The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Arakan National Party Eyes 63 Seats in General Election
- Shelling Sends Civilians Fleeing in Shan State
- The House on an Island
- 5 Karenni State Ministers Resign Amid USDP Purge
- A Tangle of Tenure Claims amid Muse SEZ
- Thein Sein Undecided on Re-Election Bid: President’s Office
- Japan Security Debate Masks Clash of Views on Pacifist Constitution
- Two-wheeled Revolution: Pyongyang Installs Bike Lanes
- Tibetan Lama Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Dies in Chinese Prison
| Arakan National Party Eyes 63 Seats in General Election Posted: 14 Jul 2015 07:44 AM PDT  Party patron Aye Thar Aung, center, attends a meeting of senior members of the Arakan National Party (ANP) in Sittwe, Arakan State, this week. (Photo: Facebook / Gambarri Rakhine) RANGOON — The Arakan National Party (ANP) plans to contest 63 constituencies in Burma's Nov. 8 general election, party patron Aye Thar Aung told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. The senior party leader said the ANP will compete for all 34 elected seats in the regional Arakan State legislature, as well as making bids for 17 seats in the Union Parliament's Lower House and 12 seats in the Upper House. Members of the ANP have gathered this week for a four-day meeting of the party's central committee in Sittwe, the Arakan State capital. Establishing an election campaign team and financing committee, as well as approving a list of party candidates for the general election, are on the agenda for this week's meeting, which will wrap up on Thursday. "Maungdaw and Buthitaung townships delayed in submitting [candidate lists for] the constituencies, but I think that will be fine," Aye Thar Aung said. The ANP's Maungdaw chapter president, Khin Maung Than, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that local party officials had submitted their list to the central committee and aimed to contest four constituencies in the northern Arakan State township. The plan to contest 63 seats between the two levels of government represents a scaling up of ambitions for a major Arakanese political party. The Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP), which merged with another Arakanese party to form the ANP last year, contested 44 seats and won 35 in Burma's last general election, in 2010. It won seven seats in the Upper House and nine seats in the Lower House, with the remainder of seats won in the regional parliament. It garnered 4.17 percent of seats in the Upper House, making it the second largest bloc in that chamber at the time, after the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). In January 2014, the RNDP and Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) joined forces to form the ANP. The ALD had sat out the 2010 poll. The merger stands in contrast to the political dynamics in most of Burma's ethnic minority states, where typically two parties will vie for the loyalties of ethnic constituencies, while also competing with the ruling USDP and Burma's largest opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). The post Arakan National Party Eyes 63 Seats in General Election appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Shelling Sends Civilians Fleeing in Shan State Posted: 14 Jul 2015 07:28 AM PDT  A Burma Army soldier is seen on patrol on July 8 along the Asia Highway, where government troops have clashed with ethnic Karen armed rebels in recent weeks. (Photo: Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy) More than 100 people from Kaung Kha village in Muse Township have fled their homes after artillery shells were fired into the settlement on Monday, reportedly leaving one person dead and two others injured. The displaced villagers told The Irrawaddy that the artillery bombardment began at about 10 am on Monday and stopped sometime in the afternoon. The villagers have sought shelter at nearby Namtaw village and say they dare not return to their homes amid reports that the Burma Army is occupying the village. La Seng, one of the affected villagers, said one man was killed in the shelling and a husband and wife sustained injuries and were taken to hospital in the town of Muse for treatment. "We ran from our village and still are not able to go back today," he told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. "We left our homes without being able to shut our doors or take anything." Police Col. San Lwin, from the Shan State Police, confirmed the injuries but said the man killed on Monday had stepped on a landmine. "Two local villagers were injured from the explosion of artillery due to engagement between the Tatmadaw [Burma Army] troops and the KIA [Kachin Independence Army]. Those two were sent to Pang Sai hospital at 10 am and then transferred to Muse hospital at 2 pm," San Lwin said, adding that their conditions were not serious. Located in Pang Sai sub-township, Kaung Kha village was the site of the rape and murder of two Kachin schoolteachers in