The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• ‘A Stark Picture’ for Women in Conflict-Affected Burma: Report
• Mandalay Govt to Prevent Muslim Holiday Cattle Slaughter
• Rice Export Restrictions to be Lifted Mid-October: Commerce Ministry
• Another 2m Pills Tied to Mingaladon Drug Bust Seized
• Chinese President Pledges Cooperation on Cyber Issues
• Rajapaksa Criticizes UN Findings on Sri Lanka War Crimes
• US-China Summit Takes Place Amid Human Rights Crackdown
• Amy Winehouse Documentary to be Lesson for Thai Delinquents

‘A Stark Picture’ for Women in Conflict-Affected Burma: Report Posted: 23 Sep 2015 06:56 AM PDT Kaw Mai cradles her day-old child in a hospital in the town of Laiza, where the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) makes its headquarters. (Photo: Simon Roughneen / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — New research published on Wednesday offers a heartbreaking picture of the impacts of conflict on women in Burma, revealing systemic defects that cause long-term disadvantage for survivors of violence and other forms of abuse. An 84-page report titled, "Opening the box: Women's Experiences of War, Peace and Impunity," tells the stories of 29 women from Rangoon Division, Kachin and Karen states who had each suffered some degree of gender-based abuse under Burma's former military regime. Their stories, told with staggering candor, include accounts of torture, rape, economic control, destabilized families and glaring failures in the government's capacity for redress. The report recommended an immediate end to violence against women, implementation of constitutional reforms that would place the military under civilian control and increased efforts to support survivors of abuse. Published by Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) in collaboration with the Kachin Women's Association of Thailand (KWAT), the Karen Women Empowerment Group (KWEG) and the Women's Organizations Network Myanmar (WON), the participatory research was carried out between January 2014 and July 2015. Of the 29 women whose stories are told in the report, nine were ethnic Kachin, 10 were ethnic Karen and 10 were former political prisoners. The authors said the cumulative research portrays "a stark picture about how the government, the army, non-state armed groups, the UN, and NGOs fail to pave the way" for women's survival in the context of conflict and government oppression. Of the report's six key findings,           the main conclusion was that violence against women is both empowered and maintained by a culture of impunity, rendering international commitments and public promises insufficient n tackling the issues that affect women in Burma. "We found that violence is continuing," AJAR director Galuh Wandita told reporters in Rangoon on Wednesday. "For us, it was time to reflect on how [there could be] so many global announcements, Security Council resolutions, all sorts of commitments to stop violence against women, and yet this is still happening." Impunity, reluctance to seek justice and judicial shortcomings proved to be a theme of the report; of the 29 participants, only three even attempted to seek legal recourse. Of those three, two were wholly unsuccessful, and the only one to achieve any sort of justice was given a ruling that the victim and her family found dissatisfying. "We also found that impunity, and the inability to seek justice, is nurtured by social and economic factors," said Khin Mi Mi Khaing, herself a former political prisoner and the only one of the report's subjects who was present at Wednesday's press briefing. "Culturally, women are silent; they cannot speak about [abuse] because it is shameful. The economic burden that victims have to carry means that they [often] cannot even consider going for justice. It's impossible—they are fighting for their daily survival." Beyond economic disadvantage—in some cases linked the death of family members during conflict, and in other cases caused by the social exclusion that comes as a byproduct of political imprisonment—women who have suffered abuse have the added difficulty of dealing with psychological trauma and health impacts. According to Mai Ja, who serves on the KWAT advisory board, women suffer more than male refugees an internally displaced persons (IDPs) because they face unique problems that conflict environments are wholly unable to attend to. "Women, after they face violence, feel psychological and health problems more than normal refugees. Their family life is destroyed. It is heartbreaking to know a Kachin woman who has lost her livelihood; someone who was an orchard gardener in her original place is now collecting snails to sell at her children's school," Mai Ja said. This kind of situation is similar to [the experience] of Karen women and former political prisoners." While seeking justice has proven to be a daunting and often fruitless endeavor, two of the report's subjects—both former political prisoners—have taken a different path of recourse: Ma Thandar, Hnin Hnin Hmway and Tin Tin Cho are all currently running for parliament in Burma's Nov. 8 general election.   The post 'A Stark Picture' for Women in Conflict-Affected Burma: Report appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mandalay Govt to Prevent Muslim Holiday Cattle Slaughter Posted: 23 Sep 2015 06:00 AM PDT A Muslim religious leader at prayer in a Lashio mosque. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Mandalay Division government has agreed to a request by Buddhist nationalists to prevent ritual cattle slaughter for Friday's Eid-al-Adha celebrations, and will ask Muslims to instead sacrifice goats to mark the religious event, according to a government official The Upper Burma branch of Ma Ba Tha, known in English as the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, sent an official letter of request to the divisional government last week calling for an end to the practice of ritual cattle sacrifice. "On the occasion of Eid, we feel very uncomfortable to see that many cows, including farm cows, are mercilessly beheaded," the letter read. "Thanks to the killing, each year we lose many cows, the working companion of farmers and a true benefactor of human beings." The letter was signed by four leading Buddhist monks, including prominent Ma Ba Tha figure U Wirathu. It cites the teachings of Ledi Sayadaw, whose campaign to stop cattle slaughter at the end of the 19th century widely influenced Burmese nationalists during the colonial area. A senior official from the Mandalay Division government confirmed on Wednesday that they had received the letter. He told The Irrawaddy that orders had been sent to district and township administrators to instruct Muslim communities to use goats instead of cattle, and reduce the number of animals slaughtered to mark Eid. "We don't want it to affect their religion," the official told The Irrawaddy, referring to Muslim Eid celebrations. "So we told them to reduce the numbers of animal killed. We want them to cut the numbers down in half as Burma is an agricultural country." "Our country has a Buddhist majority. We are supposed to fulfil the requests of the majority," he added. Last week, an investigative report by Myanmar Now revealed that Ma Ba Tha had closely collaborated with Irrawaddy Division officials to shut down Muslim-owned slaughterhouses in the region. Cattle rescued from the abattoirs was shipped and donated to Arakanese Buddhist farmers working in the predominantly Muslim northern Arakan State township of Maungdaw, on the border of Bangladesh. Win Shwe, a Ma Ba Tha secretary in Rangoon, told Myanmar Now that the initiative was part of an attempt to safeguard the area against "the influx of Muslims". Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, U Wirathu said that Ma Ba Tha was seeking a total ban of cattle slaughter across Burma, a resolution first reached at the association's two-year anniversary conference in June. "Killing has nothing to do with religion, and that's why we have requested the ban," he said. "Rather than killing cattle and distributing their meat, they should donate the money that they would spend on the sacrifice." U Wirathu said that Ma Ba Tha had yet to receive a reply to last week's letter from the government. He added that the association had sent another letter to government issues in the time since, asking for action to be taken if the number of animals sacrificed exceeded official permission and to shut down any religious building that hosted a ritual cattle sacrifice. The post Mandalay Govt to Prevent Muslim Holiday Cattle Slaughter appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rice Export Restrictions to be Lifted Mid-October: Commerce Ministry Posted: 23 Sep 2015 04:01 AM PDT A rice farmer walks through a paddy field in a village near Patheingyi, Irrawaddy Division, last year. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's government this week announced a further easing of restrictions on rice exports after a 45-day suspension was conditionally lifted on September 15. Myint Cho, Director of Trade Promotion in the Ministry of Commerce, told The Irrawaddy this week that from Oct. 15, all rice exports would resume as normal. Severe flooding across the country from July, which inundated more than 1.3 million acres of paddy fields, led the Myanmar Rice Federation to announce the temporary suspension of rice exports from August 1. While limited seaborne rice exports resumed on Sept. 15, overland trade of the staple product remained suspended. Other restrictions included the stipulation that exporters retain 2 percent of their potential export volume as surplus. "We'll ease all these restrictions for exporters from October 15," Myint Cho said. "Export rules will then be back to normal." The commerce ministry official said the government had been closely monitoring the local trade as some exporters were using the official hiatus period to gain an advantage in the market. "After discussions, we decided that local consumption was OK, and that's why we decided to resume exports," he said, adding that the country would lose out economically if the suspension continued. Ye Min Aung, general secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation, told The Irrawaddy last week that he expected a new rice export policy would soon be drafted by the government. Figures from the Ministry of Commerce put total rice exports at more than 1.7 million tons in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, reaping nearly US$645 million. Exports were shipped to 64 countries including China and Japan, as well as other nations of ASEAN, Europe and Africa. The post Rice Export Restrictions to be Lifted Mid-October: Commerce Ministry appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Another 2m Pills Tied to Mingaladon Drug Bust Seized Posted: 23 Sep 2015 12:32 AM PDT A large stash of methamphetamines is reportedly pictured, discovered inside a shipping truck in Rangoon's Mingaladon Township on July 26. (Photo: thithtoolwin.com) RANGOON — Police have seized another large haul of stimulant tablets linked to a massive drug bust in Rangoon's Mingaladon Township earlier this year, with a police officer in the commercial capital saying the new find came during a raid on a house of the key suspect in the case. Police discovered nearly 2 million stimulant tablets and 500 bottles of phensedyl cough syrup—an addictive substance known to be used recreationally—on Monday at a home owned by Min Oo Khaing, a director of the Kaladan Delta Development Co., in East