The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Police Suspect Suicide after Monk Found Dead in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U
• In Israel and Elsewhere, Burma Army Sees Fruits of Reform
• $30m in Black Market Goods Seized Since 2012: Commerce Ministry
• Indian Widow Fights Modi in ‘Final’ Court Battle over Deadly Riots
• Four Thai Military Officers Sought in Alleged Human Trafficking
• China Military Hints at Opposition to Large-Scale Troop Cuts

Police Suspect Suicide after Monk Found Dead in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Posted: 22 Sep 2015 05:07 AM PDT The sun sets behind Shittaung Temple in Arakan State's Mrauk-U Township, May 2013. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A Buddhist monk found dead in Arakan State's Mrauk-U Township on Monday is believed to have committed suicide, local police said, although an investigation is ongoing. Ba San, a police officer in Mrauk-U, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the 67-year-old monk, who reportedly lived alone in a small monastery, had what appeared to be knife wounds to the neck. The deceased, Khanti Sara, had been a practicing monk for 14 years. "We have not seen anything yet indicating someone else killed him. The monk stayed alone at his monastery. For us, we believe that he committed suicide," Ba San said. The officer, who confirmed a police investigation was continuing, said the front gate leading to the monastery was usually closed and it was rare to see people heading in and out. Following the monk's death, some locals have raised concerns over the sensitive case in light of recent bouts of communal violence in Arakan State since mid-2012. Kyaw Kyaw, an Arakan National Party lawmaker for Mrauk-U—one of several townships rocked by a second major wave of sectarian violence in October 2012—said Buddhist monks had met in the town on Tuesday to discuss the investigation into the monk's death. "I feel very sad. I just heard about it yesterday after I came back from our election campaign," Kyaw Kyaw said, adding that he knew the monk who came to collect alms each morning by his house. Violence in the coastal state in 2012 between Buddhist and Muslim communities led to the displacement of some 140,000 people, the majority of whom were Muslim Rohingya, a stateless minority that has endured decades of discrimination.     The post Police Suspect Suicide after Monk Found Dead in Arakan State's Mrauk-U appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

In Israel and Elsewhere, Burma Army Sees Fruits of Reform Posted: 22 Sep 2015 04:37 AM PDT Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing meets with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Sept. 10, 2015. Talk of bringing an end to decades of internal conflict does not seem to have deterred Burma's army chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, from continuing to seek weapons and military hardware from allies near and far, with the commander-in-chief most recently undertaking a goodwill visit to Israel with just such intentions. Following similar trips to Pakistan, India, Belarus and Ukraine in recent years, the Israel visit earlier this month was the first by a Burmese military leader since the late Gen. Ne Win made the journey in 1959. Observers say the army chief's jet-setting in recent years is clear indication of the reputational boost that the Burma Armed Forces have enjoyed since the semi-civilian government of President Thein Sein began initiating political and economic reforms in 2011. In its push to modernize its military arsenal, the Burma Army has arguably been one of the biggest beneficiaries of a reform program that has included greater media freedom and the release of hundreds of political prisoners. The army chief's visit to Israel also highlighted the decades-long military ties between the two countries, which for years were downplayed or denied altogether. "It is quite possible now that Burma has improved its relations with the Western world, that a company like Elbit can operate more openly without being scrutinized by, for instance, American policy makers. Elbit Systems is a big company which is active all over the world," said Bertil Lintner, a veteran Swedish journalist who has author several books on Burma. On his visit from Sept. 6-11, Min Aung Hlaing toured Elbit Systems, an Israel-based defense manufacturing company that, according to Jane's Intelligence Review, has done business with Burma in the past. A Jane's report from March 2000 said the company won a contract in 1997 to upgrade three squadrons of Chinese-supplied jetfighters in Burma. Elbit Systems has about 12,000 employees, and operates as a "high technology company" supplying "a broad portfolio of airborne, land and naval systems and products for defense, homeland security and commercial applications," according to the firm's website. The company was one at least three defense firms visited by Min Aung Hlaing, who also toured an Israeli naval base, the country's Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv and a memorial to fallen soldiers in the Gaza Strip. American Ally In visiting Israel, the Burma Army chief may have had his eye on a much bigger prize, according to Eitay Mack, a human rights lawyer in Jerusalem who is critical of Israeli arms exports to nations with checkered human rights records. The show of "goodwill" between Israel and Burma might speed along the day when Min Aung Hlaing heads a similar