January of this year that has gone unsolved amid allegations implicating Burma Army soldiers who were stationed nearby at the time. Burma Army and KIA troops often pass through the area, according to La Seng. La Seng said there are about 140 people living in Kaung Kha and all had fled after Monday's shelling. "We have over 100 people now, and the church in Namtaw village, in Mong Paw town, is supporting all of us with food and shelter," he said. The Irrawaddy's attempts to reach the KIA were unsuccessful on Tuesday. Meanwhile, fighting continued on Tuesday in Kawkareik, Karen State, days after the Burma Army declared that it had taken control of the area and reopened the Asia Highway. Clashes near the new route in southeastern Burma began on July 2 and have pitted the Burma Army against the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), an ethnic Karen armed group. Intense fighting on Tuesday morning occurred some three miles south of Kawkareik town and lasted until noon, according to Maj. San Aung of the DKBA. He told The Irrawaddy that the Burma Army had fired artillery rounds that landed in the Kawkareik Township village of Myohaung, but a casualty count was not yet known. San Aung added that a DKBA liaison officer, Maj. Saw Thaye Ni, and a staffer at the liaison office in Kawkareik were detained by authorities on Monday. Kyaw Kha and Nang Seng Nom contributed to this report. The post Shelling Sends Civilians Fleeing in Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 14 Jul 2015 07:24 AM PDT Click to view slideshow. The century-old Chin Tsong Palace, known locally as "Kanbawza Yeiktha," was designated as a cultural heritage site by Burma's Ministry of Culture last week. The new status requires that the government take steps to preserve and protect the site. The Ministry has asked President thein Sein to commit to preserving the site, and to create a new legal designation for "Ancient Monumental Zones." In light of the renewed attention to this colonial relic, The Irrawaddy revisits the story of the Chinese tycoon who once dwelled in the expansive house, and the legacy that lives on throughout its grounds. When the writer and former British civil servant Maurice Collis decided to return to Myanmar in 1937 to visit Shan State in the north, he first stopped in Yangon where he was invited to stay at a "house on an island." In his book "Lords of the Sunset," Mr. Collis described enjoying excellent paintings by famous Myanmar painter U Ba Nyan in a house with porcelain, Persian carpets, bronze drums, a waxed floor and a white poodle. The house was built by the well-known Chinaman Lim Chin Tsong, the author briefly noted. Lim Chin Tsong was a Chinese tycoon who successfully built a business empire on rubber cultivation, textiles and the oil, rice trading, mineral mining and banking sectors. He was the son of a Chinese Hokkien migrant from Fujian province in China. His father, Lim Soo Hean, came to Yangon in 1861 and began trading rice and selling agricultural products. Lower Myanmar was then ruled by the British who were preparing to take over the upper part of the country still ruled by King Mindon. In British-ruled Yangon, business was competitive and Lim Soo Hean soon discovered his main limitation: a poor education. He was unable to communicate in English with foreign merchants—either Indians or Europeans. He then sent his 16-year-old son, Lim Chin Tsong, to St Paul's College in Yangon to study but did not live to see his beloved son take over his work and build one of the most successful businesses in Southeast Asia. At 18-years-old, Lim Chin Tsong assumed his father's business after Lim Soo Hean passed away in 1885—the year British troops marched into the grand Mandalay Palace and detained the king and queen before sending them into exile. The whole of Myanmar was then under British control. The young and energetic Lim Chin Tsong began to grow the business empire, buying ocean-going vessels, exporting rice and expanding his shipping business to Singapore, Penang, Hong Kong, Guangdong, and Amoy (now known as Xiamen). Among businessmen of that era, the Chinese tycoon was regarded as talented and strategically minded, using the trademark "Xie De" to denote many of his business ventures and products. He soon managed to secure a deal with Burma Oil Corporation (BOC), a large oil company based in the United Kingdom, and was appointed as the exclusive product agent for the region. His involvement in the oil industry saw his wealth flourish and he became one of the richest Chinese tycoons based overseas. Lim Chin Tsong was flamboyant and showy but he was also known to be generous in his philanthropy projects, donating money to establish schools for students to learn English and to build a hospital for women in Yangon. In 1905, he and his business partners established Anglo-Chinese Boys' and Girls' Schools in Yangon. Two years later, he built his own school officially known as the Lim Chin Tsong School. One is delighted to