The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Govt Scholarship Awardees Attend Farewell Ceremony in Rangoon
• Civilian Shot Dead in Clash With Soldier in Kachin State
• Central Bank Fires Warning Shot on USD Pricing
• Burma’s Military Chief Says Armed Forces Will Respect Vote
• Generals Appointed to Head Defense, Border Affairs Ministries
• NLD, 88 Generation Announce Election Partnership Despite Candidate Row
• Ethnic Leaders Sharpen Strategy Ahead of Thein Sein Meeting
• The Real Test for Peace Has Yet to Come
• Rohingya MP Shwe Maung Plans to Appeal Election Ban
• Thai Locals Incensed over Krabi Coal Power Plan
• Protests Over Draft Nepal Charter Turn Violent, Nine Dead
• Bangladesh Charges 10 for Allegedly Beating Boy to Death  
• The Angry River: A Journey Along Burma’s Pristine Salween

Govt Scholarship Awardees Attend Farewell Ceremony in Rangoon Posted: 25 Aug 2015 07:03 AM PDT Burmese youth attend a town hall style meeting with US President Barack Obama at Rangoon University in November, 2014. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A farewell ceremony for successful applicants to a government-backed study abroad program was held at the Sule Shangri-La hotel in Rangoon on Monday evening. In July 2014, the Burmese government announced it would offer scholarships for outstanding students wishing to study undergraduate and postgraduate courses abroad. Shwe Taung Group of companies, which has business interests in real estate, construction and engineering, is covering the airfare costs of the first batch of students selected for the program, called the President's Scholarship Awards. Thurein Zwe, a successful applicant who attended the gathering on Monday, said fellow awardees were drawn from across the country and were required to have at least an O-level standard of English—an internationally recognized qualification. Forty-eight students were selected by the program's board members. According to a full-page announcement in state-run media last year, students of all ages were invited to apply for the program, with those holding an honor's degree or postgraduate diploma able to apply for a master's degree scholarship, and those with a master's degree able to apply for a doctorate degree. Students who receive a scholarship are obliged to work in government jobs after their return for twice the duration of their scholarship, or repay triple the amount they received for their scholarship, according to the announcement by the Ministry of Education on July 29 last year. One originally successful candidate, Burmese model Zune Thinzar, had her invitation apparently rescinded after her inclusion sparked a storm of online criticism. "I don't know where the event took place," she told The Irrawaddy regarding Monday night's event. "I am still waiting on their consideration. [But] I think I was left off their list." Zune Thinzar also criticized the fact that successful applicants were forced to work in governmental positions upon their return to Burma. Students will study abroad from December this year in countries including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. "After studying at international-standard schools, please come back to [Burma] to develop the country," said Aike Tun, chairman of Shwe Taung Group, in a speech on Monday evening.     The post Govt Scholarship Awardees Attend Farewell Ceremony in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Civilian Shot Dead in Clash With Soldier in Kachin State Posted: 25 Aug 2015 06:40 AM PDT The purported crime scene near Nentein village on the Mogaung-Hpakant road. (Photo: Facebook / Yoe Lay) RANGOON — A civilian was fatally shot in an altercation with a soldier near Nentein village on the road linking Mogaung and Hpakant in Kachin State over the weekend. Burma Army personnel providing security on the road were directing vehicles in an attempt to alleviate traffic congestion along the route on Saturday afternoon when the victim attempted to bypass the queuing vehicles, provoking a confrontation between the man and a soldier on duty. According to a police officer from Lone Khin police station, the driver was killed when the soldier drew his firearm, which unintentionally discharged. "We have filed a case against the soldier with the charge of negligent homicide. And now we are investigating the drivers and military men who were present at the scene," the police officer told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity. Lwin Maung Maung, a relative of the 22-year-old victim Yadanar Tun, said other drivers who witnessed the incident told him that the soldier was a lance corporal from No. 421 Light Infantry Battalion who first punched the victim. When the victim attempted to fight back, the lance corporal shot him, Lwin Maung Maung said witnesses told him. "I heard that police are still holding in custody a driver and a bus conductor who witnessed the crime for fear that the information might leak out," Lwin Maung Maung told The Irrawaddy. A funeral service for the victim was held on Monday. Lwin Maung Maung also claimed that police seized mobile phones from passersby who had taken photos or video of the crime scene. A truck driver who plies the Mogaung-Hpakant road questioned the soldier's conduct in firing a fatal shot at an unarmed civilian. "It was a fight between a civilian and a soldier, and [the soldier] should not have taken it that far," he told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity. "There are many parts of the body that can be shot—arms and thighs can be shot. They [such gunshot wounds] can be treated." The post Civilian Shot Dead in Clash With Soldier in Kachin State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Central Bank Fires Warning Shot on USD Pricing Posted: 25 Aug 2015 06:17 AM PDT A woman counts US dollars at a money changer in Rangoon. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — As the kyat continues its eight-month slide against foreign currencies, the Central Bank of Myanmar will soon set down punishments against businesses charging in US dollars, according to official sources. In May, the Central Bank halved US dollar withdrawal limits and warned local businesses to cease pricing in the greenback. The admonition appears to have been unheeded by companies catering to foreign nationals, including numerous international schools, upscale restaurants and a swathe of hotel and tourism operators. In the last week, local franchises of the US-based ice cream restaurant Swensen's and Thailand's The Pizza Company began pricing their menus in US dollars. Win Thaw, deputy director general of the Central Bank's Foreign Exchange Management Department told local media this week that measures to prohibit the use of dollar transactions for local services would be announced before the end of the year. Dr Maung Maung Lay, vice chairman of Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the Central Bank needed to intervene urgently to prevent the progressive dollarization of Burma's economy, which he said was exacerbating the kyat's fall in value. "Other countries practice this custom and so should we: the kyat should be the only currency we accept," he said. "The Central Bank has already announced that businesses dealing in foreign currency would have to accept kyats. This should already be in practice, but we have a weak enforcement environment." Central Bank officials refused to discuss details of what actions will be taken against businesses dealing in dollars. It is believed that senior figures within the bank have canvassed the introduction of fines for offending companies and other penalties for repeated non-compliance. Recent interventions into the local currency market by the Central Bank have had limited effect on the kyat's depreciation, which has been largely driven by a ballooning trade deficit. In turn, said Ministry of Commerce senior economist Dr Maung Aung, the flight into US dollars by worried locals was intensifying the kyat's volatility. "If government wants the value of the kyat to be stable, they will still have to address dollarization and local currency speculators," he told The Irrawaddy. Dr Aung Myat Kyaw, the chairman of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association, said that Burmese businesses were only trading in dollars because of uncertainty around the trajectory of the local currency. "We can accept kyats instead of the dollar but we need a stable kyat value in the market," he said. The kyat was trading at 1310 to the dollar on the streets of Rangoon last week, before stabilizing between 1280 and 1290 in the days since. The post Central Bank Fires Warning Shot on USD Pricing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma’s Military Chief Says Armed Forces Will Respect Vote Posted: 25 Aug 2015 04:46 AM PDT Commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, center, watches a presentation on the Solar Impulse 2, a solar-powered plane attempting a flight around the world, at Mandalay International Airport on March 20, 2015. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) NAYPYIDAW — Burma's powerful commander-in-chief has reiterated that the military will respect the outcome of the Nov. 8 general election, seen as a crucial test of the country's reform process. Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said that the main concern of the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, is that the vote is carried out fairly and that the result is respected by everyone—even if Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) wins a majority. "We wouldn't mind even if the NLD won in the next general election, as long as it is free and fair," he told members of Burma's Interim Press Council, a media support group, during a meeting on Monday. "The Tatmadaw's desire is to see the upcoming elections be held free and fair. We will approve and support the results announced by the Union Election Commission." Burma's recent elections have been plagued by military interference. In 1990 the NLD won in a landslide, but the vote was not recognized by the military. The 2010 ballot was widely seen as rigged and boycotted by the NLD. Burma's military ceded power to a quasi-civilian government in 2011, ending 49 years of military rule but the military still looms large in the country's political arena. A quarter of all of the country's parliamentary seats are reserved for unelected military officers. Changes to Burma's 2008 military-drafted Constitution require at least 75 percent of support from lawmakers, giving the military an effective veto power over changes to the charter. Efforts to lower this threshold of support failed in June. Min Aung Hlaing said that the military would step back from this position "at an appropriate