The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Sovereignty at Stake if Suu Kyi Presidency Clause Is Nixed: Military MP
- Govt to Opt for Middle Ground on Minimum Wage Demands
- Taxi-Hire Goes Mobile in Burma’s Car-Clogged Commercial Capital
- Jade Profits Expected to Drop as Emporium Kicks Off in Capital
- Where Next in Latest Ceasefire Deadlock?
- Bangladesh Rejects Burma ‘Proposal’ to Link Migrant Return to Freeing Guard
- China Says ‘Golden Triangle’ Source of Most Dangerous Drugs
- Time for a Separation of Church and State
- China Seizes $483m of Smuggled Meat, Some 40 Years Old
- Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Street Camps Come to a Quiet End
- Thailand Says Wraps Up Trafficking Probe, Rights Groups Skeptical
| Sovereignty at Stake if Suu Kyi Presidency Clause Is Nixed: Military MP Posted: 24 Jun 2015 06:03 AM PDT RANGOON — A military representative on Wednesday attempted to pour cold water on the aspirations of those who want to see Burma's pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi one day become president, as lawmakers convened for a second day of deliberations on proposed constitutional amendments. Brig-Gen Tin Soe, a parliamentarian appointed by the military, told lawmakers that changing Article 59(f), which bars Suu Kyi from the presidency because her two sons are British, could expose Burma to foreign influence and risked undermining the country's sovereignty. The military's position was about "ensuring we can decide the future of our country and people," he said. "That mixed blood citizens [might be allowed to] manage the affairs and administration of the country would have bad impacts on the independence and sovereignty of the country," he added. Suu Kyi is a full Burmese citizen, but the chairwoman of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party is ineligible for the presidency because of her offspring. "We should make decisions with far-sightedness for any issue of the country, which holds an important geographical position," Tin Soe continued. "I would like to urge the Union Parliament to keep Article 59[f] unchanged with impartiality and without making compromise." He said that if Burma's leaders or their family members owed allegiance to a foreign power, Burma would indirectly come under the influence of that country. Only those with no blood or marital relations to foreigners were deserving of the people's confidence, the brigadier-general argued. Article 59(f) of Burma's military-drafted Constitution states: "The president or vice-president shall he himself, one of the parents, the spouse, one of the legitimate children, or their spouses not owe allegiance to a foreign power, not be subject of a foreign power or citizen of a foreign country." The amendment bill submitted to Parliament this week does seek to amend the provision, but the proposal only removes the wording that bars presidential eligibility to anyone whose child has married a foreigner, meaning Suu Kyi would remain ineligible even if the bill is passed in its current form. An NLD representative pushed back against Tin Soe's assertions on Wednesday, saying inaction on constitutional reform would compromise the credibility of an election later this year. "Without making proper amendments to Articles 436 and 59[f], the 2015 general election will in no way be free and fair, because [they] gained the upper hand before contesting and bar the democracy icon from becoming president. No need to even ask if it is free and fair," NLD lawmaker Naing Ngan Lin told Parliament. Article 436, which lawmakers began debating on Tuesday, is the key provision for changing Burma's controversial 2008 Constitution. It states that the approval of more than 75 percent of lawmakers is required for amending most parts of the charter, with the amendment bill proposing that the threshold be lowered to 70 percent of votes. Brig-Gen Tint San Naing, another military MP, spoke out against changing Article 436 on Tuesday, saying it should be left untouched for the sake of peace and stability in Burma and in the national interest at a time when the country is undergoing a nascent democratic transition. "If the Constitution is allowed to be amended easily, it will be amended time and again, which would undermine the very essence of a Constitution," he said. "So I find that the 2008 Constitution, which is drafted with good intentions and does not harm the people's interests, should not be amended." Militarily appointed lawmakers constitute a guaranteed 25 percent of seats in Parliament. The Constitution's Article 436 means a "yes" vote from at least one military representative is required to change the charter. Lawmakers from the NLD, ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and smaller ethnic parties all spoke on Tuesday in favor of lowering the vote threshold, which grants the military an effective veto over constitutional change. A total of 18 lawmakers—17 elected parliamentarians and one military representative—took part in the second day of deliberations on charter amendments. The debate continues Thursday, when a vote on the proposed amendment bill is expected. Any bill that clears the Article 436 hurdle and passes Parliament by a vote of more than 75 percent of lawmakers would then be subject to a national referendum, where