The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Govt Invites Ethnic Reps to Rangoon in Push to Confirm Ceasefire Date
• A Fateful Day: The 88 Coup Remembered in Photographs
• LGBT Network Calls for Tolerance, End to Harassment
• Bus Barons Say New Laws Forcing Drivers Off Rangoon Roads
• Twelve Months on, Kyaukphyu Tender Still up in the Air
• Aurasian Confirms Withdrawn Mining Permit Was for Kachin State
• Myint Swe’s Distinctive Works on Show at Rangoon’s Pansodan Scene
• The Strange Birds Behind the ’88 Coup
• Police Claim Arrest of Suspect Linked to Massive July Drug Haul
• Report: Illegal Timber Trade From Burma to China Growing
• More Than 2,000 Enslaved Fishermen Rescued in 6 Months
• SE Asia Emergency Response Team Takes on Region’s Deluge of Disasters
• Nepal at Crossroads After New Constitution Is Adopted

Govt Invites Ethnic Reps to Rangoon in Push to Confirm Ceasefire Date Posted: 18 Sep 2015 06:38 AM PDT Ethnic leaders attend a meeting of leaders of ethnic armed groups at the United Wa State Army headquarters in Panghsang, northern Shan State, May 6, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Burma's government has invited representatives from 15 ethnic armed groups to meet in Rangoon on Sunday, with the intention of setting a date to sign an elusive nationwide ceasefire pact. President's Office Minister and chief peace negotiator Aung Min signed a letter sent to the groups on Thursday inviting them to attend the meeting on Sept. 20—the International Day of Peace. Of the 15 ethnic armed groups, 14 have concluded bilateral ceasefires with the government—the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) being the sole outlier. Ethnic armed groups plan to meet in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand on September 28-30 to hash out their position on the nationwide ceasefire agreement that has been in the works for almost two years. During a meeting in Naypyidaw last week, government and ethnic negotiators had pledged to form a joint committee to negotiate the arrangements for a signing ceremony tentatively earmarked for early October. Hla Maung Shwe of the Myanmar Peace Centre (MPC) said it wasn't yet clear if all groups would attend the meeting. Nai Hong Sar, a spokesperson for the ethnics' Senior Delegation, told reporters after a meeting in Chiang Mai on Friday that each group could make their own determination on whether to attend. "We also replied to the UPWC [Union Peacemaking Working Committee] that such an invitation should be sent to the Senior Delegation instead of each group [individually]," he said. KIO deputy chief-of-staff Gen. Gun Maw could not confirm the Kachin group's attendance, saying the decision was up to the group's Laiza-based leadership. The government has pledged that those armed groups that sign the NCA will be officially removed from the list of unlawful associations—a fact it is apparently pressing home in seeking to finalize a deal. Kyaw Wan Sein, a central executive committee member of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), claimed Aung Min had referred to the law during a meeting with the group's representatives in Rangoon on Wednesday. "Aung Min said at our meeting that if we did not sign the NCA on the day President Thein Sein arranged, we would be declared an illegal armed group. He said he would use existing laws in the country," Kyaw Wan Sein said. The Unlawful Association Act has been invoked by Burma's current and former rulers to arrest and imprison any group or individual deemed to have links with an organization designated illegal. While the government continues to push for a ceasefire signing ahead of the country's Nov. 8 general election, ongoing clashes in Shan and Kachin states, coupled with Naypyidaw's refusal to broaden the deal to include non-ceasefire ethnic armed groups, continues to shroud the process in doubt. Additional reporting by Lawi Weng. The post Govt Invites Ethnic Reps to Rangoon in Push to Confirm Ceasefire Date appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

A Fateful Day: The 88 Coup Remembered in Photographs Posted: 18 Sep 2015 06:25 AM PDT Click to view slideshow. RANGOON — Marking 27 years since the Burmese government staged a military coup that ultimately ended the 1988 popular uprising, The Irrawaddy looks back at a series of archival images depicting the days leading up to and after the fateful turn of events. In these photographs, provided by the 88 Memorial Hall, people from all walks of life and from all over the country can be seen taking to the streets in defiance of the oppressive rule that devastated the country since 1962. The post A Fateful Day: The 88 Coup Remembered in Photographs appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

LGBT Network Calls for Tolerance, End to Harassment Posted: 18 Sep 2015 05:27 AM PDT A participant wearing a Burmese traditional dress at an event celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in Rangoon on May 17, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) MANDALAY — Burma's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Network on Friday called on lawmakers to stop targeting and harassing the LGBT community, urging authorities to instead set their sights on strengthening the rule of law. Speaking to reporters in Burma's second largest city, representatives of the network said they were alarmed by recent discussions in the Mandalay Division parliament suggesting that police should do more to combat "crimes" committed by the LGBT community. In August, state lawmakers tabled a discussion about action being taken against gay and transgender people "acting inappropriately," prompting the division's Minister of Border and Security Affairs, Myint Kyu, to call on police to arrest and "educate" gay people. "Parliamentarians must immediately stop their special program of 'detaining and educating' LGBT people," read a statement published by the LGBT Rights Network. "Instead they should push government officials to work effectively to protect the rule of law in the city." Members of the network said the minister's remarks were "unrealistic" and could create misunderstanding of the LGBT, potentially leading to rights abuses. "The [implicit] decision to arrest gay and transgender people to educate them is like giving free license to arrest them. This will only worsen the situation of harassment, rights abuses and arbitrary arrests," said Shin Thant, program officer for the LGBT rights group Colors Rainbow, which is a member of the network. "We desperately need lawmakers to stand strong for us and support our equal rights," Shin Thant