learn of the Chinese tycoon's genuine efforts to upgrade education at the time, particularly when many in Myanmar today learn only about the exploitative practices of greedy Chinese businessmen in the country. The Lim Chin Tsong School, located in downtown Yangon, employed teachers from England on decent salaries and produced many English-trained graduates, some of whom were Chinese students from Hong Kong and Macau pursuing their education in Yangon, according to some historical records. Lim Chin Tsong also served as a member of the Legislative Council of Myanmar. In 1919, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his fundraising efforts during World War I. He was also a prominent member of the Rangoon Turf Club and the Lim Chin Tsong Polo Cup endured even after his death. In 1917, Lim Chin Tsong began to build a magnificent and lavish residence in Yangon near Kokkine Road, now Kaba Aye Road. The five-storey structure of red bricks and green tiles was built to resemble the Fu Xiang pavilion in the Yihe Yuan (Summer Palace) of Beijing but in fact, the building featured a blend of Eastern and Western architectural designs. It took more than two years to build at great cost—some reports suggested a figure of around 2 million rupees. Materials and craftwork for the residence were imported from China and Italian designers, as well as famous British painters, were invited to design the interior. Ernest Procter, an English designer, illustrator, painter and husband to the artist Dod Procter, were among those invited to decorate the residence. The opulent house was then known as the Lim Chin Tsong Palace and among locals it was called "Chin Chaung Nan Daw" or Chin Chaung palace. There were no records of how many fancy parties were thrown at the palace but when Georges Benjamin Clemenceau, a French statesman, visited Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, in 1920, Lim Chin Tsong was known to have entertained him at the residence. Lim Chin Tsong's success hit a speed bump when in 1921 the British government banned the sale of rice, except to India, and soon the market collapsed. Some also suggested that his flamboyant ways caused the BOC to withdraw his exclusive agent rights, which incited him to seek ways to undermine the company. Suddenly, he was broke. He sold his possessions—even his Rolls Royce cars—and began borrowing money from friends. In his final days, the once rich Chinese tycoon was a broken man. In 1923, three years after the inauguration of the Chin Tsong residence, he passed away. The palace first went to a Japanese creditor (under Japanese rule in Myanmar from 1941-45, the residence housed the All Burma Broadcasting Station), then to Indian businessman and then to the Myanmar government in 1950 when it was turned into a state guesthouse named Kanbawza Yeiktha. Currently, the Fine Arts Department under the Ministry of Culture maintains an office and an arts school within the building. The house that saw Lim Chin Tsong's downfall, and many ups and downs in the country, has stood throughout the decades. Now children who live in the area play nearby and stray dogs harass the odd curious visitor. Some nervous officials at the Ministry of Culture would not allow visitors to take pictures. Inside the hall and on the second floor, one can no longer see paintings and other decorations that have perhaps been removed. Lim Chin Tsong's former residence seems ready for a genuine facelift. Recent news suggests that the Ministry of Culture will grant Chin Tsong Palace heritage status and renovate the building as it approaches its 100th anniversary, Kyaw Nyunt, director of Yangon Region's Archaeology, National Museum and Library Department, recently told The Irrawaddy. The late Lim Chin Tsong who made a significant contribution to colonial Myanmar, not least through some outstanding education projects, would be delighted to learn of the recognition. This article first appeared in the November 2014 print edition of The Irrawaddy Magazine. The post The House on an Island appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| 5 Karenni State Ministers Resign Amid USDP Purge Posted: 14 Jul 2015 04:28 AM PDT  Karenni women in traditional dress waiting for Aung San Suu Kyi at Loikaw in Karenni State. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Five ruling party ministers in eastern Burma's Karenni State have resigned, including the state's chief executive, amid speculation that they do not fit into the party's election agenda. Chief Minister Khin Maung Oo—also known as Buu Yal—along with Transportation Minister Chit Hla, Electricity and Industry's Saw Hu Hu, Municipal Minister Aung Naing Oo and the state's head of Burma Ethnic Affairs Sein Oo, have all independently submitted resignation letters since late last month. Four have been granted permission to leave their posts by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Khin Maung Oo is currently under investigation for unspecified activities, and has been purged from the party. All five intend to contest general elections to be held in November, according to two of the ministers, though it is still unclear which seats they will seek and whether they intend to run at the state or national level. Chit Hla and Saw Hu Hu told The Irrawaddy that they will contest as independents with no party affiliation. Chit Hla said the ministers were under no party pressure to resign, and that each made the move of his own volition. He chose to step down, he said, to allow the party's younger talent to seek more seats. Nonetheless, he stated his intention to run against them if that is the will of the people. "The election will be held in the coming three or four months, and the party must win. I don't think I can perform the task, that's why I requested to quit," Chit Hla said, claiming that he chose to step aside "to offer places for young people who want to become lawmakers." Local analysts said there might be more to the surprise sluice. Khin Maung Oo, who is the state's USDP chapter chairman, has recently fallen out of favor with the party because "he, himself, has failed to follow policy set by the party headquarters," according to a statement released by the USDP on Monday. The public reprimand said the chief minister "was weak in following the party's instruction and weak in uniting the party," announcing that he had been expelled from the central committee and the party. Kyaw Htin Aung, a member of the grassroots political group Union of Karenni State Youth (UKSY), suggested that Khin Maung Oo's appointees had resigned because the USDP was unlikely to allow them to contest the elections in light of their affiliation with the shunned chief minister. "That's why," Kyaw Htin Aung explained, "if they stick with the party they won't be able to contest, so they just decided to run independently." The USDP is the dominant party in the small landlocked state bordering Thailand, though ethnic minority parties are gaining momentum as polls near. The Kayah National Party, All Nationals Democracy Party of Kayah State and the Kayah Unity Democracy Party also plan to contest this year's election. Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and the Lisu National Development Party are also active in the area, but do not hold seats in either the state or national assemblies representing Karenni. Advance votes outnumbered election day turnout in the state during Burma's last general election in 2010, leaving the USDP firmly in command of both houses. President's Office Minister Soe Thane and Union Minister Aung Min, both loyal to the USDP, are expected to seek votes in Karenni constituencies. The USDP plans to contest in all of the 1,171 races during the upcoming election. Additional reporting contributed by Zue Zue. The post 5 Karenni State Ministers Resign Amid USDP Purge appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| A Tangle of Tenure Claims amid Muse SEZ Posted: 14 Jul 2015 03:09 AM PDT Click to view slideshow. MUSE, Shan State — The border is booming with trade and development in eastern Burma's Muse, where a constant stream of trucks flows daily from China delivering goods to Lashio, Mandalay and Rangoon. Businesspeople in the transitory Shan State town said things started changing at breakneck speed around 2011, when Burma initiated political and economic reforms under a new quasi-civilian government. Muse's border with Ruili, China, is marked by the Shweli River, newly flanked with buildings reaching higher and higher by the month. But the town's rich mix of ethnic minorities—including Shan, Kachin, Palaung and Burmese—seems to be thinning out as the city itself becomes more dense and developed. The rapidly expanding trade hub is fast falling prey to the scourge of Burma's other proposed special economic zones (SEZs): skyrocketing land prices and loss of tenure rights. During a recent visit to Muse, locals told The Irrawaddy that the town has become a hotspot for land disputes, and rampant confiscation has gone unchecked despite a nationwide land rights movement and government promises to resolve outstanding claims. Perhaps the biggest and most imminent threat comes from a government proposal to install a new airport, which would require some 500 acres of land otherwise home to modest houses and farms, according to local land rights activist Sai Aung. Township authorities, he said, have twice told residents that they need to leave the premises. In two separate letters delivered in January, Muse's Municipal Department told locals that the land was owned by the Myanmar Air Force, and they must vacate before the end of the month. The letters offered no compensation, he said, claiming that the area's residents were illegal settlers on property owned by the Myanmar Air Force. Locals maintain that they have occupied the land since 1953, and in some cases plots had been used by the family for longer. "We disagree with building an airport on our land," Sai Aung said, explaining that residents