The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Ma Ba Tha Spokesperson Pans Media, Says Group Are Not ‘Instigators’
• Junta-Backed USDP Campaigning Through Nargis Projects
• KNU’s Kwe Htoo Win: ‘The Government Nodded and We Accepted’
• Thousands of Burma Army Officers Promoted: Military Mouthpiece
• US Court Summons Thein Sein Over Rohingya Rights Violations
• Use Your Red Card, NLD Tells UEC as Alleged Campaign Violations Pile Up
• Difficult to Buy a Gun in China, but Not Explosives
• India Rejects Pakistan Peace Plan, Calls for Revival of Terrorism Talks
• Sri Lanka Says it Will Cooperate with UN on War Crimes Inquiry

Ma Ba Tha Spokesperson Pans Media, Says Group Are Not ‘Instigators’ Posted: 02 Oct 2015 05:35 AM PDT Nationalist Buddhist monk U Wirathu (center) takes part in a protest against visiting United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, in Rangoon, January 16, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — A spokesperson for Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha said on Friday that foreign media did not understand Burmese culture and refuted suggestions of a tacit alliance with the country's ruling party. Over 100 people, including media, Buddhist monks and supporters, attended the group's press conference in Rangoon's Insein Township. The monks took questions from a throng of local and foreign reporters, with the nationalist group's depiction in the international press an issue it appeared at pains to address. "The foreign media does not understand our culture. Why don't they report truly, not based on their emotion and not based on one point of view?" said Ashin Dhamma Piya, a Ma Ba Tha spokesperson who addressed reporters in English. "Why do you guys only point to our Ma Ba Tha as [the source] of problems in the country? We are not instigators. We are a peaceful organization who uphold mitta, kayuna and mutida," he said, using the Pali words for loving kindness, compassion and joy at another's success. Friday's press conference came two days before the group plans to hold a rally at Rangoon's Thuwanna Stadium on Oct. 4—the culmination of several weeks of events convened across the country to celebrate what Ashin Dhamma Piya described as the "milestone" passage of the controversial Race and Religion Protection Laws. The rallies have drawn controversy, with several speakers urging crowds not to vote for the country's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), accusing it of being anti-Buddhist. In response, the NLD filed a number of complaints with the Union Election Commission last month, accusing Ma Ba Tha, also known as the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, of using religion to influence the electorate. On Friday, Ashin Dhamma Piya was asked about the group's relationship with the Union Solidarity and Development Party and whether it would take action against those distributing pamphlets at Ma Ba Tha rallies attacking the NLD. "We did not form our Ma Ba Tha for the USDP. We formed Ma Ba Tha to protect religion and work for national politics," he said, adding that the group would welcome whichever side emerged on top following the country's Nov. 8 election. When a freelance journalist, referring to an article in The Irrawaddy, asked whether Ma Ba Tha members had violated the election law by urging voters to abandon the NLD, Ashin Dhamma Piya criticized the media. "The Irrawaddy media website never writes good things about us. They write only bad things," he said. The post Ma Ba Tha Spokesperson Pans Media, Says Group Are Not 'Instigators' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Junta-Backed USDP Campaigning Through Nargis Projects Posted: 02 Oct 2015 04:33 AM PDT A young girl carries supplies in a bucket on her head near a cyclone shelter in the Irrawaddy delta. (Photo: Reuters) Five years ago, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which now governs Burma, was vying for votes in the 2010 general election that installed the current parliament and led to the appointment of President Thein Sein. The poll was held just two years after the devastating Cyclone Nargis swept through the delta. Relief projects were often touted as achievements on the campaign trail, used by military candidates to drum up support for the party. This article from our archives, published on Sept. 30, 2010, examines the trend of ministers and parliamentary hopefuls traveling to disaster-struck parts of the delta to glean votes from the victims.   The junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) candidates are using Cyclone Nargis rehabilitation projects in the Irrawaddy delta and other state projects across the country to campaign for the election. According to the state-run-newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, on Thursday, Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein who is also the USDP chairman attended the opening ceremony of a hospital and a youth training school in the cyclone-hit area of Laputta Township alongside other USDP key leaders who retired from their military posts in April including Thein Nyunt, the minister of Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs, and Maung Maung Swe, the minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Ahead of the Nov.7 elections, the state-run-media are full of reports that USDP leaders who are also sitting ministers are traveling to state projects and attending openings of completed projects. Observers said the military junta allowed state media to highlight USDP activities but limited publicity to other political parties. Although Thein Sein seemed to be focusing USDP campaign activities through the state projects in the Irrawaddy delta this week, his election campaign last week focused on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River in the Magway Region, the location of government arms factories as well as alleged work on military missiles and nuclear projects. Thein Sein appeared in the state media where he was shown Sept. 20 