continued, herself a transgender woman with lived experience of discriminatory practices. "We LGBTs are still facing rights abuses and harassment. It is very important to represent our interests in the parliament and in government." The network announced plans to facilitate capacity building, awareness and professional skills training for the LGBT community, many of whom find themselves in the informal workforce as sex workers or pickpockets after growing up in hostile environments. "Since many LGBT people face discrimination, we are kept away from the community, some are not encouraged to be literate. [These conditions] push some of us to commit crimes for a living," Shin Thant continued. "We will need to cooperate with the authorities to raise awareness [of these factors] so they can determine who is really committing crimes and take legal action against them." Friday's conference added to a recent chorus of complaints about what critics view as a discriminatory policy that assumes criminality of the LGBT community, particularly in Mandalay. In early September, Human Rights Watch penned an open letter to the division's Chief Minster Ye Myint, pointing out the "misinformed, discriminatory, and potentially inflammatory statements" made by lawmakers. "The Burmese government should immediately condemn the statements made by a member of the regional parliament and a regional minister, and should pledge publicly to protect the fundamental rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity," Graeme Reid, director of Human Rights Watch's LGBT program, wrote to Ye Myint.   The post LGBT Network Calls for Tolerance, End to Harassment appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bus Barons Say New Laws Forcing Drivers Off Rangoon Roads Posted: 18 Sep 2015 05:17 AM PDT A woman boards a bus on Maha Bandoola Street in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON —Bus line owners claim that conductors and drivers in Rangoon are being forced out of work as a result of the Automobile Law enacted earlier in September. The changes to the law have dramatically increased dangerous driving fines from 1500 kyats (US$1.15) to a minimum of 30,000 kyats ($23), with jail terms of up to seven years for the most serious offenses. "Drivers and conductors can't earn enough money because of the traffic problems," said Ta Yoke Lay, who owns a fleet of 48 buses leased out to owners on a per diem basis. "The penalties are also heavy. Some of my drivers have suddenly stopped work and are looking to move to other jobs." Over 6000 buses are registered with the Rangoon Division Supervisory Committee for Motor Vehicles, also known by its Burmese acronym Ma Hta Tha. Before the changes to the Automobile Law were introduced, around 4300 buses ran on Rangoon's streets each day, a number that Ma Hta Tha chairman Hla Aung told local media had dropped to around 3800 in September. The Myanmar Times reported on Thursday that drivers had walked off the job for two days earlier this week and threatened further strike action unless traffic fines were lowered. The drop in bus numbers has led to a transport shortage across the city, affecting university students sitting exams this week. So Htet Oo, an executive committee member of the Dagon University Student Union, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that student groups were hiring minibuses to transport students for free between downtown locations and university campuses. The Irrawaddy could not reach Rangoon Division Transport Minister Aung Khin for comment on Friday. On Facebook, Union Information Minister Ye Htut said that if bus lines were unhappy with the fines, the government would replace lost services with military vehicles and would seek assistance from business leaders to provide transportation for commuters. The post Bus Barons Say New Laws Forcing Drivers Off Rangoon Roads appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Twelve Months on, Kyaukphyu Tender Still up in the Air Posted: 18 Sep 2015 04:59 AM PDT Development underway at Kyaukphyu in Arakan State, the site of a planned special economic zone. (Photo: Ko Soe / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Twelve months since Burma's government opened tender bids for the development of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone in Arakan State, officials continue to insist the announcement of three successful bidders is on the horizon. After bidding closed last November, with a total of 12 proposals submitted by one local and 11 international firms, the announcement of successful proposals was expected in January. However, the opaque tender and evaluation process has been beset by delays, while local opposition to the contentious project, slated to include a deep-sea port, petrochemical processing plant and a variety of industrial factories, continues to simmer. Aung Kyaw Than, a member of the tender selection board for the Kyaukphyu SEZ, told The Irrawaddy this week that successful bidders would be announced during the term of the current government. "It has been delayed for about a year because this is a huge project," he said. "But I can say that the process is nearly finished… For the time being, all I can say is that multinational corporations are among the selected developers." One of three major economic zones planned for Burma, the Kyaukphyu SEZ is billed as Burma's western economic gateway, with dual oil and gas pipelines, the latter of which became operational in 2013, running from the port overland to China's southwest Yunnan province. Local residents and lawmakers have criticized the tender process as lacking in transparency and questioned what benefits the project would have for the local population. Their concerns are informed in part by lingering grievances over the dual pipelines, centering on issues of displacement, compensation and environmental degradation. Aung Kyaw Than countered that the selection committee was receptive to local concerns, which would be factored into decision-making. "We always listen to their voices, including when we devised the rules and regulations for tender nominees on environment impacts, labor issues and land issues," he said. As the tender process drags on, speculation has swirled as to the successful bidders. An official from Parami Energy Group of Companies cited "internet sources" as pointing towards a positive outcome for the local applicant. "It was reported… that two Chinese companies and one Burmese company have been selected by the government to develop the project. I understand that Parami is the only Burmese company that participated in the bid," said Yap