delegation to Washington, Mack told The Irrawaddy, noting the close US-Israel relationship. "I think that the military junta is using the transition to gain more legitimacy at the international level. They wanted to show that they are good friends of the United States' best ally [Israel]," said Mack, who added that in turn, the Israeli government may have hosted Min Aung Hlaing to position itself as a go-to arms supplier as shipping weapons and hardware to the once ostracized Burma Army becomes increasingly palatable among the international community. "I think that Israel is trying to put its feet in Burma," Mack said. "I think they are thinking about current and future military contracts, such as selling military equipment and technologies and security services. "They think the transition the Burmese government is making will succeed. That's why they want to put their feet there before the European Union and other countries," he added. While the United States and European Union lifted most economic sanctions on Burma in response to Thein Sein's reforms in 2012, both still maintain arms embargoes. Though no such prohibition is holding back Israel, Mack said forging closer ties with the Burma Army carried with it major risks, given the poor human rights record of the armed forces under the country's former military regime, and extant concerns about its present day conduct. Human rights advocates have criticized the military over ongoing hostilities between government troops and ethnic armed groups in the country's north and east, as well its treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority in western Burma. A long-sought nationwide ceasefire between Naypyidaw and the country's ethnic armies remains elusive. "I think Israel is taking a big risk," said Mack. "Nobody knows now if the transition [in Burma] will succeed. Nobody knows for sure what will happen after the November election. Even now there are a lot of human rights violations by the Burmese government." While Burma struggles to rebuild after the most serious flooding in decades, Mack accused Min Aung Hlaing of focusing solely on courting defense firms, with no consideration for enlisting Israeli construction companies or other industries that might help flood victims recover. Haaretz, a leading Israel-based newspaper, reported that the Burma Army "is apparently purchasing Super Dvora patrol boats," based on a Facebook post from Min Aung Hlaing that appeared to indicate as much. The Israeli Embassy in Rangoon noted the army chief's visit on its website, saying the visit had "shown the strong ties of friendship and cooperation between the two armed forces and governments of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the State of Israel." No details of military deals or the substance of discussions between officials from the two countries were disclosed. The Israeli Embassy did not respond to requests for comment made via email and over the phone on Friday. Israel was likely keeping tight-lipped about details of the visit because of lingering concerns about the optics of any dealings between the two militaries, according to Mack, who added that the Israeli public was aware of the history of human rights abuses perpetrated by the Burma Army. The Jane's report said military ties between Burma and Israel date back to the 1950s, with Israel over the years selling military hardware and providing technology and training to the Burma Army. After the Burmese government's crackdown on mass pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, military-to-military ties were increasingly facilitated by Singapore, according to the report. Anthony Davis, a security analyst with Jane's, told The Irrawaddy via email that Min Aung Hlaing's visit to Israel underscored in a very public manner both countries' interest in expanding a defense relationship that in the past has tended to remain largely below the radar. "To that extent, it marks an important watershed," he said. "Significantly, it stands to offer the Tatmadaw [Burma Armed Forces] a range of battle-tested, state-of-the-art systems suitable for both conventional and counter-insurgency conflicts that for political reasons major Western arms manufacturers are still unable to offer to Myanmar," Davis added. Branching Out While military ties between Burma and Israel have the added benefit of the two countries' decades of diplomatic relations, Burma has not been shy about seeking out a wider array of arms suppliers. In recent years, Burma has bought weapons from a variety of sources, among them North Korea, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and, naturally, Singapore. Min Aung Hlaing also visited India in July, touring a combat helicopter production unit, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, in Bangalore. He also toured a shipyard and naval aviation facility, and a production line of the automobile manufacturer Tata Motors. Jane's reported on July 30 that border security concerns were likely raised in New Delhi while at the same time the Indian government actively seeks to assist the Burma Army with modernization of its military. "India is understood to be urging greater coordination of efforts to interdict cross-border movement by Assamese, Manipuri, and Naga rebels from the country's northeast," read the Jane's report. In his visit to Belarus in November 2014, Min Aung Hlaing reached a bilateral agreement establishing a committee to oversee military-technical cooperation between the two countries, Jane's reported. As has been interpreted regarding its geopolitical and economic outreach in recent years, analysts say Burma is similarly looking to expand its circle of friends in the military sphere. "It is clear that the Burmese military would want to diversify its procurement of weapons to lessen its dependence on China," said Lintner. The post In Israel and Elsewhere, Burma Army Sees Fruits of Reform appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