opening the Minhla-Minbu section of the railway line from Kyangin in the Irrawaddy Region to Pakokku in the Magway Region. The New Light of Myanmar also reported on Sept. 25 that Thein Sein opened a hospital in Zabuthiri Township in Naypyidaw. According to the Naypyidaw candidate list, Thein Sein is running for the People's Assembly (Lower House) seat in Zabuthiri Township. Along with USDP top leaders and senior military officials, the state-run newspapers on Thursday highlighted one of the richest tycoons in the country, Zaw Zaw, the head of the Max Group of Companies and the newly formed Ayeyawady Bank. Zaw Zaw appeared in a front page photo in The New Light of Myanmar along with USDP leaders and senior military officers including Maj-Gen Hla Min, the chief of the Bureau of Special Operations-3. Zaw Zaw and other US-sanctions list tycoons including Tay Za, Htay Myint, Khin Shwe and Dagon Win Aung were awarded construction projects in the Irrawaddy delta following Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. Khin Shwe of the Zay Gabar Company is a USDP candidate for the Nationalities Assembly (Upper House) in Twantay Township in the Rangoon region, which was hard hit by Cyclone Nargis.  He told The Monitor Journal recently that he had done campaign activities while also working on Nargis work projects. "For me, I don't need to do election campaigning in the area. Following Nargis, I had worked there for a year doing reconstruction on pagodas and feeding people food. So people tell me, 'Please come here!' I don't need to do any extra campaigning like other candidates," Khin Shwe was quoted as saying in the journal. The post Junta-Backed USDP Campaigning Through Nargis Projects appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

KNU’s Kwe Htoo Win: ‘The Government Nodded and We Accepted’ Posted: 02 Oct 2015 04:27 AM PDT General Secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), Kwe Htoo Win. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Seven ethnic armed groups, including the powerful Karen National Union (KNU), have agreed to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the Burmese government, calling into question whether the accord is truly "nationwide." Several stakeholders in the peace process have adamantly demanded that the pact be all-inclusive, extending to a number of armed groups that are still in active conflict with the Burma Army, as well as a handful of others that are not viewed as eligible by government negotiators. An ethnic summit held in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, this week produced a split among ethnic stakeholders, some willing to move forward and others holding out for an inclusive pact. The Irrawaddy spoke with KNU General Secretary Kwe Htoo Win about his group's decision to accede to the pact and what it means for the future of the country's protracted peace process. We have learned that the KNU is among the ethnic armed groups that are ready to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement. Can you explain what it means to be ready, and the rationale behind this decision? In our KNU policy, we regard armed conflict as a fundamentally political problem that cannot be solved militarily. Successive KNU congresses have decided to and made attempts to hold political dialogue, but it never happened. We have never signed a truce. The government has invited us to sign this ceasefire and enter a political dialogue, but signing the accord and starting the dialogue was not the original idea of the government. Ethnic armed groups cooperated with the government and demanded that the political dialogue begin after signing the ceasefire. The government nodded and we accepted this also. We believe that political dialogue can be held smoothly and peacefully only after ending armed conflict. The KNU central committee reviewed the final NCA text and has accepted it. We decided to sign and implement it together with other ethnic armed groups. Our people, the entire Karen people, want peace. We therefore decided to sign the ceasefire and enter the political dialogue with other groups, political parties and stakeholders so that the problem—which stemmed from differing political ideologies—can be solved. The KNU has previously accepted the principle of inclusion, though now it seems only seven groups will sign the accord. Doesn't this mean you have ignored that principle? It's not like that. We will revisit the issue when the NCA is implemented. Before we reach a nationwide ceasefire, ethnic groups will sign it individually. Ethnic armed groups have made the same old demand for a nationwide pact and a political dialogue, and the current government has accepted it. In principle we accept all inclusiveness, but in practice, groups which should be included would play their part accordingly and finally toward an all-inclusive political dialogue.  Ethnic armed groups may have different objectives and stances, but we have the same goal: a federal union. Our policy is progressive realization, that is, to realize this goal step by step. Ethnic armed groups that are ready can sign the NCA and then work for the peace and stability of the entire country, based on the accord. Was there any opposition to the decision to sign within the KNU? How will this affect the group's leadership? There may be different views within the KNU. Not only in the KNU, but even some individuals may be of two minds. But the decision was made democratically by the KNU central committee based on the principles and goals of the KNU, and therefore no one will reject this decision. They may have their own wishes and views, but we have to follow the decision of the majority. Given the circumstances, do you think an inclusive political dialogue is possible? Not only ethnic armed groups, but political parties will also join the dialogue. If we are to enter a political dialogue, the government should remove the groups with which it is fighting from the list of unlawful associations once the NCA is signed. Then