Kwong Weng, chief operating officer at Parami. "We have not been officially informed of any news yet," he added. An industry source predicted some months ago that China's CITIC Group was likely to be awarded one of the three tenders, with the company having produced a feasibility study for the project in 2011. Yap Kwong Weng agreed with this assessment, citing the Chinese firm's size, capability and reputation. He added that the bidding process should be more transparent. "I believe the delays are due to reasons beyond the project's ‎scope," he said. "The Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone houses the Burma-China pipeline… and it is positioned in a strategic location on the Bay of Bengal that could allow big ships to dock." Originally the SEZ was slated to encompass a 1,000-acre allotment of land, but this was downsized to 4,000 acres, according to the zone's management committee. Singapore's CPG Corporation was awarded the US$2.5 million consulting contract for the project in March last year. The post Twelve Months on, Kyaukphyu Tender Still up in the Air appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Aurasian Confirms Withdrawn Mining Permit Was for Kachin State Posted: 18 Sep 2015 04:09 AM PDT Hand-pickers walk as they search for jade through rubble dumped by mining companies at a jade mine in Kachin State. (Photo: Minzayar / Reuters) CATEGORIES: Burma, News, Development, Ethnic Issues CHIANG MAI, Thailand — London based Aurasian Minerals Plc has confirmed that mining exploration applications submitted by the firm last December to Burmese authorities were for locations in conflict-ridden Kachin state. In a statement sent to The Irrawaddy, following a report earlier this month that the company had decided to withdraw its applications, Aurasian vice-president Jon Loraine said that the decision had been motivated by the delay in passing a new Mining Law. He added that the ongoing peace process between the government and the Kachin Independence Orgnization (KIO) was another issue of concern for the firm. "Our perspective is that resolving these matters will take some time and that [Aurasian] would be better focusing its efforts elsewhere where progress can be made in a more reasonable timeframe", he said. An update to the 1994 Mining Law, which will greatly improve ease of entry and operation for foreign firms, is expected to be enacted in the near future. It remains far from clear when the ongoing conflict in Kachin State will end, with reports that Kachin rebels will not join other ethnic armed groups to sign the government's nationwide ceasefire agreement next month. In a January update to shareholders issued via the London Stock Exchange, Aurasian said that three mineral exploration permits applications covering a total area of 1,900 square kilometers (734 square miles) had been submitted for an unspecified area in Burma, in sites subject to existing jade mining concessions. The statement added that the applications were pending "due to the current security situation in the relevant areas." The only known jade mining areas in Burma are in Kachin state’s Hpakant township, a site of frequent clashes since a 17-year ceasefire between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the government collapsed in June 2011. Aurasian is not the only foreign mining firm to have applied for mineral exploitation permits in conflict-plagued areas of Burma. Asia Pacific Mining Limited, (APML), a Hong Kong-based firm headed by a veteran of the Australian mining industry, recently submitted permits to explore for lead, zinc and silver in northern Shan State. In October 2014, days after APML's explortation permit was approved by Burmese authorities, deadly clashes broke out near the concession area. Clashes between government forces, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and their allies from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) have been ongoing in volatile northern Shan State for much of the year. The post Aurasian Confirms Withdrawn Mining Permit Was for Kachin State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myint Swe’s Distinctive Works on Show at Rangoon’s Pansodan Scene Posted: 18 Sep 2015 03:45 AM PDT Click to view slideshow. RANGOON — The third installment of Pansodan Scene's exhibition series featuring first-time Burmese solo artists opens on Friday, with works by the reclusive Myint Swe. The gallery's curator, Su Htwe Aung, said the 60-year-old Arakan State-born artist was rarely sighted in person around Rangoon's flourishing art scene, evidently preferring to let his distinctive paintings speak for themselves. Myint Swe describes this series as a tribute to his foremost mentor, S Tin Shwe, who he regarded as a master at capturing the beauty of young women. His former teacher, who has since passed away, could never freely exhibit his work due to strict censorship controls under Burma's previous military rulers. The abstract influences are clear in Myint Swe's work, which is reminiscent of Cubist and Fauvist styles from early 20th century Europe, with the artist engaging bold brush strokes with a strong palette to produce large and vivid portraits of naked women. "Myint Swe's earlier work could best be described as abstract, under the guidance of his former teacher, S Tin Shwe," Su Htwe Aung told The Irrawaddy. "He then joined the monkhood and studied the Dharma for some time before re-emerging to produce this series of female nudes." The exhibition is open on Friday, September 18-23, from 10am to 6pm daily. The Pansodan Scene is located on the second floor, at 144 Pansodan Street, Rangoon.       The post Myint Swe's Distinctive Works on Show at Rangoon's Pansodan Scene appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Strange Birds Behind the ’88 Coup Posted: 18 Sep 2015 03:27 AM PDT Birds of a feather? Gen. Saw Maung, left, was the first to go, after being forced to step down in 1992; Gen. Khin Nyunt, center, followed 12 years later. Of the founding members of the junta that seized power in 1988, only Gen. Than Shwe, right, survived until a quasi-civilian government was formed in 2011. (Photo: Dominic Faulder) Twenty-seven years ago today, a coup d'état saw the government of Gen. Ne Win toppled, replaced by Gen. Saw Maung and his deputy Gen. Than Shwe—the man who would go on to orchestrate Myanmar's transition to quasi-civilian government. In this story, which first appeared in the September 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine, founder Aung Zaw looks at some of the colorful characters in the halls of power at the time. Retired Gen. Kyaw Win is a keen