the approval of more than 50 percent of voters nationwide is required in order for the changes to be enacted. Elected members of the legislature appeared united in support of at least the basic need to change the Constitution on the opening day of the discussion, with even USDP members, many of whom are former generals, calling for a reduced role for the military by amending Article 436. "It is time to change [the Constitution] now," NLD lawmaker Dr. Zaw Myint Maung said on Tuesday. "We, all the elected members to Parliament, submit that 2008 Constitution poses barriers to democratic transition." The post Sovereignty at Stake if Suu Kyi Presidency Clause Is Nixed: Military MP appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Govt to Opt for Middle Ground on Minimum Wage Demands Posted: 24 Jun 2015 05:32 AM PDT  Workers in Rangoon's Shwepyithar industrial zone demonstrate for higher wages in February. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A two-day workshop in Rangoon has failed to find common ground between workers' representatives and employers, as the Burmese government prepares to implement an official minimum wage in the coming months. Labor unions on Wednesday pushed for a 4000 kyats (US$3.60) daily base rate, while garment factory owners at the meeting held firm to a daily rate of 2500 kyats ($2.25). Employer groups are also calling for different minimum wages across other industries. Myo Aung, director-general of the Department of Labor, proposed a floor wage of 3600 kyats (US$3.25), reflecting a consensus proposal arrived at by state and divisional labor departments, but failed to satisfy either side. Nonetheless, a member of the committee told The Irrawaddy that "it will likely be that amount". The Union Parliament passed a Minimum Wage Law in March 2013. It took until January this year for the Ministry of Labor to begin a household expenses survey that will be used to assist in formulating the minimum wage. Sai Khaing Myo Tun, the secretary of the Rangoon University Teachers' Union and an employee representative on the committee, said that the minimum wage would be set at the same amount across all industries, and that trade unions were continuing to push for the same rate across all states and divisions. He dismissed the garment sector's proposal as manifestly inadequate. "Workers will absolutely not accept the amount offered by garment factory owners," he told The Irrawaddy. "We hope that the minimum wage will be set in a situation where both parties can accept the decision. Based on the [household expenses] data collected across the country, we assume a good minimum wage will appear." In recent years, Rangoon has seen several garment factory strikes on the back of worker demands for higher wages. Thida Aye, an employee at a garment factory in the city's Shwepyithar industrial zone, said she already worked on a 2500 kyats base rate for an eight-hour day and relied on working several hours of overtime each day, paid at 500 kyats ($0.45) per hour, in order to meet her living expenses. "When a bucket of the lowest quality rice is already 1600 kyats, how can somebody like me, a widow with a son, continue to survive?" she asked. "We will complain in accordance with the law, all the way to Naypyidaw," she said. The post Govt to Opt for Middle Ground on Minimum Wage Demands appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Taxi-Hire Goes Mobile in Burma’s Car-Clogged Commercial Capital Posted: 24 Jun 2015 05:24 AM PDT
 Traffic jams have become a common sight in Burma's biggest city, Rangoon. (Reuters) RANGOON — A new mobile phone application linking passengers with taxi drivers has launched in Rangoon's Hlaing Tharyar Township, billed as the latest initiative to help reduce traffic congestion in Burma's car-clogged commercial capital. The phone app, named "hoho," is created by Rangoon-based start-up company Myantel and officially launched in mid-June after a trial-run period from February-May this year. Mobile users select their desired pick up and destination points and the software locates the closest taxi driver. The driver then offers a price, which can be compared against the software's suggested price, and the user can either accept or select another driver. Once the transaction is complete, the app tracks the taxi's progress and estimated arrival time. "Drivers are traveling around the city to find a customer instead of stopping at one place or a taxi stand. This is a factor in causing traffic jams," said Myantel founder Dana Aung. "With this app, they don't need to drive around anymore and they can easily find nearby customers." Traffic congestion in Burma's biggest city has grown significantly since the government lifted car import restrictions in October 2011. Journey-times in the former capital have increased in parallel with the rising number of vehicles on the road. Not only will the app help reduce traffic congestion, according to Dana Aung, it will also allow passengers to retrieve lost personal items, as well as offer a sense of security, as drivers' profiles are stored on the system. The company began distributing the app among phone users in Hlaing Tharyar Township on Wednesday, the Myantel founder said, and they will begin registering taxi drivers on the system from Thursday. "We chose to