time." "It will change accordingly when peace, stability and tranquility prevail in the country," he said. The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which contains a large number of former military officials, saw a major shake-up earlier this month when the party chairman, Shwe Mann, was dramatically ousted by President Thein Sein. Min Aung Hlaing declined to comment on the moves, saying they were internal party affairs, but did say political party rifts could be damaging for citizens. "To view it from an armed forces angle, it is not good for the country if there is a split in any major political party," he said. "It is the people who are normally affected by the impact, as our country has experienced in the past." The post Burma's Military Chief Says Armed Forces Will Respect Vote appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Generals Appointed to Head Defense, Border Affairs Ministries Posted: 25 Aug 2015 12:35 AM PDT Aung San Suu Kyi sits with ethnic minority leaders and members of the military at the Three Kings Monument in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Two senior Burma Army officials have been freshly appointed as Union ministers, the President's Office announced on Monday, the latest reassignment in the wake of a major political reshuffle leading up to a general election to be held on Nov. 8. Gen. Sein Win takes the role of Minister of Defense while Gen. Kyaw Swe has become the new Minister of Border Affairs by order of President Thein Sein, according to the announcement. Eight colonels have also been appointed to posts within the Ministry of Border Affairs in Chin, Kachin, Mon and Shan states as well as in Mandalay, Pegu, Rangoon and Sagaing divisions. In tandem with a recent purge of the leadership of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), a number of senior positions have been reassigned as ministers vacated their positions to contest the forthcoming election. A total of 159 military officials recently applied to the USDP as candidates, with 59 them gaining the nomination. Among those to win the party nod was Gen. Soe Win, former head of peace negotiations between the government and Burma's ethnic armed groups. The post Generals Appointed to Head Defense, Border Affairs Ministries appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD, 88 Generation Announce Election Partnership Despite Candidate Row Posted: 25 Aug 2015 12:25 AM PDT Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi sits beside her doctor, Tin Myo Win, at the 2014 wedding reception for activist Ko Ko Gyi (pictured behind Tin Myo Win) in Rangoon. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON—Burma's National League for Democracy (NLD) and the country's popular 88 Generation activist group have announced they will collaborate to monitor the Nov. 8 election, in order to ensure accurate voter lists and prevent electoral fraud. The joint statement, released on Monday, follows the NLD's rejection of most candidate submitted by the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society to contest the election under the opposition party's banner. The groups said that their cooperation would also extend to future constitutional amendment campaigns and the building of a democratic federal union in partnership with the country's ethnic minorities. The statementalso urged eligible voters to ensure their names were included on voter lists prepared by the Union Election Commission. The two groups collaborated last year on a petition drive urging the Union Parliament to reform several provisions in Burma's 2008 Constitution, including articles that barred NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency and guaranteed a 25 percent allocation of parliamentary seats to the military. The petition campaign eventually attracted over five million signatures, around 10 percent of the country's population. Earlier this year, 17 members of the 88 Generation group submitted applications for candidacy with the NLD. Only one of the nominees was chosen, while the opposition became the target of heated criticism for excluding a number of other prominent candidates and ignoring the wishes of numerous township NLD offices. "We are choosing the most suitable MPs for the country. Everyone has the right to apply as candidates but the [central executive] committee needs to choose the best people," party spokesman Nyan Win told Reuters at the time. Ko Ko Gyi, one of the 88 Generation's leaders and one of the most prominent exclusions from the NLD's candidate list, told The Irrawaddy on Aug. 7 that he would set up his own political party to compete in future elections.   The post NLD, 88 Generation Announce Election Partnership Despite Candidate Row appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ethnic Leaders Sharpen Strategy Ahead of Thein Sein Meeting Posted: 25 Aug 2015 12:14 AM PDT Ethnic representatives during the 7th round of official talks on a nationwide ceasefire with government negotiators, Rangoon, March 2015. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — A meeting of ethnic armed groups concluded in northern Thailand on Monday with a pledge to work together to sign an all-inclusive nationwide ceasefire accord ahead of an upcoming meeting with President Thein Sein. At the four-day meeting of the ethnics' Senior Delegation which began on Friday in Chiang Mai, ethnic leaders agreed in principle to ensure an all-inclusive nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) and also discussed obtaining political and military guarantees from the government for those armed groups thus far excluded from the prospective pact. The leaders of five major ethnic armed groups—the Karen National Union (KNU), the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N)—together with three Senior Delegation leaders, are scheduled to meet President Thein Sein in the coming days, although no date is yet fixed. Padoh Kwe Htoo Win, secretary of the KNU, told reporters on Monday evening that the delegation would stand up for the interests of all ethnic armed groups in their meeting with the president. "We have different options in negotiating with the government and [working] to integrate all of our allies," Padoh Kwe Htoo Win said. But with no date set for the high-level meeting, Hla Maung Shwe of the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center said it was not certain whether Burma Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing would be able to take part, as previously pledged. The government was still awaiting confirmation of a proposed meeting date from ethnic leaders, Hla Maung Shwe told The Irrawaddy. If the meeting, which was tentatively scheduled for a day between August 25-28, did not transpire before the end of the month, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing would be unlikely to attend due to planned foreign trips, Hla Maung Shwe said. "If they could meet the commander-in-chief, then discussions on military affairs could be covered too," he said. During the ethnic armed groups' four-day dialogue, there was heated debate over how best to integrate ethnic armed groups that the government has baulked on including as NCA signees. These include three groups engaged in conflict with government forces—the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA)—and three groups not designated armed combatants—the Lahu Democratic Union, the Wa National Organization and the Arakan National Council. Ethnic leaders canvassed various approaches to addressing the issue including insisting all groups sign the NCA simultaneously; obtaining military and political guarantees from the government regarding excluded armed groups; or facilitating the conclusion of bilateral ceasefires between excluded groups and the government, according to Tar Aik Phone of the TNLA. Tar Aik Phone said the Ta'ang armed group had requested that ethnic leaders negotiate for the three major excluded armed groups to settle bilateral ceasefire agreements with the government. The government and the military have reportedly expressed willingness to conclude a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the TNLA, but not with the MNDAA or the AA. Representatives of the Kokang MNDAA, who joined the latest ethnic summit, said the group had tried to take part in the ceasefire process and, to that end, had even announced a unilateral ceasefire with the government in June that went unheeded. Peng Win Naing, a Lt-Colonel with the MNDAA, said "we will try our best" to be included in the final peace agreement, under the leadership of the ethnics' United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). "We believe UNFC leaders will not leave us behind," he said. "But if the government army wages further offensives against us, and if there is no other way, we will have to defend [ourselves] until the last man."   The post Ethnic Leaders Sharpen Strategy Ahead of Thein Sein Meeting appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Real Test for Peace Has Yet to Come Posted: 25 Aug 2015 12:04 AM PDT Ethnic leaders and government negotiators commit to a draft Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement at the Myanmar Peace Center in Rangoon on March 31, 2015. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) As the prospect for Burma's Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) looms large, the question of what will happen in the aftermath of an accord has become ever more important. The ethnic negotiating bloc, known as the Senior Delegation, is set to meet with high-level government officials and the Commander-in-Chief of the Burma Army, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, this week in Naypyidaw. The meeting will mark their final effort to conclude the deal with the government on the signing of the NCA. During the last meeting between the government's Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC) and the Senior Delegation from Aug. 6 to 7, both sides accepted the text of the NCA. In preparation for the upcoming meeting, members of the Senior Delegation have convened in Chiang Mai over the past few days. The government's insistence on excluding six ethnic armed groups from the pact—the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA),Wa National Organization (WNO), Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) and the Arakan National Council ( ANC)—appears to be the only remaining hurdle. A recent joint statement of four ethnic armed groups, including the powerful Karen National Union (KNU) and Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), indicate their readiness to sign the NCA. Similarly, some five ethnic armed groups—the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), New Mon State