observer. These days, he devotes what's left of his failing eyesight to his two passions: photography and bird-watching. But in the past, when he served as number two in Myanmar's once dreaded spy agency, he was regularly witness to far more intriguing things. In April 1992, when Gen. Saw Maung, the leader of the military regime formed in 1988 to "restore order" after crushing pro-democracy protests in a bloody coup, was informed by then military intelligence chief and junta Secretary One Gen. Khin Nyunt that he had been "permitted to retire due to health reasons," Kyaw Win was there. "Don't abandon us," the visibly shaken Saw Maung said to Khin Nyunt, fearing that he and his family were about to be placed under house arrest. Long before Saw Maung lost his hold on power, he seemed to be losing his grip on reality. Kyaw Win recalled how Myanmar's top general once started engaging in a conversation with a Buddha image at a famous shrine in Upper Myanmar. After that, he began declaring himself the reincarnation of the 11th century warrior-king Kyansittha and claimed he could see into the future. "He didn't sleep at all," Kyaw Win said of his former boss, who was clearly suffering from a nervous breakdown and had become dangerously paranoid (on one occasion, Kyaw Win said, the senior general brandished his revolver at some soldiers who had come to welcome him and his wife to a reception). At one point, then Col. Kyaw Win saw Saw Maung summon regional commanders based in northern Myanmar to Mandalay to demand to know if they still supported him. In fact, Saw Maung owed his powerful position to Gen. Ne Win, the dictator who had been forced to step down after massive protests calling for his ouster took place around the country. Saw Maung, who was then serving as commander in chief of the armed forces, was called to the former dictator's residence along with his deputy Gen. Than Shwe and Ne Win's trusted spy chief Khin Nyunt. Their orders were to stage a coup. After the military seized power on Sept. 18, 1988, Saw Maung triumphantly declared that he had "saved the nation," but the sullen Than Shwe didn't utter a word. From the beginning, Than Shwe was aloof from the other members of the junta, preferring the company of loyal subordinates. Among them was Kyaw Win, who had served under the taciturn general in Shan State in the early 1980s, and stayed close to him throughout the remainder of his military career. During all their years together, however, Than Shwe never discussed politics with Kyaw Win. But in a sign that even early on he did not trust Khin Nyunt, he assigned Kyaw Win to act as the spy chief's deputy. Reporting back on Khin Nyunt's words and actions was not difficult: All of the top leaders slept at the War Office from 1988 until the capital was moved to Naypyitaw in 2005. Kyaw Win and other trusted aides would often massage Than Shwe in his bed until he fell asleep. The powerful general also liked listening to their gossip and jokes, and sometimes, even after it seemed that he had already drifted off to sleep, he would laugh out loud at some amusing anecdote the officers were sharing among themselves. Kyaw Win also knew that his boss had a deep-seated distrust of intellectuals and didn't like having educated people around him. Despite being a graduate of Yangon University, however, Kyaw Win seemed to have won his trust. Another thing he knew about Than Shwe was that he regarded Myanmar, a nation wedged between the world's two most populous countries, India and China, as uniquely vulnerable. For this reason, he believed that it needed a special military budget to build a strong army and acquire nuclear weapons. With money from state-owned enterprises and the sale of natural gas, he moved the capital to central Myanmar and built tunnels and launched a nascent nuclear weapons program. Meanwhile, Khin Nyunt and his feared Military Intelligence were busy running torture chambers and chasing after dissidents. This part of their operation was sanctioned by Than Shwe; but the dossiers they were collecting on corruption within the regime apparently wasn't. In the early days, Than Shwe was regarded as quite clean. But from around the early 2000s, several ministers and powerful generals had begun seeking favors. Usually, they just paid visits to his home, where they could count on a friendly welcome if they came bearing gifts for his family. This has been called "kitchen politics"—currying favor with Myanmar's top family through the back door. Kyaw Win's disapproval of this development made him and other aides who believed it was part of their job to "keep the businessmen at bay" less than popular with Than Shwe's wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and other close relatives. But the senior leader continued to entrust him with important missions, such as maintaining contacts with intelligence agencies in neighboring countries and acting as a messenger between himself and opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was then under house arrest. His most important duty, however, was to continue monitoring Khin Nyunt. Once regarded as a natural successor to Than Shwe, the spy chief never imagined that he would one day be removed from power, despite warnings from his subordinates that he was vulnerable to just such a fate. The trouble came as powerful generals and commanders in the army's infantry units learned that they were secretly being investigated. Infantry and intelligence units were always at loggerheads, and it became clear that Khin Nyunt's intelligence unit was building a state within a state. For years, Than Shwe was urged to put the spy chief in his place—something he had probably wanted to do all along. Of course, Kyaw Win played a role in Khin Nyunt's downfall, making sure that all of his reports on his immediate superior reached his real boss via Gen. Shwe Mann, the current speaker of Myanmar's Lower House of Parliament, who was then the joint chief of staff of army, navy and air force and the third most powerful member of the junta. To neutralize Khin Nyunt, Than Shwe appointed him prime minister and asked him to hand his duties as spy chief over to Myint Swe, one of Than Shwe's loyal subordinates and now chief minister of Yangon Region. But Khin Nyunt refused to play along, and later, Than Shwe learned that he had threatened at a cabinet meeting to expose corruption among military commanders and ministers. In the end, Than Shwe didn't have to do a thing. "Do what you have to do," he said, and soon the problem was taken care of. The infantry commanders, who had a plan in place and had long waited to hear these