those groups will be able to officially meet the government on equal terms, and we can engage with them legally without needing to be afraid of the prospect of being charged with unlawful association. This is a pragmatic way to go, I think. Some groups are not fighting with the government and they are not regarded as unlawful. The government has said that those groups need not sign a truce, they can join the dialogue directly, but some of them did not listen. So it seems that not all of the armed groups will be able to participate in the dialogue together. They can take part even if they haven't signed the NCA, but they will not have the right to make decisions or discuss the issues. They can attend as observers. As far as I understand, the President [Thein Sein] and U Aung Min have said so. Do you think the accord can guarantee that guns will fall silent between the government and the signatories? No matter how much a couple loves each other, there will still be times when they will quarrel. This is quite natural. We do expect that the NCA can lead to the complete silencing of guns, but it may not happen in reality due to distrust and suspicion between the two sides. We need to dispel this gradually; we need to move forward to nationwide peace step by step. The post KNU's Kwe Htoo Win: 'The Government Nodded and We Accepted' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thousands of Burma Army Officers Promoted: Military Mouthpiece Posted: 02 Oct 2015 02:50 AM PDT Military lawmakers sign in at the Parliament building in Naypyidaw in July 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Burma Army has promoted the ranks of thousands of serving officers, rewarding them for their long service to the country's armed forces and their "hard work on the path to democracy for the country." The promotions took effect on Thursday, and nationwide saw a total of 7,788 officers and rank-and-file soldiers promoted, including captains, colonels, corporals and sergeants, according to a report from Myawaddy, a military mouthpiece. "We honored those who have patriotism for the country, having served a long time for the country, in order to be able to work hard on the path to having democracy for the country," said the report. Burma began a transition from nearly 50 years of military rule to quasi-civilian government in 2011. The administration of President Thein Sein, himself a former general, has since enacted a series of economic and political reforms that have prompted Western nations to ease sanctions leveled against the once pariah state. The military maintains a prominent political role, however, with generals reserved powerful cabinet positions and 25 percent of seats in Parliament. The commander-in-chief of the Burma Armed Forces, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, has voiced support for the country's democratic transition on multiple occasions, while also indicating that the military would maintain its political prerogatives for the foreseeable future. The post Thousands of Burma Army Officers Promoted: Military Mouthpiece appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US Court Summons Thein Sein Over Rohingya Rights Violations Posted: 02 Oct 2015 02:39 AM PDT Burma's President Thein Sein, right, is pictured alongside US President Barack Obama as they participate in a group photo at the East Asian Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Nov. 19, 2011. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON — A federal court in the United States has issued a summons for President Thein Sein and several Burmese ministers to respond to allegations of human rights violations committed against the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority. The summons was issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York following a lawsuit filed by the Burma Task Force USA, a coalition of 19 Muslim American organizations. Thein Sein and several members of his cabinet will be in the United States this week to attend the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York. Burma's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday. Filed on behalf of three plaintiffs, all US resident Rohingya refugees who claim to have experienced torture, discrimination and displacement, the lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The case was submitted under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ACTA) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), and charges Thein Sein and his ministers with crimes against humanity, extra-judicial killing, torture, mental and physical trauma. "Much of the media is focused on the migrants from Syria, and understandably so, but how many hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees have been fleeing persecution in Burma?" asked Shaik Ubaid of the Muslim Peace Coalition, a member of the Burma Task Force. "UN Development Goals cannot be achieved when a segment of the population of Burma is rendered stateless," added Adem Carroll, New York Director of Burma Task Force. "A peaceful future depends on an embrace of pluralism and a rejection of the politics of fear." This is not the first time that a head of state has been issued a summons by a US court on allegations of human rights abuses. In late 2014, Indian Prime Minister Nerendra Modi was called to respond to a lawsuit regarding religious riots in 2002. His predecessor, Manmohan Singh, was summoned in 2013 for violations during counter-insurgency operations in the 1990s. In both cases, the US government told the courts that the accused had diplomatic immunity as heads of state. The State Department is expected to respond similarly to the charges against Thein Sein and his cabinet. The post US Court Summons Thein Sein Over Rohingya Rights Violations appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Use Your Red Card, NLD Tells UEC as Alleged Campaign Violations Pile Up Posted: 02 Oct 2015 12:30 AM PDT The post Use Your Red Card, NLD Tells UEC as Alleged Campaign