start in Hlaing Tharyar since there are many housing estates there and residents can't easily hire a taxi," Dana Aung said, adding that the company would continue distribution in other townships soon. Myat Thu Aung, also of Myantel, said that in downtown areas such as Kyauktada Township, taxi-hire was already more straightforward due to the proximity of apartments to main roads. He said that the company plans to begin with 200-250 registered taxi drivers to service the Hlaing Tharyar area. The free app is available for download, or can be picked up at supermarkets, mobile phone shops and from street counters opened in the township. The post Taxi-Hire Goes Mobile in Burma's Car-Clogged Commercial Capital appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Jade Profits Expected to Drop as Emporium Kicks Off in Capital Posted: 24 Jun 2015 04:02 AM PDT  Most of the world's finest jade comes from northern Burma. (Photo: Hla Swe / Facebook) RANGOON — Burma's 52nd Gems and Jade Emporium, which began on Wednesday, is expected to reel in lower sums as a result of a new spending policy and high supply. The annual showcase of both state-owned and private sellers' gem lots is Burma's largest legal wholesale gems outlet for foreign buyers, drawing traders from around the globe for some of the rarest and most valuable gems on the market. The emporium will take place from June 24 to July 6 in the capital city of Naypyidaw. While last year's event attracted more than 4,000 foreign buyers and netted about 2.6 billion euro (US $3.4 billion), this year is expected to be less lucrative, with industry experts attributing the losses to a new collateral policy and a sharp rise in high-quality stones following the resumption of mining in northern Burma late last year. State-owned Burma Gems Enterprise enacted new regulations this year requiring foreign traders to demonstrate a minimum balance of €50,000 for every one million euro pledged. The policy was created after several foreigner buyers defaulted on enormous bids in recent years. Successful bids are usually paid off in monthly installments, but many buyers were falling behind on their debts. "Last year, some traders won the auctions but didn't make payments on time. They used to be allowed to purchase as much as they want with only a €50,000 deposit, so some broke their promises," explained Min Thu, assistant director of the Myanmar Gems Enterprise. Min Thu said he hoped the policy will weed out unreliable buyers, bringing in only the "real foreign traders," which, according to this year's initial figures, may mean staggeringly lower attendance than in years past. As of opening day, only about 2,000 foreign traders had registered for the emporium. Most customers are based in the region, flying in from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand. Min Thu estimates that about 3,000 local traders will also attend, but international clients are usually the biggest spenders. Vendors have welcomed the new policy, according to Mandalay Myanmar Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneurs Association central committee member Aung Thein. On paper, sales from previous emporia appear artificially high, he said, as sellers weren't able to collect all the money or move the product. "We've been cheated in the past by some foreign traders who broke their promises," Aung Thein said. "They won the auction but they didn't pick up the jade and gems. We lost time, money, many things." This year's emporium will offer a total of 8,934 jade lots and about 320 lots of various other gems, including highly coveted Mogok ruby. The number of jade lots has risen sharply this year as mining resumed in mineral-rich Hpakant, Kachin State, last September. Operations were halted in 2012 because of renewed conflict between the Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Army, an ethnic armed group that controls much of the country's hinterlands. The area is known as the source of the world's finest jade deposits. Only about 7,160 jade lots were on sale in 2014, compared to about 10,000 in 2013 and 15,000 in 2012. As production climbs back to pre-hiatus levels, industry experts said, prices are expected to drop proportionally. Last year's most valuable lots belonged to Mandalay-based Tharyar Kyinue Phwe, selling at about $60 million for 233 kilograms. While the emporium is the country's primary wholesale market, the gems trade is believed to be far more expansive. Research by Harvard University's Ash Center estimated that China imported about $7.9 billion of jade in 2011, while new data from the Chinese government, published by financial consultancy firm New Crossroads Asia, indicates that China imported $12.3 billion in jade in 2014. The post Jade Profits Expected to Drop as Emporium Kicks Off in Capital appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Where Next in Latest Ceasefire Deadlock? Posted: 24 Jun 2015 03:43 AM PDT  Government chief negotiator Minister Aung Min shakes hands with NCCT leader Nai Hong Sar as they exchange the draft nationwide ceasefire text on March 31. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Cynicism, suspicion and deadlock have occasionally boiled over in the course of Burma's arduous ceasefire talks, and so they have once again. The 18-month-long talks between government and ethnic peace negotiators culminated in a provisional agreement on the draft text for a nationwide ceasefire agreement at the end of March, the first step towards political dialogue and the emergence of a genuine federal system of governance. Things seemed to be proceeding smoothly and the mood in government circles was optimistic until the conclusion of an ethnic armed group conference, in the Karen National Union-controlled Law Khee Lar region, on June 8. There, ethnic leaders established a new negotiating bloc to replace the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) in order to press their demands for 15 amendments to the draft text. On Monday, the government's Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC) made clear its reluctance to accept the amendment proposals and accept the new negotiating bloc, which it regards as comprised of "hardliners", during an informal meeting with a delegation led by NCCT chair Nai Hong Sar. Meanwhile, government and ethnic negotiators plan to hold yet another meeting with an unknown agenda next month in the Thai city of Chiang Mai. The lack of trust in the government side is reflected in the stated desire of ethnic leaders at Law Khee Lar summit to postpone the nationwide ceasefire accord until after this year's general election. Underpinning that lack of trust is a wariness of the old divide-and-rule tactics employed against ethnic insurgents during the junta era, which also explains why the summit resolved to withhold an agreement until armed groups currently battling the government are allowed to participate as signatories. As a result of the summit, ceasefire negotiations could stretch years into the future. After placing such a premium on reaching an accord before the 2015 elections, the government is now uneasy and embarrassed after having touted the success of the draft text agreement in March. Rangoon-based political analyst Yan Myo Thein told The Irrawaddy that the government should accept the new negotiating bloc in the hopes of expediting a ceasefire agreement. "The longer time the government takes to accept them, the longer the delay in finalizing the nationwide ceasefire agreement text, and the longer the delay in signing it," he said. But government negotiators, who said after the draft text agreement they were ready to sign and waited more than two months before they were ultimately rebuffed, do not want a repeat of the experience. According to sources close to the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), President's Office minister and MPC chief Aung Min, as well as the military, are upset that they have been blindsided by the new bloc. The government would prefer the bloc included the heads of the various ethnic armed groups it represents, rather than those who were not in a position to make binding promises. On the other side, ethnic leaders have remained steadfast in their commitment to a ceasefire agreement and subsequent peace talks that guarantee autonomy and a federal union. The prevailing sentiment at the Law Khee Lar summit was that the NCCT had bent too far to the government's will, and a new team was needed to enshrine ethnic demands that would have otherwise been deferred until after the agreement was signed. How negotiators will overcome the present deadlock is yet to be seen, but there is a growing sense of inevitability that the next steps in the ceasefire negotiations will be the responsibility of the next government. In the words of Dr Emma Leslie, the executive director of Cambodia-based Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and a close observer of ceasefire talks in Chiang Mai, "This peace process will continue into next administration and will have to be robust enough to face many more changes and many more setbacks." The last 18 months have shown that both sides are willing to set aside lingering mistrust and negotiate their way out of periodic stalemates. At the same time, past experience suggests this latest deadlock won't be the last. The post Where Next in Latest Ceasefire Deadlock? appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Bangladesh Rejects Burma ‘Proposal’ to Link Migrant Return to Freeing Guard Posted: 24 Jun 2015 03:42 AM PDT  A Burmese border guard walks near the border fence of Bangladesh in Maungdaw June 5, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) DHAKA — Bangladesh's border guard said on Monday that it has turned down a proposal it said Burma had made to return a captured officer if Dhaka also took in some 600 migrants from a people trafficking ship intercepted by the Burma Navy. Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry has already summoned the Burmese ambassador in Dhaka and lodged a strong protest to ask for the immediate release of Abdur Razzak. Razzak was seized and another Bangladeshi guard was wounded by Burmese forces on June 17 after the two sides exchanged gunfire while chasing drug smugglers on the Naff River separating the two countries. Border Guard Bangladesh battalion commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Abu Jar Al Jahid said the countries had agreed last year that any soldiers straying across the border should be handed back after senior officers held a so-called "flag meeting" at the frontier. But on this occasion, he said, Burma wanted to link the handover to the return of the migrants. Jahid said his counterpart, the commander in Border Guard Police in Maungdaw, Burma, had made the proposal. "We have rejected the proposal as this cannot be linked with trafficking victims," Jahid told Reuters. "Instead, we proposed a flag meeting to settle the issues." Officials at Burma's embassy in Dhaka and at the ambassador's residence were not immediately available for comment. Jahid said Burma wanted Bangladesh to identify around 600 of the 727 migrants picked up from the ship intercepted by the Burma Navy on May 29 as Bangladeshi nationals and take them back as part of the deal. Thousands of people, many of them Bangladeshi or Rohingya Muslims from Burma, have taken to the sea in recent months in dangerously crowded boats run by people-traffickers, heading south toward other southeast Asian countries. Previously, Burma has said nearly all of them were Bangladeshis seeking better economic prospects, rather than Rohingya, a mostly stateless minority reportedly subject to severe discrimination and mistreatment in Burma. The post Bangladesh Rejects Burma 'Proposal' to Link Migrant Return to Freeing Guard appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| China Says ‘Golden Triangle’ Source of Most Dangerous Drugs Posted: 24 Jun 2015 03:40 AM PDT  Collected opium resin is left in the sun to dry at a poppy field in Burma's Shan State. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) BEIJING — Southeast Asia's lawless "Golden Triangle" region remains the overwhelming source of the heroin and methamphetamine sold in China, the country's Cabinet said in a report issued Wednesday. The report said 90 percent of the 9.3 tons of heroin and 11.4 tons of methamphetamine seized in 2014 was produced in the region that incorporates parts of Laos, Burma and Thailand and borders China's southern province of Yunnan. By contrast, heroin from the Golden Crescent region that includes Afghanistan, the world's biggest opium producer, accounted for less than 2 percent of the drug seized in China, it said. "From an overseas perspective, the Golden Triangle continues to be for China the most dangerous drug-producing region," said the report, the government's first comprehensive look at drug use in China. The report underscores the persistence of the regional threat, despite China's efforts to boost cross-border cooperation to crack down on the rebel armies and criminal gangs that run the drug trade in the mountainous area along the Mekong River. China began running joint river patrols with Thailand, Laos and Burma following an attack on two Chinese cargo boats on the Mekong in 2011 that resulted in the massacre of their 13 crew members. The cabinet report said synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and ketamine have overtaken heroin in popularity in China. The country largely eliminated opium use after the 1949 communist takeover of power but saw drug abuse come roaring back in the 1980s after social controls were relaxed. China currently has about 3 million registered drug users, it said, adding that estimates of those who have tried drugs run as high as 14 million amid a population of 1.4 billion. Drug users are getting younger, come from more diverse backgrounds and are experimenting with a wider range of substances, including cocaine from South America, the report said. The post China Says 'Golden Triangle' Source of Most Dangerous Drugs appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Time for a Separation of Church and State Posted: 24 Jun 2015 02:14 AM PDT  The central mosque in Meiktila, after it was razed during religious riots in March 2013. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) It is not uncommon for religious authority to make a moral intervention in secular affairs. This month's encyclical on climate change by Pope Francis and the mobilization of Buddhist monks during Burma's 2007 Saffron Revolution are two recent examples where spiritual leaders considered it necessary to participate in addressing universal problems for the sake of the common good. Ma Ba Tha, also known as the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, represents an altogether different kind of intervention. Their movement exploits the perceived threat of Islamic intrusion into Burmese society, and its chief recruiting tool is anti-Muslim sentiment. Not content with its mere activism, Ma Ba Tha is now attempting to influence the outcome of the upcoming election. This narrow form of religious intervention foments a toxic mixture of religion and politics. It goes without saying that the movement does not represent the views of all Buddhists, and not all of Ma Ba Tha's followers are extremists—but its rise to infamy is not without a basis in existing social and ethnic divisions, and could not have occurred without support, by deliberate action or inaction, from elements within the state apparatus. The Oslo-based Peace Research Institute has warned that Burma was facing a high risk of election-related violence when the nation goes to the polls this year, noting the emergence of a fresh round of intercommunal clashes nine weeks after the 2012 byelections. It is highly concerning that the election may portend a repeat of these religious riots, during which the