words, moved swiftly. They arrested Khin Nyunt and threw everyone close to him into prison. Within hours, Khin Nyunt's spy network was dismantled. That was in October 2004. When Khin Nyunt, who had been summoned to the office of the junta's number two Gen. Maung Aye shortly after getting off a plane in Yangon, was told to "go home," he replied sarcastically that he was "delighted" to do so. He knew he had no choice: All of the other senior junta members—except Than Shwe—were there. He was escorted back to his home, and after years as one of Myanmar's most feared men, he became just another prisoner of one of the world's most repressive regimes. Although Than Shwe left the dirty business of dealing with Khin Nyunt to his subordinates, he was in full control of what came after. He reinforced his own power base, locked up more dissidents, and pushed ahead with drafting a constitution that would cement the military's role in Myanmar politics. Finally, after holding a rigged election in 2010 that delivered a landslide victory to the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), he stepped out of the limelight and remains comfortably retired in his fortress-like mansion in Naypyitaw. During his tenure as Myanmar's supreme leader, Than Shwe also placed Ne Win under house arrest. Unlike Khin Nyunt, Than Shwe was not close to the former dictator. After Saw Maung, who died of heart failure in 1997, was forced to step down, Than Shwe never bothered to visit the mastermind behind the 1988 coup. Perhaps he had hated him all along. Khin Nyunt, once dubbed Myanmar's "prince of evil" by the foreign media, was released from house arrest in early 2012, and now lives as a private citizen. When asked to account for some of the things he did when he was still in power, he insists he was just following orders. Those orders came, of course, from Than Shwe. Kyaw Win witnessed all of this and more. Now more interested in his avian friends, however, he says he has nothing to say about the current role, if any, of his former boss in Myanmar's political affairs. But for those of us who have watched Than Shwe eliminate his rivals one by one over the past two decades, it's difficult to imagine that he isn't still keeping an eagle eye on everything from his safe, secluded perch, ready to swoop down on anyone who threatens his talon-like hold on power.   The post The Strange Birds Behind the '88 Coup appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Police Claim Arrest of Suspect Linked to Massive July Drug Haul Posted: 18 Sep 2015 02:01 AM PDT Police officers watch as seized drugs are destroyed at an event to mark International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking outside Rangoon, June 26, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — Almost two months since authorities in Rangoon seized a mammoth haul of narcotics worth over US$100 million on the outskirts of the commercial capital, police claim to have detained a key suspect on the Thai-Burma border. Min Oo Khaing, reported to be a director with Kaladan Delta Development, surrendered to a Burmese anti-narcotics unit on Sept. 15, according to police. "He was found in Mae Sot and taken straight to Rangoon," said a police officer based in Karen State's Myawaddy on Thursday who declined to be identified. A police source in Rangoon said Thai authorities were involved in the suspect's arrest. On July 26, police found nearly 27 million methamphetamine tablets worth an estimated 133 billion kyats (US$110 million) left abandoned in the back of a truck in Rangoon's Mingaladon Township. In a raid tied to their investigation of the case, in August, police seized an additional 1.5 million stimulant tablets from a house in North Dagon Township. Reports in state-run media, citing the Ministry of Home Affairs, named Min Oo Khaing among several others as key suspects in the case. Min Oo Khaing's reported arrest comes as US President Barack Obama named Burma as one of 22 countries determined to be a major illicit drugs producer or transit country that "significantly affect the United States." However, the announcement, dated Sept. 14, also stipulated that Burma, along with Venezuela, would be granted National Interest Waivers, abrogating the possible implementation of sanctions. A May 2015 report on synthetic drugs in Southeast Asia by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found Burma was "perceived to be the main country of origin for methamphetamine tablets seized throughout the Mekong sub-region and to some other parts of East and Southeast Asia." The country's major illicit drug syndicates are believed to involve an amalgam of ethnic armed groups and state-backed Border Guard Force personnel, with an unknown degree of government officials' complicity.     The post Police Claim Arrest of Suspect Linked to Massive July Drug Haul appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Report: Illegal Timber Trade From Burma to China Growing Posted: 17 Sep 2015 11:40 PM PDT Three trucks loaded with Burmese timber wait to cross a river on the Burma-China border. (Photo: EIA) BEIJING — The illicit timber trade between Burma and China is rebounding to near its peak of a decade ago as loggers push deeper into Burma to strip its forests, according to a report released Thursday by an environmental group. The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency says it is calling on both governments to stop the trade worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year that is reducing Burma's forests and supplies China's wood-processing industry, which makes furniture for domestic and international markets. The nongovernmental organization said Chinese businesses acquire the rights to illegal log mountains, paying off corrupt officials in gold bars and bribing armed groups and the military to pass through checkpoints. The logging is done by poor Chinese villagers. Dozens of them were convicted earlier this year following raids by Burmese authorities, but the "shadowy kingpins" who organize the trade and reap the profits remain untouched, the report said. Julian Newman, campaign director for EIA, said at the report's launch in Beijing that the volume of illegal timber crossing from Burma into China was approaching 900,000 cubic meters (31.8 million cubic feet) a year—not far off the 2005 peak of about 1 million cubic meters which fell after Chinese authorities temporarily clamped down. Newman said the rosewood and teak was coming from deeper in Burma as Chinese investment in building dams and infrastructure in the country leads to more roads and access to forests that were previously untouched. EIA called on China to prohibit all imports of illegally logged timber, and it wants Burma to reduce logging nationwide until it assesses its forest conditions. The illegal cross-border trade was highlighted earlier this year when a court in northern Burma convicted and sentenced 155 Chinese nationals, most to life in prison, for illegal logging. The case strained relations with Beijing, and the Chinese were later released as part of a presidential pardon of thousands of prisoners. The flow of timber was unhindered for decades between Burma's Kachin State and China's Yunnan province. But in April 2014, Myanmar brought out a law banning the export of logs. It had already mandated that all wood could leave the country only from Rangoon port. Rising prosperity and growth as a global manufacturer have driven Chinese demand for wood. The post Report: Illegal Timber Trade From Burma to China Growing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