Violations Pile Up appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Difficult to Buy a Gun in China, but Not Explosives Posted: 01 Oct 2015 10:36 PM PDT A damaged building is seen after explosions hit Liucheng, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, September 30, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — A series of deadly bomb blasts in China this week has shown how easy it is to acquire explosives in the country, revealing a major gap in its huge security apparatus as the economy slows and anger grows over issues like graft and poor public services. In a country where firearms are banned for most people, the bombings in the southwestern city of Liuzhou on Wednesday, and others in recent years around the country, demonstrate lax enforcement of rules to control access to bomb-making material. Private gun ownership is almost unheard of in China as controls are so strict, meaning gun crime is rare. Explosives, on the other hand, are widely available from the sprawling mining and fireworks industries. The 17 coordinated blasts across Liuzhou, a relatively obscure part of China, destroyed one whole side of a low-rise residential building, overturned vehicles and sent bricks showering into the street, images carried by state media showed. At least seven people died and more than 50 were injured. The attack has been blamed on one individual in the city, but such "sudden incidents," as China refers to them, highlight broader government worries about stability in the world's second-largest economy, with a widening gap between rich and poor and growing anger at corruption and environmental issues. "Modern Chinese society has lots of contradictions, and if people want to send a message about their anger or make a point, they can get explosives from any mine," said Pan Zhiping, a domestic security expert at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences. "It simply isn't possible for the police to keep an eye on everybody," he added. The ease at which explosives can be obtained in the world's second-largest economy was underscored in a court case posted online earlier this year as part of a government transparency drive. In September last year, a court in southwestern China's Yunnan province jailed a man for three years after finding more than 20 kg of explosives, almost 100 detonators and 1.5 km of fuses at his house. The man, whose surname was given as Ren, told the court he had been easy to buy the material by saying it was for work needs, according to the judgment. In fact, Ren said he had been buying the explosives and storing them at home for the last decade without any problems, though he seemed to have no violent intent. No Motive The government says it has no motive for the attacks in Liuzhou in the southwestern region of Guangxi. It has ruled out terrorism. The suspect, a 33-year-old man surnamed Wei, used other people to send the packages, according to the official Xinhua news agency. "It indicates a serious problem in China in terms of public security. It reflects a lack of effective control by the government to restrict access to these dangerous goods," said Jian Zhang, a lecturer in international and political studies at UNSW Australia in Canberra. On Thursday morning, another blast was reported in Liuzhou, although it only caused minor damage and no casualties. It was not clear if it was linked to the previous day's blasts. Guangxi is home to many mines, which use explosives, and like the rest of China it will have lots of firework manufacturers. Last year, police in Liuzhou arrested a father and son who were "unhappy with society and wanted revenge" and blew up trash cans in a public square using home-made firecrackers, injuring a female bystander, according to state media. However, explosives are not often seen in violence in the far western region of Xinjiang, where China says it is battling an Islamist insurgency, with tight security limiting access to bomb-making materials or guns. Knives are generally involved in the violence there. State media microblogs have already begun speculating on the motive for the latest attack in Liuzhou, with some suggesting it was the result of a dispute over medical treatment, a cause of several violent incidents in recent years. While the Chinese government has ramped up health spending, hospitals are frequently overwhelmed with patients. Doctors are also badly paid, leading to corruption and suspicions that staff are more interested in making money by prescribing unnecessary drugs and treatment than tending to the sick. Property disputes in a country where the government legally owns all land have also led to unruly protests, fights with police, imprisonment and even suicide, and created a major headache for the stability-obsessed ruling Communist Party. In 2011, a man apparently angry about the illegal demolition of his home set off coordinated explosions at three sites near government buildings in eastern China, killing two. In the same month, a petrol bomb set off by a disgruntled former employee at a rural bank in a heavily Tibetan region of northwestern China's Gansu province wounded 49 people. The worst incident of its kind happened in 2001, when a string of explosions at workers' dormitories in the northern city of Shijiazhuang killed 108 people, blamed on a man seeking vengeance for family problems, although many doubt that explanation. The post Difficult to Buy a Gun in China, but Not Explosives appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