$30m in Black Market Goods Seized Since 2012: Commerce Ministry Posted: 21 Sep 2015 11:56 PM PDT Chinese nationals convicted for illegal logging arrive at a court in Myitkyina in July. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Roving anti-smuggling teams have seized more than 50 billion kyats (US$30 million) worth of smuggled goods in border areas over the last three years, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Since late 2012, the cross-departmental mobile teams have intercepted a number of black market shipments, primarily in Muse on the border of China's Yunnan province and the Karen town of Myawaddy on the Thai border. Minister of Commerce Win Myint told a meeting of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) earlier this month that officials had stopped the unlawful export of jade, timber, unlicensed automobiles, livestock and electronic goods. Formed as a collaborative effort between the country's police force, Customs Department and the Ministry of Commerce, the anti-smuggling teams had been subjected to attacks and ambushes by smuggling gangs seeking retribution for confiscated goods, according to Commerce Ministry director-general Nyunt Aung. "They've ambushed team members in some of the most severe cases we've seen," he said. Than Win, a ministry director, said that the teams had intercepted more than 500 trucks carrying illegal logs since the operation began, seizing timber worth at least 9 billion kyats (US$6.9 billion) worth of timber over the three year period. "Most these logs were seized at the Chinese border," he said, adding that a Commerce Ministry employee was killed during one altercation with smugglers in the area. "Some others were seriously injured. These traders don't like what we are doing." According to figures from the ministry, 57 tonnes of jade worth 5 billion kyats had been seized by the taskforce, along with vehicles worth 4 billion kyats. Win Myint told The Irrawaddy that black market transactions and the importation of untaxed consumer goods was a lingering problem in Burma. "Comparing the trade figures of our trade partners, ours are smaller," he said. "Ours are [significantly] smaller than China and Thailand's. It is clear we don't have accurate figures." China accounted for around 87 percent of border trade in the last fiscal year, followed by Thailand at 12 percent, according to the Commerce Ministry.     The post $30m in Black Market Goods Seized Since 2012: Commerce Ministry appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Indian Widow Fights Modi in ‘Final’ Court Battle over Deadly Riots Posted: 21 Sep 2015 08:57 PM PDT Zakia Jafri, whose late husband, a lawmaker for the Congress party which now sits in opposition, was hacked to death by a Hindu mob in riots, poses as she walks in a lawn with a security guard provided by the government at her son's house in Surat, India, September 15, 2015. (Photo: Amit Dave / Reuters) AHMEDABAD, INDIA — Zakia Jafri, a frail 76-year-old, has begun what may be the last legal battle to pin blame on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deadly riots that shook the state of Gujarat when he was chief minister, and claimed her husband's life. Modi denies any involvement in the 2002 unrest, one of the worst outbreaks of religious violence in independent India. In 2013, a panel appointed by the Supreme Court said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him. It was the third investigation to come to the same conclusion. Since then, the prime minister has shed his international image as a hardline Hindu nationalist, adopted the mantle of progressive economic reformer, won a landslide election in 2014 and earned a place at the high table of global leaders. His government has also cracked down on NGOs and rights workers, including activist Teesta Setalvad, who has been helping Jafri gather evidence to overturn previous court rulings in Modi's favor and bring him to trial. At around the time the Gujarat High Court agreed to hear the case last month, federal police investigating alleged fraud raided the home and offices of Setalvad, who has represented dozens of victims of the riots and won several convictions. None of that deterred Jafri, whose late husband, a lawmaker for the Congress party now in opposition, was hacked to death by a Hindu mob in riots that killed at least 1,000 people, most from India's sizeable Muslim minority. "My case is not just against the foot soldiers," said Jafri, worn down by 13 years of campaigning, including her failed Supreme Court bid to prosecute Modi two years ago. Hers is the last case still in the court system filed after the riots that tries to implicate Modi. "It is against those who allowed the foot soldiers to operate," she told Reuters in an interview in Ahmedabad, commercial capital of Gujarat where her husband was slain. "It is against those who created the situation for the foot soldiers to get provoked and enabled them to operate. It is against Modi." Chain of Command Setalvad is trying to show Modi turned a blind eye to the violence. "We are trying to establish a chain of command responsibility. Our task is to show that an individual in the position of power could be administratively or criminally culpable," said Setalvad. The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on the challenge, because the case is underway. Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also declined comment. Setalvad said she pored over testimonies of victims, policemen, bureaucrats, politicians and members of hardline Hindu organizations to piece together Modi's role in the riots. She examined Modi's phone records and police intelligence reports as well as evidence from policeman Sanjiv Bhatt. Bhatt was a state intelligence officer during the riots and has previously given testimony claiming Modi told officials to allow Hindus to vent their anger for the deaths of 59 Hindu pilgrims in a fire on a train in the Gujarat town of Godhra, after clashes between Muslims and Hindus at the station. Last month the federal government expelled Bhatt from the police force. He is challenging the move in court. Interior Ministry officials in New Delhi said the decision to probe Setalvad's bank transactions and sack Bhatt were not related to the case against Modi. "It is a coincidence that our orders came at the exact same time when the court case started in Gujarat. They are using the victim tag to hide their mistake," said a senior bureaucrat at the ministry. For her part, Setalvad denies accusations by the Gujarat government that she and her husband used money from victims of the riots to enrich themselves. Grim Memories The Gujarat High Court began hearing Jafri's petition, which names Modi as the prime accused, this month. She is seeking a criminal trial against him and 58 others for the month-long bloodshed. For more than a decade the riots tainted Modi's international reputation. The United States revoked his visa in 2005 over the violence and he only travelled there again after last year's election. Later this week he embarks on his second U.S. trip since taking office. Lawyers involved in Jafri's case said it would take months for the proceedings to conclude, and that it could eventually reach the Supreme Court. Modi may not be losing sleep yet, although he did inquire who would be presiding over the case, one official in his office said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Sonia Gokani, the veteran judge in charge, has handled scores of cases related to the riots, handing down several convictions. For Jafri, what could be her last battle against Modi will bring back painful memories. She saw her husband, Ehsaan, making desperate calls to the police before being dragged out of his ancestral home by sword-wielding men. Within minutes he was stripped and killed. "This case is not just about my husband, it is the final attempt to seek justice for thousands of Muslims who expected Modi to save them." The post Indian Widow Fights Modi in 'Final' Court Battle over Deadly Riots appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Four Thai Military Officers Sought in Alleged Human Trafficking Posted: 21 Sep 2015 08:49 PM PDT Rohingya Muslims walk on a river bank in Buthidaung Township on June 7, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) HAT YAI, Thailand — A court in southern Thailand has issued arrest warrants for four military officers in connection with the trafficking of ethnic Rohingya migrants, police said Monday. Police Lt. Gen. Paveen Pongsirin, the chief investigator for the case, said warrants have now been issued for 153 people, 90 of whom have turned themselves in or been detained. The authorities began their crackdown in May after discovering more than 100 bodies buried in squalid camps built to hide the migrants along the Malaysian border. Ethnic Rohingya continue to flee Myanmar to escape discrimination and seek better economic opportunities. In many cases, the migrants pay to be smuggled by ship, but are then detained by traffickers in Thailand who hold them until their families pay ransoms. The new suspects for whom warrants were issued in Songkhla province on Sunday are a colonel and two captains in the army who belong to the Internal Security Operations Command, a counterinsurgency agency, and a navy commander. An army major general was arrested in June for alleged involvement in human trafficking. Earlier this month, an Australian journalist and his Thai colleague were acquitted in a criminal defamation lawsuit filed by an officer on behalf of the navy over their online news report about the trafficking of people from Myanmar. The story they published on the news website "Phuketwan," excerpted from a longer report by the Reuters news agency, alleged that Thai military forces accepted money to assist or turn a blind eye to the trafficking of people from Myanmar by sea. Human rights activists and foreign governments have long accused Thai authorities of collusion in human trafficking, but police, military and government officials deny the allegations. The U.S. State Department in July said it was keeping Thailand on its human trafficking blacklist and retained Thailand's Tier 3 ranking, the lowest level in its annual Trafficking in Persons report. The ranking designates Thailand as a country that has not made sufficient progress in tackling human trafficking. It cited persistent forced labor and sex trafficking and recommended that Thailand stop bringing