More Than 2,000 Enslaved Fishermen Rescued in 6 Months Posted: 17 Sep 2015 11:33 PM PDT Migrant fishermen from Burma wash themselves after returning from the ocean to Ban Nam Khem, Thailand, December 14, 2014. (Photo: Damir Sagolj / Reuters) AMBON, Indonesia — More than 2,000 fishermen have been rescued this year from brutal conditions at sea, liberated as a result of an Associated Press investigation into seafood brought to the US from a slave island in eastern Indonesia. Dozens of Burmese men in the bustling port town of Ambon were the latest to go home, some more than a decade after being trafficked onto Thai trawlers. Grabbing one another's hands, the men walked together toward buses last week. As they pulled away for the airport, some of those still waiting their turn to go home cheered, throwing their arms in the air. "I'm sure my parents think I'm dead," said Tin Lin Tun, 25, who lost contact with his family after a broker lured him to Thailand five years ago. Instead of working in construction, as promised, he was sold onto a fishing boat and taken to Indonesia. "I'm their only son. They're going to cry so hard when they see me." The reunion he envisions has played out hundreds of times since March, after the AP tracked fish—caught by men who were savagely beaten and caged—to the supply chains of some of America's biggest food sellers, such as Wal-Mart, Sysco and Kroger, and popular brands of canned pet food like Fancy Feast, Meow Mix and Iams. It can turn up as calamari at fine restaurants, as imitation crab in a sushi roll or as packages of frozen snapper relabeled with store brands that land on our dinner tables. The US companies have all said they strongly condemn labor abuse and are taking steps to prevent it. In response, a multimillion-dollar Thai-Indonesian fishing business has been shut down, at least nine people have been arrested and two fishing cargo vessels have been seized. In the US, importers have demanded change, three class-action lawsuits are underway, new laws have been introduced and the Obama administration is pushing exporters to clean up their labor practices. The AP's work was entered into the congressional record for a hearing, and is scheduled to be brought up for discussion again later this month. The largest impact, by far, has been the rescue of some of the most desperate and isolated people in the world. More than 2,000 men from Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos have been identified or repatriated since the AP's initial story ran, according to the International Organization for Migration and foreign ministries. The tally includes eight fishermen trafficked aboard a Thai cargo ship seized in neighboring Papua New Guinea. And those returnee figures don't tell the whole story: Hundreds more have been quietly sent home by their companies, avoiding human trafficking allegations. "We've never seen a rescue on this scale before," said Lisa Rende Taylor, an anti-trafficking expert formerly with the United Nations who now heads the anti-slavery nonprofit Project Issara. "They deserve compensation and justice." Many experts believe the most effective pressure for change can come from consumers, whose hunger for cheap seafood is helping fuel the massive labor abuses. Southeast Asia's fishing industry is dominated by Thailand, which earns $7 billion annually in exports. The business relies on tens of thousands of poor migrant laborers, mainly from neighboring Southeast Asian countries. They often are tricked, sold or kidnapped and put onto boats that are commonly sent to distant foreign waters to poach fish. A year-long investigation led the AP to the island village of Benjina, part of Indonesia's Maluku chain about 400 miles north of Australia. There, workers considered runaway risks were padlocked behind the rusty bars of a cage. Men in Benjina—both those stuck on Thai fishing boats and others who had escaped into the jungle—were the first to go home when rescues led by the Indonesian government began in early April. Since then, hundreds more have been identified and repatriated from neighboring islands. Many of those leaving recently from Ambon were handed cash payments by company officials, but they said the money was a fraction of what they were owed. An AP survey of almost 400 men underscores the horrific conditions fishing slaves faced. Many described being whipped with stingray tails, deprived of food and water and forced to work for years without pay. More than 20 percent said they were beaten, 30 percent said they saw someone else beaten and 12 percent said they saw a person die. "My colleague, Chit Oo, fell from the boat into the water," wrote Ye Aung, 32, of Burma. "The captain said there was no need to search, he will float by himself later." Another man, 18-year-old Than Min Oo, said he was not paid and wrote simply: "Please help me." For many, the return home is bittersweet. Parents collapse in tears upon seeing their sons, and some men meet siblings born after they left. But almost all come back empty-handed, struggle to find jobs and feel they are yet another burden to their extremely poor families. At least one crowd-sourcing site, set up by Anti-Slavery International, is aimed at helping them. A study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine earlier this year, based on interviews with over 1,000 trafficking survivors from different industries, found half of those returning from slavery at sea suffered from depression and around 40 percent from post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety. Those men were not connected to the Benjina cases. Many bear physical scars as well. Tun Lin, who returned