India Rejects Pakistan Peace Plan, Calls for Revival of Terrorism Talks Posted: 01 Oct 2015 10:29 PM PDT Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (L) shakes hands with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the United Nations General Assembly at the New York Palace hotel in New York September 29, 2013. (Photo: Joshua Lott / Reuters) WASHINGTON — India on Thursday rejected a four-point peace plan for Kashmir proposed by Pakistan but said talks among officials of both countries on terrorism that collapsed in August should be revived. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced his proposal at the annual United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, saying the two nuclear-armed countries should formalize a cease-fire in Kashmir and take steps to demilitarize the divided region. India issued a swift rebuttal, accusing Pakistan of claiming to be the primary victim of terrorism while "in truth, it is actually a victim of its own policy of breeding and sponsoring terrorists." On Thursday, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told the General Assembly that India remained open to dialogue, "but talks and terror cannot go together." "We don't need four points, we need just one: Give up terrorism and let us sit down and talk," she said. Swaraj said the talks between national security advisers on all issues related to terrorism should be held, as well as an early meeting of senior military officials to address the situation on the border. "If the response is serious and credible, India is prepared to address all outstanding issues through a bilateral dialogue," she said. Planned talks between national security advisers from India and Pakistan were canceled in August hours before they were due to start, dashing hopes the two might tackle the violence that many fear could one day spark a nuclear showdown. In the talks, India had wanted only to discuss terrorism-related issues. Pakistan sought a wider agenda, including the status of Kashmir. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since becoming independent countries in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but rule in part. Sharif, elected in 2013, promised to improve relations with India. But since then domestic troubles have forced him to cede more control over foreign and security policy to Pakistan's more hawkish military. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a hard line with Pakistan, insisting he is unwilling to discuss other issues unless Pakistan admits its role in terror attacks in India. India's Ministry of External Affairs made it clear that Sharif's proposal was a non-starter. "To de-militarize Kashmir is not the answer," ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said in a tweet. "To de-terrorize Pakistan is."   The post India Rejects Pakistan Peace Plan, Calls for Revival of Terrorism Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Sri Lanka Says it Will Cooperate with UN on War Crimes Inquiry Posted: 01 Oct 2015 10:21 PM PDT Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera speaks during a news conference on a United Nations report about war crimes committed during Sri Lanka's 26-year civil conflict, in Colombo September 17, 2015. (Photo: Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters) GENEVA — Sri Lanka signaled on Thursday it aims to establish a credible judicial process involving foreign judges and prosecutors to investigate alleged war crimes during its long conflict with Tamil rebels, in line with UN recommendations. Activists and international experts said that the domestic mechanism must win the trust of victims and survivors and provide robust witness protection for those who testify, especially against the Sri Lankan military. The United Nations Human Rights Council, composed of 47 member states, adopted by consensus a resolution led by the United States and Britain. Sri Lanka co-sponsored the text. "This resolution seeks to support Sri Lanka's path to a lasting peace built on a foundation of justice and accountability," US Ambassador Keith Harper told the forum. The UN human rights office said it was an "historic opportunity for Sri Lanka to address the grave human rights violations and abuses that its people suffered, at the hands of both the LTTE (Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam) and the government, during the conflict and in its immediate aftermath. "It is now time for action." Both sides "most likely" committed war crimes including mass killings of civilians during a 26-year war that ended in 2009, and these should be prosecuted by a special court with international judges, the United Nations said in a landmark report last month. The report said that despite pledges by the new government of President Maithripala Sirisena to pursue perpetrators, the South Asian state's criminal justice system was not up to the formidable task alone. Sri Lanka to Cooperate Sri Lankan Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha said that his government would cooperate in implementing the resolution. "Sri Lanka is pleased to join as a co-sponsor of this resolution as a further manifestation of (our) commitment to implement the provisions … in a manner that our objectives are shared by the people and all stakeholders in the country," he said. The text also calls for reforming Sri Lankan security organs and vetting the military to ensure that no personnel linked to serious crimes are retained or recruited into its ranks. "This resolution could lead to a very strong process or a very, very weak process. It will all depend on how it is implemented," said Fred Carver, head of the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice lobby group. International involvement must be "sufficiently independent to win over the trust of survivors—many of whom wanted an international mechanism," he said. The UN report cited a pattern of atrocities against civilians in the war, with years of denials and cover-ups, and said that tens of thousands may have been killed in the war's final stages. Sri Lanka's Office for National Unity and Reconciliation, set up after Sirisena took office, said on Thursday it would issue "certificates of absence" to families who have reported relatives missing in the conflict to help them access entitlements granted by the state. The post Sri Lanka Says it Will Cooperate with UN on War Crimes Inquiry appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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