists delete photographs and video of the boat and at one stage a sailor pointed a rifle at reporters. A navy officer, who declined to be named, told Reuters on Sunday some migrants aboard were able to speak Arakanese, a local language in the western state not widely spoken in Bangladesh. Burma says the Rohingya are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh, and denied during a 17-nation meeting on the crisis in Bangkok last week that it was to blame for a crisis that has seen more than 4,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi "boat people" arrive across Southeast Asia in recent weeks. The migrants were abandoned at sea by people smugglers after Thailand launched a crackdown on trafficking in early May. "Just days after the Bangkok summit on the boat people and the Myanmar [Burma] authorities are already shamefully violating what was agreed there," Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, told Reuters. Myanmar should immediately grant access to the migrants to international agencies, Robertson said, "especially since no one in the international community believes [its] rash and rushed assessment that these people are all from Bangladesh." Kasita Rochanakorn, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Yangon, said UNHCR had previously been invited to help refugees at a disembarkation point in southern Myanmar, but had been "subsequently told that the place of disembarkation had been changed." The UNHCR was still waiting for more information on where the migrants would be unloaded, she said. Burmese officials had said last month that another migrant boat found at sea with more than 200 people on board was mostly filled with Bangladeshis. But interviews by Reuters found more than 150 Rohingya had earlier been on the same boat, but were quietly whisked off by traffickers before authorities brought the boat to shore. Last Thursday, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein painted a "grim picture of discrimination against Rohingya" at a closed-door briefing at the UN Security Council, a council diplomat said. US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power called the conditions the Rohingya faced "troubling and inhumane." The post Migrant Boat Still Being Held off Burma Coast: Govt appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Indonesia Rescues 65 ‘After Australian Navy Towed Away’ Asylum Boat Posted: 01 Jun 2015 10:42 PM PDT An Indonesian officer negotiates with asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran to leave the Australian vessel Hermia docked in Merak in April 2012. (Photo: Reuters) JAKARTA — Indonesian authorities have rescued 65 asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia after their boat ran aground on a reef, Indonesian police said on Tuesday. An Australian opposition politician said the boat had run aground after being towed away by the Australian navy, underscoring the risk to migrants of a tough Australian policy. Migrants crammed into boats have been trying to cross the Mediterranean between Africa and Europe in recent weeks and the Andaman Sea in Asia, highlighting a global issue that many countries are struggling to deal with. Australia has adopted one of the toughest stands against asylum seekers trying to reach its shores by boat, turning back vessels where it is safe to do so and holding indefinitely thousands of others in overseas detention centers. The boat that ran aground off Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province on Sunday was trying to cross to the Australian-controlled Ashmore Reef, Budi Santoso, head of the Indonesian police's asylum seeker taskforce, said in a text message. The boat was carrying 54 Sri Lankans, 10 Bangladeshis, and one person from Burma. Three of them were children. The number of asylum seekers reaching Australia pales in comparison with other countries but it is a polarizing political issue on which Prime Minister Tony Abbott has taken a tough line since his 2013 election win. The boat crashed into the reef after being turned away by the Australian navy, Australian opposition Greens Party Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said in a statement. "Australia's policy of turning back boats continues to put the lives of young children at risk," Hanson-Young said. "While Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have ceased turning boats around, the Australian government continues to shirk its responsibilities in the region, putting lives in peril." Australia uses offshore detention centers in Papua New Guinea and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru to process would-be refugees who often pay people-smugglers in Indonesia for a place on a rickety boat. Many have died trying to reach Australia. The post Indonesia Rescues 65 'After Australian Navy Towed Away' Asylum Boat appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Some Still Alive Inside Ship Capsized on China’s Yangtze River: State Media Posted: 01 Jun 2015 10:23 PM PDT Rescue workers carry a boat as they conduct a search after a ship sank in the Jianli section of China's Yangtze River on June 2, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) SHANGHAI — Some passengers are still alive inside the hull of a passenger ship carrying 458 people, many of them elderly Chinese tourists, that capsized on the Yangtze River, state media said on Tuesday, in what could be one of China's worst disasters for years. The ship capsized in a storm late on Monday. Only about a dozen people had been rescued so far, state media said amid confusing reports about how many had been saved. The microblog of the official People's Daily newspaper said some passengers were still inside the Eastern Star, while the official Xinhua news agency said rescuers could hear people calling for help from inside the four-deck ship. State television showed a rescuer on the capsized hull with a blow torch, apparently preparing to cut into the ship, while dozens of rescue boats battled strong wind and heavy rain to reach the stricken vessel. Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered that no efforts be spared in rescue work and Premier Li Keqiang was heading to the scene of the accident in central Hubei province, Xinhua said. It also later reported that initial investigations had found the ship was not overloaded and that it had enough life vests on board for the number of passengers it was carrying. Those rescued were wearing life vests, Xinhua said. Among those on board the ship were 406 tourists, aged from around 50 to 80, on a tour organized by a Shanghai tour group, and 47 crew members, the People's Daily said. Citing the Yangtze River navigation administration, Xinhua said those rescued from the Eastern Star included the ship's captain and engineer, who said the vessel sank quickly after being caught in what it said was a cyclone. State radio reported that the ship sank within about two minutes and that no distress call had been issued. The official People's Daily said seven people had swum to shore to raise the alarm. The Hubei Daily, another official publication, said the ship had capsized in water that was about 15 metres (50 feet) deep. Weather forecasts said heavy rain was expected on Tuesday. Fishing boats were among the dozens of vessels helping in the search and rescue, Xinhua said. More than 1,000 armed police with 40 inflatable boats had also been sent, it said. The Eastern Star, which has the capacity to carry more than 500 people, was heading to southwest China's Chongqing city from Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. It sank at around 9:28 pm local time in the Jianli section of the river. Accidents of this magnitude are uncommon in China, where major rivers are used for tours and cruises. The incident is the worst on the Yangtze since a tug undergoing sea trials sank in January, killing 22 of the 25 people on board. The Eastern Star is owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation, which runs tours along the Three Gorges area along the Yangtze river. Wang Jianhua, its vice general manager, said it was the first time an accident of this magnitude had happened to the company. The Hubei Daily said the company has been operating since 1967. The post Some Still Alive Inside Ship Capsized on China's Yangtze River: State Media appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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