Party (NMSP), Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), Chin National Front (CNF) and the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF)—have expressed their willingness to sign the NCA upon the condition that the army would not put military pressure on other groups that are unable to sign the pact. Observers close to the process say an agreement could be reached as early as the first week of September. If this prediction is correct, Burma will have achieved an unprecedented nationwide treaty for the first time in modern history, potentially ending a conflict that has raged since the country's independence from British colonial rule in 1948. But that's only the first step, which paves the way for what will likely be a long and trying process of national reconciliation. The NCA in its current form emphasizes the importance of political dialogue, a framework for which must be established within 60 days of signing the accord. No more than 90 days after signing the pact, the dialogue must commence. This dialogue should be geared toward establishing a federal union whereby ethnic groups have some political autonomy and rights over resources. This dialogue must be acceptable to all stakeholders and ensure that discussion reflects and espouses the true desires of the people. It is crucial that a common framework for political dialogue that is acceptable to all stakeholders be in place before the dialogue begins. Since May 2015, an informal consultation process that involves discussion with a number of key stakeholders including political parties, ethnic armed groups and the government, has overviewed five frameworks for political dialogues that were developed by those key stakeholders. From these five frameworks and close consultation with stakeholders, a potential dialogue program that would require 13 sessions to tackle issues including decision making formulas, public consultation, community transmission and implementation of outcomes, such as amendments to the Constitution or existing laws has emerged. Al five proposed dialogue frameworks have a lot in common. The key to finding an acceptable framework will be determining the number of principal stakeholders and their proportion to participants at the Union decision-making level, which will ultimately accept or reject proposals from state and divisional consultants to become the provisions of the national accord. Chiang Mai-based Ethnic Nationalities Affairs Center (ENAC) has also recently organized a multi- stakeholder's discussion on establishing the appropriate framework for political dialogue. The NCA is almost in sight, but that's not the end of the road. The next big step is determining this framework, which will form the political discussion that has been at the heart of the entire peace process. If this dialogue fails, the whole process is at stake. Burma's tragic history of conflict must not be repeated. The real battle—for national reconciliation—is only about to begin. Sai Oo works with the Pyidaungsu Institute. Opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily represent the Institute. The post The Real Test for Peace Has Yet to Come appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rohingya MP Shwe Maung Plans to Appeal Election Ban Posted: 24 Aug 2015 11:27 PM PDT Shwe Maung, a Rohingya lawmaker who has been blocked from contesting the 2015 general election by the Union Election Commission. (Photo: Shwe Maung / Facebook) RANGOON — A Rohingya member of the Union Parliament barred from contesting Nov. 8 elections on the basis that his parents were not Burmese citizens at the time of his birth said on Monday he would appeal the decision and hoped to stand in the vote. The move to deny Shwe Maung, an MP from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), a chance to run despite being a serving member of government raises concerns about the disenfranchisement of the Rohingya Muslim minority. Most of Burma's 1.1 million Rohingya, an ethnic minority living in the country’s western Arakan State, are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions. Almost 140,000 were displaced in deadly clashes in Arakan in 2012. Shwe Maung, who planned to run as an independent after not being nominated by the USDP, said that he was informed by state officials on Saturday that his application had been turned down. “It’s ridiculous for me,” Shwe Maung said. “I was elected in 2010. Now I’m working.” According to Shwe Maung, both of his parents were citizens prior to his birth in 1965 and his father served as a member of the Burma Police Force. Arakan State election officials could not be reached for comment on Monday. Shwe Maung has represented the majority-Muslim Buthidaung constituency located in northern Arakan State near the country’s border with Bangladesh since being elected as an MP in 2010. Since 2012, when violence swept across Arakan, he has been an outspoken advocate for the Rohingya and called for greater citizenship rights for the group. Even if he is able to stand in November’s election—seen as a test of the country’s reforms process—he faces an uphill battle for re-election. Many of the people who voted for Shwe Maung in 2010 held temporary citizenship documents, more commonly known as white cards. But the white cards were nullified by President Thein Sein under pressure from hardline Buddhists in February. The