to Burma last week, held up his right hand: a stump with just a thumb. He said one finger was ripped off while he tried to wrangle an unwieldy net on the deck of his boat, and the other three were crushed beyond saving. He was taken by refrigerated cargo delivery ship to Thailand, where the remaining digits were surgically removed. Four days later, he said, he was put back on a ship bound for Indonesia, where he fished for the next three years. "There were some good captains, but there were a lot of bad ones," the 33-year-old said, his eyes filling with tears as he described how "boat leaders" were assigned to act as enforcers, beating up fishermen who weren't working fast enough. "When we asked for our money, they'd say they didn't have it… but then they'd go to nightclubs, brothels and bars, drinking expensive alcohol." Like many of the men rescued from Ambon, Tun Lin had been working for PT Mabiru Industries, where operations were halted several months ago as authorities investigated trafficking and illegal fishing in the industry there. Mabiru, one of more than a dozen fishing, processing and cold storage firms in Ambon, sold packages of yellowfin tuna largely headed for Japanese markets, and also shipped to the United States. The company is shuttered and its managers could not be reached. Florida-based South Pacific Specialties, which distributes to supermarket chains, restaurants and food groups, received a shipping container loaded with frozen tuna from Mabiru in February. Managing partner Francisco Pinto told the AP his company had once rented out Mabiru's facilities in Ambon, bought tuna from private artisanal fishermen, and hired its own workers for filleting and processing fish. Pinto said he has spent the past six weeks in Indonesia meeting and observing fish suppliers because American customers are increasingly demanding fair treatment for workers. Amid the increased scrutiny, some have taken legal action. In the past month, three separate class-action lawsuits have been filed naming Mars Inc., IAMS Co., Proctor & Gamble, Nestle USA Inc., Nestle Purina Petcare Co. and Costco, accusing them of having seafood supply chains tainted with slave labor. Ashley Klann, a spokeswoman for the Seattle-based law firm behind several of the cases, said the litigation "came as a result of AP's reporting." Even with the increased global attention, hundreds of thousands of men still are forced to work in the seafood industry. "Slavery in Southeast Asia's fishing industry is a real-life horror story," said Congressman Chris Smith, R-N.J., who is among those sponsoring new legislation. "It's no longer acceptable for companies to deny responsibility… not when people are kept in cages, not when people are made to work like animals for decades to pad some company's bottom line." The post More Than 2,000 Enslaved Fishermen Rescued in 6 Months appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

SE Asia Emergency Response Team Takes on Region’s Deluge of Disasters Posted: 17 Sep 2015 11:08 PM PDT A boy moves his boat in a flooded village outside Zalun Township, Irrawaddy Division, August 6, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) JAKARTA — After the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and Cyclone Nargis in Burma in 2008, international aid poured into Southeast Asia, but in both disasters the 10-nation regional body ASEAN was conspicuously absent, says disaster expert Arnel Capili. "Those were very big events that really affected the national governments of member states. The question was, where is ASEAN?" Capili said of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "The leaders talked about it, and they said, 'We must have a way to help each other. We're brothers. We're neighbors.'" The result was the creation of a committee of national disaster staff which, in 2011, set up the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance, or the AHA Centre. All the ASEAN nations—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—are members. Home to more than 600 million people, Southeast Asia is the most disaster-prone region in the world, suffering earthquakes and perennial floods and typhoons. The United Nations tallied more than 500 natural disasters from 2004 to 2013, which killed more than 350,000 people. The AHA Centre represents a growing awareness that the region—which has seen rapid economic growth over the past decade and has a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion—must help itself. So far, the AHA Centre has focused on "quick wins" to prove its worth to member states, building up disaster preparedness, monitoring, analysis and response, Capili said. But ASEAN has been tight-fisted about funding its own disaster response team and 22 staff, relying heavily on foreign assistance, said Capili, who used to work in the Philippines' national disaster office. Japan gave the AHA Centre computers and other equipment; the United States provided the monitoring platform and help with planning and exercise development; Australia donated start-up cash of $2.7 million over five years through 2016. The mandatory annual contribution from each ASEAN state is $30,000—a total of $300,000, less than a third of the AHA Centre's annual budget of about $1 million. "Unfortunately, the Australian support will end in June 2016, so we really need to pick up the tab and try to get member states to commit more," Capili said. Taking over from OCHA Before the 2004 tsunami, many countries in the region had no special organization to handle natural disasters. That changed as the following decade brought a series of massive floods, storms and earthquakes, but it was the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that stepped in to manage overall disaster response in the region. OCHA said in June that it was reducing its operations in many countries in Asia, and focusing on helping the AHA Centre build up its capacity to respond to disasters. When a powerful earthquake struck Burma in 2012, Capili, a boss and a colleague led the response to the disaster, one of the first since the AHA Centre was set up. Burma, emerging from half a century of military rule and isolation, had long been one of the region's most prickly countries. The team from the AHA Centre fumbled over how to help a country sensitive to outside opinion and interference in its domestic affairs. "We landed at the airport, we looked at each other and said, 'What do we do?' My boss said, 'I don't know.' We were grappling with the sovereignty issue," Capili said. Three years later—after a dozen deployments to floods and typhoons, and training sessions with