Dagon Township. Min Oo Khaing is authorities' primary suspect in an ongoing investigation of a July 26 drug bust, in which police found nearly 27 million methamphetamine tablets worth an estimated 133 billion kyats (US$103 million) left abandoned in the back of a truck in Mingaladon Township. In a raid tied to the investigation, police last month seized an additional 1.5 million stimulant tablets from a house in North Dagon Township. "We're making continuous investigations," a high-ranking police officer who asked that he not be identified told The Irrawaddy. "Roughly, we have inspected most of his [Min Oo Khaing's] cars and houses. We'll continue the investigation even if it is a trans-national crime. We have caught more suspects. However, we are not supposed to release information as we are still investigating the case." Min Oo Khaing surrendered to a Burmese anti-narcotics unit on Sept. 15 and Thai authorities were involved in the suspect's arrest, according to police. He was apprehended in the Thai border town of Mae Sot and extradited to Rangoon. Since the drug-laden truck was discovered in July, arrest warrants have been issued for 12 suspects, including Min Oo Khaing, and police are searching for the remaining suspects who remain at large. On Sept. 14, the United States designated Burma as among 22 countries that are major illicit drugs producers or transit countries that "significantly affect the United States." A report on synthetic drugs in Southeast Asia published by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in May 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." Translated by Thet Ko Ko. The post Another 2m Pills Tied to Mingaladon Drug Bust Seized appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chinese President Pledges Cooperation on Cyber Issues Posted: 23 Sep 2015 12:24 AM PDT Chinese President Xi Jinping begins talks with a local delegation of officials in Seattle, Washington, September 22, 2015. (Photo: John Lok / Reuters) SEATTLE — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China and the United States could work together to address cyber crimes, a problem that has sparked mutual tension. Xi's statement came shortly after leaders from both countries signed an agreement to advance renewable energy and clean technologies to combat climate change. Xi, in a speech in Seattle at the end of the first day of his official visit to this country, also said China would continue its policy of aggressive development to help more Chinese people "live a better life." Striking agreements to ensure continued robust international trade was a top priority, he said. "China will never close its open door to the outside world," Xi said, according to a translation of his remarks. He said China was a staunch defender of cyber security, but it had also been a victim of hacking. Acknowledging that China and the United States don't always see eye to eye, Xi said China is ready to set up a joint effort with the United States to fight cyber crimes. The issue of cyber attacks is a sensitive one between the two nations. American officials say hacking attacks originating from China are approaching epidemic levels. As Xi spoke Tuesday evening, protesters gathered near the downtown hotel he was staying at, objecting to the country's policies in Tibet and other issues. Earlier Tuesday, Xi attended meetings with governors from five US states and local Chinese officials that produced the deal to work on clean energy. "We can be the core for our national leaders to learn from," Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who has made five trips to China in five years, told his counterparts. Xi arrived in Seattle for talks on how US and Chinese experts and businesses can collaborate on issues such as nuclear energy and smarter electricity use. The visit comes a year after Xi and Obama announced their nations would cooperate to fight climate change. "These are the largest economies in the world, and we're the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, so improving cooperation and collaboration is really a necessity," said Brian Young, Washington state director of economic development for the clean technology sector. "Second, it's a huge business opportunity. Both sides recognize the opportunity for job creation." The governors who met with Xi included Snyder, Jay Inslee of Washington, Jerry Brown of California, Terry Branstad of Iowa and Kate Brown of Oregon. All five—along with Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, who did not attend the meeting—signed the accord in which they agreed to take actions to reduce transportation emissions, support clean energy technologies and exchange ideas. Chinese leaders at the meeting included Beijing Mayor Wang Anshun, Shandong Gov. Guo Shuqing and others. US-China cooperation on climate-change has been a warm and fuzzy point of relations between the superpowers. In November 2009, Obama and then-President Hu Jintao formalized a renewable energy partnership, including the establishment of clean-energy research centers focused on electric vehicles, cleaner coal and water energy programs. Last November, Obama and Xi announced that the countries would work together on climate change, with China announcing it would try to cap its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, or sooner if possible. By contrast, hacking attacks on the US, said to be directed by Beijing; China's moves to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea; and human rights issues have been sore spots. Xi's visit to the US includes a state dinner on Friday with President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. The trip comes at a time when China's economic growth has slowed considerably as the communist nation overhauls its economy. Some clean-tech