majority of white card holders were Rohingya. Some former white card holders have been offered new citizenship documents. But earlier this month, Yanghee Lee, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, said that she was informed by the country’s election commission chair that those who received these new documents would be banned from the vote. Lee said that the decision was of “serious concern”. The post Rohingya MP Shwe Maung Plans to Appeal Election Ban appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thai Locals Incensed over Krabi Coal Power Plan Posted: 24 Aug 2015 11:16 PM PDT A community protest against the Krabi coal project in southern Thailand. (Photo: Save Andaman from Coal / Facebook) Many residents of Krabi, a popular tourism province in southern Thailand, are opposing the government’s plan to build a coal plant close to their homes. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), an electric power transmission and generation authority owned by the Thai Ministry of Energy, proposed in early 2014 to build a coal-fired power plant with a capacity of 870 megawatts in Krabi and the construction of a coal seaport in nearby Nuea Khlong. The construction is part of the government’s Power Development Plan 2010 to boost the country’s power supply. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has warned that Thai citizens might have to bear higher electricity costs if the plan is not realized. Krabi residents have expressed concern about the possible detrimental impact of the plant to the local environment. They pointed out that the shipment of a large amount of coal and the construction of a massive port could harm the coastal area of Krabi, which is a protected biodiversity site. Residents are also worried that the coal plant could also harm the health of the local population. Groups opposed to the project have claimed that the public hearing conducted by the project’s backers covered only a small number of people, and one villager said that the community was not properly consulted about the project. "We did not know that there was even a public hearing though the power plant was to be constructed behind my backyard," he said. "For the second public hearing, they just cancelled the event when more and more people came. During the third public hearing, there were as many as 500 police officers there [and] the event was postponed." According to the regulations of Thailand's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, any power plant project slated for more than 100 megawatts of capacity must first be subjected to an Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) before it is granted a government license. The EHIA has not yet been issued. Last August 5, a letter was signed by 42 organizations and 52 individuals asking the government to scrap the project. They told authorities that the region’s energy security was stable and even registered a surplus in power supply. A version of this article was originally published on Global Voices Online as 'Why Does the Thai Government Want to Destroy Krabi with Coal Power Plant?'   The post Thai Locals Incensed over Krabi Coal Power Plan appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Protests Over Draft Nepal Charter Turn Violent, Nine Dead Posted: 24 Aug 2015 11:10 PM PDT A protester chants slogans from a police vehicle while detained by Nepalese police during a protest against the draft of the new constitution, in Kathmandu, Nepal August 16, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) KATHMANDU — At least nine people were killed in Nepal on Monday when demonstrators attacked police with spears, knives, axes and scythes during a protest against proposals for administrative reform in the Himalayan country. One police officer died when protesters surrounded him and set him ablaze, Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam told parliament. A district official gave the death toll as nine, but media reports said as many as 20 people—most of them police—may have died. State television reported that the army was mobilized to quell the protests in the low-lying far west of the country close to the border with India. Thousands of people were protesting in the town of Tikapur against a government-backed plan to include their area in a hilly province, part of a regional overhaul envisaged in a new federal constitution expected to be finalized this month. The protesters, mainly from ethnic Tharu community, are demanding a separate province comprising eight districts in the southwestern plains for themselves. The government and major political parties hope that the new constitution, which divides the nation into seven federal states, will boost economic development in Nepal, which is still reeling from two devastating earthquakes that killed 8,900 people this year. But different ethnic groups have been protesting against the plan and demanding regional autonomy. Four demonstrators have died in the past two weeks in violent protests across Nepal. Raj Kumar Shrestha, chief administrator of Kailali district that includes Tikapur, said protesters had defied a curfew and had begun vandalizing government buildings. Shrestha declined to elaborate, but told state television separately that the protesters had attacked the police with an array of sharp-edged weapons. He said nine dead comprised six police and three protesters had been killed. Kailali is a district in Nepal's far western region, some 430 km (270 miles) southwest of Kathmandu. At least 53 people were killed in similar protests in Nepal eight years ago, in the worst violence that followed the end of a civil war in 2006.   