criminal defamation cases against researchers or journalists who report on human trafficking. The post Four Thai Military Officers Sought in Alleged Human Trafficking appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China Military Hints at Opposition to Large-Scale Troop Cuts Posted: 21 Sep 2015 08:41 PM PDT Students practice during a military training, in Kunming, Yunnan province, China, September 17, 2015. (Photo: Wong Campion / Reuters) BEIJING — Bitterness is growing within China's armed forces to President Xi Jinping's decision to cut troop numbers by 300,000 and considerable effort will be needed to overcome opposition to the order, according to a source and commentaries in the military's newspaper. Xi made the unexpected announcement on Sept. 3 at a military parade in Beijing marking 70 years since the end of World War Two in Asia. The move would reduce by 13 percent one of the world's biggest militaries, currently 2.3-million strong. One government official, who meets regularly with senior officers, said some inside the People's Liberation Army (PLA) felt the announcement had been rushed and taken by Xi with little consultation outside the Central Military Commission. Xi heads the commission, which has overall command of the military. "It's been too sudden," the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "People are very worried. A lot of good officers will lose their jobs and livelihoods. It's going to be tough for soldiers." China's Defense Ministry, in a statement sent to Reuters, said the "broad mass" of officers and soldiers "resolutely endorsed the important decision of the (Communist) Party center and Central Military Commission and obey orders." It has said the cuts, the fourth since the 1980s, would be mostly completed by the end of 2017. Experts say the move is likely part of long-mooted rationalization plans, which have included changing the PLA command structure so it less resembles a Soviet-era model and spending more money on the navy and air force as Beijing asserts its territorial claims in the disputed South and East China Seas. Soon after Xi's announcement, the official Xinhua news agency published a long article quoted soldiers as supporting the decision. Each branch of the armed forces believed the cuts would raise quality standards, Xinhua said. Commentaries in the PLA Daily newspaper have since warned that the reductions would be hard to carry out. Chinese state media often run commentaries that reflect the official line of the institution publishing the newspaper. 'Unprecedented' Challenge  The cuts come at a time of heightened economic uncertainty in China as growth slows, its stock markets tumble and the leadership grapples with painful but needed economic reforms. China has previously faced protests from demobilized soldiers, who have complained about a lack of support finding new jobs or help with financial problems. A protest by thousands of former soldiers over pensions was reported in June, although the Defense Ministry denied any knowledge of the incident. The PLA is already reeling from Xi's crackdown on deep-seated corruption in China, which has seen dozens of officers investigated, including two former vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission. Barely a week after the Beijing parade, the PLA newspaper said the troop cuts and other military reforms Xi wished to undertake would require "an assault on fortified positions" to change mindsets and root out vested interests, and that the difficulties expected would be "unprecedented." If these reforms failed, measures still to come would be "nothing more than an empty sheet of paper," it said. It did not give details on the planned reforms. But state media has said they will likely involve better integration of all PLA branches. As part of this move, China's seven military regions, which have separate command structures that tend to focus on ground-based operations, are expected to be reduced. There had been no previous suggestion big troop cuts were planned. Troop Entertainers to go Another commentary in the PLA Daily published a week later detailed the kind of opposition Xi faced. "Some units suffer from inertia and think everything's already great. Some are scared of hardships, blame everyone and everything but themselves … They shirk work and find ways of avoiding difficulty," the commentary said. A second government source, who is close to the PLA, said military song and dance assemblies, which traditionally entertain troops, would be the first to go. "The defense budget will not be cut. It will continue to gradually increase," the source added. China's military budget for this year rose 10.1 percent to 886.9 billion yuan ($139.39 billion), the second largest in the world after the United States. Some retired Chinese generals have supported the troop cuts. "A bloated military can only cause ineffectual expenditure and forfeited battles," retired Major-General Luo Yuan, a prominent Chinese military figure, wrote in the Global Times newspaper three days after Xi's announcement. Xu Guangyu, a retired major general and now a senior army arms control advisor said: "Our country's military needs to take the path of modernization … These force reductions are an effort to stay on this path and increase quality not numbers."   The post China Military Hints at Opposition to Large-Scale Troop Cuts appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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