firms in Washington state, which relies largely on hydropower and where natural gas is currently cheap, may find markets and investment in China sooner than they might domestically. Also on Tuesday, TerraPower Inc., an energy company founded by Bill Gates, entered into an agreement with China National Nuclear Corp. to work together on next-generation technology for nuclear power plants. China invested a record $83 billion in renewable energy last year, according to the Frankfurt School's Center for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance in Germany. Supporters turned out in Seattle to welcome the Chinese president and other dignitaries traveling in his motorcade. Wendy Hu, a native of Guangdong Province who has lived in Seattle for 20 years, brought her 11-year-old daughter, Anna Ni. "China and the US are good partners now, with Boeing and Microsoft," Hu said. "I love both countries." Hundreds of protesters from the religious group Falun Gong also demonstrated, holding banners and banging drums as Xi's motorcade passed. Falun Gong says its members are persecuted in China. "It's about compassion and tolerance," said Sabrina Chang, 28, who traveled to Seattle with other Falun Gong practitioners for the protest.   The post Chinese President Pledges Cooperation on Cyber Issues appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rajapaksa Criticizes UN Findings on Sri Lanka War Crimes Posted: 22 Sep 2015 10:19 PM PDT Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa hands over a copy of his campaign manifesto to a Buddhist monk in July. (Photo: Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters) COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa criticized on Tuesday the findings of a UN probe into war crimes and called on the government to reject the report, which called for suspects to be prosecuted by a hybrid court with international judges. Rajapaksa won the 26-year war against Tamil Tiger separatists in 2009, but his military was accused of killing thousands of civilians during the final weeks of the conflict. The UN report found “patterns of grave violations” between 2002 and 2011 and said it was likely that tens of thousands lost their lives in the final stages of the war. Rajapaksa, who was defeated in a January poll, said his government did not cooperate with the probe mainly because it was instituted outside the established procedure of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). “The investigation on Sri Lanka was not carried out by an independent Commission of Inquiry, but for the very first time, by the OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights),” he said in a statement. “Neither the OHCHR nor the UNHRC has the authority to set up an international war crimes tribunal. The only body with the authority to do so is the UN Security Council where the veto power of China and Russia will be a factor to contend with.” He criticized the UNHRC’s recommendation to set up hybrid court with international judges to prosecute the war criminals. President Maithripala Sirisena has pledged a credible domestic mechanism under an independent local judicial system, but the UN has said Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system is not yet ready for the task. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the government would set up commissions for truth seeking, justice, reconciliation and preventing conflict, saying all the mechanisms will be domestically-drafted. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on a visit to Colombo on Tuesday, said implementation of the UN recommendations should be a largely “national task”. The post Rajapaksa Criticizes UN Findings on Sri Lanka War Crimes appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US-China Summit Takes Place Amid Human Rights Crackdown Posted: 22 Sep 2015 10:14 PM PDT Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) is introduced by former US National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at a policy speech to Chinese and United States CEOs in Seattle, Washington September 22, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON — The United States has warned that the toughest crackdown in years on Chinese activists threatens to cloud the high-profile state visit by President Xi Jinping. Yet human rights is unlikely to dominate the agenda when Xi is welcomed at the White House on Friday. As China emerges as an economic and military rival that Washington both competes and cooperates with, other issues tend to get top billing at the summit table. Prime US concerns are cybercrime, China's island-building in the disputed South China Sea and building momentum for a global deal to combat climate change. But human rights will still get attention. Since taking the presidency in 2013 and becoming the most powerful Chinese leader in three decades, Xi has cracked down on encroachment of what he views as Western-style freedoms in China's increasingly prosperous and connected society. His administration has also tightened controls on religious minorities, including a government campaign to remove crosses and demolish Christian churches in an eastern province—a move that has drawn condemnation in the US Congress. Ten US senators have voiced concern over Xi's "extraordinary assault" on civil society ahead of the pomp-filled summit. This summer, Chinese authorities rounded up more than 250 human rights lawyers and associates. According to Human Rights Watch, 22 are still being held. US concerns go beyond oppression of government critics. US officials have said that draft legislation in China to police non-governmental organizations could have an impact not just on foreign human rights activists but on the personal and corporate privacy of academics and business groups—a potential