The post Protests Over Draft Nepal Charter Turn Violent, Nine Dead appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bangladesh Charges 10 for Allegedly Beating Boy to Death   Posted: 24 Aug 2015 11:00 PM PDT Residents of the Bangladeshi city of Sylhet in June 2012. (Photo: Andrew Biraj / Reuters) DHAKA — A magistrate in northeastern Bangladesh accepted charges against 10 men and issued arrest warrants for three alleged fugitives Monday in the beating death of a 13-year-old boy that stunned a nation used to violent crime because a video of him being tortured was posted online. Magistrate Shahedul Karim decided to accept the police charges and fixed Aug. 31 for the next hearing, prosecution counsel Misbahuddin Siraj said. More hearings will be needed before the accused are formally indicted and the final phase of the trial can begin, Siraj said. The boy, Samiul Islam Rajon, died of internal bleeding after being attacked in the northeastern city of Sylhet. The attackers allegedly were punishing him for stealing a bicycle, an allegation his family and police say is unfounded. The alleged fugitives include the main suspect, Kamrul Islam, who has been detained in Saudi Arabia and is awaiting repatriation. Ten men are behind bars after being arrested with the help of local residents, who were said to have caught some of the attackers when they tried to dump the body. Some of the accused men said they were innocent. The charges include murder or helping the alleged attackers. Defendants convicted of murder could face the death penalty. Siraj said the magistrate at Monday’s hearing also asked the authorities to confiscate property of the fugitives. The chilling, 28-minute video went viral online, triggering protests in the South Asian country, where such incidents are not rare. His body bore at least 64 injury marks, according to an autopsy report. In the cellphone video, the boy is heard screaming in pain and pleading with his attackers: “Don’t beat me, please, will die, will die.” The attackers laughed at the boy when he asked for water. Like many poor children in Bangladesh, Rajon was forced to leave school to work to help his family, in his case selling vegetables. The post Bangladesh Charges 10 for Allegedly Beating Boy to Death   appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Angry River: A Journey Along Burma’s Pristine Salween Posted: 24 Aug 2015 05:00 PM PDT Click to view slideshow. EASTERN BURMA — In April 2015, photographer Patrick Brown returned to the lower part of the Salween or Thanlwin River. One of Asia's great rivers, the Salween presents a placid face as it passes through Hpa-an, the capital of Kayin (Karen) State, close to the end of its 1,750-mile journey from the Tibetan Plateau to the Andaman Sea at Mon State. In China, where the river's epic travels begin, it is called the Nu River, or Angry River. As it races through narrow gorges etched from mountains as high as 10,000 feet (3,000 meters), the Nu is often turbulent and terrifying. "Our personal confrontations with the river defy description. Phrases like 'gigantic waves' and 'bottomless holes' do not do justice to the Angry River and its demonic forces," wrote a member of an  American white-water rafting team which explored 80 miles of the river's length from Gongshan town to below Fugong town in an expedition in Yunnan Province in 1996. The Nu passes through territory that is home to the Lisu, Nu, Bai and many other ethnic people. At the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, a World Heritage Site, it runs close to the upper Yangtze and the Lancang (Mekong) rivers in a region of forests, outstanding biodiversity and dramatic topography. It enters Myanmar in northeastern Shan State where it becomes the Salween-Thanlwin and cuts through regions where, for decades, wars as well as steep forested mountain terrain have made it virtually inaccessible to outsiders. Brown captured a rare image of the river moving through a deep gorge in a remote part of Shan State on an earlier trip. For about 120 miles the Salween-Thanlwin forms the border with Thailand before it re-enters Myanmar through Kayah and Kayin states, until  it eventually moves out of its deep gorge into agricultural flatlands and the final stage in Mon State of its long journey. The Nu-Salween-Thanlwin ran free until the 1990s when China built two relatively small dams near the Nu's headwaters in Tibet. Plans for a series of large dams farther down were later suspended and their future is unclear. Plans have also come and gone for hydropower dams on the Salween-Thanlwin. The latest proposed project, the massive 241-meter Mongton dam in southern Shan State, is opposed by Shan, Kayin and other civil society groups who are concerned about the project's potential impact on people, the environment and the country's fragile peace process. This article originally appeared in the July 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post The Angry River: A Journey Along Burma's Pristine Salween appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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