national disaster management officials—the Centre was asked to help last month as Burma struggled with widespread floods. Three people from the AHA Centre and six from its rapid-deployment emergency response and assessment team went in. "They said, 'AHA Centre, come in, welcome. You stay with us at the emergency operations centre. Help us in the information management… so the rest of the world will know what's going on,'" Capili said. OCHA of Southeast Asia? The AHA Centre's biggest test so far was Super Typhoon Haiyan, which killed 6,300 in the central Philippines. A day before Haiyan made landfall in November 2013, the AHA Centre sent their technical expert, with satellite phones and equipment, to Tacloban, the regional capital. When the storm wiped out communications, it was the AHA Centre's satellite phone that the defence minister used to update the president in Manila, Capili said. The AHA Centre is now conducting a "roadshow" to raise its profile among government officials, NGOs and the private sector. The United Overseas Bank recently called Capili and told him they saw the AHA Centre's situation reports from Burma and wanted to donate money to the Centre. Air Asia, the Malaysian budget airline, offered it cargo space. Other countries are helping too: Russia to provide technical support, and China with "a huge amount of money" to train staff and for equipment such as drones for aerial assessments. In Sabang, on the northeast coast of Malaysia, the AHA Centre has built a stockpile of basic post-disaster needs—tents, generators and basic items for families. It has also trained 120 people from across the region for its emergency response and assessment team, which it aims to expand with members of civil society, the Red Cross, military and health sectors. While focusing now on member states, the Centre hopes one day to coordinate response outside the region. "We have the resources, we have the people, we have trained people, we have all the aircraft available, we have the plan. Something happens to Nepal, ASEAN responds," Capili said. "We've been recipient of aid for a long time, but now we are at the cusp of being able to provide support outside the region." The post SE Asia Emergency Response Team Takes on Region's Deluge of Disasters appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Nepal at Crossroads After New Constitution Is Adopted Posted: 17 Sep 2015 10:54 PM PDT A constitution assembly member of an opposition party throws a chair during a meeting inside the Constitution Assembly building in Kathmandu on Jan. 20, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) KATHMANDU, Nepal — After a decade of political infighting and violent protests, the long-awaited passage of Nepal's constitution should be a reason to celebrate. But there are also signs that the Himalayan nation's first complete political framework since monarchy was abolished in 2006, could set the stage for prolonged conflict as some ethnic groups are protesting the charter. The government sees the new constitution as a much-needed success for the nation of 28 million, still recovering from a devastating April 25 earthquake that killed thousands. The constitution, passed late Wednesday, sets the country up as a secular federation of seven states, each with a legislature and chief minister. "The people have achieved a republican nation that they have aspired for decades," Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey said. However, some ethnic and religious groups say lawmakers ignored their concerns over how state borders should be defined. They want more states, including ethnically-based ones, bigger territory for larger groups and more seats for ethnic minorities in parliament and government. Some among majority Hindus also believe the country's reference as a Hindu nation should have been restored in the constitution. Smaller opposition parties rejected the new constitution in a joint statement on Thursday, and announced a nationwide general strike on Sunday followed by protests where they will burn copies of the new charter. "The constitution being rushed through is not giving positive indications," analyst and former election commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokhrel said. "It is giving birth to a conflict. The grievances of those who oppose the constitution need to be immediately addressed by the state. The future of Nepal depends on how the state acts and reacts." Protests organized by two ethnic groups—the Tharu in southwestern Nepal and the Madhesi in the country's south and southeast—have shut down parts of Nepal for weeks. Authorities have imposed curfew and deployed security forces, but the protests and blockades still have slowed food and cargo deliveries by road to the capital, Kathmandu. On Tuesday, police opened fire after a group of protesters attacked a 160-truck convoy, killing four people. The violence came amid weeks of protests that have left more than 44 people dead, including police officers. The Madhesi groups have vowed to continue protesting. "The big parties have tried to crush the minority groups and, as a result, pushed the nation into chaos," said one Madheshi group leader, Shivaji Yadav of the Federal Socialist Forum. He said their issues should have been resolved before the draft constitution was voted on. "Speeding the process to push through the draft was not done to empower the people, but for the big leaders to come to power," he said. On the streets of Kathmandu, many Nepalese expressed relief that politicians set aside their differences and voted for the constitution. "How long can the nation hold back on everything just because these politicians cannot reach agreement?" businessman Susil Shrestha said. Teacher Bishnu Aryal said that an imperfect charter was still better than ongoing political uncertainty. "We just can't get a constitution where everyone is happy," Aryal said. "It is what the majority wants, and a few minorities cannot and should not hold the nation as hostage because of something they disagree with." Foreign Minister Pandey said there is room to discuss the ethnic groups' concerns. "We have left the door open for the talks, which is the only option to resolve the situation." The US government urged security forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests and citizens against resorting to violence. Neighboring India also cautioned restraint and flexibility on the part of all political forces. The post Nepal at Crossroads After New Constitution Is Adopted appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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