armed forces and police were slow to act and in some instances appeared to tacitly condone the actions of the anti-Muslim mobs. The ultimate responsibility to prevent religious or ethnic violence lies with the government, as it alone has the authority and resources to keep the peace. If the government condones the encroachment of Ma Ba Tha into the political realm, either intentionally or through inaction, it is playing with fire. The recent historical precedents of countries spiraling into ethnic division, distrust and barbarism are endless—Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sudan. Burma's leaders must ask themselves if they wish their country to be similarly torn apart, right at the outset of the nation's halting economic and political renaissance. It is time for the government to set the boundary between state and religion. It must decide when in which circumstances prevent religious groups from intervening in public affairs, and the incitement of ethnic and religious hatred, outlawed under Burma's Penal Code, is one such circumstance. Enforcement of the rule of law and protection of the rights of all citizens are the most fundamental duties of any government. Leaders of the Buddhist community should also come out and declare that campaigning for the election of one party is inappropriate, and religious interventions in the public sphere should be focused on larger goals, like peace, development and the rule of law. Exploiting religion for myopic political reasons does not stand the country's long-term interest in good stead. We do not need to look far to understand the potential consequences. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for instance, has left foreign investors reluctant to invest in the country because of his support from Hindu nationalist groups, who are pressuring him to abandon the country's secular foundations and stoking sectarian tensions. As Burma democratizes, it will become incumbent upon all citizens to hold the government to account on these issues, and to do their utmost to prevent another outbreak of senseless religious violence. Burma cannot be allowed, at this critical juncture, to become a failed state. The views expressed here are those of the author, an outside contributor who requested anonymity on account of the sensitive subject matter. The post Time for a Separation of Church and State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| China Seizes $483m of Smuggled Meat, Some 40 Years Old Posted: 23 Jun 2015 11:50 PM PDT  Diners at a festival in the Chinese town of Yulin. (Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters) SHANGHAI — Chinese customs officers have seized around 3 billion yuan (US$483 million) worth of smuggled meat, some more than 40 years old and rotting, the official China Daily said on Wednesday, the latest in a grim series of food safety scares. Beijing toughened food safety rules in April to shake off a reputation for safety scandals that range from donkey meat tainted with fox DNA to milk contaminated with industrial chemical melamine that killed at least six infants in 2008. Chinese authorities have launched a crackdown on beef and frozen meat smuggling, in addition to a campaign last year to stamp out the smuggling of farm products. Authorities had busted 21 criminal gangs by June, leading to seizures of more than 100,000 tonnes of smuggled meat, including chicken wings, beef and pork, state news agency Xinhua said. In one bust, police in southern Hunan province arrested 20 people. Customs officials found some of the meat was more than 40 years old, meaning it dated back to the 1970s. Other parts were rotten and decomposing, the China Daily newspaper said. It was not clear if the seized meat had been destroyed. “It was smelly, and I nearly threw up when I opened the door,” administration official Zhang Tao told the newspaper. Industry sources say hundreds of thousands of tonnes of beef is being smuggled into China via neighbouring Hong Kong and Vietnam, from countries such as Brazil and India, to sidestep Beijing’s import curbs. Meat can last for a long time if continuously frozen, but smuggled meat is often moved under poor storage conditions that lead to repeated thawing, making it eventually go bad. “To save costs, smugglers often hire ordinary vehicles instead of refrigerated ones. So the meat has often thawed out several times before reaching customers,” Yang Bo, an anti-smuggling official in Changsha told the paper. The post China Seizes $483m of Smuggled Meat, Some 40 Years Old appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Street Camps Come to a Quiet End Posted: 23 Jun 2015 09:53 PM PDT  A student holds a yellow umbrella, a symbol of the Occupy Central movement, as he walks past tents outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on June 23, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) HONG KONG — Hong Kong authorities began clearing away the last pro-democracy encampments near government headquarters on Wednesday, watched by a handful of demonstrators in a quiet but poignant end to nine months of street protests. The so-called Occupy Central movement kicked off on Sept. 28, when tens of thousands of protesters streamed onto major highways in a push for full democracy, demonstrations that became the biggest