setback to deepening the US-China relationship even in the areas that aren't politically contentious. A lack of candor in Chinese state media reports about economic turmoil roiling global markets has also exposed the risks and limitations inherent in Beijing's strict press controls. "The US is not short of entry points to discuss human rights with China," said Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch. "The US is in an excellent position to make the case that better human rights protections are not just about defending the activist community in China." At a dialogue with China on the issue last month, Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski said that improvements on human rights were needed by China to set a positive tone for the summit. But when David Saperstein, the US ambassador at-large for religious freedom, visited China a couple of weeks later, authorities detained a Christian lawyer the day before Saperstein was due to meet him and detained and harassed other religious figures whom he met. Saperstein called the actions "outrageous." Although Chinese society has opened up since Washington and Beijing restored diplomatic ties 36 years ago, the Communist Party retains a monopoly on political power. According to the State Department, there are tens of thousands of political prisoners. They include Liu Xiaobo, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the year after President Barack Obama. Liu is serving 11 years in prison after calling for democratic reforms. Foreign governments have for the most part become less willing to speak out over rights abuses as China's economic heft has grown. The US remains outspoken, and Beijing's preferred response is to deflect criticism by addressing it in closeted diplomatic settings on its own terms. "We should see a bigger picture: How do we seek more cooperation between each other while shelving these differences?" said Li Junhua, who led China's delegation at last month's human rights dialogue. Although US officials maintain that human rights is on the agenda of its high-level meetings with China, it shapes the relationship less than it did a quarter-century ago. When China cracked down on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989, killing hundreds, it had direct and negative consequences, as the US scaled down ties. "The Chinese government recognizes that there will be no cost in their relationship with the United States for continuing to crack down, and if there's no cost, then of course they are going to continue what they're doing," said Carolyn Bartholomew, a member of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission which advises Congress. China's rights record still has the potential, however, to grab attention at US-China summits. In 2006, a practitioner of the persecuted spiritual group, Falun Gong, heckled Chinese leader Hu Jintao at the White House. When he visited again in 2011 on a state visit hosted by Obama, Hu conceded that "a lot still needs to be done in China, in terms of human rights." Xi appears less pliant. At a November summit with Obama in Beijing, Xi was confronted at a news conference over difficulties faced by some US news organizations in securing visas to cover China. Xi responded with a lecture, using a Chinese proverb to suggest the problem lay not with Chinese authorities but the news outlets themselves. The post US-China Summit Takes Place Amid Human Rights Crackdown appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Amy Winehouse Documentary to be Lesson for Thai Delinquents Posted: 22 Sep 2015 10:04 PM PDT Amy Winehouse performs during England's Glastonbury music festival in 2007. (Photo: Dylan Martinez / Reuters) BANGKOK — Social workers in Thailand think the tragic story of the late singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse can be a lesson to wayward youth, so they are treating about 100 of them to a movie about her. Winehouse, bedeviled by addictions to drug and drink before her death in 2011 at the age of 27, was the subject of a well-received documentary this year, “Amy.” The Thai Health Promotion Foundation and the Stop Drink Network arranged for nearly 100 boys from a juvenile detention center, together with dozens of university students and members of various youth groups, to watch the film on Wednesday, saying they hope it inspires them to overcome their own problems. The film documents Winehouse’s talent, how she tried to cope with the pressures of fame, and her death of accidental alcohol poisoning. “I think Amy’s story is a real story that reflects real problems in the society, especially among teenagers. When Amy felt too much pressured, she acted out and started drinking, but she was gifted and she found that gift. It’s not too late for the students to find their gifts and learn from her mistakes,” said Kamron Chudecha of the Stop Drink Network. Even though Winehouse was a celebrity with fans around the world, Kamron said he sees a lot of similarities between her problems and those of juveniles in detention centers. “These kids think the society labels them as drug addicts, alcohol addicts and criminals. When one hits rock bottom, it takes a lot of courage to fight the loneliness and criticism, like when Amy has to fight the media attention and people around her. Amy lost the battle, but these kids still have a chance,” he said. The juvenile detention center outside Bangkok houses youths sent there for serious crimes such as murder and drug-related crimes with sentences of five years or more. Books and movies are shown and discussed as part of effort to rehabilitate them. The post Amy Winehouse Documentary to be Lesson for Thai Delinquents appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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