had suggested that the facility be built in nearby Namkham instead, where the ground is low and flat. Okkthara Sardi, a resident of Muse and herself a land rights activist, said land disputes were fast becoming the biggest problem in the town, particularly because the rapid increase in land value has prompted opportunism as well as legitimate tenure claims. "As the economy grows, our town is running out of space. Look at those lands," she said, pointing out into the distance. "No one used them in the past, but now they are building new things there and it's causing problems for the local people." Because land values have shot up so quickly—one acre now costs about 100 million kyats, according to Sai Aung—some locals who had abandoned what used to be seen as worthless properties have come back and tried to reclaim them. While many others have legitimate claims to property, authorities view them in much the same light as those trying to cash in on recent economic growth. No More Mercy? The planned airport, parts of which have been demarcated but no work has begun on the land, has already caused all sorts of problems. Aside from private tenure claims of varying legitimacy, the project could displace an entire village of disabled citizens. Mercy Land, a charity that houses, schools and employs people affected by leprosy and their families, was established by Sardi's father, Min Myat Khaung, in the 1980s after he was granted a 10-acre concession by the trustees of the nearby Seven Dragons Pagoda as a reward for having built shrines in the area. An artist and a well-known figure in Muse, Min Myat Khaung said that now, some 30 years later, township authorities are trying to reclaim the land—which he had singlehandedly transformed from jungle into a sanctuary. "I didn't buy this land," he told The Irrawaddy during a recent visit, "but they offered it to me as a price for building pagodas." Township authorities, he said, had even supported his plan to provide for those with leprosy, as they were unwanted in public due to severe social stigma. They began welcoming the township's poor and dejected patients and their children. Sardi later built a school on the property, and became its head teacher. Mercy Land is now home to dozens of people, many disfigured by the disease and ostracized by much of society. Min Myat Khaung said that his years of providing for the population, so neglected by the government, have brought him great satisfaction. "They become very happy after they come to stay on my land," he said. "This is my intention and it's why I built Mercy Land." Sardi said they will resist the pressure to leave, even it means risking their lives. "As long as we have life, we will continue to stay here and protect our land," she said, "even if they come to remove us with their bulldozers." A Familiar Tale Muse is an average-sized township, its boundaries redrawn as recently as 2011. Upon visiting the area, The Irrawaddy found that land disputes permeated the area, as rising real estate prices shot through most corners of the town, affecting many of its 117,000 residents. Problems began, locals said, when Muse was tapped to become one of Burma's SEZs and a local construction firm, New Star Light Co Ltd, was chosen to oversee the development for much of the zone's infrastructure and a border crossing leading into Ruili. Little is known about the firm, which locals said has been the main implementer of the zone's infrastructure, hotel and manufacturing developments. Founded in 2008 by Kyaw Kyaw Win, a Mandalay-based entrepreneur, New Star Light is a familiar name among those who claim to have lost their land. As familiar is the name of Sai Ohn Myint, the nephew of Burma's Vice President Sai Mauk Kham. An engineer at the helm of the Great Hor Kham Plc, according to the Myanmar Engineering Society, Sai Ohn Myint has been contracted for several projects in Muse, and has been repeatedly accused of unfairly acquiring lands and selling them to New Star Light. Sai Haing Hang Pa, an ethnic Shan resident of Muse, said his mother was one example. She lost four acres of family land, he said, in 2009. Sai Ohn Myint repeatedly called their household on the phone to offer compensation, he said, but they didn't want to sell it. While the property was dormant for some time, the family still owned it and intended to build a house there. "When we went back to clean our land, they told us that we didn't own it anymore," said his mother, Daw Saw May. The family has been to court about 10 times to try to resolve the dispute, but the case seems to be headed nowhere, they said. Sai Aung, the land rights activist advocating for those threatened by the new airport, said the story is always the same for local landowners in the wake of a rapid major development like the Muse SEZ. The post A Tangle of Tenure Claims amid Muse SEZ appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Thein Sein Undecided on Re-Election Bid: President’s Office Posted: 14 Jul 2015 01:41 AM PDT  President Thein Sein listens to a representative from one of Burma's political parties at a meeting in Rangoon on May 18, 2015. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Speculation over the political intentions of President Thein Sein kicked into high gear on Tuesday amid reports that Burma's sitting chief executive would not run for a second term. Stories published by the BBC and Reuters, citing different sources, both reported this week that the president would not seek re-election to Parliament in a general election scheduled for Nov. 8, but on Tuesday President's Office Director Zaw Htay denied that Thein Sein had taken himself out of the running. "Firstly, regarding the letter, we wanted to say it is very complicated," he said, referring to a letter purportedly from Thein Sein that the BBC Burmese service obtained indicating that he would not run for the seat in Parliament that he won in 2010, citing health concerns. "The second point is our president has already spoken about it, that he will run for a second term based on our country's political situation," said Zaw Htay, who highlighted that the president had made his position clear in an interview with Japanese media during a recent trip to that country. "The third point is he will base [his decision] on [whether there is] support from our people in the country. [If so], then he will run for a second term." Other media reports this week have indicated that a candidate list for Burma's general election from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) does not include Thein Sein's name among those put forward as running for a seat in the legislature. That, however, would not disqualify him from the presidency under Burma's 2008 Constitution. Laying out the procedure for nominating the three vice presidential candidates from among whom the president is chosen by Parliament, the charter's Article 60 states that candidates can be drawn "from among the Hluttaw [Parliament] representatives or from among persons who are not Hluttaw representatives." In a post to its official website on Monday, the USDP said Thein Sein's administration had forwarded a list of 50 people that it was seeking for inclusion on the party's candidate roster. The USDP had accepted 40 of those nominees, the post said. Asked by The Irrawaddy whether Thein Sein was on the party's candidate list, Zaw Htay deferred. "This is a [internal] party matter," he said. In a separate report, Reuters cited an anonymous senior President's Office official as saying the president would not run in Burma's general election "because of his health condition." Reuters later published a "clarification" in which it cited Zaw Htay as saying the president had not made a decision on the matter. Zaw Htay denied that health concerns would factor into Thein Sein's decision. "The president is quite healthy," he told The Irrawaddy. "It is not true, as some media have reported, that he could not run for a second term because of poor health." Zaw Htay took the opportunity to offer a subtle rebuke to those claiming to speak on behalf of the president, as was the case in October 2013, when USDP leader Shwe Mann said Thein Sein had told him that he would not seek re-election. "We [the President's Office] gave this explanation one time already, when U Shwe Mann spoke about the president not running for election a second time," he said, referring to subsequent disapproving comments made by presidential spokesman Ye Htut. "For us, the first question we want to ask is when was this letter issued, and why was this letter made public at this time?" Zaw Htay said. The conflicting information emanating from Naypyidaw would appear to give credence to rumors of a power struggle at the top of the USDP leadership, presumably pitting Thein Sein against Shwe Mann, who serves as speaker of the Union Parliament. Senior party leader Aung Thaung acknowledged in an interview with BBC Burmese last month that the party was split, though he did not elaborate on the nature of the schism. Shwe Mann has openly aired his presidential ambitions, while Thein Sein's most recent public remarks indicated that he was open to running for re-election but had not yet decided to contest. The post Thein Sein Undecided on Re-Election Bid: President's Office appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Japan Security Debate Masks Clash of Views on Pacifist Constitution Posted: 13 Jul 2015 11:25 PM PDT  Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reviews members of Japan Self-Defense Force during an Air Review to celebrate 60 years since the service's founding at Hyakuri air base in Omitama, northeast of Tokyo Oct. 26, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) TOKYO — Is Japan's constitution a symbol of peace and respect for universal values or a reminder of humiliating defeat? As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rushes to push through unpopular legislation allowing broader use of Japan's military, the heated