political challenge to Beijing's Communist Party leaders for decades. The protesters dug in over the ensuing weeks, with hundreds of tents and marquees filled with free provisions and medical supplies mushrooming in the financial hub, as well as protest art and outdoor classrooms. Hong Kong police cleared away most of the sites in mid-December but a small cluster of tents and hardcore protesters were allowed to remain on pavements until Wednesday, marking 270 straight days of demonstrations at the same site. Officials from the Lands Department, dressed in hard hats and green vests, read out a notice calling for a final clearance of the remaining site on a rainy morning. Two protesters were taken away by police, including one who was identified by demonstrators as Wang Dengyao, a Chinese activist who survived the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing. There was little resistance from around 20 others who watched quietly as the site was cleared away, their sodden tents and possessions thrown into dump trucks. "We didn't succeed, but we also didn't fail," said 71-year-old Simon Wong, whose black T-shirt bore the slogan: "I want real universal suffrage." The protests failed to persuade China to allow a fully democratic vote for the city's next leader in 2017, instead of a list of pre-screened, pro-Beijing candidates. The clearance came six days after Hong Kong's legislature vetoed a Beijing-backed electoral reform package that was criticized by pro-democracy lawmakers and activists as undemocratic. The city's pro-Beijing lawmakers failed to vote for the package in a mysterious, last-minute walk-out of the legislature in what was a setback for China's Communist leaders. Street tensions appear to have eased off, but radical protesters and "localists" demanding greater Hong Kong autonomy have vowed to keep fighting even as China shows signs of tightening its grip on the former British colony. "The next step for us is to really move into the districts to try to re-awaken the moderate democrats … and to never stop fighting for democracy," said Benny Mok, 51, who had camped at the site for more than 250 nights. "Hong Kong deserves better," he said. The post Hong Kong's Pro-Democracy Street Camps Come to a Quiet End appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Thailand Says Wraps Up Trafficking Probe, Rights Groups Skeptical Posted: 23 Jun 2015 09:43 PM PDT  Rescue workers dig as human remains are retrieved from a mass grave at an abandoned jungle camp in Thailand's Songkhla province on May 2, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Thai police said on Tuesday they had "shown sincerity" and wrapped up the country's biggest investigation into human trafficking, as rights groups questioned whether they had even scratched the surface. Thailand began a crackdown on trafficking networks and suspected camps hidden deep in its jungle-carpeted mountains last month following the discovery of more than 30 bodies buried in camps in the south. Police have arrested 56 suspects—including politicians, police, government officials, businessmen and an army general—and issued arrest warrants for 63. Around 1,000 police officers, many of them based in southern Thailand, took part in the investigation, Aek said, without elaborating on any ongoing or future probes. Police have sent 19 cases filled with more than 100,000 document sheets to the Office of the Attorney General, which will have until July 24 to decide whether to file charges, Aek said. "This government has shown its sincerity in solving this problem by seriously tackling human trafficking and by dealing with those involved," Aek told Reuters. But rights groups, including the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said the investigation would not put an end to networks operating in the region. "It is highly likely that if this investigation turns out to just be window dressing to defuse international pressure, then it will have no impact," Sunai Phasuk, Thailand researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters. "It will just put them underground for the time being and then resurface again." The crackdown in Thailand, a traditional transit point, made it too risky for traffickers to land migrants, Bangladeshis and Muslim Rohingya from Burma, prompting them to abandon thousands at sea with scant supplies of food and water. The United Nations estimates 1,200 people are still at sea or unaccounted for while more than 3,000 have landed since May in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Last year, Thailand was downgraded to the US State Department's lowest category—or Tier 3—in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which assesses how governments around the world have performed in fighting human trafficking. The next TIP report is expected in mid-July. "We hope the United States will consider to put our country, which is in Tier 3, to a better tier," Aek told Reuters. Police in neighboring Malaysia last month discovered 139 graves in jungle camps used by suspected smugglers and traffickers. They say some 12 officers are being investigated. The post Thailand Says Wraps Up Trafficking Probe, Rights Groups Skeptical appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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