security debate masks a deeper divide over the pacifist charter, drafted by US Occupation officials after Japan's World War Two defeat. Admirers view the constitution as the source of Japan's peace, prosperity and democracy. Many of Abe's conservative backers, who have long wanted to rewrite the constitution but lacked the political means, view it as a shoddy document written, in the words of one commentary, "with malice and vengeance" to keep Japan forever subdued. "If we keep the constitution GHQ (US Occupation headquarters) gave to a defeated Japan, Japan will always remain a defeated country," says a great-grandfather in a cartoon published recently by Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to explain why the charter should be revised. That view is fanning suspicion among Abe's critics that the proposed legislation to ease limits on the military is a step toward gutting not only the charter's pacifist Article 9, but basic principles such as respect for human rights. "I think he hates the concept of modern constitutionalism, the concept that the powers of the government should be restricted by the constitution," Yasuo Hasebe, a constitutional scholar at Waseda University, told Reuters. Drafted by US officials during a frantic week in February 1946 and based on principles set out by General Douglas MacArthur, supreme allied commander in Japan, the constitution renounced the right to wage war or maintain armed forces and enshrined democracy and human rights. It has been stretched to allow Japan a military equal to Britain's but still constrained compared with other countries' armed forces. Invited to speak to a parliamentary panel by the LDP, the soft-spoken Hasebe set off a firestorm when he said last month legislation to let Japan exercise the right of collective self-defense, or fighting to defend a friendly country under attack, was unconstitutional. Despite the furore, the ruling bloc may push bills allowing a greater role for the military through the lower house as early as this week to ensure passage before parliament adjourns on Sept. 27. That could erode Abe's already slipping ratings. Reinterpretation Abe has made clear he wants to revise the constitution, but formal amendment requires approval by two-thirds of both houses of parliament and a majority in a referendum, conditions that have never been met. Instead, his cabinet—arguing new security threats such as a rising China make change vital—has adopted a resolution reinterpreting the constitution to allow for collective self-defense. "This is a constitution that was imposed on us and should be re-written completely," Nihon University professor Akira Momichi, one of a handful of scholars who back Abe's reinterpretation, told a news conference. "But the process of amendment is a very difficult hurdle, so we have to do the best with what we have." Surveys show most constitutional scholars, lawyers and jurists disagree. "Because they can't revise the constitution, they are trying to ignore it," Keio University professor emeritus Setsu Kobayashi told Reuters. Concern about changes has sparked demonstrations and grassroots activism. "This is not just a matter of Article 9," lawyer Keiko Ota recently told a small gathering at a Tokyo cafe. "The question is whether or not we want to stop being a country ruled by law," said Ota, who has held about 100 "Constitution Cafes" since Abe took office in 2012. Defenders argue that though drafted by occupiers, the constitution has been largely embraced by Japanese citizens. Advocates of revision say there is no time to lose. "We need, under the Abe administration, to do whatever it takes to protect Japan," commentator Yoshiko Sakurai, an Abe ally, said at a May 3 event to mark the anniversary of the constitution taking effect. "It is high time to rewrite the constitution." The post Japan Security Debate Masks Clash of Views on Pacifist Constitution appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Two-wheeled Revolution: Pyongyang Installs Bike Lanes Posted: 13 Jul 2015 11:13 PM PDT  A car drives past residential buildings in Pyongyang in 2012. (Photo: Reuters) SEOUL — North Korea has installed cycle lanes on major thoroughfares running through Pyongyang in an apparent bid to cut down on pedestrian accidents as more people have the cash to spend on bicycles to get around. Bicycles are an expensive but popular mode of transport for many in the impoverished and reclusive country where private car ownership, although on the rise, is still rare. They are often used by women to transport goods to semi-tolerated markets, where one of the most common services sold for profit is bicycle repair. Concrete paving stones on some long stretches of pavement in the central area of Pyongyang have been replaced by a strip of smooth cycle path marked with white outlines of bicycles, according to photos seen by Reuters. One image from early July showed a freshly laid bicycle path leading to the towering 105-storey Ryugyong hotel, the uprooted paving stones still on the pavement. North Korean cyclists are not supposed to ride on urban roads and have for years used an unmarked narrow strip of pavement shared with pedestrians, residents and visitors said. "This causes a lot of accidents and collisions and as a result people ride slowly and ring their bells very frequently," said Simon Cockerell of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, which takes Western tourists into North Korea. Pyongyang—the name of the showpiece capital means "flat lands"—is geographically bicycle-friendly, but has in the past introduced and then lifted bans on bikes in the city center. Cockerell said the number of cyclists in Pyongyang appears to have increased by roughly 50 percent in the past few years, although the thought of riding a bike might be unsophisticated for many image-conscious Pyongyang residents. "They are not the most common form of transport for the average Pyongyanger, and many people I have spoken to about bikes there—mostly men—have scoffed at the idea that they would ride a bike," said Cockerell, whose company offers bicycle tours of North Korea. The post Two-wheeled Revolution: Pyongyang Installs Bike Lanes appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Tibetan Lama Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Dies in Chinese Prison Posted: 13 Jul 2015 11:04 PM PDT  A member of the Tibetan Youth Congress takes part in a candle light procession in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh November 18, 2004. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — Tibetan lama Tenzin Delek Rinpoche has died in prison 13 years into serving a sentence for what human rights groups say were false charges that he was involved in a bombing in a public park. He was 65. Relatives were informed of the death Sunday, New York-based Students for a Free Tibet said Monday. Police in Sichuan province in southwestern China confirmed the death but declined to give further details. Tenzin Delek was arrested in 2002 in relation to an April 3, 2002, blast in Chengdu city that injured three people. He was sentenced to death on charges of terror and incitement of separatism a few months later. His death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2005, and later to 20 years' imprisonment. He continued to maintain his innocence. He was being held in a prison in Dazhu county in Sichuan province, which borders the Tibetan region. A woman from the Public Security Bureau in Dazhu confirmed that Tenzin Delek died on Sunday. She refused to identify herself. Students for a Free Tibet said his family members had been informed by police in Chengdu city, the capital of Sichuan province, on Sunday, but were not told how he died. Last year, they had applied for medical parole for him on the grounds that he suffered from a heart condition, high blood pressure, dizzy spells and problems with his legs that had caused him to fall on a number of occasions. Born in 1950 in a Tibetan area of Sichuan, Tenzin Delek stayed in India from 1982 to 1987 to study under the Dalai Lama. During that time, the Dalai Lama recognized Tenzin Delek as a tulku, or a reincarnated lama. In 1987 he returned to China, where he worked to establish monasteries, health clinics, small schools and orphanages, rising in prominence. Human rights groups have said his relationship with Chinese officials took a turn for the worse when he rolled back attempts to clear forests and because of his support for the Dalai Lama, who is considered a separatist by the government. In India, exiled Tibetans marched Monday in New Delhi and in Dharmsala, where the Dalai Lama has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959, carrying placards reading, "We want justice," and "Murdered in Prison." His family called for authorities to release his body. "Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was an innocent monk who suffered over 13 years of unjust imprisonment, torture and abuse in a Chinese prison for simply advocating for the rights and well-being of his people and for expressing his devotion to His Holiness the Dalai Lama," his India-based cousin, Geshe Nyima, said in a statement released by Students for a Free Tibet. "The Chinese government must immediately release his body so that our family and community may perform the last Buddhist religious rites," the statement said. The US State Department said it was saddened to learn of the death of the political prisoner. "The United States had consistently urged China to release Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, most recently out of concern for his health," department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "We hope Chinese authorities will investigate and make public the circumstances surrounding his death." The post Tibetan Lama Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Dies in Chinese Prison appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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